Badge Engineering: How one got it right, and one got it utterly wrong.
Posted: December 6, 2012 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: Automotive Insights, Bad Ideas, Badge Engineering, Cadillac Seville, Cimarron, design, Ford, General Motors, Good Ideas, Honda, Japan, Lincoln Versailles, Luxury, Mind over motor, USA 3 Comments »
The Cimarron, by Cadillac. A.K.A. The Cavalier, by Chevrolet.
Back in the 1970s, Cadillac and Lincoln were facing an onslaught of luxury imports. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar were all moving in on their sales and they needed to adapt to the newbies, which were just as luxurious (if not more) for a decent price, with better economy and reliability. Both brands went to the drawing board, and within two years of each other debuted a new, smaller model which was designed to give an owner the same experience as the bigger cars, but with a nod to better economy and practicality. Read the rest of this entry »
Motor Trend: Lexus LFA and Acura NSX Head 2 Head
Posted: August 1, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 2, Acura, Comparison, Head, Honda, Lexus, LFA, Mind, motor, NSX, Over, sound, Tec, to, Trend, V, V10, V6, video, VTEC 1 Comment »Some great insights and some truly epic sounds. Awesome video, enjoy.
-Nick
6th Annual Tristatetuners Spring Meet
Posted: May 14, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 240, 6th, annual, Audi, BMW, Cars, gallery, Honda, Infiniti, Mazda, meet, Mercedes, Mind, Modified, motor, Nissan, Over, Silvia, Skyline, Spring, Subaru, Supercharger, supra, TE37, Toyota, Tristatetuners, turbo, Volk, VW Leave a comment »
We we in attendance for the 6th Annual Tristatetuners Spring Meet in Pennsylvania. Here are the highlights.
Street Wars 8
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES, Photography by Dan Valanzola | Tags: 302, 350Z, 4G63, 8, AC, accord, airbrush, AMG, Art, Atlantic, Ball, Boss, C63, Camaro, Chevrolet, city, clean, Dan, drag, Dragon, euro, Evo, evolution, FD, Ford, GC, Genesis, Geo, GTI, GTR, Hatch, Honda, Hot Rod, Hyundai, import, Impreza, intake, Integra, Jersey, Lancer, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Miata, Mind, Mitsubishi, Modded, Modified, Monster, motor, Muscle, Mustang, new, Nick, Nissan, NJ, Over, Photography, race, racer, Rotary, RX7, slam, slammed, slicks, Stance, STi, Street, Subaru, Supercharge, Track, Truck, tuned, tuner, turbo, Valanzola, VIP, VW, Wagon, Walker, Wars, WRX, Z 1 Comment »
Photo by Dan Valanzola
We were in attendance for Street Wars 8. The show was a lot smaller than last year due to organizational issues, but there were still plenty of quality cars to see. Photos are by both myself and Dan Valanzola. Enjoy the gallery. Read the rest of this entry »
3 years on, are the Japanese still lost in the dark?
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: MEDIA RESPONSE | Tags: Baruth, Big Three, GT86, Honda, Jack Baruth, Japan, Media Response, Mind over motor, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Profit, Reputation, Sports, Subaru, The Truth about Cars, Thoughts, Toyota Leave a comment »
Back in the Eighties, Toyota was making stuff like this iconic AE86. Thankfully the GT 86 might bring back the glory of yesteryear, but what about the rest of Japan?
Back in 2009, The Truth About Cars editor Jack Baruth wrote an article on how the Japanese auto industry is losing its heritage to the point where its products are a shell of what they used to be. He talked about how Honda had lost its roots as a maker of cars with flair and engineering excellence, and how Nissan and Toyota were becoming too close to one another on retail lots. He reposted it on their website (thetruthaboutcars.com) and I found it to still be relevant today. But, in these three years, a few things have changed in the market. My question is this: Does Baruth’s argument still hold water, and is there any more evidence to support his side of this debate? I took a look into what the market is like today, and there are arguments for both sides. Read the rest of this entry »
Some thoughts on the past year’s sales.
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 2011, 2012, America, Annual Data, Cars, Chrysler, Ford, Germany, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Industry Talk, Japan, Mind over motor, Sales, Sales Results, Toyota Leave a comment »
Once again, I give you the bestselling vehicle in America--the Ford F-150.
On January 3rd, all the sales results for each major car brand sold in the United States were made public for the month of December, and consequently, the entire previous year. For the most part, 2011 was an excellent year for sales in the auto industry, a big step in the right direction since the turmoil of 2009. There were of course, some nasty issues that clearly affected sales across the board, but this year, only a select few CEOs should really need a drink today. So, let’s take a look at these numbers and see what falls out of the tree. Read the rest of this entry »
Some thoughts on the 2012 North American International Auto Show.
