Baja Bug on the loose in Brooklyn

My dear friend Raphael, of Jalopnik fame, has recently acquired a rather unique vehicle for himself.  Despite the fact that we are located about 3,000 miles from the Baja Peninsula, my friend decided that a Baja bug was just what the doctor ordered to conquer the concrete jungle of NYC.When the car shattered the saturday afternoon tranquility of my otherwise sleepy street, sounding like an out of tune 70s motorcycle with no muffler, I was surprised how much I liked it. When we took it down to Red Hook's deserted streets, and I actually got behind the wheel, I was even more blown away by the bug's charms.  It was surprisingly easy to drive, despite having a roller ball instead of a gas pedal.  The 8 ball shift knob was a tad large for my dainty hand, but the synchros were really good, and the Bug pulled cleanly away in every gear with nary a crunch.  And despite probably having less than 75 hp, the car moves!  In the confined streets of NYC, it has more than enough power to get the job done, and the raucous exhaust note leaves no doubt that the Bug means business!

The upgraded suspension really soaks up the nastiest potholes making for a delightfully compliant ride that you really wouldn't expect from this Panzerwagen.The Baja bug is really like a big, deranged go kart. I was grinning from ear to ear.  It also has a real presence about it. People stop and stare and smile and wave. It's a fine line between menacing and absurd/cute.  Like an evil pokemon let loose on the street.  The '59 Caddy tail lights are really the coup de grace. Click HERE for the full gallery!

Automobiliac at the Deutsche Classic!

Longtime readers know we love our Italian cars over here at Automobiliac, but vintage German machinery can also be ever so cool. There was plenty of it on display at this weekend's Deutsche Classic German car show in Fleetwood, PA.  The weather was fantastic and the drive out from the city was about 2 hours of rolling countryside.  The show was roughly evenly divided between classic BMW, Porsche, Mercedes and VW, with a smattering of Opel GTs and other unique vehicles for good measure.In addition to the beautiful cars on display, there was a small swap meet area with vendors selling all manner of replacement parts for German cars.  My personal highlights of the day were a pristine BMW 3.0 CS (The owner seemed less than interested when I told him his car was my favorite at the show...) and a really cool Porsche RSK.  There was also a gorgeous Mercedes 300SL gullwing in attendance, and Herbie the Love Bug also made an appearance. Click any of the photos to see my entire gallery of the swap meet and car show!

VW's new XL1: The arrival of the future we were promised?

The new Volkswagen XL1 prototype really got me excited. I'm a total sucker for streamlined cars with faired-in rear wheels. But I really love this promotional image of the car speeding along an empty highway towards a futuristic city that is actually the real location of Doha, Qatar!  The fact that this vehicle is a driveable reality, and that this glittering city is a real place is enough to make even a cynic stop and think, wow, 2011 is more like 2011 than I ever thought!

The XL1 is the lastest in a string of "1-Liter of fuel per 100km" car concepts done by VW in the past few years, but this is the first one to look and feel like a real, viable passenger car rather than a one-off curiosity.

Another thought that crossed my mind was how this remarkable new vehicle hearkens back to the VW Type 64 (below), from 1939. What I love about the XL1 is that it doesn't make a single direct reference to the Type 64, but it feels like the same car, as if it evolved through time, incorporating styling trends and new aerodynamic discoveries along the way. My hat is off to the designers at VW. I think this car is a very exciting view of the present.  See all the promotional renderings here.

Below are the previous "1-Liter" VW Concepts