2015 – The Unmuffled Auto News

September 30, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random

The Bentley Continental GT3-R is the Car that Embodies the Bentley Spirit

The Bentley brothers envisioned a grand touring car that had all of the bells and whistles, yet could pack a walloping punch against any other car on the road. The 2015 Bentley Continental GT3-R checks each and every one of those boxes. Here’s why:

The car is big, luxurious, powerful, and faster than a car it’s size should be. It’s a bit like watching a Clydesdale winning the Kentucky Derby. It’s big and ungainly, but it gets the job done quickly. It’s insanely loud. It will shame most cars on just about any paved road. It’s also incredibly comfortable.

The car is so loud that Motor Trend got in trouble at two race tracks when they tested it. Yes, two race tracks. In a Bentley. But the exhaust note is addictive.

The Bentley brothers envisioned a car that could cover vast amounts of land at high speeds, but keeping the occupants in the lap of luxury. The Continental GT3-R is the perfect embodiment of that vision.

It’s a very large car, but the way it drives, you wouldn’t think it would. I’m going to drop a video that Motor Trend did on it a while back for you.

September 9, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random

Why Racing is So Dangerous

Racing is inherently dangerous. It always has been. Deaths happen. The racing community is sad for a while, but they move on after a year or so.

The tragic death of Justin Wilson, a driver in the Verizon IndyCar Series, shook the racing community. Justin used social media religiously, and many of his fans felt like family.

Social media creates an artifice of closeness. People feel like they are part of the lives of that particular driver. This makes it harder for some people to process the death of someone they felt close to. Fatalities are still very common in the racing world. It’s sad, but it’s true.

Justin Wilson was an incredibly kind, good-hearted person who deserved only the best things in life. However, every race car driver makes a deal with the devil. That deal is that you can get killed, but you’ll die doing what you love. Racing might be safer now than it was five years ago, but it’s still incredibly risky.

The recent deaths of Jules Bianchi, a young French Formula 1 driver, and Justin Wilson, the caring, charismatic British IndyCar driver, have left me wondering if the danger that served as motorsports’ earliest appeal has run its course. Do we, as an automotive enthusiast community, have the gall to handle even more deaths?

Race car drivers in the 1950s through 1970s were modern day gladiators. Part of the reason that people flocked to the races was because of the danger element. The living legends of that era are the ones that survived. Surviving might be a greater accomplishment than any of the wins or championships that they hold. People don’t seem to accept the risks of their sport like they used to. A football player in the 1950s knew that he was going to have a traumatic injury because of the lack of safety equipment.

When Dan Wheldon died in 2011, people walked around the paddock like zombies. People seem to forget that these cars are 200-plus mph death traps that can kill you at any time. People just don’t seem to comprehend it. These cars have become so safe that people have become desensitized to death, and for older race fans (baby boomer age), it’s just part of the racing routine.

Many race car drivers in the 1950s through 1970s didn’t start a family because they didn’t want to leave behind a widow or young children. If you made it to 30 as an IndyCar driver back then, it’s the equivalent of being a front-line soldier who’s been there for 20 years. It doesn’t make what happened to Justin or Jules any less painful, but I think what has happened is that the sport has become so safe that people forget how far the sport has come.

It boils down to this: the marriage of speed, humans, physics, and competition will always produce tragedies. It doesn’t matter what motorsport you compete in. It happens in every sport. Some are just very well publicized. The percentages of deaths in various motorsports may have decreased dramatically since the 1950s through 1970s, but we can’t ignore the fact that death is a foreboding cloud that follows each and every driver. It’s never accepted nor welcomed, but it’s never outside the realm of possibilities.

It’s quite possible that the worst cliche in the world is that a driver died doing something they loved. Duh. If they didn’t love it, they would be doing something else. Nobody holds a gun to their head and tells them to go drive a race car. It doesn’t work that way. They’d much rather die in bed with the spouse of their dreams, not hit a wall at 200 mph or get hit by a flying piece of debris. These drivers don’t have desk jobs.

Being a race car driver is one of the most dangerous jobs one can ask for. Yet, these drivers are at peace with the danger. If they are comfortable with it, then we should too. There’s a racer’s mentality: Racers race, then they mourn.

Yes, we all mourn the losses of Justin and Jules, and I especially mourn the tremendous losses to their families. Jules was just 25, and Justin was 37. Justin left behind a young family. That’s the thing every married racer fears: leaving behind a family.

