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Kamis, 29 Desember 2011

Toyota's new Camry wins recommended status from Consumer Reports



Toyota sold 23,440 Camrys in the U.S. last month, up from 20,737 during November 2010.
December 29, 2011 - 6:34 am ET
LOS ANGELES (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.'s revamped Camry, the best-

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111229/RETAIL01/312299914#ixzz1hvdQAwN0 selling sedan in the U.S., won a "recommended" review from Consumer Reports magazine, which has been critical of some of the Japanese automaker's models.
The 2012 Camry, which went on sale in October, was evaluated for the February 2012 issue of the magazine published by Consumers Union, a non-profit group.
"The Camry has a nicer interior, more responsive handling, and better fuel economy than before," the review said. "In fact, the four-cylinder model's 27 mpg overall ties with the Hyundai Sonata for the best fuel economy among conventional gasoline-powered family sedans."
Carmakers seek favorable reviews from the magazine as they are considered among the most objective because of its policies of accepting no advertising and buying every vehicle it tests. While Toyota has historically fared well in Consumer Reports reviews, the magazine said in 2007 it would scrutinize the brand more closely due to problems it found in the Tundra pickup, Lexus GS luxury car and previous V-6 engine Camry sedan.
The magazine declined in August to recommend Honda Motor Co.'s 2012 Civic, a car it previously favored. Honda has since said it's considering revisions to the Civic, without elaborating.
Best-selling model
Camry has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for 13 of the past 14 years, and Toyota has vowed to retain that position. The company is targeting U.S. sales of 360,000 Camrys next year, below 2007's record 473,108.
Sales this year through October fell 7.4 percent from a year earlier to 275,004, the result of reduced output after Japan's earthquake and tsunami cut supplies of parts, according to the company.
The Camry tracks Toyota's 7.5 percent U.S. sales slide during the same period. Some investors in Asia were concerned two months ago that U.S. sales of the Camry would be "poor," though those concerns were probably premature, BNP Paribas SA wrote in a note Oct. 28.
Reviews for the 2012 Camry have been generally favorable, with the Los Angeles Times noting an improved driving performance while Edmunds.com cited the size of its cabin and high crash-test scores. Most also note that the new car's styling is more conservative than midsize rivals including Hyundai Motor Co.'s Sonata.
Toyota builds Camrys in Georgetown, Ky., and at an assembly line at affiliate Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru plant in Lafayette, Ind.


Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111229/RETAIL01/312299914#ixzz1hvdI8ZGD

No Buick Wagon For U.S.



Jerks.


According to a Buick spokesman who spoke to Edmunds, there won't be a Buick wagon for the U.S.  

Won't someone build a fun-to-drive wagon for the U.S. market?  Hello?  

Volvo Kills V8



So I'm a few months late, but I just now noticed that for 2012, Volvo is no longer offering the Yamaha sourced narrow bank V8 (4.4L, 311HP) on the XC90.  It was available in 2011, offering a dismal EPA fuel economy of 16MPG combined.

I never liked the idea of Volvo selling a V8.  Volvo has for many years been known for inline engines (I5 and I6), often hopped up with turbos.  This allowed them to stretch for performance without giving up too much fuel economy.  

The last Volvo I owned was a naturally aspirated I5.  It wasn't quick, but it got the job done, and I was able ot average around 26MPG around town.

HEVs: Make Some Noise



The industry is busy trying to decide what noise HEVs and BEVs should make when running in electric mode.  

My humble proposal is here.

My Sad HP Tale



I decided to replace my stuttering old Dell Optiplex desktop (Core 2 circa 2008) with a new desktop.  I saw a very good deal on Woot!--an HP Pavilion with a quad core AMD CPU and 1TB HDD for all of $300.  It was, of course, refurbished.

That was a mistake.

The HP came loaded down with crapware (trials, useless media players, etc.).  The Pavilion case was made of very thin metal, and thing made a lof of an and drive noise compared to my old machine.  But the worse part was that it came broken.  Despite having 4 RAM slots, the motherboard would not boot if I put more than 2 sticks of memory in it.  HP agreed this was an issue, but informed me my machine was out of warranty.  After several long phone calls with customer service (in India) I finally got them to extend my warranty to the proper 90 days, and accept the machine for repair.

It came back with a new motherboard, and would accept more memory.  But this one would run for a seemingly random amount of time, and then freeze solid. It wouldn't even write the errors into the Windows system log, so I had no way of knowing what was wrong.

The machine went back to Woot for a refund, and I bought a factory refurbished Dell Optiplex 780, with Intel Core 2 Quad CPU.  

The Dell Optiplex came with no crapware, other than a a free trial for a virus scanner, which was easily removed.  The machine is quiet, and fast, and with a free web coupon, it was cheap too.  And, unlike the HP, the Dell came with a 3 year warranty, and an actual restore DVD.

