What buzz words come to mind when the word ‘hybrid’ is thrown about? Sexy? Sporty? Fast? No, no, and no.  Our impression of hybrids will change in the coming years.  The days of synonymous associations of the term with Toyota Priuses and Honda Insights are numbered.  The Geneva Auto Show premiered a couple hybrid sports cars even Nostradamus could not prophesize.  The best in show award for electrocuted ponies goes to…

The Porsche Carrera GT Hybrid, err, I mean the Porsche 918 Spyder Plug In Hybrid Concept!

Mid mounted symphonic V8? Check.  500 ponies? Check.  9200 redline? Check.  What you might not know is nearly half of the stable is available on tap by two electric motors.   In fact, the car can run exclusively on the 218 electrocuted horses for 16 miles.

The additional hybrid equipment includes a lithium ion battery pack under the passenger’s toosh and two electric motors supplying the 218 horses, one on the front and another the rear axle.  With all the additional hardware, the car still weighs in at under 3300 lbs.  Oh and it lapped the Nurburging quicker than the Carrera GT.  And did I mention Porsche claims 78 Miles per gallon at the pump?

Mind = Blown

Well, sort of.  Some might remember the gorgeous Pontiac Woodie.  Others’ impression of the station wagon might illicit nausea because they see the Buick Roadmaster and hear Devo on the radio.  Love em or hate em, they serve a great purpose.  For one, they multitask (unlike the iPad).   And as of 2010, they are “in.”  I call them station wagons 2.0 or more specifically, “five door sportbacks.”

Before the complete upgrade was achieved, there was definitely a beta stage.  It was not perfect but it jump started the evolution of the station wagon into the “five door sportback.”  Case in point, the Dodge Magnum.  How do you make something as asexual as a station wagon into a rock star? Simple, just add a Hemi.  It wasn’t perfect.  It had a fairly bland design – an appendage on big wheels, really.  However, it had a huge V8 powering the rear wheels.  It did enough things right to make the grocery store trip with the wife and kids fun.  And by fun I mean the Hemi drowning all sounds of the passengers yapping.  Little victories..

Exhibit B – the Subaru WRX introduced in 2007.  AWD? Check.  Turbo? Check.  5 door? Check.  In fact, Subaru is so confident in their 5 door sportback, they offer the top of the line STi ONLY in a 5 door sportback.  I don’t blame them, the regular Subaru WRX 5 door sportback’s sales number simply Chris Brown-ed the sedan.  Oh and guess which car company was among only TWO who gained market share during the recession?

There is also the Mazda 3 and the Infiniti EX.  Both are fine examples of Japanese car makers taking the sportback concept seriously.  Infiniti was particularly sneaky.  The EX is simply a modern station wagon version of the G35 Sedan.  But Infiniti totally sidestepped that relationship.  Instead, they introduced it as a separate model with design akin to the sexy FX (ya, I said it).

There were some failures along the way to SW 2.0.  POP QUIZ – what would you get if Gary Busey had a child with Rosie O’Donnell and that child mated with Kelly from The Office? A BMW X6.  I don’t care if it’s fast, the thing is hideous – German Pontiac Aztek anyone?

After all the trial and error, we have finally reached SW 2.0 with Porsche’s Panamera.  The previous attempts did a great job of making the station wagon fun to drive.  The Magnum, WRX, EX, and even the BMW Aztek transformed the traditional, boring station wagon into a  genuinely fun to drive sportback.  The only thing missing were aesthetics.  Enter Porsche.  Anyone remember the last time Porsche broke tradition and entered a new segment?  The result was the Porsche Cayenne SUV which is currently the best selling Porsche model, 5 years running.  I expect nothing less of the Panamera.  Hopefully this time, the station wagon trend stays.

My answer, without equivocation, is no.  TomTom, Garmin, and Magellan might be disappointed. And yes, I know there are $100 iPhone apps out there which provide the same service.  Take a look at the Lexus Navigation System, the Audi Navigation system, and the BMW Navigation system in their 2010 flagships and see if the iPhone will suffice.

