The source for all your car info

Gran Turismo 5orever!

2010-02-24T03:29:00.001-08:00

Citing "production-related matters" the much anticipated title from Polyphony Digital will no longer be shipping this coming March in Japan. Reuters is reporting Sony has delayed the release of Gran Turismo 5 to an unspecified date, which the company plans to update in the future.

Sony had yet to announce release dates for North American and European territories, but this news certainly doesn't bode well for fans anticipating a March worldwide release.

Gran Turismo 5 takes the series to a whole new level. A first for the franchise, The game supports online racing and features over 950 cars, over 20 courses, 70 variations, the newest hybrid cars and electric cars, a new physics engine, a new in-cockpit view, HD support, and much more.

It will also feature both a single player and split screen two player arcade mode. GT Mode includes world map, my garage, car dealer, tuning shop, championship race, and license test. Online support includes open lobby, text/voice chat, private room, online photo album, online replay album, and export of replays to YouTube. I can't wait indeed!!

Missed the football AGAIN!!

2009-10-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate it when you miss the highlights of your favourite team in action? I tend to do that a lot of the time these days and I hate catching up when watching it on the news!

Luckily there is a solution for that! Head on over to Hello Footy (link is on the right), where you can watch all the goals you have missed, in a simple Youtube style format. Highly recommended. Now you can never miss your favourite team again! Even if it is a day later! ;-)

Car blog discoveries

2009-08-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

I was always one to assume that every car blog would be exactly the same. Same old reviews of the same old cars, you get the picture. Lately I have been discovering some interesting blogs which I thought I would share with everyone.

The first is http://www.celebritycarsblog.com/, which is generally for everyone into their celebrity trash gossip. This one is not as cringeworthy however, as I found it fasciniating to know what my favourite celebrity is currently driving. Recommended indeed.

The second is http://www.eurocarblog.com/, which gives an insight into all the going ons of the car world, with loads of pics and relevant YouTube videos to make the articles interesting and relevant. Just saw a Porsche stationwagon on there. Very niche! I enjoyed this site and so will you.

Current favourite tracks while driving

2009-08-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

I thought I would try and begin a post aboutwhat I am currently listening to, as I have been known by my friends to have a strange taste in music. Well time to show you what they mean and do you agree with my listening habits? Deep breath, here goes!

In terms of lyrical content, I enjoy alot of 80s stuff, particularly some Michael Jackson and some Duran Duran. Some classic Hip-Hop is also very appealing to listen to, just Wikipedia search a Tribe Called Quest and The Roots and you'll see what I mean. A very relaxing, jazzy kind of Hip-Hop with thought provoking lyrics to accompany it.

Lately however, my mood has swung to Electronic music and the likes of the Chemcial Brothers have got me craving for their unusal loops and catchy beats. My favourite tracks to listen to on the road is 'Just Get Yourself High' and 'Block Rocking Beats'.

Speaking of electronic music, there has been a new trend of slow tempoed, bass ridden music which is known by many as Grime or Dubstep. I have grown over an album by a Dubstep artist and the experience of listening to its dark, melodic rhythms while driving in the rain is something very epic. Do check out Untrue by Burial and you try listening to it with your eyes closed. Truly awesome stuff!

Comparing Car Insurance Comparison Sites

2009-08-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Insurance comparison sites say that they give consumers the tools they need to find the best car insurance deals. They claim that they have created a more competitive marketplace as internet technology has enabled users to more easily compare multiple policies and premiums against each other. This, they say, has actually kept car insurance premiums down.

Detractors, on the other hand, point out that claims of comparing the whole market are misleading as not all insurers are represented on all comparison sites. They claim that some, if not most, of the comparison sites offer featured listings and special placements for those companies who buy advertising from them. In addition, they state, the premium comparisons are deceptive, and the criteria relies too heavily on “cheap rates” without taking into account good service and policy features. Finally, they claim, the increase in price comparison sites – most of which derive at least part of their income from referrals to the various insurers quoted – has added the cost of paying a middleman to the insurers’ cost of doing business. This added cost, of course, gets passed on to the consumer.

