I think a gas turbine electric drive would be great for F1. I know it was tried before, but I think those cars were just ahead of their time, we have the technology now to exploit their potential.
As one might know, gas turbines are not very efficient. That's one disadvantage. And it's exacerbated when the engine is running off peak load as the massive compressor takes a lot of energy to run even on idle.
Another is the response lag when throttling a turbine engine.
There is a big advantage to gas turbines though: they have incredible power to weight ratio.
So optimally, you want to be running the turbine at its peak load all the time. An electric drive allows you to store energy when you don't need it, and delivers massive torque. It's a great combination.
Of course, F1 wouldn't be so eager to change their rules. But it's cool to think about.
Showing posts with label Automotive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Automotive. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Axis powers revisited
BMW 328i xDrive
BMW is known for making Ultimate Driving Machines.
They are also known for their other portfolio...so full of those things that drove the British out of France and blitzed London. But that was a Bad Time, so let's forget about that part.
The 328i used to run a 300cc I6 228bhp/199lb-ft power plant. This year they are downsizing to a 200cc I4. Which is actually good news, because, with the help of TwinPower turbos, their performance has been boosted to an impressive 241bhp/258lb-ft.
"Hey roll your windows up, it's quite windy back here"
I didn't even notice. When you are throwing the car around, you really don't pay attention to much else. In Sport mode the throttle response feels great and the steering is sharp. In most other cars you have to contemplate the physics of a turn; this car is not like most cars: it is as nimble as you are. This is when the car is at its best, when you don't think, you just drive.
"Just don't go past 150"
Haha, that's funny. But in more than a good way. For all their engineering, 241 horsepower is 241 horsepower. At some point you've hit 6500 revs and you're ready for more but you glance at the tachometer and you realize there's just no more for it to give. And that's just a little disappointing.
My father mentioned after his drive that it felt like the Maxima had more power in it. I dismissed it out of hand initially, but it turns out that he's right. When you hit rock bottom in the BMW, there would still be some juice left in the Maxima.
There are some interesting questions here. For instance, what was I doing in a BMW at 6500 revs? And what the hell was I doing in a Maxima to have any baseline of comparison?
Those are good questions.
So now I am going to talk about the exterior: it looks great. I don't like much what they've done with the new headlamps but they still know a thing or two about making a pretty cars.
But don't let the outside fool you. The interior is just tragic. When you are driving it to the fullest and nothing fills your senses except the road, there's no problem at all. Except that you won't be driving like that for the vast majority of time. Else, you won't be driving at all for long because those license infractions will suddenly start appearing very quickly. For the rest of the time you can admire the cheap looking plastic panels, and the cheap looking steering wheel, and the terribly designed shifter and the terribly designed signal switch and a million other Minor Annoyances present in the vehicle. These are things you can put up with, but when the price tag is running close to $60k all-inclusive, why should you?
"You should move your seat back a little more"
No don't! Because it feels like a vice sitting back here! Second-class passengers indeed!
"Buy it for yourself, not the wife"
About sums it up actually, because this is a car for a lot of things, but it's not one for Real Life.
Infiniti G37
The G37 is in the same class, but it is actually not in the same class. This car is of a different pedigree altogether.
The inside is roomy and elegant, everything works as you expect it to, and they give you some amenities right off the bat. For instance, rear-view camera: standard. How many extra packages would you need to buy before you can get this in a BMW? Over five thousand dollars worth. The G37 treats you as you'd expect to be treated for the price.
And it stays together longer; the vehicle histories show it.
As for the engine? It is a beast. A 370cc V6 giving you 328bhp at 269lb-ft, and the torque comes earlier than in the VQ35 too. At 4000rpm it gives an audible but not overbearing low growl, suggesting that there is more power yet untapped should you need it.
You don't need it.
I put it in high gear to see how it would do for kicks and it effortlessly boosted me uphill.
