September 13th, 2008 · Comments Off on What happens when you sell a GTO?
This summer I purchased my GTO from a fellow automotive enthusiast. For the sake of this article we will call this guy “Ronny”. The fact that Ronny had a 2006 GTO 6-speed told me a lot about him as a car buyer. People don’t buy 400hp Pontiacs on accident. Guys don’t drive down to their local Pontiac and say “You got any more of them Aztecs or maybe a Grand Am I can take off your hands?” and then end up with a 4 seater Corvette. (especially the manual transmission version) You show at dealership on mission to get a vehicle that assisting in hitting “extra” legal speeds very quickly and often.
So this Pontiac GTO didn’t end up in Ronny’s garage by accident. He wanted power. He wanted comfort. He wanted sport. And being a family man, he needed more than 2 seats. The GTO fit the bill perfectly. And for 2 years he enjoyed his 6 liters of V8 fun. Recent back pains that were exacerbated by the manual transmission forced Ronny to sell his high horsepower funmobile and that’s where I came in.
When I test drove Ronny’s car it was the 4th time I had driven a GTO and his car was in great condition. The day I picked up the GTO seemed like a bittersweet sweet day at Ronny’s house. He was glad to have this large transaction behind him but a little sad to see the GTO leave. Several times he commented that if this car had been an automatic he wouldn’t be selling it. The funny thing is, if it had been an automatic, I wouldn’t have been buying it.
So with an open spot in his garage, the family man and horsepower freak goes on the quest for the ultimate vehicle that can satisfy his fatherly duties and his need for speed. Ronny had identified that vehicle as the Mercedes E63 AMG Wagon. Let’s just run a quick comparison of the E63 vs the GTO. The Merc has a bigger engine — 6.2 liter vs 6.0 liter, more horsepower — 507hp vs 400hp, and more torque — 465 lbft vs 400 lbft, compared to a stock GTO.
Today I’d like that think that the GTO is a fond memory in Ronny’s mind and that he totally satisfied in his screaming V8 Mercedes. A station wagon that can beat a stock GTO down the drag strip. Can it beat his former GTO? Well, Ronny has asked to be invited out the next track night so he can find out.
Stay tuned for upcoming track results in the near future.
Tags: AMG · Cars · E63 · GTO · Mercedes
September 12th, 2008 · Comments Off on My Favorite Mustang
The Mustang Mach 1 was reborn in 2003 and was only made until 2004. For 2 short years one of the best modern Mustangs was produced. The Mach 1 had 305hp and 320 lbft and was notorious for being under-rated. The word on the street is that the Mach 1 really produced numbers more like 330hp and 355 lbft. When equipped with a 5-speed transmission and a good driver it could hit 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and clear the ¼ mile in 13.2 seconds. Those are some very respectable numbers and those are stock.
The Mach 1 was built with cool shaker hood that allowed the driver to see the engine rumble. Retro font gauges and comfort weave seats really helped complete the best looking interior of that version of the Mustang.
The patient auto shopper can find some gently used Mach 1s with less than 35k miles for under $17,000. The Mach 1 represents some serious bang for the buck.
The base GT was a moderately quick car, but would lose a lot of stop light drags. The Mach 1 was the sleeper of the Mustang stable. There is also a great aftermarket and group of enthusiasts to help make these little gems go faster.
If you want to do a little extra reading there was a great write-up by a Mustang webzine and a Pontiac webzine where they took a 2003 Mach 1 and a 2004 GTO to the drag strip.
Tags: Cars · Ford · Mach 1
September 11th, 2008 · 2 Comments
0-60 times are used all over the automotive media as a benchmark for measuring a car’s performance. The magazines will publish varying times for each cars. This leads to the wildly inaccurate sport of bench racing.
There are numbers that the magazines publish and then there are the numbers that cars and normal drivers can actually run.
This week I took my GTO to the drag strip and I ran a run that equates to a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds. I hit a 8.3 in the 1/8th mile that would equal a 12.9 in the quarter mile. The best time I’ve seen published from the car magazines is a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds.
The trick with the 0-60 numbers that are published by car magazines is that they are often performed by experienced drivers that are used to squeezing the best time out of any car. And of course thae automotive manufacturer wants the fastest times possible listed in the magazines.
