Most Viewed Automotive Blogs (377)

I see Florida lawmakers are proposing a bill that prohibits continuous driving in the left lane. We already have slower traffic to be in the right lane, that would force most of the driving to be in the center lane. Trucks occupy that lane, so it doesn't sound like a good law as it restricts us to one lane creating congestion with blocked view maneuvering around trucks and slower traffic.

C'mon Florida lawmakers, take a ride on the Turnpike and you will see what I'm talking about.

My car has a front radar used in the safety system for Forward Obstruction Warning (FOW) and Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC) but sometimes the system gives a failure warning. I called Mazda USA and spoke to someone in customer relations who says they have no records of this happening to my model or others.
Last month, I dropped the car off for it's first service and told the service adviser about the failures and showed him photos of the warnings that appeared on the dashboard display.
He did a search and said there's nothing in history of this happening to any other vehicles.

Since they need to put the car to a test drive to try to reproduce the problem, I need to schedule an appointment for them to have the car at lease 2 days and arrange a (free) loaner. While I can make arrangements, I wasn't real sure about them being able to find the trouble. For me it starts while I'm on the highway and it's raining happening about 80% of the time.

I spoke to a friend who used to work at a car dealer and he asked "Did you Google it?"

Pretty simple and I found a few Mazda Tech sites where people post questions and get responses from other car owners. I found EXACTLY what I was looking for. It appears on my model and several others current and dating back a few years. Not a new problem.

At this point, I now have the ammunition I need to get back to the dealer for something that should already know about. Making my point, I'll send the service manager some links that explain the issue, with photos so they can get to the source quickly.

Thanks Google!

Volkswagen has introduced an electric minibus that on the outside has the resemblance to their vehicles from the 1960's. Named the ID. BUZZ, it's currently only available in Europe.

A larger and more powerful version is expected to arrive in America sometime in 2024.

Priced at over $79,000 I think VW will have a difficult time finding a market for this vehicle.





Yahoo link:

Nearly all my my cars were in the economy class having manual transmissions. The last group had a Toyota Celica 1.2 liter engine with 5-speed, Hyundai Veloster 1.2 liter with a 6-speed. Four years ago, I switched to a Toyota Corolla with a 2.0 liter engine and automatic transmission. That was different in many ways as it had a Sport Mode. What did it do? Change the gear ratio so the power band made the car quicker in acceleration. It didn't change the horsepower and it didn't affect the steering or suspension.
I only used it a few times. The car had to be at a standstill when changing modes.

My current car a Mazda M3 also has automatic transmission. Equipped with a 2.5 liter engine and sport mode.
In normal mode going 45mph the engine runs 1200rpm. Fast acceleration doesn't redline.
In sport mode going 45mph the engine it's doing nearly 3000rpm and fast acceleration redlines at 6500 rpm. By no means it's a race car, but the modes can be changed 'on the fly' so if I need to slam the accelerator to do a quick move, it's available.

What sport mode doesn't do on this car is change the suspension or steering.
I've read there are some cars in a higher classification (more expensive SUV's) that have economy, normal, sport modes that also affect the steering and suspension where the overall performance in each mode is different.

I used to drive more than 30,000 miles per year and changed cars every 3 to 4 years, just around the time expensive mechanical problems would start. I'm doing less than 20,000 a year now and hope I can keep cars longer. The last purchase was more for seating comfort and the rear storage is slightly taller/bigger.

Sport mode appears to be standard on all the cars I had shopped for, but it's something I will rarely use. However, something I often use is to back shift/down shift that simulates a manual transmission that doesn't need a clutch. So, coming off the highway, I can back shift to slow my speed and since it's all wheel drive, the car stays level where the front wheel drive cars sometimes 'lunge' and the nose dips.
That feature I like!

I'll wager that the entire world is involved in some form of road construction from a busy metropolis, main highway through America to the most remote village in Africa with only a few paths made from dirt. They are all making developments that affect the normal flow until the new work is completed.

I know in South Florida they could be near completion of a 3-year project and realize it wasn't enough to handle the growth and after, tear up new roads to make changes under a new plan. They only do the contracted work approved by the state (DOT) Department of Transportation.

I'll never forget, they created an 'Express Lane' that was metered by how many miles you traveled on it. It had poles every few feet that separated it from the normal travel lanes. Shortsightedness and the dedicated lane passed the exit to the Fort Lauderdale airport. It didn't take long to realize their mistake, except they didn't provide a merge lane and you had to pass the airport by a few miles to leave the Express Lane.
Morons.

One really busy intersection near me had 2 left turn lanes leading to another road with 2 lanes that merged into one. It appears they are widening the crossroad so the 2nd turn lanes can continue without merging. This work started months ago. While that area is under construction with a single turn lane, it didn't occur to them that only 5 or 6 cars can get through the intersection with the timing of the light. That means a line of about 50 cars are always waiting to make a left turn and it takes several signal changes before getting through the intersection. So many, that it blocks the cars going straight.

Hey! DOT, I've got a suggestion... reprogram the turn lane light to stay on 15 to 20 seconds more than it's doing, so more cars can pass through the intersection.

It's not 'rocquet' science.

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I was waiting at a red light yesterday when a guy in an SUV pulled along side of me. The music coming out of his vehicle was so loud, it was making my car thump. I didn't know the (hip-hop) song, but I could clearly hear the lyrics from inside my car with the windows rolled up and the a/c on high.
A friend of a friend owned a car stereo shop who did custom work. By word of mouth, people came from miles for him to install some HUGE systems. Most upgraded car sound systems have special speakers and a sub bass box in the trunk that only plays the low notes.
Some background:
It's usually stated the range of human hearing is 20 to 20,000 HZ (hertz or cycles per second) and there are many factors that affect those numbers. loud sounds for example. Industrial workers in high noise environments are required to use hearing protection. The guys at airports who direct jets into the gate wear noise reducing protection. Loud sounds without hearing protection will accentuate hearing loss. Ask any Heavy Metal musician if he's got hearing loss and their first response could be "Huh?"

SPL is the acronym for Sound Pressure Level and there are metering devices for measuring pressure. I've always heard sound pressure is measured in decibels for music loudness and for the purpose of this blog, any pressure musical or not, is considered the same. Sub-octave sounds below the threshold of human hearing are felt more than actually heard and can be described as pulsating air.

So what's the purpose of a 5,000 watt sound system in your SUV?
It doesn't follow logic, but in certain circles there is status for having 'more bass' much the same as someone on a Saturday night doing racing with the fastest car or the most horsepower.

The shootout is a competition event where vehicles are 100 yards (or more) from the judge who has a decibel meter. They play their best sound with hope of generating more SPL's at the greatest distance.



This style of competitive volume isn't limited to the United States, as many of the photos I've seen are from enthusiasts in European countries.

Because of the high power current draw, the vehicles have to be equipped with several alternators and batteries to generate sufficient wattage.