Those of us who grew up in the 60s remember the original muscle car era and ads for the Shelby GT 350 were just part of the landscape. Road racing performance for $4547.00. Quite a deal.
Full ad and text below: [click to continue…]
GM has issued a huge recall for over 850,000 model year 2006, 2007 and 2008 SUVs and pickup trucks equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system for a short circuit problem on a printed circuit board. Please see details below for specific models and years involved.
Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Models affected:
BUICK / ENCLAVE 2008
BUICK / LUCERNE 2006-2008
CADILLAC / DTS 2006-2008
CADILLAC / ESCALADE 2007-2008
CADILLAC / ESCALADE ESV 2007-2008
CADILLAC / ESCALADE EXT 2007-2008
CHEVROLET / AVALANCHE 2007-2008
CHEVROLET / SILVERADO 2007-2008
CHEVROLET / SUBURBAN 2007-2008
CHEVROLET / TAHOE 2007-2008
GMC / ACADIA 2007-2008
GMC / SIERRA 2007-2008
GMC / YUKON 2007-2008
GMC / YUKON XL 2007-2008
HUMMER / H2 2006-2008
SATURN / OUTLOOK 2007-2008
NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V441000
Potential Units Affected: 857735
Problem: GM is recalling 857,735 model year 2006-2008 Buick Lucerne; Cadillac DTS; Hummer H2; model year 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe; GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL, Saturn Outlook; and model year 2008 Buick Enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Corrective Action: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080; Cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; Saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, GMC at 1-866-996-9436; or Hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or at MyGMLink, http://www.gm.com/recall.
Racing improves the breed and creates excitement, that’s the idea behind Formula Zero, an organization based in the Netherlands with the ambitious goal of establishing a hydrogen fuel cell racing series. Beginning with fuel cell powered racing karts, they have just begun racing at the student edition level where teams from top universities compete. The initial race in Rotterdam on August 23rd, 2008, was won by Greenchoice-Forze race team from the Technical University of Delft.
The next phase, planned for 2011, will be larger cars competing in their street or city edition where races will be held on street circuits in cities around the world. The final phase, planned for 2015, will be the circuit edition where major manufacturers will compete on regular race tracks. [click to continue…]
It’s no secret the big 3 are in deep financial straits and they’re entertaining all options to generate cash, offload slow movers and concentrate on their core business. In line with this thinking, Chrysler just announced they’re considering the sale of the Dodge Viper. CEO Bob Nardelli said they were approached by interested parties inquiring if the Viper might be available and Chrysler has agreed to listen.
According to Nardelli:
“Viper is an integral part of this Company’s heritage. While this is a strategic review, our intent would be to offer strong operational and financial support during any potential transaction, in order to ensure a future for the Viper business and perpetuate the legacy of this great vehicle.”
Link: Automotive News registration required
Last year we wrote about Robert Q. Riley’s XR-3 hybrid project, a diesel plug in hybrid you can build from plans. The XR-3 prototype is now on the road and I have to admit, I like the looks of it. It’s a reverse trike configuration 3 wheeler with diesel power going to the front wheels and an electric motor for the rear wheel. The full diesel electric hybrid system can exceed 200 mpg. The 2 power systems are separate, though, which means you can build the diesel only version first and add the electric power later if you wish, keeping the cost down and still getting over 100 mpg. The 1480 pound hybrid accelerates like a normal car and tops out at 80 mph.
Riley specifically wanted great styling to give this high efficiency vehicle a fun personality and I think he’s hit the mark, it really looks cool.
Construction:
The prototype was built using the foam composite construction method, however, kits are in the works which will include pre-made body panels and a pre-welded frame assembly. The drive train options allow you to use various diesel engines and electric motors and you can use lead acid batteries in place of the Lithium Ion units to reduce cost. With this modular approach, the exact combination of pieces and parts gives the builder a lot of flexibility.
The canopy and front of the body can be removed to give complete engine access, the canopy has a steel tube perimeter frame for strength and there’s a composite roll bar in the body and foam filled sections in the front and on the sides for impact protection.
Costs:
Building a duplicate of the prototype might run about $25,000, a diesel only version about $10,000 but costs will vary depending on what you have available and what specific parts are chosen. No price yet on the kits.
In this period of transportation in transition where high fuel costs are causing many to rethink their vehicle options, the XR-3 shows one path that is visually appealing and technically interesting, plus it has a lot of hands on high tech appeal to the build it yourself crowd. I like it!
Photo and video below: [click to continue…]
BMW has issued a recall for the 2006 3 Series, 2004-2006 5 Series and 2004-2006 X3 for a problem with their air bags. Please read the details carefully for which model years apply to each model.
Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Model Year: 2004, 2005,2006
Models affected:3 Series, 5 Series, X3
NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V384000
Potential Units Affected: 200000
Problem: BMW is recalling 200,000 model year 2006 3 Series sport seat, model year 2004-2006 5 Series standard and sport seat, and model year 2004-2006 X3 passenger vehicles. Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger’s entry and exit, small cracks have developed in the mat. If this occurs, the front passenger air bags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag “on-off” lamp will be illuminated. In this situation the front passenger air bags will not deploy even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur and occupant protection provided by the system would not be possible.
