Volvo won’t try and take on Merc S-Class after all  As part of an interview with Automotive News, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson says he doesn’t plan on taking on high-end German luxury brands head-on. And that means the speculated BMW 7 Series/Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship Volvo sedan won’t be happening anytime soon, if ever. Samuelsson confirmed Volvo is sticking with his plan to use Volvo’s new so-called “SPA” platform to create replacements for its aging XC90 crossover and mid-size S80 sedan, hinted at with the Volvo Concept You, seen above. As well, Volvo and its owners from China’s Geely are working on a new platform of compact cars for China’s largest new car segment.

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John LeBlanc for National Post

Lexus could add luxury version of Toyota RAV4 to its lineup  Late last week, Toyota announced that it is shifting production of its Lexus ES entry-level luxury sedan from Japan to a plant in the U.S. And now a report from The Detroit Bureau suggests the move paves the way for an all-new, Toyota RAV4-based Lexus cute-ute. Apparently, the Japanese factory that currently builds the ES sedan will be used for the all-new Lexus model. Although Toyota officials would not confirm the new small crossover will be that vehicle, the report suggests the new small Lexus crossover is part of a larger plan for Toyota’s luxury brand to shift its focus from aging Baby Boomers to younger buyers. “The consumption of luxury and what it means to Boomers may be very different for Gen-Y.  We need to prepare ourselves for what younger luxury buyers will want,” said Jim Lentz, head of Toyota’s North American operations.

John LeBlanc for National Post

Maserati boss thinks EVs are “nonsense”  Saying what a lot of industry experts and customers are thinking, the head of Fiat’s Maserati brand, Harald Wester has called electrically powered cars “nonsense.” In an interview with Autocar, Wester says, “All this discussion about zero emissions is nonsense. Nobody talks about the efficiency of how the battery is charged. It varies strongly from region to region, depending on how the energy is produced, nuclear, coal and so on, but even the best is not ahead of the internal combustion engine.” Wester added that he thinks diesel and compressed natural gas are better solutions for lowering CO2 tailpipe emissions. “Both are more viable answers than hybrid. If [government regulators] gave us a CO2 target instead of imposing technology then we would go that way.”

Wait a minute, I said minus the rubber?

And that’s exactly what I meant….

Although Maserati has been keeping its brand loyalists busy with its new and luxurious 2014 Ghibli sports sedan, something new has made its presence known at the 2013 International Furniture Fair.

And that something is the limited edition Maserati Lounge Chair by Zanotta, which comes with the designing finesse from the duo of Ludovica and Roberto Palomba.

Exclusivity, comfort, sophistication, and luxury with this limited-edition lounge chair… and only for a cool 5k.

Part of Maserati’s lifestyle brand and one of the initial products in their new Home and Office collection, it expresses the “made in Italy” spirit and values: a sign of style, comfort, craftsmanship and state-of-the-art materials and shapes, which never loses sight of the tradition of timeless elegance.

Take one already amazing sports car and put it in the hands of motorsport specialists Carrosserie Saurer in Switzerland and the end result is a truly exceptional example of automotive styling and engineering.

Indeed, while the word ‘unique’ is widely overused, it takes just one look at this stunning silver 1975 Maserati Merak by Saurer, which is being offered on 17^th May at the Silverstone Auctions hosted International Trophy Sale, to know it is not a cliché.

Being incredibly rare also means it’s a well-known and well-documented motor car, ensuring that whoever has the pleasure of owning it next will know its complete history.

Life began for this 1975 model as any other Merak (if there is such a thing as ‘any other Merak’) but this particular example was earmarked for greatness.

In 1984 its painstaking transformation at Swiss-based Saurer, a land famed for precision engineering took shape.

The redesigned bodywork was formed to create what Paul Saurer considered to be his ideal ‘Hot Merak’ and the end result exceeded expectations and which will be available to view in the ultra-modern Wing building at Silverstone race track before the car auction commences at 2pm on Friday 17^th May.

However, it’s not just the eye-pleasing redesign that catches the attention because all the original running gear has been retained – only increasing its collectability.

For more information about this very special 1975 Maserati, estimated at between £35,000 to £40,000, or for any of the other cars being offered at the International Trophy Sale, visit www.silverstoneauctions.com.

Surprising beginning with the (for me) unknown Blue Willa! A wonderful voice mixed to pretty noisy shit, I really enjoyed them!

Then Maserati, which, even without the bass player, out of the game for a bad pancreatitis (he was painfully stucked into the hospital of Ravenna), did a great show! The drummer is a crazy inexhaustible rhythm machine! Thanks Maserati, hope to see you soon with the complete team!

