Archive for the ‘Automobiles’ Category
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Monday, October 10th, 2005
Wooden Ferrari F50 and more…
Livio De Marchi is an Italian (Venetian), that has worked on ornamental sculptures since he was a small boy, so it’s not that shocking to see him making life sized wooden carboats — heck, one can make only so many wooden trinkets before they get bored to death. His larger works date back to 1985, but it’s in 2000 when he showed off the fullsize, extremely detailed, Ferrari F50, with working motor. If you have a few extra minutes today, be sure to check out Livio De Marchi Virtual Museum. He has objects that we never meant to be made out of wood… a bag, shirts, bras… his work makes all of us look like talentless ass-clowns.
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Friday, September 30th, 2005
Range Rover Sport Makes Madison Avenue
First, let me start off by saying that I’m a big fan of Land Rover, yes, before the stupid SUV craze and please don’t knock Land Rover for that, since that is all they have made for over 50 years. If you are going to be a SUV hater, hate Volvo, BMW, Porsche, Saab (the list go’s on and on) because they never had a SUV in their line — ever. Ok, with that non-sense aside, you however can knock Land Rover for letting Ralph Lauren use a Sport in their “luxurious sporting lifestyle” window of the Ralph Lauren Sport store at 888 Madison Avenue in New York City. I understand that the brands might fit together nicely, but, come on, it’s very pretentious — over the top. I think Land Rover should go back to its roots, instead of doing these cheesy marketing deals they should go after the folks that understand what the brand is really about… but that’s just me… maybe they need the sales and this is the only way to get women dressed in clothing from the Ralph Lauren Alpine Collection, that love hanging out at the stable on a country estate, to buy a Land Rover.
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Tuesday, September 20th, 2005
NAV-TV – Turn your in-dash Navigation into a TV
Most, if not all high-end automobiles are now coming standard with in-dash navigation systems. Due to legal issues in the states, must be that we are too eager to sue, auto manufacturers disable any video capabilities on the dash displays. There are usually hacks you can make to enable the video input on the display, but it requires soldering and getting into the service menus to enable the inputs. NAV-TV has been around for about 5 years and they have been leading the way with the most easy to install interface that enables television and video inputs on your navigation system. So if you have a BMW, Range Rover (pictured), Mini Cooper, Mercedes, or a Porsche (they also support a few Japanese and American models as well), you might want to check out their NAV-TV solution. I don’t have any pricing, but the folks over there are very responsive to emails and seem very nice. I was interested in the kit for my vehicle (or soon to be) and found them to be the only one offering a complete seamless product. They are also working on a iPod interface for these systems, so you can control the iPod directly from your audio interface. Pretty cool stuff. For more information check out the NAV-TV site.
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Tuesday, September 13th, 2005
Porsche to Build Hybrid Version of Cayenne SUV
Not a lot of details about this, but at a press conference today at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Germany, Porsche announced its decision to build a hybrid version of the Cayenne. Which makes me ask they question again… Porsche, why the heck did you get in the luxury SUV market? Leave that market to Land Rover — you don’t see them getting into the sports car market, do you? The hybrid Cayenne will cut fuel consumption by approximately 15 percent while still claiming it will retain its “legendary Porsche driving dynamics”. Don’t expect this vehicle out for 2006 or 2007, they are expecting to launch it by the end of the decade. The drive system will be based on a Full Hybrid Drive Concept which is being codeveloped with the Volkswagen Group — which means the lesser expensive VW Touareg will probably come in a hybrid model too.
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Tuesday, April 26th, 2005
A Cooler Looking Spare Tire?
Personally, I’d rather wait for a flatbed tow-truck to take my car in style than put on those cheesy little spare tires most cars come with. However, I just found out that Ameritre apparently accomplished a “major technology breakthrough” with their attempt at the spare tire game.How you ask? Well, they are using this new-fangled proprietary polyurethane elastomer compound. Since the spare has no air, you’ll never be stuck with a flat one (most air based tires lose one or two pounds of air per month in cool weather, and even more in warmer weather – this is a good time to check yours!). The Amerityre temporary/spare tire can carry a load up to 1,250 lbs. Now, this is a spare I wouldn’t mind showing off!
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Thursday, January 13th, 2005
The Deluxe Greasecar Conversion Kit
With all this talk about Diamonds and 390hp Supercharged Range Rovers, I thought I better post about something more practical. Well, here it is… The Greasecar Vegetable Oil Conversion System from GreaseCar.com. Say goodbye to that black gold and hello to frier gold. This fuel modification system turns your diesel vehicle into a vegetable oil running machine in any climate. I hear it makes your car exhaust smell like a McDonalds during the lunch rush… It will set you back about $795 clams, uh, french fries…
[ Thanks Stephen “Lode Fizzle Televissle” Lodefink ]
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Tuesday, January 11th, 2005
2006 Range Rover Sport
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I should be posting about some new gadget or the new Mac Mini (announced at MacWorld today), but instead I’m going to comment about the newly announced Range Rover Sport. I was speechless when I first saw it… WOW! To be honest, I wasn’t too keen on the LR3 (Discovery 3)… there’s something about the rear-end design I don’t care about. So far there isn’t one design element that I don’t like on the Range Rover Sport. I think Land Rover is going to have a huge success with this one. The Range Rover Sport is not only going to be the most sexy looking SUV on the road and trails, but it’s going to be jam packed with technology and power.
