Annoying

Alright I know this has nothing to do with cars, but I was sitting at my computer the other day and one of my friends called me and told me to look up this video on YouTube called "Annoying." Usually when people tell me to look up YouTube videos, I do. It easily creates a distraction for me and gives me an excuse to either have something new to talk about or an excuse for why I didn't get what I was working on, done. So as I watched this video it made me laugh...and laugh...crack up...laugh some more...then...it stopped. My initial reaction was HAHAHAHA. It was probably the most hilarious video I have ever seen on Youtube! I won't spoil the video but it's basically these two guys who are in college and one of them is trying to sleep and one is not. From here I think you can get the rest. Enjoy!



I didn't notice this the first time but these guys are actors! They also have a website of all their other videos that they have made but the rest of them aren't really that good. Here is the link for their website: http://www.fndfilms.com

Classic, always an experience...

We all know that the old muscle cars are a hot item for any car finatic. There are so many old classic cars to think about, but specifically I like to think about the 1969 Cheverolet Camaro. As I stated in one of my previous posts, "Oldies but Goodies", my dad bought a 1969 Cheverolet Camaro RS/SS at the Auburn Auction and it needed a lot of work.

I was driving this car to get it to the shop so we could fix all the little things. Of course, it's a huge project to restore the classic cars to their best state like they used to be when they first came out. Most classic cars are 40 or more years old. There are plenty of things wrong with the Camaro but they are all little things. For example, there are some knobs missing, making it impossible to turn the air on or off. The new thing i found wrong with the car was that the windshield wipers don't work.

As it started to rain on my way to the shop so we could drop off the car, I found that the windshield wipers weren't working. With all the water drops falling and then looking like little water skiiers gliding up my windshield, it was a very wonderful time to figure out this inconvenience. I'm not going to continue to bitch, I just wanted to tell of the experience of finding out new things that aren't always to a benefit. Luckily, I had the top up so I wasn't getting rained on directly. Only a little rain spraying in at the top of the windows where they should be closed securely, they don't really go up all the way. It was quite a cold ride since it's the middle of October and the rain was coming it every once in a while. Also, the air vents were blowing in cold air directly from outside. It was all quite humorous for me, it really isn't that big of a deal because I have fallen in love with the car and the way it rides, sounds, and looks.

This shop is a friend of ours and he has restored some classic cars such as a '60 Corvette and another '69 Camaro. I would have taken a few pictures but I forgot my camera so I will have to show you what these cars look like by other people's pictures.

2008 SEMA Preview

For those of you who do not know the 2008 SEMA Auto Show is just around the corner. The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) will host the 2008 SEMA Auto Show on Nov. 4 – 7 in the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. I, myself, have wanted to go to the SEMA show ever since I first got interested in cars. could not think of a better place to be for a guy that loves tuners and aftermarket car products than the largest show in the world. But I am writing this post because I was perusing through the Cardomain website the other day and discovered an article about how people and companies that were featuring their products and cars in the show, were creating pages on Cardomain and basically showing you what will be at SEMA this year! Obviously, Chevy will be bustin’ out their brand new baby, the 2010 Chevy Camaro, I read about how they really supped it up this year which I am excited to see. I’ll let you guys look around on that but I’m sure you already have before reading this.

On another note, if you guys, or girls, have not had the chance to see a wonderful show called “Unique Whips”, located on the Speed Channel, you should watch it.Lately I have been talking with the guys at Unique Autosports about what they will be bringing to SEMA and they sent me a couple flyers:

Aside from Unique Autosports, West Coast Customs will also be bringing their “A” game to SEMA. Located on the opposite side of the country from Unique Autosports, West Coast Customs will feature their WCC Experience for the second 2^nd time in which people can attend class-like settings where they can learn the basics of welding, fabrication, paint, mobile electronics, and much more. I would love to attend something like this. West Coast Customs will also be auctioning off a brand new customized 2008 Ford Flex in which the money would go towards scholarships for young people pursuing automotive careers.

