V12 – The Unmuffled Auto News

February 23, 2016 zoomvroom Car Culture, New car info, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Cars Best Suited for Just One Task

A lot of time, cars will try and be good at everything, and fail miserably. They end up being great at nothing. The cars I’m going to list all aimed for one specific thing, and completely dominate it.

Alfa Romeo 4C: Putting Italian car reliability concerns out the window, let’s talk about what a wonderful car the Alfa Romeo 4C is. It’s the perfect dance partner for winding mountain roads. The sensible money would go to the Porsche Cayman. The Cayman is a wonderful car – don’t get me wrong there. It’s got fantastic power, an interior that would make any car proud, and is relatively affordable. Look at the Alfa Romeo 4C on paper. It looks like an awful car to own. Four-cylinder engine, manual steering, few creature comforts, and some interior trim pieces wouldn’t look out of place in a Chevy Spark. Drive it in the city, and you’ll want to stop it in traffic and run after the bus. But, take it out on a winding back road and you’ll never want to stop driving it. It’s got a guttural four-cylinder with a whooshing turbocharger, a quick-shifting dual clutch transmission, and who needs navigation or a radio for back road blasting?
Dodge Viper ACR: All it takes is one quick look to realize that the Dodge Viper ACR is probably one of the worst cars to drive on a daily basis. It’s got a massive rear wing, a thundering exhaust note that you can hear from a mile away, and it’s just a big car. It would be intriguing to see someone try to daily drive one, but my spine says let them do it! This car is built to keep up with racecars on the track, and set records. That’s exactly what it does. So far, it’s set lap records at 13 different tracks. Yes, 13 different tracks. Few street cars, save for hypercars (even those would have a serious run for their money), could have any chance of touching this car. The exhaust note might sound like it’s right out of a tractor, but tractors sound nice to me!
Dodge Challenger Hellcat: How can you not love 707 horsepower for around $60,000? If you expected Dodge to turn it’s burnout machine into some sort of corner carving demon, you should just press ALT + F4 right now. It’s got no interest in chasing Viper ACRs and McLaren P1s around tracks or canyon roads; no this car is the best for burnouts and drag racing (it ran 10.80 seconds in the 1/4 mile on street-legal drag slicks).
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: The Jeep Wrangler has always been one of those vehicles that even non-car people love. It makes you feel instantly cooler, no matter what job you have, even if you never take it off-road. This is especially true in Rubicon form. Just promise me that you’ll take it off-road, because that’s where you WILL be cool. You don’t need to do anything to it to go just about anywhere in it. Just put some gas, friends, and a cooler full of cold drinks and some snacks, and you’re good to hit the trails.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo: There used to be a time when the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo was one of the most desirable cars out there. It had cutting-edge technology that made it feel like you were blasting down a rally stage, even if you were just going to work. Today, unfortunately, that’s far from the case. With Mitsubishi’s announcement that they are going to be ceasing production of the Evo, and no significant updates to the car since it’s launch in 2008, it feels, like well, a car from 2008. However, that all changes when you get less traction. It doesn’t matter how old the car feels; it just feels right at home. That’s where all Evos have shined, and this one is no exception. Taking one for a spin down a dirt road will put a gigantic grin on your face.
