What a great video from 1964; made by Ford explaining some of their recent concepts and ideas; including the pretty futuristic and influential (at the time) Ford Cougar II.
Category Archives: business
Today i may be driving one of the worst ‘cars’ i’ve ever driven…
I had a minor accident last week in the A3, when a Civic Si hit me in traffic. It was his fault, however it is my nuisance! Now the A3 has gone into the shop for fixing, and the rental company didn’t have any small cars. What have they given me? a simply HUGE Dodge Grand Caravan.
I feel as if i am driving an apartment, or a restaurant….or some sort of large physical structure. Could it be a department store? or a school? My new identity while driving this is a sudden urge to transport many people. Earlier I saw an elderly woman standing by the road waiting for a bus, i felt like I WAS THE BUS—–but I am not. I had to overcome great impulse to NOT stop for her.
My bigger question is though; how in the world do people drive these!?!? Terribly built, awful to drive, way too large, completely unstylish, enough headroom for someone who is 11 foot 7 inches tall. Unless one has 15 children and a wife that is over 10 feet tall, how does someone with 2 children justify this sort of inhumane exercise in engineering!? The driving experience can only be described as ‘paralytic’.
It is cheap though…i just looked up pricing and it starts at around $21k. If there was a ratio of price:curb weight this will surely reach the top of the rankings. As enthusiasts, I often hear the term “that’s a lot of car for the money”…..well in this case, this is “a lot of car for the money”——but not in a good way; solely in physicial size and weight! Family people….buy a station wagon….a hatchback…..or for god’s sake even an SUV….buy 2 of them if you cannot fit all of your children in 1; just don’t buy this. Isn’t this what Fiat is introducing as Lancia in Europe?? RIP Lancia.
I can’t even park it properly. Here’s hoping they get me a Jetta or a Focus as i’ve requested!
The end of Lola?
It seems as if Lola is entering the early phases of going out of business. You should have produced the Lola T70 as a production supercar! There is still time.
from Octane:
‘It is with enormous regret that a decision has been taken to issue Notices of intention to appoint an Administrator to Lola Cars International Limited and Lola Composites Limited. This step allows the board to continue its discussions with possible investors and prospective purchasers with a view to securing the best outcome for the staff, creditors and customers of both businesses.’
(foto via C&D)
video of the day. Electric E30 and snow.
Well right after posting the Rimac Concept One debut below——was looking into the company to find more about their BMW E30 “testbed” and found this great video—-with the CEO Mate Rimac driving his E30 Electric in the snow to see how the Electric motor holds up in arctic climates. I see signs for Zagreb, so I’m going to assume this is in Croatia!
Rimac Concept One.
As I mentioned before, there are some very interesting sports car concepts coming around lately using electric drivetrains and future technologies—-I was admittedly sort of blown away when I saw pics of the Rimac Concept One. I’d been aware of this company’s existence for a while, as I recall reading them testing their technologies on an E30 BMW for a while prior to actually venturing into building a car. Now they’ve built a car….and just look at it! The design reminds me of a modern-day DeTomaso resurrection for some reason—but the technology is all future. By design standards, I think this is gloriously proportioned. Yes the use of carbon fibre on the side panels is all a bit hippy-dippy-car-guy-cliche; but when it comes to supercars (or supercar-like cars), it’s difficult on where to draw the line between CF actually being functional and whether it’s there more for gimmick (i’m going to guess the 2nd option is more than likely on most supercars, even).
So how does Rimac going about selling their idea? With this bold and slightly overconfident statement of intent:
“Even primitive (DC) electric motors can outperform any combustion engine in almost all fields. Efficiency, extremely fast response, wide power band, compact size, regenerative braking, high torque… Those are just some advantages of our new permanent magnet synchronous motor generation which we developed exclusively for the Concept_One.
Our unique powertrain is divided into four sub-systems, each consisting of one motor, inverter and reduction gearbox. Each of those systems drives one wheel, completely independent one from the other. Sophisticated ECUs control each of those systems using the input of many precise sensors placed all over the car. This architecture allows a new approach to vehicle dynamics. We call it – All Wheel Torque Vectoring (AWTV).
Each wheel can independently accelerate or decelerate hundreds of times per second, helping to achieve the desired (driver selectable) handling. Together with the very low center of gravity, extremely high torque available almost from zero RPM and the lack of shift interruptions, the Concept_One delivers a completely new driving experience.”
