Daytona II: Krohn Racing Grand Am Race Preview

Posted by: MSulka on Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 08:03 AM New Hampshire: NASCAR Sprint Cup Starting Line-up & Race PreviewBy Mike Sulka

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has been racing at the New Hampshire paperclip since 1993. Over the last eight races at the 1.058-mile track, we've had eight different winners....

So, today is going to be a coin flip. Heck... a coin flip sounds pretty good since it would give us 50/50 odds. But, this time around there is no sure thing.

If fact, in the September race in 2008 the top five were: Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Last June, the top five finishers were a completely different group of drivers: Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, J.J. Yeley, Martin Truex, Jr., and Elliott Sadler.

Do you see the trend ? Because the trend is that there isn't one. And the race isn't even sponsored by a lottery.

So... let's make this easy... Mark Martin has never won at this track, but has three wins on the season and would be one good pick. If we want to flip the bird at the trend... this is a good one.

But how about this trend breaker.... Tony Stewart has 2 wins and 10 top five finishes in 20 tries, yet didn't finish in the top five in either of last year's races at New Hampshire. Plus 'Smoke' is on a roll and leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings. Even better, it was his win back in 2004 that started this string of non-repeat winners.

So we are picking Tony Stewart to win today.

But keep an eye on Jeff Burton, he has the most wins (4), Kurt Busch (3 wins), and Jeff Gordon (3 wins). None of these drivers had good outings at this track in 2008, yet they have all shown solid strength at New Hampshire over the years. Read more... (18333 bytes more) Hot News! · CONCACAF Discontinues Its Participation In Copa Sudamericana (Jul 1, 2009)· Daytona II: Scott Wimmer NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Kasey Kahne NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· ALMS: Northeastern Knowledge Over The Years (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: David Stremme NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Joey Logano NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Sam Hornish Jr. NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: AJ Allmendinger NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Kasey Kahne NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Elliott Sadler NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Justin Allgaier NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Jimmie Johnson NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Kevin Harvick NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Greg Biffle NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Brad Keselowski NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Jamie McMurray NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Carl Edwards NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Johnson's NASCAR Sprint Cup Team Captures Pit Crew Award In New Hampshire (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: David Ragan NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· NASCAR: Daytona Double-File Restarts Could Be A Break For Jeff Gordon (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Krohn Racing Grand Am Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009)· Daytona II: Jason Keller NASCAR Nationwide Race Preview (Jun 30, 2009) Latest Road Test · Road Test: 2009 Chrysler Town & Country Touring and Dodge Grand Caravan (Jun 30, 2009) [ Click Me ] Past Articles Sunday, June 28 ·

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Aston Martin Unveils Mini-Me Commuter Car

3:50pm UK, Tuesday June 30, 2009

Most famous for the DB5, James Bond's choice of wheels in Goldfinger, Aston Martin could soon go into production on a 'baby' model aimed at commuters.

A clay model of the car; the real version could come with a £20,000 price tag

The carmaker is teaming-up with Toyota to create the Cygnet, a sort of Aston 'mini-me' based on the Toyota iQ sold in Europe.

Still very much at the idea stage, Aston says it is releasing details now to gauge reaction and will go into production next year if the response is good.

The firm is hinting at a price tag of around £20,000 - a massive saving of £50,000 on the V8 Vantage.

The Cygnet will be based on the standard Toyota iQ but offer an Aston interior and body kit, with the distinctive front and leather interior.

This signals a huge change of direction by the luxury carmaker.

Better known for its high-end performance cars that sell for upwards of £100,000, the company has been hit by a sharp fall in demand for its sports cars.

The marque's more familiar face

In a struggling car industry that has seen casualties including General Motors and Chrysler, Aston Martin chief executive Ulrich Bez says car manufacturers have to be prepared to diversify.

He said: "We have to move on from the preconceived ideas regarding what an Aston Martin is about."

According to the firm, the Cygnet is designed to be a "luxury commuter" car which is a nod to the trend that "small is beautiful these days".

There is one snag for wannabe buyers: you have to be a member of the exclusive Aston Martin Owners Club to be offered the chance to buy one.

If initial take-up is good, Aston say they will then offer the car for sale to the general public.

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 in London and now employs more than 1,250 workers producing 7,000 cars every year.

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Is small the new big?

Are relatively mature car markets going to become fertile ground for highly specified small cars? It is perhaps a niche that has proven difficult to crack for manufacturers in the past. The Mercedes A-class, Daimler Smart and Audi A2 spring to mind. Each of those had a rough ride – for different reasons, perhaps – but the highly specced small car area is one to be treated with care.

BMW handled it well with Mini, but that success based on a modern take for a retro-brand is something of a special case and perhaps serves as a lesson on how difficult it is to hit the premium small car sweet spot.

However, markets change and it could be that the market environment is becoming better for well specified small cars. The regulatory/tax framework in urban areas, volatile/high fuel prices and changing societal attitudes to vehicles generally are all perhaps pointing towards higher sales of small cars.

And a proportion of the 'new' consumers who consider small(er) cars will want something comfortable and relatively highly specified. In the future, the argument goes, the small car area will be less dominated by low-cost driven 'econoboxes'.

In this context, Toyota's initiative with its IQ small car is certainly an interesting one. The car has attracted some flak on the basis of its relatively high price, but some people will be prepared to pay a little more for something that isn't a low-cost Aygo. There are discrete customer sets for those two small cars with their different prices, spec and 'feel'.

Things can get even more interesting when considering 'sub-brands', which is a part of Toyota's strategy with IQ.

Even more intriguingly, Toyota is planning a collaboration with Aston Martin for a 'luxury commuter vehicle'.

As ever, execution and properly aligning brand values with the product proposition and price will determine how successful future products will be. Is this a step too far for Aston Martin? Maybe not, but it is a gamble. If they get it wrong, it would be an expensive mistake with adverse consequences for brand image. At least they are trying new things and I think that is to be applauded. Collaborating like this also keeps costs down for Aston while Toyota gets an association that is potentially very positive indeed.

But the really big question is a great big fat unknown: just how many people out there will opt for a highly specced small car?

BELGIUM: Toyota gives Aston Martin an iQ boost

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Put on a brave face, the show must go on

he Ferraris were there. The Aston Martins, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Maseratis, too. All the six-figure stars were at the Geneva auto show this year, as they are every year.

Yes, the glitz and the glamour of the Geneva show went on, despite the realities of a global recession, the worst of its kind in 60 years. Not a single soul walking the seven giant halls of Geneva's Palexpo exhibition centre was in denial, but there was general agreement on the need to push ahead as much as possible. "What's the alternative?" was the common refrain, said usually with a shrug and a grimace.

So on that theme, Aston Martin pulled the wraps off a super-luxury Lagonda SUV, discussing plans to relaunch a marque that's been dormant since the 1990s. Perhaps 2012, we were told, though no one from Aston was willing to commit to a production date.

"We're looking long-term, here, 10 to 15 years," sales director Bill Donnelly told reporters. "This recession will end and there's still plenty of wealth in the world and will be in the future, too."

Ah, the future. The Koenigsegg Quant Concept, a solar-powered car, is certainly about the future and an unlikely one at that. But it was interesting, as was the Frazer-Nash Namir, a hybrid styled by Giugiaro. If either ever becomes a real production car for sale, well, it will years and years from now. But these oddballs drew crowds of the amused and the bewildered.

But nothing topped the hot air behind a bubble-shaped three-wheeler rolled out by the French firm MDI. The AirPod, said company types, can go as far as 220 km on a 175-litre tank of compressed air. Emissions? Zero. Refills? They take eight hours if you plug into a regular power outlet, or two minutes at a special "air station."

MDI says the AirPod will go into trials at airports in Paris and Amsterdam, where Air France and KLM will blow out the bugs. The company says that the AirPod is an excellent, low-cost, zero-emissions car. It has no expensive batteries, so the price will be about €6,000. But it's hard to be serious about a car driven with a joy stick.

Now somewhere between the dreamy Lagonda and the just plain silly AirPod, we saw some real cars with real futures. Volkswagen took the wraps off its Polo subcompact and it has the looks of a winner. There is even talk that a version of it may even find its way into Canadian showrooms.

The Polo is one of VW's biggest sellers, a high-volume model in Europe that VW hopes to also bring to across the Atlantic to Canadians and Americans. The fifth-generation Polo, if it came to Canada, would slot in below the Rabbit, perhaps replacing the City Golf. But no official word, yet.

No one from Ford offered an official word on the Iosis Max design study, either, but count on this: it hints at the next-generation Ford Focus and we will get that car when production of the new Focus begins next year in Michigan.

Ford is having a tough go of it, though it has not yet needed to ask for government money. The Iosis Max suggests Ford certainly has a plan to move forward with cars people might want to buy.

Sure, the regular Focus will be fuel-efficient, but Ford officials say the Focus can be more than that — and will be. As proof, the current 300-horsepower Focus RS performance compact was on hand.

We don't have a Focus like this now, but enthusiasts might be interested in a lightning-fast compact with a turbocharged 2.5-litre, four-cylinder engine that delivers 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.

Of course, Ford officials were quick to point out that turbocharging will play a big role in future models. Ford will combine turbocharging with direct fuel-injection in a system the company calls EcoBoost.

EcoBoost will first be offered in V-6 engines to provide fuel economy and power. The recently unveiled Taurus SHO and other Ford models will get it in Canada and the United States this year.

Ford will also use turbos and direct injection to wring more power and fuel economy out of the array of small cars and crossovers it will build and sell in North America going forward.

Chrysler's plan, meanwhile, involves Fiat — and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne unveiled his company's new Multiair engine technology with claims that it can reduce fuel consumption as much as 25 per cent.

Fiat is in negotiations with Chrysler to acquire 35 per cent or more of the American car maker. If that deal goes through, the fuel-saving system would be available to Chrysler.

