Posted by Peter on
March 10, 2010
Tangential Treatise #4: Have You Ever Wondered What Makes Flat Engines So Special?
Today, Subaru is the only company in the world to use boxer engines and Porsche is the only other company to use flat engines. These engines feature cylinders that are neither inline nor banked at an angle to form a V-shape. Instead, the cylinders lay flat along a horizontal plane. But not all flats are boxers, even if all boxers are flats.
Ok, so that’s mildly confusing, but what are the advantages of this arrangement? And why do only two manufacturers employ the flat engine design? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Peter on
February 14, 2010
Tangential Treatise #3: The 2011 Audi A1 Has Nothing On The 1999 Audi A2
Twelve years is a long time for people, but for cars it’s a coon’s age. In other words, it’s about two car-lifetimes. Just for some perspective, 12 years ago, there was no Google, no Facebook, YouTube, iPod, nor iPhone. The .com bubble had peaked but most people didn’t know it yet and many were buying basement-fulls of Spam and mobile generators in preparation of the impending Y2K crisis. In the automotive world, 12 years ago, “hybrid” wasn’t in our vocabulary, the Diablo was littering magazine covers, the Ferrari 360 Modena was just peeking its nose out of the Maranellan womb, the McLaren F1 had stopped production despite building only a third of the 300 projected cars, and Audi released a premium compact car built largely of aluminum. Now of all those cars I just mentioned, I want to focus on that last one. This aluminum-framed and bodied car was designed by Luc Donckerwolke and it was called the A2, slotting beneath the A3 in the Audi range. Which Luc Donckerwolke? Ah, that would be the Belgian one who also picked up a pen and paper for Lamborghini. The Luc I’m talking about designed the aforementioned Diablo, the Murcielago, and the Gallardo. So while the A2 might seem like a plain-Jane runabout or even a dilution of four-ringed brand equity, in reality, it was anything but. Unfortunately, the market couldn’t get past the steep price tag directly resulting from all that innovative (and expensive) aluminum. As a result, sales were weak. Which is odd because even at, say, CDN$35,000, the Audi A2 was a tenth the cost of Donckerwolke’s other works of art – and that made it a bargain.
Now, 12 years after launching the Audi A2, the company that lit the unintended acceleration torch that Toyota now carries is launching another premium compact for the European market: the Audi A1. The A1 could make it to our frosty shores if there were enough interest, but really, you don’t want one. If you can wait until 2014, I think I can convince you that what you really want is a then-to-be-15-year-old Audi A2. What makes me so bullish and sanguine? It’s all in the details.
Posted by Peter on
February 10, 2010
CarEnvy Invades 2010 Chicago Auto Show
I use the term “invades” rather loosely; “goes to” would probably be more appropriate. No matter.
The 2010 Chicago Auto Show starts today and our very own Janaki will be at the CAS tomorrow to cover the media events and yours truly, your fearless Editor Peter Dushenski, will be there next Tuesday, January 21. Janaki will no doubt cover the meat and potatoes, I’ll just be there to highlight anything that might fall through the cracks. Together, Janaki and I will be focusing on some of the more strange and wonderful motor cars from the show, leaving the mainstream stuff to the big guys. Realistically, we would be foolish to try to out-Autoblog Autoblog, so we won’t even try.
You will be able to follow all the happenings on Twitter. Our handle is @carenvy. Janaki will be tweeting in haiku. Since I don’t know what that is, I’ll just be spewing social media diarrhea in 140 characters or less.
If you don’t have Twitter, or don’t care to find out, just keep coming back here to CarEnvy.ca for your maple-syrup-tinted view of the 2010 Chicago Auto Show.
Posted by Peter on
February 3, 2010
Tangential Treatise #2: The Bentley Continental Finally Makes Sense, Marks The End Of An Era
I recently attended the 2010 Edmonton Motor Show where I saw the usual wares from the usual manufacturers. None of this was terribly exciting. The Canadian auto show circuit is now withering away, signalling the renewed cyclical scapegoatism that the motor car periodically enjoys. It will be years before the internal combustion engine is de-villified (again) and we are reminded (again) that electricity is merely a means of energy transmission, not itself a means of propulsion. George Santayana is attributed with the following quote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. This is perhaps a dilution of his original, but the meaning is retained. We usually take the quote in reference to international conflicts of armament, but this is too narrow. It was not by accident, by royal decree, nor divine intervention that the internal combustion engine gained popular acceptance in the latter part of the 19th century while the electric horseless carriage floundered. Nor will electric vehicles replace gasoline-engined ones in my lifetime. But I digress, because gasoline-fueled machines are alive and well. For now.
