World News – Page 8 – The Unmuffled Auto News

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012 zoomvroom Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, World News

The 2013 Pagani Huayra is Finally Coming to the U.S. by Year’s End!

For those fans of the Pagani Huayra, (namely me), I am very, very, very happy to report that the $1.66 Million Pagani Huayra is FINALLY coming to the U.S. (legally!). The first U.S. spec car for the very first U.S. customer in the should be in my driveway by May 2013 at the latest 🙂 I’ve heard that nailing it in the Huayra is like going full-power in an SR-71 (Motor Trend Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie compared it to putting the afterburners on in an F-15 [I’m all for speed and handling…]).

Huayra’s are meant to be driven. Fast. Very fast. The Huayra is such a safe car that it makes a Volvo S60 with every single safety option checked, look about as safe as a unicycle! Pagani has spent nearly $900,00 (NOT $90,000!) in developing a unique fuel system that helps eliminate the scary threat of fires in the rare event of a crash. Plus, Pagani is currently developing a sport + mode that will lower the car 10mm, switch off ABS, stability control, AND eliminate the Auto Upshift that currently happens when you are in Comfort Mode or Sport Mode. This will allow the driver more traction/control at higher speeds. 🙂

The primary reason the Huayra wasn’t imported in to the U.S. had to do with airbags. The car had the wrong type of one-stage airbags (now it’s got two-stage airbags). That meant that in the event of a crash, the airbags wouldn’t completely deploy. Oops. Well, all the kinks are being ironed out and I can’t wait to start driving mine!

If you haven’t read my previous post on Huayra’s, Horacio Pagani, and other interesting Pagani vehicles, I strongly recommend your reading my post on Horacio Pagani: https://unmuffled.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/horacio-pagani-yet-another-great-car-guy/

Oh, and the video for the Pagani Huayra on their website is extraordinary and deserves it’s own Grammy award! The cinematography is enough to make you sell all your personal belongings and drive your brand-new Huayra throughout Argentina! If you wait a couple of years, I’ll do it with you!…http://www.pagani.com/huayra/default.aspx

Note: Please note this momentous event is being categorized by me under ‘world news’, and ‘gifts for the car enthusiast’. Note my shameless hints…..

June 19, 2012 zoomvroom New car info, World News

At Least Three Reasons Why YOU Need a New Car!

The 2012 new (and used) car market has picked up 10% since February. Auto industry bigwigs are (correctly) thinking that you’ll need a new car pretty soon. Pent up demand and all. Though the economy may not be allowing you to get a new Lamborghini Gallardo, it hopefully does allow you to get a brand-new car that fits your needs and budget.

Because of so much demand that had been held back for a few years, Honda has redesigned their Civic compact, added a natural gas-burning engine to it, and introduced a redesigned Civic Hybrid and put out a new Civic model called the HF. Toyota has redesigned their hum-drum Yaris subcompact to a point where it actually GIVES buyers at least one legitimate reason to buy it. They have also introduced a new Pruis subcompact. But, those pale in comparison to the fact that Detroit is making green, fun-to-drive, and dead-on reliable iron.

Anybody needing a new set of swanky wheels who wants to travel to Chicago in September should check out the various automakers’ vehicles. Some good examples include the most fuel-efficient, lightest Cadillac ever; the ATS, the swanky 2013 Dodge Dart which has aggressive pricing starting at an amazing $16,000, and also happens to have a glove box designed to hold an iPad (any generation…), and the diesel VW Beetle convertible!

Though GM may be the largest U.S. automaker, Ford is generating enough buzz to give a bee a sore throat. Why all the buzz, you might ask? Well, the 2013 Fusion is going to be a sleek, midsize family sedan that would make Captain Kirk abandon ship in favor of it! It comes in a conventional gas engine, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid versions. Yet, with all the green-machines, there’s still room for a timeless muscle car: The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will debut there with an all-new supercharged 5.8 liter V8 pumping out 650 horsepower, and close to 700 lb-ft of torque. Oh, and did I mention that it has a speed of over 200 MPH?!! VROOM! That should be just enough to get all the other American automakers getting serious…

So start shopping!

