The auto dictionary. Look it up here! – Page 2

September 1, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, Humor, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Most Unlikely Off-Road Cars Ever!

Why should you buy a Jeep, a Toyota Land Cruiser, or a Subaru for off-roading pleasures when you could have one of these machines?

Rolls-Royce Corniche: This car competed and finished the 1981 Paris-Dakar Rally! While it wasn’t exactly stock, it was still cool. It had a custom tube frame, a GM small-block V8, a Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD system and an 87-gallon fuel tank. It’s quite possibly the coolest Rolls-Royce ever.
Bentley Continental GT Speed: This car might handle itself like a proper British touring car when celebrities and the upper elite drive it around, but when “Top Gear” got their mitts on it, everything changed. They put rally driver Kris Meeke in the driver’s seat and Captain Slow (or James May) in the passenger seat. This meant that the car’s full potential was finally untapped. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrNzPInDja0
Aixam Mega Track: Yeah, the name is weird. They probably could have thought of a better one. Aixam built “world-famous” economy cars. Out of the blue came this monster. It was a 400 horsepower, four-seat rally/supercar/absolute beast of a car. Yes, it was unexpected, but it was a gift from God.
Ferrari 308 GTB: Yeah, you heard me. A Ferrari was a rally car. A very successful one at that. It made the podium 20 times at rallies across Europe in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, Ferrari’s rallying and winning shenanigans were put to an end when the FIA dissolved the legendary Group B batch of rally cars.
Ford Galaxie: Anybody who has bombed down a dirt road in an old muscle car knows that they make the best rally cars. This Ford Galaxie races alongside other intensely cool old cars in the Baja peninsula. The governing body is called the National Off Road Racing Association, or NORRA. This heavily modified Ford Galaxie shows us how it does business, in a very good scary way!
Lotus Esprite: Yes, really. The classically-unreliable British sports car actually did a very good job off road. After watching the “Top Gear” episode where they took this car off road, I am still in awe of how well this car performs off road!
Geo Metro: Yeah, you heard me. The tiny, crappy economy car actually performs well off road. There’s a guy who actually LIVES out of the thing! Well, not living IN it, but he’s gone a lot of places in the tiny little car!
Ducati 1199 Panigale TerraCorse: This motorcycle is already a great track bike, but a Ducati dealer wanted to take it a step further. He simply adjusted the stock suspension parts, swapped the tires and brakes out, gave it an amazing paint job, and fabricated a skid plate. This bike turned into a holy terror on dirt roads. Watch out BMX bikes!

Of course, there are many more that I could mention. However, these are some really cool unlikely off-roaders. If you’ve ever owned an unlikely off-roader that I didn’t mention, let me know in the comments section!

August 25, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, The History of Autos

Some of the Best Cars with V10s Around!

They have a great engine note. They have a lot of power. They come in sizes ranging from relatively small to large. Here are some of the best you can buy.

2009 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro: The V8 version of the R8 came out in 2008. It was stunningly beautiful, and offered great performance at a reasonable price. The 5.2 FSI Quattro version added two more cylinders, 105 more horsepower, and even better looks. The 5.2-liter V10 was a slightly-detuned version of the Lamborghini Gallardo’s V10.
2005 BMW M5: The early 2000s were an era when manufacturers could shoehorn massive engines into big sedans without complaint. The 2005 BMW M5 is a relic of that era, and boy is it a good one! It bellowed and roared up to a redline of 8,250 RPM. This 5.0-liter V10 was derived from Formula 1, which is why it sounds so damn magnificent.
2006 Audi S8 5.2 FSI Quattro: This might be one of the ultimate sleepers. This big sedan is a beauty, but it’s a fast one. It got to 60 mph in a scant 4.8 seconds. The magnificent trim inside and out, plus the everyday utility of a large sedan made this quite possibly the best balance between work and play.
2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10: Need I say more than it was a truck that put down 500 horsepower stock? No, I don’t. Oh, and it’s engine came straight out of the Viper.
2003 Lamborghini Gallardo: The first baby Lamborghini was an absolute sweetheart. It was also the car that really saved the brand. It was an Italian beauty with a German heart. The engine started out as a 5.0-liter V10, but ended up as a 5.2-liter V10. It also spanned 10 years. It birthed countless iterations and special editions, while becoming a tuner favorite.
1999 Dodge Viper ACR: It had one of the biggest engines available when it came out, and that engine is still one of the largest around. It sounded more primal than mechanical. It sounds like a dinosaur fighting Slash. Yes, I know, I love to bash Slash.
2011 Lexus LFA: It doesn’t matter that this was a terrible supercar. It sounded like nothing else. Lexus teamed up with Yamaha’s musical instrument division, who tuned the engine note like a guitar. That would explain why it sounds godly. It was described by Lexus engineers as “the roar of an angel.” I think it sounds more like the roar of Satan.
2011 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI: It must be a good life to be a diesel V10. Good enough for U.S. emissions regulations to cancel sales on our shores twice. Yeah, twice. Thanks Uncle Sam. That being said, it had twin turbochargers force-feeding air into those 10 hungry cylinders.
2004 Porsche Carrera GT: Where do I start with the “Widow-Maker?” I don’t know. Yes, it has killed people, notably Paul Walker and Roger Rodas, but that was more user error than anything. This car can trace it’s heritage back to Le Mans and Formula 1 cars. That engine note is out of this world. It reminds me of the Bad Company song “I Can’t Get Enough of Your Love.” Except this is I Can’t Get Enough of Your Engine Note.

That’s all folks!

August 22, 2015August 23, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, The History of Autos

Some of the Most Amazing American Race Cars

Racing is in America’s blood. We started off racing horses, which is still one of the most profitable forms of betting to this day. We also love boat racing, whether it be sailboats or motor boats. We also love racing planes. It should only seem logical that we decided to race cars when they came out.

