All Entries Tagged With: "ADL NEWS"
A Thought For The New Year
2009
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG via beatportal.com
OUR tradition in observing New Year’s is both strange and wonderful.
Functionally, it serves the obvious practical purpose in marking the passage of time. And yet somehow we’ve attached heightened significance to one year meeting the next. It’s become part of our culture to celebrate this otherwise practical event; embellishing the otherwise mundane as a means to making our life here better.
Just as strange (and wonderful) is our love affair with cars.
These time machines that were born of functional necessity have taken on such added value and manufactured importance in our society that they’ve become interwoven in our cultural fabric. And until they invent the in-home teleportation device, we’ll still need them. And because we’ll need cars, we’ll want to embellish our personal transport devices as a means to making our life here better.
Hence the inherent beauty in an Alfa Romeo 8C or a Mercedes-Benz 540K. And in de luxe automobiles, en générale.
So, in observing 2008′s farewell and 2009′s arrival, let’s be grateful for this and all of life’s strange embellishments – they’re a wonderful means to making our life here better.
Happy New Year.
ADL’s Picks For 2008
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class made one of the lists…
By Gunnar Heinrich
IN a blogosphere filled with year-end automotive “Best” lists, it’s ADL’s turn to contribute its vibrato to the chorus. That having been said, and as is our M.O., we’re going to do things a little differently…
Automobiles De Luxe v. 2.5.1
The latest in a long succession…
By Gunnar Heinrich
OWING to the exemplary wit, wisdom, technical prowess, and charm of TMR’s Steane Klose, Automobiles De Luxe is treated to a brand new sheet from which to spread the “gospel” of luxury car infotainment. This marks ADL’s second major site alteration in 2008. If stuff don’t work, by all means please say so in comments. Otherwise, enjoy the fresh new look and watch for changes as there’ll be new features added on in the coming days.
Thank you, Steane.
This Week @ Coys: Exotic Dreams Revisited
Fuel for a young imagination.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG via RapidCars.com
WHEN the eighties turned into the nineties, there were three 200+ mph supercars that diverted my attention from grammar school studies and fueled my passion for cars.
They rank as follows: Bugatti’s EB110, the McLaren F1, and the Jaguar XJ220.
Of the three, the Bugatti was my favorite for being a) Italian - molto bene! b) blending luxury with exotic performance and c) all-wheel drive.
IMHO back then, the true blue EB110 would’ve been the perfect choice for replacing the family Volvo in taking yours to and from school.
Indeed, yours was taking practical considerations into account.
The all-wheel drive would ensure that I’d make it to class on snow days; a selfless act of sacrificing liberation from school.
The EB110′s four turbochargers, performance shoes, and decisive lack of ground clearance didn’t factor in my assessment.
Time rolled on, our Volvo 740 (not-so-good in the snow) was replaced by a 940 (truly dismal polar performer) and then an 850 (damn near unstoppable), and history forgot the first and last of the super three to remember only the McLaren – a stripped down bullet that like the XJ220 wasn’t sold Stateside.
Back then, American emissions standards barred entry. And since then, we’ve all grown more practical and pragmatic. Or have we?
ADL Thanks You
Passing the gratitude.
By Gunnar Heinrich
SINCE Thanksgiving is about a) being thankful and b) expressing it, here goes:
Thank you, CPTV. Our team remains grateful to Connecticut Public Television, PBS’ affiliate in the Constitution State for maintaining its ongoing commitment to broadcast Automobiles De Luxe. It’s our pleasure doing our best to produce content that both entertains and informs.
Thank you, General Motors & BMW. The involvement of these two giants greatly added to ADL’s coverage this past year. Here’s to a better F.Y. 2009, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you, Steane Klose. ADL would still be peddling hard on Blogger’s training wheels were it not for Steane’s hours of blood, sweat, tears, and toil. What should have been a simple platform switch – wasn’t. Steane did everything he could to ensure that the transition worked and we couldn’t be more grateful. May the New Year greet Steane with longterm tests from Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Nissan (GT-R).