In fact, car insurance comparison sites can be a valuable tool for consumers who are looking for the best motor insurance deal – as long as you keep a few considerations in mind.

Not all car insurance companies are represented.
In fact, Direct Line, one of the UK’s major insurer’s, deals only directly with the consumer, and many of the insurance lines owned by RBS don’t appear on any insurance company comparison sites other than Tesco Compare. To get the fullest comparison, you should get quotes direct from insurers, and make a point of getting quotes from major insurers separately if they’re not represented on the car insurance comparison site.
Check your assumptions.
Or rather, check THEIR assumptions. Some sites, such as Moneysupermarket.com, make assumptions about your situation when generating their price quotes. If your situation doesn’t fit their assumption – say you’re the wrong age, or have had a scrape or two – the prices quoted will not be accurate.
Be aware that some sites put more emphasis on “sponsored listings”.
Since the site is paid a commission on every policy sold through them, many will put an extra push behind those insurers that pay out the highest commissions. Be sure to read comparisons thoroughly to make sure that you’re getting the whole picture.
Know what you’re comparing.
In order to get the best comparison, you need to compare like-with-like. It’s important to know that the policies being compared offer the same cover, or the comparison simply doesn’t make sense.

Auto Industry Braces For Hangover After The 'Clunker' Party

2009-08-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

As the U.S. government's popular "Cash for Clunkers" program shut down officially at 8 p.m. Monday, it left behind mounds of paperwork and empty lots at dealerships across the country.

Over the weekend, an onslaught of customers descended on dealerships, hoping to take advantage of the offer, which allowed consumers to trade in their gas guzzlers for a voucher worth up to $4,500 toward a new vehicle. In back offices, accountants and other dealership workers sat at their computers until the wee hours of Sunday morning, uploading their applications to the government's Web site.

The online system was slow and crashed several times, forcing transportation officials to extend the deadline until noon Tuesday for dealers to submit their paperwork.

Auto-Nation, the country's biggest car dealership chain, stopped accepting clunker program trade-ins over the weekend because it was concerned about getting in all of the paperwork on the more than 12,000 deals it did. The company processed 1,600 sales on Friday night alone, and employees worked in shifts at offices in Dallas throughout the weekend.

"This is the jump-start to a gradual recovery," said Marc Cannon, a spokesman for AutoNation.

Transportation officials said 625,000 transactions, worth $2.58 billion, had been submitted as of Monday morning.

The Obama administration declared the program a success. An estimate issued Monday by the White House Council of Economic Advisers said the program is projected to boost U.S. third-quarter gross domestic product by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points and create 42,000 jobs by the end of 2009.

Many auto industry analysts and dealers expect sales volumes to fall now that the program is over. They worry that many people who took advantage of the program were merely accelerating purchases they would have made later in the year.

If that's true, the premature sales could hurt automakers, which increased production in the third quarter to replenish clunker-depleted inventories that had already grown low because of factory shutdowns over the summer.

Because there's a lag time between production and getting a vehicle to a dealership, the new vehicles "will hit when there's a lower demand," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting at the auto industry research firm J.D. Power and associates.

"There might not be as many people to buy because they bought during the clunker program," he said. "And if at the same time there's less of an incentive program from carmakers, you could have fewer people buying. That could stall the recovery we're in."

Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of Edmunds.com, another automotive research group, agreed.

" 'Cash for Clunkers' created a nice little blip," he said. "We'll look back and say, 'Nice party, but the hangover is awful.' "

For now, people are just happy with the deals they got.

John and Debby Giancoli of Silver Spring were headed to the Delaware coast Saturday and were past Baltimore when they heard on the radio that the clunker program was ending Monday night. Worried that they wouldn't get in on the action, they turned around and headed to Herson's Honda in Rockville, where they traded in a 1999 Ford Explorer for a new Honda Odyssey minivan.

"This was too good a deal not to do it," Debby Giancoli said.