Our country has created some of the boldest, most successful and boldest racecars in history. These cars are some of my personal favorites, and they only scratch the surface of America’s storied racing heritage.

Chaparral 2E: Chaparral’s 2D was a very successful racing chassis, the 2J earned immortality thanks to it’s snowmobile-engine-driven suction fans. The 2D was better than both combined. It ushered in the aerodynamics era thanks to it’s driver-adjustable rear wing (which was adjusted via a pedal in the cockpit) and it’s side-pod mounted water cooling system. It was pure Texan ingenuity. Every modern race car owes at least something to the Chaparral 2E.
1967 Gurney Eagle-Weslake Mk. 1: Dan Gurney was a true American racing pioneer. This is what I view to be his masterpiece. He also won a Formula 1 race in this car. That’s about as good as it gets, but I still love this car to pieces. The tiny 11,000 RPM V12 and styling that looks like a shark and torpedo are just icing on the cake.
Lotus 56: It’s not just another turbine-powered IndyCar. It was a car that solidified the basic shape of most high-level race cars from 1967 on out. It sent the cigar shape packing. It also had a one-speed automatic and AWD. While turbines and AWD would be banned from future IndyCar seasons, the shape remained and evolved. Even though it’s got a Lotus name and Peter Chapman modifications, it’s still basically an all-American STP-Paxon car.
2016 Ford GT GTE: There was no doubt in any car or race fan’s mind when this car rained on every other car’s parade at the Detroit Auto Show this year. It’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 has been proven in the TUDOR Championship series, Chip Ganassi Racing has had lots of success racing Fords and is ready for a new challenge, and what might be most important to those automotive fans who like to cook (like me) is the fact that the rear diffuser is big enough to chiffonade an acre of potatoes without trying. The fact that it is dressed up in a very patriotic livery makes it just that much more amazing.
Dodge Viper GTS-R Mk. 1: The original Dodge Viper GTS-R immediately proved that a big V10 is an essential asset in endurance racing. On it’s third outing at Le Mans, the SRT Motorsports team took a class win in 1998. Again in 1999 and 2000. You can’t forget the overall wins at the Nurburgring, Daytona, Spa, and the five (yes, five) FIA GT and two ALMS championships. Plus, the fact that it was incredibly intimidating helped.
Corvette Racing’s C5.R, C6.R, and C7.R: For 17 years, The Corvette Racing team has put three generations of increasingly amazing Corvette race cars on the track. All have had an “.R” designation, except the first, which was a “-R.” They have proved themselves multiple times. 1999 marked the first year of the C5-R, which snatched three class wins at Le Mans (among many other wins). The C6.R took seven thundering liters of American muscle around the world, and won many races. The C7.R just grabbed the GTE Pro class win at Le Mans, and that was one of it’s first races!
Panoz LMP-1 and LMP07: Many, many years before Nissan’s GT-R LM caused folks to scratch their heads as to why a front-engine endurance race car is a good idea, Panoz’s LMP-1 Roadster S and it’s less successful sibling LMP07 proved to the world that an endurance racing prototype does not need to carry their engine behind the driver. Neither car was wildly successful, but the LMP-1 certainly got into a few good battles with the BMW V12 LMRs and Ferrari 333 SPs to snag the 1999 ALMS team championship.
Ford 999: Henry Ford should go down in the history books as a stark raving lunatic (for several reasons) because he took the crude, incredibly dangerous 18.9-liter Ford 999 racecar to 92 mph (the equivalent of somebody taking a car to 300 mph today) – a world record – on a frozen lake. The frozen lake was the only place large enough to get the car up to that speed. It made a whopping 80 horsepower, a lot of noise, and had killed a man a year before. It was a brutish, outrageous car that put Ford on the map, even if he became known for utilitarian and economical Model T’s and the now-legendary 1932 Ford.
DeltaWing: No other American creation has so upset the normality of what race cars should look like as the Ben Bowlby-designed, Panoz-managed, Gurney’s All-American Racers-built DeltaWing. The car drastically reduced frontal area to reduce drag and fuel consumption. It worked, and even sparked a copycat (the Nissan ZEOD RC), even though it didn’t achieve any incredible success.
Cadillac ATS-V.R: Cadillac attained massive success for ten years with the CTS-V.R in the Pirelli World Championship Series. Now it’s the turn for the ATS-V.R to take the reins. It’s got some big shoes to fill. It’s got a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 making somewhere around 600 horsepower that sits somewhere between the massive fender flares and the huge extractor hood. Between this car and the Ford GT GTE, it looks like most, if not all, future American race cars will have forced induction engines.
Swift 007.i: The year 1997 was a lucky year. The team owned by Paul Newman and Carl Haas stopped running a Lola chassis, and switched to a chassis made by the American company Swift. The car had a Ford Cosworth engine, Goodyear tires, and an all-American driver in Michael Andretti. I should probably mention that it won it’s first-ever race outing. Talk about coming in with style. Oh, and I was born that year.
Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe: This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful cars ever made, as well as one of the most successful. Carroll Shelby needed to make the already-successful Cobra 427 faster, but that meant he needed a more aerodynamic body. He brought on legendary designer Peter Brock, who helped design the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Brock designed a flowing, muscular body that still looks like nothing else on the track. The result was a smashing success. The car won the 24 Hours of Daytona, Le Mans, Spa, and countless other races.
Dodge Daytona/Plymouth Superbird: Mopar’s “Winged Warriors” made aero cars illegal in NASCAR. That should be telling as to how good those cars were. They packed quite the punch with their 426 HEMI engines and special aerodynamics packages. NASCAR outlawed aero cars after 1970. Buddy Baker campaigned a Daytona through 1970, and Richard Petty had one of his most dominant years in 1970 with his Superbird. It’s also one of the most iconic race cars ever.
1966 Chevrolet Corvette: The 1966 Chevrolet Corvette is one of the best race cars Chevrolet ever had. It had a walloping punch with it’s 427 cubic-inch big block V8, with the code-name L-88. This engine made any car it was in a true monster. It’s still fast enough to show a modern NASCAR stock car how it’s done on a road course. It’s like carving a statue with a hydraulic shovel.

