Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Aston Martin Zagato

Just as Daniel Craig has too much brawn and not enough brains to be James Bond, this Aston is simply too outrageous but for that I love it. Powered by a V12, performance figures should be on par if not surpassing that of the V12 Vantage on which the Zagato is based off. However reports suggest that the car will sell for 330,000 pounds or for us burger chompers that’s in the neighborhood of 530,000 dollars. That means this car is twice as expensive as the range topping Aston DBS. Oh, and don’t worry there will be 150 examples built so you’ll definitely be able to get your hands on one, not. (Borat voice)

Now that the bad news is out of the way and you’ve lost all interest in this car let me rekindle your spirits. We begin with a history lesson; Aston and the Zagato design house have been working together for 5 decades as of this year. In 1961 the first Zagato was built from a DB4. Its purpose was to turn the Ferrari 250 into a wet nosed child that’s crying for its mommy. The mission was a success and since then the original Zagato has been a coveted jewel among those of us who eat asphalt and drink petrol.

The first thing you notice on this baby is the strong use of straight lines. Typically the Aston should have a curvy elegant body that makes a man tingle at the fingertips touch, and a face that God himself carved of marble…. oh sorry I started thinking about Megan Fox again, but you get the idea. So this car in contrast is much like Kierra Knightly, still beautiful but angular and sharp, somehow feeling more purposeful when you recall that the Zagato was designed as a GT racer. Massive air ducts behind the front wheels and on the hood complement the angles and creases. A rather large carbon fiber rear diffuser brings the car together at the ass end. If you’re still unsure about this car here is some awesome Nurburgring footage.


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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

ZL1 Camaro: Stepping Up to Shelby.

After years of ultimate muscle car dominance, Ford and Shelby finally have a reason to look over their shoulders. That reason is the up and coming Chevy Camaro ZL1. Powered by the same engine as the Cadillac CTS-V this car will have some sort of maniacal horsepower rating usually reserved for cars which fall under the coveted class known as the "super car". It is rumored that this engine will make a substantially higher output than it does in the Cadillac. In order to to make use of this power the Camaro needs to be able to break hard in corners as well as get around them fluidly, something muscle cars have not been known to do. Enter the Corvette ZR1 magnetic dampers, traction control system, and don't ruin your underwear but yes, carbon ceramic breaks.
This Camaro also has the looks. The wheels are massive, at 20 inches were talking huge on a galactic scale. The five spoke wheels are handsome and compliment the cars over-all aggressive stance which carries on to the front of the car with functioning hood scoop and re-worked front fascia. What I, your fearless leader am wondering is in its quest to beef up the Camaro in order to take down the GT500 will this new Chevy cannibalize Corvette sales?
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Aventador.

When Lamborghini announced that the Murcielago would grace pavement no longer it was a bit like watching your Dads pickup truck pull out of the driveway for the last time. However with the introduction of the Aventador it was like Pops came back with…well a Lamborghini and that’s awesome. The LP 700 4 Aventador is a 691 horsepower ballistic missile that will reach 60 mph estimated at less than 3 seconds. That’s not fast, that’s Bugatti Veyron fast, although I wouldn’t get my hopes up for seeing a Veyron killer just yet.

The company of the bull has foregone verbal descriptions of this car and instead created this epic film. The Lambo braves the apocalypse with blistering speed and menacing screams as lurks towards the end of time. Can’t do that in a Prius can you? Sure a Prius wont pollute the environment but when the end of days draws near I’m turning to the Aventador.

This Lamborghini is a looker as well, making the Murcielago look like an old dog this modern Lambo looks hunkered down and its lines suggest perpetual motion. Lamborghini says this car is a relentless force, I’m inclined to agree.

video

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

This is Mopar: If You Are Listenthing Then You Are The Resistance.

