If it's got an engine . . .

Cause and Effect

2011-12-14T13:00:00.001-05:00

No comment necessary.

Top 5 Tyres for 2011

2011-11-16T07:39:00.002-05:00

The end of 2011 is almost here and with it comes the knowledge that another year of advancement, improvements and firsts will be waiting for us in 2012. Before looking ahead though I would like to review my top 5 car tyres of 2011, as a tribute to the tyre industry and what they’ve provided us over the last 12 months. So, in no particular order

1) Goodyear Eagle F1

The Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres were good when they were first released, so what does Goodyear do? They made them even better. The Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres complement a vehicle’s predictive safety systems very well. Goodyear used its revolutionary Active Cornergrip Technology, which evenly distributes pressure when a vehicle is cornering at high speeds, meaning more asphalt and tyre contact. These UHP tyres grip so well on a wet road you wouldn’t even know it had been raining.

Key Features

ActiveBraking Technology: Each tread block contours under higher-load braking situations, therefore increasing contact patch size
Crossed-ply carcass structure for increased rigidity and drastically reduced weight
High-surface silica tread compound to reduce heat generation
FuelSaving Technology: Less material in the tyre and less heat generation, leading to lower rolling resistance and increased fuel economy

2) Continental ContiSportContact

The Continental ContiSportContact was described by a friend of mine as “sticky” when he 1^st used them on his Porsche. I think he pretty much covered what the Continental ContiSportContact was designed to do. Wet or dry the Continental ContiSportContact will deliver all the time. The only downside to these tyres is you won’t get a lot of mileage as they wear out quickly.

Key Features

Continental's bionic tread compound technology molded into an asymmetric design.
The tyre's internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wrapped nylon to stabilize the tread area promoting uniformity and high-speed durability.
My favourite feature. You can still continue driving even when the tyre is flat at 50mph for up to 50 miles (80km)

3) Yokohama Advan Sport

The Yokohama Advan is the premium road tyre range used by many in the World Touring Car Championship. If it’s good enough for the professionals then it’s good enough for me. Manufacturers like Bentley, Porsche, and Audi also use the Yokohama Advan for its performance and comfort level.

Key Features

Uses nanotechnology to provide extreme grip in a wide temperature range.
The durable materials used to make the tyres which allows it to be used in excess of 300kmh

4) Michelin Pilot Sport

The Pilot Sport is a tyre developed for the drivers of exotic sports cars and comes standard on renowned models like the BMW M3, Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and ultra high performance coupes and sedans. The Pilot Sport is designed to improve a vehicle’s capability in the wet, while providing progressive handling and exceptional feedback.

Key Features

Unique tread design in outer tread and inner tread for high level wet and dry performance.
Ultra-reinforced sidewalls for really powerful cornering.

5) Dunlop SP Sport Maxx

The Dunlop SP Sport Maxx was recommended to me by my German friend (no he didn’t get commission). After 19,000 miles of urban driving I can’t really complain much. But I might try a different brand next time, because for some reason the price has gone up around 40% in the last 12 months...

Key Features

Uses Max Flange Shield that helps protect the tyres from accidents with the curb.
5 Pitch Technology for reduce noise.

So that wraps up my top 5 tyres for 2011. I am definitely looking forward to testing out more tyres and write about them. Again these tyres are MY top 5 tyres for this year and everybody has a different opinion. If you have a different opinion, or your tyres aren’t listed here feel free to leave a comment and share your experiences.

Jason Harrison is an avid car enthusiast and full-time tyres salesman. When he’s not on the showroom floor Jason spends his time test driving some of the world’s fastest performance vehicles.

Caring for your classic car

2011-09-03T10:36:00.000-05:00

When it comes to storing your classic car there are several options. Clearly the best is indoor storage, but this isn't an option for many of us.

When a garage isn't available, a properly sized and secured tarp is a good alternative. Be aware that inexpensive tarps will not stand up to the weather for very long.

Top 5 Iconic British Cars

2011-06-06T05:06:00.000-05:00

1. The Original Mini

The original mini has become synonymous with British pop-culture, as well as being one of the world's most iconic cars. The first mini was built by the British Motor Corporation and sold over 1,500,000 models after its launch in 1959. By the end of its production, 5.3 million Minis were sold, which makes it one of the most popular British cars ever made. Its compact shape, smooth curves and distinctive character continue to influence designers to this day.

BMW Takeover: In 2000, BMW took over the brand to produce a new version of the classic shape. (The remake became world famous after appearing in the hit film the Italian Job in 2003.)

British Icons: Mr Bean and Austin Powers both owned an original mini.

Mini Fact: The original design was developed as an answer to the fuel shortage during the 1950s.

2. Aston Martin DB5

The Aston Martin DB5 was the first James Bond car. The original design featured full reclining seats, electric windows and even a fire extinguisher. The first DB5 was released in 1963 and is still one of the most sought-after cars to come out of Britain.

James Bond Films: The DB5 has appeared in several James Bond films including Golden Eye and Thunderball. Most recently, it starred in the Daniel Craig Bond film Casino Royale. The revival further boosted its popularity, proving the DB5 has a timeless allure.

3. Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II

The sleek Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II was produced in 1959, as an improved version of the Silver Cloud and Silver Cloud I. It was the first Rolls Royce to feature a V8 engine and could reach impressive new speeds of 114 mph.

Fame & Celebrity: Rolls Royce continues to signify wealth and luxury. David Beckham, Alan Sugar and Mariah Carey have all bought from this classic brand

4. Jaguar E-Type

The Jaguar E-Type is an icon of the 60's, as well as being one of the most distinctive cars of the 20th century. Its sleek shape and sporty design has resulted in the E-Type being labelled one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

E-Type Fact: Assembled in Coventry, the E-Type is one of the only cars to be featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

5. Austin-Healey Sprite

The Austin Healey Sprite is one of the most luxurious cars to emerge from 20th century Britain. The open sports design and retro curves evoke images of rally races and hot British summers. Created in 1958, the quirky charm of the Austin-Healey Sprite still commands a high price over fifty years later.

The Next Generation of Icons

We may not all be able to get hold of a vintage classic, but the British car continues to evolve. If you'd like to discover the iconic cars of the future, why not try car and vehicle leasing? There are hundreds of cars available, whether you fancy an Aston Martin inspired sports model, or a new shape BMW Mini.

New addition to the fleet

2011-03-02T16:52:00.000-05:00

It followed my home last night. 1994 CBR900RR.

Chrysler 200 Super Bowl ad

2011-02-06T21:05:00.001-05:00

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=968f514d-048a-4eb1-8741-32fd03a912d1" target="_new" title="">Daimler Chrysler: Eminem Detroit</a>

I have to say, the Chrysler 200 ad is my favorite from the Super Bowl so far. Feat: Eminem.

who needs overdrive?

2011-02-03T19:39:00.000-05:00

So. As I was driving home last week in my '98 Z28, 5th and 6th gear just went away. I've already determined that it mest be the 5th-6th synchro assembly, and I've ordered one. Fortunately, I still get about 20 mpg driving to work in 4th gear.

I love the LS1.

Shortest Gran Turismo 5 Review Ever

2011-01-28T12:50:00.001-05:00

Buy it.

What was he (she?) thinking?

2010-11-16T20:35:00.001-05:00

So I took a good look at this car. It has an actual 4 bbl carb, but it's mounted to a flat plate under the hood. He even took the trouble to run a fuel line to the carb. Also, there's a chrome plated diff cover attached (glued? duct taped?) to the rear suspension.

I really don't understand people.

Ok, I saw the car again and took a picture of the differential cover. Here it is.

First Autocross in the Z28

2010-11-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

Great quote from The Auto Prophet

2010-06-21T04:36:00.003-05:00

In reply to Mark Tapscott's piece Why aren't People Buying More Fuel Efficient Vehicles (which was in reply to an Autoblog piece Report - Sales of 30+ MPG Cars Fell 10% in the First Five Months of 2010), The Auto Prophet writes:

Comfort: Americans are not getting thinner. I recently witnessed about 500lbs of female Target shopper (a mother and daughter?) flow out of both sides of an old Dodge minivan, you could almost hear the springs sigh in relief as the ride height jumped by 2" in front. Show those women a Fiesta and they will probably laugh at you. They might then go ahead and eat it.

Anything for a Headline

2010-05-16T07:51:00.003-05:00

Headline from the Daily Mail: Rare Austin which stood in garage for 50 years discovered... and starts first time!

Quote from the story: "And the engine turned over when we tried it with the starter handle, but I didn't try to start her up in case I did any damage but I'm sure it would go."

I guess "I think it would have started" doesn't make for a great headline.

And another autocross

2010-05-12T19:44:00.002-05:00

Shortly after the Atlanta event, the Clemson Sports Car Club hosted an autocross in Anderson, SC.

