zoomvroom Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, Random

Roadkill Hat Give Away Coming Soon!

While I know that I just published a blog post a few minutes ago, I feel kinda bad that I was negligent enough to not post earlier this week.  For those of you who are keeping track of my blog posts, you will know that I have published 288 blog posts!  That’s a huge accomplishment, and I’ve decided that I am going to do a give away of a Roadkill baseball cap at 300 blog posts.  It will be like the give away that I had at 100 and 200 blog posts.  I will give each reader a random number between 1 and 100, and have one of my parents select a random number between 1 and 100.  Whatever reader is closest to that number will get a Roadkill baseball cap mailed to them, courtesy of the Unmuffled Auto News.  Please note that I am not doing this give away because I feel badly about not publishing Tuesday, I just think that a give away is something fun, and 300 blog posts is a milestone.

I hope you have a nice weekend, and stay tuned for a very special blog post next week!  It’s going to be a surprise, so much of a surprise in fact that my parents don’t even know about it…hopefully…

 

zoomvroom New car info, The History of Autos, World News

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Black Bess Headed to Beijing Auto Show

Bugatti’s recently gotten into the habit of making special-edition Veyrons.  The special-edition Veyrons are a six-part series of limited-edition Veyrons offered to the public.  The one I am talking about, “Black Bess,” is installment number five in the series.

The “Black Bess” Veyron pays homage to the Bugatti Type 18 “Black Bess.”  Like the original Type 18 Black Bess, the new Veyron Black Bess is painted black with gold accents throughout the exterior.  I’ve got to say it looks pretty darn good.  Some of these gold accents, believe it or not, like the grille and rear badge, are made out of legitimate 24-karat gold!

Inside the Veyron Black Bess, it’s got beige leather seats, contrasting brown leather trim, and a red steering wheel.  All three of those are homages to the original Type 18 Black Bess.  The inspiration for the Veyron Black Bess is notable everywhere, especially on the  interior door panels, which feature hand-painted scenes of the Type 18 Black Bess in action.  Each of the six Veyron Black Bess’s will feature different artwork to ensure that no two are alike.

As for the Type 18 Black Bess, it got it’s name from it’s original owner, French aviation pioneer, Roland Garros, who named it after a British race horse of the era.  The Bugatti Type 18 was one of the original supercars.  It had a 5.0-liter inline-four-cylinder engine making around 100 horsepower.  That gave it a 100 mph top speed, and all seven Type 18’s had (or still have) an impressive racing pedigree.

The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Legends Black Bess  made it’s debut at the 2014 Beijing International Auto Show alongside the original Black Bess on April 21.

zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, I Challenge You!, Random, World News

The World’s Craziest Go-Kart!

Go-karts are fun little vehicles.  Some of them can go up to 70 mph – in just a few seconds!  Others can climb up hills.  Most don’t have Chevy big-block V8 engines, though.  Dirt Every Day, a fun off-road show on the Motor Trend Channel has a go-kart with a 454 big-block.  I’m pretty sure that that just elevated the host, Fred Williams, to the crazy-maybe-stupid category.

In the previous episode of Dirt Every Day, Fred had an off-road club of college kids called the Poly Goats come and demolish a 1986 Pace Arrow motorhome.  For those of you who don’t know what makes it so special, I have one number for you: 454.  Nothing else needs to be said.  The Poly Goats made mincemeat of the Pace Arrow.  By the end of the episode, it was a bare chassis with a 454 cubic-inch V8, a Turbo 400 transmission, and a beefy rear end.  That’s a good start for a monster go-kart.

However, Fred needed to build and install all of the necessary components to ensure that this crazy contraption starts, stops, turns, and shifts.  However, every go-kart needs to be safe, so Fred turned to his good friend, Frank, who is an engineer.  Frank helped Fred out by giving him tips about the rollcage.

After Frank, some of the Poly Goats come to help Fred get the crazy kart good to go.  After a long day wiring the pedals, steering column, and shifter, fabricating the wide wheel set, and wiring the engine up, the go-kart is good to go.  Fred wisely decides to not drive the go-kart around his neighborhood.

The next morning, Fred trailers both his mini go-kart and his recently built monster go-kart out to a remote ranch for some off-road hoonage.  He is going to have a shootout.  Instead of him driving both go-karts, he has a couple of Poly Goats come and assist him.  They are brave souls.

One of the contests is where the contestants have to see who starts their engine first.  The big go-kart wins by a mile.  The next contest is a timed obstacle course where the drivers have to go around one or two trees depending on kart size, moving around bottles, and going in between cattle skulls.  The tiny go-kart wins.  Then, a drag race, as drag races have proven to be popular on the Motor Trend Channel.  The big go-kart wins.  You just don’t expect a tiny gas-powered go-kart to win against something with a 454.  Then, Fred decides to have a tug-o-war competition.  Yeah, we all know who won there.

