Fighting Comment Spam

Ugh, I am being inundated with comment spam.I am tightening the policy for comments, from now on, only users with an OpenID or other form that Blogger accepts can comme...

Fisker Suspension

Edmunds has a very nice photo review of the Fisker Karma suspension. My takeaway: heavy car, expensive chassis, very complex.   But also very impressive, considering the complexity of the machine.   Tesla, for its Roadster, let Lotus take care of the chassis and suspension design and had to focus mostly on the powertrain. I will be amazed if Fisker makes enough money to stay in business with this model.  ...

Cadillac 4 Cylinder

This is what the world has come to.   GM is putting a four-banger in a Cadillac.   But this isn't the I4 of old, this is a modern, direct injected turbo with variable cam timing.  The GM 2.0L Ecotech makes 270HP and 260lb-ft of torque.  It is a similar engine to the Ford 2.0L Ecoboost which is now the fuel economy option for the Explorer.  By comparison, the FWD versions...

iDrive Prank Box

I was sent this prank gift box, which is hilarious.It is designed to look like a believable (but crazy) product, the iDrive, which is a suction cup and claw mount to mount iPads and other devices on your steering wheel or other unsafe places.  Photos on the back show it being used in cars, on a factory runabout and also on a jet ski. I wonder, though, how the box maker gets away with using "iDrive",...

Old People Cars

According to the Detroit News, this is the list of most popular vehicles for senior citizens.  I have added additional information: which models are discontinued. 1. Lincoln Town Car, 90% 2. Buick Lucerne, 87% 3. Cadillac DTS, 85% 4. Cadillac CTS, 74% 5. Cadillac STS, 71% 6. Hyundai Azera, 25% 7. Chevrolet Impala, 51% 8. Buick LaCrosse, 59% 9. Lincoln MKZ, 54% 10. Toyota Avalon, 54% The interesting question to me is, what will the...

Remember Pearl Harbor!

A momentous day in U.S. history.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor...

Bridgestone Airless Tire Concept

Cool.  From PhysOrg.com.Michelin has also been working on the Tweel airless tire for some time now, but it isn't ready for civilian commercial sale, yet.   ...

Volt Battery Fires NBD

The blogosphere and news media have become somewhat excited about the Chevy Volt battery fires, and GM has been very defensive, going so far as to offer to buy back Volts from any skittish customers. I don't see what the big deal is.There zero cases of Volts having battery thermal issues after getting in an accident in the real world.  There have been a couple of cases of garage fires, however the causes are not yet known and it is quite possible...

Aptera Dead!

I have been watching with morbid fascination the death spiral of Aptera, the designer of the electric trike that looks like a big spermatozoan, which didn't do well in the Progressive Automotive X-prize competition.  To stave off death, Aptera was working on a traditional 4-wheel vehicle concept which they hoped would attract new investors and help them qualify for a DOE AVTM loan.  Aptera stated that they needed $150 million in new money...

How To Reset Your Garmin

I needed to reset my Garmin 1390 GPS unit, before giving it to a friend, to erase all of my personal data.  I found out there is a nice factory reset function which will clear all user data.To factory reset your Garmin:Power off the unit Press and hold the lower right corner of the screenPower on the unit.I also found that if you do the same thing but press and hold the upper left of the touch screen, it will re-calibrate the touchscreen....

NHTSA: Volt Battery Pack Post Crash Risks

NHTSA posted a press release on its web site which explains its recent test results with Chevy Volt batteries. In an effort to recreate the May test, NHTSA conducted three tests last week on the Volt's lithium-ion battery packs that intentionally damaged the battery compartment and ruptured the vehicle's coolant line. Following a test on November 16 that did not result in a fire, a temporary increase in temperature was recorded in a test on...

Review: Davis CarChip Pro

This is a review of the Davis Industires CarChip Pro .  The CarChip is a small device which plugs into your vehicle's OBD-II port, and acts as a datalogger.  It can record vehicle speed every second, and up to 4 other items at a slower rate of one sample every 5 seconds. Retail prices are around $80.The device is simple to configure.  Once you install the software (which worked fine...

