Ignition Unlimited

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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The Gravest Of Mistakes

Back in August, before I took my ridiculously long hiatus from blogging on this site (due to academia), I wrote an article about why I wanted GM to survive. Unfortunately, due to some news late last night, it looks like it’s going to be much harder for my favorite three brands, not to mention the entirety of GM and the other two of the Big Three, to survive. It saddens me, too: just last Friday I was walking the floor of the New England International Auto Show in Boston, looking at the newest of what every automaker had to offer. All I could think while walking through Cadillac, Pontiac, and Saturn (among other American brands) was “there’s too much potential for them to go down.” Due to a certain UAW (that’s United Auto Workers union), the age of the American automaker may be coming to an end as we know it. Why am I so ready to point a finger at the UAW? Read on.

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Raw And Certainly Uncut

I had the opportunity to drive a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT last week. Equipped with Holden’s L76 6.0L V8, the G8 GT is Pontiac’s long-awaited replacement for the flagship GTO that ended production in 2006. Before the drive, I had read a couple reviews that openly compared the G8 to German competitors such as the BMW 550i. Oh-ho… wow. No, no, no. It’s solid. It gets that for a start, for sure, because it is. It’s a very solid performance car without a doubt. But for certain people (me included), 361 horsepower doesn’t cut it if the vehicle is seriously lacking in other areas…

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