Tag Archives: German Cars

A Raspberry Mercedes 300SL Roadster at the Gooding & Company Auction

January 23, 2015 ndubs77 2 Comments

I’ve seen a fair number of Mercedes 300SLs in my time, but this one has to be my favorite, by far. It’s color is not red, it’s color is not pink, its color is raspberry! It also has a rich tan interior with a bright white steering wheel, in true 300SL form.

I walked into the Gooding & Company Auction display at Pebble Beach to this stunning automobile sitting right in front of me, and my jaw crashed through the floor. A car like a 300SL is supposed to make a statement, and this raspberry example is anything but subtle. It looks incredible today as a classic, but just imagine how it looked back in the 1950s. Back then the Mercedes 300SL was the fastest road car in the world, with a top speed cracking 150mph. The glamour is almost unfathomable!

The appeal of this magnificent 300SL Roadster has clearly only grown over the years. Looking at it that day, I would’ve considered bartering my very soul for it. But even so, I’m not sure that would’ve covered the $1.7 Million that this thing dropped the hammer at.

One more thing to dream about, I guess…

Continue reading A Raspberry Mercedes 300SL Roadster at the Gooding & Company Auction →

Cars We've Seen

VW Karmann Ghia Convertible Spotted in Carmel, CA

January 14, 2015 ndubs77 3 Comments

We saw this beautiful VW Karmann Ghia Convertible cruising the streets of Carmel during Monterey Car Week. What a stunning color combo!

-Nick

Opinions

The MK7 Volkswagen Golf R, and why the Subaru STI should be scared

January 9, 2015 ndubs77 7 Comments

Volkswagen’s new Mk7 Golf R seems to be something special, something that ups the ante. In fact, it appears to have improved so much so that I think it will serve the Subaru STI it’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner with an extra smack in the face for dessert. And I say that as someone who owns a Subaru STI.

A Stagnant Subaru

But I don’t own a new Subaru STI, no, I own a 2004 STI, and the car that I bought back in 2006 was a very different car than today’s. The STI I bought was one that was legitimately, wheel to wheel, a Porsche 911, BMW M3, and Corvette competitor. The 2004 STI was a world-beater ten years ago. But here is where we come to the problem with the new STI… it has barely changed one bit since 2004.

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CARS 101

Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R 2.0T Modification and Tuning Guide

January 6, 2015 ndubs77 7 Comments

Volkswagen’s 2.0T has been the backbone of their lineup, at least here in the US, for nearly a decade now. It has nestled itself into a versitile position, powering the higher-end VW models as well as the lower level Audi models.

Volkswagens equipped with the 2.0T include: the GTI, Golf R, Jetta GLI, Passat, Beetle Turbo, CC, Eos, and Tiguan.

Audis equipped with the 2.0T include: the A3, S3, A4, A5, A6, Q3, Q5, and TT.

The 2.0T has wide-ranging capabilities, and, what luck, it just so happens to be quite tuneable. While there are a few varying versions of the 2.0T out there, depending on the model, the general modification path is pretty standard fare.

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Car Games

Santa’s 12 Cars Of Christmas Game

December 25, 2014 ndubs77 10 Comments

Happy Holidays to everyone!

To celebrate, we are going to play a little game. Santa is going to give you 12 cars, any 12 cars you can think of, but there’s a catch. You must keep these 12 cars for the rest of your life. You cannot sell them, and you cant buy other cars ever again. So these 12 vehicles will need to cover every task you want to do in your life. But the good news is that Santa will enchant each of the cars so that they will never break down or need any maintenance (other than refueling).

So what 12 cars would you pick?

Our answers are below. Feel free to post yours in the comments!

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Auto Idolatry

Motor Trend Tests the Porsche 991 GT3

December 22, 2014 ndubs77 Leave a comment

In terms of value for money, the Porsche 911 GT3 is unquestionably the car to buy among the 911 range. It offers Enzo-like acceleration yet still maintains an overall propensity for handling. See for yourselves!

