Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Exterior Look
The clean, sculpted body contours of the 9-X Air give fresh expression to Saab’s Scandinavian-inspired design ethos and its aircraft heritage. The purposeful stance, with minimal overhangs front and rear, is complemented by a single, wraparound window graphic, smooth uncluttered body surfaces and ‘ice block’ lighting themes. 
The exterior look is defined by the prominent C-pillars, or buttresses, that provide the rear mounting for the unique Canopy Top - a powered, flat-folding roof developed from a Targa top principle. This innovation in convertible design, which distinguishes between a folding roof and a complete folding soft-top or hood assembly, is subject to a Saab patent application. 
Ambient Lighting
Available halo lighting provides a soft glow of light that fills the cabin and offers the driver and front passenger the opportunity to keep an eye on activity in back. Available personal, targeted LED lights allow passengers to read, write or play at night without distracting the driver. Focused LED lights also shine down onto cup holders from the overhead rail console. Load up Grand Caravan with confidence in the brightly lit space provided convenient illuminated entry. Available on Grand Caravan SXTInterior Observation Mirror
Interior Observation Mirror
Keep your eye on rear seat passengers with the standard interior observation mirror.Premium Floor Console
Make the most of Grand Caravan's flexible capacity with the available premium sliding floor console located between the two front seats. The three-part console is made up of a sliding storage bin, sliding upper tray with four large cup holders and storage and a large storage bin that can be used in multiple configurations. The cup holders have removable, dishwasher-safe, liners.Manual Adjustments
There is also a more expensive heavier Clubsport pedals option with adjustable pedals but those are very pricy ($200). Don’t know if they are worth the extra money. Here’s a tutorial on adjusting those pedals: Video tutorial Clubsport
So should you buy this? I’d say only if you are a car simulation enthusiast given it’s price and limited availability. Otherwise if you love more realistic driving and/or love to drive with clutch & shifter simulation I think it’s a great choice. The wheel itself feels a lot more realistic and heavier and while it won’t necessarily give you faster track times it does give you a more realistic drive.I have to say initial impressions weren’t that favorable but once I tweaked several settings like the force feedback and drift settings I love it. Also using manual clutch at first seemed bit tough to drive but it does add a new dimension/difficulty to the game.Note one thing to point out is that some people reported some quality issues with the wheel and support can be a bit slow. But warranty I believe is 2 years.I do hope that we’ll see more competition in the future and hopefully Logitech will consider bringing their products to the XBOX 360 as well since they are more comparable and less pricey. But for now this is the only choice if you want a higher quality steering wheel with manual shift capability.
The Fanatec steering wheel feels a lot more solid and more realistic in size. The size of the wheel is about one step up. See comparison of the 2 wheels stacked on top of each other below:
Buttons: at first glance you’d think that the Fanatec wheel has less buttons. However some are little bit hidden. For instance the 4 way pad and the back/start buttons are at the bottom. It has in addition shoulder buttons (but unfortunately also no analog pad to look around).The button layout takes little bit time to get used as for instance the A/B/X/Y buttons are not layout in 4 directions so this makes it harder to intuitively look around using those buttons.
Handling is responsive, suspension keeps out the bumps and engine noise is barely audible on acceleration. The base models have good stereos, and the Bose or Upgrade in the Acura give you 440+ watts for the Opera lovers in the group. Me, I’m good with my classic 80’s as long as Billy Joel and George Winston sound right. The trunk space is ample with folding rear seats for those extra-big shopping moments.
Designer Cars Studio Storage
And now some tech talk: The L1 weighs only an astonishing 290 kg with unpainted carbon fibre skin over a magnesium-alloy sub frame. For aerodynamics, the car seats two in tandem, rather than side-by-side. Total aerodynamic drag is minimal with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.159, compared to 0.30 for typical cars. The L1 features an aircraft-style canopy, flat wheel covers and an underbelly cover for smoother airflow. Engine cooling vents open only as needed. The external dimensions of the car are 3.47 m (11.4 ft) long, 1.25 m (4.1 ft) wide and 1.0 m (3.3 ft) high. Cameras and electronic displays replace rear-view mirrors. There is a whopping 80 L (2.8 cubic ft) of storage space. The engine is a one-cylinder 299 cc (18 cubic in) diesel producing just 6.3 kW (8.4 hp), but the production version will use a 2-cylinder version with somewhat higher power. It will also differ in its toned-down hybrid design. Fuel economy is 0.99 L /100 km (238 mpg), which means that if diesel were $3 a gallon, the fuel to travel 400 miles would cost $5!
Now imagine this: Despite its futuristic look and revolutionary concept, the L1 is not a « concept car » but a “real car” designed to run on streets. Volkswagen confirmed the L1 to be available as soon as 2010 as a limited series vehicle, produced exclusively in the Volkswagen prototype factory at only around 1,000 cars per year. Launch of a single-seater is expected first in Shanghai during 2010. The price? $31,400 to $47,100 US. It is unknown if distribution will include Canada or the United States.
