auto enthusiast: Lane's Newest Toy... CCotD - 09/01/11 11:43 PM
It is NO secret around here that I am a Car Guy. I guess that would be why I am THE Garage Guy, too. For the last 4+ years one thing I have had NO problem being transparent about is my love of things automotive. Here on this blog, as well as my blog, LaneBailey.com, and my website, GarageHomesUSA.com, I have written numerous posts about cars, garages and cool tools.
Recently, I started a blog solely targeted to other car lovers. It is called CoolCaroftheDay.com. And because I seem to be a glutton for punishment, I also created a network of … (2 comments)
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auto enthusiast: Wayback Wednesday... Car Show THIS Weekend... - 05/05/11 12:33 AM
Image by lane.bailey via Flickr Kind of odd that for a "Wayback" post I would talk about an upcoming car show... But the show happens around the first Saturday in May each year... and so THIS Saturday is the day.
Smokerise Baptist Church is having their 11th Annual Smokerise Car Show on Saturday from 9am until 3pm. Registration runs from 9am until Noon... so there might be a few cars that don't show up until late. Judging runs from Noon until 3pm.
And check out this link for pictures from last year's show. There were some pretty cool rides on hand... … (2 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concept Cars... Part L... - 04/27/11 10:52 PM
I have been busy over on my other blog, plugging away writing 6 posts a week... And I have been working on this series for about a year. There are only 3 more to go (L = Roman Numeral 50). Come on over and see what I'm up to over there...
Image via Wikipedia I previously wrote about a diesel-electric RV... and the natural extension from that would be a diesel-electric semi. After all, it is the power supply of trains.
Yep... diesel powered trains are actually hybrids, and they always have been. The diesel engine powers a generator producing electricity. … (2 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XLII - 02/13/11 10:28 PM
It is a time honored tradition among car companies... and it makes a lot of financial sense. Build cars with similar components. If they can dive into the parts bin instead of designing a new piece from the ground up, they can save a lot of money. Everything from floor architecture to minor switchgear may be shared among cars.
Image via Wikipedia A great example of this is with Chrysler. The Charger, Magnum, 300 and Challenger all have the same underpinnings... suspensions, brakes, steering... and also (with a few exceptions) the same engine and transmission offerings. In the case of the … (1 comments)
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auto enthusiast: Wayback Wednesday... Still Boring? - 02/09/11 09:51 PM
Image via Wikipedia Two whole years ago... Wow, time flies.
I wrote a post about the Top 10 Most Boring Cars. It is one that got a lot of attention off of my blog. I have had a few people comment to me personally about my choices. I still don't know how someone can defend the Camry as being 'non-boring.'
That was a fun list to write. I like writing car posts... There are days that I think I would like to make this whole blog about cars and do my real estate writing elsewhere. I've done a few car posts, … (3 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XLI... - 02/06/11 11:32 AM
Image via Wikipedia If you aren't familiar with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, it is Jeep's best performing off-roader. When it was introduced, it became an instant hit with the enthusiast community. The option list read like the first mods a Jeeper would want to order up:
Dana 44 axles front and rear Selectable, air-actuated locking axles 4:1 low range transfer case... heavy duty, too Heavy duty skid plates Bigger, more aggressive tires Nerf bars to protect the sides And then there is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has been Jeep's most luxurious vehicle since its introduction... and a pretty good performer … (2 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XL... - 01/30/11 11:09 AM
Image via Wikipedia A few years back, when the Miata nameplate was relatively new, someone got the bright idea to drop a 5.0L Ford V8 into one... and then they made a kit, the Monster Miata. But that just wouldn't do for a Concept Car...
But dropping a Mazda Rotary engine, from an RX8 would make sense...
The stock Miata MX-5 is powered by a 167hp I4 engine. It makes about 140 lb-ft of torque and redlines at 7200rpm. The RX-8 rotary, on the other hand, makes 232hp and 159 lb-ft torque and redlines at 9000rpm. More importantly, the rotary has … (1 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXXIX... - 01/23/11 11:46 PM
Image via Wikipedia Chevy has been building Suburbans since 1935. It is THE longest surviving nameplate in the world. And Suburbans are ubiquitous. They have been built by Chevy, GMC, Holden (GM's Australian division) Chevrolet Mexico and Chevrolet Brazil... even Cadillac has a version.
In general, Suburbans have evolved into two variants, seriously luxurious and robust working trucks. In the past, there was also a really cool panel wagon version.
What I would like to see is an expansion of the robust working truck side of the equation, with two unique vehicles... they would be almost the same, except one would … (3 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concept Cars... Part XXXVIII - 01/18/11 10:26 PM
Image by Chad Horwedel via Flickr You can buy a Mustang GT Convertible. You can buy a Camaro SS Convertible. You can't buy a Challenger SRT-8 Convertible... and that is just wrong.
It is seriously wrong. Let's change that.
Chrysler Group should be penning up a Challenger SRT-8 Convertible as we speak. The new 2011 Challenger has a new 392ci engine (6.4L for those so inclined)... it kicks out 470hp. The old one (if you want to call 2010 "old") put out a measly 425hp.
It has the styling almost straight off the page from the 1970 Challenger... but lacks the … (2 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concept Cars... Part XXXVII... - 01/10/11 09:00 PM
Image by Chad Horwedel via Flickr Son, you're going to drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln.
Back before World War II, the hottest, most powerful cars were luxury cars. Cadillac and Lincoln were in a power war with 8 cylinder, 12 cylinder and finally 16 cylinder engines... Meanwhile, in Europe, Bentley was supercharging... as were some of their competitors.
Even into the 1960s, Cadillacs and Lincolns were topping each other in engine displacement with Cadillac finally overtaking Lincoln's 462 with a 513CI engine.
So let's build a new one...
