Video: Motorcycle Vs. Deer

Bad for deer, bad for motorcyclist. I hope the guy wasn't too badly hurt.

Video: How Not To Beat The Train

The gates are there for a reason.


Semi Truck Tries To Outrun Train - Watch more free videos

The Tale of Tampa Fraud-Boy

This story has been burning up the car modder forums the last few days. A 20 year old guy gave his 2004 Toyota Celica to a small custom car shop for a paint job. Then he brought over a few parts and asked them to "add it to the bill". The kid must have been a good talker, because he talked the shop into doing $16,000 worth of work on his car over the course of months.

Then, Fraud-boy showed up at the shop and demanded his car, saying that he never signed a work order for all that work, and he just wanted his car back. When that didn't work, he sent his girlfriend, who offered a $60 down payment and a payment plan. When that didn't work, he came with his mom and the police, but a call by the sop to the state the attorney general shut that down. By the way, the car doesn't even belong to him, really, it is financed by his mom. And, by the way, Fraud-boy has a criminal record, for fraud.

Now the car is located at an undisclosed location, and the shop has placed a mechanic's lein against it. Fraud-boy swears he is going to get it back Friday, but it seems unlikely.

Read the whole hilarious, sordid mess here and here. Things get interesting around page 5, when Fraud-boy (SCP_celica) shows up to defend himself, in his full illiterate glory.

The downside to this amazing story is that the custom shop, which is a two-man show, is now teetering financially because of the time and resources they put into Fraud-boy's car. A PayPal account has been set up for people to donate a few bucks to help them out (I already did), maybe if you are moved you might consider putting a little in the hat.

Unfortunate Product Naming: Fat Stripper Blend

This morning I stopped in at a local Coffee Beanery (I'm still boycotting Caribou Coffee, BTW) for a cup of coffee. As I waited, I looked over at the counter, where they were displaying five large tubs of protein shake mix. One of the protein shake flavors was called "Fat Stripper Blend".

I started laughing, and the lady behind the counter gave me the look.

"Did you notice the name of this?" I asked her, holding up the tub.
"Yes... it works pretty well, I hear" she said, not getting it.
"What if I don't want to turn into a fat stripper?!?" I said.

Then she got it. Snort.

I'm thinking that "Fat Stripper Blend" was either an ingenious double entendre, or someone in marketing was playing around to see if they would get fired or not.

GM's Changing Volt

Lots of pundits have had lots to say about the GM Volt... but one thing that jumped out at me recently, after watching the peek-a-boo clip on ABC News via Yahoo, was that the design will not look as radical as the concept car.

Here is a photo of the concept:

Here is a clip from the video, courtesy of Autoblog:


Toyota Camry:

Acura TL



The production Volt looks like it will lose the crisp edges and cool, squinty headlamps, and will instead get a more conventional rounded shape with very Asian looking wrap-around headlamps. They didn't show us the rear end in the video tease, but I bet it is also toned down a bit from the concept car.

Note to GM: Volt's styling should be as distinctive as its propulsion system. Don't water it down, keep it cutting edge.

Smart Cars Are Ugly

The other day, I parked next to a Smart, and had a chance to look it over up close. One thing that stood out to me is that the thing didn't look well put together. In the front, the plastic panels didn't fit together tightly. Body gaps were large, and various seams and lines were not well aligned. Maybe it was a pre-production unit? Or a Canadian on a visit? I'm not sure. But it was no Mercedes-Benz.

When Saturn used plastic body panels as a trademark feature, many reviewers commented that they had large gaps. For some reason, Smart seems to get away with it.

The Smart ForOne

I guess I'm just not a fan of Smart's design overall. The small wheels and shapeless body don't generate any desire in me at all. Small cars don't have to be ugly, look at the interesting shapes of the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, and Scion xD.

Suspend The Regs? Not That Easy

In a recent article, the automotive industry journalist John McElroy wrote that what the U.S. government should do is suspend its regulations on automobiles so that carmakers could bring their fuel efficient European stuff over here instantly.

In his article, McElroy made it sound like it would just be a matter of Congress passing a bill that suspends regulations. In reality, it wouldn't be that easy, and may not even be desirable. Here are a few reasons:

First, emissions politics. The EPA has set tough emissions standards for cars based on legislation such as the Clean Air Act, as it has been required to do by Congress. In order to suspend the emissions regulations, Congress would have to pass a law that effectively repeals many other laws. California is permitted to set its own more stringent clean air rules because of the curse of the geology of the Los Angeles area, which acts like a smog trapping bowl. European governments, unlike the U.S., have long regulated more for fuel economy than emissions, and as a result, they have lots of diesel vehicles--which won't pass NOX regulations unless complicated and expensive aftertreatment systems (like urea injection) are added.

The environmental lobby will howl that the atmosphere will be dirtied, and it will be a political brawl which will make the ANWR drilling fracas look tiny.