However, what happens is people end up with cars that are a lot faster than they think. Cars that can really only achieve their amazing 0-60 times with highly dangerous and potentially damaging runs that need a professional driver to pull it off. This is ends up with people with false ideas of how fast their car is and ends up with people who may be a little over confident in how fast their car actually is.
A few years ago I raced a guy with a 2002 M3. The day he bought he car he proudly proclaimed that his car could hit 0-60 in 4.8 seconds. I then asked him “but can you hit 60mph in 4.8 seconds?” We lined up and I raced him in my 1998 Jeep. A 1998 Jeep really has no chance of running with an M3, but my Jeep had a little work done and could hit 60mph in about 5 and a half seconds. Long story short, the M3 wasn’t able to pass the Jeep until the Jeep was traveling over 70 miles an hour. (And when I say the M3 passed the Jeep, it isn’t accurate, the M3 flew past the Jeep, the M3 had to be going nearly 90 at that point)
Anyway, if you want to find out how fast your car is, how fast it really is, get to a track or get a good accelerometer.
As for Blue Lightning, it only needs 4.3 seconds to hit 60.
Tags: Cars · GTO
September 2nd, 2008 · 2 Comments
Today Google released their very own Internet browser. Google has historically supported FireFox as a browser, but now they have their own way for you to surf the web.
Chrome is a completely new browser. It is built based on the way we use the web today. All the other web browsers are evolving applications that are trying to change as the Internet changes. Google has the advantage of not being tied to the old roots of how Internet browsing began.
Google also chose an interesting way to explain their new application and some of its extremely technical details. They used a web comic. It sounds a bit corny at first, but it really does a great job of explaining the nitty gritty about what makes Chrome a better browser.
Chrome is a much faster, more stable and intuitive way to use the Internet. I’m writing this blog right now via the new Google browser. You can download Google Chrome here, its free, easy and fast.
So is Chrome a car? Well, obviously not. However, it is a hot new vehicle with which one can navigate the information super-highway.
Tags: Cars
September 1st, 2008 · Comments Off on Boat of the Day
Can the Car of the Day be a boat? Sure. On a holiday weekend a lot of people put their boats in the water to enjoy a little aquatic recreational fun. Boats are very much like cars from the stand point of all the variations that boats come in. You can get a boat that goes slow or fast, you can get one that is great for fishing, families or just fun. You can get boat that is all about power. There are boats that are like a floating RVs.
However what floats my boat is a boat designed for wakeboarding, well, that and water. This weekend was spent on lake enjoying our boat and the wakeboarding fun that can be had behind it. It was a well deserved break from normal. If you haven’t on a boat in awhile, find a way to lake and enjoy a day of fun. I’m not saying buy a boat, just go enjoy a day at the lake.
Have a great Labor day!
Tags: Cars
August 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment
The 2006-2008 Chevy Impala SS came with a 303hp 5.3 liter V8. Sure the Impala isn’t the ultimate driving machine. It is a powerful sleeper American sedan. It is roomy and comfortable. The Impala can hit 60 in 5.6 seconds.
There are a couple of issues with the Impala SS. It only comes with an automatic transmission and is front wheel drive. The LS4 V8 has a pretty good enthusiast following where people are developing quite a bit more power out of their engines.
The SS is a nicely executed option package on the base Impala. It has a true dual exhaust with chrome tips, upgraded wheels and nice SS badges to help it stand out. The thing is that the SS doesn’t really stand out like other sports cars or even other sports sedans. It is a great sleeper car and the enthusiasts driving their SS’s are having fun surprising other unsuspecting drivers on the road with their 303hp.
The SS was a $30,000 car new and they can be picked up for somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000 all day on Autotrader. The SS has a GM stablemate in the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP.
Both of these cars are being remade. The Grand Prix already has it’s new version at dealerships now. It is the new G8. The SS will come back in 2010. They are rear-wheel drive and will have models with over 400hp.
But if you want a deal on a straight-line sleeper, check out these cars. Fun, fast, cheap and sneaky!
Tags: Cars
August 12th, 2008 · Comments Off on The 2008 M3 Test Drive
How often in your life have you had the chance to drive a new BMW M car? I’ve ridden in a few and today the number of new M cars I’ve driven totals 2. A friend at work has the new BMW M3 sedan. This is the first M3 to cross the 400hp mark and the first M3 to be powered by a V8.
