I HEART CARS

Custom made Cufflinks are the perfect product for ...

2012-03-23T03:03:27.682-04:00

Custom made Cufflinks are the perfect product for your corporate, political, or organizational needs.

ok, bored at work and looking at older post. That...

2011-08-29T16:23:23.938-04:00

ok, bored at work and looking at older post. That is amazing. what sort of down force do those "spoilers" add?

Cool

2010-11-01T23:09:52.301-04:00

Cool

Never heard of this. Interior looks like an old VW...

2010-10-27T15:47:46.696-04:00

Never heard of this. Interior looks like an old VW, all metal, with toggle switches like you would have found in cars from the 60's. You may be interested in this commercial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zkFKzCfIM

Their economy must be just fine to put out that ki...

2010-10-19T19:48:41.895-04:00

Their economy must be just fine to put out that kind of money. Watch your nose going into a parking lot.

Good point. I do remember them, the manufacturers,...

2010-10-19T19:32:59.001-04:00

Good point. I do remember them, the manufacturers, hidding the cars with covers on the over the road transports and on the rail system. The later had sheet metal around the sides and where open they would put some sort of tarp material. Now, you can see the 2012 of some sort around the 1st quarter of 2011. The commercial is modern. I like it too.

That is quite possibly the most unexpected car &qu...

2010-10-19T08:13:12.004-04:00

That is quite possibly the most unexpected car "modification" I've ever seen.

I must agree, I don't see Pontiac in it at all...

2010-01-22T17:41:24.622-05:00

I must agree, I don't see Pontiac in it at all.

Not sure if I like the windows or not. I see the door openings going to the top of the roof line which to me means one has to get in the car far enough to get out of bad whether further than on conventional openings.

More and more of the cars today are opting for the lowerer profile of the roof through the shinkage of window area and increased door height. Gives the car the chopped look.

All in all, I like what I see in Mazda except for the funny looking grin from all the grill openings.

I can see where you see the e- type Jag, what with...

2010-01-09T11:45:25.789-05:00

I can see where you see the e- type Jag, what with the long nose and roof line. BMW has done a good job at making the car look strong with what Casey mentions in how the rear seems to be right underneath you. You get the impression that when you get on it the car will squat and go.

I also see Mercedes in the roof. Not sure which one but MB seems to have a certain look that until now I haven't seen again.

I would also agree that the Z4 is more of a luxury two seater because you just don't seem to see them at weekend events.

Something that has changed in phases with timing a...

2010-01-04T13:02:14.813-05:00

Something that has changed in phases with timing and styling is the position of the cabin along the front-to-back plane. The market seems to be trending towards "futuristic" styling which puts the cabin forward. for example, my 2007 Civic Si. I feel like the front axle is directly under my ankles. I really like that the cabin on this Bimmer looks like you're sitting on the rear axle. It's classic (front engine) sports car design, but still has fantastic edges and lines.

Forgot to mention, also taping the Australian Tour...

2009-12-16T10:26:20.506-05:00

Forgot to mention, also taping the Australian Touring Car Championship and the British TCC. Three seperate classes of racing.

The more I see MB and the more I learn about them ...

2009-12-16T10:24:25.120-05:00

The more I see MB and the more I learn about them the more I want one. Doesn't have to have the doors, couldn't afford them, but the cars have evolved with the times more of late. They really did have the appearance of being the most mundane car on the road. Now, they are anywhere from casual to get the hell out of my way.

The German Touring Car Championship is now playing on TV. Audi vs Mercedes. Exhausts flaming from the lower part of what would be the doors and out of a grove in the sheet metal, halfway between the wheels. Four second pit stops, fuel and 4 tire change.

Wow, those pictures make my car design brain parts...

2009-12-12T22:51:34.867-05:00

Wow, those pictures make my car design brain parts happy too.
I saw a Cavalier with gullwings. That was simply bizarre (and kind of funny).

I test drove this today. It was surprisingly decen...

2009-12-12T22:48:53.634-05:00

I test drove this today.
It was surprisingly decent. The feel was decent and practicality was very good. It won't make the cut, most likely, but it is a great wild card to have in the decision process.

BTW, the upgrade "design junk" in this is really really junky (ripples in the ceiling and cupholders...shag carpet on the dash..sheesh). The base model is nicer xB in my mind, at best.

Fiat has come a long way in design since I last lo...

2009-11-13T06:19:50.062-05:00

Fiat has come a long way in design since I last looked at them in the parking lot at NCR back in the 1960s. Then, they were not considered much to look at.

Interesting comment at the end about Fiat bringing...

