Entering in the private room at the Modern of MOMA, black-gloved attendees served chestnut cappuccino soup, roasted black angus beef and Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne Cuvee Dom Perignon 1999.
The evening began with toast, as attendees licked their lips. It was a celebratory dinner with Georg and Maximillian Riedel prepared by Chef Gabriel Kreuther. The occasion – the 50th anniversary of the Riedel Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru Glass – and good taste abounded. Wild poached salmon with Peruvian purple potatoes, butternut squash and lingonberry sauce and Domain Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chamertin 1er Cru 2003 and Domine Serene Pinot Noir, Williamette Valley, Evenstad Reserve 2003. Filet of buffalo in spiced cabernet with cauliflower, romanesco, brussel sprout and fried lentils and Chateau Lynch-Bages, Pauillac 1985 and Chateau Cos d’Estoumel St.-Estephe 1985. And for dessert, white chocolate cremeux with strawberry soup.
As a hallmark of their brand, the Riedels emphasize what makes their elite wine glasses distinct — how the shape of their glasses convey the naked essence of the wine, in what they call a “three-dimensional taste picture.” “We are in the messenger business,” Maximillian Riedel told the guests seated before elegant harvest table settings served entirely on Riedel ware. An artist lined each setting with black silhouette mimicing the lines of the glasses.
The massive Grand Cru glass actually hold 38 ounces, which is the equivalent to an entire bottle, Riedel explained. It was a game changer when it was introduced in 1958. The Grand Cru glass is recommended for a long list of wines — Barbaresco, Barolo, Beaujolais Grand Cru, Blauburgunder, Burgundy (red), Dornfelder, Echézeaux, Gamay, Moulin à vent, Musigny, Nuits Saint Georges, Nebbiolo, Pommard, Pinot noir, Romanée Saint Vivant, Santenay, Volnay and Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot.
NYC sommeliers and journalists turned out to toast the Riedels and to partake in the excellent dinner, including the artful restauranteur Kurt Guttenbrenner from Wallse my grandfather’s favorite Austrian restaurant in New York City, who also owns Cafe Sabarsky in the Neue Gallerie.
Take a sneak peek at the Design Challenge Motor Sports 2025 entries pictured below. Well these cars aren’t quite ready for production, they are tantalizing and conceived by real car designers with their eye on the design prize.
The premise is to visualize auto racing through the lens of the future. Nine Southern California’s automotive design studios including Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen have developed entrants for the competition that is part of the Design Los Angeles conference November 20th at the Los Angeles Auto Show where the winner will be revealed.
The conference is in it’s fifth year preceding the LA Auto Show, which now happens in November. Last year 500 designers attended. The keynote speaker Cosmic Motors founder Daniel Simon will discuss galactic car design in all its spaced-aged glory. The former Volkswagen designer has entered a new dimension with a far-out new book to prove it.
The Designer’s Night Party at Disney promises to be entertaining as well as the sketch off. Car designers, by rule, are the coolest people who work at car companies.
Generally, the idea of driving a Suzuki doesn’t thrill me. Call me a plain old snob, but this Japanese brand hadn’t managed to woo me on my sporadic test drives. Maybe it has something to do with the company’s original purpose — to create looms. I do love a beautiful silk wrap, but this seems a far cry from solid car sensibilities. Suzuki, the 11th largest automaker, hasn’t manufactured silk since 1951, and I suppose its cars and bikes deserve a fair shake. The bikes look cool, but Suzuki cars?
Well then, imagine my surprise when I came away from the Suzuki Grand Vitara X Sport feeling good about the Suzuki. This is a thoughtful CUV for an unexperienced mom on the go (moi) with improved gas mileage (well over 20 mpg).
That’s right, the awkward pieces of the Baby Einstein jungle gym slipped easily into the netted trunk space without any pushing or pulling. With V-6 power I was able to get out and go, which became a necessity as a crazy driver attempted to run us over as we pulled out on the block. To cut us off, he ran a red light at top speed through the historic district that I park in. At that moment, I experienced a common dual-diagnosis of new-mom panic and road rage, as I patted the rear disc brakes, avoiding the maniac. Nothing happened, but I was extra grateful for the standard roll-over sensors on the curtain airbags and a strengthened frame that increases rigidity. The armrest with slide function was useful for storing my bobbles for quick hasty hiding. (Best not to leave belongings in sight as car window break-ins are on the rise. Suzuki definitely hangs with its contenders — namely the Honda CRV. While materials aren’t overly fancy in the XSport compared to the luxury version– it’s a good $20,000 toy that gets the job done.
Our very own contributor Lee Quinones takes on the Ford Flex. Jean Jennings, Automobile Magazine Editor In Chief, sought out Lee to construct an art car with a distinct NYC flavor.
While Lee is best known for his artwork and legendary status in the New York subway art movement, he’s also a die-hard car guy, who tinkers under the hood on 1960s Detroit muscle in his spare time. It was an organic fit when we asked Lee to test drive. This latest project is a match made for art car heaven, for an artist who takes auto body seriously, and the Flex, wrought with plenty of surfaces for interpretation.
