Go Speed Racer, gooooooooooooooo!

I am still singing the theme song in my head, over and over.

I could not wait until lunchtime today to sneak out and see the movie. I found a theater nearby with a midnight (12:01am) showing, so I was there.

First stop – snack bar, to get hopped-up on junior mints and an extra jumbo Pibb Xtra. I haven’t been up this late by choice since I cannot remember.

“How was the movie?” you ask?

Wellllll…………

(SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOVIE. GO SEE IT AND THEN RETURN HERE TO READ MY REVIEW!)

Free classified ad – no joke!

Beginning next week, AutoworldToday will give away one free classified ad each week in our Today Newspapers classified ads section.
NO JOKE!
Email me at autoworld@todaynewspapers.net to get your free ad!

autoworlddavid

BMW Ultimate Drive (for a cure)

Want to get behind the wheel of a new BMW and drive for a cause?
The BMW Ultimate Drive is celebrating their 12th year of supporting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fundraising effort in North Texas April 18, 19, 21 and 23, where 25 BMWs will be available for a test drive.
The BMW Ultimate Drive is a grassroots program that is currently traveling across the country visiting 210 participating BMW centers. The money raised directly supports breast cancer research, education, screening and community outreach programs provided byt the cause. The drive will continue through Dec. 2008, encouraging consumers to get behind the wheel and help contribute to the fight against breast cancer.
After each participant finishes their drive, they will proudly add his/her name to the BMW X6 Signature Vehicle as a testament to all who have joined in the battle to end breast cancer.
April 18, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Autobahn Motorcars, 2828 White Settlement Rd., Ft. Worth
April 19, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. BMW Assist Response Center, 8550 Freeport Pkwy, Irving
April 21, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. BMW of Dallas, 2536 Forest Ln, Dallas
April 23, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Classic BMW, 6800 Dallas Pkwy, Plano
Cost is FREE.

The power of ‘M’ (and youtube)

We know about the power the new M3 sedan from BMW makes when we fire the ignition and let the clutch slip.
Now we can see it – from the inside out. BMW has created this new ad showing the combustion process from inside the cylinder:

In the garage …

Somewhat of a dilemma this week …
I have the keys to the new hotrod Mercedes C-Class (the one you see on TV commercials spewing all that tire smoke) and the new “green machine” from Chevy, their 2-mode Tahoe.
What to drive, what to drive …

Car shows and cruise-ins

Just as the flowers and trees emerge from their wintry sleep, springtime also brings out those shiny classic and antique cars and trucks as nearly each weekend of the month boasts some sort of show or cruise-in or any old excuse to get those hot rods and show cars out of the garage.

Suzuki storms through North Texas

American Suzuki visited North Texas recently and brought with them three unique new concept vehicles for segments they currently do not occupy in the U.S. market.
Swift is a fun little sport hatch that kind of resembles MINI and is currently available in other global markets. We will see the second-generation model here sometime early in the next decade. And this sporty current model they brought out looks nothing like the little car they had in the U.S. market a decade ago, thank goodness.
A vehicle that will be arriving very soon is the Equator pickup, Suzuki’s first real truck for North America. Based on a shared Nissan platform, Equator should arrive late this year or early next year and will offer choice of powertrains and running gear as well as an offroad edition.
Fresh off its global debut at the New York Auto Show, this is Concept Kizashi 3′s second stop in a whirlwind tour. The near-luxury sport sedan is “somewhat mid-sized” but no specific details as to powertrains, price, final design or equipment was going to be spilled while it was in North Texas. Marketing V.P. Gene Brown did say that the production version should arrive on our shores by 2010. The concept vehicle is being shown in all-wheel-drive and powered by a 300hp 3.6-liter V-6 with six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
While currently only offering vehicles in one-third of all automotive segments, Suzuki hopes to increase that to half with the launch of these new vehicles in the near future.
And while Suzuki may not be thought of as one of the big global automakers, they did manage to sell about 2.4 million units last year, no small feat in itself.
Suzuki has announced that they are going forward as a Japanese car company and their partnerships with Korean companies are expiring soon. They will also be celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2009.
And they said their current and new models all embody the Suzuki mantra of “Travel light, live fully.”

Dallas Auto Show 2008

Dallas Auto Show, part one

The Dallas Auto Show media day always falls right after our production cycle ends for the week so unfortunately you have to read about what you missed, not what you can expect. That said, most of these vehicles will arrive in dealerships in the near future.

WordPress is killing me …

I have been trying to post a nice black and white image that i took at the Dallas Auto Show last week, but with a recent upgrade to their interface, our blog host WordPress is making it very difficult for many bloggers to upload images.
Hopefully they will get a handle on it soon…

 

Halle-frickin-lujah, it looks like they have it fixed!

Steering Column April 3

If last week’s column did not find you with enough options for activities this coming weekend, here are a few more items to add to your list …