Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Vive la France, part quatre
Keeping up our theme of honoring France, this time with an artistic offering.
Polistra is enjoying my latest CG model, a Renault R8, built partly as a tribute to France and partly as a remembrance of a real car that I owned and loved in the '70s.
I had owned a number of VWs before and since, but the R8 beat the Volks all to hell in every category. She was faster (70 MPH easily with oomph to spare for passing) --- more economical (35 MPG without trying, versus the VW's typical 25) --- safer by far (real heater and defroster, better wipers, better vision, better ergonomics) --- carried more passengers and luggage --- was easier to tune and repair --- and best of all, infinitely more comfortable.
So why didn't the R8 'kill' the VW? Because of the company, not the car. Volks built a network of competent dealers and repairmen before it tried to sell widely. Renault skipped the first step. So a hugely superior car got a bad reputation because you couldn't get parts or repairs when something went wrong.
If you're into CG stuff, specifically Poser models, you can download the R8 here. Other nice stuff, including most of the houses and furniture seen at the Mill, is available here and here. ¶ 9:24 PM
Keeping up our theme of honoring France, this time with an artistic offering.
Polistra is enjoying my latest CG model, a Renault R8, built partly as a tribute to France and partly as a remembrance of a real car that I owned and loved in the '70s.
I had owned a number of VWs before and since, but the R8 beat the Volks all to hell in every category. She was faster (70 MPH easily with oomph to spare for passing) --- more economical (35 MPG without trying, versus the VW's typical 25) --- safer by far (real heater and defroster, better wipers, better vision, better ergonomics) --- carried more passengers and luggage --- was easier to tune and repair --- and best of all, infinitely more comfortable.
So why didn't the R8 'kill' the VW? Because of the company, not the car. Volks built a network of competent dealers and repairmen before it tried to sell widely. Renault skipped the first step. So a hugely superior car got a bad reputation because you couldn't get parts or repairs when something went wrong.
If you're into CG stuff, specifically Poser models, you can download the R8 here. Other nice stuff, including most of the houses and furniture seen at the Mill, is available here and here. ¶ 9:24 PM
