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...