The electron microscope of the media has been firmly fixed on Lapo Elkann, heir to the Fiat car company fortune, since Tuesday night when Elkann tipped the basketball away from the Toronto Raptors’ Jose Calderon. The tip prevented Calderon from keeping the ball in-bounds and thwarted Toronto’s defence of its lead against Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers. Kobe went on to make a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the win, despite being double-teamed. On a slightly unrelated note, Kobe Bryant is so amazing that Aston Martin is making a USD$550 limited edition shoe in collaboration with the all-star.

But wait, who is that to the right of Calderon? And why does he hate Canada’s only NBA team, and the whole country by association?

The man to the right of Calderon is none other than Charlie Day, who plays the illiterate, paint-huffing, glue-huffing, stalker, song-writer Charlie Kelly on FX television’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (or IASIP, for short). Seeing as how IASIP is currently my favourite show on television (well, DVD) bar none, it was personally hurtful to see Charlie applauding the fortuitous break for the Lakers, who were outplayed for the majority of the game by the Raptors. Why can’t the man who invented “kitten mittons” show a little more compassion for Canada?

Or maybe, just maybe, that isn’t Charlie Day at all. I mean, since when does Charlie have his whole left forearm tattooed?

[Y! Sports]

Today, Subaru is the only company in the world to use boxer engines and Porsche is the only other company to use flat engines. These engines feature cylinders that are neither inline nor banked at an angle to form a V-shape. Instead, the cylinders lay flat along a horizontal plane. But not all flats are boxers, even if all boxers are flats.

Ok, so that’s mildly confusing, but what are the advantages of this arrangement? And why do only two manufacturers employ the flat engine design? 

The advantage of having cylinders that are flat, or horizontally-opposed, is that cooling is ameliorated due to increased surface exposure between the cool air and the warm pistons. This was of particular advantage when engines were still cooled by air, instead of the liquid water that now cools everything every motor from that of a Lancia to a Lamborghini. Having a flat engine also lends itself to a lower centre of gravity because the engine occupies less vertical height. This lower centre of gravity in the engine as well as its lower height allow the engine to be placed lower in the engine bay. These advantages were clearly of great interest to Subaru when they chose to identify their company with flat engines and symmetrical all-wheel-drive. But considering that Porsche positions their engines behind the rear axle, in the trunk essentially, Ferdinand God only knows why they chose a flat engine. Oh, that’s right, Porsche does it because Hans Ledwinka did it first.

The difference between a flat boxer engine and a flat non-boxer engine is all in the crankpins. Whereas the boxer engines found in Subarus have individual crankpins controlling each cylinder, the non-boxers engines found in Porsches have opposing pistons sharing a crankpin on the crankshaft and therefore reach top dead centre a half crankshaft revolution apart. If that doesn’t mean much to you, watch the videos below to help you visualize the difference.

The flat engine design also boasts perfect natural balance and therefore does not require extra balancing weights the way other engine configurations do. Aside from the flat engine, only the inline-six and V12 are similarly balanced. The equipoise of the flat engine is achieved because the opposing pistons reach top dead centre simultaneously, thereby balancing each others momentum, as demonstrated below by Subaru’s elegant four-cylinder.

Beautiful, no? Well, it is doubly beautiful when compared to the chaotic clusterfuck seen in a Porsche’s flat engine.

The downside of boxer engines, and flat engines in general, is their affinity for yielding noise. Considered another way, flat engines have a distinctive guttural bellow that seems to appeal to enthusiasts, likely because this unique sound is associated with a car of potent performance (i.e. the Porsche 911 and Subaru STI) and is not associated with, say, a Prius, which is miserable and makes no sound at all. This is the main reason that more manufacturers don’t use flat engines – noise is the enemy in an automotive culture that reads “NVH” the same way followers of the Bible read “666”.

The design of the flat engine was originally patented by none other than Karl Benz, the man mistakenly credited with the invention of the automobile. This popular misconception can be attributed to the commercial pride of Daimler-Benz and as LJK Setright remarked succinctly “the furor Teutonicus of the Nazi party after coming to power in Germany in 1933”. The first man to manufacture a gasoline-powered internal combustion vehicle was actually an Austrian man of Jewish descent, Siegfried Markus. Markus built no less than four such inventions but unfortunately they were all for his own pleasure. Thus, Markus did not patent the motor vehicle despite holding 131 other patents, leaving the distinction of patenting the first automobile to Herr Benz. Wikipedia words it less poetically, although no less accurately, in saying “Markus was removed from German Encyclopedias as the inventor of the modern car, under a directive from the German Ministry for Propaganda during the Second World War. His name was replaced with the names of Daimler and Benz.”

