Today was the first day of Spring, and the weather, while still a bit chilly by most standards, was nice enough to take my MX5 Miata out for some roofless fun. I met up with my friend Dan, whose photos have been featured on this site many times, and we went for a nice long drive, two Miatas tearing hard through the woods. This was one of those days where you just forget everything else in your life, and enjoy cruising along. For me, such cruising is like a form of meditation, very in the moment, and focused on enjoying the little things in life. An MX5 allows you to enjoy the world even more, because with the top down you are truly outside, connected with your surroundings. Toward the end of the drive I had a huge grin on my face, and I got to thinking about exactly what it is that makes this car so great, for so many people. Continue reading Mazda MX5 Miata, the enthusiast’s Ace in the hole→
Another great car that the rest of the world gets to enjoy while America does not. The Ford Focus RS is the hottest hatch Ford makes, with a massive 300hp and 324ft/lbs of torque going to its front wheels. While I definitely think this car would have been much better if it had been all wheel drive, there is no denying that once the front wheels do stop spinning, it will take off like a bandit. Supposedly, Ford will be bringing the next Focus RS Stateside in 2015, but for now the RS is still a privilege the rest of the world gets to enjoy. I saw a few of them during my trip to Europe last year, but this is the only decent shot of one that I was able to get. I like the blue on this car a lot. It’s a tad more subdued than the RS’s famous bright green. Enjoy.
The Caribbean was Packard’s halo car back in the day, and this stunning example was present for the recent Festivals Of Speed event on Amelia Island. This 1956 Caribbean Convertible was very high-end, costing more than the equivalent Cadillac. Unfortunately, this was also one of the last Packard Carribeans to be made because the company was going bust, and 1956 was the last year of production for this car. During that year just 276 Caribbean Convertibles were produced, making this quite a rare car. I cannot get enough of the tri-tone color scheme. The hot pink between the white and black really sets the car off. The interior details also are quite immaculate, with an interesting pattern on the dash. It is a beautiful car all around.
Seeing this Caribbean up close made me really wish that our modern American cars still had this sort of style. Just look at all that chrome trim, so much style for style sake. I know we can’t build cars exactly like this anymore, but things have gotten far too boring. If memory serves me correctly, I don’t even think there is a single American car that you can still factory order with a two tone color scheme, let alone something like this Caribbean. There is no reason for our cars to have lost their sense of style, so while looking through these photos, just think about then versus now. Our car industry has lost all of its flavor, and we need to demand it back. I would love to see the Packard name re-emerge too, but now I’m really just hoping blindly. Enjoy the pics. Continue reading Festivals Of Speed: 1956 Packard Caribbean Convertible→
Cadillac will be releasing the next generation CTS at the upcoming New York International Auto Show, but the big news is under that car’s hood. With the CTS Cadillac is finally jumping on board with their European competitors, and offering a strong turbocharged power plant. Specifically, Cadillac has strapped two turbochargers to their 3.6L V6 to make an engine that will compete with many of the European twin turbo V8s.
This new 3.6T is extremely important because it will make its way into all of Cadillac’s current cars. As of now, Cadillac has said it will be in the top-line CTS model, but below the V, which will still have a V8. The new 3.6T (slightly detuned) will also make it into the XTS, a car which I had criticized for having the wrong engine. The change to the 3.6T could make all the difference in the XTS, giving it a more relaxed, more powerful nature that is proper for a big luxury car. Also, heavy in the rumor mill, and all but officially confirmed, is the implementation of this new 3.6T in the upcoming ATS-V.
On our way into the Concours event on Sunday, we came across this fantastic looking Brooklands sitting all alone in a bank parking lot. There is something special about seeing a car worth more money than most homes just sitting all alone in the real world, covered in morning dew like it were any other object. The Brooklands is a Bentley among Bentleys, the flagship model from 2008-2011, and just 550 examples in existence. Its 6.75L V8 packs 530hp, and a mighty 773ft/lbs of torque. This particular car was immaculately appointed, with a two tone, black and gray, color scheme, a red leather interior, and a red pinstripe along the side.
This is a very Bilderberg type of car, the sort that makes back door arrangements with other big-wigs, and pretends to adopt orphans for fun, just to see the desperate looks on their faces as they drive away without them at the last second. If the “Top 1%” had a team mascot, the Brooklands could certainly be it. The Continental GT is surely the Bentley for sensible money, whereas the Brooklands is for the “just because I can” types. So, if you are seeing this, and you are sad because you don’t have a Brooklands, just take solace in knowing that at least everyone won’t automatically hate you at first sight.
That said, I do love this car, just not the stigma that comes with it. It is the ultimate in “baller status”, which is both a good and bad thing. Enjoy the pics.
What is this, a bright blue…. Jaguar?! Everyone, meet the XFR-S, a different sort of Jag. One that throws away the high society manners in favor of a bottle of scotch, and a line of coke.
It was only around four months ago that Jaguar released the XFR-S at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. However, during my recent trip to Amelia Island, they had them available for test drives. When I asked about video taping my drive the Jaguar representatives told me they couldn’t allow it because the press has not yet driven the XFR-S. After hearing this I made sure to keep my affiliation with this publication to myself, pretending just to be another young guy looking for a joy ride. I guess you could say that this is as much of a scoop as we have yet gotten, and my experience in the XFR-S, while fairly short, yielded some interesting impressions.
