Tag Archives: Harley Davidson

Automobiles

Quick Spin: 2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition

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By John Neff

2013 Chevy Camaro Hot Wheels Special Edition - parked in front of Toys R Us store

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Pairing your car, truck or SUV with another brand is a tried-and-true method to create the sort of positive association that sells vehicles, or at least gives them an attractive new look and higher margins. Ford knows this, having paired the Explorer and rugged apparel brand Eddie Bauer in the ’90s with great success, and the F-150 with iconic motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson since 2000 (that partnership, however, has ended with the 2012 model year).

Not every partnership is geared towards making a vehicle appear more macho, though. The Fiat 500 by Gucci, for instance, matches the cute Cinquecento with a high fashion icon (something Cadillac tried back in 1979), and Lexus has a history of Coach Edition models that came with higher grade leather and matching luggage. Indeed, this 2013 Chevy Camaro Hot Wheels Special Edition isn’t even the only pairing of toy and car, another example being the recent Call of Duty MW3 and Black Ops editions of the Jeep Wrangler. It isn’t even the only Camaro co-branded with a toy – the 2012 Transformers Edition with Bumblebee paint job preceded it.

Pairing your automobile with something sold inside a Toys R Us, however, can be tricky. Fashion and apparel brands have more universal appeal among adult buyers than, for instance, the latest first-person-shooter video game. Partnering with a brand that markets primarily to children can also communicate the wrong thing about the person who buys such a vehicle – that he or she has a Peter Pan syndrome, not wanting to grow up, buy that sensible sedan and get on with life like the rest of us. Then again, buying a Hot Wheels Special Edition Camaro could just mean you remember the fun side of life and have the extra disposable income to show it.

Driving Notes

  • The Hot Wheels Special Edition options package is a $6,995 question that needs answering when ordering your Camaro 2LT (V6) or 2SS (V8) coupe or convertible. The package includes Kinetic Blue metallic paint; 21-inch black aluminum wheels with red striping; the Camaro’s RS appearance package; Hot Wheels badging, decals and embroidery; premium floor mats and a painted engine cover. Nothing here makes the car go quicker, turn better or stop shorter, which is fine, as the Camaro’s got plenty of other packages and models that do that. This test car was also equipped with the optional dual-mode performance exhaust for $895 and navigation system for $795, bringing its out-the-door price minus tax to $45,720.
  • In creating this Hot Wheels Special Edition model, Chevy designers have done a good job walking the fine line between attention-grabbing aesthetics and gratuitously over-the-top looks. The Kinetic Blue paint pops, but not nearly as much as some other Camaro colors (remember Synergy Green?). The design of the wheels is a matter of taste, and they appear neatly inspired by their 1:64 scale counterparts, but no one …read more

    Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Video: Low-rider Lamborghinis, motorcycle gangs and Yakuza make Underground Hero a must watch

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By Brandon Turkus

Lamborghini video with Japan's Yakuza - video screencap

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Japan’s Yakuza are some of the most dangerous and feared criminals on the planet, known for a disturbing level of commitment and honor. Just do some research on yubitsume to see what we mean.

Underground Hero: Love To Hate Me is a video from Luke Huxham, that takes a look inside Yakuza car culture, showing that these dangerous criminals aren’t all that different from normal enthusiasts when it comes to their cars. Focusing on Shinichi Moroboshi, owner of a modified Lamborghini Diablo and someone we wouldn’t be interested in angering, it focuses both on his life in the Yakuza and just what drew him towards the Diablo.

There’s also an interesting look at Japan’s modding culture, where neon chassis lighting is still alive and well. The effect it has on these cars, mostly from Lamborghini, is actually pretty dramatic, almost classy. The video also focuses on Bosozoku, in this case, Japanese motorcycle gangs. These aren’t your Harley-Davidson riding Hell’s Angels, rather, these riders lean toward tricked out Hondas and Suzukis (heavily modified cars are also a staple of Bosozoku culture).

Moroboshi-san’s story is a lot like ours, falling in love with a car during a chance encounter. At 17, the young Bosozoku was passed on the street by a Countach. The car and the sound it made left an impression on him that blossomed into a strong desire to own one of Italy’s finest products.

Take a look at the video below, and then head over to Jalopnik for an interesting commentary from the film’s director about just what it was like to work with the Yakuza.

