Car of the moment: Fiat 500 Abarth

Back at the beginning of this blog, I initiated a Car of the Moment category that I intended to do semi-regularly, but it's kind of fallen to the back burner.

Well, I woke up this morning (read: mid-afternoon [NYE 2012 kept me up till the wee hours of the night]) and decided I wanted to start the year off in the most relaxing way possible, so I went car shopping.  That's right.  Nothing makes me like life more than car shopping. That's akin to someone saying the sound of a dental drill can put them to sleep, but there it is.  I'm weird, I know.

COTM: Straight six is better than straight sex

Taking a really quick break from CTW while I continue to organize my thoughts, so here's your car-like substance of the moment!

Tonight, I went to see Skyfall. I love Bond movies. I always have. I've stuck with them through the good (You Only Live Twice), the mediocre (A View to a Kill) and the dreadful (The World is Not Enough).  I am particularly fond of this current reboot of the franchise, starting with Casino Royale of 2006.  The movies are smarter, more stylish and deeper than previous installments, coming off as genuine spy movies rather than comic-like MI-5 impersonations.

One thing that I have always loved about James Bond is his taste in cars.  Without regard to how well done the movie is, James Bond always drives an interesting car.

The obviously most famous of James Bond's cars is his Aston Martin DB5, which made its first appearance in the iconic Goldfinger.  The DB5, now one of the most famous cars in history, isn't actually that remarkable.  It's somewhat slow, even for the era, with a 0-60mph time of 8.5 seconds.  Contemporary, similarly priced Ferraris were much faster and, many would argue, prettier and more exotic.

1964 DB5. Sourced here

Northern Lights- "Automobiles and the gay man"

As many of you may have noticed, cars are really one of the few things that get me going when I'm feeling depressed. I have decided to defend the stereotypical gay mobiles in my latest post over at North Star. It's light, it's somewhat interesting, I think it's funny. Pretty much the antithesis of everything I've ever written over there.  I just needed some variety.

So, go have a look!  There are two cool pictures if nothing else.

Cars of the Moment: The Japanese Supercar Edition

Japan's automotive industry is generally known for sensible family transportation. Here in the US, Honda is known for the Accord, Toyota is known for the Corolla and Nissan is known for the Altima, all of which are generally designed to get you, your passengers and your stuff from point A to point B cheaply, reliably and in relative comfort.

There have been outliers, to be sure. Honda used to make the Prelude, a fun little coupe built from spare Accord and Civic parts. Toyota had the Celica, MR-2 and Supra sports coupes for a long time before relegating them to history due to low demand. And Nissan still makes the fun-to-drive Z sports car and roadster.  Even so, ask someone to name a Japanese sports car and they'll likely be hard pressed to come up with something.

And that is a travesty, because to those who know, Japan has consistently been producing some of the finest supercars the world has ever known. They are few and far between, but they are almost always great.

Let's start with today, then look to yesterday before moving on to tomorrow, shall we?

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The Lexus LF-A is the product of 10 years of research, development and testing. Test mules, the mocked-up and cobbled-together vehicles automakers use to try out different engine and suspension settings, have been rounding Germany's Nurburgring since 2003. Design concepts have been teased at major auto shows since 2005. Finally, after four different designs and hundreds of gigantic conceptual changes, the LF-A was released to the public in 2011, with only 500 models available worldwide and a strict buyer selection process that would prevent owners from flipping their rare cars for more money in the used marketplace. 

I'd think that for each of those lucky customers, the wait was worth it. 

Now, my distaste for Lexus and Toyota in general is well-documented, but this car breaks with tradition, both in general and for me specifically. Look at the thing. Even (or perhaps especially) painted fly yellow, it looks aggressive and modern. The scoops in front of the rear wheels, the blade-like radiator vents protruding from the rear window, the bonkers-sexy interior: from stem to stern, this car's intentions are clear.

But if you're still not convinced, turn the key and listen to one of the fastest-revving V10 engines in history. Taking from Toyota's extensive experience as a manufacturer for Formula 1 racing, the engine is ultralight and mounted so low in the chassis that it doesn't even clear the top of the front wheels. The Lexus has a digital tachometer because, rumor has it, the engine is so quick to rev that a conventional analog gauge mechanically wouldn't be able to keep up.  

