This is number one of hopefully a long series from the inside of a auto repair shop. Say hi to Phil.
When I spun the engine on the early ‘80’s Honda Accord, the telltale sound of the starter motor wheeling the engine around with no compression-resistance was not what I wanted to hear.
It’s not that I didn’t expect it. Read More >
You want class? In 1984, Oldsmobile had class in dump-truck quantities. Just listen to how the name Oldsmobile Delta Eighty-Eight Royale Brougham rolls off one’s tongue. Read More >
Vancouver’s a funny place when it comes to car culture. One one hand, we’ve got a downtown core that’s switching over to highly affluent residential living, similarly well-heeled Western regions and, carved into the hillsides of West Vancouver, a community that rates its own “Real Housewives Of…” unreality show.
Fuelled by wealth swirling off the Pacific Rim, there’re a lot of high-status automobiles on the streets: throw a rock at random and you’ll likely hit a Supercharged Range Rover, but only after a bounce off two 911s and a Ferrari California. I’ve seen more curbed dubs, beat-up Vantages and hack-job ‘tuner’ M3s than I care to remember. I even recall seeing an RS4 with doilies on the headrests.
Still, to each his own, and for the residents of East Vancouver that means a backlash against conspic-consump buggies and an affinity for hot-rodding. Quick, hand me a ballpoint before somebody notices I don’t have a neck tattoo. Read More >
As promised last week and as per your requests, it is now time for our new monthly appointment: the World Round-up!
After giving you the Top 100 best-selling models worldwide over the First Quarter of 2012 last week, we can now have a first look at what models made the headlines around the world last month.
Not interested? That’s fine! There are 163 additional countries and territories for you to visit in my blog, so click to check out your next holiday destination so at least you will know what cars you’ll be meeting there.
Now, our world round-up.
If last month the focus was on the Toyota Prius family and its huge success in the US and Japan, April takes us to India where we witness a historical change…
We saw a junked first-year Plymouth Horizon last week, but Chrysler’s Simca-based econobox wasn’t the only Euro-Detroito subcompact to make its North American debut in 1978. The first-gen Ford Fiesta, which had been a tremendous sales success in Europe, showed up in American Ford showrooms… where it was met by puzzled stares from car shoppers who couldn’t quite get their heads around the tiny size of the latest car to bear the blue oval. Read More >
My iPhone has no less than 7 social apps on it (Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Tumblr, Tradyo and Instagram), not to mention Google Maps, which like the aforementioned programs, can utilize my phone’s built in GPS beacon to share my location with others (including Apple). My recently departed 1997 Miata was the anti-iPhone. No GPS, no traction control, a barely there ABS system, no electronic throttle. Everything mechanical. My next car will be similar. Simple, robust, resilient. What if we no longer have that option anymore?
“MR2turbo4evr”, today is your lucky day: you suggested that someone would appreciate my critiques on Lincoln products, and maybe you are right. But this self-proclaimed Lincoln-Mercury fanboi was pissed when his favorite version of Ford’s CD3 platform, the Mercury Milan, bit the dust. But I digress: what to do when you are a designer tasked with making every Lincoln look like the MKR concept, even if that ridiculous grille maybe (MAYBE) works on a sedan with Town Car levels of decadent proportioning, and no other Lincoln?
If you worked on the 2010-2012 MKZ, I suspect you bit your tongue, did your job, cashed your paycheck and told your family how much they meant to you. This applies to the MKZ more than the re-skin of the MKS, MKX and the all-new MKT. Or maybe working on such a half-hearted design isn’t so bad for a car designer, because job satisfaction is a relative term. That’s where fanbois who’ve lost their way get lost in their own thoughts. Read More >
Kurt writes:
Dear Sajeev,
I’m writing about if/when/how to change the transmission fluid in modern automobiles. It’s been my experience when changing the fluid on a vehicle with > 100,000 miles and original tranny, the odds of trans problems within 5,000 miles rise dramatically. The consensus on the interwebs is this was true for older cars, but not necessarily modern vehicles using synthetic fluid. First my history…I’m only listing the cars where I actually changed the fluid. 89 Suburu GL – Fluid Changed at 120,000, total trans failure at 125k. 94 Chevy S10 blazer, trans fluid change at 115k, trans failure at 123k. Current: 2006 Honda Odyssey – Trans Fluid Change at 95K, Torque Converter starting to go out at 100K (yeah, I know this is a weak spot on this vehicle regardless) – wondering if I should change out the rest of the fluid before having someone look at the torque converter?. Additionally what to do about my 2003 Chevy Trailblazer LS (2wd) …..145k, original transmission, original owner, no trans fluid changes ever. The quick lube joint says fluid color is off – looks good enough to me though. I’d like to keep the truck a few more years due to the blood sweat and tears already invested in repairs.
