Day: Jun 30, 2016

Theme: Materials – Decay III

Did you know that VW based the B3 (of which the B4 is a facelift) on the Golf platform? 

1993-199xx VW Passat rotting slowly
1993-1996 VW Passat rotting slowly

And yet it’s bigger in all directions. That might explain why there are so many common parts. I took this photo as a contrast to the Mercedes W210 I showed recently. I’d planned to compose some thoughts on the junk charm of the B4 compared to the W210. This car is nicely tatty and the mismatched filler cap sets off the dreary metallic paint very well. I’d prefer if it was the B3 in a rich colour. Maybe that’s a bit contrived.

Costly Cars, Big Losses

Perplexing this: the market for very costly cars has been booming and Aston Martin have only racked up losses.

2015 Aston Martin DBX: source
2015 Aston Martin DBX: source

Automotive News report that ” a pre-tax loss of £127.9 million ($172.03 million) in 2015, the fifth consecutive year the company has failed to make a profit, as the number of cars it sold fell and as it invests in expansion”. It seems everyone likes Aston Martin but not enough people want to buy them. Hasn’t it always been like this? Continue reading “Costly Cars, Big Losses”

Far From the Mainstream: AC

Hitting the classifieds, we start with the letter A.

2007 Kubota digger: source
2007 “AC Ace Kubota KX91” digger: source

The used-car website Autoscout24 has a long list of brands from which you can choose if you decide to go further than Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes, Opel and Volkswagen. The first on the list is an odd ragbag of cars under the AC name. At the time of writing there were 115 cars listed for sale as ACs. I did not expect so many examples of this specialist British manufacturer to be on sale at the one moment. Continue reading “Far From the Mainstream: AC”