No, it isn't as agile as the bimmer, nor would you want to drive it like one. But it is more maneuverable than what its girth suggests. Even with a 1" longer wheelbase than the old Maxima, it actually turns tighter, and of course the VQ37 gives you very little to complain about.
Except perhaps the gas prices.
Although the exterior isn't quite as exquisite as the BMW, it does a good enough job at looking its part. Besides, the exterior is for other people, but the interior? That's for yourself.
To sum, you can occasionally enjoy a BMW (and really enjoy it), but the G37 is the one that you can sit easy in on any day, at any speed.
BMW is known for making Ultimate Driving Machines.
They are also known for their other portfolio...so full of those things that drove the British out of France and blitzed London. But that was a Bad Time, so let's forget about that part.
The 328i used to run a 300cc I6 228bhp/199lb-ft power plant. This year they are downsizing to a 200cc I4. Which is actually good news, because, with the help of TwinPower turbos, their performance has been boosted to an impressive 241bhp/258lb-ft.
"Hey roll your windows up, it's quite windy back here"
I didn't even notice. When you are throwing the car around, you really don't pay attention to much else. In Sport mode the throttle response feels great and the steering is sharp. In most other cars you have to contemplate the physics of a turn; this car is not like most cars: it is as nimble as you are. This is when the car is at its best, when you don't think, you just drive.
"Just don't go past 150"
Haha, that's funny. But in more than a good way. For all their engineering, 241 horsepower is 241 horsepower. At some point you've hit 6500 revs and you're ready for more but you glance at the tachometer and you realize there's just no more for it to give. And that's just a little disappointing.
My father mentioned after his drive that it felt like the Maxima had more power in it. I dismissed it out of hand initially, but it turns out that he's right. When you hit rock bottom in the BMW, there would still be some juice left in the Maxima.
There are some interesting questions here. For instance, what was I doing in a BMW at 6500 revs? And what the hell was I doing in a Maxima to have any baseline of comparison?
Those are good questions.
So now I am going to talk about the exterior: it looks great. I don't like much what they've done with the new headlamps but they still know a thing or two about making a pretty cars.
But don't let the outside fool you. The interior is just tragic. When you are driving it to the fullest and nothing fills your senses except the road, there's no problem at all. Except that you won't be driving like that for the vast majority of time. Else, you won't be driving at all for long because those license infractions will suddenly start appearing very quickly. For the rest of the time you can admire the cheap looking plastic panels, and the cheap looking steering wheel, and the terribly designed shifter and the terribly designed signal switch and a million other Minor Annoyances present in the vehicle. These are things you can put up with, but when the price tag is running close to $60k all-inclusive, why should you?
"You should move your seat back a little more"
No don't! Because it feels like a vice sitting back here! Second-class passengers indeed!
"Buy it for yourself, not the wife"
About sums it up actually, because this is a car for a lot of things, but it's not one for Real Life.
Infiniti G37
The G37 is in the same class, but it is actually not in the same class. This car is of a different pedigree altogether.
The inside is roomy and elegant, everything works as you expect it to, and they give you some amenities right off the bat. For instance, rear-view camera: standard. How many extra packages would you need to buy before you can get this in a BMW? Over five thousand dollars worth. The G37 treats you as you'd expect to be treated for the price.
And it stays together longer; the vehicle histories show it.
As for the engine? It is a beast. A 370cc V6 giving you 328bhp at 269lb-ft, and the torque comes earlier than in the VQ35 too. At 4000rpm it gives an audible but not overbearing low growl, suggesting that there is more power yet untapped should you need it.
You don't need it.
I put it in high gear to see how it would do for kicks and it effortlessly boosted me uphill.
No, it isn't as agile as the bimmer, nor would you want to drive it like one. But it is more maneuverable than what its girth suggests. Even with a 1" longer wheelbase than the old Maxima, it actually turns tighter, and of course the VQ37 gives you very little to complain about.
Except perhaps the gas prices.