Nissan Versa: Many people think that the Mitsubishi Mirage is the cheapest new car sold in the U.S., but they are wrong. The Nissan Versa starts about $1,000 lower than the Mirage. If you’re paying $60,000 for a luxury sedan, $1,000 is pretty insignificant. With a $12,000 car, that’s a lot. Then again, you don’t get much of anything for that price. You get air conditioning, ABS, and traction control, and a radio. That’s about all of the major things on the car. Still, it’s the best at being the cheapest new car sold in the U.S. Yes there are dealer wars to see who can sell the car for the least amount of money, but that’s always been the case.
Ram ProMaster: If all the cargo you carry home is takeout from Domino’s, then chances are likely that you don’t need a Ram ProMaster. But, if you haul a bunch of stuff around all day, every day, then the Ram ProMaster is a great choice. It’s got an incredibly low loading height, and a lot of space. With all the stuff you can carry in it, you’ll be catching a bunch of nasty looks from UPS and FedEx drivers.
Rolls-Royce Phantom: Set aside it’s hefty price tag for a minute. It weighs nearly 6,000 pounds. It’s far from a driver’s car. Even though it has a 6.8-liter V12, it’s far from a fast car. But, the Phantom chucks all of those notions out the window. It’s not concerned with any of those petty things. No, it’s by far the most comfortable car you could ever be in. It’s sumptuous leather seats have only the finest hides sourced from the finest tanneries in the world. It’s whisper-quiet. It’s also astronomically expensive.
Toyota Prius: Yes, I know what you’re thinking. I lost my mind a very long time ago! The Toyota Prius is the ultimate car for fuel economy. The new Prius is more fun to drive than the previous generation, but it’s no sports car by any stretch of the imagination. If you go with the Eco model, you’ll get an incredible 58 mpg city and 50 mpg highway. It also looks worlds better. The Prius has been a ground-pounder in terms of paving the way for every other mainstream hybrid.
Pagani Huayra: For outright beauty, the Huayra is untouchable. It’s also stonking fast, but there are few cars that you can just sit and stare at for days at a time. It has so many beautiful little details that you really have to look for. It’s the brainchild of the absolutely brilliant industrial designer Horacio Pagani, the man who helped revolutionize carbon fiber technology back in the late 1980s.
Ford F-550: This behemoth pickup truck is one of the heavyweights in the towing/hauling ring. It’s basically a step below an International TerraStar. It can tow up to 26,000 pounds, which is absolutely mind-boggling. The insane part is that it does it without really breaking a sweat. It also costs a lot of money, but if you tow and haul lots of heavy stuff around all the time, there is no better option. All you need is a Class C driver’s license, which is the same one for passenger cars.
Mazda Miata: For cheap thrills, nothing beats a Mazda Miata. It’s cheap, fights far out of it’s class, and wins. It’s slow in a straight line, but few cars can catch it in the curves. It’s also really nice to go for a late-night cruise with the top down in your Miata.
Dodge Grand Caravan: Like hauling people around, but don’t need a 12-passenger van? The Dodge Grand Caravan is your ticket. It’s got a powerful V6, lots of space, a nice interior, and is easy on the wallet. It’s probably one of the best vehicles to pile your friends in, and go for a long road trip in. Even the third row is usable for adults!

