Automobile

環球大海嘯引致近日金融市場風高浪急，當身邊各人都因為股市大跌而損手爛腳，小弟這類典型的電車男 (其實英文詞 Geek 比較貼切一點，有譯科技/技術怪客) 因為掙來的錢都花到電腦和其他玩意上，沒多餘錢拿去投資，故可算是這災難性跌市中比較幸運的一群。

可是我們這些幹 Corp Com 的勉強也可算是執筆換飯吃，總不能因為沒錢而完全不問世事吧? 最近報章財經版上就有一件新聞引起我這個福士迷的注意。於德國法蘭克福上市的福士集團(Volkswagen) 由於股東保時捷 (Porsche)放風增持致其股價飆升，但保時捷這毫無先兆的一著導致一眾拋空福士集團股票的對沖基金慌忙平倉，加上福士股份在市場流通量不足 6%，故上週五才以200 歐羅收市的福士集團股價於10月28日曾一度被搶高至 1005 歐羅，並以 3700 億美元市值超越 Exxon Mobil 的 3430 億美元一度成為全球最值錢公司!

雖然福士股價後來回落至400-500 歐羅水平，但經此一役，受牽連的對沖基金損失便估計達 300 億歐羅。

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen has recently shot a Portuguese-speaking TV commercial with Sylvester Stallone for Volkswagen's Gol. The made-for-Brazil Gol is built on the Polo platform and runs a 1.0 or 1.6-liter inline four.

The car, not only the hostess, looked great to me.

Watch this AD on YouTube.

Enough of ugly Volkswagens? Are you prepared for some spice?

VW AG showcased the unreleased Scirocco at the 24-Hour Nurburgring race, powered by a 16V direct-injected 2L-Turbo, the Scirocco GT24 packs 325 horses under the hood. These beasts captured 11th and 15th positions out of 219 cars.

"Chinese only get German cars that look like Korean cars styled to emulate Italian cars. See, globalization is simple." -- from an automobile forum.

The moment I saw this car in Beijing, I went "What the heck is this? A Camry with a VW logo?". Unlike the comment I quoted above, I didn't particularly find the Lavida carrying any Italian styling cues, Korean maybe; but if I thought it looks like a Camry, it can't possibly be good looking anyway.

Lavida (means "Life" in Spanish and sounds to me a name that belongs to a Nissan), is based on Volkswagen's PQ34 platform, also known to VW enthusiasts as the MK4, the same platform shared by Golf IV, Bora, New Beetle and the 1st-generation Audi TT. Volkswagen China offers two engine options for the Lavida, the 1.6 and 2.0 8V engines which many of us were familiar with.

Lavida may or may not be a commercial success, it is too early to tell, but to me it is no doubt one of the ugliest Volkwagen of all time.

The beauty of dubbing is, it doesn't matter you are the talented young professional who appreciates a powerful Golf R32 as your statement of taste, or you are the ordinary fellow who spend every hard-earned dime on your budget pocket-rocket, it only takes a few easy tricks to give your beloved VW a killer-look.

Be it a MK2, MK3, MK4 or MK5, slam it on coilovers and silver-coloured big wheels will do. Deep-dished phat wheels like the ones above do the trick even better!

自從 Volkswagen 1996 年全面停產 Corrado 後，此德國汽車巨人足有 12 年時間絕跡於雙門轎跑車市場。雖然第 5 代 Golf 推出後叫好也叫座, 這幾年 Golf 和 Touareg 車系的成功更將 Volkswagen 品牌打得更响; 但缺少了雙門轎跑車, 車系陣容總是顯得有點美中不足。

在這 12 年間推出的歐系轎跑車當中，能稱得上被市場受落的僅有 BMW 3 系、其後的 Mercedes Benz C Coupe、 Audi TT 和一些比較小眾的對手如 Fiat Coupe、Peugeot 406 Coupe, 但 90 年代經濟轎跑市場則被東洋對手如 Honda Integra, Prelude, Toyota Celica 甚至「飛仔車」 Civic Coupe 等雄踞。

12 年後再出手，Volkswagen 實不容有失，遂先在 2006 年 ９ 月巴黎車展高調展出原型車 IROC Concept 測試市場反應，繼而宣佈一代經典轎跑 Scirocco 將會在 2008 年夏季挾 7 前速 DSG、200 匹 TSI 引擎等 Volkwagen 皇牌捲土重來。

手中拿著 Impreza WRX Hatchback、Integra Type R 等 catalog 的你，趕快拋掉它們吧，是時候秀點品味來看看!

Volkwagen's distributor DCH recently unveiled in Hong Kong the Jetta TSI 140. Priced at HK$209,000, sporting a detuned twin-charger TSI motor, 6-speed DSG, sunroof and 3-spoke steering wheel, this car is unbeatable at first sight.