All I know is that it looks pretty great….remains to be seen if the car actually lives up to such great claims. Oh, and I forgot to mention—–they say it has 1088hp. *gasp*
Oh, and here are some videos. It lives:
src: Rimac
Autodromo launches Chronographs!
Let me just say that i’ve really gotten into watches in the last 6 months; and much of this blame goes to Mr. Bradley Price, a great friend and a full-on fellow automobile enthusiast who launched his line of Autodromo watches last autumn to my standing ovation. As I type this post, I am wearing my black Autodromo Veloce with pride.
I can’t say enough good things about my Veloce. It feels great on the wrist, looks magnificent in any setting, and is built with quality I quite frankly never see in a watch of this price range. Sapphire coated glass, beautiful perforated black leather strap, total attention to detail, and hell it even came with an aluminium chassis card engraved with my watch number! How many watch companies include a chassis number with a watch!?
Autodromo is now introducing two new Chronographs based on the successful Vallelunga line. There is industrial prowess in these designs, and when he says the goal is to incorporate vintage and minimalist design ethos, he isn’t kidding. I think if there were two words which described these watches perfectly it would be vintage and minimalist.
As motoring enthusiasts, we often search for objects which are inspired by motoring, however in an artful, graceful, and gentlemanly way. Autodromo watches are functionally and artistically inspired by motoring; and those of us who understand the art of gauges and dashboards can appreciate this on first glance.
Oh and just look at the press release photos. No further words are needed. $550 for the Chronograph, and for precision control of your time while motoring.
Take a right turn over to the Autodromo website for more information:
Return of ALPINE: Friday May 25th as the “Zar” concept
UPDATE! Apparently the neu Alpine will be unveiled as the “Zar” concept. (thank you GentlemanScooper)
According to the excellent and interesting Renaud Roubaudi, the details are that Renault will debut a NEW Alpine 2 days before the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix! Details as follows:
(translated from french)
“I confirm that the new Alpine Renault will be officially unveiled in Monaco Friday, May 25, the surrounding of 13h30/14 h and a World Champion Formula 1. After doing some laps on the circuit, the Alpine will park in front of the barge moored in the Red Bull Monaco harbor which will be held the press conference. Carlos Tavares, Executive Vice President of Operations for Renault, Laurens van den Acker, Design Director of Renault and Alain Prost, Renault Ambassador , will present all three. And POA that will immortalize this memorable day on video …”
2 days before that update, Renaud Roubadi also posted this:
“New Renault Alpine to be unveiled as a concept Monaco Friday, May 25, two days before the Grand Prix Formula 1.Renault officially announces the presentation of an iconic car turns 50, but make no mistake, this is the Alpine 2012 which made a big comeback. We also learn in the press release it develops 400 hp and it will do some laps. Nice publicity stunt for global fallout this revival. We expect everyone to discover the beautiful design. Neo retro or new style? ”
400hp? that sounds weird. It better NOT be a GT-R or a 370z rebadged.
Is it true? I hope so and i hope not. I’m scared to see what Renault have planned for this ‘resurrection’…..my info has suggested it will be a lightweight sports car, possibly electric or gas/electric hybrid. All i know is that if it is a 370z with new badges, there is an 80% chance I will have a seizure from disappointment. Either way, a debut in Monaco sounds like a pretty flashy debut for a new Alpine, but with the A110’s grand history of Monte Carlo rally—-it seems somewhat suitable I must say!
Electric future: 2 cars that show it won’t be so bad.
No, the 2 reasons are NOT the Nissan Leaf or the Chevy Volt. However, that thought has made me laugh just slightly! Electric cars which actually work and have some enthusiasm are coming, it won’t be long—-but it’s not quite yet! I can’t even take the Tesla serious enough to comment on it, considering it’s sketchy company and even sketchier reliability. Fisker designs excite me, but the company is going under fast..so where does that leave us? With the germans of course!
I would like to think that the future will bring us totally NEW ideas within automobiles, and while we may miss the rumble of a V8 or the roar of an inline-5—-i think automobile enthusiasts should be excited about prospects of digital sounding electric cars burning around a track. We may think these ideas are far away—-but they are not. It will start in racing, and trickle down to reality.
We are currently sounded by a lot of street car junk….cars like the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius which have ZERO emphasis on driving characteristics and all emphasis on pseudo socio-political activism and trendiness. They are not solutions, however they’ve been advertised as such.
