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April 23, 2010
Caption Contest!
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
This pic kills me–I’d love to know the story behind it. Was it staged? You can see the full size version here. Anyway, you know the drill: Come up with a caption for the picture below by noon PST next Thursday. If you submit the funniest one, we’ll send you some CarDomain swag. Three entries per member max. Good luck!
April 22, 2010
This Was An Audi TT
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Love it? Hate it? More pics after the jump! Via VWVortex
April 20, 2010
Heaven, Hell or Hyundai
By Sam Barer
Sound Classics
I wrote here a few months ago about my wife’s decision to replace her 1998 Olds Intrigue. I detailed my grand plan to give her the 2006 Toyota Avalon while I procured myself a slightly used Mercedes S550 as a new daily driver.
The interesting thing about the Mercedes S550 is that, without expensive and rarely-equipped options, it offers fewer bells and whistles than a minivan of half the price. Consequently, it was near impossible to find one with adaptive laser-guided cruise control and a back-up camera, at least one with a reasonable number of miles that wasn’t being sold by a dealer at a typical narcotics kingpin’s profit margin. I did finally find a low-mileds 2008 S600 (the model with all the bells and whistles as standard, powered by the fire-breathing bi-turbo V12 and usually purchased new by professional athletes and CEOs) offered at a sell-it-today price of $72,000, but getting it to my door and licensing it would have put it at $80,000. Still, at nine in the morning on one beautiful day I had the deal ready to go.
It’s funny how spouses have the ability to bring us back to ground-level. My wife reminded me that no matter how far under-value I could buy the S600, I was making a poor financial decision. She also pointed to the other cars in the garage and asked if I really needed another expensive car for myself. This was the point when I again got to swallow hard and use my signature line “you’re right, I’m wrong, I’m sorry, I’ll change!”
It had taken me months to get to nearly buying the S600, but thanks to my wife’s decisive nature, by 5pm that night she was at Titus-Will Hyundai signing for a brand new 2010 Genesis 4.6 Sedan–for her! A Hyundai? On my property? What the hell?
March 5, 2010
Top Ten Automotive Things About Which I Disagree With Most Other Automotive Journalists
By Sam Barer
Sound Classics
If you read the major car publications it’s easy to get the feeling that all automotive journalists agree on everything. When journalists sing universal praise, throw jeers or are notoriously silent, it’s hard for readers to disregard.
There are plenty of conspiracy theories that blame editors beholden to advertisers scaring writers into not even trying to say something good about one car or bad about another. Personally, I buy more into the explanation of groupthink, as it’s easy to be confident in your opinion when others have come to the same conclusion time and time again.
I, however, being totally independent (not to mention subtle-as-a-chainsaw) have no problem saying where I differ from the rest. So here is my list of Top Ten Automotive Things About Which I Disagree With My Colleagues.
10) Chrysler 300C: I’ve owned plenty of Chryslers in my time, so maybe this is why I approached the 300C with a more critical eye. Consequently, I never liked the 300C (and its lesser variations) as much as the rest of the automotive journalists.
Everyone else saw a good-looking car with ample power from the “Hemi V8″. I saw past the nice styling and focused on a huge car with sub-Honda Accord-sized leg and knee room (courtesy of typically ultra-thick, but not very comfortable front seats). As nice as the Hemi (sans hemispherical combustion chambers) was, it couldn’t overcome the totally numb steering and spongy braking that made the car feel cumbersome. Plus, as someone who lived through Chrysler ownership, there was always the certainty that the 300C would be just like Chrysler’s other vehicles — engineered at low cost to ensure high failures, which would only be made worse by one of the most poorly trained dealer service networks in America.
Continue reading after the jump!
March 1, 2010
Mercedes SLK with Audi Grille on eBay
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Never seen anyone put Audi stuff on a Mercedes, but hey, why not? See more at eBay
February 8, 2010
Super Bowl: VW and Audi
Atomicalex
Note to VW: PunchBug only works for the aircooled Beetles. There are going to be a lot of bruises on the coasts. In the midwest, not so much. A good nostalgia play by VW at a good time in the market.
Note to Audi: Hiliarious. I wasn’t even remotely thinking Audi until the end. Too busy singing along with the Cheap Trick! Best use of music in an ad for the whole game, IMO. Did anyone else catch the GEM electric thingy that the GPs were driving in the beginning? Probably the best use of a Chrysler product in an ad for the entire game, since the Charger ad was so lame.
January 12, 2010
Detroit showcar Audi e-tron Concept Unveiled
Neuwerks
Audi has recently taken to the idea of going electric, and is making a point to show just how much fun it can be. During late 2009 Audi introduced the e-tron concept at the Frankfurt Auto show, a car that was loosely based on the current Audi R8. This car featured a slightly more sculpted design, and an electric motor with an output of 313hp and 3,319 pound feet of torque.
The car unveiled at Detroit was not another version of the e-tron, and should be addressed formally as the ‘Detroit showcar Audi e-tron’ (not to be confused with e-tron), and is a completely new design and powertrain. This car features muscular shoulders, and a more compact design that houses a powertrain putting out a respectable 204 hp, and 1,900 lb-ft of torque.
January 11, 2010
Brown Audi S5 Cabriolet
Atomicalex
I’m not a big fan of brown cars. Brown paint is so hard to get right, and when (not if) you get it wrong, you either look like shiny dirt or the UPS truck. However…. this shade of metallic brown is working for this Audi R8 Cabriolet. I like it!
January 7, 2010
Volvo Driving Swedish Cops Own Audi Driving Bad Guys
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Holy cow. See the full sequence after the jump. Via VWVortex
Continue reading "Volvo Driving Swedish Cops Own Audi Driving Bad Guys" »
January 4, 2010
Fireball’s Cool Designs for the New Year
By Fireball Tim
Movie Car Design Master
Adios 2009! Welcome 2010! We don’t have flying cars. We don’t teleport our asses around the globe. And we don’t eat square Star Trek food. BUT, we do have G3 phones. We DO have bluetooth contraptions hangin’ on our noggens and WE DO…
…have bitchin’ rides. Bring it, Fireball.
1. THE AUDI AVATAR
No, not designed by James Cameron. Although, he coulda had it in the movie. Audi is poised to create future car badness with this and the ETRON. Although, I think they’re going to too many movies. Their next car is their wind-powered SUV called the RAMBLOW.
Continue reading "Fireball’s Cool Designs for the New Year" »
