A nu 3hird Dimension

I'm still scouring around for a desirable premium hatch because , erm, I just want one?

They are desirable aren't they not? Great to drive. Great to revel in.

Who wouldn't want one if they could?

Anyway, while I'm still head-over-heels from my recent test drive of the Peugeot 308 Turbo and still confused over the MINI Clubman and BMW 1-Series,I'm also checking out the up coming Audi A3 Sportback 2009 model.



The current is wonderful. If a little short on equipment levels and snatchy in the brakes department.

But is otherwise a hoot to dart around in premium comfort and style.

So this new one is going to be a bomb. For sure.

Can hardly wait. Anticipation arising.

Q


>> Check this out: It's a three-door version but hey, the front is fresher and edgier and different. So which is it???

Pug it !

Wise decisions are made after running through a list of reality checks.

The type of check list which is hardest to do up and harder to run through.

But 'less you want to fall flat on your face, it's wise to wise up a bit.

> It spacious.
> It stylish inside and out. (fierce and swoonsome)
> It's practical to live with. (Space)
> Great quality. Great design.
> Amazing engine (It's the same BMW's as the MINI Cooper S!).
> Great handling(It's French remember?).
> Very high equipment levels. (A full length panoramic glass roof how about that?)
> Great badge; brand prestige.
> It's 20k cheaper than the equivalent competition.

Any more and you'll have to trek up the price scale again.

It's that good a choice.

It's that hard a choice.

The Peugeot 308 Turbo.

Q

> Did a test drive and loved it to bits. But it is more desirable than say , the BMW 1 Series or the MINI Clubman? Hmmm.

Faking it is Not true Orgasm.

Can you tell which is The Real McCoy (The BMW 1-Series) and which is The Great Pretender (The Hyundai i30)??






(From Top to Bottom: Real, Fake, Fake , Real)

They say Imitation is the Best flattery.

I say, imitation is just pretentious and thick-skinned.

Because if you don't think so, I dare you walk the streets in a fake Gucci, Pucci or Prada.

And you know what I mean.

Don't make expensive stuff look cheap on you.
And worse, Don't make cheap stuff make you look cheaper.

So when Hyundai came out with their so-called 'award-winning' i30 mid-sized hatchback, I was puking my head off.

'Fake! Fake A**. Fake A** B*tch~!" Disgusting.

And I stand by my word.

And I'm sure Chris Bangle would either be very flattered by the way he's influenced both the rich and the wannabes or be very offended at how his vision of class and style has been propagated into mass-market cheap.

Sad.

Q

80's Rewind

You know that the PR Department is doing a fine job when they can sell you watever crap their companies churn out.

And journalists all over buy the sh*t.

One fine example is the up coming , much-hyped about sports-coupe, the Volkswagen Scirocco.

It's been touted as bold and dynamic. Among other superfluous and bombastic descriptors that suggest an unparalleled sporting soul .

An

obvious rival to the Honda Civic Type R, the Alfa Romeo Brera, Volvo C30 C3 and the BMW 1-Series

, this car is really more old-skool rather than 'cutting edge' and 'projecting the future of VW' , me thinks.

I don't know about the 'Dynamic' part, because I haven't had a hand in it (although it should be , being derived from the manic VW Golf R32) .

But look at the shape of this thing!

It's at best the old Toyota Paseo rip-off (or dreaded, old Mitsubishi Colt)

At worst, any other car from the Retro-gone-wrong era.

Only the Americans are good at the harking-back, so VW should just leave it as that.

Okay, if you haven't already understood my stand on the new car, lemme make it loud and clear:

It's so 80's !

Shame that Volkswagen is thinking of using this as the new face of the company.

The Scirocco is ready if Steven Spielberg is ready for another installment of 'Back to the Future.'

Even VW, it seems, can't get it right all the time.

Q

> It's not ugly , just not inspiring or progressive.

Gina is a Gorgeous Shape Shifter

No , Gina ain't some transvestite off the streets (no offense though) , mind you.

But

a revolutionary concept car

that has helped shaped all of the current generation of dramatic

'Flame Surfacing' BMWs for the last 7 years.

And yes, it has taken Gina a full 7 years to come out of the closet... :p

Chris Bangle, the chief designer of the new wave BMWs, has the type of industry-wake-up call vision quite like non other in quite a while.

