Volkswagen Touareg mini-test
The first thing that struck this driver on entering the Volkswagen Touareg wasn't the neat paint job, simple yet attractive interior layout, (including the cockpit dials) or even the neat push-button Start (we'd gotten used to that from BMW.
It was the sweet - no check that, very sweet - driving position and feel. It was the kind of feel that calls to mind a Sunday afternoon (or late night) in one's favourite couch or sofa - only that this sofa generates over 230 hp.
The Touareg felt great as it was standing still, and it felt pretty darn good during our brief run down tothe end of S Camp Road and back to the VW/Audi showroom. And it moves pretty good too. The Toaureg won't win you any cred on the drag run (remember, it's an SUV, and not the Cayenne) but acceleration was smooth and handling at the higher end of the speedometer remained very driver friendly.
We'd have likedto have taken the Touareg over a greater diversity of terrain (maybe it will better jsutify its 7.6m price tag), but we think it can retian that great ride even on the city's off-roads.
Truth is, we can't wait for the Touareg's 'little sister' the Tiguan, scheduled to hit the Jamaican road sometime in June.
Stay tuned.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Touareg Test
Look out for a review following my brief - and cityconfined -test dirve of the new VW Touareg should be up tomorrow.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
My Next vehicle
Not sure I'll go with the burnt orange, but I'm definitely going to get the new VW Tiguan sometime this year (if not by June, then by October)
Golden Girl: New McLaren from Mansory
we can now turn our attention to focus on the other third-party Mercedes making their debut at the International Motor Show in Geneva, starting with the above-pictured Mansory Renovatio SLR in all its golden glory.
Based of course on the Mercedes SLR McLaren, the Renovatio is the product of the design philosophy "evolution instead of revolution." As a result, the model features a number of aerodynamic enhancements, including a carbon fiber front apron, side skirts and rear apron - all of which, while subtle, aim to add character to the already sporting lines of the standard SLR.
Under the hood, improvements are again evolutionary, with engineers focusing on replacing existing components (as opposed to altering the SLR's core). Changes here include new high performance compressors, a sports air filter and modified engine management, resulting in reduction in 0-62 mph time of two-tenths of a second and a top speed of 211 mph. In total, the Renovatio boasts 700 PS, while torque weighs in at 880 Nm.
And last but not least, there's the paint. The glorious, glorious paint. I don't care if you're not Donald Trump, Mr. T or a Pharaoh, you just have to love a matte gold car. And the carbon fiber accents? They're just the icing on the cake.
Chariot of Choice: New Audi exhibit
Where JFK Meets the Queen and Khrushchev
Source: Audi AG
Audi Tradition opens a new special exhibition “Power and Splendour – Carriages for State Occasions” in the Audi museum mobile
Eleven cars in which monarchs and heads of state once rode
Starting on March 12, 2008, the Audi museum mobile is holding a special exhibition entitled “Power and Splendour – Carriages for State Occasions”. It consists of a cavalcade of eleven vehicles such as have never before been gathered together at one place in Germany until now. Audi Tradition has not restricted its choice to products from the company’s own history. Two undoubted highlights of the display are the cars used by the main protagonists of the Cold War: the heavily armoured ZIL 111 G in which Nikita Khrushchev rode and a Lincoln Continental in which John F. Kennedy is said to have been chauffeured.
The exhibition spans a period from antiquity to the present day. Ever since the invention of the wheel, kings and princes, presidents and other potentates have used carriages, coaches and later the automobile not only as transport but also to impress the people. These vehicles were chosen to emphasise or even exaggerate the owner’s status and to inspire respect bordering on veneration. The oldest goes back as far as the Bronze Age and is a replica of the Sun Wagon of Trundholm.
Visitors will learn that clearly defined preconditions had to be satisfied when a victorious Roman general rode triumphantly in his chariot through the cheering populace on his way to the Emperor’s palace. In the baroque period princes paraded their elevated status before the public in gilded carriages to imply their divine right to rule. Earlier, in the Middle Ages, the greatest leaders rode on horseback and only the peasants went about their affairs in primitive carts.
The exhibition concentrates, however, on the motor car. Audi’s history has contributed three examples used by heads of state. Gerhard Schrцder was the first German Chancellor to choose a car bearing the four-ring emblem for his official transport: an armoured Audi A8. But before the Second World War one of the makes that preceded Audi, namely the Horch, was popular in a number of countries. Visitors can see the Horch 400 dating from 1930 in which King Haakon VII of Norway rode, and also a Horch 830 BL with a very special history. French President Charles de Gaulle, when performing his duties as an army general after the Second World War, used this German car for almost ten years, including on many official occasions
Source: Audi AG
Audi Tradition opens a new special exhibition “Power and Splendour – Carriages for State Occasions” in the Audi museum mobile
Eleven cars in which monarchs and heads of state once rode
Starting on March 12, 2008, the Audi museum mobile is holding a special exhibition entitled “Power and Splendour – Carriages for State Occasions”. It consists of a cavalcade of eleven vehicles such as have never before been gathered together at one place in Germany until now. Audi Tradition has not restricted its choice to products from the company’s own history. Two undoubted highlights of the display are the cars used by the main protagonists of the Cold War: the heavily armoured ZIL 111 G in which Nikita Khrushchev rode and a Lincoln Continental in which John F. Kennedy is said to have been chauffeured.
The exhibition spans a period from antiquity to the present day. Ever since the invention of the wheel, kings and princes, presidents and other potentates have used carriages, coaches and later the automobile not only as transport but also to impress the people. These vehicles were chosen to emphasise or even exaggerate the owner’s status and to inspire respect bordering on veneration. The oldest goes back as far as the Bronze Age and is a replica of the Sun Wagon of Trundholm.
Visitors will learn that clearly defined preconditions had to be satisfied when a victorious Roman general rode triumphantly in his chariot through the cheering populace on his way to the Emperor’s palace. In the baroque period princes paraded their elevated status before the public in gilded carriages to imply their divine right to rule. Earlier, in the Middle Ages, the greatest leaders rode on horseback and only the peasants went about their affairs in primitive carts.
The exhibition concentrates, however, on the motor car. Audi’s history has contributed three examples used by heads of state. Gerhard Schrцder was the first German Chancellor to choose a car bearing the four-ring emblem for his official transport: an armoured Audi A8. But before the Second World War one of the makes that preceded Audi, namely the Horch, was popular in a number of countries. Visitors can see the Horch 400 dating from 1930 in which King Haakon VII of Norway rode, and also a Horch 830 BL with a very special history. French President Charles de Gaulle, when performing his duties as an army general after the Second World War, used this German car for almost ten years, including on many official occasions
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