Modern-Day Dinosaurs

Scrolling through Facebook today I came across a posting from Mercedes-Benz's official page. The post was a photo of the new GL63 AMG, set to go on sale in early 2013. Now the GL is a relatively new Mercedes-Benz model; it's only been in production for a few years. The GL is Mercedes' first full-sized SUV, and up until now, the trim options did not include an AMG tuned version.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

Heading back towards the point of this article though, I really struggle to understand the point of making a vehicle like this today. Indeed, the figures are extremely impressive. 550hp. 560 lb ft of torque. 0-60 in just 4.9 seconds (faster than a Ferrari 348, mind you). Sadly, though, some equally shocking figures include a curb weight of nearly 6,000 pounds, an estimated price tag of well-over $100,000, and an estimated fuel economy that barely creeps out of the single digits, surely ending up there if you choose to exploit much of the twin turbo V8's grunt.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

And all of this got me thinking, with gas climbing ever-closer to the $4 a gallon mark, why do cars like this still exist? I mean, what's the point?

Photo courtesy of Land Rover International

Let's take a look at a couple more examples, starting with the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. Now, one may think, and this is what GM wants them to think, that because "hybrid" is attached, that this vehicle is going to be something that's reasonable. Truth is, the Tahoe hybrid is just a normal 6.0 V8 Tahoe with a small electrical engine, stop-start, and some shouty hybrid stickers on the side. What all of this returns you is a measly 15 miles per gallon in the city and 22 on the highway; only a few miles more than the base model, which is also about ten grand cheaper.

Photo courtesy of General Motors

Going back to performance SUVs like the Mercedes, we have the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. While it doesn't carry Chrysler group's mammoth V10, there is still little practicality to be found, especially when you consider the massive improvements made to the current base models in regards to fuel efficiency.

Photo courtesy of John Neff at autoblog.com

Now, it may seem to you that I'm having a downer on the sport utility as it's come to be. In truth, however, there are many automakers who have been making great strides as of late in regards to making more efficient and practical sport utility vehicles. 

Photo courtesy of Chris Shunk at autoblog.com

Ford is an excellent example. While they continue to make the mammoth Expedition, they have completely reworked the Explorer; the SUV that disputably started it all. The new Explorer is already offered with a 3.5l V6, but for 2012, they also began including a turbocharged 2.0l inline four, which returns 20 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway; a vast improvement over the outgoing model, which had a thirsty 4.0.

Photo courtesy of Zach Bowman at autoblog.com

While the SRT8 is still alive and well, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 and the accompanying Dodge Durango have undergone a monumental change, along with the majority of the current Chrysler group lineup. Both vehicles can come with the 3.6l V6, which produces a stout 290 horsepower, while returning the same sort of numbers as the aforementioned Explorer.

Photo courtesy of Chris Paukert at autoblog.com

However impressive their performance figures may be, SUVs like the GL63 and the Jeep SRT8 simply don't make sense today, especially when so many viable alternatives exist. Looking towards the future, I wonder how vehicles like this could do anything but become extinct.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

Car Trips or "Car" Trips

Something I've really been trying to do more of this past couple of years has been trying to take more pictures when I travel places. More specifically, I've been wanting to bring my DSLR so that I'm able to capture some memories of my favorite places in the highest possible res. Well guess what? Today I did just that.

Seeing as it's only a 45 minute drive from where I go to school now, I sought it fit (since I have nothing to do on the weekends yet) to take a trip down to Savannah and Tybee Island.

So here we are at my first photo, and you can see right away what has happened, and what seems to happen every trip. My memory card becomes full with, not beach pictures, but pictures of cars on the street that I think are cool. Being the huge car nerd I am I can't help but snap pictures of the cars that catch my eye.

Now you may be saying to yourself "Oh, well that seems (somewhat) perfectly normal." I thought this too until today. See, today I came to the realization that I actually like to seek out cars that are of interest to me in different environments, which, needless to say, is a bit weird.

Anyhow, I left the island around 2 to go mill around the city of Savannah.

Savannah is a city that exacts a certain charm upon nearly everyone who visits. A walk through the historic district (which is exactly what I took) displays beautiful brick homes flanked by cobble stone streets and shady green spaces every few blocks.

Driving north on Abercorn street searching for a parking spot a white Nissan GTR naturally caught my eye.

So I parked on a side street and walked out to get some pictures.

Having fed the meter for a hour, I decided to see what else was out there. What I got mostly was an eyeful of some of the most beautiful residential architecture in the south.

Parked outside of another lovely home on Abercorn was a new car that has been on my mind. The new CT200 Hybrid definitely displays the more aggressive image Lexus is trying to push these days, even though it may critically be seen as sort of an over-priced Toyota Prius. Regardless, it's a design I cant help but enjoy, and the Arizona plates were intriguing as well.

Speaking of license plates, I'm always on the lookout for "extreme" out-of-staters, and I think this Hyundai I've spotted takes the cake. Save a few, I've seen every state in the union represented since starting school here (including Hawaii, Colorado, Washington (state), and (actually this makes two) Alaska).

As the afternoon became late and my meter came close to expiration, I headed back to my car on Perry and Abercorn and further contemplated the day I had had. I knew that the main reasons for this trip were boredom, a desire to get DSLR photos of the architecture, and just my overall desire to travel. But now I guess I can add to that: a desire to take pictures of cars (which I could have satisfied a lot easier by just going to a car show).

Stuttgart

From ghastly depression, to promises of a new and beautiful country made by a man who would later be associated with some of the most gruesome acts in world history, Germany has definitely led what some might call an infamous existence. But those people fail to recognize the colossal achievements, specifically in the automotive industry, that have been made in this country. Karl Benz created the first gasoline-powered car: the Benz Patent Motorwagen, in Stuttgart in 1886. The Bavarian Motor Works company, which first began producing airplane engines in 1918 has grown to produce some of the most highly acclaimed luxury performance cars on the market. And the Porsche family created a legendary sports car: the 911. Ferdinand Porsche began designing cars after being contracted by Adolf Hitler. Hitler wanted Porsche to create a "People's car," and he did. Not to gloss over the story of the indisputably legendary Beetle, but the car that really would capture the attention of enthusiasts for years to come was in the design process soon after World War II. This car was the Porsche 356.

The 356 was the first car to be produced under the Porsche name, and officially began production in 1948. Available with an array of tiny four-cylinder air-cooled engines, mounted at the back, the rear-drive lightweight proved to be an excellent performer for its time. Designed on a monocoque chassis, the 356 was available as a coupe or cabriolet, and the smooth, swooping body lines have made it a highly-desirable collector car for the present-day.

After Ferdinand Porsche's death in 1951, design was taken over by Ferry Porsche. The company became very successful in motor racing and in 1964 Ferry's son Ferdinand Alexander launched his new design for the rear engine, rear-drive sports car that is still being produced today: the 911. The 911 quickly became one of the most well-known sports cars in the history of sports cars. With a big six-cylinder boxer engine over the rear wheels, handling of early models of the 911 was unpredictable at best, and made worse with Turbo models. But, sticking to Porsche tradition, engineers have been able to fine-tune the 911 and all of its exciting variations into one of the best handling sports cars that money can buy.

Take the early morning drive to the Caffeine and Octane monthly meet up and you can see a vast array of these amazing machines. So many examples of every decade of 911 are on hand and all of them are beautifully restored. As you move along the rows of the Porsche section, you see that not much changes from decade to decade, as far as the sheetmetal goes, but maybe that's a good thing. Porsche could have just moved their engine to the front of the 911, but they didn't, and thank goodness they didn't.