By Charles Krome

This column is dedicated to Autosavant reader Mark in AZ.

Have you ever seen a truck like the one in the accompanying picture? Because if so, you can be pretty sure it’s seen you—a lot of you.

What looks like a mild-mannered Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is actually an AS&E Z Backscatter Van. Or, as the cool kids call it, a ZBV. It’s essentially one of those airport x-ray imaging things on wheels. Neat, huh?

American Science & Engineering, the company that builds the ZBV, describes it as “a low-cost, extremely maneuverable screening system built into a commercially available delivery van.” I didn’t see a spec sheet on the AS&E website, but it appears that standard content includes, “patented Z Backscatter technology, which reveals contraband that transmission X-rays miss—such as explosives and plastic weapons—and provides photo-like imaging for rapid analysis. The ZBV is also capable of identifying low levels of radioactivity from both gamma rays and neutrons with optional Radioactive Threat Detection (RTD) technology.” In other words, “The ZBV is ideal for counterterrorism applications, as it can detect dirty bombs and nuclear WMD, in addition to conventional explosives.”

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By James Wong

The state of Queensland in Australia is famously known as ‘The Sunshine State’. It is said to possess the best weather conditions of Australia and, perhaps, the world; it is also home to the Great Barrier Reef and the Gold Coast, where the imaginary worlds of fantasy and fairy tales come to life. However, few people would suspect that Queensland is also home to the Porsche Sport Driving School (PSDS), the only one in the whole of Australia. Located in the Mount Cotton Training Centre that is a short 40-minute drive from the capital city of Brisbane, Porsche leases a part of the facility for a few times every year to open its doors to locals and foreigners alike for the PSDS. Being isolated and dedicating the whole day to driving is a rare and wonderful experience that anybody who loves cars should try; you don’t feel any undue pressure or stress about the outside world and people around you. You put aside your work, concerns and worries and just devote yourself to driving and learning how to do it properly. Certainly a few hours worth spending on.

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By James Wong

The rising middle class in the world, particularly in Asia, can only mean one thing – the mid-size executive luxury saloon market will continue to balloon as aspiring newly wealthy people search for the best car for which to part their money with. They wouldn’t buy an S-Class or a 7 Series, because that is what their boss would drive, but they wouldn’t want to be seen in a C-Class or 3 Series either, which might imply that they are getting a paycheck that isn’t as big as they would want. They would go for the segment of the Audi A6, Jaguar XF, BMW 5 Series and the like, and the two frontrunners of this hotly contested group is undoubtedly the E-Class and the 5 Series, both of which are the biggest players in the Singaporean market.

Readers of Autosavant from North America might be unfamiliar to the F10 523i and W212 E250 CGI, as the base models for the North American market are usually the bigger capacity 6-cylinder models. In Asia however (I cannot pinpoint exactly the reason for it to be so), the base models, which are also the volume sellers, are usually much smaller in displacement than what you might have in the US. For instance, the 523i mentioned in this article has a 2.5-litre inline-6 engine that is good for 204bhp and 250Nm of torque. This 523i is not be confused with the 523i offered in Europe, which actually has a detuned 3.0-litre engine that puts out roughly similar output levels as the smaller displacement I6. The E250 CGI on the other hand goes a step further in downsizing by being equipped with a 4-cylinder 1.8-litre turbocharged engine that is good for 204bhp and 310Nm of torque.

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By Chris Haak

My work has me spending almost two hours per day on the roads of northern Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, where a considerable number of wealthy people live.  As a car buff, I’m often dazzled by some of the impressive iron that I see.  I regularly see a Porsche 911 GT3, Maserati GranTurismo, Tesla Roadster, a Ferrari F430, and an Aston Martin DBS during my time on the road.  Some of the more rare vehicles I’ve seen include a Gemballa Porsche and an Audi R8 5.2 FSI (V10).  All interesting cars, to be sure, and all cars I’d love to have in the Autosavant long-term fleet.

Just last week, I spotted one I hadn’t seen before – a BMW Z8.  I forgot how much I liked the understated style of the Z8, which curiously was created during Chris Bangle era of BMW design, but was a car that pre-dated Bangle’s controversial E65 7 Series of 2002.  The Z8 looks not unlike a larger, tweaked version of the Z3 roadster, which makes sense, considering the cars were products of the same basic timeframe in BMW’s history.

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By Kevin Miller

It’s no secret that Hyundai is set to launch its Equus luxury sedan in the US. Officially introduced at the New York Auto show in April of this year, the Equus will occupy a market segment above the Korean automaker’s Genesis sedan. While neither a price nor an on-sale date for the Equus has been announced, it is widely believed that pricing for car, targeted at the Lexus LS460 and Mercedes-Benz S550, will start close to $50,000, and rise to around $60,000 fully equipped. Hyundai Motor America’s President and CEO John Krafcik penned a piece last month published by Edmunds Inside Line stating the the retail launch of the Equus is still several months away- which indicates that it will be on sale in late 2010.

