Car Culture Archives - Page 2 of 3

Favorite fantasy cars, Jaguar XKE to Bugatti Veyron

Maybe just a simple red convertible, any year, any style is your fantasy car? If that’s not good enough, how about a high-performance supercar like a Bugatti Veyron or a even more rare Saleen? Perhaps you’re into vintage cars and long for a 1957 T-Bird, a Gullwing Mercedes-Benz or a pristine Porsche? Or maybe off-the-hook top speed is what you’re seeking and you’ll only settle for a Hennessey. Its Venom GT model last February achieved a record top speed of 270.49 mph at the Kennedy Space Center on the Shuttle Landing Facility’s 3.2-mile runway in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Regardless of your desires, here are 10 fantasy cars. Some are readily attainable without cashing in your 401K. Others are likely out

Car Culture

Cars of the Tour de France, old and new

Bugatti, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault are current major car automakers in France. And with the exception of Bugatti, the French highways and country roads are often crowded with offerings from the other three carmakers now all more than 100 years old. Skoda, the Czechoslovakian carmaker, is the official car supplier of the Tour de France. But other than official race vehicles, Skoda models are scarce in the country, although, of course, not as scarce as Bugatti models. In the early years of the Tour de France, cars traveling with riders were loaded down with spare parts, not only for cyclists’ bikes but extra car equipment for the rugged journeys negotiating the snow-covered roads of the Alps and Pyrenees. Among its

Pontiac Aztek: Reviled, revered, cult classic

The Pontiac Aztek is likely the most maligned car in modern history. Like the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega and Yugo it has been described as the ugliest car ever built and the worst car ever made. Sometimes, the criticism cut deep. One reviewer said of the Aztek, said: “The styling of the car is its best feature.” The 2001 Aztek was the most picked on model. It looked like a badly designed space vehicle or a tank that had been totaled. It was rough-edged and gaudy. Still, the Pontiac Aztek had such a rotten reputation, it’s become a cult car. I’ve spoken with two Aztek owners recently who said they wouldn’t trade their Azteks for a new SUV. My second

Car Culture

Smartphone case madness one car owner’s delight

Car art is nothing new. But this creation is among the wildest (and ugliest) I’ve seen. Is it social commentary? Is it a bad dream? Is it a smartphone company salesperson’s idea of clever marketing? My friend Dan Clarke, editor and publisher of tastecaliforniatravel.com, spotted this beast in front of Peet’s Coffee in Sacramento. I haven’t counted the number of smartphone case and nor have I called the phone number made from yellow phone cases along the passenger side of the vehicle. Of course, depending upon one’s perspective, this car art wonderment is either a masterpiece or complete trash. If nothing else, it’s an attention grabber and likely a good marketing idea for the company it represents. My take: It

Car Culture

Volkswagen: Bugs, Beetles, Bliss

Like several friends, my first car was a Volkswagen. It was a family friend’s car and the 1962 VW Bug was pristine. I bought it for $500 in 1972 when I was age 17. The memories of learning about its simple engine and driving it everywhere are still vivid 40 years later. All these years later, I just drove a 2014 Volkswagen Beetle R-Line for a week. It’s still unmistakably a Volkswagen, but it’s also a completely different car. The new VW Beetle has five times the horsepower of my Bug from yesteryear. And the driving difference, from what I can remember from 40 years ago, is remarkable. Vintage and new Bugs and Beetles still share a wondrous trait: Both

Car Culture

Ford Pinto? VW Thing? The All-Ugly Car Club

The Pontiac Aztek is often described as the ugliest car ever made. But who’s to argue the Volkswagen Thing isn’t equally as ugly? And then there’s the Ford Pinto. They’re all notoriously unattractive cars. And because of their status, they’re also collectors’ cars. What other cars are in the the All-Ugly Collectors’ Car Club? How about several AMC models, like the Gremlin or Matador, or nearly an vintage Citroen. And not every Ford Mustang is all that attractive. The All-Ugly Collectors’ Car Club is part of TheWeeklyDriver.com’s new Collection series on eBay.com. It’s among 24 collections of different sub-sets of car and trunks I’ve researched and commented. And they’re all for sale on eBay.com. To read the text and view

Car Culture

Jerry Seinfeld, Seth Meyers get coffee in the perfect car, really?

Jerry Seinfeld’s latest comedic innovation, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, will conclude its second season with Chris Rock as the guest of eighth episode finale. Like Seinfeld’s television show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is based on the complexities and yet simple ways of natural comedy. It’s about cars and coffee, but not really. The Internet-only series premiered July 19, 2012 on digital network Crackle. In each episode, Seinfeld introduces a classic car. He calls a comedian and drives the car to pick up the guest. The duo then drives to a restaurant and has coffee (and sometimes lunch). There are deviations from the norm (as one would expect) like the poignancy of last season’s episode when comedian Michael Richards

Electric and Hybrid, Car Culture

Sacramento woman ‘electrifying’ in her kiwi green ZAP car

Five years ago, Pennie and Howard Taylor of Sacramento, concerned about the environment and energy use, bought a 2006 ZAP! electric car from a dealership in Davis, California. It’s been an attention-grabber, gas-station avoider and an efficient little “kiwi” since. A local educator, Pennie Taylor commuted 20 miles in the ZAP! car until recent changes in her teaching career. But she still drives the car a lot and is pleased with her energy efficiency. She’s equally enthused to teach students about energy consumption or to share the car’s simplicity with anyone who asks. “People always interact with me; they take pictures and stare and kids point at it,” Taylor said. “We bought it for $8,500 and it’s just a wonderful