Although the exterior isn't quite as exquisite as the BMW, it does a good enough job at looking its part. Besides, the exterior is for other people, but the interior? That's for yourself.
To sum, you can occasionally enjoy a BMW (and really enjoy it), but the G37 is the one that you can sit easy in on any day, at any speed.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Don't worry, I'm an engineer!
"Does it cost more pollution to create high octane gas?"
No, there's only a small amount of leeway in how a refinery fractionates its crude. Gasoline itself is a blend of different compounds.
One desirable characteristic of gasoline is how much it can be compressed before it auto-ignites (you don't want this to happen because it'll throw your engine timing off) and a specific band of compounds (known as the B-T-X fraction: benzene, toluene, xylenes) increases this property.
The reason high-octane fuels are more expensive is because there just isn't enough of this stuff to go around. You get your crude and when you separate it into components there is x amount of stuff you can make gasoline with and y amount of B-T-X additives where y is less than x. Supply and demand economics.
"Does it release more pollution when used in a car?"
This is a loaded question.
At high compression ratios, the fuel burns more efficiently so you get more complete combustion, more power for the fuel. So in the strictest sense, no. Let's say you have a VQ35, all else being equal you will have better combustion (so you get a higher CO2 to CO ratio with C being stoichiometrically limiting) and more importantly you get more power per unit of fuel so you need to burn less of it to do the same thing.
There are a number of caveats. First you need an engine designed for high compression, otherwise low or high octane will ignite all the same and you're just wasting your money.
Secondly, high compression engines are usually high power, high performance pieces of machinery. So yes, you will get to 300hp more efficiently with a high octane fuel versus a low octane fuel, but if you are getting to places with a 300hp engine instead of a 100hp engine, you're not really saving any fuel are you?
The corollary is that engines have very different sets of performance envelopes so what's most fuel efficient depends on your driving habits. If you do a lot of hard acceleration, a Nissan Sentra won't have enough torque to push it on the low revs, so your car is going to have to gear down and rev harder. On the other hand, a straight-6 BMW is going to be able to generate the same amount of power without breaching 3000 on the tachometer. An engine operates more efficiently in the 2000 - 3000 rpm band than, say, 5500. So in that case, yeah, you might actually save more fuel in that 300hp BMW than the 100hp Nissan. Jeremy Clarkson might be an ape but he got that right, it's more about how you drive than what you drive.
(I've simplified some things but the point is generally valid)
No, there's only a small amount of leeway in how a refinery fractionates its crude. Gasoline itself is a blend of different compounds.
One desirable characteristic of gasoline is how much it can be compressed before it auto-ignites (you don't want this to happen because it'll throw your engine timing off) and a specific band of compounds (known as the B-T-X fraction: benzene, toluene, xylenes) increases this property.
The reason high-octane fuels are more expensive is because there just isn't enough of this stuff to go around. You get your crude and when you separate it into components there is x amount of stuff you can make gasoline with and y amount of B-T-X additives where y is less than x. Supply and demand economics.
"Does it release more pollution when used in a car?"
This is a loaded question.
At high compression ratios, the fuel burns more efficiently so you get more complete combustion, more power for the fuel. So in the strictest sense, no. Let's say you have a VQ35, all else being equal you will have better combustion (so you get a higher CO2 to CO ratio with C being stoichiometrically limiting) and more importantly you get more power per unit of fuel so you need to burn less of it to do the same thing.
There are a number of caveats. First you need an engine designed for high compression, otherwise low or high octane will ignite all the same and you're just wasting your money.
Secondly, high compression engines are usually high power, high performance pieces of machinery. So yes, you will get to 300hp more efficiently with a high octane fuel versus a low octane fuel, but if you are getting to places with a 300hp engine instead of a 100hp engine, you're not really saving any fuel are you?
