April 14 (Bloomberg) — With all due respect to Toyota, the Prius is just plain ugly. There’s a good reason for its bulbous shape, which cuts air drag and improves efficiency. Honda’s hybrid, the Insight, looks remarkably similar.
Aerodynamics aside, part of that inbuilt dorkiness is calculated — an honor badge proclaiming that the car is a hybrid and, by extension, the driver a do-gooder. Hark the new world order: Nerds shall rule.
It makes me yearn for the time when your car wasn’t quite so political. {To read on Bloomberg News} (more…)
The collection: Ferrari Californias ready to be driven
My friends complain. In fact they complain a lot. Often it is directed at their high-school counselors (“Why didn’t they point out writing? Oh yeah, it had no money in it!”) More often it’s directed at me. “What trip are you taking now? I don’t want to hear about it.” Click.
I don’t blame them, not least of all because I can be pretty smug. Becoming a writer was a pretty good decision for me all things considered. (Though the counselors were right: There is no real money in it. Damn details!)
But there are assignments and there are assignments. When a magazine like Outside Go calls up (or perhaps when I call them up, as in this case), and an ideal scenario is presented, magic happens. The scenario: Fly to Sicily for a road trip, driving the brand new, not-yet-seen-on-American shores, Ferrari California. [Read the story on my site here, or on Outside Go itself.]
Um, yes!
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OUTSIDE GO
The nose knows: The fire-breathing Ferrari California
[This article appears in the Spring 2009 issue of Outside Go—click to read it on their site. All photos shot by Joshua Paul.]
A quintessential Italian landscape: Rolling grapevine-covered hills, sheep tended by crooked-back herders, and ancient stone castles outlined against the bright-blue Sicilian sky. Beautiful, no doubt, but as I’m screaming down the road in a brilliant-red Ferrari at 130 miles per hour, there’s precious little time to look.
Fifth gear, and the Ferrari California’s 454 horses are absolutely howling. I trigger sixth, and the convertible picks up more speed, the wind ripping at my hair. My apologies for spoiling the peace, but chances like this come along once in a lifetime. [It's true: Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse in my blog.]
City scape: Slipping through back alleys in a Sicilian mountain town
There are road trips, and there are road trips. Exploring the dramatic island of Sicily by sports car is a good start, especially knowing that Italians adore any bella macchina. Bring the newest Ferrari out on the road-a car virtually no one has seen in the actual aluminum flesh-and you’re an insta-hero. Cries of “Bravo!” and “Bello!” follow in the California’s hot exhaust like ticker tape. (more…)
Fontainebleau lobby bar: Shakin
April 2 (Bloomberg) — The ideal Miami getaway goes something like this: Ensconced in a private poolside cabana, you’re brought a steady stream of drinks while beautiful people drift by — and you haven’t a care in the world.
Despite Florida’s housing mess and faltering economy, the Fontainebleau hotel has created a world-outside-the-world feel. Except for the cabana’s flat-screen TV showing 24-hour news, I could easily have been in the hotel’s 1950s heyday, divorced of current cares. I could barely muster enough concern to ponder my next drink order.
That’s lucky for the Fontainebleau, as the owners spent $1 billion renovating the iconic semi-circular structure on 22 acres of Miami Beach, including the construction of two all- suite towers for a total of 1,504 guest rooms. With vacancy rates nationwide the highest in years, that’s a lot of space to fill. {Click to read on Bloomberg News} (more…)