A closer look at those crappy tires and wheel covers, you'd have to agree that this car is begging for mods. 19" BBS CHs, a ground-hugging set of coilover and a chip tuning visit to unleash the sealed horsepower will bring you a classy and snappy European sports sedan!

Polo 9N3 GTI dressed in a Votex Cup Kit, coilovers and 18" wheels, hell nice.

My KW Variant 2s decided to fail on me, so they were ditched to make way for these KONI coilovers, feeling good!

Based on the 9N3 Polo, Karmann's new Cabrio announced at the Frankfurt Auto Show is essentially a Polo GTI with a soft top and meaner look.

Volkswagen tuner Abt Sportsline has recently announced its tuning program for the people's roadster; the EOS is equipped with VAG's new force-fed wonder - the 2.0FSI Turbo, a base engine that has the tuning potential to dominate the fast lane.

Read more about the tuner's roadster on Abt Sportsline GmbH.

Couturier Karl Lagerfeld has recently done a photography collection for the R8, a 420hp mid-engined Audi supercar. Lagerfeld, the man behind Fendi, Chanel & his own label Karl Lagerfeld, is also a famous photographer with over 20 books in photography published.

Now can you say cars are not fashion?

The chaps in Bavaria obviously weren't too happy with their neighbours in Wolfsberg and Ingolstadt dominating the hot hatch scene, so they decided to give the 1-series a little spice, by donating a Twin-Turbo-Charged 3-litre powerplant that belonged to the 335i into this RWD hatchback. The 135ti was said to be ready sometime in 2007, gifted it with 306hp of power, BMW aims to loose the S3 and R32 in dust!

Mind you, Bavarians... the Golf R36 will soon come to VAG's rescue!

近日以冒牌名表充當真貨售予內地遊客的新聞在城中鬧得熱烘烘，以假貨欺騙消費者其實存在已久，今次的事件不過是冰山一角。以假亂真不但影響香港購物天堂的形象，商舖售賣假貨賺取蠅頭小利，被人揭穿了最終吃虧的還不是自己?

就以改裝汽車音響必備的功率放大器 (amplifier，俗稱後級) 為例，市面上便充斥著不少冒牌貨，亦有商舖魚目混珠假貨當真賣的情況存在。這半年來小弟有興趣為座駕增配後級和低音喇叭，故一直有留意網上售賣二手汽車影音的討論區和一般坊間的汽車影音零售商店，今天想和大家分享一下在這期間遇到的假貨和它們的特徵。

重災區: 在深水步鴨寮街近西九龍中心一家擁有相連舖位的汽車影音零件店就曾經企圖向小弟推銷上圖的「水貨」 Clarion 後級，該劣質冒牌貨拿在手中比正常後級輕得多，而 heatsink 的手感就好像黃金 $10 有售的硬碟散熱風扇一般。我當場詢問店員:「咁輕既，堅定流架?」他頓時無言以對。另外，如果各位像小弟一樣希望在網上尋找抵買的二手貨色，一般交易網站如 car8.com, Yahoo auction 等都是騙徒活躍的地方。

假貨特徵: 理論上功率放大器不過是一堆電容放在一塊有 heatsink 蓋著的電路板上，牽涉的技術不多，故十分容易造假。但總括來說假貨都具有以下多種特徵可供各位賴以分辨:

1. 重量很輕: 拿在手上輕得過份，如果各位不知道正常 amp 的重量，盡量避免下列品牌上圖中的型號亦可減少被騙的機會 - Kenwood (5ch/4ch 見上圖左上角), Alpine (5ch/4ch), Clarion (2ch/4ch) ... 小弟並不排除市面上還有其他牌子的假貨存在，唯細心觀察造工才是分辨真偽的最好方法。
2. 造工很差: heatsink 的造工粗糙得會割傷手，LED 電源顯示燈明顯是劣質貨，RCA 和喇叭線接口的質量比國產 VCD 機還要差 (通常正貨 amp 的 RCA 接口都是很精緻的電鍍貨色)
3. 絲印的廠牌和型號 Logo 也很粗糙模糊

FK automotive of Germany has finally released its angel eyes headlights set for the Volkswagen Polo 9N3 (model year 05 onwards~), inspired by some muscular angels from Bavaria, these headlight sets are available in smoked black and clear versions to new Polo owners.

Despite being the proud owner of a Polo 9N, I never liked its frontend too much, the 9N3 has a way sportier and meaner look. A 9N3 frontend with smoked angel eyes and R32-style chromed grille surely makes this solid little ride looks hotter than it actually is... oh did I mention a facelift is still in the mind?

For those who are lucky enough to own a 9N3, what are you waiting for?