Scirocco driven

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Automakers

Believe it or not, the biggest problem I faced last month was choosing a car for my wife.

It should be automatic, of course, it shouldn’t be too powerful, but it shouldn’t be lame, it should be stylish, but not necessarily expensive, and it shouldn’t be big, but it should find space for our labrador also. Well, no matter how I added up and compiled data, my head wasn’t able to find the correct answer.

And then it hit me. Did this job ruin me already? Am I turning into a freak who always gives advice, but is never able to follow his own teachings? Well… not really. In the end, I think it happens to all of us. At some point, you need professional advice from outside. And then you make a choice and move on.

Well, I made a choice with the help of a good friend and now I’d like to spill beer on his pants every day for the rest of his life. Early in the morning. Because in the meantime, after my wife finally got her car, I got a chance to drive the new VW Scirocco. And I’m glad I’m pissed off at him and not at me. I could have killed myself…

And by saying these things I don’t necessarily mean this would have been the perfect car for her. No, I’m saying it would have been a good car for both of us.

This new Scirocco is actually everything the other two generations were, minus the edgy design. It’s a medium priced sports car for people who like to be fast, like their cars to have personality and you can use it daily without being afraid to be pathetic.

The 2.0 TSI produces 200 HP @ 5.100 rpm and hits the 62 miles an hour in 7.1 seconds. A little bit slower than the GTI himself, but the Scirocco make up for the lost time on curvy roads. The car rides simply amazing and I can’t really put my finger on what’s exciting about the Scirocco.

But I’ll try.

It’s got a good shape, even if in brown it looses it’s intensity and contrast. It accelerates like a mad man and does not stop. It brakes hard and steers like a woman in love. And, moreover, it makes people smile.

It seems Volkswagen has done it again and this time the result is gorgeous. It’s more appealing than the CC and the Tiguan put together, because in this case you can understand where it’s pointed and how exactly does she fits in the company’s busy schedule.

The Scirocco has been launched with 2 engines (1.4 TSI - 160 HP and 2.0 TFSI - 200 CP) and will later receive a diesel power plant - 140 CP and another TSI - 122 CP.

It looks good in blue, white and, most of all, in green - but does not look that nice in brown.

Beware the Interceptors

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

The Essex Police ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) team, aka the ‘Interceptors’, has just got new toys to play with. I’m talking about some custom made Subaru Imprezas, the proper older version, that received some treatment from the guys at Prodrive. They’re called Subaru Impreza GB270, and I’m not sure what GB stands for, but the number clearly indicates the bhps that the care boasts.

But just as you can’t throw a three tear old a Rubik’s Cube and expect him to start solving it right away, you can’t give someone who’s been driving a front wheel drive car for all his life an all wheel drive car and expect him to make the most of it. That’s why all the guys at ANPR have received training from specialists at Prodrive for a whole day, both in theory and in practice. Just imagine what it would have been like had the guys the ‘Interceptors’ were usually on the lookout for would have known that the streets were clear…

The best British model

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

It seems only natural for the automotive industry to team up with fashion designers, though we wouldn’t really want to see the Ferrari that fell into Donatella Versace’s hands. Still, in this case it’s not actually fashion designers we’re talking about, but a bespoke tailor by the name of Kilgour of Savile Row; and it’s not a red car from Maranello, but a beautiful white Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe. The location for this reunion between a stylish car and an equally stylish fashion collection was the BETC Photographic Studio in Paris. See for yourself what the end result looked like. Don’t bother looking for the models, they’re there but your eyes refuse to leave the car and focus on them.

Moonlighting with Nissan

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

I

don’t know about you but I preffer to sleep at night. That’s the sole reason I would be somewhat sqeptical about buying a car that was built at somewhere around 4 AM, even if most of it was done by robots. Well, following the model of Nike factories in China, Nissan has launched a night shift at its plant in Sunderland thus starting a ’round-the-clock’ production cycle. They must really fancy their sales volumes these French/Japanese guys.

(Sorry about the picture, maybe a GT-R would have looked better)

California uber alles, as the Dead Kennedys would say

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

At first I thought this was pathetic: hardtops have been around for quite some years and they all had the electrical folding option, so a film with California’s hardtop as subject seemed funny if not a little on the lame side. If you want to show off your new Ferrari California, present us something new and preferably fast. Still, after a short struggle with my conscience I sat through the whole film and I must admit I was hooked after the first 10 seconds. That’s stupid, I know, but that’s the way it is. There’s something about Ferraris that take rational thinking straight out of our brains and replace it with a strong love for the color of red.

The end of an Era. Well… two, actually.

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

“It’s the end of the world as we know it” would be closer to the truth, if the guys at REM wouldn’t mind me quoting on their song. Porshce had announced that next year’s Cayenne will feature a diesel V6 among other petrol engines. In other words, 80 years of great petrol cars have just gone down the drain…

On the other hand, the Japanese manufacturer Subaru, best known for their tunned up Imprezas that have no problem going over 180mph, has also recently launched its first boxer diesel engine. But that didn’t really come as a surprise, because Subaru has been going ever softer during recent years.
Now, all that’s left is for the Americans to start accepting diesel engines and we can kiss good bye petrol and high revs.

KIA Pro Cee’d

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

When the name “Cee’d” first came to my ears I thought it was the most stupid name for a car that I had ever come across. Now, with that nicely designed rear end and with a “Pro” in front of the “Cee’d” it doesn’t sound that bad anymore. Actually, it sounds quite nice.

Smart ForThirteen

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Entertainment, News

I know what this sounds like, but it’s not a Smart bus we’re talking about here. Surprisingly enough, it’s actually a Smart ForTwo.

Celebrating 10 years of Smartiness, Smart owners and Smart sellers gathered to witness a bone-breaking contest: how many people can you cram inside a Smart ForTwo?

As the people calling themselves “smart car-tortionists” proved, the answer is thirteen. Taking advantage of their gymnastic feats, these guys won the contest after 13 of them somehow blended together to fit inside the car that measures 2,7 meters in length and 1,6 meters in width. Lucky for them, there was no Chinese team around…

007 is history. Cheer for 009

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Entertainment

I figure you’ve all heard about the Le Mans win of the Aston Martin DBR9 in the GT1 class. Hell, some of you might have even gotten drunk over it, considering the Euro 2008 is not an issue for us anymore. I know I did.

Well, the good news is that the car that finished first for the second time in a row at Le Mans is going to pop up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The 009 car will be driven up the famous hill route by one of the three pilots that took part in the 24 hour race, Antonio Garcia.

David King, a very important man at Aston Martin and one with a very long job description, said that he feels it’s only natural for a British car to make an appearance at a British festival in front of British fans. That man talks some sense.

Daddy, isn’t that Lightning McQueen?

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Entertainment

If this is a mischievous scheme to make the kids drag their parents to the British International Motor Show, I reckon it might actually work. We all know that a man can resist to anything bar Keira Knightley and a persistent child.

But this is madness, why would a kid want to go to BIMS? Well, because Disney and Pixar have set up a special area called the “Disney/Pixar world of cars”. So if you go to the show with your small one(s) and suddenly feel a strong pull from their side, chances are you’ll be heading in that direction…

But let’s face it, a full size rendition of Lightning McQueen, or Sally, or Meter or even Mack, the huge truck is not something you see every day, unless you have really dubious feeding habits.

There you have it, a reason to go to the BIMS even if you’re five.