Predatory Lexus Face

When I saw the new design for the 2013 Lexus GS 350, I was reminded of something...    Or perhaps...

You Walk

Saw this hilarious billboard on the outskirts of Pontiac the other day.  Rough neighborhood, I guess....

Coda: Does Anyone Care?

The Coda is an all electric sedan built on a Chinese copy of a Mitsubishi compact sedan chassis, stuffed with batteries and electric motors.  It looks cheap.  But it will cost $40,000 like the Focus BEV, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf high trim model.   Does anyone really want one at this price?...

New Fiat 500 Abarth Commercial

Awesome.Translation from a YouTube viewer: What are you looking at? Uh!? What are you looking at?! (slap) Are you undressing me with your eyes? Poor guy…you can't help it? Is your heart beating? Is your head spinning? Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever? (by the way has a slightly non-italian accent)...

Smelly Anarchists Begone!

NYC has finally had enough of the Occupy Wall Street crowd in Zuccotti park.  A judge has denied a lawsuit for a restraining order against NYPD, on the grounds that To the extent that  City law prohibits the erection of  structures,  the use of  gas or  other  combustible materials, and the accumulation of  garbage and human waste in public places,  enforcement of the law and the owner's rules appears...

EVs Should Be Loud

Today, while crossing a busy grocery store parking lot, I was really startled by a silent Prius driving accross my path.  Since I didn't hear a noise, I didn't expect to see it moving near me. I'm coming down on the side of noise pollution here.  EVs (BEVs or HEVs in electric mode) should make some sort of noise, loud enough for a pedestrian to hear within about 15 feet or so.  Silent cars are not as safe....

The End of Saab (Again)?

This might be the be the end for Saab.  GM is stating that it does not support the sale of Saab to two Chinese auto companies.  Without financing, Saab is likely to be liquidated by the Swedish courts, a process that was suspended when Saab made a deal to sell itself.   I have friends who own Saabs, and I wonder what will happen to them as far as vehicle service and replacement parts go.  Perhaps someone will step up and buy...

Prius Smugness Run Amok

Smug Prius owner goes apesh*t because a guy is idling his diesel pickup in an adjacent parking spot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CVdMySWfAIQ#!...

EVs Are Expensive!

Ford today announced the pricing for the electric Focus, $40,000.  Facebook and blogs are howling at the price.Truth is, the price is not unfair.  Li-Ion batteries are running around $600/kWh these days.  If the Focus matches the Leaf's 24kWh battery, then it is carrying about $14,000 in batteries.  A nicely equipped Focus goes for around $23,000, which gets us to $37,000.   I suspect that Nissan is losing money on the Leaf,...

The 53%

i am also proud to be part of the 53%.  This is great....

Review: Drop Stop Car Wedge

Drop Stop Car Wedge is a simple product that does one thing very well. It blocks the gap between your car seat and the center console, so that you can't drop stuff down into that hard to reach spot.  I have been using one, and It works great. I do notice that I can feel the right side of my seat is button cushion is a little bit firmer due to compression, but it doesn't bother me.The wedge is...

Sonic Drop Breaks Down?

Chevy is doing a stunt to promote the new Sonic b-car.  They are dropping it off of a huge tower attached to a bungee cord, and using web clicks to move it towards the edge of the leap. Looks like it broke, though.  I hope those guys are careful....

Minor Fact Check: Volt Charging Handle

According to Mike Davis at The Detroit Bureau, the Chevy Volt charging cord has a safety feature similar to a certain .45ACP pistol that I know and love. "To my surprise, I found the In cord had a squeeze-handle like the safety grip on a Model 1911 A1 .45 pistol"Sorry Mike, this isn't right.  The 1911 has a grip safety on the backstrap of the gun, where the web of your thumb rests.  The Chevy Volt has a safety lever located under the trigger...

Electric Delorean?

Jalopnik's Kevin McCauley was invited to test drive a Delorean DMCEV, an electric conversion applied to a Delorean chassis by the new Delorean Motor Company.  DMC hopes to build these for sale in 2013. It will be a really cool looking car, but remember that this thing is built on a 1980's design.  It wouldn't pass modern handling or crash standards.  And chances are, it will be really expensive--because to avoid meeting the modern...

