Scarsdale Concours d’ Elegance: Morgan Aeromax
Posted: December 10, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 2012, Aeromax, Concours d' Elegance, Mind over motor, Morgan, NY, Scarsdale, spotted, US 3 Comments »
To my knowledge this car is not officially imported into the United States, so seeing one in person here was a real treat. Morgans are extremely cool cars, and I think the Aeromax is their best design yet. It has a unique mix of nostalgic appeal and modern design. Like many of the 1930′s Art Deco Era cars, the Aeromax’s swooping lines make it seem like it is going 100mph even when it’s sitting still. Unfortunately, the owner of this car was a typical rich jerk, and the first thing he told me about the car was how much he paid for it and then how he had scammed his way out of paying taxes on it….. great guy. Needless to say, taxes on a $150,000 car are a decent bit of money, but if you can afford to spend that much on a car, then not paying your taxes on it just makes you a deadbeat low-life. Too bad, because I really loved this car, and it would be nice to see it in the hands of a more worthy human being. Either way, owner aside, the Aeromax looks stunning in these photos, so enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »
Alfa Romeos from Europe: Can America please have Alfa back….PLEASE?!!
Posted: October 2, 2012 Filed under: SPOTTED! | Tags: Alfa, Brera, Europe, Giulietta, GT, Mind, MiTo, motor, Over, Romeo, RZ, Spider, spotted, US Leave a comment »
While over in Europe this summer, each day was made a little brighter by the fact that I got to see Alfa Romeos everywhere I went. Alfa Romeo hasn’t been in the US for quite some time now, so seeing all of the modern Alfas was a real treat for me. I particularly loved the Giulietta (shown above), but all of them are basically akin to rolling sculptures. The Italians really know how to style a car. I have heard varied things about the way many new Aflas drive, but as a spectator I was smitten with them. I am hoping and praying that the rumors of Alfas return to the States are true, because I could easily see something like a Giulietta in my driveway as a daily driver. Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Mercedes MLC? Tread lightly, Mercedes-Benz.
Posted: September 9, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: Benz, BMW, CUV, Germany, Industry Talk, Mercedes, Mind over motor, Rumor, SAV, SUV, Upcoming, US, X6 4 Comments »
Mercedes-Benz, long a leader in making new segments and forcing others to follow its lead, has changed course with one of upcoming model. Very recently, Mercedes-Benz North America announced the expanstion of one particular USA plant, for the production of the upcoming MLC, which has already been rumored to be a competitor to the already-on-sale BMW X6, a car that hasn’t exactly set the automotive world on fire. Read the rest of this entry »
Pagani denied by US over child hating airbags
Posted: August 10, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: airbag, Crash, Delayed, denied, government, homologation, Horacio, Huayra, legal, Mind, Mind over motor, motor, Over, Pagani, passenger, rejected, sensing, US, weight, Zonda Leave a comment »
Horacio Pagani and his creation, the Huayra
I am kind of heated over this. Pagani has done so much work to make the Huayra US legal, and has even put airbags in it for goodness sake. However, because these airbags are not “passenger weight sensing” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has denied the car for road use in our country. Keep in mind this is a seven figure hypercar of which only a small handful are made per year. Pagani says between 6 and 12 Huayras would have been sold to American customers per year. This is not some huge production car that will affect many people at all, and exceptions have been granted for other such “special case” cars; one of which being the Tesla Roadster which has already sold more units than the amount of Paganis in existence. Clearly if they can make an exception for Tesla then is just plain hypocritical of them not to grant a much smaller company a pass as well.