SUVs Less Dangerous To Others*



A new study by the IIHS shows that SUVs which strike cars of a similar weight are now not more dangerous than other types of vehicles.  This is great news, as it shows that automakers have been taking the interface issue seriously.   By adjusting the heights of crash structures, moving towards unibody designs, and improving crumple on light SUVs, automakers have been able to meet or even exceed sedan crash performance.  

However.

The study looks at crashes where vehicles collide which are within 500lbs in weight of each other.  It does not say much about crashes where the vehicles are farther apart, for example a 5000lb SUV striking a 3500lb car.  In cases like those, injuries and deaths are still going to be lopsided, with the occupants of the lighter vehicle suffering more damage.  

This chart from IIHS is telling, it shows how heavier vehicles tend to have higher partner death rates than lighter ones.  

At the end of the day, a larger, heavier vehicle is still safer, for the people riding in it.  But not necessarily for the others on the road.

Blackwood Sighting



The Lincoln Blackwood was a white elephant for Lincoln. A car that
did well as a concept but flopped bad in production. I saw this one
the other night.

Birmingham Ferrari



Spotted in downtown Birmingham on Sunday.

Electric Delorean?



Jalopnik's Kevin McCauley was invited to test drive a Delorean DMCEV, an electric conversion applied to a Delorean chassis by the new Delorean Motor Company.  DMC hopes to build these for sale in 2013.

It will be a really cool looking car, but remember that this thing is built on a 1980's design.  It wouldn't pass modern handling or crash standards.  And chances are, it will be really expensive--because to avoid meeting the modern standards, each one of these will have to be a conversion of an existing Delorean chassis with an existing VIN.  In other words, take a rare car, and then apply expensive electronics and batteries.

I have to say, though, the Delorean is still a great looking car.

Electric DeTomaso, Pantera, anyone?

Minor Fact Check: Volt Charging Handle



According to Mike Davis at The Detroit Bureau, the Chevy Volt charging cord has a safety feature similar to a certain .45ACP pistol that I know and love.

"To my surprise, I found the In cord had a squeeze-handle like the safety grip on a Model 1911 A1 .45 pistol"

Sorry Mike, this isn't right.  The 1911 has a grip safety on the backstrap of the gun, where the web of your thumb rests.  The Chevy Volt has a safety lever located under the trigger finger.

Sonic Drop Breaks Down?



Chevy is doing a stunt to promote the new Sonic b-car.  They are dropping it off of a huge tower attached to a bungee cord, and using web clicks to move it towards the edge of the leap.

Looks like it broke, though.  

I hope those guys are careful.

Review: Drop Stop Car Wedge



Drop Stop Car Wedge is a simple product that does one thing very well. It blocks the gap between your car seat and the center console, so that you can't drop stuff down into that hard to reach spot. 

I have been using one, and It works great. I do notice that I can feel the right side of my seat is button cushion is a little bit firmer due to compression, but it doesn't bother me.

The wedge is a tube made of black neoprene, with a pass-through for the seatbelt latch.  It is stuffed with filler.  To install it, you slip it over your seatbelt latch and then stuff it down, working it forward and back smooth it out. 

At $20/pair plus shipping, it isn't cheap, but isn't outrageously expensive either.  It should outlast your vehicle.

Pros:
  • Simple, effective
  • Unobtrusive
  • Seems durable
Cons:
  • Unknown country of origin (not on packaging)
  • $20+shipping is a little steep for what is basically a stuffed fabric tube
  • Limited distribution (Can't buy it on Amazon, etc.)
  • Adds firmness to right seat cushion side


*Note: DropStop did not provide any payment for this review, other than sending me a test unit.

New Fiat 500 Abarth Commercial



Awesome.

Translation from a YouTube viewer:

What are you looking at? Uh!?
What are you looking at?! (slap)
Are you undressing me with your eyes?
Poor guy…you can't help it?
Is your heart beating? Is your head spinning?
Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever?
(by the way has a slightly non-italian accent)

You Walk



Saw this hilarious billboard on the outskirts of Pontiac the other day.  Rough neighborhood, I guess.

Predatory Lexus Face



When I saw the new design for the 2013 Lexus GS 350, I was reminded of something... 

 

Or perhaps

Review: Davis CarChip Pro



This is a review of the Davis Industires CarChip Pro . 


The CarChip is a small device which plugs into your vehicle's OBD-II port, and acts as a datalogger.  It can record vehicle speed every second, and up to 4 other items at a slower rate of one sample every 5 seconds. Retail prices are around $80.

The device is simple to configure.  Once you install the software (which worked fine on Windows 7), and plug the CarChip in with a mini-USB cable (included), a step-by-step configuration walks you through the initial setup.




For example, you can choose to record 4 parameters at every 5s, from a choice of several standard OBD-II parameters, including engine speed, throttle position, engine coolant temp, engine load, air flow rate, spark timing, air/fuel ratio, battery voltage, and oxygen sensor voltage.  You can also set audible alarms, to have the device beep at you if you exceed a top speed, or a max accel/decel rate.


For my testing, I plugged it into my 2007 (which would be using CAN OBD-II), and drove a few trips.  I also induced two powertrain diagnostic faults: I loosened my fuel cap, and for a short time, disconnected my intake air temp sensor (IAT).


After removing the device and downloading the data to my PC, I was able to use the software to plot the recorded channels, and the device properly logged two DTCs, one for evaporative emissions (P0456) and one for the IAT circuit test failure (P0113).  By clicking on a menu choice, you can tell the CarChip to clear the codes next time you plug it into your vehicle.





Overall, I liked the CarChip, and I would recommended for several use cases.  A hobbyist or fleet owner who wants a low-cost way to log mileage, driving style, fuel economy, etc. would do well with a CarChip if they don't mind plugging into it every so often to download the data.  It could also be useful to someone who wanted to program it as a "trainer", to teach themselves (or their kids) not to accelerate too hard or brake too abruptly, to teach a high fuel economy driving style.

However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a primary diagnosis tool, for example to debug DTCs or do performance tuning, because of its offline nature.  Someone who wanted to quickly determine why they have a Check Engine lamp, and perhaps check some of their engine control sensor values as part of the debug would be better off with an interactive scan tool.  Also, the relatively slow 5s sampling rate may cause users to miss some aspects of the engine performance, such as sudden lean fuel excursions or speed fluctuations.

My advice to Davis, to improve this product, would be to add a "live mode" which pulls the OBD data in real-time via the USB, and to add some sort of wireless interface so that the data can be monitored and downloaded via bluetooth without having to plug into the unit directly.

Pros:
  • Simple to use software, easy setup
  • Ability to set speed/accel/decel alarms
  • Fault code logging and clearing
  • Small, unobtrusive
  • Data can be easily exported
Cons:
  • Slow sampling rate (5s) on user-configured data channels
  • No apparent "live mode" to look at data interactively, while connected
  • No wireless transfer mode (bluetooth or wifi).
* Davis provided me with a sample unit, however I recieved no compensation for this review.

Bridgestone Airless Tire Concept



Cool.  From PhysOrg.com.

Michelin has also been working on the Tweel airless tire for some time now, but it isn't ready for civilian commercial sale, yet.  

bridgestoneg.jpg

Volt Battery Fires NBD


Volt Battery Fires NBD

The blogosphere and news media have become somewhat excited about the Chevy Volt battery fires, and GM has been very defensive, going so far as to offer to buy back Volts from any skittish customers.

I don't see what the big deal is.

There zero cases of Volts having battery thermal issues after getting in an accident in the real world.  There have been a couple of cases of garage fires, however the causes are not yet known and it is quite possible that the fault lies in poorly done 240V wiring, and not with the Volt.  

There are four cases of Volt batteries having thermal reactions after being first disconnected from their liquid coolant supply, then damaged, and then overturned by NHTSA.  This is like sideswiping a pole at high speed, at exactly the point where the battery extends out towards the sides of the car, then rolling over, and then letting the battery sit damaged for several days without being discharged.  

Here's an experiment: smash a gasoline car in such a way as to rupture the gas tank. Then turn the car over and let the fuel run where it will.

Also, consider the number of gasoline vehicle fires that occur every year.  In 1999, there were 288,000 highway vehicle fires, due to all causes (accident and otherwise), according to the NFPA.  According to a 1990 study by NHTSA, motor vehicle fires due to accidents occurred at a rate of 2.86/1000 vehicles. 

So if Volts had the same rate of accident caused fires as gasoline vehicles, we would expect to see about 14 Volt fires this year.  But we haven't, even though Volts do carry gasoline on-board.

Old People Cars

According to the Detroit News, this is the list of most popular vehicles for senior citizens.  I have added additional information: which models are discontinued.

1. Lincoln Town Car, 90%
2. Buick Lucerne, 87%
3. Cadillac DTS, 85%
4. Cadillac CTS, 74%
5. Cadillac STS, 71%
6. Hyundai Azera, 25%
7. Chevrolet Impala, 51%
8. Buick LaCrosse, 59%
9. Lincoln MKZ, 54%
10. Toyota Avalon, 54%

The interesting question to me is, what will the old folks buy now that the softly spring boats have mostly gone extinct?

iDrive Prank Box

I was sent this prank gift box, which is hilarious.




It is designed to look like a believable (but crazy) product, the iDrive, which is a suction cup and claw mount to mount iPads and other devices on your steering wheel or other unsafe places.  Photos on the back show it being used in cars, on a factory runabout and also on a jet ski. I wonder, though, how the box maker gets away with using "iDrive", which is a real trademark for a number of different types of products, including data storage and surgical staplers.




The actual product is the prank box itself, one of many that are sold by Prank Pack.

I am going to use it on a friend, who is both a car nut and a Apple cultist.