Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Surprise Gifts

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We are currently living in an era where many people’s primary focus is on accumulating material things as fast as possible. Now, this is not entirely new since greed has been around since the early days of mankind, however, there is a bit of a twist to this idea today. For example, many people are obsessed with being rich and famous for no other reason than the desire to be rich and famous.  Some experts attribute this to the rise in popularity of reality TV and Youtube since getting discovered and the opportunity of instant fame and fortune do seem more tangible to the masses than ever before.

In addition, over the last couple of years we have also witnessed an underlying global class struggle with the rise of the Occupy movement vs. the 1% creating an equally strange scenario.

Oh dear, have we lost you yet? This is turning out to be way too serious for a car blog so let’s end it now and move on to something much lighter. Check out the following auto related surprise gift videos.

Who says materials things don’t make you happy.  Live is short, and if you have the bucks you might as well spend it since you can’t bring it with you to the next place.

Here are some real commercials that capture the gift theme and hit the mark with their audience.

Dacia – Automobile Dacia S.A

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Automobile Dacia S.A is a Romanian based car manufacturer, named after the historic region that makes up much of present-day Romania.

Founded in 1966, the Automobile Dacia company was created under the Romanian name Uzina de Autoturisme Pitești (UAP). Its main factory was constructed in 1968, in Colibaşi (now called Mioveni), near Piteşti, Romania. The company began through the acquisition of the basic tooling and designs for the Renault 12. However, until the tooling was fully completed the company decided to produce the Renault 8 model which  became known as the Dacia 1100 as seen below.

From 1968 to 1972, some 44,000 of the Dacia 1100 were produced and the design did not change aside from some slight modifications to the front end coming in 1970. Also produced during this time in limited numbers was the 1100S model, which included twin headlamps and a more powerful engine. It was primarily used by Eastern European police forces and  local racing and rally enthusiasts.

A Dacia during tougher times.

Although Eastern Europe has had many recent ups and downs economically, Dacia remains the number one export product from Romania with 10% of the nation’s total exports. The company is now a subsidiary of French automaker Renault and currently makes a variety of high quality cars and trucks which are sold throughout Europe for use by both industry and private enterprise. For more information check out their full line up here.

One the most interesting models from Dacia is the Duster. The Dacia Duster has been used as a platform for rally cars in Europe over the years. Here are some pics of the current rally ready Duster models.

Many people may also be aware of the Dacia Sandero gag from the UK’s Top Gear TV show. Top Gear has had a running gag for years now at the expense of Dacia.  After Dacia sent the show a press kit during season 11 about the new Sandero, presenter James May would say “Good News!” about the Sandero, while Jeremy Clarkson would say “Great!” and then immediately change the subject. Here’s a clip of the infamous gag in action.

Stretched Nissan Leaf All Electric Vehicle

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How’s this for a riding in style with no-tailpipe emissions to boot?

http://youtu.be/pW-_Wy4KWog
The Tennessean recently reported a local hotel has acquired a modified all electric Nissan Leaf to shuttle guests around town.  It took seven weeks to modify the vehicle which can now accommodate 8 passengers (up from 5) and operates on the stock battery.

As part of the job mirrors, plush leather and cedar paneling were all added to the vehicle.

It’s a novel way to attract customers to your hotel.

Stretched Nissan Leaf. Photo source: Nissan.

It should be noted the North American head offices of Nissan, maker of the Leaf, is less than a mile away from the hotel.

Skoda Superb 2012

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The Škoda Superb is a large sedan built by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto. Škoda Auto’s parent company is the Volkswagen Group which is significant for the smaller manufacturer since they are able to leverage the larger resources of the global Volkswagen Group.

The Superb models produced from 2001 to 2008 were based on the Volkswagen Passat platform but were 10 centimetres (3.9 in) longer.  The 2008 and newer models are all based on a stretched version of the Volkswagen Group’s A5 Octavia platform.  The current 2012 model Superb is a five-door five-seat liftback saloon/sedan, with an innovative tailgate known as ‘Twin-Door’.

It is currently the largest and most luxurious model in Škoda’s model range. The Superb name had originally been used by Škoda for luxury cars produced between 1934 and 1942.

RedlineNorth in Vienna, Austria

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Team RedlineNorth recently traveled to Vienna, Austria to experience the sights and sounds of one of the most magnificent cities in the world. With Austria’s strong economy and a history of liking the “finer things” the local Viennese have some nice rides.  Here is a taste of what you will see on a typical day in Vienna.

With its close proximity to Germany, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW’s are the standard cars most Viennese drive. In our travels we tried to find some vehicles less popular in North America.  Here is an assortment of American, French, English and German models currently found on the streets of Vienna.

