Here’s the very best of automotive reading from around the web over the weekend.
Well, what I think was the best reading. Let’s see what you think.
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Volvo sold 427,840 vehicles in 2013, a small increase over 2012. The boost came thanks to large rise in Chinese sales and a small rise in Swedish sales. The US market, still #1 for Volvo, dropped by 10% so if they can arrest that slide in the near future, things will indeed look brighter for the other Swede.
Don’t mind the picture to the right. It’s an in-joke.
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We’ve been talking classics a fair bit lately and Hemmings have rightly touted an upcoming auction as the ultimate classic car showdown. This one’s going to have a huge influence, I think.
The difference?
One of them is completely original and in a condition that many would say needs restoration after years of storage. The other is completely restored – it was black out of the factory and it’s black now, but the interior has been changed from red with green tartan cloth, to red leather.
Which will attract the highest bid?
My money’s on the restoration, but I’d love the original to come out on top.
Click through to Hemmings for the full details.
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I’m going to write my last Saab article in a while over the course of the next week or so. This comments thread at Saabs United has convinced me that there’s nothing to write about with regards to Saab at the moment and won’t be for some time.
It’s slightly amusing and very, very sad – all at the same time.
I’ll write something and post when ready. It’s not in any way a rebuttal of the article, which I think is quite good and fair. It’s just my own thoughts on Saab’s current situation in light of their 31 vehicle sales in December, and why that situation doesn’t need any more comment from me for a while. I think a few others might find themselves in the same boat.
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I like the Fiat X1/9.
There. I said it.
I really like the Fiat X1/9 when it’s photographed as well as that one.
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A Lancia Fulvia with a chopped top?
No thanks.
And yet, this one’s expected to fetch more than £200,000 at auction in the near future.
Must be something to do with its race history and being eligible for nearly every historic event in Europe.
Still, no.
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Maserati is 100 years old this year?
I think we should celebrate.
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Here’s another collection of photos from Goodwood 2013.
Not as good the set from Any Given Reason, but still worth a look.
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And while we’re talking Any Given Reason, can you imagine stumbling upon a garage where Michael Schumacher’s personally specified Ferrari F40 is considered merely an entree?
Imagine you’re a tourist and you stumbled on this – because that’s what happened to AGR’s Andrew Coles. What he saw was completely unexpected and will blow your mind.
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Finally, a bird of paradise photographed by yours truly at the Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens on the weekend.
Bloomin Beauty!
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