After all of the contests, Fred takes the monster go-kart off-roading.  It looks like a lot of fun.  Don’t do this at home, kids.

zoomvroom Humor, World News

Break My Window – I Dare You!

You know what usually happens when you park your car in front of a fire hydrant – you get a ticket, your car is towed to impound, and you get a bunch of impound fees to top it off.  Notice the emphasis on usually.  However, the owner of a BMW 335i Coupe wasn’t so lucky.

A couple of days ago in East Boston, the BMW owner parked their car in front of a fire hydrant.  Shortly after that, a fire broke out in a nearby house.  When Boston’s best came, they had no choice but to smash in some of the left side of the Bimmer to get access to the fire hydrant.  They also needed to have more room for the inflexible fire hoses, so they literally bounced the BMW about a foot and a half.  Then, they broke in the windows of the BMW and fed the fire hose through.  Oh, and to add insult to injury, the Boston Police Department towed the BMW, AND sent a $100 ticket to the owner.  As if getting smashed windows, a big dent, and a lot of embarrassment wasn’t enough…

While the Boston Fire Department said that the firefighters didn’t take any glee in doing such a thing as that.  If that makes them sleep at night, okay.  However, the BMW window-smashing went kinda viral on the vast expanses of the internet.  Ex-firefighters said that they all pray to do what their brethren in Boston did to jacka**es.  Conflicting points of view?  You bet.

I’ve got to tell you looking at the pictures and videos of the BMW, it’s definitely a feel-good moment.  Everybody has at least one automotive-related mess up.  While I don’t know the owner’s name, I can quite confidently say that this is one of them.  Bummer to the Bimmer owner!

zoomvroom Car Reviews, New car info

A Lincoln Town Car for the Modern Day

Fans of Ford’s Panther platform will no doubt cry “blasphemy” and a whole other host of names.  Haters gonna hate.  If you’re a Panther fan, keep it to yourself and read this blog post, or come back next Tuesday.

Not only does the Hyundai Equus Ultimate serve as Hyundai’s flagship, it also costs as much as a premium midsize sedan like the 2014 Cadillac CTS.  I’m not suggesting a comparison – the CTS is in a completely different league than the Equus.  While Hyundai’s execution of a fullsize flagship sedan is good, it’s not quite as good as the Lexus LS460, Mercedes-Benz S550, and BMW 750i/Li.  It’s just that you can’t really build a value-oriented flagship and expect it to compete against manufacturers that have at least 25 years of practice.  It’s the equivalent of In-n-Out going completely vegan.  You just don’t expect it to be good.

Panther platform enthusiasts will be quick to point out that the 12.3-18.3 inch-shorter Equus doesn’t have body-on-frame construction.  The Equus DOES, however, have a 2.7-inch longer wheelbase than ANY Panther platform car.  Like the Town Car, the Equus is styled much more conservatively than the love-it-or-hate-it Cadillac XTS and bulbous Lincoln MKS.  The Equus has a roomy, comfortable interior filled with amenities and options that the Lincoln Town Car never offered.  It’s also rear-wheel-drive, and it’s got a smooth, very powerful V8 shared with the Hyundai Genesis.  It’s the only modern car to have clear Lincoln Town Car DNA in it.  It’s obvious who Hyundai is trying to attract.

Rear seat passengers can now individually control the infotainment system, look up restaurants on the go, and even enter destinations while moving.  All 2014 Equus models get a standard three-zone climate control system (driver, passenger, rear passengers) standard.  Ultimate models now seat five people instead of four.  Very few of its competitors offer four seats instead of five in top-of-the-line models.  Ultimate models also come with cruise control with a unique 0 mph stop-start function, front, rear, and multi-view cameras.  It also comes with a proximity key that turns the exterior and interior lights on and off, as well as unfolding the side mirrors.  The doors automatically close a la minivan, and power lumbar support for rear outboard passengers.

For those drivers who want to have performance, fear not.  The engine is a 429-horsepower 5.0-liter V8.  The front bushings are completely new.  As for the Sport and Tour modes, they have been revised for improved ride and handling, respectively.

Because its cabin is so insulated, and its powertrain is so smooth, the optional heads-up display is justifiable.  Since the suspension is engineered for comfort, lots of brake dive and body roll make it less than ideal for back road barnstorming.  It also probably diminishes driver confidence on the street, especially in the city.

