The Spyker B6 Venator Spyder Concept

All images courtesy of Spyker

In case you haven't heard, Dutch automaker is back from the dead after trying to resurrect poor Saab (which is also back,interestingly enough). With some new Chinese backers the automaker is back to making some of the rarest and most unique cars in the industry. And it recently showed off the B6 Venator Spyder Concept, the drop top version of its earlier concept car.

The concept is supposedly essentially the production form of the car. Normally automakers tone down the crazy aspects of concept vehicles when they turn into production models, but Spyker is far from normal. I expect what we are looking at will be pretty much what you can purchase.

Another piece of good news: you might not have to drain your rainy day trust fund to afford the car. It will be a "downmarket" vehicle and so will likely only cost what you would pay for an AMG or two (approximately).

But look what you get for the price! Spyker has engraved its name and motto not only on the wheels, but the edges of the tailpipes. You don't find that kind of attention to detail in many cars these days. Oh, and in case you were wondering what "nulla tenaci invia est via" means, it is Latin and says "For the tenacious, no road is impassable." It's a fitting logo for an automaker that just doesn't give up.

The Venator also comes with green glowing gauges that look so very much like the instruments in old airplanes. The large switches and metal center stack are also a tribute to past airships.

My favorite detail is the quilted leather. It's a feature you can find on mass production vehicles like Infinitis, but Spyker did one better and wrapped the headrest fairings with quilted leather! It's touches like these that make Spyker a breath of fresh air in a field crowded with spontaneously combusting prancing ponies and Teutonic sledgehammers.

I'm a fan of funky design. This car looks almost steampunk and I hope it sees production.

What do you think of the Spyker B6 Venator Spyder?

Bad Things Happen When Non-Car People Write About Cars Without Researching

Volvo Coupe Concept

I just barely ran across this article on the Motley Fool website that talks about three car brands that might not be around by the year 2020. I always click on these sorts of articles because I find them interesting -- I'm a car nerd! I started  to read through the article and it quickly became apparent the guy who wrote it knows nothing, absolutely NOTHING about the automotive industry. I doubt he looked up a damn thing before he started tapping away on his computer to spew out his ill-conceived notions.

Volvo Coupe Concept

So which car companies did he pick? First up was Volvo, because it's a popular one for ignorant morons to pick on. Disclaimer: I have owned two Volvos. I have mixed feelings on the cars, to be honest, but that's another story for another time. So why did this guy pick Volvo for an untimely death? I would bet it has something in part to do with the death of Saab, because they're both Swedish and quirky so of course Volvo is also on its way out, right? Wrong! A few years ago Volvo was bought by Chinese automotive giant Geely, meaning Volvo is flush with cash. The Swedish automaker just finished showing off its concept Coupe that turned a lot of heads worldwide. The new generation of the XC90 comes out next year, which will be the first production vehicle to use the same design language. But yeah, they're on death's doorstep. The only thing the guy could cite was that Volvo has not seen a recent uptick in sales like most automakers. The company is going through a transformation at the moment, so before declaring it dead let Volvo show us what it can do.

Next up is Suzuki. Why is Suzuki almost dead? Oh, because it is pulling out of America, and as we all know some Americans think the world ends at California and New York! This guy's a moron, did no research about Suzuki's sales in Asia, Australia or anywhere else in the world. If he had, he would have not been so fast to declare Suzuki a goner.

Jaguar X-C17 Concept

This third choice really tickles me because it most definitely exposes the guy's ignorance. Of course Jaguar is about to be put down! Why? I don't know, the guy doesn't like them? He doesn't know anyone who owns one or wants one? Since Jaguar and Land Rover were bought by an investment group, both automakers have been doing markedly better. The design and construction quality of their vehicles have improved by leaps and bounds. And now Jaguar is on the cusp of a new vehicle blitz, possibly as much as tripling the number of vehicles it offers. It just showed off a concept SUV and is about to pounce into 3 Series territory with a new compact sedan that looks likely to make waves in the industry. But yeah, guy who needed to make an editorial deadline and so did NO research, Jaguar is as dead as a door nail, because obviously its not innovating in any way.

Maybe I should contact the Motley Fool and ask if it needs a writer who knows something about the automotive industry? Judging from the comments at the end of the article, this guy pissed off quite a few people. I'm not mad at him but instead am just snickering at how lazy of a job he performed.

Jaguar C-X17 Concept

Car Insurance From A Certified Company

The Classic car insurance is from a very specialty of the insurance company also has lot of the advantages those of all who also own and side by side drive a very muscle car and an antique car or the other collectible or the special interest of the vehicle and These policies also offer a much better kind of coverage for a amount less money which is less than standard insurance policy of the auto and also There is lot which has to consider, even though, when the comparing of classic car of insurance company. Each of the company has also its own of advantages and also disadvantages, and also it is an important thing that find the company that also offers best fit which is suitable your situation.

