Best Performance Values

Over at Forbes, there is a post listing the ten fastest vehicles under $30,000.  The results are interesting, but they are sorted by 0-60 times.

What if we resort the list based on "value"?  I'll define value as the number of dollars it takes to get incrementally better from 10s 0-60 (in other words, price/(10-T60))?

Here is the value ranking:

1.) Ford Mustang V6 5.6 $22,145 $5,032.95 

2.) Subaru Impreza WRX 5.2 $25,495 $5,311.46 

3.) Ford Mustang GT 4.8 $29,145 $5,604.81 

4.) Hyundai Genesis 3.8 R-Spec Coupe 5.9 $26,750 $6,524.39 

5.) Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 6.4 $23,700 $6,583.33 

6.) Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart 5.8 $27,695 $6,594.05 

7.) Hyundai Sonata SE 6.6 $24,345 $7,160.29 

8.) Kia Optima SX 6.5 $25,995 $7,427.14 

9.) Honda Accord Coupe EX-L 6.3 $29,730 $8,035.14 

10.) Mazda6 s Grand Touring 6.4 $29,320 $8,144.44 

The top 3 don't really change, but the Mazdaspeed 3 improves relative to its previous ranking, while the Lancer Ralliart falls.  

As before, if you want bang-for-the-buck, it's Mustang or Impreza.  And Camaro?  Where is Camaro  V6 is too slow, V8 is >$30k.  

Chevy HD Video Fishiness

A guy at work pointed this out to me.  If you watch closely, in video #5 of Chevrolet's HD truck HD2HD video series, the Ram truck changes from a single mirror model to a dual mirror model.  Which means that Chevrolet isn't showing just vidoe of the official test, but is also showing video of another vehicle.

The single mirror shot can be seen at around 3:30, the dual mirror can be seen in a few shots, this one is at 3:52

In general, I think the whole "passing the truck before hitting the slowpoke" thing was pretty lame, as in contrived.

Also, for some reason, videos #1, and #2 are now missing from YouTube.

Saab, Beats Porsche, Still In Trouble?

Interesting nugget in the just released sales numbers... Saab sold 830 cars in March, compared to Porsche's 771. However, Saab is having trouble paying suppliers, and needs to come up with a new infusion of cash soon, or sell itself off again.

Bally's, D.O.E. and GM Collaborate

Breaking news! Exclusive to Autopophet:

Bally's, the U.S. Department of Energy, and GM are announcing today that they are forming a collaborative joint venture called "Sweat-n-Volt(tm)".

Sweat-n-Volt will be installed in several Bally's Fitness locations to show the feasibility of recovering exercise energy as usable transportation fuel. Treadmills, stair-steppers, and stationary bicycles will be modified to generate 12v DC current using left over alternators donated by GM. The 12v feeds will be joined at a 12 to 240v transformer, which will then feed a free plug-in hybrid charging station in the parking lot.

"We're very excited to harness the exercise energy of Americans to provide transportation fuel", said Joe White, the D.O.E. project manager. "We expect California to be especially productive. The mid-west not as much, although we anticipate more miles generated after the 1st of the year."

GM's spokesman, Bob Lawrence, "This is a historic opportunity to combine America's health kick with American's transportation needs. We're also looking at the feasibility of marketing a portable version, so people can pedal their way to a fully charged Volt, and a thinner waistline, in the comfort of their own home"

Bally's Tammy Silverstein said "We were already looking at doing this to help lower our electricity bill. Now, we can help our patrons get home from the gym, too."

(April Fools!)

I4 Is The New V6

I have written it before, and more confirmation today, the V6 is dying out as America's engine of choice.  According to Ward's, GM will be installing only I4 engines it the new 2013 Malibu.  The current Malibu is one of the top selling mid-size sedans in the U.S. market.   

By offering direct injection and possibly turbocharging, the Malibu I4 will no doubt make V6 like power numbers while getting better fuel economy.  This is they way of the future, and is a necessity because of the relentless ramp-up in CAFE standards.  

Malibu follows Hyundai Sonata, another top selling sedan which dropped a V6 option.  I expect that as the other mid-sized cars get refreshed, they also will drop the V6 option, or perhaps reserve it for the most expensive (and lower volume) performance version only.

Americans Don't Want Small Cars!

Today I heard part of an interview with the EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, which made my blood boil. During the interview, she threw out the tired lie that American automakers are building too many "large vehicles which the American public do not want to buy" (approximate quote).

If the American people don't want to buy large vehicles, then why is it that the top selling vehicles in the U.S. are as follows?

Top 20 vehicles, Feb 2011

*Ford F - Series PU 37,549
*Chevrolet Silverado PU 31,728
^Toyota Camry / Solara 27,212
Toyota Corolla / Matrix 25,860
^Ford Fusion  23,111
^Honda Accord  21,206
^Nissan Altima  20,808
Honda Civic  19,121
Honda CR-V  19,096
^Chevrolet Malibu 19,092
*Dodge Ram PU  18,644
Chevrolet Cruze  18,556
Ford Escape  18,005
^Chevrolet Impala 16,290
^Hyundai Sonata  15,723
Chevrolet Equinox 15,434
Toyota Prius  13,539
Nissan Sentra  12,599
Volkswagen Jetta 12,591
Toyota RAV4  12,562

(courtesy WSJ.com)

Notice the * rows, which are large pickups. And notice the ^ rows, which are midsize or full size cars. 11 of the top 20 vehicles are midsized or large, and 8 of the top 10 are midsized or large.

