Hey, where's your coverage from the 2012 V-103 Car and Bike Show?

Well, glad you asked. This year, I wasn't feeling it. I went, but I honestly wasn't thrilled like how I am with other car shows. (Note: With car shows, I'm like a little kid on Christmas day.) It was all wrong.

I guess they thought it was cool to leave it on the hitch.

First up, there's only two radio stations in Atlanta that plays Rap and R&B music, and V-103 chose to have their car show the same exact day as the competition's Birthday Bash Concert. Splitting that demographic wasn't smart because naturally people was going to go to Birthday Bash and partake in the events leading up to it- including the guys who had better cars that was featured in the show. Guys know how girls in Atlanta are, and most girls (not women) are attracted to shiny things, regardless if it's real or not. So of course, they would rather drive around and see how many girls they can pull.

Because of the first comment, there were more bikes than cars there. And the cars that were there, were mostly wheel and tire customizations. That's okay for a Bugatti, but for a Dodge Charger??? Bernie doesn't like wheel and tire shows, if that's the case, I would go to a car dealership.

Three, some of the cars there shouldn't have been there. Like this Dodge Magnum with the crappy matte black paint job. I have never painted cars. I've only painted my condo, and powder coated a wheel at SEMA, but I'm smart enough to know that paint jobs should be done even. I didn't photoshop anything in this photo, that's how uneven the car was painted. AND it looks like it took them five minutes to paint it.

Four: the reason why I liked this particular show in previous years is that the radio personalities put their cars in the show. The only personality from V-103 that put anything in the show was Greg Street. No Frank and Wanda and No Ryan Cameron. Major no no.

Five: Because they scheduled the show the same day as Birthday Bash, naturally the performers were going to go to Birthday Bash and perform for a larger crowd and get more money. Duh, I know I would have if I had any musical abilities. The car and bike show has pulled big names to perform- Rick Ross has been the headliner, so has TI. This year it was R Kelly, what song has he had since I moved to Atlanta? Step in the Name of Love was good, but it wasn't that good. What I'm saying is that they needed to go back to what worked in the past. Even Fat Joe pulled a bigger crowd and we're not on Trinity Ave in the Bronx.

SIX: WHY WASN'T  BABY'S, BIRDMAN'S, BRYAN WILLIAMS' BUGATTI and MAYBACH ROPED OFF FROM THE VERY START??? I know he can afford those cars, but don't allow kids with sticky hands and women with mile long nails to touch the cars. Auto Extremes had it correct from the beginning by roping off T-Pain's Bugatti. Duh, that's common sense. Halfway through the show, they decided to rope off both cars, but that should have been done before the doors opened to the public.

Seven: They did a last minute pull in, where if you wanted to be a part of the show, you could have arrived between 8am- 11am. But they didn't tell everyone that, so cars like this...

... couldn't be a part of it or they had to park outside, because they didn't tell anyone. And yes, they drove from Florida to be a part of the show.

Granted they still have a huge turnout. Girls bought out Rainbow, 5-7-9, Rave, Dots, Citi Trends and all the other $10 or less clothing stores in Atlanta to make sure they were seen.

Next year, I'm showing up when they're pulling the cars in, because I'm not going to be caught dead with the crowd that was there. And that's why I only showed off the photos on this page and not on my gallery because this show wasn't my best work. As a published photographer in print media that's sold worldwide, I'm big enough to admit that.

Always glad to run into Block and his donkasaurus... but I know there's a lot of guys who are ready to battle Block on the donk game.

Bernie's Test Drives from the 2012 AJC Car Show

Last week the annual Atlanta Journal Constitution Car Show rolled into town. When I moved to Atlanta back in '07, I remember how big their auto show use to be. In '08, they held the show in two rooms at the Georgia World Congress Center and it was a week long. Now.... it's five days long and confined into one room without all of the auto makers there (Mercedes Benz/Smart Car didn't show up).

I'm not gonna lie, I had fun this year. I spent more time outside of the show than I did inside, because the AJC made the show more family friendly. Six automakers- Cadillac, Dodge, GMC, Toyota, Kia, and VW offered test drives for those who wanted to feel the experience. And my crazy self decided to take advantage of the offers.