Tell me what your favorite cars at one specific task are!

September 19, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random

The Best Supercars of the 1990s!

The 1990s was the time when performance cars really started to get that oomph back. The supercars of that era still have jaw-dropping performance, and their designs are some of the most beautiful to ever howl and thunder their way down our roads.

They had no environmental restrictions, and they were the pure intent of the designer and engineers. These are the ones I view as the best.

1993 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport: The predecessor to the legendary Bugatti Veyron, the EB110 Super Sport was capable of 216 mph, which is still a blistering speed. Yet, it had a comfortable and luxurious interior. Oh, and it had a quad-turbo V12.
1998 Dodge Viper: Dodge’s Viper was a formidable car to begin with. However, it didn’t really compete with any of the European supercars. That changed pretty quickly when Dodge shoehorned a massive 8.0-liter V10 under the hood. It made 450 horsepower and topped out at 180 mph. It wasn’t as fast as the EB110 Super Sport, but it was much faster on a race track or winding road.
1995 Ferrari F50: The F50 was slower than the legendary F40. It was the successor to the F40 and the predecessor to the Enzo. However, it was still incredibly fast and rare, with only 349 built.
1990 Jaguar XJR-15: This was the world’s first completely carbon-fiber car. Jaguar only built 53 examples of this car. It had a 450 horsepower V12.
1992 Jaguar XJ220: This Jaguar was one wild child. It had a 540 horsepower twin-turbo V6. It was the fastest car in the world in 1992, topping out at 212 mph. The McLaren F1 beat it in 1993.
1993 Lamborghini Diablo VT: The Diablo VT could reach speeds over 200 mph. It was the first AWD halo Lamborghini. It’s also a car that many people have as their screen savers!
1996 Lotus Esprit V8: The Esprit V8 was in that weird space between high-end sports car and supercar. It had a twin-turbo V8 that made 350 horsepower. It put the power to the ground via a five-speed manual. It was also the first all-aluminum Lotus design. Oh, and you can look like James Bond (providing the car runs)!
1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR: This was more race car than street car. It made 604 horsepower out of a V12. Does it look expensive to you? It should. The Guinness Book of World Records pegged it as the most expensive car in the world in 1999, at a cool $1,547,620.
1993 McLaren F1: The world’s only three seat supercar, the McLaren F1. It made 627 horsepower out of a BMW V12. It was the fastest car in the world from 1993-2005. It’s top speed is a crazy 240.1 mph. The car that beat it was the Bugatti Veyron, which just so happened to beat it’s own record a few years ago.
1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion: “Strassenversion” means “street version” in German. This Porsche made 537 horsepower from a 3.2-liter twin turbo flat six cylinder engine. There are about 25 that exist worldwide. Do the math. You’ll likely never see one. You’ve also probably never heard of it.

