Author: kurt

First the good news: the 2011 Lotus Elise has received a European fuel economy rating of 56.1 miles per gallon. Now the bad news: that’s derived using Imperial gallons, not U.S. gallons, and the European cycle requirements are much less stringent than our own EPA cycle requirements. Still, if you do the conversion from Imperial gallons to U.S. gallons, that still produces better than 46 mpg, making the new Elise the first green car capable of kicking ass and taking names on a racetrack. We can only speculate on what the EPA rating will ultimately be, but expect it to remain very eco-friendly

How did Lotus manage this feat? By swapping the old 1.8 liter motor for a new 1.6 liter version with variable valve timing. Power output remains the same, but both mileage and carbon emission are substantially improved, and the car retains a sub six second zero to sixty time. Lotus engineers also found a way to improve aerodynamics, leading to a four percent reduction in drag.

Reference: 2011 Lotus Elise to achieve 46.7 MPG

Nissan put together a unique stop-motion video to highlight their focus on zero emissions vehicles. Note the homage to NASCAR at :37 to :44; I’d suggest a lengthened wheelbase and maybe a wider track for better stability.

Me? I’m more of a “Recaro office chair on ball bearing wheels with rubber tires” guy than a dining room chair guy, but to each their own.

Found on Neatorama

Klaus inadvertently invented a new sport: überdrifting.

Photo: That Will Buff Out

BMW motorcycles have traditionally suffered from an image problem. Seen as long on comfort but short on power and handling, BMW’s old airhead bikes were called “Gummikuh” (rubber cow) in their native Germany. Their R1100S was the first Beemer I ever rode that impressed me; so much, in fact, that I had to buy one. It was a great sport tourer, even if it was a little down on power.

BMW has put an end to those days with their S1000RR superbike. They’ve abandoned the quirky Duolever front end in favor of a traditional fork, and the bike is powered by a chain, not a driveshaft. It makes 193 horsepower, which puts it on par with the best from Japan and Italy.

So how well does it work on a track? In the hands of Chris “Teach” McNeil, lapping California’s Infineon Raceway, very well. Enjoy the vid, but check any preconceived notions of BMW motorcycles at the door.

Source: Two Wheels Blog

Caught between selling off the toys to pay the mortgage and keeping up with your neighbors? Are you the former poster child for conspicuous consumption? A company in Munich, Germany may have just what you need.

Called Style-Your-Garage, the company prints photo realistic murals on heavy-duty, tear-resistant vinyl, similar to the type used for truck tarpaulins. The murals attach to single and double wide garage doors using hook-and-loop fasteners, and can be installed by a homeowner in less than an hour.

Style-Your-Garage has dozens of prints to choose from, and will happily create one from your own design. Prices range from $228.00 for a single width garage door mural, to $339.00 for a double wide garage mural. A limited selection of manufacturer-sponsored single murals (from Need for Speed, Harley Davidson and Mini) are available for $53.00 to $134.00, but don’t forget to factor in the cost of shipping an oversized box from Germany to your front door.

Thanks to my buddy Jay for the tip. Wnat more info? You’ll find it here.

The Solar Impulse prototype (SIA) had it’s first extended flight test on Wednesday, April 7. It remained aloft for 87 minutes and reached an altitude of 1,200 meters (3,937 ft.).

Powered exclusively by solar energy, the carbon fiber framed SIA uses lithium polymer batteries to store electricity generated by massive solar panels on the upper wing and tail surfaces. Four, ten horsepower electric motors provide thrust and give the craft a cruising speed of 43 miles per hour. The wingspan of the prototype is 208 feet, roughly the same width as an Airbus A340.

A second airplane (the SIB) is planned for an attempt at global circumnavigation. The SIB will feature a pressurized cabin and supplemental oxygen for the pilot, allowing a cruising altitude of 39,000 feet. The wingspan of the SIB will be some 260 feet, making the SIB the widest aircraft in the world upon completion.

Upset over new regulations that restrict the consumption of beer on the job, dozens of line workers at Carlsberg brewery walked off the job on Thursday. The production workers were quickly joined by Carlsberg’s delivery drivers, even though the new policy has no direct impact on the drivers.