Top 10 Green Cars in the UK

2009-08-25T03:50:00.000-07:00

There is no question that electric cars are the most environmentally friendly car option available. However, with most electric vehicles still limited to city driving due to their low speeds and recharging times, what cars will reduce your environmental impact but still allow you to get around freely? My list of the top ten green cars will put you on the right road to reducing your emissions while still driving in style and comfort.

smart fortwo coupé fortwo coupé cdi no DPF 33kW

Engine Capacity - 799
Transmission - A/SAT5
CO2 emissions - 88 g/km
Fuel type - D
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £720

Ford New Fiesta, 2009 Model Year Onwards 1.6 Duratorq TDCi (90PS) (+DPF)

Engine Capacity - 1560
Transmission - M5
CO2 emissions - 98 g/km
Fuel type - D
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £808

Volkswagen Polo 1.4 TDI (80 PS) BlueMotion 1 with DPF

Engine Capacity - 1422
Transmission - M5
CO2 emissions - 99 g/km
Fuel type - D
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £830

SEAT Ibiza 1.4 TDI 80PS Ecomotion

Engine Capacity - 1422
Transmission - M5
CO2 emissions - 99 g/km
Fuel type - D
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £830

Volkswagen Polo 1.4 TDI (80 PS) BlueMotion 2 with DPF

Engine Capacity - 1422
Transmission - M5
CO2 emissions - 99 g/km
Fuel type - D
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £830

MINI MINI Hatchback R56 MINI Cooper D Hatchback - with particle filter

Engine Capacity - 1560
Transmission - M6
CO2 emissions - 104 g/km
Fuel type - D
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £851

Toyota Prius 1.5 VVT-i Hybrid

Engine Capacity - 1497
Transmission - E-CVT
CO2 emissions - 104 g/km
Fuel type - P
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £880

smart fortwo coupé 52 kW mhd 175/195 Tyres at rear

Engine Capacity - 999
Transmission - A5
CO2 emissions - 103 g/km
Fuel type - P
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £880

Toyota iQ VVT-i

Engine Capacity - 998
Transmission - M5
CO2 emissions - 99 g/km
Fuel type - P
Fuel cost of driving 12,000 miles - £880

Confused.com - yes it is! What a waste of time!

2009-08-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

After spending 20 minutes putting in all my personal details, I got a page full of quotes that were wrong. I then had to be directed to all the insurers websites where the quotes had to be recalculated and all my quotes ended up being £200 or more HIGHER than what I had originally been told on confused.com.

I had to spend the rest of the day calling all the insurers trying to find the best quote - confused.com actually made getting my insurance more time consuming and frustrating.

Review: Nissan GTR

2009-08-25T02:59:00.000-07:00

The Nissan GTR has set a new standard for sportscar production, not just because it is phenomenally fast, capable and approachable, but also because it’s not actually that expensive. Porsche, Ferrari, Aston? There’s no longer any need.

Comfort

Despite immense power and an out-and-out performance bent, the GTR is superbly comfortable and refined. It rides firmly though, and when we get to drive one in the UK we'll know if that's going to be a problem.

Performance

There's 470bhp being sent to all four wheels via a semi-automatic dual clutch gearbox. This means 0-60mph in around 3.5 seconds and a top speed not far shy of 200mph. But it's what you can do in between that sets the GTR apart.

Cool

When the first GTRs start appearing in the UK they will be rarer than gold dust and more popular than Kate Moss at a swingers' party. Suddenly a 911 is going to be tomorrow's chip paper, and everyone is going to be fighting over a Nissan.

Quality

The GTR is beautifully constructed, with superb detailing and fantastically solid, contemporary materials. No problems reported yet either, and none likely.

Handling

Taking Porsche's current generation 911 Turbo as a benchmark, the GTR handles like few other cars on the planet. Four-wheel drive provides bags of traction, while steering feels steady and pin-sharp.

Practicality

There is a boot of sorts, so you could just about go away in a GTR, but that's not the point. This is a car that's so preposterously good that shortcomings are mere foibles, readily dismissed with a quick squeeze of throttle.

Running costs

Expect fuel consumption to bring you out in a cold sweat and insurance premiums to cause a minor coronary. But remember all the while that you could probably sell an early car for a profit.