Birmingham Ferrari

Spotted in downtown Birmingham on Sund...

Blackwood Sighting

The Lincoln Blackwood was a white elephant for Lincoln. A car thatdid well as a concept but flopped bad in production. I saw this onethe other nig...

Ford Quietly Kills Off Hybrid Escape?

Ford has announced that the next Escape, based on the European Kuga, will come with 3 flavors of I4 engines, 1.6L Ecoboost (GTDI), 2.0L Ecboost, and 2.5L NA.  No mention was made of the hybrid powertrain currently available, giving Ford bragging rights to "most fuel efficient SUV".  So it looks like Ford is quietly killing off the hybrid Escape in favor of the C-Max hybrid and plug-in hybrid.   If I have this wrong, Ford PR is...

SUVs Less Dangerous To Others*

A new study by the IIHS shows that SUVs which strike cars of a similar weight are now not more dangerous than other types of vehicles.  This is great news, as it shows that automakers have been taking the interface issue seriously.   By adjusting the heights of crash structures, moving towards unibody designs, and improving crumple on light SUVs, automakers have been able to meet or even...

My Sad HP Tale

I decided to replace my stuttering old Dell Optiplex desktop (Core 2 circa 2008) with a new desktop.  I saw a very good deal on Woot!--an HP Pavilion with a quad core AMD CPU and 1TB HDD for all of $300.  It was, of course, refurbished.That was a mistake.The HP came loaded down with crapware (trials, useless media players, etc.).  The Pavilion case was made of very thin metal, and thing made a lof of an and drive noise compared to...

The I3 Is The New I4?

Ford has unveiled a GTDI (gasoline turbocharged direct injection) 3 cylinder engine, which they brand Ecoboost.  The 1.0L inline 3 will power the Fiesta and Focus C-Max in Europe in 2012, and will be competitive in power to the 1.6L I4 Ford currently offers, according to Ford's PR.  That means HP and torque numbers around 100-120HP and 110-120 ft-lb of torque.   Due to reduced weight and the variable-displacement effect of turbo charging,...

HEVs: Make Some Noise

The industry is busy trying to decide what noise HEVs and BEVs should make when running in electric mode.  My humble proposal is here....

Volvo Kills V8

So I'm a few months late, but I just now noticed that for 2012, Volvo is no longer offering the Yamaha sourced narrow bank V8 (4.4L, 311HP) on the XC90.  It was available in 2011, offering a dismal EPA fuel economy of 16MPG combined. I never liked the idea of Volvo selling a V8.  Volvo has for many years been known for inline engines (I5 and I6), often hopped up with turbos.  This allowed them to stretch for performance without giving...

No Buick Wagon For U.S.

Jerks.According to a Buick spokesman who spoke to Edmunds, there won't be a Buick wagon for the U.S.   Won't someone build a fun-to-drive wagon for the U.S. market?  Hello?  ...

Ford, Toyota Co-Developing RWD HEV Powertrain

The new CAFE standards are proving to be a real matchmaker.  Ford and Toyota have jointly announced a co-development program to develop a RWD hybrid powertrain.   Ford,of course, is one of the top sellers of light trucks (F150) and body on frame SUVs (Expedition, Navigator).  Toyota is not a major player in trucks, but does sell Tundra and a variety of BOF SUVs such as the Sequoia and 4Runner.  By working together, the two...

Pre-Cruise: Ferndale Police Cars

Some of the police cars in Fernda...

Pe-Cruise: Ferndale Choppers

I saw this lovely orange chopper in Ferndale.And this bicycle was neat, t...

Pre-Cruise: Public Safety Fun On Woodward

One of my favorite places to go at Dreamcruise time is the area in Ferndale near city hall, where many interesting police, fire, and EMT vehicles are displayed....

More Pre-Cruise Photos

Some stuff I saw in and around Ferndale tod...

Woodward Pre-Cruise: The Focus ST

I took off of work early today and went to Fashionable Ferndale to see if I could find Ford's Focus ST which they were going to show off. Hidden in plain view behind a trailer, and freshly detailed, here it is in its golden glory.A few observations. I tried to see if I could tell if it has the new REVO knuckle or not, so I took a few undercarriage photos. I'm still not sure, because there wasn't...