Multiair, we were told, originally sprang from Fiat's Ferrari Formula One racing team. But it won't be used in race cars this year. Instead, it will initially be fitted to Fiat's family of 1.0-litre to 1.4-litre four-cylinder engines, then it will make its way into other production motors.

It's worth noting here because if the Fiat-Chrysler alliance happens, some time down the road Chrysler would be in a position to build vehicles, engines and transmissions based on Fiat technology and assembling them — or Fiat and Alfa Romeo models — in Chrysler's North American assembly plants.

One Fiat I'd like to see for sale in Canada is the cute 500 city car. Fiat showed a convertible version of the 500 here and it would be a winner in Canada.

Fiat aside, perhaps the biggest star of the Geneva show was the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. It had its official global debut here, though Mercedes previewed the car to an invited-only guest list at a Detroit hotel last January.

This is the ninth-generation E and the styling is quite the departure for Mercedes — all creases and angles and lines. The car is loaded with technology, too, and in Canada Mercedes plans to offer four different engine choices. On-sale date: July.

The E looks like a very good effort from Mercedes, but truth be told, most auto makers in Geneva struggled with putting on a brave face. The talk on the show floor was as much about bailing out car companies as it was about driving new models.

Car company executives, usually overflowing with bluster and bold predictions of great future successes, were subdued this year, cautious with their comments and clearly aware of the greater economic problems out there.

That said, the show had to go on and it did.

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Bonhams Gears Up for the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Bonhams has announced an outstanding catalogue of cars as part of its successful annual sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (3-5 July 2009). Now in its 17th year, the event is recognised as the United Kingdom’s biggest celebration of motoring, with the auction (which has been in place since the event’s inception) seen as a key component to the weekend.

Leading the line-up in 2009 is a 1965 Ford GT40 Endurance Racing Coupe – a period-built, modern-day, race-prepared competition car which has regularly proved itself as a competitive historic racing front-runner and race winner. The car’s most recent owner (a former three-times Group C2 endurance racing World Champion) prepared it into one of the fastest Ford GT40s on the contemporary historic racing scene. Successes include victory in the Whitsun Trophy at the 2007 Goodwood Revival Meeting, first place in 2005 for both the Tour Britannia and the Tour de Espana and class honours in every running of the biennial Le Mans Classic 2002-2008 where it notched up 11 race wins from just 13 starts. In short, the car is the finest and most competitive example of a GT40 to be offered for sale in recent times. And with such exceptional credentials, it is little wonder that the car is estimated at between £900,000-1,100,000.

The GT40 is joined by a host of other exciting lots, including a 1922 Sunbeam 2-litre Strasbourg Grand Prix Works Racing Car, believed to have been driven by Kenelm Lee Guinness in the guelling French Grand Prix of that year, with his loyal mechanic Bill Perkins alongside. The Sunbeam later went on to win the Championship race and Private Competitors’ Handicap held at Brooklands. After the Second World War, the car successfully campaigned at Silverstone, Goodwood and the Prescott Hillclimb. Arguably the most attractive of all the Sunbeam racing cars, the Strasbourg Sunbeam is a covetable addition to any collection of historic racing cars, and the presence of this car on the market today for the first time in 41 years offers a rare opportunity for an enthusiast to acquire one of the few surviving British Grand Prix cars of the era. The lot is estimated at £300,000-350,000.

 

Other prestigious cars included in the auction include a 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupe with coachwork by Mulliner Co, which is estimated at £210,000-240,000, a 1931 Bentley 4-Litre Coupe with coachwork by HJ Mulliner which is expected to achieve £180,000-240,000, a 1930 Aston Martin International 2/4 1½-Litre at between £80,000-90,000 and a 1973 Ferrari 246 GTS Dino which is priced between £65,000-75,000.

Meanwhile Mini Cooper enthusiasts will be excited at the inclusion of two classic cars: “The ex-Paddy Hopkirk, 1963 RAC Rally Works” 1962 Mini Coooper S ‘8 EMO’ which is estimated between £80,000-100,000 and “The ex-Timo Makinen 1966 Monte Carlo Rally Works” 1965 Mini Cooper S ‘GRX 555D which is expected to reached £50,000-60,000.

James Knight, International Managing Director of the Bonhams Motoring Department comments: “Although we are pleased to offer once again a diverse entry, we made a conscious effort this year to attract quality over quantity and limit duplication. We offer something to suit all tastes and pockets and I am very pleased with the line up.” Defined tags for this entry: Bonhams, Goodwood Festival of Speed

 

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June 30, 1953: Corvette Adds Some Fiber, Flair to American Road

June 30, 1953: Corvette Adds Some Fiber, Flair to American Road

1953: Chevrolet introduces the Corvette. It’s a time when “new” and “Space Age” are the big buzzwords, and the Corvette fits the bill.

The Corvette featured a gorgeous body made entirely of a new wonder material called fiberglass, and it was the first production car made of the stuff.

There is only one truly American sports car, and it is the Chevrolet Corvette. Oh sure, the Shelby Cobra is very nice and mighty quick, but it has an American engine in an English chassis. The Dodge Viper is a fitting example of how brute horsepower and big tires can overcome a chassis that isn’t terribly sophisticated. So if you want a real sports car that’s also a real American, there’s only the Chevrolet Corvette.

The Corvette was born of the boom years following World War II and was a response to the growing popularity of the small, nimble two-seat sports cars American GIs brought home from Europe. Legendary GM designer Harley Earl designed the car, and GM ad man Myron Scott named it (after a class of fast, compact, powerful warships). Fiberglass offered a car that was lighter — and more futuristic — than one made of steel.

The first Corvette (and the next 14) rolled off the end of an “assembly line” in the back of a converted GM garage in Flint, Michigan. Later cars came from a purpose-built plant in St. Louis. That factory had an eventual capacity of 10,000 cars a year, but the first year’s production was limited to just 300.

The hand-built ’53s were all uniform, to allow workers to concentrate on working with the new material instead of hassling the trim and options. They were all painted Polo White with Sportsman Red interiors, black tops, whitewall tires and analog instruments — including a 5,000-rpm tachometer. Suggested retail price was $3,513, equivalent to about $28,000 in today’s money.

Although the first-generation Corvette looked like a sports car, it didn’t drive like one. The six-cylinder truck engine was as sluggish as the drum brakes were weak, and the car came with a two-speed automatic transmission. Hardly sports-car stuff.

Two things saved the car from almost certain death. The first was Chevrolet’s introduction in 1955 of the small-block V-8 engine, which gave the car some stones, and the arrival of engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, who gave it some heart. GM named him the director of high-performance-vehicle design, and he gave the Corvette its performance pedigree. That’s why he is called the father of the Corvette.

Soon the Vette (as it has always been known) was sporting ever bigger, ever more potent (and ever more gas-guzzling) V-8 engines. Suspension upgrades like a fully independent rear suspension and disc brakes on all four corners made the car a real runner. That worried big-time European sports car manufacturers like Jaguar and Aston Martin, both on the road and on the track.

Race-trimmed Corvettes driven by the likes of Roger Penske, A. J. Foyt, Jim Hall, and Dick Guldstrand were outright terrors on the track. Owning the podium at tracks like Nassau, Stardust, Riverside and Laguna Seca in the New World, they were always a factor at European tracks like Le Mans and Spa.

The Corvette Grand Sports were more than a match for the Cobras until Shelby dropped in the 427. The Vettes were also crushingly effective against cars like Jag XKEs, Astons, Healeys and any road-going Porsches of the time.

More than that, though, the Corvette became an icon. To call it a cultural landmark is a gross understatement. The car has been immortalized in countless movies and songs — even if Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” isn’t really about the car. It’s worth noting that the salient point of “Deadman’s Curve” by Jan & Dean wasn’t the car wreck; it was the fact that a Corvette Stingray was beating the hell out of a Jaguar XKE.

The car has been restyled six times over the years — and every Corvette aficionado has a favorite era — but the car has stayed true to its sports car heritage. There have been some dark years, not the least of which were the “malaise” years of the 1970s that saw the car weakened by tightening emissions rules and rising fuel prices. The low point was 1975, when the base model Corvette put out just 165 horsepower.

Yet the Corvette always kept pace with the sports car world: offering fuel injection in the 1960s, more and more refined suspension technology that filtered from the track to the street over the decades, using composite structures as suspension members on a production car, and sophisticated aerodynamic tuning of the fiberglass body.

Nowadays, even as GM falters, the Corvette remains one of its crown jewels and a formidable sports car. The top-of-the-line Corvette ZR1 may be the best yet. With 638 horsepower and a top speed of 205 mph, the most powerful Vette ever can run with the best from Tokyo, Stuttgart and Maranello.

The Corvette is built at a dedicated factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where a sign over the entrance reads, “Through these doors walk the finest auto builders in the world.” A lot of people in Japan, Germany, Italy and England — and right here in the United States, for that matter — would disagree. But the Corvette remains the pinnacle of American sports car design.

And they’re still made of fiberglass.

