The small difference - fuel breakdown with gasoline or electric

Bruno von Rotz
09/30/2017

Benzinpanne

It has happened to us a few times now that we have broken down without fuel when we have been on the road with cars.

On one occasion, the fuel gauge gave the wrong reading, on another occasion we may not have had the controls (reserve position, switching from one tank to another) under control or simply misjudged the fuel consumption. If you're lucky, you can still roll to the filling station, but otherwise you just unpack the spare canister and walk or hope for someone with spare fuel on board. After five minutes you're on the road again. So far so good, but what will the electrical system look like?

Electricity is relatively difficult to carry around in a canister. What then? In most cases, only towing (or a lot of patience if a household socket and cable are available) will help. Brave new world!

Share this article with your friends!

Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 stolen

Bruno von Rotz
09/29/2017

Gestohlener Dino 308 GT4 am AvD OGP im Jahr 2010

Unfortunately, these things happen. Reader Müller-Bellé's Dino 308 GT4 was stolen from his private underground parking garage in Cologne on the night of September 27-28, 2017. As it is most likely to be solved shortly after the crime, he is asking Zwischengas readers for help. Anyone who sees the Dino with license plate K-GT 479H should contact him directly (see contact details in the picture below). The red Dino has chassis number 14886 and has some stickers on the top left of the windshield. The theft has already been reported to the police and the car is wanted.

It would be nice if, thanks to this appeal in the virtual world, the physical dino could be found again in the real world, so to speak. The finder can expect a reward of EUR 5000. So, keep your eyes open!

Gestohlener Dino 308 GT4 - Steckbrief und Kontaktinfos

Share this article with your friends!

Rich sound and lots of sun at the 16th Hamburg City Park Revival

Britta Mirbach
09/28/2017

Warten - Stadtparkrevival Hamburg 2017 - (c) Gregor Borwig

The 16th Hamburg City Park Revival on a new course in City Nord finally benefited from fine summer weather again. 300 cars and motorcycles had registered and all of them came, supplemented by Audi's PS cars, a Vespa club and the Formula Vau with its own races.

There was a slight delay on the track on Saturday morning, as the race organizers had to make some adjustments for safety reasons. But then things got underway: the races started in time with the timetable. Some long-time participants were already skeptical about the Überseering, as Olaf Scheuber admitted: "Can the sober office city compete with the traditional old course on Saarlandstraße?" After just a few runs, motorcyclists and car drivers were in absolute agreement: "Brilliant! Great course, very well set up, great to drive. Why haven't we been here for a long time?"

Vogelperspektive - Stadtparkrevival Hamburg 2017 - (c) Gregor Borwig

And then came the spectators, a total of around 30,000 visitors on both days. Here, too, there was unanimous admiration: "Great perspectives, you can get everywhere, spacious paddocks, and the view from above!"

City North is designed in such a way that people on the upper level have their walkways between the houses and the bridges over the streets. This means you can stop anywhere and watch from above as some daredevils sail around the bends of the 1.6-kilometer course. At the front it goes into the New York Ring and out the back to the Überseering. There were a few minor injuries to the motorcycles. And then the VAU formula with 1200 and 1300 cc VW engines. The oil supplier Mathé had brought along the speedy troops. Real "eye-catchers", just like the free formula class, Porsche air-cooled, the sidecar acrobats and....

Einstieg - Stadtparkrevival Hamburg 2017 - (c) Gregor Borwig

It was brave of Glasurit to set up the guest stand on top of the terrace of the former Shell building, but professionals were at work here. From midday, the sun shone on the tent city and the guests had a real Monaco feeling. You can hardly get closer to the cars anywhere else!

Audi had well-known drivers from the DTM series on board, who were busy signing autographs. The ERGO insurance company and the AvD raffled off rides in the participating cars. With a bit of luck, a spectator could also experience the track from the car.

On Saturday, the exhibits of the Concours d'Elegance were on display on the terrace of the ERGO building. As the jury with Dietmar Elsasser and Jörg Banzhaf stated: "Even in this first round, really rare, historically and motorsport-wise interesting vehicles can be seen." The small Honda S 800 with the extremely high-revving engine, a Miele motorized bicycle from the 1910s, a Cadillac LaSalle Coupé built in 1939 and a one-off Mercedes from the coachbuilder Wendler, Reutlingen, to name but a few.

The awards were presented during the Drivers Night, which included an Italian buffet, a show act with Christian von Richthofen, who played music on a car from the 1930s, and the band Vociblu.