I've been autocrossing since 1997, and have attended events with 6 different clubs in that time. This was the most fun autocross I've ever attended. Part of it was the course - some challenging, technical sections, and a huge tail-out sweeper. But part of it was the people. Everybody seemed laid back. It made for a great event.

If you're interested, the video was taken with a Motorola Droid with windshield mount adjusted so the arm was out of the way I had to drill a hole in the mount where the camera is, but it works well.

First Autocross in my Firebird

2010-05-12T19:36:00.003-05:00

I bought a 1993 Firebird Formula a couple of months ago. One of the first things I did, of course, was find an autocross to take it to. Fortunately, the Atlanta Region of the SCCA had their first event of the season right after I got the car.

It was a blast. More fun than my old '79 TA, and even as much fun as my buddy's 2000 Vette.

My Return to Autocrossing

2007-06-24T17:42:00.001-05:00

If you've never heard of an autocross, it's a miniature road-race usually set up in a large parking lot with the course typically marked off with traffic cones. One car at a time, against the clock. It's also an absolute blast. People show up in everything from heavily modified Corvettes to shifter carts to bone-stock Hyundai Excels. And everyone has fun.

The first car I ever had the opportunity to autocross was a 1977 Porsche 924 which I purchased for $250 in 1998. I might have paid too much for it, it was in pretty sad shape.

I ran it in the Pacific Northwest region of the Porsche Club of America. Most of those guys paid more per tire than I paid for my entire car. That car didn't handle particularly well, and it's brakes were theoretical at best, but it made up for those shortcomings by being slow.

The next car I autocrossed was a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. I ran it with the Mohawk Hudson region of the SCCA. This car had waaay more power than traction and just skated around the course. It was a real crowd pleaser, and a hoot to drive. On more than one occasion, the course workers would cheer as I drifted by them while rounding a corner.

Today, I autocrossed my buddy Mike's newest addition to his stable, a 2000 Corvette convertible (in the picture). This car has been modified in just about every way imaginable; aftermarket heads and cam, lowered suspension, bigger brakes. He was running soft compound road-race tires and the grip was amazing . . .

. . . Until you pressed the gas. Then the rear tires just erupted in a cloud of smoke. We set the second fastest time of the day today. The fastest was an open wheel Formula 500 race car.

One place to look for car rentals in France is Sixt.com

The Next-Generation automobile

2007-06-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

For all of the different styles of automobiles around, it's amazing how similar they all are to each other. Doors that open outward (in almost every case). Driver in sitting position with passenger beside him. The list of similarities goes on and on.

How many standard features of our cars could be done differently, if not for convention?

Some are obvious; the steering wheel could easily be replaced by a joystick or rudder pedals, etc. The accelerator could be replaced with a lever, as in jet planes. The rear-view mirrors could be replaced with video displays.

What's not so obvious?

What makes a car a car, exactly?

As an aside, many of the previously obvious characteristics that make a car a car have been challenged in recent years. Ignition keys - once all cars had them. Not any more; remote keyfobs take their place in some new cars. Analog speedometers have been displaced by digital displays in a dizzying number of cars, and heads-up displays are available, as well.

What's next?

Are electric cars ready for primetime?

2007-06-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

It sure seems so.

In the last couple of years, several all-electric autos have been announced. While most of them are from independent companies created for the purpose, even Chevrolet is a player.

Tesla Motors

The Tesla Roadster appears to have the best shot of being produced.

Tesla estimates that their home charger will require 3.5 hours to fully charge the lithium-ion battery pack if it is fully discharged. The batteries will give a 200 mile range per charge and last for 100,000 miles before needing to be replaced.

The car is being assembled by Lotus Cars and will sell for $92,000. Their FAQ states that cars will be delivered by Fall 2007, but the order page says June 2008.

Lightning Car Company

The $300,000 Lightning GT takes an even more performance-oriented approach with 700 horsepower worth of electric motors mounted directly in the wheels. They estimate 0-60 mile per hour times of 4.0 seconds.

Lightning is currently taking orders for 2008 delivery.

Chevrolet Volt

The Chevy Volt can operate as a pure electric car for only 40 miles at a time. GM says that this is sufficient for 78% of all commuters. The Volt; however, carries an on-board generator and gas tank sufficient to give it a 640 mile range at 50 miles per gallon.

The Chevrolet Volt's electric motor is rated at 160 Horsepower which should be good for a 0-60 time of 8.5 seconds.

No pricing information or production time frame is available.

Saturn Vue - One Step Up, Two Steps Back

2007-06-08T03:50:00.000-05:00

Most car companies strive to make each successive generation of their automobiles better. Most do. Typically, new versions of cars are roomier and faster. Just look at the line of Honda Accords. Along the way, however, they end up heavier. The automakers strive to avoid this, but it happens.

The newest version of the Saturn Vue isn't any larger than the outgoing model. This is a refreshing change, and on first look, seems to indicate that GM is finally waking up to the $3.00/gallon realities facing motorists today.

Look a little closer, and the truth rears it's ugly head.

The new Vue is heavier than the model it replaces. The new Vue is slower than the model it replaces. The new Vue gets worse gas mileage than the model it replaces. The new Vue is more expensive than the model it replaces.

But at least it's not any roomier.

The (thrice) Unwanted Mangusta

2007-05-25T20:01:00.000-05:00

About six months ago one of my friends at work told me that he had bought a disassembled 1967 Shelby GT350. It seems that it had been sitting at a body shop for the last 10 years. The owner of the shop had taken it and a 1969 DeTomaso Mangusta in for some work and, after stripping the GT350 and ordering a bunch of new parts, realized that the owner wasn't around anymore.

My friend had known about the cars for the last three years. It took him that long to convince the owner to sell him the Shelby.

The shop owner wouldn't sell the Shelby without selling the Mangusta with it. That's twice that it had been scorned.

My friend bought the shop owner's interest in both cars for ~$30K and proceeded to file the necessary paperwork to title the Shelby.

Enter original owner.

The day before the title was to be issued, the original owner shows up and wants his cars back, after ten years.

After much legal wrangling, the judge rules that the original owner must pay storage fees on both cars for the last ten years, amounting to $84,000.

Much to my friend's dismay, he coughed up the dough for the Shelby, and the unwanted Mangusta changed hands again.

My new Car and Driver seemed a bit skimpy . . .

2007-05-03T15:08:00.000-05:00

. . . in the content department.

When I received my new Car and Driver magazine, I read it cover to cover, as usual. I noticed that it seemed like there were more ads than usual.

When I counted pages, here's what I found:

Total pages, counting inside front and rear cover:
210

Total pages of advertisements:
125

Total pages of content:
85

Percentage of magazine not advertisements:
40%

Kinda hard to believe they don't pay me to read it if it's mostly ads.

My next toy

2007-04-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been putting a lot of thought into what car I will buy next. I don't really need another car, so this would be just for fun.

In my mind, I've laid out some requirements:

Fun - This could mean convertible, fast, unique, whatever. Just not a Taurus.
$15,000 or less - There is an amazing variety of cars available in this price range, as long as you aren't dead-set on a new car.
Reliable - Who wants a car that you can't drive. I don't know if my next car will be a daily driver, but I want that option available to me.

Some options so far:
1997-1999 Corvette
!993-1995 Mazda RX-7
1977-1981 Trans Am (Nice ones are getting expensive)

I've never considered myself much of a Corvette person. . .

2007-04-04T17:42:00.000-05:00

But I think I have changed my mind.

A friend of mine (yes, that friend) has a 1997 Corvette. He's done a bit of work to it, exhaust and intake, etc. I've driven it a few times before, and been impressed. He offered to sell it to me, and loaned it to me for a few days.

I think I have to buy this car.

Not only is it silly-fast, but during the time I was driving it, I averaged 26.5 mpg.

As much as I drive, it will almost pay for itself in gas savings over my BMW. (I just did the math. It'll take a little over nine years to pay for itself. Oh well)

The Automotive X Prize - A competition after my own heart

2007-04-03T20:14:00.000-05:00

From their website:

The goal of the Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) is to inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change.

Briefly, there will be two classes of vehicles, both of which must be mass producible and achieve 100 miles per gallon of gasoline. One class will have at least four wheels and carry at least four passengers. The other class will carry at least two passengers and has no minimum number of wheels. (I'd like to see zero!)

All teams that create vehicles meeting these criteria will enter said vehicles in a race (races?). The fastest of these will be crowned the winner and collect the prize.

The full guidelines (open for a 60 day public discussion) can be found here.

Speaking of Cafe Racers. . .

2007-03-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

I came across this one the other day and was amazed. I used to own a Suzuki Savage and would have thought that it would never make an acceptable cafe racer.

I haven't been able to find out who made it. The only information about it that I've found is in this forum thread.

Cafe racers galore

2007-03-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

If you're into cafe racers at all, this is a great time to be alive.

I particularly like the Triumph Thruxton. It has a 900cc parallel twin engine and sells for about $8000. Not bad for a modern take on a classic.