The whole car's structure takes shape with the use of carbon fiber, a lightweight and strong material that only recently has made the jump from aerospace and astronautics to automobiles. The carbon strands are woven in a gigantic industrial loom that was repurposed from one of Toyota's original fabric looms. A tiny piece of Toyota history goes into this car. With a racetrack-chic exhaust wail and a loud, backfiring crack with each banging gearchange, this car is designed to thrill and scintillate. How unlike Lexus, and how refreshing.

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Nissan has been making a fantastic car for markets other than the United States called the Skyline GT-R. After a hiatus in the 1970s and 1980s, the R32 Skyline GT-R was reintroduced in 1989, featuring a technologically advanced all-wheel drive system with something they called ATTESA E-TS, that could split engine power up among the wheels. For example, more torque could be sent to the outside rear tire when the vehicle was turning a corner, giving it exceptional balance and maneuverability. Further improvements were made for the R33 Skyline and R34 Skyline, with each of them gaining notoriety from the gaming crowd for their near-dominance in the Gran Turismo video game franchise. Fans of the cars were vocal. America, known to every major automaker as the least forgiving and most fickle automobile market, was ready for Nissan's supercar.

After a few tantalizing concept cars, the production Nissan GT-R (no longer a Skyline) was unveiled for the 2008 model year. With a probably-underrated 485 horsepower coming from a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 and, no hyperbole, the most technologically advanced transmission, all-wheel drive system and driver interface, that first version of the "R35" GT-R was capable of sprinting to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, faster than the $600,000 Ferrari Enzo, never mind that the Nissan cost only about $80,000 after dealers inevitably marked it up.

Fun fact: Polyphony Digital, the developers of Gran Turusmo, was contracted to design the vehicle's driver interface, which allows drivers to change suspension and drive settings and view real-time performance stats from the navigation screen.  Fun fact II: All vehicles sold in Japan are required by law to be limited to about 88 mph and the GT-R is no exception. However, if the navigation system senses that the vehicle is on a racetrack, it automatically removes that speed governor.

Later improvements to the engine, transmission, suspension have culminated in this, the 2013 Nissan GT-R. Until the R36 generation bows in a few years, this is likely as good as any Nissan will ever be. With 545 (!) horsepower, a cataclysmic launch control system and enhanced aerodynamics, the GT-R is one of three cars than can get to 60 mph in less than three seconds. The other two? The Porsche 911 Turbo, at nearly double the cost, and the Bugatti Veyron hypercar, which starts at a jaw-dropping $1.5 million.

Not bad for a Datsun, eh?
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Remember that old Honda Prelude we mentioned before? Most of them came with VTEC, an innovative variable valve timing system that allowed an engine's timing to change with revs so that it could pull strongly from both high and low RPMs. Its technology is beyond my understanding and therefore, in my mind, miraculous. I've driven a few cars with VTEC and they're all a blast.

But the system owes its very existence to Honda's original supercar, the 1990 Honda/Acura NSX. This car was revolutionary in so many ways that it's difficult to quantify. First and foremost was the VTEC system, which made its first appearance in the US market on the NSX (which was badged as an Acura here). This system gave the NSX and its 3.0-liter (later enlarged to 3.2 liters) V6 engine performance on par with the more expensive Ferrari 348 and less exotic Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette. 

However, Honda's innovations did not stop there. The NSX was also the first vehicle ever to have an all-aluminum monocoque body. In layman's terms, the car's stunningly styled body and frame were one unified piece and were made out of expensive, lightweight aluminum, making the car about 500 lbs lighter than a comparable steel vehicle.

Above and beyond the exotic-for-the-time materials and interesting engine technology, compared to its rivals, the NSX was very easy to live with. It was low-slung but still had great visibility, its interior was built with Honda quality and Acura luxury, and it was reliable and predictable when driving quickly. Unlike the fragile Ferrari 348, the tail-happy Porsche 911 and the tacky, uncomfortable Corvette, the NSX was the first supercar you could reliably drive every day and still enjoy on the track each weekend, and damned if it didn't light fires under the butts of every sports car manufacturer's management, who now had to scramble to match what plebian Honda had created with its supercar.