Second, economics. European cars, pound for pound, are quite a bit more expensive than American cars. Partly this is due to Value Added Tax and other levies, but because Europeans are used to paying quite a bit more for their cars, they tend to have more content than their U.S. counterparts. Consider the Honda Civic: in Europe, the Civic comes with standard goodies like ESC, active head restraints, and automatic climate control.

To bring European designs here, carmakers will either have to charge more than people are used to paying, or saveagely decontent vehicles to keep the price down. Already, many people are looking at Smart cars and snickering, because you don't get much for your money compared to domestically produced small cars.

Third, competition. Allowing carmakers to bring European designs here will open the gates for even more brutal competition for the reeling domestic carmakers, and even the well established foreign car makers. Brands like Fiat, Peugot, Citroen, Seat, and Renault, which were long ago defeated could come rushing back like a tidal wave.

Yes, consumers would have many more vehicles to choose from, but our already fragmented marketplace would become even more fragmented, and it would be difficult for anyone to make money.

A Five Hundred for Mom

My mom's last two cars were Buicks, and both turned junky before their time. The latest, a Century, started to rust through the rocker panels and lower doors, and had a drivers seat cushion that had completely collapsed, at the early age of 90,000 miles. The last straw came last week, when the Buick was whacked by an inattentive driver on Southfield road, and was unceremoniously totaled by the insurance company.

I started looking around at what was available. Historically a GM family, my parents told me they would be open to a Ford product as well, but please no Chrysler. The requirements: a soft riding mid or full sized sedan, less than 24,000 miles, around $15,000. We looked at Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Malibu, Mercury Milan, Ford Five Hundred.

My mom decided she liked the Five Hundred the best, because it had a very high seating position compared to the others. I think she was sick of Buick, also, after the qualify fiasco of her Century. She also was amused at the size of the trunk--"we could go camping in there!"

The Five Hundreds we found depreciated so badly that we got a pretty good deal: a 2006 with 20,000 miles, certified pre-owned, with side airbags, leather, automatic climate control, and adjustable pedals for about $15,000. It is a lot of car for the money.

Things I like about the Ford Five Hundred:

• Huge interior but a moderately sized exterior, huge trunk
• High seating position
• Depreciation means lots of features for not much money
• High safety ratings from NHTSA and IIHS
• Adjustable pedals
• Good looking 18" wheels
• Good NVH, even over railroad crossing
  
• Good ride/handling balance, not too firm or too squishy
• Decent fuel economy for such a large car
• Six speed transmission
• Real rear seat headrests
• Smooth sided, understated exterior (but most say much too understated)
• Four wheel disc brakes with traction control
• Good overall quality record so far
  

Things I don't:

• Noticeable body roll when cornering
• Weak sounding radio
• A bit underpowered
• Gear selector only has D and L gear choices
• Bland interior design
• According to Consumer Reports, the brake system is less reliable than average
  

If you don't mind sleepy styling and modest acceleration, used Five Hundreds/Montegos are hard to beat in value for comfortable, roomy, safe transportation.

Video: Bad Rally Crash

Rally racing is not for the timid.


Rally Car Slams Into Metal Pole - Watch more free videos

Another sign of the apocalypse?

Starbucks is going to close 600 stores. Surely the end is nigh.

I remember a Simpsons episode where Bart is walking through a mall, and every other store is either a Starbucks or has a sign that says "Coming Soon: Starbucks".

Oh well, at least we still have Krispy Kreme...

Silly Camaro Gauges

Photos of the production version of the 2010 Camaro are out, and it looks like GM has retained the silly retro muscle car gauges they had on the concept vehicle. In front of the shifter, and down low away from the driver's forward line of sight, are four analog pods showing engine torque, battery voltage, coolant temperature, and oil pressure.

Photo borrowed from Autoblog

This is a strange idea. If the information is important, it should be at eye level. Many high performance cars have important or interesting information (turbo boost) shown on pods mounted to the A-pillar. If the information isn't that important, then use the space for something that is, like a slot for your cool retro Ray-Ban sunglasses. Who really tracks battery voltage? Either you have enough to crank or you don't. And torque, who needs a torque meter when you have a tachometer and a throttle to give you the same basic information?

A better idea would have been to integrate an accelerometer display into the IP, so the driver could lay down some rubber and then see how many g's they managed to pull.

McCain Throws MI Under The Bus

Today John McCain appeared in Warren at the GM Tech Center. According to the Detroit News, when asked if California should be allowed to set its own carbon emissions standards, he said

"It's hard for me to tell the states they can't set their own standards. ... At the end of the day, I think states should make their own decisions."

According to the News, this is a flip-flop from something he said in Ohio, where he supposedly said that he favors a national standard.

Even liberal Democrat John Dingell gets it:

"I don't think much of the idea of several sets of standards that the auto industry has to make and I think if you're trying to destroy the auto industry, that's a pretty good way of beginning," said Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (Associated Press)

Someone needs to sit McCain down and have a good hard talk about economics with him. Fragmented regulatory standards are a huge shadow tax on businesses that have an interstate presence. Imagine what it would be like if UPS had to deliver packages a different way depending on if they were going east or west of the Mississipi.

