Dunkin Aston

Saw this Aston Martin at a lowly Dunkin Donuts the other day.

Neat Old Truck

I spotted this old truck on Woodward the other day. It is an old
Dodge pickup, which was a rail inspection truck -- you can see the
rail wheels folded up under the rear bumper. The truck had the phrase
"Born in Detroit, Raised in Montana" painted on the bed box.

Sorry for the crummy cell phone pic it's the best I could do.

Is Saab Smoking Something?

According to Automotive News, Saab is considering the possibility of selling cheap Chinese SUVs through their dealer network as part of a Chinese partnership.

If they do, they're dead.

Saab's cachet, if it has much left, is that they are an offbeat, "sensible luxury" brand.  Saab is not cheap.  

Selling junky Chinese trucks alongside Saab's aerospace influenced Scandinavian cars will muddy their brand and alienate buyers.  It's like going to Saks and finding they have a WalMart mini-store inside.

Old Chevy, Royal Oak

This is a neat photo from a friend of mine. You can check out her photoblog here.

Obama Considering Mileage Based Taxes

According to this Detroit News article, the Obama administration is considering funding roads through a tax on miles driven, as opposed to gasoline taxes as they are now.

This is a reasonable approach, and it should be studied.  

As gasoline consumption decreases due to more efficient vehicles, and different forms of propulsion, the amount of tax revenue from gasoline taxes will decline.  A sensible approach would be to tax the common denominator--miles driven--rather than the fuel type.  Electric cars should not free-load on highway taxes.

The devil is in the details, of course.  Americans will not put up with an intrusive enforcement system, such as mandatory monthly mileage checks.  In states which have annual emissions tests, they are roundly hated, and removed whenever the voters have a chance.  A less frequent annual or quarterly mileage check would result in higher tax bills, as opposed to the gradual leeching we get from gasoline taxes or toll roads.  I would support an electronic system which allows cars to report mileage wirelessly to road-side sensor, or RFID based toll gathering sensors, however privacy hawks will howl that Big Brother is going to know where we drive.

Another detail is the amount of tax--people who pay a mileage tax should not have to also pay an equivalent gasoline tax.  It should be one or the other.

Taxing miles has another side effect, which is to put direct pressure on the number of miles driven.  As fuel economy increases, each mile driven will become less expensive.  By keeping miles expensive, the government is encouraging less driving, which will lead to less wear on the roads and less damage to the environment.  

  

 

NYC Picks Nissan Minivan Taxi

New York City has chosen, somewhat surprisingly, Nissan as the supplier for the "Taxi Of Tomorrow".  I had expected them to choose the Ford Transit, because it is the only vehicle that actually is in production, and has some quality history behind it.  The Karsan taxi was a complete unknown, while the Nissan NV200 is for sale in Japan, has not been modified to meet U.S. regulations, and is not currently street legal in the U.S.

Interestingly, the "American" Ford would be imported from Turkey, while the Turkish Karsan was promised to be assembled in New York.  Nissan's NV200 will be built in Mexico.  

My Syma S107 Helicopter Video Hack

Some time ago I got one of those awesome little IR controlled helicopters, a Syma S107.

Then, I saw a guy on eBay selling keychain video recorders, similar to this one. Of course, I thought I maybe could mount the guts of the micro video camera under the helicopter, and record my flights.

First, I dis-assembled the video camera. It isn't hard, there are 4 screws, 2 on the outside and 2 on the inside. Then the board pops out of the shell.

I also partly disassembled the helicopter, to get to the power wires.

Next, I cut the original battery leads on the video camera. Both batteries are 3.7V, so the helicopter battery will run the camera.

I soldered the power wires together, red to red and black to black, to form a parallel circuit. I wrapped the joints with a little electrical tape, to make sure there wouldn't be any short circuits.

Then, I put the helicopter back together. I slung the camera pod under the body, slightly forward of center, and used a rubber band to hold it.

One problem I found was that the camera vibrated wildly on its ribbon, and needed support. I glued a short bit of coated wire to the board, bent the end, and glued that to the back of the camera.

Here's a short sample movie, of me flying it around my small laundry room. The camera gives reasonably good video (cell phone quality) in bright light. The sound is interesting, you can gear the whir of the helicopter gears and the wind noise from the rotor wash.

The toy still flies reasonably well, though the added weight does make the helicopter noticeably slower to react. The weight bias is slightly too far forward, the way I have it, so copter tends to drift forward, and I need to add some weight to the rear to balance it better. You can't mount the camera pod too far to the rear, because if it blocks the view of the IR sensor (which is located between the rear tail struts) your helicopter will lose touch with your controller frequently.

The effect on runtime is significant... my stock helicopter would fly for around 5 minutes or so (I never really timed it carefully). The modded helicopter will fly for around 3:00 or so. I blame two factors: the weight of the camera causes you to use more throttle (and more main rotor), and the drain from the camera recording.

My next step is to locate a small, easy to detach power connector, and install it, so I can easily remove the camera pod if I don't want to record.

Free Motor Oil Coupon: G-Oil

I was offered a chance to give away a free mail-in rebate good for a 5 qt. jug of G-Oil motor oil, so here it is.

Link.

G-Oil is an interesting new product from Green Earth Technologies. It is billed as a superior motor oil, as good as any synthetic or crude based product, however G-Oil is made from cattle. It comes in 5w-30 weight or racing formula.

Yes, beef.

G-Oil "recycles" beef tallow into motor oil, which is also bio-degradable. It is made in the USA.

Politics: Gas Pump Activism

A bit if gas-pump pinup activism, a blogger is advocating pasting up these fliers at gas pumps, to blame Obama for rising gas prices.

http://disruptthenarrative.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/gas-pump-activism/

To be fair, Obama was talking about his hypothetical (and never enacted) cap and trade plan, and I think he was talking about electricity, not oil.  See http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/06/27/flashback_obama_says_cap_and_trade_makes_electricity_rates_skyrocket.html

The current run-up in oil prices has a combination of causes, which include war in the middle east, speculation, cheap dollars, and reduced exploration due to Obama environmental policy.  

CU burned by Leaf

Consumer Reports bought a Leaf.

Thinking that a range estimate of 30 miles meant close to 30 miles, Jon Linkov left home with a kid to drop off at daycare and a commute to the office.

17 miles later, he was in turtle mode.

About 17 miles from startup, the potential range indicator had become three blinking dashes. I realized I was not going to make it to work, and decided to get off the highway. As I exited the Leaf entered "Turtle" mode, complete with a small, green turtle indicator light. I proceeded to limp the next 1.3 miles into town. The final humiliation came when a highway department mower passed me.

I can hear the true believers yelling at me already, since I didn't charge the car overnight. The thing is, we're charging all the plug-in cars at our facility, on 220-volt chargers that can log exactly how much just our cars are using. Planning a 46-mile round trip when the car suggested I had 60 miles available didn't seem too much to ask.

Range anxiety isn't a bugbear invented by the oil lobby.  It's real.  And Nissan really needs to refine their range estimation algorithm, because this is the sort of thing that fuels consumer backlash.

 

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.