Are these wheels ugly? (Automotive)

I will start out by saying I was wrong about something, something automotive. It's true. I assumed the M3 would not actually come with the carbon fiber roof the concept had. I thought only the M6 was expensive enough to justify that type of modification to the standard car.(What will be left to turn to carbon fiber for the CSL model?)Don't get me wrong. This is a great thing, especially on a white M3. Look at that CLK63 Black for example. White with carbon fiber trim bits looks amazing in my opinion. I hope to follow a very similar scheme on my 2005 Sti.

Back to the point at hand. I was recently looking at the officially official pictures (as they've been called) of the new M3 coupe. When did they switch the wheels on us? I always like to save my true judgement until I see them in person, but in the pictures, I think they look ugly. And this is coming from a guy who likes gunmental rims. I feel a little betrayed personally. Just a week ago I remember looking at the M3 concept thinking, those are some hot wheels (same wheels as previous gen M3 with comp package I believe), and now...not so much. Ok, so they aren't 13" Walmart hub cap spinners, but they aren't nearly as nice as what I thought was going to be on the car. (I should mention the production wheels shown are 18"s and the concept wheels are 19"s which makes a big difference) Oh well, easy come, easy go. The comparisons below. (Production wheels top, concept wheels second) Feel free to leave a comment regarding your preference.

Super Car Sighting 4-4-07

For the first time in my life, I saw a Porsche 959 on the road yesterday. The owner of the vehicle is consistently at this spotting location, but not typically in the 959. In fact he has driven one of his other vehicles there as well, an original television show Batmobile. I'm hoping to ask the owner a few questions given the opportunity, snap a few pictures, and maybe even get a ride in the beast if possible. Here's to hoping. For those of you not well versed in the Porsche 959 legacy I have grabbed some basic info from the 959 Wikipedia page. Enjoy and be amazed. The 959 pictures below may be the same exact vehicle I saw. This picture is from a Crystal Cove car meet which is very close to where I spotted the vehicle. There can't be that many of these around, even in Orange County.

The Porsche 959 is a supercar manufactured by Porsche AG from 1986 to 1989, first as a Group B rally car and later as a road going vehicle designed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations requiring that a minimum number of street legal units be built. It is widely regarded as Porsche's first true supercar.

During its production run, it was hailed as being the most technologically advanced road-going sports car ever built and for being the harbinger of the future of sports cars; it was the world's first high-performance vehicle to use an all-wheel-drive system, it provided the basis for Porsche's first all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 model, and convinced Porsche executives of the system's viability so well that they chose to make all-wheel-drive standard on all versions of the 911 Turbo starting with the 993 variant. During its lifetime the vehicle had but one peer, with Ferrari's F40 being the only other street legal vehicle available with comparable performance.

The 959's short production run—fewer than 200 road legal versions were built, and due to its astonishing performance coupled with its rarity have always kept values high. In 2003, Canepa Design corporation, famed for their high-quality SUV conversions, began using new hardware and modification techniques to modify 959s, making them more powerful as well as bringing their emissions levels into acceptable standards so that they could become street legal under recent U.S. legislation, bolstering the vehicle's status as a collectible among American buyers who were wary of spending vast sums of money on a vehicle that previously they would not have been allowed to drive in the U.S.

• 0-60: 3.6 s.



• 0-100: 8.3 s.



• 0-125: 12.7 s.



• 0-140: 19.0 s.



• 0-1/4 mile: 11.8 s. @ 119 mph (standing)



• Top Speed: 198+ mph

Not such a Mystery after all, AMG (Automotive)

Mercedes showed two new vehicles at the New York Auto Show which caused some confusion at some other blogs...(ahem, worldcarfans) but most importantly we now have some pictures and some specs on the CLK63 Black Edition. (Yes, I guessed correctly on the AMG Mystery Car but so did more than half of the automotive blog commenting community)

For starters, it looks hot. The CLK body can be a bit plain, but the large fender flares, front, and rear fascias go a long ways to change that. I have always been a fan of DTM, and this has a bit of the look. The engine remains at the same tune as a standard CLK63, but the drivetrain benefits from a limited slip differential. Most importantly, thanks to the aforementioned LSD, and other modifications, the black edition should handle much better than the standard CLK63. The standard CLK63 has been well reviewed for it's straight line speed and highway cruising, but not for its handling. The black edition should fix that and will have Pirelli P Corsa 285/30-19's at the rear and 265/35-19's at the front. Edmunds.com claims the 0-60 time will hit 4.1. I will have to wait and see if these are real world accurate. They are quite a bit quicker than times I have seen listed before.

CLK63 Press Release


Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black series makes global debut



"Street" Version of F1™ Safety Car Helps Celebrate 40 Years of AMG



NEW YORK – The Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series is making its global debut at the New York International Auto Show, open to the public April 6-15, 2007 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Teamed with the CL65 AMG 40th Anniversary edition (a larger coupe also being unveiled in New York), the CLK63 AMG Black Series coupe celebrates 40 years of AMG high-performance cars.



The CLK63 Black Series is a street legal version of the Official F1™ Safety Car, which borrows design and technology from the Formula One racing world. For starters, the Black Series is a 500 horsepower version of the AMG 6.3-liter V8 engine, with 0-60 mph acceleration of 4.1 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 186 mph.



