Wiesmann GT MF5
Santa, I've been awfully *good* this year...
Posted on 09/27/2009 3:00:34 PM PDT by DemforBush
Not Coming to America
From the boons of Ford's (F) assembly line and Eisenhower's interstate highway system to the banes of suburban sprawl and oil dependence, U.S. history is closely tied to the automobile. But that doesn't mean Americans are privy to any ride they want. Carmakers like BMW (BMWG.F), Ford, and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) design and manufacture all kinds of vehicles for consumers in different countries with separate needs and budgets. Here, gaze on 21 internationally released cars you're unlikely to see in U.S. showrooms any time soon...
(Excerpt) Read more at images.businessweek.com ...
Wiesmann GT MF5
Santa, I've been awfully *good* this year...
Very nice!
Did you see that thread about the Chinese knock-offs of other countries cars?
In 2005, I rode from Belfast to Derry in a VW bus sort of thing...could carry 7-8 and baggage. Diesel. I peeked at the computer readout on the dash and we were getting 43 MPG....
I want one.
VW brought back the Scirocco? I remember when high school parking lots were filled with these from the 70s, often tricked-out into sporty little cars.
Don't much care for this new styling.
Not even Charlie Babbitt could import them?
Weren’t those imperial gallons ?......:o)
Possibly, but you’d only get to drive them slow on the driveway.....definitely.....definitely the driveway.
A rolling coffin.
I just bought a German diesel.Very nice car.....a **beast** off the line (although I'm too old to be hot-rodding) .....and gets 37 mpg in mixed driving (44 mpg on the highway).
Fastest Car: SSC Ultimate Aero: 257 mph, 0-60 in 2.7 sec. Twin-Turbo V8 Engine with 1183 hp
Imperial gallons are in Canada, AFAIK.....
They sell petrol in the UK by the litre.....
But, the speed limit signs in NI are in MPH and the onboard computers read in MPG....
Yea. I want one too. Buddy of mine had one when he was living in Okinawa.
Volkswagen decided against the new Scirocco for the US market because the Golf-based GTI hatchback models already do the same thing. (Indeed, tne new Scirocco is essentially the current GTI hatchback in a different body design.)
...unless the green movement is not about the environment so much as it is about infringing on others's rights.
I’ve always thought that highway laws and auto regulation inherit the most validity in common law from the laws of harbors, harbormasters and harbor pilots. A harbormaster may ban a ship he feels is unsafe in his harbor, and a harbor association may establish equipage requirements for all ships operating in it. So too may a government set rules for passage on the highways and public roads, and also demand that vehicles meet certain standards to be operated on them.
Times change.
Canada switched to selling by the litre over 30 years ago.
I’ve driven the Alfa in Italy. Nice looking inside and out. Nice ride. The style is visually distinctive, which is saying a lot these days. Too expensive though for what you get. It competes with the BMW market for Italians who wouldn’t be caught dead in a German car.
I remember IG’s in Canada about 40 years ago.
I also have a funny story, if anyone would care to hear it.....
Because it smells nasty. And it’s inconvenient to buy. And it’s associated with European ego.
Forget air conditioning, power steering, bells, or whistles; this immensely affordable machine, which currently costs around $2,500, is all about getting from point A to point B.
I'm really worried to see what a hundred million of these on Indian roads are going to do to the price of gas.
For people in a really-big hurry.
:-o
Ain’t nobody that good! Lookin’ at the picture is all you’re gonna get ‘cause the real thing would get you in soooooo much trouble.
Do tell...
That’s the coolest one of the bunch. wonder what the price tag is?
bttt
Well, if you have a million to drop on a car like that, I’m sure you can afford to have it towed out to the salt flats for some fun now and then.
It looks like Larry David is driving that one. “Get outta the way, ya schmohawk!”
>Because it smells nasty.
That “Diesel smell” is not associated with European vehicles, so there must be something different. It would be the Sulfur content, which the government just regulated down to virtually nothing, so that is a moot point and not inherently part of Diesel.
>And it’s inconvenient to buy.
That is somewhat of a misnomer; it is to economics what the chicken/egg argument is to logic. By that argument computers should NEVER have entered the home/personnel market.
>And it’s associated with European ego.
