Car Freak

Thing is though, the only reason Saab's gone under is because of American mis-management. Eg the 9-5 was actually due to be replaced in 2005, when GM was working in the Fiat group. But when the alliance broke upm *poof* went the new 9-5, straight down the drain. All the money and time spent to design a car, all gone to waste. Thing is though, from my PoV Saab's engineers weren't hopeless, it was just that GM never gave Saab an opportunity. The things that come to mind are Saab's progress with turbo engines, vehicle safety, 4WD system (as mentioned) and their bio-ethanol engines. http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/autocarconfidential/archive/2009/12/18/what-went-wrong-for-saab.aspx Like others on the Autocar boards have said, this is a really stupid move by GM, where it will work only in the short term. They've just made some money by selling off the rights to the 9-3 and old 9-5 to the Chinese, and more importantly, 2 new models are virtually production ready. Add to that the future potential of advancements in biofuel (i.e. bio ethanol) technology, and it really does look like this is one of the worst moves GM has ever made. These few quotes from the people over at the Autocar message boards sum up my feelings perfectly: http://www.autocar.co.uk/forums/t/10501.aspx

For some reason, the close down of Saab just ticks me off even more than the shutdown of Pontiac. Bloody Americans biting more than they can chew and in the end throwing away more than 60 years' worth of heritage here, and 80+ in Pontiac's case. What the bloody hell did they think they were doing??!! Buying a brand in order to expand and spread out your market base to reach into more markets, that i can understand. But not providing the funding/permission to build better cars, what the hell did you think was going to happen, GM?? I really honestly don't want this to be the end of Saab. Let's all hope that with the new 9-5, someone else can come pick up the remains and make something out of it. For some reason I didn't get this worked up when they closed Pontiac. I suppose it was because it was the Americans shutting down one of their own, but now they've gone and screwed up another country's car manufacturers, and i simply find this unacceptable. Up yours GM, and Saab RIP

to be honest, it just looks like a two-tone paintjob, not really any stripes

You're officially a certified weirdo, you know that? ;)

This being about F1 teams, shouldn't it be in the Motorsports section? http://sundayafternoonclub.blogs.topgear.com/2009/12/16/virgin-vs-lotus/ Regardless, I find this whole thing pretty hilarious. I REALLY want to see the loser of this forfeit carry through with it. It's great to see that people in F1, one of the most serious, humourless sports in the world can still find ways to have a good bit of fun every now and then

Oh for crying out loud! :wtf:

Aren't those stripes standard on the Ford GT? This is a competition for who can design the best car, not who can take the best photo

Wow, so you were walking about taking all those photos?

Here's my Elise, with a paintjob inspired by old Lotus F1 cars http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/NFS%20Carbon/nfscarbon132.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/NFS%20Carbon/nfscarbon133.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/NFS%20Carbon/nfscarbon134.jpg

Lol thanks guys! I voted for FatPenguin. His and EK's shots are possibly the only ones with real meaning behind them, and i just think FP's fits in better with the theme

"agile mosquito"?

:excited: :bananadance: :monkeydance: http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-063.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-064.jpg

Bah, I can only have mine on medium... :( Still, graphics are still pretty good, and the game itself is simply epic! http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-002.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-009.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-026.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-037.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-039.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-052.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-056.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2-058.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2_game2009-12-1423-08-41-56.jpg http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/DiRT%202/dirt2_game2009-12-1423-47-24-50.jpg I especially like the Pontiac Solstice shots. The colours make it look more like a photoshop render rather than something from a game

Wow, it's been so long since I last saw Test Drive 5...

Not very good :( http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/NFS%20Carbon/nfscarbon120edit.jpg

Surely a jet engine would count as technology, right? http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/IMG_7379edit.jpg

I've been waiting for DiRT 2 for the PC for a loooong time. I'm just really annoyed that I couldn't get my grubby little paws on it before I left for holiday (I'm typing this post in Thailand). Am definitely looking forward to going home, just so I can play it

Only barely ;)

Oh? Boo for Shift then...

How much has your replacement parts cost you so far (seats, rims, battery etc)? i'd like to have a rough indication how much it costs to keep the car running. Obviously $850 is peanuts, but how much more has it cost you so far, as well as in future?

I want to see what it'll be like on the big three platforms: Xbox, PS3 and PC

What Woddy said ^^ That's really quite a good buy. I'm really envious! Less than $1000!

HTF, because Gulf was too obvious a choice, and because the Gulf entries weren't even a different interpretation of the paintjob. You'd have scored extra points from me if you had actually used shapes or blocks to spell out "Martini" on your car, sort of like what i've done to make my Polizia Gallardo: http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p265/1carfreak1/NFS%20Carbon/th_nfscarbon117.jpg