Concerning the New Dodge Commercial:
The year is 3000 and things have gone horribly wrong. We can no longer choose what we eat and our abilities to dress ourselves have failed. Doors no longer wait to be opened but rather we wait for them. This is the world of the future and it is bleak. Robots run our world and I do not like it, not one stinking little bit. The time for revolution is near but who will our brave John Connor be? The possibilities are endless. Chuck Norris perhaps but I fear that even he has moved on by the time that this distant future arrives. Who then will save us, who will take back what’s ours, who will destroy the robots.

Enter the Dodge Charger and its commander, the everyman. One man has had enough of this future world upon entering his super future mobile transport device, thing. Oddly enough though this vehicle resembles a Charger if you look closely at the front fascia. You see as the door opens there is a robot in the drivers seat and that is just too far. Never should the cold heartless metal ass of a robot grace the supple leather of a drivers seat and never shall the icy death grip smother a steering wheel.

Our hero takes matters into his own hands when he decapitates the robot leaving its cold lifeless body in the car park .The Charger roars to life and bounds mercilessly forward to lead the rebellion of mankind against the machines. You may take our lives, hell maybe our freedom. But. You. Will. Never. Take. Our. Cars. This is Mopar, if you’re listening then you are the resistance.

Does anyone find it odd that there is no manual Charger? If I cant select my own gears have the robots already won?



Commercial

Sunday, April 24, 2011

New York Auto Show: Fiat 500

This year at the New York Auto show, the smallest car there may have made the biggest splash. Yes the Fiat 500 display was over-run by excited soon to be Fiat owners who hopped out of one display car only to slide into the well upholstered leather seats of another 500. Europe has enjoyed the 500 for years now and its over seas success is likely to be matched when it finally goes on sale in America.

What the Fiat 500 does very well is give the feeling of character. As soon as you slide into the surprisingly spacious cockpit you are instantly given a feeling of invigoration. It is almost as if the car is whispering in your ear that it doesn’t want to be cooped up in a convention center. It wants to rev up and squirm its way through the crowd onto the busy streets of New York, which it is perfectly adapted to.With its tiny size and high visibility this car is designed for tight situations and nimble driving. I like to think of it as a mouse on steroids with a stick of dynamite strapped to its back.

It is being marketed to a younger active crowd as it is displayed with ski racks and bike racks but considering a large portion of the crowd was older, I think a large portion of sales will come from former owners searching for nostalgia. At least until the Abarth edition comes over the pond. Think of it as that same mouse with 3 sticks of dynamite, steroids and of course protein shakes in the cup holder.



Pictures

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Scion FR S Concept

It appears the rear wheeled love child of Toyota and Subaru will also become the bastard some of Scion. Yup the automaker that has brought you the Tc and other front drive oddities is taking its crack at a rear wheel coupe. Let me say this car is something to stare at. Scion has released two videos revealing the car and to the car freaks such as I it leaves you feeling a bit dirty afterward. The camera follows the each and every curve of the car smooth as molasses. As far as specs go for this car little is known but I can guess figures with be similar to that of the Ft-86.


Car Pornography

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

2012, End of Days and maybe the Civic Si

Where to begin with the 2012 Civic Si? Well first off with only four more horsepower it isn’t going to be any faster than the outgoing 2011 model. However it has 170 torques that will pack a higher mid range punch. There may be more to speed than horsepower, a full test will be needed to confirm this. You may be thinking that so far this Si sounds quite nice, who wouldn’t mind more torque lower down in the rev range? But wait, a 7,000-rpm redline? Oh dear friends something it seems has gone terribly awry.

Civic Si’s have always been about revving the piss out of a small engine that had a redline of galactic altitudes. The problem is the new Si has a redline roughly where the last Si would hit its Vtec mark. What does this mean for the new Civic? I'm not certain I can answer that question. To me it seems as though the entire Honda ideology has shifted since its brutal execution of the S2000. The Civic was Honda’s Vtec golden boy ever since and now its future looks bleak. Obviously the Civic will be around long after the extinction of the human race, but will it still be the Civic we know and love? Or will it go the way of so many other small racers, a slow death at the hands of those who would rather plant a tree than plant the accelerator to the floor.


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