Automotive Blogs (377)

Hello friends,
No India made product can be compared to a product from Japan, U.K. USA, Switzerland, because of its quality of functionality, usefulness and long lasting qualities. Raw materials used in a foreign product are better, technology used is better and functionality world class.Indian product is like a beggar, beginning a begging culture of recolonization, appreciation and looks.
A foreign product looks beautiful, works flawlessly and lasts a lifetime. To top the list is the marketability of the product, it is done by ads. in TVs, hoardings and free gifting to its users.
A mess has been created in the automobile market, especially in Electric Vehicles (EV), giving a tough competition to US based Tesla Electric vehicles in terms of price. Some Indian companies like Tata has come out with an electric vehicle priced below 10 lakhs rupees.But Tata is wrong as well as right. In India, price is everything in life. It may be a loaf of bread or an expensive Diamond from a Jeweler. Tata has to think on another point and that is manufacturing. A foreign car is better manufactured than an Indian car.You cannot compare a Fiat car with a German Mercerize Benz.
So watch out for the foreign products in Indian market.
Manohar Bhatia.

California air regulators are set to vote Thursday on a historic plan that would effectively require all new cars sold within the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035 — a ruling that would put the nation’s most populous state in the forefront of phasing out internal combustion engines and the harmful, planet-warming gasses they emit.

If approved, the regulations are expected to significantly reduce vehicle carbon dioxide emissions, as well as smog-forming nitrogen oxides over the next two decades. It could also lead the way in transforming America’s aging fleet of gasoline-powered automobiles.

“The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. “California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035. It’s ambitious, it’s innovative, it’s the action we must take if we’re serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations.”

The proposed rules would establish a credit system for automakers supplying California car dealerships and take effect in 2026. In that year, 35% of all new cars an auto manufacturer sells to California dealerships would need to be either zero-emission, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen-powered vehicles. That would increase to 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035.

Read more:

He's been sentenced to 5 days in jail and 3 years of probation in DUI charges.
Happy now?



Right, not enough punishment.

I'm cleaning up bookmarks and came across a story about an electric car with airplane capabilities. The story said it's 14 years in the making and going through it's next series of tests. In July, the FAA determined it was safe for flight testing.

Expected to retail for $170,000 when it hits the market and the reserve list is up to 1,600. A deposit of $2,000 is due within 45 days after the first vehicle takes flight.

I've seen lots of 'Popular Mechanics' reviews of flying cars... dating back to when I was a kid. I'm skeptical as I cannot recall any makers who have viable aircraft for sale.

Always reading the comments, I found some interesting details, like requiring a pilots license, insurance for both a car and airplane, needing expensive safety avionics not mentioned in the story, only able to fly in or out of FAA certified airports, only certified A&P mechanics are allowed to work on the vehicle. Not one comment I read had anything positive to say about the Switchblade.

Big on hype, bigger on B.S.

Since you can only take off and land from an airport, the dream of flying out of snarled traffic isn't going to happen.
Maybe the prototype will get used in the next Mad Max movie!


Links:

COVID knocked out car manufacturing worldwide. New cars, factory parts, after-market parts. Everything.
If you were lucky enough to 'get in line' for a new car, the wait (in the beginning) was months. Because of this, the value of used cars went up.

No secret here. It's supply & demand. Cars that are 3 years old selling for the same price as when they were new.

I don't 'need' a car, but I've been eyeing the market and shopping for a 'future car' as the one I currently own should easily last 10 years, I'm just considering something a little larger.

Visiting a dealer for a model I wanted to test drive, they only had one to demo. It's not for sale. They are taking orders on it that are approximately 6 to 8 weeks out depending on the color and options.

I asked the price and was told some 'strange code' like 6250. I asked what is a 6250 and the salesman mumbled something. Figuring where he was going, I clearly asked "Are you charging $6,250 over sticker price" his response was "It's negotiable"

An associate of mine sold cars and told me the hottest SUV right now is the KIA TELLURIDE at a sticker price of over $42,000.
Currently, there are bidding wars with people paying over $10,000 sticker just to get one!

I went to the KIA site to check availability, but I was unable to get information on this model. It's not found in inventory for all the local dealerships.

