Bullish: Once called the Gallardo, now Lambo prefers the LP 560-4. Sigh
Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) — This is an open letter to car manufacturers — a request, even a plea. Stop with all the numbers.
I’m not talking about 0-to-60 times or horsepower ratings. I’m speaking of the gobbledygook, alphanumeric model names that more and more carmakers are using.
Consider this month’s Frankfurt Auto Show, where we got a first look at new models and concept cars. For every cool, easily recognizable name like the Aston Martin Rapide, we saw many more like the Audi A3 1.2 TFSI and Lexus LF-Ch.
Are these cars or alphabet soup? [To read on Bloomberg News}
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Wet and Wild: An SL63 AMG at the AMG Driving Academy; shot by J. Gregory Raymond/Bloomberg
Review by Jason H. Harper
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — This is a high-tech piece of Teutonic machinery: a sedan with a 518-horsepower, hand-built V- 8 assembled by a single technician in Affalterbach, Germany. And I’m drag-racing the sucker.
A signal man standing between me and my competitor holds up both arms and counts down from three. The challenger and I rev our $88,000 E63 sedans, the latest powerhouse from Mercedes- Benz’s performance arm, AMG. The guy drops his arms and we launch down the straightaway.
In just over 4 seconds we blast past 60 miles per hour and then crank on the brakes. We’re supposed to come to a thundering halt between two sets of cones — a stop box only slightly longer than the sedans themselves. Travel beyond and you’re disqualified.
Tires howl, brake dust flies and my car stops perfectly. I win.
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Die-hard diesel: BMW 335d goes and goes and goes...
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) — BMW wants you to know it’s paying attention. As a company whose cars are aimed at people who enjoy performance driving, some consumers may feel that it’s out of step with all things green.
The Munich-based automaker has an answer to that: “EfficientDynamics” — two capitals, no space — which is public-relations speak for cars that burn less fuel but aren’t a total bore to drive.
Next week’s Frankfurt Auto Show will showcase a BMW concept vehicle powered by a three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and two electric motors — basically a plug-in, hybrid sports car. (more…)
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Sometimes the Southern California beach bustle is just too much. We’ve got two days of downtime on the West Coast and are trying to get away from the noise and the crowds.
Driving north from Pacific Beach to La Jolla, we’re beset by rampaging reality-TV film crews, get-out-of-my-way surfers and as much concrete as beach.
Not quite what I had in mind when I was envisioning sun and solitude around San Diego.
When we reach the beachside community of Del Mar, we point our car inland, toward the lushly moneyed hills of Rancho Santa Fe. Silence, the kind that can only be bought with bucketloads of cash, soon surrounds us. (more…)