We would be kidding ourselves if we think that motorsports will ever be 100 percent safe. It has the capability to, but it’s just like being a soldier: you willingly accept the risks associated with your job. You don’t need to fear the reaper if you become a race car driver. Just keep it in the back of your mind.

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.

June 6, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, I Challenge You!, Random

Can You Text and Drive in This Great New Game?

I’d like to say sorry for this post coming out today. As I had to attend a friend’s graduation yesterday, I was unable to post. I do think however, that this post will make up for the delay.

Before we get down to business, let’s get one thing clear: texting and driving do not mix well. If you get caught by the police, you get a big ticket, and could possibly lose your license, depending on if you’re a repeat cell phone law violator. It’s incredibly dangerous, and can kill or injure a lot of people because you just couldn’t wait to respond. Never, ever pick your phone up while driving! Let’s all get one thing clear: texting and driving in the real world is much different than texting and driving in this hilarious new game called SMS Racing.

It’s a total remake of the 2013 browser game that had the same name. The 2015 version uses all new material, and it shares only a name and a concept with the original game.

It was built for the 2015 Oculus Mobile VR Jam, where many app and game developers are teamed up to create the most captivating VR experience possible.

We’ve all seen or heard of the dozens of texting and driving games out there, many of which are dry, boring attempts to teach teens the dangers of texting and driving at the same time. Enter SMS Racing. It’s a whole lot of fun. Let me tell you why.

When you start the race, you’re told to finish a lap as fast as you can while responding to text messages without crashing, all within a limited time frame.

An instructor talks to you during the race. She encourages you to keep up with all of your social connections, and to focus less on the road. This is when all of the sarcasm that the developers have kicks in. She tells you that texting is an important part of driving, and that it would be rude not to respond to your friends.

Should you fail to respond to a message within ten seconds, you are told to “…restart, or keep driving and reflect on how it feels to have no friends.” That’s cold.

The game has several features that were not in it previously. It has a Time Trial and a Race mode, a head tracking feature to change your view based on movement, artificial intelligence rivals who also text and drive, and city and suburb maps.

This review is based on various user reviews, plus video recordings of the game. I haven’t played it…yet, but if and when I have a chance, I will do a full review of it!

Users of the game say that the constant need to text can become frustrating at times, which only further demonstrates the sole purpose of the game.

They also say that when you finally get a lap in, you’ve probably cursed the game to hell and back, but you’ve probably crashed just as many times. In the end, it’s all smiles and a good chance to laugh at how ridiculous it is to put texting before driving.

Please don’t. Driving requires a lot of attention, and you could kill yourself or others because you just had to glance down at your phone. It can always wait. If you can’t wait, pull over in a safe spot and read the text or social media alert.

Here’s some video from the VR Jam. https://youtu.be/07hY2JenhMQ

You can check out the game, and even download it at http://vrjam.challengepost.com/submissions/36780-sms-racing

However, you need the proper VR gear, but if you do, it seems like it’s worth a shot.

August 26, 2014 zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, New car info, World News

Chevrolet Corvette’s Valet Mode is Like a Russian Dashcam for Parking!

We’ve probably seen at least one of the hundreds of thousands Russian dashcam videos that have gone viral on YouTube of just HOW crazy Russian drivers are. I’ve seen a fair share of them. Chevrolet’s software designers must be Russian because of what was just introduced on the 2015 C7 Corvette Stingray.

While there are some great valets out there, there are others that like to “circle the city for parking.” This can make sports car owners quite reluctant to hand the keys over. A good number of sports cars offer a performance-reduction setting for just this situation, but Chevrolet is going the whole 9 yards, and including the 2015 Corvette’s Performance Data Recorder as a Valet Malfeasance Recorder. Valets of the world, beware.

Do YOU really want a valet to go 147 mph in YOUR brand-new Corvette? I didn’t think so either. Most valets won’t ever get a car going that fast, especially in a crowded parking lot or city street. But, never say never.

Should you turn on the unimaginatively named Corvette Valet Mode, and some good things happen to your baby. Every interior storage area is locked, the infotainment system is disabled (that way you won’t sit down and get an earful of Snoop Dogg), and a 720p camera in the headliner (right in front of the rear view mirror) turns on. That high-definition camera is paired with a microphone to record audio. The car’s GPS receiver is turned on to provide vehicle telemetry and location, and 8 gigabytes of SD card storage can capture up to 200 minutes of driving – plenty of time for even the slowest of valets to “find a parking spot.”

That link is a YouTube video of the Corvette Valet Mode.

