This is Ryan in Chicago again . I am still driving an Acura 2004 TL with about 80k miles, but with winter on the way, I get the itch to switch to a more winter/city car. I used to park in a heated garage at home and work. Now I am relegated to the street parking all the time. Here are my thoughts: – the tl is going to really suffer with all the time in the cold and snow – I am planning on adding a nice sporty car ($40k) to the mix next spring – I always thought a solid cheap AWD vehicle for driving around (and parking) in the city like bronco, wrangler, outback would be great I look forward to your ideas. Read More >
To every tire —Turn, turn, turn
There is a season — Turn, turn, turn
And a wheel for every tire
In your garage
A time for max g — A time for low mu
A time for low profile — A time for thick chine
A time to enter turns sideways
A time to refrain from entering turns sideways
I’ve had winter tires for at least one car in my mini-fleet for ten years now. I only really “need” them about ten days a year. For at least three months each year, however, they provide security, confidence, and personal travel flexibility that more than justify the expense. A quick check of my fellow Ohioans’ tread patterns shows that I’m in a clear minority, unfortunately. For those of you who aren’t blessed with a San Diego, Phoenix, or Miami ZIP Code… what are ya’ll doing to prepare for winter?
Minicars, that Japanese specialty with a pint-sized (0.66 liter) enginelet, still commands a market share of more than 30 percent in Japan. It used to be more. Toyota didn’t play in that segment, that’s what Daihatsu was for. Today, The Nikkei [sub] reports that Toyota will enter the minicar market. Wait a minute, wasn’t that what Daihatsu was for? Oh, they still are … Read More >
Last minute shopping before a trip; where do I head? Walmart, of course, because of the Curbside Classics in the parking lot. No time for a full-on Walmart Concours today, but I do need a cart. Oh here’s a nice one that should do the job. And there’s another… Read More >
Edward is on a bender vacation all week south of the border. I’m heading to Paris (autoshow, among other attractions) Tuesday morning. Will I find old Citroens on the streets? Anyway, that will leave TTAC Niedermeyer-free, temporarily. The show will go on, thanks to our remaining intrepid cast of characters, but with the possibility of some reduced content, most likely the domestic news blogging. Full throttle activity will resume next Monday, at the latest. Au Revoir!
We’ve followed the ups and downs of Segway since its inventor, Dean Kamen introduced it in 2001 with the following (under)statement: “the impact of this in the 21st century will be just like what Henry Ford did at the beginning of the 20th century.” The Segway, he said, would “change lives, cities and ways of thinking.” Now comes word that Jimi Heselden, who bought Segway this past January, died when he apparently drove one of the off-road Models X2 off a cliff and fell to his death. Accidentally, it is presumed. According to a statement from the West Yorkshire police force, “The incident is not believed to be suspicious.” Our condolences to Mr. Heselden’s family, whose lives certainly have been changed by the Segway.
Thanks to a tweet from Ward’s Auto, we now know that GM Vice Chairman Tom Stevens has spilled the beans at the Directions in Engine-Efficiency and Emissions Research conference that a GM diesel passenger car is coming to the US. What was notably missing is a nameplate. Your mission is to come up with which car it will be.
Maybe Henry Ford’s conquest of the automotive world with one model in one color is a little too ambitious a goal to repeat, but Alan Mulally is determined to take Ford further (back) in that direction. From 97 unique models in 2006, Alan’s goal is to keep reducing the body count: “there will be less than 30, on our way to 20 to 25”. Read More >
Really enjoy the Piston Slap series. How can you tell the difference between a bad head gasket and warped block or head? I guess I’m not fully respecting the tight tolerances involved here because it would seem to me that once fluids start intermingling its way beyond a gasket to fix the problem. Thanks, keep up the good work. Read More >
According to popular wisdom, you can invest all you want into China, but you can’t take your money out. Not so, says Gasgoo. As a matter of fact, would it not be for China, the bottom line of many a car company would look ugly.
Volkswagen for instance gained nearly half of its pretax profit from the Chinese market in the first quarter of this year. Read More >
I may have mentioned before (or you may have read about it) that the UK is undergoing a huge austerity program. In order to balance the UK’s books, massive spending cuts are being implemented. But in order to secure votes, the Conservative government (along with the Liberal Democrats) pledged that the NHS would not suffer these cuts in budgets. Wow! A right wing government actually PROTECTING nationalized healthcare? Those crazy Europeans! So this means that other facets of government spending are going to be hit hard. Very hard. In particular, the police. Greater Manchester Police won’t be hiring any new recruits for 2 years in order to save money. That’s how hard we’re talking. So any opportunity to save money will be welcome. Enter a bunch of South Koreans… Read More >
Remember the 4 “dead brands” walking? Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab? Seems like a long time ago. Who’d have thought Saab would be the last brand standing? Arguably, the one of the weakest brands of them all. At least Hummer and Saturn had genuine interest. But Saab found a Dutch white knight (a white knight with a 3 legged horse and a rusty sword), in Spyker and survived. It really started heads scratching as to how a damaged brand and a never profitable car maker could survive in an industry where size is king. But it seems the Dutch-Swedish venture may be getting some help from an unlikely source. Read More >
Ford has certainly made it easy to find appreciation for the original 1992 reskin of the Econoline, ’cause it’s only gone downhill ever since. What exactly does this (un)progression say?
Time to purge my files of Econoline shots, and we haven’t seen any of the early gen3 versions. There’s little question in my mind that Ford trucks, including Econolines, from the seventies and eighties are the first choice for those looking for a relatively unproblematic beast of burden. But are they in the same league as the legendary Hondas of yore?
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