Cars
Life is a learning experience. Of five children borne by my parents, one of the three that hated school the most always had the most incisive question for me: "What did you learn today?" And when I told him, "Nothing", he'd basically accuse me of lying. "You learn something new everyday, so what did you learn today?"
Keep in mind, he was done school before I started; so great was our age difference. The education system was a different thing in my era. However, he's right. Even with my automotive enthusiasm running rampant, as GoodCarBadCar grows and material still flows out from a recent trip to the heart of autodom, The Good Car Guy still learns.
If there really is a new learning experience - at least one - everyday, I must be in a position to tell you seven things I learned this week.
Beginning with mistaken preconceptions toward the midsized family sedans that dominate the American marketplace. You can read about it right here at GoodCarBadCar. Honda's latest Accord is a sweetheart, offering more than just a nice personality....
Then comes the world's attitude toward Saab. Give me a handful of minutes and I'll explain to you the state of automotive conglomerations and mergers, from which part
of the world automakers are derived and the state of each manufacturer in existence. But in a conversation with a young, auto-inclined, urban business-type, as I wrote an article mentioning one of General Motors high-end brands, this person acted surprised. "Oh," she said, "I forgot Saab existed." Ouch. Well, Saab does exist but its ageing lineup is not doing Saab any hype-generating favours. In times like these, production of a halo car like the Aero-X is desperately needed....
Thirdly, although I frequently pay little attention to the dream world of specialty cars beyond the realm of widely known, respected, and favourited brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini, the Callaway C16 Speedster did a number on me. Reeves Callaway has been creating outrageous Corvette-based cars like this for quite a while. The Speedster shares not a single body panel with the Chevrolet, but its engine is a supercharged version of the latest Corvette engine. Cars without windshields always have great impact on me. The fact that Callaway stripped 20 pounds of unsprung weight from each corner and is, as one pundit put it, "... light on its feet, with supple, easy steering and a remarkably compliant ride," put me over the edge. Check out MotorTrend's video of the car in its Multimedia section....
Midway through a week's worth of automotive education, I discover that a typical American Porsche 911 customer spends $8,109 on options. Put another way, a 911 Carrera S is not $83,800 but $91,909. The basic all-wheel drive 911 you see likely cost $87,509 rather than $79,400 USD....
Mitsubishi's upcoming Lancer Evolution generates 10-15 more horsepower than Dodge's Caliber SRT-4 from a slightly smaller turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Manufacturer estimates peg the Evo as a heavier car than the Caliber, by about 200 pounds. Their estimates also suggest that the Evo is also more than a half-second quicker to the mile-a-minute marker. Mitsubishi's pocket-rocket (my choice any day of the week) will likely cost $10,000 more than the Dodge and be worth every penny....
12 meteors enter the atmosphere every year sized bigger than a car. I learned that at Think-about-it.com, an intelligent way to reposition (or enhance your position) your brand as engineering-driven. Even if that engineering is computer engineering. An interesting website for this fast-rising Asian behemoth....
Finally, Bill Clinton owned a burnt-orange Opel station wagon.... somewhere around 35 years ago. Hillary thinks it's one of the ugliest cars ever built.
- Gm Announces Deal With Koenigsegg On Saab Sale
General Motors officially announced today that it reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Saab division to a consortium led by Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg. The deal that is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year includes...
- 2009 Saab 9-4x Compact Suv Renderings
Our little chit-chat with a Saab PR last week wasn’t only about the facelifted 9-3 that’s coming this fall with a new AWD version fitted with a 290Hp 2.8 V6 Turbo engine, as we also learned that Saab will debut its first-ever compact SUV,...
- Callaway C16 Convertible To Debut In New York
Corvette specialist Callaway announced that it’ll introduce a convertible version of its Z06 based, C16 Coupe that debuted earlier this year, at the New York International Auto Show in April. Like its Coupe sibling, the Convertible will be equipped...
- C/d's 10best
Car&Driver names their 10Best. A few dozen auto websites and blogs tell you about it straight away. GoodCarBadCar gives you more than that. Sure, the 10Best are named below, but so is an interesting fact about each. I do declare, GoodCarBadCar's...
- Saab 9-7x Aero Driven
Product detail lists, the specifications of different equipment lines and their respective features, are not the best part of GoodCarBadCar. In fact, they're completely absent. The Good Car Guy believes in supplying you with opinion, based on knowledge...
