It is interesting to think that the Science Fiction movies that I loved as a child might soon be a reality in the automotive world, at least for Mercedes.
I remember Watching “The Flight of the Navigator” where a young man is taken ten years into the future by a spaceship. He ends up befriending the spaceship who happens to talk like PeeWee Herman… Anyway, rent the movie if I’ve interested you, but the ship in the movie is what interests me. I remember it changing shape at high speeds to something a little more aerodynamic and more like a giant silver football when stationary or at slow speeds. Well, apparently the luxury car maker Mercedes plans to do the same thing with a car.
There are not very many Japanese cars with as long a running production history as the Z car. It has stayed a constant even though its Mothering company changing names from Datsun to Nissan. It even manged to survive the gas crunch and the few years that was removed from the market.
The Datsun Z car was first produced in 1969 under the alias of the 240 Z. It came equipped with a straight six engine producing a whopping (I wouldn’t hold your breath for this.) 151 horsepower (HP). It was designed to be an enthusiast car with only two seats on a RWD platform. It came equipped with disk brakes and a 4-wheel independent suspension. To complete the package, Datsun made the car with refined body lines and an extra long hood to house the extremely long straight six engine making it an instant classic.
Recently I won a free oil change from the local Nissan dealership in a free raffle at a nursing home. Normally I change my own oil, but it gave me a reason to hang out at the dealership for an hour and take a look at the new Nissan Rogue compact SUV.
The Rogue has not been as well received by the critics as Nissan probably would have hoped, but the sales numbers are showing the the public loves it, and this is not surprising on both sides. The Rogue basically looks like a small Murano, which to me is a good thing. I would say that for its class it is the best looking small SUV/crossover out there. In comparison to the Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, and Suzuki Grand Vitara the Rogue is a work of art. I am not crazy about the styling of any of these vehicles mostly due to their wide rear ends.
Drifting has become this rapidly growing racing sport around the world. There are national circuits for the United States as well as open drift days for the average driver to test his or her skills.
But why is it so popular? What makes it better then just normal racing? Well I intend to tell you why I like it so much and I can only hope that most people who enjoy drifting will agree with me.
So I was reading Allen’s post on “manly sedans” and the same thought kept popping into my mind, “Why are sedans so UNmanly?”I am a man and I think that sedans are great cars simply because they are more functional than a coupe. They can hold friends or family members, they are good for hauling stuff, and with a little creativity and sometimes help from a nice manufacturer, you can have LOADS of fun in them.
As a man, I find Sedans in general repulsive. They are generally plain but functional. They serve the purpose of being a family car and usually nothing more. But I want all the functionality of a sedan and performance of a sports car.
My wife drives (I can’t believe I’m admitting this.) a… Continue reading →
I’ve been noticing an increasing trend in some of the import cars. The front end of the cars seem to be similar to a degree that I almost feel like manufacures are loosing thier individuallity.
I was conversing with Austin the other day on aspects of cars that we like and don’t like. We came across the Ford Mustang; a car that has one of the longest uninterrupted production runs ever. One that has over 40 years of history. It was then I decided to do some writing on the few remaining vehicles with any sort of heritage.
This is a pretty sweet setup in this 2006 Subaru WRX STI. It has a compound system with a turbocharger, and a supercharger created by Forced Air Technologies
Allen: It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut and let Austin ask the questions (I hate being the camera man). I love the fact that the supercharger kicks off when the turbo is under boost to eliminate any parasitic drain from the engine. It is a good feat of engineering and testiment to modern technology. I go into all sorts of techno-bable on this suject but Austin would just delete them from the post. Keep up the good work F.A.T.!
Of all of the cars out there; Of all of the news that I read; Of all of the gimmicky re-releases; there is one car that I never tire hearing about; the Lotus Elise.
I feel like one of Odysseus’ crew members from the Odyssey. The ones who get caught up with the lotus eaters and never want to leave. That is me. I am a lotus eater. I am high on the Lotus. I just cannot get enough of this stupid looking car, and they just keep getting better.
