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Not Sure What To Title This Post About Toyota via The Commentator February 8th, 2010 at 19:42

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ANZAC Day and What It Means (Video) via Kiwibloke April 25th, 2009 at 18:43

image Thousands of Aucklanders braved the wind and the rain to commemorate 94 years since the landing at Gallipoli at Auckland’s War Memorial Museum Friday. Uploaded on Flickr by NZ Alex ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was the original ANZAC formation. It served at Gallipoli under the command of General William Birdwood and comprised the Australian 1st Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division. The Gallipoli Campaign took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916, during the First World War.  A joint British Empire and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul (It was still referred to as Constantinople by the Europeans), and secure a sea route to...

End of the Road For Detroit Car Makers via Kiwibloke March 31st, 2009 at 02:23

image Today was not a good day for General Motors and Chrysler. Rick Waggoner was shown the door by Washington and GM was told in no uncertain terms that bankruptcy was an option for them. Chrysler was told they have 30 days to convince Fiat they have a future or it was curtains for them. However what was worst was the realization that the future of bloated SUVs and mediocre mileage was well and truly over when Berkshire Hathaway announced that the BYD plugin hybrid vehicle will be on display in May at Buffett’s general shareholder meeting in Omaha. The annual shareholder meeting is no Volvo driving latte drinking San Francisco set. These people represent the core General Motors constituent, middle America. The problem for Detriot is that if Warren Buffet, the true Anti Wall Street hero...

Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson Takes on Hong Kong Press via Kiwibloke February 19th, 2009 at 21:34

image Top Gear continues it’s march around the pacific, this time turning up this weekend for the Top Gear Live show in Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong’s The Standard: Well, not for long. Soon, the engagingly verbose presenter was cracking jokes about copresenter Richard Hammond’s height (or lack of it) and Hong Kong’s taxi drivers. “Why are [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson Takes on Hong Kong Press Related posts:Top Gear Stars Narrowly Escape Death in Bird Strike [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Uploaded on Flickr by jonlarge"][/caption] Top...Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) The top car show in the world, Top Gear, ...Jeremy Clarkson in Landrover Discovery [youtube...

Saturn Car Company Could Be In Chinese Hands By End of Year via Kiwibloke February 19th, 2009 at 20:21

image In a cruel twist of fate, Saturn could be in the hands of the Chinese by the end of the year. Saturn is one of the victims of the restructuring of General Motors to satisfy the requirements of the US Government’s TARP Loan program. General Motors as penned a letter to the existing Saturn Dealers suggesting [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Saturn Car Company Could Be In Chinese Hands By End of Year Related posts:Saturn Gets European Religion The europeanisation of Saturn continues with the release of...Tata Either Gets Headache or Bargain It is finally a done deal, Jaguar/Landrover (JLR) has...Hummer Time Is Over If you are considering a Hummer…, originally uploaded......

Top Gear’s Race Winning Polo For Sale (Video) via Kiwibloke February 18th, 2009 at 10:28

image The VW Polo Blue Motion that Richard Hammond raced from Basel to Blackpool in last years season of Top Gear is now up for sale in the UK Auto Trader (via Blackpool Gazette) Now the car, which has just 5,500 miles on the clock – is for sale on the Auto Trader website with a price [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear’s Race Winning Polo For Sale (Video) Related posts:Top Gear Ferraris Not Real Using Toyota MR2 [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Uploaded on Flickr by jaywood_uk"][/caption] The...Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) The top car show in the world, Top Gear, ...Top Gear Press Conference Ends In Stig Storming Out (Video) Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear’s Race......

Top Gear’s Richard Hammond Talks about his Life via Kiwibloke February 16th, 2009 at 23:54

image While in Auckland New Zealand, Top Gear’s Richard Hammond speaks his mind this week about Top Gear and it’s cultural phenomenon in a 1965 Lincoln Town Car. Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear’s Richard Hammond Talks about his Life Related posts:Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) The top car show in the world, [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear’s Richard Hammond Talks about his Life Related posts:Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) The top car show in the world, Top Gear, ...Top Gear Ferraris Not Real Using Toyota MR2 [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Uploaded on Flickr by jaywood_uk"][/caption] The...Podcast 9 - Special Second Life Concert Thursday Night on Second Life saw the first...

Top Gear Ferraris Not Real Using Toyota MR2 via Kiwibloke February 14th, 2009 at 17:06

The Ferraris used in the Australian Top Gear Live shows recently were not real. According to Drive Magazine in Australia, they where Ferrari shells on top of Toyota MR2s: Underneath their exotic red panel work, the “Ferraris” were believed to be infinitely less glamorous Toyotas. The replica Ferraris, reportedly based on Toyota MR2 underpinnings, were produced at a fraction [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear Ferraris Not Real Using Toyota MR2 Related posts:Toyota - All American Brand Toyota has quietly become the number one brand in...Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) The top car show in the world, Top Gear, ...Top Gear Press Conference Ends In Stig Storming Out (Video) Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear Ferraris...

Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) via Kiwibloke February 13th, 2009 at 19:57

The top car show in the world, Top Gear,  has brought it’s live action production to Auckland, Jeremy Clarkson and his crew has enlisted top Kiwi driver Greg Murphy as the 3rd Wheel. Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) Related posts:Anna Coddington live on Kiwi FM Anna Coddington [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear Live - arrives in New Zealand (Video) Related posts:Anna Coddington live on Kiwi FM Anna Coddington plays 3 tracks live on the Radio...Why the Landrover is one of the world’s great vehicles From the BBC series “Top Gear” on why the Landrover...Jon Stewart Has a go at New Zealand Yesterday, Jon Stewart had a go at New...

Top Gear Press Conference Ends In Stig Storming Out (Video) via Kiwibloke February 12th, 2009 at 18:21

Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear Press Conference Ends In Stig Storming Out (Video) Related posts:New Rocketboom Presenter Joanne Colan on Video Joanna Colan has been confirmed as new Rocketboom host...Breaking the Video Frontier I have just purchased a Canon XL1S Video Camera...Why the Landrover is one of the world’s great vehicles From the [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Top Gear Press Conference Ends In Stig Storming Out (Video) Related posts:New Rocketboom Presenter Joanne Colan on Video Joanna Colan has been confirmed as new Rocketboom host...Breaking the Video Frontier I have just purchased a Canon XL1S Video Camera...Why the Landrover is one of the world’s great vehicles From the BBC series “Top Gear” on why the...

Car Exec Rips Car Industry A New One via Kiwibloke February 12th, 2009 at 00:44

John Krafcik, acting president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America today made it very clear he is disappointed with the auto industry in the United States and did not pull his punches: There was palpable discomfort in the room as Krafcik criticized his own industry for earning a perception of being “slow, dim-witted” and “typically unresponsive [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Car Exec Rips Car Industry A New One Related posts:Zune Exec “retires” The Microsoft VP behind the MS branded door-stop called Zune...Rationalization of Car Washers Underway [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="357" caption="Uploaded on Flickr by pixeljones"][/caption] I...Koreans rank as worst resale value A real Kiwi Bloke would not of course be...

Rationalization of Car Washers Underway via Kiwibloke February 10th, 2009 at 22:54

I am a big consumer of car washes. I am constantly working to keep our cars clean and fresh and it is a never ending battle. What frustrates me most about using car washes how poorly they are run. The level of service is hit and miss. You essentially need to find a good one [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Rationalization of Car Washers Underway Related posts:New Zealand Most Desirable Country To Travel [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="539" caption="Country Brand Index"][/caption] FutureBrand has release...Toyota - All American Brand Toyota has quietly become the number one brand in...Cadillac and The Green Thing One of the problems that Cadillac had in the...

Six Million Dollar Car To be Sold This Weekend (Video) via Kiwibloke February 6th, 2009 at 00:38

A rare pre-war sports car, left in a British garage for the past 50 years, is likely to be sold for as much as $6 million this weekend. The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S vehicle retains many of its original features. Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Six Million Dollar Car To be Sold This Weekend (Video) Related posts:Car Creates [...]Another great Post from: Kiwibloke Six Million Dollar Car To be Sold This Weekend (Video) Related posts:Car Creates Drive Thru in Dollar Store (Video) Hallandale Beach, Florida Police released surveillance video from inside...Landrover Finally Sold To Indians Discovery Front Originally uploaded by AC5o. According to Autoblog.com...Breaking the Video Frontier I have just purchased a Canon XL1S Video...

Hummer Owners Get Nailed Faster via Kiwibloke February 1st, 2009 at 13:23

Hummer owners, according to Quality Planning of San Francisco, are 463% more likely to get nailed by the Police than the average driver.  Also high on the list are three separate versions of Scion, Toyota’s youth brand. The reasoning behind why Hummer and Scion drivers get ticketed more often than other drivers is not clear but: The [...]...

Audi: Making the Super Bowl XLIII Commercial “Chase” (Video) via Kiwibloke January 30th, 2009 at 19:47

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Opshop - Jason Kerrison and Brendon Hartley racing at the A1GP via Kiwibloke January 28th, 2009 at 13:56

httvp://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=rvxzYDGIMh4 Jason Kerrison from the Kiwi band Opshop was the guest drive of New Zealand’s next motoracing hope Brendon Hartley during the A1GP in Taupo over the......