August 11, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Best Racing Finishes Ever

Most people will never remember a great race with a so-so finish. You can rest assured that a race with a great finish will be remembered. It doesn’t even need to be a great race, but a finish makes everything. Final lap passes, battles that continue far past the finish line, and races that end with a crash are always the ones that go down in the halls of racing history.

I’ll never forget Valentino Rossi showing Jorge Lorenzo how it’s done at the 2009 Spanish MotoGP race (don’t ask me why I watch MotoGP). While I wasn’t even close to alive in 1971, I’ve seen videos of the top five finishers in the 1971 Italian Grand Prix finishing within 0.6 seconds of each other. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway seems to be a breeding ground for spectacular finishes, as evidenced by the countless duels for first place held there every race.

These ten finishes are my ten personal favorites, but I’m sure you’ve all seen some amazing finishes. I’d love to hear your stories, and if possible, put a YouTube link of that finish in your comment!

The 2009 ALMS (American Le Mans) GT2 class finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was one to remember. Just watch and learn how to pass…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brNtbaMadX4
The 1992 Indy 500 featured Al Unser, Jr. and Scott Goodyear duking it out. This is a race I would have loved to see! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtiGra-pj5c
The 2006 Indy 500 was exhilarating. Sam Hornish, Jr. was really going at it with Marco Andretti. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT9R8xwu6rY
The 2013 Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 had a four-wide finish. It was truly incredible to watch this finish on TV. Talk about a nail-biter! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp1klmtsWQA
The 2011 Indy 500 was won by Dan Wheldon, but talk about insanity! JR Hildebrand was right behind him, vying for first place, when he crashed in the final corner! This was a truly memorable race, and it will always be remembered, because it was the 100th annual running of the Indy 500. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tFV-85gyzQ
I was quite the youngster for this race, and wish I could have been old enough to understand what was going on, but watching replays of the finish of the 2003 Darlington Speedway NASCAR race between Kurt Busch and Rickey Craven is truly spectacular. Rickey Craven ended up winning the race, but only barely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jynmXmcT9_E
Remember the 2009 MotoGP race I was talking about a little while ago? That race took place at Catalunya Raceway. Valentino Rossi won the race, making it his 99th win. It was a truly incredible finish! https://vimeo.com/32756097
The 1993 Daytona 500 was epic. Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Geoff Bodine, and Hut Stricklin, and Jeff Gordon all found themselves battling for first place. Jarrett managed to hold off Earnhardt for the win, but only barely. It was an incredible finish and one of the most famous calls in NASCAR history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gl9pgo9B5Q
The 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix was the closest finish in Formula 1 ever. Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna went at it with Nigel Mansell. Mansell ended in third place, Senna was in second, and Piquet won after Senna went into an opposite lock drift. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIpdoqRS6_4
Peter Gethin won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix. It would be his only F1 victory. The top five finishers all crossed the finish line within 0.61 seconds of each other. That was a close finish, but Piquet’s win was the closest ever.

Truly incredible finishes, right? Tell me what you think of my choices, and tell me yours!

July 8, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, New car info, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, The History of Autos

How the Lamborghini V12 Has Evolved Over the Years

Lamborghini is perhaps best known for it’s screaming V12-powered supercars that seem to defy physics. Here’s how these screaming machines have evolved.