 The classic insurance is the best and it offers the special plans for its clients and is very famous. Actually the thing is that the company is collector themselves and they what their customers want. They offer very different type of plans like they provide very vigorous activation, also they provide you with endorsement and give you very special type of coverage, they take care of all the damages taken. One can get the extra protection too against the damages and every part is repaired. Their very beneficial programs too undertake. 

It provides you with very good benefits. Here every type of thing is seen .every emergency is undertaken. Very fine services are provided. A fee is little high but it's according to the services provided. It's because many memberships' things are involved in it. It provides many types of scholarships and many organizations are under it. An advantage associated with it is that theirs no restriction under it. Also the people who have been into accidents for more than 3 times are not provided any discounts. 

The vehicle also should be government proved and you have to show its paper before having policy. In many cases when someone travels very far then insurance company does not provide you with coverage as it is up to certain limits. Also protect your car in a garage so that it is not affected by external environment. Also your drivers name should be registered under the company as it is needed as per the law. It is important as if you want to have car insurance you should also register you driver's name and paper's.

BMW Insurance

Most consumers are thinking twice before making any investment in times of economic recession, let alone get a BMW Insurance. But market insiders feel that if the customers shop carefully, they can have great deals in car insurance. As most insurance brokers hardly see any customers walking through the doors, they are prepared to let go off their charge or broker fee for selling the car insurance.

If you are in need of a BMW Insurance, this is time to look around and compare the rates of different companies. Before buying the car insurance, you need to think of the total number of miles that you drive each year. If you do not need a car everyday, then it is better to inform the insurance company. Most companies charge premiums for those who travel longer miles annually. You will get lower rates, if you can prove that you travel less. As documents, you can offer service slips available with refueling, and pictures taken of the odometer. This is only possible for a new model.

There are many who have returned to universities for further studies during recession. If you can submit a Xerox copy of the student identity card to the company, you will get student discounts up to 25% of the total amount. Most insurance companies offer hefty BMW Insurance discounts. Now you can have the extra cash in hand which you can use at times of need and the liability of paying for your luxury car will be lessened. You will feel immense relief during these tough times. When you buy a luxury car like BMW, you cannot do without car insurance. There are two types of insurance available in the market. One of them is given to third party only. The other is known as the package or the comprehensive policy. You can have a discussion with the brokers to know what type suits you the best.

The laws demand that if you own a car, you need to have third party insurance. For BMW Insurance, opting for the comprehensive insurance is just a matter of choice. A lot of insurance brokers will suggest that with a comprehensive car policy, you are protected against the odds and liabilities that come with third party insurance. It is possible for the car owners to avoid expenses due to thefts or accidents. Any BMW Insurance will protect not only the insured party, but also the insured vehicle, along with third parties which mainly comprises car and people. There are some states where coverage for an injured person in an accident is available. This is known as No Fault Auto Insurance, where emphasis is given on the accident and not how the accident occurred.

Smart Car Insurance

Almost all smart car insurance UK companies now offer free online quotes. All you will need to do while shopping for car insurance is to have some basic data about yourself like name, age, address, details of your employment and details about your car like how old it is, how much mileage it has done and whether it has been involved in an accident before etc. Once you fill in these data and specify the value of your car you will get various quotes listed to you, based on the data you provided. From this, you can choose the option that works best for you.

Online sales and quotes help the insurers to save on salaries and other expenses and the insurance companies would normally pass these savings to you making the quote even cheaper.

Now, if you want to look at ways to reduce cost of premiums and get your smart car insurance in UK there are extra options that you can choose from - like including another car insurance policy for a member of your family. With this option of joint insurance, your cost can be reduced.

Having your other insurance coverages like the contents of your home insured by the same company is another way to reduce the cost of insurance.

If you do not make any insurance claims over a period of time, discounts will be given on your premium. A no claims over a period of five years or more will drastically cut down the cost.

The choice of the model and age of your car also affects the insurance cost. An older, inexpensive car is lower than a classic or high performance vehicle.

Many consumers are waking up to the realization of how they can save on car insurance by taking advantage of the smart car insurance UK companies online deals.

The Porsche 918 Spyder Sets a Nurburgring Track Record!

Photograph courtesy of Porsche

The Nurburgring in Germany is a notorious racetrack. It is a place many automakers go to test their vehicles since the track will push a car to its limits, exposing performance weaknesses. It is also a track where a vehicle that turns out a good lap time automatically garners some huge bragging rights.


