How the driver survived this Pontiac being launching into the air and into a bridge is a bit of a mystery…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11078575
Hyundai's Equus and VW's Phaeton
If we had a dollar for every customer that had a negative dealership experience, we’d have retired ages ago, example story a la the Chicago Tribune. Anecdotally, auto OEMs would be wise to put great amounts of resources into improving the dealer-customer relationship. The U.S. market is still in credit crisis recovery mode. The rich-poor gap in the country continues to increase. Status quo of the 2000s is no longer tenable and we are paying the price in the industry.
One such change recently proposed by Hyundai is the way in which its dealers interact with customers. Beginning with its new flagship Equus car, Hyundai will have sales specialists show the US$50,000-US$60,000 base price car to potential customers. One has to admit that a car company selling US$60,000 sedans requires more than a little imagination and polish to also sell US$10,000 hatchbacks, and vice versa. The real question is can the new experience lead Hyundai to sales that eclipse the BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, and Mercedes brands. Hyundai claims they wish to achieve a modest 3,000 sales per year. Less clear is how Hyundai’s brand image will convince well-to-do, discerning Bimmer and Benz drivers to toss their keys into the wind and have a go with the Hyundai brand.
Source: http://www.leftlanenews.com/hyundai-equus.html
Though Ford is very much an American car company, they have done a few things right over the years, in particular was the launch of their European-design models the Ford GT40 and the RS500 series. Ford reintroduced the GT a few years ago, and they are back to making more “economical” hot hatches with the RS500. The options list is sparse, but it does offer to launch the driver to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds.
At the end of the day though, it begs the question, “why isn’t this car made in the US for the American market?” Wake up Ford, and smell the petrol!
No comment needed.
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…
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!
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