Would you buy a Geely Urban Nanny?

I was joking a bit in the last post about the Geely Beauty Leopard. Well, the name of Geely's pickup is the PU (funny in and of itself), and the delivery-truck version of it is called either the Urban Nanny or the Rural Nanny, depending on how it's configured.

It's based on the old (ancient) platform of the Daihatsu Charade, another really unfortunately named car, that was actually sold in the US for a couple of years.

I know it's problematic to make fun of the names of cars in other languages, but I seriously hope before Geely ever sells a car in the US they learn how to do focus groups with Americans.

Best Car Ad Ever

Dear lord. The scene at the very end. Priceless.

OK, Jalopnik gets a huge shout out here for reminding me of this brilliant ad. Why they didn't rank it number one, I'll never know. Check out their "Top 11 Best Superbowl Car Commercials" post.

RIP: Isuzu departs our shores Jan. 31

I guess it’s a morbid day here around Sparkblog. Earlier I was circling, vulture-style, over the bloated corpse of Saturn. While honestly, there isn’t much levity in chronicling the demise of nameplates, with Isuzu we can at least hold one of those “the survivors should celebrate” type of funerals, looking back at some of the cool stuff Isuzu did before they went to the big junkyard in the sky. First of all, in the interest of telling it how it is, Isuzu hasn’t really been here in a while anyways. They stopped selling cars they designed themselves in 2004, and have been selling rebadged GM trucks ever since. The I-series truck is a Chevy Colorado, and the Ascender is a Trailblazer. And they sell like crap as Isuzus, let me tell you. So the guys from Tokyo are packing up and going home.

Some highlights to throw on the funeral pyre:

The Isuzu 117: OK, so it was never sold in the US, but the 117 was a sporty DOHC coupe styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Giugiaro also penned lots of gorgeous cars (like the Delorean DMC-12, which for all its faults was a pretty car), but in my opinion the 117 was one of his best designs.

The Bellet GT-R: also never sold in the US, this was a sporty sedan was designed by Tom Tjaarda, who was another well known designer. It used the engine from the 117 in a smaller package.

The Chevy LUV: god, this is one of the best names ever to grace a car. The LUV was a Isuzu KB-series truck that Chevy imported while they were developing the S-10, to compete with the Ford Courier (which was a Mazda B-series pickup). You could call it the war of the tiny Japanese captive import trucks.

Joe Isuzu: ok, it’s not a car, it’s a marketing phenomenon. Played by David Leisure, Joe Isuzu would make clearly absurd claims about Isuzu cars. The campaign had serious gall, and it worked. They’re hilarious. Check it out.









Pretty much everything after Joe Isuzu, including the cars, really aren’t worth the space to talk about them. Sorry Isuzu, you just weren’t that cool.

Jalopnik: 11 Most Depressing Moments At Detroit Auto Show

Link to the Jalopnik Article

I found this to be pretty hilarious. THIS didn't make it into the list, but it should have. I guess they included it with the "Chrysler" entry in the list.

Forgive me if I've been sucked into the lazy blogger's "blogging about other blogs" disease. I'm just a bit busy. I'll be back on my game soon.

Until then, read this article. And if you don't already, you need to check out Jay Leno's Garage website, that'll kill some time and let me pound out some real blog posts.

Post-New-Year's Hangover - the Worst Cars of 2008

In the last blog (a few days back … sorry!), I picked out my choices for some of the best cars of last year. This time I’m picking some bad ones. So bad, in fact, that I couldn’t even think of clever titles for the categories.

Worst overall: Chrysler Sebring / Dodge Avenger. These heinous twins of darkness represent, to my mind, the worst of what modern manufacturers have to offer. They really have no redeeming qualities, other than that they are very attractive to rental outfits. Other than possibly inducing nostalgia for cars from the former USSR, I’d avoid these two like the plague.

Most in need of redesign: Ford Focus. Introduced in 1999 as a 2000 model, this dinosaur has thus been around for NINE model years without a significant mechanical redesign. It was a nifty car when it was new, especially in terms of styling. The current model, on the other hand, is sort of like that infamous lipstick on a pig. Why do I care? American auto manufacturers need to realize that we Americans don’t deserve to be treated so badly. The small car segment is really hot, and instead of investing in the product to make it fresh (like they did with the European-market Focus, which shares a platform with the cool Mazda3 and Volvo C30), they’ve let it linger on in a sort of pathetic Marlon Brando situation. The competition is better, so don’t waste your time on the old news Focus.

Most disappointing: BMW 1 / Smart ForTwo (tie). I had high hopes for both of these cars, but they are flops. The BMW 1 was supposed to be a resurrection of the classic BMW 2002 coupe: light, fun, sporty. Instead it is expensive, and almost as heavy as the larger 3-series. Why give up the back seat room? Get a 3-series. And the Smart! Don’t get me started. With a painful ride and the herky-jerkiest drivetrain since the Yugo graced these shores, it’s really a bad car. Sure, it’ll park lengthwise against the curb, but you’ll never want to get in it to move it.

Least Sexy: Buick Lucerne. It kind of looks like a lungfish with four eyes, and it probably appeals to your Great Aunt Lucy. Trust me, if you’re south of 60 years old, your date is going to bail. Sure, you can say that it isn’t too bad for a GM car, it’s quiet and well-built. But honestly, a coffin is quiet and well-built, but save it for when you’re dead.

New Year's List - Best of 2008

Happy New Years! As is the trend at this time of year, I decided to take a semi-serious look back at some of the best and worst cars of 2008. Let me start with the the serious ones.

Best Cars of 2008
Best domestic: Chevy Malibu / Saturn Aura. Even though GM is in desperate trouble and has had difficulty competing with the Accord and Camry, the Malibu/Aura twins are leaps forward that can only be measured in astronomical units. Attractive, well-featured, and interesting (unusual for a midsize), they should be the inspiration for a resurgent American car industry. Will it happen ... ?

Best foreign: Honda Fit / Hyundai Genesis (tie). At opposite ends of the spectrum, these two cars represent class-busters. They do their job as advertised and better than anything else in their category. Innovative and good values.

Most surprising: Hyundai Genesis coupe. Another Hyundai on the top cars list? Give credit where credit is due. This rear-wheel drive coupe will give the Inifiniti G37 coupe a run for its money (while still underselling it for thousands, and with an available V8). Hyundai might start shaking off the budget-car image if they keep making interesting cars like this.

Best Car to Show Off In: BMW 335i coupe. Need to make a statement, but not overdo it? With a nearly perfect motor, good looks, and BMW handling, you can flaunt it without being a pretentious jerk.

Best Car to Shamelessly Show Off In: Bentley Flying Spur. BMW too subtle for you? This Bentley is going to take care of that. And if you have to ask you can't afford it.

The "Anime Fan Boy Fantasy" Award: Nissan GTR. The hometown hero in Japan comes to the US and elicits drools from every 14-26 year old guy who ever owned a Playstation.

Sexiest Car: Maserati Granturismo. Just look at it. Don't really have to elaborate with this one.