Sunday, May 15, 2011

Peugeot EX1 - Yes, It Sets A New EV Speed Record...BUT.....

"The Peugeot EX1 was piloted by Stephane Caillet and lapped the 20.8km Nordschleife in 9 minutes 1.338 seconds with an average speed of (yawn) 138.324km/h. Note that Peugeot have quoted until the 1/1000th of a decimal point for both lap time and average speed. I suppose when you're going this slow every 1/1000th of a second counts. "


Click here to read more about the Peugeot Electric Car That Looks Like A BatMobile But Is Slower Than One. 

Taiwan's Luxgen Neora is a Mish-Mash of Ideas

A concept car by a Taiwanese car maker. Nothing really interesting but this is what new manufacturers try out in order to find a distinctive identity.

Click here to read more about it. Posted over at Myautoblog.org.

Sunday, May 08, 2011

A Bentley that thinks its a Porsche GT3 RS

"You can tell that it is very much a boy racer with those ‘ISR’ go faster stripes on its side; ala Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Somehow no one told Bentley that the over 2000kg Continental Supersports that no matter what you do, a Bentley will not float like a butterfly and then sting like a bee."

The Bentley Continental Supersports ISR...... Click here to read more about it. Posted over at Myautoblog.org.

Monday, May 02, 2011

Some thoughts about car interiors of the near future

"The sketch you see above is one of a future Audi A3 Sedan. Ignore the funky steering wheel as it may be drawn that way to show the rest of the dashboard. And what do you actually see? A dashboard devoid of signal switches, wiper stalks and gear knobs. "

I posted some thoughts on the interiors of cars over at MyAutoblog.org. I suppose soon we will see stuff like those in I Robot turn into reality.

Click here to read more about it.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Volvo Concept Universe - The First Concept Car Under Geely and It Looks Slightly Awkward But Nice

"Those that are familiar with classic Volvo design would recognize the Volvo PV544-like bonnet, low set headlights and the shape of the grille. Its design team actually did spend some time looking at classic Volvos and I believe that it does look portray the essence of the earlier Volvos. The nose from the three quarter angle shows off the car pretty well. It may look awkward at first but it does make the car a little different than the norm."


Click here to read about it. Posted over at Myautoblog.org.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Volvo 850 T-5R and the 850R

"Once upon a time, Volvo was famed for its safe and utterly box-like or brick-like 240, 740, 940 series of cars. Everyone who was an uncle actually wanted one. It exudes safety through its brick-like shape and Volvo marketed the 'S' for Safety word to the hilt. Volvo marketed safety and some people like me would say that it also marketed dullness. "

No Volvo in the last fifteen or so years made as much impact as the 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R.

Click here to read what I think about it and the Volvo 850R that came right after it. Written by yours truly and posted over on MyAutoBlog.org.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Capturing the essence of the original Skyline GT-R: Wald Black Bison Nissan GT-R

".... their Nissan GT-R Sports Line Black Bison Edition is very tasteful in my opinion. It captures the essence of the first Nissan Skyline GT-R, the KPGC-10 from the 1970s with that simple black rear wheel arch extension and it works."


I think you readers will also agree wholeheartedly with this opinion of mine. Click here to read about it. Posted over at Myautoblog.org.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Nissan Latio Sedan = London Black Taxi....Really

Recently I keep seeing black coloured Nissan Latio sedans on the road. I have a problem with the way the Latio sedan is styled. It basically has one of those failed hatchback to sedan designs. It may not be as ridiculously bad as the previous generation Honda City or that Pug Ugly Peugeot 207 Sedan. But it's close, quite close.

You see, the Latio Sedan maintains that ridiculously high roofline of the Latio Hatchback. It then has a truncated looking boot that makes the roof look even higher. And then it has small wheelarches, this also makes the roof and the body of the car look tall. The whole car is ungainly. It looks like it was designed for women whose hairdo require building permits due to height issues. It the good old days where men wore top hats the Latio would be well accepted. Men who wear such hats would love it. Women with those KLCC height hairstyles would adore them.

Racing drivers and tuners would totally hate the car for the unnecessary height. Anyone who thinks that their Nissan Latio is from the same Nissan tree as the GT-R must suffer from some sort of mental disorder. Really. The car that is the actual relation of the Nissan Latio sedan is actually a modernized London Taxi Cab. And if you buy a black Nissan Latio, it cements this link even further.

Let me give you a run down on the London taxi cab as well as comparing it with the Latio sedan.

Taken from everyone's favourite free encyclopedia – Wikipedia - The traditional black cab (so-called, despite being of various colours and advertising designs) is designed for its purpose. There have been many models over the years. The space beside the driver's seat can be used for luggage, although there is much luggage room in the passenger compartment. The turning circle is smaller than other vehicles of similar size (a black cab is said to be able to "turn on a sixpence"). The cab seats three people on the back seat, and two more in backwards-facing "jump seats"; there is good headroom, originally for passengers wearing top hats.

Now let's fill in the blanks with the Nissan Latio - The traditional Nissan Latio Sedan (so-called, family car despite being of various colours and advertising designs including something called the Latio Impul) is designed for its purpose. There have been many models over the years. The space beside the driver's seat can be used for luggage, although there is much luggage room in the passenger compartment. The turning circle is smaller than other vehicles of similar size (a Nissan Latio is said to be able to "turn on a sixpence"). The Nissan Latio interior seats three people on the back seat,"; there is good headroom, originally for passengers wearing top hats.

Okay, I've edited it slightly it slightly, but now take a look at the photos below. The similarities are striking and with that, I hereby state that if you buy a Nissan Latio Sedan, you're actually buying a London cab.