Officer Stark, Tony Stark
I hope you aren’t looking for any in-depth commentary here. Earlier this month, fresh on the heels of the Yas Marina F1 race, was the Dubai Motor Show. Held every two years it contains an entire bushel of drool worthy machines from the most exclusive and exotic of manufacturer’s, the Dubai Police department also had a display of some of their vehicles.
‘Merica
Paraphrasing the Drive-By Truckers; I grew up in the south back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
The dinosaurs of were the boats you see in Murlee’s amazing contributions. But at the time, the “cool” ones fit into one of three narrow categories; Camaro, Firebird or Mustang. V8s and solid rear axles enabled them to spin the tires. Our $3.37 per hour minimum wage jobs did not enable us to replace them.
Fortunately the market had a solution; retreads. Bald tires with a new tread pattern effectively glued over the top. You don’t see them very often now, but at one time, they made up 20% of the tire market.
If you have an Internet connection and an interest in automobiles, you’ve no doubt heard about the 7:08 ‘Ring time claimed for the new Nismo GT-R. Nissan’s in the middle of putting on a trackday/party for compliant media in Japan right now for the purpose of celebrating said time, but one of the journalists who attended turned out to not be quite as compliant as the company might wish.
I spent my usual time wandering around the LA Auto Show yesterday but rather than focus on breaking news, let’s talk about what’s new, improved and noteworthy on the floor.
The Honda Urban SUV concept was supposed to preview a Fit-based crossover that would be sold in global markets and even be produced in Honda’s new Mexican plant. Now, we have the production version, oddly named the Vezel.
Photo: LA Times
This is the $1.1 million Youabian Puma on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It was designed by Dr. Kambiz Youabian. His day gig is apparently cosmetic medicine. I’m not sure that I’d be so eager to put human flesh at the mercy of Dr. Youabian’s sense of beauty and proportion. Discuss amongst yourselves.
On November 14, 1914, after 11 years of supplying Henry Ford with components and rolling chassis, Horace and John Dodge started selling cars with the Dodge Brothers brand.
Though most of the information on the new 2015 Subaru WRX was leaked in advance of the Los Angeles Auto Show, they still had to give the new car a public introduction. Now that the car’s been introduced, we have more than just a couple of teaser photos and a few more details on the car.
When Ford first introduced the Edge crossover, it was targeted primarily at North America but the dramatic increase in sales of crossovers and SUVs around the globe, particularly in China, has changed the company’s focus with those vehicles. “We no longer look at SUVs as a regional product,” Ford’s chief marketeer Jim Farley told journalists Tuesday at a preview the night before the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Expected to become the automaker’s best selling model just as surely as brand purists decry it as another example of the company abandoning its sports car roots, Porsche introduced the brand’s first compact CUV, the Macan, the firm’s fifth distinct model. The little crossover will compete with vehicles like the Range Rover Evoque.
There are so many automakers chasing the segment, perceived to be red hot, that one is tempted to set up a keyboard macro to type out “compact crossover”. The next step in Ford’s attempt to revive the Lincoln brand is exactly one of those, the 2015 MKC.
Chrysler used the 2013 Los Angeles auto show to introduce a limited edition matte finished charcoal gray SRT Viper GTS called the Anodized Carbon Special Edition.
Following stablemate Hyundai’s move upmarket with the Genesis and Equus sedans, Kia is introducing the K900 to North America. Called the K9 elsewhere, the K900 is based on the same platform as the Hyundai luxury sedans and like them it comes standard with a 311 hp 3.8-liter V6 engine or an optional 420 hp 5.0-liter “Tau” V8. An eight speed automatic transmission is standard, though each engine will get gearboxes with specific gear ratios. The K900 is expected to arrive at Kia’s North American dealers in the first quarter of 2014. (Read More…)
Toyota has been teasing a Lexus coupe for a couple of years now with the LF-FC concepts. At the Tokyo Auto Show introduced two versions of the new RC coupe, one oriented towards performance, the other with green cred, slated to go on sale some time in 2014. Based on the GS platform, the RC 350 sports a 314 horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 gasoline engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid RC 300h, has a combined 217 hp, from a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine matched with a 105 kw electric motor, driving through a continuously variable transmission. Both RCs use double wishbones up front and a multilink rear suspension.
The current Honda Civic has experienced a refresh cycle last seen in the 1950s from the Big Three, and the 2014 model year is no exception with the introduction of the CVT in response to Toyota’s action with the new Corolla.
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