This video is hilarious, not just for the parking enforcement officer’s half-wittedness, but moreover for the reporter’s reaction to the situation. She just won’t let it go! But KBB representative is right, if you can afford a Panamera, you can afford to park anywhere you damn well please.

Well, it seemed only a matter of time. Web sites, protests, and even a murder later, Arizona has finally cancelled the speed camera contract with Redflex out of Australia. The murder was a tragedy, to be sure, but the cause wasn’t entirely routed in the brain of a psychotic (though perhaps that could have been the cause). In fact, the man accused of the murder was a 68-year-old Phoenix resident.

The speed camera contract was a pet project of former Governor Janet Napolitano (now tasked with running the nation’s security), which undoubtedly hoped to both increase public safety and raise funds for the state. On both accounts, it failed. At best, the program did little to educate the drivers of the state, and at worse, it stole funds directly from their pockets.

Legislators should heed the result as a warning that implementation of automated traffic enforcement systems ought come with a direct vote of the people, just as the people might vote to raise taxes (which the program arguably was doing) or legalizing marijuana for medicinal use.

What’s that line, a government by the people…

Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-052310-pickaxelostload,0,5760348.story

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/05/24/dnt.flying.pickaxe.KCPQ?hpt=T2

Vroom, vroom, or bust?

I am an automotive writer, and I have yet to review the new Nissan Leaf or even drive it. I did sit in it when it came to Tempe, AZ earlier in this year, but as it was a special event, I did not have the opportunity to test it.

Normally, we don’t cover Nissan’s on this web site because we specialize in European cars, but I heard earlier today that the car emits a particular noise to pedestrians that it was approaching. Clever, I thought, and was interested to read on that this noise was similar to one of the flying cars in the movie Blade Runner. This I HAD to check out.

So after 15 minutes spent searching online and this on Nissan’s Facebook page, I began to notice one thing – this marketing campaign is about the people, not the car. And to me that’s a weird approach. When Apple releases a new product, they interview executives of the company, potential users, and even celebrities. That launch then becomes more about the people and the product, and about what the two can do when you put them in a room together.

But when someone like Ferrari or Porsche releases a new car, the advertising tends to be more about the product. How fast is it? What does the vroom of the engine sound like? How fast can it lap around the Nürburgring? Yet, all of the marketing seems to be of the Apple sort. And that’s fine if you are selling a consumer electronic, but for a car, it just doesn’t make sense to me.

I want to see this reviewed on Top Gear, I want to see You Tube videos of it lapping the saltiest tracks in the world. I want to see a professional review. I want to see it compared to a Tesla and then to a Versa, or whatever comparison you may draw between this car and another. At the very least, I want to see it in motion.

But sadly, there is very little footage of this car doing what it is supposed to do: getting me from point A to point B. Com’mon Nissan, let’s see a little more vroom, vroom!

Well, the short answer is over $2 million. The math is astounding, but the whole speech really calls into question the American stop sign system.

Go Roundabouts!

So it seems automatic driving in Canada is as common as in the US. Thus, it is probably of little surprise that an automotive journalist’s teenage crashed a VERY expensive Porsche 911 Turbo just the other day…

Ferris Bueller’s day off it may not be, but this sure beats the time when I smacked my mother’s old Chrysler LeBaron into another car after a heavy Nebraskan winter… the main difference here is that the Porsche costs CAD$180,000, while the LeBaron was worth only about US$5,000.

Big mistake!

Globe journalist’s son crashes $180,000 Porsche

Jalopnik first broke this video to the masses, and I’ll replay it here because it’s a slow news day.

Safe to say, probably not a great example of defensive driving

I think I would prefer a little slower driving in Ferris Bueller’s Ferrari…

I know what you’re thinking. Sure there are lots of driving simulators out there for the iPhone, but they are all so dull. After 5 minutes, you delete them and move on the the next app. But what if there was an application out there that was genuinely useful. What if in the style of James Bond, you could you that iPhone to actually control your car?

Well, it seems someone has called up Q Branch to “modify” their Porsche… and now there’s an app for that!

… or have they? You be the judge!

I saw this on Mercedes-Benz Press Facebook.com feed. They had it labeled at the “most beatiful seatbelt commercial ever”.

Respectfully, that seems like a rubbish statement. First, seatbelts are not beautiful, they are not a typical target for advertisers. That said, they are function. I suppose the creators of this ad probably thought, “let’s find a new way to demonstrate the usefulness of seatbelts, other than using the time-honored ‘crash-test’ scene”. I guess you can applaud the creativity, but let’s condemn the impact. I seriously doubt anyone is paying much attention to this advert – except us.

Enjoy!

VW may have finally come up with an advertising “hit” to follow-up on a disappointing “Pimp ze Auto” campaign. This new campaign called PunchDub encourages you to hit your fellow passenger whenever you see a VW drive by you. Aside from being slightly humorous, this campaign is destined to be a hit with Americans who love a good bit of physical violence.

