A New Blank Canvas, From Scion (Automotive)

A couple new Scions will be hitting the streets in a few weeks. The model pictured above is the next generation Xb. (The other will be called the Xd, replacing the Xa) I have always been a fan of these Japanese cube cars, most of which we don't get here in the United States. I love the boxy yet somehow bulbous urban proportions of this specifc model, and love the tuning potential. I got my first bit of solid information a couple days ago from Edmunds.com Their first drive can be found here.

It was in their video review that I saw the Xb in some weird sea foam color riding on larger than stock TRD wheels. It made a huge difference, and really made the car look good, as a nice set of rims tend to do. The stock wheels are crap, but for a reason. Scion wants their customers to modify their cars. People who plan on toying and tuning from the get go don't want to pay a lot for wheels they are just going to throw out anyway, unless they have unusually strong second hand market value. That philosophy applies to any part of the car that is easy and typically changed. The cheaper those parts are, the lower the sticker price, the more money for modifications.

The overall look and potential of the vehicle drew me in. I wanted to learn more about the Xb, so I visited the Scion website. It was there that I was treated to a little before and after (stock then modified animation) of the Scion lineup, and more importantly where I saw this...
Granted, I may be a little biased by the color choice (red,black, gunmetal, and white is one of my favorite combinations) but I think it looks amazing. With the right wheels, and a slightly lowered ride height it just looks spot on. Feel free to disagree, but I love it.

Now, in even more exciting news, the Xb holds the 2.4 liter 4 cyl motor from the tC. A 160hp isn't amazing, but the tuning potential on this engine is. Turbonetics and other forced induction companies have turbo and supercharger kits for this motor.

I can picture it now: 19" wheels, TRD springs, TRD anti roll bar, tinted windows, a Turbonetics 300hp turbo kit, quality exhaust, and a great audio visual system. You can keep your Jeep Wrangler and Toyota Fj. I've found what beach cruiser I want.

Below: Additional Photos of a Xb modified by Five Axis sporting Volk TE's

New Cellphone = New Blog Content (Personal Automotive)

Here is my pride and joy, shot with my new toy. I received my Sony Ericsson K790a in the mail today. I've had the same cell phone for the last two years and decided it was time for an upgrade. One of it's more impressive features is a 3.2 mega pixel camera built right in.(With Xenon flash might I add) Thanks to blogger.com's mobile blogging feature, I will be able to send in blog updates with high quality pictures from just about anywhere. If I'm not happy with the mobile picture quality I can always pop out the 2GB Micromini SD card and put the full quality image on the site instead. Oh how I love technology.

So what does this mean for the blog? My current city of residence, Newport Beach, is synonymous with high end and exotic automobiles. (I have crossed paths with a Bugatti Veyron, twice!) This will allow me to snap a picture or movie at a moments notice so that you the reader get to see what I see. I hope you enjoy the practically live feeds. Please excuse the lack of eloquence in those on the fly entries. The copy may suffer a bit, but the pictures will speak a thousand words.

U.S. vs. European Review: LS600h (Automotive)

For a good comparison of European vs. American automotive journalism, check out these two reviews of the Lexus LS600h L. I think some of the differences can be attributed to the European journalist testing both the LS600h and the LS600h L, but I think a lot can be said about both countries, based on what attributes are really focused on. I think the Auto Express review hits the nail on the head in regards to approriate states and market influence.

American Review (Edmunds)

European Review (Auto Express)

Ford Doesn't Suck, Outside the U.S. Anyway (Automotive)

Ford's domestic offering is weak. With the exception of the Mustang GT, a great balance of price and performance (the GT500 has under delivered on the other hand), the amazing super car that is the GT(production has ended), and the very impressive new Superduty pick- up, Ford does not offer vehicles that can really compete with foreign competitors, especially in the bread and butter market of family sedans. (Or even domestic now that GM is stepping their game up) For better or worse, this isn't true everywhere. If you watched Casino Royale, you've already seen the vehicle that could greatly help Ford in the U.S., the new Mondeo. Unfortunately, it was not developed for this market, and will not be sold here. Just based on the styling alone, that's a damn shame. It gets even more criminal after you read some reviews of this model. (Auto Express has one here, and a recent Top Gear blog entry here) If you enjoy being jealous or angry, I recommend giving both short articles a read.


Want a little salt in that wound? Well then, I should tell you that the U.S. market's disparity with Europe doesn't end there.

Meet the Ford Focus ST. It was a shame we never got the Ford Focus RS, a turbocharged front wheel drive hand full shown here, here in the United States, but it is absolutely ridiculous that we have not received this little number, shown above in an insane orange. It's a high performance variant of the new gen Focus powered by the Volvo 5cyl turbo motor, tuned for more power, mid ranged punch, and throttle response than when found in the Volvo S40. The reviews for the ST have been fantastic. (Check out this Edmunds review here) The Volkswagen GTI still seems to come out on top of most performance hatch comparisons, but the ST is always close by.

