Saab 9-5: Uphill Road to a New Market

Posted on Mar 9, 2015 in Safety | 2 comments

Many people seem to dislike Saabs and could care less what happens to the company. Indeed, the abrupt risings and fallings of the company’s fortunes are like a bad soap opera. We have reported on some of these, but Saab is still breathing and seems to have produced a very nice car in the2011 9-5. A more positive version of the story, with comments by Victor...

Steven Lang And Doug DeMuro Debate Carmax

Posted on Mar 6, 2015 in Editorials | 1 comment

Earlier this week I wrote about how CarMax is heavily constrained by a market that has flip-flopped between six years worth of heavy car sales and about 18 months of resurgent truck and SUV demand. Long story short, CarMax’s acquisition costs for trucks, SUVs and crossovers has gone up considerably, and the supply of this inventory has cratered due to new car...

Mustang Sadly

Posted on Feb 14, 2015 in Antique | Comments Off on Mustang Sadly

April 17th is the birthday of the Ford Mustang. Introduced on this date in 1964, the Pony Car has a long and varied history. To some, the car is an icon. To many others, the car is a reminder of what corporate America can do with a good idea. Originally, the car was designed as a two seat, mid engine sports car, and named the T-5. Sexy as that sounds, they...

Better and Worse Ways to Fight Distracted Driving

Posted on Feb 6, 2015 in Safety | 4 comments

In a very interesting interview, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland discusses how the agency views distracted driving as an educational problem it is treating in a way similar to the seatbelt campaigns of the ‘90s. He contends the agency is not trying to regulate smart-phones, but when these devices enter the car and connect with it, “Who actually regulates...

The Nissan Maximum Replacement?

Posted on Feb 1, 2015 in Editorials | 1 comment

Eliyahu writes: Sajeev, My 2001 Maxima, bought new, just rolled past 100,000 miles. It’s still a good car, but the mechanic says it has a very slight oil leak from the main seal. While not strictly necessary, the pitted original windshield could be replaced, the radio only gets Click and Clack, and the driver’s window motor sounds tired. The engine control...

Formula One Pot Boils Over

Posted on Jan 27, 2015 in Racing | 1 comment

The major F1 manufacturers and teams finally got a bellyful. Yesterday theyannounced they would leave the sport’s governing body, the FIA (Féderation Internationale de l’Automobile), and run their own racing series in 2010. This is auto racing’s version of the rebellion that’s racking Iran. The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) comprises eight teams—Ferrari,...

Michelin Inflates Innovation with Self-Repairing Tire

Posted on Jan 19, 2015 in Technology | 1 comment

Entrusted with maintaining a vehicle’s fluid rolling and supplying traction when most necessary, the four tires on an automobile are burdened with considerable chore in transporting us from point A to point B. Changing significantly in size, construction and performance, today’s tires can last up to 80,000 miles on a vehicle depending on driving habits as well...

The Most Intelligent Car Ever Built

Posted on Jan 15, 2015 in Antique | Comments Off on The Most Intelligent Car Ever Built

James Bond, Agent 007 is forever paired with Aston Martin. Every mission MI6 issues him a new model from the British marque, which he promptly destroys. These cars seem to be standard issue to British spies. But, I have to ask: What type of car would James Bond buy for himself? The answer, if you have read the novels, is a Saab 900 called the Silver Beast....

Automatic transmission fluid, part one—American manufacturers

Posted on Jan 12, 2015 in Featured | 2 comments

Cutaway view of ZF automatic transmission. Just as vehicle manufacturer recommendations for engine oil are changing at an ever-increasing pace, so are requirements for the ever-widening range of automatic transmission fluids. With the advent of overdrive transmissions and four-, five-, six- or more speed units being employed in today’s cars, it is important to...

Should’ve Seen This Coming: Digital Steering Wheel On the Way?

Posted on Jan 8, 2015 in Safety | 4 comments

Note to inventors of the world: Not everything needs to go digital. Yes, we appreciate digital music players instead of the old-school Walkmans. Digital television signals are a nice replacement for analog. Replacing in-car audio controls with touch-screen digital interfaces is less necessary, but I suppose I can be convinced. I’m feeling pretty good, though,...

Has Audi Given Up On Making Cars?

Posted on Jan 7, 2015 in Editorials | 1 comment

I was driving along the other day, and I found myself behind an Audi A6. A new Audi A6. A brand-new, midsize, luxurious Audi A6 sedan. And I thought to myself: When was the last time I saw one of these things? This wasn’t always the case. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, you saw the Audi A6 everywhere. They had that cool rounded design, and they were the...

Hey, You’ll Never See a Hearse in NASCAR!

Posted on Dec 27, 2014 in Racing | 1 comment

So my friend jgoods would rather ride in a hearse than a Mustang… Read his post from yesterday, and you’ll see that I’m not making that up. He also wonders what’s so great about American muscle cars and claims they are not performance vehicles. I guess theMustang GT’s zero-to-sixty in 4.9 seconds doesn’t count as “performance.” Sure, a Mustang may not take...

Rebirth of a Legend: 1984 Chevrolet Corvette brochure

Posted on Dec 10, 2014 in Featured | 2 comments

It’s hard to overstate the impact that the fourth-generation Corvette made upon its national introduction on April 21, 1983. Replacing a popular car that had grown very familiar through its incredible 1968-1982 lifetime was an incredibly fresh and forward-thinking new model that was completely of the 1980s, but would also prove timeless in the physical appeal...