Kiwi Supercar Driven at Taupo via Kiwibloke January 26th, 2009 at 13:22

The hand built Hulme Canam car was driven last weekend at the Taupo A1GP event. Named after Kiwi Formula One driver Denny Hulme, the Hulme CanAm is scheduled for limited production build in 2010, with a provisional price of Euro 295,000. The development of further model derivatives is planned, including a Coupe version. Designed and hand-built [...]...

The Problem with Ford Sync via Kiwibloke January 6th, 2009 at 08:20

There is an old adage in the tech industry “innovation is good, but not at the cost of functionality”. This means that you need to do what your customer bought the product for really well, first, then you can make the experience unique and innovative. This is true for Google and Search and Apple and the [...]...

Is There an EV in your Life? via Kiwibloke December 25th, 2008 at 20:09

By the end of 2010 we could have five different electric vehicles to choose from. From the ubiquitous plug-in Prius Hybrid, to the Tesla, to the Mini EV and the Chevy Volt. Indeed within the next 7 years there will be numerous zero emission options to choose from without suffering the ignominity of the Geo [...]...

Reinventing the Car via Kiwibloke December 6th, 2008 at 22:07

Larry Burns, GM Veep talks about the future of personal transportation and hydrogen.......

Nissan Altima Hybrid via ongoing March 7th, 2008 at 09:00

Avis gave me one, and I liked it. It’s big, and while the lines are kind of boring, the trim and lights and so on are pretty cool. I drove three other guys to lunch; there was plenty of room and I got gratifying exclamations all around when I slotted the electrokey doohickey, pushed the button, and whispered out of the parking lot. It kept up in the fast lane on 101 just fine, and had a pretty decent cockpit with a nice seat and radio and so on. Anyhow, this big smooth coaster averaged just over 28mpg zipping around the Valley for a couple of days; not bad at......

Prius via ongoing July 19th, 2007 at 21:00

I was going to be driving up and down the Valley for the best part of four days and Avis bollixed up my reso somehow so the usual mostly-harmless mid-size wasn’t available. “Wanna Blazer?” the redcoat said and I said “Whatever”; F2F with the Blazer I was reminded it’s an SUV the size of one of new high-density Vancouver townhouses. I couldn’t face the thought of hauling this ill-formed mass of steel up and down the California tarmac, and as I was walking back to say “No” passed a row of Prii so I said “Prius” instead and the guy said “You sure? They’re weird, no key, can’t figure ’em out myself.” And you know, it’s not bad at all. What with orbiting between Sun’s Menlo Park and Santa Clara offices and once over the mountains to Half Moon Bay, I put...

Van Distortion via ongoing September 9th, 2006 at 21:00

We’re looking for a mini-van or equivalent, and it seems like the industry really wants to sell us something less useful for more money. While our Audi’s been in the shop, two of the replacements were mini-vans, and we had an epiphany when we put in the two kids in car seats and there was still room for luggage and camping equipment. So some sort of loaf-of-bread-shaped vehicle seems to be in our future. The invaluable Consumer Reports Cars makes a convincing case that the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey are pretty well the cream of the mini-van crop, with the Hyundai/Kia Entourage/Sedona being worth a look. The Toyota looks much nicer but they say the Honda handles a little better and can turn off half its cylinders while cruising, to save gas. Not that either of them is a...

Cars and Publishing via ongoing September 9th, 2006 at 21:00

While our car was in the shop, we rented a van and it dawned on us that for a 2-child family that’s on the road quite a bit, a van might be a better choice than either of the current chariots, a tiny lovable Golf diesel or a slick but space-challenged Audi wagon. So we’re kind of car shopping. As a side-effect of this process, I begin to think that Consumer Reports is maybe ahead of the world in effective integrated publishing. Lauren subscribes to their website for $26/year, and it’s just the thing when you want to look up cordless drills or baby strollers. The price seems fair, maybe a little low actually, and the potential market of subscribers seems almost infinitely large. Since the site offers a task-oriented approach, why would you ever subscribe to the paper version?...

Cars and User Interfaces via ongoing September 9th, 2006 at 21:00

I can remember, back in the day, when we were arguing about user interfaces we said “It should be as intuitive as a car is. Any experienced driver can get in a new, strange, car and figure it out in minutes.” Well, I’ve been using a bunch of different computers and driving a bunch of different cars lately, and I think we’re there. With a sad picture and some automotive micro-reviews. What happened was, our nice Audi station wagon got into a fight with a Mercedes M-class, and well, we didn’t win. As a result, in the last month, we’ve driven, along with the usual business-trip rentals, two iterations of the Pontiac Montana van, my Mom’s 20-year old K car, and a Camry courtesy car from the body shop. Normally I live on the Mac, but last month, I spent a few weeks in......