Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
New Scions!
The Scion tC has been essentially unchanged since its initial foray into the industry with its 2005 model, but today, the revamped 2011 model finally made its media debut (along with the brand new Scion iQ)! Check out photos and the press release here: Scion Dimension
Friday, February 05, 2010
我要GT-"AO"!
For the many of you who don't read Chinese, the title above says "I want GT-R!", but pronouncing the name of the car with a very thick Chinglish accent. Even with that hint, most of you probably don't get the reference to Chapman To's character in Jay Chou's mediocre live action film version of Initial D.
Anyway, I think I've had to explain that joke waaay too much. Holla back if you actually know what I was talking about!
The actual purpose of this post really does have some relation to my haplessly selected title. Below is from a video series by Motor Trend. In this segment, they showcase the technologically superior Nissan GT-R, but in an odd matchup, they compare it against two heavily modified high-profile Scion tC drift cars. The video is loud, fast, and fun - better than Initial D! Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Scion No. 1 in Reliability!
Per Consumer Reports, and apparently over the last two years, at least! I knew I made a good decision =P. Click the pic to make it legible:
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Said Musings
As promised, blog musings, and a brand new playlist in the sidebar featuring songs from Lilo and Stitch, the greatest Disney movie of this century!
As it is still college football season, it's only appropriate to reference the beat down Florida put on Kentucky this past Saturday. The weather was beautiful, a crisp 68 degree cloudy day, and our seats kicked ass, to the tune of 35 yard line, 55th row, where the stadium's stadium seating allowed us to watch the destruction to the fullest.
The ass kicking was fast and furious. We didn't score on our first drive, but on Kentucky's first and second drives, the Gator defense stopped them deep in their own territory and forced them to punt. On both occasions, the punt was blocked, giving the Gators the ball at 3 yards out and 1 yard out. After those two four-second drives, the Gators had nearly as many points (14) as they did yards (17)! In retrospect, it might not have been better if they actually had gotten those punts off, since, the way things went all day for Kentucky, it's very likely one Brandon James would have made both of those punts into zero-second touchdown drives!
The mayhem continued for most of the first half as the score at the half was 42-3. Things didn't get much better for the Wildcats in the second half - their first play from scrimmage was a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Ahmad Black. Tebow stepped down in the fourth quarter and John Brantley fired a 35-yard touchdown on his second pass of the afternoon. The Gators finished the game 63-5, apparently messing up a punt in the last 5 minutes or so of the game to give Kentucky another 2 points to finish.
That win moved the Gators up to 8th in the BCS rankings... still somewhat of a long shot to the BCS National Championship, especially since the SEC's pinata (to use an awesome quote from a sportswriter I read earlier this year but can't remember who), Ohio State, couldn't muster up enough offense to beat Penn State, who will likely cruise through its remaining schedule and then get sliced and diced in the National Championship Game after nearly two months off after their last game in November...
Moving right along to musing number 2, I've been super busy at work - obviously busy enough to not be able to blog much! But I've been making up for my busy work days and homework sessions by playing a LOT of DS. I love my DS. I only wish I had toys like this when I was little. Then again, that probably would have resulted in me doing a lot less of just about everything else. My latest project game has been Trauma Center, one of the earliest releases on Nintendo's two-screened handheld. You play as Dr. Derek Stiles, an up-and-coming surgeon who is gifted with the "Healing Touch". Unfortunately, with great power comes great responsibility, and it is Dr. Stiles' responsibility to curb a medical terrorist attack epidemic called GUILT. The game is fast-paced, with great music, and tough as nails. Diamond ones. I seriously feel my tennis elbow acting up as I furiously remove tumors and stitch up lacerations in my patients!
Final musing for the day - couple of days ago, I came across the latest Consumer Reports reliability rankings for cars. To my delight, and a bit of surprise, the number one brand for reliability was Scion! Scion's xD came in as the most reliable vehicle in the country, with the xB following closely behind. Behind Scion was Acura, Honda, then Toyota and Lexus, with Lincoln coming in at 11th as the highest ranked American manufacturer. I guess there's another good reason to love Scions - they'll last forever!