Now explain this to me, if Americans don't really want to buy large cars, why aren't the top selling vehicles all small cars like the VW Jetta? Is someone twisting their arms into buying the F150's and the Impalas?

Obama and the EPA administrator need to drop the talking points. American's don't want tiny cars.

Craigslist Overpayment Scam -- My Fake Check!

To my surprise, today I received a UPS letter envelope containing a check for $2,450. From the ATP Oil & Gas Co. in Texas. Which I have never done business with. The return address on the UPS envelope was from a different location, in Minnesota, also a place I had never done business with.

Then I remembered--some guy had emailed me about a camera lens I was trying to sell on eBay, and offered to send me a check for it if I would ship it to him. I said "ok" in case he was legit, but I suspected he wasn't.

So here it is, my trophy. A ridiculously bad fake check. Note the strange mix of fongs -- Arial, Times, and Comic Sans. The smudge from my wetted finger.

Notice the signature. Look familiar? It's George W. Bush!

Bottom line, don't ever accept overpayment for a Craiglist item from a stranger, who wants you to return the overpayment via Western Union. It is 100% scam.

Bob King's Posturing

The UAW's president, aptly named Bob King, is out in the press landing punches before the first bell.  

"I like Alan Mulally. But I just think it's morally wrong," said King, who assumed the leadership of the union last year. "It creates problems for Ford in both the salaried work force and the hourly work force. It seems like one individual is getting all of the gain."

This is typical left wing progressive posturing, setting up class envy as a wedge between the UAW's hourly workers and the managers of the auto companies.  

"It seems like one individual is getting all of the gain".  What?!?  What about the shareholders?  From a low of around $1.60, Ford's stock price has recovered to near $15.  That is billions of dollars of value returned to stockholders, many of whom happen to be in the UAW.  Not to mention jobs saved, direct and indirect.  Ford dealer's didn't get crushed the way GM and Chrysler dealers did. 

Alan Mullaly, though not single handedly, was a key player in keeping Ford from going bankrupt along with GM and Chrysler.  As such, he is very valuable--CEOs who can save companies and preserve billions of dollars of shareholder value are not exactly hiding under every rock.  Successful CEOs, like sports stars, have a market value.  If Ford didn't offer Mullaly a generous performance based pay package, maybe he wouldn't have come from Boeing to save Ford.  Maybe he would have been snapped up by some other company in need of a turn-around.   

Maybe Ford would have gone under.

By the way, when was the last time you heard Bob King railing against the excessive pay of his unionized brethren, the professional football players of the NFL?  

The PS Fluid Flush Scam, AGAIN

I got my oil changed the other day.  I do it at my dealership because they give me points I can use to get free service, so it works out to be a reasonable deal.  This time, they did the "we recommend you flush your power steering fluid' pitch on me, going so far as offering to show me that it was "dirty".   Upon inspection my fluid (which is about 50,000mi old) was a medium cherry color, like cherry coke.  Not very dirty.

Here's the truth.  Power steering fluid is good for well over 100,000 miles in normal usage.  It changes color because it leaches carbon black and other chemicals from the rubber power steering hoses and fittings.  Just because it is dark does not mean it is damaged.  

When should you flush your power steering fluid?  If it gets overheated (not sure how, perhaps failing pump?), or contaminated.  And you don't need to power flush it, you can simply suck it out with a turkey baster and refill the reservoir.  According to an expert on this subject, who I happen to know, there has been no proven benefit from power steering pressure flushing.  

When the dealer pushes you to change your power steering fluid, he is really just trying to improve his profit margin on your sale.  

SPD WTF

This morning, I was driving in to work and noticed the local "Irish" bar had people huddled in the doorway, waiting for the place to open for service.  

It was 8:30 am.  

If I was Irish I think I would be annoyed that my cultural heritage was being used an excuse to drink all day.

The Boss is... Boss

Motortend just ran a Ford Mustang Boss 302 on the Laguna Seca track.  Best lap time was 1:40.21... which beat Nissan GT-R, Audi R8 4.2, BMW M3, Cadillac CTS-V, and Ford's own Shelby GT500.  