So far, the only place in the US to get a good look at an Equus has been either at an auto show, or on the internet.  You can imagine my surprise, then, when I encountered an Equus sedan yesterday evening on California’s rural Cabrillo coast highway (CA-1). I was re-tracing the route of my California Great Drive, and I passed through a construction zone with single lane traffic controlled by an automated signal near Pescadero; waiting for the signal to change on the other side was a Hyundai Equus. At first glance I took it to be a (still relatively rare) Genesis sedan, but as I glanced at the car’s side profile I could tell it was not a Genesis.  Just like any car guy would do, I had to get a better look. With no traffic oncoming or behind me on the rural highway, I quickly made a U-turn and found myself behind the car badgeed EQUUS VS460, wearing a California distributor license plate.

See our Huyndai Equus gallery after the jump… Continue Reading

By Roger Boylan

When it came out in late 1999 as a 2000 model, the Chrysler PT Cruiser PT was, love it or hate it, sui generis. It kicked off the retro revolution. Two years after the furor of the New Beetle, American car design was back where it belonged, out in front of the pack, and Chrysler was once again taking chances…and dividing public opinion. I can remember no other vehicle—not the Mini, not the New Beetle, not the Chevy HHR–that aroused such passions, pro and con, at its inception.  A few years later, of course, feelings had cooled, and after a couple of minimal cyclical touch-ups and a spate of spinoff submodels such as the Dream Cruiser, the GT Turbo, and the misbegotten convertible, Chrysler wound down its investment in the Cruiser.

By 2007, after a half-hearted attempt to refresh the aging design, the company, by then heading rapidly down the tubes itself, had essentially condemned the PT to death. It limped on for another three years. Then the former “it” car, the hottest of hot sellers, the  paradigm of cutting-edge design, was no more. The last one rolled off the line on July 9.  The plant that produced it in Toluca, Mexico, is being retooled for Fiat 500 production.

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By Kevin Miller

I consider myself a car guy to the core. That said, my knowledge of cars built much before the late 1970s is not very good. Most cars produced later than that I can easily identify by sight or sound, but the first eighty-or-so years of automotive history happened before I was born, and much like world history, I haven’t taken the time to learn about most early vehicles.

That being said, a visit to the LeMay Museum at Maryhill in Tacoma, Washington is a thrill, allowing me to experience unfamiliar cars from different eras in automotive design. The museum showcases vehicles collected by Harold LeMay, a Tacoma-area businessman whose primary businesses were towing  and waste collection. Together with his wife, Nancy, the LeMays amassed the largest privately owned collection of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world. At its peak, the LeMay Collection held more than 3,000 vehicles and thousands of artifacts, and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as such.

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By James Wong

The brief: to drive a couple of Porsches around the Changi Exhibition Centre (basically a big, wide open tarmac area that makes the imagination of any driver go wild) for one whole day.

Stopping short of frothing at the mouth at the prospect of this itinerary, I immediately signed up.

I had an early rise to the day and went in my most comfortable clothes and shoes. Arriving slightly later than the prescribed time of 9am, the long lonely road into the Centre prepared me for what was to come for the rest of the day. It is a road and an area that is closed to the public, so there is nobody to disrupt your driving, and best of all, for once on Singapore roads, I was on a road that is completely devoid of road hoggers. Bliss.

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By James Wong

Ever since I got my driving licence, I aimed to improve my driving abilities by getting into motorsports. But as I’ve realised from my dwindling savings account, this is by no means a cheap hobby, especially when it involves a road-going car of your own. I have been to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in Malaysia for a few times now, but I have to cut down because of the prohibitive costs involved. I signed up for various driving courses but I am limited by two things – my age and again, money. Most driving courses require a minimum age because of insurance issues, and since they’ll be providing the cars (assuming that they do in the first place), you’re paying for the wear and tear of their cars as well. Where does that lead me, an enthusiast who just wants to learn how to drive a car fast, properly?

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By Kevin Miller

As a dedicated gearhead and Saab fanatic, I’ve gotten plenty of entertainment from my membership in the Northwest Saab Owners Club. Kip, a fellow club member, found himself in the Detroit area late last month, and had a little time before his return flight so decided to drive by the new Saab Cars North America (SCNA) headquarters in Royal Oak, Michigan. He emailed me to describe his visit; the text in italics below quotes directly from his email.

Kip states that …while most of the surrounding facilities are older, the building that Saab is leasing is newer, very modern and probably smaller than what you would expect. A new white 9-3 [convertible] was displayed just outside the entry. I suspect that [the convertible] is taken in when the offices are closed.

He described the atmosphere inside the offices as quiet, with a minimal staff just 70 days after the formation of the new company.

[There was no] receptionist and I was taking a few pictures when Mike Colleran, President and COO of Saab Cars North America came out. We talked and he said he had a few minutes between appointments and offered a tour of the facilities.

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