Crash ends Raikkonen's WRC debut

2009-08-02T04:26:00.000-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen's debut in the World Rally Championship came to an end after the former Formula 1 champion crashed out of stage 19 of the Rally Finland.
The Finn was 15th overall when he rolled his Abarth Grande Punto off the road on Saturday's final stage.
He and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom were unhurt, although they narrowly missed the car of Mads Ostberg who had gone off at the same point moments earlier.
The damage to Raikkonen's car prevented the Ferrari driver returning on Sunday.
Raikkonen has appeared in three non-championship rallies this season, and a four-week break between the Hungarian Grand Prix and the European Grand Prix in Valencia on 21 August has allowed him to step up his involvement.
Raikkonen's compatriot Mikko Hirvonen secured a victory for the home fans coming home 25 seconds ahead of title rival Sebastian Loeb.
World champion Loeb, who lost more than 10 seconds after damaging his rear tyre in a pothole on a hairpin on stage 15, now trails Hirvonen by three points in the overall standings.
Raikkonen was not the only F1 driver at the Finland Rally with Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel watching from the sidelines.
"I've plenty to do in F1, but who know maybe one day I will compete in the WRC - I wouldn't mind doing some drives in the future," Vettel told the World Rally Championship website.

Its official - Schumacher IS The Stig!

2009-06-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Stig, a mystery driver who tests high-performance cars on Top Gear, has been "revealed" as Michael Schumacher.
The seven-times Formula 1 champion dressed as the show's famous driver and removed his helmet during an interview with presenter Jeremy Clarkson.
However, an appalling driving performance by Schumacher at the end of the show cast doubt on the "revelation".
Clarkson told viewers: "I don't think Michael Schumacher is the Stig".
The presenter had earlier revealed in his column in the Sun that Stig's identity would be a "staggering surprise" to viewers.
"As a television moment, it's up there with Neil Armstrong walking on the... corpse of JR Ewing," he added.
Earlier, a BBC spokesman said: "As Jeremy said, in tonight's Top Gear Stig will remove his helmet for the first time."
After the show, a BBC spokeswoman would not confirm whether or not Schumacher was the genuine Stig, or a stunt to mark the first episode of a new series of Top Gear.
"You have to bear in mind that Top Gear is an entertainment programme. We never reveal who or what The Stig is," she said.
But fans of the show remain unconvinced as to his identity. One fan, James2001, wrote on a Digital Spy forum: "You're very gullible if you believe it really is him."
Another fan, Mijath, said: "People's fascination with the identity of The Stig mystifies me. Tonight's unveiling was always going to be a joke, and a brilliant one it was."
Peter Lawton, consumer editor of What Car? magazine told the BBC he thought it was "a nice publicity stunt".
"I don't think it was for real - it was good fun and nice to see Schumacher playing along," he said.
He also said he knew who the real Stig was, but added: "My lips are sealed."

The Stig is Schumacher!

2009-06-22T03:07:00.000-07:00

The BBC's long running bad ass car show Top Gear marked a new milestone: The unveiling of The Stig! You know the helmet wearing mute, who communicates only by the revs of the cars he drives in and performs fast lap times!

On the programme, the Stig was asked to remove helmet, only for it to be revealed that he is in fact none other than Formula 1 living legend, Michael Schumacher!

Reception has been generally mixed with some arguing that it was done only to introduce Schumacher's only interview for Top Gear, while others believe that Michael truly was burning laps after retiring from the game.

Either way, it was a well executed piece of television that will be remembered for years to come.

Lewis Hamilton considered quitting Formula One over 'lying' scandal

2009-04-07T04:22:00.000-07:00

With the “hardest week of his life” behind him, it emerged on Sunday that Lewis Hamilton had been so upset by the scandal over the Australian Grand Prix that he had considered quitting Formula One.

Hamilton’s father and manager, Anthony Hamilton, had contacted Max Mosley, president of the FIA, last Friday to express his anger that his son had been led by his McLaren team into telling lies in the aftermath of the race. He told Mosley that the world champion was thinking of quitting not only the team but the sport.

