Yesterday, Clemens Gleich brought you Part 1 of his authoritative guide to the Autobahn, due to overwhelming success, today Part 2. If you ask how Clemens became Minister of High-Speed Transport Propaganda – stranger things happened in Deutschland. A formerly leather-clad radical was made Secretary of State, and the province of Daimler and Porsche has a green governor. Expect to be surprised! – BS
2. The Location
Many foreigners think that every Autobahn is basically the same, which can lead to a very unsatisfactory motor vacation, because it is easily possible to spend the whole length of it in absurdly limited sections and road works which means you might as well have stayed at home. There are some passages that not only are unlimited, but also have curvature radii that feel like a straight at 70 mph but tear your face off your skull (or your tires off the asphalt) at 170 mph. The A95 from Munich to Garmisch is a nice example (don’t go there on the weekends, when everybody and their mother will).
You could race down BMWs very own prototype test track: Enter the A92 leaving Munich, turn on the A3 towards Regensburg, at Regensburg go down the A93 towards Ingolstadt and Munich (A9). Rinse, repeat. You will see all those disguised next-gen BMWs and perhaps a few such Audis, too. (Read More…)
Someone I know tried to cut down the boredom of daylong drives up and down I95 with roaches in his car – the smokeable kind. Not that the drives became any shorter, they just appeared longer. With the relaxed marijuana laws in Washington state and Colorado comes a fresh look at how to handle dopers behind the wheel. Dopes behind the wheel are easy to gauge, dopers not so much. (Read More…)
For some unknown reason, Honda decided to debut this new concept, dubbed the GEAR, at the Montreal Auto Show. Honda claims it’s a 21st century interpertation of a subcompact hatch that’s fun to drive, customization and stylish. What do you say, Murilee? Is this a faithful heir to your Civic hatchback?
The North American International Auto Show press days have come and gone. That means journalists no longer need to get dressed every morning, and can return to clipping their toenails while blogging in their bathrobes. OEM staffers get to return home – unless, of course, home is Detroit. Then they’re counting down the days until New York.
For those who missed the show, never fear: I’ve rounded up everything important and summarized it in one highly useful story. It’s almost like you ate the food yourself. (Read More…)
At the sidelines of the Detroit Motor Show, GM conceded what we had said all along: Toyota is the world’s largest Automaker again, with GM in #2, and – surprise – Volkswagen right behind GM.
Now that the Nissan Leaf is being made in Tennessee, Nissan has decided that a big price drop is in order. While the 2012 car retailed for $35,200, the 2013 Leaf starts at $28,800, thanks to a new base model. Anyone who bought a 2012 must be pretty ticked off at the resale-ruining price cut. Higher-end SV and SL trim levels will retail for $31,820 and $37,250 respectively. (Read More…)
The high cost of auto manufacturing in Canada isn’t solely an issue for domestic auto makers; Honda, which manufactures the best-selling car in Canada (the Civic) is grappling with this issue as well.
The Windsor Star spoke to Jerry Chenkin, Executive Vice-President of Honda Canada, who summed up the biggest issue with Honda’s Canadian production: (Read More…)
Let me welcome you to Germany, English-speaking traveler. I know the two reasons you come here for, because I often meet you at the usual places for going fast: There is a) the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring which to you is the only thing interesting about the Ring, and there is b) the Autobahn. (Read More…)
TTAC reader/contributor Matt Fink generously photograph a whole bunch of metal for TTAC during the Detroit Auto Show. Here are his pictures of the C7 Corvette Stingray. I’m still not sold on the vents and the rear end treatment.
Ladies and Gentleman, TTAC is glad to announce the winners of the Ten Worst Automobiles Today, as voted by you, the reader. The Smart Fortwo took the top spot – but what about the others?
Two days after Nissan announced dropping U.S. Leaf prices at the Detroit Motor Show, Leafs dropped in price also at home. At a press conference in Yokohama, dapper Nissan EVP Takao Katagiri announced that Leaf prices in Japan would be reduced by 280,000 yen ($3,150). (Read More…)
The Audi A7 is one of the more polarizing examples of the pseudo-hatch/coupe, but I’ve always been a fan. The RS7 is probably the car I’d pick as my personal favorite. The 560 horsepower twin turbo V8 is the same powertrain used in the RS6 Avant, and is apparently capable of 24 mpg on the highway. The styling is a make or break proposition, but it’s hard to argue with the performance.
Toyota sold 236,659 Prii (all kinds) in the U.S. alone in 2012, all of them imported from high-yen Japan. This is a major drag on the car’s profitability. Long import routes are a hindrance, offshore production also tends to impact the granularity of options and trims. U.S. production of the Prius was expected for last year, it did not happen. Yesterday, Shigeki Terashi, head of Toyota Motor North America Inc. came as close to announcing as possible that Toyota plans to produce the Prius in North America. He didn’t really say it, and you needed to be Japanese to hear it. (Read More…)
Not everyone shares my interest in the 
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