Who can ignore the controversial 7-Series, the viper-esque 1-Series and the bullish 6- Series?

They are at once jarring as they are pleasing to the aesthetic senses.

With odd proportions, strategically placed ridge lines all over as if carved out of stone by millions of years of wind or water erosion and cleverly dissecting panel gaps, the BMWs of today, are icons of maverick.


And one look at Gina and one can see where the genetic oddities came from.

But Gina is more than being a design mother ship.

This car is a headliner because , get this , she is a space frame car wrapped in fabric.

Of course, it ain't the normal fixed space frame we have in our cars, but one that has movable components that help morph the high tech fabric swathed over the outside.

What this means is that

we have a car that morphs in shape.

No panel gaps. No transformer here. Instead...

Everything is shape-shifting.

Like a giant reptilian-being, the doors open up like mysterious arms, the headlights 'blink' open like an awakened beast. The rear spoiler protrudes up perkier when speed numbers go illegal. When it needs to breathe more, the nostrils can flare up bigger . Even the steering wheel, gear knob and all other controls within and the seats form out of no where to engage your position within. Kinky at best, alien trap at worst.

For the first time in history,

FORM DOES MEET FUNCTION. AND FUNCTION MEETS FORM.

And one can only stare in awe at this magnificent car as light pings onto its surface and flows into liquid...

Emotional. Indeed.
Q

1 for the Bashing?

I've read a lot of negative reviews about the BMW 1-Series.

I mean these journalists need to give it a break.

It's a BMW for gawd sakes.

It can't ever possibly be all bad. At All for that matter.

It's got the good pedigree of a Champion Horse.

The athleticism. The pace . The legendary rear-wheel handling.

The face with the infamous Kidney-grille.

The viper-esque front end and that sporty cab-back cabin compartment all conspire to give it a purposeful prowl not since the BMW 6-Series or the iconic Dodge Viper.

So yeah, it may not be the most well-equipped car in its class not anywhere near being the most spacious, but a BMW is what it is.

A BMW. A car for the driver .

The Ultimate Driving machine.

If I'd wanted a hell lot of space, I'd get a Ford S-Max or Jeep Compass or something.

Or a truck.

Why da hell will I be getting a BMW and talk about ferrying a small nation anyway....

Duh? :0)

Q

Colt Following

When it comes to cars, I want them fast and furious but more importantly, agile, fun and easy to drive and live with.

In a metropolitan country like mine, life's stressful and the roads are crowded. So I hate to have a car that is physically large (cumbersome!) and , worse, having a manual transmission (to have to wrestle with a clutch and go 1-2-3-4-5-6 and back again in 10 seconds, is NOT FUN at all.Period. ) .

So yes, I've my premium European cars like the BMW , VW , Peugeot and MINI to contend with.

But surely I wanna consider a Japanese car too .

And this is it. The Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart Type R.


A turbo-charged monster with the pace , face and space to match.

Woo.

Sure, I won't arrive at the Clubs looking fly but at least , I'm not a poseur either.


No compromises. And I'm the one left smiling. :)

Q

> Months down the line to make my call... who knows..? ^^

Status Symbolism

Your Status is what Others Make it out to be.

So quite a few have been advising me to 'Get the BMW!'

I mean, I could go , I'm the paying driver, then I should care only what I want.

But lets be real. A car IS A STATUS SYMBOL.

You want not to 'Just arrive' but to tell the world that 'You've Arrived.'

I am having the most un-important head ache right now. Haha.

Q

Hard (Candy) Decision

The Mind says : The BMW 1-Series

The Heart says : 'Mini Clubman'

What you Want may not be what you Need.

What you need may not be what you Like.

What you like may not be what you Get.

As Madonna's '4 Minutes' goes, " If you want it,
you already got it.
If you got it, it better be what you want.
If you feel it , it must be real ..."

Q

>>> (Thank goodness I have more than '4 minutes' to think it through. I've got half a year to make my mind! :P)

Expensive Taste: You're Worth it

I like my cars Premium.

It's the best money can buy. It shows that One's arrived.

It's a gift for someone who's worked hard and earned it.

Mini Clubman? VW Beetle? Audi A3 Sportback? BMW 1-Series?

Indulgent is the Luxury for those who Can.

Q