As it is still college football season, it's only appropriate to reference the beat down Florida put on Kentucky this past Saturday. The weather was beautiful, a crisp 68 degree cloudy day, and our seats kicked ass, to the tune of 35 yard line, 55th row, where the stadium's stadium seating allowed us to watch the destruction to the fullest.The ass kicking was fast and furious. We didn't score on our first drive, but on Kentucky's first and second drives, the Gator defense stopped them deep in their own territory and forced them to punt. On both occasions, the punt was blocked, giving the Gators the ball at 3 yards out and 1 yard out. After those two four-second drives, the Gators had nearly as many points (14) as they did yards (17)! In retrospect, it might not have been better if they actually had gotten those punts off, since, the way things went all day for Kentucky, it's very likely one Brandon James would have made both of those punts into zero-second touchdown drives!
The mayhem continued for most of the first half as the score at the half was 42-3. Things didn't get much better for the Wildcats in the second half - their first play from scrimmage was a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Ahmad Black. Tebow stepped down in the fourth quarter and John Brantley fired a 35-yard touchdown on his second pass of the afternoon. The Gators finished the game 63-5, apparently messing up a punt in the last 5 minutes or so of the game to give Kentucky another 2 points to finish.That win moved the Gators up to 8th in the BCS rankings... still somewhat of a long shot to the BCS National Championship, especially since the SEC's pinata (to use an awesome quote from a sportswriter I read earlier this year but can't remember who), Ohio State, couldn't muster up enough offense to beat Penn State, who will likely cruise through its remaining schedule and then get sliced and diced in the National Championship Game after nearly two months off after their last game in November...
Moving right along to musing number 2, I've been super busy at work - obviously busy enough to not be able to blog much! But I've been making up for my busy work days and homework sessions by playing a LOT of DS. I love my DS. I only wish I had toys like this when I was little. Then again, that probably would have resulted in me doing a lot less of just about everything else. My latest project game has been Trauma Center, one of the earliest releases on Nintendo's two-screened handheld. You play as Dr. Derek Stiles, an up-and-coming surgeon who is gifted with the "Healing Touch". Unfortunately, with great power comes great responsibility, and it is Dr. Stiles' responsibility to curb a medical terrorist attack epidemic called GUILT. The game is fast-paced, with great music, and tough as nails. Diamond ones. I seriously feel my tennis elbow acting up as I furiously remove tumors and stitch up lacerations in my patients!Final musing for the day - couple of days ago, I came across the latest Consumer Reports reliability rankings for cars. To my delight, and a bit of surprise, the number one brand for reliability was Scion! Scion's xD came in as the most reliable vehicle in the country, with the xB following closely behind. Behind Scion was Acura, Honda, then Toyota and Lexus, with Lincoln coming in at 11th as the highest ranked American manufacturer. I guess there's another good reason to love Scions - they'll last forever!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Scion Brand Becoming Stale?
So, I came across this news story on Reuters today: AUTOSHOW-Scion chief dismisses talk brand's gone stale
To sum up, it basically documents Scion executives rebutting criticisms from the media and design schools that the current generation Scion vehicles, the second generation xB, the all new xD, and the incumbent tC, have taken a more conservative approach and are leading Scion away from the funkiness that brought the brand the success it has enjoyed thus far.
The original generation xB and the xA, the first cars in the Scion lineup, were very distinctive with unusual angles. The xB, in particular, was and still is very much an icon for the quintessential Scion with it's very unique box shape.
The now out-of-production xA also featured unusual angles and looked somewhat like a squashed Toyota Matrix, but still looked very different from anything else at that time, and to an extent, even today (although similar to competitors like Nissan's Versa and the Honda Fit).
The tC came in with its clean lines and powerful engine to provide the third pillar of Scion's lineup, and subsequently, the new generation of Scions seems to have taken some cues from the success of the tC and rounded out some of the rough edges from the previous generation.
The new xB still retains it's boxy motif, but the corners are rounded off a bit, and its mass increased by some 600 pounds. The weight increase is offset a bit because Scion incorporated the tC's 2.4l 2AZ-FE engine into the new model, making it faster and more powerful, but according to many test drivers, the original lighter model felt more fun and engaging.