For a bit more, you could step up to Ducati's SportClassic series, the nicest of which is the Sport 1000 S. It has a 1000cc V-twin and costs $12,500.

I'd be happy with either.

How (not) to use a crescent wrench.

2007-03-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

It occurred to me, after many years of using adjustable wrenches the "right way", that using it backwards makes more sense.

You see, when using a crescent wrench as in the illustration, you are applying the force (from the nut) to the top of the movable jaw and the bottom of the fixed jaw. This provides the greatest possible leverage with which to bend the movable jaw.

If you operate the wrench "backwards", this force is applied to the base of the movable jaw, where it is strongest.

What else am I doing wrong?

My First Wreck

2007-03-06T13:57:00.000-05:00

My first car was a 1983 Mercury Capri. This was the car I was driving; however, it wasn't my car yet. It was my Mom's. It was 1988. I was 15. I didn't even have my learner's permit yet.

I had a friend with me and we were actively searching out dirt roads. They're not particularly hard to find in semi-rural Alabama. We had no business on dirt roads, I just wanted to fishtail the car.

At one point, the fishtailing got a bit out of control and I saw the ditch coming up fast. My heroic efforts sawing at the wheel were no help at all. I remember a sickening thud as we went nose-first into the ditch and I remember seeing someone's mailbox flying across the hood of the car. I just knew the entire side of the car was caved in and I was going to be grounded for the rest of my life.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Dallas limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.

But that was for later. At this point I was interested only in getting the car out of the ditch, and far away from the man standing on his front porch. Unfortunately, the car wouldn't move. The engine revved, but we didn't go anywhere.

Eventually I found reverse and made it out of there. I drove to my friend's house (I wasn't about to take the car home!) to assess the damage.

All I found was a scratch on the hood about an inch long. It might have been there before, I'm not sure.

This was a theme which I would revisit frequently in my automotive travails.

Guitar Hero mini-review

2007-01-18T20:18:00.000-05:00

Warning: not automotive related.

Executive Summary:

Best. Game. Ever.

Review:

If you've never seen Guitar Hero I or II, you owe it to yourself to find a Wal Mart or Best Buy that has a demo unit so you can check it out.

Even if you don't own a Playstation 2, it's worth purchasing the console and the game. It's that good.

The first Guitar Hero, which was released in November of 2005, sold over 1 million copies. For a game costing $60.00 and released only for a console (the PS2) which was five years old, that's impressive.

When you play it, you will understand.

If you want to read more, check out the reviews on Metacritic.

'69 Mustang with a rumble seat -OR- Why I love Barrett Jackson

2007-01-17T20:35:00.001-05:00

At the Barrett Jackson auto auction today there was a 1969 Mustang with a rumble seat which supposedly was a rare pseudo-factory option.

From the Barrett Jackson website:

"It was a "Blossom-Time" sales promotion offered only during April 1969 to certain Michigan dealers. Documented by 2 different magazine articles, it is still un-certain exactly how many were done."

Why don't more cars have a rumble seat option? I'd be able to justify a Miata or S2000 if I could carry the occasional (fair weather) third or fourth passenger.

I'd bet there is a market for aftermarket rumble seat conversions for modern sports cars. It should be fairly easy to implement; design hinges to allow the trunk to open forwards for normal use (with seat cushions removed, of course), or backwards for rumble-seatage.

I mean, who hasn't dreamed of a four seat Corvette?

Timing, or Timing?

2007-01-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

People seem to get this mixed up fairly often.

A few months ago, a fellow gave me a 1981 Honda CVCC. It was barely running. He told me that the water pump went out and "while I was in there, I went ahead and replaced the timing belt".

Probably a good idea.

Trouble is, he didn't know what the timing belt did. He reasoned that he did the job right "because I checked the timing with a timing light and it's exactly right."

How's that again?

The timing belt (or chain) has exactly nothing to do with ignition timing. Nada. Zip.

That's the distributor.

The timing belt controls valve timing. That is, it controls the relationship between the camshaft and the crankshaft. It tells the valves when to open, so that they don't hit the pistons (worst case).

The distributor controls the ignition timing. It tells the spark plugs when to fire, so as to properly ignite the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder.

That's what you check when you use a timing light.

Havoline with Deposit Shield - Improvement or Hype?

2007-01-12T13:31:00.000-05:00

Havoline is coming out with a new formulation for their motor oil, called "Deposit Shield". According to their press release, it "helps prevent deposit build up for improved oil stability".

But is it really any better than the outgoing Havoline?

We'll see soon enough.

The good folks over at Bob is the Oil Guy are sending some off for analysis. That may not tell us how much better it is than the older Havoline, but at least it will tell us if it is any different.

I have a case of 5W-30 on the way, myself. I'll let you know what I think of it.

New Carnival on the block.

2007-01-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to do a quick post to give a plug for the Carnival of Wheels over on The Garage. Gary's doing a fine job so far. With luck this could grow to challenge the (defunct?) Carnival of Cars.

What's wrong with American automakers, part ?

2007-01-06T20:27:00.000-05:00

In the latest Car and Driver, there is a comparison test of $22k to $24k sedans with automatic transmissions. Bread and butter cars, very mainstream. There were two domestic cars in the test - the new Saturn Aura and the newly updated Chrysler Sebring. One could make a case, however, that neither of those are domestic cars. The Saturn is a mildly reskinned Opel Astra, and Chrysler is now a part of Daimler-Chrysler, a German company. These cars were campared to the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, and Kia Optima.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Chicago limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.

In this test, I noticed that the Chrysler Sebring, which Chrysler has been advertising heavily, was slowest to 60 miles per hour, even though it was middle of the pack in power-to-weight ratio.

Looking more closely, I discovered the reason: the Sebring and the Aura were the only cars in the test with four-speed automatics. All of the imports had five-speed automatics, except the Nissan, which had a CVT.

It seems that the American automakers will never learn.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T19:56:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and God bless!

I drove a Ferrari!

2006-12-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

Almost 35 feet!

We picked up Mike's 308 today. The shop that was selling it on consignment had detailed it and it was gorgeous.

I got the enviable job of backing it out of the shop and onto the trailer (needs timing belts replaced, so no driving it home). I might have reached speeds of three miles per hour.

It was great!

What is it about Ferraris?

2006-12-21T16:55:00.000-05:00

I went to Atlanta yesterday with a good friend to look at a 1985 Ferrari 308. Mike has wanted a Ferrari as long as he could remember, and is now in a position to buy one.

This particular car has 51,000 miles on it and hasn't been driven much in the last ten years or so. It's a beautiful car, but not perfect. Not even close.

The paint is chipped from the edges of the rims. The paint is bubbling on the headlight covers, the vinyl (not leather!) is coming unglued from the dashboard. The seats (leather) look worn. And it has an oil leak.

But it ran well on the test drive. After the test drive, Mike found out that a local exotic car tuner had looked over the car and determined that it shouldn't be driven until the timing belts and tensioners were replaced.

So he bought it.

Made a down payment on it, rather. We will be going back tomorrow morning with a trailer to pay for it and pick it up.

This marks my introduction into the world of Ferrari maintenance, as Mike isn't going to pay the $5000 to $8000 (!) quoted to replace the timing belts/tensioners and perform a tune-up.

So I did a bit of Googling and it turns out that Ferraris, or at least the 308/328s, aren't really that much more difficult to work on than your average car.

Parts prices are even reasonable.

More to follow. . .

Moore's law and procrastination - The Dorrington Paradox

2006-12-09T04:33:00.000-05:00

Warning: Not automotive related.

Perhaps you are familiar with Moore's law. Briefly, it says that the computer processing power available to users will roughly double every eighteen months.

This brings up an interesting point: for sufficiently difficult computational problems, the fastest way to solve them is to do nothing. At least initially. I call this the Dorrington Paradox.

Say, for instance, you have a particularly difficult computational problem. Using the fastest processors you can afford, this problem will take three years to solve. If you do nothing at all for 18 months and then buy the fastest processors you can afford, you will still solve the problem at the same time, since the processors will be twice as fast.

Now what if the problem would have initially taken ten years? Wait 18 months and the total time to problem solution is 6.5 years. Wait three years and it's done in 5.5 years.

Sometimes it pays to procrastinate.

Engineering Overkill part 2: BMW door locks

2006-10-02T23:59:00.000-05:00

What can be improved on typical car door locks? After all, all they have to do is lock and unlock the car, either with a key, lock button, or remote.

Let's look at the E32 BMW door locks and see what they added. Remember, these cars first came out in 1988.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Chicago limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.

The doors can be locked and deadlocked. When deadlocked, they will not open from inside. This prevents a thief from prying the window open enough to get a slim jim in and pull the lock knob. The lock knob and all rods internal to the door are physically prevented from moving. This also prevents anyone not familiar with the system from unlocking the door, even with the key, as unlocking a deadlocked door requires turning the key in the unlock direction, lifting the handle, then turning the key farther.
Heated door locks. If the temperature is below 38 F and you lift up on the outside door handle with the car locked, a heater in the lock energizes for 30 seconds to melt any ice from the lock.
Inertia switch. If the car undergoes a shock of approximately 5g's, all doors automatically unlock, and the hazard lights turn on. This allows rescue teams to more easily locate a wrecked car and gain entry.

Why do I love my BMW? Engineering overkill.

2006-10-02T16:08:00.000-05:00

The picture to the right is a diagram of the E32 (1988-1994 7-series) BMWs' windshield wiper assembly. What is not immediately apparent from this diagram is the level of attention given to the engineering of this seemingly mundane system.

To wit:

When in slow speed, the wipers will switch to delay mode when the car is stopped, picking back up again when the car starts moving.
The intermittent delay will vary with car speed, or can be user-programmed for any time interval from two to twenty seconds.
The windshield has heating coils built into its base which prevent the wipers from freezing to the it. These automatically power up whenever outside temperature reaches 38Â° F.
My favorite - Part #4 on the diagram above is a "pressure adjusting device". It varies the wipers' pressure against the windshield with the car's speed, preventing the wipers from lifting or chattering at high speed.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Chicago limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.

Perhaps the best thing about the wipers is that they just work. Probably 99% of the owners of these cars don't know about any of the items above.

That is the mark of engineering excellence.

The new sound of cool

2006-10-01T17:39:00.000-05:00

I went to Road Atlanta yesterday to see the Petit Lemans. What struck me the most about the cars racing there was the completely different sound of their engines. From the shriek of the rotary Mazda to the guttural growl of the Corvettes, each car was easily identifiable with your eyes closed.

Except the Audi.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Baltimore limo service and luxury BWI International airport transportation throughout the Baltimore Metropolitan area.

The Audi R10 TDI was so quiet that you couldn't hear it at all if there were any other car near it. When it went by alone, it had a quiet warble, not unlike the Jetson's car.

This would not have been nearly as important except for one fact: the Audi's were the quickest cars there, winning the 1000 mile race by four laps.

Did I mention that they have diesel engines?

A friend told me that at every other race he'd ever been to, the coolest sounding car was always the fastest.

I think that may still be true; the R10 sounded pretty cool to me.

Separated at birth? Ford Iosis-X and Isuzu Vehicross

2006-09-30T00:28:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite parts of Car and Driver's January '10 best' issues is the 'Winners and Losers' section. In this section they typically have humorous photos of various celebrities that look similar, headlined by "Separated at Birth".

Take a look at Ford's new Iosis-X concept car and compare it to the Isuzu Vehicross pictured above. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - Isuzu, consider yourself flattered.

Current Automotive Incentives

2006-09-24T12:56:00.000-05:00

If you've ever tried to navigate through the various automakers' websites looking for their special deals, you know just how convoluted they (the websites, not the automakers) can be. I have made direct links to each manufacturer's special offers/incentives/etc. If you find any of these links to be broken, or if you have any to add, please let me know. Be sure to bookmark this page, as I will be keeping this list up to date as best I can.

Acura
Audi
BMW (none at this time)
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Dodge
Ford
Honda
Hummer
Hyundai
Infinity
Jaguar
Jeep
Kia
Lexus (not much here)
Mazda
Mercury
Mini (none at this time)
Nissan
Pontiac
Saab
Saturn
Scion (not much here)
Toyota

Citgo and the Devil

2006-09-23T11:28:00.000-05:00

Around here in Toccoa, GA, the cheapest gas station is Bev's Quick Stop. That's where I used to fill up.

Not anymore. Unless, that is, Hugo Chavez offers me an apology.

You see, Bev's sells Citgo gas.

Perhaps I should explain. A few days ago, Hugo Chavez (that's the Prez of Venezuala, by the way) referred to my President the Devil. That's right; he was addressing the Security Council of the United Nations, where Bush had previously spoken, and Chavez said that the place still smelled of sulfur.

How does all of this affect my gas purchases, you ask?

Well, Citgo, inc. is wholly owned by the Venezualan government. And I, for one, will not be sending them any more of my hard-earned money.

Maximum Efficiency

2006-09-12T21:01:00.000-05:00

It seems to me that the best engine from an efficiency standpoint is a single-cylinder engine. Practical experience bears this out - my Suzuki Savage 650 (single cylinder) got 70 mpg, while my Yamaha Maxim 650 (four cylinder) gets 48. Less moving parts mean less friction. less friction means more of the energy in that gallon of gas goes to moving the car down the road.

Less moving parts also means less parts to break.

Why do we not see three-liter singles in family sedans? Or five-liter singles in sports cars?

If you know anything about engines, you already know the answer to this. A large single-cylinder engine would vibrate so badly that it would shake the car apart.

What I propose is a hybrid single-cylinder engine. Couple a large single-cylinder engine up to an electric motor/generator. The electronics controlling the motor/generator would have to be fast enough to switch from motoring to generating every other engine revolution.

When the engine is on its power stroke, the motor/generator is acting as a generator, charging a capacitor (think really fast battery). On the other three strokes, the motor/generator is acting as a motor, since the engine isn't doing anything productive.

The hybrid motor/generator isn't there to improve efficiency through regenerative braking, as in other hybrids, it's just there to smooth out the big single's power pulses, allowing it to be used in civilized transportation.

Five Years / 100,000 Miles !!!

2006-09-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

Finally. GM announced today that every 2007 GM vehicle would ship with a five year/100,000 mile warranty.

Could this be a step back to the path of profitability?

We can only hope.

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It's interesting to me that I found out about this via an e-mail from someone at Hass MS&L, GM's marketing firm. Here's a copy of the email I received. Did anyone else out there receive a similar note?

Hi, IIGaE. We're trying to let people know about a major announcement from GM today. We thought you and your readers would be interested.

GM is extending its powertrain warranty to 5 years or 100,000 miles on all vehicles. The warranty is fully transferable and includes roadside assistance.

GM came to this decision in large part due to customer feedback it received on its FastLane blog. For more info, please see:

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2006/09/because_we_can.html

And let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your time,

Charlie Kondek
Sr. Account Executive
Hass MS&L
xxx-xxx-xxxx x xxx

Sealed for life

2006-08-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

How long does the average American who purchases a new car expect it to last before it needs major service?

100,000 miles? 150,000 miles?

I would be seriously upset if any NEW car that I purchased ended up in the shop with less than 100k on the clock.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Dallas limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.

Why then do most domestic automakers continue to offer only three years or 36,000 miles for their warranty period?

On a semi-related note, my wife's 1998 Audi A4 needs another wheel bearing replaced (this is the second one I've had to replace). It has 162,000 miles on it. The first bearing went out at 155,000 miles.

Years ago you could repack wheel bearings with grease. Actually, you had to - if you wanted them to last more than 25,000 miles or so. But if you kept fresh grease in them, they would last forever.

The automakers got tired of honoring warranty claims for worn out bearings with mysteriously fresh grease and started using the "sealed for life" bearings. Sealed "for the life of the bearing" is more like it. Nothing you can do will extend the life of these bearings, but they WILL outlast the warranty.

Incredible

2006-08-06T15:55:00.000-05:00

For those of you who haven't been watching the X-Games, you've really missed out on some excellent action.

Most incredibly, Travis Pastrana won the Gold medal in the Motocross Best Trick category with a double backflip (see video). Travis also went on to beat Colin McRae in the Rally event and still has the Freestyle Motocross event to go.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Dallas car service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.

On a somewhat related note, while I was watching the X-Games, I saw this Mountain Dew commercial. Well worth a watch, but not as good as this one.

Why

2006-06-18T16:24:00.000-05:00

Why would Progressive insurance feel it necessary to market a new brand of insurance, Drive insurance from Progressive?

If they already offer every insurance product that any driver needs, why start a new franchise that is only available through agents (not online)?

How do they market it?

Them: Buy Drive Insurance.
Customer: Why should I?
Them: It costs more because we have to pay insurance agents.
Customer: ???

I guess I don't get it.

Been away a while

2006-05-13T09:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the serious lack of posts lately. I've been swamped at work, not to let up for another two or three weeks.

All is not lost, however. Check out the Carnival of Cars. Enough automotive blog links to satisfy you for weeks to come.

I will be back!

Distracted Driving?

2006-04-25T10:35:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of talk lately about the results of the NHTSA's recent study on the causes of accidents. It seems that driving while distracted - whether using a cell phone (hands-free, even), eating, etc. - is more dangerous than speeding.

Think about that for a minute.

I had read it, but it took some prodding by Mark Tapscott to get me really thinking about it. He asked:

"...then why should law enforcement continue to devote so much time and resources to speed enforcement? And shouldn't insurance companies penalize distracted drivers more than speeding drivers?"

Both very valid questions. When was the last time you were ticketed for distracted driving?

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The study can be found here. I haven't looked into it very deeply yet, but here are some preliminary thoughts.

2,000,000 miles by 100 cars = 20,000 miles per car per year.
82 accidents out of those 100 cars = 82% chance of accident every 20,000 miles driven.

That's crazy! I average ~25,000 miles per year and have only ever had one accident, 14 years ago.

Drowsiness is a significant problem that increases a driver's risk of a crash or near-crash by at least a factor of four. But drowsy driving may be significantly under-reported in police crash investigations.

I suspect it is under-reported because you're awake after you crash (which is when the police are there). I don't see any way to correct this.

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As an aside, I have updated my links section. Some of the sites had moved (Ben's Car Blog and The Garage) and now my links reflect this. Also, I have added Tapscott Behind the Wheel. Be sure to check them out!

RC Engines

2006-04-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

It's truly amazine what kind of engines are available to the RC modeling guys.

The engine pictured is a five cylinder four-stroke radial engine. It produces four horsepower at 8,000 RPM while weighing less than six pounds.

There are many other cool engines. This flat four weighs even less, and makes the same power. It doesn't look quite as sexy, though.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Dallas car service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.

Then we have the two-strokes. They make tons of power and rev to insane RPMs while weighing less yet. This engine makes 4.8 horsepower, revs to 25,000 RPM (that's twenty-five thousand) and weighs less than two pounds.

Can't leave out the outboards. This one just looks so cool.

I'll take one of each, please.

I can't drive fifty-five!

2006-04-03T17:26:00.000-05:00

Because nobody will let me.

Let me back up a bit.

Spending 10 years in the Navy gave me the opportunity to live all over the country. This (Salem/Seneca, SC) is the only place I've lived where I routinely get stuck behind someone going less than the speed limit.

And I'm not just talking about three or four mph, here. Hardly a day goes by that I don't get stuck behind someone who refuses to accelerate to within 10 mph of the speed limit. I used to think that they were just being extremely careful, until I noticed that they drive slowly through the stop signs as well.

While I'm on the subject, there are some other idiosyncrasies I've noticed.

In Quitman, Mississippi, most drivers seem to take a dashed center line as a challenge. I got passed by more people there than anywhere else.

In Saratoga Springs, NY (and, I suspect, most of the Northeast) if someone is at a red light waiting to turn left, they will invariably dash across in front of the oncoming traffic when the light turns green.

Where are all the cool convertibles?

2006-03-30T18:44:00.000-05:00

So my wife has a good friend coming to visit for a week or so this summer and she casually mentioned to her "maybe Dorri can round us up a convertible".

No problem.

Except that I can't find any affordable and attractive convertibles.

Unless it's a Miata.

I did a quick Autotrader.com search for convertibles in the $4500 to $6500 price range and came up with:

About a zillion Chevy Cavaliers/Pontiac Sunfires
A whole bunch of Chrysler Sebrings
Many Chevy Camaros/Pontiac Firebirds/Ford Mustangs
Quite a few Saabs
One Aflfa Romeo (which I considered)
And too many Miatas to count.

Makes me wish we had a safety inspection program here comparable to the British MoT here.

Fire!

2006-03-24T09:08:00.000-05:00

Warning: Not (really) automotive related.

I just got back from a week of firefighting training at Gaston College in North Carolina. The NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) requires nuclear plants to maintain a fire brigade on-site, and my company fulfills this requirement by training its Nuclear Equipment Operators as fire brigade members.

I learned a lot this week, but most of it can be summed up in a very few short words - I do not want to be a fireman.

I'm not in good enough shape.

I did learn one thing automotive this week. Gasoline gives off flammable vapors anytime it's above approximately -40 F. Diesel fuel doesn't give off flammable vapors until it's heated to 120 F. Our instructors had to use a propane torch to light the pit fires we were fighting, and they had to hold the torch on the diesel fuel for 10-12 seconds to get it to burn.

My thoughts on Bruce Crower's six-stroke engine

2006-03-18T09:45:00.000-05:00

If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this first.

Briefly,
Four Stroke:

Piston moves down, drawing air and fuel into cylinder
Piston moves up, compressing air and fuel
Spark plug fires, causing mixture to explode, pushing piston down
Piston moves up, expelling exhaust gasses.
Cycle repeats

Six Stroke:

Piston moves down, drawing air and fuel into cylinder
Piston moves up, compressing air and fuel
Spark plug fires, causing mixture to explode, pushing piston down
Piston moves up, recompressing exhaust gasses
Water is squirted into cylinder, flashing to steam, pushing piston down
Piston moves up, expelling exhaust gasses and steam.
Cycle repeats

While I haven't done any calculations as to the amount of energy that can be gained by utilizing exhaust heat in this manner, I am confident that it will result in greater efficiency gains than BMW's method.

I also know just the engine to use as a test mule for this project. The Honda CVCC engine. The test engine needs (at least) three valves - fuel intake, water intake, and exhaust. Most three-valve engines operate both intake valves from the same camshaft lobe. Not the CVCC. It has three cam lobes for each cylinder - intake, aux intake, and exhaust. All that would be needed to convert this engine to six-stroke is a new camshaft and timing belt pulleys (to slow the cam down to 1/3 engine speed). The carburetor even has a separate section for the aux intake. I haven't looked closely at it, but it shouldn't be too difficult to convert it to atomize water in that venturi and fuel in the main venturi.

More GM woes

2006-03-15T07:23:00.000-05:00

I know that talk of GM's financial situation has been all over the internet recently, but I tend to dismiss the vast majority of what I read online.

There are very few bloggers that I feel know enough about large-scale finance to really have any idea just what GM's financial situation really is.

Joe Sherlock is one. He owned and ran his own business, and is a successful author of business books. Now he blogs over at The View Through The Windshield.

He (along with several of his friends) thinks that GM will file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

This is a big deal. If you have any interest in American automakers, you should read his latest post.

One for the road

2006-03-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

I never really bought into Taurine, Ginsing, and the like, but I still partake of various energy drinks during road trips. I think the caffeine and sugar gives me all the pick-me-up that I need. Red Bull, Full Throttle, Sobe Liz Blizz, I haven't found any that I don't like.

While I was driving back to South Carolina from my house in Warm Springs, GA yesterday, I stopped at a gas station and found Tab Energy. Being me, I had to try it.

It was ok.

Later yesterday evening, during the Oscars, I saw a commercial for it. I wonder if I'm the only person on the planet that didn't know that Tab was marketed to women?

Another off-the-wall idea

2006-02-28T13:19:00.000-05:00

I've been fascinated with airplanes as long as I can remember, yet I've flown surprisingly few times. Once in a Cessna 152 for an introductory pilot training lesson and a handful of times in commercial jets (mostly flying for job interviews when I was getting out of the Navy).

So here's the idea. Airplanes can be built with very low stall speeds - on the order of 15 to 20 miles per hour. That's airspeed, not ground speed - the airplane doesn't know or care how fast it's moving in relation to the ground. What keeps if off the ground is lift generated by airflow across the airfoil-shaped wing.

An airplane that will fly at 15 mph will fly perfectly still into a 15 mph headwind.

So if we manage to get air flowing across the wing (with multiple props) at greater than stall speed, and we counter the forward thrust with props blowing forward (creating reverse thrust), will the airplane lift off with no forward movement?

I understand that there are some tweaks necessary, such as ensuring that the wing is at the center of gravity (so the tail doesn't fall), etc.

Once in the air, the rear-mounted props can be slowed, allowing the plane to start moving forward.

What do you think?

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On an unrelated note, I've added some new links over on the sidebar.

Raceology - If you're interested in the "how it works" or "why it works" aspect of racing and race engines, this is definitely worth a read. It's obvious that Don really knows his stuff.

Visions - That's University of Missouri-Rolla's eye on research, a technology blog. Also a must-read.

I threw a car away this weekend

2006-02-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

A Corvette even.

Not gave away or hauled off to the junkyard, but threw away.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Dallas limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.

Some background:
A friend of mine wrecked his 1985 Corvette in 1988 and it's been sitting at his sister's house ever since. She wanted it out of her yard, he didn't want to deal with it. So he gave it to me in exchange for boat storage for the winter.

We stripped it of all parts that could be sold on Ebay, and cut the rest into smallish chunks and hauled it to the dump.

Some pretty cool memorabilia over at 'The Garage'

2006-02-07T16:39:00.000-05:00

Gary Grant over at The Garage has posted a few pretty cool racing programs from the '60s.

1965 24 hours at LeMans

1964 European Gran Prix

Makes me jealous.

The Open Source Car.

2006-02-06T17:36:00.000-05:00

From the "I wish I had thought of that" file.

A group of guys got together and decided that there needed to be an open source car. If you're not familiar with the term 'open source', check out this Wikipedia entry.

Thus was formed OScar.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Dallas limo service and luxury DFW International airport transportation throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.

Well, not really formed. The idea began in 1999, but they haven't come up with ANY firm specifications yet.

Please check it out and give them a hand. I think this is a great idea in need of someone to lead it.

I know who killed Dale Earnhardt

2006-01-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

I met the man who claims to have killed Dale Sr. the other day.

We were sitting around at work (we seem to do that a lot) when Bob (not his real name - his real name is Daniel) asked "did I ever tell y'all about how I killed Dale Earnhardt?"

Before I go any farther in this story I feel it appropriate to explain that the room was pretty well full of rednecks.

At this point the senior redneck present looked at the clock and told Bob (still not his real name - see above) "you've got eight minutes to explain yourself or you're gonna die."

So here goes.

It seems that Bob was at an amusement when he saw Dale Earnhardt there. Bob isn't a Nascar fan, but he was with a friend who is. At some point in the evening they found themselves on a roller coaster with Dale. Bob was right behind him and his friend was a few seats back.

Bob leans up and says to Dale, "I know you're here with your family and I hate to bother you, but my friend is a real big fan and I was wondering if I could get your autograph?"

Dale remains silent, as if he didn't hear Bob. His nephew said "Uncle Dale, that man asked you a question." Dale leans over to the nephew and says "Shut up."

The rest of the ride is completed in silence. As he gets off of the roller coaster, Bob shouts "I hope you wreck at your next race!"

Dale's next race was his last.

Drive what you build?

2006-01-29T21:09:00.000-05:00

Are cooks at McDonald's allowed to eat at Burger King? Outback?

If you work for the railroad can you fly to your vacation destination? Take a cruise?

What's the difference between that and Ford workers being required to drive Fords? Okay, I know they aren't required, but they have to park across the street if they don't.

Executive Car Service provides corporate New York limo service and luxury JFK International airport transportation throughout the New York Metropolitan area.

I've read positive reviews of this policy here and here, but I can't agree with it.

Here's why.

If I purchase a 1998 Audi A4, how does that hurt Ford Motor Company? And how exactly does my purchasing a 1998 Ford Taurus (what a comparison!) help Ford?

In either case the answer is - "it doesn't".

The only automoble purchases that affect the automakers are new car purchases and I'd bet that over half of the cars in the employee parking lots were purchased used.

Did the Treaty of Versailles lead to the Shelby Daytona Coupe?

2006-01-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

Kind of.

You see, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from maintaining an Air Force. They already had several wind tunnels, so rather than let them sit, they turned their use toward the automobile.

Executive Car Service provides corporate Chicago car service and luxury O'Hare International airport transportation throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.

This led Dr. Wunibald Kamm to discover that the the key to reducing aerodynamic drag was not to teardrop the rear of the car, but rather to cut it off abruptly - the KammBack.

Much later, while working on a coupe version of the Shelby Cobra, Peter Brock ran across a German aerodynamics text that included the Kammback. Peter couldn't even read German (!), but the illustrations included were enough to convince him that the Kammback was what was needed.

The Daytona coupe went on to defeat Ferrari at LeMans, and the rest is history.

And he drove it home!

2006-01-24T05:36:00.000-05:00

According to Jalopnik, the winning bidder of the Futureliner ($4.1 million) drove it home!

That rocks.

Thanks to The View Through the Windshield.

Barrett-Jackson 2006

2006-01-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

Jay Leno once said that he knows that he has a problem and was making preparations to check himself into the Henry Ford clinic.

That pretty much sums up the atmosphere at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction.

Last night, during the auction of a 1952 Chrysler D'Elegance concept car, the bidding had stalled at $800,000. The host got on the microphone and told the croud that "this is a bargain for a car of this caliper". I turned to my wife and told her that it must have been a Fordian slip.

The car truly was spectacular, with a front end that looks like a modern Bentley GT and a profile that recalls the Karmann Ghia.

It sold for $1.1 million.

Others to break the million dollar mark included a 1954 Pontiac Bonneville concept car which sold for $2.8 million, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS LS6 that sold for $1.05 million, a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda Hemi convertable for $2 million, and the surprise of the show - a 1950 GM Futureliner tour bus that sold for a staggering $4.1 million dollars.

I think one of the bargains of the show was 1953 Corvette with serial number 003 - most likely the first Corvette made that wasn't destroyed by Chevrolet. It sold for only $1 million.

Wish I had been there.

My turn for a 'first' post

2006-01-15T05:47:00.000-05:00

All this talk in the carblogosphere about 'firsts' got me thinking. I've already mentioned my '83 Mercury Capri GS a couple of times, so I won't go into that now.

What I haven't talked about is the first car I ever autocrossed.

When I was in the Navy, my next door neighbor's cousin moved in with him. He had a 1977 Porsche 924. It was white and didn't look or run very well. I remember seeing him many mornings working feverishly trying to get it to run so he could drive it to work.

Well, fast forward a couple of months and I come home from a deployment to find the Porsche gone and a Jeep in its place. I knocked on the door and asked what happened to the 924 and he told me he got tired of it and left it in long-term parking on base several months earlier. Naturally I asked him what he wanted for it. I ended up buying it from him for $250.

He gave me a ride to the lot where the car was and we managed to jump-start it and I drove it home.

It had mold on almost every interior surface and the wiring was atrocious. The fuel pump had apparently quit at one point, as there was a wire running from the hatch area, through the interior, across the passenger seat, out the door, under the hood, directly to the battery. There was a toggle switch spliced into this wire where it laid on the passenger seat.

The start procedure included "flip fuel pump toggle 'on' on passenger seat".

I realize that this post is getting long and I haven't even got to the autocross part yet, so stay tuned for a Part 2.

Stephen finally did it!

2006-01-12T21:04:00.000-05:00

He started his own blog.

Check out Seeing the World Through a Bug Covered Windshield.

Welcome, Stephen.

Where did everybody go?

2006-01-10T07:53:00.000-05:00

The Bavarian Falconblog's been dead for a while now

Bill's Blog Project appears abandoned

Executive Car Service provides corporate Baltimore sedan service and luxury BWI International airport transportation throughout the Baltimore Metropolitan area.

.:Ride:. appears to have stalled

Ben's Car Blog is on the back burner.

And I haven't been too frequent with upgrades myself.

Did everyone make a New Year's resolution to stop blogging?

Come back, guys.

Blast from the past

2006-01-05T20:54:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Philip's post on 4 Drivers Only about the Morgan 4/4, which has been in continuous production since 1936, I felt compelled to write about my favorite motorcycle - the Royal Enfield Bullet.

This motorcycle was built by the British company Royal Enfield. At some point in the 1950s, the Indian government bought the rights to open a factory to build the bikes locally for their armed forces. The British Royal Enfield company went out of business, but the factory in India is still churning out motorcycles remarkably unchanged from the 1955 model. The bike pictured is a 2005 model, available for $4795 in the US.

One day . . .

It doesn't have an engine . . .

2006-01-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

And it's not a car. But it does have a motor. Three, to be exact.

And if flies.

Indoors.

It's my new favorite toy, a Bladerunner II RC helicopter. Click the link to see a video on their website.

It weighs around 50 grams, which I think rounds down to zero. That's with the body, most of which I have cut away in the name of increased flight times.

I'm now getting a little over 10 minutes on a full charge of its onboard 300 mah Li-Po (that's Lithium Polymer) battery. It takes close to an hour to recharge.

There's a pretty active web forum for these things where they discuss a variety of modifications.

I got it a Circuit City for around $60.00.

I wonder what else I do?

2006-01-05T16:09:00.000-05:00

While I was riding to town today, my Mother-in-law pointed out a lady in the car next to us who was reading while driving. She then said that that was worse than me steering with my knee.

Steering with my knee?

Well sure, maybe every once in a while.

After she pointed it out, I noticed myself doing it for an extended period twice during that outing. Once while eating stuffed jalapenos from Jack-in-the-Box (which are really very good). And again while eating Jerry's deep-fried peanuts (which are also very good).

I wonder what else I don't realize I'm doing?

Cars, the movie

2006-01-03T20:40:00.000-05:00

I went to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last night, and saw a preview for Cars. I had heard about the movie, but hadn't bothered to watch the trailer.

I will see this movie.

Check out the trailer here!

By the way, Narnia is an excellent movie. Highly recommended.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Executive Car Service provides corporate Chicago car service and luxury O'Hare International airport transportation throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.

I don't know if any of you care, but I'm now writing for the Wired Home weblog. If you are interested in electronics in general, or home automation specifically, check it out.

Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this weblog. After all, if it's got an engine, Dorri probably likes it.

Who's been reading?

2005-12-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

It seems that someone out there from Grand Forks AFB has been checking this blog out, and they found it by doing a Yahoo search for "Dorri Williams".

That's me!

If you know me, drop me a line.

Oh and Happy New Year!

The junkyard that time forgot

2005-12-29T19:50:00.000-05:00

While traveling home after visiting relatives for Christmas, I ran across this gem of a junkyard.

It's located in Boaz, Alabama. I stopped at a used car lot nearby and asked about it. I was told that it's owned by an old man. He never seems to do anything with any of the cars, but they are all "for sale". The problem is that the asking price for any of the cars is more than they are worth.

More pics here, here, here, and here.

I think I need to make friends with this old man. I wonder if he has any heirs?

Merry Christmas

2005-12-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

I sincerely hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas holiday.

Blogging will (probably) resume Tuesday or Wednesday.

Just how realistic is GT4?

2005-12-22T07:19:00.000-05:00

For the three or four of you out there that don't know what GT4 is, Gran Turismo 4 is the most recent installment of one of the most realistic racing games out there. Exclusively for the Playstation 2, GT4 has over 700 (!) cars to choose from, including classics.

I've read about how realistic the driving experience was, and some have gone through the trouble of comparing GT4's Nurburgring to the real thing, but I wanted to do a little scientific testing of my own to see how it stacks up to reality.

So I saved up enough money (in the game) to buy a Delorean, took it to the track, got it up to 88 MPH, and. . .

Nothing.

Bumer. I guess it's not that realistic after all.

What Dorri wants for Christmas

2005-12-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

Dorri finally decided what he wants for Christmas.

He was looking through his Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog and there it was - right in the middle - the M400 Skycar.

From the ad:

• The M400 Skycar is the world's first personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, designed to elevate individual drivers above the headaches of commuting and the dangers of highway travel.
• In development since the 1960s, the Skycar has completed successful hovering flights, and its first manned, un-tethered flight is planned for Fall 2005.
• Developed by Moller International, the three-wheeled, folding-wing craft is designed to be as safe, affordable, and easy to use as an automobile.
• Travels at 350+ miles per hour and achieves an environmentally friendly 21 miles per gallon on alcohol, a cleaner fuel than gasoline.

According to the builder's website, the Skycar will cost around $80,000 (about the cost of a luxury automobile) after it reaches mass production.

Unfortunately it isn't being mass produced just yet, in fact there's just the prototype for sale now. The pricefrom Neiman Marcus? 3.5 million dollars.

Dorri still wants it. And Dorri still doesn't like it when people refer to themselves in the third person.

What were they thinking?

2005-12-19T23:37:00.000-05:00

Tonight I went with a friend (Stephen) to Easley, SC (motto: all our streetlights are yellow and we don't know why) to pick up his new Scion xB. I noticed immediately upon entering town that all the streetlights were yellow (see motto). A few minutes later, one of the streetlights turned red. That's when I noticed that that particular streetlight was actually a traffic light. Then I started cursing vehemently (i.e. with vehemen).

They were the exact same color.

I cannot come up with any possible reason for the city of Easley to intentionally make their streetlights the same color as a yellow traffic light.

Any ideas?

Looking for a few good engineers?

2005-12-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

Joe Sherlock knows where you can find them.

Time To Go: General Motors Corp. is suspending contributions to its 401(k) savings plan for salaried employees and paring back severance benefits as it prepares for more white-collar job cuts in the coming year. Ford suspended 401(k) matching contributions for employees in June. I bet that every young, talented employee from these two behemoths is actively looking for a job elsewhere. This will leave both companies staffed with no-talent deadwood. The death spiral is picking up velocity.

This only furthers the nail in GM's (and Ford's) coffin.

Pop Quiz

2005-12-17T10:48:00.000-05:00

If, while driving, you approach a traffic light that is not operational (no lights lit) you should:

A. Continue driving as if the light were green.
B. Treat the traffic light as a four-way stop.
C. Slam on your brakes as hard as you can and slide off into the ditch.
D. Trade in your car on the largest SUV you can find so you don't have to worry about it.

The correct answer is, of course, B.

If you answered A, you probably live in South Carolina.

As many of you may know, the Carolinas have recently been hit with a rather severe ice storm which has left many people without power. I was appalled by the number of drivers who blithely continued through signals without power, wholly oblivious to the fact that there were other drivers aproaching from the crossing street.

When researching this post I discovered the reason for the ignorance of SC's driving population; nowhere in the SC Driver's Manual is this subject addressed!

How many cars do they think I can drive at once?

2005-12-16T20:41:00.001-05:00

Why does it cost more to have liability insurance on two cars than it does to insure just one? I can't wreck more than one car at a time.

It should cost the same to insure (liability and collision only) 37 (just an example) cars as it does to insure just one.

I understand that comprehensive coverage should be on a per-car basis. The risk of damage other than that caused by wrecking (tree falling on it, etc.) increases linearly with the number of cars covered.

Why do the insurance companies charge more for multiple cars?

Because they can.

Howard Stern vs. Bob Dylan

2005-12-15T19:32:00.000-05:00

For some reason, it made national news when Sirius Satellite Radio announced that Howard Stern would have a show starting in January 2006.

I wonder just how many customers will choose Sirius over XM just to hear Stern?

More importantly to Sirius, how many will choose XM just to avoid the Stern?

I would have thought that that last question was a bit silly, except that when Hyundia did a survey of its customers to see which they prefer - XM or Sirius - they found that many customers did not want Sirius simply because they didn't want to hear Howard Stern.

Hyundai then decided to go with XM.

So far this year, Hyundai has sold over 400,000 cars in the US, most of them with XM radio.

To further plant the nail in the Sirius coffin, XM recently announced that Bob Dylan would be hosting a weekly music show for them.

I doubt that will cost them any subscribers.

More possible projects (when will I find time?)

2005-12-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

A friend recently loaned me a copy of a book called How to Build a Cheap Sports Car. After reading through it, we decided to take stock of all the myriad parts cars we either have or have available to us.

Stephen has a 1989 Jaguar XJ-S with no interior (and I mean NO interior - there isn't even a dash or steering column in it) and no engine/transmission. This car already has the motor mounts and tranny crossmember for a smallblock Chevy conversion.

He also has a low-mileage 1984 XJ-S with just about every body panel bent (building collapsed on it), but a good engine and tranny and interior.

I have a 1985 Corvette that was wrecked in 1988 and has been parked since. It has no interior to speak of (windshield missing and lots of rain), but has an excellent drivetrain.

I also have two 1982 Yamaha Seca IIs, one of which is pretty close to running.

Stephen also has a plethora of old Opels. I'm not sure why.

The original plan was to swap the interior from the '84 Jag into the '89 and put a SBC (possible from a wrecked Vette) into it. He then could sell off the Jag V-12 and IRS to recoup some cost. I was planning to find an old Trans Am to drop the Vette engine (and IRS if I was feeling plucky).

We could still do that. If we put a different SBC in the '89 Jag we would then be left with a front and rear Jag suspension, a front and rear Vette suspension, and a Jag V-12 and Vette 350.

Sounds like a recipe for 2 Lotus Seven inspired LoCosts.

Of course we'll probably never get around to it, but we could.

Sorry. . .

2005-12-13T06:51:00.000-05:00

What with Christmas and all, I haven't found the time to blog lately. Rest assured I will be back.

Let's let them fight it out.

2005-12-08T07:03:00.000-05:00

On page 92 of the January '06 Motor Trend, they write about the Bugatti Veyron 16.4,

"It'll score you the best parking place at any restaurant in the world."

On page 100 of the same magazine, they write about the Pagani Zonda F,

". . . it'll snare you the world's best parking spot anywhere, any time."

So, which is it?

Here's what I propose. You buy the cars (the Bugatti and the Pagani), and you drive one, I'll drive the other and we'll meet at the nicest restaurant we can think of. I'm not talking McDonald's here, we're going high class. Maybe Cracker Barrel. Then we'll just see who gets the best parking spot.

2005-12-07T21:12:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Croak's recent post, Why ego-surfing is dangerous, on The Bavarian Falconblog, I decided to do a little ego-surfing of my own. My results were more pleasing than Croak's.

Here is a short list of some folks who have linked to my site, mostly found using Technorati's who links here feature.

Autoblog linked to me with this post: Auto Express Questioned on Exclusive First Drive of Veyron. This is the one that resulted in the most traffic to my site. I had over 1700 visitors link over from Autoblog that day.
Greg Epps, of the BMW e28 535is weblog has written about my site here and here. It's always nice to hear good things about yourself, and I've enjoyed reading of his suspension work on his Bimmer.
Things Magazine gave me a mention for no good reason here. (Scroll down a bit, I'm in the 'other things' section. I'm still not sure just what Things Magazine is.
Joe of My Ford Dreams gave me the compliment of being listed in his post, Some Blogs Worth Looking At. Thanks Joe.
Julian of the Montesa King Scorpion Blog wrote about my project bike here and here. He was not pleased with my plan to turn the bike into a supermotard.

Several bloggers have paid me the compliment of listing If it's got an engine in their permanent links sections.

Thanks, guys!

Rocket Racing League (!)