Thank you, ADL commentators. Comments are always appreciated. Jim, Zarba, Infiniti, and Gotleib are some of the most vocal few of those who wax philosophical herein. Thanks for contributing to the conversation, friends.
Thank you, fellow auto bloggers. This is a nasty old blogosphere, so when you’ve got friends, it’s good to acknowledge them. Hats off then to Trollhattan Saab’s “Swade” and “Eggs ‘n Grits”, Saab History’s Ryan, Autoblog.nl’s Vincent Van Twillert, Autoblog’s John Neff, TMR’s Mike Stevens, PDGoodman’s very own namesake – Paul, The Garage Blog’s Gary Grant, and last, but far from least, Funfkommasechs’ Johannes Schlorb.
Thank you, Lime Rock. Track time at one of America’s coolest automotive raceways is a precious commodity. And that’s why Lime Rock gets our team’s appreciation for letting us have two + hours of track time, gratis.
Thank you, Elizabeth Murphy. “Li’l Miss” Murphy lent ADL her fine photographic eye and talent in capturing Pontiac’s grand G8 GT. Liz, we’re in your debt.
Thank you, Dear Reader. Without you, it would give that old if a writer falls in the forest question real meaning. Danke, Grazie, Gracias, Merci, and thank you.
New York Auto Show In The Year 2008
By Gunnar Heinrich
OUR New York Auto Show segment is back online following its televised premiere on CPTV, the PBS affiliate for Connecticut.
For those who never saw it, this story (TRT: 10:22) takes the auto show through ADL’s unique perspective.
Rather than giving the viewer a dry recount of yet another auto show, we decided to give it the theme of one of New York’s fashion events. After all, the auto show is as much about style as it is about the brass tax of selling cars to an often indifferent public.
The segment covers events such as the Saab Bio Hybrid concept party,the Lamborghini Press launch of the LP560-4, and interviews with GM execs and Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez.
Enjoy.
BMW E23 7-Series Video
By Gunnar Heinrich
THREE boxed and all Teuton, the BMW 733i segment is back online and by popular demand.
This story (TRT: 8:41) is about how a small, niche car company (BMW in the 70s/early 80s) produced a luxury performance sedan in an economic climate bereft of both profit and cheap fuel.
In the 80s, luxury meant wallowy rides on straight roads and performance meant bone jarring ride and deafening cabin noise. The first generation of the flagship 7-series line was a blend of the benefits of both automotive genres sans their respective detractions.
As an aside, film buffs will be keen to note that this the same model Bimmer that starred in the Dan Aykroyd flick Nothing But Trouble.
A shark among whales. Enjoy.
Automobiles De Luxe Promo
By Gunnar Heinrich
JUST over a minute long, this promo serves as a fast abstract of what Team ADL has accomplished over the course of the last 12 months.
It’s also teaser on what’s to follow.
You may recognize clips from the 733i, the Silver Cloud, Silver Spur, M5 Enthusiast Segment, and New York Auto Show, but you’ll also see more than a bit of what we’ve captured recently this summer with segments featuring the Cadillacs CTS and XLR-V along with the BMWs 1 and 3 series.
If The Name Fits, Sell It > Mercedes Gazelle
A “Mercedes” unlike any other… Mercedes
By Gunnar Heinrich
WEB CRAWLING through Hemmings this afternoon, yours came across an unusual classified ad offering a Mercedes “Gazelle.”
Mercedes…Gazelle…
Read ad’s vague description below:
“This beautiful 1929 Mercedes-Benz Gazelle is ready for some summer cruising! Take it to shows or just cruise around with the convertible top down either way you are guaranteed to get some looks! [...]$10,595″
The model name really didn’t fit in with Benz’s standard alphanumeric lexicon, so your resident inquisitive MB enthusiast investigated further.