The corollary is that engines have very different sets of performance envelopes so what's most fuel efficient depends on your driving habits. If you do a lot of hard acceleration, a Nissan Sentra won't have enough torque to push it on the low revs, so your car is going to have to gear down and rev harder. On the other hand, a straight-6 BMW is going to be able to generate the same amount of power without breaching 3000 on the tachometer. An engine operates more efficiently in the 2000 - 3000 rpm band than, say, 5500. So in that case, yeah, you might actually save more fuel in that 300hp BMW than the 100hp Nissan. Jeremy Clarkson might be an ape but he got that right, it's more about how you drive than what you drive.
(I've simplified some things but the point is generally valid)
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Solved
Let's say a gentleman will give you two cars for your garage. Any two cars you want. The presumption here being that you're not actually rich so you can't just buy your way out of the weaknesses in your choices.
Initially I was thinking a Tesla S and a Chevy Avalanche. The reason being that I thought it'd be good to have an electric for day to day but that means I need something gas for long trips and of course I need some space for carrying things and that left me with trying to find a pickup truck with a large cabin.
Mistake.
Problem is that, neither car is particularly speedy or luxurious and some redneck is going to steal the Avalanche in a week. So this isn't going to work. I'm going to need to re-frame this problem.
I've got it.
First choice will be a black Porsche Panamera S PHEV. The Panamera is actually the second most popular car in Porsche's lineup, even outselling the 911. Meanwhile, Aston Martin had to cut production of the Rapide because they can't sell them and BMW had to cut production of the M5 GT because they can't sell them. So clearly Porsche is onto something here. The Panamera PHEV of course has four doors, is very roomy, comfortable and dead silent day to day. Eco is hip these days, eco is smart and you'll fill its tank for mere dollars. But when you need it, it has a double clutch that can link either or both the ICE and the electric motor directly to the powertrain. Well, that ends the roadtrip problem. What's even better is that the ICE and the electric motor have torque curves that perfectly complement each other for seamless application of power. Oh and did I mention the ICE is a 4.8L 500bhp twin turbo V8? Oh yeah, that's good for karma.
Now there are a couple of shortcomings with the Panamera: it is a two-ton monstrosity, which hurts its performance and makes it hard to parallel park. But despite its size, the battery pack infringes in its trunk space reducing it by more than 100L. But that's okay. This is where the M3 Ute comes in.
The M3 will be good at going fast and carrying cargo. It's still 50kg lighter than the M3 convertible and has a targa top for hot summer cruising. Granted, it is not an Avalanche, but it still has a respectable 400 N·m of torque and trailer-hitch comes standard. It won't climb boulders, but it's perfectly suited to moving a grandfather clock, bringing home a deer carcass from your hunting expedition or towing a trailer for your OTTB. Plus you get the looks because it will literally be the only one of its kind in the world.
Update: Link and I would like to note that his picture is clearly not of a Panamera PHEV because it's not out yet; that's not even a regular Hybrid S. Totally different appearance, not even close.
Initially I was thinking a Tesla S and a Chevy Avalanche. The reason being that I thought it'd be good to have an electric for day to day but that means I need something gas for long trips and of course I need some space for carrying things and that left me with trying to find a pickup truck with a large cabin.
Mistake.
Problem is that, neither car is particularly speedy or luxurious and some redneck is going to steal the Avalanche in a week. So this isn't going to work. I'm going to need to re-frame this problem.
I've got it.
First choice will be a black Porsche Panamera S PHEV. The Panamera is actually the second most popular car in Porsche's lineup, even outselling the 911. Meanwhile, Aston Martin had to cut production of the Rapide because they can't sell them and BMW had to cut production of the M5 GT because they can't sell them. So clearly Porsche is onto something here. The Panamera PHEV of course has four doors, is very roomy, comfortable and dead silent day to day. Eco is hip these days, eco is smart and you'll fill its tank for mere dollars. But when you need it, it has a double clutch that can link either or both the ICE and the electric motor directly to the powertrain. Well, that ends the roadtrip problem. What's even better is that the ICE and the electric motor have torque curves that perfectly complement each other for seamless application of power. Oh and did I mention the ICE is a 4.8L 500bhp twin turbo V8? Oh yeah, that's good for karma.