Well, those are what I think are the best supercars of the 1990s. Tell me what you think!

I’m having technical difficulties with WordPress and photos. I will resolve the problem as soon as I can, but you are going to be without pictures until then.

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.

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.

November 28, 2014April 30, 2020 zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, Random

Why Supercars Aren’t Cheap to Maintain

Supercars are constantly redefining how crazy cars can be. Think about the 1990s. The McLaren F1 was the fastest car in the world until the Bugatti Veyron. The Lamborghini Diablo wasn’t nearly as fast, but it was just as raw and pure of a driver’s car. However, the car that one can argue defined the 1990s supercar wars was the Ferrari Testarossa. It wasn’t the fastest, the most terrifying, or most exhilarating. What it did do, however, was pave the way for supercars as we know them now. Yes, that means being completely unaffordable to the general population and outrageous repair costs.

This blog post is by no means meant to make supercars from the 1990s and first decade of the 2000s seem like horrible messes of cars that are best left to be stared at in museums. Drive these cars. It’s what they’re meant for. Grab they keys and floor it if you get the chance. Just remember to set aside a LOT of money to repair them. Oh, and find a really good mechanic. Just because they say that they service European cars does NOT mean that they will service your Lamborghini Diablo. They will, but they will likely do it badly and cause further damage to something that is expensive. Ask them if they service your supercar. They can usually point you to somebody who will if they can’t.

Many jobs require special tools for that car and that car only. Your Craftsman toolset will do irreversible damage to your car. Doing a simple task such as changing the oil, which might take an afternoon in your mom’s Toyota Camry, can turn into a five-day knuckle-bashing fest on a McLaren F1. Let’s not even start on the Ferrari Enzo.

Yes, that’s a stock McLaren F1 engine bay! The gold throughout the engine bay is actual gold leaf. The exhaust is titanium, and no, the blue connectors are not for nitrous. They are for fuel delivery. That engine bay looks like a lot of fun to access! No wonder it takes five days to change the oil…

McLaren estimates annual repair costs to be about $30,000, which doesn’t seem too bad until you find out that an oil change is $8,000. You can even ship your F1 to McLaren’s factory in Woking, UK for repairs, where McLaren employs two full-time F1 technicians for F1 repairs alone! That’s what Ralph Lauren does for his THREE F1’s. Yeah, that blazer you bought is going to good use. McLaren suggests replacing the tires in pairs ($3,000 per tire!). McLaren scrubs in every set sold, for free. That means that they custom-make the tires for free! Service can take up to 6 weeks – not including transit to the UK. It’s ten days door-to-door by air, seven weeks by boat. The bright side? The car is appreciating so quickly that repair costs will never catch up to their now-astronomical price. Chumps.

This is the floor of the customer service department of McLaren’s Woking factory. It might not be so bad to come here after all…

That being said, the McLaren F1 is one of the most amazing cars to ever come out of a factory. It was the fastest car in the world for almost 20 years, and the driving experience is supposedly second to none. It’s also going up in price really quickly. Get one now if you want. Yeah, your kids only need a semester at Stanford anyways!