Said Johnny Liebermann of Motor Trend, "Do you enjoy your modern Ferrari? You have [the NSX] to thank for it."

Can't think of any higher praise for the same company that makes the Odyssey minivan...

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In the next five years, we can expect to see another sports-car renaissance from the Land of the Rising Sun.  While Toyota Motor Corporation has acknowledged that it may not build a successor for the LF-A immediately, the Lexus brand has the LF-LC sports coupe on the pipeline. While it may be considered more of a grand tourer than an outright supercar, it still looks plenty interesting, with some classy details and Lexus' new spindle grille taken to its logical extreme.  It will surely be a step in the right direction for Lexus' brand image.

LF-LC concept interior. Unreal and totally awesome.

There also will be a new version of the Nissan GT-R, and while details are sparse and incomplete, it will surely bring a whole new level of performance to the table. Nissan isn't a brand that usually ruins the recipe in one generation, so we could probably expect the R36 GT-R to improve on its predecessor, at least in most quantifiable metrics.

And then there's Honda, which is (finally) bringing us a new NSX supercar. After teasing us with the underwhelming (and front-engined!) Acura ASCC concept, then telling us it would evolve into the NSX's successor, then abandoning the project, then finally unveiling a proper mid-engined sports car called the NSX concept, its road to production in 2015 is all but unimpeded. The company's impressive SH all-wheel drive system, which will come standard on the NSX, works similar to Nissan's ATTESA. It allows torque to transfer from left to right and front to rear to give each tire its optimal level of power to keep the car going in whatever twisty line you want it to. You may have seen Tony Stark driving a new NSX Roadster in The Avengers and you probably saw Jerry Seinfeld fight with Jay Leno over who had the rights to buy the first NSX if you watched the Superbowl (and/or its commercials).

Acura NSX concept

What's interesting about each of these new cars, the LF-LC, R36 GT-R and 2015 NSX, is that they're all but guaranteed to have hybrid powertrains. The details on the GT-R are rumors at this point, but it will likely rely on gas and electricity for its motivation. The LF-LC, which will likely compete with base Bentley and top-of-the-line Mercedes touring cars, will likely see tons of hybrid technology from Toyota's extensive experience building green cars like the Prius and RAV4 Electric Vehicle.  The NSX will feature Honda's near-ubiquitous 3.5-liter V6 and electric motor mounted behind the driver and powering the rear wheels while individual electric motors will power each front wheel. Through-the-road hybrid systems like this, where the electric motor and gas engine see little interaction with each other but still provide prodigious performance, seems to be the new normal for sports cars, with even manufacturers like Ferrari getting in on the game.

While the advent of the electric motor makes a manual transmission an unnecessary impedance (electric motors make full torque starting at zero RPM, so individual gears are redundant), and while that fact makes me very sad, I am nonetheless excited to see Japan's technological prowess again translate to some pretty awesome cars.

Images sourced from Wikimedia Commons, Lexus and Nissan USA

Car of the Moment- VI

I'm a convertible guy. Dennis Simanaitis, engineering editor for Road & Track magazine (dream job!) once said, "A convertible top forgives a multitude of automotive sins," and ever since my first top-down experience, I'm inclined to agree.

(A gay guy who likes convertibles?  Oh my stars, who would have thought?)

I can't say I exactly remember how old I was or what we did, but one night, my uncle took me and his sons, my cousins, on a top-down drive in his red 1966 Mustang convertible, like the one in my avatar. I remember watching in awe as he pressed a button and the top folded neatly in a little pile behind my seat.  I remember that warm, southern Utah air passing across my face as we drove. And even though I was too young to grasp that his car had woolen brakes, unreliable bias-ply tires, and a finnicky roof motor, I still suspect that those sins would be forgiven with every al fresco drive.

