Ignition Unlimited

A World Of Smartphones

We’ve all heard it: Microsoft (nowadays Google and Apple, too) being referred to as the “evil empire,” or Windows Mobile being called a “dying breed.” There are some truths to these statements: if you really think about it, smartphone brands, their parent companies, the user base, the developers and the community are a lot like nations, each vying for success and dominance. So, what would each smartphone brand be like as a country (or other stately body)? Well, I thought about it for a while and what follows is what I came up with. I’ve spent time in each or with people from each community, and these are the conclusions I’ve drawn. In chronological order, I present the Five Nations of Smartphone. Enjoy!

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Sebring 2010: 12 Hours Of Storylines

Storylines. If I had to pick one reason why I enjoy watching endurance races more than any other types, it’s the fact that there are so many different “stories” occurring at any given moment during the race. Such was the case at the 58th running of 12 Hours of Sebring, the grand opening to the 2010 American Le Mans Series.

Before I go into talking about this race, though, I have some definite explaining to do. No, your RSS reader is not broken, and no, I haven’t been posting to a secret part of this site: the date of the last post I made is indeed August 9, 2009. Sad thing, isn’t it? Well, I’m back now, and I have new plans and ideas for Ignition Unlimited. Believe it or not, I’ve even convinced a guest writer to occasionally drop some content on here! Amazing! I’ll go into detail about the future of IU later, because now, it’s time to talk about Sebring.

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A Failure, Undercover

Yeah, yeah, I know this game came out in November of 2008, and that it’s almost a whole year later, AND that Need For Speed: Shift is coming out in slightly over a month, but I still feel the need to give a commentary on this game. Until I saw the light of games like DiRT, Test Drive Unlimited, and Forza Motorsport 2, I was a big Need For Speed fan.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted was (and still is) one of the greatest “arcadey” racing games ever made (those police chases almost become zombie-horror-survival-esque with their one-versus-infinite feel), so it was natural for EA: Blackbox to try to replicate that feel after two games that didn’t do so well (Carbon and ProStreet). Did they succeed? Read on to find out.

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Out Of The Garage

Ignition Unlimited is back in action! As you notice, things are different. A lot different. This post is to describe what I’ve done to the site, what my new direction for it will be, and other plans for the future of the site. I felt like going with a more luxurious feel this time around, to support my grand touring aspirations, so I went with chrome, leather and carbon fiber. Continue into the post for a further description of all my plans and everything else I have to say about this update.

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Fast And Furious: A Review

Ah, The Fast And The Furious trilogy quadrilogy: the single biggest butt of jokes in the history of car movies. The first, The Fast And The Furious, was possibly the largest impetus to the rise of ricers; the second, 2 Fast 2 Furious, was a terrible, terrible movie with a dry, boring plot and horrifyingly gross cars; the third, The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift was an interesting spin on things and possibly the best of the bunch (although that’s not really saying much). When I heard there was a fourth one coming, and that it would restore the cast of the original movie, I was wondering if they were attempting to redeem the sorry series with a retry of the original. Despite this, I wasn’t expecting much, as it is still part of the F&F series. Well, this past weekend I went to see Fast And Furious, and it was not exactly what I expected…

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New York 2009, Part 2: Variety Defined

Alright, so I’ve looked at the SUVs shown at the 2009 New York International Auto Show, and now it’s time for… everything else. Represented here are examples of speed, sluggishness, beauty, and monstrosity. Lots on the menu here (almost too much?), so shall we begin?

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New York 2009, Part 1: SUV Invasion

With the American car industry up in flames (well, save Ford), the New York Auto Show has been really interesting this year. Foreign competitors are showing off some serious new concept and production cars, while the domestic manufacturers are putting in a last ditch effort to defend the homeland. Geneva had some weird stuff, but New York is all business. Make the jump to see what I mean.

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Green Redefined

Since 2001, the Toyota Prius has been an iconic car for the green revolution of automobiles. It’s easily recognizable to everyone, too. Look, there goes a hybrid! In Hollywood, there’s even a function that can be used amongst celebrities to determine how ‘green’ any of these ‘stars’ are: basically, (number of Prius owned) x (amount of times owning of said Prius is mentioned on the red carpet) = (apparent greenness). Jesting aside, I drove something yesterday that puts the Prius on notice. Who would of thought? Diesel power conquering the Hybrid-Drive? Well, Europe has known of this phenomenon for quite a while, but now is better than ever for the ‘States to catch up. This is my second Volkswagen post in a month, yes, and I realize I’m fanboying a little bit here, but bear with me me: the Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI is out for green blood.

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The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Geneva 2009

I love auto shows. Unfortunately, living in the Northeast means I only get out to one a year: the New England International Auto Show in Boston, which occurs each December. When I’m there, I get to praise some things, ridicule others, and just stand completely baffled by yet more. This is what I enjoy most about going to auto shows: the wide and crazy spectrum of desirability that presents itself on the show floor. Luckily, and although it’s not as great as being next to the machines in person, this same spectrum is easily identifiable when reading about and viewing photos from other shows online.

That’s why I’m going to take this opportunity to share my opinions of a couple of the key showings from the 2009 International Geneva Motor Show… because there’s a lot to share. Europe’s biggest show, which is currently open, has some of the best variation, between the awesomely beautiful and the horrifyingly ugly. Here we go.

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Paragon Of Balance

It’s snowing outside. It’s good, then, that tomorrow I have the chance to drive the all-wheel drive version of Volkswagen’s Golf V, the R32. The Mark V platform (also known as the A5 or PQ35 Platform) has already proven its useful in the current model Audi A3 and the superb Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk V. What could make that platform better, then? By adding Haldex Traction all-wheel drive and the ingeniously-designed VR6 engine, Volkswagen has created something absolutely amazing. There really is so much to say about this car, so let’s begin, shall we?

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