While it may seem strange to American sensibilities, Carlsberg workers were previously allowed to self-police and drink as much on the job as they wanted. Beer was supplied in coolers positioned throughout the brewery, and workers were allowed to help themselves. Drunkenness was not tolerated, however, and could ultimately provide grounds for employee dismissal.

The new rules eliminate the beer coolers, but still allow employees to drink beer during lunchtime in the company canteen. Truck drivers are permitted to bring three beers from the canteen, since they often have lunch while making deliveries. An ignition lock on the breweries trucks prohibits drivers from starting them if their BAC is over the legal limit.

In 1908, the New York Times and Paris’ La Matin sponsored a race around the world. Starting in New York, competitors would go through Albany, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Valdez, Kobe, Vladivostok, Omsk, Moscow St. Petersburg and Berlin before concluding the race in Paris. The race would cover 22,000 miles, mostly on unpaved roads, over 169 days. Six cars entered the race, but only three finished. Crossing the finish line first was a 1907 Thomas Flyer, driven by the team from the United States.

The Great Race, as the event was called, was an early effort to prove the reliability and functionality of the automobile. At the time, automobiles were seen as toys for the rich, not nearly as dependable as the horse and buggy. By promoting a round-the-world race, the event organizers hoped to portray the automobile as a viable method of transportation.

Fast forward one hundred and two years. A group of friends calling themselves Project Evie are seeking to do an even more epic circumnavigation, to prove the viability of the electric car as a practical means of transportation. Starting in New Zealand, the team will travel north through Australia, into Southeast Asia, across China, through Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Crossing the Bosphorus Strait, the team will tour Europe before heading back through Turkey, south through the Middle East and down into Africa. A boat will take them across the Atlantic to South America where they’ll resume the drive through South and Central America and into the United States. Ultimately, their journey will conclude in New York City, but only after covering some seventy thousand miles, across seventy countries and six continents.

The two car team will face political unrest (such as crossing from Pakistan into India, or getting into Iran with an Israeli passport stamp), absence of charging stations (although they plan to improvise by tapping donated power from industrial sources), landmines in sub-Sahara Africa and the possibility of bandits or random violence throughout much of their trip (there’s a reason that the Paris – Dakar race isn’t run on the African continent any longer). Ask anyone who’s travelled the globe, and they’ll tell you the same thing: success or failure is often determined by the amount of local knowledge you have. Knowing who to bribe and how much to pay is often the difference between a successful border crossing and a lengthy jail stay in countries that don’t understand due process.

The Project Evie team faces another threat as well; TAG Heuer and Tesla have teamed up on a big budget circumnavigation to promote the Tesla and TAG brands. Sticking to major world cities only, their “Odyssey of the Pioneers” tour will travel nearly 23,000 miles over six months. Given the backing and funding of this event, it’s unlikely they’ll be facing hardships beyond 100 thread count sheets on a regular basis.

Project Evie has yet to announce the cars they’ll use for the journey, but their website seems to heavily promote the BYD e6, a Chinese manufactured electric car expected to make its U.S. debut by the end of this year. The e6 is a four door, five passenger electric vehicle that boasts a range of 250 miles per charge and a top speed of 87 miles per hour. It’s iron phosphate battery pack can be quick-charged to 50% of capacity in only ten minutes.

Want to know more about Project Evie? Want to track their progress or make a donation? You can find their information here.

Source: The Daily Green

The new Ferrari 599 GTO has been the company’s worst kept secret. Despite Ferrari’s non-committal stance on their latest supercar, everything from spy shots to artist renderings to option lists have been published on the internet. Not willing to wait for the car’s official introduction at the Beijing Auto Show later this month, Ferrari has released these images of the production car.

Powered by a 6.0 liter V12 derived from the Ferrari Enzo, the 599 GTO produces 661 horsepower and weighs in at 3,295 pounds. It can hit 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in 3.35 seconds on it’s way to a top speed of 208 miles per hour. It’s lap time around the Fiorano test track is 1:24, beating the Ferrari Enzo by one full second. That makes the 599 GTO the fastest street legal Ferrari ever produced.