While that threat may have receded in light of McLaren's decision to attach the full blame for the incident to their sporting director Dave Ryan, an employee of 35 years, it shows just how scarred Hamilton was by the controversy.

After finishing a respectable seventh in the rain-affected Malaysian Grand Prix, Hamilton eschewed most of his media commitments and left as quickly as possible. He did not disagree that it had been the hardest week of his life. "Yeah, you could say that," Hamilton said. "You all know why. All I did was give it my best shot today and the results were not terrible."

Hamilton's disquiet is not helped by the fact that McLaren's new car, the MP4-24, is well behind the pace of its rivals. He has little realistic chance of defending his world title this year, nor does he see things improving when F1 reconvenes in China next week.

"I couldn't follow anyone today as everyone in front of me had much better downforce," Hamilton said. "All I could do was try to keep the car on the track. I hope we do make some improvements [before China] but we've got a huge amount to cover. It will be tough."

Hamilton's importance to McLaren is paramount and team principal Martin Whitmarsh will be sweating over these latest revelations. Whitmarsh wore a haggard look all weekend and has not ruled out resigning over his role in the scandal. However, he said that his future chiefly lay in the hands of his company's shareholders.

Alongside him, Norbert Haug, vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, who own a 40 per cent stake in McLaren, looked uncomfortable. "I am in permanent contact to Stuttgart, I am reporting to Dr Zetsche directly and of course we will sit down next week," he said. "I have full trust in Martin, just to point that out, but the whole affair is not what we want."

Seismic Bass Quake 2008 ITV Coverage

2008-10-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

The largest seismic earthquake caused by car stereos was caused by 22 cars which made the ground vibrate with a velocity of 6.325 mm/s. The event was organized by Fast Car Magazine and www.talkaudio.co.uk (all UK) at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northampton, UK, on 22 October 2008.

In a scene of multiple car audio competition formats, where Sound Pressure Levels reach 180dB and physics-laboratory-calibrated microphones and sensors are used, there has never been a truly rigorous scientific way of comparing one organisation's World Records with another's. Also, they have many categories.

So, whilst it might seem logical and realistic to have "The World's Loudest Car Stereo" records in the fabled Guinness book, it has never happened. Guinness World RecordsTM' reputation for scientific veracity is absolutely unassailable, so getting a record ratified needs some pretty stringent recording and independent witnessing.

Review: Aston Martin DB9 Volante

2008-08-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Our verdict

Very pretty, very sexy, wonderfully noisy. But not quite the dynamic treat you want.

Comfort

Dampers, suspension arms and bushes have all been tweaked to help smooth out the ride on the Volante, but it won't quite get to grips with the cruiseability of the Bentley GTC or the outright precision of the Ferrari F430 Spider. Still, you can wander about looking cooler than Mr J. Bond, so the comfort side of things gets a little sidelined.

Performance

Power is up in the latest iteration to 470bhp from the 6.0-litre V12, with an accompanying 442lb ft. That translates to figures that aren't too shabby: 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and 190mph top end. Impressive enough, though it's the noise that makes it sound properly fast. Addictive aural stimulation.

Cool

Car-people will probably see the Volante as rich frippery, mainly because of the associated rigidity cancer that tends to infect chop-tops. But they will still be very jealous when they see one drive past. OK, so it's a bit Liberace to have any convertible Aston, but if you're rich enough, you don't care.

Quality

There have been murmerings of quality issues with early DB9s. Electrical and trim gremlins, various little niggles that mar the whole experience. Hopefully they should have been sorted by now, but it's impossible to say on first glance. Everything does look utterly gorgeous, has the tactility of a supermodel's thigh and makes you wonder why you didn't work harder at school or invent Google. Just be sure to get things fixed quick if they look even slightly shonky.

Handling

A slight irrelevance if you're plumping for the Volante in the first place - you're quite blatantly in the frame for more show than outright go, but the DB9 isn't half bad. At least, not as bad as the previous DB9 Volante. Still not up there with the best though, which is a bit of a shame. Mind you, not many owners will notice, because they probably can't drive it fast enough to find out. Bitter? Us? Yes. Quite a lot and quite often.