What’s on-sale at Hemmings is a kit car (duh) that’s appallingly similar to those bloody Excalibur kit cars. Indeed, there seem to be healthy markets for both models, more web digging yielded quite a few results on Mercedes-Benz Gazelles.
The 1929 Gazelle replicar is a modern day kit-car that’s supposed to look like Mercedes-Benz’s M.Y. ’29 SSK roadster.
Most Gazelles are finished in baby food cream on dirty-diaper brown and are built on the chassis once recongized as a Ford, Chevy, or Volkswagen. Apparently, rear-engined variants based on V-dubs are preferred by those in the know.
The two-seaters have a (surprising) cult following and there’s even a site called Steampunkworshop.com that catalogs the conversion process of what it takes to build a Gazelle.
Tap the links to read more about the faux-Benz that’s all the rage among the 70s-replicar-set.
[Linked: Hemmings | Steampunk Workshop]
A Sense of Style
By Steane Klose
STYLE? In a blogosphere full of old news and the same story re-hashed by countless hundreds I can honestly say that ADL is a breath of fresh air. If you think this is just me being kind to Gunnar you’d be wrong as I count myself in the ‘countless hundreds’ category, so I write with some experience on that one particular topic.
So, fresh air it is and if I had my arm twisted and was forced under threat of injury to identify the one ADL quality that keeps me coming back – it would be Gunnar’s sense of style regarding all things automotive and the no-holds barred way in which he dishes it out and defends it when required.
An example I hear you say?
Okay then, I was until recently a fervent admirer of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. The first time I laid eyes on the original ‘four-door coupe’ I was moved and in a good way. I thought it was a stunner. Brilliant.
Who could possibly buy a normal E-Class when this version of the same car was available?
ADL on the other hand, saw things a little differently…
“When the Germans do deliberate emotional styling, it’s awkward to the point of all out embarrassment. Tight rear quarters and comic book exterior proportions are major negatives,” said Gunnar Heinrich about the Mercedes-Benz CLS
So, I took a closer look at every CLS I saw in my daily travels and admit I stubbornly stuck to my guns for a while, it still looked good…didn’t it? Sure, the rear quarters were a bit tight but comic book exterior proportions?
As it has a tendency to do, time went by and as much as I tried to stay true to the CLS my view of it began to change, if only a little each day but a little each day over lots of days – well you can do the math.
I mean, who could possibly buy a CLS when the normal E-Class was available, have a good close look at the thing!
So, to me ADL has a sense of style that you are unlikely to find on any other auto site and if you hang around long enough, like myself you may find a little of it will rub off.
It is with my new sense of style, ahem…that I have pleasure in taking up a weekly writing role at ADL. For me, it is a welcome change and a chance to escape the furious news treadmill – the ‘countless hundreds’ will always be there beating me to it and I don’t think they will miss me for an hour or two each week.
What am I going to write about? You’ll know about an hour after I do each week. Nothing automotive is off limits – it will be an eclectic mix.
With this being my inaugural ADL article, I think it is appropriate to give you an insight into which cars influenced my ‘formative automotive’ years . Every auto enthusiast has a list of cars that turned their young knees to jelly. It is a teenage experience but it stays with you and influences you for a lifetime and getting a glimpse of another person’s list can be fascinating.
My list – in order of influence back in the day (image gallery below);
1/. Porsche 928 – It was 1979 and my young jaw hit the ground.
2/. Lamborghini Muira – Who wouldn’t like the Muira, even seeing it for the first time now, in 2008.
3/. Lamborghini Countach – The original, before all the wings-n-things.
4/. Porsche 356 Carrera GT – My first ride in a Porsche and it was the ‘rare as hens teeth’ 356 GT.
5/. Bolwell Nagari – Built in Australian backyards. A Nagari with a Ford 302 was a teen dream.
Running a close second to a sense of style, is the active commenting community on ADL, so feel free to share your list with the rest of us. Let us know which cars helped you evolve from just interested to enthusiast and have you here, today, right now on ADL.
Until next week…