Posted by Peter on
January 29, 2010
Jack Baruth: The Toyota Prius As A Luxury Car
Jack Baruth is as well known for his skill on the race track as his editorials on the internet. I’ve been reading Avoidable Contact for nearly two years now. Since then, Baruth decreed that the Nissan GT-R would be an abysmal sales failure in North America, he chronicled the advent of fake luxury, the joys of the Porsche option catalog, and published the seminal work on the futility of comparing lap times at the Nurburgring. I’ve always looked forward to Jack’s next instalment because he combines history, foresight, and a challenge to conventional wisdom. His brashly upstream style of writing is a refreshing change from the usual groupthink crap that floats around the web and print media.
For his most recent literary exploration, Jack likens the Toyota Prius, as a brand, to the Apple iPod. Both have undeniably had a halo effect on the other products their companies offer. This certainly holds true in light of the new iPad, a product that I want desperately to like but can’t seem to justify with anything resembling logic. Between my iPhone 3G and my 13” aluminum MacBook, I don’t see the gap in my life that Steve Jobs and Jony Ive created yesterday with the introduction of their plus-sized book reader.
Regardless, Jack’s argument is that since hipsters buy Apple products and hipsters buy Toyota Prii, all other computers and hybrid vehicles are second-rate and not “cool”. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Peter on
January 19, 2010
Tangential Treatise #1: Why The Lexus LFA Needs 50 More Horsepower
The Lexus LFA isn’t getting the respect it deserves. “It costs too much”, they unimaginatively opine. “The shifts are too abrasive”, they continue. Was anyone this harsh on the ultra-expensive hypercars of the early part of the past decade? The Porsche Carrera GT, the Mercedes McLaren SLR, and the Ferrari Enzo have all occupied a similar stratum in motor car society; yet they all received near universal praise, despite their monumental costs. They were also all European offerings. So why isn’t the Lexus LFA, the first Japanese car in decades to even attempt the crown, being mentioned in the company its engineering justly deserves?
Posted by Peter on
January 16, 2010
The Indelible Story Of The Renaultsport Hot Hatch
For Canadians, the Renaultsport brand-within-a-brand may be unfamiliar, which is just fine because Renault doesn’t currently sell its wares on this continent. Perhaps the first time you heard the name “Renaultsport” was when Top Gear Magazine made the motorsports division their Manufacturer of the Year for 2009. Or maybe you missed that too.
Even those of you who are already familiar with their current Twingo 133, Clio 200, and Megane 250 offerings, may not be acquainted with the storied brand’s previous models – all of which were the result of the accumulated artistry, engineering adroitness, and experience of the very best minds within the French company. I happened upon one such result this summer in Barcelona, Spain. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Janaki on
December 27, 2009
Slidin’ in a Winter Wonderland
Sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found you…and your name is Nokian Hakkapeliitta R. Follow the jump for more.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Peter on
December 14, 2009
Gallery: Nissan GT-R vs. Porsche 997.5 Turbo vs. Audi R8 V10
Earlier this week we took a look at a video review from Autocar UK comparing the GT-R, the R8 V10, and the new 997.5 Turbo. Now we’ve also got a splendid collection of photography to go along with it. Nothing quite like a perfect photograph of a bulgingly brutal supercar, innit eh?
Take particular note of the shots caught mid-drift. The visual proportions of the R8 are wretched, the Turbo looks like it’s VW Beetle forebears, and the Nissan looks huge, if extremely purposeful as well.Follow below for more.
Posted by Peter on
December 10, 2009
Video: Nissan GT-R vs. Porsche 997.5 Turbo vs. Audi R8 V10
Castle Combe is a bit of a bumpy, unevenly-surfaced circuit, but you just know this is going to be good…
[Autocar UK via YouTube]