From www.fastlaps.com:

10.	Ford Mustang Boss 302	1:40.21	129	'12	446 / 1659	Motor Trend
11.	Nissan GT-R	1:40.45	129	'08	479 / 1740	Motor Trend
12.	Mercedes SLS AMG	1:40.74	129	'10	571 / 1620	Bern Schneider
13.	Audi R8 4.2 FSI quattro	1:40.75	129	'06	420 / 1560	Motor Trend
14.	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	1:40.90	129	'05	513 / 1437	Motor Trend
15.	BMW M3 (E92)	1:42.96	126	'07	420 / 1619	Motor Trend
16.	Porsche Cayman S(facelift) PDK	1:43.00	126	'08	320 / 1375	Motor Trend
17.	Porsche Cayman S	1:43.00	126	'05	295 / 1406	Randy Pobst
18.	Aston Martin V12 Vantage	1:43.04	126	'09	517 / 1680	road&track
19.	Cadillac CTS-V	1:43.90	125	'09	564 / 1955	Motortrend
20.	Shelby GT500	1:44.30	124	'10	547 / 1767	Motortrend
21.	Shelby GT500	1:44.72	124	'06	507 / 1807	Motor Trend
22.	Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500KR	1:44.72	124	'08	540 / 1773	Motortrend
23.	Porsche 997 Carrera (2008 facelift)	1:45.00	123	'08	345 / 1415	Car and Driver
24.	Jaguar XFR	1:45.37	123	'09	510 / 1960	Motortrend
25.	Chevrolet Camaro SS 2010	1:45.70	123	'10	432 / 1750	Motor Trend

Neat video here.

PETA: Save Spiders... Donate Your Mazda?

I am not sure if this is serious.  If anyone other than PETA had mailed it out, I would think it was a joke, but PETA is not known for a sense of humor.  On PETA's blog, they are suggesting that people donate their Mazda6's to PETA rather than hurt spiders that might be hiding in the vapor emissions system.  Riiiight.

Here's an idea, PETA.   How about you donate some mechanics to de-spider people's cars for free, if you are so concerned about spider lives?

As if the typical Mazda buyer, a middle income person, can afford to donate a relatively new car to PETA to avoid hurting spiders.  

DIY Coffee Roasting 101

I have been wanting to try roasting my own coffee

beans, for the experience, and to see if I could notice much of a difference between fresh roasted beans and store bought beans.

Equipment:

1 $10 popcorn air popper, purchased from CVS on clearance.

1 extension cord, to allow outdoor roasting

1/2 lb green Sumatra coffe beans, from local coffee store.~$5.00

Procedure:

I poured about 5 tbsp of green coffee beans into the popper and ran it while watching the color and listenign for the "crack". The beans started cracking about 4 minutes into the cycle, and had turned a nice medium brown color by about 4 minutes. I dumped them out on a sheet to cool.As the beans roasted, chaff (the skin of the coffee

beans) popped

up out of popcorn machine and floated away.

Results:

The beans are not as uniform as I would like, perhaps because I put a little too many in the popper. As a result, some of them got more cooked, as they rotated in the middle bottom of the pot, while the ones in the top middle of the pot probably cooked less.

After I ground the beans, I got an excellent fresh coffee aroma.

I brewed using my Bodum French press. The

result has a very robust, earth

y flavor. There is a slight "soapy" flavor, which I think may come from some of the under-roasted beans.

The Politics of Gas Prices

Gas (and food) prices are going to be Obama's "Waterloo" in 2012. And Obama won't be playing the part of Duke Wellington.

You can't have high unemployment, high energy prices, and high food prices and expect the party controlling the White House to poll well.

Obama and the Democrats' problem is that they have not had a popular approach to these issues. For example, pursuing ethanol mandates is counterproductive for both gas prices and food prices. Moratoriums on oil drilling restrict supply, while clean energy mandates and permitting slowdowns squeeze utility prices. Each issue is run by a different White House czar, but the sum effect is to push an expensive green agenda.

Perversely, restricting drilling also hurts the federal budget, because oil unpumped is oil untaxed.

Meanwhile, I think the average American voter, unless he is a member of a major labor union, is saying "hold on, let's fix the economy and the budget, and then worry about environmental progress!"

The average American driver also doesn't want to be pushed into a Honda Fit or Ford Fiesta sized car, or to have to pay a $5,000 premium for a hybrid, which is what the aggresive expansion of CAFE standards leads to. The average American wants a comfortable car and cheap gas, and an affordable price for both.

Video: Uphill Skiing

I'd hate to be jet-engine powering up a mountain and hit a tree... you'd need a fire extinguisher and then a stretcher. This is not a toy for the timid!

Testing New Jetpack on Skis - Troy Hartman from Troy Hartman on Vimeo.

Mitsubishi: Dead In The U.S.?

Mitsubishi, which is barely hanging on in the U.S. (When was the last time you saw a Galant?), is rumored to be killing off its Evo line, to focus its efforts on EVs and hybrids.

This is nothing less than market suicide, in the U.S. market, because U.S. consumers have note yet embraced electric motoring.  Anecdotally, the only Mitsubishi owners I knew personally were Evo drivers.  

Mitsubishi, already in big trouble, will probably become a niche player, sold as a boutique brand by multi-brand dealerships.  How can they maintain a dealer network on EVs and hybrids alone?

