Car News: Oct. 17

The quirky French company Peugeot, pronounced like Poojoe but in a French like accent, might have a crossover like vehicle for their halo car. The car might be called the HX1 and looks to be a cross between a mini-van and a car. Pictured here is just a concept, so don't expect those giant attractive wheels to make production in any form. To make a case like this car plausible, Peugeot's sister company Citroen would need to green light their Metropolis concept. I think the Citroen is much better looking.
The Citroen is on the right, Peugeot on the left.


Do you own a Mini Cooper S? Well, you might want to have it taken back to the dealership. Reports of engine fires have caused the NHTSA to start an investigation which includes about 36,000 Mini Cooper S models from 2007-2008.

Speaking of recalls, Mercedes is recalling some of their diesel models. These include about 6800 cars from their E-class, GL-class, M-class, and R-class models. The suspected problem being that the fuel filter can develop leaks.

Anyone you know in the market for a good sedan that elicits no excitement whatsoever? For that category, the standard choice had always been a Toyota Camry and for those who wanted to enjoy driving a tiny bit would get a Honda Accord. Now there are so many good choices in this realm, the new Sonata from Hyundai, the Optima from Kia, the Ford Fusion and many others. Motor Trend took the Sonata, a Camry, and a Passat to find out which one is the best. And by best, it seems like they meant most comfortable. I do not agree with their results, as I would take the 2 "losers" over who they put in first. Here is the link if you want to read it for yourself. http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1112_2012_hyundai_sonata_gls_2012_toyota_camry_le_and_2012_volkswagen_passat_se_family_court/

Modifications on a Budget:

Have you ever gone on a long trip and wished, or at least any passengers you had wished that they had a movie to watch? But dvd players in a car are just for minivans, right? Wrong, there are some aftermarket applications to get a dvd player into your car.

One way is in the dash, the front of it looks just like a normal cd player, then it flips up to reveal a screen. These used to be very popular in the early 2000s. I remember wanting one of these way bad. Now the new thing is touch screens for these devices. These are available on Amazon, I found one for $150 for the cheapest. If you go to a audio warehouse it might be possible to get one for a little cheaper. I am not sure how much professional installation would be, not much as these are simple to install. I remember the first time I saw one of these, I thought it was so cool. The novelty soon wore off.

Something that more high end luxury car companies are doing now is to put in small monitors with dvd players in the headrests of their vehicles. I think this option is more convenient, those in the back seat can watch the movies. Sometimes it is even able to hook up a video game system to the small monitor. A search on Amazon and I found some of these for pretty reasonable price. I think a company named Pyle is having a huge sale, found 2 headrest monitors for $130. That is a good deal. If I had a 4 door, I would snatch them up.

One other way to have a dvd player in your car isn't as clean looking as the other two. But, it is set up so the dvd player can be taken anywhere. Sometimes Walmart or Target will sell a dvd player that has straps on it so you can have it strapped to the headrest. Another thing to do is buy a portable dvd player, which from Walmart are about $60 for a cheap one, then buy a headrest mount, which goes for about $20 on Amazon. So this way is the cheapest, but it also looks the part.  

Car News: Oct. 13

Anybody else already sick of the Toyota/Scion/Subaru rwd coupe? I just wish they would make it already. It has been in concept form for a few years now, so long that even the concept form has been refreshed because the look was getting old. Toyota and Subaru better get some good use out of this platform, they have spent a lot of money building different versions. The latest will be a pre-production racing car that will debut at the Nurburgring in the German VLN.
Electric cars are starting to pop up more often, each car company seems to be either making one or on the verge of producing a car propelled by electrons. The newest one to join the Nissan Leaf is the Mitsubishi i. I personally find it ugly and it looks similiar to the Tata Nano. Other markets have experienced electric cars, electric vehicles are more popular in Europe and Japan. Electric vehicles have been available over seas for the last few years. This new addition, the i, can travel just under 100 miles and takes a whole day to charge in a normal 110 volt. Here is a picture of the i and the Nano. The Mitsubishi is on the left in blue, the Nano on the right in white.

Looks like SAAB might be saved, and from China no less. China's economy has been improving and their auto industry is booming. They are starting to snatch up car companies when they can. They took Volvo and almost took Hummer. A Chinese company also bought the rights and tooling to an older SAAB model. And now another Chinese company is helping out SAAB. I wonder how long this can go on, how long SAAB can limp around. Just for kicks, enjoy this Buick Regal playing jump rope.