Posted: January 25, 2012 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: BMW, Car Show, Chrysler LLC, Cobo Hall, Concept, Detroit, Ford, GM, Honda, Industry Talk, Michigan, Mind over motor, NAIAS, New Cars, North American International Auto Show, Opinion, Porsche, Toyota, VW Leave a comment »
Chevrolet TRU-140S Concept
Although I was not in the country for this year’s NAIAS, I followed it closely from my phone when I was in Israel for the past two weeks or so. Overall, I have to say there’s a lot to look at this year, and the new model debuts give me hope that 2012 is going to be even more exciting than 2011 was. The market is changing fast, and as I watch everyone attempt to catch up, there are some clear indications that some brands in particular have most of their ducks in a row. Then again, there’s indications that some are definitely struggling to come up with new ideas. I’m going to go through each country, by major manufacturer, and discuss what I think are the best and the worst of this year’s show. Read the rest of this entry »
A look back at 2011
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 1M, 2011, A7, Audi, Aventador, back, Bentley, Benz, BMW, CLS, Evoque, Ferrari, FF, GTR, Happy, Honda, Huayra, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Leaf, look, Mercedes, Mind, motor, new, Nissan, Over, Pagani, Rang, recap, review, Rover, Toyota, Volkswagen, year Leave a comment »
2011 will be remembered as many things by many people, but one thing it will not be seen as is a boring year. So much happened this year around the world, from terrible cataclysms to amazing and inspiring revolutions. Obviously being a car site, we want to focus more on the auto industry, but it would be a great injustice not to first acknowledge the events of this year that have changed the lives of millions of people around the globe. Now as for the auto industry, many great things have happened as well as a few that are not so great. Read the rest of this entry »
As ricers go, this deserves some credit
Posted: October 12, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: body, Bugatti, Civic, Epic, fake, funny, Honda, kit, Mind, motor, Over, Ricer, Veyron Leave a comment »
The new Bugatti Civic
I’m not really a fan of ricers or fake kit cars, but for some reason I have to give this credit. Its really well done, and I find it hysterical.
-Nick
Stagnant products, not lack of demand
Posted: August 30, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 348, 911, 964, Acura, appeal, demand, engine, Esprit, Ferrari, Honda, I4, Inline, lack, Lotus, manual, Mazda, Mind, model, motor, NSX, Over, Porsche, Roadster, Rotary, RX8, S2000, trnasmission, unchanged Leave a comment »
All of these great cars share a common problem.
With the Mazda RX8 being phased out this year for reasons concerning a “lack of demand”, one must wonder what has gone wrong. The RX8 is a car that had some pretty decent sales numbers early on. Its sports car dynamics with a practical twist gave it much appeal for many people. Yet, today, in 2011, the demand has fizzled out, and I expect the reason is similar to two past offerings from Honda that shared a similar fate. Read the rest of this entry »
Road Review: 2009 Acura RDX
Posted: August 16, 2011 Filed under: Road Review, Sports and Executive | Tags: Acura, AWD, Compact SUV, Crossover, CUV, Honda, Honda Engine, K23A1, Lease, Luxury, Premium Luxury, Quick, SH-AWD, SUV, turbo, VTEC Leave a comment »
Acura RDX (Front)
Back in 2009, my dad’s lease on his Honda Pilot was up, and he needed a new car. After driving the GMC Acadia and the new Pilot, he realized how sick he was of the three-row SUVs, as he no longer needed the extra space, and wanted better gas mileage. He drove the little Honda CR-V, and regretted it. Then, he drove a new RDX, and without a second thought, signed some lease papers. I’ve lived with it as my dad’s daily driver for two years now, and he’s never had more respect for a car than this one, so I decided to find out why. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2007 Honda S2000
Posted: August 11, 2011 Filed under: TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: 237, 240, 247, 4, AP1, AP2, Car, Convertible, Drive, F20C, F22C, four, fun, Honda, hp, Inline, JDM, Mind, Mind over motor, motor, Over, Roadster, S2000, Sports, Test Leave a comment »
Honda S2000 (AP2)
When the S2000 came on the scene it was hailed by much of the media as being one of the best affordable sports cars money could buy. Having tried one out, I would have to agree wholeheartedly. The S2000 offers everything you would want from a pure roadster, a lot like a Mazda Miata, but it is a much more serious performance car all around. Honda has a long history of racing and when they decide to really make a proper car, it shows. It is just a shame they don’t make more cars like the S2000, and that they stopped its production altogether in 2009, with no successor yet planned. Read the rest of this entry »