IIHS: Decapitation Sucks, Fix Trucks

IIHS has released a report on the poor state of under-ride protection on American large truck trailers.  If you watch this video, I promise you you will feel queasy.  In it, a 2010 Malibu is crashed into the rear of a U.S. spec trailer at 35mph.   All of the Malibu's excellent front crash structures slide under the rear of the trailer, as the guard buckles and folds under, and the rear of the trailer hits the dummies in the head.  

Adding beefier rear guards to trailers will cost a little cost, and a little weight, to each trailer.  But seeing as there are hundreds of car-trailer accidents each year, I think it is probably worth it.

Another issue, which IIHS doesn't discuss, is side protection for trailers.  European trailers have side under-ride guards as well as rear.  

Yale Center: Ethanol Mandate Raising Global Food Prices

From the YaleGlobal Online Magazine: a short piece on global food price factors.  Quote (emphasis mine):

Third, the US ethanol subsidy diverted more than 100 million metric tons of corn into ethanol last year. This did little to reduce global warming, and made basic grains and meat more expensive for most people in the world. Nearly a third of US corn is now used for fuel. If the Senate lowered the US deficit by reducing the tax break on ethanol, corn prices would drop and China's increased consumption would easily be accommodated. Since there was a recent decision to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline, this problem will likely intensify. A move to cellulose-based ethanol would be helpful. Land released from corn could be used for soybeans and reduce prices for several crops.

I did not realize that 1/3 of our corn production is going into ethanol.  And that is at an average mix of only about 10% (since E85 is not widely available and consumed)

Mahindra MPG Fail

If you have been following the sorry saga of Mahindra's attempt to import Indian built compact diesel pickups into the U.S., here's more bad news.  The EPA mileage rating of the crew cab automatic has come in at 19/21 MPG.  Compare this with a Ford Ranger 4x2 with a 4.0L V6, which gets 15/21 MPG, or a Nissan Frontier with a 4.0L v6 at 15/19 MPG.  

So where is the reason to buy?  If people are going to give up refinement, possibly reliability, and comfort to buy a Mahindra truck, the selling point must be the utility of the small diesel engine.  If the diesel isn't clearly superior for fuel economy, then is the trade-off worth it?

From Automotive News.

Nice T-shirt

Nice T-shirt, for a DUI arrest!

http://www.wtsp.com/slideshows/2010/Mug-Shot-Roundup/Amanda-Bailey%20DUI%20DWLS.jpg

NASA on Toyota: Tin Whiskers May Be An Issue

The headline for the NHTSA/NASA report on the Toyota unintended acceleration, as widely reported, was that Toyota's electronics were not at fault, because the overwhelming evidence was that people were either pressing the wrong pedal, or the pedal was entrapped/stuck.

NASA evaluated Toyota's diagnostic strategy, and as I blogged about before, found that the only way to have an undetected failure with a runaway throttle would be a very specific mutli-point failure, virtually impossible in the real world.  This was professor Gilbert's trick, which I covered here. 

However, buried in the NASA report (here) was one interesting find.  One customer returned pedal, while it did not cause unintended acceleration, did result in "jerky" throttle response and sometimes did not set a fault.  It turned out that a "tin whisker" had grown between the pins of the two pedal position sensors.

Vehicle testing using a defective potentiometer accelerator pedal assembly from a VOQ vehicle with a resistive short, within a narrow range of values between the sensors outputs, identified a vulnerability that may compromise nominal limp home mode fail-safe operation on subsequent ignition key cycles and affect the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) display and/or DTC  generation under certain specific conditions. Destructive physical analysis of this pedal assembly found tin whiskers, one of which had formed the resistive partial short circuit between the pedal signal outputs.  A second tin whisker  of similar length was also found in this pedal assembly that had not caused an electrical short.  If a resistive short between the potentiometer accelerator pedal signal outputs exists, the system  may be vulnerable to a specific second fault condition that could theoretically lead to UA.However, if resistive faults were occurring during normal use, DTCs would be expected from at  least the first ignition key cycle and the following cycles that did not meet the specific criteria.  Subsequent review of the warranty data does not support an observable failure signature of  pedal-induced DTCs. Electrical measurements on six VOQ vehicles found no indication of the resistive paths necessary for this failure scenario.

This condition must be very rare, and is not an explanation for the many UA cases that NHTSA investigated.  However, I think a smarter design would not have the two position sensor pins located next to one another.  If a tin whisker had grown between the sensor pin and ground, for example, a fault would have likely been triggered.

Chrysler Superbowl Commercial

Well done. Gritty, in your face, beautiful. I hope the car can live up to the marketing.

Caribou Coffee: Ending My Boycott

In the past, I have been boycotting Caribou Coffee because they were bought out and majority owned by Arcapita (formerly First Islamic Bank of Bahrain). As part of their ownership, Arcapita required Caribou Coffee to have an official policy of adhering to Sharia (Islamic law) with regards to their business, whicn included bans on interest and pork.

Even though Caribou was certified to not be supporting overseas groups involved in terrorism, I did not want to support Arcapita's middle-eastern Muslim investors, so I refused to patronize them.