Like a good beer? America is associated with the automobile, not because we invented it, but because we mass-produced it. The automobile is the entire construct, independent of locomotive-power, and as such could be adapted to any number of sources (electric) or steam (an interesting idea would be electro-steam) or gasoline or kerosene or CNG or Diesel.
Diesel is superior to gasoline in terms of:
- Storability
- Energy/Volume
- Safety (Gasoline vapors are quite flammable, Diesel requires a lot more heat to ignite... it will smoke before igniting even.)
Long or short.....
;-)
Also popular in Europe are Czech built Skodas:
The 911 Sport Classic, pictured above, is a look back to simpler times, featuring a straightforward drivetrain and high-quality execution. After three years of development by Porsche Exclusive, the automaker's personalization wing, the Sport Classic coupe will debut next to the 2010 911 Turbo, GT3 RS and GT3 Cup race car at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Unique to the Sport Classic are a double-dome roof, lower fascia and lip, and a fixed ducktail spoiler. Though based on the Carrera S, the Sport Classic uses the wider 4S body. Underneath the fenders are black 19-in. wheels. The interior gets the bespoke treatment, too, with the adaptive sports seats wearing woven leather and a light grey trim. Custom trim highlights the dashboard, which boasts Espresso Nature natural leather.
Porsche's venerable 3.8L flat-six provides propulsion with 408-hp, which is a 23-hp improvement over stock, thanks to a new intake manifold. The engine connects to a six-speed manual -- the only choice. (What, did you think they had dual-clutch gearboxes in 1972?) Ceramic brakes are standard, as is the sports suspension and a mechanical limited-slip differential.
Like it? Too bad. It's not available in North America. World sales begin in January. Each of the 250 examples carry an MSRP of €169,300 ($240,760).
Take your pick...you're doing the typing.
Very practical for the narrow cobblestone streets of Italy. Now being built in India - but useless in the USA.
Ok....
What might be more informative would be a list of countries, into which AMERICAN cars can be imported and sold without predatory trade barriers.
“Free trade” as currently practiced, is neither.
BUY AMERICAN.
Thank you for not allowing the Citroen, Peugeot and Renault back in! I, for one, really appreciate it!
Not to mention the ‘50s classic Mercury Monarchs and Chrysler Windsors!
We always went to see my Dad’s folks in Mass. every two years. That’s what we could afford for a family vacation.
We`always drove from MN, across the northern tier, through Indiana, Ohio, PA and NY......
This time, we pulled a pop-up camper, took our time and decided to come home through Canada...
This was my Dad’s choice, because he was a linguist and was looking forward to some French-Canadian interaction....
At a gas station, in Canada, there was this woman, from the USA, with a gallon can in her hand, barking at the attendant.
I asked my Dad what that was all about......
She knew that Imperial Gallons were less than American Gallons and they were more expensive.
She made the attendant fill her car, one gallon at a time, from her usa gallon can...thinking that she had beat the Canadian system and saved money......
As for the Toyota Century Royal, I presume it comes as a hybrid, no? Do you get the white gloves or is the chauffeur standard equipment? Next is it me or does that Ford Ka just look hungry?
i can’t stand to**tas/lexyotas, but I like the Century for some reason. The ssangyong chairman is another one that i’d wanna have
http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/2008/top-2008-Wiesmann-GT-MF-5.htm
She must have been a future Obamabot! Great story.
The diesel smell is different than the gas smell. That’s really why we smell it, Americans are used to the smell of burning gas, we aren’t used to the smell of burning diesel. So we smell it, and it’s nasty.
It’s not a misnomer at all. There is a simple reality that most gas stations have a small percentage of their pumps equipped with diesel. Some still don’t have it. Yes IF diesel vehicles were popular that gas stations would change, but they’re not going to change UNTIL diesel is popular. And most folks don’t want to be the guys who have to deal with the inconvenience of having to hunt the right pump.
No not like beer. More like soccer. Diesel is one of those things that whiny egotistical Euro-trash are always putting forth as proof of America’s inherent stupidity. And there’s a large chunk of the American people that naturally rebel against Euro-trash snootiness.
Diesel might well be superior. But all the complaints hold. It smells funny, it’s a pain in the ass to find, and if you convert to it some Euro-weenie is made happy.
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