What vehicle would you guess won 2007 International Car of the Year? A Ford by chance...oh my, and what is this. Did you say a Ford minivan?! (Proof is here)

It's true. Ford has a fun to drive, Focus ST 2.5 liter turbo motor equipped, 7 passenger MPV. (Some stellar reviews here, here, and here) Even if you ignore the fact that Ford USA has absolutely sucked in the minivan market for quite some time now with the Windstar/Freestar debacle, it's still amazing they have not tried harder to bring this vehicle here. When one of your models wins Car of the Year, I would try to get it to every market, but that's just me.

How did this happen? Why does Ford Europe have a far superior line up of cars than Ford USA? I can only imagine it stemmed from complacency. For too long, Ford was able to rely, naively, on Americans buying domestics. By the time they considered the foreign offerings really competition, it was too late. A company wide hunger for innovation can't be cultivated in a matter of months. It takes years to have the right people in place for such creations. My guess is Ford Europe has been fighting an uphill battle from the get-go. The Europeans have always had a more critical eye towards the vehicles they buy and drive, forcing the best from the manufacturers that choose to sell vehicles there. On the upside, at least we know Ford is capable of great things, whether or not we get them all here in the U.S. I truly believe that the problems Ford now faces here, will force some sort of creative innovative burst. If not, they might die. What do they have to lose?

Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari F40 Video, Enough Said (Automotive)

Hitting Every Branch of the Pretty Tree (Automotive)

I have not hid the fact that I find the 2008 WRX 5 door or sedan to be ugly. I also fully admit that I own a 2005 Subaru WRX Sti. However, this is exactly why I was so pleased to find an online article by Road and Track regarding the next generation Sti. (and Evo X)

Road and Track used all the information they have gathered so far to create a hypothetical styling prototype, and it looks good. The new Sti will come in a hatch back 5 door configuration only. It's not the favorite style of U.S. buyers, and is much more European. (The same reason the Volkswagen GTI has struggled in the U.S. somewhat, despite stellar reviews) I personally loved the idea, just not the execution I found on the 08 WRX. Fortunately, the Sti's WRX on steroids styling might right a lot of those styling wrongs. A potential 20hp and 20ft lbs of torque boost in power doesn't hurt either. Match that to a stiffer chassis and carrying 50 pounds less weight, and we may have the best standard production Sti ever.

The Evo X is expected to get a power boost to 300hp and 325ft lbs of torque at a very low 3000rpm. (The Sti's torque peaks at 4000rpm) The Mitsubishi is gaining some weight this time around, approximately 200 pounds, but is gaining some amazing technology. For the first time the entire alphabet soup from Japan is coming on the U.S. Evo (AYC=active yaw control, S-AWC=super-all-wheel control, ACD=active center differential,ASC=anti-skid control), but even more impressive is a the new 6 speed DSG style gearbox option.


DSG Explanation, skip if necessary: It was designed by Audi and is available on the TT, GTI, and technically the Bugatti Veyron. It is a true automatic manual that has two clutches, one with the current gear engaged, and the other pre-engaging the next, allowing for instantaneous shifts. It's so good in fact that the DSG equipped GTI has better acceleration times than the manual model. This is only true for a few other models, including the 997 Porsche Turbo which uses a conventional automatic.

I have to say this available sequential transmission option is making me a little jealous. I love rowing my own gears, but my rather terrible commute on the 405 a couple days a week makes me think twice about owning a fully manual car again in the future. In my case I would not be concerned with the fully automatic mode's shifting smoothness. I would drive it just as I do my manual vehicle, shifting it by hand, all the time. I would however be concerned with the transmissions ability to handle higher than stock power numbers. One of the great things about these cars, Sti and Evo, is that they both respond so favorably to power modifications. I would hate to have an overly complicated transmission put a damper on that. If, by some small chance, have built a DSG transmission for an awd car that can handle a 350-400hp, I will be truly amazed, and more than a little jealous. Nothing like perfect shifts anytime, everytime.