However, I am changing my position. According to this article, Arcapita has sold a large portion of its shares in Caribou, and now only owns about 25% of the company. Arcapita may be the largest single shareholder, however, the public now owns most of the company.

By the way, you still can't get pork at Caribou, in case you were wondering.

Genetic Car Design Demo

This is making the rounds, and it is really neat. This is a demo of using a genetic algorithm to design as simple 2D car.  I find that it goes a little better if you keep the mutation rate lower, so that you don't waste a lot of chances on DOA designs.

Link

Cop Tactics Fail?

Take a look at this still from a video posted on Jalopnik.  After a sloppy PIT maneuver, which causes the policeman on the right to be jammed into the retaining wall, both policeman jump out and draw their pistols.  But since they are approaching from oppposite sides, they are pointing their weapons roughly at one another.

Shouldn't the guy on the right have stayed in front of the vehicle, so the fields of fire would have crossed like an X?  Am I missing something?

Eliminate Left Turns?

Over at Car Gurus, there is a post about a traffic flow design concept which eliminates left turns at intersections. Called a "superstreet", the design prevents cars from crossing a major street, and instead do what is known around here as a "Michigan Left".

From the NCSU study on the subject:

“The study shows a 20 percent overall reduction in travel time compared to similar intersections that use conventional traffic designs,” says Dr. Joe Hummer, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at NC State and one of the researchers who conducted the study. “We also found that superstreet intersections experience an average of 46 percent fewer reported automobile collisions – and 63 percent fewer collisions that result in personal injury.”

I like it.

A Few Thoughts About 2011 COTY/TOTY

For 2011, as I am sure you have heard, the North American Car Of The Year award went to the Volt, and the Truck Of The Year went to the Explorer.

I thought both of these were worthy contenders, but I would only have voted for one of them.

The Volt is a solid piece of technology, but it isn't revolutionary--under the skin, its architecture is not all that unique from a Prius or a Fusion Hybrid. Despite what GM says, the Volt is in fact a plug-in hybrid, and it can even (under some conditions) send gasoline torque to the wheels. Like the other hybrids, it has a gasoline engine connected to a generator and traction motor through a planetary gear set. It has been tuned in software not to behave like a gasoline/electric hybrid. As neat as the Volt is, it is not quite the revolution that an all-electric car would be.

For the COTY I would have voted for the Hyundai Sonata. Here is a company which came from a legacy of pushing boring, cheapy cars using a long warranty and low prices. All of a sudden, they are building world class cars, with high quality and handsome design. And unlike the Leaf and Volt, the Sonata will sell in high volumes. Considering its market impact, the Sonata should have won.

For TOTY, I agree with the panel, and I would also have picked the Explorer. A uni-body, front wheel drive mid-size SUV is the way of the future. Most SUV owners don't need to go offroading, and don't tow anything either. Most of them really just want to sit high and look stylish.

The Chrysler trucks were strong contenders, and I actually thought one of them would win, as a pat on the back to Chrysler for not dying. The Grand Cherokee appears to be a solid product and much improved compared to the junky stuff Chrysler was selling previously.

Video: Car vs Bike Drift Battle

I'm not sure why you would want to have a drift contest between a motorcycle and a car on the same track simultaneously, in fact I'm not totally sure what the point is, other than perhaps to die in style. But the video is wicked.

The Plural Of Prius is Priora

Toyota is asking "What is the plural of Prius?".  

Since Prius is a Latin word, if it is pluralized in Latin, they should probably be called "Prius"  or "Priora".  Apparently "Prii" is not correct.

There is a long explanation here (not mine).

The Ford Focus Electric "Butterfly Effect"

Ford's big unveiling at the CES in Las Vegas was its new Focus Electric, and associated apps and charging stations.

One of the items that caught my attention was the cutesy butterfly graphics that, like the green leaves on the Ford hybrid instrument clusters, give positive feedback about your driving style. Ford said that the butterflies were inspired by "the butterfly effect".

The Butterfly Effect is an illustration of instability in nonlinear systems, (also known as "Chaos theory"). Which I happened to take a class on in college. Basically, if you have a nonlinear system, and you start out at two very similar but not identical starting points, you may wind up in a very different state. That is, small perturbations may case large changes in the final outcome. The old example was the butterfly that flapped its wings, and caused the weather to shift on another continent.

What this has to do with driving a Focus EV I am not sure. Do they mean to say that driving a Focus EV will save enough gasoline to cause the Saudis to go broke? Seems doubtful. Perhaps a Ford P.R. guy can email me and explain it. In the meantime, I propose that there should be a "Punisher Mode" for these displays.

How this would work is when you drive like a bad-ass, you get little skulls. Hard acceleration, high lateral g's, hard braking, etc.

---

To find more information about Ford parts and accessories, visit dearbornclassics.com

Tesla Stock Price

Are investors cashing out before the end of the year for tax reasons, or is this a vote of no confidence for Tesla? In the last month, Tesla's stock price has dropped by ~20%.

