Do You Have to Pay to Play? (Automotive)

Shout out to Winding Road for the chart above, and to autoblog.com for bringing it to my attention. It features a nice little breakdown of performance per dollar using horsepower, weight, and price. Thanks to the abundance of cheap speed, some econo cars come very high on the list. It makes a lot of sense. One can get 280 or 300hp in a car 1/5th the price of something with horsepower in the 450-600hp range. Supercars price points are not supposed to be a linear extension of normal cars, however. Their price is one piece of their super puzzle.

The Ariel Atom comes in first, but is there really anything it doesn't win at, besides comfort? It also reminds me how badly I want one. It's like a motorcycle you won't die in, as quickly.

Yo Speed Racer! Your 2008 Mach 5 is Ready (Automotive)

This is the first and only picture of Speed Racer's ride for the new movie of the same name. I have to admit, it looks pretty hot despite it's required cartoon features. The designers have done a good job modernizing the look, without destroying the heritage. It's still far too soon to tell what we can expect from the movie, but let's keep our fingers crossed.

For more information check out the USA Today article here.

Shout out to Autoblog.com from bringing this to my attention

Prototype Spotted, But What is It? (Automotive)

I spotted a prototype zooming by in Irvine today. Unfortunately, it went by too quickly for me to snap a picture with my camera phone. In a weird twist of luck a couple of my family members saw the same vehicle and took a quick picture for me. Now that's love. Problem is, I don't tell what I'm looking at for once. It is a sedan masked to look like a coupe, and what isn't shown in the picture is a sharper nose. For some reason those wheels make me think Mazda, but that could be some confusion on my part. If you have a guess or answer to my question, feel free to write in the comments section.

Go Fly A Kite, Audi Style (Automotive Advertising)

Here is a cool little ad for the new Audi A5. It's not as out there and creative as that Peuguot ad I featured here a few days ago, but it's still a very unique idea. The kite was successfully pulled and flown by the two Audi A5's. No specific effects were used. Plus, it happens to coincide nicely with my own recent interest in kites. I kid you not, I bought my first stunt kite about 2 weeks ago and towed it off the wing of my Sti. Alright, I'm kidding about that last part, but I really did buy a stunt kite. Welcome to the twilight zone.

The video below is a short about the making of the commercial. It's definitely worth a look to see how it all went down.

Build a Bear, for Boys (Automotive Business)

Here's a new one to add to the list of businesses I wish I thought of. From the people that brought you build a bear, comes build a car. As soon as you hear it, you know its an idea that works. Take a car obsessed country, and give them the ability to built their own little mean machines in stand-still or RC form. What's not to like? Just to put the icing on the cake, Chip Foose is apparently attached to the project which means it's legit. Hopefully the models are based on real makes so I can pick up a 2005 white Sti on gold Advan RS's. It should be a much less shameful experience than my last Build a Bear fiasco. Check out the original article, about the company and not my fiasco, from the New York times here.

Restoration Hardware, the Masculine Kind. (Automotive)

http://www.mat.fi/projects.htm

You often see the most amazing craftmanship and attention to detail in a restoration. Be it a muscle car, or just an old favorite, the work is at times, beyond belief. There is no better example of this than the Rally Toyota Celica Turbo found top of the list at the link above. The pictures are gorgeous and thorough, and document the process from damaged rust bucket, to original spec masterpiece. Take a look around the Makela Auto Tuning site and it's easy to see this level of work is the norm. It doesn't come cheap, but perfection never does.

Thanks again to The Knower for bringing this to my attention.

A Good Time to Love Fast Wagons? (Automotive)

A post over at worldcarfans.com focuses on upcoming high performance wagons. Opposed to the previous generation of the M3, the E46, the new M3 will come in four variants: a coupe, convertible, sedan, and now apparently a touring model. To keep the competition hot and heavy Mercedes is bringing a touring version of the Mercedes C63 that should have somewhere between 420 and 450hp. The new Audi S4 avant is far away however, coming in 2010. However, we should get an RS4 avant as well around then if we're lucky.

It's Like that Jamiroquai Video, but for F1 (Automotive)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1799513879746122105&q=bmw+f1+wind+tunnel

F1 Racing is an incredible and most expensive sport in the world. The drivers are superstars in almost every country but ours. The F1 tracks are in some of the most exotic locales around including Bahrain, Barcelona, Budapest, Melbourne, Monaco, Monza, Istanbul and Dubai to name a few. The cars hit 200mph and can pull up to 6G's. The race teams budgets are enormous. (All 11 teams combined for 2006 spent 2,986 million or 2.986 billion dollars)

So where does all that money go? The video above may be a small explanation. The technology involved to build and develop these cars is just astonishing, but fun to watch so check out the video to get inside this world.

A shout out to The Knower for alerting me to the content and to Motorauthority.com for featuring it

The video below is just for poor analogy entertainment.

Road Eats a Prius (Automotive Advertising)

This is the new Toyota Spot for the Camry Hybrid. The voiceover is still done by Ed Harris (The Rock, Apollo 13, etc) but the visuals are what make this ad stand out. The special effects and CGI work are top notch, and create a visually catching ad that quickly conveys that a hybrid Camry exists, and that it's technology is based on the Prius. Mission accomplished.

Teakwood on a Car (Automotive)

Not every car comes with some teakwood. In fact, I can't think of any until now. The Rolls Royce Phantom Drop Head is a special vehicle. The convertible top is covered by a tonneau made from teakwood. It requires a special oiling at every service interval to keep it in good condition, and to prevent creaking. Opulence at it's finest.
Thanks to edmunds.com for the heads up, and the photos.