All Entries Tagged With: "jay leno"
Read: Velocity Supercar Revolution
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Motorbooks ::: Velocity Supercar Revolution
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but stop it.”
This imperative suggests a desist notice to any number of, um, wanton activities. But in this instance which Road & Track alumnus John Lamm retells in Velocity Supercar Revolution, it was a state cop telling one of R&T’s editors to quit playing with a Lamborghini Countach on public roads.
Kill joy.
This one tale encapsulates what Mr. Lamm’s bold hardcover’s all about – the stories behind the very supercars that so many of have come to idolize through the years.
In Velocity Supercar Revolution, designers, collectors, industrialists, and, of course, journalists all weigh in on the most elaborate and impractical autos of the post war era – from the 70s Maserati Bora to the 2006 Z06 Vette and much rolling stock in between.
Chris Bangle even offers his two cents.
On page 19, Jay Leno shares one harrowing account of an afternoon with his Lamborghini Miura.
“I was driving my Miura one day and I looked in the rearview mirror and I go, ‘It’s raining…damn.’ Then I looked out the front and it’s not raining the front. I realized what had happened was that one of the carburetor hoses had popped off and was spraying the rear window with gas. I pulled over, opened the back and heard ‘ping…ping…ping’ as gas hit the exhaust manifold. All I’ve got is this stupid little Haylon fire extinguisher. Luckily the car didn’t start on fire. People just don’t have those sorts of adventures anymore.”
Mr. Lamm threads a narrative from the 70s to the 80s, 90s, and 2000s that points to a special few car manufacturers who’ve been at pains to outdo themselves all these years.
Velocity Supercar Revolution, shows not so much a revolution but an evolution as top speeds, 0-60s, and world records are broken with each succeeding decade.
Considering the years of environmental lobbying and economic crises, that these wildly flamboyant, utterly impracticable, but ultimately special cars inhabit the same democratic asphalt as the world’s Highway Patrol officers, stands as the real revolution.
Velocity Supercar Revolution by John Lamm. Published by Motorbooks.
Ed. note: Motorbooks provided the writer (yours truly) with a copy of this text.
Rethink: Mercedes AMG SLS
2010 SLS AMG Mercedes-Benz
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Daimler
BEING topical, as is our trend, ahem, ever since we posted the Jay Leno Rendezvous-sur-les-rues-de-LA flick, in which American Late Night’s most lauded or despised host (depends if you’re on Team Coco) and car guy extraordinaire threaded a cherry red 2010 SLS AMG Mercedes-Benz through the City of Angels mean streets, we’ve had a think on the SLS.
Originally, the jury was ambivalent.
On the one hand, there was the obvious ape of 50’s classic Benzanalia. A bevy of retro styling cues – those gullwing ports – brought back from the Kennedy years; days when the Mercedes-Benz SL roadster was the most beautiful and fastest production car on the planet.
On the other, it was a return to grand form. A long nosed, tight-end roadster that broadcasts power and prestige in true tri-star fashion.
The McLaren SLR was supposed to be that resurrection nigh on a decade ago. Thanks to its enormous price tag, that hawk-nose, low-rent early 00’s Mercedes switchgear, fit ‘n finish, and Daimler’s touchy relations with McLaren, what was a tremendous supercharged exotic flopped horribly.
The SLS AMG seems like an apology in its wake.
But is this judgment, so summarily arrived at, truly fair?
In retrospect, no.
In the 2010 SLS, there’s a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox mated with a true, big-blog AMG built V8 – the kind that the gods of Vallhala intended. True, that raspy engine note is nowhere near as thrilling as McLaren’s psychotic air blown powerplant – but hey, ça marche!
I’m just waiting, itching, for a tête-à-tête between the two. That and a match up against Audi’s R8, would be delicious…
Leno’s Rendezvous: Car Guy Extraordinaire Drives Mercedes SLS AMG Through LA
By Gunnar Heinrich | Youtube
JAY Leno is really making his mark.
Whether he’s unveiling a Jaguar, writing a foreward for a gear head text, or dropping by Top Gear- he’s everywhere.
Which makes it unsurprising that the former NBC Late Night and car collector extraordinaire has just finished a video that pays homage to the Lelouch classic thriller C’etait un Rendezvous.
Piloting the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – courtesy MBUSA- through Mulholland Drive’s twists, Mr. Leno suggests slyly that every city has a hidden race track in its road network and that traffic clogged LA is no exception.
There’s no music to this piece. Just Mr. Leno and the SLS’ soundtrack, which barks and crackles with each dual clutched turn of gear.
A simple video; simply well done.
Many thanks, John!
Castle Bromwich’s Too Quiet Campaign
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Jaguar Cars
ARE we having fun yet?