I was left feeling a little mediocre when I reviewed the standard Jaguar XFR a few months ago. It had many great qualities, but it sat in an awkward place in the market, priced a little below the BMW M5 and Mercedes E63, yet still far above the bargain Cadillac CTS-V. It was also a little sub par in terms of comparative power and performance.
The XFR-S seems to have changed things up, though. It now matches its competitors in outright performance, and seems to have turned everything that was good about the XFR up to eleven. Sure, at a base price of $99,000, its MSRP is a bit more than that of an M5 or E63, but it is also an extremely limited production vehicle, with a run that will amount to just 300 units total (100 for the US). The overall feeling I came away with was that by turning the XFR into the XFR-S, Jaguar has made a car that is truly worth spending your hard earned money on. In the past I had said that the R-S badge was a bit of a gimmick on the XKR-S, over the standard XKR, but it seems the story for the XF models is different. The XFR-S sits in the context of the super saloon segment, which is very different from where the XKs are placed in the grand touring segment. This change of context makes a big difference for the R-S badge.
We had a request for some classic Mustangs, so I went through my photos from the Woodward Dream Cruise and found some. There wer many beautiful Mustangs running around during the event, but I tended to focus more on the Shelbys. The cars here range from original 60’s models to the GT500 Eleanor, which was created for the film Gone in 60 Seconds. Enjoy.
The BMW 3.0 CSL is always a special car to see in person, but at last weekend’s Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance, they had one of the Art Cars on display. This one was created by Frank Stella. It was the second of the BMW Art Cars, as well as the final 3.0 CSL Art Car. The car was roped off in its tent, so these were the best angles I could get, but I think the shots do the car enough justice. Enjoy.
We have a new contributor here on Mind Over Motor, Brad Credit. He is a young, very enthusiastic car nut, with demonstrated knowledge of the automotive field. He describes himself as
” a budding, 15-year-old journalist who currently resides in Washington, D.C. An author for his school’s award-winning newspaper, I have my eyes on one day becoming a car journalist and have been a car enthusiast from the day I was born. A serious motorsports fan, I am a vocal supporter for the likes of Jeff Gordon and Lewis Hamilton and basically love anything with four wheels, an engine, and a steering wheel. You can usually find me with my nose buried deep in a car magazine or book, expanding my knowledge on all things cars.”
I’m sure Brad will fit in fine here, he passed the car guy test for sure when I asked him what his favorite car was, and he replied “1970s BMW 3.0 CSL” (seen above). Lets all give him a nice warm welcome. His first post will be up soon.
Ok, so yes, the name is a little weird, but it’s better than it being named after a Ford pickup truck. The basic details are 963hp, 600 ft/lbs of torqe, around 2900lbs, 0-60 in under 3 sec, and a top speed of 205mph. So it seems all of the same people who criticized the Mclaren for being “slow” will probably hate this because “The Veyron is faster, maaaaan”. For those of us who actually can appreciate real things about cars, we can all revel in the fact that the LaFerrari has taken a hefty 5 seconds off of the Enzo’s lap time at the Fiorano test track. I can’t wait to see, and hear, more about this car, but it definitely seems mighty impressive. Way to go Ferrari!
For those of you unfamiliar with the GTD, it is quite literally a diesel version of the GTI. VW has recently been gauging potential demand for the car in the US, and has just announced, at the Geneva Motor Show, that the GTD will indeed make it to US shores.
You can see the tested specs in the video below, but in a nutshell the GTD will handle the same as a GTI, while trading a little straight line speed for around 30% better fuel economy. Going by EPA numbers for the GTI, that means MPG in the neighborhood of 31 city and 43 mpg highway, with an average around 37mpg… in theory at least. I don’t know about any of you, but I would definitely be willing to make that compromise, especially considering that the handling would still be phenomenal. The GTD isn’t exactly slow either, with 170hp and 258 ft/lbs of torque. It will lag a little from a GTI, but passing and merging will still be easy for it.
I do have a car purchase coming up in the next few months, and this GTD looks mighty appealing. Fun, economical, and supposedly pretty comfortable, what’s not to love? No word exactly on when it will hit showrooms, but I can say that I will probably wait until GTD pricing is announced before I make a decision. If VW is smart, they will price it to start around $22-23k in an effort to steal sales from Ford’s Fiesta ST, Chevy’s Sonic RS, and Hyundai’s Veloster Turbo. To anyone else who is starting to look around, it may be worth waiting out.
Motor Trend recently got their hands on a GTD, and they did well to show the car’s appeal.
Evo Magazine gets the inside scoop on the new Porsche 991 GT3 at the Geneva Motor Show ahead of the car’s official debut. They asked all the right questions, pertaining to Porsche’s decision to the new GT3 PDK only, and other aspects that will affect how the car drives. The answers to all of the questions were pretty convincing, and I now have some high hopes for the new GT3 to be a fantastic, new age driver’s car.
Mind Over Motor 