Car News: Oct. 6

Chevy has taken its new Camaro ZL1, the uber Camaro that makes 580 hp, around the famous Nurburgring. Though times on this track are never official, it is always a good bragging point for automakers. They claim a time of 7:41. Not a bad time, not great, but not bad. For comparison, that is just a tad slower than the Ferrari F430 Scuderia.
Speaking of Ferrari, the successor to the polarizing Enzo is due to come out soon. Every 10 years Ferrari comes out with an ultimate super car and that time is up. All that is known is that it will have a V12 and some sort of hybrid system. I am hoping for the kinetic energy recovery system that has been shown in concept form on the 599. This gives the driver an extra shot of boost at the push of the button. The system recovers the energy lost from braking and stores it in a battery unit to be used later.

In true Bugatti fashion, their 4 door Galibier has been post-poned  until 2015. The reason being design issues between the concept and a production car that might actually be called the Royale. Here are a couple pictures of the Galibier concept. I love those openings on the engine, they are stunning. I hope those make it into production. While the 8 tips on the exhaust might be a little much.
What is the coolest/scariest undercover cop car you have seen? The only cop car I have spotted before was a Dodge Charger. What about a Nissan GTR? Ever thought you could run from the cops? Think again, this is one of the fastest accelerating production cars ever made. Here is a youtube video of the super cop car. No word on what department has it or where. The engine is said to be kept stock. Keep an eye out for the GTR police.

Modifications on a Budget: The Junk Yard

Are you a handy man and like to fix things yourself? Or would you like to learn this trade to save some serious cash? Well I have some great news for you, well it is new to me at least. Today I visited a magical place known as the junk yard. It is a great place to learn how to take apart a car, cause if you mess it up, who cares? It isn't your car. I needed a part that a mechanic would charge me over $100 for, got it for $6 at the yard. Plus, it was a lot of fun taking part of the car apart to get to the little pump that I needed. If you know what is wrong with the car and what part needs to be replaced, it is a great way to save lots of money.
Also, it could be a way to change your car up a little bit. A popular thing to do is to add Acura Integra seats to pretty much any small car. If you can find them at a junk yard, it would be a cheap way to add some good seats. Or there are other aftermarket parts left on cars there that are available, for instance I found a racing steering wheel on a older Honda CRX, but I was in a hurry and couldn't grab it. There was a 300ZX there as well, but someone already grabbed the twin turbo set up.

If you know what you are doing and what you are looking for, a junk yard could save you a lot of money.
This isn't the exact junk yard I went to, but it was a similar set up.

Car News: October 4th

It is crazy that October is already here, time flies when having fun with cars.
Bentley is rumored to be planning an even more powerful and lighter version of the Continental Supersports. Rumored to have about 650 hp, and weigh about  440 lbs less than the standard Continental, that is a hefty sum of weight to take off. But, remember that the Continental is no super model, it weighs in around 5000 lbs. That is a fat beast, and even taking off over 400 lbs, it is still very heavy.

The Ford Escape is very old and has been due for a refresh for the last few years. The 2013 Escape is set to debut at the Los Angeles show this November. Though it is not sure how it will look, power trains are known. All of which are 4 cylinders and 2 of them will be turbocharged in the Ecoboost fashion. Pictured here, thanks to autoblog, is a picture of the Ford Vertrek concept. Though it is possible the Escape will look similar to this.
Nissan is thinking of reviving the Datsun name as a sub-brand, kind of the same relationship that Scion is to Toyota. But Nissan already has a sub-brand in Europe called Dacia, and if you watch Top Gear UK you know about Dacia and James May's fascination with the company. It is thought that Datsuns would only be rebadged Dacias. But I sure hope that they make a 240 or something along that lines. Something to compete with the Toyota FT-86.
Thirsting for another Italian super car? Don't think there is enough of those already? Well, you are in luck. There is a new Italian sports car maker on the rise, and its name is Vygor. And yes, I spelled that correctly. As of now, not much is known. But there is a picture, and here it is. Judging by the photo, I would say it carries its engine in the front, note the air-inlet in the hood and the giant tear drop holes in the front all used to cool the engine and force air into perhaps a turbocharger. As a start up company, it is likely that it will take an existing engine and cram it under the hood. My guess would be the 6.2 LS9 found in the ZR1 or any other Corvette engine. Those seem to be easy enough to get your hands on. Thanks to autoblog for the picture.

Modifications on a Budget: Super leggera super cheap

That is just a fun word to say, super leggera. Go ahead, say it. It is Italian for super light. It is a trick automakers do to make their cars faster and more efficient, they take out weight. Sometimes taking out a back seat, or less sound deadening, or using a thinner glass for windows, etc. There are a few different tricks automakers have. The funny thing is, they will usually charge you more for a car they took things out of, which doesn't make much sense. For example, the Porsche Boxter Spyder costs more than the Porsche Boxter S, and all they did was take out the radio, air conditioning, and even the door handles are traded out for little straps. Porsche takes all these out, and then charge the customer a few thousand extra for the car. It seems preposterous, but it works. Weight is the enemy of speed and handling. How many fat people do you see in the sprinting event at the Olympics? What about the skiing and snowboarding events? None.
There are a few cheap and easy ways to make your car go on a diet, that is if you are looking for better performance. One thing to do, is to remove the back seats. There are usually just bolted in there, so you will need to find a friend who has some tools. You might even be able to sell those seats. This is actually the next step for my vehicle, as soon as I pass the safety inspection. Also removing the sound deadening under the carpets and in the doors will save several pounds as well. I would only suggest this if you don't mind a loud interior. And if you want to be extreme, you can take out the A/C compressor and condenser. That will save you not only weight, but also power.
Good luck on in your endavours. If you have any more ideas on how to save weight, leave a comment.    