1966 Lamborghini Miura: The first Lamborghini supercar was the Miura, which debuted in 1966 at the Geneva Motor Show. It was the first of the big Lamborghinis. Of course, the big ones are the ones that scare you just by unlocking them. That’s how you know a car is fast. The Miura made 350 horsepower, which was more than enough to move a car that weighed under 3,000 pounds.
It’s one of the most captivating designs of the 20th century, especially in red.
1969 Lamborghini Miura S: It was basically a facelifted Miura with an extra 20 horsepower. Oh, and Miles Davis crashed one when he was high on cocaine. A man very revered in the racing world, James Glickenhaus, pulled the high and bloody Davis out of his totaled Lamborghini.
Lamborghini really delivered with this one…
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV: The final iteration of the Miura brought the power up to a then-absurd 385 horsepower, and lost the frilly eyelashes that previously surrounded the headlights. Lamborghini also came up with what was then a novel idea, splitting up the lubrication for the gearbox and transmission.
This was the best iteration of the Miura. The most power, lightest weight, and all of the kinks were ironed out.
1974 Lamborghini Countach: The curvaceous Miura was replaced by the blocky Countach, a car that looks like it was designed by a high school geometry student. It was a good car, but it was not without it’s flaws. Visibility was like looking out of a concrete bunker 50 feet below the ground. Another complaint was that the car was a much better pinup than it was a car. Just about every boy in the 1970s had a poster of a Lamborghini Countach hanging on his bedroom wall. The first version of the Countach had no massive wing and 370 horsepower.
1978 Lamborghini Countach LP400S: The LP400S lost 20 horsepower, but it also got wider wheels. The 1974-1977 models had skinny little wheels and tires that had no grip to them. That famous gigantic rear wing was an option that looked super cool, but cost you 10 mph.
1982 Lamborghini Countach LP500S: Just about the only change to the 1982 version of the Countach was the introduction of a 4.7-liter V12.
1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV: This is my dream Countach. The engine was a 455-horsepower 5.2-liter V12. Interestingly enough, when Lamborghini switched from carburetors to fuel injection on the very same engine, horsepower dropped to a still-impressive 414 horsepower.
It should be obvious why this is my dream Countach…
1988 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition: It was mechanically identical to the LP5000 QV, but it had a body that Horacio Pagani (yes, that Horacio Pagani) redesigned. It was a love it or hate it design, and most people fell on the side of hate. I don’t know why. It’s still blocky, but it’s a good looking car.
1990 Lamborghini Diablo: Marcello Gandini started the design, and Chrysler’s Tom Gale finished it. It had a 5.7-liter V12 cranking out 492 horsepower. It’s top speed was a then-diabolical 202 mph, which exceeded the initial target by six mph. It didn’t come with power steering.
I’m not sure I’d want to go 202 mph in a car with no power steering, especially with no electronic nannies to save me.
1993 Lamborghini Diablo VT: The Diablo VT was the first AWD car from Lamborghini. It could send up to 25 percent of it’s power to the front wheels, which drastically helped it’s traction. It also had redesigned intakes to improve cooling, a new interior, and various cosmetic changes to differentiate it from the “base” Diablo.
1995 Lamborghini Diablo SV: The SV was supposed to be the most diabolical Diablo out there. Because of this, it had 510 horsepower and RWD. It was also the cheapest Diablo available, which really doesn’t make sense.
Yes, those wheels are stock, and super cool!
1995 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster: It’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a Lamborghini Diablo VT with an electric folding carbon fiber top. Power went up to 530 horsepower for 1998.
1999 Lamborghini Diablo: The 1999 model was the first year that the Diablo didn’t have pop-up headlights. Instead, the SV model, which was the base model, had the same headlights as the Nissan 300ZX. I’m not joking. It also got a new interior, ABS, and power was now at 530 horsepower. The Diablo VT got the same upgrades.
1999 Lamborghini Diablo GT: Talk about absurd. The Diablo GT was basically a race car for the road. It was stripped down, the bodywork was substantially different from other Diablos, and it had a new 6.0-liter V12 making 575 horsepower. It was incredibly fast.
Looks can be deceiving. It might look somewhat similar to the 1995 SV model, but it is very different.
2000 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0: The final iteration of the Diablo got a redesign that made it look much smoother, thanks to Audi’s purchase of the company. The more subdued design, coupled with the engine from the Diablo GT made it a much better car to drive and look at.
2002 Lamborghini Murcielago: Yes, I know that it means “bat” in Spanish, but it is still a very intriguing car. Don’t let the name get to you. It was the first V12-powered Lamborghini to be designed and engineered in-house. It had 572 horsepower, and was only available with AWD. It also made extensive use of active aero and active cooling to keep the exterior of the car relatively clean-looking. It was also the first time that an automated manual transmission was offered in a Lamborghini. A roadster followed in 2004, with an overly complicated manual roof.
2006 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640: The big Murcielago now made 632 horsepower from its 6.5-liter V12, and it had a slightly revised body. Carbon ceramic brakes were an option, just in case you really wanted to show how well your supercar could stop.
2008 Lamborghini Reventon: The Reventon was essentially a rebodied Murcielago LP640. It was inspired by fighter jets, and as such, had creases and angles galore. It had an interior like a fighter jet cockpit, which meant it was extremely cramped, but it had a unique TFT display, instead of analog gauges like the Murcielago. Lamborghini only built 21 coupes and 15 roadsters.
2009 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV: The fastest Murcielago ever to leave the Lamborghini factory doors was the LP670-4 SV. It had 661 horsepower, a heavily revised body, a stripped interior, and came standard with a massive wing. The wing limited it’s top speed to 209 mph. The optional smaller wing brings the speed up to 212 mph, but also provides less downforce. You could get it with either the clunky automated manual or a true six speed manual. I really want to have one with the big wing and the six speed. Help me find one!
How can you not want something like this, especially when it reeks of awesome?
2012 Lamborghini Aventador: The Aventador picked up where the Reventon left off. It’s all creases and angles, and is one of the most intimidating-looking cars in the world. The 6.5-liter V12 pumps out 691 horsepower, and sends power to all four wheels through one of the worst transmissions ever. It can never replicate the same shift. You either get shoved back into your seat, or you get an imperceptible shift. For something that costs so much, it should have a good transmission. A roadster is also available.
2013 Lamborghini Veneno: Like the Reventon, the Veneno is another extreme styling exercise. Lamborghini really went all out this time in terms of design and price, as the car cost upwards of $4 million. There are four coupes (one is in the Lamborghini museum), and nine roadsters.
The styling might be quirky, but the performance is not.
2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV: This might very well be the ultimate Aventador. It’s certainly the fastest. It proved itself by going around the legendary Nurburgring racetrack in 6:59. It’s just seconds off the Porsche 918 Spyder’s lap time of 6:57. The SV has 750 horsepower, AWD, heavily revised aerodynamics, and is 110 pounds lighter. And yes, Lamborghini has confirmed that they will make a roadster version of it.
And there you have it. The latest in a long line of high-performance cars. This is the most diabolical, yet civilized of them all.

May 29, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, Tech Talk, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

How Porsche DNA is in Your Car

Porsche and the rear window wiper are forever linked in the annals of automotive history, and for good reason.

While rear window wipers were accessories as far back as the early 1940s, they never became commonplace for a variety of reasons that I’ll talk about in a bit. Italy became slightly interested in them in the mid-1950s. Ferrari installed a pair of them on a 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa by Pinin Farina.

Interest had picked up sufficiently that, in 1957, rear wipers made their next public appearance at the 1957 Salon de Genève on the new Lancia Flaminia Berlina, another Pinin Farina creation. While they were highly praised for their functionality by the press, nobody quite caught onto the idea. This should come as no surprise: outside mirrors, which greatly aid rear visibility were considered superfluous to Italians.

