As much as Jeremy Clarkson complains about fat, uncool Americans and their crudely-made, overweight cars, General Motors managed to come out on top in two categories in Top Gear's annual awards.
If you said the Corvette ZR1 was a winner, you'd be totally correct. The 638-hp supercar was a shoo-in to win over the Top Gear team, just as we guessed when they were caught driving at at the Bonneville Salt Flats earlier this year. Chevrolet's baddest Vette ever sped off with top honors in Top Gear's Performance Car of the Year category.
The second award winner won't be quite as easy to guess, mostly because it's not sold in the U.S. Top Gear's Executive Car of the Year is the Vauxhall Insignia which is based on GM's Epsilon II platform. The magazine likes the car's looks and technology. We won't bother predicting whether we'll see it here eventually. For that to happen, Saturn will need to be around, and right now, we'll have to wait and see what happens on that front.
Sarcasm, they say, is the lowest form of wit, but in some situations it's the only thing that will do. Take a poor parking job, for example. We've all been there, we've all seen it, and we've all had the same thoughts. And since anything and everything can be merchandised these days – including our thoughts – it was only a matter of time before someone brought something like this to market. And that someone is Jack Spade, who's offering a set of cards that read "nice parking" -- perfect for sticking under the windshield wiper of particularly offensively-parked vehicles. Of course the white cards, which come in packs of 25 in a black box, leave room to scribble extra words. Like "numb-nuts." Or other words we wouldn't print on a family-friendly website.
We can think of worse things to do than spend a day at a BMW dealership configuring the vehicle of our choice. To make the experience of selecting the Ultimate Driving Machine even more engaging, BMW and Microsoft have teamed up on futuristic touchscreen tech. BMW's Product Navigator is like the iPhone, only supersized and on steroids, and it proves that the inventive types at Microsoft are alive and well. Hit the jump to view BMW's new Product Navigator in action. The tabletop touchscreen interface enables users to pick a BMW, modify colors and content, and even save the finished project to a thumb drive to take home with them. As customers configure their vehicle on the Product Navigator, a plasma TV on the wall displays video and specs of that exact vehicle.
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We started our monthly calendar of events last month and learned almost immediately that we will never be able to make it as comprehensive as everyone would like, but that's where you come in. Take a look at the list we've put together for December after the jump, and if you see changes that need to be made or events you'd like to add, leave a comment with event info and a link. Once again we've used two of our favorite resources: the New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and for local stuff here in Southern California, our buddy Dave Lindsay's SoCalCarCulture pages. Dave's photos from these local events are fantastic.
So check out the December event calendar we put together for you after the jump and start adding to it. And please note the large number of Toys 4 Tots drives being put on by local car clubs. With tough economic times it's important to remember that every child deserves a toy. Happy Holidays everyone!
The Ferrari World Finals at Mugello finished a few weeks ago. But someone appeared to have forgotten to tell the tifosi, as a loyal garrison of the Scuderia's most loyal fans, thousand-strong, came back out last week to the track. After the Challenge series were decided, the 16M Scuderia Spider unveiled, the FXX program ran its laps and the fans celebrated the Formula One constructors' championship, what exactly were they hoping still to see? How about the prospect of seeing an Italian driver piloting an Italian F1 car around one of Italy's most famous tracks? And not just any driver, but Valentino Rossi, a world champion with credentials to rival Schumacher's.
Valentino Rossi is an unassailable legend in motorbike racing, having taken the titles in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc categories in quick succession before moving up to MotoGP and taking the championship five times... so far. Having achieved dominance on two wheels, Rossi has examined the possibility of switching to four. He's competed in several championship rallies, winning the Monza rally in 2006. He initially tested a Ferrari F1 car at Valencia in 2006, where he embarrassed some of F1's most experienced drivers, prompting him to consider a professional switch to Formula One before ultimately deciding to stay in MotoGP. This past week's test session was just for fun then, but Rossi still proved his mettle. He lapped Mugello at 1:22.550 – just a second and a half behind Kimi Raikkonen's time – on his first drive without traction control. Rain interrupted the second day of testing, but while Rossi showed promise, he admits he'd be too old to start in Formula One at this point. Shame for F1 fans, but reassuring for MotoGP aficionados.