2009-07-01T11:50:15.823-04:00

Interesting comment at the end about Fiat bringing cars to America. They have no less than 24 models in their stable. All are what I would consider small cars, no bigger than a Mazda 3 maybe. Being a European company, small is their thing.

I agree with you on the lights, if turn signals, why so large to stand out so much.

The 500 came out in the 40's after the war and it was a rear engine car to compete with the VW. Fiat had a 509 that was their 4 seater. Looked like a small Woody that you would find in California.

I am looking forward to Fiat coming back to America. The 124 and 128's were pretty good cars if they didn't catch on fire. Fiat is over a 100 years old and have survived a lot of hardships along the way.

Watchout Mini.

They work in Japan, right? I consider this to have...

2009-05-15T07:35:00.000-04:00

They work in Japan, right?
I consider this to have fewer issues with "me ownership" than a narrow-windowed model (like a Crossfire or Nitro). At least those squared portholes seem large.

I might have to wait to see what these look like on the road before forming an opinion.

Nissan will be going crazy with marketing for the Cube...Scion-style, I think. Be prepared to see how many DJs you can fit in the back.

If only more companies would make this euro-hatch ...

2009-05-15T07:30:00.000-04:00

If only more companies would make this euro-hatch design with 5 doors!
Maybe we can wait for it like we did with the Yaris.
I am glad this is coming too. Like all new models, I will believe it when I can buy it.

I totally agree. To me it is confusing in what Ni...

2009-05-13T08:59:00.000-04:00

I totally agree. To me it is confusing in what Nissan is trying to get across. I can almost see 1950's retro going on, especially in the upper picture and the drivers window. Maybe it is the color combo and styling. Also, going back to the 50's, the tailights remind me of a 1958 Mercury Turnpike Cruise with the horizontal lenses, the sunkeness of the lenses and the protrusion (even though they are not as radical) where one must stretch over a foot of bumper to reach the trunk.

Simply said. I'm not big on the Scion but there is a place for most autos. Nissan just missed something in the competition factor of design.

Gotta watch the speed bumps with this one. I'd li...

2009-05-05T19:21:00.000-04:00

Gotta watch the speed bumps with this one. I'd like to see them put an engine in it so that it could compete against the Mini.

"Bout time. Thought you forgot how to post. Who ...

2009-05-05T19:19:00.000-04:00

"Bout time. Thought you forgot how to post. Who can I critisize if you don't critique?

i think it's the safety that they engineer into th...

2009-01-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

i think it's the safety that they engineer into these small cars. the window sizes themselves are reasonable. not ideal, but reasonable. add all the interior plastic and the windows are inset more than six inches from the inside. that means the line of sight makes your reasonably sized window the size of your wallet. go sit in an old MG coupe and you'll see plenty out of similarly sized windows. on a side note, maybe we need to become better navigators.

I really really like the design too. It is beauti...

2009-01-28T09:18:00.000-05:00

I really really like the design too. It is beautiful in person (they had one being demoed at the autoshow).
I have been meaning to ask you something for a while. Would it be possible for these designs to both look sweet AND have visibility around the c pillars/rear. It is the same deal as the crossfire...it looks great, but you cannot see out of it enough for competent navigation.
My father keeps looking at these nice-looking convertible vehicles as "post-retirement fun cars" but I cannot endorse anyone purchasing these IF they are planning on driving them. So, is the obstruction necessary for exterior beauty? Is it possible to have a sweet design that has huge visibility (besides the Pacer and Omni). :) (yes, that was mostly sarcasm--I do kind of dig the Pacer).

Yes, that was sarcasm. I am not sure why written ...

2009-01-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

Yes, that was sarcasm. I am not sure why written sarcasm seemed reasonable at that time--I know it never works.

I certainly see a lot of Cayennes around the ritzy part of town and I shake my head every time I seem one. Same goes with the BMW X5 (and the X6 would get two shakes, if anyone would actually buy one).

Relatedly, I wonder when the Camaro or Challenger will be sold as sedans? The purist in me hopes they never will (but I think they would sell well and the companies sure could use the business).

I will say that it was big. I mean, it was intent...

2009-01-23T12:07:00.000-05:00

I will say that it was big. I mean, it was intentional and all, but it was hard to appreciate the size until I saw it in person. I think GM overestimated the demand for "big car with big engine."

Minor note: I didn't like the Pontiacness of some of the interior pieces/plastics. I kept thinking that this would have been better to tie to Chevy as a "big bad mobile." Pontiac has lost its "renegade performance" mojo and I don't think any vehicle can bring it back from rental-world now.

The platform is decent...too bad it is dying due to practicalities/cost (it is an Aussie-Holden origin). I guess it is destined to go the way of the neo-GTO. Too bad.