Now there are a couple of shortcomings with the Panamera: it is a two-ton monstrosity, which hurts its performance and makes it hard to parallel park. But despite its size, the battery pack infringes in its trunk space reducing it by more than 100L. But that's okay. This is where the M3 Ute comes in.
The M3 will be good at going fast and carrying cargo. It's still 50kg lighter than the M3 convertible and has a targa top for hot summer cruising. Granted, it is not an Avalanche, but it still has a respectable 400 N·m of torque and trailer-hitch comes standard. It won't climb boulders, but it's perfectly suited to moving a grandfather clock, bringing home a deer carcass from your hunting expedition or towing a trailer for your OTTB. Plus you get the looks because it will literally be the only one of its kind in the world.
Update: Link and I would like to note that his picture is clearly not of a Panamera PHEV because it's not out yet; that's not even a regular Hybrid S. Totally different appearance, not even close.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Let me esplain you about torque
Say you have a car, when you make a turn the outer radius is going to be a longer distance than the inner radius. That means that the outer wheels are going to need to make more rotations than the inner wheels to make a turn. If you have a solid axle connecting them, then by necessity either the inner wheels are going to slip or the outer wheels are going to skid in a turn.
This is why we have differentials.
Differentials do many things,for instance they act as a reduction gear because your wheels don't spin as fast as your engine shaft (even coming out of the transmission), but the most important thing is that they allow your inner and outer wheels to spin at different speeds. I won't go into the details of how they work, but the key thing to know is the the engine is applying power by revolving the green gear (the purple is not directly connected with either the red or yellow shafts) and if there is unequal resistance coming from the shafts (e.g. in a turn), the green gear will also spin so the power goes the path of least resistance. There are more complex coupling mechanisms (like Torsen differentials which are super cool and I have no idea how they work really), but 99% of vehicles will be using these cheap, reliable and proven mechanisms here.
Let's talk about 4x4 vs AWD then. Apparently there actually isn't a straight forward convention with this terminology as it varies from manufacturer vs manufacturer, but this is how I use it consistently. 4x4 means that your entire powertrain is locked together. You see, because differentials transfer power to the point of least resistance. When turning, this is would be the outer wheels because they can spin more without slipping, but what if one wheel is on ice? Or if it's in the air? All the power is going to be wasted spinning that useless wheel while the differential ensures that no rotational energy is being imparted to the grounded wheel at all. So you lock the differentials and ensure that everything spins at the same time and all of that torque is going into resisting the ground. This does mean that your wheels will slip in a turn, but if you're climbing sand dunes in a Ford Raptor, the surfaces are slippery anyways so this is not a big factor.
You want AWD in a sports car because the main limiting factor in your acceleration isn't how much torque your engine is putting out, it's the amount of grip you have in your tires. So, power to 4 wheels equals 4 times the grip equals better acceleration. Now your R8 is expected to be driven on groomed tarmac, where all the wheels are always mated to a consistent surface, and you don't want to lose traction because your wheels are slipping because everything is locked down in a turn. That's why everything is on differentials and that's AWD.
Now say your Evo lifts off the ground. I believe that it uses a viscous couple mechanism, which submerges the mechanical connections between shafts in a shear-thickening fluid. So, corn starch and water right, if you move slowly through it, it flows around you but if you try to hit it, it acts as a solid. Same idea: if your shaft frequencies are too far apart the fluid solidifies, locking the shafts together. Maybe they use something else fancier these days, but the point is that if your Evo hits a bump, it doesn't shift torque by disconnecting the lifted wheels, it actually locks down everything so that you're not bleeding power through the diffs to a bunch of tires in the air: your AWD Lancer temporarily becomes a 4x4.