This is a Ferrari Enzo engine bay. Not exactly pretty, but it gets the job done! I’m a fan of the massive intake manifold and massive shocks. Those two gold tanks are gas reservoirs. An astute commenter corrected me – they are not fuel pumps, as I originally thought! They are gas-filled reservoirs that keep the fluid in the shocks, called damping fluid, under constant pressure. Given the massive speeds the Enzo can easily hit, a single small bump in the road could prove catastrophic, so these reservoirs are necessary.

When you buy an Enzo, you’d better have every single piece of paper detailing EVERYTHING that was done to it! If you don’t, be sure to spend far more than the service cost off of the asking price! When something goes wrong, it goes from a relatively inexpensive fix to a SNAFU in seconds.

Oil or shop fluids will irreversibly damage at least one $6,000 carbon-ceramic brake rotor, so a set of factory covers protects them during service. I’m not joking!

Each authorized dealer must buy a $10,000 special tool kit and this scissor lift to work on an Enzo. The massive V12 takes 12 quarts of oil. That’s a lot. Most cars take around 7.

Oh, and a word for the wise – warm up the Enzo’s big V12 with the $60,000 carbon fiber engine lid open, and the carbon fiber intake body will expand enough that the lid won’t close until the engine cools off.

This is a Porsche Carrera GT engine bay. This car has long been the source of heated controversy, which only heated up after the tragic deaths of Paul Walker and Roger Rodas almost a year ago (they died on November 30. I will do a one-year memorium post on that day).

Like every other Porsche, the Carrera GT gets an oil change every 15,000 miles. No, it’s not based off of a semi truck engine, but good guess! The entire car was a shelved endurance racing project from the 1990s, so it was built to be reliable.

An oil change is $3,000 because:

A set of four ramps ($1,100) is required to get the car over the hoist arms on the lift. Yes, it’s that low.
The rear-heavy car has to be attached to the lift so it doesn’t tip or fall off of the lift. A $550 set of 3/4 inch aluminum plates bolt onto the car for that purpose. Most owners leave them installed.
Two engine-oil filters – one replaceable and one reusable screen. Strip the drain plug in the aluminum cover, and you’re down $6,800.

Replacing the ceramic clutch is $25,000, including labor. By comparison, a $30,000 full brake job is a steal by comparison. You can see how these mechanics live well. When the Carrera GT was new, dealers had to buy a special $10,000 table and $8,000 jig to hold the car’s engine during service.

Overall, maintaining a supercar isn’t easy or cheap. Should you buy one of these cars, make sure that there is a piece of paper detailing everything done to the car. You’ll thank me later.

August 23, 2014 zoomvroom Car Culture

10 Cars that Could Make You a Millionaire!

We all like to make money. All of you like cars (me included!). Ten cars could (theoretically) allow you to make a cool $1,000,000 – most of them NOT by themselves. Anybody who has been buying/selling old cars knows that the classic car market has been taking a crash course on Wall Street. It’s either boom or bust. Bust happened in 1990 when a hyper-inflated Ferrari market crashed in the time frame of a year. In 2007-2008, the market for Mopars with Hemi engines crashed, with many cars losing 2/3 of their value within 18 months. The basic premise of this blog post is to tell you what cars you can buy for not too much money, and sell for a hefty profit. Well, there are a few exceptions to that rule, but I think you’ll agree with my decisions for those cars.

However, that’s not to say that the market is dead. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The market is globalized in a way it couldn’t have been just 10 years ago. Only 20% of Russia had internet access in 2007, but now almost 80% have access. Now that Russians have more money to spend, they are looking for ways other than cheap economy cars or an old Mercedes-Benz with 300,000 miles on the odometer to get around. Cars continue to be more accepted as investments among those who wouldn’t care about them otherwise. Sure, one could consider it a bubble, but until then, here are some cars, erm, investments, that I would buy with my tiny fortune.

