Spotted! 1946-1953 Indian Chief motorcycle, Woodward Ave, MI
Posted: August 13, 2012 Filed under: Classics, SPOTTED! | Tags: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, Ave, Birmingham, Chief, Indian, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Motorcycle, Oak, original, Over, Royal, Twin, V, vintage, Woodward Leave a comment »
We don’t normally feature bikes, but this one was too good to pass up. I am no expert on Indians, but after some research this appears to be a late ’40s – early ’50s Indian Chief, making it a rare and desirable vintage cruiser. Even though I’m not really that into bikes, as a gear head this Indian’s swooping valences instantly seduced me into taking tons of photos. It is a beautiful machine from a company with a rich but dicy history, something any car lover can surely appreciate. Enjoy the gallery.
Spotted! Audi RS5, C6 RS6, and B5 RS4, Zurich Switzerland
Posted: July 17, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, Modded, SPOTTED! | Tags: 375, 450, 571, all, Audi, B5, C6, Coupe, Drive, German, GMBH, hp, Mind, motor, Over, Quattro, RS, RS4, RS5, RS6, spotted, Switzerland, turbo, Twin, V10, V6, V8, VR6, wheel, Zurich Leave a comment »
Audi RS5
While in Zurich it seemed as if the Swiss did not buy any non-RS Audi models, they were literally everywhere. I know many of our European viewers may find these cars a bit normal, but we don’t get these RS models in America so it was quite a thrill to see them for me. Hopefully Audi will wake up and realize they could sell double the number of RS models if they would just offer the full line of them on the US market. Either way it was cool to finally see the V10 RS6 up close, as well as the RS5, and B5 RS4; epic cars. Enjoy the pics.
BMW M6, a valid point made
Posted: July 10, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS, SHOWCASE | Tags: 2012, 2013, 4500lbs, 552, 560, BMW, Cabriolet, Convertible, Coupe, heavy, hp, Luxury, M6, Mind, motor, Motortrend, Over, power, Trend, turbo, Twin, V8 Leave a comment »This new M6 is the very essence of the trend for modern cars; heavier with more power. BMW has gone a bit too far this time I think because the M6 now weighs 4500lbs, and that is nearly as much as a VW Touareg. This sort of weight is not really what comes to mind when I think of a sports car, and it renders the car’s 560hp far less impressive than it suggests. I am not a fan of this new M6, and I am someone who covets the previous M6 with the V10. A GT car should have some solid weight, but it should not be bordering SUV territory; enough is enough. Carlos hits the nail on the head at (3:27-3:35), saying he can respect it but he doesn’t desire it. That is the problem I see too, and it is one that I see shared by the Bugatti Veyron and other cars like this. Sure companies can engineer a heavy car to perform well on paper, some of the numbers the M6 achieves are staggering (especially considering the weight), but at the end of the day heft is heft when the laws of physics step in. There is an answer somewhere for making cars faster and more efficient, and adding weight like this is not it. Motor Trend hit it on the head in this vid.
-Nick
Spotted! Nissan R34 Skyline GTR V-Spec, Woodward Ave, MI
Posted: July 9, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, Modded, SPOTTED! | Tags: Ave, Avenue, Birmingham, Car, Detroit, DETT, GTR, import, Inline, Japan, legal, MI, Michigan, Mind, motor, Motorex, NISMO, Nissan, Oak, OBD2, Over, R34, Rare, RB26, registration, Royal, six, Skyline, Spec, spotted, Test, turbo, Twin, US, V, wheels, Woodward 4 Comments »
Nissan R34 Skyline GTR
This is a genuine R34 Skyline GTR spotted on US soil. I saw it drive by while I was in Birmingham, and then I was able to find it later on Woodward Ave. It has a legitimate US registration and was imported legally through Motorex while they were still in operation. It has remained a US legal car because it was used as a test car for updating Skylines to OBD2 specifications. This may well be the cleanest R34 Skyline in the United States, certainly the cleanest one I have seen in person. The owner was very cool and happily showed me around the car. It also has only Nismo modifications on it, so this R34 is the equivalent of a numbers matching muscle car for Skylines; very special these days when everyone wants too much horsepower at the expense of all else. It attracted a decent amount of attention, but not as much as I would have figured because most folks around here are all about muscle cars. I was fortunate enough to have some unobstructed photo time with this beautiful R34, so I got some great shots (the fact that it was sunset helped too). Enjoy the pics.
Twin Turbo Aventador……..
Posted: June 9, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: Aventador, Lamborghini, Mind, motor, Over, racing, turbo, Twin, Underground Leave a comment »Underground Racing is claiming 1200+whp from this car. Pretty insane power and speed. Bugatti owners be scared.
