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Showing posts from November, 2023

Eicma 2023: The Motorcycling Grand Spectacle and the Uninvited

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So, Eicma 2023 – a cacophony of novelties, surprises, and dreams on two wheels. We've seen the most anticipated, the most beautiful, and the ones you might've missed. But what about the bikes we were waiting for, only to find an empty space in the showroom? Here's the lowdown on the great absentees stealing the spotlight. **Ducati Desmo MX: The Pachyderm in the Room** Ducati, the grand conductor of Eicma's anticipation orchestra, had us all on the edge, expecting the imminent debut of the 450 Cross – fresh off the hands of Tony Cairoli and Alessandro Lupino. We wanted a sneak peek, maybe not the Desmo engine details, but at least a glimpse of the bike's form. Alas, a postponed debut, possibly because the bike is still evolving. The waiting game continues. **Triumph MX2: All Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go** Triumph, just like Ducati, had a showstopper in its motocross lineup. Eicma could have been the grand stage, but Triumph and KTM played the absentee card, represen

The Battle Royale between Asia and Europe and Japan in the motorcycle world!!

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  Alright, buckle up and brace yourselves for the clash of the Titans, the battle royale between Asia and Europe in the motorcycle world. It's like watching Godzilla go head-to-head with King Kong, only this time it's about bikes, not beasts. So, there we were at EICMA 2023, the ground zero for all things two-wheeled. The theme of the day? Globalization and how the motorcycle market is shaping up post-pandemic. But let's cut to the chase – it's all about the showdown between the mighty Asia and the rest of the globe. Now, if you thought this was a fair fight, think again. It's like a game of poker where Asia is holding all the aces, and the rest are struggling to keep up. Why? Well, blame it on tariffs and those pesky pollution regulations. The EICMA conference saw top-tier European managers discussing how to deal with this David-and-Goliath situation. The numbers speak for themselves. The Asian invasion at EICMA 2023 was unlike anything we've seen before. It wa

Jeep’s Avenger is a European Car of the Year winner. But is it a proper Jeep, or just a Fiat in drag?

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Jeeps used to be cool. They were big, brash, and brawny, with names like Wagoneer, Cherokee, and Wrangler. They were the sort of cars you’d drive across the desert with a shotgun on the passenger seat and a cigar in your mouth. But then something went wrong. Jeeps became boring. They started making cars like the Compass and the Patriot, which looked like they’d been designed by a committee of accountants. And the Renegade, which was supposed to be funky and fun, but was really just a Fiat 500X with a Jeep badge. So when I heard that Jeep had made a new car called the Avenger, I wasn’t very excited. And when I heard that it was an electric car, I was even less excited. And when I heard that it was based on a Fiat, built in Poland, and not even sold in America, I was ready to write it off as a complete waste of time. But then something strange happened. The Avenger won the European Car of the Year award for 2023. That’s right, a Jeep beat all the fancy German and French cars to win the m