At Petit Le Mans, I heard race cars quiet enough to only give off the sound of wind….the future is coming!
I think the BMW i8 really is the future. So maybe it’s ahead of its time and nobody realises it yet. The Audi R8 e-Tron, on the other hand is based off the current R8 and looks pretty great as we’d expect. BMW are taking bigger risks here I reckon…and secretly i’m hoping they produce something fantastic (and i hope they change their Apple-hommage name of “i” to something more BMW-ish). There will always be enthusiast sports cars, no matter what future technology brings. Instead of resisting the inevitable, I think we are better off embracing the future while we appreciate the past. I find myself VERY excited about these cars, but particularly about the i8 which really might be the beginning of something very special. I will keep my eyes peeled.
I love the sounds they are working with…
Etiqueta Negra: best decorated men’s stores in the world.
Although it seems a couple of these cars may be replicas (thanks Bradley) , it is still hard to ignore how excellent these cars look sitting in a store front! Argentina-based Etiqueta Negra carefully place epic cars such as a Bugatti Type 35b and the Alfa Romeo 8c Tipo (these 2 are replicas, as per article above) into their store fronts, amidst some pretty nice clothing as well!
I’m going to have to visit the Soho NYC location when I get the chance, but meanwhile here are some choice photos of some of their storefronts; worthwhile to remember that these are all in different stores across the US, Honduras, and Argentina.
Which cars shown are real and which are not? Well i think the Bugatti and the Alfa are reps….but the rest are real?
video of the day: Peugeot history.
Believe it or not, this video is Top Gear from 1989. Pretty nice video summarizing the history of the french carmaker, Peugeot.
VW EA41 and the Porsche 555.
It’s 1952, and Volkswagen is doing all sorts of projects trying to figure out a replacement for the VW Beetle. Mysteriously they had a design study done by Pininfarina, entitled the “EA41”. It sure looks a helluva lot like the Lancia Aurelia B20 Coupe from the rear end, but there is a Beetle hiding under there somewhere. I’m not sure if this car was from scratch or not, but i’m guessing this was merely a design study for which Pininfarina was hired to propose.
Lancia Aurelia B20 Coupe, also designed by Pininfarina around that time:
So as VW was searching for a viable alternative, they also happened to do a bunch of different design studies of a rear-engined new alternative……what did Porsche come up with? the Porsche 555!!
and this! the only photo i’ve been able to find of an actual Porsche 555 that was made….looks fantastic and I must admit I am very intrigued. I am also, however, bothered by the lack of information about the car—-but obviously as this was only a design/concept study it likely disappeared like most ideas did back then!
Porsche 555
eventually influencing the Porsche 356 “notchback” Coupe:
srcs: Rastall (excellent page), curbsideclassic, smcars
video(s) of the day. 928 promo.
This is such a great ‘period’ documentary/commercial issued by Porsche about their new 928. Obviously Porsche had grand hopes regarding the 928 when it was launched, and was touted within the company as the successor to the Porsche 911—–obviously we all know how that turned out!
That’s not to say that the 928 was not successful—-because it was successful as a front-engined sports car. I have to say as a kid, i think i loved the 928 more than i loved the 911 of that era (early 80s). The 928 had the most wicked rear end, and had a lot of presence on the road—-whereas the early 80s 911 had big bumpers and looked sort of like a cartoon. Fast forward to 2012, I think the 911 of that era has aged quite well (maybe because it is timeless?) whereas the 928 looks like it is trapped in the time of that era.
Either way—–enjoy this video presented in 4 parts. It has nice features, including lots of people with moustaches and/or mullet-y hair!
Fisker Atlantic.
Let me be honest in that quite frankly I was blown away the first time I saw photos of the Fisker Atlantic; Unfortunately IEDEI was not able to cover the NY Auto Show this year due to work schedule (yes, i also have a proper job!).
I had already been ‘warming’ to the idea of the Fisker Karma over the past few months, even though supposedly the cars are unreliable and that the company is having financial issues…..oh well!
I really dislike Tesla, however I find myself fond of Fisker. Why? It’s not JUST because they use extensive Alcantara in their interior….but it’s because Fisker actually DESIGNS their cars rather than puts out a regurgitated Lotus Elise. The Karma, whatever your final thoughts are, is a pretty fascinating car to look at…..swoopy, long, with lots of presence.