As with all of Ferrari’s legendary GTO cars, production will be limited. In the case of the 599 GTO, only 599 units will be built for worldwide distribution. If the leaked order sheet is correct, pricing will start in the area of $450,000, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Ferrari reserved sales to existing customers only. Still want to have the joy of building your own? Ferrari has a configurator website here; hey, it’s Friday and you really weren’t going to be productive today anyway.

One way or another, every problem can be resolved with more horsepower. Or in this case, more horsepower and a sawzall. And beer.

The Honda CB1100 is a retro styled UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) built for their domestic market. Honda has been pretty clear that they weren’t exporting the CB1100 to the United States, but a reader of Two Wheels Blog recently snapped a pic of the bike in California. I can’t tell if it’s wearing a manufacturer’s plate or not, which would help to clarify if it was a Honda import to test the waters or just another rich rider’s toy of the week.

The bike was designed for returning riders in the 40 to 50 year old demographic, and features a modest power output of 87 horsepower. Like the CBs of old, the motor is air cooled, both for simplicity and for an authentic retro feel. In fact, the motor looks just like an early 80s CB900F, right down to the black and silver cooling fins and the polished aluminum valve cover.

Having owned two Honda CBs from the early 80s (a CB750F and a CB900F), I understand this bike. At nearly $11,000, it’s a bit on the steep side for a trip down memory lane, particularly since it won’t do anything as well as a contemporary motorcycle. Still, Harley’s got their retro XR1200 priced at around $12k, so maybe there is a market for this kind of bike after all.

Source: Two Wheels Blog

Lesson 1: how to roto-till your back yard with a rock crawler. This guy welded blades to an old set of wheels, then set up his transfer case to run front in high range and rear in low. Apparently, this setup tills not just dirt, but concrete as well.

Until I see someone build a turbine powered lawn mower, this guy gets the lawn and garden innovation of the year award.

A while back I ran a piece on the ten least expensive new cars to insure. As you’d imagine, none of them were even remotely entertaining to drive. So is there no hope for a car enthusiast on a budget? RideLust feels your pain, so I’ve researched eight 2010 models that are guaranteed to amuse without costing you an arm and a leg.

First, I looked at insurance costs for all 2010 models (based on a national average, for a 40 year old male with no points on his license). Next, I looked at which ones were entertaining to drive, then assigned a completely subjective “fun to drive” score from 1 to 10. I looked at the MSRP. Finally, I calculated the five year cost of insurance plus the purchase price; once I had all this data, I sorted the winners in the order I liked best.

8. Chevrolet Camaro SS

MSRP: $32,000.00
Annual insurance: $1,445.00
Five year cost: $39,225.00
Fun factor: 8

I like the new Camaro well enough, even if it is hard for anyone over five foot eight inches tall to get in or out without smashing their head. What put it in last place was simply the high purchase price and limited options for driving at 100%. If you’ve got to have one, get the stick; the slushbox costs you 26 horsepower and feels sluggish off the line.

7. Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works Package

MSRP: $29,500.00
Annual insurance: $1,360.00
Five year cost: $36,300.00
Fun factor: 10

The Mini Cooper may well be the most entertaining front wheel drive car on the planet, and it is one you can drive at 10/10s every time you get behind the wheel. The JCW version makes 208 horsepower, good enough to launch the Mini to 60 in around 6 seconds. Handling is very good right out of the box, and strong aftermarket support allows you to tune the car as your taste and budget allows.

6. Ford Mustang Convertible

MSRP: $27,500.00
Annual insurance: $1,371.00
Five year cost: $34,355.00
Fun factor: 6

So how can a Mustang convertible only score a fun factor of 6? Sadly, we’re talking about the fuel-hungry-but-anemic 2010 V6 model here, the one with 210 horsepower and a city rating of 18 mpg. Still, it’s a Mustang and it’s a ragtop, and there are plenty of ways to add a bit more scoot and tighten up the handling. In stock form you won’t keep up with a 2010 Miata on a racetrack, but you can still enjoy those sunny days in style.

5. Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T Track

MSRP: $27,500.00
Annual insurance: $1,421.00
Five year cost: $34,605.00
Fun factor: 8

Just in case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years, the Genesis Coupe is the new ride to have for the tuner set, and with good reason. The 2.0 liter turbocharged motor puts out 210 horsepower, which drives the (proper) rear wheels and gets the car to 60 in around 6.5 seconds. It’s rated at 21 mpg city, 30 mpg highway so it won’t eat you out of house and home. It’s damn comfortable (unless you’re sentenced to the back seat, which counts as cruel and unusual punishment), it’s stylish and it’s backed by one of the industry’s best warranties. Unless you’re a badge snob (in which case you wouldn’t be reading this list anyway), you really need to drive a Genesis Coupe if you’re in the market for a two door ride.

4. Volkswagen GTI

MSRP: $26,000.00
Annual insurance: $1,406.00
Five year cost: $33,030.00
Fun factor: 8

The original hot hatchback is still one of my personal favorites. Sure there are quicker cars out there, and there are cars at the same price point with better handling. Somehow, nothing seems to deliver quite the same feel and solid build as the VW. A huge aftermarket can supply any kind of go-fast parts you’d ever want, but the stock GTI is plenty enjoyable to drive as is. Think of it as the thinking hoon’s commuter car of choice.

3. Mazda MX-5 Miata

MSRP: $26,000.00
Annual insurance: $1,290.00
Five year cost: $32,450.00
Fun factor: 10

There are two kinds of people who buy Miatas: those who want a perfectly balanced sports car with just enough power to make things interesting, and those who want a cute convertible. Fortunately for us enthusiasts, the little old ladies buying Miatas outnumber the hoons by at least 5 to 1; therefore, insurance companies view the Miata as a 2 liter, four cylinder economy car. Just don’t tip them to the fact that it’s got it’s own racing series, or that with a few afternoons turning wrenches you can embarrass cars costing 3x as much in the twisties. If you still think a Miata is a chick car, then you’ve never driven one at speed; do so, and I guarantee it’ll change your perspective.

2. Mazda Mazdaspeed 3

MSRP: $24,000.00
Annual insurance: $1,480.00
Five year cost: $31,400.00
Fun factor: 8

Just look at the numbers: 263 horsepower, with a zero to sixty time of 6.1 seconds. Vented front discs that are 12.6 inches in diameter, with rears that are 11 inches. A limited slip differential and a 155 mile per hour (governed) top speed, all for under $24,000.00. Sure, the new styling was penned by an anime artist on a bad acid trip, and the interior is guaranteed to induce motion sickness while you’re parked, but who cares? You’d be hard pressed to find a better bang for the performance buck, and the Mazdaspeed 3 can handle anything from daily commutes to weekend track days.

1. Honda Civic Si Sedan

MSRP: $23,500.00
Annual insurance: $1,480.00
Five year cost: $30,900.00
Fun factor: 8

My real preference is for the more attractive two door coupe, but the sedan is significantly cheaper on insurance. If you’ve never driven the new Civic Si models, go do so immediately. Like the Miata, they make you feel like a much better driver than you probably are. The six speed gearbox in the Civic Si models is among the best in the industry, and is nearly as good as the gearbox in the S2000 (which, as everybody knows, is handbuilt by God himself). Are they small? Yes, they’re small. Are they high strung? Yes, you need to wind them up to make power. Will you have every modded Civic and Acura within a 100 mile radius want to dice with you light to light? Sure, but that’s part of the fun. The Civic Si is one of the few cars that can be socially respectable and hoonable at the same time. The neighbors won’t bat an eyelash if they see one in your driveway, so don’t let on that you bought it because it’s a blast to drive.

If you’re the buyer of the world’s first drivable V8 Ariel Atom, the answer is very fast. Scary fast, on par with the Can-Am cars of the early 1970s. If you’re looking for the ultimate track toy and you’ve got 60 large to spend on it, you’ll find this particular Atom on eBay.

The car was built by Palatov Motorsport, who shoehorned a Hartley H1 2.8 liter V8 in the Atom’s chassis. The motor is dyno tested at 400hp at 10,000 rpm, pretty damn lofty for a V8. Palatov stiffened the rear uprights and braced the chassis to accommodate the car’s horsepower. Despite sporting a V8 motor, the car weighs in at 1,250 pounds, less than the stock 4 cylinder models.