I test drove 10 vehicles. And it took me a little over 4 hours to do so. I tested in the exact order of driving: the Jeep Wrangler, Fiat Cabriolet, Dodge Charger R/T, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius-V, VW Bettle, VW Tiguan, and Kia Optima Turbo. Originally, I was going to rank the cars from which one I like from the lowest to the highest. But instead, I'll go by the order that I listed the vehicles above.

To kick off the test driving experience, I went with the Jeep Wrangler first. It was the blue, two door one pictured above with my test driving friend. I chose this particular vehicle first because the Jeep Wrangler will be one of my next vehicles (the Ford Mustang 5.0 GT is the other. I didn't forget about that one). I've previously mentioned how I fell in love with the Jeep Wrangler in Boston when I had the pleasure of driving a four door one. The blue one was fun, I liked how it goes into Eco mode to allow for the best gas milage, the removeable hood, plus that shade of blue pops *makes popping noise*. But with my vehicles, I like room. The two door was cute, but the four door is more ideal for me.

(Photo from thearticlewriter.com)

The Fiat Cabriolet was sooooooo fun to drive. The difference between the Fiat Convertible and most other convertibles is that you can put the top down while the car is in motion, up to 65 mph. I drove the Fiat Lounge Cabriolet, which is the second most expensive one, behind the Gucci Edition. Of course, Dodge was super excited, referring to the car as the J-Lo car. I'm still bitter with Jennifer Lopez because the commercial appeared to be in the Bronx, but in reality, she shot the commercial in Los Angeles and in the commercial she talked about what she loved about New York. I love Los Angeles and all, but it's not New York.

The Dodge Charger R/T was the type of vehicle that my lead foot needed. I like my vehicles to have power, and the Charger had pick up. The guy who was in charge of the Charger was happy, yet surprised that I tested the 370 horses. If I presented with a vehicle with a decent amount of horsepower, a dry road, and no cops around, of course I'm gonna drive fast. But the car will be returned exactly how I got it, just with a few more miles on it. But I could have continued living my life without knowing that there are 164 lights involved with the Dodge Chargers tail lights.

Then I shimmied over to the Cadillac area. My first vehicle was the biggest one they had to offer, yet no one was driving it, so that's why I asked to drive the Cadillac Escalade ESV. The size wasn't intimidating at all and I'm all of 5'2 and a half. What I liked the most about it, besides the fact that it's a full size SUV that offers 400 horsepower, but there's sensors on it that tells you when a vehicle is in your blind spot area- a feature that should be available on all vehicles.

Next, I hopped behind the wheel of the Cadillac CTS-V. Yes dears, the same one that Justin Beiber purchased. But there was a huge conspiracy involving this car. So we pull out of the lot, and it starts to rain. Not drizzle, but RAIN. I was pissed!!!! Because of the rain, I wasn't about to try out the 500+ horsepower. I love to speed, but I have great judgment. I didn't tell you the best part. When it was time for me to give the car back, it stops raining. Just my luck....

I ran back inside to register with Toyota and VW, then headed over to the Toyota area to select the "redesigned" 2012 Camry. Toyota failed to realize that minor changes doesn't warrant them to call it a redesign. The redesigning of the Camry was back in 2007. It was fun to drive, but I honestly didn't see any major difference between the 2012 one and the one my dad has- which is an '07. The 2012 one offers a lot more options, and who doesn't love options? As far as the standard equipment, there's no difference. The best part about the test drive was when the test drive guy started playing Young Jeezy since I mentioned I liked rap music.

I got out of the Camry, and ran into a guy I met before at one of the previous auto show. He was in charge of the Prius V and that's why I tested it. I asked the famous question- how much horsepower does it have? His answer- 138. I died laughing. Here's the thing- I've been followed before in my car, and the one thing I need is horsepower to get away from stalkers. 138 horsepower isn't gonna help you get away from anyone except if they're driving a Smart Car, which only offers 71 horsepower. The highlight to this test drive- Cam'ron came on the radio.