I talked to my local dealer and they are hoping to see the vehicle as early as April. I don’t have pricing yet, but I expect the RRS to be priced around $55k, for the normal powered V8, and probably $65k for the supercharged 390hp 4.2-liter V8 engine — IMHO, that’s much power for a SUV, buy a Porsche 911 if you want speed… not a SUV!
If you look closely at the photos, you will notice that this Rover has all the best design elements from both the LR3 and Range Rover. The interior will wrap more than we are used to with Land Rovers, but I think it’s something we all can get used to. Over the next few weeks/months we should be finding out more details… I think this may be my next truck!
- More Photos
- AutoBlog.com — Range Rover Sport just nice to look at
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Saturday, December 11th, 2004
Bravo Tango
I thought the Smart Car was tiny, wait until you see the Tango! This father and son invention, from right here in my own home state of Washington is spectacular! The Inventors are Rick Woodbury, who is a self-taught engineer and printer who once raced and sold Porsches and takes his inspiration from Tibetan Buddhism, and his son, Bryan Woodbury, a 24-year-old computer whiz and physics junkie. The end result is a styling little electronic car that goes 0-60 in four seconds and a single charge can take you about 80 miles. The Tango will be sold in a kit form and they will be offering a few production models slated for release in early 2005. You can preorder your very own Tango today starting at $18,700.
- Tango Website (with great photos)
- Stopping Traffic [Seattle Times]
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Wednesday, November 10th, 2004
Land Rover LR3 Test Drive and Trim Kits
I’m a Land Rover enthusiast, I’ve owned a couple of the last 8 years… so when the new LR3 came out I had to be the first to test drive one. It’s a very technologically advanced vehicle. From the moment you sit in the newly designed seats you know they took cues from the Range Rover rather than the Discovery. The one I test drove had the built in navigation system which has a very crisp LCD 7″ widescreen display. The display also is used for advanced 4×4 information. It displays two main views: Four-corner Air Suspension and Compass Navigation. I was very impressed when it could also show me the wheel’s maximum extension, steering angle, main gearbox status, air suspension status, and wheel height information. The LR3 handles like a dream… it’s has more power and feels more tight. It’s priced higher than the Discovery models it replaced but it comes with more standard features. I did find the voice command a bit frustrating… maybe it learns your voice… since it took a few tries for it to turn the radio off by voice.
I’m still getting used to the new look, I’m not a big fan of the rear end because I think it looks a bit odd… but, I do like the way it looks when it’s nicely trimmed (pictured above)…
I’m not sure if I’m going to upgrade to an LR3 yet… the dealer had a couple Bentley’s and Rolls Royce Phantoms in the show room, which kept grabbing my attention… not that I could afford them, but they were like rare Bling-Bling I was used to seeing only on episode of MTV Cribs. I’ll probably wait a few months or a year to see how the new LR3’s perform. Like everything, it takes a few cycles to work out all the quirks of a new design.
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Friday, October 15th, 2004
SEGWAY: CENTAUR
Named after the Greek mythology, Centaur, a half-man half-horse creature… this concept vehicle by Segway actual fits the name.
Excerpt:
“The concept Centaur combines proprietary dynamic stabilization technology with advanced propulsion and suspension systems, and an intuitive user interface to create a unique four-wheel device that is easily controllable on two or four wheels. Its full suspension and aggressive rider positioning provide an exhilarating ride for one or two people while maintaining control over a variety of terrain. Its rugged performance, zero emissions, and quiet operation make it a good low-impact way to explore the world. Its power and versatility make it suitable for a variety of indoor and outdoor recreational and commercial applications.”Wow! You really need to watch the video… it sounds like an electric R/C car, looks like a slimmed down ATV, but performs like nothing else I’ve seen before!! That is probably due to its weight of only 150 pounds. The Centaur can move at just over 20 miles per hour an runs on batteries that use regenerative braking, which means the batteries are recharged during deceleration and hill descents.
Segway doesn’t have any plans to manufacture the Centaur… but if they did… I bet it would be serious hit. I can see ESPN XGAMES events create especially for the Centaur.
- Centaur Video (Windows Media)
- Centaur Website
- Popular Science Photos
About the archives
Welcome to the archives here at MAVROMATIC.
These are a collection of our previous posts. If you'd like to read about the latest and greatest, click here.
Welcome to mavromatic! My goal is to bring to your attention the latest DIY projects, the greatest home automation and home theater products. As well as, the occasional offbeat entry, to spice things up a bit.
