The kitschy Lone Ranger

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Entertainment, News

I’m no art expert, but no ignorant either. Actually, considering where art is going, saying that you don’t know art has become pretty nonsensical. Well, so is Matthew Harrison’s work of art, engineering, or motoring - I haven’t decided which yet, and neither has he.

The idea is simple in principle, not so easy to put in practice, though, considering that you have to support a few tons of metal on four puny wooden wheels. The people seem to have liked the idea, as you can see from the pictures. There were lots of laughs and camera flashes going off in its vicinity, so you could call this a success. At least as far as GM interests go. But don’t be so quick to share a tear for Matthew either, I’m sure he got a nice cut.

In case you still had any doubts

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Entertainment, Motorsport, News

The KTM X-Bows have secured the first three places in the debut season of the Sports Light Category of the GT4 European Cup. Yes, one - two - three. And this is not extremely impressive because they’ve come ahead of debutants like Donkervoort or Lotus, nor because not even more experienced companies with more powerful cars like Aston Martin, Ford Mustang or BMW Z4M managed to beat them - it’s because the KTM X-Bows that competed had near-standard specifications, with minor revisions made only to meet FIA safety regulations.

I’m telling you, if this car also had a mirror in which the passenger could reflect herself (because it’s a “she” I’m talking about), it would be the perfect car. Or at least the perfect two seater.

Seat goes large

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News, Seat

It’s been quite a while since I saw a decent sedan from Seat, and I must say this one came very much as a surprise. A very pleasant one, too. Exeo is looking like the kind of car that makes the Passat a buying prospect only for retired old men and people upgrading from an older Passat version. Not to mention Skoda Superb.

To be honest, I see Exeo as a competitor for Mitsubishi Lancer, because they both appeal mostly to younger, performance oriented clients, the difference being that those who’re after opulance choose the Lancer and those more secure with themselves will go for the Exeo. And, withiut saying the Lancer is a bad car, what a bloody good choice that would be.

Expect it to hit the market sometime in the first half of the next year. It’ll have most of the VAG engines, so there won’t be any shortage of choices for either petrol or diesel fans. The vehicle on show at Paris had a 2.0 litre TSI engine and a double exhaust pipe to match. Which is nice.

Mini Mazda 6

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Mazda, News

The new Mazda 3 Sedan will be making its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show later this year. Well, if you like more precise dates, on the 19th of November 2008, between 12:20 and 12:45 local hours. There isn’t much to say, except for the fact that the previous (actually, current) Mazda 3 is the bestseller of the Mazda range, with one sold for every three other Mazda models. If you liked the Mazda 6, you’ll like the new smaller one at least just as much, because we all know smaller things tend to look better.

It’s Peugeot Time

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

The Paris Motor Show has started so that means that all the French manufacturers are so busy showing off their new cars and concepts that there’s nobody left to bake a baguette or to buy one. There isn’t anyone left to shout at president Sarkozy either, and that can’t be a good thing.

Peugeot has been extremely active, more so than Renault and maybe on a par with Citroen. I’m not talking about volumes, I’m talking about quality. The RC concept is stunning, and I haven’t used that word to describe things that come from France too often. Also, the 308 CC looks better than I expected and I expect the Prologue to strike a sensible chord into those who want to drive an SUV-ish car but dont appreciate all the negative publicity.
So if you were anxious to hear a bloke speak English like he’s lived in France for the last five years (which he probably has) and also laugh at him when he says “hi-tech technology”, watch this short film about Peugeot’s stand at Le Mondial de l’Automobile.

It’s nice to be NICE

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News

It’s also nice to have a NICE. You get motoring costs of about 2p per mile and you are exempt from road tax or congestion tax in downtown London. And, of course, probably the reason why you bought it in the first place, you have zero emissions.

The NICE MyCar was launched at the British International Motor Show this summer and it didn’t take long until it got an accolade. It won the electric vehicle of the year 2008 prize at the GreenFleet Awards, mostly for its practicality but also for its design. And you have to agree that although it looks like the kind of thing you would buy for your 3 year old son, it’s not any worse than a smart ForTwo.

The people at NICE were delighted and I must say we’re enjoying this too. The company has only been active for two years, but in this short time span it has changed the way people look at electric cars more than any other. So next time you see a MyCar passing you by, take a deep bow and take off your hat too.

Saab 9-X Air

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News, Saab

Everything that’s thin or light, nowadays, gets called ‘Air’. Saab hasn’t made public the weight of the 9-X Air Concept (or at least I never bothered to look it up), nor is it really any thinner than other convertibles, so I take it the ‘Air’ part refers to the Canopy Top. The unconventional flat folding roof is mounted on the two rear pillars that curve upwards, a distinct trait from the other convertibles out there.

If you ever felt like your car was missing a drawer, you should check out the 9-X Air. Don’t dismiss it so fast, though, as the thing that comes out of the back of the car is large enough to accommodate two golf bags and it’s spring operated to keep the weight low.

You can look at the Saab 9-X Air in Paris. Or in the pictures below. The biggest thing with this car is that Canopy Top which Saab is planning to have patented. It allows for a better wind protection for the passengers and a very large and unobstructed field of view for the driver. It all sounds good. I might just like this Canopy thing.

Welcome to Honda City

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under Honda, News

It’s not a large City, but it does resemble some of the larger ones. For example, Accord City. Still, as is the norm with smaller cities, it’s cheaper to live in and although you don’t get the same levels of comfort, its good enough for the money you pay.

If I haven’t lost you already with my pathetic attempt to talk about the car as if it were an actual city, please do go on reading. The City comes with an all new 1.4 litre i-VTEC engine which develops a whooping (I’m just kidding) 100bhp. Still, pretty decent for a car that will mainly be sold to people who are very money-conscious.

Has the world shrunk?

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News, Nissan

No, I don’t think it has. Because if you go round its back and look at the front, you exhale a sigh of relief: it’s not you getting smaller and this is not a big Qashqai - it’s a regular sized new Murano. But the back could have had you fooled.

The old Murano was a beautiful car. The new one, well let’s just say it’s not an ugly one, but it has lost some of the uniqueness of the first model. The new Murano is still a very luxurious SUV with all the gizmos you would expect to find in a car priced at over 32.000 pounds, it’s just the wrappings that don’t look that striking. Still, if you’re looking for an SUV, you could do much worse than this.

Performance-wise, the Murano has a revised version of the 3.5 litre V6 which takes it from 0 to 62mph in the oddly round number of 8 seconds. Fast enough for something this size or, to be honest, any other size.

A new Vauxhall hatchback that’s not an Astra…

Posted by Car Magazine MotorPlay under News, Vauxhall

…as we used to know it. The new Vauxhall Astra 09 that will replace the soon-to-be-old Astra Mk5 after it will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show next year. It seems GM is not willing to allow Volkswagen to get its paws on all the middle-class buyers.

Judging from the recently showed Insignia and these drawings, it will look good. Judging from the same recently showed Insignia, it will be well-built and have a nice overall quality feel. Judging from all this, GM and Insignia are heading in the right direction.