So when Richard Hammond breaks a diff in his Toyota, that's easy to understand. He just opens the diff box, severs the powertrain connections, presumably his front and rear are locked so he's not losing any power to a free-spinning shaft and his 4x4 becomes a 2x2. Simple. But when James May loses power to a single wheel, that is mysterious, because you look at that picture of a differential and tell me what parts need to have broken in what fashion in order to enable such a consequence. Any combination I can think of just seems absurd.
This is why we have differentials.
Differentials do many things,for instance they act as a reduction gear because your wheels don't spin as fast as your engine shaft (even coming out of the transmission), but the most important thing is that they allow your inner and outer wheels to spin at different speeds. I won't go into the details of how they work, but the key thing to know is the the engine is applying power by revolving the green gear (the purple is not directly connected with either the red or yellow shafts) and if there is unequal resistance coming from the shafts (e.g. in a turn), the green gear will also spin so the power goes the path of least resistance. There are more complex coupling mechanisms (like Torsen differentials which are super cool and I have no idea how they work really), but 99% of vehicles will be using these cheap, reliable and proven mechanisms here.
Let's talk about 4x4 vs AWD then. Apparently there actually isn't a straight forward convention with this terminology as it varies from manufacturer vs manufacturer, but this is how I use it consistently. 4x4 means that your entire powertrain is locked together. You see, because differentials transfer power to the point of least resistance. When turning, this is would be the outer wheels because they can spin more without slipping, but what if one wheel is on ice? Or if it's in the air? All the power is going to be wasted spinning that useless wheel while the differential ensures that no rotational energy is being imparted to the grounded wheel at all. So you lock the differentials and ensure that everything spins at the same time and all of that torque is going into resisting the ground. This does mean that your wheels will slip in a turn, but if you're climbing sand dunes in a Ford Raptor, the surfaces are slippery anyways so this is not a big factor.
You want AWD in a sports car because the main limiting factor in your acceleration isn't how much torque your engine is putting out, it's the amount of grip you have in your tires. So, power to 4 wheels equals 4 times the grip equals better acceleration. Now your R8 is expected to be driven on groomed tarmac, where all the wheels are always mated to a consistent surface, and you don't want to lose traction because your wheels are slipping because everything is locked down in a turn. That's why everything is on differentials and that's AWD.
Now say your Evo lifts off the ground. I believe that it uses a viscous couple mechanism, which submerges the mechanical connections between shafts in a shear-thickening fluid. So, corn starch and water right, if you move slowly through it, it flows around you but if you try to hit it, it acts as a solid. Same idea: if your shaft frequencies are too far apart the fluid solidifies, locking the shafts together. Maybe they use something else fancier these days, but the point is that if your Evo hits a bump, it doesn't shift torque by disconnecting the lifted wheels, it actually locks down everything so that you're not bleeding power through the diffs to a bunch of tires in the air: your AWD Lancer temporarily becomes a 4x4.
So when Richard Hammond breaks a diff in his Toyota, that's easy to understand. He just opens the diff box, severs the powertrain connections, presumably his front and rear are locked so he's not losing any power to a free-spinning shaft and his 4x4 becomes a 2x2. Simple. But when James May loses power to a single wheel, that is mysterious, because you look at that picture of a differential and tell me what parts need to have broken in what fashion in order to enable such a consequence. Any combination I can think of just seems absurd.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Crash safety probably isn't as easy as they make it seem in those commercials...
I see that in China, the crumple zone is driver inclusive.
They say North American safety standards are higher than those in Europe. Well, maybe the Europeans don't have to worry about getting T-boned by a Chevy Suburban.
They say North American safety standards are higher than those in Europe. Well, maybe the Europeans don't have to worry about getting T-boned by a Chevy Suburban.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thought exercise
I was thinking if I would take a Charger coloured like that.
No.
Nothing made in America could look like that.
But maybe a Veyron.
You know, black out all their stupid chrome.
Could be hot.
What if you just had an all beige car? Like wheels and everything.
