Goodbye Bentley Arnage

If you're a Wall Street fatcat with $220,000 dollars of Washington bailout money burning a hole in your pocket, the nice folks at Bentley would like to chat with you.

It seems that the ultra-exclusive Bentley Arnage is going out of production and the final 150 cars will be a little more special than usual. The creatively-named 'Final Edition' will sport a monster, twin turbo, 500-hp engine that marks 50 years of Bentley V8s by staying true to the British automaker's lust for torque, rating out at 738 lb-ft. It rides on 20-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels, and exterior features include dark-tinted upper and lower grilles, body-colored headlamp bezels and twin exhaust pipes. In the back seat, passengers can enjoy their favorite beverages with a Final Edition steel flask and shot glasses.

You can order yours for production in any color you can imagine - this is an exclusive hand built car, you know. Do drop me a line when yours comes in.

Automotive Humor

One of my favorite Web sites is the Richard Porter blog called 'Sniff Petrol'. It's updated only once a month, but it's worth adding it to your bookmarks. If you're easily offended you might not want to click here. If you have some knowledge of the world automotive market or Formula 1 racing, you'll probably enjoy the pithy humor. Be sure to check out the archives section to fully understand some of the ongoing story lines.

Yet Another MINI Commercial

MINI has always celebrated it's 'differentness' and this latest MINI commercial continues the trend. Here in our part of the deep South - at this time of the year, the insects in the commercial would likely be the despised "love bugs". Enjoy the flick!

Daimler Returns?

The new owners of Jaguar-Land Rover, Tata of India, are rumored to be considering reviving the Daimler marque as a stand-alone brand. The builder of the $3,000 Nano 'people's car' could be a player in the rarefied atmosphere of $200,000+ super luxury motors.

Long a favorite of British Royalty, Daimler was known for tastefully understated cars. Currently, Daimlers are rebadged Jaguars with a more upscale trim.

An excellent news article in the Times can be found here.

No MGs for You!

It's not easy being an MG enthusiast in America. Oh,we have our pre-1980 MGs that were legally imported and technically it's possible to bring in a newer (pre-1983) car, but we can't have new-from-the-factory cars. It's official - one of my favorite British car sites - Austin Rover Online - broke the news that the much-ballyhooed Oklahoma MG factory is dead.

When the ashes of the MG-Rover organization were scattered to the Chinese Nanjing Automobile Company, a deal was negotiated to assemble MG TF kits in a factory in Ardmore, Oklahoma. It looked like we would finally have our MGs. Our 'cargo cult' faith would be rewarded. As in any good soap opera, highs are tempered with lows. The full story can be read here.

We'll have to be satisfied with polishing our relics for the time being.