Definition of a Supercar

Supercars are meant to be fast, expensive and good looking, but there is no official definition that exists that automatically qualifies or disqualifies a vehicle from supercar status. Based on the fact that supercars are first and foremost performance machines the definition has to be performance based. Therefore, a modern day performance vehicle looking to join the supercar club should at least be able to pass the 1/4 mile with a trap speed of greater than 120 mph. This high level of performance sets the bar high even for modern performance vehicles and eliminates the base Corvettes, 911s and even the Ferrari California.

Battle of the Supercar Commercials

Strictly speaking supercars don't need commercials to sell. So what is the point of having a supercar commercial? Brand awareness is the answer. A supercar commercial allows a brand to create a connection between the badass supercar in the commercial and the rest of the company's product. Case in point the two latest commercials from Chevrolet and Lexus. Both feature the company's quickest, fastest and most expensive product. The Corvette ZR1 and LF-A.


Chevrolet



Lexus


So which commercial is better? I prefer the ZR1 commercial because it shows how the ZR1 is like a rocketship, while the Lexus strives for perfection in an aspect that has little to do with performance. Still, both commercials feature real supercars and are miles ahead of the typical 0% financing or reliability rating boasting commercials that fill the airways much too often.

New Volkswagen New Beetle Coming in 2011

The original Volkswagen Beetle set all records for longetivity with its 65 year production run. Its spiritual sucessor, the New Beetle, while unable to top the Beetle's long production cycle has itself been on sale for a dozen years, an incredibly long production cycle in current times. Aside from a mild refresh in 2006 the New Beetle is one of the oldest cars on sale today. However, this will all change as Volkswagen has confirmed that the next generation of the New Beetle will go on sale in 2011 ready to battle with other retro inspired cars such as the Mini and the Fiat 500. The question is, will the new New Beetle capture the public's attention like the original didin 1998?

VW slipped the reveal date in a press release about improvement in its Mexican plant.

"Under Strategy 2018, it is planned to invest up to US$1 billion in Mexico over the next three years. Some of these funds will be spent on constructing new production plant for the Beetle successor. The new version of the style icon will be launched in 2011 and will safeguard a total of 2,000 jobs in Puebla."

Little is known about the second generation New Beetle and no spy cars have been spotted yet. However, it appears that contrary to earlier reports of the New Beetle retruning to its rear engine and rear drive roots, the next New Beetle will remain a front engined front wheel drive as the current one. Of course, the styling will be the critical point in its sucess. Expect an edgier version of the current New Beetle.

The new New Beetle might look a little like this.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP-550 Balboni vs. Ferrari 458 Italia Drag Race

Two of the finest sports cars of the world face off in a drag race.

Jetta Coupe Inching Towards Production

Volkswagen has only recently unveiled the next generation of its best selling Jetta sedan but it's already looking ahead and has filed patents for a coupe version. As reported earlier, this generation of the Jetta would likely be available in a coupe alongside the sedan and wagon versions previously on sale. In fact, Volkswagen chose to foreshadow the sedan with the NCC concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. The patent drawings which can be found on Carscoop reveal a coupe that is faithful to the original concept car. Expect to see the Jetta coupe go on sale as a 2012 model at the earliest.

June 2010 Sales

Overall the month of June proved to be kind for the auto industry with all but a handful of brands improving upon last year's sales. Porsche led everyone by more than doubling their sales on the strength of the new Panamera and Cayenne. Dodge and Buick brands also posted impressive improvements of over 50%. Cadillac led the luxury brands with a 39% increase. Many brands had sales improvements of over 10%, but Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Lexus bucked the trend and all had lesser improvements.

New BMW 5 series no match for A6 in C/D Comparo

Car and Driver rounded up three premier sport sedans for its August issue. The brand new BMW 535i was joined by an equally new Infiniti M37 and the Audi A6 3.0T that won the previous Car and Driver comparison in this category. Unfortunately for BMW, its latest 5 series finished in last place because it had the lowest rated steering in the hills. The electric power steering was so disappointing that the other redeeming qualities weren't enough to place the 5 series any higher. The Infiniti M37 placed second because of its unlinear brakes and somewhat unusual nature of its 4 wheel steering. Otherwise Car and Driver appreciated the Infiniti's exterior and interior styling. The A6 won on its strength of communicative steering, comfortable ride and torquey supercharged engine.

All three sport sedans had similar acceleration with 0-60 arving in around five and a half seconds with 14 second quarter miles and 100 mph trap speeds. The Audi and BMW both had 10% better fuel economy than the naturally aspirated Infiniti.

Is it time for BMW to go back to the drawing board with its electric steering given that the brand new 5 series finished last, and its closest rival won with a vehicle that's soon to be replaced?