Mini am Stadtparkrevival Hamburg 2017 - (c) Gregor Borwig

Sunday was the second round, now with a little more routine and strictly according to schedule. The prize-giving ceremony for the scoring runs took place centrally on the stage at midday. There were beaming faces everywhere. The final parade on Sunday evening with all the participants and visiting vehicles from the classic parking lot was the crowning glory of a fantastic motoring weekend. And bookings for 2018 are already underway.

We would like to thank Gregor Borwig for the photos .

Share this article with your friends!

Great skepticism as to whether today's cars will still be able to drive in 30 years (Question of the week)

Bruno von Rotz
09/27/2017

Frage der Woche 92 - moderne Autos als Oldtimer in der Zukunft?

If you had stored a Ferrari 512 BB or a Porsche 930 Turbo in the 1980s, you could not only enjoy an interesting increase in value today, you would also have a good chance of bringing the car back to life. But what about today's cars?

The question is whether this can be repeated with new cars from today. Of course, this would require the cars from 2017 to be able to drive again in 30 years' time.

If you were to preserve an Alfa Romeo 4C, an Aston Martin DB11, a BMW M2, a Nissan 370Z or a Ferrari 488 for the future now, would it still be possible to get it running again in 2047 with reasonable effort? We asked Zwischengas readers this questionand they were divided, but overall also quite skeptical.

However, 36% can at least imagine that the possible damage and electronic problems could be solved with considerable effort.

A third, i.e. 33%, cannot imagine that the possible electronic problems could be solved with reasonable effort and that driving would therefore be possible again.

And ten percent are even quite sure that in 30 years' time, both the spare parts and the knowledge will be lacking to get the 2017 models, which will then have matured into classic cars, back on the road again.

However, one sixth (16%) do not actually see any reason why today's cars should not still be drivable as classics in 30 years' time.

Two percent of the 306 respondents did not find a suitable answer.

So people are skeptical when looking to the future. This can certainly be summarized.

Of course, we also show the graphical results:

Auswertung Frage der Woche 92 - moderne Autos als Oldtimer der Zukunft

The next question of the week is already underway, for once internally oriented, in which readers can comment on which extensions they would most like to see on Zwischengas.

And of course you can still read all the previous results of the "Questions of the Week" in the corresponding topic channel.

Share this article with your friends!

Silver duel

Daniel Reinhard
09/26/2017

Zweikampf in Silber - Mercedes-Benz A-Klasse zwischen zwei Vorkriegsmonoposto vin Auto Union (© Daniel Reinhard)

This year, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class achieves Youngtimer status; the two Auto Union Grand Prix monoposti, the 16-cylinder Type C and the 12-cylinder Type D, are known to be pre-war racing cars.

Back then, Mercedes-Benz was not yet competing with Ferrari for the victory trophies. It was the time when Auto Union was the big opponent of the star from Stuttgart.

During a unique photo shoot against an incredible backdrop on the 2504-metre-high Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the A-Class Youngtimer suddenly squeezed in between the historic cultural assets. Isn't this purely coincidental photo a picture for the gods? In any case, I have rarely been so emotionally charged as when I saw this reptilian-looking C-Class in the late evening light against a backdrop that was more than just impressive.

Share this article with your friends!

"The word on the intermediate throttle", or "The unpredictable course of events"

Daniel Reinhard
09/25/2017

Fiat Ritmo 75 im Jahr 1979 (© Daniel Reinhard)

Many things begin, albeit completely unconsciously, much earlier than you might think. zwischengas.com has now been online for 2500 days, almost seven years. Thousands of hours of work have gone into this project, but we are still fully behind our idea and what we have achieved.

It all actually started back in 1978/79, when there wasn't even an Internet and few people were even thinking about something like this.

Bruno and I went to grammar school together in Sarnen. He was the better student than me right from the start, but even then we only had one thing on our minds and another. School was really only ever a minor matter, the main thing was the girls and, above all, the cars. Back then, it was less about historic cars and more about the latest models. Porsche, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. Our fathers had to buy rust-prone sports saloons from Alfa Romeo under pressure from their sons. The Alfasud 1.5 ti was the measure of all things back then. Together we visited the Ferrari meetings in Stans or the FNA (Friends of Nostalgic Cars) in Alpnach-Dorf with our mopeds. We became friends and have remained so to this day.

Der "Obwaldner" mit den Auto-Testberichten

The idea of writing test reports about cars was born out of pure necessity. Having just got our driving license, we naturally wanted to go to the Geneva Motor Show and needed a car to do so.

