How to park your SUV

Have a look at this moron trying to park his X5. I love how he stops and ponders for a while ("what the heck did I just do"), or perhaps just looking for any witnesses ("if I see any I'll run them over"), before getting the hell out of there.



Found this one at VG.no

Here are a couple of other impressive SUV parking vids:

Backwards into the future

Green cars are very fashionable at the moment, and all car manufacturers with a bit of self respect are struggling to deliver cars that employ some sort of technology to keep that Co2 emission down.

Unfortunately some manufacturers seem willing to sacrifice every little bit of fun in order to achieve this. Volvo is one example of this, with their DRIVe models, that are powered by tiny diesel engines barely able to get the cars up to motorway speed, not to mention how long it takes them to get there... Another ugly example are the new Bluemotion models from Volkswagen. A VW Passat with a 105 hp diesel engine? Oh, VW, no!

Not since the mid 80's have I seen cars move this slowly from 0-100 km/h, and I wish I would never have to see it again. The Passat clocks in at an embarrassing 12,5 seconds, and the Volvo V70 at an astonishingly slow 13,5 seconds! I would have been sound asleep after those 13,5 seconds of trying to get the piece of junk moving.

I'm sorry, but there are clearly better ways to keep the Co2 down, even on combustion engines powered by fossile fuel, and preferably while keeping the fun up. BMW have demonstrated this with their "EfficientDynamics", and Saab have proven that downsizing doesn't have to mean boring. Plus, let's not forget there are other fuels out there that are waiting to be used by car manufacturers: E85, biogas, electricity...

Driving environmentally friendly does not have to be ridiculously boring!

Volvo misleading customers

I've noticed a poster that has popped up around where I live, with a picture of a Volvo XC60, and the text, translated from my language, "The most fuel efficient car in its segment". Well, now, is it really? I've already written about the XC60 and how it's competitors are light years ahead when it comes to fuel efficiency, so the answer is obviously no. If anything, it's the least fuel efficient car in its segment, and nothing to brag about at all. Granted, there's a new version coming, in around 4 months (!), with a newly developed diesel engine that is bound to be better than the current one. Also, this particular version of the XC60 will be a front-wheel drive, and it is expected to have a fuel consumtion of 0,6 liters/10 km.

That would all be fairly impressive, if it wasn't for the fact that this car lacks the 4WD that all of its competitors have, with only slightly higher fuel consumption. In other words, Volvo are not directly competing against all these cars (Audi Q5, BMW X3, Land Rover Freelander, Mercedes GLK) with this one.

I understand the financial situation Volvo's in, but misleading your customers is really never a good idea.

The small SUV segment - Will Volvo make it?

We've got some really interesting small SUV's coming this fall, all competing within the same "premium" segment: Audi Q5, Mercedes GLK and Volvo XC60. I've already expressed my frustration with the Volvo and its hopelessly outdated engines. This frustration isn't getting any better after looking up some numbers:

Audi Q5 2.0 TDI (170 hp/350 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 6,7 l/100km CO2: 175 g/km
BMW X3 2.0d(177 hp/350 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 6,5 l/100km CO2: 172 g/km
Mercedes GLK 220 (170 hp/400 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 6,9 l/100km CO2: n/a
Volvo XC60 D5 (185 hp/400 Nm) - Fuel consumption: 7,5 l/100km CO2: 199 g/km

All these cars are equipped with four wheel drive, and have comparable engine specs and prices, although the Volvo is a bit on the slow side when it comes to acceleration, and a bit expensive (comparable to the Merc and BMW, and more expensive than the Audi). And if you want an XC60 with fuel consumtion on par with the other competitors, you'll have to wait until the spring, and buy a 2,4D with 163 hp and front wheel drive only (consumption: 6,5 l/100km). Now, who will buy that, instead of a proper four wheel drive from Audi, BMW or Mercedes? And why on earth didn't Volvo keep the brilliant ethanol-enigine from the prototype, that could have given it an advantage amongst its competitors? I don't know. I just don't know.

More muscle in BMW X5 and X6?

According to the German "Auto Motor und Sport" magazine, BMW are planning M-version of the X5 and X6, apparently to hit the streets by the end of 2009. The question is if these kind of cars won't be more or less dead by then, killed by soaring fuel prices and politics.

If not, the M-models of the X-series cars will probably be fitted with a powered up version of the double turbo V8 that delivers 407 hp today. And last but not least, they will be the first M-models with four-wheel drive. A necessary addition to the X-family? By no means. A lot of politically incorrect fun? Absolutely.