When I sat behind the steering wheel of the M3 the first thing I noticed was how the driver’s seat grabbed me. The side bolsters just hold you snugly in place. Actually, the side bolsters are like those Select Comfort beds and are totally adjustable to your personal liking. The steering wheel is a thick meaty control interface that allows you to get a great grip on the direction of the M3.
The thing that the M3 reminded me of when I drove it is what the middle letter stands for in BMW. For those of you that don’t know the “M” stands for “motor”. BMW’s have always been powered by great motors and the M cars get the best motors.
When BMW first started producing V8s, I remember an automotive journalist who summed it up like this. “BMW has a long history of making 4 cylinders that compete with other companies V6s. They make 6 cylinders that compete with other companies V8s. What happens when this company makes a V8?”
Well, engine technology has come a long way since BMW introduced its first modern V8 and it may not quite be light years ahead of the competition. However, BMW still makes superior power plants, especially when the M division builds that engine.
Anyway, back to the test drive and the amazing V8. A V8 that redlines over 8000 rpm, an 8400 rpm to be exact, nearly 2000rpm over where the V8 in my GTO redlines at. It was great fun to rev out the 4.4liter German of jewel of an engine to the stratosphere of V8 rpms. It doesn’t just rev high; it revs silky smooth all the way through the tachometer applying its power smoothly all the way the shift point.
Oh and the shift points, they deserve their own paragraph. The M3 in question controls its power through a 6 speed manual transmission. This transmission has all the snickety-snick goodness that one wants in a manual transmission. The throws are short and very precise. If you properly snap through the gears you will be treated to 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear scratches. This was the first time I’ve caught a chirp on the way to 4th gear, it was a little surprising and just good fun.
The M3 is also very fast. It builds its speed very smoothly and deceptively, triple digits arrive quicker than you can say “What seems to be the problem officer? We were just out for a little test drive. What do you mean I’m going to jail?”
It also handles like a BMW. Volumes have been written about the epic handling of the Ultimate Driving Machines. It’s not just a marketing slogan, especially when you are behind the wheel of the Ultimate 3 Series. I’m not going to say much about the handling other than it feels like a precision instrument. It is like signing your name with fine tip Mont Blanc pen versus a Marksalot.
The M3 is also nicely styled car and full of some great technology. You can read about on BMW’s web site. I just wanted to share my impression from my short time with the M3. Thanks to M3 owner who let me appreciate this automotive masterpiece. If you get a chance to ride or drive in the M3, take it.
So is the M3 faster than the GTO? It’s hard to tell. It would sure would be fun to find out some day.
Tags: BMW · Cars · M3
August 7th, 2008 · 1 Comment
In May I wrote about the Audi A3 Clubsport a diesel powered sports car concept. Well BMW is bringing the US the first diesel powered sports sedan in the form of the 2009 335d. If the idea of an oil burning 3 series that gets 22/33mpg and 425lb-ft of torque and 265hp appeals to you, then this car may be just the ticket. Unfortunately, right now diesel costs more per gallon than unleaded gas and the diesel version of the 335 will cost a few thousand more than its gas burning stablemate the 335i.
The 335d is powered by a twin-turbo inline six cylinder and it makes 125 more lb-ft of torque than the 335i and only 35hp less. The trick to remember is that this a turbo-charged engine and they are very responsive to tunes. I wouldn’t be surprised to be writing about a new tune for the 335d that makes over 300hp and nearly 500lb-ft of grunt.
Tags: Audi · BMW
The Car of the Day is driven by my obsession of cars. My obsession of cars is fueled by every time I get in my car. While on the road I have time to focus on the other cars around me and cars I’d like to be driving.
Since I’ve been driving the GTO it has hurt my daily obsession with cars. I still spend time thinking about cars, but I now spend time thinking about the GTO and how great it is.
The GTO is a blast to drive. I love the LS2 engine and its 400hp. I think about how nice the interior is from the leather wrapped steering wheel and gear shifter to the alcantara inserts on the door panels. It has a very cool A/C that works even in the heat of a Texas summer.