Practicality

The DB9 is a big GT and therefore copes pretty well taking care of you on a daily basis. OK, so the bootspace gets eaten into with the roof folded, but you can always use the back ‘seats' as extra stowage. You can see out of it and is even relatively easy to drive - you could use it every day and not feel hard done by. You'll feel like a Premiership tosspot or his orange and vacant WAG, but not hard done by.

Running costs

Big. Aston's drink heavily, have massive insurance bills and need to be surgically inserted into some sort of special machine to be serviced. Mind you, the residuals are still doing ok, so tell that to the red-faced bank manager just before you show him the £122,950 receipt you'll have if you buy one.

Some of the worst car customisation I have come across

2008-08-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

While trawling on the web, I came across some hilarious car customisations that are not road worthy but are too funny not to post. There are tons more but these two were my favourite plus I can only fit a maximum of two in the blog anyway. Which one would you consider the worst? I can't decide!

Pimp My Ride - Love it or hate it?

2008-05-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Unlike a lot of people I know, I like Pimp My Ride. Who would have thought finding an old, run down car being magically transformed into a brand spanking, shiny new motor complete with crazy accessories be so mesmerising. The presenter is also top notch, in the form of West Coast rapper Xzibit who lights up the show with his charisma and all smiles approach (complete with hilarious laughter) to deliver a generally nice bloke, which reminds you of your best mate.

What I don't like about the show is how blatantly scripted it is, especially when the team at West Coast Customs sit down on the table together and discuss new ideas and concepts to make the car at its new status of 'pimped'. The facial expressions of all the 6 odd team members is hilarious as they attempt to look serious into implementing their ideas in the garage. Reminds me of the worst B movie you have ever seen.

With that aside, watching them put their ideas into practise is another awe inspiring thing for me, as watching the new metallic paint cover the old rust bucket is as exhiliarating as going on the last loop in a theme park ride. Top that with the crazy add ons they incorporate into the new Pimped out vehicles, as well as the standard underside neons and powerful sub woofers. The craziest thing I ever witnessed was the inclusion of a bowling ball cleaner complete with a set of bowling balls in the boot of a car.

The UK version, unlike its American counterpart is shoddy in every way imaginable. The team are uninspiring, the Pimped out cars are not as epic and the guests are all the boring lot from the far reaches of the UK. But what its biggest embarrassment is its host: Tim Westwood - a Fifty something caucasian English man, who claims to know Hip-Hop 'from the very first day' and incorporates a hilarious ghetto accent like he's in the grittiest end of Queens, New York. For people who don't know him, I won't say anymore. Just watch the video:

The best car chases ever filmed

2007-08-25T04:43:00.000-07:00

I have found a collection of clips of some amazing car chase scenes ever caught on camera. Who could forget the famous Mini chase scene from The Bourne Identity and of course the mad car pile ups in The Matrix Reloaded, just when you thought things couldn't get any worst. What was your memorable scene?

Wrecking ball hits car

2007-07-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Alex Habay was in his Ford Taurus, stopped at a traffic light in downtown Meadville, Crawford County, yesterday morning, thinking about nothing, idly listening to a radio commercial while on his way to his summer job at the YMCA. That's when a 1,500-pound wrecking ball smashed into the rear of his car.

"I was in complete bewilderment," said Mr. Habay, 20, of Hampton, a junior at Allegheny College. "At first I thought it was a car, but when I turned around there was no car. I was confused." So were a lot of other people in Meadville yesterday.

Meadville police said the episode began around 9:45 a.m. about 3,600 feet away, near Allegheny College's Pelletier Library, where a crane was demolishing part of the building. That's where the cable holding the 3-foot-diameter wrecking ball snapped, starting its downhill tumble from the college to the town. Police said crane operator Robby L. Boring, 28, of Meadville, was injured when he tried to stop the wrecking ball by throwing bricks in front of it.

