Ted writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I’m about to get a new Golf R and everyone complains about the boring VW Golf design thingamajiggit. Yes. I find the boring classic outside to be comforting. I’m in it for the longevity of the design and body, and want to keep this until it dies or 10 years; I intend to ceramic coat the Lápiz Blue. It’s a manual, of course, and when the clutch eventually dies I may replace with a tougher version and chip it.

What I don’t like, and a major strike against the R in my mind, is that the interior is so dark as to make the interior basically invisible. (Read More…)

TTAC commentator econobiker writes:

Related to my comment here, the Japanese makers were early on this common car interior colors. But when did the US makers kill the goof-ball color combos? Like the white Cornithinan leather seats in a brown interior Cordoba posting the other day. (Read More…)

How many people do you think called their neighborhood Rolls Royce dealer and asked: “Do you have a plug-in Phantom?” Never mind. BMW-owned Rolls Royce shows one anyway at the Geneva Autoshow. Don’t worry, they don’t really mean it, it’s a prototype only. (Read More…)

Volkswagen’s range of BlueMotion cars are their flagship “Look at us! We’re bluegreen!” vehicles. They employ techniques like a remapped engine, longer gear ratios and better aerodynamics to wring the last bit of mpg out of an ICU. The Blue Oval of Ford has the EcoBoost systems which are engines with a turbocharger or direct injection. That’s said to give power and torque on par with larger engine sizes, resulting in better fuel consumption and lower emissions. Daimler has its Bluetec, a slightly disgusting technology that requires overpriced urea to be added to your Benz – urea, as the name indicates, originally was a by-product of urine. (Now why didn’t the hyperkilometering AutoBild think of THAT?) Anyway, Hyundai wants in on the act. (Read More…)