Today, Markus is remembered by this statue in Vienna, Austria. Had I known about it this past summer, I might have visited the small monument to motoring (and Jewish) history. Instead, I saw a BMW 5-series GT, in a museum of all places. Oh, and a lovely Lancia too.

Despite the name of Benz being immortalized in popular culture and that of Markus being relegated to the cerebral cortexes of automotive historians, all on account of an anti-semitic smear campaign, Benz can be given credit where credit is due for the invention of the flat engine. Subaru and Porsche can at least thank Benz for that.

[Photo credit: Ricardipus/Flikr, deplaqer/Flikr]

[Video credit: author, YouTube]

With doors agape, the 2011 SLS greeted visitors at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. This is the car that Mercedes is using to ignite our memories of the 1955 Mille Miglia and Stirling Moss. But wait, didn’t they just do that with the McLaren SLR Stirling Moss?. In person, it’s clear to see that the driver sits acres away from the nose of the car, much like the SLR McLaren this car effectively replaces as well as the BMW Z4 we drove in 2009. And although both the SLS and the baby BMW are rear-wheel drive two-seaters, the similarities end there. Whereas the Merc has a 6.2L V8 and pedestrian-arresting gullwing doors, the BMW is more conventional with its normal doors and straight-six engine. There’s also the matter of the $200,000 difference in price between the two, but no one said that a sense of occasion was cheap. In fact, it most assuredly isn’t. The SLS had a presence that had people flocking to its rotating stand, despite the lack of professional female accoutrement.

But why should you bother with a plane ticket to Chicago when you have CarEnvy.ca to do that for you? With our ever-expanding collection of 360˚ videos, it’s just like you’re there. Except you’re in the warmth of your home or office and not under the migraine-inducing lights of McCormick Hall. The things we do for our readers…

[author via YouTube]

Toyota’s FT series of concepts first rolled out with the splendiferous 2007 FT-HS, a look at what a 21st century Supra might look like, hybrid powertrain and all. Unfortunately, that little experiment was ill-timed with the economic forces to which Toyota swayed. The second FT was the FT-86, so named because it is meant to recall the affordability and rear-driven wheels of the AE86 Corolla. This was a preview of the 2012 Celica that Toyota hopes will bring a pulse back to the brand. Now, the third FT concept is here with the “CH” moniker, likely referring to “compact hybrid”, but that’s just a wild guess. The styling was executed at Toyota’s European Design Centre in France and the design cues are targeted at the “8-bit generation” who grew up playing 8-bit video games, the company claims. Uh, so I guess that’s me. And what could go better with an 8-bit design philosophy but an 8-bit soundtrack. Sure, it’s kinda annoying, but so are the hipsters that my generation has created.

If such a car were to reach production, it would likely do so as an expansion of the Prius brand. After all, if consumers and manufacturers have learned nothing in the last few years, it’s that the “Prius” badge sells cars, not the “Hybrid” badge. The FT-CH is a smaller car than the mid-size Prius, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it came to market with the Prius Urban nameplate, or some such marketing drivel. Enjoy this 360˚ preview of the mini-Prius because it could be exactly what the market ordered, minus the unintended acceleration and hipster luxury nameplate.

[author via YouTube]

Is it brown or bronze? The colour is debatable, but the twin R8s in attendence were lovingly laid with carbon fibre packages that made them sparkle and fizz under the fluorescent McCormick Hall lights. But still pictures don’t do the twins justice, especially not the decapitated sibling named Spyder.

As the bronze statue turns…

And some of the detailing is just lovely.

[Photos: author, Video: author via YouTube]

Have you ever seen a Fisker on the streets? Sure you have, you’ve seen an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Aston Martin DB9, or maybe even a BMW Z8. Or maybe you’ve even seen all three, like I have. But I can guarantee that you haven’t seen this eponymous (and electric) car of Henrik Fisker’s on the streets. That’s because it’s not for sale yet. Still, Fisker Automotive has been tantalizing those of us interested in stylish electric cars for some time now, and I’m not saying that I fall into such a category, I’m just speaking in generalities. With an on sale date expected to be in the third quarter of this year, we may not have to wait much longer for the Fisker Karma sedan. Although the convertible and crossover models that American Vice President Joe Biden famously leaked are still an indeterminate ways away.

So how is Fisker ramping up excitement for their new products? With a splashy booth at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, of course!

With the centrally-mounted driving position, this is the first supercar since Gordon Murray’s McLaren F1 to utilize this style. I emphasize supercar because Gordon Murray’s T.25 city car will employ a similar set-up. This driving position only adds to the mystique of the first truly Canadian car of any type since the ill-fated Bricklin SV-1. That, and the fact that this is a full-on supercar with a GM small block providing the power and a body as wide and seductive as an open stretch of unrestricted Autobahn.