It is easy to forget how far car navigation has come.  10 years ago, car navigation simply entailed a series of maps uploaded onto a CD or a DVD.  GPS would find the car’s location and triangulate it to the map on the screen.  Voila.  Today, everyone with a smart phone has Google Maps and/or Mapquest.  You could argue these applications aren’t as responsive.  Fair enough, grab a TomTom and Garmin, problem solved, right? Not exactly.

Car makers are smart.  They know the navigation package has the highest mark up.  They have been charging inflated prices upwards of $5000 for the “technology package” for ages.  The selling point is convenience and the pretentious right to say  “I got a BMW with Nav! Top of the Line!” as opposed to “I got a BMW.”

Luxury car makers are successfully distancing themselves from TomSquared and company.  Mercedes Benz now offers a Navigation system with a 6 disc DVD player.  The Lexus navigation system will not only give you active traffic updates but also update you on how your stocks and Lakers are doing.  Audi’s navigation system takes it one step further and adds a TV tuner.  Great, now you can connect to your phone via bluetooth and vote for your favorite American Idol all while zooming up the on ramp.

Like Ophelia, no one out-crazy’s BMW.  On board the BMW navigation system is an 80 gig hard drive.  With the hard drive comes a CD/DVD reader and a USB port so you can not only upload songs, but movies, files, documents and family photographs as well.

How do you make something good better? Just add Google.  Yes, BMW navigation system will integrate with Google.  You can “tell the car” where you will be traveling while enjoying the morning coffee on your desktop.  When you jump in the car, the navigation is already there.  Gmail fan? Great, now all your contacts can be uploaded into the BMW Navigation system – this means the physical address will be marked on the map along with names and numbers.  Scroll to John, click the home/office address, and you have directions.  Simple.  Want to text him instead? BMW now has Google voice recognition built in, say it and it shall be texted.  Voice enabled Google search is there too.  Somewhere KITT is rolling in its grave..

Would I pass over Garmin and pay $5000 for a car navigation system? If that’s what it takes to say, “I got a BMW with Google! Top of the Line!”

I want a Toyota Prius. There, I said it. Sure it has the sex appeal of a burka and is as fast as Shaq but I still want one. Apparently, I am not the only one. Toyota has sold 150,000-180,000 Priuses in 2007, 2008, and 2009 each. Must be the delicious center console display unit.

My second confession – I hate paying for gas which is why I started considering hybrids, both Toyota and Honda versions. With 45 MPG, I could drive from San Diego to San Francisco on one tank of gas. Then I did the math and turns out, this reasoning doesn’t work. And be honest, did you start “going green” around the time gas hit $4 a gallon? I did. Turns out if I were to buy a Civic over the Insight Hybrid or a Corolla over the Prius, it would take me 5 years to make up the price premium in gas money.

Alas, I wish I didn’t do the math. As much as I like to go green, I’d rather save the $6000, recycle some cans, wear an organic hemp tee shirt on my drive up to San Francisco and perhaps part take in a drum circle. GO GREEN!

DELICIOUS CENTER CONSOLE

When you think of compact cars, what comes to mind? A Scion? Nissan Qube? A Smart Car? In a world where Porsche made an SUV fun to drive, I am a little disappointed at the lack of fun compact cars. Car makers, please step up!

I recently had the pleasure to drive a 5 speed Mini Cooper ( not the “S”).  I have never enjoyed driving anything with 120ish horses, especially in a FWD layout, as I did the Mini Cooper.  Naturally, I began to ponder other options which fit the following categories – inexpensive, small, and fun to drive. Again, I say, car makers, please step up!

This niche is begging for an opportunist.  Historically, we have had great sport compact cars.  If you were looking for a fun compact car half a century ago in the US, you would choose between a Ford Mustang or a Chevrolet Camaro. Today, Scion xA or xB.  Or perhaps the Kia Sol or Nissan Versa? Didn’t think so.

And let’s not forget the original, inexpensive, small, and fun to drive car, the Volkwagen Beetle – RWD, rear engine, and inexpensive.  In its spirit, here is list of cars I wish the car makers would bring back! Feel free to add your own…

1991 – 1994 Toyota MR2 Turbo : RWD,  MR engine layout, Turbo, heck, I’ll even settle for the late 1990’s MR2 Spyder.