Then I ran to the VW area, when I jumped into the candy apple red Beetle. Oh my goodness, this car surprised me the most. When I turned onto the main road and the test driving guy encouraged me to test the tubo engine, I was in lust. It was cute,and it packed enough punch to leave folks in the dust. This was fun, and the redesigning of the Beetle is very roomy in the interior.

From there, I had to try VW's SUV- the Tiguan. The crazy name intrigued me, but I learned that a child entered a contest and came up with the name since they liked tigers and iguanas. It was fun to drive, and it was equipped with the same Turbo engine with a panaramic moon roof. It was cool, but I felt bad for the woman who was riding with me.

Finally, to round out the test drive, I ran over to the Kia section and jumped into the Optima Turbo. I tested the Optima Turbo last year, but the one I drove this year seemed a little different. But before I get into that, I want to get into something else. The test drive guy- forgot his name, but he was beyond knowledgable about auto shows, and all things automotive related. It was weird, he was like Rain Man of the automotive world. He did have an aspect of my dream job and I respected him for it. So while I was driving, Rain Man told me that Kia brought on someone from Audi to join Kia's design team, and the interior looked so much better. I forgot I was driving a Kia for awhile.

I hope the AJC Auto Show allows the test driving program next year. That way, it gave consumers a more intimate feel with a car. Auto Shows are good because they allow consumers to get in the car and feel the comfort level. But it's one thing to sit in a car, it's another to drive it for a few minutes. I didn't go to the GMC area, they provided a bunch of compact and midsize cars, plus the GMC Arcadia that I test drived before, and the Chevy Camaro which I test drove before. I know one thing, I wish Ford would partake in the test driving program.

Dodge Challenger

Specialists from the Roadster Shop did not cease to surprise us. This time in the workshop appeared in the Dodge Challenger, which thanks to extensive modifications has been reborn.

Challenger is one of the classic icons of the U.S. automotive industry. At one time produced by the muscle car brand Dodge received a great deal of publicity, thanks to her role in the cult road movie Fri "Vanishing Point".

The car, which fell into the hands of professionals with Roadster Shop has undergone a spectacular metamorphosis, which includes both the design and mechanics of the car. The modernized classic still has the characteristic shape of the body rising body line in the rear part, but will not find here such as the original bumper and dual exhaust tips. Chrome parts have been replaced by their new counterparts in body color, front, combine a wealth of additional spoiler, the rear was centrally positioned exhaust.

With four front lights with LED ring light design from the Halo BMW, under a huge, hunchbacked mask hides the 8.7-liter HEMI engine with a capacity of 775 hp. The drive unit using a 5-degree-speed manual gearbox. In the interest of optimum traction mechanics improved the suspension and steering the car brakes and strengthened. On the front axle hit 20 -, and 22-inch rear wheels fitted with Pirelli tires.

Considerable changes occurred also in the interior of the Challenger, which was dominated by black leather and gray alcantara. Additionally tunerzy equip cab in new clocks and center console with an original gearshift knob drilled a traditional ignition key was replaced motor uruchamiającemu button. In the modernized Dodge'u, there was also room for air conditioning.

Beats By Dre.... For Your Car!!!!!

Hip-Hop empresario/technological marketing guru Dr Dre is at it again. Let me backtrack and explain why I said what I said. Dr Dre is a West Coast Hip-Hop Producer and sometimes he's a rapper (Don't hold your breath for Detox). Dr Dre was the one who started the whole trend of having your own headphones. After Beats By Dre was selling like hotcakes, 50 Cent and Ludacris jumped on the bandwagon.

So Dre went back to the drawing board by tinkering with car audio systems and giving it the same treatment as he did with his best selling headphones, Thus giving birth to Beats By Dre... for your car. Debuting at the 2012 CES in Las Vegas, Dr Dre used his relationship with Chrysler (after all, he is a spokesmodel for the company), and outfitted a 2012 Dodge Charger with his speakers.

“Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine have built their careers on revolutionary and forward thinking decisions that formulate trends in music, popular culture and technology,” Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Dodge Brand. “Our goal in partnering with Beats by Dr. Dre is to integrate their recording-studio quality audio experience for our Charger enthusiasts to feel and hear their favorite music as it was intended – all while heightening the street performance and technology assets of the new 2012 Dodge Charger.”

High-performance of Beats™ by Dr. Dre™ audio system delivers the sound and feel
State-of-the-art Uconnect® Touch 8.4 provides 2012 Dodge Charger passengers with the segment’s largest touchscreen display (8.4-inch) and next-generation mobile connectivity, convenience and multimedia features. In addition to a “Beats by Dr. Dre” start-up screen, the Uconnect Touch also controls the 12-channel amplifier that integrates the heart of the Beats proprietary equalizer algorithm, creating the high-definition sound Beats Audio founders Dr. Dre, and Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, require in their professional recording studios.

The integration of Beats™ by Dr. Dre™ audio system delivers the mid- to high-range needed for studio-quality sound. Included in the system are:
Three 3.5-inch speakers located in the instrument panel
Two 3.5-inch speakers located in the rear doors
Two 6 x 9-inch front-door woofers provide bass
Two 6 x 9-inch speakers and a center-mounted 8-inch speaker located in the rear-shelf area provide full-range audio
Maximizing how music genres from hip hop to Motown should sound and feel, an 8-inch Beats Audio trunk-mounted dual-voice coil subwoofer with sealed enclosure delivers tight, powerful, punchy bass

(Photo by Cnet.com)

How did the Dodge Charger with Beats by Dre do at CES? One of cnet.com's bloggers had his alone time with the car and played his type of music (Tom Petty). And I quote "Again, that tight, undistorted sound came through clearly. For a change of pace, I requested a Tom Petty song that was one of the four set up for this demonstration. The glistening rip of an electric guitar tore across the sound stage, followed by Petty's higher register vocals. Again, the reproduction was excellent at volume."

I made that point about the blogger who liked Tom Petty because in this day in age (2012), Hip-Hop is still "frowned upon", although many of those in the hip-hop industry have been spokesmodels for automotive brands (i.e. Dr Dre, Enimem, and let us not forget T.I. with Chevrolet)

My question: Is this limited to just Dodge and Chrysler or will Chrysler offer this in all their brands? If it's the latter, I wouldn't mind a Four Door Jeep Wrangler (Black of course) with the Beats By Dre sound system.

Bernie's Top and Bottom Picks from the NAIAS

NAIAS or the most important auto show- the North American International Auto Show is currently taking place in Detroit, Michigan. Despite Detroit being the home of the "Big Three", almost all automakers use this show to show off what they've been working on in hopes to have the next great automobile.

I wasn't fortunate enough to attend the NAIAS this year (I'm currently back in school), however, in true Bernie fashion, I bring to you my top picks from the North American International Auto Show.

Number 5... The Dodge Dart. This particular car, I'm not looking at it from whether or not I would buy one, but I'm looking at it from Dodge's standpoint. Dodge hasn't had a strong compact car/economy car/clown car/funsize car since the Neon, and that was awhile ago. During that era, Dodge dominated it so maybe the Dart would be a solid move on Dodge's part. Let's be real, if you combine the Avenger and the Caliber together, it still didn't make the noise that the Neon made.

Number 4... The Chevy Tru 140S. This looks better than the Chevy Cruze, but sadly, according to Autoblog, it would perform just like the Cruze. *sad face* That means the Tru 140S will have the same 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and it'll put out 150 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels via either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Which means it'll look better than it performs.

Number 3... Acura NSX. I've never described a vehicle as being sexy and I'm not a fan of vehicles that barely clear the ground, nor have I been a fan of exotic cars. However, if Acura gives the thumbs up and I had the money to purchase this, believe me, I would snatch this up in a heart beat. But if it suffers from the "Chevy Tru" disease (I look fast, but my performance sucks), then I would leave it on the lot.