The all-new xD, which replaced the xA, features a much more bubbly look, but with its rounded, rhinocerus-like nose (to quote Edmunds.com) still makes it look different from anything else out there.
Personally, I agree that Scion has taken this generation a little less aggressively than they did in the first generation. Still cool, but definitely less disruptive. Additionally, the price of both of the new vehicles has increased over the old models, which is yet another step in the opposite direction of Scion's original values. Although I'm probably as much of a culprit for this change as anyone else, having bought the most expensive and most traditional looking model in the Scion lineup, but I've always appreciated the quirkiness of my car's siblings - somehow, knowing that Scion is known for its funkiness made the tC a funky car in its own right. I'm a big Scion supporter, and I'm hoping that Scion will always remember their very young roots and keep these cars cool for school!
What are your thoughts? Take the new Poll in the sidebar and let Grant's Pad know!
To sum up, it basically documents Scion executives rebutting criticisms from the media and design schools that the current generation Scion vehicles, the second generation xB, the all new xD, and the incumbent tC, have taken a more conservative approach and are leading Scion away from the funkiness that brought the brand the success it has enjoyed thus far.The original generation xB and the xA, the first cars in the Scion lineup, were very distinctive with unusual angles. The xB, in particular, was and still is very much an icon for the quintessential Scion with it's very unique box shape.The now out-of-production xA also featured unusual angles and looked somewhat like a squashed Toyota Matrix, but still looked very different from anything else at that time, and to an extent, even today (although similar to competitors like Nissan's Versa and the Honda Fit).The tC came in with its clean lines and powerful engine to provide the third pillar of Scion's lineup, and subsequently, the new generation of Scions seems to have taken some cues from the success of the tC and rounded out some of the rough edges from the previous generation.The new xB still retains it's boxy motif, but the corners are rounded off a bit, and its mass increased by some 600 pounds. The weight increase is offset a bit because Scion incorporated the tC's 2.4l 2AZ-FE engine into the new model, making it faster and more powerful, but according to many test drivers, the original lighter model felt more fun and engaging.
The all-new xD, which replaced the xA, features a much more bubbly look, but with its rounded, rhinocerus-like nose (to quote Edmunds.com) still makes it look different from anything else out there.Personally, I agree that Scion has taken this generation a little less aggressively than they did in the first generation. Still cool, but definitely less disruptive. Additionally, the price of both of the new vehicles has increased over the old models, which is yet another step in the opposite direction of Scion's original values. Although I'm probably as much of a culprit for this change as anyone else, having bought the most expensive and most traditional looking model in the Scion lineup, but I've always appreciated the quirkiness of my car's siblings - somehow, knowing that Scion is known for its funkiness made the tC a funky car in its own right. I'm a big Scion supporter, and I'm hoping that Scion will always remember their very young roots and keep these cars cool for school!
What are your thoughts? Take the new Poll in the sidebar and let Grant's Pad know!
Monday, October 15, 2007
New Ride
I don't know how many of you know this, but apparently you can haggle for a Scion, despite Scion's alleged "Pure Pricing" no-haggle scheme.
So anyway, this is what happens when you go into a Scion dealership with no intention of buying that day but the dealer asks you to put out an offer and you offer a price of $2500 less than the original offer thinking that they will give up but they take it anyway plus they give you better than expected financing... so, what can a guy who just put the Scion tC on his wish list do? So Cherrie picked a color and bam, just like that, my old white '94 Corolla that has served me for over six years and 70,000 miles is now back on the driveway after just two weeks of living the high life in the garage...
Check out pics at the photo album, which will be updated as I take more photos!
So anyway, this is what happens when you go into a Scion dealership with no intention of buying that day but the dealer asks you to put out an offer and you offer a price of $2500 less than the original offer thinking that they will give up but they take it anyway plus they give you better than expected financing... so, what can a guy who just put the Scion tC on his wish list do? So Cherrie picked a color and bam, just like that, my old white '94 Corolla that has served me for over six years and 70,000 miles is now back on the driveway after just two weeks of living the high life in the garage...Check out pics at the photo album, which will be updated as I take more photos!
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