June 22, 2005
Happy 100th
100 year old this year (some claim today), the “turbo” compressor, better defined as a exhaust gas driven supercharger
The patent granted to Dr Alfred J Büchi from Switzerland in 1905 was first “promptly rejected”. (History / Technology)
First used in great numbers in WWII airplane engines, to compensate for high-altitude oxygen deprivation, it was General Motors that put them into production cars first in 1962: Oldsmobile Cutlass and the Chevy Corvair.
June 15, 2005
Niva
Busy at work, so here is a picture of a nice little Lada Niva to distract you.
Simple and charming lines, small nimble chassis and good offroad ability. If only they had been built from rust-resistant metal!
June 09, 2005
T@bed
My father said “Mickey Mouse trailer”. [EDIT: Turns out my Mum called it that] My first impression on hearing his words was rather derogatory; in my mind those words trigger years of quoting “mickey mouse solution”, meaning “very bad”.
But as you can see, this little RV is more like “cute as in Mickey”. T@B has really done a good job in putting together a lightweight and sensible, yet looking outrageous and attractive camper trailer. It’s charming retro, in the Airstream fashion.
I especially love the whole look with awning, kinda Sydney Opera House.
For someone who grew up tenting all summer vacations, this is absolutely what I wanted in the end. Crossing Canada does dull the charm of the ritual of putting up the tent at night, tearing it down in the morning. Rinse and repeat.
This will never replace camping, but darn it, it’s cute, useful and not too expensive.
Road trip anyone ?
Teardrop trailers are common, especially small ones.
Desert Teardrops
Wee Kender
and more
June 08, 2005
Mazda CX-7
In sharp contrast to the Suzuki below, Mazda is trying something else: not so boxy.
Enjoy the tour at WorldCarFans.com
Suzuki Vitara
It’s nice to see Suzuki take elements of the current Toyota RAV/4, Saturn VUE and even Subaru Forester and make an affordable 4×4 out of it. Boxy is in.
June 07, 2005
Chrysler at 80
The ever intrepid reporter, Typo Lou, sent me a little reminder that Chrysler turned 80 on June 6th. They put together a nice little homage website in three parts.
Did you know that the company’s trademarked logo/hood ornament is a winged viking helmet ? Neither did I.
It looks like the company’s name still lingers in DaimlerChrysler, but I wonder if the “best in class” designation the Chrysler Six achieved so conclusively will be ever really repeated. Or are they just doomed to sell the last generation Merc chassis with a big-ass V8 ?
What-ever makes $$$ I guess.
June 06, 2005
el lagarto
Q “Who names a car after a lizard ?”
A Porsche
The newest sports car by the fabled constructor is named Cayman, after the Caiman a small, nimble species of crocodile. Lets point out that the near-extinct Melanosuchus niger, aka Black Caiman can hit 20 feet. Isn’t Wikipedia wunderbar ? Enough of that, back to the car.
The Porsche Cayman will be built by Valmet Automotive in Finland, right next to the Boxster that cordially shares DNA with the newcomer.
The big deal ? Although the Boxster is regarded as perhaps the most dynamic and agile sport car “minus a solid roof”, all roadsters suffer from not having the structural rigidity afforded by said roof. Drivers will love it.
So the Cayman will sizzle and to insure that no land-slide sales changes occur against the more expensive 911, the Cayman S is the first model introduced with narly a price difference for those seeking the 911.
Will there be an “affordable” model ? Maybe. But it won’t be like the VW-Porsche 914 that shares many traits of this croc. If you have an account in the “Cayman Islands” then … “affordable”.
See the beast at Porsche USA or some real live pictures at Alle Autos In.de
June 02, 2005
Matchbox
Fond memories of Matchbox cars that I shall always cherish and thanks to Leslie Smith and his partners.
Leslie Smith, founder of Lesney Products, was born on March 6, 1918. He died on May 30, 2005, aged 87.
June 01, 2005
100 Million
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The 100 millionth Volkswagen rolled off a German assembly line on Tuesday, taking the brand into an elite of four car companies whose output has stretched into nine digits, Europe’s biggest carmaker said.