Discussion of matters in the automotive industry and in car culture. Our opinions on what is going on, manufacturer’s products, etc
The Mazda Miata is now a hard-top targa, complete with flying buttresses!
Mazda calls it the Miata RF Hard Top Convertible, with RF standing for “Retractable Fastback.” Essentially they looked at the Porsche 911 Targa, thought it was a good idea, and here we are.
But is this really a good idea?
Continue reading 2017 Mazda ND Miata RF, a Skeptical Reaction
The Bugatti Veyron hit the world of supercars over the head with a hammer. In a world where 600hp was still hypercar territory, the Veyron came in with 1,000hp. It was the first road car to crack the 250mph barrier, it was the most expensive car on sale, it had the most radiators… essentially it was the Guiness Book of World Records on four wheels.
Bugatti just released their next-generation hypercar, the Chiron, at the Geneva Motor Show this week, and it’s the exact same recipie as the Veyron. I mean, sure it has 500 more horsepower than the original Veyron had, and sure it looks a little fancier, but it’s really just more of the same ingredients. It’s the same type of car, but is that a good thing, or a bad thing?
Back in the 1970s, disco music ruled America, until “Disco Demoliton Night” at Comiskey Park in Chicago IL put an end to that form of musical impression, in the form of some plastic explosives, a certifably insane radio DJ, and a bunch of drunk, crazed White Sox fans. Alfa Romeo, however, has seen fit to revive the name “Disco” but with a certifiably better product. Last year, the Disco Volante gave us all a good long look at what the company is capable of when Touring gets their hands on the 8C. Continue reading The New Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider – Disco Inferno, in a good way.
The new Porsche 911R just dropped at Geneva, and it’s about as perfect as a modern 911 can be. It’s got the biggest motor, the 493hp 4.0L flat six from the GT3 RS. It’s the lightest 911 model by a fair margin, weighing just over 3,000lbs. But most importantly it succeeds where the 991 GT3 and GT3 RS have failed miserably – IT HAS A MANUAL GEARBOX!
Yes, the 911R immediately became my favorite modern Porsche when it was revealed, and you might expect this article to just go on and on singing its praises. But that’s not why I’m writing this piece. No, as good as perfect as the 911R may be, Porsche has not solved their larger problem yet.
Continue reading Perfect Purist Porsche, The 911R is a big step in the right direction
First impressions. How you make your entrance sets the tone for how you’ll be perceived, as well as the context for every subsequent action.
Well if looks can kill, call me dead and buried because this 2017 Aston Martin DB11 is beyond pretty. When I think of automotive beauty, the first car that pops into my mind is an Aston Martin. They’ve always been beautiful, but somehow Aston has kept upping the ante over the years. Modernity is treating them well.
So when a car’s first impression looks like the DB11, I almost wouldn’t even care if it had a lawnmower engine under the hood. But thankfully, that’s far from the case. The DB11 has a twin turbo 5.2L V12 lurking beneath its lusty lines, and it’s said to be in the neighborhood of 600hp. With that kind of thrust, top speed should easily be north of 200mph, unless the gearing is too short.
Aston Martins have never been all about the numbers, though. They’re way too cool for that. What really matters is the style, the craftsmanship, and the experience of the drive. As a grand tourer, it’s not just a car, it’s a substitute for a plane ticket. Aston Martins are for the type of person who appreciates that the journey is often preferable to the destination.
So I look forward to learning more about the DB11 this week, as the 2016 Geneva Motor Show brings all sorts of excitement to the car world. Everything I’ve heard of this new Aston so far has been great; it may even have the option of a manual gearbox (fingers crossed). Now that we’ve laid eyes on the DB11’s full form, I think we can be confident Aston Martin is on the right track.
-Nick Walker
The Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota GT86 are all basically the same car underneath. A popular fun machine at an affordable price is an appealing thing, and they’ve sold pretty well.
Most car enthusiasts will wind up wanting to modify and upgrade their cars, tailoring its experience for their own personal tastes. There are many ways to go about modifying a Toyobaru 86 variant. This is my own take and advice on the best way to go about modifying the car intelligently and cost-effectively.
Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments…
Continue reading Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota GT86 FA20 Tuning and Modification Guide
At first glance, you might think the Pagani Huayra has gone full racecar. But the Huayra BC is a street legal, leaner and meaner edition, known in Italy as a “superleggera” model. And before we even get into the details, you should know that all 20 Huayra BCs are already sold out, at around $2.6 million a pop.
Naturally the Pagani Huayra BC is spectacular in its execution, as well as in the philosophy behind it. Pagani continues to do things their own way, in a world full of carmakers all jumping on the latest bandwagon. That said, the Huayra BC will surely compete, and likely even win.
Pagani has cranked up the boost on their twin turbo AMG V12, giving the Huayra BC 789 bhp and 811 ft/lbs of torque. That’s nearly a 10% gain over the normal Huayra. Furthermore, Pagani has lightened the car through various painstaking means, and has found a way to take nearly 300 lbs (also around 10%) out of the weight of the standard Huayra, which was already a pretty light car. The Pagani Huayra BC now weighs in around 2,685 lbs. That’s lighter than a Subaru BRZ with four times the horsepower!