June 6, 2012 zoomvroom World News

What’s Up With Ferrari’s and Dragon Tattoos?

The title may sound weird, and it does NOT refer to the Steig Larson book! Instead, it is referring to the rapidly growing Chinese car market. Automakers are rushing to sell their best to the rapidly growing number of rich Chinese people.

From the Ford Model T of 1908 to the second-generation Honda Fit of 2008, America enjoyed a HUGE boom of cars. America held more than just the impressive title of the most cars sold in a year (17 MILLION light-duty vehicles at it’s peak in 2005!), but we were also unrivaled in being a global tastemaker of cars. Our humble beginnings started with the revolutionary Ford Model T, progressed to the 1959 Cadillacs with the tail fins that acted as big nuisances when going around corners, to the 1996 GMC Yukon/Chevy Tahoe SUVs that force you to watch the gas gauge very carefully, to the gigantic 22-inch wheels found on the 2009 Cadillac Escalade , and finally to the simply amazing Chevrolet Volt. We were truly leaders in technology, looks, utility, and so much else.

Over the years foreign automakers seduced us with their big, fast Porsche Cayenne, strangely fun Honda Ridgeline, and the first Ferrari to ever have stock cupholders; the Ferrari 612 Scagliette. They won our hearts, but none of them could keep our souls for long… Now the U.S. is the shrinking dragon in the room as we make room for the rapidly growing Chinese dragon. In 2009, China was the largest buyer of cars at 18 MILLION! By 2020, China is expected to have sold at least 30 MILLION cars a YEAR!

Because cars are pretty much the only priority for the rapidly emerging Chinese middle class, automakers are forgetting that China’s economy and environment cannot possibly cope with such a rapid influx of cars. Opium was THE drug to take in China in the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s. Now it’s fancy cars that are fast gas-guzzlers.

Unfortunately for these automakers, there are trillions of Chinese yuan on the table, waiting to be wasted on (yet) another Mercedes S-Class The problem is these automakers don’t know how to design cars that will win the wealthy Chinese hearts. At the moment, the Chinese seem to have a large obsession with Western luxury cars and the chrome look (grilles that are ready to swallow you alive, waxed surfaces, long hoods, huge rims, etc). But the big thought is: how long will it be before the Chinese start asking automakers to start making cars that fit their culture. We just don’t know what Chinese luxury looks like yet. Who knows how long it might take?

But, it’s not all bad: we have learned that the Chinese are very interested in showing their wealth through their cars (Hey, if you recently acquired a lot of money, you might want to do the same thing!). New Chinese buyers have so far been shunning the chintzy-yet-fun Chinese cars in favor of the looming, decorative Audi front ends (Audi’s are used as state cars by the Chinese government!). For the Chinese, bigger is certainly better. Audi, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, and many others unveiled extended-wheelbase cars for wealthy (ish) Chinese to be driven around by chauffeurs. Ian Callum, Global Design Director for Jaguar said “Chinese consumers love to be driven probably more than in any other market. They love opulence, they love all the conveniences, they love to show off.”

If you’re now wondering how this will affect you, don’t worry! It really won’t affect you, unless you buy a new Buick or Volvo. If there are any doubters, go to Google Images and type in “American Buick” and then “Chinese Buick.” You will see that there isn’t that much difference. I’m not trying to put down Buick OR Volvo (both perfectly good brands), I’m just pointing out the facts.

June 2, 2012 zoomvroom World News

What’s Up With the Infineon Raceway Name Change?