The rest, as they say, is history. Since that drive, I've owned a 1989 Saab 900 convertible, a 1996 BMW 318ic, and a Jeep CJ-7, and I've shared garage space with my mom's 2006 Mustang GT convertible, a near-twin for my uncle's classic. In fact, now that I'm looking back, I realize that I've never even owned a car that didn't at least have a sunroof. In short, I'm addicted to putting the roof down, no matter the weather. (Personal record? Either the 35-degree winter sunshine I routinely subjected the interior of my Saab to or the torrential Hawaiian downpour my back seat passengers had to endure in my Jeep.)

Last week, I saw a car that had me hurting for that old Swede.  Parked next to my BMW at the grocery store was a sunflower-yellow Saab 900 Monte Carlo Edition.

Now, to be sure, the yellow is a bit much (I'm not that gay), but this thing was in such cherry condition that it almost overpowered the color.  And there's always the Catholic Indulgence that is a retractable roof.

I got home and started researching the Monte Carlo 900 and it got me lusting after a new top-down ride.  My finances aren't nearly as solvent as they have been in the past, so some snooty European ride is probably out of the question, but what about an old Celica? Perhaps a black VW Cabriolet? Or, how would the virtuous convertible roof stand up against the vice-ridden Geo Metro?

Hmm, I fear I've gone too far.  I'm not sure anything could forgive that car of its sins... Perhaps it's best to wait till I can afford...

or...

or even...

 Someday, eh?

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, carpictures.com, newcarspedia.com, thriftstore.com, and forumauto.com

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

Well, another day, another adventure.

I landed in Portland yesterday; I came out to visit some friends who live here and to help my brother move.  I flew out, but I'll be driving his 1966 Volvo Amazon home, so it's going to be an adventure.  He keeps warning me that I'll love it for the first hour and then it'll be hot, smelly, and tiring.  I hope that's his age speaking and I'll actually enjoy it.

Anyway, yesterday I landed and made my way to the Portland Art Museum.  Right now, there is an exhibit called "The Allure of the Automobile," which you know I had to go see.  I'd heard it was a smallish exhibit and kind of pricey, but I'm a devoted autophile; I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if I didn't go.  Within the first five minutes of entering the gallery, I'd made my investment back.

Pictured above is one of my many dream cars, the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB.  There's not a lot I wouldn't do to drive one of these things, much less own one.  Seeing in person the exact car pictured above, which won its class and finished third overall in the 1961 24 Hours of LeMans, was an absolute thrill.  This very design influenced countless Ferraris, several other exotics, and even the Ford Mustang Fastback later on.  It is a legend, and I got to stand two feet away from it.

Also featured, among the ultra-rare Tucker Torpedo, Bugatti Atalante, and others, was the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop.  This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful car ever built.  I think it absolutely shames anything else parked nearby.  Standing next to it, it had a presence, an air of powerful and controlled grace; it is the proverbial athlete in a tailored tuxedo.  Tell me you don't agree (Picture is of a similar vehicle selling for, wait for it, 4 million dollars at auction.  Images of the car I saw can be accessed via the museum link above.  Scroll through the gallery, it's worth it.)

All of these amazing, ultra-rare, and beautiful cars got me thinking about how good I really have it.  I'm certainly in no kind of position to ever use my Deusenberg for pizza deliveries, but I'm lucky to even be able to travel to a far-off destination, pay a museum fee, and simply look at and appreciate all of these automotive idols.  I also am grateful for designers who took the time to get the lines right and for owners who thought to care for these rare gems, rather than let them waste like I do with my cars.  I was just thinking about how lovely it is to live in a world where design and creativity in something as elementally appliance-like as a car is appreciated.  These cars are things of beauty, true works of art that belong in these museums and galleries.  Art is inspiration and I'm grateful for wherever that inspiration comes from (hint, hint).

This world is full of beauty if one takes the time to find it, and one needn't look in art galleries or the garages of the ultra-rich, either.  It's in nature and science, found in the night sky and in the operating room.  It's found in Lucky jeans, Madsen bicyles, Dyson fans, and copper and blue and red front-loading washing machines.  It's found on antique bookshelves and in gourmet kitchens and in your grandmother's music room.  Beauty is everywhere.  And every time you look at, read, taste, feel, listen to, or otherwise experience these things of beauty, they fill your life with joy.