Apparently because of NAIAS, Acura gave the green light to the NSX which will be produced in 2015. Acura, call me to test drive, I'm available. But if it has less than 300 horsepower, then lose my number.

Number 2... The Bentley Continental GT V8. I Love Bentley. They took their best selling vehicle and figured out how to make it better. They reduced the engine power from the W12 to a V8, lowered the horsepower, thus increasing the MPG. I'm huge on horsepower but Bentley hasn't been stingy with it. Bentley kept the design but made the Continental a stronger vehicle. The difference is- it's roughly $10,000+ less than the W12, you lose about 60 horsepower, but the 0-60 is still the same, plus it gets better gas milage to over 20 mpg. Let me stop, because I'm starting to sound like a car salesman.

Number 1... Of course it's the Ford Shelby 50th Anniversary Edition. But I hear that Carroll Shelby wants to back away from creating the Shelby Mustangs as a whole vehicle, and focus on making the parts to convert a Mustang into a Shelby Mustang. That means he wants to make more money. Either way, I love the car and I'm still working on getting one... or being perfectly content with a Mustang 5.0 GT.

I do have one honorable mention, and it goes to Mercedes Benz. Mercedes Benz has been paying attention to "what's hot in the streets" so to speak and everyone knows that all trends start in the streets. One trend is matte painting a vehicle, and Mercedes picked up on it. Offering high end vehicles in white, flat silver, dark grey, and black and possibly expanding the color palette down the line. It's a great idea, and I commend them being ahead of the curve, but... As a person who has been in the streets (a.k.a. car shows around the country), I've seen many matte vehicles. BMWs have been the most popular, followed by other imports, and I've seen a matte black Lamborghini, plus Jim Jones does have a matte black Audi. I don't think a matte Mercedes Benz will go over well. If they sell more than 9, I will be surprised. I'll give Mercedes an A for effort, but BMW should have came up with that idea since they would have profited more.


Now for my bottom picks...

The Cadillac ATS that everyone was wetting their pants over. Why? It looks just like the Cadillac CTS and usually Cadillac can crank out different designs in their models. I hope Cadillac isn't turning into Nissan. Which brings me to my next bottom pick...

The "Newly Modeled" Nissan Pathfinder. It's newly modeled all right. It looks just like the Murano and Rogue. What's the difference? I won't find out for myself until I can corner Nissan at an auto show in March and April.

Chevy Node 130R. Remember when the present design of the Chevy Camaro was just a concept? Again, that's what this looks like to me, but it probably won't perform like the Camaro.

Lexus LF-LC. That grille... That grille... That grille...

And finally, the Buick Encave. Normally I'm sympathetic towards the Encave because Buick's clientele are folks over 50 and the Encave was the shred of hope for a younger audience. However, the length seems squished and the bumper looks off.


I hope that the vehicles I listed above will strut their stuff at the 2012 New York Auto Show, because I'm going this year...

Photos: AB and NAIAS

The Detroit News: Chrysler ends production of Caliber and welcomes the Dart

The Detroit News reports that after years of small profits, Chrysler pulled the plug on the Caliber. Introduced in 2006 as a replacement for the Dodge Neon, the Caliber was basically the worst of a bad bunch by many industry observers. Consumer Reports ranked the Caliber SXT at the bottom of its list of small hatchbacks and wagons in the 2011 annual car issue.

Analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics LLP said he thought cars such as the Caliber, the Chevrolet Cobalt and previous generations of the Ford Focus were the products of "cynical thinking" and approved because the companies thought consumers who purchased the entry-level vehicles wouldn't know any better.

Personally, the Dodge Caliber confused me because you don't really know what to consider it. In some circles, it was considered as a small CUV- since it had four doors with a hatchback. In other circles, it was Dodge's version of a compact car. Alas, I don't have to wonder anymore.

However, Dodge hasn't given up hope on a compact car, and they decided to re-release the new Dodge Dart. With the new and improved Dart, think of Fiat's Alfa Romeo brand since that's what it's based off of. Take the Dodge Avenger and squish it a bit and round out the front fenders and take the lights from the Charger. Be prepared for the unveiling at the North American International Auto Show in the Big D- where Dodge, Ford, and Chevy battle to unveil lots and lots of goodies...

