The end of the world is night! You're going to need an alternative heat source in your whip. But you've got the solution, you say. It will be brilliant, you say.
You wanna do what? Install a fireplace in your car? And you wanna generate power for you "smart" phone, too. You're out of your post-apocalyptic mind.
Okay, it's going into a motorhome, but seriously. Is that even possible? According to this guy, it is. Please don't blame us if your Firenza, Fiero or Maserati burn to the ground. Even Bowser is wondering if this was a good idea.
Let's welcome (nearly) 2016 in with a car-related New Year's prediction; hey, why not? If it ends up wrong, you have our permission to say so. What could be an interesting one that would maybe not be so obvious and also be a bit surprising? Here goes...
Two days ago, we cogitated on the upcoming Tesla Model X. We keep these things short and sweet because a) we know you're busy and b) to expound at length about technical details is downright condescending. Besides, we know you guys know many, many things about cars already and we aspire to not repeat what you already know.
Why is Dodge pouring marketing money into promoting the guaranteed blockbuster hit Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Sure, it's going to be the biggest movie in all history, at least in terms of opening weekend. And coverage will be huge. But what does the following Dodge ad have to do with converting moviegoers into Charger buyers? For that matter, what is up with FCA pushing the latest installment of The Hunger Games franchise, too?
The International Business Times had this to say about the matter;
Dodge, a subsidiary of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, was another one of
the official sponsors of “The Force Awakens,” and it had a number of
tie-ins with Disney/Lucasfilm, starting on Sept. 4, when it partnered with Uber
to offer free rides in Stormtrooper-wrapped Chargers in Manhattan. (The
Uber promotion was also a triple-cross with Mattel, which gave riders
special Stormtrooper-wrapped Hot Wheels cars.) Dodge also ran co-branded
spots for its Ram pickup truck line.
“Collaborating with Disney and Lucasfilm on ‘Star Wars: The Force
Awakens’ once again provides the opportunity to deliver the unexpected
— relevant, entertaining and immediately noticed end-of-the-year retail
commercials true to the individuality of each of our brands and
featuring the Star Wars music and sound design known around the world,"
Olivier François, head of marketing for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said
in a statement. That's all well and good, but the ads also serve as a reminder that no vehicle will ever be as cool as the Millennium Falcon.
None of the Dodge “Star Wars” promotions, it should be pointed out, are anywhere near as mortifying as the Dodge Ram ad
that “salutes the heroes of ‘The Hunger Games’” as a cross-promotional
spot for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.” Nothing says “fighting
the excesses of corrupt capitalism” like buying a new gas-guzzler.
Sounds to us like somebody (or somebodys) in FCA marketing should be fired; we can't see how any of this marketing is going to equal sales.
Don't think the world of online car buying enthusiasm ever intersects with the real world? Au contraire! Recently (Season 2, Episode 3) on the television show Car Matchmaker, there was a guest appearance by Randy Nonnenberg of BringATrailer.com. Unfortunately, that show is either poorly edited or just plain bad because they'd ask him a question and the answer was never given onscreen. We'll choose to believe those answers ended up on the cutting room floor, as Randy surely gave his best, informed and intelligent reply. But those two worlds -online and offline- do intersect occasionally and that's our point!
Today, we're exploring the
origins of the Toyota motorhome; production by third-party manufacturers began in 1973. Toyota was involved, expressing interest in selling motorhomes
converted by those outside contractors through their independently-owned
dealerships.
Will GM bring the German-built Opel Insignia Sport Tourer to the States? To us, this is a no-brainer but nobody asked us. This car is related to the Malibu, Regal, LaCrosse, XTS, Impala and the last Saab 9-5.
From Car and Driver: General Motors has filed two intriguing U.S. trademark applications for its Buick subsidiary that hint at a future station-wagon variant. Yes, you read that right—the first Buick wagon since the Century and the Roadmaster might be on its way, and it could be a Regal! The filings were discovered by AutoGuide, and are for the names “Tourx” and “Regal Tourx.”
Let's add insult to injury to one of your favorite targets of scorn; BMW. This report details the latest information that BMW will be fined $40 million for screw-ups regarding safety recalls for the 2014 and 2015 MINI. Nice going, folks; you truly are the ultimate driving machine. You're worth every bleeding cent of the horrific premiums you charge and there's no issue with you ripping off people who actually want to keep your car past the warranty period. Now you prove that you don't care much about the safety of your customers, either. Nice.
Remember the “Hey Mon” skit on the sketch comedy classic
television show, “In Living Color”? In the skit, the premise is that members of
a West Indian family all have an unbelievable number of jobs and find it
outrageous if a person has less than two or less. They’ve got nothing on the
subject of our next interview. This time around, we’re interviewing the founder
of what is possibly the largest Toyota motorhome appreciation group on one of
the biggest social media sites out there, Facebook.
Well, we couldn't lure anybody into adding to our list of 2-door Wagons and Shooting Brakes (sad face). So we'll just add this one that we'd missed previously; the Alfa Romeo Alfasud 2+1-door Giardinetta. Powered by a 71 (some sources say 75) horsepower 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, the Giugiaro-designed 3-door estate was produced from 1975-1978.
Ever wonder why it was named Alfasud? That's because it was produced at the then-new Pomigliano d-Arco facility in the south of Italy. Get it? Sud? South? But you knew that already, didn't you.
You can forget finding one of these for sale in the States. Still want one? Here's your best bet.
Concept cars don't really interest us much because they're so far removed from reality. But one catches our eye occasionally, for various reasons. Here's one that did; the 1972 Toyota RV-2.
We've got Bemidji, Minnesota on the mind. Ask us why if you're interested but in the meantime we decided to peruse the local Craigslist ads to see what struck our fancy. Here's what we found; a gorgeous, all-original, low mileage 1968 Ford Galaxie 500 for only $6.8K.
