Quick post to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas.
Jay Leno knows
Jay Leno is apparently in the process of fitting the M159 6.2L V8 sledgehammer, from the soon-to-be-released SLS AMG, into a 1969 300SEL 6.3 saloon.
The 563hp SLS weighs in at around 1,600kg, the W109 300SEL — depending on where you read it — weighs somewhere between 1,400 – 1,700kg. Remove the original iron-block W100 V8 engine, itself not a bad engine, and I’m sure it will be closer to the former than the later weight.
I can’t get enough of this stuff, Leno is a champion. Cannot wait to see this thing.
Saab to be wound down?
Seems to be the latest news in the ongoing saga for survival for Saab. After failing to seal a deal with suitors Koenigsegg and then Spyker, GM announced last week that the venerable maker of quirky cars for architects would be would down, in the words of a GM vice-preseident:
We reached a point of impasse, we decided to deal with it and move on.
Or is it? Latest news today seems to indicate that GM still has number of parties with offers on the table for Saab.
Let’s hope they work something out, there aren’t enough independent car makers left, let alone one willing to make cars that are that little bit different.
Best & worst identities for 2009
Brand New’s best and worst identities for 2009. Whilst what may be best or worst is highly subjective, their list provides a good roundup of newly typecast and tweaked corporate identities released this past year.
MINI Chicken Burgers
But not quite in that order.
After craving them all week, we made up some burgers on Saturday. For something different I got some extra lean mince and made the patties from scratch, then with some (tiny) sour-dough rolls, maiche, tomatos, onion and pickle, made up a handful of mini-hamburgers for late lunch.
Today I went for a short drive to a short festive-season meet-up with some of the MINI crew — really do need to get back out on the track again soon or even start organising more regular catchups to talk all things MINI, good fun.
On the way back, I even managed to stop and catch up with some more old friends, can’t believe these things are still there — I can remember them being in the same spot when we used to pass through when I was quite young.
Deus breakfast
A late brekkie this morning at Deus, which was packed out. Didn’t realise as we arrived, but turns out we picked a great day to visit as they were in the middle of holding a Vintage & Retro Surf Market + Swap Meet over in the carpark.
Between the old surfboards, chopper bikes and assorted memorabilia, I spotted a vintage ’70s skateboard for — $600!
Still running
September was the biggest month yet, mainly getting some extra training in before I ended up subjecting myself to the Sydney Running Festival Half-Marathon.
I didn’t actually find the HM too bad, with all those people around and everyone pretty much keeping pace, I didn’t once feel an overwhelming desire to quit running and break into a walk. I was pretty tired afterwards, my legs/knees were a little sore, copped some hefty blisters on both my big toes and I think I’ve lost a nail on one toe, apart from that – not too bad 
Nokia acquires Dopplr
Social travel sharing site Dopplr has been acquired by Nokia. I genuinely like using this site, I just really hope this is a good move by the Dopplr team.
Try before you buy
MINI Challenge Roadshow event at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway last Thursday. The event was designed to showcase the MINI Challenge series and racecars to drivers and potential sponsors that may have been thinking about joining the burgeoning series. A really well organised day that had me seriously thinking dreaming about ways to raise a budget to get into one of these great little machines for the ‘10 season.
The highlight of the day were the track sessions where potentials could get behind the wheels of a MINI Challenge car for a handful of laps around the GP circuit, I can’t think of a single other category that provides a similar opportunity to borrow a car for minimal outlay. Really impressed, my mission now is to get my CAMS licence sorted so I don’t miss another opportunity like this one.
Had a terrible time trying to take photos of the event around the track, everywhere I put myself I was being attacked by dive-bombing magpies. They were fine when I had my head up and kept facing them, but the second I put my head down and looked through the camera viewfinder…
Snow Leopard, the Ars review
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: the Ars Technica review John Siracusa’s thorough review of Snow Leopard. A must read for Apple nerds.