If automaker-produced kitesurfer-in-distress videos are your thing, VW's got your back. While you wait for the production version of the Concept Pickup the automaker unveiled back in September, how about checking out VW's promo film starring the truck, a pair of lifeguards, and yes, a kitesurfer in distress. Will the guys use the in-dash GPS? Yes! Will we see the pickup drive semi-urgently through sand? Yes! Will she make it? Duh! Will we have a demonstration of how well a collapsed kite fits in the bed? Yes again! Am I alone in thinking it's weird that the lifeguards dive into the water wearing helmets? Anyone? In all, a serviceable vanity film for the pickup. Needs more yellow, though. And Hoff.
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The show must go on! In this case, we're talking about what's arguably the most important auto show in America: Detroit. It'll be a cold day in Hell January for fans of Nissan's finest, as the Japanese automaker has officially pulled out of the proceedings. The event will still attract a huge audience, despite the horrible economic state that many Michiganders find themselves in, and there's no way that the local Nissan and Infiniti dealerships want all that foot traffic ogling every brand but theirs. Thus, none of us should find it too shocking that said dealers will be making their own display in January in Detroit.
Like the recently announced display for the Chicago Auto Show, the Detroit showing is not officially sanctioned by the mothership and it won't be staffed by professionals. At least fans of the marque will get the chance to see Nissan's latest products, sort of. Unfortunately, some of Nissan's biggest attractions won't be there, including the new Cube and the new-for-'09 370Z. Seriously Ghosn, can't you just throw these poor guys a bone by at least shipping out a single, solitary new Z?
The preparations have begun for the race formerly known as the Paris-Dakar. The entrants have begun to gather in Le Havre, France, for scrutineering before shipping out to South America for the Dakar's run across Argentina and Chile. Mike Werner was in Normandy and captured in photographs what was going on. If you ever wondered wanted to see what it takes to get ready for a big-deal international race, the words to describe the images are "intense preparation" -- right down to making sure the vehicle sound level doesn't breach 95 decibels.
Remember the growing movement to caravan a few hundred of Detroit's most fuel efficient vehicles to the automaker's next meeting with Congress? Not happening. Interestingly, it wasn't for lack of support. In fact, it was just the opposite. So many people had voiced their support and announced their intentions to join in that the event's organizers just weren't able to keep up. Talk about a logistical nightmare.
Organizers have not given up on the idea completely, launching a new website called TheEngineofDemocracy.com that's supposed to drum up support for Detroit and fuel efficient cars in general. Along with an outpouring of support via the interwebs, a list of 51 people from various suppliers, dealership workers and Union officials will accompany the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to Washington - one from each state plus one from the capital itself - to prove that the loss of the American auto industry would affect everyone. At this point, we think it's safe to say that Wagoner, Mulally and Nardelli will be, ya know, driving to the proceedings.
Audi-philes have even more reason to rejoice now that news comes in of an imminent TT-RS launch next March at the Geneva Motor Show. The standard-fare TT offers plenty of punch, and the TT-S spices things up a bit with a high-pressure version of Audi/VW's 2.0L forced-induction four banger. Sometimes, way too much is, ya know... just enough, and for speed freaks, Audi has apparently green-lighted an ultra-hot version as well. The RS will bring the vaunted inline-five engine configuration back under the hood of an Audi, and it's a turbocharged unit derived from the mill that normally sees duty in Jettas and Golfs. If that doesn't sound like a good enough bloodline, think of it as half of Lamborghini's V10. With as much as 340 ponies corraled through a six-speed gearbox and quattro all-wheel drive, expect the TT-RS to be hottest four-ringer this side of an R8.