Corrective Action: Dealers will rework the front passenger seat sensor mat so that external force application to the seat does not cause a crack to the mat. The recall is expected to begin during late september 2008. BMW will also extend the warranty on these vehicles to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.
About 40 percent of the energy from gasoline or diesel fuel is wasted as exhaust heat. If you can convert some of that heat to electricity, it can provide electric power for automotive accessories, relieving some of the burden from the engine resulting in better fuel economy. The device that performs this conversion is a thermoelectric generator and GM has been working on developing one to either assist or even replace the vehicle’s alternator.
Installed on a Chevy Suburban, it could improve mileage by 5 percent, on a smaller car, even more. The goal is to increase mileage by 10 percent which, according to GM, could save 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the U.S. alone. Another great feature is they don’t wear out, there are no moving parts. NASA has been using similar technology for 30 years.
GM prototypes are due to be tested next year and estimates are that thermoelectric generators could be ready for production in about 3 years.
GM is not alone in the field, a BMW supplier is working on thermoelectricity with Ohio State University and BSST, a subsidiary of thermoelectrics supplier Amerigon Inc. is working with Ford Motor Co. to develop climate control systems based on thermoelectrics.
Link: Yahoo News via Next Big Future
Vintage cars are always in demand, the fellow that wants a 67 Mustang, a 57 Chevy or a 69 Camaro will pursue his dream until he gets it but the market is in a state of flux. The less expensive cars below $30,000 and the high end machines above $100,000 are in demand as always but the middle market, the nice cars between those figures are in greater supply right now and the buyer can bid a little less and still get a great car.
Many owners in those categories have taken out equity loans to cover their purchase and the subprime mortgage mess is creating issues, forcing some to put their classic up for sale, at the same time, fewer buyers are able to finance their dream car and sellers can’t locate the ones who are able to come up with the cash. Some sellers are heartbroken when they find they have to sell their car and the buyers aren’t there to pay what it was worth a year ago.
A buyer’s market is actually a great opportunity to pick up some real gems at a nice price but, as always, if you’re buying a vintage car as an investment and nothing more, you should put your money in the bank. Cars are to be enjoyed, if you don’t love them, why buy them in the first place?
Link: Detroit News
Car companies can’t make changes fast enough to suit car buyers. When gasoline made its recent price jump to $4 per gallon, consumers immediately began looking for better mileage, no surprise there, but what can car makers do? Low rolling resistance tires are getting a lot more attention because an existing design can have the tires changed and the suspension re-tuned much faster than waiting for the next new model to hit the roads.
There are trade offs when low rolling resistance tires are used, one of the first is braking distances increase as the rubber grips less. The increased distance can be appreciable and it’s one more indication there aren’t any magic bullets that can dramatically increase mileage overnight.
Many things influence rolling resistance, the tire’s physical construction, for instance, thinner sidewalls and less tread depth, plus the mixture of natural rubber and synthetic materials and fillers is altered. Juggling all of these variables is difficult when your aim is to improve one factor such as rolling resistance while not sacrificing in others such as tire life, wet weather grip or overall handling. Just as light weight cars are smaller and drivers need to get used to that, low rolling resistance tires include differences of their own.
Link: Automotive News (subscription required)
Will the high performance industry adapt quickly enough to stay profitable while gas prices skyrocket? These are trying times for the auto makers, trying to shift practically their entire output to small high mileage cars. Pickups, SUVs and anything with low mileage numbers, performance cars included, are moving very slowly while consumers rush to tiny little econoboxes and hybrids. The secondary impact of this rapidly shifting auto world is the changing market for high performance engines and parts. If your business relies on the demand for 500 cubic inch crate engines, you’ll need to widen your horizons, fast.
Not long ago, rising gas prices were met with smaller engines and a big block specialist could simply transfer his work to high output 4 cylinder engines while he waited for the prices to come back down. That route still exists but gas prices, though they may drop in the future, may go down slowly and not all that far. The shift may signal the need to retool the performance industry toward a future of new technology.
If the auto industry can teach the aftermarket anything it’s the danger of waiting too long before recognizing the signs of a real shift in demand. Sure, turbos and nitrous and other old school standbys will work for a while, but, the companies that develop workable high performance hybrid systems or electric motor replacements for that 10 mpg engine or even something else we can’t think of at the moment, will have a leg up on those other companies waiting to see what the automakers do. A lot of individuals and businesses are already moving in this direction but the names are all new, it’s not the same guys you recognize as you flip through the pages of Hot Rod.
There will always be a high performance industry, as soon as you have 2 of anything, you’ll pretty quickly have a race, but what will the new evolving industry look like? Who will survive and prosper? Who will cling to the old ways and fade away? This is going to get interesting.