Enjoy

-Nick

Cars We've Seen

A Sweet Air Cooled Beetle Spotted in Carmel, CA

December 22, 2014 ndubs77 2 Comments

Swimming in a sea of exotic cars during Monterey Car Week, this Volkswagen Beetle caught our eye. Something about the two-tone color scheme and the turned wheel pose was just perfect. Enjoy!

-Nick

Cars We've Driven

2015 Porsche Panamera Turbo S Executive Reviewed (8/10)

December 17, 2014 ndubs77 2 Comments

The Turbo S Executive is the big mac-daddy of the Porsche Panamera lineup. It seems to take all of the best aspects of other Panamera models and put them together with an extra helping of horsepower. The Turbo S Executive is an immaculate vehicle in every way possible. But it had better be, considering the price… $240,000 for the one I drove.

The Panamera Turbo S is an awesome and complex automobile, full of gadgets and cutting edge technology. I could go on for days about all that, but it’d get us nowhere with the one truly relevant question… is this Panamera worth spending nearly a quarter of a million dollars for?

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Cars We've Seen

One Nasty Audi R8 Spotted In Carmel, CA

December 15, 2014 ndubs77 1 Comment

We spotted this sinister Audi R8 with some seriously bitchin’ wheels in the Fuel Run lineup when they came through Carmel. Such a great look!

-Nick

Opinions

Mercedes’ New Bro-Chariot Has Arrived, And It’s Called The GLE

December 12, 2014 ndubs77 2 Comments

Let’s begin with a story…

A few years ago, BMW created an all-new segment. They looked at the idea behind Mercedes’ beautiful CLS 4-door coupe, and then BMW thought… “what if we did that with an SUV?”, And the BMW X6 was born!

Now, unlike the Mercedes CLS, which is essentially just a sleeker, more beautiful Mercedes E-Class with no tangible drawbacks, the X6 didn’t turn out so well. The tapered roofline that makes a car look sleek wound up looking really awkward on the X6’s larger SUV proportions. It also compromised the size of the trunk. So a sleeker, more beautiful BMW X5 the X6 was not, not by a long shot. In fact, it really only served to remove the “utility” from “Sport Utility Vehicle.”

So why, then, would you buy a BMW X6? If you wanted an SUV for all of the reasons anyone wants an SUV, then you’d buy the X5. If you wanted a stylish coupe for all of the reasons people generally want a stylish coupe, then you’d buy a 6 Series. Where is the market for something that looks like a sad humpback whale on wheels?

Well, Mercedes-Benz has clearly been watching closely, and whatever the market may be, they want a peice of it! So, with that, they decided to take their M-Class SUV, break its back like Bane did Batman, and boom!… the Mercedes GLE is here.

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Auto Idolatry, Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Porsche 959 at the 2014 Scarsdale Concours

December 11, 2014 Albert S. Davis 1 Comment

When anyone wants to find the origin of where modern supercars came from, the Porsche 959 is not just a great place to start looking. It is the only place to start looking. In 1985, when Porsche put the 959 on the market, most of its technical equipment wouldn’t have been out of place 25 years later. All-wheel drive, traction control, adjustable ride height, and twin-turbocharged propulsion were all on the standard features list, and almost all of those features can be found on today’s 911 in some way, shape, or form. It was a groundbreaking car not only for Porsche, but for the entire automobile industry–and it was so good that Porsche didn’t lend the NHTSA examples for crash testing, so the Reagan administration disallowed its legal sale in the United States. Luckily for us, it’s been 25 years since then, and the 959 is now fully legal on our shores without having to go through the Show and Display Act proceedings of years prior. Only 337 of these were made, and I’ve seen 3 or 4 of them since 2011, although this was the first one I’ve seen in silver in some time. In the sunlight of Scarsdale, NY, this 959’s time had come to shine for the public. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Porsche 959 at the 2014 Scarsdale Concours →