Eight years later, a wealthy German industrialist contacted Porsche with a request. He wanted a wiper installed on the rear window. Porsche set about developing a rear window wiper.

You can only imagine what other Porsche enthusiasts thought when they saw this fine gentleman cruising the boulevards with his fancy new car and it’s rear window wiper. The factory began to receive an increasingly large number of requests for similar installations. The demand was so great that Porsche offered a dealer-installed or DIY retrofit kit. This wasn’t even enough – Porsche decided to make it a factory option in 1966.

The early rear wipers were rudimentary at best, but they did the job. The early wiper arm pivot shafts had bushings angled inward and outward, which enabled it to be mounted to the edge of the air intake recess on the existing engine lid.

In 1967, as the rear wiper option gained massive popularity, engine lid pressing dies were slightly modified to incorporate integral mounting pieces for the rear wiper installation. This eliminated the need for the angled adapter bushings. These were included on both sides of the engine lid to accommodate both left-hand-drive and right-hand-drive applications.

Volvo took note of Porsche’s little invention, and added one to the 145 in 1969. The time for rear window wipers had finally arrived.

By the time the OPEC oil crisis arrived in the mid-1970s, rear wipers had become commonplace on hatchbacks, station wagons, and off-road machines like the Chevy Blazer and Ford Bronco. These body styles were perfect applications for the rear window wiper: because of the lack of a rear deck (a trunk), a rear window is bound to collect more dirt and grime than a sedan or pickup truck’s.

Since 1965, Porsche has remained a devout follower of the rear window wiper, offering it on every single fixed-roof production car after the 911, with the exception of the 914, as it had a recessed rear window and long rear deck, which eliminated the necessity of a rear window wiper.

It doesn’t matter how old the Porsche is to make this option desirable. It goes far beyond a functionality statement. It’s a perfect visual metaphor of the classic Porsche essence and character that has carried through today.

You can still feel the original Porsche character today. The 356 and 911 (through the 993 generation), with their air-cooled reliability (their engines were souped-up VW Beetle engines), rear-engine traction, fully-independent suspension with incredibly long travel, and generous ground clearance meant that these were not cars to be taken lightly. They were not smooth-road sports cars like the Triumphs of the same era. They were truly all-weather, go-anywhere-on-any-road cars. This set them far apart from the other sports cars of the era, which generally had low ground clearance, borderline-at-best weather sealing, limited traction, horrifically unreliable everything, and marginal-at-best cooling systems.

It should come as no surprise to you that early Porsches were even better for all-weather capabilities than most standard sedans when the weather got yucky. Those early Porsches don’t care about the meteorological conditions or terrain. They will get a driver and their passenger to almost any destination in comfort. They truly have the functionality of a Swiss Army knife. The stark functionality of a rear window wiper expresses this.

Almost every Porsche that went rallying was fitted with a rear window wiper until high-speed rallying and weight reduction made them somewhat obsolete. Anybody who has ever gone rallying or bombing up and down a fire road knows just how important a rear window wiper is, especially after a big slide.

Most Ferraris, Jaguars, and Corvettes are taken out when the weather is nice. It’s always been that way. Porsche owners have never been afraid of taking their Porsche out when it’s rainy or snowing. A rear window wiper, in addition to it’s functionality, signals to the casual observer that they are gazing upon a car that earns it’s keep. While it’s great to have a car that wins trophies, how often is that car driven?

To the uninitiated Porsche enthusiast, a rear window wiper would seemingly ruin the looks of the car. Let me explain it this way: a Porsche with a rear window wiper is like seeing Sean Connery as James Bond in black tie slipping a steel Rolex Submariner onto his wrist. It’s a seemingly incongruous functional instrument that seems out of place, but it hints at capabilities at his beck and call.

April 29, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Evolution of Crazy

Pro Street is a popular form of hot rodding nowadays. It’s also incredibly easy to define, unlike rat rods or Pro Touring. Pro Street is classic cars with the rear wheeltubs dramatically enlarged for insanely wide tires. However, defining Pro Street gets a bit more difficult from there. Is it a fairgrounds car with big dirt tires? A street-optimized race car? A race-optimized street car? Or is it a full-on race car? It can be any and all of those. Pro Street has evolved throughout the years from essentially fairgrounds cars to street-optimized race cars. I’ve taken the pleasure of outlining important years and cars in the evolution of Pro Street. While your idea of Pro Street might differ, or not be there, I hope this helps.

1972: Grumpy Jenkins Pro Stock Vega: Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins essentially ushered in Pro Street with the advent of his groundbreaking NHRA Pro Stock tube-chassis Chevy Vega in 1972. Nobody had ever seen massive tires tucked under a production body before. Yes, the extreme Funny Cars had been using the look for a few years prior, but they had fiberglass body shells, so let’s not count those. Grumpy went all-out groundbreaking by using a completely tubular frame, which allowed him to run those massive 14-inch-wide and 32-inch-tall drag slicks previously reserved for Top Fuel. Every single Pro Stock car borrows heavily from that groundbreaking Vega in 1972.

1979: Scott Sullivan’s 1967 Chevy Nova: No, this beautiful 1967 Chevy Nova was not the first Pro Street car. Not by a long shot. However, it was the first car to get massive attention past a small magazine feature on it. It thundered onto the scene in 1979, just a year after the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals were launched to tire-burning success. It created the perfect test-and-tune environment for Pro Street. Sullivan has been known for setting hot rodding trends with just about every car that he builds. His 1967 Nova was no exception. It may not have been as innovative as his other cars, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful, thanks to it’s highlight stripe and color-matched bumpers. It even had the perfect stance. Sullivan sold the car in 1984 to Pro Mod racer Ron Iannotti.