Grandma The Fighter

I am sitting at the hospital bedside of my 93 year old grandmother. Rebecca was born in Russia, and survived Stalin and the Wehrmacht siege of Leningrad. Now she is fighting with her heart and her lungs, gasping and coughing to get a breath. She's a tough old lady, but I think she is getting tired.

Don't give up yet Grandma!

Fiat's Nero

This morning on Autoline Detroit, John McElroy's auto talk show, a Fiat lady stated that part of the Fiat 500's ordering experience will be calling colors by their Italian names. So red will be rose, and black will be nero. Cue the Rome burns jokes. But what I don't get is, why not call it Cinquecento then? For mist people, if you say "five hundred", they will think of a very bland large sedan from Ford.

If you're going to go Italian, go all in, that's what I say.

Aptera Dead?

Aptera has been very quiet since participating (but not finishing) in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition.  After a very promising early start, and lots of great media coverage, Aptera went through a management shake-up, and now appears to be starving slowly.  Without government loans to develop their product, or a large angel investor to come in and rescue them, they seem to be adrift.

You know it is bad when the fans, some of whom have put down actual deposits, are losing faith.  Look at this poll on the unofficial Aptera forums.  As of now the 68% of the responses say that they don't think they will ever get their car.

The Redesigned 300C

Allpar.com has some nice side-by-side photos of the refreshed 300C along with the previous design.  

I like the increased windshield rake, and how they lowered the door shoulders to allow for a less slab-sided look, with a little more glass.  There is a nice, slightly upward sweeping character line.  From the side, it looks a little more like a Cadillac (not a bad thing), while the front is distinctly Chrysler.

The interior is much nicer looking as well.

In my opinion, this is a good redesign of Chrysler's flagship.

Where Chrysler will be challenged for a while yet is in the powertrain department.  The new Phoenix V6 will bring much needed refinement and better fuel economy, but the rumor at Allpar is that the 300C will probably launch with a Mercedes sourced 5-speed automatic transmission, when the fuel economy leaders are getting into 6 speed transmissions.  Will Chrysler have the money to outsource a 6 or 7 speed auto?  Consider that the closest competitor to the 300C at Ford, the Taurus, gets EPA combined 22mpg with a 6spd auto, while the Cadillac STS gets 21mpg combined, also with a 6 speed auto.  Toyota's Avalon gets 23mpg from a 6 speed. 

Automakers Sue EPA over E15

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that represents most of the OEMs operating in the U.S., has joined the lawsuit originally filed by other organisations to try to block the E15 waiver that the EPA is granting for newer vehicles.  Detroit News story here.

Good.

The E15 waiver is a half-baked idea.  It should only be issued when it is determined that the vast majority (say, 95%) of cars on the road today can safely operate with E15.  Otherwise, consumer confusion will ensue, and the result will be that no gas station will want to carry the stuff.  If the data isn't there yet then the EPA should wait until the data is in.

Review: Pep Boys Definity Dakota H/T Tires

In my previous post, I reviewed the experience of buying tires at Pep Boys.*

The tires that were chosen were Definity Dakota H/T, which are a highway tread light truck/SUV tire. The Definity line is a store-brand of Pep Boys, manufactured by Cooper Tire. Cooper also makes Avon, Mastercraft, and Starfire branded tires. The Dakotas are also available in offroad (M/T) and all terrain (A/T) tread patterns.

These tires have a 520 treadwear rating (very good), A traction (good) and B (decent) temperature rating. They come with a 60,000mi tread life warranty.

And they're even Made In The U.S.A., not Chinese rubber here.

Consumer Reports did not review Definity Dakotas, but they did review Cooper's Discovery SUV tires, and gave them a good rating, particularly for dry handling, hydroplaning, and noise.

The new Dakotas were a marked improvement over the worn Kelly tires that were previously mounted on Anne's Escape. We noticed the difference right away, the Escape rode much quieter and a bit softer than it had on the old tires. "Wow, this is like a new car!", said a very happy Anne.

Wet braking and handling on snow seemed good, definitely better than the old tires. The highway tread still seemed to have plenty of bite to get going in the snowy and icy road conditions that prevail in Michigan now.

Overall, I would say that the Definity Dakota tires are a good tire, and are quite good for the money. Pep Boys is currently charging $120/tire for them, with the 4th tire free, though this does not include balancing and tire stems. If I was in the market for inexpensive all season SUV tires, I would definitely consider Dakota H/T.

Summary:

Pros

• Quiet
• Good wet/snow grip
• Soft ride
• Made in USA

Cons

• Balancing, stems cost extra
• 4th tire free deal is a prepaid Visa rebate, not cash back at sale

*Disclosure: Pep Boys provided a free set of Definity tires to my friend in exchange for this review. The blogger was not compensated.

Review: Pep Boys Tire Service

I was recently contacted by a Pep Boys representative who wanted me to review their eServe service reservation system, and their Definity tires. I didn't need tires at the time, but I knew young mother of 2, Anne L,, who could use some new tires. In this post I'll review the service experience, and in my next one I'll talk about the tires.*

Pep Boys has locations all over the Midwest, East coast, and a few on the Southern West coast. They are a discount auto parts store, similar to other large chains such as Autozone and the Midwest's O'Reilly's. They also offer repair services.