As some of you who are into the computer, news, or racing world, the ten-year naming-rights contract between the management of what was Sears Point Raceway and the bigwigs at Infineon (tech company) has just ended as of today. If you are unaware of this and are at all frightened for the sake of the raceway- don’t worry! While the management of the raceway searches for a new company to have a naming-rights contract with them, or simply to be privately run by the staff, the raceway will simply be called “Sonoma Raceway.” Hopefully by the end of the year, there will be a new major sponsoring company or the track will be privately run, and operate on the same schedule. Only time (and money) will tell what will happen.

If you have any opinions, concerns, and anything else you would wish to ask or tell the staff, feel free to send them an email at namechange@racesonoma.com

By the way, they have a new website: racesonoma.com

The phone number for the raceway is the same at 1-800-870-RACE (7223), and they have a new YouTube channel; Race Sonoma, a new Twitter page, @racesonoma, and a new FaceBook page at facebook.com/racesonoma. You can still find them at their old FaceBook page as there is no specified date.

Here is the link to my post on Infineon:

https://unmuffled.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/infineon-raceway-a-legendary-track/

P.S. For those of you who felt left out about the American Graffiti Salute, you can enjoy the Peggy Sue’s All American Classic Car Cruise in Downtown Santa Rosa, CA on JUNE 9, from 6-9 PM! See you there!

May 18, 2012 zoomvroom Car Culture, World News

The Japanese Mater… (A ‘Cars’ Reference)

If you’re thinking of the tow truck that had to pick you up yesterday, it would be ridiculously over sized on Japan’s tiny roads! Tow trucks, along with many other things, are ‘supersized’ in America. The tow truck I’m thinking of is quite different – it’s Japanese, it’s got two wheels, and it’s a Honda!

Yes, it almost looks like something out of Terminator or one of the Transformers movies, but it’s not. Here’s two “Transformers” together somewhere in Japan…

Here are a few pictures to entertain and to educate!

When I first saw the picture of one of these tow vehicles starting to tow a early ’90s VW Golf, I thought my eyes were deceiving me!

I also have sad auto news to pass along. Carrol Shelby died six days ago at the age of 89 from pneumonia. You can check out my biography blog post of him through the link below.

https://unmuffled.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/carroll-shelby-a-legendary-auto-tuner/

https://unmuffled.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/carroll-shelby-part-2/

May 2, 2012 zoomvroom Car Reviews, New car info, World News

What’s Fiat Times 500?

About twenty years ago, Fiat pulled out of the U.S. market because of the chintzy Fiat 500. Let it be chintzy no more! Zippy around town, the peppy Fiat 500 is making a comeback that should make you forget any memories of working under the tiny hood of the previous 500. The 500 has an all-new (to us) 1.4 liter MultiAir engine that pumps out a meager-yet-peppy 101 horsepower (up to 160 in the sporty Abarth version) and a skimpy 98 lb-ft of torque. It may not sound like a lot, but it’s definitely enough to “meet” with an officer of the law (read CHP…)! All the reviews rave about the peppy engine and amazing five-speed manual (just add an extra speed, Fiat!). Fiat recently brought over the amazing Fiat 500 Abarth, which has a 1.4 liter MultiAir engine pumping out a mighty 160 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque. Mated to a smooth, quick-shifting five-speed manual. Oh, and did I mention 0-60 mph in 6.87 seconds! VROOM! The engine has an extremely wide rev band (fuel cutoff is at a screaming 8200 RPM!) that, when in Sport mode, will give max torque at 6500 RPM. The Abarth has a lower, beefier suspension than the normal 500, which makes it a lot of fun in the twisties. Plus, it has a new muffler that makes the tiny four-banger sound like a Nissan 370Z V6, not a weedwacker! The Detroit Bureau saw the Abarth go all the way up to a steady 153 mph at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park’s 2-mile dragstrip. The normal 500 can barely manage 117. If you want a peppy car for under $30,000, and you’re only planning on having two people in the car at all times, than the Fiat 500 Abarth might just be for you. Plus, there’s a $2,500 engine upgrade that boosts power to 200. And the Abarth is a great car for the daily commute and a weekend warrior. How about it? I even “built” an Abarth for you on Fiat’s website that will only make you pay $25,950! http://www.fiatusa.com/hostc/bmo/CUX201203FFFX24A/2DX/summary.do