1962-1965 Shelby Cobra. The original Shelby Cobras are what I am referring to (Shelby makes continuation Cobras). It’s quite possible that prices for the Cobra have already priced, as prices for these things are literally enough to make a Wall Street investor empty their bank account in a few short minutes. The MkI and MkII (260 and 289 cubic-inch V8 Cobras) will run you about $800,000. Forget buying a 427 Cobra – those are at least $1 million! For the small-block Cobras, prices are up from $500,000 just five years ago, and that was up from $150,000 in 2003. Yikes.
1970-1973 Datsun 240Z. Remember when you could buy a Datsun 240Z for $4,000 in 2004? Well, the average sale for 2013 was $19,000. People who wanted one when they were young now (hopefully) have the discretionary income to buy one. Plus, the Z looks timeless. It’s like a more mature, cheaper Toyota 2000GT. It’s great, easy and cheap to own, and a hoot to drive. That won’t change. What will likely change are the prices. If the Datsun 240Z is any indication of the rising market demand for 1970s Japanese sports cars, expect prices to rise dramatically in the next few years. If you want one, get it NOW!
1970-1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet. Nobody really thought that any regular-production, post-300SL Mercedes-Benz would be worth anything. I didn’t for a while. Nobody thought much of them because they were designed to last forever. How can a car become more valuable when it never changes? Then, three 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolets sold last August at the RM Monterey Auctions for a whopping average price of – brace yourselves – $265,833. In 2010, the average transaction price was a still-high $94,000. It’s hard to think that this extreme inflation will continue for much longer. But, it’s not showing any signs of stopping. Time to re-mortgage the house if you want one of these!
1976-1981 Ferrari 512BB. Most of the male readers of this blog likely had posters of this car on their bedroom walls. Combining absolutely timeless bedroom-wall-poster looks with the exotic, screaming power of the Berlinetta Boxer’s six-carburetor, vee-crank flat V12, you can’t go wrong. Prices haven’t changed much since 2007, with prices staying right about $140,000. However, you can still find one for under six digits. For about $95,000, you can buy one for the price of what a grey market car would have cost you 35 years ago. If that’s not a deal, I don’t know what else is. Buy two and wait patiently. Time to sell the house!
2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Alfa Romeo is back into the U.S. with the 4C. It’s a great car. It’s better looking than any new Ferrari, it’s faster than anything from Japan or America on a race track, and I want one. The 8C was an amazing one-year blip in Alfa Romeo’s 19-year absence from the American car market. The price now? Hard to tell, as they were about $250,000 new, and only 84 were ever sold in the U.S. Nobody is letting go of them, either, so yeah, good luck finding one. Most are being held in private collections, but it’s going to be a challenge to start a market for them if nobody sells them.
1972-1974 BMW 2002 tii. The BMW 2002 was a great car. All of the automotive magazines said it was better than any muscle car out there. It was nimble, light, and deceivingly fast. The most desirable 2002 is the fuel injected version, called the 2002tii. It was light, potent, reliable, and it favored fun over everything else. Like the Datsun 240Z, they weren’t worth much of anything for a very long time due to their abundance. In 2004, a nice 2002tii was carrying about $10,000. Now, prices have blown past $20,000, and people are really only beginning to appreciate them. Yeah, BMW only made 38,000 of the 2002tii, but an awful lot of them were used up. Even if you buy one and it doesn’t go up in prices, you’ve still got one helluva car. It’s a win-win situation. Basically, for the price of a smallish shapeless blob painted silver, you can get a reliable daily driver that will get you thumbs up all over the place, and a tidy look. Why not buy one?
1944-1986 Willys CJ. The Willys CJ is one of the record holding cars for being in production. It remained in production basically unchanged for 42 years. The older models are pretty cool. Parts are abundant for them, and there is a thriving after market for them. They look cool, can go literally anywhere, and are so reliable that it makes any Honda or Toyota’s reliability look like a joke. Plus, any old Willys CJ will be a barrel of fun. It may not make you a million bucks, but you can buy one for a relative song right now. Prices for these cool little vehicles that helped win WWII are cheap. You can buy a really nice one for about $15,000, but where’s the fun in something that’s been restored by somebody other than you? Get one that needs some work for about $7,500. If you want to get even more on the cool factor, get a genuine Willys military Jeep. That’s about $7,500.
1970-1974 Dodge Challenger: The Dodge Challenger was one of the cars that lost 2/3rds of its value in 2007-2008, but prices are once more on the rise. The R/T models with the 426 Hemi “Elephant” engine are the most desirable. If you can’t swing one with the 426, get one with the massive 440 cubic-inch V8 (that’s 7.2 liters!) Six Pack. That has six carburetor throats feeding gas and air into those wonderful sounding 440 cubic inches. Even the models with the 383 cubic-inch V8 are fun.
1955-1957 Chevrolet Bel Air: The Tri-Five Chevy’s are great cars. They are fun, beautiful, reliable, and the prices are always climbing. Now is the time to get one. My personal favorite is the 1957 Bel Air convertible. It looks like a Cadillac. If you want one to be a pro-touring car, a drag car, or a show queen, there is no shortage of parts availability for these cars. The 1956 models are the cheapest of the three years, but they are still pretty expensive. If you get one now, enjoy it, show it, do burnouts, and have fun with a priceless piece of Americana.
1970-1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS454 LS6: This is probably one of the most iconic Chevrolet’s ever. It’s got a massive Chevrolet 454 cubic-inch V8 (7.4 liters) with the legendary LS6 code name. It makes a thundering 450 horsepower in LS6 form. In the lesser LS5 form, it makes a still-impressive 360 horsepower. If you can’t swing the climbing prices of the LS6 Chevelle, go for a still-mighty Chevelle SS396. It’s still going to be a lot of fun, and it will handle better, thanks to less weight on the front of the car. Plus, you can yank out the 396 and put a crate 454 underneath. If you want more power, you can put a 468 cubic-inch V8, a 489 cubic-inch V8, a 572 cubic-inch V8, a 598 cubic-inch V8, or a 632 cubic-inch V8. I would go for the 468 stroker motor, as it doesn’t add too much weight to the front, but it adds far more power. Nelson Racing Engines (nelsonracingengines.com) makes a 600-horsepower 468 that sounds just about right for a Chevelle…