Vintage VW Beetle

Who knew Ford Focus came in a hardtop convertible?

Matte finishes are very popular.

2000 MG convertible

Sweet Carrera 4S

Vintage Triumph convertible

Tour bus

The French still make some beautiful sedans.

More matte finishes

Smart car convertible

Audi S3 – Fastest grocery getter around.

I know we have lots of these but could not resist – The ever amazing Audi S5.

A Ferrari dealership storefront on the Ringstrasse.

Loop de Loop

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In the spirit of our recent posting of the Hot Wheels car jumping record, the following is an attempt from the guys on Fifth Gear to complete a loop de loop. Despite it being a small car the planning and physics that went into this are quite incredible. Not a world record, but pretty cool nonetheless.

http://www.youtu.be/6sCbkbgsT4Y

The Cars and Trucks of 1980s TV Shows

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As a kid growing up in the 1980s, one of my best memories is the amazing variety of TV shows that starred the cars and trucks of the day. Although these vehicles were amazing in so many ways, the acting was a different story.  And now looking back some of these vehicles are very rudimentary when you compare them to some of the most basic of today’s cars.  Nevertheless, I would love to have any one of these in a collection some day.

Here is a list of some of the most iconic cars from the hit shows of the decade.  Please feel free to leave a comment with your vote for the favourite choice from the list below.

Dukes of Hazzard aired from 1979 – 1985

The General Lee – 1969 Dodge Charger

The Fall Guy  aired from 1981 – 1986

GMC Sierra Grande 4×4 pickup

The A Team aired from 1983 – 1987

GMC Vandura van

Magnum P.I. aired from 1980 – 1988

Ferrari 308 GTB

Knight Rider aired from 1982 – 1986

1982 Pontiac Trans-Am

Miami Vice aired from 1984-1989

Ferrari Testarossa

Ferrari Daytona

Team Hot Wheels Yellow Car World Record

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For those who loved Hot Wheels cars as a kid this video is for you. It was taken last year and the Indianapolis 500 . Engineers spent more than a year planning and building a life-size Hot Wheels track for a world-record jump attempt by a four-wheeled vehicle. Wired offers a good background story on how this project came together.

After watching this video it’s hard not be impressed with this effort and the skills of the driver. The car didn’t land flush on the ramp during the landing but he still managed to maintain control. In the end the car managed to jump 332 feet.

Legendary Motorcar Company

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As I drove to Guelph to visit the folks over Mother’s Day weekend in GM Canada’s 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ demo vehicle, I thought what better way to break up the drive then to visit Legendary Motorcar Company Ltd located in Halton Hills. If you ever have the chance to be in the Georgetown/Halton Hills area it is must see for the car enthusiast.

Legendary Motorcar first opened its doors in 1985 with a dream of restoring and trading in the finest and rarest of classic and performance cars. Soon after they began producing national show winning restorations and record sales. By 1990 they had expanded to a 12,000 sq ft, facility and began selling European marques, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Porsche while continuing to sell some of the rarest domestic models. In 2002 they moved all operations into its brand new 55,000 sq. ft. facility located in Halton Hills, Ontario. This current location includes: 100 car showroom, fully equipped mechanical and assembly bays, downdraft spray booth and body shop, a conference center and is the set of the Dream Car Garage television show.  The facility is also the current head office of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

With over 90 vehicles currently, it really is a dream car garage, as every vehicle in the showroom would make your garage the envy of the neighbourhood.  From impeccably restored American and British classics, to European exotics to purpose built race cars, Legendary Motorcar Company has it all. Here is an assortment of some of their current inventory which is either for sale, recently restored or being stored for customers. Keeping with the overall dream theme, someday I hope to drive home from this place behind the wheel of one of my dream cars. But for now, I guess I better just keep dreaming…

OK Go Music Video

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You may not be a fan of alt rock band OK Go, but you can probably appreciate the level of difficulty in making music with a car in their video Needing/Getting. The car in question is the Chevy Sonic, which the Redlinenorth Team will be reviewing first hand in an upcoming post.

According to an interview with Car And Driver, the original concept for “Needing/Getting” grew out of a 2010 video for the song, “This Too Shall Pass.” In that video the band sings while dominoes topple, balls and tires roll, umbrellas fly, and the like.

In the Needing/Getting a rally style track has been set up and each stage comprises a section of the song. A specially fitted Chevy Sonic then travels round the track clanging symbols and strumming guitars with fishing poles that have been attached to the vehicle at appropriate intervals. The sound and video is then recorded in multiple takes and assembled in editing.

For more details on how the video was put together check out the Car And Driver article otherwise enjoy the video.