I’ve never driven a car that truly scared me, but I’d be willing to bet that this would fit the bill. All that power in a rear engined car with no downforce leaves no margin for error; one mistake at speed and it’s over, Johnny.

Source: eBay, via Two Seats Or Less

Have a collection of historically significant Camaros? Already own copies of the other three Camaros that paced the Indy 500 in 1993, 1982 and 1969? Get on down to your Chevy dealer pronto, because they’re only building 500 copies of this year’s pace car replica.

Based on the Camaro SS, the Indy 500 Pace Car replica will be sold with the automatic transmission only, which reduces horsepower from 426 (with the manual gearbox) to 400. All Pace Car replicas will come with the RS appearance package, 20 inch polished aluminum wheels, special event badging and Indy 500 logos on the seats and door panels. You can select any color you’d like, as long as it’s Inferno Orange with Pearl White rally stripes.

List price on the replica is $41,100, but rest assured dealers will be gouging for these limited edition collector Camaros.

Jerry’s home built commuter car took eco-friendly to the next level. It discouraged tailgating, too.

Source: That Will Buff Out

You snooze, you lose: remember the Ford Focus RS500 we told you about here? The 345 horsepower, matte and gloss black, limited edition uber Focus RS that Ford deemed us ‘Mericans unworthy of buying? Sorry to tell you, but you’ve missed your opportunity to buy one for your summer place in Berlin.

The entire production run of 500 units sold out in twelve hours, despite the car’s yet-to-be-published price. Demand was so strong that more than 500 orders were received from the UK alone, so Ford’s next challenge will be allocation by country.

If you really need one, there’s still hope: if Ford’s announced price winds up being higher than buyers are willing to pay, you could always buy someone’s spot in the order queue. It’s only money, after all, and you can’t drive a 401k, now can you?

A friend of mine (let’s call him “Stan”) is one of the smartest guys I know. He just authored a book on business process and works for one of the big financial powerhouses as some sort of a training guru. He recently hit me up for a recommendation on a domestic sedan, so I countered with the usual list of questions. One of them was “are you willing to use premium unleaded fuel”, to which Stan replied “unleaded premium is a scam”.

When I stopped screaming at my email, I realized that if Stan thought this was the case, then so do a lot of other people. Manufacturer’s don’t do a good job of explaining this, and dealers are reluctant to point out that your new car will cost you more money to operate than you thought. So what’s the real deal? Is unleaded premium a requirement, a luxury or a scam? If you need it, why do you need it?

First, let’s start with a little science. A fuel’s octane rating indicates how combustible it really is; contrary to popular belief, low octane fuels (standard unleaded) are more combustible than high octane fuels; specifically, they have a lower flashpoint. High octane fuels have a higher flashpoint because they’re intended for use in high compression engines. Oh, crap, I’ve lost you, haven’t I?

Let’s back up one step and think about how a four stroke motor works. When the piston starts up the cylinder in the compression stage, both the pressure and the temperature inside that cylinder rise. In a diesel motor, this compression alone is enough to create the ignition; in a gasoline motor, a spark is usually required. Why do I say usually? Because using the wrong, low octane fuel can cause the air / fuel mixture to ignite before it’s supposed to. This is called detonation, and bad things happen to motors with uncontrolled detonation. Things that require motors to be replaced or rebuilt.

Here’s the good news: modern technology has a way to address this. A device called a “knock sensor”, usually positioned on the side of the engine block, listens for the noises associated with detonation. When it senses them, it signals the motor to retard the timing, which allows the combustion to occur when it’s supposed to. The down side is that when this happens, you motor is making less power than the manufacturer intended it to. It’s literally trying to keep itself from blowing up.

Now some bad news: knock sensors can’t always correct ignition timing enough to compensate for the wrong octane fuel. The editor of an automotive website recently found this out the hard way, when the brand-new Cadillac SRX Turbo he was driving blew it’s motor climbing a mountain pass outside of Ventura, California. The editor admitted to mistakenly filling the press fleet vehicle with regular unleaded instead of the required premium; the sequence of events that followed (retarded spark, turbo boost, cylinder overpressure, cracked engine block) left him stranded by the side of the road. Per Cadillac engineers, use of the wrong fuel was a contributing factor and not the primary cause; still, the incident may not have happened had the editor used the grade of fuel specified by the manufacturer.