Fiat has worked really hard to erase any bad feelings about their owning the Chrysler Corporation. They recently redesigned the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 (awesome job, guys!), plus they redesigned the Dodge Durango and they also freshened the Chrysler Sebring (now Chrysler 200) and the Dodge Avenger. Just to top that off, they redesigned the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and freshened the rest of the Jeep line. If that wasn’t enough, they just brought back the SRT (previously Dodge) Viper. Nice!

I almost forgot to mention that Fiat is health-conscious! They’ve got a Fiat 500 Pink Ribbon Edition, to promote breast cancer awareness! I’ve attached the link for the main Fiat USA website below.

http://www.fiatusa.com/en/

April 11, 2012 zoomvroom Biographies or "the who" in the auto industry, World News

A Goodbye to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.

On a snowy December 11, 1935, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (known as F.A. to the business world, and Butzi to family and friends) was born to Ferry Porsche and Dorothea Reitz. He was the grandson of the legendary Ferdinand Porsche, who started the company. One of his closest cousins was Ferdinand Piëch, the renowned VW Chairman/Engineer. From kindergarten to his senior year in high school, he attended the Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany. For his college years, he went to the Ulm School of Design. But, he was rejected by the board of directors because they doubted his talent. He immediately found a job at Porsche’s design department, which was then run by Erwin Komenda.

In 1961, he started bringing sketches of cars to Komenda. In 1960, he brought in the sketch of what we now know as the Porsche 911. Komenda did not like the design and went ahead designing some unapproved changes to the the project code “901.” F.A. and Ferry Porsche both complained. So, Ferry set the main attributes concerning: wheelbase, power stats, suspension, and interior space. Still, Komenda would not allow the design to go to the engineering department. So, Ferry and F.A. took their plans across the street to a well-known coachbuilder, Reutter. Within three years, the car was ready for production. Just four months before the car was about to be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Peugeot intervened because they had a trademark protection for any production car that had a “0” in it. Ferry immediately paid the fine, and the car became the Porsche 911. His two door, four-seat, rear-engine creation is now one of the best-selling sports cars in history. Production began in October 1964.

In 1972, he retired from his job as head of Porsche’s design section, and he went out with a bang that was heard on racetracks all over the world. Thus, the Porsche 904 was born. The 904 didn’t need to be the 914 (that came later), as it wasn’t a production car. It was a race car built to win. And win it did. In just three years of racing, it won 130 podium wins, and only suffered two major crashes.

After F.A. Porsche left Porsche’s design section to start his own company; Porsche Design . He started the company in Stuttgart, Germany, but after two years, he moved the company to Zell am See, Austria. While he was CEO of Porsche Design, he designed a chronograph wristwatch that was produced for almost twenty years by the Swiss watchmaker, Orfina. It was totally different from other chronograph wristwatches by being made out of matte black chromed steel. As Porsche Design grew, the product range completely diversified. Washing machines, nine bathroom designs, various furniture, kitchen knives, television receivers, desk lamps, cool tobacco pipes with air-cooled engine-inspired fins, pens made out of the wire-cloth stuff that is still used for oil lines in racing engines, computer monitors, computer external hard drives, coffee makers, and even a grand piano for the Austrian piano maker, Bösendorfer. What a slacker…

In 2005, F.A. “Butzi” Porsche retired due to health reasons. A few years before he retired, he was asked by a journalist about his design work. His reply was, “”A product that is coherent in form requires no embellishment. It is enhanced by the purity of its form. Good design should be honest.”

On April 5, 2012, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche died. The causes of his death were not provided from the Porsche family, Porsche AG, or Porsche Design. Also, Porsche AG and Porsche Design declined to give more information about survivors when making the announcement. Butzi Porsche was 76 years old.