But then you could have bright red brake calipers.
Anyone remember the time Richard Hammond brought on a dark grey GT3? Except its tyres were jet black, the rims were red, and it had yellow brake calipers.
What a retarded idea!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Need for Speed is stupid, as if the police would chase you in Lamborghinis!
Well...turns out I was dead wrong.
And apparently some of them do actually get used for policing duty...so...
Oh well, not like regular police cars are cheap either. The Italians also got a pair of Evoras on duty.
And apparently some of them do actually get used for policing duty...so...
Oh well, not like regular police cars are cheap either. The Italians also got a pair of Evoras on duty.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
y u no liek?
This is the very lovely Panamera that everyone else seems to hate:
This is the CTS-V wagon that everyone gushes over:
WHY??
This is the CTS-V wagon that everyone gushes over:
WHY??
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
If I had to pick...
...a favourite sports car, a true sports car, it would definitely be the GT-R.
First its looks: the lines were from Gundam and the dials from Gran Turismo, a truly Japanese inspired creation. And true to Japanese humility, it's about as understated as a sports car can look.
Haven't your parents ever told you not to judge a book by its cover?
A new Aventador, bright orange and nostrils flared, will run you at least $300k, pack a 6.5 V12, give you nearly 700 horses and get you from 0-60 in 2.9s. The definition of ostentatious.
A new GT-R will also get you there in 2.9s. It will do this while carrying an extra 200kg in amenities and it will do it with "just" 530 horses in a 3.8 V6 and it will do it while costing you a much more reasonable $80k.
The last gen GT-R finished the Nurburgring in 7:26, beating the much more expensive F458 by more than 6 seconds. The 2011 GT-R improves that to 7:24 (semi-wet), just topping the Enzo: the Ferrari built singular-purpose racing machine.
The Enzo does not cost $80 000.
Nor does it have power windows.
So why buy Italian? I suppose if you want to throw money into holes while looking ridiculous (and I concede that there is definitely a market to be tapped in this area), but engineering? Leave it to the Germans. And the Japanese.
First its looks: the lines were from Gundam and the dials from Gran Turismo, a truly Japanese inspired creation. And true to Japanese humility, it's about as understated as a sports car can look.
Haven't your parents ever told you not to judge a book by its cover?
A new Aventador, bright orange and nostrils flared, will run you at least $300k, pack a 6.5 V12, give you nearly 700 horses and get you from 0-60 in 2.9s. The definition of ostentatious.
A new GT-R will also get you there in 2.9s. It will do this while carrying an extra 200kg in amenities and it will do it with "just" 530 horses in a 3.8 V6 and it will do it while costing you a much more reasonable $80k.
The last gen GT-R finished the Nurburgring in 7:26, beating the much more expensive F458 by more than 6 seconds. The 2011 GT-R improves that to 7:24 (semi-wet), just topping the Enzo: the Ferrari built singular-purpose racing machine.
The Enzo does not cost $80 000.
Nor does it have power windows.
So why buy Italian? I suppose if you want to throw money into holes while looking ridiculous (and I concede that there is definitely a market to be tapped in this area), but engineering? Leave it to the Germans. And the Japanese.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Just in case you forgot it was a Bimmer
BMW is infamous for racking up $Texas above a vehicle's base cost through extras.
Using their online configurator, here are the ways of skinning your wallet that I've discovered:
-If you want 19" wheels on your 5-series, you must order the entire Sports package (+$2500 CDN)
-If you want the Sports package on a 535i, you must order the Executive package (+$5400), though the converse is not true. You also do not do this if you buy a 550i.
-Jet Black on your 335i is no charge, but Black Sapphire will cost you (+$800). And Ruby Black Metallic will cost you even more because you have to order the BMW Individual Collection (+$3900).
-On that note, if you want a High Gloss Shadow Line on your 5-Series, you need the Sports Package, or if you have 335i the M-Sports Package (+$3500) and you'd get an M-badge on your boot even though the vehicle is not of the M-series.
