Last Commented Automotive Blogs (377)

Jesus christ, must everything be about Trump? I could say something completely random and someone will find a way to mention Trump. It's f*cking ridiculous. It's mind blowing. And my Facebook feed has so much pro/anti Trump crap that I'm at risk of missing the cute cat videos.

I do not study these cars but a Ferrari or a Lamborgini are cars that belong on a race track. It makes sense that expensive sports cars that women go nuts over belong on a race track because they are very fast cars. It really makes sense for a Ferrari or Lamborgini not to have a place on regular roads because they are very fast cars & on regular roads you cannot drive very fast or go over the speed limit. They are stupid cars also because they are very expensive & cars for the most part are depreciating assets. But what makes the car a really stupid car is that a lot of money is paid to have that car because it can go very fast, but you can not drive very fast on regular roads so in turn the car really belongs on a race track. But a lot of women go crazy over cars like Ferrari's & Lamborgini's, but the truth is that if I had a daughter I definitely would not want her to be in one of those cars since they belong on a racetrack. The truth of the matter is that very expensive sports cars divide people-for example think of the guy who like some guys thinks expensive sports cars are the greatest thing and is unaware of how stupid they are-and ends up screwing or hurting a lot of people to get the money to have one of those cars-and those cars are so expensive that some people will screw over people for money and never have enough money to get one of those cars. Think about the business owner who will pay people very little pay so that he can have one of those cars-basically people will get screwed over so that he can make a stupid decision. The moral of the story is that in today's society most people -love material things- & use people, while people are suppose to 'use material things' & -love people-. We are also not going to discuss how many women will do in appropriate things just because someone has a Lambo or a Ferarri, basically those cars divide people, they may effect other people's marirages & they are stupid decsions because very fast sports cars belong on a race track.

I've been putting off car maintenance for a long time. With a shopping list of things that needed to be done, I arranged car rental and the mechanic got me his corporate rate. That allowed me to get an SUV for the same price as a compact. This worked out great as the larger vehicle saved me another trip to Miami to bring up computers, TV, clothing and some household items in our never-ending relocation project.

I selected a 2019 Mazda CX-5 that has an MSRP of $35,000 with all the options.
While they state 26-28mpg combined, I was getting around 20 miles per gallon.
Keyless entry and push start ignition seems to be standard for all new cars. The CX-5 has an electric tailgate that only locks when the key fob is more than 40 feet away. The bad part is you could be inside a restaurant and the car hatch just outside is unlocked. The doors are locked but the hatch isn't! We checked it a few times to to be sure.

Lane assist. Since the steering is electronic, you can feel the steering stiffen and resist if you change lanes without signalling. It attempts to pull you back into the lane. If you drift in your lane, it will give a visual warning on the console and if you're on the highway it will beep with a visual warning. The same thing happens if you start to change lanes and the sensors detect cars coming up from behind in adjacent lanes. You can feel the steering wheel, hear and see the alert.

The steering, brakes, transmission control are 'by wire' and electro-mechanically or fully electronic and not solely connected mechanically.

Although smaller in size to other SUV's this was more car than I would want for anything long term, but nice to experience for a few days. Softer ride than I'm accustomed to, but I disliked the hard leather seat. Fully controllable electric with lumbar support, I was unable to find comfort with that.

My first car had a steering wheel that was directly connected to universal joints that linked to the wheels. By the third car, I was driving rack and pinion for the steering system. That connected the steering wheel to a set of gears that controlled the wheels. Maybe my fourth or fifth car had power steering... a hydraulic pump that supported the steering system making it easier to turn the steering wheel, especially if you were trying to parallel park.

My current car doesn't have conventional power steering. Instead, the steering wheel connects to an electric actuator that simulates the hydraulic system. While it feels like you're turning the steering wheel connected to the tires... you're not.
It's a series of sensors, motors and actuators as an electro-mechanical system that replaces the linkages and hydraulic pump.

While we're at it. The gas pedal used to have a flexible cable that connected to the carburetor. When you pressed on the gas, it opened the throttle valve allowing gas and air into the engine. Yeah, it's gone now. The gas pedal has been changed over to a sensor with the feel of a conventional system. It now sends digital impulses to a computer that controls servos that open and close the fuel and air mixture.

Don't stop me now...
Brakes? The pedal that used to be directly linked to a hydraulic pump had been replaced and a sensor giving you the feel of brakes and it does this electronically.

For the most part, it's all been engineered to work similar to cars of yesteryear with fewer components.
Drawbacks are many. If you have a dead battery, pushing the car to get started, doesn't work. If you happen to turn off the key while driving... a word of warning... don't. There's a good chance steering could freeze making it impossible to navigate.

Like a bloated body that
Bobs to the surface
Of a stagnant lake
What rusty chassis
Rest on Sandy bottoms
Do?
Keep their passengers
Buckled, while Fords and Chevy
Dissolve with time

There is a small tuner company in Sealy, Texas. They are making high performance monsters. What is that company? It is Hennessey Performance.