Car News: Sept. 30

Have you ever wanted an ugly and perhaps overpriced exotic car? Well a start up car company in California known as Vision has your back. They are trying their best to get this 90s looking super car into production. Rumored to have 6 liter V-12 with around 700 hp. Well at least you could get it going fast enough that no one would have to look at it long enough. Thanks to autoblog.com for the picture. I for one hope it doesn't get produced.

Were you a fan of the inline 6s BMW had slot into the M3? Have you been upset by the new V8 engine and yearning after the inline 6 instead? There might be some good news, rumor has it that the next M3 will be an inline 6. Here is a quick video of what is believed to be a proto-type M3. 

Want to rid yourself of the dependency of fossil fuels and drive an electric vehicle? Well then you are reading the wrong blog, as this is for petrol heads. But if that is you, Nissan has some good news. Production of the Leaf has been ramped up and the vehicle will be sold in more states. So if you were living in a state that couldn't get it yet, keep checking and you soon might be able to drive away silently in a brand new electric vehicle. 

Now to end on the best news of all, Lamborghini will be producing the awe-inspiring Sesto Elemento. Sad thing, is that only 20 examples will be made, with just over a handful coming to the United States. So the chance of seeing one is very slim. The car will be made entirely out of carbon fiber, helping it to tip the scales at a petite 2200 lbs. For comparison, you know those cute little Mini Coopers that seem to pop up everywhere? The Mini weighs 400 lbs more then the Lamborghini. Then factor in the horsepower ratings of each vehicle, and it is apparent this Lambo is going to be fast. Like crush your eyeballs in the back of your sockets fast. That is, if you can afford the estimated $2 million price tag. But one major downside of the car, it is rumored to be a track car and won't be road legal. Sad. For now, here is a picture you can drool over. 

Car Apparel: Shirts

Now not everyone wears belts, but everybody wears some sort of shirt. Car shirts could appeal to most anybody then, unless you live in one of those foreign countries where you don’t wear shirts or pants. But then again, those areas most likely don’t have internet either and you wouldn’t be reading this. A car shirt is an even bigger statement then the belt of showing what companies you appreciate or what cars you find interesting, or at times what car companies you would like to relieve yourself on.

Just as many different types of cars there are, there are more different types of shirts. There are shirts for babies and up to adults. I personally have only 2 car shirts. One, I got for free when I went to the Salt Lake Auto Expo and received it from a Ford Representative marketing the Fusion Hybrid. The other I got years ago when I got my drivers license, it is the Acura racing team, and it still fits. Just like any other piece of clothing, it tells about who you are.

When picking out a car shirt, it is best to find one that fits your personality. You need to know what you want. Maybe you want one to match your car? Or perhaps to display the fact that your vehicle has a turbocharger or supercharger under its hood? Or to dream about a car you one day hope to own? If you dream of owning a Ferrari or Lamborghini or any exotic, their t-shirts are usually very expensive. And you might look like a snob wearing one, unless it is an obscure brand that isn’t well known like Spyker or Koenigsegg.

For those into the import crowd, a good site is http://importbible.com/shop/. Those more into muscle cars might look here, http://www.motorbrandsusa.com/products. Another great site for cool shirts is http://gearheadshirts.com/. But the best thing to do is to just search in google, there are so many different styles that there is no way I could cover them all. 

Modifications on a Budget: Then there was light

One improvement to the car that can add some visual flair, especially at night, is putting in new lights. This is something very simple and relatively cheap. The newest technology in lighting is LEDs, as they are brighter and last longer than conventional bulbs. The same is true with interior lighting for your vehicle. You can get some LED interior lights for you vehicle for about $12 on Amazon or Ebay. One thing to make sure is that the LED set up comes with universal adapters. Most of the interior lights set up in cars are the same, but then again I have only installed this set up on 2 cars and both of them Japanese makes.

I bought my particular set up from Amazon. I have purchased ones from Ebay, Ebay seemed a little cheaper but I trust Amazon more. It was about $13 with shipping from Amazon for 1 LED, while the one I bought from Ebay a year ago was $18 with shipping and had 2 LEDs. The only problem with the product from Amazon was that it said it contained 3 universal adaptors, it had two, and it was supposed to be blue, it is white. In this picture you can see the two universal adapters. Usually the springy one is used for the major light for the car, and the other is used for map lights.

First step is to just remove the plastic covering of the light and remove the light bulb, but even before that make sure the light is switched to off. Be careful, the bulb might be hot if it has been on a while. Use a cloth or some material to remove if hot. Once removed, see what universal adaptor is needed. Insert the adapter, click in the LED, I am not sure if the colors need to match but I do just in case. You may need to work with it a little bit to make sure the contacts reach the wires. I had to push in the contacts in the light assembly to make them touch. Some LEDs have a sticky side you can use to make it stick to the ceiling or part of the light assembly. Make sure to test the light and make sure it works. If having problems, you need to make sure the exposed wires on the adapter are making contact with the contacts in the light assembly. Once it works, put the plastic cover on and you are done. Congratulations. It is a cheap and easy modification, about $15 and takes about 5 minutes. I had blue in my first car, it looked great at night with my brown interior. Warning, blue looks great but it is hard to read anything under that blue light. There are other colors, give your car that personal flair and unique look at night with a cool color.  

Before: without flash.                                                                                      After: without flash