Friday, July 10, 2009

Tragic Stupidity: Five Die In Canton, MI

Yesterday, a 19 year old idiot with a suspended drivers license tried to beat an Amtrak train, and lost big. His Ford Fusion was struck in the side as he tried to race through the crossing. The barriers were down, and the lights were flashing, and the train was moving at around 60mph. He had 4 others in the car with him, ranging from 14 to 21. Apparently dissatisfied with waiting for the train to come, he raced around a waiting car through the opposing lane, and didn't even slow down to check the crossing. His timing was perfect and lethal.

Detroit news story here.

This photo shows what is left of the Fusion. This is the whole car--it was smashed nearly flat from the side. I can only imagine what a mess it was for the fire and police departments to clean up.

This video was recorded from the security camera of a nearby business.






One of the wise-guys at AR15.com made this, in response to a Facebook memorial page:




It's mean, but I agree with the sentiment. Dan deserves a nomination for the Darwin award for 2009.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Acura TSX the Biggest Competitor of 2010 Honda Accord?


Acura TSX is the one of the trendiest cars designed by Acura/Honda in recent times. During the year 2003, it was available only in Canada and United States whereas the company plans to launch this car in Mexico this year. Honda also plans to replace this model with the previously made Acura RSX.

There are almost three places where this car is manufactured namely Saitama, Sayama and Japan. The basic design of this car is inspired from CL-series Accord. To cover the marketing in Japan, Europe and Australia, the interior design of this car has been changed. TSX has continued sales in North American market alongside the mid-sized Acura TL. The 2008 produced TSX model has a 6-speed manual transmission, four cylinder engine and front wheel drive. This car was launched for the first time in the year 2004.

Just after one year, in 2005 it got updated with various facilities including XM Satellite Radio, Steering Wheel Mounted Audio and four way power passenger seat along with Cruise Controls. There were also some changes made in the 2006 including standard integral Fog Lights, 5 hp power additions to the engine, standard side skirts, sporty looks and more stylist wheels etc. From its safety point of view, Multi-Information Display was added in the instrument panel. Some of the additional facilities include the Bluetooth compatibility and an advanced audio player.

But, looking at the current market, apparently the latest generation Acura TSX might actually turn out to be the biggest competitor of the Honda Accord in those market where both the Honda as well as Acura models are being marketed, especially the North American market.

The Mercedes GLK


The days of the huge, ponderous SUV are over. Not so much because people don't want a sport/utility vehicle, but the one that they are interested in purchasing offers many of the same capabilities in a smaller package.

The compact Mercedes GLK is the newest in a family of sport/utility vehicles that have changed the way people think about Mercedes-Benz. Sure, the safari-like GL remains popular with some buyers while the large ML continues to hold sway in a category where every luxury make has a presence. But the five passenger GLK shows that the same suspension, agility and design afforded to its larger brethren works quite well on a smaller scale.

Smaller Scale, Big Cabin

Although from the outside the Mercedes GLK looks much smaller than it actually is, it is on the inside where buyers learn just how much room is available to them. Head, shoulder and foot room is more than ample and, with two sunroofs, the interior seems even larger.

As expected, the seating in the GLK is at the top of its game. That shouldn't be a surprise to Mercedes devotees, but it is a refreshing change for a vehicle in this segment. Too often a compact SUV sacrifices some comfort in order to keep its price down, but the Mercedes GLK flies against that trend by delivering full luxury without compromise.

Robust Engine, Off Road Capability

Under the hood, the 3.5L V6 engine is paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission, offering the right amount of power and delivering a combined 18 mpg whether you choose the front wheel drive or all wheel drive model. Most customers seem to prefer the latter, giving them the best ride under all sorts of road conditions. And, a pair of off road packages allows drivers to take the Mercedes GLK where its bigger brethren roam, just the sort of option needed to win the mud season wars.

The brake system is yet another area where Mercedes shines, which means that the GLK has a wonderfully short braking distance. Traction control, brake assist and anti-lock brakes work to bring the GLK to a full stop while the SUV's independent front and rear suspension help to keep the Mercedes under the driver's complete control at all times.

Let's Take Out The Boat

In the GLK, Mercedes has also solved a problem that sportsmen have with most compact SUVs - they simply aren't designed with a large towing capacity. But Mercedes configured the GLK to not only perform well on and off road, but to do so while pulling as much as 4400 lbs of boat or camper behind it. Try to find that much towing capability in most compact luxury SUVs and you'll be hard pressed to come up with a comparable package without paying extra for it.

And as expected the Mercedes GLK comes fully equipped with all of the technological gizmos you expect from surround sound audio system, navigation unit, active front head restraints, antitheft alarm system and more - offering perhaps the best blend of safety, security, technology and drivability of any compact luxury sport/utility vehicle on the market.

Max Rossi writes for FCPgroton.com http://www.fcpgroton.com/ a worldwide foreign auto parts distributor. Get European car parts at affordable prices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Max_Rossi

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

UPDATED "Cash For Clunkers": Check If Your Car Qualifies

Updated: I re-did the table with the new data from Edmunds, after NHTSA updated some of their mileage numbers.

Use my handy applet below to look up your car to see if it might qualify for the CARS "cash for clunkers" voucher from the Uncle Sam. This is a list of cars from Edmunds that gets 18 MPG or less and has an expected fair market value of less than about $4,500. Edmunds was kind enough to post the raw data (here) and I massaged it a little and stuffed it into a Google Docs spreadsheet.

You may need to wait a little while for the data to load.

To use the applet, pick your car's age and make from the drop down list.