Modifications on a Budget: What to do now?

Are there any suggestions or requests for certain modifications for your car? I am still working on mine. There are some small things wrong with it, there is a small fuel leak and an oil leak I need to take care of. I have found the parts for it and just need to work on it and fix it. 

I plan on getting a wide band O2 sensor, it measures the air to fuel ratio. That will probably be it for a while, it is taking a lot more money and time than I thought to get the car fixed. 

What modifications have you done to your car? What modifications do you want to do to your vehicle? Leave a comment below. 

Car News: Oct. 11

Remember that Juke-R I talked about a few days or so ago? Well, here is a video roughly explaining how the feat is going to be done. I am still surprised that Nissan is going to build at least one of these, this little SUV is going to be insane.

Mercedes is known here in the states for premium luxury vehicles and the AMG branch is known to make some scary fast cars. Recently, AMG has come out with even faster cars and slapped on the Black Series tag. The newest Benz to join this family might be the C63 AMG, which is already quick enough. Word has it that only suspension modifications, including brakes and a larger oil cooler, are going to be fitted to the Black Series. Here is a picture of the C63 AMG Black Series driving around the Nurburgring. Thanks to autoblog for the picture.

After the many years that Mercedes' AMG branch and BMW's M division have been around, it seems like other companies are dipping their toes into a performance division line of their own. Ford has been on and off with SVT, Chrysler products use SRT, Lexus might have F, and recently Infiniti started with the idea of using IPL and might be using Sebastian Vettel in the future. Sebastian is some sort of race car driver, F1 I believe. It uses the same engine, but with a new intake and exhaust as well as a re-flashed ECU. Output is rated at 414 horsepower and claimed to reach 60 mph in 5.6 seconds. That isn't that much faster than stock, but it can reach a top speed of 186 mph. That is fast for anything, let alone an SUV. Here is what it will look like when it reaches production.
Do you enjoy Legos as much as I do? Then what is better than a Lego set that looks like a car? Enjoy the video.

Car News: Oct. 8

Remember Tesla? And no, I don't mean the crazy brained inventor, in my opinion he was way smarter than Thomas Edison and I am sad to know that he is not talked about enough. I mean the small electric car company located in California. A few years back they made the Tesla Roadster. It was a pure electric car based off the Lotus Elise and had an estimated range of 250 miles, which is insanely far for an electric car. Here is Jeremy Clarkson's ridicilous review of the Tesla Roadster.  As with all Top Gear reviews, it is all scripted and all entertainment. But, I still believe it has a valid point and it is entertaining. Tesla has come out with more information on their new car, the Model S. It is a 4 door electric car that can supposedly seat up to 7 people. Behind the rear seats is a rear facing bench, just big enough for little kids to sit in. Tesla claims a 0-60mph for the sedan at 4.5 seconds. That is pretty quick for a 4 door.

I have some very sad news for all Honda fans everywhere, the rumored Mugen version of the CRZ has been cancelled. Though most guessed this would happen, it is still heart breaking to see it come to pass. All of us Honda fans were cheering for it to come to production, or just any hot hatch from the CRZ body frame. We were all hoping for a CRX Si revival of some sort. Well, all we can do now is adore the pictures and wish what could have been. Enjoy.

Modifications on a Budget: Join the party

I have recently discovered another way to save money on modifications to your car. Just like anything, it is cheaper to buy used. One way to do this is to join a forum or group that is based on your car or make. If you don’t think there is one, I imagine there has to be a fan base out there somewhere. If there is a fan group for the Chrysler PT Cruiser, there has to be a fan base for any car.

In these groups are people that love cars and can help you out on what you should do next and give you some good ideas. Of course you are going to get a range of expertise within the group. There is usually even local forums you can join. For example, I am part of Utah Hondas group. Through this, I was able to buy a rear disc brake conversion kit for ¼ the price it would cost brand new. Also, if you just like to hang out with other car guys some places have meetings. I believe Salt Lake has recently started a Cars and Coffee type deal where enthusiasts of any kind gather to talk. I believe the meetings are Saturday mornings.

You can also read the stories of what others have done to their rides and ask questions. It would be worth it to Google search for a local car club or some type of internet forum you would be able to join.