The Lincoln Town … (1 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concept Cars... Part XXXVI... - 01/02/11 03:38 PM
Image via Wikipedia In 1963, Chevy built some of the rarest Corvettes ever. There were 125 planned, but only 5 were actually built... They were the Corvette Grand Sports. And they had some impressive specs.
Thinner fiberglass panels to reduce weight 377 aluminum small block with side draft Weber carbs making 550hp The frame was made of lighter steel tubes, but retained the same rigidity Aerodynamic touches to help correct the car trying to get light at high speeds While there was a little racing success with one of the cars that was raced in SCCA events, the cars couldn't compete … (6 comments)
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auto enthusiast: Flashback Friday... Turn on the Signal... - 12/31/10 05:47 PM
Image via Wikipedia Last year I started a series of posts, cheerleading for "American" car companies. I have never meant to be their cheerleader. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that I was on the opposite side of the fence. Some folks that have known me for a while asked what changed...
American Cars Got Better... 30 years ago, there was a chant from some circles telling us to "Buy American". But, American cars mostly sucked. Seriously. Go look at what was being offered by GM, Chrysler and Ford in 1980. Is there anything you'd want to own? Now look … (0 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concept Cars... Part XXXV - 12/26/10 12:12 PM
Image via Wikipedia In 1984-88, Pontiac built the only mid-engine production car in the US... the Pontiac Fiero. It was "sold" to the accountants at GM as a commuter car. It was light, reasonably inexpensive, and with the 2.5L 'Iron Duke' 4 cylinder it got up to 40mpg on the highway.
Enthusiasts saw the space frame with the plastic panels, light weight and slick looks as a great platform to build on. But there was a MAJOR problem...
The suspension truly sucked. The front suspension was largely raided from the parts bin of the lowly Chevette. The rear suspension was basically … (3 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXXIV - 12/19/10 08:01 PM
Image by camknows via Flickr Before you know it, Christmas will be here... and gone. So, since many of us still have trips to the store to help Santa deliver the goods, I thought it might be fun to hot rod Santa's Sleigh... Let's think about this for a minute. That sleigh HAS to be a pretty technologically advanced piece of hardware. It carries a MASSIVE amount of toys, is incredibly fast and has a planet-eating range.
Let's cover the load, first...
In order to keep the size and weight manageable, maybe we could install a cross dimensional portal in the … (3 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXXII... - 12/05/10 10:51 PM
Image via Wikipedia Gran Prix... and I'm not talking about Pontiacs, here.
The absolute beginnings of motorsport are rooted in Gran Prix (or Grand Prix) racing... and those roots date back to the 1890s, with the point to point road races, like Paris to Rouen. Shortly after that, circuit racing came into vogue, but there were still races like the Paris-Madrid, Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia.
GP racing was THE top of the pile until Formula 1 came along. And the coolest thing about GP racing was that the cars were basically road cars. The had two seats (and a … (1 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXXI - 11/28/10 10:22 PM
Image via Wikipedia The first cars mostly shared something in common. They were largely built by coach builders... the guys that built horse drawn coaches. In fact, a luxury car was usually ordered as nothing but a chassis with an engine, and perhaps the hood and front fenders. The rest of the bodywork and the interior was hand built by a coach builder. Companies like Cadillac, Lincoln, Chrysler and others primarily built chassis for very high end clients. It wasn't until later that they introduced standardized models.
For a while in the 1920s and 1930s (in some cases, as late as … (0 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXX - 11/25/10 11:27 PM
Image via Wikipedia We all love limos, right? When we see one, we wonder who might be in the back... is it a couple that just got married? Maybe it is a prom couple. Could it be a celebrity? It might be a "titan of industry". There are loads of possibilities...
For a long time, the American manufacturers built factory limos. These weren't 200" stretches, by any measure. But, they were extended wheelbase luxury sedans... Lincolns, Cadillacs and the odd Chrysler Imperial. But, they have pretty much cut that out. Now, about the only way to get a stretched sedan is … (1 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXIX - 11/14/10 09:07 PM
Image via Wikipedia For a very long time, pick-up trucks were very basic and focused vehicles. They were designed to carry stuff... and stuff they couldn't carry, they dragged. They weren't:
Cushy Stylish Expensive Diversified Instead, pick-up trucks were spartan vehicles that were powerful, and utilitarian. They had slippery bench seats with all of the support of a church pew. And since early trucks didn't have seat belts, the bus sized steering wheel doubled as a convenient hand-hold during cornering.
Oddly, I think that trucks need to get back to their roots... at least a little bit.
The major manufacturers … (5 comments)
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auto enthusiast: 53 Cool Concepts... Part XXVIII - 11/10/10 10:39 PM
Image via Wikipedia I love Rally Cars... They look like hot hatchbacks that you can run to the dealership and buy. Subaru WRX STis, Mitsubishi Evos and Ford Focus RSs... as well as cars that aren't sold in the US like Citroens, Skodas and Peugots.
But, Rally Cars are just cool... Too much power and incredibly light weight. All wheel drive.
Not only are they incredibly tough, but they are also very versatile, racing on surfaces from dirt to gravel to tarmac to snow.
Subaru and Mitsubishi have leveraged their Rally presence into VERY powerful brands. The WRX STi and Evo … (2 comments)
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auto enthusiast: Cool Concepts = Hard Work... - 11/07/10 12:16 AM
Image via Wikipedia This is a tough series... Here I am, up to 27 parts in the 53 part series, and I am having trouble coming up with cars and concepts week after week...
Let's see if I can tough it out.
But, there is a good part to a series like this, too. I can write the posts ahead of time and schedule them to go out on the blog. And that seems to push me to write... and not just the car series, but also the rest of the content for the blog.
So, if you have any ideas, … (3 comments)
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