And don’t worry about the weak economy crushing this car’s potential, rumour has it that 8 of them have already been sold to eager European buyers. The Pléthore will also be in Geneva next week for their 80th International Motor Show.

[GTspirit via Facebook]

Based on what you see above, you’ll agree that this new 2011 Hyundai Sonata (no, that isn’t the Passat CC) has more inspired and engaging styling than the benchmark Toyota Camry. But what you can’t tell from the pictures is how the car feels. So let me tell you that it feels solid and well screwed together. Like, no joke.  In fact, I’ll go as far to say that the new Sonata is better than the Camry, and for that matter all the other midsize sedans. I had an inkling that this statement might be true, but the Korean company’s presence at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show cemented it for me.

It was there that I saw the 2011 Sonata in the metal and had the opportunity to explore the car a bit. This car was so surprisingly adequate that I needed to compare it to Toyota, the reigning champion of North American sales. And adequacy. But I’ll get to that in a second because there were also the 2010 Tuscon, the Genesis brothers, and the Genesis Coupe drift car that some dude named Rhys Millen uses to extract smoke out of rubber. And all of these cars had a big impact on me. I know it has been said before that Toyota’s quality is slipping, but it wasn’t clear to me how badly the Koreans are now beating the Japanese titan, and therefore everyone else. But it isn’t just Hyundai that is sneaking up on the Big Two of GM and Toyota, it’s Volkswagen too. It has been well-publisized that Volkswagen plans to be the world’s largest automaker by 2018, but based on what I saw at the CAS, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the Koreans first. Either way, both brands are on the rise.

More proof and less rhetoric are below.

One big difference between Hyundai/Volkswagen and Toyota is the perception of interior quality. This basically comes down to using plastics that feel agreeable to touch and buttons/knobs that don’t feel like they were made by the Playskool children’s brand, if that doesn’t sound too cliché. Softer materials that don’t echo when used are usually best. Hyundai has figured this out. Toyota has forgotten it.

Now, this is hardly comparing apples to apples, or even apples to oranges, in fact this should be like comparing a Bentley to a 3-series, but I’ll let you be the judge.

That interior wouldn’t win anyone over if it were found in a Yaris, but it was found in a USD$60,000 Toyota Sequoia, and it pales in comparison to the new Volkswagens and Hyundais costing a third as much.

See what I mean? This is a $20,000 Volkswagen and it’s awesome.

And now a $20,000 Hyundai.

Value is all about perception, and when quality can be had at lower prices, that’s doubly attractive. Ah, yes. Quality – that ever-important sensory subjective. It isn’t just looks that give quality, these new cars are remarkably well put-together, with doors that don’t sound nearly as tinny as the new Prius. The new Hyundais have quality in spades and the Volkswagens never really lost it.

The styling is another area of drastic improvement. The Hyundais now look Germanically-styled, partly because they are, and the Volkswagen MkVI Golf and Passat CC are leading a more exciting design direction than what we saw in the early part of the decade. The difference is that the Sonata has pulled off the trick of using sleek curves that don’t limit interior space, something the Passat CC can’t muster. Well played, Hyundai. I may be going out on a limb here, but we may look back on the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and the Volkswagen Golf MkVI the same was we do the third-generation Toyota Camry and the W124 Mercedes E-Class. Just maybe.

Amazingly

For more videos, you can check out our YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/CarEnvy.

[Source credits: author (1, gallery), YouTube, scottx/Flikr (2), World Hyundai/Flikr (3)]

SpeedTV has just reported on their recent conversation with the FIA’s Nick Craw regarding that organisation’s recent talks with the beleaguered USF1. While it is unlikely that they have, in fact, been wasting time making space-age toasters, it’s equally clear that they’re not going to be ready to race at Bahrain in a few weeks time. With that in mind, what does USF1 intend to do? Official word is relayed in this video. To be honest, the first two options seem rather unlikely, at best.

The 2010 Chicago Auto Show has just wrapped up but our belated (but bespoke) coverage will continue to seep into these pages over the coming days. To start things off, here is a video of the venerable Lexus LFA that we took. While you’ve undoubtedly seen pictures of the LFA, or even video reviews, you haven’t seen it up close and personal. Until now.

The 360˚ video and 16-image gallery of the LFA are below. I think you’ll enjoy the fine details of Japanese engineering. A lot. Also, the matte gray that this LFA is painted is infinitely cooler than the white we keep seeing.