Unlike other local chains, Pep Boys has a nice online

apppointment scheduling system they call eServe. By

going to Pepboys.com and filling out a relatively short form, you can set up an appointment in a 1 hour slot in the coming days or weeks.

Anne set up an appointment for tire service online. It was fairly easy. First, you identify the vehicle being serviced, in this case a Ford Escape with worn out tires. Then you pick a service slot, in one hour blocks. On the next screen you select what general type of service you need, in this case, tire service.

A neat feature in the eServe system is that you can have it text message you a reminder of your appointment time, as well as email.

After setting the appointment information, you get a reservation number, which you can print out and take with you on the day of your appointment.

On the day of Anne's appointment, your blogger tagged along to observe the process.

The service area was buzzing with customers, as a big snow storm had just hammered the Northern Midwest, and people were rushing to get their vehicles set for winter, or repaired after slogging through the nasty weather.

The Pep Boys employee who check Anne in was friendly and efficient. He logged her information, and said that while they are quite busy, we should be able to get out in about an hour. Since she was there for tires, he took her to the tire display and took several minutes to explain the difference between the different types of tires. I listened in, and I think he did a accurate job.

He explained that the Dakota SUV tires, the appropriate product for a Ford Escape, came in 3 tread styles: M/T (mud), A/T (all terrain), and H/T (highway). He correctly

explained that the more aggressive treads are better for offroad and better in deep snow, but come with a penalty of more noise and worse fuel economy on smooth roads. Since Anne didn't do much offroading, she opted for the quietest rolling tread, the Dakota

H/T.

Anne was offered road hazard insurance, at $15/tire, and after having torn up tires on Michigan's infamous winter potholes, she agreed.

Anne gave Pep Boys points for correctly following her instructions to mount the tires with the white letters facing in, something that her last tire provide had not done.

She was also offered a $75 four wheel alignment, which I recommended that she accept, because an occasinoal alignment is imortant to keep your tires wearing evenly.

We went to wait in the small waiting room, which had about 8 seats arranged around TV and a pile of dog-eared magazines. I wasn't impressed much with the waiting area, it had no real isolation from the noise of the store. In the modern era, free wi-fi is a must, but it was not offered. Many dealerships and other service shops also offer complimentary coffee, or some basic kids activities such as coloring books; neither was available here.

The service manager stopped by and offered to adjust the TV, if anyone wanted a different channel, which was nice.

After some time, the service manager came buy with a yellow service sheet, which had comments from the mechanic. Now began the age old game, the up-sell. "So we found a few things we thought you might want to know about...", he began. Anne's battery terminals were corroded, would she like the $5.99 battery recondition service, which would clean up an seal her battery terminals? Anne said sure, it was inexpensive. He offered to load test the battery, also, and Anne agreed.

A few minutes later, the service manager returned with more problems. "Your

battery isn't doing great on the load test, we only

got 260 cranking amps out of rated 600, do you want us to replace the battery?". Since Anne did not have any problems starting her car, even in frigid winter temperatures, I told her it was not critical to do it right then (and I hinted that changing a battery was a very easy DIY project). She declined the battery.

In addition to the battery, the service manager offered her transmission fluid flush, coolant service, an oil change, and new shocks. All were offered based on the mileage of the vehicle, but he admitted that all of these components "looked OK". Anne declined the extra service.

The tire replacement itself took a little longer than expected because of some corrosion on the

aluminum wheel bead areas. The service manager carried a dismounted wheel into the waiting area to show Anne, and said that it should

be OK, but that he was going to have to clean up the corrosion by grinding it off, and that he may need to put some bead sealer on the wheels.

Anne appreciated the service bay window, which allows curious customers to peek into the service area and watch what is going on with their vehicle.

When it looked like Anne was going to be late for an evening appointment, the service manager pitched in to help change tires and get Anne out the door on time.

After 1 1/2 hours, the service was completed, and we rolled out with nice new Dakota H/T's on Anne's old Escape, and clean battery terminals.

Pep Boys also passed another test of mine: they inflated the tires to the proper pressure. Some shops hire boneheads who think you are supposed to inflate the tires to their max sidewall rating, rather than what it says on the vehicle's door sticker. This has happened to me more than once.

The Dakota H/T's were a decent deal, with "buy 3 4th tire free", coming in at $119 x 3 or $357. However, Pep Boys charges extra for wheel balancing and "tire handling", so the actual charges were as follows:

Tire Mounting $0.0/ea

Tire Handling $2.50/ea $10.00 total

Wheel Balance $12.99/ea $51.96

Road Hazard $14.57/ea $58.28

Valve Stem $3.49/ea $13.96

These charges increased the cost of the tires to a pre-tax out-the-door price of $491/4, or about $123/ea., not including alignment. In general, I think it is better to have "out-the-door" pricing on tires, where the price includes everything needed to mount and balance the tires. Also, you should know that the 4th tire free is actually a rebate in the form of a prepaid Visa card, not cash back at time of service. Adding shop and other fees on separately feels tricky, because it allows stores to advertise apparently very low tire prices, but you are in fact only shopping the tire itself, not the whole service.

