Nissan Juke: The next cult car?

I’m really liking the Nissan Juke. It’s a fun little car with polarizing looks. Because its looks isn’t for everyone, it may not sell well and be a bust. But because it’s gotten good reviews for its excellent driving dynamics, it may turn out to be a hidden gem. The Corrado is in many ways a hidden gem. It was a good car in its day and got glowing reviews. But in the end, it was a bust when new but eventually gained a following post-production. Will the Nissan Juke follow the same path and become a cult car like the Corrado?

So far, it seems like Nissan Jukes have been selling like hotcakes. This is probably why they decided to go ahead with a project to build the ultimate Juke, the Juke-R. It’s a bit over the top but it’s a good indicator that Nissan has faith in the Juke. The first pic of the concept was revealed today and it looks great!

Check it out on www.0-60mag.com:

WTD: 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT-8

I’m in love with a gangsta ride, the 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT-8:

I love the new interior, especially knowing that they used real carbon fiber for the trim. The interior was the achilles heel of the previous gen (among other things of course). The heating/cooling cupholders sounds cool too. I would love to get one of these. It would be a perfect replacement for my black on black 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. Too bad I don’t have $50k lying around because it’s definitely Worth The Dough!

About Me: I Finally Discovered Instagram and Tumblr

I’m late as usual, but better late than never!

I finally discovered Instagram for my iPhone 4 and how it makes it sooo easy to post good looking blog pics. I love it!

Instagram also helped me to discover Tumblr, a super easy way to post multimedia like pictures, videos and audio. Follow me on Tumblr!

About Me: How I Met the Corrado

Here’s some iPhone 4 pics of the 1993 Road & Track Sports & GT Cars special issue with the article that helped me discover the Corrado and made me want one bad! I think I compared its stats with the other cars in the issue and for the cost/performance it made it to the top of my list of cars I wanted to get when I finally got my license (I was 13 at the time and knew I didn’t have any money lol). Pretty interesting looking back at what sports and GT cars were around at the time. Enjoy!

And for most of the articles on both the G60 and VR6 versions of the Corrado check out this VWVortex post that the former webmaster of the now defunct Corrado Club of America posted.

And finally watch this UK Top Gear video of the last Corrado that Volkswagen ever made, the 97,521st Corrado which was a Green Corrado Storm. This clip was a great farewell for the Corrado.

Apple iOS 5 Newsstand

Yes! Finally, easy access and purchasing of magazine issues and subscriptions on the iPad with Apple’s Newsstand. I’m not a fan of Zinio’s magazine store b/c they’re usually straight up conversions of the printed publication. Dedicated magazine apps work the best and I think the Newsstand will consolidate all of these specialized magazine apps into one place. It was hard searching the store to find out which magazines had their own apps. Problem solved!

Video: My Corrado VR6 Turbo Stage 1 In-Car with iPhone 4 and Gorillapod

I just finished installing a Stage 1 Kinetic Turbo kit into my Corrado VR6 and wanted to try to take in-car videos. I’m only running 5psi (wastegate supposed to open at 7psi) so nothing crazy..yet. But I really posted this to show how easy it is to make decent in-car videos with an iPhone 4 and a $30 Gorillapod flexible tripod. My suspension is pretty stiff so I’m actually surprised that it turned out more stable than I expected. More videos to follow in the future. But for now enjoy!

Corrado Specs at this time:
Kinetic Stage 1 Turbo, OBD1 w/Distributor
7psi Wastegate opening at 5 psi
3″ Downpipe into 2.5″ TT Exhaust.

The Search For: Great Roadtrips

Probably one of the best blog posts I’ve ever read b/c he described perfectly what is probably my favorite thing to do: The Roadtrip. I just came back from a boat cruise to Bermuda for my buddy’s wedding. Totally not the same as a car cruise! Too bad I can’t take a roadtrip to Bermuda!

