Adam Carolla may be in the hot seat for some "decorated" commentary during the Adam Carolla Show podcast, but The Car Show can still forge ahead, hopefully without a loss of viewers. This week's episode finds the hosts testing the Mercedes SLS AMG against the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Dan Neil strolling through the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and an interview with the outstanding Jason Castriota.
Usually a nice segway into the other, more important segments of the show, this week's mini segments were a bit on the disappointing side. There was a "prank" type video showing us the World's Worse Valet which had its funny moments, but fell short of what we expected. Then there was the biggest waste of time to date, the Great Car Knack. This mini segment has Adam dressed to the hilt in a cheap fortune teller costume while telling the people in the audience their future. It sounds ridiculous and, well, it was.
Full details on the The Car Show->ke3905: Season 1 Episode 6 after the jump.
Zero to 60
This week's 0-60 segment started off with Aston Martin's->ke13 new mini city car, the Cygnet. The guys were a little confused as to why Aston Martin would build a car like this, but then settled on the fact that the company needs it to balance out the fleet fuel economy. That sounds amazingly logical to us, so we're running with it. The foursome then went on to discuss the Fisker Karma and whether or nor it can save Fisker->ke1074 from dying off in a few years time. The car was about a year and a half late and the company wants to sell 20,000 units in two years. This may be an important goal to achieve considering the company owes A LOT of money for the loans they have taken out to build it.
Other topics included people between the ages of 18-27 not buying American, the new Bentley Continental GT->ke401 looking the same as the previous model, and Acura's->ke10 falling sales.
Mercedes SLS AMG VS Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
The battle of the front-engine V8 supercars was in full force in this episode with Adam behind the wheel of the Mercedes SLS AMG and Matt sitting in the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. On paper, these two vehicles' performance times are similar, but Matt's argument was that the Corvette is half the price of the Mercedes. $100,000 compared to $200,000. Touché.
The Mercedes SLS AMG weighs a little over 3,700 lbs and is powered by a 6.3L V8 producing 563 HP. This will allow the supercar to hit 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 197mph. The 3,333 lbs Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 does a bit better with its 6.2L V8 producing 638 HP. The extra horsepower allows the Corvette to achieve a 0-60mph sprint time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 200mph.
So, which vehicle ended up being the best supercar? In true "let's please everyone" fashion, both cars were given the thumbs up.
Dan Neil heads to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
For anyone who has never attended the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, join the club. However, Dan Neil took us through a mini-tour of the greatest classic car show on Earth, starting with the McCall's Motorsport Revival. After that, vehicles like Steve McQueen's Jaguar XK55, the Koenigsegg CCX, and the Bugatti Veyron made their appearance, as well as Ferrari, Roll Royce, and Mercedes models.
Dan even went as far as picking his choice for the Best in Show: the Duesenberg. Sadly, it ended up falling in second place with the Best Open Car while the Delage De Villars Roadster taking Best in Show.
Interview: Jason Castriota
This week's interview starred the man behind the Maserati Gran Turismo and the Ferrari 599's design, Jason Castriota. Castriota started drawing cars when he was about five, having what he called an "insanely unhealthy obsession" with cars. This guy ended up quitting design school in 2001 to intern at Pininfarina and then followed that up by becoming their Head of Special Projects in 2006 and Chief Designer in 2008. That wasn't enough, though. Castriota also became Director of Design at Bertone in 2008 and Executive Director of Design at Saab in 2010. He is also a private consultant working on one-off projects for all, including the Bertone Mantide. He even designed the SSC Tuatara. His dream model to create a one-off design? The Bugatti Veyron.
They made him do the slot car racing thing as well. Guess who won that one?
Great Car Show Knack
Not funny in the least bit and I'm kind of sorry I wasted five minutes of my life. The cheap fortune teller costume didn't make it any better as Adam tried to envision the audience's future by asking them what car they currently drive.
One for the Road
Recalls was the topic of choice in this week's One for the Road. Apparently, Adam's wife has a Jaguar that was recalled. They sent the car in and, after a few add-ons approved by his wife, the dealership wanted to charge over $2,500 in repairs. Are recalls supposed to cost the consumer money? Absolutely not, but apparently they'll schmooze anyone for the added sales and repairs.
That’s it for now. Stay tuned for details on next week’s episode of The Car Show.