March 24, 2008 The US's Conservative Fears of Technology and Change

03:17pm by Cheechoo (Cars)

I just read about the Wired blog’s post about the BMW 118d winning the “World Green Car Award.” It’s a 1.8L 1-series that runs on Europe’s clean-diesel. This gets people thinking: well, why don’t they bring something like that to the US? Well, why don’t they?

The problem is, the United States is either one of two things: 1) So insistent that diesel is bad for the environment and dirty (the diesel we get in the US is dirtier… but not clean-diesel in europe), and we can’t get by that stigma, even if diesel becomes 1000% cleaner than gasoline, 1000% more efficient, 1000% more powerful, and 1000% cheaper; people will still think the word ‘diesel’ means ‘dirty’. That and/or we are 2) So pwned by big-oil that our huge oil corporations will stop any change from happening by way of lobbyists (which is what has been going on for years.)

If you just take a step back and look at what’s happening: The world’s cleanest car without sacrificing power, comfort, or looks, will not come to the US, which is the world’s biggest car-consuming country, and is also on the forefront of green technology and enviro-friendliness. Just doesn’t make sense.

I am all for things like this. I’m big on protecting the environment, and I’m also a big car enthusiast. People think you can’t be both of those because they are mutually exclusive. But This BMW (Hell, I don’t even like BMW that much) bridges the gap completely. It has 221 lb-ft of torque in a 1 series...

March 05, 2008 For you motorcycle fans out there....

11:27pm by Cheechoo (Random)

I guess this means that you’re supposed to use the motorcycle every now and then.

... Or a tree will eat it.

February 11, 2008 vDream Project EG6: Infineon 1

02:36pm by Cheechoo (Cars)

... And finally, the vDream Project EG6 is officially under way! I went to Infineon this weekend with the EG6, and had a blast. I signed up for NASAproracing (don’t be fooled by the name, I’m not a pro or anywhere near it), and they took us out with instructors to learn the tricks of the trade. I must say, that I’m a huge fan of NASA (National Auto Sport Association). Their organized system is very conducive to every skill level. From HPDE 1 (where I fall… basically a huge n00b) to actual professional racing with prize purses and homologated sport.

First I want to talk about the event. Throughout the day, we would go out on the track in different groups, including even the homologated events. Groups A, C, and E raced that day. This includes the Performance Tuning group, the Super Touring group, the Super Unlimited group, the Honda Challenge group, the Spec E30 group, the Spec Miata group, Legends, and Thunder Roadsters. It was very exciting watching these guys go all out on the track, jostling for position, and smoking their tires/brakes at almost every turn. And of course, the Spoon Opak team was there just like last time, testing their cars in the time trial group (as my girlfriend likes to call them, “The Spooneys”). The results of the day can be seen at http://www.nasaproracing.com/results/norcal.html?runid=727599

Now I’d like to talk about my experience of the day. I was very surprised to see how organized, safe, and ease of getting into it was. The rules are strict (such as only passing on the straights, before the braking zones), but those rules allow you to have fun with your car, learn the proper lines, and not worry about getting into an accident with other cars. None of us in group 1 or 2 are skilled enough to be overtaking, or letting others overtake, anywhere near any turn. So a complete noob like me can go out there and have a great time, and not worry about damaging my baby. If anyone out there is interested in auto racing, or even in just tossing your car around a track once in a while, consider NASA as a great way to have fun.

My car is a ‘92 Civic DX with no engine modifications. We’re looking at around 107 horsepower here, for those of you folks who think “my car isn’t fast enough.” My instructor rolls around in a 97hp 1990 Honda Civic DX. In one of the sessions, I was trying to trail him, and basically stay on his ass as much as possible. He was probably driving at around 50% capacity, and tried to speed it up every lap. I was completely amazed at how well his car could tackle those turns without slowing down at all. He had extensive suspension work done, and was sitting on shaved tires. It looked like he was just slowly meandering around the track, and I was trying to follow his line, and my tail would often peel away from me slightly, forcing me to slow down even further. Once on turn 11, which is a nice low speed U-turn facing a good looking cement barrier, my tail got super squirrely, so much that I had to countersteer my FWD car (lol) to avoid slamming my ass into the barrier. All in all, it was a great experience, even for a noob such as myself. And I’ve realized I want some stickier tires.

January 29, 2008 A Sports Car for the Green

04:29pm by Cheechoo (Cars)

The Tesla Roadster will be the world’s first performance-purposed vehicle for the common tree-hugger. The chassis and suspension of the car was designed by Lotus Cars, which is proof on paper that the car will handle like it’s on rails. The kicker, however, is that the car is 100% electric, powered only by its 90% efficient electric motor, sapping energy from a huge 900+ pound lithium-ion battery.

