Posted by Peter on
March 11, 2010
Fiat Heir Lapo Elkann and IASIP’s Charlie Day Hate Canada
The electron microscope of the media has been firmly fixed on Lapo Elkann, heir to the Fiat car company fortune, since Tuesday night when Elkann tipped the basketball away from the Toronto Raptors’ Jose Calderon. The tip prevented Calderon from keeping the ball in-bounds and thwarted Toronto’s defence of its lead against Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers. Kobe went on to make a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the win, despite being double-teamed. On a slightly unrelated note, Kobe Bryant is so amazing that Aston Martin is making a USD$550 limited edition shoe in collaboration with the all-star.
But wait, who is that to the right of Calderon? And why does he hate Canada’s only NBA team, and the whole country by association?
Posted by Janaki on
February 22, 2010
Video: USF1’s Remaining Options
SpeedTV has just reported on their recent conversation with the FIA’s Nick Craw regarding that organisation’s recent talks with the beleaguered USF1. While it is unlikely that they have, in fact, been wasting time making space-age toasters, it’s equally clear that they’re not going to be ready to race at Bahrain in a few weeks time. With that in mind, what does USF1 intend to do? Official word is relayed in this video. To be honest, the first two options seem rather unlikely, at best.
Posted by Jonathan on
February 19, 2010
Man-Cave Flaunting For Poseurs
I have beige garage doors. They match my beige house. The whole place is beige. I live in a small townhouse community, and the first bylaw probably has something to do with beige. Beige, the anti-color. Beige, how I love your anonymity. What I really want is to show my neighbors the secret Formula 1 car next to my wine cellar and my swimming pool that hide behind my beige garage doors.
Posted by Janaki on
February 17, 2010
2010 Chicago Auto Show: 2011 Ford Fiesta
Sporty Euro subcompact fans all over North America, rejoice. Ford the all-seeing, all-benevolent has heard your pleas, and it has deemed you worthy. The Fiesta is coming, and it’s not being dumbed down.
More and a gallery after the jump.
Posted by Janaki on
February 16, 2010
2010 Chicago Auto Show: 2011 Suzuki Kizashi
This probably wasn’t the image you were expecting to see. Neither was I, which is exactly why it was so cool. Don’t worry, Suzuki brought along a Kizashi that auto show visitors could actually play in. The rotisserie was a really nice touch, though—especially seeing the undercarriage of the car, sans road grime and in very nice lighting. Oh, and also not on a creeper. But I digress.
More and a gallery after the jump.
Posted by Janaki on
February 12, 2010
2010 Chicago Auto Show: Kia Ray Concept
While opinions on the design of Kia’s Ray concept will no doubt be mixed, you have got to give Kia points. Who else brings Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba and a guy dressed to a giant sock monkey to an auto show? 
Video and photo gallery after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Janaki on
February 10, 2010
Breaking News: FIA Clarifies Three-Race Rule
Putting an end to the rampant rumours currently circulating the F1 world, the FIA has clarified today that the new Concorde Agreement does not allow teams under F1 contract the luxury of not showing up for three races. Instead, it insists that all teams must be present for every race, or else they will have infringed upon both FIA regulations and the Concorde Agreement.
Campos Meta and USF1, this means you. Here’s also hoping this guy’s just an internet troll, and not the real deal.
Posted by Peter on
February 5, 2010
The Next Pagani: Codename “C9″
The Pagani Zonda isn’t the most common of Italian-Argentian-Germanic supercars. In fact, over the last decade of production, only about 100 units have made it into the hands of wealthy connoisseurs. That only works out to about 10 cars per year. Still, it is one of the most exciting and talked about exotics on the road because of its stunning attention to detail, huge pricetag, magnanimous 7.3L Mercedes V12, and a sprinkling of entomological magic.
Now, Evo UK’s Harry Metcalfe has the inside scoop on the Zonda’s replacement, internally known as the C9. His 6 nuggets of knowledge are below. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Peter on
February 2, 2010
The Renault Wind, Not As Clever As You Think
Jalopnik, henceforth referred to as “The J”, is all aflutter about the new Renault Wind. As you can see from this video, the hoopla is surrounding the folding roof mechanism. Ok, it is different from most of the systems we see on cars like the BMW 335i or the Volvo C70, but different is not a synonym for clever. At least not this time, because the Wind is not as clever as the marketing mavens would have you believe. 12 seconds? Not really that fast when compared to the founder of the 180˚ folding hard-top mechanism: the 2005 Ferrari 575M Superamerica.
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 »
