Audi vs. BMW: which to own?

By mike

Although they didn’t compare an ix-series Bimmer, did they? via Jalopnik

Somewhat at a loss for words over SAAB’s demise.

By mike

At the hands of useless GM managers, no less. They took a perfectly good and loved brand, successful in it’s own right and innovator of things like, oh, turbocharging and numerous safety enhancements that have personally kept at least one of my family members from being injured in an accident… and they let it whither and die on the vine. My first car ever was a 1979 SAAB 99, much like the one I found outside of Loveland a couple of years ago, pictured below.

via the NYT:

Unable to find a buyer for Saab after a year-long search, General Motors said Friday that it would begin shutting down operations at the Swedish carmaker.

Sad, sad day.

EDIT: Jalopnik has an interesting write-up on which of SAAB’s models didn’t quite help the brand.

EDIT EDIT: And Jalopnik follows up with the Five Greatest SAABs Ever. Well done.

Replacing the headlights on a 2003 VW Jetta

By mike

As is often the case with older VW’s, my headlights had become fogged and scratched – no amount of polishing or cleaning with rectify the issue, so I decided to replace the entire assemblies this weekend. It’s a pretty simple process, really, with immediate, satisfying results. Using a minimum of tools (Torx wrenches and a couple of screwdrivers) and replacement headlight assemblies purchased from AutoLightsBulbs.com for under $180 with pre-installed bulbs, the whole process took me about an hour and a half when I wasn’t snapping photos. The end result was an end to that milky, crappy-looking haze and restored nighttime lighting performance.

Click through for the full writeup! Read more »

Spotted in Grand Lake, CO: some sort of new AMG hugeness

By mike

Click for larger image

Took a ride yesterday looking to traverse Trail Ridge Road while the rest of the Front Range baked in 90+ temps, only to be turned away by 12 miles of oiled gravel laid down in preparation of the Park Service resurfacing the classic 1920’s 12,000-foot-high scenic wonder. I even brought my winter gear.

So I turned back around to head back through Granby and down the slightly less scenic Berthoud Pass when I passed this curious camouflaged AMG Somethingorother. I can tell you a few things about it: it was definitely a Benz, the seats had AMG on ‘em, the two dudes that were walking out while I was taking these photos were not very happy with me, and that’s about the longest V10- or V12-hiding hood I’ve seen in… well… ever. Any ideas? Click pics for larger images of the MysteryBenz.

M3 > Prius

By mike

With gas at the $4/gallon mark and oil flirting with $140/barrel, fuel economy seems to be on everyone’s mind – and pretty much completely taking over the motivations of any auto manufacturer’s marketing department. You see MPG ratings prominently displayed in TV and magazine ads, where even a Dodge 2500 is trying to claim 20mpg to keep those heavy suckers moving on the lots. Well-intentioned, yet kind of stupid politicians are now stepping into the fray with lifestyle legislation (only a matter of time, eh Boulder?). So it is with great amusement that this comes in from our friends at Top Gear:

A test aired Sunday on BBC’s Top Gear television program, however, casts doubt upon the notion that a hybrid would be the most fuel efficient in every circumstance.

“This is a BMW M3,” the show’s host Jeremy Clarkson said in introducing the car that would compete with a Prius. “It is not designed to be as economical as possible; it is designed to be fast.”

Clarkson chose the most extreme examples to make the point — a sedan equipped with a V-8 engine producing 414 horsepower against the Toyota Prius with its 76 horsepower hybrid motor. The EPA rates the BMW at 14 miles per gallon in the city, and 20 on the highway which compares unfavorably to the 48 and 45 figures for the Prius. In this test, the M3 matched the speed of the Prius as the hybrid ran flat-out over ten laps of the 1.8 mile Top Gear Test Track in Surrey, England. Measurements taken after the run show that the Prius returned just 14.3 miles to the US gallon, while the BMW had 12 percent better fuel economy at 16.1 miles per gallon.

Not to get all little-pinky-turned-up-in-the-air and all, but I’d also like to point out that I’ve been watching my fuel consumption on the Wee as well. I’m consistently in the 55mpg range, and that’s at full-throttle, idling, city and highway, and so on… Anna and I took off for Estes Park last weekend, and at a mid-day fill-up I was showing 59mpg.

via Anna, who’s loving her 35+ mpg Goob hauler. Suck it, hybrids.