Should you want to see what happened after you handed the keys over to the valet, you can immediately review the “parking adventure” on the infotainment screen, or download it to your computer later. An overlay shows speed, RPM, current gear, and g-force. That’s pretty much the same thing you’ll get when you turn on the Performance Data Recorder. What Corvette Valet Mode can’t do right now, however, is let you know if the car is being abused (i.e. burnouts, drifts, general hoonage) or let you stream the video remotely to your phone or tablet. However, I think that the streaming part will come soon, as GM has a perfectly good OnStar system, and now has introduced 4G LTE connections.

What I think that the point really should be is this: Corvette Valet Mode doesn’t reduce engine power – an odd oversight, AND a feature that would certainly alleviate more concerns about abuse than watching a video of your Corvette hitting a telephone pole at 40 mph.

Is Corvette Valet Mode useful? Maybe. Chevrolet is pitching this as a baby monitor for a cherished toy that you spent your hard-earned money on. But it doesn’t alert you when your baby is crying, unlike an ACTUAL baby monitor. It may give you some insights when you step outside of the hotel/casino/restaurant and find your Corvette smashed-up against a brick wall.

Who did this?

Or this?

The Russians!

February 21, 2014 zoomvroom Humor, World News

The Best Ads of 2013 (and 2014!)

2013 was a great year for many of us auto enthusiasts, and the automakers were great in their ads. I’d like to share my favorite ads of 2013 with you. I also found a couple of good ads during the Super Bowl, so those are included for your viewing enjoyment! Enjoy!

Mercedes Benz Chicken Ad: Mercedes-Benz is right up there with Volvo in terms of how amazing their safety tech, as well as other features is. To demonstrate just how good the Magic Body Control (don’t ask, I don’t know the answer!) system is, Mercedes-Benz used a chicken. Yes, a real, living chicken! For those of you who don’t know what Magic Body Control is, Magic Body Control is a fancy name for a high-tech suspension system. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfgBA8Iw9C8

Jaguar Eats Chicken Jaguar USA Ad: In an obvious thumbing of its nose to Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar shot a laugh-out-loud ad of a chicken being moved around by a Mercedes-Benz engineer dancing around to some groovy music. The chicken gets eaten by a real-life Jaguar. Not the car, mind you. The Jaguar from the jungles of South America. If that grosses you out, there’s no blood, just a LOT of feathers, and one really unhappy Mercedes-Benz engineer…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAgJVIC9QSw

I couldn’t find the Mercedes-Benz ad that made fun of Jaguar. It’s a shame, because it was a very funny commercial. It showed a 2014 Mercedes-Benz S550 going along a dusty jungle road at night, when the S550 brakes to a stop. As the S550 is stopping, the camera focuses on a jaguar (the jungle animal) running across the road, directly in front of the S550. The S550 has a night-vision feature, which shows the jaguar bounding across the road…directly into a tree. The Mercedes-Benz punchline? Cat-like reflexes? We prefer Pre-Safe Braking. If you can find this ad, please post the link to the commercial in the comments section so that other readers can enjoy it.

Kia Sorento How Babies are Born Ad: This cute ad from Super Bowl XLVIII somehow showcases the Kia Sorento. I don’t get how either. But, it’s a cute commercial, and I think that you’ll enjoy it. It shows a LOT of babies, and it’s got lots of clever CGI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4uW4lNjW4g

Volkswagen How Volkswagen Engineers Get Their Wings Ad: Volkswagen was pretty clever with this commercial. It makes people laugh as Volkswagen engineers get wings. Volkswagen used to be clever…and funny in the 1960s with their commercials, and it seems like they’ve found their clever and funny bones again. Volkswagen engineers grow wings, and at the end, one farts a rainbow. When you’re done laughing, watch the ad. This ad is from Super Bown XLVIIII…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns-p0BdUB5o

Chrysler 200 Bob Dylan Ad: This ad from Super Bowl XLVIIII showcases Bob Dylan and the stylish 2015 Chrysler 200. It has great footage, and some cool vintage footage of Dylan back in the day. As Bob Dylan said in the commercial, “Let Germany brew your beer, let Switzerland build your watches, let Asia assemble your phones. We’ll build your cars.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSn8Isv-3M

Hyundai Santa Fe Every Boy’s Dream Team Ad: This commercial is a nice one. It’s got boys of all sizes, ages, and races jammed into it, and I like the vibe of this commercial. While I don’t get how it showcases the Santa Fe, I still like this commercial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSn8Isv-3M

That’s all that I have for you, but I think that this should be enough for you. If you have any that you’d like to have others see, please post them in the comments section. I’ll watch them!