1991-1998 Nissan 240sx : torquey engine + 2500 curb weight + RWD – stability control = fun compact car.

1994-1999 Toyota Celica GT Four : someone at Toyota said “Let’s take the turbo engine from the MR2, put it in a Celica and give it AWD.” Give that guy a Pulitzer.

2005-2009 Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice : just when you thought GM did something right in the car department (sans Corvette), both Saturn and Pontiac get axed. Ouch.

2003-2005 Dodge Neon SRT 4 : No one likes torque steer but everyone loves a Turbocharged commuter under $20k.

All of the above cars provide a guiltless, gas mashing spree turn after turn.  I wish car makers would take notice. Until then, you’ll find me in a Mini Cooper.

The great American car companies – Ford, GMC, and Chrysler have legacies rich enough, you could teach a history, economics, management, and marketing class on each one. From buying Maserati (Chrysler) to buying damn near everything (GM), there have been many hits and misses between the Big 3.

Now that the dust is slowly beginning to settle, Ford is clearly the winner. How is that possible? Technologically, Chrysler was the first to the small engine, forced induction strategy which is a ubiquitous trend in the economically challenged car industry today. Just look at any Audi, BMW, and Mercedes model. They are all offering forced induction options and even downsizing the big V8’s to force fed V6’s. Chrysler was there before any of them (at least 8 years ago).

GM has arguably the most exciting of all line ups. The new Camaro is absolutely gorgeous.  It is a bargain for the money for the V6 (300 ponies for under 25k?!) and the V8 is more powerful than Ford’s and Dodge’s comparable Mustang and Charger. GM is definitely, technologically speaking, winning the Pony car battle.  And what about the Corvette? Ford and Chrysler have no models competing with the Corvette. You would have better chance at finding an agreeable universal health care plan than performance at the price point of a Corvette.

Ford on the other hand, is just now adding forced induction into the Taurus SHO and is by far the slowest of all pony car V8’s. In early 2009, when the bankruptcy spree began and economy was centrifuging down the toilet, Ford’s stock was below $1.50. At the time of writing, Ford stock is selling just below $9. But how? Enter Ford Fusion – might as well call it Ford’s personal Jesus because it is the savior Ford needs. Hold the presses, Ford is offering a mid size car with a peppy 4 cylinder and hybrid engine option? As the Guiness guys would say, brilliant!

Well, sort of, considering Toyota executed this years ago and monopolized the mid size market with the Toyota Camry and the hybrid market with the omnipresent Prius. Even Nissan doesn’t have a hybrid but they were smart enough to borrow Toyota’s and toss it inside the Altima’s engine bay. Ford is following Toyota’s blueprint and that right there is the difference maker vs GM and Chrysler.

May the best car win, but please Fiat, keep Maserati away from Chrysler. Don’t want The Chrysler TC by Maserati-induced night terrors coming back..

The car industry today vs. back “then” is quiet different. I am not talking about the technological advances in car parts or addition of turbo or continually advancing car steering technology. I am simply talking about random, superfluous but interesting historical information about car companies. Any car nerd can appreciate random car company facts, so here goes.

-Which luxury car maker started off as a motorcycle sidecar manufacturer? Jaguar.

-The Volkswagen Beetle was a design ordered by Adolf Hitler as a “people’s car.” Which engineering firm got the contract? Porsche. In fact, a few years later when Porsche decided to start making consumer cars, guess which car became the basis of the first Porsche? Arguably, that point still stands today.

-Which sports car company started off as a tractor manufacturer? Automobilli Lamborghini.

-Lexus was launched in the US in 1989. When did Toyota launch Lexus at home in Japan? 2005.

-Which car influenced the FWD front engine design ubiquitous on the road today? Mini Cooper.

-What do Lincoln and Cadillac have in common? They were both founded by the same person, Henry Leland. He sold Lincoln to Ford and started Cadillac, which he later sold to GM.

-Which car company’s first model was built entirely on a farm? HINT: it was inspired by Jeep. Land Rover.