The Karma is expensive….the Atlantic though—-well they are targeting the $45k to $55k range! If this car makes it to production for that price, it will surely be THE best looking sedan out there. I’m not crazy about the front end styling, but the proportions, side profile, rear, and roofline are just beautiful.
So……is the Atlantic the car that gets me interested in electric cars? Yes it just may be…..this or the upcoming Audi e-tron range….either way, it just might be possible eventually someone will start building an electric car with some passion, soul, and style——i’m hoping the Fisker Atlantic is the first one to really get the ball rolling…..
So Fisker…..Give me one to drive so I can see for myself.
Here’s the video from the premiere of the car at the NY Auto Show:
src: Fisker
foto of the day. IEDEI business cards.
Now I just have to find people to give them to!
Butzi, 1935-2012
Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and father of the Porsche 911—died today. RIP, sir.
Pal-V: Sir, your flying car has arrived.
Yes I want one. I wonder what my 3 hours a day of commuting through NYC would look like with this bad boy! Just don’t put any large trees in my way, alright Winston?
This thing is going to go into production—-well at least that’s what they say in the video below:
X-Ray Analysis: BMW Design.
I want to like new BMWs….i really do….I think they drive fair enough, however I just find they aren’t very interesting as an actual product (packaging, aesthetics, imagination, image, etc…).
The last BMW I appreciated was the derided last generation E81/82 1-Series, which plenty of people disliked—–However which I happened to like. It reminded me of old-school coupes like the NSU TT. Compact, stubby, and slightly ugly—-all of which gave it character. Nothing prepared us though for the horror which came when its updated F20 version came along. Let’s be clear—-the F20 is not a ‘brand new’ car….it is basically a reworking of the previous generation 1-series to tide things over until the next proper FWD 1-series comes along. The F20 is properly ugly, has lost any ‘retro’ character, and instead created an awkard design which seems almost NON-BMW. What happened here?!
Publicity photos provide all sorts of photoshopping BS and fluff without the essence of the car. So i’ve started “x-raying’ photos to analyze design. It serves me well.
E82 1-series hatchback
– stubby
F20 1-series hatchback:
– ugly!
So do these changes only affect the 1-series?? NO! The 3-series has been given the same awkward changes.
E90 Sedan:
F30 Sedan:
Now, I was never really a fan of the outgoing 3-series….i thought it was totally boring. Then again, most cars in that class are sort of meant to be boring—–however I think the majority of visually able beings will easily state that based on this x-ray image, there really is no comparison that even the boring outgoing E90 Sedan is a far nicer design than the messy, awkward friendly F30 Sedan. Do you agree? I do….oh wait, i wrote the opinion in the first place!
I can honestly say……bring Chris Bangle back, BMW!
Detroit Auto Show: vintage photo archives
Before the days of saturated bloggers filling up the press days of modern Auto Shows, we often forget that only serious journalists were really taking photos and writing up the major international auto shows. Before digital cameras, blogging, websites, etc—–these photos were mainly issued in newspapers and magazines, and hence we don’t see a lot of vintage auto show photos.
Car & Driver have posted a huge archive of Detroit Auto Show photos and they really are fantastic. They range through many years, and show how cars were displayed in a different time! Very cool. Make sure you check out the link at the bottom to look through the entire archive they have up on their site:
1926
1966
1932
1978
1975
1967
1985
1967
1965
check out the archive here: Car & Driver
An electric bicycle I could love: Cycleton One
I’m not into bicycles—-i was when i was 10, however they don’t capture my imagination or make me want to really get into them. This might partly be due to the fact that people in NYC ride the worst bicycles in the world—at least the peeps in Brooklyn do. Since when did buying an overpriced rubbish ‘vintage’ fixed speed bicycle actually become something to be proud of? You are replicating 1970s China and India….even those countries have moved on…well, sort of.
This, though, is an electric Bicycle I could love! Cycleton One, which is an actual concept bicycle created by Daniel Yorba, an industrial designer. This is still a work-in-progress, but a very imaginative and beautiful design in my opinion. Honestly….if a bicycle like this was produced for a ‘reasonable’ amount of money, you’d probably find me in line for one. I’m not too overwhelmed by the carbon fibre, however i suppose in this situation it would create lightness and strength; so i forgive the maker!
oh and he’s also designed a concept helmet:
src: danielYorba via stipistop
IEDEI 
