Ever wish you could go back in time and buy that special muscle car that all the collectors are after? Perhaps you want a Hemi Cuda with a 427.
There is some good news from the Chrysler Corporation. Dodge has a killer new car that is out right now.The Dodge Challenger is the modern revival of the great muscle car from years past.
It is retro-cool and has modern power.
This bad boy is the SRT8 flavor and if you know anything about SRT8’s they come packing a 6.1 liter V8 engine that is good for 425hp.It can cover a ¼ mile in 13.2 seconds. This blast from the past can hit 60 in 5 seconds or less.
So you can search your city, county or state far and wide for the cherry muscle car that was new when LBJ was president. You can hope it is a super low mileage example that’s been sitting in an old lady’s garage for the last 30 years. Perhaps you might find your ultimate collectible that has been restored from the frame up. Of course those specimens tend to cost more than many new cars.
So go hunting for the ultra-rare classic collectible or buy the modern one with all the modern techniques. Because no matter how nostalgic you are the facts prove that this modern car would smoke most of the muscle cars for yesteryear.
Ironman is a great film, check it out. There are plenty of places you can read a review of the movie, this isn’t one of them. All I will say is that the movie is worth the price of admission.
Ironman has several great cars in it. There were a couple of sweet Audis that made an appearance: The Audi S5 and the Audi R8.
The R8 is Audi’s new supercar. The downside of a supercar is the six figure price tag.The upside is styling that every valet will respect and park your car up front. The upside is also 420hp.And the specific upside for the R8 is a car that can work every day as a daily driver.It is comfortable, reliable, daily driver that’s also fits the bill of a legitimate supercar.
If you can’t get your hands on your very own Ironman suit get an Audi R8 and if you can’t get an R8, try the S5, and if that’s not an option, just watch the Ironman movie.
A former Car of the Day (COTD) was a vehicle I had the pleasure of owning. The requirements for this vehicle were it must be able to tow 5000lbs, carry 4 people and be as fast as possible.
The solution to this challenge was the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Unlimited. By the time I was done tuning out the engine it had over 400lb-ft of torque at the wheels and all wheel drive. It was a beast at a short straight track. Here is some video of it beating a lot of different cars and drivers, including a Corvette!
1998 was the last year of the ZJ Grand Cherokee and the Chrysler executives needed to find a way to inject a bit of life into the final year of Grand Cherokee. They looked around and found that the 360 engine from the Dodge trucks could be crammed into their Jeep. It made for one heck of a sleeper. I have a lot of stories and thoughts about the 5.9 Jeeps and the 5.9 engines in future blogs.
It was the predecessor to the current SRT8 Grand Cherokee and a great car that I am happy I had the opportunity to enjoy for a season.
The Civic Si Sedan is my current COTD. Is the car I want most in the world right now? Not necessarily. However, with gas prices continuing to inch towards $4.00 a gallon I find myself looking for a more economical ride.
Yes, I’m aware that there are cars that get better MPG than the Civic Si, but there is a prerequisite amount of fun or sportiness that a car must possess. The Civic Si Sedan has that “fun” in spades. It has even been called the “poor man’s M3” or even the “economical guy’s M3”.
There is a certain school of thought that says “it is more fun to drive a slow car fast, than to drive a fast car slow”.
Imagine how frustrating it would be to be in a 550hp supercar stuck driving in traffic behind that mini van driver on the cell phone. And then for a quick moment the traffic pattern breaks and you find yourself with a stretch of open road. Well if you can cover a ¼ mile in less than 12 seconds, your temporary window of no traffic will have closed, because you caught up with the next bunch of slow drivers.
The other hazard is blowing past the next municipal revenue gathering spot and the police haul you off to jail and impound your supercar with the “arrest me” red paint job. With that much hp you can end up in serious trouble in just a few seconds.
Again with the 550hp car there is frustration knowing that you aren’t really getting to utilize the full potential of the vehicle due to the local laws. However, if you happen to have a car with a sweet chassis, manual gearbox that is a pleasure to row and a jewel of an engine that loves to sing, but only has 200ish hp, you could really enjoy the potential of what that car has to offer.
There are several cars that fall into my sporty/economic car scenario. However, the COTD for me is the Honda Civic Si Sedan. The Si Sedan has several things going for it. It is a special car. They only come one way, with the most powerful engine ever in a U. S. Civic at 197hp and a great 6-speed transmission. It has upgraded wheels and suspension built on the great Civic platform.
With the Si Sedan you can drive it like an economy car and get nearly 30 mpg or you can drive like you stole it and add a serious dose of fun to your daily commute.
The last time I made a visit to the Honda dealership to admire the Si Sedan, the salesman blasphemed the essence of the Civic Si when he said this “Yeah, it’s a great car, we would sell a ton of these if they came in automatic.” Well, if they came in automatic they wouldn’t be a Civic Si!
I’ve got a lot more to say about this car, but that will be visited in other blogs with the Civic Si ends up as the COTD or in my garage as my actual car.
May 1st, 2008 · Comments Off on Car Of The Day Syndrome
Greetings Interneters! Welcome to the “Car of the Day” Blog. I love cars a lot. I think about cars a lot. Now I can document my thoughts on cars for you to read them.
This journey will be a tour of past and current thoughts on the automotive world.
Car of the Day or COTD is a syndrome or problem (I prefer syndrome) I have where it seems like I want a new car every day.
So over the years I have had a regular rotating list of cars that make it on my COTD list. These cars make it on the list for a number of reasons; they could be fast, cheap, powerful, rare, practical or just plain cool.
I also have scenario COTDs that I choose based on certain set of parameters. I have a number of scenarios that can define what the COTD is. These scenarios include a car with the best mix of fuel economy and sportiness, a scenario where the vehicle can tow a boat, a scenario that the car is the best bang for the buck and many others.
Over the years automotive manufacturers have made numerous cool cars we will revisit cool, rare cars from the past, present and future.