California Clean Cars Confusion

In California, an umbrella organization called the California Clean Cars Initiative is advocating ever tougher standards.  It is a coalition of various organizations, including respectable ones such as American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association, and others which are more pollitlcally radical such as The Center for Auto Safety (trial lawyers) and Union of Concerned Scientists.   And, as usual, Consumers Union joins with the...

Yaris Fail

I have not seen the new Toyota Yaris in person yet.  Maybe I'll cross paths with one on Woodward this weekend.  Anyway, looking at the photos and early impressions from other reviewers, I think I can sum it up by quoting Toyota's Yaris tagline.  "Yaris.   It's A Car."Or, to quote the ever snarky Car And Driver, "Yep, it's a car. There's not much else to say." In other words, Toyota is making no effort to build an interesting small...

Goodyear's AMT Project

Goodyear is working on an R&D project to design and demonstrate truck tires which maintain their own pressure with some sort of internal pump and valve system. Goodyear's Air Maintenance Technology (AMT) will enable tires to remain inflated at the optimum pressure without the need for any external pumps or electronics.  All components of the AMT system, including the miniaturized pump, will be fully contained within the tire.This is an interesting...

The Steer Safe: Are The Joking?

There is a hilariously bad invention up on Kickstarter called Steer Safe which is supposed to help people "safely" use their smartphone while driving, by hanging it from the top of the wheel on a cradle.Why is this so bad that it is funny? Well, for one thing, it isn't even remotely "safe". It blocks the drivers view of the vehicles instruments. It encourages fiddling with a touch screen while driving....

Review: id America Gasket iPhone Case

id America, a maker of iPhone cases and covers, sent me their Gasket iPhone case to review.The case is made of brushed aluminum, and is designed to look like an engine block, with cut0uts reminiscent of cylinder bores and cooling passages. In addition to the aluminum shell, the case comes with two clear protectors, for the back and for the front screen. The aluminum shell has a suede inner lining...

CAFE: Rise Of The Turbo

One way that automakers will meet the new CAFE standards will be to downsize engines and add turbocharging, as a relatively inexpensive and proven way to get variable displacement. And with direct injection and EGR, the ignition charge can be kept cool, allowing the engine to run highly efficiently on regular octane rating gasoline. This won't be entirely popular, because even today's low mass, twinned turbos do have some power lag, and they do...

Engineers: CAFE Won't Be Easy

Wards has published a survey of 1,100 automotive engineers (I am sure I was one respondent) which highlights the trade-offs required to meet the new high CAFE standards. The best part of the article is some of the comments left in the open ended comment box: In all, survey respondents left 100 pages worth of comments. "Consumers don't understand what this will cost, and environmental groups don't care," is a typical comment. "Aerodynamic blobs on...

The Mighty Have Fallen

Wow.Consumer Reports, formerly certified fanboys of Honda, have utterly dogged the 2012 Civic.  It isn't recommended.   Too boring, too plasticky.  Honda had better be careful.. if they stray too far from their zippy heritage, they are going to get eaten by the very aggressive new up and comers such as Elantra and Focus....

The Truth About 60MPG

There is furious lobbying going on, as the automakers and the greens try to sway the Obama administration on future CAFE standards.  The greens, including Consumer Reports, NRDC, and others are claiming that not only is 60MPG feasible, but it will be good for us. Here are some of their main claims.1)  60MPG will increase jobs and profitability of the Big 3.  Apparently, Citibank looked into a crystal ball and decided that...

Tuesday Night Cruisers

A few pics from Woodward Ave as the sun was setti...

The Ritchie Boys At Holocaust Memorial Center

One of the Detroit area's hidden gems (well, it isn't that hidden) is the Holocaust Memorial Center. A fascinating, if grim, museum of Holocaust history with stunning architecture.The HMC debuted a new exhibit this last weekend, about the Ritchie Boys, a unit of soldiers who were trained in intelligence gathering and interrogation techniques at the Army's Fort Ritchie, before being sent to Europe...