For further information on my dream cars, visit the museum website, linked above.  Pictures are courtesy of conceptcarz.com

Cars of the Moment- V

I like the cars that aren't the obvious choice, the well-kept secrets of the automotive world.  For example,  I love the 2011 Saab 9-5.  I think it's an incredibly attractive, well-designed car that not only has the stuff to be a competitive performer, but it also has a sense of history and character that is missing in many new cars. Unlike some luxury makers (cough BMW cough), Saab isn't trying to reinvent itself anymore.  It is focusing its efforts on what has made it the quirky-sexy carmaker it is:  turbocharging, cockpit-inspired interiors, and unusual, hatchback-esque styling.

Another fringe carmaker I'm in love with is Jaguar.  Again, they are a small, left-field choice in the luxury world, but if you haven't been paying attention, they have been building some of the sexiest vehicles in the world for the last few years.  Autoblog.com states it well: "The brand is only alive today because it has sold the automotive equivalent of sex."  The company's tagline, "This is the new Jaguar," resonates with me.  The company is casting off delusions of being a heavyweight fighter like Mercedes-Benz and instead aiming for a more individualistic persona.  I'm a total sucker for their new ad campaign as well.  This spot from a few years ago has me caught hook, line, and sinker.

I've already professed my love for the brash, thoroughly American Cadillac CTS-V, but what of Cadillac's counterpart, Lincoln?  I must admit, Lincoln seems to play American Lexus while Cadillac chases the BMWs and Audis of the world, but somehow, I love Lincolns so much more than their sterile Japanese counterparts.  Again, Lincoln is capitalizing on a history of luxury and style with their cars, bedazzling them with chrome accents and a baleen-whale grille inspired by the 1939 Continental.  In that regard, Lincoln already has a leg up on Lexus, as the luxury arm of Toyota Motor Co. has only been around since 1989.  And in spite of each Lincoln's basic bones being the same as that of a more pedestrian Ford variant, the luxury brand seems to have imbued their cars with enough character to distinguish them from their lesser brethren.  The same cannot be said of many Lexus models.

The 1941 Continental, above, and the 2009 MKZ, below.  

While I can't honestly and definitively say that a Lincoln would be my first choice in a luxury car, I'd definitely recommend one to my father or less aggressive friends as an alternative to a Lexus or Mercedes-Benz.  And I can unequivocally state that, at least without driving one, I'd much rather have a Jaguar, Cadillac or Saab over their Teutonic counterparts.

Buying a Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, or BMW is the easy, obvious choice.  Just made your first half-million?  Better get down to the Mercedes dealer to pick up that E550 like the one your neighbors just bought.  Planning on retiring to Arizona?  Go on, go buy yourself a new Lexus RX350.  Still trying to prove something about yourself?  There's a BMW M3 with your name all over it.  Like I said, easy.

But if, like me, you like to do things the hard way, I can point you to one of a few intriguing options...

Car of the Moment-IV

With exception to perhaps the Ferrari Testarossa or F40, the Lamborghini Countach is the most bonkers, otherworldly thing to emerge from Italy since da Vinci's boat shoes and "aerial screw."  All you need to do to understand the essence of the Lamborghini Countach is to close your eyes and let its name slowly trip off your tongue.  Try it.  The word "Countach" (KOUN tahsh) is a Piedmontese exclamation one might utter after seeing a beautiful person enter a room; rumor has it, Nuccio Bertone gasped the word when he saw the design done by his student, Marcello Gandini.

Ah, countach!

The Countach was a revelation when it was released waaaay back in 1974.  Its angular styling was almost completely unheard of in the early 70s and the wedge-shaped appearance serves as an inspiration for nearly every other supercar since then.  Even the pedestrian Dodge Intrepid of 1994 owes a great deal to the space-efficient cab forward design that allowed the Lambo to still pack a huge V12 engine and a spacious-enough passenger cabin in a short footprint.

The cars suffered from hard, stiff brakes and wooly steering, problems that pervaded the series until it was discontinued in 1990.  The low, wide design was awful for outward visibility.  It's said that Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini's famed test driver and consultant, chose to open the vertical, scissor doors and perch his butt on the wide doorjamb to see behind the car whenever he reversed, instead of relying on the mail-slot rear window.  It was impractical, inefficient, unreliable, twitchy, and dangerous at speed, but Ah, countach!