“What a heavy battery!” You might say! Until you look at the car’s curb weight, a miniscule 2700 lbs, lighter than today’s compact cars such as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Matrix. Its fully-electric engine makes 248 horsepower at a whopping 13,000 rpm, bringing the car from 0-60 in under 4 seconds.

The car already has a long list of buyers on wait, and has sold out its entire 2008 production. The first cars will be delivered in the ensuing months. Priced at around $100,000, you might think you’re not getting your bang for the buck with only 248 horsepower. But the same can be said for Lotus’ other products, like the Exige S, which has already been proven to be an agile beast.

I will be very interested to see if this company will shake up the auto industry, with their future plans to build a luxury family vehicle followed by an entry-level compact (I can’t wait for that one!).

Naysayers, skeptics, and those on the payroll of oil companies will tell you that you’re just transferring pollution from your car to power plants. Well, they’ll be selling most of their cars in California, where only 16% of their energy comes from coal, and that number will be dropping dramatically in the coming years because of gigantic solar fields currently being built in the Mojave.

Those of you with money, a penchant for performance cars, and a love for uniqueness, go order one!

Photos from rsportscars.com

January 11, 2008 A Look at the Home vs. Away Team

04:15pm by Cheechoo (Cars)

When most of us think of a mass-produced car built by a major automotive company, we think that the car is the same throughout the world. We think that if someone buys a Corolla in the U.S.A., it’s the same car that you can get in England, Japan, Luxembourg, or Djibouti. This is wrong for many reasons. Firstly, a lot of the times a car company will release different models under the same name because they try to tailor the car to the region. For instance, if there were a country where the average person was 6’10” and weighed 300 lbs, then the version exported to that country would probably be bigger and have a lot more space inside the car. But sometimes car companies build special versions only for their Home country (what I’d like to call the Home Team) which are better and more appealing than the versions they export (the Away Team).

An example that everyone is familiar with is the GT-R of old, which was a sport version of the Skyline Saloon/Coupe that never made it to the U.S. However, Nissan decided to finally bring the Skyline over in its newest iteration (The V35 Infiniti G35 in 2003) and also the sport version (The Nissan GTR in 2008).

What I’d like to look at today is a fine example of different cars under the same moniker – The Honda Civic Type-R. The following was a video made by Fifth Gear, a great British Television program. They compared two versions of the Civic R: Britain’s vs. Japan’s. Guess which one’s faster. And after watching the video, try and compare either of these cars the the US version of the Type-R – our very own Civic Si. Who’s getting the shortest end of the stick? The Europeans, Japanese, or Americans?

Here are some quick stats:

USDM CIVIC SI 197 hp 139 lb-ft 2877 lbs

UKDM CIVIC TYPE R 198 hp 142 lb-ft 2792 lbs

JDM CIVIC TYPE R 225 hp 159 lb-ft 2794 lbs

Photos and information from rsportscars.com and vtec.net

January 03, 2008 Ritual Coffee Roasters, I made it!

02:48pm by Lijen (Team)

Since working from home everyday takes its toll on the mind and body, I try to get out as much as I can. Sanity requires it of me. So the way it works is that I have 3 or 4 cafés that I frequent. The comfortable and familiar Starbucks down the street from my apartment; the small, yet cozy Tully’s right across the street in the Embarcadero Center; the homey Café Trieste in North Beach; and the chill Rockin’ Java up in the Haight are all favorites of mine.

In the past few months, however, I started hearing faint whispers of a little place called Ritual Coffee Roasters in The Mission. I duno, something about it being the most happening and hip café around? I didn’t know such a title existed, so I had to check it out for myself. Attempt 1 was over a month and a half ago on Veterans Day. Bad idea. Apparently the city of San Francisco likes to salute our veterans over cups of coffee. The line was out the door (we’re at a coffee shop mind you), which is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen. This was obviously my first time here, as it was more or less an average day for the Ritual. That day, and on two other subsequent attempts, I was turned away due to an overly extended line. Ritual was an exclusive club that I was not invited to. Funny, you would think that my iPhone would’ve been the secret password that would unlock the door to this hipster paradise. I mean, don’t they have an iPhone Owners Only section somewhere in the back or something?

Well, I guess today was my lucky day. Maybe it was the blessed rain that scared all of the little kiddies away. Either way, I’m here; I made it. Woohoo! And as I sit here writing this blog entry to the romantic soundtrack of some random guy quietly strumming a Spanish guitar on the couch next to me, I realize I don’t know s*@t about coffee cause this cup tastes the same to me as every other cup I’ve had on any other given day. Ok, back to work…

January 01, 2008 Audi R8.. 4 months early??