Source: Various

Photo: The very first Corvettes roll off the assembly line at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan.
Credit: Bettmann/Corbis

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Ten top reasons to visit Goodwood Festival of Speed

Ten top reasons to visit Goodwood Festival of Speed 29 June 2009 In just one week the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed (3-5 July) will get underway with around 150,000 excited motor sport enthusiasts coming to see their favourite star cars and drivers in action. The Festival of Speed is firmly established as the world’s greatest celebration of automotive culture, with something to offer for every taste. The theme of this year’s Festival is ‘True Grit­ – Epic Feats of Endurance’. The theme celebrates the drive and determination of motor racing’s heroes, who overcame huge physical, mental and mechanical barriers in their quest for glory. From Jackie Stewart’s enduring victory at the 1968 German Grand Prix, despite his broken wrist, to Mick Doohan’s courageous return to motorcycle racing in 1992, without full use of his right leg, there are countless amazing tales of performances far beyond what was thought possible for any human being. Many of the vehicles representing this theme will be present, as will some of the drivers and riders that refused to accept defeat and continued to pursue their goals against all odds. There are thousands of reasons to visit the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed – below are just ten highlights: 1. Contemporary Formula One: No less than six of today’s F1 teams will be at the Festival of Speed, with acclaimed current F1 drivers such as Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Timo Glock and reigning F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton in attendance. A number of previous F1 heroes, including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Eddie Irvine, David Coulthard and Damon Hill will also be tackling the challenging 1.16-mile Goodwood hillclimb course. 2. Forest Rally Stage: Current WRC teams will join up to 50 historic rally cars on the challenging Goodwood Forest Rally Stage. Expect to see plenty of gravel-spitting sideways action from current WRC heroes such as multiple World Champion Sebastien Loeb and Danni Sordo in the Citroen C4 WRC, as well as rallying past masters, including Walter Rohrl, Bjorn Waldegard, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist and Rauno Aaltonen showing how it used to be done. Cult American television star Jesse James will also be thrilling the Forest Rally Stage crowds in his wild ‘Trophy Truck.’ 3. Motorcycles: A who’s who of riders and bikes will be in attendance at Goodwood, with huge names such as Troy Corser, Mick Doohan, Max Biaggi and Phil Read set to entertain the Festival crowds. Motorcycle highlights include no less than five current works World Superbike and World Supersport teams, including BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Kawasaki World Superbike R.T., Suzuki Alstare Brux, Aprilia Racing and Ten Kate Honda. Hollywood legend Peter Fonda will be reunited with an exact replica of the famous custom chopper that he rode 40 years ago in the 1969 classic movie Easy Rider. Fonda will ride up the Goodwood Hill each on this iconic Harley-Davidson. 4. Anniversaries and Key Displays: Although still under wraps, this year’s extravaganza of automotive art directly outside Goodwood House will celebrate the centenary of Audi. At over 35 metres high, this installation will be one of the Festival’s most stricking yet, towering above Goodwood House, and visible from many miles away. Also celebrating their centenaries at Goodwood will be Morgan and Bugatti. Other key anniversaries being marked this year include 75 years of the Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz ‘Silver Arrows’ racers, 60 years of the continuous post-War running of the Le Mans 24 hour race, 50 years since the launch of the Mini, 50 years of the celebrated Daytona 500 race, 40 years of the dominant Porsche 917, and 40 years of Formula One involvement of Sir Frank Williams. Away from these significant anniversaries, other Festival of Speed attractions will include the UK’s first sight of cult American TV star Jesse James in action behind the wheel of his wild Baja-style Trophy Truck. Record breakers will be represented by the debut of the scale model Bloodhound British land speed record car, plus Porsche’s Guinness World Record attempt for the longest distance covered in 48 hours by a team of 12 runners on treadmills from the Porsche Human Performance Centre. In the air, the Eurofighter Tornado and Red Arrows will display over Goodwood. 5. Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’: This prestigious annual homage to the finest in automotive design will this year include many of the most beautiful and extraordinary cars. A class of coach-built Bugatti Type 57s will set many hearts fluttering, as will the first-ever British sighting of the stunning 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6C Xenia. Other notable classes include bespoke Rolls-Royces, special Minis and early cyclecars. Expect to see some ultra-rare exotic roadsters from the late 1960s, plus some crazy 1970s wedged concept cars, including the one off Aston Martin Bulldog, Alfa Romeo Carabo and wild Vauxhall SRV. 6. The Sunday Times Supercar Run: A multi-million pound collection of the world’s most desirable contemporary exotica will be demonstrated on the Hill. Watch out for UK debuts of the stunning Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, Tramontana and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss being put though their paces, plus the first UK sighting of the new Audi R8 V10, Ferrari California and GTbyCitroen concept in action. 7. Timed Run Shoot Out: A new Goodwood attraction for 2009 is a dedicated timed run shoot out on the Sunday afternoon. Throughout the three days of the Festival, a number of cars will climb the challenging 1.16-mill Goodwood hillclimb against the clock. On Sunday the fastest of these cars will re-run against the clock in a thrilling timed shoot-out to establish the fastest overall time of the Festival weekend. 8. FoS-TECH: This state-of-the-art technology exhibition, in association with BP Ultimate, focuses on the future of motoring and environmental issues in a series of interesting new initiatives and displays. FoS-TECH will showcase a variety of exciting new technologies from motor manufacturers, design specialists, oil companies and other motor industry suppliers, with exhibits of concept cars not seen in the UK before, including the Lexus LF-A, Infiniti Essence, Renault Ondelios and the amazing Lola WorldF3rst, the first racing car built from entirely sustainable materials, including carrots and potatoes. New for this year will be a class of low-emission vehicles driving up the Goodwood Hill as an addition to the Supercar Run. 9. Junior Festival of Speed: Something to keep kids of all ages entertained, with masses of things to do, from discovering the full set of Wacky Racers to big fun in the gaming zone. The UK’s number one mountain bike stunt team, MAD, will amaze all, as will Rarekind, Britain’s only graffiti art gallery. And the live music is worth the ticket price alone. 10. A Great Spectator Occasion: What Wimbledon is to tennis, and Henley is to rowing, so Goodwood is to motor sport, having quickly established itself as the place to be every summer to see the very best that motor racing has to offer. No other motoring event can match the unique combination of more than 350 vehicles and a record 120 motor racing heroes, blasting up the drive of one of England’s most revered stately homes. Enthusiasts can enjoy watching great machines and drivers at close quarters, and can actually stop and chat to some of their motor racing idols. No wonder the Festival of Speed has often been described as ‘the Garden Party of the Gods.’ Festival entry is by advance ticket only, with a limited number of tickets still being available. All tickets to the roving grandstand seats are now sold out, as is all hospitality and all camping pitches. For more information, visit goodwood.com

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Taurus changed the way sedans are viewed

A colleague of mine once said if a coffee-table book was ever produced about the cars of the 1980s, the Ford Taurus wagon would be on the cover.

The first-generation Taurus (including the Mercury Sable) was one of the most-popular cars Ford ever produced.

Coupled with the simple but reliable Ford Tempo /Mercury Topaz, Ford’s coffers swelled and they went on a buying spree, gobbling up Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin and much of Mazda.

Then things went pear-shaped.

There are many theories of what went wrong in Dearborn but Carlos Ghosn, the miracle worker who turned Nissan around, has said there is no such thing as good management and bad results, which pretty well sums up where Ford was at the turn of this century.

More recently, the economic and domestic car meltdown has since separated the wheat from the chaff.

That Ford did not put its hand out for government aid was reassuring to a lot of consumers who have now changed their minds about the company.

At the press introduction of the 2010 Taurus lineup, Ford used the phrase “the car that changed America’s view of sedans” to describe it.

And that’s what Ford is hoping will happen again with its full-size flagship sedan.

The core message at the press launch in North Carolina was the Taurus offers more but costs less then its competitors.

In fact the base 2010 Taurus SE at $29,999 is $2,000 less than its own 2009 SE.

Ford also made a big thing at the preview about Taurus having more technology features (10 of them class-exclusive) than premium luxury cars it benchmarked like the Audi A6 and Lexus ES350.

Some of these are adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, blis (blind-spot information system) with cross-traffic alert, MyKey and securicode with its keyless entry keypad.

The MyKey is really slick.

Besides not letting the driver move until seat belts are buckled, it allows the owner to set the maximum speed to 129 km/h with speed warning chimes at 72, 88 and 106 km/h to slow down lead foots like the owner’s kids.

And just so they won’t blow out their eardrums listening to the optional Sony sound system, MyKey can also restrict audio volume.

Another nifty piece is the Easy Fuel capless gas-tank filler.

That’s right, there is no cap. You just insert the nozzle and squeeze — but it’s going to take some time (for me at least) to get used to it.

The 2010 Taurus is a full-size car in every sense. Its multi-curved sheet metal takes away some of this visually, but it will fill a normal garage.

The overall impression is one of tall flanks and a tidy greenhouse much in the style of the Chrysler 300 and Audi A6.

The interior, even on the base car, will surprise you.

Soft-touch trim abounds and the trim fits are as good as the Lexus.

On the topline Limited I drove, the leather seats were supportive with enough travel for any stature.

These seats came with heating and cooling, each with three levels of intensity.

On full cool, it actually got too cold for comfort.

It’s the first time I have ever encountered such a thing.

The 2010 Taurus is a front-driver (FWD) with all-wheel-drive (AWD) standard on the Limited and optional on the mid-range SEL.

Power is a 3.5-litre, DOHC V6 producing 263 horsepower and 249 pound-feet of torque on regular gasoline.

There is a twin-turbo EcoBoost version of the 3.5-litre, producing 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque but it is only available on the Taurus SHO.

All Taurus models have a six-speed automatic transmission, with the SEL and Limited equipped with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel.

Fuel consumption is 11.6/7.2L/100 km city/highway for the FWD and 12.3/7.9L/100 km city/highway for the AWD.

The SE comes with 17-inch tires, the SEL with 18-inch, the Limited with 19-inch and the SHO with 20-inch boots.

A new rear suspension for the Taurus is the reason why there is such a wide selection of wheel sizes.

A cutaway of the chassis at the press launch showed how the body structure was optimized for strength and stiffness.

At the front, an energy-absorbing front structure has octagonal front frame rails, tunnel rails and “shotgun” front structural members.

They are designed to absorb and redirect crash forces away from the passenger compartment.

Also included are dual-stage driver and front passenger air bags, side-impact air bags and a safety canopy with a rollover sensor.

Ford’s Advance Trac electronic stability control is standard across the board.

The Taurus comes in four trim levels, starting with the SE FWD at $29,999, the SEL FWD at $32,299, the SEL AWD at $34,799 and the Limited at $40,699.

For the record, the SHO starts at $48,199.

The Taurus Limited, as tested here, was no lightweight at 4,224 pounds.

Rather than feeling ponderous, this translates into a sense of great solidity, reminding me of the Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic not just in terms of pace, but also of interior space and appointments.