The car pictured above and below is probably my favorite model in the Countach's germination.  This particular version is the LP500S, a model distinct from the LP400 and 400S by its larger V12 engine and the LP500 by improved suspension and engine tuning to reduce the tendency of the car to snap into a spin whenever the driver lifted his foot off the throttle midcorner.  It is, in my opinion, the best balance of the high performance of the 25th Anniversary Edition and the relatively understated grace of the earlier LP400 and 400S.  It still has that Lamborghini wing and those hefty, chunky wheels and tires, but it's free of the oh-so-80s white-on-white color scheme and grated frippery adorning the 25AE.

I will be the first to admit that Lamborghinis are vulgar, ostentatious vehicles, most of them destined for the garages of A-list pornographers and the cribz of NBA stars.  They're cars for people who wear chunky white sunglasses at night, cars for people who hear "Diesel" and think "fashion," not "fuel."  They're tossers' cars: loud, garish, and full of bravado.  

But, and I might just be trying to enable my addiction to them, I think the Countach has graduated from that frat house and into the rarified realm of the truly great cars.  If you're a car guy over 18 and under 35, odds are, you got your start by seeing a poster of a white Countach hanging in the local frame shop your mom dragged you to.  You owe your love of cars to this doorstop.  And that, as I see it, makes it a true classic.

Car of the Moment-III

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the cars that catch my attention.  This week, I've been lusting after the second-most widely produced car of all time, the Volkswagen Beetle.  Like any car guy worth his salt, I recognize the Bug's influence as the car that put Germany and much of Europe on wheels after World War II.  While it started out as a project spearheaded by Hitler's Third Reich (and in fact the early prototypes were used as military vehicles), after the war, the design was resuscitated by its designer, Ferdinand Porsche (yes, that Porsche) and the factory began churning out the ugly little things and people bought them up.  My favorite era of the Beetle goes up until 1963, during which a full-length fabric sunroof could be ordered, commonly called the Ragtop.

Last December, my mom and I were pulling through the Ford dealership near our home, window-shopping for the new Mustangs, when both our eyes lighted on a 1962 Beetle Ragtop in seafoam green and white.  The price was right for a ragtop Beetle in the kind of shape it was in, a reasonable $5000.  Instantly, my mind began racing through my options; I could trade in my car, apply for a loan through the bank, and drive up to school in my Beetle instead of the old Bimmer.  My mom, reading my thoughts, said, "GMP, you have to get this car!  This car is so cool!"  My mom doesn't care much for cars, except her Mustang, so hearing her geeking out about the car as much as I was seemed to be a sign.

The rest of the day, as we finished our Christmas shopping, we revisited the idea of the car every five minutes.  She'd brainstorm an idea: maybe my dad could buy it for me as a gift since he'd never bought me a car as he had the other kids.  Perhaps she could buy it and loan it to me for the semester so I could have a really cool car for dates and such.  Maybe they could cosign on the loan so I could get a lower interest rate. Both of our minds raced, and every few minutes, we'd catch each others' eyes and start smiling over the coolness of it.

I decided later that night to go visit my new friend.  I inquired about it and the salesman told me it had been sold about 30 minutes prior to my visit.  You could have cut the despair in my soul with a knife, haha.  I called my mom and she answered with, "It's sold, isn't it?"  We laughed at the luck of it, grateful at least that the decision had been made for me.

Since then, I've been a bit obsessed with finding my ideal raggy.  If I didn't think I'd feel like a total goober, it might look something like Herbie...

...but something like this mild custom would fit the bill just right as well.  Ah, someday.

Photos from thesamba.com, Volks World, and ridelust.com

Car of the Moment-II

I drove over to the Cadillac dealer today and got lost in the brash, American, flashy, chromed style of it all.  I love Cadillacs.  I love the way they look.  I love the way they float down the road.  I love the space, the acres of leather lining the interior, the raw, technical sound of the Northstar V8s that powered most every Cadillac from the last 20 years.  I love the wreath and crest that either stands proudly on the hood or sits boldly in the grille.  I don't know why, I just love the cars.