Renault 18 GTS von 1979 (© Daniel Reinhard)

Our fathers' cars were not available, so I got a car from the dealer with the idea of a test report in the "Obwaldner Zeitung", which I had a close relationship with thanks to my father. Test reports on the Fiat Ritmo, the Renault 18 and the Mitsubishi Galant Turbo were the result.

Fiat Ritmo 75 im Jahr 1979 (© Daniel Reinhard)

After the fifth year of grammar school, I left for Vienna for five years, where I attended a technical college for photography, while Bruno began his studies as a computer science engineer. We only saw each other a few times, but this didn't diminish our friendship. He even visited me twice in Vienna, once with his Fantic 125 cc on the way to Budapest, another time with the dark blue Alfasud Ti, when I already owned an Alfasud Sprint Veloce.

After our apprenticeships, our professional lives began, which meant we only had a few dinners together each year. However, the cars became faster and sometimes more expensive, and from time to time we even met up at classic car events.

In the meantime, the Internet had also been born and we had dedicated ourselves to historic vehicles. And suddenly the idea of our own Internet platform for historic cars came up at the Seerstaurant in Zug. Little more than a year passed between the idea and going online. The result became visible to pilot users on November 22, 2010, and from December 2010 we were live for everyone, the rest is (a 2500-day) history ...

Share this article with your friends!

Classic pearls of the future - BMW 1 M Coupé (E82)

Bruno von Rotz
09/24/2017

BMW 1 M Coupé von 2011 im Vergleich mit dem BMW M3 E30 der Acthzigerjahre (© BMW AG)

Few cars have had such a short production run as the M version of the BMW One Series Coupé. From May 2011 to September 2012, the sportiest single-seater of the time was only built, 6331 units are said to have been built.

Silhouette des BMW 1 M Coupé von 2011 (© BMW AG)

The 1 M Coupé of the E82 series can certainly be seen as an independent model, because not only was it the only one to have the 340 hp in-line six-cylinder engine with 2979 cm3 and twin turbo under the hood, there were also considerable differences to the other one-series models.

Motor des BMW 1 M Coupé von 2011 (© BMW AG)

The M version, which of course was not allowed to be called the M1 because that super sports car might get a successor later on, had a lightweight sports chassis, a different brake system, large 19-inch wheels and a significantly wider track, which also made it necessary to widen the fenders.

Heckansicht des BMW 1 M Coupé von 2011 (© BMW AG)

The interior was also refined.

Cockpit des BMW 1 M Coupé von 2011 (© BMW AG)

The result was impressive and the 1 M was one of the fastest cars on the road. A sprint from 0 to 100 km/h took just 4.9 seconds. 280 km/h would have been no problem, but the speed limit was set at 250 km/h. Because it was so sporty to drive, the 1 M was often compared with the famous M3 E30 (picture above).

BMW 1 M Coupé von 2011 (© BMW AG)

The 1 M was only available in a few colors, including white and golden brown (as shown in the pictures). The cars that were built sold like hot cakes. BMW actually only wanted to build 3000 of them, but even the strategists in Munich were surprised when twice that number was produced.

The fact that the Einer M-Coupé is indeed a classic pearl can also be seen from the fact that Bonhams auctioned an example on October 6, 2017 , at an estimated price of EUR 40,000 to 60,000 (CHF 46,000 to 70,000). Perhaps one should have ...

Share this article with your friends!

Maybe you should buy a cycle car now?

Bruno von Rotz
09/23/2017

They are considered the forerunners of the microcars of the fifties and sixties, but the "cycle cars" of the twenties were actually often much sportier than the cabin scooters after the war. The principle was relatively simple. They built a car that was as lightweight as possible, had only the bare essentials and was therefore still good for good performance with a 1.1 or even a 0.75 liter engine.

The French were masters at building such sports cars and brands such as Amilcar, Salmson, Derby, Rally and Bugatti built up a good reputation in this way. Many of these lightweight sports cars, which had to have at least one clutch and one gearbox, were also successful in racing and still have a following today.

However, fans of these cars are also getting older and vehicles such as the Derby Type GSEH Sports Roadster from 1929 (pictured above, at RM/Sotheby's in Hershey ) or the Rally ABC Sports from 1928 (at Bonhams at the Zoute auction ) keep coming onto the market.

The prices are reasonably reasonable, especially when the rarity of these cars is taken into account. However, these cars are not cheap per kilogram. But then again, the fun is great.

Share this article with your friends!