The area around Asheville, N.C., is a combination of wide, rolling freeways and tortuous backwoods two-lane blacktop.

The latter would be a challenge for any full-size car.

Here, the normally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 had its work cut out for itself especially in the higher reaches of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I don’t bother with paddle shifter transmissions as a rule but the ability to pick a gear and hold it, paid off when climbing up a steep incline.

Out on the highway, the big Taurus was where it was meant to be, clicking off mile after mile in sixth.

For covering long distances in comfort, this car is hard to beat.

And it’s quiet, too, thanks to things like triple seals and acoustically laminated windows.

One thing I have to mention is the Taurus also puts you in the mood.

Yep, you can dial in five different interior illumination colours.

If there was one gripe, it is the thickness of the B pillar that is hard to see around if you don’t use your mirrors.

But, this is solved in large part with the blind-spot monitoring system.

What I like is it not only sees a car coming up in your blind spot and flashes as light on the outside mirror but, when passing, as soon as you get far enough in front, the light goes out and you know it’s safe to pull in.

Ford set its sights pretty high by trying to match or better cars like the Audi and Lexus.

Thankfully, this has been largely accomplished but I’m glad they did not try to build an Americanized A6 or ES350.

The 2010 Taurus has its own persona and that’s a good thing.

Ford has two big things going for it.

Besides impressing the public by not taking a handout, Ford is also at the start of a whole new product life cycle.

We’ll still be seeing the Fiesta sub-compact, the Lincoln MXT crossover, a new Focus and a new Mustang among others in the coming months.

And, leading the way will be Taurus; the flagship Ford hopes will once again be “the car that changed America’s view of sedans.”

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Aston Martin's £20k Cygnet city car

Aston Martin's £20k Cygnet city car

By Ben Pulman

First official pictures

29 June 2009 09:00

This isn’t a joke, but a concept for Aston Martin’s new £20k city car. Called the Cygnet, it’s a tiny Toyota iQ-based commuter car redesigned inside and out, and will be sold to existing and future Aston owners from the end of 2010.

The Cygnet concept does actually look like an Aston Martin

Well, an Aston city car. The Cygnet is much more than a badge and stickers special edition – the concept features a redesigned front end with the trademark Aston grille, a vented bonnet, plus air intakes around the iQ’s lights, all of which help to differentiate the concept from its donor car. There are also new door skins and Aston’s famous pop-out door handles, plus revisions to the rear.

Aston won’t be drawn into revealing details of the Cygnet’s interior, but promises the changes inside will be even more extreme that the tweaks outside.

And when can I have one?

Not until the back end of 2010, when Aston reckons it’ll have the project ready. In the meantime it still needs to finalise the styling, especially inside, and figure out exactly how it’s going to make the car. At the moment the company is planning to buy iQs from Toyota, then change them at its Gaydon HQ, but it still needs to decide the details, including what engine/gearbox combination it’s going to sell.

Let’s get this straight – can I buy an Aston Martin Cygnet instead of a Mini?

Not unless you already own a ‘proper’ Aston. Aston reckons around 50% of its customers also own a city car like a Smart for their day-to-day transportation needs, and wants to capitalise on that market.

Rather than have its customers pootle around in £10k city cars, Aston is designing a unique and exclusive city car, so the Cygnet will be offered to all existing Aston owners, and anyone in the future who orders a DB9, DBS, Vantage, Rapide, or even the One-77.

Where did the idea come from?

Aston CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, of course. ‘Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project,’ said Dr Bez. ‘This concept - akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht - will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.’

‘Much work is still required, but I am confident that this project could become reality in the not too distant future. The offering of a Cygnet with a DBS, DB9 or Vantage is a unique combination of opposites and a novel transport solution allowing intelligent and sensitive mobility on an exclusive and innovative level.’

The tie-up with Toyota came after a chance meeting at a Nurburgring 24hr race. Akio Toyoda, recently announced as Toyota’s new boss, was racing at the ‘Ring and his team was sharing a garage with the Aston works team. Bez and Toyoda became friends, and the pair have helped form the project.

Next up is a Toyota-badged One-77 supercar. Probably… 

>> Click 'Add your comment' below and let us know what you think of the Aston Martin Cygnet

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Preview: 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante

David Booth drives the 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante.Photograph by: National Post, CNS

Gaydon, England: Andy Haslam may be the luckiest twentysomething in England. Made redundant by Ford, the 28 year old managed to catch on with a small automotive firm in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Initially, starting as a lowly technology planner, he’s worked his way up to project leader.

But that’s not what makes him so fortunate. The reason he’s so lucky is that the little English firm with which he has landed happens to be Aston Martin, and the car he oversees is the DBS Volante, the storied marque’s new topline convertible.

Of course, the only one luckier than Haslam is Yours Truly. While he had to slave for months to finally enjoy the fruits of his labour, my mandate is to pop into the DBS just as quick as you please and then thrash it until it either impresses my jaded self or submits in the process.

I’ll stick with the former, thank you. For those with a short memory, I was previously very impressed with my time in the DBS Coupe, the Volante’s predecessor. Six litres of high-revving, double overhead cam V12 bristling with 510 brake horsepower (as the Brits call them) is hard to argue with, especially when it’s accompanied by an exhaust note that could have been written by Chopin or Wagner.

I have to admit to a degree of shallowness here since one of the main reasons I so loved the DBS is the sound emanating from its twin oval exhaust pipes.

Part Ferrari scream, part Corvette thunder, the DBS growls menacingly at low speed — and then howls like a banshee as it passes 4,000 rpm and a flap in its exhaust system opens so that its full melody might be enjoyed by occupants and passersby alike. So enthralled was I in my original road test that I drove most everywhere with the windows down — the better to listen to the chorus — even though it was a particularly cold week in May.

In the Volante, the effect is even more delicious since there’s a completely open roof, not just a measly window, providing access to that marvellous exhaust note. Yes, I know that reading about how good a car sounds makes for a seemingly facile reason to laud a $310,100 automobile (that’s for the base car with its six-speed manual transmission; the six-speed Touchtronic automatic costs $4,000 more), but for true lovers of the internal combustion engine, the DBS’s cacophony is pure aural delight.

As for the rest of the car, it is essentially a Coupe with its top lopped off. That’s not meant as an insult since the DBS Coupe is brilliant and the car was designed from the outset for both body styles. Other than a slightly more robust rear suspension subframe, the Volante needs no further frame stiffening despite the loss of its roof. Over some extremely lumpy English B-roads, there was no perceptible cowl shake whatsoever, even after selecting the seriously firm suspension setting.

The aforementioned stiff suspension also makes the Aston Martin extremely nimble for something originally intended for more sedate grand touring.

Despite having some if its big V12 mounted ahead of the front axle — not so good for weight distribution — the DBS proves remarkably adept at navigating tight turns at sports car speeds, either neatly with the traction nanny engaged or more dramatically when the incessant nuisance is shut off. Even in its convertible form, the DBS is the one DB9 variant that feels as if it might be comfortable being flung around a race track at speed.

It certainly has the moxie for it. Besides all that glorious bellowing, the 6.0L V12 does an admirable job of motivating the 1,810-kilogram Volante.

Aston Martin claims a zero-to-100-kilometres-an-hour time of 4.3 seconds. This is impressive indeed, although it doesn’t capture the eagerness of the 12 pistons scurrying to their 7,000 rpm redline. Equally admirable but far more illegal is its 307 km/h top speed, testament that the DBS’s beautiful, organic curves are as aerodynamic as they are sensual.

Making sure the DBS can harness all that power is a set of standard Brembo brakes (six pistons up front, four pots in the rear) clamping on to high-tech carbon ceramic discs. The latter look to be the size of manhole covers and, at 398 millimetres in diameter, the front discs require 20-inch wheels to fit.

Inside the Aston, the materials are all exquisite — as befits any automobile costing almost as much as my house. Four cows or so sacrificed their epidermis so one Aston Martin interior can be lined and it is, as I can attest from visiting the company’s manufacturing facility in Gaydon, all hand-stitched by little old ladies wearing spectacles. The electronic key has crystal inlays and the gearshift knob is beautifully polished aluminum, cool to the touch and easy to shift through its six gears despite a clutch that insists on engaging quite late in its travel.

But the centrepiece of the new Volante’s cabin is a Bang & Olufsen audio system boasting 1,000 watts, no less than 13 speakers and the same pop-up tweeters as the B&O system in Audi’s S8. Without comparing them back to back, I can’t tell you which system is better, but one of them is the best car audio system in the world.

This is why the 2010 DBS Volante is the car I would buy if I had stupid money. When it is too cold for a top-down operetta of 12-cylinder exhaust music, I can just listen to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody at ear-splitting volumes and comfort myself with the warmth of British leather and hand-laid carbon fibre.

I really need to make more money.

dbooth@nationalpost.com

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Luxury car market shifts into high gear

Christophe Georges of Bentley, from left, Julian Jenkins of Aston Martin, dealer owner Tony Dilawri and Carsten Preisz of Spyker open the Distinctive Collection dealership on Thursday.Photograph by: Ted Jacob, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald

The auto industry may be slowing these days, but the ultraluxury car market in Calgary just keeps cruising along.

The Dilawri Group of Companies, in conjunction with Aston Martin North America, Bentley Motors Inc., and Spyker Cars, has announced the opening of the ultraluxury automotive dealership, Distinctive Collection, in Calgary.

The dealership is in the Calgary Auto Mall, at 150 Glendeer Circle S. E., and features a 27,700-square-foot facility that houses three distinct, boutique-style showrooms and an expansive, state-of-the-art service facility.

The Bentleys range in price from $225,000 to $350,000, while the price for Aston Martin is $130,000 to $350,000 and Spyker is $209,000 to $220,000.

The dealership ushers in three elite automotive brands under a single roof and positions Calgary as a destination of growth for the luxury auto market in Western Canada.