-Speaking of Jeep, what do the Jeep Wrangler and Hummer H1 have in common? They were made by the same company, AMC General.

-Which car company claims to have the highest profit margin? Porsche.

-Which car company does consulting for other firms, including Subaru and Harley Davidson? Porsche, again.

So I got this interesting question. What is a Ram Cylinder? Why did they even use it?

All cars were manual steering up to 1950’s. Starting in the early 1950’s, manufacturers such as Saginaw (now part of Delphi) experiemented with external valves, known as a control valve to give assist. This was extremely complicated for the time, but solved a major problem. Car Makers could not make cars much bigger because they were simply too hard to turn. Any assist would change the whole landscape.

So this setup used 4 steering parts. The steering pump uses a pulley to draw power from the engine and then pressurizes the system. The steering box that turned steering wheel movement into direction change of the vehicle. Then the control valve and ram cylinder to pressurize the wheels back and forth.

The upside is that it worked, it is much easier than manual steering. The downside was because of the number of parts and hoses, it was notoriously problematic. These are very common leakers. Starting in about 1957 with the Cadillac Deville, they introduced integral power steering. This moved all of the ram and control valve functions to inside the gearbox. This greatly helped with defectives.

I will preface this with the following statement – I like Lexus. I feel any car guy (or gal) can find a couple Lexus cars to love. Lexus has also been a serious trendsetter. It was the first luxury brand to introduce hybrid engines, the first luxury brand to introduce an 8 speed automatic transmission (yes, you read that right, EIGHT), not to mention it single handedly pioneered the “Crossover” – Lexus RX. In fact, the Germans are STILL playing catchup to all of the above mentions.

Enough of the bun on top of the criticism sandwich, lets get to the meat. Lexus recently introduced the Lexus LFA, a $350,000 “bargain” per Car and Driver. Go ahead, click it, I’ll wait.

Perplexing? It was to me. The maker of a Scion Xb wants over a quarter million dollars for a car. I don’t get it. Just thinking about the price tag alone, barring any supercar references, BMW has Rolls Royce, Mercedes has Maybach, Audi/VW has Bentley. The vanity of prestige is often used to justify these car brands’ illustrious price tags. The rich histories of Rolls, the ‘Bach, and Bent help justify it as well. Lexus has neither.

It might not be fair to compare a Bentley to a Lexus. So lets compare the market Lexus is going after, the Lamborghini and Ferrari buyers. History and prestige which, I would argue, also help justify supercars’ price tags. The two factors are (again) absent for Lexus. And the LFA is already being dubbed as an exotic? Call me old school but for me, mid (or rear) engine and exotic are synonymous. The LFA’s competition – Gallardo, R8, Porsche 911, Ferrari F430, all have engines where? That’s right, the back.

Nissan still has trouble justifying the $75k price tag for the GTR which, by the way, matches the LFA’s performance numbers to the tee. I don’t know why anyone would pay $350,000 for a Celica (R.I.P) on HGH with a Yamaha built V10. But hey, let’s only make a few hundred of these and people will buy em! Of course they will. People will buy anything. Pontiac Aztec, anyone?

—Lets play a game called LFA or Celica?

I had someone looking to buy some videos for a car parts project they were working on. They wanted more than just a book walking them through it, they wanted to see it. I recommended the browse youtube. Try some variations on your search and you’re likely to find something useful there. Most of us are visual learners, so just watching a bit can go a long way towards making a project easier.

Believe it or not, there are some good videos out there. YouTube.com has everything from published professional videos to amatuer stuff. I would stick to ones that look legit, or are almost identical to what you are doing. Don’t be too trusting.

A few auto parts companies even publish some videos on YouTube. I found Car Parts Warehouse had some wheel hub videos. Discount AC Parts had some AC Compressor installation Videos and Turbochargerpros.com had some of their turbos videos there. Might be good to see some info on the parts before installation. Like mentioned earlier, just being able to see something and how it looks makes things easier.

Beyond YouTube there are other sites offering videos on installation. Many are free, but many are require subscription. If you really need help, then paying for it will save you in the long run.