As it gained momentum, the wrecking ball rumbled from the campus along North Main Street, pinballing back and forth across the street, hitting nine parked cars and damaging curbs with each impact. By the time it reached Mr. Habay's car at North Main and Randolph streets, it had gained enough momentum to crush the trunk into the back seat, showering Mr. Habay with glass and pushing his car into the two cars in front of him. The fourth car in line was a Meadville police cruiser.

Future Cars on Discovery highlights fuels of the future

2007-02-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

I was pretty excited about the show "Future Cars" on Discovery show when I found out about it. And, thankfully, I have not been disappointed. I wrote about the show before it actually started, and we are now three weeks into the series. The last episode, number three, is of particular interest to us at AutoblogGreen, because it covered the types of fuels that we are likely to see in the coming years. All of the usual suspects were included: ethanol, biodiesel, hybrids, pure electrics, hydrogen, solar and even compressed air were all considered, and got roughly equal coverage. Left off the list were biobutanol or any of the other bioalcohol-based fuels.

Linton, a frequent poster on Hugg, has posted his summary of each episode, and here is a link to his coverage of the third. I also noticed that the show incorrectly referred to the air-powered car as perpetual motion. The official website of the show can be found here.

The last part of this four-part series will be shown next Wednesday, the 28th of February, at 8pm on Discovery Channel. The show will be replayed later that night as well.

EDIT: After rewatching the episodes of Future Car, I was a bit alarmed at the inaccuracies of their depictions of ethanol, biodiesel and air. Ethanol was presented as merely a form of fuel derived from corn. As we all know, corn is one of the worst foodstocks to use for ethanol production. Also, biodiesel was almost completely describes as vegetable oil. In fact, that point was hammered! "ON VEGETABLE OIL" was shown on title screens something like three times. I already mentioned the fact that they described the compressed air car as perpetual power, which is not the case. Anyway, what damage will be done to each industry? Probably not too much... but miseducation is never a good thing.

Review: BMW Z4 M / Coupe

2006-11-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

Our Verdict

Feels like a modern muscle car; the ride might be a bit firm, but nothing puts a smile on your face like a BMW Z4 Coupe. It’s a modern legend.

Comfort

Possibly not. The ride is hard, there's not much headroom and you can't see anything that's further than 20ft from the rear windscreen because of the sloping roofline. But who gives a stuff? Sit down, shut up and hold on.

Performance

Two engines: 3.0-litre straight six with 265bhp, 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds and 155mph top end. That's fine and dandy until you drive the last-generation M3-engined Z4M Coupe with a 3.2-litre, 340bhp straight-six that'll get to 62mph in just five and head-butt the limiter at 155mph.

Cool

The Coupe is one of the coolest cars currently in production and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. As was the last one, actually, the now-deceased BMW Coupe.

Quality

Built like it should be; simple and strong. No issues here, though the silver plastic in the cabin can look a bit cheap in some lights.

Handling

Tail happy, hefty steering, no run-flats, no extra gubbins. The Z4 Coupe is pure joy for the driver. It's got huge grip, rides like a racing car and demands your attention all the time. Perfect.

Practicality

It's a hatch, but only small at 240 litres. It's got two seats, but don't apply if you're some sort of 6ft 4in super bean. You can't see out of the back and parking is a complete bugger. But you won't care after five minutes on a country lane.

Running costs

Group 18 or 20 for the pair of variants for insurance, 32-percent tax hit for the 3.0-litre, the full whack for the ‘M' car. Best compromise? The ‘M' car. No, really.

Its official - Schmuacher retires!

2006-09-29T04:55:00.000-07:00

It is official, Michael Schumacher will retire from the Formula 1 World Championship at the end of the 2006 season. After taking a perfect victory at the Italian Grand Prix in front of the Tifosi, Schumacher announced that he would call it quits after becoming, by far the most successful racer of all time. This was Michael's official and heartfelt announcement:

"This is the last Monza race I'll do and at the end of this year I've decided with the team I'll retire from racing. It has been an exceptional time the last thirty years of what motorsport has given to me - I've loved all the good and bad moments and they've made it so special.