It is fair to argue that a car isn’t a car until it has been driven on the Nürburgring. A 20+KM public road in Germany, it is driven by professionals and amateurs alike in every road-worthy car imaginable.  The current record for a production car is 6:48 in a Radical SR8LM sports car. Gumpert’s Apollo sports car comes in at a still brisk, 7:11. A slightly altered MINI Cooper E concept car – well, just watch and see!

Not amazingly quick, but at least it outpaces a Ford Transit van as demonstrated by the great Sabine Schmitz in this video:

I know what you’re thinking much of the time… “if I get into a fight with my spouse and all I get to take with me is the car, which car should it be?”

For obvious reasons, a Lotus Elise is out since you can’t pack so much as your under garments into the boot, but what about a Porsche? Maybe the 911 or Cayenne or Panamera, but a Boxster??? At least you will be sure to awake with the sun!

No doubt that Audi started the year off with a bang. Audi with VW, Mercedes, and BMW have all been pushing diesel-powered cars lately, and even Porsche has joined in the party. But the Audi A3 has been a “slow seller” for Audi in America. It sells massively in Europe where petrol prices are sky-high but Audi has likely been looking for new ways to move the car on this side of the pond. That said, the A3 diesel seems like a good option – it’s relatively spacious and gets real-world gas mileage every bit as good as a Prius.

Observers were no doubt surprised to see Audi spending serious buck at the Super Bowl to promote the clean diesel technology. Indeed, Audi’s humorous “green police” commercial was well composed and sent the message that diesel is the new hybrid. Indeed, it is still cheaper technology as well. Read the rest of this entry »

See the gallery of this festive holiday treat here: http://jalopnik.com/5416034//gallery/gallery/1

Oh wait, Happy April Fools! You can’t REALLY eat it!

It should be of little surprise that Ferrari is announcing a hybrid version of the 599 model. At the Geneva Auto Show this year, the company known best for Formula One racing, introduced a more environmentally friendly drivetrain that draws from technology borne out of the company’s F1 motorsports division. The technology utilizes kinetic energy produced under breaking to recapture energy and store it in a battery. The HY-KERS systems as Ferrari markets it produces 35% fewer carbon emissions than the standard 599.

Source: Ferrari

Let’s say you have £175,000 burning a hole in your pocket. Let’s say you have a penchant for great sports cars. And let’s say that you fancy yourself as a sort of middle-aged bloke that plans to make his debut one day in Formula 1 racing. If that’s the case, you probably want to drive the same kind of car that F1 drivers are driving. After all, you can’t show up to a black-tie party wearing pajamas (unless you’re Hugh Hefner perhaps). So what do you do? So many choices for supercars out there. You might choose a Porsche GT2 or a Ferrari 458. Or you might choose the same car F1 champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton have been driving, the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C.

See video for details!

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It’s hard enough to get past the weirdness of the “unveiling” of the new MINI Countryman. The world’s most unusual product announcement begins first with two giant hats covering a MINI Cooper S and the all-new MINI Countryman, which is meant to be MINI’s foray into the cross-over SUV segment, or something. At first blush, it is hard to see what they are on about as the cars appear to be the same height. But MINI is clearly trying to make a statement. Maybe it’s that the Countryman is the car for the neo-luddite non-urbanites who wouldn’t touch a MINI with a ten-foot pole, or maybe MINI still feels the need to prove itself as the alternative fun brand for those with just a bit of cash.

Anyway, once the hats came off, the erm dancing begins and thus begins two minutes of the strangest product launch you have ever seen. If you doubt us, just click play.

That seen, one really has to wonder if Mini owners of old are rolling in their graves. Of course, if you think they are bad off, BMW has just announced front-wheel drive for their low-end cars, so perhaps at the next product launch we’ll see a BMW-branded car covered in a Bavarian flag with some dancers clogging to Das Deutschlandlied.

If you haven’t been out driving in Germany, particularly on the famous Autobahns, you really need to go. Rent a fast car and map out every last road in Germany without a speed limit.

But unlike America, the Germans take the driving laws seriously. Passing on the right or staying in the left most lanes (they are strictly passing lanes) will get you a fine, as will having a car in less than excellent driving condition. Road rage is also a big “no-no”.

Germany is great too, because they do allow you to use (temporarily) your American driving license. Trouble is that the petrol is expensive and some of the road signs can be challenging. But fortunately, Beyond the KM has been trolling the internet and found the solution:

Meet: Getting Around Germany

Check it out and when you find yourself blazing down the Autobahn and 300 KM/hour in that Porsche 911, you’ll thank us.

Speed:Sport:Life has a great article this week on a new Audi S5.

Why is this the link of the week? Because the author has just purchased a bright GREEN Audi S5. Unusual yes, but tasteful? You be the judge!