While the Equus isn’t quite up to par with the Lexus LS460 in terms of interior quality, it has a 12-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with separate lumbar controls.  The front passenger seat has 10 ways to make you more comfortable.  Outboard rear seats have four ways and lumbar.  Like the S-Class, the Equus has many of its front and rear switches conveniently located high on the doors.

Up until the end of the 2013 model year, the Equus Ultimate only sat four people.  It had a massage function for the driver and the right rear passenger (where many passengers sit).  The 2014 model offers seating for five people, but no massaging seats.  The 2014 model also has controls for the:  Infotainment system, rear climate control, and rear seats on the fold-down center armrest in the rear seat.  A “Relax” button moves and tilts the front passenger seat forward before reclining the rear passenger seat.  The “Return” button returns both seats to their previous positions.  Now that both rear seats recline, the available power footrest is no more.

Like the Lincoln Town Car, the Hyundai Equus Ultimate offers full-size space and all of the luxury touches one would expect in a flagship.  Another similar thing between these two vehicles designed for those like to be chauffeured around – neither lives up to the standard set by the Lexus LS460, Mercedes-Benz S550, and BMW 750i/Li.  While the value-oriented Equus can be compared to a modern Lincoln Town Car, it does have something that the big Lincoln never had – a 429-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8 and 8-speed automatic transmission.  In my mind, the Hyundai Equus picks up right where the Lincoln Town Car left off.  Now, the one thing that Hyundai has left – the monumental task of convincing everybody the virtues of a bargain-priced flagship sedan.

 

zoomvroom Field Trips, Humor, Movie Cars, World News

Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6X6 to Appear in Upcoming Jurassic Park Movie

When Mercedes-Benz turned the off-roading world upside-down when it released a civilian version of it’s six-wheeled G-Wagen that it builds for the Australian military, lovers of specialized military hardware clinked glasses with those wealthy enough to afford it.  Not surprisingly, the rest of us mere mortals able to buy a G-Wagen had to settle for the four-wheeled G63.  How depressing.

Anyhow, the G63 AMG 6X6 will be making an appearance in Jurassic Park 4.  That doesn’t seem all too surprising, considering that Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been in the Jurassic Park movies since the second movie.  This has been confirmed by the Jurassic Park 4 Committee Facebook account.

A picture of the G63 6X6 was shown veiled by a white tarp and strapped to a pallet, en route to Hawaii.  Not much else is known about the G63 6X6 being in the movie, but I’m sure that it’s going to be awesome!  I mean, how can you go wrong with six wheels?  Well, I guess if they need to have something that’s heavier-duty, they can always go for an AM General 5-ton troop carrier!

The one thing that I’m absolutely sure that they need is a teenager as a stunt driver…They don’t need to look far!

 

zoomvroom Car Culture, Car Reviews, Vehicle repair

10 Cars That You Just Have to Love, Even if They Were Lemons

Lots of cars are reliable.  Lots of cars aren’t reliable.  A lot of British and German cars fall into the not-so-reliable category.  My uncle can attest to that with the fact that his 2001 Jaguar XK8 has spent about half of its life in the shop.  On the other side of reliability, another one of my uncles had an Audi Quattro for something like 10 years, and he never had any reliability issues.  My dad’s had trouble with his 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with the Duramax diesel engine.  My 2003 Chrysler Town & Country is just a few hundred miles away from hitting 200,000 miles, and it’s been one of the most reliable cars that I’ve ever seen.  Anyhow, the basic premise of this blog post is to tell you the top 10 cars that we all love, even if they were (or still are) lemons.

