Sunday
May052024
MAY 8, 2024
Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 07:53AM 
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
(BMW images)
The all-new 2025 BMW M4 CS will make its world debut on Friday, May 10, simultaneously in the US at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Laguna Seca and in Europe at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps World Endurance Car race. With its 3-liter M TwinPower Turbo inline six bumped to 543HP, unique chassis tuning, and targeted weight reduction through the extensive use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the special edition M4 CS is tuned for high-performance without sacrificing the four-seat layout and everyday practicality. The CS will be produced alongside the other BMW M4 variants at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing beginning in July 2024. The highlights? Lighter weight and more power; CS-specific chassis enhancements produce even sharper handling; and all-wheel drive traction launches the M4 CS to 60 mph in an estimated 3.2 seconds. The base MSRP is $123,500 plus $1,175 destination and handling.
(Ferrari images)
Leave it to Ferrari to remind us what this business should be all about. This is the Ferrari 12Cilindri Coupe and Spider. Speed, power and drop-dead gorgeous style has been Ferrari's "M.O." forever, and this new machine doesn't disappoint. Slated to replace the current Ferrari 812, the 12Cilindri may in fact be the last of its kind from Ferrari. Designed by Flavio Manzoni and his talented team, the 12Cilindri is an obvious homage to the iconic Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, and authentic to that legacy is its 6.5-liter normally aspirated V12 that puts out 819HP – with maximum revs rising to 9500 rpm. The 12Cilindri also boasts innovative features such as active aerodynamics – with two distinct elements clearly influenced by aeronautical design – an 8-speed DCT gearbox, independent four-wheel steering and advanced electronics, including systems such as aspirated torque shaping, ABS Evo and Side Slip Control 8.0. The 12Cilindri's V12 includes some of the modifications made on the Ferrari 812 Competizione gleaned from Ferrari's experience in Formula 1, such as the sliding finger follower for a higher-performance valve lift profile. Titanium con rods and aluminum alloy pistons have been used to cut weight and therefore reduce inertia, all to the benefit of both rpm and sound. The intake system, featuring variable geometry inlet tracts and a re-engineered plenum, harmonizes the high frequencies with the low tones emitted by the exhaust, providing the occupants with a symphony that boasts the distinctive howl of Maranello’s V12 engines. And the driving experience can be enhanced even further as the sound of the V12 can be enjoyed in open-top driving on the Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider (available late this year). Both machines were unveiled at an exclusive event in Miami last Thursday night in conjunction with the F1 festivities there. That illustrious engine is not only a delight for the ears, though. "We started work on this car four years ago when everyone was talking about electrification and nothing else," said chief marketing and commercial officer Enrico Galliera, as reported by Car and Driver. Although Ferrari will launch a completely electrified vehicle next year, he explained, "the 12Cilindri is the exact opposite—it doesn't even feature a hybrid system. Instead, the product planners' main source of inspiration was the rich heritage, outstanding performance, and amazing presence of the Ferrari GTs from the '60s and '70s, which defined the DNA of our brand. Think of the 12Cilindri as a state-of-the-art muscle car with style and manners." The 12Cilindri is the essence of tradition immersed in a new stylistic code, elegance and... “butterflies in the stomach at every shift!”, as Chief Product Development Officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi says. Editor-in-Chief's Note: I'm sure there are those out there who would suggest that designing a Ferrari is "easy," but that couldn't be further from the High-Octane Truth. Though it's clearly a joy to have the privilege of designing for Ferrari, the legacy of the brand weighs heavily on everything they do. And to deliver this kind of a passionate masterpiece for the brand is a grand-slam home run and a fitting tribute - without being the dreaded "retro" - to all of the front-engine, two-seat, 12-cylinder Ferraris that came before it. And one more thing. The word passion is appropriate here because it applies to everything Ferrari does. Other manufacturers may use that word, but no one brings it to fruition like Ferrari. In case you're interested, the 12Cilindri will be priced in the neighborhood of $400,000. You can add the word desire here too, as if only... -PMD Watch the video reveal here.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Longtime AE friend Tom Bartkiewicz passed the following video along. It shows the Xiaomi SU7 - a car that blatantly rips-off the Porsche Taycan - being built in China. (I saw one of these on the road in Detroit driving with "manufacturer" plates last fall. It is shockingly similar to the Taycan and it is extremely popular. Why? Its starting price is less than $30k (215,900 yuan), while offering better performance than the Taycan, which costs $100k+. How do they do it? A fully automated factory - which is shown in the video - where they churn a car out every 76 seconds. Watch the video here. It is simply mind-boggling and for other manufacturers, I'm sure a little scary. Make that a lot scary. -PMD
The AE Song of the Week:
You say I only hear what I want to
You say I talk so all the time so.