-Nick
Drive: A visit to the Koenigsegg factory
Posted: June 5, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: Christian, Drive, factory, JF, Koenigsegg, Mind, motor, Musial, Network, Over, Sweden, Tour, turbo, Twin, V8, Von Leave a comment »JF Musial visits the Koenigsegg factory in Sweden. It is a half hour long, but if you love cars you will make time. It is an incredible video, offering much insight into Koenigsegg.
-Nick
The Pagani Huayra story
Posted: March 10, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: AMG, Art, Documentary, Huayra, Mind, motor, Over, Pagani, passion, Story, supercar, turbo, Twin, V12, video Leave a comment »A documentary showing, yet again, how Pagani is in their own league when it comes to making a car.
-Nick
Secondhand Saint: Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG, S65 AMG, S600 (2003-2006)
Posted: November 30, 2011 Filed under: Secondhand Saints, SHOWCASE | Tags: 493, 500, 600, AMG, bargain, BiTurbo, brabus, cruiser, German, hp, Limo, Luxury, Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, Mind, Mind over motor, motor, Over, Performance, S-Class, S55, S600, S63, S65, Saints, Saloon, secondhand, Secondhand Saint, Sedan, speed, Supercharged, turbo, Twin, V12, V8, W220 Leave a comment »
Mercedes S55 AMG
Ah, Mercedes-Benz. Just the name brings up thoughts of expensive country clubs, upper-class attitudes, and feelings of being in the 1%. Their flagship sedan, the S-Class, has always been a leader in its market since the 1970s, and despite the high entry price, still sells itself better than the competition. The previous-generation W220 was the one that brought this fantastically flashy flagship into the 21st century, and now some of the most powerful ones (namely, those with some sort of forced induction) can be had for a fraction of their original value. For reasons that shall be discussed later, we’re going to focus on the S55 and S600, as the S65 is significantly harder to find even today. Read the rest of this entry »
Maybach: Time to hit the old dusty trail (Nick’s Take)
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 5th, bankrupt, Benz, business, Dead, Discontinued, fail, finished, gear, Limo, Luxury, Maybach, Mercedes, Mind, motor, of, out, Over, Rolls, Royce, turbo, Twin, ultra, V12 Leave a comment »
The Mercedes Maybach in all of it's exuberant glory
I have always been a fan of the Maybach since Mercedes brought the brand back in the early 2000’s. I much preferred it’s sleek design to the over bearing brick that is the Rolls Royce Phantom. I liked the limitless options list, and the fact that the 62’s rear seats could be fully reclined (still the most comfortable car I have been in by far). I also loved that the car was offered in two tone color schemes; something there is not enough of these days. Evidently I am in the minority though, because Mercedes has just announced this week that they will be ceasing Maybach production after the 2013 model year. This news came as an initial shock to me, largely because I like the car so much, but I have given some thought as to why it has failed. Read the rest of this entry »
Twin Turbo 458 Italia vs Lambo Aventador
Posted: October 26, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 1, 458, Aventador, Ferrari, Highway, Italia, kit, Lamborghini, Mind, motor, Over, pull, racing, Stage, turbo, Twin, Underground, vs Leave a comment »Underground Racing’s twin turbo Ferrari Italia up against a stock Lamborghini Aventador. This is a good showing of the difference between wheel horsepower (whp) and brake horsepower (bhp). The Italia is making 700whp, whereas the Aventador’s V12 puts out 700hp before the power makes it’s way through the drivetrain. The difference is pretty evident during the highway pulls they do. You gotta love a company like UR, who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty with the most expensive cars out there. Enjoy!
-Nick
Why does GM think Americans don’t want the best?
Posted: September 9, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 325, all, AWD, bad, Buick, Drive, fail, GM, GS, hp, Idea, Insignia, Market, Mind, motor, Over, problems, Regal, turbo, Twin, V6, Vauxhall, VXR, wheel 2 Comments »
Buick Regal GS
The Buick Regal GS will be coming out soon, and I have to say it is terrible. You see, the Regal is based on the same chassis as the Vauxhall/Opel Insignia in Europe. The problem is that in Europe GM went all out with the VXR version of the Insignia, where as it has been half assed for us here in the states. Read the rest of this entry »
Ferrari 458 Italia…….. TWIN…… TURBO
Posted: August 31, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 1, 458, 700, 700whp, Ferrari, Horsepower, hp, Italia, Mind, Modification, motor, Over, racing, Stage, tuning, turbo, Twin, Underground, UR, video, whp Leave a comment »Underground Racing is an absolute beast of a company, consistently turning out the best forced induction kits for some of the worlds most exotic cars.
-Nick
