The 2011 Durango is looking really nice:
A conservative view of south east Michigan and beyond
Archive for the 'autos' Category
Yep, the EPA want’s to ‘help’ you select the most fuel efficient vehicle possible. To accomplish this, the EPA is proposing revised window labels for new cars. Via the controversial EPA:
“We are asking the American people to tell us what they need to make the best economic and environmental decisions when buying a new car,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “New fuel economy labels will keep pace with the new generation of fuel efficient cars and trucks rolling off the line, and provide simple, straightforward updates to inform consumers about their choices in a rapidly changing market. We want to help buyers find vehicles that meet their needs, keep the air clean and save them money at the pump.”
EPA’s press release gets more condescending:
EPA and DOT are proposing two new label designs for comment. One label design prominently features a letter grade to communicate the vehicle’s overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance. The new design will also provide consumers with an estimate of the expected fuel cost savings over five years compared to an average gasoline-powered vehicle of the same model year.
The second proposed label retains the current label’s focus on miles per gallon (MPG) and annual fuel costs, while updating the overall design and adding the required new comparison information on fuel economy and emissions.
Both proposed label designs expand on the content of the current label by including new information on fuel consumption, tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and smog-related emissions. The new labels would provide information on a new web-based interactive tool that can also be accessed by smart phone. This tool would allow consumers to personalize the information about a vehicle’s performance.
For EVs and PHEVs, the agencies are proposing to show energy use by translating electricity consumption into miles per gallon equivalent. The proposed label designs for EVs also include energy use expressed in terms of kilowatt-hours per 100 miles.
According to the Detroit News, the median grade for vehicles would be a B-
Vehicles would get an “A+” to “D” grade, and the median grade would be a “B-.” No vehicle would get a failing grade. To get an “A,” a vehicle would have to average at least 59 miles per gallon; to avoid a “D” a vehicle would have to average at least 14 mpg.
Fully electric vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf, would get an “A+,” while a plug-in hybrid would get an “A.” Many hybrids like the Ford Fusion hybrid and Toyota Prius would get an “A-.” The Ferrari 612 would be one of those gas-hungry high performance vehicles that would get a “D.”
No van would rate higher than a “C+” and most SUVs would get a “C+ or lower. Some versions of the Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, Cadillac CTS, Lexus 570 and GMC Sierra 15 would all get a “C-.”
The move could dissuade some consumers from buying the biggest, most polluting vehicles on the roads. The new design also will provide consumers with an estimate of the expected fuel cost savings over five years, compared to an average gasoline-powered vehicle of the same model year.
Who knew that a Ferrari 612 is less fuel efficient than a coal powered …I mean a plug in electric Nissan Leaf?
V12 Ferrari
Go figure this is more fuel efficient than the V-12 Ferrari
Sunday Morning Quick Hits: Car Lashes?
For these people, there are products like Turbo Style Products’ CarLashes. That’s right, someone has invented fake eyelashes for your car!
The CarLashes can be cut to fit nearly any vehicle and are simply attached to the vehicle using 3M automotive grade adhesive. The manufacturer recommends that you affix the lashes to the glass of the headlight or the underside of the hood, but claims the adhesive tape will not react with or damage the vehicle’s paint. People who want to add even more bling can grab the optional Crystal Eyeliner, a sparkly, faux-jeweled strip that adheres to the base to the lashes.
28 August 1963: “I have a dream”
Political Cartoon of the Week: Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard Vacation
Great pictures from the 8-28 rally @ Right Scoop-
click on pic for larger version
Glenn Beck’s restoring honor rally
Devote your life to replicating a Star Wars lightsaber
The 2011 Cadillac CTS coupe goes on sale in August 2010, thirty-one long months after a thinly disguised concept-car version of it debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. The good news is, the CTS coupe’s exterior lines look just as good on the road in summer 2010 as they did under the hot lights of the Cadillac stand in January 2008, and there were plenty of heads turning on the streets of Ann Arbor when I drove it. Although this car is a serious performer, I imagine it will be purchased primarily for one reason and one reason only: it looks like a million bucks.
More on Obama’s push for more college graduates- All I can say is great minds think alike.
Obama: Winning the Hearts of Americans
Summer of corruption: Obama’s Big Labor ethics loophole
But those are real world solutions, and we all know the real world doesn’t get in the way of the Ruling Class, their special interest dependents, or the adoring fans who sit in their respective Amen Corners … So, on top of the massive tax increase already coming your way this January, expect to see the “bipartisan” propaganda machine start pushing for more taxes too!
Being YOUR debt, you didn’t really think the Ruling Class would take responsibility, did you?
Sandisk’s 64GB integrated SSD is no bigger than a wafer-thin mint
Paper: Sea Level Rise Not Accelerating
Will Republicans Have The Stones To Put Uncle Sam in the Unemployment Line?
According to TreeHugger.com a 14 year old with some ahem… “help” from his dad installed 9 golf cart batteries and an electric motor in a 72 Beetle to create “a cleaning running, all-electric eco-vehicle” (there words not mine). Of course, the car is really powered by coal, since it is the dominate power source in America for generating electricity.
TreeHugger.com is also impressed by the golf cart powered Beetle’s top speed:
The converted Beetle is no slow-poke either, able to reach speeds upwards of 45 miles per hour. As the car gets more time on the road, an onboard computer will gather performance data as well.
Since tree hugger brought up the subject of not being a slow-poke and data acquisition, here is a test video of a ZR1 Corvette making a 205mph run. And they have an on board computer as well.
That looks like a fun ride!
My friend on Stumble Upon, Lee sent me a link to these awesome renderings of a Ferrari GTO concept:
How I want this car to actually be made! But this is the case with most awesome car designs. Sasha Selipanov originally from Moscow, left school and went to study automotive design at the Art Center College of Design in the USA. Whilst there he designed this incredible Ferrari GTO. Born out of his love for automotive design, Ferrari’s and Lambo’s, crossbreeding this love to create this new form of beauty. Enjoy.
Who was the wisest Founder? (I voted Madison, however this kind of poll is like asking you to pick your favorite child)
Arizona to allow concealed carry without permit
Chris Christie vetoes Planned Parenthood subsidy
Global Warming Study Finds Temperatures Increase During Summer
Rick Snyders True Colors Flying
Many folks have been wondering why Rick Snyder won’t openly debate the other Republican candidates for Governor. Some say he does not yet want to be outed as the progressive shill he is. Some say he is simply “trying to talk directly to the people” instead of participating in an establishment exercise. Believable?
The Frontline: Conservative Bloggers in the Trenches
Study confirms effectiveness of SarahPAC ‘Mama Grizzlies’ ad
Jay Leno, who is a big supporter of Detroit’s auto industry, gave a tepid review of the Chevy Volt. Via The DetNews:
“I don’t think there’s a lot of cachet in having the first one,” said Leno, who owns a 17,000-square-foot garage stocked with rare and exotic vehicles. “It’s meant to be a people mover, not a people impresser.
“It’s not like when you pull into Bob’s Big Boy parking lot with the Volt, you’re going to open the hood,” Leno said, referring to a landmark classic car hotspot in Burbank, Calif.
EV owners will also be less than impressed when, as Obama promised, “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” (January 2008), and you and your neighbors start plugging in your EV every night after work.
Of course a Volt supporter and auto analyst Erich Merkle pointed out the obvious with this “knee slapper”
Leno’s Big Boy dig rings hollow, he added.
“The typical Volt driver might be a vegan,” Merkle said. “They may be opposed to a Big Boy altogether.”
Yep, and if were up the militant vegan eco-green fans, there would be no Big Boy restaurants. Well, there would be, but we would all be eating Boca Burger ground crumble meat substitute.
Here is a GM vehicle that Jay really likes:
The weather around the Motor City has been really nice this weekend and I have noticed lots of beautiful classic cars out on the road. I even saw a Rossi SixtySix. That car looks unbelievable on the road.
Anyhow, another type of classic car that is really cool is the Rat Rod. They are ‘unfinished’ hot rods that are a throwbacks to the late 40′s and early 50′s.
So enjoy the cool Rat Rods pic’s and some excellent writing on this beautiful Sunday night.
The most important thing about a rat rod is they aren’t for wimps. You aren’t going to see very many tree huggin’ wimps driving these babies.
Man Fined $500 for Getting Shot in His Own House
Robot Breaks Top 50 US Politics (way to go Robot!)
Next brilliant idea for post-racial Dems?
It just gets worser and worser!