Life at 65 - An analysis of speed limits (Automotive)

Footage from my "Life at 65" experiment (Bonus Soundtrack included)
All footage taken with cruise control set at 65mph
Additional footage after article conclusion

Speed limits are ridiculous. I agree with a 25mph limit in residential areas and the limits on most city streets (35 to 50mph), but the speed limits on our highways and freeways are terrible. Cars keep getting faster, more stable, and safer yet speed limits have been set at 65mph or 70mph for quite some time. Based on my recent sample, traffic engineers would ideally have the limits set quite a bit higher. (All article hyperlinks are active. I particularly recommend the article at citation 2)

"Wikipedia's Entry Regarding Speed Limits
85th percentile rule
In the United States, traffic engineers may rely on the 85th percentile rule[2] to establish speed limits. The speed limit should be set to the speed that separates the bottom 85% of vehicle speeds from the top 15%. The 85th percentile is slightly greater than a speed that is one standard deviation above the mean of a normal distribution.
The theory is that traffic laws that reflect the behavior of the majority of motorists may have better compliance than laws that arbitrarily criminalize the majority of motorists and encourage violations. The latter kinds of laws lack public support and often fail to bring about desirable changes in driving behavior. An example is the federally-mandated 55 mph (90 km/h) speed limit that was removed in part because of notoriously low compliance.
Traffic engineers observe that the majority of drivers drive in a safe and reasonable manner, as demonstrated by consistently favorable driving records. Studies have shown crash rates are lowest at around the 85th percentile. Vehicles traveling over the 85th percentile speed (or faster than the flow of traffic) have a significantly higher crash risk than vehicles traveling around or modestly below this speed.
Most U.S. jurisdictions report using the 85th percentile speed as the basis for their speed limits, so the 85th-percentile speed and speed limits should be closely matched. However, a review of available speed studies demonstrates that the posted speed limit is almost always set well below the 85th-percentile speed by as much as 8 to 12 mph (see p.88) (13 to 19 km/h). Some reasons for this include:
Political or bureaucratic resistance to higher limits.
Statutes that restrict jurisdictions from posting limits higher than an arbitrary number."

To test the 65mph rule, I traveled in the two slowest lanes of the northbound 5 between San Diego and Orange County with my cruise control set at 65mph. I observed approximately the number of vehicles passing me, and compared that to the number I had passed, or at least gained on. It wasn't a big surprise to find that nearly every vehicle was passing me, including all but a few semi-trucks. If I had to give percentages, I would say 95% were traveling above the 65mph limit, and 5% were traveling at 65. (A generous 5%) I did not find a single non-commercial vehicle traveling below the set maximum limit. Clear proof that the maximum speed limit of the 5 northbound between San Diego and Orange County is grossly inaccurate, and arbitrarily set.

Speed limits that make every one's driving habits illegal hold absolutely no value. It becomes solely a way for city governments to make money, and for city employees to have a job enforcing and processing citations that mean nothing. Maximum speed limits have little to do with safety, or the good of the people. If it did, I would hope the government and police departments would make a real attempt to change society wide driving habits. In the real world, it is differences in speed that create unsafe driving environments, not driving 75 or 80mph in a 65 zone. I personally can say, and hope my footage illustrates, that it is extremely unsafe driving at 65mph. I was tailgated repeatedly, cut off numerous times, and feared merging at the many onramps. I encourage everyone who reads this, to try driving at the set maximum speed limit on their local freeway/highway. You will quickly experience what I'm talking about, especially if you live in Southern California. Police officers are lucky more people don't drive at or below the set maximum speed limits. I guarantee there would be more accidents tomorrow if more of the population did. Clearly, it has become a hypocritical system of power and money, allowing officers to choose who will be guilty on any given day at any given time. It has nothing to do with morality or safety. It's all a big joke.

What the government needs to realize is that people generally don't want to die. If they don't want to die, they will drive in a manner that prevents their death. The majority of the population, lets say 85%, will drive in a manner that is safe and reasonable, because in a well developed society such as ours, the majority of the populaion is safe, legal, and reasonable. Their driving and accident records support this. If arbitrarily set limits claim all these life loving, death fearing, Americans are driving unsafely and in an illegal manner, then these laws cannot be taken seriously. Who stands as the morale or legal compass if the majority is in the wrong, and every one else is even worse.

These speed limits will not change significantly for quite some time, and they may never again accurately reflect the habits of the driving public. An appropriate speed limit for today's vehicles, drivers, and freeways will be too high for government to stomach. As time passes, an appropriate speed limit (based on the 85th percentile rule and other indicators) will increase and grow the discrepancy between the actual set limits and this appropriate value. This will cause normal safe drivers to slam on their brakes at the site of a police officer, potentially dropping 15 or 20mph, and causing an accident. Not that their original speed was unsafe, but because an arbitrarily set limit told them it was wrong. What if, every police and highway patrol officer enforcing arbitrarily set speed limits was working on some other case? Helping pursue a thief, catch rapist, stop domestic abuse, or solve a murder for example. Think how much better the world could be.

Additional Footage

Look at drivers side window for reference

Lesson Learned (Personal Automotive)

If I learned anything from running the La Jolla Half Marathon this morning, it's that I really really love cars.