The greatness of the GTO has me thinking about car reviews and the automotive press in general. When the GTO came out it didn’t receive a lot of great press. There are a lot of cars that do things better than the GTO. The GTO isn’t as fast as a Corvette, it doesn’t handle like a M3 and doesn’t look like the new Challenger. Car reviews are all about comparisons and it is difficult to find any review that doesn’t make at least one comparison, directly or in passing to competing vehicle.
All this comparing dilutes the actual virtues of the actual vehicle. The GTO never won a comparison test it was in. I think it came in last in every comparison. It was compared to a Dodge Charger SRT-8, a Cadillac CTS-V, Ford Mustang GT and even the Mercedes SL500. The GTO did very well in all the performance comparisons but was never able to take the top spot. The only place the GTO won was with the individuals who purchased the GTO.
The point of this little rant is to simply say, don’t take someone else’s opinion of a car. Check out the car for yourself. Don’t dismiss a car because it loses a comparison, just take it for someone else’s thoughts. That writer may well have different views on what a perfect car is or may be sponsored by a certain manufacturer. Or the author may be jaded from years of reviewing high end cars.
So take a test drive, go to an auto show or a simple car get together and check out the car in real life.
Tags: GTO
The VW/Audi 1.8t engine is one of the great economical powerplants currently in action right now. It is simply a small turbo-charged 4 cylinder engine that produces decent power while delivering decent fuel economy at the same time.
The 1.8t is probably most famous for its application in the VW GTI, but numerous cars have benefited from the 1.8t engine. These cars include the VW Golf, Jetta, Passat, GLI, Beetle, and the Audi TT and A4. Depending on which car and what year the vehicle was the engine output varied, 180hp is where the 1.8t topped out the in the GTI.
The thing that makes the 1.8t so popular today is its tunability. With a simple chip or tune you can add 35hp and 70lb-ft of torque to the engine for $500. That is a significant percentage of hp gain for the dollar. There are plenty other engine upgrade options for the 1.8t that can realistically end up with a 300hp engine. It is a well built engine that is well suited to supporting the extra power.
The VW GTI and its relatives can be picked up on the used car market for a nice price. You can get a 2005 GTI with 25k-45k miles for around $14,000. It is a fun car stock with a lot of potential.
So if you find yourself hankering for power and nervous about the prospect of $5.00 a gallon gasoline you don’t have to give up power and fun. A little 1.8t powered car may be just the ticket.
Tags: Cars
This past Wednesday Evening my GTO and I partook in a GTO get together that then moved to a local auto meet up all kinds of car enthusiasts. The GTOs actually had the best showing of a single model.
It was a blast meeting other GTO owners and seeing what they are doing with their vehicles on the road to customization. One guy was a week away from his supercharger install another fellow already had his supercharger, albeit it was in his trunk. It was actually some surplus hardware he picked up from a customer.
We got to meet all kinds of car fans, SRT4 guys to Mustang guys, there was a turbo charged NSX and brand new STI.
Next week the GTO attendance at the car meet up may be down due to the fact that several of the guys are going to join me and some friends at work at the drag strip in Denton. So come out for a little test and tune at the Denton drag strip if you are in the area. All cars are welcome and you can run as much as you want. It should be fun times.
Tags: Cars · GTO
There’s that “wind in the hair feeling” that people say they have when they are enjoying their car or motorcycle. I’ve been enjoying that feeling with my new GTO. I don’t think that feeling has anything to do with wind or hair. It is about everything in life lining up and making sense. It is about a time that everything seems right with the world.
It reminds me of the days of driving my first car that I had a hand in selecting. It was a 1979 BMW 320i with a fresh paint job and a few mechanical mods to make it a little quicker than stock. And the 320i needed all the help it can get to get additional power. It was only rated for 110hp and 157lb ft from the factory, but it was still fun to drive with the famous BMW suspension and a 4 speed manual transmission.
Whenever I would wash my 320i I pop out the rear vent windows roll the windows down and cruise over to pick up my girlfriend. All was right the world. Will Smith did a good job of capturing this feeling in his song “Summertime”.
Now I have another car that bring that feeling with simple 2nd gear scratch brought forth from the LS2 V8 overpowering the rear tires.