  1. 2001-2005 Porsche 911 and Boxster:  The 996-generation Porsche 911 was the first Porsche to ever have a water-cooled engine.  For Porschephiles, that’s the equivalent of the Pope converting to Buddhism.  The 2001-2005 Porsche 911 and Boxster had a teeny, weeny, little problem with their engines where the faulty intermediate shafts could fail, turning a fine sports car into a very expensive paperweight.  Even after enough owner complaints, Porsche started fixing the problem, but only on a case-by-case basis, which meant that many owners were left out to dry unfairly.  It’s easily one of the largest black spots in Porsche history, which is a true shame, because these cars were otherwise some very nice drives.
  2. 2001-2003 Subaru WRX:  The first Subaru WRX to be offered in the U.S. had a massive problem with the transmission.  The five-speed manuals were extremely fragile, and the tuner-friendly engine often meant that the tiny boxer four-cylinder engine was tuned to within an inch of its life.  All Subarus have problems with their head gasket, but the 2001-2003 WRX often gave its head gasket up before it even reached 100,000 miles.  I can forgive all of this, because aside from these two problems, it’s a reliable daily driver that’s a LOT of fun.  The purity of these WRX’s means that your inner Swedish rally driver fantasies can come true.
  3. 1993-1995 Mazda RX-7:  One of the last rotary-powered cars (the last was the Mazda RX-8), the Mazda RX-7 was a true driver’s car.  However, apex seal failure hangs over every owner’s head like a cloud.  Apex seal failure means a complete engine rebuild or replacement if the car is not maintained at the proper intervals.  The massive amounts of premium fuel and oil going into the engine didn’t help matters, either.  Still, the 3rd-generation Mazda RX-7 is an amazing driver’s car.  Plus, many owners say that there’s  truly nothing like spooling up the second sequential turbocharger.  Mazda had made the RX-7 with two turbochargers – one for the lower rev range only, and the other for the upper rev range only.  It’s been a long, long time since the last RX-7 was built, and I really hope that Mazda gets their act together and builds an RX-9.
  4. 1999 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra:  This was a one-model-year special put on by Ford, and it was supposed to be a drag racing special for the street.  However, it didn’t  take long for enthusiasts, mainly drag racers, to figure out that it was making WAY less than the 320 horsepower that Ford advertised.  Ford traced the problem to aluminum residue in the intake and exhaust systems.  Ford did well by fixing the problem free of charge.  However, the public snafu on Ford’s part caused Ford to drop production of the SVT Cobra after just one model year.  The upside is that there are no other reliability problems with the SVT Cobra Mustang.  Because it’s a single-model-year special-edition Mustang, it’s got potential to be a future classic.  Don’t be intimidated if you see one for sale with lots of modifications – Ford designed this car to be tuner-friendly.  Just make sure that there’s good documentation of the car.
  5. 2008-2010 Nissan GT-R:  Like many supercars, the Nissan GT-R came with launch control.  The difference was that the launch control function could potentially blow up the transmission and void the warranty, leaving the unlucky owner with a $20,000 repair bill.  Nissan settled a class-action lawsuit in Decemer 2010, and the launch control was dialed back on 2011-up models.  It’s impossible not to love the GT-R and it’s mind-altering ability to be an absolute freight train on race tracks of any kind, just avoid the hard launches.
  6. 2001-2006 MINI Cooper S:  Anybody who was (or is) an owner of the 2001-2006 MINI Cooper S felt more like a beta tester for a video game than anything else.  Here’s the relatively short list of, uh, ‘bugs:’  Electric power steering pumps that could catch fire, supercharger failure after just 80,000 miles, and head gaskets that seemed to be timed to blow up as soon as the warranty expired.  Despite it being a sub-$20,000 car new (and used), it’s got maintenance costs of a 2001-2005 Porsche 911 or Boxster (see #1 on this list for reference).  If you can forgive those faults, the handling is some of the best this world has ever seen.
  7. 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia:  Most mid-engine Ferrari’s have a wholly undeserved reputation for spontaneous combustion.  However, with the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, the argument was valid.  The adhesive bonding between the wheelwell and the engine heat shield would melt and catch fire.  Reports vary, and if Ferrari is to be believed, only 11 cars were affected by this.  All 1248 Ferrari 458 Italias sold until that point were recalled.  Ferrari still claims that this only happened during hard driving, but asking owners of Ferraris to not drive their car hard is laughable.  After the concerns of owners becoming BBQ, the Ferrari 458 Italia once again ascended to its rightful place as the best mid-engine car the world has ever seen.
  8. 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD:  These things are supposed to be bulletproof, right?  Think again.  The fuel injection systems on the Duramax diesel-engine trucks are notorious for the fuel injectors cracking.  My dad has a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD, and the engine’s been rebuilt something like 4 times.  If you buy one of these vehicles, make sure to get it with the LQ4 6.0-liter V8.  The Allison 1000 heavy-duty transmissions will go over 150,000 miles without trouble.  Just DON’T get it with the Duramax!  Not only are engine rebuilds expensive, but they are frequent.  If you buy one, make sure you find one with good documentation, as many of these were used for hauling and towing, both of which put phenomenal stress on the engine and transmission.
  9. 1996-2005 Volkswagen Passat:  This was the infamous era of VW unreliability.  The B5-generation of the Passat had steering problems – the rack-and-pinion assembly was prone to stripping, which means no steering.  When it stripped, it would burn out the power booster, which means that other parts are brought into the mix.  Volkswagen made a lot of these cars, and some of them are good.  Other family sedans are good choices.
  10. 2003 Land Rover Freelander:  This is quite possibly one of THE most unreliable vehicles EVER!  It was quite simply bad.  The engine was bad, the cheap interior fell apart after just a few thousand miles, and forget replacing parts for it.  The replacement parts were usually just as bad as the stock parts.  Avoid this car at ALL costs!