07:21pm by Naveen (Cars)

When I first put myself on the waiting list for the Audi R8, the dealer told me to expect delivery no earlier then March or April depending on when they received their first allocation of the new year. I spent a significant amount of time w/ the dealer speccing the car and going through all the various options. I was totally accepting of the fact that I probably would not receive my car until March at the very earliest. That is, until my dealer called me the day after Christmas and said that they had a brand new R8 in stock, with the exact color combination, and specifications that I ordered minus the carbon fiber. I was totally speechless!

Apparently the fellow who ordered the car ended up getting another exotic car instead leaving the dealer stuck with a ice silver metallic R8 w/ painted black side blades. Lijen, Jason and I went down to the dealer on Thursday morning to pick up the car. After spending a few hours getting all the paperwork signed, I finally got behind the wheel and took off w/ the Audi sales guy in the passenger seat. This car is a fighter jet on wheels. It is absolutely gorgeous in person, and it drives like a dream. Coming from a 2004 M3, this car is on a completely different level.

First week driving impressions: I put around 150 miles on the car in the first two days (couldn’t resist!), with a mix of city driving, and high speed (80 mph+) highway driving with Jason. The first thing I noticed is the grip. Even in a downpour, this car stays completely glued to the road. I tried to get it in a little bit of trouble with some rapid fire turns, and I just couldn’t do it w/ traction control on. Second thing I noticed is the pickup/acceleration. The M3 I was driving previously was no slouch, but the R8 absolutely hammers you back into your seat when you step on the gas. The third thing I paid attention to is the engine sound. Why the hell would you want a stereo installed in this car? It sounds absolutely ridiculous. Just imagine a really angry bear growling at you like you stole its dinner, and you will get the right idea.

The most startling realization: This is totally a car Erin (my fiance) can drive. I took her to the Sparkart parking lot for a brief introduction to the car this past Sunday. After showing her how to adjust the mirrors and how to get the R-tronic system in automatic mode, she took off for a drive around the block. She absolutely loved it and now wants to know when I am traveling next so she can drive it to work.

This week I am working with Wilson from Premier Auto and Bob Willis from Auto Concierge to get the car wrapped with paint protection film, and get it detailed. Stay tuned for more photos once I get the car back this weekend!

December 12, 2007 vDream Test Drive: Audi A5!

01:30pm by Cheechoo (Cars)

With the exclusive all-access-pass powers of the vDream team, we have driven the all-new Audi A5 in all of its glory. We were able to test the pre-released A5 for a day, before its release in Spring of 2008.

At first glance, the car is beautiful. The new LED-accented headlights add a more-than-expected amount of awe to the overall look of the car. The car is also a lot lower than expected. It looked like a baller-status car, even if it only comes in at around $40k – it definitely turned a lot of heads.

Unfortunately, we were only able to get our hands on the automatic version. With the Audi AWD system, the car provides tons of grip, and with our 3.2L FSI A5, we were surprised by its power. We all know Audi’s tend to be overweight, but this one actually seems more light on its feet than other Audis save the A3.

Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing them on the road – and I’m looking forward to driving one again!!!

December 01, 2007 vDream Project: EG6

06:29pm by Cheechoo (Team)

Project EG6 is here! We’ve just bought a used EG6 Civic that we plan to take to local tracks and perhaps autoX events. And of course, nice cruises like Skyline Drive, Devils Slide/Highway 1, and Highway 9/Big Basin will be mandatory.

Unfortunately, the car came lowered, and with some rear upper and lower strut bars. We will take the bars out for our first run at Thunderhill in January, and put them back in when we go to either Infineon or Laguna Seca. We probably won’t notice much of a difference, but we’ll see. Our future plans for the car consist of a step-by-step program of suspension and lightening. The FAR future plans could include a full-coilover setup from Tein/JIC-Magic or something, or simply some shocks from Koni. To add to the suspension tuning, smaller projects like Stabilizer Bars, Control Arms, and a Camber Kit. At some point I definitely want to get a Bride Zeta III for the car. I miss sitting in my old one…

Either way, It’s a very exciting time for vDream. We will be learning about the scene of weekend track day enthusiasts, and hopefully meeting a lot of knowledgeable people.

By the way… The hood came like that, and no, it’s not carbon fiber. It’s just black. Oh, and I’ll do another photoshoot with the car during the day sometime, and replace these pictures.