Only automobile aficionados know about Delahayes. But when anyone asks me who made the most beautiful cars of all time, I usually drop the Delahaye name. They are gorgeous, they are elegant, they are as French as French can be.
Any connoisseur of pre-war automobiles will know of all the stunning machines that came out of France in the early-mid 1900s. Many might argue that Bugatti or Talbot should hold the crown of beauty instead, but Delahayes have always dropped my jaw in a way that no other marque ever has. They are magical machines with the power to make everything around them disappear.
The 1947 Delahaye 135M you see here turned many heads at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. It is one of a few hundred 135Ms produced in the difficult post-war era. France was ruined and there wasn’t much room for ostentatious luxury cars as the country was being rebuilt. As a result, most post-war Delahayes were exported to wealthy buyers outside of France. Delahaye’s larger military contracting business kept them afloat until they lost a major contract with the French government, and went bust in 1954.
This beautiful black Delahaye 135M Narval was built for a wealthy industrialist in Ohio. It’s design was inspired by the elegant motion of aquatic mammals, specifically the Narwal. It was built for the President of The Prima Company Ohio, and was showcased in a magazine ad for “Covergirl Dress Flats by Prima,” hence the car’s nickname “Cover Girl.”
This Delahaye stands as a masterpiece of art on wheels. Enjoy the gallery.
Continue reading 1947 Delahaye 135M Narval “Cover Girl” at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
The new Volvo S90 sedan is very cool, but it’s a sedan. The car you see here is the 2017 Volvo V90, and it’s much cooler because the Viking god, Odin, decreed that true Volvos must be wagons.
I guess it’s sort of a brand image thing for me, but I always picture a proper Volvo as a wagon, even despite the fact that my mom had an S80 sedan for years. The S90 and V90 come as replacements for the S80, and they feature every ounce of Volvo’s newfound luxury swagger.
I drove the new Volvo XC90 last spring, and I was blown away, to say the least. Volvo came out of nowhere with what is probably the best luxury 7 seat SUV on the market. I mean, Volvos have always been nice solid cars, but they were hardly head-turners. Volvo has clearly decided to change that with their new generation of cars.
Continue reading Is the new 2017 Volvo V90 the Ultimate Daily Driver?
It’s not a revolution, just an incremental improvement. The 2017 Ferrari GTC4 Lusso may be a face-lifted FF, but it’s a touch-up on a masterpiece.
That ferocious 6.3L V12 is now up to 681hp, from 651hp. It’s not a difference you’ll really notice behind the wheel, but it’s nice that it’s there. The Lusso’s real improvements over the FF come in the form of new four wheel steering and slicker aerodynamics.
The FF’s shooting brake design (which I’ve always loved) remains intact, but the GTC4 Lusso sees the return of twin taillights to a modern Ferrari model.
I think the GTC4 is a welcome update to the FF, and I’m stoked that they’ve brought back the iconic “Lusso” name.
Grand touring cars don’t really get more “grand” than this.
-Nick Walker
This image has been circulating around social media for months now. Despite the reveal of the actual production 2017 Lincoln Continental, which looks nothing at all like the car in the picture (see below), people continue to share it.
In truth, I, and most Lincoln fans, cannot help but wish that the new Continental actually did look exactly like the car in the top picture. That Continental is unmistakably a Lincoln in a sense that is true to the brand’s history. The production 2017 Continental, while nice in many ways, is really just another interchangeable luxury sedan. It could easily be mistaken for an Audi, a Mercedes, or a Jag. The car at the top, though? Not a chance.
Every time I’ve seen that top photo shared on social media, it’s always been with a sense of excitement. That’s because the car in the picture is the modern Lincoln Continental that people actually wanted- A distinctive retro-nod shape, unmistakable Lincoln flavor, and, of course, suicide doors! That’s all what made the Continental “The Continental” back in the day.
I think Ford has missed a huge opportunity here to really inject some much needed enthusiasm back into the Lincoln brand. Lincolns used to be some of the most stylish cars on the road in the 1960s and earlier. Lincoln desperately needs to bring that sort of flavor back into their brand identity if they want to succeed these days. A bland approach, merely running with the pack, is not going to cut it. Lincolns are supposed to be bold. They’re supposed to class up the joint whenever they roll up, not merely blend into the woodwork.
Continue reading This Isn’t The Real Lincoln Continental, But People Seem to Think It Should Be
So, Buick has this great advertising line with some doddering old ladies, where one of them says to the other, “That’s not a Buick!” and the other retorts with simply “That’s what I told him!” Well, let’s be honest here–that’s a comment which hasn’t held water well in the past three years, as the current lineup still has a resemblance to teh products on the market as late as 2007-2008, which weren’t any good. The design was stale, the platforms were outdated, and, other than the new (at the time) Enclave SUV, the appeal was rather limited. Luckily, I think now that advertisement has finally come to fruition, and the new Avista proves that the new design language is here to stay. Continue reading The Buick Avista–That’s definitely not a Buick!
Mind Over Motor 