And I thought what I felt was simple,
And I thought that I don't belong,
And now that I am leaving,
Now I know that I did something wrong 'cause I missed you.
Yeah, I missed you.
And you say I only hear what I want to:
I don't listen hard,
I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running
Or to anyone, anywhere,
I don't understand if you really care,
I'm only hearing negative: no, no, no (bad)
And so I, I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up
And this woman was singin' my song:
The lover's in love and the other's run away,
The lover is cryin' 'cause the other won't stay.
Some of us hover when we weep for the other who was
Dying since the day they were born.
Well, this is not that:
I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown.
And I thought I'd live forever, but now I'm not so sure.
You try to tell me that I'm clever,
But that won't take my anyhow, or anywhere with you.
You said that I was naive,
And I thought that I was strong.
I thought, "hey, I can leave, I can leave."
Oh but now I know that I was wrong, 'cause I missed you.
You said, "I caught you 'cause I want you and one day I'll let you go."
You try to give away a keeper, or keep me 'cause you know you're just so scared to lose.
And you say, "Stay."
You say I only hear what I want to.
"Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb, from the "Reality Bites" Soundtrack (1994).* Written by Lisa A. Loeb. Publisher: REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Original Music Video here. And watch Lisa Loeb and Daryl Hall talk about and perform "Stay" here.
*In a Songfacts interview with Lisa Loeb, she told the story behind "Stay." Said Loeb: "At the time, I was having arguments with my boyfriend, who was actually my co-producer as well - we made records together. And then I go off into some other areas: I remember somebody close to me was going through severe, severe depression. A lot of times in my songs, I get into some phase where I describe some other situation, and there's a whole verse in there about somebody who is very, very depressed. But yeah, it was a story about a breakup I was going through, and that situation where it's gotten into your head too much. Partially because somebody else is telling you that you're only hearing what you want to, and that puts you in a little bit of a tailspin. It puts me in a little bit of a tailspin, because you can't figure out what's actually real, are you only seeing things through your own eyes? Are you actually seeing things the way that they really are, or are you making things up? And at what point do you know whether you're seeing things the way that they really are?" This song was used in the movie Reality Bites. Loeb's friend, Ethan Hawke, brought it to the attention of Ben Stiller, who saw Loeb perform and used her song in his movie. It was a huge break for Loeb, who did not have a record deal at the time. When she found out the song was going on the soundtrack, she knew it was the end of her temp work - (she had a gig with the consulting firm Ernst & Young at the time). Regarding the lyrics, "I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up, and this woman was singing my song," Lisa explains: "That was when you hear somebody telling your exact story. It's funny, because it wasn't until later, after a couple of major breakups, that I realized when you're depressed and you're going through these breakups, the breakup was supposed to happen. If you're going through difficult times, it's hilarious how you turn on the radio and even the most cliché things perfectly capture how you're feeling. And then you realize why people wrote those songs. When you're not going through some of those things, sometimes as a songwriter you think, "Oh, that's so straightforward and cliché," but you know what? That's how it feels. In a way I think I wrote that into the song because I was relating my story to the effect that everybody goes through this. I'm not so special. You know, this isn't such a special situation that I'm going through, but it still means something to me. And it might not be as depressing as my friend who's suicidal, but it's still really hard. Hopefully, as a listener, you get a feeling like when you just can't get away from your problems. You leave your house, you're driving down the road, you're going to do something different, and all of a sudden you hear, Oh, here's my story on the radio. It's like the last thing I need to hear right now." This is the only US #1 hit by an artist who was not signed to a label. Loeb had no trouble getting a recording contract when the song took off - she signed with Geffen Records. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
You say I talk so all the time so.
