Teh Car Blogz

If you’ve been reading this site (all three or four of you!) You’ve probably been wondering where I’ve been.  I’ve disappeared into the ether, much like Elliot Spitzer’s political career or coke around a frat boy.  Well, I come to you today from the inside of my Volkswagen in the parking lot of Wake Technical Community College, in beautiful Fuquay-Varina North Carolina, on this pleasant rainy Friday afternoon.  This is the American Dream, folks: Community College on a Friday Afternoon.  In the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

But I like to figure myself as an optimist…

(more…)

The further along we got in our trip (which wound up being around 4800 miles round-trip - a long time to spend in a car!) the more I realized the importance of roadside attractions in the upper midwest. You see, driving through states like Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota - states that a lot of people refer to as “fly-over states,” as in lots of people fly over them but no one lives there - there is literally NOTHING on the highway. Just cornfield after cornfield, with a sprinkle of truckstops, Indian Reservations and weird stuff. So when you’ve been on the road forever and see a sign for a roadside museum or attraction, you’ll probably stop - just to alleviate the boredom of being in I-90 in the middle of a bunch of cornfields for hours on end!

Now sometimes these roadside attractions amount to little more than someone’s garage stuffed full of crap. Sometimes you strike gold. I was lucky enough on this trip to find two very good ones - the museum of military vehicles shown earlier, as well as this auto museum that is literally in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota. It’s in a town called Murdo, which is in southern central South Dakota just off of I-80.

(more…)

One of the most rewarding experiences you can have while driving a car is attacking a truly challenging piece of tarmac. At least, that’s my opinion. Some people get their jollies from heads-up drag races. That’s interesting once; then the result is the same every time if your technique is any good. Revs up, drop clutch, spin tires lightly, hold till redline, clutch and shift, rinse, repeat, snore. Great, your Mustang runs 13.1 seconds in the quarter mile.

But a good road is different every time you go down it. On a long curvy piece of tarmac, there is an infinite number of permutations as to how you can take it, what line to follow, how late to brake and which gears to use. On a truly good road, a better driver in a slower car will beat a mediocre driver in a more capable car every time. That’s why I love a good road. Plus, lateral g-forces are more fun that frontal.

The question then becomes: what exactly is the best conveyance to fling yourself down that favorite backroad like your hair’s on fire? The answer: there is no answer. Like the cat-skinning question (as an aside: who would want to skin a cat? That’s just mean. I love cats) there are many answers.

1) With A Scalpel

(more…)

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of an article I intended to finish a few weeks ago. I got distracted. It happens.

Moving along in the dream garage, we come to an absolutely crucial choice:

6) 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R Estate

(more…)

There are a lot of things that can be said about the new Tundra. It’s remarkable in a lot of ways: it’s the first real bid by a foreign manufacturer at the full-size truck market here in the US, and it’s the first one done right. It’s built in San Antonio, Texas - domestic parts content is somewhere near 80%, which is a bit weird. It has the capabilities of a truck, but rides sort of like a car. It’s got a rather arresting appearance.

So there are a lot of impressive and surprising things about the new Tundra, in theory and in execution. But one stands out above all the others: this truck has a TON of power. As in, like, occasionally more than you’re really comfortable having.

(more…)

With some cars, it’s not hard to see the performance hidden beneath a layer of boring, anodyne stockness. Cars like 1.8 Turbo Audi A4’s. They’re not quick from the factory but a few choice extra bits can get you a whole lot of shove. Most people who know cars know this, which seems to me to make the feat a whole lot less impressive.

Many people pick up sport compacts and modify them because they think it makes them more clever than the domestic drivers. “I’m getting 300 wheel horsepower out of my four cylinder!” is a good rallying cry when proclaiming your superiority of dumbestics. (Actually, that’s up for debate.) But really, is there anyone who knows cars who is surprised you can make a really fast SRT-4? If that’s a secret, then so is that whole Clinton-Lewinski affair debacle. I mean, hooray. You can put a chip, a diverter valve and a downpipe on your GTI and then you have a lot of extra power. But you’re not original.

No, what appeals to me are cars that no one would ever expect to be fast. Cars that even surprise true died-in-the-wool car guys. Here are a few ideas.

1) Toyota Matrix

(more…)

Patrick:
Toyota Prius. I admit the BMW X6 is close second, however the Prius just sucks so badly its black hole encompasses the BMW. It is the epitome of lackluster design and soulless driving that I hate in cars. It is driven by the Hollywood set for appearances and to seem ecologically friendly. In reality they drive the worst car in recent memory. You can buy a Mini Cooper and get similar mileage or get a TDI Volkswagen and not even use any gasoline, both of which keep you from looking like a tool. The Prius is a posers car if every there was such a thing. Also problematic is the style, or more accurately lack of style. Toyota’s hybrid looks like a Corolla and a Pontiac Aztec mated. A swollen, disorganized conglomerate of styling cues. It looks as if Congress convened a panel to design and implement the thing. A bit of hatch here, gas engine there. A dash of technology in the display sytem and electric motors as a bit of an afterthought. The electric motor and gas motor even work like Congress. (It’s your turn to work some gas motor, not yet electric) Overall, the car is disgusting in its ecological arrogance and design. Just get a diesel or motorcycle for the sake of all things automotively decent.

(more…)