It strikes again

I'm sure you car enthusiasts are aware of the new sports car that came out last year. The seventh edition of the only sports car ever to come out of the US of A, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.

But no, that isn't its whole name. It's actually called the C7 Stingray. And in my opinion that's an issue. The original C2 Stingray is a motoring icon like the E-type Jaguar or the Mercedes-Benz SL300 Gullwing. So why would you call a car by a name that has become a legend? The reason is just to make a greater sale. Chevrolet seems to think that 6.2 litre American V8 (455 hp) isn't a good selling point anymore. And they might be right, but that still doesn't make it acceptable. 

How weird would it be if Ferrari suddenly decided to call their next grand tourer the Daytona. 

Chevrolet Corvette C7. I'm never going to refer to it as the Stingray.

Chevrolet Corvette C7. The 4 exhausts next to each other are a nice touch.

And apparently it handles quite well.  

If I write about a car that also is found in Gran Turismo, I'm going to take photos of it in action there. That way I don't have to "borrow" pictures from the internet. The game has such great graphics that you really can't see a difference anyway.

Oh yeah! The Americans

Many things have been written on this blog so far, from the super cars in the Geneva Motor Show to the improved Mazda 6. But in the last `lazy´ post i noticed that one crucial part of the motoring industry has not been mentioned on this blog, until now.

It was the Dodge Challenger photo that made me think of the topic that's been silent on this blog. The topic of American muscle cars.
I know very little about muscle cars so I'm not going to tell you about the history of muscle cars that much, you can educate yourself on that. I have never been interested in the American muscle cars because I didn't think they were the best way to go, unless you wanted an American muscle car. But now I have started to warm up to those big beasts. Especially to a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 from 1965. And yes, it might be shallow but it is the stripes and the noise. But I guess there isn't really anything else to that car.

As you all probably know the 60's and the 70's were the golden times for the American muscle cars, with all the Mustangs, Chargers, Challengers and Pontiac GTO's.  But in the 80's and 90's America started dragging it's tail around and it went all bad. The muscle cars weren't as exciting, they were built from plastic and just plain sucked. Not all of them sucked but the majority did. But a part of that may have also been down to the rise of the hot hatches.

After those horrible days of the muscle car they are starting to make a comeback with some new generations of the classic American muscle cars. Such as the Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang GT350. They are still behind in the technology department of the Europeans and the Japanese but they still ought to be real good at the light to light racing.
Do feel free to comment, if I've forgot to mention a muscle car, since muscle cars are not my strong point.

A magnificent Impala SS. I hope the owner didn't mind me taking this photo.

Dodge Charger R/T. It is an impressive thing to behold.

I can just hear the popular tune by Steppenwolf in the background.

Pontiac GTO in all its redness. 

I most certainly don't think this is pretty. Ford Mustang GT from 1990

The new Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro SS

 Geneva Motor Show goodness

Now that we have dealt with the awe inspiring supercars of the Geneva Motor Show, let's start talking about the luxurious, sporty and even affordable cars from Geneva.


Let's start off with the new and hopefully improved Chevrolet Corvette Stingray or the C7 if you prefer. And yes, the Stingray name is back. In Geneva Chevy showed the convertible version of it and I have to say it looks good and possibly even better for a middle-aged man. The coupé version was revealed at the Detroit Motor Show a few months ago and it was an instant hit. Now that the roof has disappeared in the boot hasn't made it less desirable. The only issue I have with it so far is that I think it resembles a bit too much a Ferrari which is no surprise since Chevrolet has a joint venture with Fiat, who happens to own a little company called Ferrari. 

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupé

No metal roof origami here

To cover for the luxurious part of the motor show in Geneva Rolls Royce showed up with its new Wraith. It's basically a Ghost underneath but with a coupé body on top. It also has the same 6.6 litre twin turbo V12 BMW engine as the Ghost but obviously fiddled with to give out 624 horsepower. It's a huge coupé with a massive engine which indicates that the Wraith is more built for the driver than the other modern Rolls Royce's so far. But don't by any means mistake this for a posh Bentley Continental GT.

Rolls Royce Wraith

Yes the door opens backwards

The much anticipated production ready Alfa Romeo 4C also made its debut in Geneva. It's a new small sports car from a manufacturer that should know what they're doing. The numbers at least sound promising. It has a turbocharged 1.8 litre engine putting out a respectable 240 hp. And all that goes to the back wheels. It's light too, Alfa claim it weighs less than 1000 kg which is impressive these days. So the new 4C touches all the right sports car buttons and it looks great. Is it a possible Audi TT beater?

Alfa Romeo 4C

The women were all over it, that's good

Stylish interior but hopefully not cramped

Future of motoring

I saw this car today and I wondered is it a good thing to buy one instead of any other (I hate using this term) green car.

Chevrolet Volt

Yes it's a Chevrolet Volt or Holden Volt or Opel Ampera or Vauxhall Ampera depending on in which part of the world you live in. It's a hybrid. But compared to any other hybrid the batteries aren't there just for extra power. The electric motor is the primary power plant and not the 1.4 litre petrol engine. That makes it much more different to any other hybrid cars. It has a competitive range of a normal petrol car of about 500 km. But that's that about the specs. Here are some problems. It doesn't ride very well, it looks wrong somehow and for a family saloon it costs considerably more than any other cars in this size-class.
The car is innovative I'll grant that and cars like this will get better in time. But if you want a car that is economical why not buy a VW Polo BlueGT or any Ford Focus Ecoboost. I guess you buy this car not for its numbers - all though they are impressive - but for what it represents in the development of eco cars. Is this the first useable semi-electric car for today’s world?

Opel Ampera

Here are some cars that a "green" driver should consider. Cars that do exactly the same job as the Volt/Ampera but are far less expensive. And i mean, far less expensive.

VW Polo BlueGT

Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost

Volvo C30 DRIVe (or the entire DRIVe range)