49 posts tagged “cars”

This was a great find at Take Note in Lower Hutt today. Take Note is a post office and gift shop run by my friend Mandeep but I have never bought a book from there before. I was surprised to find it displayed prominently and being an automobiliac I paid the $40 for it.

   My cover differs slightly: the News Gothic-set headlines have been replaced by the same text in ITC Benguiat, while the lettering around the masthead is now Akzidenz-Grotesk. Inside, there are great Car articles from 1965 to 1974, covering the best of the first decade (I became a reader, thanks to Gary Hayvice, whose daughter was a classmate of mine, in 1981). I grew up with Llewellyn, Bishop, Setright and the rest; I remember Bulgin, and very briefly, wasn’t there a chap called James May? But some of the earlier talents appear in this compilation.
   Some articles are prescient—the warning that Honda could be a big player if it chose to build saloon cars, and the war for oil and how it might run out (from the first fuel crisis in the 1970s)—and others are less so, such as the warning that a Channel Tunnel would be a folly. Others are plain out of place in today’s politically correct world, namely the nude models that adorned cars at motor shows.
   There are even old advertisements, including one for women—flogging copies of Good Housekeeping. It was very sexist and the idea that cars were designed to pull birds was very much in evidence.
   It’s hardcover, so it should be a proud collection of 1960s’ and 1970s’ motoring journalism in my home.

Got this baby till Monday. First time I played with sat-nav in New Zealand and it is surprisingly accurate. Without the ass-warmers, I mean, seat warmers, and heavier steering you kind of feel you are taking a step down from the A5 with the S-Line pack, but the sat-nav partly makes up for it. Quite sprightly for a 1·8 and better than the previous BMW 320i, though to be fair I need to compare it with the latest model. Easily better than the Mercedes-Benz C200K in terms of the gearbox (eight speeds in this sucker) but that heavy steering is a surprise. Full review in Lucire later.

For some reason, I found the Buick Park Avenues of interest on Autocade today.

Buick Park Avenue (C-body). 1991–6 (prod. unknown). F/F, 3791 cm³ (V6 OHV). Attractive, roomy Park Avenue (the Electra tag disappeared), allegedly inspired by Park Avenue Essence show car of 1989. Characterized by darkened A-pillar. Supercharged Ultra model from 1992, but even base models had good performance. Thirsty, with sub-par steering and handling on base model. Not quite the top model, as Buick Roadmaster held that title for the early 1990s.

Buick Park Avenue (C-body). 1997–2005 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/F, 3791 cm³ (V6 OHV). Revised Park Avenue, roughly the same size as Buick LeSabre; now Buick’s range-topper in US. Sold on quality image and above-average ride; not a particularly inspired handler. Ultra models had thirsty supercharged V6. Portholes (Ventiports) returned for Ultra for 2003 model year. Final 3,000 called Special Edition.

Buick Park Avenue (WM). 2007 to date (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/R, 2792, 3564 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Chinese-assembled version of Holden Statesman (WM), but with visual differences such as visually large grille, different bumpers, and no indicators and vents in wings aft of the front wheels. Smaller Australian-built 2·8-litre unit related to one from Cadillac CTS available on Chinese edition, along with 3·6 from Holden Commodore (VE). Otherwise mechanically similar to Statesman.

I am a sucker for the “could have been” car stories, so stumbling across American designer Herb Grasse’s site was a real bonus today.
   Grasse was associate designer on the original Adam West Batmobile but he worked on many production cars, too, including the original Dodge Challenger, the XD Ford Falcon, the original Ford Laser of 1980, and the second-generation Ford Telstar. He was chief designer at Nissan Australia before its demise.
   Start on Herb’s production cars’ page and link from there—a very fascinating portfolio. It shows the XD Falcon was far more Granada-like at drawing stage, and that the Mazda Familia origins of the Ford Laser were far more obvious in earlier sketches. The first Telstar had shades of the Ford Taurus years before that model’s launch, while a clay for the second Telstar showed strong EA26 Falcon influences.

Not everyone in New Zealand has a brand-new car. At Bristol Motors in Upper Hutt, where I get my car serviced by Stephen Hamilton (one of the rare breed: an honest mechanic, ex-New Zealand Army), there are quite a few classics being looked after. New Zealand does not salt its roads, so many of these have been well preserved. I have blanked out the number plates of the cars shot indoors since these are not vehicles you would see passing by Bristol Motors’ building.

   Two Germans: a BMW 633 CSI (one of my old favourites from this company) and a Hansa coupé, from the now-defunct Borgward company. There’s a small plate inside mentioning Goliath-Werke AG, another name from the past. Next to them is a Bentley.    I am no authority on Rileys but I assume this is a 2½-litre model?    Another rarity, a Vauxhall Velox drophead. A saloon version was parked outside:    If it were not for the SUV across the road, you’d have to ask what year this photo was shot:    And finally, an Australian Ford LTD from the 1970s with a grille that aped Rolls-Royces and Lincolns:

Yesterday wasn’t all Audis. Some of my journalist colleagues came in other press cars.