Here is a picture of him in 1999, while he was waiting for a brand-new Porsche Boxster. And he was at the factory! Picture from January 22, 1999 shows Ferdinand Alexander Porsche next to the logo of German car maker Porsche in Stuttgart.

February 11, 2012 zoomvroom Car Reviews, World News

This is My Dream Come True!

Since 2007, rumors have been circulating the web with this not-so-credible (but I wish were true) story.

A New York man retired. He wanted to use his retirement money wisely, so it would last, and decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal. The modest farmhouse had been vacant for 15 years; the owner and wife both had died, and there were no heirs.

The house was sold to pay taxes.

There had been several lookers, but the large barn had steel doors, and they had been welded shut. Nobody wanted to go to the extra expense to see what was in the barn, and it wasn’t complimentary to the property anyway… so, nobody made an offer on the place.

The NY guy bought it at just over half of the property’s worth; moved in, and set about to tear in to the barn – curiosity was killing him. So, he and his wife bought a generator and a couple of grinders… and cut through the welds.

What was in the barn? Don’t miss it!

One can only dream for this to happen. Maybe that’s even too optimistic for a dream. Or, if it is real, I really DON’T believe it! I’d need somebody like the FBI and/or the CIA to look into it first. It’s even more so with all these rare and collectible cars. As a contributing editor to Road & Track, Tom Cotter said, “Huge collections of cars just don’t happen. Cars are accumulated-sometimes lovingly, sometimes not-by someone with a purpose.” After a long time cruising the web looking for the photographer who took pictures, he was able to get this credible information from the photographer: Manuel Menezes Morais was the photographer who clicked a lot pictures for the elusive owner in 2005. The owner most likely lives somewhere in the Sintra region of Portugal (near Lisbon), hired Morais, scanned the pictures onto his computer, put them into an email with this fake story, and sent an email to some random unsuspecting person in the car world who then was so excited that they unknowingly started a worldwide internet hoax.

Here are all the derelict cars that Morais says are NOT for sale! Too bad, as there are some that people would pay millions for. Morais was able to contact the owner and ask him what his favorite car in the whole collection is. The owner told him it was the Lancia Aurelia B24. The owner has two. Enjoy these derelict beauties! That is the one good thing of looking at all these fake sites with these real cars! They ARE REALLY cool! My personal favorite is the 1948 BMW 507 Speedster about a third of the way down.

Sigh…… If only…

February 8, 2012 zoomvroom Humor, World News

Delhi Street Traffic (No, it’s NOT a Jewish Deli line!)

Close your eyes, click your heels three times, and imagine yourself in a bustling city where cars and Vespa’s whiz around cows the size of yaks. The air smells of manure, spices, and gasoline, horns blare, and there are crowds. We’re talking New Delhi, India. New Delhi is definitely no stranger to the thousands of sacred stray cows that roam the streets. Many cows are owned by illegal dairies, and the owners often try and seriously wound the 180 or so cow catchers the city employs. Sure, the bovines are quite mad at being taken forcibly off the streets. Perhaps, one of India’s national images is a lone cow sauntering down the highway. According to Parveen Kumar, one of the cow catchers, the cows spend their days munching on anything, be it a plastic bag (it is estimated that over 300 plastic bag’s are in just one of these cows’ stomach’s), a newspaper, a beer bottle, whatever these animals find, they eat.

According to Brajveer Singh, another cow catcher, the more dangerous folks are enraged drivers or motor scooter riders. These drivers and riders often get into fist fights with the cow catchers. The drivers and riders lose… Also dangerous are extremely religious Hindu’s, who have, on many occasions pelted these beefy bovines with stones, or worse, the cow catchers. This often means that the “smallest (all cow catchers are above 200 pounds)” cow catcher will often go and beat the stoner with his bare fists.