And I thought what I felt was simple,
And I thought that I don't belong,
And now that I am leaving,
Now I know that I did something wrong 'cause I missed you.
Yeah, I missed you.
And you say I only hear what I want to:
I don't listen hard,
I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running
Or to anyone, anywhere,
I don't understand if you really care,
I'm only hearing negative: no, no, no (bad)
And so I, I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up
And this woman was singin' my song:
The lover's in love and the other's run away,
The lover is cryin' 'cause the other won't stay.
Some of us hover when we weep for the other who was
Dying since the day they were born.
Well, this is not that:
I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown.
And I thought I'd live forever, but now I'm not so sure.
You try to tell me that I'm clever,
But that won't take my anyhow, or anywhere with you.
You said that I was naive,
And I thought that I was strong.
I thought, "hey, I can leave, I can leave."
Oh but now I know that I was wrong, 'cause I missed you.
You said, "I caught you 'cause I want you and one day I'll let you go."
You try to give away a keeper, or keep me 'cause you know you're just so scared to lose.
And you say, "Stay."
You say I only hear what I want to.
"Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb, from the "Reality Bites" Soundtrack (1994).* Written by Lisa A. Loeb. Publisher: REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Original Music Video here. And watch Lisa Loeb and Daryl Hall talk about and perform "Stay" here.
*In a Songfacts interview with Lisa Loeb, she told the story behind "Stay." Said Loeb: "At the time, I was having arguments with my boyfriend, who was actually my co-producer as well - we made records together. And then I go off into some other areas: I remember somebody close to me was going through severe, severe depression. A lot of times in my songs, I get into some phase where I describe some other situation, and there's a whole verse in there about somebody who is very, very depressed. But yeah, it was a story about a breakup I was going through, and that situation where it's gotten into your head too much. Partially because somebody else is telling you that you're only hearing what you want to, and that puts you in a little bit of a tailspin. It puts me in a little bit of a tailspin, because you can't figure out what's actually real, are you only seeing things through your own eyes? Are you actually seeing things the way that they really are, or are you making things up? And at what point do you know whether you're seeing things the way that they really are?" This song was used in the movie Reality Bites. Loeb's friend, Ethan Hawke, brought it to the attention of Ben Stiller, who saw Loeb perform and used her song in his movie. It was a huge break for Loeb, who did not have a record deal at the time. When she found out the song was going on the soundtrack, she knew it was the end of her temp work - (she had a gig with the consulting firm Ernst & Young at the time). Regarding the lyrics, "I turned the radio on, I turned the radio up, and this woman was singing my song," Lisa explains: "That was when you hear somebody telling your exact story. It's funny, because it wasn't until later, after a couple of major breakups, that I realized when you're depressed and you're going through these breakups, the breakup was supposed to happen. If you're going through difficult times, it's hilarious how you turn on the radio and even the most cliché things perfectly capture how you're feeling. And then you realize why people wrote those songs. When you're not going through some of those things, sometimes as a songwriter you think, "Oh, that's so straightforward and cliché," but you know what? That's how it feels. In a way I think I wrote that into the song because I was relating my story to the effect that everybody goes through this. I'm not so special. You know, this isn't such a special situation that I'm going through, but it still means something to me. And it might not be as depressing as my friend who's suicidal, but it's still really hard. Hopefully, as a listener, you get a feeling like when you just can't get away from your problems. You leave your house, you're driving down the road, you're going to do something different, and all of a sudden you hear, Oh, here's my story on the radio. It's like the last thing I need to hear right now." This is the only US #1 hit by an artist who was not signed to a label. Loeb had no trouble getting a recording contract when the song took off - she signed with Geffen Records. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