The new Black Series model can be easily identified by its carbon-fiber flared fenders that are filled with larger, staggered-width wheels and tires. New AMG forged aluminum wheels (9 x 19 front, 9.5 x 19 rear) are shod with Pirelli P Zero Corsa sports tires (265 / 30 R 19 front, 285 / 30 R 19 rear). Larger vented and perforated composite disc brakes can be seen through the AMG wheels; front discs are 14.2 inches in diameter, with 13.0-inch discs at the rear.



Also obvious from the outside is a new front apron with carbon cooling air intakes under the front bumper and lateral air outlets in the front fenders, which feeds extra air to a larger radiator and a second transmission oil cooler. Redesigned side skirts under the doors lead to its flared rear fenders and a new rear apron with carbon-fiber air diffuser fins.



High-performance parts from the F1 Safety Car include an AMG sports exhaust, a limited-slip rear differential and a separate oil cooler for the rear final drive, which uses a thermostatically controlled cooling fan to limit temperature peaks. On the trunk lid, a carbon-fiber spoiler airflow helps reduce aerodynamic lift forces at high speed.



Black Series Features Adjustable Suspension



The chassis of the CLK63 AMG Black Series features adjustable suspension with new spring links, wheel carriers, thrust arms and camber and torque struts. For driving on the track, technicians can adjust the car's ride height and also the compression and rebound characteristics of the shock dampers, as well as camber and toe-in. An extra measure of chassis stiffness during hard cornering is provided by strut braces in the engine compartment and trunk. Additionally, its ASR traction control and ESP stability control systems are specially calibrated for the demands of more intense track driving.



More Power from the AMG V8



The Black Series engine comes with completely redesigned intake and exhaust systems. Larger intake ducts, a new AMG sport exhaust with full-length twin pipes and a recalibrated engine control unit provides even swifter throttle response, not to mention its 500-horsepower.



The Black Series model is powered by the first engine designed totally by AMG. One of the most powerful naturally aspirated production V8s ever, the new engine boasts a wealth of features derived from AMG's highly successful racing heritage. Built almost completely from a high-strength silicon-aluminum alloy, the 6.3-liter V8 features four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, bucket followers (rather than rocker arms) and a variable intake manifold. The engine shares no parts with Mercedes-Benz V8 engines. A first for a production engine, the cylinder bores feature a twin-wire-arc-sprayed (TWAS) coating, a new process that results in impressively low friction and running surfaces that are twice as hard as conventional cast-iron cylinders.



Its seven-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT transmission is coupled to a rear final drive that's about six percent "shorter" for more responsive acceleration. The automatic transmission has Manual and Sport driving programs (the comfort-oriented Comfort mode isn't included), and drivers can shift between the seven gears using aluminum shift paddles on the 14.1 inch DTM-style leather steering wheel. In the Manual mode, shift times are about 20 percent faster than in Sport, with no automatic downshifting or upshifting under full load and kickdown. Only an upshift icon on the AMG main menu in the dash signals recommended gear changes.



A High-Performance Interior



The F1-inspired design and technology of the CLK63 AMG Black Series is carried through to its high-tech interior. This dedicated two-seater sports touring car not only dispenses with rear seats, but its bucket-type seats, rich carbon fiber interior trim and black headliner also underscore the purposeful look of a true race car. The new AMG front seats are covered in nappa leather with embroidered silver AMG logos.



Its new AMG sport steering wheel is more than a half inch (15 mm) smaller and comes with aluminum shift paddles. Carbon fiber trim on the center console and instrument cluster (also stamped with AMG logos), underscore the car's competition roots. A specially contoured Aluminum shift lever and a new engine "start-stop" button add further touches.

WRX Drama Continues, and a Spot for Polo (Automotive Advertising)

Some official pictures of the 2008 WRX Sedan and Wagon have surfaced from Subaru of America. The sedan, in my opinion, looks much better than the wagon, but I still believe niether are attractive. (Damn you chrome nose) As I mentioned in a previous post, I am not alone in this. Of course, its best to use your own judgement so take a look at the new pictures posted below. The only new tidbit of positive information I have heard is that the new generation will be lighter than the previous. That might go a little ways to explain the downsizing in braking power and lack of performance upgrade. Only time will tell.

In advertising, I recently was lead to some fun Volkswagen Polo GTI spots created by DDB Amsterdam. If you aren't familiar with the vehicle, don't be concerned. It has never been sold here in the States. In fact, the market niche it fills in the UK, performance subcompact, doesn't even exist here yet. (An Si variant of the Honda Fit could fix that a bit or if Suzuki brought over the highly regarded Swift Sport - Are any manufacturers listening!) Thanks to Youtube, all three spots all linked back to back below. Enjoy.

Like Captain Eo, just better (Advertising Automotive)

A company by the name of viZoo has invented an innovative 3-D video displaywhich has been used to advertise various client's products around the world. I first learned about them through their work for Lexus in Time Square about a year and a half ago for the new Lexus IS launch. More recently it was used during the launch of Windows Vista in Copenhagen. It's some pretty amazing technology that works especially well for new product launches, capable of giving 3-D life like images of anything from a car, to a new cell phone. The videos can't possible do it justice, but I will include a couple that should give some idea of the potential. I think people's reaction at the scene best convey the stopping power. The market for displays at big name auto shows alone is enough for viZoo to succeed, but their drive to innovate in even more areas makes them a company to watch in the future as well. www.viZoo.dk

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Lexus IS NY Times Square Display (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YegcWfTu4Oo)

Toyota Rav4 Display in the Copenhagen Airport (http://vizoo.dk/showreel_wmvs/EPK_FF_Toyota.wmv)