Archive for the ‘reviews’ Category
By admin in
MINI,
reviews,
video
In two extensive, highly detailed videos, CNET’s Martin LaMonica compares the MINI E and the Ford Fusion Hybrid . Worth the watch. More opinion after the jump… [source:
cbsnews.com].
I watched these two videos as objhectively as possible… As you probably can imagine, I’m totally a fan of the MINI, and Fords? Well, not so much. Yet I did walk away (as they say) far more educated about both cars, as well as the future of electric/hybrid/ “alternative fuel” vehicles. And well, that’s what it’s all about right?
With obvious cues from the Scion xB, Motorkult TV has to ask, “Yes its boxy. But is it good?”
(photo courtesy of automobilemag.com)(from automobilemag.com):
“Like a Mini Cooper or a Scion xB, the tiny Nissan is remarkably free of class or gender connotations, a car unhindered by the boundaries of age or demographics. Everyone is interested. Everyone has questions. And everyone loves it.
Nissan developed the Cube in the late 1990s for the Japanese market, and while the oddly styled first-generation model is largely forgotten – picture a shrunken, Astro Boy’d Eagle Summit wagon – the second-generation Cube, introduced in 2003, has developed a worldwide following despite the fact that it’s never been sold outside Japan. Bolstered in part by Scion’s success in the U.S. market, Nissan believes that it can translate homeland box-car sales and rising oil prices into stateside customers. As such, the next Cube is slated to come our way in 2009. Predictably, the PR department at Nissan has cranked into full swing: a pair of 2008 Cubes were loaned to a handful of lucky U.S. film students for a multimedia project, and a few more examples have landed on our shores for media evaluation…”
[ed. note: at time of publication the Nissan-USA website shows no mention of the Cube.]
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By admin in
MINI,
reviews,
video
Cars.com’s Patrick Olsen compares the 2008 Mini Cooper S, Cooper Clubman and Cooper S Clubman to see which one is the best for a suburban dad.
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By admin in
reviews,
video
As we (Americans) face rising fuel costs heading into the summer months, Cars.com provides sound and realistic advice and tips for saving fuel.
“The easiest way to save gas while driving is make sure you’re not putting the pedal to the metal”… Cars.com
The Motorkult TV cast/crew have safely returned from AMVIV – “A MINI Vacation in Vegas”! We had one heck of a time. Aside from it being Las Vegas (you know what they say about what happens in Las Vegas), we actually got a lot of work done too!
Day One (Thursday)
While half the Motorkult TV staff were scheduled to fly in, for the rest, “day one” was spent primarily on the road. We pulled into the Palace Station Hotel parking lot at about 12pm and there were already about 180 MINIs parked on the first and second levels of the parking garage. We checked in, went to lunch, met a few friends and made some new ones. Night fell, and there are rumors of many parties, but we won’t talk about that. 
Day Two (Friday)
We picked up Joan at the airport first thing in the morning on Friday. It was too early to officially check-in, but did the “pre- check in” (who knew), sat some stuff down and headed straight for the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada.
Skipping the drama called perpetual construction, we finally got to the track and checked everything out. There was a driving school as well the North American MINI Cooper Challenge and many spectators. We talked to some folks, looked at some really souped up cars, and got a really good interview with Jerry Bradbury, who is now racing in US TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP Series. But you’ll have to watch the video for all of that!
Day Three (Saturday)
Saturday was spent on what was now spilling over to 3 floors of MINI only, reserved parking at a Las Vegas hotel and casino. You don’t see that everyday! We did more interviews including a peek at some new products from M7 Tuning, which was unveiled publicly for the first time at AMVIV.
Overall, it was quite a blast. And of course, we can’t forget to give a special shout-out and thank you to the literally hundreds of Motorkult TV fans we met at this event. We will most certainly be returning in 2009!
As you can see, we got some good coverage of the three-day event and secured some excellent interviews for you all. Episodes should be posting very soon so keep your eyes peeled to the website and/or RSS feed.
Thanks again everyone!
www.MotorkultTV.com
www.myspace.com/MotorkultFriends
Related Links:
A MINI Vacation In Vegas
www.AMVIV.com
Palace Station Hotel and Casino
www.palacestation.com
Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch
www.springmountainmotorsports.com/
United States Touring Car Championship™ (USTCC)
www.ustcc.com
By admin in
blog,
reviews
Yeah no one asked but…
First let me admit that I hate mainstream media. I never listen to the radio, rarely go to the movies, and I cancelled my Cable subscription 4 years ago and haven’t looked back. I’m certainly not the guy you want to review a TV show! (lol)
However, I finally saw Episode Two (and a glimpse of Ep 1) of “Street Tuner Challenge” last night @ my friend’s house (the same guy who recorded, then deleted Ep. 1 cuz he needed the HD space for “Weeds”?!?). But I digress…
Already knowing what the finished cars will look like, it was interesting to watch the show for
Street Tuner Challenge on SpeedTV
“show’s sake”; Very MTV-wannabe, very “16-28 male”, visually speaking. Certainly not produced with die-hard tuners, racers, or even show-car fans in mind. I found myself hoping for a couple commercials just to remind me I was watching mainstream media.
Having met most of the Fireballed! Racing guys on many occasions- and I’ll admit they’re not the staunchest crew out there- in my opinion the production thus far taints the seriousness in which they take the actual under-the-hood aspects of their products in favor of the over-the-top visual designs Hollywood loves so much (the fact that they insist on referring to the FBR team as “the hollywood team” kinda says it right there). Fireball Tim certainly knows how to work the camera and certainly ads to the entertainment value of the show, so it makes for good TV I guess. I really wish I knew more about the other crews (Focus Sport, Skunk2 Racing) and could compare their “treatment”.
As a fairly new car “enthusiast”, I do like the different directions each shop is taking their cars and the persona to match is cool too (can you say “executive pre-production meeting”?). From what I saw of Episode One and Episode Two in its entirety, I think the show will get better (i.e. less camp, more technical) as the season progresses.
At the end of the day, it’s just another “reality” TV show designed to space out the commercials and make me think Smirnoff Ice isn’t just another flavored malt beverage. If my friend remembers to TiVo them I’ll probably watch the rest of the episodes just to give STC/Speed Channel the numbers and validate the MINI brand. (Wow- I could be blatantly pimping my own online show right now, but I got C+ in Marketing!)
As a non-TV-watcher I look forward to other objective reviews of the show as they begin to surface.
Look! A pirate! –> 