Regional standards create big headaches (and costs) for the automakers. They have to make complicated plans to comply with each state's mandates while still planning product development and production for the EPA-only states. Product mix may have to be dramatically different, with unintended consequences like shortages of small cars in some regions and oversupply of trucks in others.

It looks like McCain is looking to trade votes in the midwest battleground states, which have a large automotive industry presence, for votes in the "green states", which are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington. I hope his political calculus is right, because Michigan and Ohio seem pretty important right now.

Here's a better idea. The green states should encourage their citizens to choose more fuel efficient vehicles by taxing fuel more. The EPA should set a single national standard for fuel economy. And there should be as few fuel formulations permitted as absolutely necessary, preferably two: summer and winter. (Summer blend gas has fewer light hydrocarbons to reduce smog-forming evaporative emissions.)

Video: Top Gear Blind

This is a neat clip from Top Gear where a blind guy races around the test track with Jeremy Clarkson shouting directions in the passenger seat. He makes it onto the time board, beating two previous drivers.


Blind Man Outraces Female Driver - Watch more free videos

My First Sponsor -- www.AmericanMuscle.com

When I started this blog, I didn't know if anyone would bother reading it, but I knew I wanted to have some fun, share my opinion on the state of the automotive industry, and sharpen my writing skills. I definitely did not think anyone would want to advertise with me, but now someone has.

As you can see from the banner flying at the top of my blog, I have picked up a sponsor, AmericanMuscle.com. American Muscle sells performance parts of all kinds for Mustangs, from appearance to powertrain, wheels to engine chips.


I don't have a Mustang, so I haven't ordered anything from them, and I can't speak to their quality. But from what I can tell they look like a solid outfit. They recently had a charity picnic where they raised $4230 for Homes For Our Troops, which is an organization which helps wounded veterans by upgrading their houses to be more accessible.

Video: Mechanical Binary Adder

This is really cool... a guy builds a binary adding machine out of wood which shows how base-2 arithmetic works. It is really basic, but it does a good job of showing how carry operations are done in binary, and what happens if you overflow.


Marble Based Calculator - Watch more free videos

Video: Motorcycle Texting

This sounds like it is from India or Pakistan. A guy is laying down on his motorbike, on the highway, texting.


Guy Lays Down To Text On Motorcycle - Watch more free videos

Video: How Not To Drive Thru

This guy's camper is too tall, and he knocks the roof of the bank drive through down with it. I hope he wasn't hurt, it looks like the roof sheared the side of his door as it came down.


How Not To Use The Drive Through ATM - Watch more free videos

The Hijab And The Muffin Top

Today I took my family to the Detroit Zoo. At the excellent kids playground (near the Penguinarium), I saw a sight common to Metro Detroit: a young Muslim family. The mom was wearing a hijab dress, which covered her hair, arms, and legs, but kept her face open, similar to the photo below. Muslim Mom had a playful side to her otherwise very conservative outfit, she had fancy checkerboard shoes.

Exhibit A: Example of Hijab

From FLICKR

If you pause to think about it, there is some wisdom to this style of dress, even if it is very alien and threatening to us Americans. By being so explicitly modest, the Muslim woman forces you to look at her face--you can't talk to her chest, or any other physical part of her. In other words, you are forced to consider her as an individual, not as a sexual object. I don't think this is the case, by they way, with the more restrictive forms of muslim garb, like the burqa, which by hiding the face of the woman seems to me to nearly dehumanize her.

The Muslim woman, in her modest dress, really stood out because she was surrounded by average blue collar Americans, on a sunny 80 degree day. That means women in flip flops, tight shorts, tank tops, many of which were too large to pull off such revealing clothing gracefully. Not to mention all sorts of tattoos, muffin tops, whale tails, butt cleavage, and so on. What does the sloppy, revealing clothing say about the women who wear it? Doesn't it say, "I don't care what I look like as long as I am comfortable", or maybe "go ahead and look, this is my best asset"?

And what about the competition this sets up? The thin, pretty women in revealing clothes will be compared, by men and by women, to the not-so-thin and not-so-pretty women. But the modest women are competing on a higher playing field, they have to be judged more by what they say and do, not by their physical shape.

Exhibit B: (mild examples)

From FLICKR

Given the choice between seeing hijab and décolletage at the Zoo, I would pick hijab. And I'm not a Muslim!*

Update: I am not saying that women should be required by law to adhere to some dress code, as some of the commenters seem to assume. I am saying people should be more thoughtful about what their mode of dress portrays.

*In fact, the rulers of Iran would like to "purge" some of my "Zionist" relatives.

Video: Brutal Accident Caught On Traffic Camera

This is painful to watch. An SUV runs a red light and side impacts a pickup truck. I would expect that some people were seriously injured or killed in this accident.


Jeep Ignores Red Light - Watch more free videos

Video: Dangerous Business

Motorcycle racing is a dangerous business, just watch this short video.


Biker Barely Misses Wrecked Biker - Watch more free videos