After reading the article about the ’08 Ford Flex I scrolled down an article and found many other interesting cars that I think were totally awesome. Click on the link below:

http://blog.cardomain.com/blog/sema_2008/

If you scroll down past the Ford Flex, you’ll see a sweet customized Toyota and a unique looking Monster themed off-road vehicle, along with plenty of other vehicles. I cannot wait for SEMA to get here.Although I am not going I still can’t “hold my brakes” to see what will be the next, new idea.

The Nissan GT-R

Contrary to AMG-12's opinion, I see Nissan doing at least one thing really well. The 2009 Nissan GT-R is gods gift to the road. Nissan didn't pull any punches this time, delivering a well styled and mind numbingly fast road monster. The GT-R is, if nothing else, Nissans current claim to fame. The 350z's were always a good looking car, but never were really that fast. The GT-R incorporates styling and performance that drivers used to find in the old Skylines. The GT-R harnesses the power of a Twin Turbo V-6 engine which puts down 480 horsepower to the wheels. It has a top speed of 193 mph and gets to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds... Thats faster then a Dodge Viper, a Ferrari F430, a Mustang Shelby GT500KR, a BMW M3... I could go all day. The dual clutch, automatic transmission has three settings:

Normal- Gears shift smooth and quickly with shift times in under .5 seconds.

R Mode- This setting is for maximum speed with shifts under .2 seconds. R-Mode preselects the next gear based on how fast your going, where the gas peddle is, and how high the RPM's are. Hold on tight.

Snow- Yeah you can drive it in the snow... This setting allows for smooth shifts and acceleration.

The transmission allows for completly automatic shifting (put it into drive and go) or use of the paddle shifters located on the steering wheel. The GT-R is an all wheel drive car which means the power is evenly distributed through all four wheels for maximum stability and handling. For under $80,000, the Nissan GT-R gives you a big bang for the buck. The impeccable styling smooth lines make the GT-R look so sweet, and 5o bucks says you can't find anything that will beat it in a race. If all of Nissans other cars are garbage, this is definitely the silver lining.


While I wouldn't recommend racing the 5-0, I guess you could if you need to...




The GT-R lights up an EVO at the track

Ram Challenge

I was watching tv the other day and I saw this commercial for something called the Ram Challenge. It looked pretty sweet and it definitely caught my eye. There were trucks flying through the air and it was saying it was a race and a test to the Dodge Ram.

Of course, there was no way I could pass up my curiosity so i visited the Ram Challenge site today and it is definitely just as cool as it was saying in the commercial. I watched the first episode and there is 8 men on 4 different teams, all competing for the same thing, the 2009 Dodge Ram. This truck has tool boxes on both sides of the truck bed and basicly meant for heavy duty shit. The four teams are the firemen, contractors, cowboys, and military. They all consist of two team members that fit the description of their team names.

Each episode there is one race on a course with four obstacles. I'm not going to ruin all the obstacles for you, I am going to let you visit the site for yourself. The team that loses each race has to go home and the last team standing will win a truck, the Dodge Ram Truck. You definitely need to check it out. There are already a couple of episodes on the site. It's really badass.

The Corvette- The 2009 ZR-1

When I originally started this series, I intended to write a chronological time line of the Corvette. I decided that I am going to change it up a little bit and write about my personal favorite Vette, the new 2009 ZR-1. The ZR-1 is in a class of its own when it comes to performance as well as cost. Chevy worked for a long time on the design for this car, and their hard work paid off. The ZR-1 packs an LS-9 engine, which is a massive 6.2 liter V8. To make matters worse for this cars opponents, the ZR-1 is also supercharged which is a form of forced induction used to create more horsepower. At the end of the day, the ZR-1 boasts 638 horsepower with a 0-60 of 3.6 seconds which is faster then the Porsche 911 GT2 and the Ferrari 599. What interests me so much about this car is that I love that Chevy just went way over the top to make this car fast. The ZR-1 would have been exceptionally fast with just a beefy V8, but they threw the supercharger in there too. Its rare to find a company that puts this much thought and care into producing a vehicle. Chevy did a great job of incorporating new technologies like forced induction as well as staying true to their roots by giving the ZR-1 a 6-speed short throw transmission. The ZR-1 has a carbon fiber hood, which gives onlookers a glimpse at the goods under the hood. The ZR-1 styling is amazing... The designers managed to incorporate old Corvette styles as well as new and innovative ideas. My personal favorite part of the cars exterior are the wheels that come on it. They accent the bodywork perfectly and give the car a well balanced look. If you want to own this piece of Corvette magic, you better be willing to open your wallet. The ZR-1 will set you back a cool $104,000... Which is not cheap, but relativily cost effective when you compare it to other cars in its class like Ferraris and Porsche's. If your looking for a new muscle car, the ZR-1 would be my personal preference.