1980: Some Tubbed Street Machines: Many street rod builders of the late 1970s became brainwashed by Scott Sullivan’s beautiful 1967 Chevy Nova (see above), and completely redid their cars. Just about every car from this era had the back half of their chassis tubbed, and many builders simply moved the leaf springs far inside the chassis to fit the massive drag slicks. Seeing a car with a Roots blower sticking out of the hood was a must well into the 1990s.

1985: Fully Tubbed Street Rods: The cover of the July 1985 ‘Hot Rod’ magazine announced the “Fat Attack” of fully tubbed street rods. One of the cars on the cover was “Fat Jack” Robinson’s 1946 Ford coupe, painted in a vivid Coast Guard orange. The car was tubbed like a true Pro Street car, but it was intended to thunder down the drag strips of America. His car was the result of the first round of the nostalgia drag racing scene of the time. His car inspired several other pre-1948 fully-tubbed cars. Those cars on the cover of ‘Hot Rod’ showed how the Pro Street look merging into the vast world of street rods. It wasn’t long before you’d look around at a hot rod show and see a bunch of 1940s Ford coupes sporting massive rubber. Unfortunately for Fat Jack Robinson, his car ended up being totaled in a crash at Fremont Drag Strip.

1992: Trailer/Fairgrounds Queens: Dick Dobbertin’s nutso Pontiac J2000 Pro Street car arrived on the scene in 1986. You’re probably wondering why I said 1992. That’s because the trend of taking a lowly late-model FWD car being converted to a fully-tubbed, RWD car started then. It made it OK to build an over-the-top Pro Street car that only looked good, which have now been dubbed Pro Fairgrounds. Why Pro Fairgrounds? The show venue was the only place where these cars could really shine. I mean, who would really want to drive a car with more than 1,000 horsepower and a short wheelbase down a dragstrip? If you want that kind of crazy, buy a vintage Fuel Altered car. This radical Pontiac J2000 started the Dare to be Different movement in the automotive world, by starting battles to see who was able to build a bonkers Pro Fairgrounds car that nobody else had built yet. Soon thereafter, builders came to their senses and started the Dare to be the Same movement, which leads us to our next section.

1992: C.A.R.S. Camaro: Many of the builders of Pro Fairgrounds resented building cars they couldn’t drive. They wanted truly functional rides, not simple street rods with a big block, but cars that had gigantic rubber, big wheelies, and low drag strip times. Detroit and Ohio even started a large movement to build cars that were all-steel-bodied, fully tubbed, go eight seconds in the quarter mile, dress them up with bumpers and various trim pieces, cruise them up and down the iconic Woodward Avenue in Detroit with license plates, and then race them head-to-head all weekend. One of the first cars featured in magazines was the C.A.R.S. Inc.-sponsored Chevy Camaro of Rick Dyer and Danny Scott. That iconic Camaro served as the main inspiration for the ‘Hot Rod’ 1992 Fastest Street Car Shootout.

1993: Mark Tate’s Chevy Camaro: That little Fastest Street Car Shootout gained so much popularity so quickly that it couldn’t sustain itself. The heavyweight champs, the Pro Street cars, were losing to flat-out Pro Stock-chassis cars. Those Pro Stock chassis cars were never meant to be driven on the street, unlike the Pro Street cars. Mark Tate joined the fray in 1993 with his stock-bodied Pro Stock-chassis 1967 Chevy Camaro. Then it was Tony Christian’s 1957 Chevy 210. After Christian, it was Bob Reiger and his radical Pro Stock Chevy S-10. Appeal for Pro Stock/Pro Street cars started to wane. These weren’t cars you could build in the garage for $10,000 anymore. These were cars racking up bills well over $100,000. People wanted fast cars that they could drive on the street for not much money.

2011: “Modern Pro Street:” This is a total niche created in the Pro Street world by those wanting a fast car with all of the modern mechanicals. Cars of this look have a Pro Fairgrounds look, street machine behavior, and sometimes a late-model body. These cars usually have the newest engines, turbos, EFI, and the wheels are usually gigantic with incredible tread. The beautiful Mustang shown here is the 2007 Ford Mustang from Fastlane Motorsports. It has a 2010 5.4-liter V-8 with an old-school Weiand 6-71 blower showing out of the hood.

2012: Larry Larson’s Chevy Nova: This is where Pro Street is now. Larry Larson owns a stunning 1966 Chevrolet Nova that has truly incredible performance. He’s run 6.90 seconds at well over 200 mph in the quarter mile after driving 80 mph on the highway all day. How does he do it? Modern technology. He’s got a bored and stroked Chevy big-block motor with twin turbochargers, EFI, and lots of other amazing technology. He’s able to drive it all day to a drag strip, run incredible times, turn around and go home without killing his car. He’s had a LOT of experience in the drag racing world, so he only uses the best parts. If Grumpy Jenkins were alive today, his mind would be absolutely blown. Mine is.

That’s where Pro Street is, and where it’s come from. These cars have state-of-the-art technology, and they are actually quite streetable cars.

April 8, 2015 zoomvroom Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

What are Bore, Stroke, Porting, and Relieving?

You hear car guys throw around the terms, “bore” and “stroke” all the time. Most of us don’t know what that means. I do. Here’s what they mean, and how to identify them.

Bore: Cylinder bore is the measurement of the diameter of the cylinders in an engine.

Stroke: Stroke is the amount of movement a piston can move up and down.

A bored engine happens when you machine out the block. For example, taking a 400 cubic-inch Chevy V-8 and boring out the cylinder walls to make the engine displace, say 500 cubic inches.

A stroked engine is simple to build. You just pull out the current internal moving parts, and put in bigger ones. Because bigger is better. An infamous example of this is Chevy’s 302 cubic-inch V-8 from 1967-1969. Chevy took their garden-variety 283 cubic-inch V-8 engine block, and put the bigger 327 cubic-inch V-8 internals in. Voila.