"Calgary's importance to the automotive sector is growing markedly on both a national and international level," said Tony Dilawri, Distinctive Collection's owner and retail principal. "It's a market to be taken seriously, particularly when it comes to its long-term potential."

International executives with the three luxury brands were in Calgary on Thursday for a celebration to mark the opening of the dealership. Its doors will open to the public today.

Carsten Preisz, vice-president of sales and marketing for Spyker of North America, said, "We are now in a phase, in spite of the economy, of growth."

In the past six weeks, it has sold six cars in North America. He called the Calgary market "promising."

"In the last two or three years, the amount of inquiries that we have received from Canada indicates to us that there is not only general interest in the product because it's very quirky and very cool and sexy and all that, but there's a legitimate base of clients that are legitimately interested in understanding the product and considering what they're going to purchase next," said Preisz.

Julian Jenkins, vice-president and general manager of Aston Martin North America, said Calgary is a market the company has been monitoring for some time.

"I think certainly what we've seen is a significant uplift in terms of purchase of luxury goods . . . and as a consequence of that it naturally brought us to looking to this market and looking for partners," said Jenkins, adding the company is "very excited about this market."

Christophe Georges, president and chief operating officer of Bentley Motors in North America, said the company"has a lot of expectations in this market in Canada and in Calgary, in particular."

"The economy in Canada is less affected today than in America,"he said. "The situation is much more stable in Canada. You have some great natural resources in Calgary. . . . We are quite confident in the economy of Calgary because of the resources and the way Calgary has developed in the last few years."

In four dealerships across the country, Bentley sold 146 vehicles last year, 28 of them in Calgary.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

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CBJ: Safeguard 8: Avoid an Advisor with a Lavish Lifestyle

or Marotta Wealth Management INC., One Village Green Circle, Suite 100, Charlottesville, VA 22903-4619
Published: June 29, 2009

There will always be swindlers masquerading as investment advisors. You can learn to recognize such people by their over-the-top lifestyle. Avoid them at all costs.

The differences between the manager of a Ponzi scheme and a model citizen are almost imperceptible, which is not surprising. Those who would perpetrate a Ponzi scheme are usually not the demons everyone makes them out to be. And they are obsessed with appearing successful.

This fixation on appearances, however, is the red flag. If you are the millionaire next door, you know that frugality is one of the marks of an effective financial advisor.

But you may have to train your eye to recognize an immoderate lifestyle. If someone in business is worth $300 an hour, some apparent extravagances may in reality be productivity gains.

For example, if you hire a chauffeur to drive you to and from work each day so you can be productive, society gains. If you hire a gardener so you can continue contributing in your area of expertise, society gains. And if you hire a butler or a chef, so long as you employ someone else for less than $300 an hour, society gains.

Productivity gains are not synonymous with a lavish lifestyle, and with some careful observation you can learn to discern the difference. Productivity gains are all about function, and if you discover them you will find out accidentally. In contrast, the whole purpose of an extravagant lifestyle is to be noticed.

Consider Bernie Madoff. He and his wife lived in a $7 million penthouse apartment in New York City and a house worth $3 million in the Hamptons. They also owned a $9.3 million Palm Beach mansion. Plus they maintained a $1 million chalet and two boats on the French Riviera.

They spent an average of $100,000 monthly on the corporate credit card on chartered jets, limousines, top hotels, fine wines, world travel and shopping. When they drove themselves, they rode in style in a BMW and or one of two Mercedes. Madoff bought a vintage Aston-Martin for his brother as a company car. The couple owned a Steinway concert grand piano worth $39,000. Madoff purchased tickets at the Mets Citi Field at $40,000 a season.

Madoff was also a prominent philanthropist, but his interests were anything but altruistic. He started the Madoff Family Foundation and gave to charities, which in turn invited him to serve on their boards. Madoff then invited them to invest their endowments.

He and his wife also gave more than $200,000 to the Democratic Party. He gained high-level connections to those in Congress who write the laws and are supposed to provide regulatory oversight. Madoff was one of the first to exploit kickbacks for brokerage order flows. He argued they should remain legal and not alter the price that customers received. His connections prevailed.

The Madoffs themselves owned $62 million in securities and $45 million in municipal bonds. They loaned their sons $22 million and $9 million, respectively. Oddly enough, having siphoned billions, the couple only has a net worth of about $823 million.

Wealth is what you save, not what you spend. That’s why an ostentatious and excessive lifestyle is a red flag for an investment advisor. The middle class buys liabilities like boats and cars. The rich buy investments. If Bernie Madoff had bought businesses and investments, he would be able to make restitution of those initial investments. He might even be able to pay a fraction of the gains he claimed to have.

We all wonder what happened to the $65 billion. Much of it was phantom gains, and a lot of it was simply spent a million here and a million there. Excessive spending is a warning sign that your advisor doesn’t understand wealth building personally.

In April this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Shawn Merriman of Aurora, Colo., of collecting $20 million in a Ponzi scheme “to support his lavish lifestyle.” He lied to investors, reporting “impressive and consistent annual returns” as high as 20 percent.

Merriman was known for showcasing his high-end art collection. U.S. marshals seized hundreds of works of art including some by Rembrandt and Picasso from his sprawling three-story home. Also seized were a silver Aston Martin, 1932 and 1936 Auburns and a 1932 Ford Highboy.

This spring the SEC also filed charges against Pennsylvania advisor Tony Young for allegedly stealing $23 million from investors to “support a lavish lifestyle for his family, including payments for expenses related to horse ownership and racing, construction, boats, limousines, chartered aircraft and other luxuries.” That lifestyle included an opulent vacation home in Palm Beach, Fla., near the Madoffs’ vacation home. Young also lied to accountants who prepared statements and claimed his losses in 2008 were only 5.8 percent.

Ponzi schemes are often discovered after market downturns when investors make the mistake of fleeing to safety. They want to take their stellar returns and put the money someplace safe while the storm blows over, only to find that no money is really there.

Additionally, the news cycle runs in themes. After the Madoff scandal, every Ponzi scheme became national news. The theme, played over and over, is that all financial services, from Fannie Mae to AIG, are rife with corruption and mismanagement and need more government regulation.

But more control won’t protect you from dishonesty. More law can’t protect you from an unethical person. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had direct congressional oversight. Madoff was good friends with the regulators. Regulation is more likely to be used politically than responsibly.

Your best defense is to engage an advisor whose daily practices reflect ways to safeguard the money under his or her fiduciary care. As part of identifying such an advisor, make sure there is a mutual understanding that an ostentatious lifestyle is not a valid financial goal.

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Bernard Madoff won't be behind the wheel of his vintage Aston ...

  Bernard Madoff won't be driving his Aston Martin DB2/4 (similar to this one) anytime soon

When Bernard Madoff wasn't in New York or London running his Ponzi scheme, he was often seen cruising the streets of West Palm Beach in his vintage Aston Martin DB2/4.

Madoff spent hundreds of thousands of dollars restoring the car, and transferred ownership to his brother Peter Madoff.

The catch...the money to restore the car came from his business which we now know was illegitimate.

The classic British car is reportedly worth $237,600 according to court records.

In April the trustees liquidating Bernard L. Madoff’s London affiliate had gone to federal bankruptcy court in Florida to seize a vintage British sports car that they say he bought last spring and gave to his brother, according to the New York Times.

"They are seeking a court order to protect the car from seizure by others seeking assets from the Madoff clan — a growing list that includes a college student on Long Island whose college fund was lost in the Madoff scheme."

In other words, there are a lot of people fighting for the car as compensation for their losses. Which most likely means that the last person on this earth who'll ever drive the Vintage Aston Martin is Bernard Madoff DB2/4 even if he should live to the age of 200.

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Aston Martin Cygnet

From supercars to a supermini! These are the amazing pictures that will have car fans shaking their heads in disbelief. But it really is true...

Aston Martin is building a model that’s even smaller than a Ford Fiesta!

Based on the Toyota iQ, the Cygnet is the result of a joint venture with the Japanese giant. Details are scarce at the moment, but the tiniest Aston Martin ever is expected to share the same three-cylinder petrol engine as the iQ, along with its innovative three- plus-one seating arrangement.

It will also boast a Euro NCAP five-star crash safety rating. And with a low-emission, highly economical engine, the Cygnet will help Aston to meet increasingly stringent environmental targets too.As you can see, the firm has managed to distill all of the design cues from its supercar range into a package measuring only three metres long.

Inside, expect the same attention to detail as you’d get on the DBS, with a leather-clad cabin featuring the very best materials, along with an ECU (Emotion Control Unit) that plugs into the centre console, replacing a traditional key.

However, not just anyone will be able to buy a Cygnet. In order to snap up one of the must-have urban machines, you have to already own an Aston Martin, as the firm is only making them available to existing customers. The company has identified that around 30 per cent of owners have small cars such as the MINI or Smart ForTwo in their garages, using them for short journeys to and from city-based offices. Now Aston is giving them the chance to buy their very own ‘luxury commuter’.

Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin chief executive, explained more about the Cygnet: “Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this bold step to embark on this special project – made possible with the support of an organisation of Toyota’s stature and capability and the intelligent design and perfect city car package of the iQ.

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2007 Mercedes-Benz CL 550

here have always been vehicles out there that make you shake your head and simply wonder: Why?

Why is there such a thing as a performance pickup truck, a cruel automotive oxymoron, thanks to ponderous curb weights and underpinnings meant to hold up under a tonne of bricks, not dance around corners with them. Or two-door, sport-utility vehicles, which provide neither sportiness nor utility.

Although Mercedes-Benz's full-size coupe is not nearly as egregious a proposition as any of the above, it has long seemed to be a "why?" vehicle.

For most of the 50-plus years that the storied German brand has been building these big two-doors, since the 1952 300 S Coupe, they have been rather obvious adaptations of perfectly comfortable and technologically advanced four-doors, but didn't really look like anything more than two-door S-Class sedans. So you'd pay more money for similar style, similarly advanced bits under the skin and less practicality: why?