I think that Pep Boys is a decent place to get tires and other basic service done, though I can't judge on more serious repairs. They were courteous, efficient, and happy to explain their service to customers. They were thorough with their up-sell, offering many other services in addition to the originally requested items, but they were not push and took "no thanks" without drama. Most places you go for service will try to sell you additional service if they see an opportunity, and Pep Boys did not attempt the dreaded fluid-color ploy ("Look how dirty your coolant is compared to this shiny new coolant!"). I would prefer a single "out-the-door" price advertised on the tires.

Summary:

Pros:

• eServe reservation system easy to use
• Efficient, courteous service
• Followed customer tire mounting instructions
• Tires choices well explained
• Tires were reasonably priced
• 4th tire free promotion is a good deal
• Service up-sell was not obnoxious, some of it was justified

Cons:

• Very basic waiting area; no free wi-fi or coffee
• Several attempts to up-sell service
• Advertised tire pricing leaves out required fees and parts
• 4th tire free promotion uses a prepaid Visa card, not cash at time of service

*Disclosure: Pep Boys did not compensate me for this review, however, they did give a friend of mine a free set of new tires plus installation.

SOLVED! Geocache Challenge Prize #1

SOLVED!

SOLVED! Geocache Challege Prize #2

SOLVED!

SOLVED! Autoprophet Geocache Challege 2010!!!

Congratulations to Charles and his brother, who found both prizes this afternoon, Dec. 20th.

My family has been big into geocaching for years, so after seeing your blog entry, my brother and I swung by birmingham this afternoon.  Perfect timing, as my car needs a new battery, pads and rotors, and a few other regular maintenance type odds and ends.  Thanks Auto Prophet and Pep Boys!  

-Charles (Auto aficionado and NRA Life Member)
 

--------------------------

Thanks to Pep Boys, who donated some gift cards, I am very happy to kick off this year's Autoprophet Geocache Challenge!

I have hidden two groups of Pep Boys gift cards in a much-loved part of Birmingham. Prize

#1 is 3 $50 gift cards, for a total of $150. Prize #2 is 2 $50 gift cards, for $100. The gift cards are hidden in gaily spray painted clear plastic soup containers. If you find both prizes, you win yourself a total of $250 to spend at Pep Boys, right before Christmas. What can you get at Pep Boys for $250? Besides tires, parts, oil, etc.?

*Disclosure: Pep Boys donated gift cards for this contest, the blogger did not receive any compensation.

Smug Vee Dub

I saw this guy, "GAS H8R" on the road the other day. I suppose he removed the TDI badges from his Golf.

Nissan's Naughty Nav

Nissan's new Nav system will help you find "Adult Entertainment" locations, according to a review by Family Car Review.  It's debuting in the new 2011 Nissan Quest minivan. 

Good job Nissan.  Way to know your market.

Top 10 Recalls of 2010

Car And Driver, my favorite car enthusiast magazine, has an nice one-page article in this month's issue summarizing graphically the top 10 recalls of 2010. Leading the pack was Toyota, with 5 of the top 10 recalls. Second was GM, with 2, and Honda with 2. Nissan had 1 recall in the top 10.

Congratulations to Ford, Chrysler, VW, and Hyundai for not making this top 10 list.

Tangled

I went with the kids to see Tangled over the weekend. It was excellent, probably the best non-Pixar Disney movie in recent history.

I experienced 3D for the first time, and had mixed feelings. On one hand, it worked very well in many scenes. It seemed to break down a bit when the effect was used to try to make objects look very close to the audience. And the 3D version of the Justin Bieber biopic preview... ugh, nauseating.

It was neat. Maybe even worth an extra $3, for the right movie. But not for Justin Bieber.

Rumor: Honda Killing Element

There is a rumor that Honda is going to announce the end of the Element, the quirky 3 1/2 door bread van, likely due to slow sales.  It's too bad, I was impressed with Honda for bringing out such a quirky and utilitarian vehicle, which was basically a large box on wheels.  The Element, though much larger than the Scion xB and Nissan Cube, paved the way for the quirky little box cars.

I'm not sure what Honda is thinking lately, in terms of design.  Some of its designs are unique and interesting, like the now aging Civic, or the new CR-Z.  But Honda has been flirting too much with ugly, witness Acura's ugly chrome mug, or the bizarre Odyssey lightning bolt zig-zag belt line.  

Bumper Compatibility: Not There Yet

IIHS, the organization that is funded by the auto insurance industry, issued a report about continuing poor comparability between small SUV and car bumpers.  You can read it here.

The bottom line is, automakers have not yet redesigned their small SUVs to have bumper heights that are compatible with their cars.  The result is expensive low speed collisions between small SUVs and cars, which necessarily drive up insurance costs to the consumer.