Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - smokin_aces
Last week, SQUARE ROOT hit the first Bad Beat Jackpot since the launch of Cereus. Any win in Poker is worth celebrating, but winning a $256,694.01 Jackpot by losing a hand is a monumental event. Let’s have some fun and look at some ridiculous cars within SQUARE ROOT’s new car allowance.
2009 Lamborghini Gallardo – $255, 000
2007 Bentley Arnage T – $257, 765
2008 Porsche 911 GT2 Coupe – $244, 995
2006 Ferrari F430 Spider – $256, 750
2007 Rolls Royce Phantom – $259, 900
2005 Maybach 62 – $249, 995
Sixteen 2009 Toyota Corollas – 16 x $16,000
If you bought any of the above cars (or all 16 Corollas), you would also gain the distinction of having just purchased a more expensive car than the last one George Lucas picked up. A noted car enthusiast, Lucas recently dropped $206, 000 on a Mosler MT900S.
It should be noted that George Lucas didn’t get just any Mosler. He got the first one ever. Even still, a couple of the above cars would give Mr Star Wars a run for his money any day of the week.
SQUARE ROOT, if you’re reading this, which one of these cars would YOU buy with your new found Bad Beat Jackpot riches?
Tags: Bad Beat Jackpot, Poker in the Car, Smokin Aces
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Saturday, November 22, 2008 - smokin_aces
The latest Bad Beat Jackpot winner at Ultimate Bet took home a cool $200437.89! Our winner hearts13 could do a number of things with that fat bag of cash. If it was me, I’d peel a cool Hundred Grand right off the top and put that in the bank. Then I’d drop 10K on a lavish visit to some friends in Thailand and Australia. Now I’m left with $90,000. As a performance/luxury car enthusiast I’m thinking only one thing. If I was going to drop that wad on a car, what is the best car I could buy with $90 K from that Bad Beat Jackpot? So, our mission is to compare two types of cars that come within 2K of the $90,000.
This week’s theme is Luxury Performance Sedans. We’ll choose one American car and one European. Today’s Euro flavour is the Audi A8.
We added a few key upgrades to push it within a mortgage payment of the Bad Beat Jackpot payout. Our build comes to $88, 600.00.
On the other side of the pond we chose the Cadillac STS-V.
Even with all the options we could only max out the cost of the Caddy at $83,375.00 but threw in a 12 speaker Bose sound system, and the ‘Blaster’ flamethrowing theft deterrent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc These upgrades rounded out the total cost to $89, 700.00. Luckily for the Audi A8, we’re focusing on performance and convenience, and not the ability to deafen children or permanently disfigure would-be carjackers.
It turns out these two models are quite comparable in many respects. Both weigh about the same, with the A8 at 4321 lbs, and the STS-V at 4233 lbs. That’s pretty beefy for a car, but bear in mind these are not compact cars. Although both pack a powerful V8, there are some stark contrasts. The STS-V is catapulted from the line by a 4.4 L Supercharged Northstar V8 with 469 hp and 439 lb-ft of torque. It redlines at 6,700 rpms (a little low) and has a boastful 9.0:1 compression ratio. The A8 is dressed for success as well, albeit with not quite as impressive raw specs. Under the hood the Audi has a 4.1 L Spark Ignition Direct Injection V8 with 350 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. You can wind the Audi up to 7500 rpm before redline and it has a 12.5:1 compression ratio. As the savvy car enthusiast is already aware, horsepower can be misleading. American car manufacturers are famous for conceptualizing a massive engine and then building cars around it. German automakers are known for developing extremely sophisticated, efficient vehicles capable of effectively distributing power while maximizing handling characteristics, resulting in cars with lower specs outperforming many cars classed higher on paper. The true test has been around for over 50 years. What goes from 0 to 60mph in less time? Here’s where it gets interesting. The STS-V hits 60mph in 4.8 seconds while the Audi dragged it’s ass a bit and took more than a whole second longer at 5.9 seconds. Regarding fuel efficiency, based on the speed test and horsepower rating, the results were not surprising. The Caddy gets an estimated 13 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway. The significantly less thirsty A8 gets 16 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. Strangely the Audi also has a larger fuel tank than it’s competitor (23.6 gallons vs 17 gallons). So while the Cadillac wins over short distances, in an endurance race consisting of long distance stages, the Audi would reach the finish line sooner, cheaper and with less stops.
The Audi brand is notorious for their almost exclusive inclusion of their all wheel drive ‘Quattro’ package, present on nearly almost every class and model they make. This feature is much less common on American cars, but in this case the STS-V is outfitted with Cadillac’s AWD drive system.
Where the Audi will shine is the handling department. The Cadillac has a front and rear mix of coil spring, independent suspension with front and rear anti-roll bars. The Audi however is complete with Fully Pneumatic air suspension struts in each wheels, with automatic damping characteristics constantly adjusted by sensors. This means the Audi could outperform the Caddy in race like settings with quick switchbacks and hairpin turnarounds. In fact, that would be a very interesting race to watch. The Audi A8 is more nimble, while the Cadillac STS-V is faster.
Although I’m a long time Audi lover, comparing these two amazing machines has made my impression of the new Cadillac STS-V change significantly. It looks as if GM is no longer competing solely with other American luxury vehicles. This car is entering uncharted territory, where a Cadillac is poised to directly compete with the BMW 5 series, and some Mercedes Benz types, along with our subject, the Audi A8. In this contest, if it was a battle of brawn, I would choose the Cadillac STS-V. (and still have a bit of scratch leftover) However, cars are a very personal thing, and for many intangible reasons, my winner is the Audi A8.
With all these things in mind, put yourself in the same position as hearts13 . Consider you’ve just won the Ultimate Bet Bad Beat Jackpot. What would you buy, and why?
Tags: Bad Beat Jackpot, cars, Poker in the Car, Poker Poker Poker
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