An easy way to put into perspective just how thirsty an engine can be is to remember that a 302 cubic-inch engine will theoretically inhale and exhale 302 cubic inches of air and fuel in two revolutions of the crankshaft. If you punch that engine out (slang for stroking it) to 347 cubic inches, then you’re going to have a more powerful engine. That 347 stroker engine is popular with drifters – it’s based off of Ford’s capable 302 cubic-inch V-8. A 347 cubic-inch engine is 14.9% larger than a 302. So, that 350 horse 302 will have 402 horsepower.

Just stroking an engine for more power won’t solve your problems entirely. A cam (or more nowadays) pushes on the intake and exhaust valves. If you’ve got a bigger crankshaft and pistons, upgrade the cam! You’ll have a far more reliable engine. Upgrading the cylinder heads is also smart.

The nice part about stroking an engine is that the engine remains the same size externally.

Porting: A ported engine refers to enlarging the intake and exhaust ports of an engine. This makes for better and more airflow.

Porting is common in drag racing, especially with the use of nitrous oxide (yes, the same stuff that is used to push out whipped cream from the can). It just makes more room for the air to go in and out.

Relieving: No, the engine is NOT using the bathroom! That would be relieving itself. A valve seat is where the valve is attached to. It’s usually a small mound of metal, but it doesn’t need to be. Relieving just removes the extra metal to make more room for bigger valves.

Here are some pictures of the different kinds of engine enlarging.

This is a bored Chevy big-block V-8 engine block. It’s been bored out from 454 cubic inches to 489 cubic inches. That’s 35 cubic inches more air and fuel this engine will hork down.

This is a stroked Chevy small-block V-8 engine. It displaces 383 cubic inches, rather than 350. Instead of 350 horsepower, it makes 425 horsepower. You can buy this engine from Summit Racing.

This is a close-up of a beautifully-ported Ford 302 cubic-inch V-8 from a 1987 Mustang GT LX 5.0. The larger port is the exhaust port. The small hole is the valve seat.

This is a relieved Ford 221 cubic-inch flathead V-8.

April 2, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, World News

Why Legislation A.B. 550 Matters to Car People

California has recently proposeda new legislation. While that might not mean all that much to us, it should. Legislation A.B. 550 would allow for the owner of a motor vehicle subjected to the rigorous California smog check program to pay a $200 smog abatement fee instead of having to go to the trouble of smogging the car.

This bill would require the payment to go to the Air Quality Improvement Fund. The measure will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Currently, the smog check program requires an inspection of all motor vehicles when the car is initially registered, then biennially upon registration renewal, transfer of ownership, and various other circumstances. You can find all of that on the DMV’s website.

The law currently exempts all cars manufactured prior to 1976, and certain other vehicles.

What’s so special about A.B. 550 is that it would allow the owner(s) of a motor vehicle that is required to take a smog test to pay a 200 dollar smog abatement fee IF the car meets the following criteria:

The motor vehicle is 30 model years or older
The motor vehicle was manufactured during or after the 1976 model year
The motor vehicle fails a smog test
The motor vehicle fails a subsequent smog test after necessary repairs were performed

This could mean a lot to hot rodding. Newer cars are easier and cheaper to insure, parts are more plentiful and cheaper, and, since newer cars have the necessary smog equipment, hot rodders can start to build killer smog-legal street cars.

It’s extremely important to me and many others in the automotive industry that we (as in auto enthusiasts) contact the California Assembly Transportation Committee to voice your opinion of A.B. 550.

Here’s how to do it. Email Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org a copy of your letter. Also, send this to your automotive enthusiast friends! The more people who voice their opinions, the more likely the bill is to pass.

Here is a (very) long list of the committee members’ contact information:

Assemblymember Jim Frazier (Chair)
Phone: (916) 319-2011
Email: assemblymember.frazier@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian (Vice Chair)
Phone: (916) 319-2035
Email: assemblymember.achadjian@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Catharine B. Baker
Phone: (916) 319-2016
Email: assemblymember.baker@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Richard Bloom
Phone: (916) 319-2050
Email: assemblymember.bloom@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Nora Campos
Phone: (916) 319-2027
Email: assemblymember.campos@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Kansen Chu
Phone: (916) 319-2025
Email: assemblymember.chu@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Tom Daly
Phone: (916) 319-2069
Email: assemblymember.daly@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Bill Dodd
Phone: (916) 319-2004
Email: assemblymember.dodd@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia
Phone: (916) 319-2056
Email: assemblymember.eduardo.garcia@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez
Phone: (916) 319-2051
Email: assemblymember.gomez@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Young O. Kim
Phone: (916) 319-2065
Email: assemblymember.kim@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Eric Linder
Phone: (916) 319-2060
Email: assemblymember.linder@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Jose Medina
Phone: (916) 319-2061
Email: assemblymember.medina@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Melissa A. Melendez
Phone: (916) 319-2067
Email: assemblymember.melendez@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian
Phone: (916) 319-2046
Email: assemblymember.nazarian@assembly.ca.gov

Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell
Phone: (916) 319-2070
Email: assemblymember.odonnell@assembly.ca.gov

Thanks for listening to my rambling about how this could turn the hot rodding hobby around. If the bill passes, there will be people who abuse the system, but they already do that. I wouldn’t worry that much about it.

I think these cars that are only slightly customized could greatly benefit from A.B. 550:

This bone-stock 1976 Camaro could benefit from an LS-motor swap. Chevy Performance even offers an LS3 E-Rod engine that is smog-legal in all 50 states. You just install the engine and slap on a couple of stickers that let the smog guys know. These second-generation Camaros are popular among hot rodders, and one could throw on aftermarket suspension pieces and nobody would notice.