Bernie's Top 5 Car Rentals in 2011

Anyone who knows me knows that I rent cars. I'm not like the folks in Atlanta who would rent a car just to go to the club and pretend it's theirs. Most of my rentals were out of town ones or traveling to a car show outside the metro Atlanta area, plus I had two unexpected rentals because my boo on four wheels (My Envoy) was being serviced or being repaired.

So I compiled a list of my top five rentals of this year with the pros and cons of each, where, why, how long it was rented, etc... I'm sure everyone can guess the number one car.

5. 2012 Dodge Avenger. Rented from Alamo for transportation for a week while transmission was being repaired.
My most recent rental, and I liked it. The Avenger is the smaller version of the Charger, which is what made me to pick it. Plus it was black on black. The interior stitching was a nice touch, and for a vehicle that had the base package, it came with useful perks- especially the audio and driving controls on the steering wheel. It served it's purpose, however would Bernie buy one: NO... Why own an Avenger if you can own a Charger?

4. 2010 Dodge Charger. Rented from Alamo for car show in Georgia for one day. Having experience with leaving tire skid marks on the road with a Charger, I decided to rent another one. I always liked the Charger, but would Bernie buy one: NO... Everyone and their mother has one. It's perfect if you want to blend in with everyone else and not stand out. You can't go to a car show without seeing at least 10 of them. I believe that everything that you do to a Charger has been done.

3. 2011 Nissan Rogue. Rented from Alamo in Los Angeles and drove to Vegas and back for four days. My first time driving a Nissan but what really surprised me is that it had the ability to go 160 MPH... and this was the base package. It was a cute CUV, but the size of it is a fraction smaller than the Murano. It was great on the road and it was able to fight through the Santa Ana Winds, Jim Jones sounded great coming out of the stock sound system, but would Bernie buy one: Nope. I'll get a Murano instead- the difference between the two is that Murano has a V6 engine (which means more horsepower. I like pickup in my vehicles), and it's a bit more high-end and a tab more cargo space. But if you don't care about a V6 engine, extra amenities, or a little less space- then the Rogue is the car for you.

2. 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport. Rented from Alamo in Boston and drove to Providence RI for one day. I had a serious Blond moment in this truck, but I LOVED IT. I got it because the original vehicle class I rented wasn't available, so I picked the four door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport. This was the vehicle where I realized how short I was, because there is no graceful way to get in or out of it. The Wrangler really could use a running board, but it would take away from the ruggedness of it. It performed GREAT on I-95, even in the rain in Boston. Talk about a perfect vehicle. Would Bernie buy one: As awkward as I was entering and exiting this truck, I would buy one. Oh and T.I. sounded great coming out of the sound system. Yes I listened to T.I. while I was in Boston and Providence... but I didn't try to find Pauly D.
P.S. The blond moment was that I didn't know how to roll down the windows. The controls were in the middle panel by the audio system, not on the doors like in most vehicles.

1. 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0 GT. Rented from Avis in Los Angeles and drove to Vegas for one day. I already created a post about this experience, but the only thing that I do not like about this car is that it's a very low car and you can feel the road. I wouldn't drive this on the Cross Bronx Expressway like I was driving it on I-15. But I sure tested out the 412 Horsepower. Would Bernie buy this: Yes I would... in black. What a 30th birthday gift this would be... I really did love this car. Thank god for Avis for having that special that particular time I was there. Great vehicle for California and Vegas... you know, places that have sunshine almost all year.

I've rented seven cars this year, and the two that wasn't listed was the Dodge Caliber that my insurance company set up for me to use while my Envoy was being fixed after the accident. And the second was the 2011 Chevy HHR. Both cars can be summarized by the same statement: It was alright, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

Sadly, this wasn't the first year where I excessively rented cars. 2006 was a very good year as well. Some people do drugs, some people drink, some people gamble, some people shop. I rent cars.

A post about Car Rental Tips will be coming soon...