JANUARY 10, 2023
Sunday, January 7, 2024 at 08:04AM 
The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo.
The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG
Honda has announced the Honda 0 Series at CES 2024. This new global EV series will be (allegedly) launching in 2026, represented by the world premiere of two concept models, Saloon (in dark blue) and Space-Hub (in white). Honda plans on introducing a model of the Honda 0 Series based on the Saloon concept in North America, followed by model introductions in Japan, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and South America. More information is available at the Honda 0 Series Website:https://0.honda/en/. Honda also debuted a new H mark logo that will be used exclusively for the next-generation EV models. “The mobility we dream of is not an extension of the trend of ‘thick, heavy, but smart’ EVs,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda. “We will create a completely new value from zero based on thin, light and wise as the foundation for our new Honda 0 EV series to further advance the joy and freedom of mobility to the next level.” Honda said that both models were developed using a new Honda electrification design and engineering approach that will debut with the introduction of the Honda 0 Series. “We have gone back to basics and formulated the Honda 0 Series with a design for the new era,” said Shinji Aoyama, Global EVP of Honda. “A bold and pure proportion that from the first glance is overwhelmingly different from other EVs to evoke a new perspective for people.” Editor-in-Chief's Note: We have seen the future of Honda Design, and it is bleak and woefully uninspired. We're used to auto manufacturers swinging and missing now and again - some do it with relentless frequency - but this latest missive from Honda is one of the biggest whiffs we've seen in a long, long time. And the fact that it's Honda is just flat-out depressing. This smacks of otherwise intelligent and capable people sitting around blissfully entranced with the dulcet tones of their own thought balloons. This goes far beyond knowing when to put the pen down; this smacks of a company in desperate search of a clue. -PMD
(Audi images)
This is the Audi Q8 E-tron Edition Dakar, "inspired by the world’s premier desert rally," according to Audi PR minions. The special model’s raised chassis and the optional decals (WOW! -WG) are said to be "reminiscent" of the RS Q E-tron designed for the Dakar Rally, featuring an electric drive system and an energy converter. The off-road capabilities of this exclusive SUV, combined with its high and instantly available torque, "are perfect for adventurous people who also want to drive off the beaten path electrically," according to the manufacturer. The Audi Q8 E-tron Edition Dakar's net battery size is 106 kWh (gross: 114 kWh) and the quattro drivetrain, with its two motors, delivers 300 kW in boost mode with a torque of 664 Nm. This means the vehicle accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.8 seconds with the standard tires. With the General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tires, the car reaches 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. The range according to the WLTP is up to 487 kilometers. The top speed is limited to 200 km/h (124 mph).The Q8 E-tron Edition Dakar can be ordered in the first quarter of 2024, with prices starting in Germany from around 120,000 euros. Editor-In-Chief's Note: This latest "Faux Off-Roader" is yet another vehicle we have zero interest in, but these manufacturers just can't help themselves, apparently. -PMD
(Nichols Engineering images)
We're reprising one of our favorites from last year to get this new year started: The Nichols N1A, a contemporary Can-Am-inspired supercar that embodies the classic McLaren M1A design aesthetic with a radical update. Boasting an aggressive demeanor from its low-lying nose to its definitive tail, but with increased dimensions and space, the N1A mirrors the striking design simplicity of the MP4/4, all thanks to the same master designer, Steve Nichols. As a teenager, Steve wanted to be an F1 designer. The path wasn't obvious as a young man growing up in Utah. This meant a degree in aeronautical engineering and a first job at Hercules designing rocket motors and familiarizing himself with a new material, carbon fiber, years before its introduction in motorsport. Steve then spent two stints at McLaren. The first bringing his experience of carbon fiber to the McLaren MP4/1, working alongside John Barnard in a design department initially consisting of just three people. When John left to go to Ferrari, Steve became Chief Designer and saw firsthand the triumphs and tensions of the Senna/Prost pairing, while also acting as Ayrton's race engineer. Nichols was the Chief Designer of the McLaren MP4/4, the most successful car of all time, which won 15 out of 16 races during the 1988 season in the hands of the legendary Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Steve followed Prost to Ferrari but returned to McLaren several years later at the request of CEO Martin Whitmarsh in a broad and hugely satisfying role covering all aspects of the F1 team. “When I was looking for a project to keep me amused in my old age, the idea of taking a fresh look at the very first McLaren, the 'M1A', had great appeal," Steve commented. "Initially intended as a prototype but time and registered interest has meant pursuing it with the aim to turn it into a beautifully finished vehicle worthy of its, and my, McLaren roots.” According to Goodwood Road & Racing, an initial run of seventeen launch-spec cars will feature a dry-sump 7.0-liter development of the GM LS3. These new blocks have been bored out to their new 427-cubic inch capacity with steel liners and upgraded pistons, producing around 660PS (485kW). Each of these engines will be built by Langford Performance Engineering, a company that has produced F1 engines in the past, most notably that of the Jordan 191, the car in which Michael Schumacher made his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix. All models will come with a six-speed manual gearbox. We don’t have any performance figures yet, but a power-to-weight ratio of around 710PS (522kW) per ton suggests that these will pack a Can-Am punch. No more than 100 Nichols N1As will be built in total, with production commencing before in 2024. Prices are said to be in the region of £450,000 after taxes in the UK. Editor's Note: Peter had to be revived after reading about this machine - it definitely put him over the edge. As far back as I can remember, he's talked about having a Can-Am-like sports car for the street. Well, here it is. -WG
Steve's on the left.