Update: Edmund's data only goes back to 1990, that's why that 1984 Saab isn't on there. Only cars younger than 25 years old are eligible, so the oldest model year that would qualify would be a 1984.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The 2010 Toyota Camry


The Toyota group revealed the 2010 Toyota Camry model at the North American International Auto Show in the year 2009. The visual changes to the vehicle include front fascia, LED tail lamps, larger head lamps and the new wheel cover designs.

Looking at the luxurious features, Sound system with the USB connectivity and a backup camera is incorporated to the navigation device as well. The newly designed engine 2.5 liter 2AR FE I4 replaces the 4-cylinder models in the non hybrid vehicles, which are now available as either 6-speed automatic transmission or the 6-speed manual transmission.

The powerful 133 kilo watts model and also the Smart key System are available to the Camry SE edition. The vehicle Stability Control is standard on all the Camry grade models. The production of the new 2010 Camry began in the month of January, 2009 and sales started from the month of March. The model was sold in the month of March, 2009 as the model vehicle for the year 2010.

As far as the safety features of the vehicle are concerned, the Camry is equipped with the dual frontal air bags, driver's knee air bag, rear and the front row side curtain air bags and the side torso air bags mounted at the front side. The other safety features in the vehicle include anti lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution, a system to monitor tire pressure and the brake assistance system.

The traction control system and the vehicle stability control are made common in all the 2010 Camry models. The safety of the Toyota Camry is improved by using the ultra high strength steel, which whould be hot stamped to the Camry's center and the front pillars, rocker structures and the roof. The Camry has also gained good rating in the overall impact crash test and the frontal offset safety tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Check out the latest Toyota Camry Pictures and take a tour of the other Toyota Car Pictures here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Geof_Ryan

Hybrid the Environmentally Friendly Car


Not everyone is comfortable with a fuel efficient vehicle that only has two wheels like a moped or a motorcycle. There shouldn't be a push for a person who isn't confident in their ability to operate one to have to do so. This can result in a accident occurring and that isn't worth saving money on fuel costs.

For other people, those types of vehicles just aren't practical. You may have a family so you need to drop the baby at daycare and another child off at school. You can't do that without a regular vehicle.

You may live in an area where it is too cold for most of the year to get any real use out of those two wheeled options even though they are fuel efficient. There is no need to worry though as you do have some really good options.

One of them you have likely heard a great deal about: the hybrid car. This is a type of vehicle that operates using two different fuel sources. One of them is gasoline and the other is either solar power or electricity. With the solar power, there are cells that charge during the day. With the electricity there are batteries that have to be recharged on a regular basis.

Regardless of which one you choose, gasoline will be the back up fuel source. This means when you don't have any more solar power in the cells or any more electricity in the batteries you will switch over to the gasoline that is in your vehicle.

Once you have the opportunity to recharge the main energy source, it will switch back over. You don't have to do anything to get the vehicle to go from one power source to the next. It will be an automatic switch over and it can happen in the middle of your commute to work. You won't lose power in the vehicle so don't worry about the speed limit that you are driving.

A hybrid vehicle is designed to be able to save energy in ways that ordinary vehicles can't. Pushing on the brakes of your vehicle is a common practice. It helps you to slow down when you need to as well as to completely stop your vehicle. In a regular vehicle the braking process results in more fuel being used. This is because they car has to get back to a certain speed and it takes fuel to do so. Hybrids rely on a process known as regenerative braking. Instead of using more fuel you will actually create more energy each time you step on the brakes.

All hybrids also have an automatic shut off sensor. This means when you roll up to a stop sign the engine will completely stop. As soon as you step on the accelerator pedal, it will restart. As a result, the excess idling that adds up and wastes fuel is completely eliminated.

A smaller motor is used in hybrid vehicles so it takes less fuel to give them the necessary power. However, you don't have to worry about not having enough power to go the proper speed limit or anything like that. Some people have a fear that a hybrid car will be slow and that it will just leave them stranded due to not enough energy. This isn't a scenario that will ever become a reality for anyone with a hybrid vehicle.

They are very well made and for years they were researched before offered to the general public. In fact, hybrids were tested by companies all over the world including the various branches of the United States military.

For those individuals who want to continue driving larger sized vehicles, a hybrid can be the perfect solution. There are small vehicles but also the large ones including the Yukon by GMC and the Tahoe by Chevrolet. Both of these were added in 2008 to meet consumer demands. These hybrid vehicles are expensive though and that is what often prevents consumers from buying them.

About the Author

Ready to learn more about Hybrid Cars? Visit The Hybrid Car Website.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Best Audi Performance Parts


If you own an Audi vehicle you are already aware of how Audi performance parts will immediately improve the look and feel of your car. Audi's are some of the most fun cars to upgrade. They are favorite cars for car owners to upgrade and show off. There are many upgrades you can find online from many audi performance parts websites that will give you ideas of what you can purchase to increase the power of your car or simply change it's appearance.

It doesn't matter which Audi car you own, there are a wealth of performance features you can add. There are many auto parts websites on the internet that literally give customers the opportunity to browse through their catalog of performance parts. You may already have in mind the type of upgrade you want to make on your Audi but after viewing an entire online Audi performance parts catalog, I'm sure you will change your mind and buy something better because there are literally thousands of performance parts available for you to see.

It doesn't matter which year or make your Audi is, most online Audi performance parts will carry nearly any part that you're looking for. This is the major difference between online auto parts sites versus offline local parts stores. It is more convenient to find the exact part you need via the internet than visiting local stores in the neighborhood.

Many of these websites offer coupons and savings when you purchase parts from their website. Some websites include free shipping which is a benefit when ordering online. Waiting a few days for your favorite performance part to arrive is nothing when you are receiving a great deal. Many sites are always trying to satisfy customers by offering them the lowest pricing possible, especially compared to offline stores. The best places to purchase audi performance parts is definitely online, you will save time and money.

About the Author

Find Performance Parts For All Audi Models At Audi Performance Parts