This is a short video that displays how the ZR-1 is so powerful that it can barely stay on the road




This video shows a few burnouts done by someone in a ZR-1

Truck Modifications

As I stated in my previous post about my dream car. Some people may want to have a nice luxury car with great speed and a smooth ride like I do, but others may want a sports car or a nice truck/SUV. If you are planning on getting a truck then there are a few things that you might want to think about which are a suspension and/or body lift, wheels, tires, exhaust, and all around aspects of your truck.

Personally, I believe that the best way to start out is to get a nice truck the color you want and has the engine you need. Maybe a Cheverolet Silverado or a Ford F250. Whatever is your liking. Then think about how much of a lift you would want. It's really good to get a suspension lift because it can range from a 2" lift to more than 9". The best brand to look into for this type of modification is Skyjacker. They have really dependable product and come in different colors, such as red, yellow, blue, and black. I have a 4" suspension lift made by Skyjacker on my 2001 Jeep Wrangler and it works and looks great.

Next you might want to think about a new set of wheels and tires. If you want the all black look then go for some black rims. You can choose between rims with a low profile tire or rims that are made for off roading and hardcore beatings. There are so many brands for wheels so it is a big search for the ones you want and the best prices.A good place to start is a local tire store so you know the dimensions of wheel and tire that can fit on your truck. Most trucks don't have a problem holding 24" rims with a low profile tires, but it gets tricky when you try to get a wider rim to hold a wider tire for the off roading because it may rub on the wheel well when you turn. So it's a good idea to find what dimension will give you what you want. I went with a 15" rim with BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires that are 33" x 12.5" R15.

It would also be a good thing to look into is an exhaust system. It would be a nice add-on to make your car sound meaner and make you stand out on the streets. I have seen a few trucks with stack exhaust like semis. It looks pretty badass when it is coming out the of your truck bed. These are just a few things to think about if you are looking for the ultimate hardass machine. There are also plenty of appearance modifications you can make, but those are usually up to the owner. Ask your local chevy dealer to find out what these appearance modifications could be for your type of vehicle.

Is the future here?

A few years back the Chevy Motor Company released plans to make a production hybrid electric/gasoline vehicle. As time went on, the plans for the car seemed to change and give shape to the car that the "Volt" is supposed to be. My first major criticizm of the production model Volt and the concept Volt is the styling. My initial draw to the Volt was the attractive styling and lines of the car. It was interesting to me because it didn't look like a hybrid car, it just looked like a stylish sedan. However as time went on and design photos were released, the style began to change. Some of the formerly aggressive panels on the Volt started to get a little more bubbly... The initial design contained a lot of chrome and LED lights that accented the car well. In the production design, a lot of these accents are gone and with them the things that set the Volt apart from other cars. The reason I choose to focus on the Volt is that there is a lot riding on its success in the automotive community. The purpose of the Volt was to produce a clean hybrid in the $30,000 dollar range that looks sharp. Everyone was pretty excited about the Volt was it was first announced, but I would say that excitement has subsided. The Volt will be able to travel 40 miles on simply batteries and then after a gasoline engine will extend the mileage about 250 more miles. The gasoline never actually powers the wheels, it acts as a generator to recharge the batteries while the vehicle is in motion. The Volt won't be released until 2011, and hopfully won't undergo any more possibly deal-breaking changes.

Classic Restorations

I was driving back from Indiana University today after visiting my girlfriend and I noticed an old school Camino driving down the highway. For some strange reason it really got me thinking how much cars have changed. This guy was in what looked like a ’72 El Camino and I was in a ’06 Hyundai Sonata. He was driving pretty slowly and I was bored so I put the pedal to the medal and zoomed my little 3.5 liter V6 beast right past him. It seemed like a scene from a commercial or something but as I drove by I noticed that the driver was in his mid 40’s with a bunch of spare parts in the back. It got to me that he was probably going to restore it. I started to think about how when I was little I used to love restored classics because everything on them and about them was perfect. From the gaps between the body panels to the paint job, you would not see any mistakes or imperfections. My favorite ones were the Chevy Camaro’s and the Ford Shelby GT’s.

But these babies aren’t reconstructed overnight. No, this process takes months, even years, to complete. First of all, the restoration starts with a chassis, a body, rust, and, if you’re lucky, an engine, or a working engine for that matter. Then comes the “where do I begin” question. After that you begin by stripping all the old, rusted parts off and sanding and priming the body for paint. While you wait for the paint to dry you order all your new parts and an engine if you have to and then wait for them to be delivered. When you finally receive all of your parts you install them and test them to make sure everything works and then you start the engine. You may have to tweak some stuff here and there but when you finally finish, polish it up with Armor All, or whatever you prefer on the vehicle, I love Armor All myself, grab your keys, and head out onto the open road. Personally, I have never been in this situation but I, one day, hope to be. I think it would be awesome to restore a classic like the Camaro or the Shelby GT, whatever it is I’m sure it would be really fun as long as I get a car I really like.

Fast and Furious: Part 1 Title

There have been many speculations about the new Fast and Furious movie set to be released in June of 2009, so I wanted to create this series to discuss those speculations further. Let’s start out with the title of the movie. In my opinion, Fast and Furious is a horrible title for this movie. Why wouldn’t they stick with the original title, The Fast and the Furious, and then add a new subtitle to it. When I first heard about them making a new movie, I looked it up on Google and it said that the movie was going to be called: The Fast and the Furious: London Pursuit. I was so excited because they were trying to make it different then all the other ones (in a sense). I thought that Tokyo Drift, besides maybe the poor acting, was a well thought out movie. I liked that the directors did not want to stick to American themed movies anymore. By taking the action to Tokyo, we viewers got to see a different side of the way we mod and race our cars.

The title of London Pursuit really brought me back to Tokyo Drift. Was this going to be another Tokyo Drift or a whole new side to modification and racing that, us Americans who have not been to London yet, have not seen before? Who knows, right? The movie could have endless possibilities. As for the official title, Fast and Furious, I truly think that this is a stunt by the directors to try and entice younger viewers, who have not seen past Fast and the Furious movies, to come out and see the movie. Usually movies that are great have sequels that follow but some just go way overboard. Fast and the Furious movies are definitely headed in that direction. It is unfortunately true but the directors obviously do not want to make a decent movie without making all of the cash that goes along with it. The title Fast and Furious really screams a new movie, not a sequel.

The following is the official trailer for the new Fast and Furious movie set to be released sometime in June of 2009:

My Future Car...

We have all dreamed and thought about what car we are going to drive when we become rich. We want the best of the best. Some people want nice sports cars. Some people want big trucks. Some people want plain old smooth luxury cars. For me, the only way to go, in my dreams at least, is to have a car to fit all your moods. The first car that I am going to get when I have the money to buy these expensive machines is the Cadillac STS-V. It's is smooth and luxurious, yet still has the power anyone could ever want.

Speaking of power, since it is a part of the V-series, the V8 engine is supercharged and produces 469 horse power. This car goes 0 to 60 in 4.8 seconds and still keeps the smooth ride at that pace. My dad has stuck with the Cadillac STS for a few years and I have had the privilege to drive his car. By experience, I have noticed that the shifting of gears is one of the coolest things because it you can barely feel the car shift through gears. When I say barely, I mean not at all. It is literally the smoothest ride ever. It feels like you are floating on fluffy white clouds.

My dream car would have a few things added to it. To begin, I would buy the car with premium packages and all the best upgrades at a price of $84,420. Next I would move along to make sure the audio system is all that I could ever want. It should be with a 360 degree Bose 5.1 studio surround sound system and DVD navigation system. If not you can always add some subs in the trunk to add a little bass. JL audio and kicker are always a couple solid choices. Then, I would proceed to the appearance of the car. A glossy black for the paint color and dark tinted windows to make sure no one can see inside. I would go with a 15% black tint, even though it is darker than the legal limit. The legal limit is 35%, depending on where u live. 35% tint just isn't dark enough because people can still see through your windows. There isn't much else you can do to this car because it is already at the high end with leather seats, chrome 18" wheels in front and 19" wheels in back, chrome grill, halogen headlights, and a touch screen for all audio and navigational needs.

There is no comparison to this car. BMW and Mercedez Benz can not compare to the smooth luxurious ride that Cadillac presents everyone. For me, this would be the first car I would buy when I am rich because it is presentable and drivable for any weather. After that purchase I would move onto the sports car. Most likely something extremely fast and topless. There isn't much more to say about Cadillac's ongoing pleasure to their customers, but it all depends on your preference of brand. I have found mine.

Audi R8

Audi cars have started to show up more and more on the roads. They are great luxury cars with a lot of power under the hood. These cars are sleek looking and their appearnce is great. Audi is producing great, reliable cars that look really nice. It can't get much better than that. One of the newest cars in the Audi family is the Audi R8. The price starts at $112,500 and has 420 horse power.

I think the best part of this car is the headlights. It makes the front of the car look mean and like it's not messing around. First the headlights are called BI-XENON headlights. These headlights use gas-discharge lamps that are electronically controlled. The result is a glowing arc. Then the car also has LED lights surround the headlights that are on as day time running lights. So when it isn't completely dark these lights come on automatically and make the car look like lion with fiery eyes.


This car can go 0 to 60 in 4.4 seconds. The engine isn't the only thing about this car though, the interior is amazing. The leather and the gauges just bring the whole car together. This car is one of the nicest luxury/sports car for car finatics all around. The Audi R8 has been used in television shows and movies such as Dirt and Ironman. This car has the sleek and sharp look that will make other sports car run and hide. This car is a beast. Check out the Audi website.

Fuel Efficiency, NOW!

Do you really want to wait for scientists to discover new fuel sources? Hate paying three to four dollars per gallon every time you need to fill up? Well I have got some simple tips for you that will help you save just a little more at the gas pump.

1. Do not slam on the gas when you are leaving a stop sign or stop light. The more you step on the gas pedal the more gas you are releasing into your engine, which in turn, uses more gas!

2. Clean your engine regularly with some type of degreaser. Studies have shown that a clean engine runs well and burns less fuel.

3. Make sure that your tires are equally filled. This will significantly help you reach your engine’s potential because the engine does not have to work as hard to balance out the tires.

4. Do not have excess weight. Excess weight causes your engine to work harder, especially at greater speeds.

5. When it comes to your fuel injectors, make sure that you clean them regularly. If you have ever seen the recent Shell Gas Station commercials about how their gas can help clean your valves, pistons, and fuel injectors, listen to them! Well you do not have to necessarily purchase their gas, but do some research on different companies and maybe ask to see their test results. You may even find some surprising details about the different companies that you never even thought of. Some good fuel injector cleaners would be Valvoline, Penzoil, and Castrol. They are all good brands and would do the job.

Following these steps will help you significantly decrease the amount of money you spend at the gas pump. They will also help the environment at the same time.

The History of the Corvette- Part 1

The Corvette is a car that has been a staple in American made automobiles for a long time. It represents not just power and speed, but also impressive design by Chevy. It gave consumers the ability to buy one of the first domestic made sports cars, and was a big step in the right direction for American automobiles. This is part one of a history of the Corvette.

The Corvette is born- 1953 sparked the birth of what is now a great American sports car. GM debuted the Vette at the 1953 New York Auto show in there Motorama exhibit. The idea of the Corvette was to produce a powerful, yet inexpensive sports car for the auto show, not necisarilly a production vehicle. The Corvette was first constructed out of off the shelf Chevy parts in order to keep the price down. The first Vette produced 150 horsepower and because that was a lot of power at the time, an automatic, two-speed powerglide transmission was hooked up to the engine. Another effort to reduce costs resulted in the body being made of fiberglass, not steel. When Ed Cole, the chief engineer at Chevy saw the car, he instantly fell in love with it. On June 30th, 1953 the Corvette went into production in Flint, Michigan. This was the start of big things for Chevrolet.

The Many Faces of Cop Cars

A couple of friends and I had a little run in with the law this weekend. I won’t go into detail about it but as we sat there in front of the cop car, which was a sweet looking Dodge Charger by the way, I got to thinking about how I never really see any articles these days about cop cars. Many of the new cars are actually nice, in appearance. Police are now given cars with more muscle and horsepower to really get them where they need to go, and fast. The one that stopped us was very similar to this:

A slim line of blue, red, and white lights at the top and a mean grill guard in the front. It had the paint scheme of the old school police cars but the sexy body lines of the new school makes and models. A 5.7-liter, 340-horsepower Hemi V-8 engine doesn’t really help our chances either.

The state of Indiana is also changing their police force appearance. About a couple of months ago, the state of Indiana issued new police cars to be released into the workforce. These were 18 brand new 2008 Ford Mustang GT’s to be driven by one trooper in each of the 18 different locations of police posts, around the state of Indiana. Indiana law also allowed for them to be different colors, not just black and white, so that they would blend in with normal traffic. You most likely wouldn’t even know it was a cop car until you see the specially hidden lights in the grill and dash areas of the car, flashing at you to pull over. The Mustangs also came equipped with the latest in police technology which included a touch screen computer system, a global positioning system (GPS), radar, etc. This was a move to really crack down on violators of traffic laws (i.e. speeding tickets, DUI’s, etc).

I found this video on YouTube which is just a compilation of many pictures of different police cars around the world. Obviously some of them aren’t real police cars but you can kind of get the idea:

So for all you people out there that think you can always get by the law, well you can’t. The police force is always updating its equipment with the latest and greatest technologies and changing the way they look and present themselves in public. Just be careful of what other cars might be doing or what they look like. The usual places for lights would be behind the grill or in front of the rearview mirror. As long as you know a general idea of what your local police car looks like, you should be fine.

What paint jobs can do to your car?

There are so many different colors and patterns to paint your car. My question is why would you make your car so ugly, just by making weird stylizations on your car? Some people paint their cars pink, orange, green, and basically all neon colors are not made for cars. Also cars with flames are literally and metaphorically "flaming". People put vinyls on that are all different shapes, such as waves, skulls, crosses, brand names, and all sorts of random shapes. Once people start they end up making their cars worse and worse. Don't get me wrong, if you are trying to attract attention for to yourself then this is the way to do it; but it is definitely negative attention. If you want to see what I am talking about then just watch the show "Pimp My Ride" on MTV. The cars produced on this show end up being so outrageous. They have some cool features and it is nice to get your car fixed up; but I would rather have my own car that does not look like a "flaming cloud" or a "deadly assassin skull".

These are the top 5 ugliest paint jobs. They are ugly and outrageous and some are just below ugly. Some people need to learn how to keep their cars with a nice solid black, silver, or any regular color that stays on the color wheel.


5. This Jeep Wrangler isn't quite as bad as the others. It is trying to represent the U.S. Army so it has an American flag on it. I also like Jeep Wranglers so I can't say anything bad. The paint job is a little excessive, but still stands for the purpose it was given.







4. This car hits number four on my list because of the ungly pattern and color chosen to go down the whole car. It even has the same pattern and color for the interior. This car has a green color that looks like some kind of puke color. The car could have looked much better with these rims with just a solid color such as black or red.





3. This car ends up at third on my list because the ugly red color on the hood that clashes with the orange, yellow flames. Flames are never a good look for any car.




2. Has the rainbow come to earth to reside? What kind of straight person would want to drive around in this car. Personally, I would rather spray paint this car and drive it like that, but I would not want to drive it the way it is. This hurts my eyes.





1. Finally we end up with this car that may be a joke yet still ranks at the top because of the rediculous things that have been put on. A hood scoop that probably doesn't function. A very large spoiler on the roof and the back that can't be taken seriously. Spinners that are most likely from the dollar store. Then, finally there is the paint job that can't even be looked at with the clashing orange and gold.