Another Singh, Virpal Singh (who is NOT related to Brajveer Singh), said that the “milk mafia” is the most influential obstacle. These illegal dairy owners often use political connections to get the cows they own back. If it wasn’t for these people, Delhi, and many other Indian cities would be bovine-free.

Here’s some pics of these big bovines…

This picture may look like photoshop, but it ain’t! These bovines happened to bull their way onto the track (get it?!), and leave some special ‘gifts’ (okay,excrement). Lewis Hamilton was a full hour ahead of Sebastian Vettel, as he wound his way around the track at an amazingly fast 16 mph (going downhill!), after being stuck behind a monstrous bovine! He clocked a blindingly fast 3 hour, 12 minute time around the track!

Don’t complain the next time you are stuck in traffic. Be grateful you aren’t stuck behind one of these bovine beauties!

February 4, 2012February 4, 2012 zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, Uncategorized, World News

The World’s First Airplane Car Thing… the Terrafugia Transition

So, remember how I’d said that I’d announce a very lucky winner today? Well, I think we’ve waited long enough…Are you ready? I’m sorry, I must be deaf! I said, ” Are you ready?” I thought so! Our lucky winner is…………Carolyn Boyles! Congratulations Carolyn! Please contact me with the address you’d like the subscription sent to.

What the %#&! IS Terrafugia, let alone the Terrafugia Transition? I thought the same thing! Well, if you’re interested (which I’m sure you are!), the Terrafugia Transition is the FIRST flying car available to the public. Available, as in July of 2011, NHTSA cleared the Terrafugia Transition for legally driving on public roads. The Transition is a milestone in terms of cars that can fly! FYI: That doesn’t include jumping a Jeep off of a huge pile of rocks! But, don’t expect to see Transition’s for at least another 5-6 months. Though Terrafugia has been around for about 13 years, they don’t have a factory big enough to commercially produce the $250,000 flyable car. The Terrafugia will cost about $250-60,000, a company spokesperson said in September 2011. Powering the 970-pound Terrafugia is a Rotex 912S engine makes 100 horsepower. Guzzling only 35 mpg on the ground, a driver/pilot can go up to 300 miles on the ground, fill up with 23 gallons of premium unleaded automobile fuel, and take off from a local airport, go about 425 miles, fill up, and repeat the process. When on the ground, the Transition is rear-wheel-drive, and when in the air, the Rotex 912S engine acts as a pusher engine. The one small problem with the Transition is that it only can hold two people and 100 pounds of luggage. Terrafugia is thinking of making a larger model for oil companies to use, as the Transition only needs about 300 feet to take off. When on the ground, the Transition can go up to 65 mph. When in the air, it can go 112 mph, with a stall speed of 45 mph. The one thing the Transition is NOT meant to do is aerobatics. The steepest angle it can go at is about 70 degrees in any direction. This also applies to when going on a road, so don’t plan on going on narrow, hilly roads – you probably won’t make it…

Also, don’t expect to see a Transition take off from a long stretch of road or freeway; it’s required to take off and land from an airport. That also means that if you have a long, straight driveway, you cannot take off from it! One of the many things that NHTSA granted Terrafugia (which means “escape from land” in Latin) was to use RV tires, but Terrafugia is now asking to use equally safe motorcycle tires, as they are lighter, and as safe, if not safer. Terrafugia’s MIT trained engineers designed the folding wings of the Transition to be only 6’8″ tall; short enough to fit into an average garage. Terrafugia estimates that the Transition, which has been in development since 2006, to cost only $60,000 a year to maintain. The estimates for how much money will be spent on gas for the Transition are about $28,000 a year, as it is as efficient as a Honda Insight. American made, this car is good for people who want to buy local. All you have to do is wait for one to be produced and have $250,00 in the bank!

As Edmund’s InsideLine said “That’s one small step for mankind, one giant leap for Terrafugia.”

Enjoy looking around on the Terrafugia website, impress your bos, and lose yourself in the land of Terrafugia! http://www.terrafugia.com/index.html