As a German tree-hugger living in North America, I would certainly like to drive a car like the Volkswagen L1. But I’m curious: is it something that the American people would be tempted to buy? Let me know…
Space Included
The impressive feather-weight of the Up! Lite is achieved via a mix of aluminum, lightweight steel and carbon fibre: steel where the structure needs to be tough (the centre tunnel and door sills); aluminum where strength is rather optional (the floor), and carbon fibre in a few selected areas (such as the roof). Hackenberg’s team has done some real innovation here! Their creation can even haul 30 cubic feet of stuff – certainly more than enough to drive Junior to hockey training, with equipment and cheering pals included.While some seem to recognize that the Up! Light bears an astonishing resemblance to the Volvo C30, it’s really more of a four-seat follow-up to the two-seat L1 car displayed at the Frankfurt auto show last fall
Car Interior Design Overhauls
Think a silky engine and uber-glitzy exterior shell are all it takes to sell a new car? Oftentimes, you'd be wrong. The real key to selling a car is its interior. With data increasingly showing that car interiors are one of biggest selling points, carmakers have turned their focus to interiors in a bid to attract new buyers. Here are nine of the most dynamic rehabs undertaken on new-model cars. We were not surprised to find that GM has four models listed.Auto Shade Reflective Tribal Butterfly Sunshade
The Auto-Shade Reflective Diamond Plate Sunshade (Standard Size) blocks 99% of direct UV rays from damaging your car's dashboard and interior. Peaks and valleys design provides air pockets which trap heat and help prevent it from circulating to the rest of the car. Keeps your car's interior cool and comfortable when you enter. The reflective diamond plate design also looks great in the windshield. Durable quality construction and made on an accordion fold with an elastic strap to keep it together, for convenient storage. By Axius / Auto Expressions. Features: Cool's and Protects Your Car's Interior Keeps dashboard surfaces an average of 43oF cooler Highly Reflective Diamond Plate Pattern Design Durable Quality Construction Blocks 99% of direct UV rays Reflects the sun?s rays to help protect your car?s interior Accordion fold for easy, flat storage Standard Size: 24 x 58 Inches
The Type S Sunshade Jumbo size by Winplus protects you from UV Rays, glare, and heat. Perfect for those hot summer days, just put it in your car when you park it to go somewhere, and when you come back it won't be as hot. It reflects the heat and light away. Features: Easily folds and stores away with Velcro strap Elegant fabric design accentuates your car Protect from harmful UV rays Dimensions: 28.3 x 6.8 x 2.1 inches
Axius blends convenience with style for the Magic Shade Collapsable Sunshade! With an easy to use, easy to store, 2 panel design, the Magic Shade Sunshade pops open and folds down instantly! Quality nylon construction both cools and protects your vehicle's interior. Size: 24in X 28inWednesday, May 12, 2010
Just Another Old Kit Car
Chrysler wrote: “The Sundance 2-door and 4-door liftback are fun to drive because of their high level of standard equipment, their versatility and precision handling. They're intelligent buys for the younger, upscale, contemporary buyer. Both models have special appeal to women because they offer purchase economy, value, reliability, fun-to-drive appeal and style in a complete package. They are truly cars anyone can be proud to own.Bigger Car Ride
The Shadow and Sundance were only .1 inches shorter in wheelbase than the original K cars, but had somewhat less length than the K-cars. The styling looked aerodynamic, but wasn’t. The name Sundance, incidentally, had been used on the final, 1974 Plymouth Satellite, as a trim level.When it was first announced, Chrysler said the P-body would have a 1.8 liter derivative of the popular 2.2. This never happened, possibly because Iaccoca balked at the development costs for a new engine, and possibly because the heavy car would have been too sluggish with the smaller powerplant, and few Americans were demanding higher gas mileage.Interior Amenities Storage and Flexibility
Inside, the Equinox features attention to detail – including a number of storage bins, such as an oversized glove box; a closed storage bin in the instrument panel above the center stack; and closed storage under the center armrest large enough for a laptop computer.
A “floating” center stack houses a multitude of ergonomic comfort and convenience controls. Contemporary, ice-blue ambient lighting – featured within and surrounding the center stack, encircling the center-console cupholders and within the door pull cups – accentuates the cabin. The front and rear seats, which include cloth and uplevel, perforated leather-trimmed offerings, were developed to help deliver best-in-class comfort.
The new Equinox retains its MultiFlex rear seat capability, which allows the seat to be moved fore or aft nearly eight inches (203 mm), for the best rear legroom in its class. With the 60/40-split-back rear seat moved all the way forward, the cargo area offers 31.4 cubic feet (889 liters) of storage.
Barn Find Vintage Racer
The 1000cc engine is said to be freshly built, but it looks just as dusty as the rest of the car so it might have been built before extended storage. A slick Oberg oil filter is fitted near the exhaust but the lines are not connected and we don’t see any spark plug wires. The car also needs a fuel system installed.
This Abarth Allemano 850 Coupe was restored as a vintage racer but does not look to have seen competition in some time. The low-slung stance over Cromodora mags gives the car a good attitude, and the rear engine should keep any driver on their toes. Find it here on Craigslist in San Diego, California for $22,500. Special thanks to BaT reader Brian P. for this submission!The sloping front fenders and wheels tucked way up in the wells remind us of an Alfa Giulia SS. The convex plexiglas quarter windows offer built-in ventilation and the rear lid does its best to let the engine breathe.The interior features a single racing seat and a rollbar. The stock gauges and wheel are in place and the dash plaque is from an SVRA event in 1983. The passenger floor area is full of spare parts which might be for spares or upgrades.The 1000cc engine is said to be freshly built, but it looks just as dusty as the rest of the car so it might have been built before extended storage. A slick Oberg oil filter is fitted near the exhaust but the lines are not connected and we don’t see any spark plug wires. The car also needs a fuel system installed.This is an interesting example and logbooks should help piece together the history. The exterior design is sleeker than most Abarths and the heritage and limited production would help with entry at vintage events. We’d like to see the car driven on the street but that might require bringing the ride height up a bitTuesday, May 11, 2010
Storage Galorage
Camry has no shortage of interior storage. This is just the center console; there's more scattered around the car.