As I meandered down the rows of cars, trying on a few driver's seats as I passed, I imagined what I'd do if I had the $60,000 required to get into a nice, classy car.  Would I spend it on a Cadillac?  I pondered and mused this for awhile, until I reached the end of the row.  There, brooding in sangria red, I knew I'd found my answer.

The 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon.  The only American station wagon on the marketplace right now, and it also just happens to have a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 yanked from the Corvette ZR-1, along with its 6-speed manual gearbox.  A proper, honest-to-goodness manual transmission.  In a station wagon that has 556 horsepower.  The mind boggles at the possibility of pulling up to a Ferrari F430 and blowing it off the line, all while toting home a weekend's worth of topsoil and lumber.

You can't tell from the tiny pictures, but Crystal Red is so right on this car.  It's almost like red chrome.  It's deep, lustrous, metallic, and bright, but far from the arrest-me-red found on everyone's Corvette.  Combined with the wire-mesh grille and subdued brightwork around the windows, it's a look that oozes style.  This is no Teutonic restraint.  This is no English grace.  This is no Japanese logic.  This is American elegance: a whole lotta badass with a healthy dose of panache thrown in.

I also guarantee that this car will appreciate in value.  In 10 years, when America's aversion to wagons will have made the species long extinct, every red-blooded gearhead will want the only station wagon with a manual transmission and enough power to curve spacetime ever to be produced.  Buy early, you won't regret it.

BMWs are passé; everyone has one.  Lexus makes cars for the uncreative.  Mercedes? Yawn.  Cadillac is the emotional choice, and shouldn't every purchase be emotional on some level?

For your viewing pleasure, the Cadillac's only adversary, Kate Walsh:

Gosh, I could spend a week talking about that ad campaign alone.  A couple women I could go straight for (cough Sofia Vergara cough) and, um, Martin Henderson.  Cough.

Photos courtesy of General Motors.  Videos courtesy of Modernista Boston.

Dear Fiat,

Dear Fiat,

Please stop making the Fiat 500C.  I don't need anyone else questioning my sexuality when I tell them how much I love it.

Kisses,

GMP

Seriously, how cute is this thing?

Car of the Moment

So, lately, lots of my blogging has been deep, introspective, heavy, and over dense and complicated subjects.  I look at lots of my friends' blogs and see pictures of them fishing, graduation announcements, baby photos, and all kinds of "fun" stuff.  Now, obviously, I can't post pictures of myself or announce my activities, because that would give me away, something I don't want to do.  But, goshdarnit, I'm gonna be lighthearted at the very least.

I love cars.  I love love love them.  Someday, I hope to work in the automotive industry, but I hate math, so engineering's out, and I'm not very good at drawing, so design probably is too.  So it might have to just be a hobby, something to keep me sane after a day at the office or whatever.

Regardless, right now, the objects of my affection are '60s American "compacts."  I saw a 1964 Mercury Comet convertible on eBay a few weeks ago and it had me breaking my piggy bank, looking under couch cushions, and checking my trade-in value on Edmunds to see if there'd be any way I could swing the Buy-It-Now price of $10,500.  She was black with red bucket seats and white top, and a little red pinstripe tattoo running down the side and back of the car.  289 V8, 4-speed manual transmission, unassuming steel wheels with chrome hubcaps.  I could just see myself, cruising over to Sonic, my friends piled in and waiting for those delicious slushes and milkshakes, with some Jack Johnson or Ke$ha playing on the radio (You never know what the mood of the car will be.  Make sure your music's prepared.) (That could totally be a slogan for iTunes).

I'm also totally into Ford Falcons, Chevy Corvairs and Dodge Darts.  Like I said, those older American compacts really have me going.  But then, there will always be a place in my heart for the 1963 Buick Riviera.  Mine would be silver with a black leather interior.  And my garage will always have a small space set apart for when I come across the perfect MG-TC roadster at the perfect price.

This is going to be a regular segment, I think.  Cars are probably the only things that can effectively compete with queer-mo for my attention, so it's only fitting that they get some brainlove too...

Not the exact car, but you get the idea...