Cars
THIS WEEK'S AUTO EDUCATION
Life is a learning experience. Of five children borne by my parents, one of the three that hated school the most always had the most incisive question for me: "What did you learn today?" And when I told him, "Nothing", he'd basically accuse me of lying. "You learn something new everyday, so what did you learn today?" Keep in mind, he was done school before I started; so great was our age difference. The education system was a different thing in my era. However, he's right. Even with my automotive enthusiasm running rampant, as GoodCarBadCar grows and material still flows out from a recent trip to the heart of autodom, The Good Car Guy still learns.
If there really is a new learning experience - at least one - everyday, I must be in a position to tell you seven things I learned this week.
Beginning with mistaken preconceptions toward the midsized family sedans that dominate the American marketplace. You can read about it right here at GoodCarBadCar. Honda's latest Accord is a sweetheart, offering more than just a nice personality....
Then comes the world's attitude toward Saab. Give me a handful of minutes and I'll explain to you the state of automotive conglomerations and mergers, from which part
of the world automakers are derived and the state of each manufacturer in existence. But in a conversation with a young, auto-inclined, urban business-type, as I wrote an article mentioning one of General Motors high-end brands, this person acted surprised. "Oh," she said, "I forgot Saab existed." Ouch. Well, Saab does exist but its ageing lineup is not doing Saab any hype-generating favours. In times like these, production of a halo car like the Aero-X is desperately needed....Thirdly, although I frequently pay little attention to the dream world of specialty cars beyond the realm of widely known, respected, and favourited brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini, the Callaway C16 Speedster did a number on me. Reeves Callaway has been creating outrageous Corvette-based cars like this for quite a while. The Speedster shares not a single body panel with the Chevrolet, but its engine is a supercharged version of the latest Corvette engine. Cars without windshields always have great impact on me. The fact that Callaway stripped 20 pounds of unsprung weight from each corner and is, as one pundit put it, "... light on its feet, with supple, easy steering and a remarkably compliant ride," put me over the edge. Check out MotorTrend's video of the car in its Multimedia section....
Midway through a week's worth of automotive education, I discover that a typical American Porsche 911 customer spends $8,109 on options. Put another way, a 911 Carrera S is not $83,800 but $91,909. The basic all-wheel drive 911 you see likely cost $87,509 rather than $79,400 USD....
Mitsubishi's upcoming Lancer Evolution generates 10-15 more horsepower than Dodge's Caliber SRT-4 from a slightly smaller turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Manufacturer estimates peg the Evo as a heavier car than the Caliber, by about 200 pounds. Their estimates also suggest that the Evo is also more than a half-second quicker to the mile-a-minute marker. Mitsubishi's pocket-rocket (my choice any day of the week) will likely cost $10,000 more than the Dodge and be worth every penny....
12 meteors enter the atmosphere every year sized bigger than a car. I learned that at Think-about-it.com, an intelligent way to reposition (or enhance your position) your brand as engineering-driven. Even if that engineering is computer engineering. An interesting website for this fast-rising Asian behemoth....
Finally, Bill Clinton owned a burnt-orange Opel station wagon.... somewhere around 35 years ago. Hillary thinks it's one of the ugliest cars ever built.
- Gm Announces Deal With Koenigsegg On Saab Sale
General Motors officially announced today that it reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Saab division to a consortium led by Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg. The deal that is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year includes...
- 2009 Saab 9-4x Compact Suv Renderings
Our little chit-chat with a Saab PR last week wasn’t only about the facelifted 9-3 that’s coming this fall with a new AWD version fitted with a 290Hp 2.8 V6 Turbo engine, as we also learned that Saab will debut its first-ever compact SUV,...
- Callaway C16 Convertible To Debut In New York
Corvette specialist Callaway announced that it’ll introduce a convertible version of its Z06 based, C16 Coupe that debuted earlier this year, at the New York International Auto Show in April. Like its Coupe sibling, the Convertible will be equipped...
- C/d's 10best
Car&Driver names their 10Best. A few dozen auto websites and blogs tell you about it straight away. GoodCarBadCar gives you more than that. Sure, the 10Best are named below, but so is an interesting fact about each. I do declare, GoodCarBadCar's...
- Saab 9-7x Aero Driven
Product detail lists, the specifications of different equipment lines and their respective features, are not the best part of GoodCarBadCar. In fact, they're completely absent. The Good Car Guy believes in supplying you with opinion, based on knowledge...