John Wietz's 1979 Camaro Conversion: The Weitz X600

We've seem Karl Lagerfeld's one-off BMW L7. Here is designer John Weitz's Camaro Z28 conversion.

Source, via Stipistop.

Karl Lagerfeld's BMW L7 Individual

BMW Individual is a program for customers to customize their cars. It all started in the early 1990s when designer Karl Lagerfeld was given an E38 L7 as a blank canvas. This is the result.

Source.

5 Cylinder Acura Vigor Is the Porsche Cayman of Hondas

I've been struggling since last night trying to describe the Acura Vigor and put it in perspective. I started with comparing it to Goldilocks. It's not as big as the six cylinder Legend and it's not as small as the four cylinder Integra. But it isn't just right. I finally came to the Porsche analogy when I spoke to my friend P this afternoon about Porsches.

P has a Boxster. He wants, as we all do, a 911. But like most of us, he can't. So I asked, why not get a Cayman? Well, no. Because it's barely faster than the Boxster and to put it bluntly, it's not a 911.

Which perfectly describes the mid-range Vigor. It's got leather and a sophisticated sound system. It even has an F1 inspired suspension. But it's not as impressive, in stature or horsepower, as Acura's Q-ship. Aside from the front angle, it looks like a moderately priced compact. And though it is a half a step above an Integra, most people would just spend a bit more and get an Integra sedan with all the bells and whistles.

Aston Martin Lagonda Shooting Brake For Sale

This is THE best wagon/shooting brake in automotive history. The 1987 Lagonda was converted by Swiss coachbuilder Roos Engineering. It is being sold by a German auto dealer. The price? You make an offer.

Demon Sheep Ad Is Entertaining And Tragic

The California election season has finally become interesting. For months, I have had to endure low-grade coma-inducing AM radio ads by Meg Whitman for Governor. The former eBay head, who has a near perfect record of never voting in her life, spent tens of millions of dollars boring millions of Californians with her substance-free ads.

But finally, something to write home about. Ex-HP head Carly Fiorina is going up against Tom Campbell for Barbara Boxer's U.S. Senate seat in the GOP primary. Fiorina was not exactly spectacular when she tried to support McCain for president. She was the go-to person for McCain's policies on the economy. She also said Palin was not fit to run a company like HP. Way to support the team.

Now, Fiorina has this Demon Sheep ad, accusing her opponent of being an adorably evil but benign man dressed in a sheepskin seat cover with red LED eyes. The narrator may win an Emmy for his gravitas-filled browbeating of Campbell. The ad has more stock footage than a local news piece about obesity (with obligatory shots of rotund citizens waddling down the sidewalk carrying milk shakes and fries, from the neck down, of course).

I respect and like Campbell. A lot. Even though I don't agree with many of his policies, he is very intelligent and extremely principled. Which makes all of this brouhaha even more tragic, in a fun way.

And did you catch that dig in the beginning against MEN?

Alfa Romeo 164 Procar V10

This one-off may be even cooler than the Renault Espace F1 minivan.

In the mid-80s, Alfa decided to jump back into F1 by supplying engines. The resulting engine was to become the first modern V10 in F1. In its last iteration, the engine put out 620 horses at over 13,000 rpm.

Alfa pulled a 180 and decided not to get into F1. So the V10 was stuffed in a Brabham chassis with the skin of a 164 sedan. During tests, the Procar reached 211 mph and completed the quarter mile in 9.7 seconds.

Source and source.

SR24 Restaurant In Oakland's Temescal Neighborhood

Highway 24, A16 it is not.

I literally laughed out loud when I came upon this paragraph in local food critic Michael Bauer's article about weird restaurant names:

"I can't help but notice an increasingly annoying trend with regards to naming restaurants. It seems to have started with the bloody highway names — A16, then B44, Mina's RN74 and now a new place that's about to open in Oakland's Temescal called SR24 (after Highway 24 for christsakes)!"

Well, SR24 supposedly opened on Monday. I am a bit intrigued and will probably check it out this weekend. I have to say, it's that awful name that has attracted me to it. Mission accomplished. Here is a sample menu.

Photo credit.

Alfa Romeo 164 Promo

Beautiful and elegant promo for Italian car for the French market filmed in America. And like the epic Citroen XM promo, it involves a smartly dressed businessman delivering a gift for his wife.

Alfa Romeo 168 for Superstitious Chinese People

Not to stereotype or anything, but Chinese people are a superstitious lot. I've got a Chinese friend who was raised and educated in the West, got As in AP Physics, Calculus, etc., and he has a wok hanging over his front doorway to drive out evil spirits.

Which explains this, the Alfa Romeo 168. A 168? There was no such thing, you say. Oh, but there was. The Alfa 164 sold poorly in Chinese markets-- Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore-- because 1-6-4 in Chinese roughly translates into "the more you go, the more you die".

So the brain trust at Alfa Romeo marketing simply changed the badge to 168, which roughly means "the more you go, the wealthier you will be". Case solved.

Among the other sales victims/winners of Chinese superstition:

• Porsche 928 (long easy prosperity)
• Ferrari 328 (life of easy prosperity)
• Ferrari 348 (life of prosperity until you die)
• Porsche 924 (enough easy death)
• 944 (enough double death)

Maybe this also explains why there are no Audi A4s and BMW 540i's in China.

Sources: Here and here.

What Does Baiju Taste Like?

I've never had baiju before. It's a Chinese liquor made from sorghum or a combination of other local grains. It's mentioned in every book about travel to China. No one has ever had anything positive to say about it.

I went to the local Asian market and bought a bottle. I picked Red Star Brand because the label looks very old school Red China. Some research done after I got home confirmed that this is the most popular brand amongst blue collar guys in northeastern China. For the record, it's 112 proof. I will now proceed to drink a shot. While I pour myself a glass, here is a primer. The brand I got is shown in the beginning of the video, in the scene where the guy is playing the guitar.

Verdict: Just pouring it, I could smell the alcohol. This stuff is strong, bad, but drinkable. After I downed it, my eyes were shut for five seconds because my head felt stung. My throat, my stomach, and everything in between, were burning. When I inhaled through my mouth, I felt flammable. The aftertaste can best be described as the taste and feeling you get after you've been sick already.