I can’t begin to say how much I heart this new direction VW is taking the latest GTI, abandoning that psuedo-audi grille that seemed ill proportioned on that tiny little frame. The touch of color still works for it, and I find it nicely refined along with the split grill approach. I’m a fan of the move from the curvilnear styling to something with some nice edges that gently draft away from the headlights. As a nod to where they are taking things I’m interested to see what the 2011 will bring to the table, like the Golf R and the new Polo.
unfortunately it only fits .75 average-sized Americans
Apparently someone at GM is a big sci-fi fan. Or they are desperate enough to feel the need to showcase something that is completely unfeasible in the near future. Or both. Issue with concepts of this nature are that they require some major constraints. The most prominent in my opinion is the fact that everyone on the road would have to have something this size or smaller. I could go on and on about others but the kicker is that these aren’t road ready due to the opposite end of the non-commercial automotive spectrum; Hummer, a (former) GM product. I’m about a week behind because this is old news, but I just couldn’t resist it.
When considering a new city to live in (Domestically) it’s a good idea to do your homework outside of identifying your comparable salary. I have always considered commuting (or lack therof) to be a significant element of the ‘quality of life’ equation and find this chart to be particularly useful. 
Via the Infrastructurist
In 1936, BMW defined high performance sports cars with the forefather of the BMW 3-series, the BWM 328. In a sign that a bad economy effects everyone this hit some high end auction house last week commanding a high seven figure price tag. The 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia is an unique representation of the 328 series, as it was built to compete on the 1940 Mille Miglia race track. Nothing quite like seeing a byproduct of the days when aircrafts and cars shared the same factors–and precision in manufacturing.
More to sit in a showroom than to be actually driven, even the control array has been carefully preserved in all of it’s analog beauty. This particular model is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-6 pushing 80 horsepower, capable of carrying this 1830-pound sports car to over 100 mph, so in theory it could hold it’s own on the Autobahn. Sure, this much power isn’t much a big deal today but think of how it set the standard for all of it’s competition to be measured by back in 1940. Via Coolist.
Not the best of ideas regardless of conditions on the ground. The real kicker is that someone thinks these are worth $45k. Great idea not shielding the tires whatsoever–no one would think to damage those. This looks like something the A-Team built on a hung over off day using two scooters, blowtorch, and a dumpster. Via Jalopnik.
I totally forgot about this but my favorite ad from last weekend was from a company selling a product I would never buy: Kia. Way to take childrens toys and mash them up with a bit of ‘Entourage‘ flavor and use it as an excuse to use amusing slow motion pans. It should be noted that this concept is completely unoriginal since they are more or less biting from the Daft Punk Interstella 5555 movie theme. Still entertaining, but I won’t post the entire vid here since I don’t want to support Biters or Kia via their lame brand channel.
It’s good to see Audi proving that they can apply their styling to a more German-Efficient VW Golf footprint with their A1. As Mini drifts from their base with the Countryman Audi targets their opportunity as the US market looks to smaller vehicle options, not a shocking direction to take things when you stop and think about it. After years of being stalled out by legislation, Ford, via Smart, is starting to appear on the roads in larger numbers as a mid-tier option. Toyota, via Scion, is planning on rolling out their low-end Q9 model to the states by mid-summer–as long as they pass safety certifications, that is. So that leaves Mini solo in the high-tier space. Until now.
front grill + boxy rear end detailing = too cool to make it to market
It goes without saying that It’s about damn time someone came in and brought a different look/feel to this segment. I don’t think that luxury cars like Mercedes or BMW (self-branded, not as Mini) will enter this space until it takes off and proves itself to be commercially viable, in effect replacing the aging behemoths on the road. How much will people pay for less car, even with some high design and premium leather? Not sure, but there is also the technology question as to: hybrid vs. hybrid-electric vs. fuel cell vs. steam vs. flintstone-style power. For now if you dig on the A1 hit up Jalopnik for more pics and specs.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the relaunched two-door Mini with it’s analog dashboard and refined interior but I think they have gone wrong with their latest model. Witness the Countryman, which proves to me that calling something a Crossover it is no longer, by definition, a Mini anymore. First, it’s neither a smart-car category vehicle now that it has four doors nor is it a Crossover since it isn’t a small SUV in terms of size. Second, I felt the Clubman was really pushing it in terms of being about as far as you could stretch the platform without becoming something else entirely and confusing the consumer–the damn thing seemed like an upsell with marginal add ons.
The Countryman seems to be Mini out on a limb in the worst way. This is no longer the tiny urban vehicle that you can park anywhere. This is a mutation of the worst sort to build market share and get suburbanites into the party. At Mini’s premium price point I would assume that there is little other than style to differentiate from the competition, and when you spread yourself this thin in terms of styling it’s hard to identify what value you actually add. Yes, the interior accessory rail is killer, other than that it’s a difficult (and risky) proposition since it looks similar to a 70% shrunken Infiniti FX35. Via Jalopnik.
Designed in 1967 by Pininfarina’s Paolo Martin as a concept for Ferrari, the Modulo was unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show to show the world the company’s vision for the future. As is often the case the Modulo (or even a consumer-friendly watered down version) didn’t make it into production. At over 40 years old it’s styling somehow still looks future fresh. Recently a London photographer gained access to a full scale model which was stashed away in someone’s archives and now we all get to check out something so progressive (hello exposed wheel hubs) it will most likely always look futuristic.
Talk about a case of going viral in the worst way possible. When Fox News attacks your marketing things have really gone bad…but in a classic misrepresentation of the facts they get it completely wrong. This is something that car manufacturers often do at Auto Shows around the country to raise awareness, albeit some do so in a more restrained manner. Live dancers aren’t uncommon at these events, but admittedly this level of cheeziness is rare. Issue at hand is that any news isn’t always good news since the public might see this as an example of government money gone to waste but I’m going to applaud Chevy for doing more with less budget than their competitors. I am also going to damn them for being responsible for one of the worst songs in the history of advertising.