   There were plenty of jokes being bandied about the BMW X6, the car that blends a coupé roofline with a four-wheel-drive concept. I even joked that someone had left the Rover SD1 files around when BMW owned Rover. But really, I quite like the shape and I even think a market exists for it. This is not because of any “category” but because there are people who want something looks butch—yet they do not want to have the “domestic” feeling of an upright tailgate, particularly from the inside. I reminded my colleagues of the AMC Eagle SX/4 of 1981, which found buyers—ultimately the market will decide, not us.
   The registration is BMW 630, which was something else altogether 30 years ago.    Everyone loved the Jaguar XF, apart from its thirst. Again, it’s a coupé roofline—just that it’s mated to a saloon. It’s on my must-drive list.
   All in all, I found the journos on this press launch far nicer as a group than what I confront in the fashion media. Maybe it’s a gender thing but everyone was so relaxed. We in the fashion media tend to be uptight most of the time and the only people who appear relaxed are the people who can fake looking relaxed. There were some genuine friendships and colleagial respect at Pukekohe.

Last night, Vox (or probably the Java-featured ads) was crashing badly and I couldn’t post the remaining images. Here they are, from yesterday’s time out at Pukekohe.

   Damien from Driver magazine and I went out to shoot this one, so I take credit for the location! But I think he will run his pics before me. This is the A3 Cabriolet, which looks far better in the metal than when Lucire did a preview article about it earlier this year.

   The A3 Sportback 1·4T was torquey and powerful—I loved it. I had the refinement of a much larger car and I never felt I was driving a smaller-engined model. It’s very much like driving a regular Golf 1·8.

   Finally, two more TTSs for y’all to enjoy.  

Today was a fun day: flying to Pukekohe for the launch of three Audis.
   The first was the Audi TTS—the TT with a turbocharged two-litre, replacing the V6 (which I drove last year) in the New Zealand market. I always said that the car could do with this powerplant, which is also in the S3—and the TTS has the lovely flappy-paddle gearchange. I only managed to see 210 km/h though due to my lack of experience on the Pukekohe track.
   Secondly, the Audi A3 Cabriolet, for the aspiring Laura Holts who can no longer buy a traditional, Karmann-style Volkswagen convertible. The hood is incredibly quiet—I noticed virtually no difference between this and a regular A3 in driving.
   Thirdly, the Audi A3 Sportback 1·4T, in response to the demand for lower-capacity vehicles—but it has more power than the outgoing 1·6 and compares nicely to the two-litre.
   They will be covered in more depth in Lucire, and I will have photos from the 35 mm, but for now, here are some low-res shots via cellphone.

Above: Audi A3 Cabriolets in harsh morning sunlight. Above: A meatier Audi TT: the TTS. Above: A very discreet S is added to the TT badge. Above: Audi TTS in white.

   I will end the post here as Vox is crashing (I have been trying to save for the last hour—I even changed to Firefox which took seven minutes just to paste this text in, without the pictures). More shots in the next one, if I get some time.
 

Jerry Flint in Forbes is one of the most intelligent motoring industry commentators in the world today. I pretty much agree with his latest column on saving GM. Highlights:

The issue is not whether there can be a rescue at General Motors; the issue is whether the current management can save it. The record is not good. Since 1992, GM’s U.S. market share has fallen steadily—from 34% that year to 19% in May. Many of GM’s leading executives are from the finance side of the business, but the financial failures are numerous. The company wasted $2 billion on an investment in Fiat and many billions more on the Delphi spin-off. Management also wrecked GMAC, its car loan subsidiary, by lending mortgage money to people who could not pay it back.

   And:

Unlike some commentators, I do not think GM’s problem is that it has too many divisions. It is shifting Buick, Pontiac and GMC to common dealerships, which means some divisions are becoming more like individual models rather than full-fledged brands. It causes less public relations damage and legal liabilities to leave Buick with a few models, rather than endure the type of bad publicity it endured a few years ago when it phased out Oldsmobile.
   I think that GM made a big mistake and did a great disservice to itself and to its dealers when it recently announced that it was looking for ways to unload Hummer. Yes, the biggest Hummers are gas pigs, but Hummer is a strong brand to put up against Jeep. It was a mistake, too, to cancel production of the Hummer H4, a smaller vehicle to compete against the iconic Jeep Wrangler. Just because consumers are flocking to vehicles that are more efficient does not mean that they do not want exciting, macho, sport utility vehicles.
   Russia has plenty of oil and enough wealthy people for vehicles such as Cadillac Escalades and Hummers. Why can't GM step up its export business to such markets?

   Jerry Flint also believes that Bob Lutz and many GM folks can lead the company to recovery. This might be worth a post on the main blog.
   Incidentally, I have been told that Condé Nast Portfolio published my letter to the editor about the US auto industry.

Show us the very last picture you took. No cheating!

This was last Saturday, at the home of Lucire beauty columnist Nicole McKinnon and her husband Paul. Paul likes his American cars and in his garage is a 1977 Ford Granada with a 302 Windsor V8. Neither the German nor the American Granada was ever sold in New Zealand, so this car is unusual here. He was surprised I knew what it was and that I could enter into a decent conversation about these old intermediates and the Mercury Monarch twin. He even says it is less heavy than I had believed, and that he can get reasonable mileage out of it.
   However, it might have to go so Nicole can have a more practical car for herself and their daughter, Hannah.