The latest car to score big on the 'Ring is the new Porsche 918 Spyder. The hybrid supercar set a record with a lightning fast lap of just six minutes and fifty-seven seconds. That is a new record for any street-legal vehicle, beating out times logged by some pretty impressive cars. Anyone who doubted how much of a performance machine the 918 Spyder is should be a believer by now. Porsche definitely did not build another Prius!

Check out the on-board video of the record-setting lap:

Why Are Manuals Dying? Is it Because of Software Difficulties?

I ran across this interesting article on Jalopnik, which starts off trying to make the case that manual transmissions are dying because they do not behave well with software used in cars' various systems. Read the article by clicking here if you want to see all the nitty gritty details.


Basically what it came down to was a reader who worked for an OEM said that the real problem is that it's too expensive to produce software that works well with both manual and automatic transmissions if very few buyers opt for the manual transmission. In other words, its about the price of investment versus the derived benefit from that investment. Automakers aren't running charities (actually they all run charities, but that's another discussion for another day). They are in the market to make money, so they produce what they believe will be profitable.

The sad truth is manual transmissions are not dying outside of the United States. If you go car shopping in Europe you will find that many models can still be had with a manual transmission. Americans like a computer to do the shifting for them, despite issues like gear-seeking and a general lack of control. Sadly, I have to admit that right now I do not own a car with a manual transmission and have not for a while. Do I like that? No! If I had the extra cash right now I would buy something with a manual transmission just so I can feel the exhilaration of letting the RPMs climb before throwing the car in the next gear or of dumping it into a lower gear and feeling the car rocket forward.

And that's exactly what we as driving enthusiast Americans (if you are American, like me) need to do. We need to get out there and buy models with manual transmissions! If nobody buys them they will go away. You can get them on a number of vehicles still, so go find a vehicle that works for you and have at it. Now for me to figure out how to afford a new BRZ with a manual transmission so I can support the effort...

Honda Insurance

Finding cheap Honda insurance or cheap motorcycle insurance in general can be a time consuming with so many bike insurers competing for your custom. However there are some great deals to be found. It is just the sheer number of quotes that may be bewildering. Now with the advent of many comparison sites on the web, life has been made a little easier. With minimal time wasted you should be able to find the best priced insurance deal for you.

As with all things the rule is that you pay for what you get, so it's worth balancing cost now with cost in two or three years time as many online deals may appear more expensive initially but work out substantially cheaper over a longer period. The good news when shopping for your bike insurance is the advent of so much competition on the web has caused most insurers to offer rock bottom prices in an effort to win new custom. This coupled with discounts for motorcycle insurance policies booked online has driven the price of insurance further down. In many cases insurers are willing to offer 10% to 15% discount for online transactions. Comparison sites can be very useful for this as all the insurers can be browsed in one place giving you the potential customer less of a headache when comparing the pros and cons of differing quotes. Further, many insurers offer preferential rewards for new customers. For example, a comparison can be made here between credit card companies who will always entice new customers with better deals than their existing customers are offered - 0% finance on balance transfers plus 3 months interest free on all new transactions.

VHRA at Pendine Sands

Well ever since Neil from the VHRA (Vintage Hot Rod Association) told me this event was going to happen I'd been eager to attend, even though there was the mighty Trip Out and the Beaulieu Autojumble on the same day Pendine was the place to be. On arrival the car park around the Museum of Speed was teaming with hot rods and american machines all waiting for the tide to retreat and reveal the drag strip for the day.

A quick warm up sketch amongst the cars.

(ink sketch)

Stromberg Special

(ink sketch)

I've seen photos of this special before and had to spend some time with it, it has great attention to detail and it looks right. I don't really know anything about it so if someone else does please let me know, so I can make this bit look a bit more informed.

1930 Morris Cowley Folding Head Coupe

(ink sketch)

Well some purists may not be into this one but I think it's a really great lateral view on the hot rod as seen from a British perspective. The Morris has all british parts and runs a Daimler 2.4 with a 36 Daimler saloon diff. I for one would like to see more of this as it encourages creativity and stops the same thing being done over and over, besides I bet it was a heap of fun to build and drive.

1934 Station Wagon

(ink sketch)

Only been in the country for a few months and mechanically restored this incredible woody looked just the ticket on the beach, very apt for it's first major run out.

'37 Ford Midget Sprint

(ink sketch)

 Originally a barn find in the late 90's not much is known about this Midget. One theory is that it was imported along with a bunch of other Midgets to promote the sport over here. It's dated as '37 as the original engine, was a Tin Side v8 Flathead (60hp) which was only produced for 9 months in '37 as a racing engine, hence the tin sides. The car is now run by Niall who drives it everywhere using the power of a Fiat 1.6 twin cam.

Lovely shot by the ever inspirational Stefan Marjoram

A couple of overexposed shots inspired by the Don Montgomery Scrapbooks

 

Hot Rod Takeover