Fast Cars

To know how fast your teen is driving, buy Davis Instruments "CarChip." It can be purchased from discount retailers and websites (like www.sears.com) for about $100. The CarChip can be plugged into most cars built after 1996 using no tools. The only cars it won't work on are a handful of 2003 models that use the CAN computer protocol. These vehicles include certain Ford pickups, GM Saturns, Mazdas, and Saabs. Go to www.davisnet.com to learn more about the CarChip, and to verify that it will work with your car(s). Just don't buy the CarChip at the Davis website, as you can buy it for less elsewhere.

Once installed, the CarChip collects all kinds of data on, 'how the car is being driven. This data can be retrieved by unplugging the chip from the car and downloading it into a home computer, just as you would download photographs from a digital camera. Once downloaded, your teen's exact driving habits will be revealed to you: how fast, how many miles per trip, when each trip began and ended, and the number of jackrabbit starts and stops.

This Lexus concept car is one hot fast car. Lots of horses in a little buggy means fast car.

The Lexus LF-A concept features an engine capable of developing more than 500 horsepower.

Got an idea for a big engine? You don't even have to put it in a fast car. Check out this contest Chrysler is putting on.

Chrysler Group brought back a modern version of its muscle-car-era Hemi engine in 2003, it seemingly has put a version of it into every car and truck that would fit one.

Now, the Chrysler folks want to find out what else they can wedge one into.

The automaker is holding a contest, called "What Can You Hemi?", in which people can write in with suggestions of what they would most like to see powered by a Hemi engine.

"And I mean anything. It doesn't have to be automotive," said George Murphy, senior vice president of global marketing for Chrysler Group.

Chrysler will pick five semi-finalists and actually build one of the suggested contraptions. Entrants should write an essay of 300 words or fewer and mail it to Chrysler by April 6.

For more information, visit whatcanyouhemi.com.

The next big thing? Fast cars in the sky. The first step may be "sky taxis". With all the major airlines about to go bust, maybe the sky taxi will be the only sky ride left.

There was a fascinatingly SciFi story linked to yesterday by Philip Chaston on Samizdata, and I see that this guy has already also noted Philip's posting. He links to these urgent audio-questions:

It's the year 2000. But where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars. I don't see any flying cars. Why? Why? Why?

Well, here they come. Air taxis. They're still not really flying cars, hence the weasel word "taxi", but they do look like a step in the right direction.

Cars.com has a nice summary of the new sports cars hitting the market. Lots of great new fast cars!

All told, nearly a dozen new or seriously redesigned sports cars will be on the market by fall 2004. Aston Martin has a new DB9 coupe and Volante convertible that replace the long-lived DB7 series. BMW has already launched its V-8-powered 6 Series coupe and convertible as 2004 models. Ferrari unveiled its new 612 Scaglietti coupe at the 2004 North American International Auto Show.

Chevrolet has a redesigned Corvette coming soon; it’s fitted with a new 6.0-liter V-8 engine rated at 400 horsepower. Ford has reworked its Mustang, which will be initially offered as a coupe, but a convertible is sure to follow later. In addition, the eagerly awaited limited-production Ford GT supercar will be on sale as a 2005 model.

Lotus is abandoning the low-slung Esprit coupe after a long run. At the same time, the Elise roadster — on sale for some time in Europe — will at long last reach the U.S. market.

2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Highlights of Mercedes-Benz’s SLR McLaren include a 617-hp supercharged V-8 and an adjustable rear spoiler. Porsche’s new Carrera GT supercar went on sale as a 2004 model and is priced above $400,000. Mercedes-Benz joins the supercar ranks with its 2005 SLR McLaren coupe, which is powered by a supercharged V-8 engine. A redesigned Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class hardtop roadster will debut as a 2005 model. Meanwhile, the stylish Bentley Continental GT coupe is finally reaching American dealerships.

If you like racing, you'd probably like to learn how to drive a race car. You can! Here's one site that offers you the chance to drive a race car on a track. You may find others closer to your location. Great idea for corporate team building or just a fun day with friends.

Drive the dream! Supercharge your productivity with incentive travel to the Richard Petty Driving Experience in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada! Seating is limited, click now to Drive the Dream!

Nice story about why this blogger likes NASCAR and doesn't like the stereotypes of stock car racing.

The stereotype for the sport is that these are a bunch of hillbillies. In actuality, these are some of the smartest folks you'll find. They are innovative, meticulous, adaptive, and hard-working.

To be competitive, they must push their engine departments to make more horsepower just to maintain competitiveness. There are tons of innovations tried each year -- probably each race. Crews are meticulous with their checklists of pre-race preparations. There are a staggering number of preparations to make before the green flag waves. And during the race, the winning teams are the ones that can adapt their car to the changing track conditions. You wouldn't believe it, but a little cloud cover can totally change the way a car handles.

At the end of the race, the winning driver is always quick to thank all the people involved. Its not just him out there. If his pit crew was slow or made mistakes, he doesn't win. If the engine department didn't create a competitive and durable engine, he doesn't win. If the fabricators didn't create an aerodynamically-sound body, he doesn't win. If he doesn't have enough sponsor money to pull together a winning team and the equipment to create a quality race car, he doesn't win.

Ferraris Formula One designer is giving more responsiblity to his likely successor.

The man responsible for designing Ferrari’s championship winning car the past six years says his fingerprints will not be as noticeable on the new car. Rory Byrne, who has two years remaining on his contract with Ferrari, says the team plans to start the 2005 season with an interim version of the new car, which is being managed by his likely successor, Aldo Costa.

“Costa has been my right arm for many years – I trust him very much,” Byrne tells the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “When the time comes for my retirement, he will have to be in charge of the entire system.”

Byrne has been with Ferrari since leaving Benetton at the end of 1996. He, alongwith Jean Todt and Ross Brawn have been the braintrust at Maranello, guiding Ferrari back to the top of the Formula One ladder. Byrne says the F2005 will not be ready until the end of February and likely won’t make its debut until the F1 season is three to five races old.

This blogger says GM should put Cadillacs in NASCAR to emphasize the new performance image of the Cadillac brand. That would represent a huge divergence from Cadillac's somewhat staid branding over the past 50 years. Still, it's an interesting proposal.

This image and post from metacool about the future of the Cadillac brand gets me thinking that we should see Caddilac models on the track at NASCAR events. While NASCAR has typically been the territory of Chevy and Dodge, the addition of Caddillac would be a win for GM as they focus on the performance and technology of the new Caddilac and a win for the fans as many of them either drive or aspire to Cadillac products.

Fast car videos over at Fox.

If you go to Foxsports NASCAR, they have video up of some prerace stuff from Daytona. Including DW's chat with Rusty which i thought was good to watch. Also included was Kahne and McMurray and their surfing adventures. Good stuff.

Here's a cool car accessory for your fast car.

At CES, this year Motorola introduced it's NLNC Bluetooth Car Kit Portfolio, which allows aftermarket installation of the features found in many OEM Bluetooth car kits, including the Acura HandsFreeLink. Aftermarket kits are a great choice for older model cars, or brands shipping without Bluetooth compatibility.

The Moto kits claim compatibility with most Motorola bluetooth enabled phones, as well as "other manufacturers" but of course, your mileage may vary there.

A good choice if you know you want to stick with Motorola phones, or your corporate plan dictates so.

A good story about car games and car inflation.

When Pete and I were kids, we played a game with our friends the Goodmans whenever we were in the car. We'd keep our eyes peeled for certain cars, and if we were the first to spot one we'd get points -- the value of each make/model depended on its rarity. The breakdown was something like this:

VW Bug (the original): 1pt
Corvette: 5pts
Cadillac (excluding Cimarrons): 5pts
BMW: 5pts
Mercedes: 5pts
Limo: 10pts
Porsche: 25pts
Jaguar: 25pts
Ferrari: 50pts
Lamborghini: 50pts
Bentley: 100pts
Rolls Royce: 100pts

We'd play until we got to wherever we were going, and the kid with the highest score won that round (although sometimes we kept a running tally all day.)

I was thinking about this as I drove home recently, realizing that if I tried to play now I'd be well into the hundreds by the time I got home. If Lexus and Infiniti were included in the game (I don't remember if they were) I might hit a thousand.

Maybe it's just because of the towns I'm driving through, upscale berg after upscale berg, but there seems to be a proliferation of high-end automobiles. I pass dozens of Mercedes, scads of BMWs, armies of Lexi. I even see a Rolls Royce on a regular basis (same one, lives somewhere along Sheridan Road.) Does everyone just spend more on cars these days, or are the cars less expensive? I'm thinking it's a combination of both.

But boy, how boring for today's kids. I'd imagine the point scale has changed, with BMWs and Mercedes valued at only 5 points while Corvettes are up to 10 and Beetles are now worth what Porsches once were. After all, how often do you see a Punch Bug driving around these days?

What is the fastest SUV? Who's putting the "Sports" in "Sports Utility Vehicle"? This thread tries to answer the question.

SteveKerr
07-14-2003, 11:24 PM
I bet my firend 10 bucks that hte new porsche turbo Cayenne is the fastest SUV right now, is that true? He says the INfiniti FX35 is.. Is there any website where I can prove him wrong and me right? or am I stupid for makin the bet?

JewPac42
07-14-2003, 11:25 PM
Your friend is a fool. You should point out the FX35 isnt the fastest cuz Infiniti makes an FX45. But yes, the Cheyanne Turbo is the fastest SUV right now. Go to www.Caranddriver.com and check out the vehicle stats.

NeoGeo
07-14-2003, 11:28 PM
Does This (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=26&article_id=6860) count?

ButtDyno
07-14-2003, 11:30 PM
Originally posted by SteveKerr
I bet my firend 10 bucks that hte new porsche turbo Cayenne is the fastest SUV right now, is that true? He says the INfiniti FX35 is.. Is there any website where I can prove him wrong and me right? or am I stupid for makin the bet?
Stock?

MightyWRX02
07-14-2003, 11:32 PM
The Forester Turbo is fast4r!

Another fast Italian.

The new Ferrari replaces the 360 Modena. The new Ferrari has more F1 derived technology in it. Two of these new techs are firsts for production cars. E-DIFF, the electronic differential and 'manettino' which is a little switch on the streeing wheel which manages the vehicle dynamics. It has a 4.3 liter V8 which churns out 490 bhp. The car can accelerrate from 0 - 100 km/h in four seconds with a top speed of 314 km/h! [A Tifosi's Blog] and [Ferrari World]

A happy fast car owner. Who wouldn't be happy.

Roc in front of his Lamborghini in Baden Baden, Germany.

Is he cool or what?

Young drivers pay from $3,600 to over $10,000 a year for car insurance. The faster your car, the more you pay.

“When it comes to auto insurance, I feel bad for young people, they haven’t got a chance,” states Cathy Ryan, an independent agent for Hudson & Muma, an insurance company in Detroit.

A college student living near a big city, such as Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago, who drives a sports car such as a Mustang convertible and has a DUI (Driving Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol) or DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), will get rated as a high insurance risk. Add a speeding ticket or two, as well as an accident, and you’re looking at paying the highest insurance rates possible.

Even if you are a good driver who happens to sit behind the wheel of a sports car, watch out!

The Corvette is almost 52 now, but this is a sweet story about a sweet car.

On Monday the Corvette turns 50 years old:

Tom Meadows isn't kidding when he says his two children, both in their 30s, are too young to inherit his all-original 1966 Corvette.

"It's in my will that if something happens to me before they come of age - which I believe is at least 40 - she goes to the National Corvette Museum until they're old enough to treat her right," said Meadows of Salisbury, Md., on Thursday as he stood beside the pristine convertible with only 8,800 miles on it.

The couple are among thousands of Corvette enthusiasts streaming into Nashville and Bowling Green, Ky., this weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sleek sports car that first rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line on June 30, 1953, in Flint, Mich.

Time to celebrate -- at least take your mom out for some apple pie. But if you have a Corvette you still might be able to join a caravan of Corvettes heading on out there.

What does a fast car say about its owner? See below.

Yahoo! News - If Your Husband Has a Porsche, Follow Him

Don't trust a man with a fast car. Porsche drivers are less faithful than any other group of car owners, with almost 50 percent of them cheating on their partners, a survey published in German magazine "Men's Car" has revealed.

Among German men, Porsche drivers were the least faithful, with 49 percent admitting infidelity, followed by BMW drivers at 46 percent. Among women, Audi drivers were the least reliable, 41 percent admitting to affairs.

I wonder where Japanese brands fall into this...

If you have a fast car, this might not be the ticket, as it were.

Looking for a way to reduce your car insurance premium? A new pilot program from Progressive Auto Insurance installs a special device in willing drivers' cars. The device records and transmits information about how fast the driver was going, how hard she was breaking, etc. to Progressive.

Full story here.

The idea is that drivers who drive more safely will be offered a break on what the pay for insurance. Do premiums go up for those who like to play Speed Racer? Progressive says no--the program is strictly for identifying safer drivers who are in line for discounts.

The WRX from Subaru is a fast, fast car. Don't let the looks fool you. Here's a report from one happy Subaru customer.

I never plan on buying new cars, they just happen.

I went to pick my car up at the dealer today because it was getting it’s scheduled maintenence and ended up leaving with a new ‘04 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon!

Thanks to my dad, we got a $26,000 car for under $21,000. It has the STI Short shifter, knob, and turbo gauge. He also got them to throw in rubber mats, a trunk mat, and the roof rack bars so we can put a bike rack, snowboard rack, etc. That stuff alone was about $300 and they DON’T get those accessories for free. This car is so freakin fast and handles like a gokart. I love it.

Does it even matter what grade of fuel it uses?

Revolutions in the auto industry are few and far between, so this year we are not surprised to report that the most expensive automobiles are, again, sports cars. A couple of premium sedans appear here and there in the slide show that follows--a slide show that features our annual list of the ten most expensive cars available in the United States.

The average price of a vehicle on the list has gone up to $351,000 from $341,000, an increase of 3%. Automakers increase the prices of blueblood automobiles to hedge against inflation, to compensate for disappointing sales or because they have added new features to the cars.

Beautiful and fast.

Wow, Citroen styling is back on form: I think the C4 is the best looking car in its class now look at the new C6!

Formula One fast cars are LOUD!

The noise about Speedway sound had me wondering how loud is Formula One?

There is nothing like the sound of a pack of F1 cars at full throttle. Its one aspect that TV can not convey even if you have the best home theatre. Engines spinning at 18-19,000 rpm don't sound much like normal cars, even race cars, but more like the sound of metal being shredded. That is probably whats happening!

I found an article about Jordan (below) that states Formula One engines create levels of about 130 decibels or 10,000 times normal conversation. Makes those 91 decibel speedway cars seem tame!

Great review of American sports sedans. These fast cars can keep up with their European rivals without breaking a sweat. Click above for full review.

The guy in the BMW has no idea what just sucked the foglights off his $70,000 grille. To Mr. Bimmer, it looked more like Avis than autobahn. He's positive that it was just some generic American sedan that drove right by him on the freeway off ramp. You can tell by the puzzled look on his face that he was under the impression, until now, that he was driving the "ultimate driving machine." He just learned a lesson.

The car that blew his doors off was an American sedan. But one that's far from generic. In fact, it could have been any of the eight cars in this article. This particular group of cars, American sport sedans all, delivers the performance of the power imports at a bargain price. Yet in all their tire-smoking fun, they offer serious practicality for the family, which means big back seats and trunks and big buckets of torque.

Fast cars in Daytona. Here's a round up. Click above for more.

Daytona lived up to it’s advertising tagline, “Great American Race.”

Gordon starts his “drive for five” with his third Daytona win. Defending NASCAR Champ Kurt Busch shows he still is a force, and all the usual faces were there at the end contending, Stewart, Martin, Earnhardt, and Johnson. And a few surprises, Scott Riggs fourth in the Valvoline Chevrolet, and LaPage in the Patron Dodge with a nonth place finish both had excellent days under the Florida sun.

Rick Bruner noticed a high powered blog:

Ka-boom! This is a biggie in the world of business blogs. Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of General Motors, is the blogger. Whoa.

If you can't afford the fast car you want, go buy a Sony Ericsson phone with this fast car accessory!

Sony Ericsson today announced two new unique accessories for their mobile phones. The Gameboard EGB-10 is an attachable game controller which is intended to give a true console-style feeling to playing mobile games. The Bluetooth CAR-100 is a small race-car that can be controlled with a Sony Ericsson mobile phone, which is certainly a unique surprise as far as phone accessories go. Gamers will recognise the form and features of the Gameboard EGB-10, featuring an 8-way control on the left side and four action-buttons on the right, for full two-handed game operation. Different features, such as ‘shoot’, ‘jump’, ‘brake’, etc can be assigned to the action buttons.

If it's really this fast a car, you might not have any hair left after your ride.

It is called Superamerica and has a top speed of 320 km/h and it is a Ferrari. The car is derived from 575M Maranello. It is designed by Pininfarina.

This is a couple years old, but I haven't found any faster cars of the electric persuasion. This is a fast car for any kind of car.

In this review, Forbes.com looks at the fastest electric vehicle in the world, the tzero roadster built by AC Propulsion Inc.

The tzero does 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, according to the company, and it does it on only 200 horsepower because of its light weight and torque.

The San Dimas, Calif.-based company says the tzero (pronounced "tee-zero," not "chair-o") has compared favorably in acceleration tests to Corvettes, Porsche 911s--and even a Ferrari F355, which it claims to have "out-accelerated...by eight car lengths" in one-eighth-mile drag races.

Even in heavy traffic, you gotta stay in your lane. Doesn't matter how fast your car goes.

Driving to work the other day, traffic was unusually heavy. Probably another accident rubbernecking, I thought. The cars exiting at my off-ramp were easily backed up a quarter mile to the exit before it. As a result, cars were driving up on shoulder like no other. It took me about twenty minutes to travel that quarter mile.

When I finally got to the off-ramp I saw what was holding up traffic. Two CHP patrol cars were parked on the shoulder; the officers were pulling over the cars that were driving up on the shoulder and issuing everyone tickets. When I got there, I saw six cars all pulled over at the same time: Mercedes, Mercedes, BMW, Landrover, Mercedes convertible, and a 4 Runner. I almost cried. Almost. (There were definitely sniffles of joy.)

BMW is known for making cars for drivers. Fun, fast cars. Are they blowing that brand?

To appear to a wider audience than just the social-climbers (and attract such groups as the upper liberals, post-moderns and upper conservatives), BMW underwent a dramatic and radical redesign of its 3, 5 and 7 series cars, the company’s core products. The reactions to the new designs have not been favorable. Major glitches in the 7 series and iDrive electronics have severely dented BMW’s reputation for quality. Consumer Reports did not judge a single BMW as reliable enough to include on its 2005 recommended list.

Despite these problems, the new models and redesigns keep on coming including the Z4 roadsters, X5 SUV, X3 SUV, 6-series and 1-series. And there is even talk of introducing a minivan! No minivan on earth could ever be called the ultimate driving machine; what an oxymoron!

But that’s just the point. The more models BMW makes, the more consumers they target and the more markets they enter, the less valuable the brand becomes. Only a small range of cars can be classified as ultimate driving machines. And that is the standard by which BMW should drive its business. Otherwise they run the risk of driving the brand right off the autobahn and into a ditch.

Performance chips can make fast cars even faster. Here's some info on chip modification.

So they other day I went to get a performance chip for my car from a place called Evolution Motorsports (EVO for short) in Tempe. The chip I was purchasing was to add about 10 horse power to the car in addition to some other goodies. We ran in to some issues with my car along the way, but most of them have been resolved and we finally got the chip in my car. The difference isn't so drastic that you feel like you have a whole new car, but the subtle differences makes the modification well worth the cost. The guys over at EVO were also having a BBQ this weekend where there were sure to be some hot cars. The also were having a dyno competition which was a cool idea.

GM announced their new Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne luxury wheels via podcast! How cool is that. Not sure how fast these cars are, but they sure look like fast cars. And luxurious.

Check out our first ever podcast! Gary Cowger, GM North America President, introduces the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne luxury sedans at the Chicago Auto Show. Let us know what you think and if you'd like to hear more GM podcasts in the future.

Fast cars running on hydrogen? One blogger has a nice fantasy about saving some money on premium gas for his Viper.

Another interesting transportation technology involves an alternative fuel to use in automobiles, namely hydrogen. Hydrogen has been talked about and hyped as an alternative to gasoline for years, but it has several problems, including safety and storage. Well, a university has come up with an ingenious idea to address these issues. Their idea is to use miniature glass spheres, known as microspheres to hold miniscule amounts of hydrogen. When I read this, I was like “uhh, glass breaks. Who’s going to want to put glass beads filled with hydrogen into their car’s fuel tank?”

Well, supposedly these glass microspheres are much stronger than your typical glass (100X stronger in fact), so if the tank does break, the beads shouldn’t break and even if a few do break, each one only releases a miniscule amount of hydrogen.. The refueling process is pretty interesting in that it’s in two steps. First, a vacuum would suck the used spheres out and send them to a tank for refilling. New, hydrogen filled spheres would then be pumped in from a different tank.

This made me wonder if one day I would be driving a hydrogen-powered car. Hopefully, they can retrofit existing cars with some sort of kit, since I don’t plan on selling the Viper anytime soon. Although, a hydrogen-powered Viper sounds sacrosanct to me. But at $2.49/gallon for gasoline, if hydrogen can give me similar performance at a cheaper price, then I’m game. Unfortunately, as with any new technology, I’m sure it is still years away from being cost economical.

Fast cars are fun to look at. This blogger talks about branding and investment issues as car makers bring out their cool fast cars.

Automakers [are] making statements with unusual car models.

It started with the Plymouth Chrysler Prowler and, more recently, the PT Cruiser comes to mind. Then the ultra-expensive models were unveiled—Dodge Viper, Cadillac 16 and now the $150,000 Ford GT.

All of these cars are cool to look at—as they speed by my subtler model. But consider the money that goes into developing a car. It's a pricey gamble to defend the value of your brand. But it is fun to look at the cars and listen to the music as the Big 3 continue to roll the dice.