Continue reading Low-rider Lamborghinis, motorcycle gangs and Yakuza make Underground Hero a must watch

Low-rider Lamborghinis, motorcycle gangs and Yakuza make Underground Hero a must watch originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Earnings Increase Expected for Harley-Davidson (HOG)

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By Narrative Science Wall Street is high on Harley-Davidson, expecting it to report earnings that are up 9% from a year ago when it reports its second quarter earnings on Thursday, July 25, 2013. The consensus estimate is $1.17 per share, up from earnings of $1.07 per share a year ago. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Automobiles

Video: Campagna T-Rex roars into Jay Leno's Garage

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By Damon Lowney

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The three-wheeled Campagna T-Rex has been in production since 1995, featuring a variety of motorcycle engines to power it along the way, but Canada-based Campagna has never been able to sell it in the US as a street-legal vehicle. All that changed with the company’s new owners. The T-Rex recently was certified here to be sold and registered for the street as a motorcycle, and we were able to test the latest model, the BMW-powered T-Rex 16S, around Southern California in May. We found it to be particularly entertaining on a twisty road, if not a replacement for a daily driver, and now Jay Leno’s Garage has captured the fun on video.

Previous Campagnas have used motorcycle engines from Kawasaki, such as in the T-Rex 14R, and Harley-Davidson, in the V13R, but the newest model uses a BMW Motorrad-supplied 1600cc six-cylinder engine and six-speed sequential transmission (modified by Campagna to house a reverse gear) from its K1600 motorcycle, which, with 160 horsepower and 129 pound-feet of torque, pairs nicely with the three-wheeler’s 1,150-pound weight. Believe it or not, Campagna’s vice president of sales, Michel Paukette, says the 16S is wider than a Corvette ZR1 by two inches and, thanks to the wide front stance and low weight, is able to pull 1.1 g around a skidpad on performance-oriented street tires. 0-60 miles per hour comes in about four seconds, making it quick by any standard. If that, and the $62,000 price tag, is too much of a handful, then customers can still order the less-expensive 14R or V13R.

But Leno’s favorite T-Rex engine is the BMW mill in the 16S, which is a step up from the V13R and 14R both in performance and refinement. Amenities that are found in the K1600, such as satellite radio, Bluetooth and USB ports, can be found in the 16S, though Leno makes a good point that the stereo system might be useless with the engine sitting directly behind the cockpit. Watch the video below for more information on the 16S and, more importantly, to see Leno wring out that beautiful-sounding engine.

Continue reading Campagna T-Rex roars into Jay Leno’s Garage

Campagna T-Rex roars into Jay Leno’s Garage originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Winnebago Earnings: An Early Look

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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Earnings season is just about over, with almost all companies already having reported their quarterly results. But there are still a few companies left to report, and Winnebago is about to release its quarterly earnings report. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks that are releasing their quarterly reports is to anticipate how they’ll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you’ll be less likely to make an uninformed kneejerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Winnebago may not make the fastest vehicles on the planet, but its stock has been a speedster lately. What’s behind the company’s stratospheric rise? Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with Winnebago over the past quarter, and what we’re likely to see in its quarterly report on Thursday.

Stats on Winnebago

 

  

Analyst EPS Estimate

$0.15

Year-Ago EPS

($0.03)

Revenue Estimate

$170.9 million

Change From Year-Ago Revenue

30%

Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters

2

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will Winnebago race ahead this quarter?
Analysts have gotten really optimistic on Winnebago recently. They’ve upped their estimates on earnings for the most-recent quarter by nearly $0.10 per share over the past few months, and they’ve lifted their full-year fiscal 2013 calls by more than $0.30 per share. The stock has jumped by more than 30% just since late December, after a spectacular 2012 that saw share prices double.

Winnebago was almost a casualty of the 2008 recession. As potential customers saw their savings disappear in the market meltdown, recreational vehicles were the first discretionary-spending item they marked off their list, and many of Winnebago’s peers ended up filing for bankruptcy.

Yet, Winnebago managed to survive. Because of Winnebago’s vertically integrated business, which includes its own production facilities, the company is able to respond more quickly to changes in consumer demand. Moreover, its customer service gives Winnebago a vital competitive advantage over rival Thor Industries and its Airstream brand of RVs, because customers know that Winnebago will be around to honor warranties and deal with issues.

Moreover, as baby boomers begin to enter retirement, Winnebago should see a natural demographic upturn in sales. Motorcycle-maker Harley Davidson has shown similar promise lately, with growth in its target upper-middle-age customer demographic pointing toward higher revenue, and the stock has risen near multi-year highs as a result. Similarly, Winnebago has regained much of the ground it lost during the financial crisis, and appears poised to continue its winning ways.

In its quarterly report, watch for Winnebago to discuss the impact of stubbornly high fuel prices on its sales. Given how well Winnebago has done, even in the face of high prices at the pump throughout the past year, it seems likely that the RV company will be able to overcome that obstacle once again.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Baseball

Rangers load up and move out on Truck Day

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By T.R. Sullivan They loaded three motorcycles onto the Rangers’ Spring Training truck on Friday before it headed off to Arizona. Two of the bikes belonged to Dr. Keith Meister and trainer Kevin Harmon, while the third — a Harley-Davidson — belonged to Rangers vice president Jim Sundberg.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at MLB