This is How a Car Engine Works (Animated Infographic)
Posted on Feb 18, 2020 in Technology | 1 comment
Sure, we all love cars, but not all of us are mechanically-inclined enough to take an engine apart and put it back together. Many of us know what terms like “exhaust manifold” and “differential” mean (even if we couldn’t explain how it really works). Hell, a lot of us can change our own oil, gap and swap out some spark plugs, and maybe even install some new...
Read MoreZing in Your Thing
Posted on Feb 12, 2020 in Editorials | 1 comment
I had another opportunity to visit United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka last week and, naturally, I brought along my camera for another visit to the “Lemon Lot.” While my last visit noted the many people haulers for sale and focused on a pair of cheerful Toyota Fun Cargoes, this time, my attention was drawn to sportier fare. First on the list is a 1992...
Read MoreUsed Buyer Beware: GM Recalling 200,000 Vehicles
Posted on Feb 11, 2020 in Safety | 1 comment
Imagine buying a used car, getting it home, parking it in the garage, then waking in the middle of the night to flames caused by that car. It’s not a likely scenario, but it is possible. If you recently purchased, or plan to purchase, a used GM SUV, be sure to check for recalls before signing on the dotted line. Fires caused by a defect in a car are rare, but...
Read MoreWorst Cars from the 1970’s
Posted on Feb 8, 2020 in Antique | Comments Off on Worst Cars from the 1970’s
I am re-posting this article as part of a special request made from one of my avid readers, and biggest fan. Flyaway something or other. Mr. Fly is presently living somewhere in a facility where the world confines internet trolls, and is especially enraptured with my opinions on this subject. Not only does he agree with my findings, but has squealed with...
Read MoreClassic Wood
Posted on Feb 8, 2020 in Antique | Comments Off on Classic Wood
What type of car do you think is a Woody Is it the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from the movies with its “metallic pea” paint and its sheets of fake wood? A beach buggy complete with surfboard? Something that can’t be discussed on a family website? For me, a New Englander, the Woodie brings to mind a great 1930’s station wagon driving up a quiet road in...
Read MoreOld School Spring Car Mod’s
Posted on Jan 23, 2020 in Antique | Comments Off on Old School Spring Car Mod’s
With the sun shining and the temperature reaching 70 degrees, I decided to hop in my Miata and go run a few errands yesterday. “Running errands” is a great excuse to get out of the house – ahem, office – and get some fresh air. The only downside is other humans like fresh air, too. And many of them have crudely customized cars. Case in point: I was sitting at...
Read MoreInside Stories From the War Between Automakers And Dealers Over Exports
Posted on Jan 16, 2020 in Editorials | 2 comments
There’s not a more uncomfortable phone call for a car dealership’s finance manager to make then asking a customer to come back to have their finance or lease contract rewritten. This is typically caused by sales managers — the people most despised by finance departments — who spot deliver a vehicle based on their wrong guess about the rate or term a lender...
Read MoreThe 100th Indy 500 Is History
Posted on Jan 15, 2020 in Racing | 2 comments
Wheldon’s 2011 Indy 500 winning car By now, most of you have heard about J.R. Hildebrand’s hitting the wall on the last lap and giving the race to Dan Wheldon. Hildebrand made a rookie’s mistake, staying on throttle while passing and going too high on the turn. He crashed but coasted to second place, 2.1 seconds behind Wheldon. Graham Rahal finished...
Read MoreVintage ad: 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am – The Driver’s Car
Posted on Jan 15, 2020 in Featured | 2 comments
Cropped image from 1982 magazine ad. In 1981, Pontiac introduced the third-generation Firebird Trans Am as a 1982 model, the car’s first clean-sheet redesign since the second-generation debuted in 1970 as a 1970 ½ model. Six years in the making, the new Trans Am was smaller and lighter than the model it replaced, and far more aerodynamic. Knowing it couldn’t...
Read MoreMost Popular Excuses for Speeding, and One That Could Avoid a Ticket
Posted on Jan 8, 2020 in Safety | 1 comment
Speeding is bad. Don’t do it. That said, I know we all have been guilty of pushing the speedometer’s needle a few ticks above the posted legal limit. Most of us have even been caught and felt the adrenaline rush that comes with seeing the flashing red and blue in the rear-view mirror. Sometimes people panic and try to talk the officer out of writing a ticket....
Read MorePump Up the Volume: Car Audio System Makeover
Posted on Dec 27, 2019 in Technology | 1 comment
Whether we are buying a multi-million dollar supercar or a few thousand-dollar used car, the goal is always to acquire a vehicle exceeding our expectations. While performance coming from under the hood is important to many motorists, an increased focus is devoted into discovering magic in the cabin. Once owning a 1993 Pontiac Sunbird, I accepted the most...
Read MoreEconomical transportation: Studebaker’s bare-bones Scotsman of 1957-’58
Posted on Dec 14, 2019 in Featured | 2 comments
Boy have times have changed. Imagine today calling a cheap, stripped-down car a Scotsman? Such derogatory stereotype references would cause all sorts of problems with the manufacturer. But back in the easy going Fifties it was thought of as comical. With Scottish people having long been known as quite frugal when it comes to money, when Studebaker created this...
Read MoreRecession? Not in Supercar Land
Posted on Dec 13, 2019 in Racing | Comments Off on Recession? Not in Supercar Land
Much to the chagrin of certain members of my family, I’m not a fan of the Indy 500. I don’t deny the significance of the race (a riveting look at it is coming later this afternoon from jgoods) but in my simple view, racing 500 miles around an oval isn’t of much interest. I know, though, that the race isn’t just about the race. At an average speed of 150-160...
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