I was going to continue but really I can't keep these things straight in my head anymore.
Suffice to say though, the same sort of deal is going to happen if you try to buy a Mini.
Using their online configurator, here are the ways of skinning your wallet that I've discovered:
-If you want 19" wheels on your 5-series, you must order the entire Sports package (+$2500 CDN)
-If you want the Sports package on a 535i, you must order the Executive package (+$5400), though the converse is not true. You also do not do this if you buy a 550i.
-Jet Black on your 335i is no charge, but Black Sapphire will cost you (+$800). And Ruby Black Metallic will cost you even more because you have to order the BMW Individual Collection (+$3900).
-On that note, if you want a High Gloss Shadow Line on your 5-Series, you need the Sports Package, or if you have 335i the M-Sports Package (+$3500) and you'd get an M-badge on your boot even though the vehicle is not of the M-series.
I was going to continue but really I can't keep these things straight in my head anymore.
Suffice to say though, the same sort of deal is going to happen if you try to buy a Mini.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Your parents must be soo hood, Oleksi
The hottest fires don't actually make the hardest steel; the trick is fast quenching of γ-iron to under the martensitic transition temperature. Admittedly, the truth is quite poor as a tagline.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Trials and tribulations of used car shopping
After getting reared by an SUV and scrapping the Accord, I found a newer Maxima with lower mileage for $1800 more than the insurance reimbursement.
Turns out what I thought was a great deal has a couple of flaws.
Passenger window is gimped.
Okay, whatever. Easy fix, the internet tells me.
Rear ABS sensor has salt corrosion.
Ooops! Goodbye VDC, traction, ABS!
Well that has to be fixed, no question. On the brighter side, the car drives well; the shifts are virtually unnoticeable, which is a step up from the Honda.
Still, Great-Deal had just turned into Okay-Deal post-purchase.
And what the hell was the previous owner doing, ricing the vehicle instead of fixing a bad ABS sensor?
"It's okay, I know how to pump the brakes"
Because that is totally the same, right?
My mother had comforting words.
"Look at this stack of papers you removed from the old glove compartment, it's every time your father took it to service without telling me; they're all like $400 and $500 each!"
Damn! No wonder that Accord worked flawlessly.
Turns out what I thought was a great deal has a couple of flaws.
Passenger window is gimped.
Okay, whatever. Easy fix, the internet tells me.
Rear ABS sensor has salt corrosion.
Ooops! Goodbye VDC, traction, ABS!
Well that has to be fixed, no question. On the brighter side, the car drives well; the shifts are virtually unnoticeable, which is a step up from the Honda.
Still, Great-Deal had just turned into Okay-Deal post-purchase.
And what the hell was the previous owner doing, ricing the vehicle instead of fixing a bad ABS sensor?
"It's okay, I know how to pump the brakes"
Because that is totally the same, right?
My mother had comforting words.
"Look at this stack of papers you removed from the old glove compartment, it's every time your father took it to service without telling me; they're all like $400 and $500 each!"
Damn! No wonder that Accord worked flawlessly.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Frag Kit 6
Looks absolutely ridiculous.
It adds another 2'(!) of horizontal clearance to your Frag 5 HMMWV, and check out those upgraded view ports.
I would love to roll around suburban Toronto in an H2 kitted out like this; maybe with some Jay-Z, lookin' like a real douchebag. The extra 1000lbs is practically screaming, "fuck the environment!"
Not suburban Iraq though, because then I might roll into a ditch and die.
It adds another 2'(!) of horizontal clearance to your Frag 5 HMMWV, and check out those upgraded view ports.
I would love to roll around suburban Toronto in an H2 kitted out like this; maybe with some Jay-Z, lookin' like a real douchebag. The extra 1000lbs is practically screaming, "fuck the environment!"
Not suburban Iraq though, because then I might roll into a ditch and die.
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