The move away from this pattern started with the release of the current-generation CL in 1999, which offered a different front-end headlight treatment than the S-Class sedan and no sedan-like B-pillar behind the driver's head to visually separate front and rear seating.

Sure, the overall silhouette of the body was still similar to the big S, but at least there was a greater effort at visual differentiation. Plus there was an innovative new semi-active suspension system called Active Body Control (ABC) and bi-xenon headlamps. This was reconstructive plastic surgery done on automotive identical twins, not just heavy makeup any more.

The all-new 2007 CL arriving in showrooms in late November once again shares most major mechanical bits (engines, transmission, instrument panel) with the earlier new-for-2007 S-Class sedan. Like so many of its predecessors, it's big, at over five metres, perhaps just a tad too big for a coupe, even one in the old "grand touring" tradition, although there's an undeniable presence these large machines have on the road.

It's not the sexiness of the Bentley Continental GT or considerably more expensive Aston Martin DB9, but it's a conservative stylishness, the young MBA banker of the luxury-coupe posse.

No, what sets the CL apart is not only style, but also technological sophistication, since its many tech goodies are often optional on the S-Class. The most remarkable is the Pre-Safe brake system, which can induce up to 40 per cent of the CL's maximum brake pressure if it senses a collision is imminent, before the driver ever touches the brake pedal.

The system ties together sensors for the S-Class's Pre-Safe system, its radar-based cruise control that senses how fast vehicles ahead are approaching and the Brake Assist Plus system that flashes a warning on the windshield and through the speakers for the driver to wake up (literally or figuratively). Once the BAS Plus system warns of the impending collision, it automatically calculates the brake pressure needed to avoid the obstacle, so that pressure is instantly available once the brake pedal is pressed.

As for other drivers on the road, if you happen to find yourself on the road behind a new CL, you may want to keep a fair distance back.

The new BAS Plus feature is part of the optional Distronic Plus package, which equips the car with advanced radar sensors in the front bumper. This feature will control the CL's speed in stop-and-go highway or city traffic and is capable of bringing the car down to a smooth, controlled stop automatically, sort of a non-emergency version of BAS Plus.

Come December, an available parking assist system will become available and it will be on the S-Class within a year. Unlike the system in the Lexus LS 460, it doesn't steer for you, but uses a graphical image of your intended path to help steer you in between two parked cars.

Drive by the spot slowly, and it will first tell you if the car fits or not. Put it in reverse, and the guidelines come on as yellow lines to indicate where the car will go with the steering wheel in that position. Then just turn the steering wheel until it joins an optimal dotted path, thus changing the line to green. It works nicely when you're used to it, but would be even better if the lines could adjust while the driver is in motion.

Those aren't the only tricks in the CL's book. Mercedes-Benz is the only company to offer a fully active suspension in the industry right now and it is standard on the CL, automatically compensating for body motions when accelerating, braking or cornering. Hydraulic cylinders at each axle work hard to keep the body as level as possible, making it perhaps the most expensive way in the world to control car sickness.

Inside the cabin, the CL is as welcoming as your curved driveway after a long business trip. The centre stack is artfully designed and has a minimum of ungainly buttons. Unfortunately, one misses some of those buttons, especially the stereo preset buttons. Instead, there's the same mouse-like controller as in the S-Class, which allows stereo and advanced seat settings to be adjusted on a menu-based screen in a hooded binnacle just above the centre vents.

An artfully designed analog clock also adds an air of classic luxury, although not as much now that second-tier luxury brands such as Lincoln and Infiniti are doing the same thing.

Motivating the CL are two new engines, once again familiar from the S-Class. The standard 5.5-litre V-8 in the "base" CL produces 388 hp for a 0-100 km/h time of 5.4 seconds, a major upgrade over the 6.3-second time produced by the outgoing 302-hp CL 500.

Move up to the V-12 that comes with the CL 600, and the zero-to-highway-speed sprint is accomplished with electric-car smoothness and exotic-car pace, at 4.6 seconds.

Still, the new CL 600 is only 0.2 seconds quicker than the outgoing version, which is basically unnoticeable, so if you're unmoved by the new styling, technology or interior complexity of the new CL, there may be a better deal for you with an outgoing CL. There likely aren't many of these $190,000-plus CL 600s sitting around on dealer lots, or many of the $140,000 CL 500s for that matter. Pricing for the new models hasn't been announced yet, but likely won't stray too far from their predecessors.

So how does all this technology and power feel on the road? Like a technological marvel.

The bulk, super-comfortable ride and size of the car mentally prepares you for the car keeling over in corners, but instead its body remains level and the tires just seem to magnetically lock on the road.

The steering feel is still a touch light for a performance machine, but the seven-speed automatic does a masterful job of following your commands and it offers paddles behind the steering wheel to shift yourself.

It's hard to say whether the 2007 Mercedes-Benz CL is more or less of a "why?" car than before. There are undoubtedly some worthwhile safety innovations here, ones likely to filter down to less-expensive Mercedes-Benzes and perhaps to other cars as well, but for now reside solely with what has to be the safest coupe on the planet (assuming all the electronics work as designed).

When I asked a Mercedes-Benz engineer what exactly the CL featured that the S-Class didn't, he thought for a second, and gave a truly scientific answer: "No rear doors."

Like high heels and convertibles, buyers at this end of the market will sacrifice some practicality for style. In the end, that's why.

2007 MERCEDES-BENZ CL 550

Inside the cabin, the CL is as welcoming as your curved driveway after a long business trip.

SPECS

TYPE: Full-size luxury coupe

BASE PRICE: $145,000 (estimate)

ENGINE: 5.5-litre V-8, SOHC

TRANSMISSION: Seven-speed manumatic

DRIVE: Rear drive

HORSEPOWER/TORQUE: 388 hp/390 lb-ft

FUEL ECONOMY (litres/100 km): 14.7 city/9.1 highway (estimate); premium

ALTERNATIVES: Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Bentley Continental GT, BMW 6-Series, Porsche 911

LIKE

Stylish new body, especially with the available AMG Sport package

Handling on curvy roads is amazingly cultured and unperturbed by g forces

Power is plentiful at any rpm with the V-8 or the V-12

DON'T LIKE

Perhaps a little too civilized to allow enthusiasts to have fun

Doesn't stretch the technology envelope much past the S-Class

The COMAND mouse-like controller allows lots of options, but is not the easiest thing to use

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Vantage is enough to stir Bond himself

2009 Aston Martin Vantage.Photograph by: Handout, Handout

The Aston Martin brand, in particular its BD9 and DBS models, will undoubtedly be forever linked to James Bond in the minds of most people. Yet there is another Aston Martin, smaller, lighter, more agile, less expensive and with a race-track proven pedigree: The Vantage.

I picked up my test (soft-top) Roadster version (it also comes as a coupe) at B.C.'s one and only Aston Martin dealership on Burrard Street. Luckily, it was one of the few really clear sunny days this month, so the top went down as I headed out to Ladner to meet up with an old pal, a fellow car buff, for lunch.

I parked the Vantage beside a Porsche 911 Turbo and we got a table by the window to spy on any parking-lot action. Sure enough, as the lunchtime crowd started leaving a group gathered round the Vantage -- ignoring the 911.

Such is the pull of this sumptuously designed sports car that some will buy it on looks alone. But there is credence to its sporty styling. The Vantage started life as the Aston Martin N24 race car and its recent track record includes a first, second and third sweep in its class at last year's 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring in Germany.

Exclusivity is another important factor for buyers, according to Bill Murtland, the Aston Martin sales manager at the MCL dealership. His total allotment of Aston Martins for the year is 37, half of those Vantage models split between coupes and roadsters. So that's just nine, maybe ten, new Vantage Roadsters in B.C. this year -- and Murtland makes sure that every one is different.

The Vantage comes in a single base-trim level and there's a grocery list of options. My test Roadster had silver stitching on its leather upholstery that matched its optional silver colour brake callipers (red and black are the other colour choices). Aston Martin can also paint the car or dye its leather interior to a buyer's favourite colour: You provide a sample and your name goes on a unique colour.

The Looks

The Vantage has a gorgeously pure sports car design with a long hood and low-slung profile. It gets you close to the road and has minimal body overhangs and a shortened glass area.

An all-alloy under-body structure, derived from aerospace manufacturing, incorporates bonded aluminum castings that form a light-weight and rigid chassis.

The Vantage is the shortest Aston Martin at 4,380 millimetres, and its front/rear weight distribution is an almost perfect 49/51. The exterior body panels are hand-finished and it's a very clean design with a minimal amount of shut lines.

Up front it has the traditional Aston Martin-shape air opening, and a "bright finish" grille (as in photo) is optional. Another option is a body-kit package, which improves high-speed control.

The Inside

High-tech meets and blends with old-world hand-craftsmanship.

Driver space was adequate, but headroom might be tight for those above six-feet tall. Cabin storage space also is limited, but there is some behind the seats and a pocket between the seats. The Roadster's trunk is not huge, only 144 litres, yet, according to Murtland, a golf bag will fit in if you put the longer clubs in separately. The Coupe trunk has over twice as much cargo room.

The Roadster's soft top can go up or down in 18 seconds in a single switch operation, and can be opened at speeds up to 50 km/hr.

Safety

Occupants are protected by crumples zones front and rear, extra-strong door sills and impact beams inside the doors, as well as front and side air bags.

The Vantage has a mid-body mounted gas tank housed in an aluminum case, and roll hoops deploy behind the driver and passenger if a potential roll-over is detected.

In addition to anti-lock brakes, traction control and electronic stability control, the Vantage also has a Positive Torque Control system that helps stop the rear wheels.

The Drive

A new and bigger hand-assembled 4.7-litre V8 engine can propel the Vantage to 100km/hr. in 4.8 seconds and a maximum speed of 290 km/hr.

The peak torque is 346 lb.-ft., but 77 per cent of that is available at just 1,500 r.p.m. That allows you to lazily cruise around town without having to worry too much about always being in the right gear.

