Remember when the dot-com ads started to flood the airwaves during the Super Bowl? The ads were nearly constantly wacky, and half the time, we didn’t even know what was being sold. Well, it’s been a long time since the 1990s, and very few Internet-based companies are still hocking services during The Big Game.
Cars.com is one of the WiFi warriors that is still swinging for the fences, and some of their past work has been reasonably funny. Their 2012 ad is entirely around using Cars.com to gain confidence at the dealership, but we’re not sure what to think around it. There is something around a man with a freaky second head that doesn’t sit well with us, and we like it even less when noggin part deux is intentionally obnoxious. Seriously, we could do without the gyrating, it’s creeping us out. Hit the jump to preview the 30-second ad for yourself.
The Swiss know a thing or two around skiing. Our neutral friends go downhill, cross-country and even joring. Yeah, we’ve never heard of “joring” before either, but it obviously involves slapping on a pair of skis and getting towed around by a horse or dog.
That doesn’t sound like entirely that much fun to us, but if you replace the four-legged hauler with a Bentley Continental GT, we’re inclined to change our tune. The good folks at Auto Express headed out to a joring track in Rougemont, Switzerland to try their skill with a 570 horsepower, four-wheel drive Continental GT, and they have video to prove it.
Hit the jump to watch exotic joring at 40 miles per hour.
Ford has proclaimed the company’s single largest profit since 1998, thanks in part to a one-time tax gain. The company drew in a net income of $ 13.6 billion last quarter and the news marked the automaker’s 11th consecutive profitable quarter. For perspective, Ford made $ 190 million in 2010. The company’s net income was bolstered by the fact that Ford eliminated a valuation allowance against deferred tax benefits. The company created the valuation allowance in 2006 when it began reporting operating losses. Analysts reportedly see the elimination as a sign that the manufacturer expects to be profitable in coming years.
The company made $ 8.8 billion in profit in 2011, or $ 1.51 a share. That’s an increase of $ 463 million over 2010. Even so, the company’s net income missed analysts’ estimates thanks in part to higher commodity costs, currency fluctuations and flooding in Thailand. The automaker spent $ 100 million more in commodities like steel than it projected. Those facts, compounded with a deteriorating European market, helped Ford miss analyst estimates by 5 cents per share.
The Land Rover Defender may be nearing the end of its line, but over the course of its lifetime it has turn the go-to vehicle for whatever number of off-road applications. They’re used on safaris and expeditions, by military forces and humanitarian organizations. And yes, they’re used by hunters. That’s why German firearms manufacturer Blaser has outfitted this special edition Defender for just such a market.
The Blaser edition Defender includes roof rack, underbody skid plates, trailer hitch, power winch, spotlight, snorkel intake, custom-embroidered leather seats and more. It’s decked out in what’s called Keswich Green, but to us looks more like Panzer green, and packs a 2.2-liter turbodiesel four with 122 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque on tap. But the party piece is the custom armory reinforced into the back that can carry as many as five hunting rifles plus ammunition. Only 60 examples will be made useable exclusively in Germany, each carrying a €49,500 ($ 64,400) price tag.
Love it or hate it, the automotive industry of today is not lacking for its exercises in reviving old nameplates. The trend ranges from Mini to Maybach, from Dodge Dart to Dodge Challenger. And the French are surely not immune. Citroën revived its fabled DS moniker for a range of premium hatchbacks, and Renault – most of entirely – has been mulling bringing back the Alpine for years now.
Arguably just as central to Renault’s performance heritage as the recently revived Gordini line, Alpine made mid-engined sportscars with Renault mechanicals starting in the 1950s and discontinued four decades later. Its most famous model, however, was the A110 (pictured above), which is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. And if a new report from Autocar is accurate, Renault has no intention of letting the occasion slip by unnoticed.
In fact, the French automaker is reportedly planning an Alpine concept car to unveil at the Paris Motor Show next fall. But the question remains whether there’s whatever production potential with such a concept. The French are known for producing some rather intriguing show cars – sportscars in particular – that never seem to get very far from the show stand, from the GTbyCitroën to the Renault DeZir.
Whether Renault can make the business case – without the North American market, at that – to take on the sports car establishment remains to be seen, but having the Nissan product bin to raid surely couldn’t hurt.