Car Culture, Celebrity Cars

Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards reunite for laughs, regrets in Volkswagen bus

Like other celebrities, Jerry Seinfeld is a car enthusiast, most notably via his collection of rare Porsches. But Seinfeld’s passion for cars and his friends has also resulted in the unique web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. In the recent season-finale, Seinfeld drives around Southern California in a 50-year-old Volkswagen Bus with friend and comedian Michael Richards. The 17-minute below video is funny. But it’s also poignant. Richards, Seinfeld’s neighbor Kramer on the the iconic program Seinfeld, candidly discusses his regrets in a 2006 rant when he used racial epithets during a nightclub performance. It ended Richards’ career. The season-ender of the 10-episode original series on the Crackle web-only network begins with Seinfeld driving to pick up Richards in

Car Culture

Pontiac Aztek, Ford Mustang (?) named to new worst all-time car list

When discussing automobiles, it’s hard to imagine a Ford Mustang and a Pontiac Aztek mentioned in the same sentence. It’s even more difficult to imagine the two vehicles on a top-10 list of the worst cars in history. But that’s the fun of car lists. The Pontiac Aztek, specifically the 2001 model, graces many bad car lists. And it’s often cited as the car that led to the manufacturer’s demise. But how did a 1974 Ford Mustang get a recent 10 Worst Cars list compiled by Ted Reed of the business site, www.thestreet.com? Regarding the Aztek, Reed quotes an often-used car industry joke about the Aztek that the styling of the car is its best feature. The Ford Mustang’s, problem,

Car Culture

Barnfinds.com: Auto site for owners and dreamers, Bugatti to Buick

Amid all of the fine automotive sites, Edmunds to Car and Driver, Kelley Blue Book to Motortrend, one new unheralded site has joined best-of-the-best car sites list. It’s only slightly more than one-year-old, but it’s developed a strong following. It doesn’t give tips to find the best prices for a new car or tips for negotiating with salesmen or getting the best insurance prices. Barnfinds.com is the site for anyone who has the same fantasy as car enthusiasts everywhere: finding a classic. Its sub-title is perfect, “Barn Finds, Survivors and Unique Collector Cars For Sale.” According the site, based in Wyoming: “Every auto enthusiast knows what a barn find is and we all dream about finding one. Not every car

Car Culture

Pontiac Aztek (again), Ferrari, Aston Martin Among 100 Worst Cars In History

It’s not often a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and Pontiac Aztek get mentioned in the same review. Or, when was the last time you’ve read a comparison between a Hyundai Excel and a Rolls Royce? How about when all the above are named to the list of 100 worst cars in history? Good or bad, cheap or pricey, fast or slow, underpowered or unsafe, car lists are subjective and fun. Which is why InsideLine.com, the sibling site of Edmunds.com, recently published its choices for the 100 best and worst cars is history. In reverse order on the all-time worst list, the 2006 Pontiac Solstice claimed No. 100 position, the 1955 Dodge La Femme claimed the 50th position and the 2001 Pontiac

Car Culture

Bikini-clad models pose for 10th motor sports calendar

The 2012 UmbrellaGirls USA calendar, the 10th anniversary edition of the yearly tradition that showcases beautiful models around the United States from cycling and motor sports events, has been published. The 13-month, glossy calendar features more than two dozen photos of bikini-clad models from UmbrellaGirls USA, a ntional boutique modeling agency with more than 250 models from throughout the country who also appear at conventions and trade shows.

Car Culture, Specialty cars

Smallest production car ever made? It’s the real deal Peel

Forget the Smart ForTwo, Fiat 500 and Scion iQ. They’re only small cars. And the Mini? It’s really only small via its name. If you want a small car, how about the smallest car ever made: the Peel? Located on the Isle of Man, Peel primarily made fibreglass boats as well as fairings for motorcycles. But it was also the manufacturer of the Peel Manxcar, Peel P50 and Peel Trident microcars. The original Peel 50, for example, was 54 inches long (less than half the length of the new Scion iQ), 41 inches wide and weighed 130 pounds. And it was legal to drive on roads in Great Britain. The company halted manufacturing in 1969, but the three-wheeled Peel P50

Car Culture

Dodge Charger, Aston Martin battle: Best car in a movie

Top-10 convertibles. Top-10 Green Cars. Top-10 sedans, coupes and luxury cars. They’re all worthwhile lists and fun to agree with or make fun of as worthless. But for a car list to be pertinent it has to include passion, and thus Edmunds.com, site InsideLine took on the task of creating the most important list of cars, in movies. Cars old and new are in most movies, sometimes with subtle but important roles like the gangster cars in The Godfather trilogy. And cars are important in small films, too, like in the art house film of a few years ago, Frozen River. Charger Versus Aston Martin In reverse order, and subjectively chosen, a 1969 Dodge Charger wins out over a 1963

Car Culture

Senna: Famed F1 driver film in Academy Award pole position

“Senna” is a documentary about Formula One race car driver Ayrton Senna of Brazil, the three-time world titlist who died in a racetrack crash in 1994 at age 34. The film has several edge-of-your-seat driving scenes that alone justified the admission. But like other great sports-themed documentaries (“When We Were Kings” comes to mind) Senna transcends sport. A moviegoer without any knowledge of the top level of auto racing can and likely will appreciate the detailed biography of Senna as a driven driver. The boxing movie examines the personalities of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman and their intense, complicated relationship. Likewise “Senna” is more about the famed Brazilian underneath the racing helmet as well as his rivalry with long-time teammate

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