That’s all that I have to offer you, but I’m sure that you have your own suggestions. Let me know in the comments section.

June 10, 2014 zoomvroom Car Reviews, New car info, World News

The Ferrari LaFerrari is a Dream Come True…for a Lucky Few!

It should be worth mentioning to you that copious amounts of drool may ensue while reading this article. If you’re a numbers junkie, read ahead. If you’re an experience junkie, read ahead. If you’re a looks person, read ahead. Well, you got it. There’s something for everybody in this car, and this article! The 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari is the most powerful production Ferrari ever made. Yipe. It’s also the first hybrid Ferrari ever made. Yowza. It’s carbon-fiber tub (where the driver and passenger sit) is made from the same carbon fiber as the frighteningly fast Ferrari F1 cars, and it’s formed by the same team that makes the F1 cars. Wow. It’s name translates to “The Ferrari.” As emissions regulations around the world get harder, supercar manufacturers are forced to turn to alternative different forms of power. McLaren’s powerful P1 hypercar uses two turbochargers, an electric motor, and an already powerful 3.8-liter V8. Stuttgart fired back with an equally impressive salvo that is the 918 Spyder, which uses an insanely powerful naturally aspirated V8 with two electric motors. The LaFerrari is just as, if not more impressive. It’s pretty darn hard to beat a Ferrari V12 for power, reliability, and sound. All three of said cars are spiritual and literal successors to simply amazing hypercars from about 10-15 years ago. The P1 is the successor to the legendary McLaren F1 of the late 1990’s. The 918 replaces the controversial Carrera GT, the car that Paul Walker and Roger Rodas died in late last year. The LaFerrari replaces the stunning Enzo, named for Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari. But, we aren’t going to be talking THAT much about the LaFerrari’s rivals. The seats are bolted directly to the carbon fiber tub, which means that they are not adjustable. Ferrari tailors seat padding for each and every customer and their passenger. A small lever does move the pedals fore and aft. The flat-bottomed steering wheel adapted from the Ferrari 458 Italia Speciale telescopes and moves up and down. The LCD screen that is the speedometer and tachometer has a 9000 RPM redline, but the engine will briefly go to 9250 RPM. The V12 engine is pulled from the F12 Berlinetta, which means that it displaces 6.3 liters, and puts out a shriek like nothing of this world. It trades low-end power for a higher redline (the F12 stops revving at 8250 RPM, and the LaFerrari stops revving at 9000). It also makes 58 more horsepower (731 versus 789). The 161-horsepower electric motor that is bolted to the back of the equally fabulous seven-speed twin-clutch automatic transmission kicks in at low speeds and when the engine hits redline. There is no EV mode, as Ferrari estimates that the range from the batteries is under 6 miles, and Ferrari has no plans of adding more batteries or EV range. With a combined 950 horsepower, this car is more far more powerful than the 903-horsepower P1 or the 887-horsepower 918 Spyder. This means that the Launch button looks pretty dang tantalizing. Ferrari claims 0-60 in under 3 seconds, but won’t allow any major automotive media publications to gather data. A nice touch is the small plaque at the bottom of the steering wheel, which allows owners to put whatever they want onto it. The steering should be quick, as Ferrari says that the steering wheel will turn just under two turns lock-to-lock. That’s on par with an F1 car. Yet another Ferrari first is the electromechanical steering. That basically means that an electric motor boosts the steering in addition to the power booster. The rear wing moves up and down, yet Ferrari claims that it shouldn’t impede driver rearview visibility too terribly much. The flaps at the front of the hood lift up when the brakes are applied. Combine those two flaps with the rear wing, and the car can generate up to 800 pounds of downforce at 125 mph. The LaFerrari also has an active exhaust system. This means that there is a series of flaps inside of the mufflers to mute the noise when you’re not digging into the throttle. When you get into the throttle, the valves stay open for more noise. Another bonus – the electric motor’s high-pitched whine is drowned out by the wail of the V12! Yet another added bonus is the fact that every single piece of electronics in the LaFerrari don’t interfere with the driver, which means that the driver can drive as fast as they want to (on a track!) without having to fight all of the nannies. That’s a problem with most new cars. Give a driver a car with nannies that they have to fight, and it can lead to a horrible driving experience.

July 27, 2013 zoomvroom Car Reviews, Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, New car info, The History of Autos, World News

James Bond’s Next Rides!

Since Zagato, an Italian design firm that has been design partners with Aston Martin for over 50 years, it seems fitting that Zagato coachbuilt a couple of centennial-edition Aston Martins.

Sources from inside Aston Martin and Zagato have confirmed that two examples of an Aston Martin centennial special will be built. One is based off of a 2013 Aston Martin DB9 Volante Convertible (no, Starbucks didn’t come up with the name!) and will be delivered to Peter Read; an Aston Martin enthusiast and collector in the U.S. The other is based off of a 2013 Aston Martin DBS Coupe, destined for an unnamed entrepreneur in Japan.

The designs of the cars were inspired by the 2002 DB7 Zagato, a car so popular that all 99 examples were spoken for before it even debuted at the 2002 Paris Auto Show! The same team that developed the 2002 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato helped Andrea and Marella Zagato, Peter Read, and Aston Martin develop the car.

When you look at the renderings of the cars, it takes a trained eye to find the Aston Martin underpinnings, but it’s almost impossible to miss the signature elements of Zagato and Aston Martin. The double-bubble roof, squared-off tail, and clean, sharp lines tell you that you’re looking at an Aston seconds before the winged badge comes howling into view.

When you look at the front of the cars, one cannot help but notice the design cues from the 1980’s Aston Martin V8 Zagato.

Peter Read, the owner of the 2013 Aston Martin DB9 Volante Convertible summed up the design team’s vision best. “The DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial perfectly merges Aston Martin and Zagato’s DNA by combining the elegance of design, typical of Zagato, with the soul, power and prestige of Aston Martin, all developed over the last 100 years.”

As with all Zagato specials, no mechanical changes were made. This means that both cars will come with Aston Martin’s wonderful 5.9-liter, 510 horsepower V12.

I want both of these cars to be mine. My readers might have to start an auction of their cars to afford my rides…Unfortunately, all Zagato Aston Martins are highly collectible, rare vehicles that stay in collections for many years. Then, they sell at auctions for prices close to $1 Million.