The AE Song of the Week
I used to know but I'm not sure now
What I was made for
What was I made for?
Takin' a drive, I was an ideal
Looked so alive, turns out I'm not real
Just something you paid for
What was I made for?
'Cause I, I
I don't know how to feel
But I wanna try
I don't know how to feel
But someday, I might
Someday, I might
When did it end? All the enjoyment
I'm sad again, don't tell my boyfriend
It's not what he's made for
What was I made for?
'Cause I, 'cause I
I don't know how to feel
But I wanna try
I don't know how to feel
But someday I might
Someday I might
Think I forgot how to be happy
Something I'm not, but something I can be
Something I wait for
Something I'm made for
Something I'm made for
"What Was I Made For?" by Billy Eilish from the album "Barbie: The Album" (2023).* Written by Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas Baird O'Connell. Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Official Music Video here.
*Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas wrote "What Was I Made For?" for the feature-length film, Barbie. Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, it stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken. Their songwriting process started in January 2023 when Greta Gerwig showed Eilish and Finneas a rough cut of the film at Warner Bros. Studios in California. Deeply moved, the siblings wrote almost the entire song that night at their home studio in Los Angeles. Mark Ronson, who oversaw the Barbie soundtrack album, and his colleague Andrew Wyatt then added extra production. Barbie dolls are perceived as mere playthings, swiftly acquired and discarded by children. But in the film, these dolls emerge as distinct individuals in the utopian Barbie Land. After being cast out from their idyllic homeland, Barbie and Ken face new challenges. No longer part of the plastic world, Barbie undergoes an existential crisis. "What Was I Made For?" parallels the movie's plot and plays during pivotal moments in the film. Accompanied by Finneas' piano, Eilish delves into Barbie's struggle as she ventures into the real world. "What Was I Made For?" marks Eilish and Finneas' second song recorded for a major movie. They previously wrote "No Time To Die" forthe 2021 James Bond film of the same name. That one earned them an Academy Award for Best Original Song.Billie Eilish's music has a brooding nature, making her an unconventional pick for the vibrant Barbie franchise. Entering the studio, Eilish grappled with a sense of apprehension, concerned that anything she did for the Barbie project would fall short of expectations. "I thought about like 'No Time To Die,'" Eilish explained to Apple Music's Zane Lowe. "That was months of thinking and talking and coming up with different melodies and stuff, and that was also one of my favorite processes of all time but very different, and I was like, 'We can't recreate that, like how are we gonna do that?'" Once Eilish and Finneas started working, her anxieties dissolved into thin air. "We truly sat down, and Finneas started playing piano and those first couple lyrics, 'I used to float, now I just fall down,' just came right out," she recalled. It was only after she'd written the lyrics that Eilish realized she's expressed some personal feelings related to Barbie's plight. "The start of writing this song, the first day of writing, Finneas and I, especially me because it's from my perspective, we were purely only thinking about Barbie. I did not think about myself once in the writing process," she told Zane Lowe. "So that's full first verse, pre-chorus, chorus, maybe second verse, all in one night. Didn't think about my own life. Didn't think about how I feel. Didn't think about anything. I was purely inspired by this movie and this character and the way I thought she would feel and wrote about that." In the subsequent days, as she listened back, Eilish had a revelation about her own connection to the song. "I do this thing where I make stuff that I don't even know is... like I'm writing for myself and I don't even know it. It is one of the most incredible things I get to experience in my life. Dude, the next week I was playing it in the car all day and playing it for everybody. And I was like, 'This is exactly how I feel. And I didn't even mean to be saying it.'" In the video, directed by Eilish herself, the singer unboxes doll-sized clothing that are outfits from the singer's past. As rain and wind pummel the clothes, they succumb to the elements until Eilish ultimately gathers the pieces and leaves the room. Billie Eilish performed the live debut of "What Was I Made For?" during her Day 1-closing set at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 3, 2023. She also performed it on "Saturday Night Live" in December. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG