Tesla Stock Price

Are investors cashing out before the end of the year for tax reasons, or is this a vote of no confidence for Tesla? In the last month, Tesla's stock price has dropped by ~2...

Grandma The Fighter

I am sitting at the hospital bedside of my 93 year old grandmother. Rebecca was born in Russia, and survived Stalin and the Wehrmacht siege of Leningrad. Now she is fighting with her heart and her lungs, gasping and coughing to get a breath. She's a tough old lady, but I think she is getting tired.Don't give up yet Grand...

Fiat's Nero

This morning on Autoline Detroit, John McElroy's auto talk show, a Fiat lady stated that part of the Fiat 500's ordering experience will be calling colors by their Italian names. So red will be rose, and black will be nero. Cue the Rome burns jokes. But what I don't get is, why not call it Cinquecento then? For mist people, if you say "five hundred", they will think of a very bland large sedan from Ford.If you're going to go Italian, go all in,...

Aptera Dead?

Aptera has been very quiet since participating (but not finishing) in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition.  After a very promising early start, and lots of great media coverage, Aptera went through a management shake-up, and now appears to be starving slowly.  Without government loans to develop their product, or a large angel investor to come in and rescue them, they seem to be adrift. You know it is bad when the fans, some...

The Redesigned 300C

Allpar.com has some nice side-by-side photos of the refreshed 300C along with the previous design.  I like the increased windshield rake, and how they lowered the door shoulders to allow for a less slab-sided look, with a little more glass.  There is a nice, slightly upward sweeping character line.  From the side, it looks a little more like a Cadillac (not a bad thing), while the front is distinctly Chrysler. The interior is much...

Automakers Sue EPA over E15

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that represents most of the OEMs operating in the U.S., has joined the lawsuit originally filed by other organisations to try to block the E15 waiver that the EPA is granting for newer vehicles.  Detroit News story here. Good.The E15 waiver is a half-baked idea.  It should only be issued when it is determined that the vast majority (say, 95%) of cars on the road today can safely...

Review: Pep Boys Definity Dakota H/T Tires

In my previous post, I reviewed the experience of buying tires at Pep Boys.*The tires that were chosen were Definity Dakota H/T, which are a highway tread light truck/SUV tire. The Definity line is a store-brand of Pep Boys, manufactured by Cooper Tire. Cooper also makes Avon, Mastercraft, and Starfire branded tires. The Dakotas are also available in offroad (M/T) and all terrain (A/T) tread patterns....

SOLVED! Geocache Challenge Prize #1

SOLV...

SOLVED! Geocache Challege Prize #2

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SOLVED! Autoprophet Geocache Challege 2010!!!

Congratulations to Charles and his brother, who found both prizes this afternoon, Dec. 20th.My family has been big into geocaching for years, so after seeing your blog entry, my brother and I swung by birmingham this afternoon. Perfect timing, as my car needs a new battery, pads and rotors, and a few other regular maintenance type odds and ends. Thanks Auto Prophet and Pep Boys! -Charles (Auto...

Smug Vee Dub

I saw this guy, "GAS H8R" on the road the other day. I suppose he removed the TDI badges from his Go...

Nissan's Naughty Nav

Nissan's new Nav system will help you find "Adult Entertainment" locations, according to a review by Family Car Review.  It's debuting in the new 2011 Nissan Quest minivan.  Good job Nissan.  Way to know your market....

Top 10 Recalls of 2010

Car And Driver, my favorite car enthusiast magazine, has an nice one-page article in this month's issue summarizing graphically the top 10 recalls of 2010. Leading the pack was Toyota, with 5 of the top 10 recalls. Second was GM, with 2, and Honda with 2. Nissan had 1 recall in the top 10.Congratulations to Ford, Chrysler, VW, and Hyundai for not making this top 10 list....

Tangled

I went with the kids to see Tangled over the weekend. It was excellent, probably the best non-Pixar Disney movie in recent history.I experienced 3D for the first time, and had mixed feelings. On one hand, it worked very well in many scenes. It seemed to break down a bit when the effect was used to try to make objects look very close to the audience. And the 3D version of the Justin Bieber biopic preview... ugh, nauseating. It was neat. Maybe...

Rumor: Honda Killing Element

There is a rumor that Honda is going to announce the end of the Element, the quirky 3 1/2 door bread van, likely due to slow sales.  It's too bad, I was impressed with Honda for bringing out such a quirky and utilitarian vehicle, which was basically a large box on wheels.  The Element, though much larger than the Scion xB and Nissan Cube, paved the way for the quirky little box cars. I'm not sure what Honda is thinking lately, in terms...

Bumper Compatibility: Not There Yet

IIHS, the organization that is funded by the auto insurance industry, issued a report about continuing poor comparability between small SUV and car bumpers.  You can read it here. The bottom line is, automakers have not yet redesigned their small SUVs to have bumper heights that are compatible with their cars.  The result is expensive low speed collisions between small SUVs and cars, which necessarily drive up insurance costs...

How To Move Your Garmin Favorites

Garmin GPSs store your favorites in a file called Current.gpx, in the folder X:\GPX\. So say you got a new GPS, and want to copy over your collection of favorite locations. Connect your old GPS via USB to your computer. It should show up as a new drive.Copy the file Current.gpx to your computer, and rename it to somenthing else, e.g. TEMP.gpx. Then plug in your new Garmin, and copy the TEMP.gpx file to the \GPX\ folder.Restart the Garmin. It...

GM Ad: "We All Fall Down"

This is a touching ad, no doubt about it.However, GM isn't an individual. It is a huge company with hundreds of executives at the top, steering the boat.GM isn't a boxer that took a hard punch by a powerful opponent. GM whittled itself down, year after year, making bad decision after bad decision. And GM didn't entirely pick itself up... it required a major reorganization, financial destruction, and outside management.That is the key thing. GM...

New GM Website

GM has updated its web site with a neat intro video showing off GM's engineering prowess.  It's a great video, with a nice tech-rock soundtrack, check it out.  http://www.gm.com...

.GOV Soaking Up Hybrid Capacity

According to Bloomberg, Obama's administration has purchased 25% of domestic hybrid production.  In fact, it appears that Obama was the biggest customer for the Malibu mild hybrid, which was a market flop. The government purchased about 64 percent of GM's Chevy Malibu hybrid models and 29 percent of all Ford Fusion hybrids manufactured since Obama took office in 2009, the data show. GM stopped making the Malibu hybrid in 2009 after lack of consumer...

Fiat's Nero

I heard on John McElroy's automotive news show, Autoline Detroit, that Fiat will use Italian names for its colors in its marketing and ordering materials.  For example, red will be called rosso and black will be nero.  (Que Rome burning jokes) What I don't understand then is why Fiat is calling the 500 "Five Hundred" and not "Cinquecento", which is its proper Italian name.  Some Americans many associate a recent large sedan by Ford...

Ford Explorer Smashing "Priceless Ming Vases"

Part of Ford's online social marketing campaign for the new Explorer is a series of short and amusing YouTube videos which answer a question about some feature of the vehicle.  I thought this one was funny....

iPod Touch Bug: Alarm

Well so much for the illusion of Apple's "it just works". I found a bug in iOS 4.1 in, of all things, the built in Alarm app. After the end of daylight savings time, my alarm that was set for 6:00 AM now triggers at 7:00 AM, even though the click is set to 6:00 and the alarm is set to 6:...

Happy Veterans Day

Did you know there is only one surviving American veteran of WWI?  Read Frank Buckle's fascinating story here.Thank you to our military veterans.  You fought, and many of you were wounded, many of you lost friends, because the country asked you for service.  Our freedoms and comforts rest on your shoulders....

GE: Eating Up EV Tax Credits

Is there a downside to the public to GE's announcement that it will buy 25,000 EVs, including 12,000 Chevrolet Volts?  The tax credit for EVs phases out after a manufacturer sells 200,000 of them.  From Public Law 111-5, Sections 1141-1144 `(2) PHASEOUT PERIOD- For purposes of this subsection, the phaseout period is the period beginning with the second calendar quarter following the calendar quarter which includes the first date on...

E15: Big OIl Fights Back

The American Petroleum Institute has filed a lawsuit to block the EPA's waiver allowing E15 in late model (post 2007) vehicles, on the grounds that the potential harmful effects from E15 have not been fully studied. I agree with the API, at the heart of it.  If E15 is sold alongside E10, some customers may try to use it in older vehicles, and they could have problems.  However, on the practical side, I don't see E15 going anywhere in this...

Mulally Crushes Jobs

Steve Jobs, that is.  Amazing times we live in.  Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, has crushed Apple's Steve Jobs in the Fortune magazine Business Person Of The Year internet poll, 96% to 4%.  Link here....

Mahindra Update -- Still On Track?

I just got this email from Global Vehicles regarding Mahindra. It doesn't mention the litigation at all, and seems to blame domestic Indian market demand for the delay to U.S. introduction. Huh? Good Morning Mahindra Truck Fans,Congratulations. You are part of over 30,000 signed up to be the first to experience the hardworking Mahindra trucks.I know you are wondering when you will have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of these amazing,...

They Want Trucks!

Well, not just trucky trucks, they also want crossovers.  But still, Americans are not buying increasing numbers of small cars, which may force some very interesting discussions in Sacramento and Washington.  From AP: The category – known as light-duty trucks – made up 54 percent of all new U.S. vehicle sales last month, compared with 46 percent for cars, according to industry tracker J.D. Power and Associates. It's the biggest difference...

Engineering School Q&A

A student emailed me asking about how to go about getting into the automotive engineering business. Here are my answers.I stumbled across your blog through an internet search and found your writing to be very interesting. I am a 24-year-old Mechanical Engineering student, and I have plans to go into Automotive Engineering. Some advice on the best way to become an Automotive Engineer would be very helpful. I spent 6 years out of highchool as a diesel/auto...

Volt: Quicker With Gas

Edmunds did a track test on the Chevy Volt.  One interesting result is that the Volt is nearly 1s faster from 0-75mph when using the gasoline range extender than in pure EV mode.  Hmmm... could it be because some gasoline torque is going to the wheels?  Just asking....

The AutoExec Wheelmate Desk on Amazon

Heh. Check out the user photos he...

Review: Scosche motorMOUTH II Bluetooth

I was recently given a Scosche motorMOUTH II (model BTAXS) bluetooth gadget to try out.*The motorMOUTH II is an ingenious idea, one of those "why didn't they think of it sooner!" type things. It is basically a bluetooth headset combined with a stereo mini-jack. Instead of sticking it in your year (that would really hurt) you plut it into your car's aux input. It plays the audio from your phone...

Volt Spotting

I saw this Volt parked in Southfield today. A lovely dark red specimin. Notice how GM is hiding the exhaust. Can you see a tailpipe? The muffler is that light gray thing on the left side. I can't tell where the tail pipe exits, it is well hidden. I'm not sure about the wisdom of the reverse lamp location, it seems like it would get grimy under there from road grime during the winter months....

Disappearing Drive Problem Solved

I have this problem on my Windows 7 desktop PC at home, that from time to time my secondary 1.5TB WD Caviar Green hard drive disappears from the system, as if it wasn't installed at all.It turns out to be a bug in how Windows wakes up SATA drives--there is a time-out, and apparently some large SATA drives don't wake up fast enough, and are assumed to be missing. There is a Microsoft hotfix for the problem here.If your large SATA drive isn't the primary...

Some Double Rainbows

There were some scattered showers this evening, with patches of blue sky, it was very striking. I caught these gigantic double rainbows with my (weak) cell phone came...

Shocking News: Americans Won't Pay More For Electric Cars

From Edmunds Green Car Advisor: About two out of three Americans say they wouldn't be willing to pay more for an electric car than for a comparable gas-powered vehicle, while just 17 percent said they'd pay more than a $5,000 premium for an EV, Nielsen Co. said, citing its September poll of more than 2,300 people. I guess the good news is that about 30% of Americans would pay extra for an electric car--but most of them would not pay more $5,000....

Mahindra Trucks... Still Dead

Despite some sputtering noises to the contrary, it appears to me that Mahindra's plan to import diesel light trucks into the U.S. is still quite dead. In addition to jerking around the dealer network and potential customers, and creating ill will, Mahindra has to overcome a legal battle with its original distributor, Global Vehicles. Also, not to pile on or anything, but while Mahindra may have certified its emissions for the EPA, I have not...

E15: Good For Corn Farmers, Confusing For The Rest Of Us

EPA is announcing today that they are ready to approve E15 (15% ethanol) gasoline blends, but only for 2007 model year and newer vehicles. That's silly.Are gas station owners really going to set aside one or two pumps for E15, and label them?   Consumers would then be faced with 5 types of gasoline choose from: base, mid-grade, premium, E85, and E15.  Some people will be confused and put E15 in pre 2007 vehicles.  Others will be confused...

The Semiotics Of Volt: The Meaning Of "Direct"

GM's clarification about how the Volt powertain has an interesting statement: There is no direct mechanical connection (fixed gear ratio) between the Volt's extended-range 1.4L engine and the drive wheels. Note how GM defines "direct mechanical connection" as "fixed gear ratio".  However, to a technically minded reader this sounds like semantic squirming.    Here is how it works.  There is a planetary gearset.  In the Volt,...

Volt Frenzy, Part III

After doing some reading around, it does seem like the blogosphere overreacted to the news that the Volt's gasoline engine *gasp* can actually help push the front wheels.My conclusion is that it doesn't really matter. Since a gasoline engine was put on-oard to charge the battery, the Volt was never going to be a pure electric car. From the very beginning, it was thought to be a "series hybrid" (gas to electric to wheels), but now we see that it...

The Telegraph Rumor Was True!

A few months back, this article in the Telegraph caused a stir among the Volt followers. In it, Andrew English quotes an Opel engineer working on the Ampera (Euro Volt):"We are considering driving the wheels directly from the petrol engine," says Andreas Voight, an Opel project engineer.Then, The Car Connection, wanting a clarification, went to GM and asked about this. GM responded with two points:"We're definitely not making any changes,"andPeterson...

Edmunds: "GM Lied",

Edmunds' Mike Magrath writes, in very strong terms, about the admission in an online interview that yes, the Volt's gasoline engine can send torque to the drive wheels, if needed.   "flat-out lie to make things look better." This is a devastating PR failure for GM.  After the long and massive build-up for the Volt, and the swearing up and down that it was a "range extended EV", this makes GM look really desperate for public approval,...

Sharron Angle on Dearborn

Sharron Angle, a Republican candidate who is trying to unseat Harry Reid in Nevada, was recorded at a town hall meeting answering a question from a guy concerned about creeping Sharia law in the U.S. The left has latched onto her quote as proof that she's an anti-Muslim bigot and a crackpot.I thought I would get to the bottom of it, so I downloaded and listened to the audio recording (available here) of the event. The remarks of interest start...

Secretary LaHood, Man Of LaMancha

Secretary of Transportation Roy Lahood is advocating bans on in vehicle cell phone use, even of the hands-free variety.   I don't think it is going to happen--people like the ability to make hands-free calls.Much bigger safety gains might be made by training people to follow basic traffic rules, like not driving slow in the left lane, and wearing seatbelts.  Approximately 18% of all U.S. drivers still don't regularly wear their seatbelts!...

Western Digital Caviar Green (WD10EADS) Failure

On my desktop PC I have a 1 TB secondary drive which I use for storing photos, videos, music, and etc.  I was using a WD Caviar Green model WD10EADS, and it developed a strange behavior.  File access slowed to a crawl, with wait times of between 3 and 5 seconds to read from or write to a file.  Disk utilization (resource monitor) showd 100%, but the drive wasn't making much noise.  According to the SMART check, everything was...

Coda's Electric Car Will Cost $44,000...

...and be serviced at a "a major retail department store chain" (e.g. Sears, or perhaps WalMart) for the electrical propulsion system, or one of several Firestone locations for non-powertrain issues. Yeah, good luck with that.   They expect people to pay top dollar (more than a Leaf or Volt) for a car that looks like a 2003 Protege.  Then, if something breaks, the customer has to decide if needs to be taken to the mall or to Firestone to...

Wild Dodge Magnum

I saw this, uh, pimp-wagon on the road Frid...

X-Prize Realities

Now that the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition is over, I expect that green car boosters (and Tesla, who didn't bother entering) will begin pointing at the winners as evidence that the mainstream auto industry can't compete. But.As impressive feats of small-team engineering, the X-Prize finalists are amazing.  But they are nothing like consumer products, just as NASCAR "stock cars" are nothing like consumer products.  The...

Ken Block: "obama can't gymkhana"

Check out the bumper sticker on the Segway wheel at 2:30.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TshFWSsrn8&feature=player_embedded#!...

Travis Pastrana Does Mt. Washington, Quickly

This is a really neat video of a world class rally driver flying up a mountain road. Link to video...

Evil Twins?

Jaws from James Bond2011 Dodge Dura...

Tell The EPA What You Think!

The EPA has posted some prototype fuel economy labels on their web site, and is asking for the public to comment. You can see them in their full detail here.There are two proposed designs. The first shows a large letter grade (also color coded), Green A, Yellow B, Orange C, and Red D. Apparently, everyone passes--F's are not allowed to go on sale?The second shows some Star Trek style sliding indicators,...

Help Name Ford's Iguana

Ford Motor is doing a Facebook poll to pick a name for their stow-away iguana.  I like "Henry" myself, for political reasons. Link to poll: http://www.facebook.com/ford/posts/154449744566760...

Illegal Immigrant Hides In Parts Shipment

I thought this was cute--an iguana managed to make it from southern Mexico to Ford's transmission plant in Sterling Heights, MI, hiding in a parts shipment. He's at the Detroit Zoo now.http://www.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/maynards-garage/2010/aug/25/new-ford-igua...

Pre-Cruise Friday Part 5: Best In Show

This, in my opinion, is the most beautiful vehicle at the Dream Cruise. Not because it has been restored to such great shape--though it has--but because of what it represents. This truck was restored to serve as a hearse for fallen firefighters who are being escorted to their last call. It was a work of love, funded by charity.The place of the hero.Click on the photo to read the whole st...

Pre-Cruise Friday Part 5: Emergency Vehicle Alley

The police and fire departments had a really neat display of emergency vehicles, right down the street from all the Mustangs. This was my favorite area of the Cruise so far.Old school vehicles.The "meat wagon", a Vietnam era ambulance.Inside the meat wagonThis Troy Police car was built with funds siezed in drug raids.Watering the kids.Paddy wagons, old and n...

Pre-Cruise Friday Part 4: Ferndale Stryker

The U.S. Army's TACOM set up this Stryker vehicle on the median in Ferndale. Several TACOM employees were there to answer questions. I asked about IED survivability, and they explained that while the Stryker was designed before the Iraq and Afghan wars, and was not equipped to handle roadside bombs, they are retrofitting them with a thick aluminum underhull, offset from the main hull, which can help...

Pre-Cruise Friday Part 3: Ford in Ferndale

Next I headed south to Ferndale, where Ford has set up "Mustang Alley".This Dewalt Superduty concept was pretty neat, and it was the only vehicle I saw at the Cruise that could probably cut itself up into little pieces.Police Mustang (the strobes are flashing, but it is hard to see)CSI Transit, lots of room for "samples"Mustang AlleyA mockup of the Taurus Police car. I don't think it is the real...