Not only is the Vantage surprisingly easy to drive, but the throaty roar of its dual exhausts makes an inspiring roar that will send quivers down your spine.

The Vantage just loves to be driven around a bend: Its independent double-wishbone front and rear suspensions keep the tires planted on the pavement and steering feedback is excellent.

On the down side, fuel economy is not great and a combination of chunky pillars, those low windows and a low seating position restrict both side and rear vision. Its six-speed manual transmission is not the slickest and its drivetrain isn't the quietest on the market.

Would this put me off having a Vantage in my driveway? Not in a heartbeat!

The Score

A memorable, too-short drive for me. This is a one-of-a-kind sports car that an owner will treasure for a long, long time.

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2009 ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE ROADSTER

Trim levels: Coupe, Roadster

Sticker price: $129,500 to $144,800 ($168,720 as tested)

Power: 4.7-litre V8, 420-h.p.

Transmission: Six-speed manual and six-speed automatic

Fuel consumption: 17.4/10.8 L/100 km (city/highway)

Basic Warranty: Three years/ unlimited km

Powertrain Warranty: Three years/unlimited km

Rust Warranty: 10 years/ unlimited km

The Competition

Audi R8: $141,000-$152,500

Chevrolet Corvette:

$66,145-$127,545

Dodge Viper:

$98,600-$99,600

Porsche 911:

$94,800-$235,400

On the web:

Consumer site: www.astonmartin.com

The Province: www.driving.ca

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Mellifluous droptop magic

David Booth drives the 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante.Photograph by: National Post, CNS

Gaydon, England: Andy Haslam may be the luckiest twentysomething in England. Made redundant by Ford, the 28 year old managed to catch on with a small automotive firm in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Initially, starting as a lowly technology planner, he’s worked his way up to project leader.

But that’s not what makes him so fortunate. The reason he’s so lucky is that the little English firm with which he has landed happens to be Aston Martin, and the car he oversees is the DBS Volante, the storied marque’s new topline convertible.

Of course, the only one luckier than Haslam is Yours Truly. While he had to slave for months to finally enjoy the fruits of his labour, my mandate is to pop into the DBS just as quick as you please and then thrash it until it either impresses my jaded self or submits in the process.

I’ll stick with the former, thank you. For those with a short memory, I was previously very impressed with my time in the DBS Coupe, the Volante’s predecessor. Six litres of high-revving, double overhead cam V12 bristling with 510 brake horsepower (as the Brits call them) is hard to argue with, especially when it’s accompanied by an exhaust note that could have been written by Chopin or Wagner.

I have to admit to a degree of shallowness here since one of the main reasons I so loved the DBS is the sound emanating from its twin oval exhaust pipes.

Part Ferrari scream, part Corvette thunder, the DBS growls menacingly at low speed — and then howls like a banshee as it passes 4,000 rpm and a flap in its exhaust system opens so that its full melody might be enjoyed by occupants and passersby alike. So enthralled was I in my original road test that I drove most everywhere with the windows down — the better to listen to the chorus — even though it was a particularly cold week in May.

In the Volante, the effect is even more delicious since there’s a completely open roof, not just a measly window, providing access to that marvellous exhaust note. Yes, I know that reading about how good a car sounds makes for a seemingly facile reason to laud a $310,100 automobile (that’s for the base car with its six-speed manual transmission; the six-speed Touchtronic automatic costs $4,000 more), but for true lovers of the internal combustion engine, the DBS’s cacophony is pure aural delight.

As for the rest of the car, it is essentially a Coupe with its top lopped off. That’s not meant as an insult since the DBS Coupe is brilliant and the car was designed from the outset for both body styles. Other than a slightly more robust rear suspension subframe, the Volante needs no further frame stiffening despite the loss of its roof. Over some extremely lumpy English B-roads, there was no perceptible cowl shake whatsoever, even after selecting the seriously firm suspension setting.

The aforementioned stiff suspension also makes the Aston Martin extremely nimble for something originally intended for more sedate grand touring.

Despite having some if its big V12 mounted ahead of the front axle — not so good for weight distribution — the DBS proves remarkably adept at navigating tight turns at sports car speeds, either neatly with the traction nanny engaged or more dramatically when the incessant nuisance is shut off. Even in its convertible form, the DBS is the one DB9 variant that feels as if it might be comfortable being flung around a race track at speed.

It certainly has the moxie for it. Besides all that glorious bellowing, the 6.0L V12 does an admirable job of motivating the 1,810-kilogram Volante.

Aston Martin claims a zero-to-100-kilometres-an-hour time of 4.3 seconds. This is impressive indeed, although it doesn’t capture the eagerness of the 12 pistons scurrying to their 7,000 rpm redline. Equally admirable but far more illegal is its 307 km/h top speed, testament that the DBS’s beautiful, organic curves are as aerodynamic as they are sensual.

Making sure the DBS can harness all that power is a set of standard Brembo brakes (six pistons up front, four pots in the rear) clamping on to high-tech carbon ceramic discs. The latter look to be the size of manhole covers and, at 398 millimetres in diameter, the front discs require 20-inch wheels to fit.

Inside the Aston, the materials are all exquisite — as befits any automobile costing almost as much as my house. Four cows or so sacrificed their epidermis so one Aston Martin interior can be lined and it is, as I can attest from visiting the company’s manufacturing facility in Gaydon, all hand-stitched by little old ladies wearing spectacles. The electronic key has crystal inlays and the gearshift knob is beautifully polished aluminum, cool to the touch and easy to shift through its six gears despite a clutch that insists on engaging quite late in its travel.

But the centrepiece of the new Volante’s cabin is a Bang & Olufsen audio system boasting 1,000 watts, no less than 13 speakers and the same pop-up tweeters as the B&O system in Audi’s S8. Without comparing them back to back, I can’t tell you which system is better, but one of them is the best car audio system in the world.

This is why the 2010 DBS Volante is the car I would buy if I had stupid money. When it is too cold for a top-down operetta of 12-cylinder exhaust music, I can just listen to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody at ear-splitting volumes and comfort myself with the warmth of British leather and hand-laid carbon fibre.

I really need to make more money.

dbooth@nationalpost.com

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British Cruise-in at The Pub

Updated 2:37 PM Friday, June 26, 2009

Matilda Jamison was bitten by the British car bug while still in high school. Apparently there is no vaccine or known cure.

“My parents bought a 1959 Triumph TR3A in England, and had it shipped over here. I started driving it in high school and I’m still driving it,” Jamison said.

Jameson joined about 75 other British car and motorcycle enthusiasts to celebrate British Car Week behind The Pub at The Greene on the first Sunday in June.

“We wanted to do something to call attention to our friends with British cars, and of course, to our business, which is an authentic British pub,” explained Nathan Griffiths, show organizer and marketing manager for The Pub. “Nothing gets folks’ attention like a bunch of cool cars parked together,” he added. “They’re icons — the Jaguar, Mini, Aston-Martin, MG, Morgan, Triumph, Austin-Healey, and we’ve got them all here except for an Aston (Martin).”

Griffiths was right about attracting a crowd, as folks from the shopping center wandered through the parking area looking over the machines and talking with their owners.

“I found a story about British Car Week and I suggested this cruise-in to our corporate office. Well, they liked the idea so much that they put me in charge of organizing them at all of our eight Pubs. This has turned out great, so I’m sure we’re going to be doing it again next year,” Griffiths said.

Jamison was more than happy to tell the story of her 50-year relationship with the TR3A.

“I drove it through high school and college, and after I started working I realized it wasn’t a great daily driver, so I put it in storage,” she said. “My ex-husband said that I’d get rid of him before I got rid of the Triumph and it turned out, he was right!

Jamison added, “I finally decided in 2004 that I needed to get it out and start driving it again, but after almost 40 years of sitting, well, you can imagine, it needed a lot of work. It hasn’t been totally restored. This is still the original paint, but it’s been gone over. I finally got it on the road in early 2008 and I’m having a ball. It’s my baby,” she said.

“I do think this baby will stay in the family. My son doesn’t have much interest, but my grandson does, so he’ll probably end up with it,” Jamison said.

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Better choice, used market boost revenue

IN TOP GEAR: Justin Divaris among some of the luxury marques sold by the Daytona Group.

JUSTIN Divaris is in a rather enviable position within the local motor industry. Not only does he head up the Daytona luxury pre-owned division, but within the group he has Hyde Park BMW/Mini, Audi Northcliff and both the Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce distributorships in his portfolio .

I sat down with him to see how the downturn is affecting his business operations and what trends the market has in store.

Interestingly the downturn is not playing too big a role when it comes to the overall revenue stream for the group. “For us personally, we are actually doing better than last year,” he said. It seems this is due to two major factors, in that the brands are carrying better products and his investment in pre-owned facilities ensures he covers the new and used market.

Finance is a major concern and he says there are “tons of people who want to buy cars, they are just not getting finance”. This is where the pre-owned operation comes in, where he says “nine times out of 10, we will put someone into a used car”.

That may not be a used car as we generally know it, although obviously both Audi and BMW provide pre- owned vehicle programmes. The Daytona showroom in Sandton is home to everything from a Porsche Cayman to a Koenigsegg.

Everything except the Audi dealership is located on the same site, so you can take a look at a Mini for tackling the urban jungle or an Aston Martin Vantage for de- stressing on a Sunday morning.

While things may look as though they are going well at for Divaris and his team, the operation is still facing similar challenges to the rest of the retail motor industry. “Bread and butter volumes are a problem,” he says when talking about the German marques; however he points out that “not many dealers have the client base that we do”.

He admits that trade-in values are a serious concern, but fortunately both Audi and BMW are providing some trade-in assistance to keep the market alive. He stresses that choosing stock is more important than ever and while the pre-owned market is proving lucrative at the moment, they are selective when it comes to the vehicles they take in.