This is a simply tasteful C-10 stepside. The wheels go well with the dark blue/black paint on the truck. The big visor over the windshield is a cool touch from the 1950s. It would be even better if the owner could put a thundering big-block with EFI on it.

This 1985 Fox-Body Mustang is an early Saleen Mustang. It looks better than the flashier late-model Saleens. It was a performer in the day, but my Mazda3 could beat it to 60, through the quarter mile, and in just about everything but looks. If somebody bought a Fox-Body, got a body kit (Saleen rip-off body kits are common in drifting), put in an EcoBoost V-6 found in the Taurus SHO, this would look amazing, and go like stink. If there was an aftermarket suspension kit on it, even better. This would be a holy terror at autocross and track day events. Plus, it would be a fun daily driver. OK, I’m going to rein myself in now…

The last car on this little list is one I really want. It’s a Chevy C3 Corvette. Let me explain. It has stunning good looks, and would be quite the performer with a modern LS engine under the hood. It’s already been done, and that’s the car in the picture. It’s got an LS3 E-Rod under the hood, and even though it’s a 1972, one could very easily do the same thing to a 1976 or later model.

February 13, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

What to Do When You Witness an Accident

Car accidents can be very scary. I know – I’ve been in a nasty one myself. My mom and sister were very nearly in one the other day, and it got me thinking about what you should do when you witness an accident. Here’s all you need to do:

Pull over to a safe spot – the last thing you want to do is block traffic, unless you absolutely have to. Pull off into a driveway, turnout, center divider, median, etc. Put on your emergency flashers – DO NOT PUT ON YOUR BRIGHTS!!! They will only blind other motorists, causing further crashes!
Take a deep breath! Before you call 9-1-1 or do anything else, take a deep breath or two. Having a clear head before going into anything remotely scary and stressful is a good idea.
Call 9-1-1. If you’re the only person in your car, either call 9-1-1 yourself or flag down another car and have them call 9-1-1. If you have another person with you, have them do it. When whoever has made the call is finished, have them come back to you. Tell them before they call, “Call 9-1-1 and report back to me!” Be forceful, but don’t yell. Just say it in a firm voice.
Set flares if you have them. Flares are visible, and people will slow down when they see them. Set them strategically – about 100 feet away from the accident (if there is not debris that far). This will give people enough time to slow down and/or stop. Setting two flares is good – unless it is at a four-way intersection. Set one flare for each direction in that case.
Go to the car(s) involved.
- If the occupants of the vehicle(s) involved are still in the car, and cannot get out, do not attempt to open the door for them. It may be wedged shut, but more importantly, they can be seriously injured. Look at it this way – if their door is so badly damaged that they can’t get out, don’t try to help them! They are probably injured, and trying to help them might cause further injury and possibly death. If they have a spinal injury, and you open the door and pull them out, they could become completely paralyzed. If you are trained in vehicle extrication, do your thing. If you haven’t been, try to comfort them. Oftentimes, a window (or more) has been shattered. Don’t put your head in – there is loose, sharp glass that is waiting to cut you. Come into their view of sight, and tell them that help is on the way, and you will be back to check on them in a minute. Check on them every couple of minutes.
- If the occupants of the vehicle are out of the vehicle, try to calm them down. They will be likely be freaked out and hysterical. It’s scary to avoid an accident, but it is frightening to be in one. You have to maintain your calm. Showing signs of being upset will only make matters worse! Tell them that emergency response is on the way, and that they need to take a deep breath. Take charge of the situation.
  - In the case of a multiple-vehicle accident, if all of the people involved are able to get out of their cars, get them calm before anything else. When they are calm, have them exchange insurance, take photos, etc. Be there to help them.
Introduce yourself. Don’t tell them you are a police officer, firefighter, EMT, EMR, or paramedic unless you are one! Misrepresenting yourself is bad in any scenario, but lying through your teeth to a scared person is just dumb. Tell them your name, and that you are here to help. Talk to them firmly to get your point across. Don’t be mean or scary. Just speak to them in a tone of voice you would use when your dog isn’t listening. Don’t yell, but make yourself heard. On the opposite side of the spectrum, don’t be nicey-nicey either. That won’t work.
If and when you have time, take some pictures. You don’t need a lot; just enough to have for the record if it goes to court.
Look for anything dripping. If there is dripping gas, get the occupants OUT OF THEIR VEHICLE! This can cause a fire – most cars are still running. If a fire starts, use a fire extinguisher or get people away from the area quickly! Try to keep the fire from spreading if it starts. It doesn’t matter if people have spinal injuries – MOVE THEM! It’s better to be paralyzed than roasted alive. If it is something red or green, it’s just transmission or radiator fluid. Neither of these are good, but they won’t easily spark a fire. Just try to keep hot things away from them. If there is oil, not the best thing in the world. It’s probably not going to catch fire, but it’s still a cause for worry.
Get somebody to direct traffic. Flag down another motorist or have your passenger do it. Let a few cars through at a time. If people don’t stop, let them go. You won’t have enough resources to stop them and yell. Besides, it will do no good. All it will do is get them angry and possibly start a fight. You don’t want that.
In many cases, a police officer or fire truck will respond to the scene within a matter of a few minutes. Update them on what happened, give them your name, and ask what you can do to help. They will be pre-occupied from the moment they get the call, but they will tell you what to do. Sometimes, you will just stick around and watch, and sometimes you might be able to direct traffic, take cervical-spine precautions on somebody, or do something else that is useful to efforts. Don’t leave the scene unless you are told to do so. If you have to go, tell the fire captain/police officer/EMT or paramedic that you have to go. They will ask you for your phone number so they can ask you what happened later.
Above all, keep your cool!

That’s car accident witness 100.