This is how it was 40 years ago at the IAA

Bruno von Rotz
09/22/2017

VW Käfer auf der IAA 1977

The International Motor Show IAA 2017, which is currently celebrating the latest automotive achievements in Frankfurt, is still three days away. In view of the many innovations and promises, it is certainly worth taking a trip down memory lane. The Hessischer Rundfunk radio station reported on the exhibition in 1977 in extensive television reports.

Nothing came of the electric car, criticized Fritz B. Busch and his co-interviewer Frank Lehmann right at the beginning, after they failed to find any of the electric vehicles announced two years earlier at the 1977 IAA. In around two hours of reporting, Busch and co present the new cars, from the BMW 7-series and Ford Granada to the Opel Rekord and Senattor to the Rover SD1 and Mazda RX-5.

Ford Granada auf der IAA 1977

The broadcasts by Hessischer Rundfunk sometimes seem surprisingly clumsy and Fritz B. Busch also appears somewhat stressed and sometimes unfocused, which probably had something to do with the hustle and bustle and the elaborate technology of the time.

Rover SD1 3500 auf der IAA 1977

In any case, a trip back 40 years is a thoroughly enjoyable experience, which we are happy to encourage by showing the films.

The first part reports on new models from Germany, e.g. Ford Granada, Opel Senator, etc., but the speed limit in Germany also comes up for discussion. And then you learn something about the green wedge disk.

In the second part, Barbara Siehl and Fritz B . Busch on the Rover 3500, the car of the year 1977, followed by a look at the Saab Turbo and other international innovations and crowd favorites. The motorhome is also discussed.

In the third part, Dieter Möller helps Fritz B. Busch and it starts right at the beginning with the world premiere of the Chrysler-Simca Horizon, after reporting on the many children who go missing (and are found again) on every IAA day. In the driving report, the television producers drive a Rolls-Royce Corniche worth the equivalent of a detached house. Other topics include the Porsche 928, the Mercedes-Benz 250T and the Citroën CX. A lot of time is also devoted to the VW Beetle, for which there are again delivery deadlines in 1977.

All in all, an enjoyable journey 40 years back in time. If you prefer reading text and looking at photos, please refer to our IAA report on the seventies .

Share this article with your friends!

Fit at the wheel - keep fit

Bruno von Rotz
09/21/2017

Vitaparcours im Jahr 1971

In Switzerland they were called Vitaparcours, in Germany they were called "Trimm-dich-Pfad". The concept, invented in the late 1960s, was simple: you used wooden elements and logs to stretch your body and activate your muscles. You ran between the posts, which were explained on easy-to-understand boards, and thus did something for your health and fitness.

Automobil Revue also wrote about the Vitaparcours in 1971, because it allowed individual training and thus offered an excellent opportunity to strengthen muscles and circulation without having to join a club with fixed training times. And this is particularly important for frequent drivers, whose spine is condemned to inactivity and whose arms are no longer challenged due to the ever decreasing power required for steering.
For those who did not want to visit a Vitaparcours, the Automobil Revue, or rather Dr. Baumgartner, suggested training directly at the steering wheel:

The cervical spine can be moved by tilting and turning the head. The driver's gaze remains on the road, so that the eyes also indirectly benefit from a welcome relaxation exercise.
The thoracic and lumbar spine can also be moved during the ride through rotational movements, as practiced when walking and especially when skiing. Rhythmic shifting of the pelvis and simultaneous movement of the shoulder girdle allow the torso to rotate around the longitudinal axis by 20 to 30 degrees.
If the arms can be supported at the side - although this requires armrests on both sides - the spine can also be stretched, which has a particularly beneficial effect.
By alternately raising the pelvis to the left and right, the spine can also be moved sideways to a certain extent.
The arms do not need to constantly cling to the steering wheel. There are traffic situations where it is perfectly acceptable to steer with one hand only and actively move the joints of the other arm during this time: it is best to proceed systematically, starting with the fingers and ending with the shoulder joint.
Even the joints of the left foot can be loosened from time to time by moving them up and down and using circular movements. The knee and hip can also be moved as far as possible. The situation is worse for the right foot, which must not leave its position on the accelerator or brake pedal under any circumstances. After a long journey, it is this foot that has to struggle the most with a feeling of heaviness, signs of fatigue, falling asleep or even cramps.

Yes, almost 50 years ago, nobody thought of mass-produced seats or even semi-autonomous cars ...

P.S. The Vitaparcours still exists, unlike its namesake and sponsor, the life insurer Vita. It has been called Zurich Life for over 20 years ...

Share this article with your friends!

Zwischengas has been publishing a daily blog post here since 2010

For more entries, please use the navigation by year and month.