It’s been some months since the XJ launched in a posh London art gallery amidst summer’s heat and Jay Leno’s chin wagging wise cracks about the ill economy. And what more have we learned of Jaguar’s latest flagship since?
Precious little. Another storied marque that’s operating perilously below the radar.
On Jaguar’s main site – jaguarcars.com – there’s a tiny spittle of information about an XJ “boutique” installed at The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge. That, plus the standard boilerplate details about lighter than-its-rivals specs and too-many-electronic amenities with a few glamour shots and that’s all there is too know.
Apparently.
Too paraphrase Mad Men’s Conrad Hilton, show us a little wow!
Here’s a thought – how about one of the Jag test driver’s “challenge” one of BMW or Merc’s test drivers to duel? You know, something like pitting the 510 hp, supercharged XJ against an S63 AMG? Hell, come to think of it, Cadillac pulled off the same stunt with marketing the CTS-V against the M5 with R&T playing host. And marketing maven Lutz has made a similar challenge since.
But then again, such comparison events tend to highlight the rivals a bit too much and the rivalry a bit too little. There’s nothing quite like paying for the other guy’s air time.
Hmm… Jaguar’s people need a rethink on how best to market their sleek new exec, lest it be forgotten in advance of the 2010 delivery dates.
2010 Jaguar XJ Unveiled!
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG from Jaguar Cars
JAGUAR has unveiled, at long last, the next XJ sedan.
Former Tonight Show host and car collector exemplar Jay Leno emceed the event gratis. Or at least that’s what he inferred when he joked that Jaguar was looking to him for money.
Tony O’Driscoll, Jaguar’s chief executive, provides proof to pudding that unless you’ve got the oratory skills of Ronald Reagan pitching GE Progress, corporate types should stay the hell off the stage lest you kill the carefully crafted buzz.
But it was Ian Callum, the soft spoken Scot who spoke of his Jaguar dreams as a youth – particularly his lust for the original ‘68 XJ saloon – who hit the ball out of the park. The audience was practically spell bound as the director of Jaguar design mouthed the words sensual styling, curves, and “you won’t forget me” in describing XJ style.
Indeed few will forget the new car. It’s different yet manages to retain a feline elegance. And while this new XJ seems to take some cues from Audi, Citroen, Lancia, and even Nissan, it appears nonetheless a car cut from an original swath of whole cloth.
With style, that most critical aspect of Jaguar’s sensual essence, confirmed as standard equipment in XJ’s going forward, everything else – including the 1200 watt, 20 speaker sound system- seems ancillary.
Coventry just hit a home run in London tonight.
Leno To Unveil 2010 Jaguar XJ
Soon to be fully revealed.
By Gunnar Heinrich
JAY Leno will host the unveiling of the new Jaguar XJ, a corporate press release has revealed.
The reveal is scheduled for 19:30 Zulu Time.
Mr. Leno seems to be making the rounds in the UK after Autoblog dispersed the loose rumor that the former Tonight Show host and mega car collector would be featured on Top Gear as one of the celebrities to drive a cheap car round a track as fast as he can.
The Jaguar unveiling is set to take place this evening at London’s Saatchi Gallery for contemporary art – as if Coventry weren’t dropping any more hints that this new XJ will break rank with what many view as a staid past.
We’ll reserve judgment if this artistic movement into the boldly avantgarde proves wise until after Mr. Leno skins takes the wraps off the cat.
Jay Leno Offers Investment Advice
Jay Leno showcasing one his investments.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG NBC
“WHEN I first saw the McLaren F1 I was so seduced by it that I bought a second-hand one for $800,000. It was more than I’d ever spent on a car in my life. Well, now they’re going for $4m (£2.8m)!” Jay Leno wrote recently in The Times.
NBC’s late-night TV personality is the world’s most famous car collector and his collection, that he shares on his popular website “Jay’s Garage,” is one of the most impressive and wide ranging this side of the Sultan of Brunei. Mr. Leno writes periodically for the automotive section of The Times and in last Sunday’s paper he offered investment tips to the well meaning car collector.
His choices for future classics included wide ranging Japanese cars like the Mazda MX5 and the first-gen. Toyota Prius. He also mentioned how used Ferraris can now be had for relatively less and that it’s a buyers market.
“The last time this happened was in 1991 and 1992 (during the last recession). I remember in 1989 a Ferrari Daytona was $160,000, then, two years later, suddenly they were $80,000. That seems to be happening now with mid-level Ferraris and some of the Jaguars,” He wrote.
While we might arguable with the logic of putting money in an asset that will invariably depreciate in the short and medium terms, its the spirit of Mr. Leno’s article that we can’t argue with.
Buy now and enjoy and maybe make some money in a decade or two.
[Linked: The Times]