Johnny Viscidous Cancrena©

GIUSEPPE TUPPONI CAR: THE LITTLE GLA …. PLE1

GIUSEPPE TUPPONI CAR: THE LITTLE GLA ..1A3

GIUSEPPE TUPPONI CAR: THE LITTLE GLA ..1A2

GIUSEPPE TUPPONI CAR: THE LITTLE GLA ..1A

قامت Maserati أخيراً باطلاق سيارتها Ghibli 2014 والتي كنت قد كتبت عنها في موضوع سابق ستجدونه هنا , قامت Maserati عند اطلاق السيارة بتوفير ثلاثة محركات للـ Ghibli جميعها ستكون محركات من 6 اسطوانات , اثنان سيعملان بالجازولين (بنزين) وواحد بالديزل , المحرك الاساسي  turbocharged مكون من 3.0 لتر V6 بقوة 330 حصان و368 رطل-قدم من العزم وانطلاقة 0-62 ميل بـ 5.6 ثانية , والمحرك الثاني للـ Ghibli S بنفس المحرك ولكن مع  twin-turbocharged بقوة 410 حصان و 406 رطل-قدم من العزم وانطلاقة 0-62 ميل بـ 5 ثوانٍ فقط , وفي محرك الديزل سيتكون المحرك من 3.0 لتر ديزل V6 بقوة 275 حصان و 443 رطل-قدم من العزم والانطلاقة من 0-62 ميل بـ 6.3 ثانية , وأيضا سيتوفر من الـ Ghibli S بنظام الدفع الرباعي الجديد  Q4 من Maserati .

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This is the new Maserati Ghibli, the company’s first ever, mid-size four-door saloon. And guess what – it’s a diesel!

In a bid to boost global sales to 50,000 cars a year, the Italian manufacturer is downsizing, in the hope of appealing to a whole new range of potential owners working on a tighter budget.

Just like the latest Quattroporte, the Ghibli saloon will boast two different power outputs from its turbo-charged V6 petrol engines.

More importantly though, the Ghibli will additionally be offered with the first diesel engine in Maserati’s history.

The turbo-diesel 3.0-litre V6 will be developed by Maserati engineers, under the direction of Scuderia Ferrari former chief, Paolo Martinelli.

The V6 develops 275bhp and a crushing 600Nm of torque to deliver 0-60mph acceleration in just 6.3 seconds. It will have a claimed economy of 47mpg.

No prices yet but CarCouture loves the classic Maserati styling and looks.

For the full review of the Maserati Quattroport, check out AutoWeek.

Also a strong presence will have the Qoros Auto manufacturer, Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, DS, Hyundai, KIA, Mazda, Mitsubishi Suzuki and Subaru that will be included in the roster of exhibitors.

The Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition motor-show, with a potentially huge market opening up in China, keen to grow sales to the burgeoning middle classes.

As in the  previous New York and Geneva shows new energy vehicles will be a highlight. The new electric vehicle jointly developed by Chinese manufacturer BYD and Daimler, Denza, will be showcased at the event.

Also the Detroit Electric, will make the world debut of its new two seater all electric sports car that has been five years in research and development.

Albert Lam, the former group CEO of Lotus said: “The sports car will allow us to demonstrate to the world our ability to build an exciting and innovative product. This DNA will be translated across to our future sedans, all our cars will be fun to drive and deliver exceptional performance within their class”.

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Sport on 22″ Vossen VVS-CV3 Concave Wheels

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I had the idea for this two years ago, so I feel totally validated as an entrepreneurial genius. My idea was only slightly different in that it had a broader reach, and it was more expensive (of course). It went like this:

• Set up site that features photos and profiles of 20 hot girls that aren’t me
• Attach girls’ (my) wish list of Prada purses, Cartier watches, and Lake Como houses to profiles
• Rejoice when horny rich guys purchase items for girl(s) and money appears in my off-shore account including a 10% “I just made all your dreams come true” fee
• Send photos of naked girl(s) that aren’t me enjoying said wish list item(s) to horny rich guy for his viewing pleasure
• Seven minutes after photo shoot, all wish list items belong to me, girl becomes porn star, I replace her with new girl

Genius, right?

Thanks, Amazon.  You giant porn retail pimp dream thief.

Actually, I lost steam when it became clear this business model was already being maximized by all the sugar daddy websites.

Sugar daddies suck. But only because I wish I could abandon my pride and vaginal integrity for retail satisfaction. I love the way a new Maserati smells.

But, with sugar daddy potential in mind, I’d like to give our friend Lia here a tiny piece of grandmotherly advice: Sweetie, you’re worth more than a set of nail stickers for $1.12, which appears to be the first item on your list.

Here’s a tiny piece of Molly advice:  you had ONE sentence to write…

“Be sure ti give me your email when you buy me something so i can send you a surprise.”

If you’re the type of person who fails to notice when you write “ti” instead of “to,” or forgets to capitalize “I,” there’s someone I’d like you to meet.  Captain Spellcheck, the gentleman superhero of spelling, grammar and punctuation. He will lay his cape across your messy word puddle when you fuck it entirely.  All you need do is ask.

Thus, of all the dudes you long to use, I recommend you start with him.

But SEE?  I TOLD you typos get you noticed.

For more information visit maseratistore.com. 

Bugatti Type 251. Only three chassis were produced.