I’ve read that Trans Fluid power flushes can cause more harm than good, and a standard fluid change only swaps a % of the fluid – normally needing 3 of those to get a full fluid swap. Add the twist of certain vehicles needing “special” fluid such as Hondas and it’s hard to say if my failures are due to improper technique by improperly trained quick lube employees, improper fluid, or if changing the fluid isn’t really needed! I always say “I’ll change the trans fluid when the trans fails”. I’m a mild wrench head, some blacked fingernails to prove it ….if my setup allowed it I’d love to change my own fluid – no one cares as much as the owner. However I stopped changing my own fluids after an Exxon Valdez-like accident on my driveway. Any advice on this topic? Read More >
Yesterday’s Junkyard Find was one of the better-known examples of the Simca-based “Omnirizon” platform, and you still see 80s Dodge Chargers here and there. What you won’t see often is today’s Junkyard Find, a first-year Plymouth Horizon. I found this one languishing in a Denver self-serve junkyard. Read More >
Lee Stronach has two passions in life. He’s a military history buff, and he’s a vintage vehicle buff. This Jeep M-38 was the perfect marriage between this afflictions. Ford built the Jeep M-38 under contract for the Canadian military; its relatively low numbers make this military machine a fairly rare piece of military history. Read More >
Over dinner with our beloved Editor-At-Large two weeks ago, Ed and I discussed what we felt was the coming “post-car” era; rampant consolidation, the death of beloved brands and the subsequent widespread love for classic cars, the adoption of other forms of mobility and a fierce anti-car backlash. A nugget of information buried at the end of a Ward’s Auto report instantly brought all my fears and apprehension to the forefront, a mere fortnight after Ed and I concluded that things weren’t going to be that bad after all.
Although Michael briefly touched on this in his review of the 2013 Altima, the 2002 Altima was a watershed vehicle in our market, albeit one that doesn’t get enough credit. Without it, there would never be a Toyota Camry with a sub 6-second 0-60 time.
Back in 2004, I was doing a typical East Bay highway commute to my job writing software documentation. Ten miles each way in a Tercel (I had my choice of an ’85 wagon or a ’90 hatch), and the ever-increasing numbers of badly-driven SUVs on the Dreaded Nimitz were making me feel quite vulnerable in my little rice-burners. I needed a more substantial daily driver, and it damn sure wasn’t going to be an 8-MPG truck with 64-ouncer cup holders. What I needed, I decided, was an ex-cop Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor! Read More >
A 1997 Ford Escort is not exactly a rolling testament to the dreams of auto enthusiasts.
But for $300, it beats the ever loving snot out of a Schwinn.
This LX model was a trade-in from one of my customers. Did I rip them off? No. Not at all. One of the cylinders was dead. The interior was as dirty as Hugh Hefner’s mind, and with 221k miles coupled with a 5-speed, it wasn’t about to go on the front line.
But where should I put it?
Most folks think of Cobras or Mustangs when they think of the late Carroll Shelby, but don’t forget the Shelby Chryslers of the 1980s! Shelby cranked out a run of turbocharged front-drive Dodges that delivered amazing-for-their-time bang-for-buck performance, and they’ve remained quite affordable. So affordable, in fact, that Shelby Dodges are not uncommon sights in self-service junkyards; just in the last couple of years, I’ve found this Daytona Shelby Z, this Omni GLH, and this Shelby Charger awaiting their appointments with The Crusher. Last week, I spotted another one in a Denver yard. Read More >
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