They take somewhat ordinary cars, and make them into souped up monsters, Some of the highlights include the 650R, Venom GT, VelociRaptor and the Exorcist.

The latest creation is the Goliath, which is based on a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss Z71. They have made it into a 6X6, and stuffed a 705 horsepower animal into the front.

The engine starts out as the factory 6.2L V8 engine, and it is then upgraded with the Hennessey’s HPE700 Supercharged engine upgrade which includes a 2.9L supercharger system producing 7 psi of boost along with a stainless steel exhaust upgrade producing 705 bhp @ 6,200 rpm and 675 lb-ft torque @ 4,200 rpm. 0-60 mph times are expected to be in the mid 4 second range even with the additional weight of the 6X6 conversion. Additional GOLIATH 6X6 upgrades include:

6X6 Conversion with additional axle, wheels, tires and brakes
All new rear suspension system
Eight-inch lift kit
Custom 6X6 truck bed
Hennessey 20-inch wheels
BFG 37-inch off-road tires
GOLIATH 6X6 & HENNESSEY graphics
Rollbar upgrade
LED lights
Hennessey front and rear bumpers
3 year / 36,000 mile warranty

And the price for all this madness? $375.000. They will only make 24 of them, though.

I think that Texans are the most insane people in the world.

The Missing Head

My manager's cat pen lost its head. It happened somewhere between the back office and the front desk. My ears pricked up and I immediately volunteered to head the search party. We passed through the warehouse and I glassed the concrete floor for a tiny, white, kitty head. My heart raced when I sighted what most definitely was, indeed, the missing head! No! Heads! Hundreds of them! Upon closer inspection, they were pieces of styrofoam...

We continued examining every inch of commercial grade carpet, adorned with the vast variety of area rugs. I bent down and scanned the surface beneath sofa's, tables and beds. Nothing!

We lounged in one of the reclining sectionals and shook our heads. Then, the other manager noticed we were missing. This manager rallied a second search party to search for us. Not long after, I felt a nudge on my shoulder, startling me awake. Dazed, I reported back to the customer service desk.

On my way back, I felt a twinge in my stomach. My inner core twisted to the right and my feet followed. Like a water witch, I raised my arms out and moved in a most direct, direction. Then my arms began to twitch and my eyes lowered to a spot next to the foot of a very attractive accent chair. It was there! I had found the missing head!

I crouched down and gently picked up the tiny, white, kitty head. Cupping it in my palm, I presented it to my other, distraught manager. With glee, she reattached the tiny, white kitty head to the pen. The pen that used the cat's tail as a clicker. This manager had several kitty pens, in all colors, so I suggested she pull all the heads off and mix and match.

1) say "I'll call you back later"
2) press the red button once
3) rest your cellphone on the passengers seat.

It cannot get much easier than that.

Today, I was behind someone leaving a parking lot and I'm waiting and waiting. No cars were on the main crossroad. Getting ready to blow my horn the car started started out going left. I also made a left and was behind the car again. Slow ride, but the driver hit the brakes as though they wanted to make a full stop. No other cars around... none. I got in the next lane and as I passed the other driver, I could see they had a cellphone pressed against their face. Ahhh... that explained it.

Somebody must have passed out my phone number to a service who is trying to get me to buy an extended warranty. Six calls came through today with the same message:
"We've been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty... this will be the last call..."

No it won't. I've been getting these calls for years.
Press 1 to be connected to a live operator.
Press 2 to be put on our do not call list.

I'm told if you press 2, they know they've got a real person and use your number for other solicitations.

I'm getting some calls in Spanish and I'm pretty sure it was the service department of the Hispanic owned dealership. They knew when my extended warranty expired and the calls started right after that.

There is a lot of public awareness about watching out for motorcycles and sharing the road with motorcyclists. Bumper stickers, billboards and highway warning signage mark the roadways I travel on. While I don't want to see someone get killed or injured in a motorcycle accident. The odds are... when a motorcycle tangles with a car, the car wins!

The carpool lane is the inside lane with a double line separation to the regular lanes. That separation is roughly 2 feet wide and NOT to be used by motorcycles as a private lane. Well, that's with Department of Transportation says and everyday it gets used as if it's their private lane. Catching an accident for rolling between cars that are bumper-to-bumper is risky, but not life threatening.

I've taken a few road safety courses over the years and they recommend you look in the rear-view mirror at least once every 10 seconds. The speed limit is 65 and you're going 80, cars are flying past from both sides... I reverse that training and look toward the front every 10 seconds.

Tonight was no different. Traffic was moderate and moving fast. Drivers acting like it's a full moon and they need to get home before the hair and fangs appear.

I looked in the mirror to see nothing. A split second later there's someone on a 'crotch rocket' coming up from behind, so fast he has to weave in and out of traffic to avoid colliding with the flow of cars. All you need is one car who cannot gauge a motorcycle traveling in excess of 120 miles per hour to make a fast lane change and that accident will block traffic for 10 miles.

Watching out for motorcycles... who aren't watching out for you.



Thanks for reading my blog!