The Bugatti 251 is a beautiful example of a Formula 1 experiment.  Only three examples were ever built.  It employed a unique engine design.  In fact, they had brought in a former Ferrari man – Gioacchino Colombo .  Colombo was a famous engine design know for his V12s.  The Bugatti 251 was introduced, at home, in the 1956 French Grand Prix.  It took four years to design the masterpiece.  It was a pretty car with stout hips, due to its transversely mounted straight-eight engine.  Thus, the engine was placed where it should be, behind the driver.  The car was advanced in this respect.  Other cars of the day were still almost entirely front-engined cars.

Not only was it rear engined, it also sported revolutionary front suspension.  Stopping power was courtesy of modern disc brakes and not drum brakes.  And the body of the car had vents in all the right places.  It looked like it would slip through the air while simultaneously inhaling massive amounts of air to power it’s engine.  Finally, the French GP arrived and the car hit the track.

After four years, $250,000, and 200,000 man hours, it would take only only a few laps to seal the fate of this beauty.  The car was not just bad, but atrocious.  You see, racing involves a dynamic and evolving compromise between power and handling.  The Bugatti 251 had neither.  Moreover, handling is involves taming the twin beasts of understeer and oversteer.  This car had not mastered either one.  It’s oversquare engine sounded exquisite at a rumored 9,000 revolutions per minute (only the ability to run to 8,000 rpm was confirmed).  And yet, it produced a weak 230 horsepower engine.  Even for the time, that output was unsatisfactory.  It was so bad, they didn’t even take it out of the country.  It never raced in another Grand Prix.

The Bugatti Type 251, therefore, may be a pretty car, but it was never a success.  One of the interesting things, to me, about Formula 1 is the way its development meanders.  Before someone gets a new idea right, usually some other team got it dramatically wrong.  It is these “wrong” cars that compose Formula One’s proverbial wall of shame.  Thus, the Bugatti Type 251 joins the Tyrrell six-wheeled car and other failed attempts at evolution.

The 1956 French Grand Prix.

Again, I am posting the video of the French GP as covered by the summary I found of the 1956 F1 season.  So, check it out if you are interested.  Either way, I am going to let it do the heavy-lifting, in terms of race explanation.  But, I will mention the essentials real quick:

The track location was the usual Reims-Gueux track.  The XLII Grand Prix de l’ACF took place in July 1, 1956.  It was a 61 lap race on a 5.159 mile course totaling 314 miles.  Juan-Manuel Fangio, of course, laid down an impossibly quick pole time of 2:23.3.  Fangio, himself, couldn’t touch that time in the race.  He did set the fastest lap time, but it was two seconds slower than his qualifying time.

Spoiler alert: Peter Collins won the race.  So, I haven’t talked much about Peter Collins.  But, I have recently looked ahead and realized that some decisions he makes alters the shape of this year’s championship.
“So, who exactly is Peter Collins?”Well, I am glad you asked.  Let me tell you…Peter Collins, Who is he?

In 1956, Peter Collins was a handsome 24 year old British bachelor and semi-experienced racing driver.  He cut his teeth in the Formula 500 series, for three seasons, around 1949 to 1951.  For 1952, he bumped up to the F2 series, just one notch below Formula 1.  Then, he lays low until 1955, racing for British Racing Motors (BRM).  In 1955, he catches the eye of a man you may know of – Enzo Ferrari.  Ferrari not only embraces Collins, but Enzo treats him like a surrogate son.  Some say, Collins reminded Enzo of his own recently passed Dino Ferrari.  Anyway, he got a shot with Scuderia Ferrari in fifty-six.

Regarding his racing ability, he was quick, but not ultimately quick.  That is to say, he was generally not considered to be “great driver” material.  Critics, at the time, placed him below the likes of Fangio and Moss.  With a self-effacing tone, he would often remark that Moss was the better British driver.  He had immense respect for Fangio as well.  In fact, it was Collins that handed over his car, despite being in the race, to Fangio at the last Monaco GP.  As if on a mission, he went on to win the next two Grands Prix (the last post at Spa-Francorchamps and this post).  So, clearly, the guy could drive.  He was just never destined to ultimately quickest.  Or was he?  At this point, he is leading the championship by five points.  So, I guess you’ll just keep having to check back to see how Collins’ manages the rest of the season.

Off the track, Collins lived the high-life.  More clearly, the man partied, hard.  While Stirling Moss frequently kept to himself, Collins had what can only be described as a bromance with Mike Hawthorn.  If you are not familiar with Hawthorn, he was a fellow racer, described by one source as always being drunk, about to get drunk, or recovering therefrom.  The two engaged in a lot of classic 1950s shenanigans and crumpet-chasing.

I am at a loss for an amusing conclusion.  Perhaps, I will edit this paragraph later.  For now, I’m leaving it there.  But, I encourage you to check back over the next couple posts to see how the 1956 season turns out.  For the first time in several years, it will come down to the last race at high-speed Monza.

Hopefully related articles.

• Stirling Moss Is Strong at the 1956 Belgian GP (gpevolved.com)
• A little background on team orders (joesaward.wordpress.com)
• A history of team orders in Formula One (telegraph.co.uk)

If you’ve made it this far, check out this crazy 1956 video of a guy who saw Lincoln get shot.

Still here? Here’s some Louis C.K. doing President Lincoln.