When it comes to the luxury brands, Divaris says the “top end new market is going well”, acknowledging that even in an overall downtrodden market, those with cash to spend are still doing so. In this market many of the buyers are cash and he says 50-60% of buyers want to buy immediately. For some this has been a problem, but he says they buy in stock every month so that customers do not have to wait, despite many retailers facing stock allocation issues as manufacturers try to reduce their stock levels worldwide.

Even at Aston Martin, Divaris says they are set to sell the same number of units this year, but the margins are likely to be tighter — making trade-in negotiations even more important. He also says there has been a noticeable decline in new customers, so his salespeople are having to learn to sell again after the recent years of order taking.

He says many of the sales are what the industry calls “conquest sales”, where a deal sees a customer changing brands for reasons ranging from better service to better product.

Divaris is also well placed to see the trends when it comes to who is buying what. He says many “Porsche owners are upgrading to Astons” and while pre-owned Ferrari sales are still doing well, Lamborghini sales have slowed. Rolls-Royce sales have been hampered slightly by exchange rates, but next year will probably be the best year for the brand, with many choosing to jump out of the back seat of their Phantom and into the driver’s seat of the new Ghost. In fact, he expects to sell more than 30 Rolls-Royce models next year against the 18 that were sold in SA last year.

New product will be key for all the brands, with not only the Ghost arriving, but also the new Aston Martin Rapide. Even Koenigsegg, for which Daytona holds the local distributorship, will launch a new limited edition model called the Trovica Koenig. There will only be three of the white carbon fibre bodied car worldwide and the first one has already been sold to an existing customer in SA.

So it all looks promising and Divaris is optimistic despite the challenges his company and the industry at large are facing.

Strategic choices have been key to helping the company remain strong in the current climate and many a dealer, irrespective of the brand they carry, should be doing the same.

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Flawed MINI a hugely addictive ride worth

Not to worry though, here comes MINI U.S.A. vice-president Jim McDowell to smooth over customer concerns by telling CNBC that MINIs are like wives: you love them even though they aren't perfect from Day One, and can take some getting used to.

Er... seeing as my wife occasionally stumbles across this column, I've no idea what he's talking about. None whatsoever.

But perhaps MINI-McDowell has a point. After all, reliability is not the only yardstick by which we measure cars. As much as the average consumer likes to think that they're only using their head, to some extent, we all buy with our hearts.

There's a reason you don't ever get any flyers about the Toyota Corolla club's annual meet, while the Alfa-Romeo club gets together at the drop of a hat to chat about their cars.

Mind you, that might just be group psychotherapy.

So just because the gearshift knob comes off in your hand five feet out of the dealership driveway, it doesn't mean you haven't bought a great car. It's also a good idea to take the J.D. Power Survey with a tablespoon of salt too, as it only measures the first 90 days of ownership. Overall, MINI does quite well, except for the early five-speed manual transmissions.

Back in 1956, the Suez Crisis was sending European fuel prices skyrocketing. So-called "bubble-cars" ruled the roads, sipping fuel and beetling along at single-digit speeds. Needless to say, BMC (later British Leyland) was considerably upset to be losing ground to cars like the BMW Isetta and the Messerschmitt micro-cars, especially since the Luftwaffe had been bombing their factories only fifteen years before.

Leonard Lord, who is my favorite company chairman after Ferrucio Lamborghini, issued the following proactive and synergy-increasing mission statement: "God damn these bloody awful bubble cars. We must drive them off the streets by building a proper small car."

So they did. August 1959 saw the first Mini hit showroom floors, and its success was instant. The press loved the Austin Se7en or Morris Mini-Minor, as it was then called, and customers loved it even more. It sipped gas too, but it was as roomy as a cathedral and went like hell. The Mini practically invented the "go-kart handling" cliché, and quickly began dominating rally-racing at the hands of expert drivers like Paddy Hopkirk.

Style was the other big selling feature of the Mini. Without even really trying, it became a symbol of '60s cool as best exemplified in The Italian Job. Jaguar E-types and Aston-Martin DB5s were cool too, but the Mini wasn't working at it so hard.

Big engines and big egos? Who needs 'em.

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Cars galore at the 2009 festival of speed

Cars galore at the 2009 festival of speed

2:53pm Friday 26th June 2009

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A BUMPER crop of new car debuts are scheduled for the Goodwood Festival of Speed (3-5 July). It’s not long now until Britain's largest annual 'moving motor show' opens its doors to 145,000-plus visitors Goodwood has firmly established itself as the best place to see the latest motoring marvels and best supercars in action from around the globe, and event organisers are claiming that this year is no exception, with a number of significant new models making their UK or European debuts.

The Sunday Times Supercar Run provides a dynamic environment in which the public can view new models for the first time. Unlike a conventional motor show, the Supercar Run affords an opportunity not only to exhibit a new supercar, but also to show it in action on the Goodwood hillclimb.

This year 50 cars will participate in the Run, the majority of which have never been seen publically in action before.

Supercars set to make their UK debuts will include the targa-top Bugatti Veyron Gran Sport, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren SLR Stirling Moss, Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M, Pagani Zonda R and the Tramontana from Spain.

Other Goodwood debutants include the Porsche Panamera S, Audi R8 V10, Morgan Aero SuperSports, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Lotus Evora, Lexus LF-A and Nissan's new GT-R Spec V and 370Z.

A number of concept cars will be seen in action for the first time, including the GTbyCitroen, as well as the striking Bertone Mantide.

Giugiaro's latest hybrid concept sports car, the Ital Design Frazer Nash Namir, the Infiniti Essence and the unusual Rinspeed Projekt iChange will also be driven up the Goodwood hill as part of a class of low emission vehicles, new to this year's Festival.

Also represented with their latest supercar models will be manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, Ariel, Bentley, BMW, Caparo, Jaguar, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Pagani, RUF and Spyker.

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Motor Mouth: Aston Martin's beautiful One-77 is built for speed

June 26, 2009, 9:16 AM by Jodi Lai Motor Mouth, David Booth, Aston Martin, One-77

By David Booth, National Post

It’s not often I get as giddy as a schoolgirl — about an automobile, anyway. Indeed, one of the few downsides of this magnificent job — if it is possible to claim that living one’s lifelong dream can actually have a downside — is that one does become a little jaded. Ferraris make a little less of a ripple in your karmic car world when you’ve just got out of an Audi R8 and will soon trade it in for a Corvette Z06.

Nonetheless, when Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s director of design, pulled the silk sheet off his latest creation, the nothing-short-of-orgasmic One-77 — I couldn’t stop from uttering an involuntary “wow.” Normally, such a show of enthusiasm — especially involuntary — would be mondo embarrassing in the company of an august gaggle of harrumphing autojournalists, each determined to remain sanguine about what was surely just another supercar from just another exotic automaker promising more otherworldly performance. Such juvenile expostulations are just not done, dear boy.

This time, however, I was not the only one. Everyone from aged Motor Trend major-domos to the exasperatingly fresh-faced editor from the outrageously manic 0–60 magazine reacted with the same weak-kneed gushing normally reserved for, say, Megan Fox, Hollywood’s latest polysexual starlet, training her sultry megawatt smile on us less-than-worthy scribes. Of course, the lovely Natalie Neff, covering the event for AutoWeek, probably opted for a slightly different metaphor, but the thought remains the same — there was candy in the room and the children hadn’t eaten in weeks.

Pictures being worth a thousand words, I won’t bore you with my description of what you can plainly see — that the One-77 will almost assuredly be a classic one day, mentioned in the same breath as Ferrari GTOs and the Maserati Tipo 61 “Birdcage.” What you can’t grasp from pictures, and where my prose might actually come in handy, is the unrelenting attention to detail that will go into every custom-built One-77. The exhaust system, not just the headers, but everything from the engine block all the way to the chromed tips, is ceramic-coated for longevity and heat retention (more power from the engine, less heat to the body).

Similarly, seemingly half the engine bay is coated in gold leaf — yes, real gold — ostensibly because the precious metal is an excellent heat reflector, but really because of Reichman’s contention that there should not be a single “B-surface” (designer-speak for things you can’t see from the outside) on the whole car. And there is so much more — from the Cosworth-blueprinted, 7.3-litre edition of Aston’s iconic V12, slyly rated at “more than” 700 horsepower to the absolutely exquisite, Bugatti-like coolant overflow tank, that words simply won’t suffice.

But the truly amazing thing about the One-77 is the construction of that achingly beautiful body. Though the One-77’s chassis is a formed carbon fibre tub, the bodywork is actually completely hand-made aluminum panels glued to its tub. Aluminum was chosen instead of even more carbon fibre, says Reichman, so small fender benders can more easily be repaired.

But that’s not the most impressive part. Gaze more intently upon the One-77 and you’ll see that it is comprised of only three body panels (aside from moving parts such as the doors, trunk lid and hood). The roof and lower door sill, for instance, form part of the chassis’ carbon fibre tub, while each of those incredibly complex front fenders is just one big piece of hand-pounded “aluminium.” (Don’t you just love how the Brits make aluminum sound exotic?) Meanwhile, the rear end is even more complex. What is normally two separate quarter panels and a rear fascia is one giant piece of aluminum welded, beaten and wheel-turned into a complex metal sculpture. And, yes, it will be extremely expensive to repair should a One-77 ever get rear-ended.

But the detail that truly captured everyone’s attention were the side-view door mirrors. Look closely and it appears they have been extruded, like Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four comics fame, from the door itself. Of course, that’s not possible, but when Reichman wanted the mirror stalk to appear to be sucked out the door, Aston Martin’s engineers had to come up with the quite ingenious idea of cutting an oval hole in the door, poking the mirror through from the inside, welding it up with the most delicate TIG bead from the outside and then hand-sanding it until the joint is completely indistinguishable. Totally unnecessary, but then one doesn’t spend £1,050,000 (yes, nearly $2-million) on the merely pragmatic.

Read the preview of the 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante here.

(Photo: The custom-built One-77 will assuredly be a classic one day. Credit: Handout)

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