At some point, chips and cars will become available and the demand for new cars will diminish. Those inflated used-car prices will begin to level out too. That means (just like house buying) if you paid too much for a car now, in a few years your devalued used car price will be giving you sticker shock!

I caught a local news story about the driver of a Lamborghini who was speeding and ran a stop sign. He was T-boned by a Nissan SUV that caused the Lamborghini to flip an land on a house.

A mistake in the reporting:
(1:45 seconds) "the person in the 2nd car who was hit by the Lamborghini..."
No lady HE hit the Lamborghini, not the other way around.

The driver of the Lamborghini fled the scene, which is a felony in the state of Florida.





Link to Yahoo story:

Truck tires are treated differently than car tires. Car tires usually get discarded or chopped and recycled into other rubber products. Big truck tires for 18-wheelers are more expensive and get recapped when worn. The process takes a worn tire and puts a new layer of tread shaped and glued to the original core. The process is safety approved, but not perfect. Sometimes, the entire retread tire belt begins to delaminate, bits shred off and breaks loose from the tire core. Considering the numbers of trucks on the roads and you've done highway driving, you've probably seen parts of truck tires on the roadway.

While driving on the highway a few weeks ago, the car adjacent to me hit some shredded pieces of truck tire that flew up and hit the front of my car just under the bumper and grill. One piece was so large that it flipped around the tire and pulled away some of the cowling in the wheel well.

I reported this to the Highway Patrol and also my insurance company who assigned it to an authorized body shop near me. Dropping my car off, they arranged the rental company to pick me up to get a rental car covered under my insurance plan.

I'm into a Toyota Camry this week that's got 46,000 miles and very acceptable as a rental. I did a short highway trip and was totally surprised to be getting 41 miles per gallon! It didn't have all the features that my car has (like map & GPS, mirror warning lights when cars are approaching on my blind spot, keyless entry) but my last car didn't have those features either.

This week I've got several outside appointments and should be okay with gas mileage.

I pulled up a YouTube video of the process used to retread truck tires. The part I didn't like is the seam where the join at the wrap. Until I saw the video, I would have expected the entire recap to be one seamless piece pulled over the old core. It's deemed as a safe process.

About 9 weeks ago local gas prices peaked. Have you noticed? Prices appear to be going down sharply. Last month, some stations near the highway were a little over $5 per gallon while the cheaper stations were peaking around $4.79 to $4.85

I had business in the Hollywood area Wednesday and pleased to see a few stations as low as $4.17 per gallon for cash. I passed the opportunity and got gas in Fort Lauderdale for $4.27 I live in Palm Beach County and cheap gas was around $4.29 today.

A friend who has a membership with BJ's Club got gas on Friday and paid $3.89. That's a dollar less per gallon than he was paying in June!

Typically in the summer months, gas prices rise just when people go on vacation.
Since no one I know has the ability to control the price of oil as it gets to the refineries, all we can do for now is shop around.
There are a few phone apps that monitor gas prices so you can see who has the best price in your area.

Hopefully this is going to be a downward trend making consumers happy!

I pulled up a 6 month chart from the website gasbuddy to confirm my suspicion and the national average was $5.02 on June 12 and $4.40 on July 22. Yes, going down.



Link:


The inspiration for this blog was another blog that stated fuel prices were skyrocketing, as in presently happening. That wasn't factual. Prices peaked weeks ago. It made a claim from outdated information as prices were declining. Since I posted this blog, the other blog title was changed and now compares it with a previous administration and that Biden supporters being happy with the high price of fuel.
Was it something I said?
(title edited because some people mistakenly thought I said gas prices were a dollar a gallon. I said they dropped a dollar a gallon) But that's okay, you can still complain about it.

A driver’s education teacher in Iowa dies in crash when his 14 year old listed as a 'StreetSmarts Driver’s Ed student overcorrected when entering the shoulder of a highway, crashing with an oncoming SUV.

The 71 year old teacher was pronounced dead at the scene and others were taken to a hospital with injuries.

Maybe 14 is too young to learn to drive.



Story link:

Czinger 21C is a 950 horse power hybrid sports car built with many 3D printed parts. Only 80 are planned for Q1, 2023.