We momentarily interrupt our recall-fatigue induced editorial policy. This one is too good to pass up. Mazda has developed a clinical case of arachnophobia, and is recalling 65,000 cars. Cheiracanthium inclusum, the yellow sac spider, has developed a liking for Mazdas and decided to move in. Let’s check the calendar first. No, it’s not the first day of April. (Read More…)
That’s right, the Executive Chairman of America’s only automaker to have never taken a bailout just raised concerns about the problem of selling too many cars. It’s not as if he doesn’t have a point… it’s just little like listening to Charlie Sheen leading an AA meeting.
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How cool does a junkyard car have to be before we acknowledge that it’s just too far gone to return to street duty? A first-year Edsel wagon? Very, very cool. This one, however, appears to have been baking/freezing in a Great Plains field for a few decades, and there isn’t a whole lot of Edsel-ness left. Still, such cars allow us to contemplate Ford’s Edsel Nightmare. (Read More…)
The aspiring car writer need cover only one major car show to know that they can be an almost overwhelmingly intense experience, all bright lights, new suits, claustrophobia and hype. Between battling for internet, claiming real estate at press events, snagging free food and photographing the whole thing, a good car show passes over the average auto journalist like a bad dream.
Which is probably as it should be: for all the editorial monies that get spent making the car show carnival coverage happen, there’s precious little truth to be found at these modern-day Motoramas. And since we didn’t spend any of our precious budget getting to Geneva, we’re thrilled that long-time commenter sutski has graciously allowed us to republish his own impressions of the show… especially because they capture so wonderfully the exhausting, exhilarating blur of the car show floor. From the perks to the personalities, from the glitz to the girls, sutski‘s photos makes you feel like you were covering Geneva… and, if you’ve ever covered a big car show before, they might even make you a little glad you weren’t there.
Yes, Lotus certainly made a “splash” in 2010, but to say that the brand’s abrupt metamorphosis was universally applauded would be a severe overstatement. For one thing, the move away from Lotus’s light-weight, low-volume philosophy brought howls from the Chapmaniacs. For another, launching five cars at once may be good for publicity, but it’s not great for ones credibility. Especially when your CEO is something of a supercilious jerk, and even your “advisor” only gives you 60-40 odds. And now that Mama Proton is starting to take a hit as Lotus builds up to reinvent the luxury sportscar (complete with its own engines), you have to imagine that at least a few of the Malaysian money men are wondering if they bit off more than their former Ferrari exec CEO can chew. But at this point there’s nothing to do but burn cash, build cars and hope Porsche and Ferrari fall off a cliff.
I have a confession to make: the first time I saw the Acura ZDX in the flesh, I actually liked it. Brooding by itself on the edge of a local auto show, the thing stood out in a sea of late-model sameness, a mood-lit, drama-drenched oddity of an automotive mash-up. Ridiculous? Sure. But what’s a semi-practical yet stylish grand touring crossover “aimed at couples” to do?
What was the problem of EVs again? It’s the battery. Too expensive. Empty too fast. Also known as price and range.
Japan’s Sumitomo Electric thinks they have a solution, in the true sense of the word. Their molten salt battery is said to cost about 10 percent of the price of lithium ion batteries. It also holds twice the charge. (Read More…)
Thanks to the gents behind the excellent CarDesignNews, who already brought you one of the best videos to emerge from the Geneva Auto Show, we present what the kids would call some “real talk” from the bête noir of the car design world, Chris Bangle. Bangle breaks down the problem of modern supercars (where’s the narrative?) and explains how supercar branding is reflected in sexual relationships. Good stuff all round.
Sales of the Gremlin-based AMC Spirit in the United States were pretty dismal, but perhaps that was just the result of the suits in Kenosha choosing the wrong ad agency. Let’s head south of the border to see how VAM, which built certain AMC models under license for the Mexican market, pitched the ’81 Rally AMX. (Read More…)
The Lexus SC430 is not a car that leaps to the minds of automotive enthusiasts as being particularly significant, but it seems it has one last claim to fame. The NYT reports that with the passing of the last model-year for the SC, the 2010, tape decks are no longer available on any US-market car. What, you didn’t realize that any new cars still had tape decks? Remember, the SC first came out in 2001, so it’s been around quite a while. Also, Sony only just stopped making the cassette Walkman last year. So, if you can’t bear to part with your tape collection, you have to buy used. And now, rather than just being an overfed boulevardier that outstayed its welcome, the Lexus SC430 is now a historical bookend to the era of magnetic tape in cars. Time to convert your Milli Vanilli to MP3…
When Americans travel abroad, they might catch the odd glimpse of a Ford Mustang. If they’re especially lucky, they might even find a classic in Paris. But if there’s a car left on the market that exemplifies the values that once defined American cars, it’s the Mustang. After all, the Mustang was not only born in the US, it became more than a car because of the way it tapped so deftly into the American psyche. Developed for American tastes, the Mustang has done best when it clings to the simplicity of the formula that made it an icon. Which is why it’s a bit puzzling to hear Ford telling Automotive News [sub] that the next Mustang will be designed based on styling themes from Ford’s global design studios, rather than the US-based team that has always taken the lead on Mustang design.
Coming soon to a friendly dealer near you (if you live in Europe) and in a couple of months to another whole set of friendly dealers (if you live in Brazil), ladies and gentlemen, the totally brand-new, super exclusive, Italianate Fiat Freemont! Never seen before at Fiat dealers. This beast is all new. Well, to Fiat buyers anyway. (Read More…)
Red light running all but disappeared at a New Jersey intersection after the duration of the yellow light warning time was increased under threat of a lawsuit. Glassboro gave the private company American Traffic Solutions (ATS) permission to issue red light camera tickets at the intersection of William Dalton Drive and Delsea Drive on March 26. The location was so successful at issuing $85 tickets that it generated $1 million worth of notices within just seven months.
While I prefer daily-driven survivors for this series, it’s impossible to resist photographing a flawless 1960s machine making a rare street appearance in my neighborhood. This 289/4-speed ’67 fastback spends most of its life garaged, but the weather in Denver this week has been so nice that the car’s owner must have felt compelled to give it some fresh air. (Read More…)
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