Confused? Don’t be, because here’s the breakdown: if your owner’s manual says unleaded premium only, use it every time you tank up. Sure, you’ll pay a few dollars more each time you fill up, but I’ll bet that it’ll still be less expensive over the life of the car than buying a new motor. If you want to see what fuel is required BEFORE you buy a car, just check inside the gas cap lid. If it says, “premium fuel only”, that’s what you need to use.

If your manual says “premium fuel recommended” you can probably get by using the mid-grade stuff for normal driving. If you’re towing a trailer or driving in extreme conditions (up mountain passes, across the desert in summer, etc.), then buck up for a tank of premium. Don’t use the cheap stuff, no matter how tempting it may be.

So what if your manual just calls for the use of “unleaded fuel”? Can you get better performance by running premium unleaded? Is the good stuff formulated to run cleaner, remove harmful deposits, whiten your teeth and leave your laundry smelling spring fresh? In a word, no; running premium fuel in cars that don’t require it will do nothing other than drain your wallet more quickly.

Let’s see: greed, drunken women, a classic 240Z, a Morgan Aero 8, a Porsche 911 Turbo, a Nissan GT-R, an amazing lakeside road and a moral lesson. I’d say this video pretty much covers it all in six minutes.

I’m not sure if this short film by Dylan Osborn was ever used by Nissan in advertising, but it should have been. It’s a whole lot more entertaining than the “driving marital aid” video used by Kia.

Ford’s entry level sedans and hatchbacks have never been packed with technology or exciting to drive. They were always something you bought as a compromise; you really wanted an Acura, but the Ford was cheaper. As soon as you could swing something else, the old Fiesta / Escort / Focus was relegated to trade in or sell-on-Craigslist status.

Times have changed, and Ford has high hopes for their global platform Fiesta. I had a chance to drive one this past weekend, and I’ll be the first to admit that Ford has a winner on their hands. How good is it? It’s very good. Very, very good.

Let’s start with the build quality. Previous entry level Fords have felt suspiciously like imports from Japan or Korea; there’s nothing wrong with a price point built car, but we all want something more for our money. Why can’t a Focus have the same solid feel as VW Golf, for example?

Throw away your biases, because the Fiesta feels solid. VW or Audi solid. The door closes with a convincing ‘thunk’ to envelope the driver in silence. You get the feeling that you’re in a much more expensive ride, and the instruments and dash help to convey this. Interior fit and finish is outstanding, and Chevrolet would do well to take notes on the Fiesta. The interior in this entry level Ford is nicer than the interior in the new Camaro, which stickers for 2x the price.

Ford has up-contented the hell out of the Fiesta as well. It comes with Synch, Ford’s excellent do-it-all electronics interface developed with Microsoft. Want nav? You can get it. Want leather? That’s available, too.

It’s clear that I like the interior, but how does it drive? Better than you’d expect. I drove the SE Hatchback and was surprised at how much feedback I got from the electronic power-assist steering. There was decent feel at turn-in, and the car transitioned in a quick left-right track segment with no drama. Sure it understeers at the limit, but I was really surprised at how high that limit was. Put on a set of stickier tires, drop the ride height an inch and you’ll surprise more than a few drivers in the corners. Stability control, called “Advance Trac ESC” in Ford-speak, comes standard on Fiestas, which should keep all but the most ham-fisted out of the weeds.

So what’s the weak link? My only gripe was that it could use more power, but what sub-$20k car couldn’t? The 1.6 liter Duratec motor features variable valve timing, but only generates 118 horsepower. Coupled with the six speed automatic, it felt like less horsepower than that. Still, the motor with the automatic transmission will get up to 40 mpg highway, so at least you’ll quickly save enough for an aftermarket intake and exhaust.

Based on my experience, I’d definitely add the 2011 Ford Fiesta to my “must drive” list for anyone looking for a solidly built and relatively sporty commuter car. Ford has really upped the entry-level ante, and both Chevy and Chrysler would be wise to buy a Fiesta for reverse engineering. They’d better get their orders in quickly, since I suspect Ford is going to sell a boatload of these.