Recent Comments:
Sales of new Ford Fiesta crack one million mark in Europe {Autoblog Green}
Mar 17th 2011 12:43PM I own a Fiesta sedan in Chicago (mine is the second one sold here as I had ordered it through Ford Direct earlier) and I couldn't be happier with the car. It is smallish from the outside but quite comfortable inside. I am 5 ft 11" and weigh 214 lbs. In almost 100% city and suburban driving I have consistently got more than 30 mpg as my trip computer shows and the turn by turn navigation system is also very good though I do prefer a traditional GPS myself and have one for use when I need it.
I haven't seen the car sell well here at all (in IL and WI, that is) and my guess is that many potential buyers are probably waiting for the next model Focus instead. However, I do think that someone who wants a cheap to buy and run car that is amazingly comfortable to drive and which is very easy to park, should test drive one and then decide. They may be pleasantly surprised. I have no complaints whatsoever about my car and I like it a lot.
Report: Saudi university to start $500 million carmaking enterprise {Autoblog}
Dec 27th 2010 4:58PM It is impolite to laugh on a public forum . . .
Hrrumph! Heh, heh! Bwahahaaaaa!!!
Quick Spin: 2010 BMW 760Li {Autoblog}
Dec 27th 2010 12:54PM An absolutely beautiful car and since it is a BMW it will drive well. Yes it has a lovely competitor in the new Jaguar XJ LWB but then, who do you think looks better - Scarlett Johannson or Keira Knightley? :) No one need feel bad with either of them on their arm.
And, to my ageing eyes, the Steinway edition posted here some weeks ago, would make music in more ways than just the melodious sounding V-12 would.
Let' stop hating those who have worked hard enough to buy and appreciate one of these and try and do as well as them instead. Positive thinking and a Happy New Year to everyone!
Report: Aston Martin to build Maybachs? {Autoblog}
Dec 24th 2010 8:40PM Many years ago, Aston Martin Lagonda introduced a concept car - the Lagonda Vignale - which was exquisite to my eyes. I hope the new Maybach-Aston venture hires whoever the designer of that concept was and uses his design language in their future cars. The retro-modern designs employed by Rolls Royce and Bentley (and by Aston Martin themselves) has worked beautifully in what they offer these days. Technically competent as they are, the Maybachs simply fall short in this area as so many people have pointed out.
Hopefully, this future direction for two storied marques suggests great days for car afficionados. Yep, we'll be at Autoblog waiting for scoops. Merry Christmas everyone!
Fiat reportedly buys Ferrari stake back from Abu Dhabi {Autoblog}
Nov 15th 2010 5:37PM There is a strong possibility that if Ferrari sells a stake in itself it would be Tata who buy it. The two companies have had a very cordial relationship for a long time, Ratan Tata has been on the Fiat Board of Directors and he has expressed an interest, in the past, to acquire a stake in Ferrari. Selling a stake to Volkswagen would mean selling it to a company that has several divisions whose cars compete with models from the various Fiat companies. With Tata, that would not be the case. Jaguar might tangentially compete with Maserati, but there have been rumors in the past that the two companies would collaborate on sharing engines, platforms etc. Tata Consultancy Services also write some engine management software for Fiat. If the reported sale of a stake in Ferrari is more than a rumor, then the chances of Tata buying that stake are significantly higher than of Volkswagen buying it.
Rumormill: Lancia Stratos revival won't be one-off, production planned {Autoblog}
Aug 11th 2010 12:28PM Make mine an Italian racing red. :)
Land Rover to launch production in India {Autoblog}
Aug 11th 2010 12:27PM Tata are most probably going to move production of Land Rovers to India not just for the local civilian market, but for Indian military contracts. At the moment, the Indian Armed Forces use Mahindras, old Nissan Patrols and Czech Jongas. They will have to modernize at some point in time. This may work out well for the JLR plants in the UK as they would still supply a number of the critical components like engines, transmissions etc. There's no reason for anyone to get into an apoplectic fit over imagined "betrayal" by Jaguar, or for idiotic comments about future quality. Last I checked, BMW and Mercedes Benz both build RHD cars in India for export to other RHD markets and neither of these companies has any complaints about the quality of personnel in India or of the cars coming out from there. That is the same talent pool from which Tata draws its workers as well.
Do electric and hybrid vehicles really need to make sounds? [w/video] {Autoblog Green}
Jul 25th 2010 3:04PM I have sinusitis and can't catch smells. I would like to know that an electric car is coming from the smell. Will the Federal government also mandate a dispenser that spews gasoline stink from a faux exhaust please?
I guess this is the kind of stupidity that legislators come up with when they run out of ideas . . .
Report: California will lead the nation's push towards an electric future. Surprised? {Autoblog Green}
Jun 18th 2010 6:47PM +1 with Level.
I'll also add this - California is good at talk, not at getting anything done. After all the sound that comes out of CA on wind energy, for example, TX, ND and other states are working on putting projects up a lot faster. My bets are on TX emerging as a leader in an "electric future." CA will keep going more and more broke, talking a lot more, doing progressively less, as has been the state's history for at least the past two decades.
BREAKING:Top Gear America reborn! {Autoblog}
Apr 21st 2010 11:45AM Only the extreme chowderheads who run the Baghdad and Beijing Corporation would do something as stupid as take a show with star reporters from the UK, show it six months late on average in the USA, block access to the British site in the USA and try to remake the show with sundry nobodies whom no one really is interested in watching. What's the bet that this new incarnation of Top gear America is going to be as resounding a flop as the earlier one was? And while the BBC bleeds, its bureaucratic masters will twist the knife in it further spending tens of thousands on taxi fares and other expenses as recent reports from the UK have suggested while hailing their political masters in order to keep public money coming.
Any British politician with a tenth of a brain would demand to privatize this monstrous money pit as soon as the British elections end and make sure that the whole welfare state set up is permanently dismantled at this pathetic remnant of a once great broadcaster.