Lee took delivery of the car on Sept. 3 at the Area Garage on Delancey Street in the heart of his native LES, blocks from the MTA layups he used to haunt in the 1970s and 80s, armed with spray cans and a poetic socio-politic visions. In an assignment of serendipity, the garage soon became his secret laboratory with consecutive all-night painting sessions. We’re convinced the finished product is indeed an art car for the future lane.
Stay tuned for the Nov. 4 election day unveiling at SEMA and Lee’s recap of his adventures.
It’s not the first, the second or the sixtieth time that auto analysts’ crystal balls have professed doom and gloom for Chrysler. The business page blood flows thick. Is this seminal Detroit car company going to drift away in takeover terror or dissolve into nothingness? Is Chrysler, vanguard of contemporary car culture, dead in the water, the casualty of a failed economy and an ailing industry? Tough to tell, but its certaintly a headline that sells and an accusation that stings Mopar heads worldwide.
To declare Chrysler worthless, as headlines have deemed it, seems hasty and oversimplified and probably just plain wrong. The talent that still is part of the Chrysler workforce, that’s been there before during or after Daimler, and the innovations that have taken place are worth more than a cash cow value. Truth be told, it makes me sad to see an icon cast as a nobody in the car game. Chrysler still can build a great car — the 2009 Dodge Challenger exemplifies that, as well as the new mini van and the big beefy Dodge Ram. Perhaps the timing isn’t optimal, but the ability to make a great product is something that evades even the leanest automaker.
As Chrysler has announced plans to go electric, it is pity that financial woes might deter this process. Chrysler has the resources to build a more eco-friendly popular vehicle that resonates with consumers. Experience should count for something. While my sentiments have nothing do to with fiscal reality, the value of Chrysler’s keen designers, Street Racing Technology program and no-nonsense engineering is crucial to the automotive industry. Contrary to the business page, cars are really not just about sales. Once upon a time, cars represented the future, and the race to bring innovation to market, to dazzle with ideas that were coveted and guarded with secrecy. Competition among car companies, domestic and foreign, represented a distinct American joie de vivre for progress. To merge with one of its longtime competitors may make sense on some levels also seems to be self-defeating in others. Will the government, a smart “car-guy” executive, or savvy competitor inject a boost to the Chrysler legacy before the clock runs down? Time will tell, but it’s a shame that in the scramble for financiers to recoup on their lost profit margins, a vertebrae of Detroit crumbles for good.
The Liv Inizio is coming. The super car comes in two version. The more powerful cars has a 240 mph top speed and a whopping 1000 horsepower V-12 that runs off of lithium and ethanol. And, oh yeah, the interior is designed to comfortably squeeze in a driver with Shaquille O’Neal’s frame. The all-electric version has a top speed of 160 mph, a 200 mile range and takes 6 to 8 hours to charge. The body is carbon fiber and the roof is removable. Sound too good to be true? Check out Hybrid Technologies display at the LA Auto Show for the car that will be delivered to customers in 2009.
Hybrid Technologies has a vision for the future — and its building it now. For years the small Mooresville, North Carolina based company has worked with lithium batteries to develop an array of electric vehicles. Cars, choppers, scooters, wheel chairs and military vehicles are developed by the 43 employees at this 40,000 square-foot R & D facility that used to be a NASCAR garage.
The majority of the vehicles are not actual “hybrids,” but are full lithium electric powered. When hybrid power is used the company experiments with lithium combined with solar electricity instead of gasoline engines that are used in current production hybrids. Each vehicle has on-board charges, meaning that you can plug in anywhere. “You don’t have to have a special station installed in your house,” engineer Ron Cerven says. “The dryer outlet will charge your car overnight.”
Last week at malls around the world, shop vendors stood outside their shops on the lookout for potential customers. But there were none. Most people today are finding ways to save their money instead of using it. Dispensable expenses, such as that new bag or mobile phone you wanted, are postponed or abstained from. But there are other, more subtle, yet efficient ways of stopping those bills to fly out of your wallet. One example is how changing your driving style can affect your car’s fuel consumption.
EcoDriving is a way of driving that saves money, lives and the environment. Sounds almost too good to be true, so how does it work?
Omed Hamlan is an certificated EcoDriving teacher at the Traffic School of Heden in Gothenburg, Sweden, (and also the man who successfully coached me to a driver’s license this fall) and spoke to GoTryke.com about his experiences and knowledge about the EcoDriving program.
GT: Omed, you teach EcoDriving at your school, could you tell us more about it?
OH: I teach students how to drive in a more economic way, saving both money and time. On average, my students use 13% less fuel after taking the course, and another positive effect is that they drive more safely, and save time, since they learn how to plan and be more conscious about their driving. My average pupil saves around 3-5 minutes when driving for 25 minutes. In my opinion, there are only advantages to EcoDriving: our nature, health and economy are benefiting from it.