2005-12-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

I don't usually post "look what I found on the internet" type posts, trying instead to come up with some original content.

That being said, look what I found on the internet!

Rocket Racing League.

That's rockets, and they're racing, in a league!

This is so freakin' cool, I can't find the words.

From their press release:

The Rocket Racing League is an aerospace entertainment organization which combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry. The RRL is dedicated to providing safe and thrilling experiences for families through live events, television broadcasts and interactive technologies . . . the league's mission is to serve as a technology accelerator in the areas of airframe, propulsion and spacecraft design, and reach for the future to inspire the next generation of spaceflight enthusiasts.

The Rocket Racing League is scheduled to have its first race next September. That's less than a year from now!

The rocket planes will have fuel aboard for approximately 4 minutes of powered flight and 10 minutes of gliding, after which they will land to refuel. These ain't no pushrod V8s here, boys. The races should last about an hour each.

Read more at www.rocketracingleague.com

The only thing that could possibly stop me from watching the first race on TV is if I can be there in person. See you there!

Hydrogen is NOT a fuel

2005-12-04T14:37:00.000-05:00

This has been bugging me for quite some time.

Everyone seems to view the (Hydrogen fueled) fuel cell as the savior of our petrochemically-starved future.

Not gonna happen.

Wanna know why? Read on.

Hydrogen (large scale) is no more a fuel than the rechargeable battery in your iPod is. It is an energy storage medium.

Small scale (most of what we use now) it is a fuel, but we get it from methane, which is a fossil fuel.

Large scale (what we would use in the cars clogging our country's freeways), we would have to get it from electrolysis of water.

Electrolysis is very simple: just run a current through water and the O2 will collect on electrode, while the H2 will collect on the other.

The problem with this is that we can only get from the H2 as much energy as we put into the water to crack it. Less actually, as nothing is 100% efficient.

There is a very understandable (amazingly) report prepared by the US Department of Energy available here. Check it out and come to your own conclusions.

What's the real improvement?

2005-12-01T16:57:00.000-05:00

Seth Godin posted today a diatribe against the automotive industry regarding their refusal to improve the fuel economy of their vehicles.

I agree: better fuel economy is a good thing.

What I disagree with is this argument:

I continue to be puzzled by the car industry's ongoing fight against better mileage (Bennington Banner - Headlines.) Imagine how moribund the computer industry would be if processors never got faster. You'd only buy a new computer when your old one got too dusty.

He is stating (indirectly) that gas mileage of cars is equivalent to processor speed of computers.

It is not.

Processor speed of computers should be compared with horsepower of cars, which has increased dramatically over the past two decades.

Other aspects of the average automobile have dramatically improved as well. Consider the following case. In 1995 the MSRP for a Toyota Corolla LE was $16,848. That car had 105 horsepower and got 27/34 city/hwy mileage.

Two complete redesigns later, the 2005 Toyota Corolla LE's MSRP is $14,990. It has 25 more horsepower and gets 5 mpg better in town and 7 mpg better on the highway.

If you figure in inflation, it's a lot cheaper.

And better.

Only 2 Cars?!?

2005-11-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

I've written about my friend Stephen before, but not about this.

We were stationed together in Saratoga Springs, NY at a Navy Training Center. Stephen lived across the street from me in Navy Housing. We each had a one-car garage and were *allowed* to have one additional vehicle, parked in the driveway.

Well, being the gearheads that we were/are two cars wasn't close to enough.

So we started an informal contest to see who could have the most vehicles parked in Navy Housing at the same time.

By the time we moved out, we were tied at around 7 or 8 each, but Stephen clearly had me beat on tonnage, having both a schoolbus and 1948 American LaFrance fire-engine.

But he didn't have a 17' boat with no trailer, so we called it a draw.

Montesa King Scorpion update

2005-11-29T20:37:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I wrote about a friend with a Montesa King Scorpion dirtbike that I could have.

Well I finally picked it up and it may be more project than I am willing to take on.

I have been offered assistance by a fellow blogger. He is in the process of restoring one of these motorcycles. You can read of his progress here.

More to follow. . .

The Blog for Auto Bloggers

2005-11-27T07:20:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what Automotive Bloggers would talk about if you got a bunch of them together?

Me either.

We can find out by checking out A Blog for Auto Bloggers. It's just as it seems, a sounding board for bloggers to talk amongst themselves in a public forum.

The concept for this site was to create a space where automotive bloggers, or even traditional online editors, can come and discuss the issues they come across in covering or commenting on the automotive industry.

All are welcome here. We’re looking for “real” discourse over the issues that dictate our coverage and how to improve it. This isn’t a place to bash others or the competition, but to see how each takes on the same subject.

Sounds like a great idea. I've asked to be included, look for my input there soon.

12 cylinder BMW 3 series!?!

2005-11-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Croak's write-up of the V-10 powered E-90 3-series, I felt compelled to post this. Some guy in Finland (I think) shoehorned a M70 V-12 (from the E32 750iL) into an E30 3-series.

I want one.

Dodge Challenger

2005-11-23T10:04:00.000-05:00

A lot of people have a problem with retro cars.

I don't understand why.

I think this is the car that should have been called the Charger.

At any rate, if the car looks as good as these spy shots, or this sketch, I fearlessly predict that it will be a hit.

Now if we can only convince Chevy to produce this Camaro.

Castrol attempts to break into the Blogosphere

2005-11-23T09:40:00.000-05:00

And fails.

I received an email about a month and a half ago from Julia Bannon of MarketSource IMS asking if I would like to have a Castrol representative make a "guest appearance" on my blog and be interviewed by me. In this email, she also offered to send me more information about Castrol Syntec motor oil. You can read the complete email here.

I replied to her that I would be happy to interview the representative and that I would like for her to send the information to me so that I could prepare a list of questions for the interview. You can read my complete reply here.

The outcome of all this is that she never replied to my return email. No explanations, nothing.

My new favorite car

2005-11-21T17:18:00.000-05:00

A friend recently pointed out that I have a thing for cars with long hoods. Some of my favorites are the Jaguar XJS, C-3 Corvettes and the Porsche 928.

I couldn't help but be reminded of that when I saw the Audi Nero concept (pictured).

It has perhaps a bit too much Batmobile in it, but I'm still in love.

The concept is one of the entries in the LA Auto Show design challenge. More details (and more entries) can be found on this Autoblog entry.

Project number . . .

2005-11-17T01:55:00.000-05:00

I've lost count.

Anyway, a friend has a late 60s or early 70s Montesa King Scorpion dirtbike that he inherited from his father. He thinks it was last ridden around 30 years ago, so it should fire right up, right?

My plan is to get it running, put blinkers and a horn on it (it already has head and tail lights), put some 17" sportbike rims and tires on it, and register it for the street. Voila: a 250cc 2-stroke Supermotard.

False Advertising

2005-11-12T08:37:00.000-05:00

I used to own a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport.

Really, I did.

No really, stop laughing!

Anyway, it was a good truck, but it had a few things that drove me crazy. One of these was the oil pressure gauge.

"How could an oil pressure guage drive Dorri crazy?" you might ask.

Simple, it was not really a pressure guage. It was an idiot light masquarading as a guage. The fine folks at Ford - following the same logic as the folks at The (Un)Truth About Cars - came to the conclusion that since most people didn't know what the oil pressure guage was really telling them that it could be replaced by an idiot light.

This would be fine, except that their marketing gurus decided that guages = upscale and upscale = sales. So they installed a fake pressure guage connected to an idiot light sender. What this means is that anytime the oil pressure is > 7 psig, the needle is in the middle of the normal band. If oil pressure is < 7 psig, the needle points to zero. That's it. No middle ground.

There is no documentation of this anywhere in the owner's manual. I don't know many people who like to be lied to.

The (Un)Truth About Cars

2005-11-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

Rarely do I come across a website that looks this legitimate, yet contains so many fallacies. The Truth About Cars is just such a site. Aside from the over-the-top GM bashing (which GM probably deserves), it is a fairly straight-forward automotive opinion site.

With some exceptions.

The first time I ran across this site was in November of 2004, when they ran an article titled Death To The Stick Shift. This at first appears to be a well written article. The truth (ha!) is revealed upon closer scrutiny. The first ridiculous statement occurs fairly early in the article.

Operating a manual transmission is an inherently difficult and dangerous procedure...

Inherently dangerous? I think not.

Their most recent untruth is titled Highlight and Delete. Once again, it starts out with a reasonable premise - that the American automakers need to remove unnecessary standard features from automobiles in order to save production costs - but from there it all goes wrong.

The author states that most people don't pay attention to the oil pressure gauge or the voltmeter, so they should be replaced by "a simple warning light".

I wonder why those simple warning lights are called idiot lights.

He then continues with the spare tire and oddly, the accelerator cable. I find it difficult to believe that converting from a simple cable to a potentiometer and servomotor assembly will save production costs, but then I'm not an automotive engineer.