An antique Audi at Tess Auto

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Raoul

We were at Tess Auto in Ghimbav (near Brasov) for service to our car recently, and we saw this beautiful antique Audi on display in the showroom. The car was so old the logo still said “Auto Union” across the four circles.

They sure don’t make cars with these designs any more. About the only company still around who makes such beautiful cars is Morgan.

I realize these designs aren’t aerodynamically efficient and they aren’t meant for high speeds. It’s also possible that the drag coefficient may be higher, meaning fuel efficiency could be better. But cars like these had something modern cars can never have: life — an organic feeling to the design which gave them life and draws our eyes to this day.

The C&O Canal in winter

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Raoul

I still remember fondly one occasion back in 2005 when, after copious snowfall, we took our MINI out for a drive with our new Michelin winter tires. We lived in the DC area at the time, and those of you who live there know we only get about one serious snowfall every year, usually toward the end of January or start of February. Well, that day, we had our annual big snowfall, and we wanted to make the best of it.

We took the car out on River Drive (it runs parallel to the Potomac River) and turned onto an access road that took us downhill, toward Lock 21 of the C&O Canal. It was quite possible that we wouldn’t be able to get back up onto the main road, but we didn’t care at the time. We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Our MINI handled itself beautifully thanks to the winter tires, and we drove uphill through the thick snow without a hitch. Soon we were back home, sipping on hot tea and warming ourselves after the wonderful outing. We had so much fun!

The Bizzarrini 5300 GT and Strada Editions

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Raoul

These two exotic Bizzarrini sports cars were filmed at the same time as the Lamborghini LM002 SUV, at Funktion Auto, with their permission.

They’re really rare and they cost a lot of money. Back in 2008, when I filmed them, I think this 5300 GT cost about $1 million and the price has likely gone up since.

This 5300 Strada was also up for sale at the time, at around $500,000.

The Lamborghini LM002 SUV

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Raoul

This video of mine is quite popular on YouTube. It’s of the Lamborghini LM002 SUV. Not too many of these were made and you don’t see them on the road these days. They’re quite rare. I filmed this one at Funktion Auto in Virginia, with their permission.

Enjoy!

Las Vegas: A Night On The Strip

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Raoul

A video from our recent trip to Las Vegas. It’s a tour of the Las Vegas Strip at night, featuring most of the famous hotels and casinos, plus impromptu shows by the dancing fountains at the Belaggio and the volcano at the Mirage.

There’s an upcoming video dedicated to the Belaggio’s dancing fountains, where huge artesian fountains spit water into the air from hundreds of jets, all of it synchronized to music. I thought they were amazing. I also have a day tour of the Strip, which is an interesting contrast to all of the lights and colors you see at night, and I’ll edit that in the near future.

The video you see here is a 3-day editing effort. It takes a bit to assemble all the sequences, and there’s a fair bit of software motion-stabilization to steady the shots.

See the video on YouTube (parts 1 and 2) | Vimeo | blip.tv

Enjoy!

BMW 325i build quality problems

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Raoul

I put together a short video review of the build quality problems in the 2006 BMW 235i sport sedan. These are things like:

Rotting or loose rubber seams on the outside
Easily scratched/worn door handles
Faulty cup holders
Flimsy, easily melted cigarette lighters
Soft plastic finishes that disintegrate and scuff right away
Broken window shades
Plasticky, snap-together feel of ceiling consoles
Fading radio display
Various cockpit noises

Watch the video on YouTube | blip.tv

As one of the commenters in a BMW forum puts it, it comes down to “BMW’s choice of low quality materials in high wear areas“. That is a wonderfully succinct explanation of the problem.

These things keep breaking down, they get replaced, then they break down again. If BMW would bother to add up all the service costs they incur for repeat repairs to the cockpit, they would realize it would be cheaper to make them better in the first place. This is my plea to them: start building better cars — a bad cockpit ruins the driver experience and takes away from the wonderful handling and performance of a BMW.

Top Gear in Romania

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Raoul

The Top Gear team visited Romania for a bout of grand touring. They started in resort towns along the Black Sea, like Constanta and Mamaia, then found their way to the famed Transfagarasan mountain highway, by way of Bucharest, the People’s Palace and a bunch of villages inbetween. It was fun to see them drive through the same places and on the same roads I’ve driven on so many times in the past. I’m not sure when they did this show, but it must have been before the appearance of many potholes on the A2 highway — potholes which I struggled to avoid during my recent winter road trip.

I am peeved with their depiction of Romania though. It looks like the Top Gear team sought out a gypsy village on purpose to add some color to the show, but I, and the overwhelming majority of Romanians would say that was a rather distasteful decision. Color and drama could have been added in many other ways. But I digress…

The show ends with a climactic drive on the Transfagarasan highway, during which all three (Jeremy, Richard and James) agree that it’s the best road in the world. Nice.