Speedhunters – The Call of the Road Trip by Linhbergh

Photo Courtesy of Linhbergh from Speedhunters

WTD: Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed Legends Pack DLC

Totally Worth the Dough is the Shift 2 Unleashed Legends Pack DLC.
Shift 2 Unleashed has become my favorite driving game ever. Well after tweaking some steering wheel settings for the PS3 Logitech Driving Force GT wheel. Go to the GTPlanet Shift Forums and set up your steering wheel as noted because the default settings are horrible.

Someday I will put together a review but I just wanted to proclaim it in this post that if you love racing games and want to understand what it feels like to drive a souped up racing car, Shift 2 Unleashed is at the top of the list. Better than Gran Turismo 5 in my opinion. GT5, while amazing as a driving simulator, sucks as a racing simulator. And it’s in-car view pales in comparison to Shift 2. Helmet Cam FTW!

Shift 2 Unleashed should claim itself as the “Racing Simulator”

And now the Legends Pack just made the game that much more awesome. For just $9.99 it comes with a bunch of classic racecars and 5 classic tracks. Worth the Dough for just $10. Get it! Get both Shift 2 and the Legends Pack. You won’t be disappointed.

Check out the Speedhunters post about the Legends Pack and for more pics.
Porsche!

iPad 2: Not Quite the Magazine Experience

Engadget published a first hands-on about the iPad 2 and what piqued my interest was this:

“The design feels great in your hands. Sleek, super thin — much nicer to hold than the previous version. Definitely has more of a magazine than book feel. Everything is tight and solid. It is pretty amazing how thin they’ve gotten the device.”

I’m an avid magazine reader and if the new iPad 2 has more of a magazine than book feel like they said, I’d be very happy with the iPad 2. However, I’m still reluctant because the magazine experience I think is still better with the print copy than a digital copy on an iPad. I will have to spend more time using an iPad 2 to read magazines, but from my experiences so far with the original iPad (which has the same form factor anyway), I would rather stick to traditional print magazines. The biggest issue is that the iPad 2 is basically only half the size of an open magazine. You can’t look at the iPad as a 2-page spread, but rather as a single page. On an iPad it’s hard to read an article and quickly glance at the pictures like you can with a print magazine because you have to zoom in to read the article. You almost need to have 2 iPads with a spine. And I don’t see that happening with future generations of the iPad or with other tablets in general. Steve Jobs joked how 2011 is the Year of the Copycats. And he’s right. What a shame. Unfortunately, Microsoft cancelled their Courier concept which I think could’ve been a great competitor to the iPad. It could’ve been a great alternative as it would meet the needs of different users. But like everyone else, they’re instead probably going to try to copy Apple’s iPad if they eventually try to join the tablet wars.

The cancelled Microsoft Courier Tablet concept. Picture courtesy of Engadget:
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WTD: iPad 2

Hmm with the release of the iPad 2 next week, is it time for me to get one? Good question!

I want to reward myself for being patient and holding out from buying the original iPad by getting the iPad 2. But I’m on the fence still. TUAW and John Gruber both believe that there may be another iPad with a retina display coming out later this year. I kind of agree. I want to wait for a retina display and legitimate cameras. The iPad 2’s cameras are pretty crappy. The iPhone 4 has a pretty good camera so you know Apple has the capability to include a decent camera. I think that’s an indication that Apple is still holding out on the iPad. Therefore I can see Apple coming out with an iPad HD in September with proper cameras and a high resolution display.

So I held out on the iPhone until Apple put in a good camera and I may do the same with the iPad. Besides, I spent a bit of money on my turbo! Plus, I don’t really need the iPad 2. It’s just a toy. Well, a beautiful toy.

The other idea I have is to wait for the refurbished iPad 2’s. It took the original iPad 5 months before refurbished models started showing up. So that means by August there should be some showing up. And by then, if the rumors grow stronger of a September iPad 2 HD release, I can either wait to get a new iPad 2 HD or just get the refurbished iPad 2. I bought my Macbook refurbished and it’s been great so far so I’m happy buying refurbished Apple products.

So is it Worth The Dough? Yes it is! There isn’t a better tablet out there. But I think I’m still going to wait.