The Left Still Does Not Get it: Creating Another Rival for the Tea Parties
Illegal Immigration: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Jon Stewart Skewers Obama Over Campaign Promises
Dear Jenny,
My bar business has been suffering horribly since the new smoking ban has gone into effect. Friday nights used to be busy till last call, and the cigar club that used to meet here now gathers up in a barn down the road. What am I supposed to do? My liquor license alone cost me $50,000, and since I laid off 4 employees, my unemployment insurance has skyrocketed. ~ Smoked in Holland
Donations increase to Arizona legal defense fund
Via Inside Line:
Mopar ’10 Challenger is based on a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T, modified for a new look and greater performance. Equipment includes the Challenger’s 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine concealed by a unique engine cover, along with a variety of other Mopar enhancements. A hood-venting system, a cold-air intake and a front strut tower brace with shock caps are part of the package, as is a rear strut tower brace to stiffen the chassis.
Available now for pre-order, the Mopar ’10 will arrive in August priced at $38,000 for the automatic transmission, and $39,000 for a manual tranny with pistol-grip shifter. Mopar will build only 500 of these models, available only in Brilliant Black paint with a choice of three different stripe colors: Mopar Blue, Red or Silver. Interior stitching on the steering wheel and seats will match the exterior stripe color.
Twenty-inch forged heritage gloss-black wheels, a black-chromed grille surround, a functional, vented T/A-style hood with vintage hood pins, a serialized dash plaque and Mopar logos galore round out the package.
Looks really cool… And its got a Hemi.
In related news, the more politically correct Tesla Motors Company stock prices have tumbled since its IPO:
Shares in the Palo Alto, Calif., company lost 16%, or $3.09, Tuesday to $16.11 in the Nasdaq stock market.
Tesla’s shares rose 40% in their first day of trading as excited investors bet on its future as a player in the electric car market. They pushed the stock as high as $30.42 on Wednesday, but prices began falling later in the week, closing Friday at $19.20.
The initial offering raised $226.1 million after selling 13.3 million shares, despite the fact that Tesla has not had a profitable quarter since it was founded in 2003 and its cars sell for more than $100,000. Still, enthusiasm was high last week. Before the sale, Tesla expected to price just 11.1 million shares at $14 to $16 each.
“The euphoria has worn off,” Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of IPO research firm IPO Boutique, noted Tuesday. “In this market environment, people are not buying $109,000 cars.”
Sweet said the company was grossly overvalued as some investors believed that Tesla was the next Google. Elon Musk, Tesla’s high-flying CEO with a history of successful startups such as PayPal, put on a “spectacular” road show to drum up interest in the shares, he said. But Sweet predicts Tesla will find it difficult to make a profit.
So far, the company has sold only about 1,000 of its high-end electric cars. It currently sells just one vehicle, the $109,000 Roadster sports car, which is popular among celebrities and performance-car enthusiasts. (emphasis added)
Remember, people have been calling electric vehicles the future of transportation since 1911.
It’s like the green people are trying to save the planet using turn of the century technology.
Lastly the really not politically correct Dodge Viper ended its 18 year production run on July 1st:
Today marks the last day of prodcution of the iconic Dodge Viper. Chrysler group is shutting the lights off at the Conner Avenue assembly plant and reassigning the workers elsewhere after an 18-year run.
The Viper’s July 4th holiday weekend is expected to be an especially long one, lasting at least two years, perhaps more.
If and when we see the Viper again it will probably speak some version of Italian because parent company Fiat while likely get involved in the project.
And to remember the Viper SRT-10:
A Viper’s 150mph run on the Autobahn in Germany.
The VelociRaptor 600 is for those times when a factory 6.2 L SVT Raptor is not enough:
Power:
• 605 bhp @ 5,100 rpm
• 622 lb-ft torque @ 3,300 rpm
The VelociRaptor 600 Upgrade Includes:
• HPE 6.2L Twin Turbo System
• Twin Ball Bearing Turbochargers
• Dual Air-to-Air Front Mounted Intercoolers
• Stainless Steel Turbo Exhaust
• Dual 44 mm Wastegates
• Dual Blow-Off Valves
• Electronic Boost Controller
• Polished Inlet Piping
• Fuel System & Injector Upgrade
• HPE Engine Management Calibration
• Professional Installation
• All Necessary Gaskets & Fluids
• Chassis Dyno Tuning & Road Testing
• Serial Numbered Dash & Engine Plaques
• Hennessey & VelociRaptor Exterior Badging
• 1 Year / 12,000 Mile Warranty
And, if 600+ HP is not enough you can pick up a VolciRaptor 800
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