I want to thank my family, my dad, mum, wife and kids all of whom have supported what I've been doing. Without their support to survive in this business and perform would be impossible. I can't be thankful to my family enough and to all my mates from the Benetton times and Ferrari days where I've made so many friends here and it's been a really tough decision to decide not to work together any more.

One day, it has to come, and I feel this is the moment. In terms of timing, I think it is right to give Felipe to find his place in the team and decide his future and there was no point for my decision to be taken any further as he's been doing such a good job for the team."

This announcement came from Michael Schumacher in the post-race press conference, with Michael doing the best to hold back his emotions and his tears. I could not do the same, for me the tears began when I saw Michael cross the line, I knew the Schumacher era was coming to an end. It couldn't come in any better of form, a flawless victory in Italy, with Ferrari, in front of the Tifosi, taking ten points out of Alonso's Championship lead, truly the best time for Schumacher to announce his retirement.

We could go on forever reminiscing about Schumacher's career and what is to come from Michael, but we won't. Michael Schumacher will retire at the end of the 2006 season. That is all which needs to be said.

Classic clip: Gran Turismo 4 vs Reality

2006-08-25T03:29:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Clarkson, host of the fun BBC car programme Top Gear, performed a head-to-head test of real life versus GT4 on an episode of the program. He ran Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in real life in an Honda NSX for a lap time of 1.57. His GT4 lap time was 1:41:148. Hilarious watching him try to beat it though. One of my favourite episodes.

Car Hire in Stuttgart for World Cup 2006

2006-02-06T05:04:00.000-08:00

If you're going to Stuttgart this year for the world cup then you'll need to hire a car.

With the FIFA World Cup 2006 about to kick off in Germany this June, the 12 host cities are finalising the preparations that will see some 3-4 million fans dispersed between them over the course of the 4 weeks. As the festival of football arrives, the German cities prepare to showcase themselves to the world and perhaps take full advantage of potential long term commercial opportunities as well as the obvious short term benefits provided by the world’s largest sporting event. Germany’s most prominent cities, Berlin, Munich and Hamburg have gained prominence over the years as international centres and short break destinations but it is the smaller and less prominent German cities that stand to gain most from the festival of football this summer.

Stuttgart is one such example. Germany’s sixth largest city has a population of some 600,000 and it’s proximity to the Black Forest suggest some strong potential as a short break destination. Located in the south west of Germany Stuttgart is set to host 6 World Cup games at the 54,000 capacity Daimler- Gottleib stadium culminating in the staging of the 3rd place play off. Stuttgart is an expansive and very green city making it pedestrian friendly and a pleasant place to stroll around. The city has many of the amenities and historical and cultural facilities that are expected of a major European city and includes the homes of the car firms Mercedes-Benz and Porsche and has a reputation as the scientific and technological capital of Germany.

Stuttgart is well positioned to cater for the influx of international football fans with a strong regional infrastructure. The city has an abundance of hotels of varying standards both in the city centre and the expansive metropolitan area. Although Stuttgart is capable of handling large volumes of visitors the availability of rooms during the World Cup is likely to be strained. Late bookers and those planning to descend on Stuttgart would be best advised to check out some of the major hotel resellers ( http://www.superbreak.com/resorts/SU-hotels.htm ) and the official Stuttgart city website ( http://www.stuttgart.de ) for up to date information and availability.

Travelling to and from Stuttgart is relatively simple. The city is well served by a regional airport with good connections to the other host cities as well as flights to major European cities. The south western situation of the city makes travelling to other host cities, particularly Munich, Dortmund, Kaiserslautern and Frankfurt relatively simple. Internal flights are likely to be full and expensive during the World Cup so other transportation options to and from Stuttgart may be advisable. Stuttgart has good rail connections with the other host cities and is a central hub on the expansive autobahn network. The length and breadth of Germany can be relatively easily traversed by road from Stuttgart as many and many of the major car hire firms (http://www.easycar.com/aspx/car-hire/destination/Germany.aspx/EN ) have a presence in the city centre or at the airport