GT: What can you do to decrease your fuel consumption?
OH: To decrease their fuel consumption, I teach students not to have unnecessary luggage in the car, or drive with empty roof boxes or roof racks. Everything that creates extra air resistance costs more money. It is also important to be aware of the tire pressure, and of the tires’ condition. Another word of advice is not to wait too long to overhaul the car for scheduled maintenance, because the car will not last as many years and use fuel less efficiently. The block heater is another great invention for saving money and the environment; you can use it until the temperature reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius.) Your car will last longer and a hot engine consumes less fuel than a cold one. Also, back into a parking lot when you know you will leave the car for a couple of hours. When you back in with a cold engine your car uses an extreme amount of fuel, and all the harmful substances go straight into the air since although you might have a catalytic converter, it doesn’t work on a cold engine.
GT: Which cars do you recommend?
OH: It is difficult to say which cars are the best, but most manufacturers are producing more environmentally friendly cars. However, today we have electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and flex-fuel cars, which use both ethanol and gasoline. Those cars are clearly discharging less greenhouse gas emissions. My car is a flex-fuel car that holds 50 liters. If I use only gas, I can drive 700-800 kilometers ,while if I use ethanol I can drive 500-550 kilometers. Driving on gas is a bit cheaper and the use of ethanol is also a political question partly because of the food versus fuel debate. So it is a difficult question, and a political choice.
GT: Those are useful things to have in mind. So what are the most common mistakes people do when driving?
OH: They drive in a low gear in high speeds. They accelerate too much, although the car can handle a lower gear than they think. The lowest gear is the most expensive and least environmentally friendly gear. Don’t use it for more than 1-2 car lengths. It is also common for people to start their car 5 minutes before leaving in the morning. They think it is better for the car but on the contrary it only wears it out. Just start the car and drive.
In general, following this advice will result in lowered fuel consumption and a car that holds for more miles on the road. That’s a lot of money you can save there.
Thank you Omed for sharing your advices with us. If you want to find out more about EcoDriving, there are useful websites with more tips and information: EcoDriving USA.com ECODRIVE.org Driving Change.
Stillness. People are spending more time at home, glued to television sets watching stock market swirls and election polls. Mathematics have never had such prominent prime time exposure as sophisticated graphic charting systems color life with grids, polls and projections. Solange Azagury-Partridge’s latest line of jewelry, PLATONIC, was launched in November – the truth and beauty of mathematical forms found in nature. Her work seems a noble and relevant precursor for this econometric moment.
Yet, not too many of us are out kicking up our heels, flaunting our jewelry. It’s a moment of staying put, of caution. To counterbalance the dullness of counting pennies and strained bits of humor in satirical Saturday Night Live on weekdays, we could benefit from a little sparkle and artistic ethos in our immediate surroundings. Who says precious and semi-precious stone were intended only for the body? Consider the suggestive power of Solange Azagury-Partridge’s handmade carpets, tables, wall plaques, and chandeliers.
Art, what my love calls the last frontier, is the place where we find solace — a tactile piece of society that cannot be broken by a fluctuation of the market. Art is the undeniable heirloom that is sustainable and subjective — probably a solid investment over a flaky oil stock or an ailing automotive supplier. And the best part about art, is that it’s often available for free if you pay attention to the listings and venture out in the wild from your electoral couch.
Put this on the calendar. Solange’s latest creations “Unwearable Jewels” will be on display at the Sebastian + Barquet Gallery (opening Oct. 30 and running through Dec. 20). It is the renowned British designer’s first solo American show. Each piece has mystical qualities — offset by stone inlay and studded walls. Solange’s design language is lavish — ornate carpets and tables set with gems. The crown jewel of the showcase (if you will) is a chandelier encrusted with 220 carats of diamonds.
Solange’s work is heralded internationally in the jewelry gallery at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs du Louvre in Paris and in the new jewelry gallery of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In early 2009 Solange will open her first U.S. boutique in New York on Madison Avenue for those whose portfolio still has some pizazz.
What’s in store? Her track record gives good reason to believe a distinct sort of precious gems will be at the basis of the collection. Solange’s lines are synonymous with striking themes including KINETIC, made up of pieces that rattle and roll, COSMIC a composite of mysticism and DELICATE, a medley of peace and rainbows, which won her a nomination for 2003 Designer of the Year award by London’s Design Museum. Solange launched her home décor collection began in 2005 with the PERGOLA chandelier for Swarovski at the Milan Furniture Fair and at 100% Design in London in 2005. With her new work pausing at this design-focused gallery, it offers a quiet respite from the anxious buzz for sensory contemplation. Think of it as diamonds for the rough times.
HONDA V4 Cologne, Germany, October 7, 2008– Honda Motor Europe Ltd. exhibited
the World Premiere V4 Concept Model at Intermot Cologne. The V4 Concept
Model proposes a new design direction based on Honda’s trademark
4-cylinder V- engine. Video
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