Get a car you love. Get a car that is fun to drive to you. Get a car that makes every trip a chance to get that magical “wind in your hair feeling”. How you define fun to drive is up to you and there are plenty of cars to match whatever your definition of fun to drive is, whether it is style over performance or fun to drive in the twisties or high mpgs or ultimate power. Figure what is fun to you and starting enjoying your ride every time you get to drive it.
Tags: 320i · BMW · Cars · GTO · Pontiac
Today I was asked to find a fun car with the following parameters. More space than a Carolla, less than $15k and fewer than 15,000 miles, fun to drive and something that can be driven 100-300 miles a day.
Once again I find myself recommending a Saab to fit the bill. Saab has benefited from its strategic partnering with GM and Subaru. The COTD is the Saab 9-2x or the Saabaru.
The 9-2X Aero is a basically a Subaru Impreza WRX wagon given the Saab refinement. I’ve been a big fan of the WRX since it first came out. It is a value and performance leader. You get 227 turbo-charged horses with AWD. The nice thing about the Saab version of the WRX is a smoother ride and a much nicer interior treatment.
If $4 gas is making you put a car’s MPG rating on top of the performance list there was even a non-turbocharged 9-2x Linear. It has a 2.5 liter boxer 4 cylinder engine that produces a respectable 165hp and gets 20/27mpg on regular pump gas while still retaining the fun to drive aspect of the car.
If you’re looking for a car with a bit more storage than your average economy car, way more luxury and sport than any economy car, while still getting economy car MPG performance the Saab 9-2x Linear is the car for you. If you want a bit more power look at the 9-2x Aero.
Tags: 9-2x · Cars · Saab · Subaru
July 4th, 2008 · Comments Off on CarTest 2000 – Racing Simulator
Racing cars is an expensive hobby. Reading magazine comparisons help fill the void of racing, but you can only read what is written. What do you if you want to race any kind of car? What about racing your old car vs your new car?
The answer is car racing simulation software. I use a program called CarTest200. http://www.cartestsoftware.com/cartest2000/index.html
With a trip to the track and simulation software, you can dial in your actual times with the virtual version of your car that you can preserve the true performance of your car and use for testing against any other car that you think of. The CarTest software comes with a database of over 2000 cars. It also allows you to build or program in any car as long as you have the specs required to build the car.
Once you have a time slip from a drag strip you properly dial in your car and calculate your car’s exact stats. For example, my 8.76 1/8 time is good enough for a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds.
The other fun thing about the CarTest software is you can virtually “mod” your car. How much faster would your car be with 30hp? How much faster would your car be if it weighed 100lbs less? You can edit almost any parameter of the car and the environment, even the outside temperature.
Simulators are just that, simulators and aren’t always 100% accurate, there are anomalies that can effect some stats. For best results you can match up actual time slips with specific cars to get that exact level of accuracy.
Tags: Cars
Today I saw first Dodge Challenger in real life. It was at a Dodge dealership. The Challenger sat in the dead center of showroom. It was black and beautiful.
The Dodge Challenger SRT8 is a 425hp retro muscle car powered by a 6.1liter hemi V8 and is one of the most anticipated revivals of a great muscle car since the release of the 2005 Mustang.
Dodge chose to release the hot-rodded up SRT8 first. Normally a manufacturer will save the release of their high-powered model until a year or two in the production cycle. Not so with the Challenger. If you would like a normal 5.7 hem V8 or even a V6 in your Challenger you will have to wait a year or so until those models are released.
Back to the black Challenger I saw today. The Challenger is even better looking real life and at a MSRP of $40k is a fair price for a 425hp time machine to the muscle car glory years.
However, $41k wasn’t the final sticker price on the window of the SRT8. There was a significant market adjustment added to the sticker. It was an adjustment of $23,900! That “market adjustment” is more than I paid for my own 400hp GTO.
This “market adjustment” sends reasonably priced Challenger SRT8 from $40k to $64,000. And that is waaaayyyyyy too much. Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge have plenty of other SRT8 vehicles that you can your hands on for $20,000 less or even more if you look to the used car market.
The Challenger has been Car of the Day for me in the past and it may be again someday when they gently used Challengers start hitting the used car market.
Tags: Cars · Challenger · Dodge · SRT8
