This is a blog, dedicated to anything to do with the automobile. I'll bring you things like my favorites in a list by importance, different cars, different days. my take on certain cars and their affect on history. I hope to expand my content as ideas come to me.
There’s something to be said about unplugging from conventional norms, forgoing the house, mortgage or rent, and instead taking your home on the road. Living in a self-contained house on wheels surely isn’t for everyone, but those who live it, swear by it. And it doesn’t get much more self-contained than this.
In 1956, this GMC PD-4104 bus hit the road for the first time, and over the years it likely shuttled thousands of patrons to and fro. Now, it has been converted into a full-functioning home on wheels, and this classic highway cruiser wears a ‘for sale’ sign on eBay. Interested? Fluffy dog not included.
According to the seller, this bus-to-home conversion is actually a vintage job, understood to have been completed in the 1970s. Inside, the bus features a main room, which includes a kitchen, dining and living area, as well as a separate bathroom, two bunks and a master bedroom. The GMC is motivated by a big Detroit Diesel 6-71 straight-six engine, and comes complete with a modern high-efficiency fridge and freezer, propane cooktop, double sink, and wood stove. Honestly, the original craftsman couldn’t have picked a better vehicle for the job.
The GMC PD-4104 made a big splash during its production run from 1953 to 1960, thanks to a bevy of advancements over the standard buses of the day, which included an improved air conditioning system and air suspension. Built using a monocoque design, it also weighed less and could stow more cargo than its predecessor – a key feature whether you’re packing in suitcases in the storage compartment below, or fitting waste water tanks for your home conversion.
The seller has made a few 21st century upgrades to the bus, including an electrical system and a few roof-mounted solar panels, but much of it remains original to the conversion. Total mileage is unknown and the bus could use some tender loving car, though the current owner notes they have taken this GMC on a number of cross-country treks.
Summer is upon us, perhaps it could do for another road trip.
In 2007, Dutch students set off on a venture to build the world’s first hydrogen-powered track toy. Imagine a Caterham 7 with a fuel cell under the hood. The project ultimately turned out to be a success, and only a few days ago, that car conquered the Nurburgring faster than any other hydrogen-powered car before it.
It’s called the Forze VI, and it pairs a 135-horespower hydrogen fuel cell with two electric motors producing 123-horsepower. Total output sits at 258, and the whole vehicle weighs in at a featherlight 1,896 pounds. So it’s no slouch.
Lapping the dreaded Nurburgring in under 11 minutes, the Forze VI became the fastest fuel cell vehicle to complete the track. At the wheel was former Formula 1 driver Jan Lammers, who seemed pretty impressed with the car, and the engineering behind it:
“It is truly awe inspiring how the students have designed and built a race car that also handles so well, even more so considering the highly advanced technology it contains. I tip my hat to them.”
Lammers reached a top speed of 106 mph on the track, though it’s estimated the car tops out somewhere near 137 mph. Either way, an impressive accomplishment for the team of students. You can watch the record-breaking run below:
The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro has only just made its big debut, and enthusiasts are excited to get their hands on the sixth-generation of the car. That means 2015 and 2014 Camaros are now the underdogs as they sit on dealer lots. Chevrolet is offering several incentives to move those models before the new one hits dealerships this fall.
According to GM Authority, the 2014 is being offered with a $3,000 cash allowance on all models with an extra $1,000 good only for the Z/28. That $4,000 discount brings the MSRP of the 2014 Camaro Z/28 down to $68,305.
There is also a discount on the 2015 Camaro, but it’s not quite as deep as the 2014 model. Every 2015 gets a $1,000 cash allowance with an extra $1,000 for the Z/28. This takes the MSRP of the 2015 Camaro Z/28 down to $70,305. That’s not quite as good as the 2014, but it will still save you a bit of cash and make getting one of these parked in your driveway easier.
The offer is good for a limited time and with certain restrictions. The discounts are not available with finance or lease offers and consumers have to take delivery of their new car by June 1. If you’ve been thinking of purchasing a new Camaro, now’s your chance. Plus you’ll be helping Chevy inflate its Camaro numbers versus the Mustang.
There are a variety of reasons that require hooking one vehicle up to another. Maybe there was an accident, the car won’t start, it’s stuck, or maybe you just need to transport it and don’t want to submit the car to highway miles. Regardless of the purpose or destination, there’s a right way and a wrong way to pull something.
This is not a step-by-step guide of how to properly tow something. Rather, it’s more an anti-tutorial. These are a few tips of how not to tow a car.
By Attaching the Tow Hook to Your Bumper
“Bro, pull it harder!
“What?”
“Harder, dude, go faster!”
**RIP** “WHAT THE HELL, DUDE? WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
With Your Car Upside Down
To his point, it doesn’t look like this car was functional before this anyway. Totaled means totaled? Maybe?
Without Proper Weight Balance
This is what happens when don’t have the proper tongue weight. Whatever you’re pulling is going to be flapping harder than a pair of pantyhose in a hurricane.
With Your Car or Truck in Gear
The driver not realizing that he’s literally dragging his truck isn’t even the worst part of this clip. Once the people taking the video follow him and tell him what’s wrong, the guy doesn’t even remotely care. He’s just like, “Meh, whatever, I’m close anyway” and drives off.
Without the Parking Brake Engaged
If you have the car already hooked up to the tow vehicle, then you obviously need the parking brake off so you don’t end up with the same result as leaving the car in gear. However, if you’re flipping a vehicle over like this situation, you gotta think of all outcomes. If you’re in the hills, one of those outcomes is the car rolling right off the road.
By Standing in Front of the Damn Tow Truck
This dude is lucky he’s not a stain on the blacktop right now.
With a Cable Not Strong Enough to Tow Something
Fact: Cars are giant hunks of metal. Metal is not light. It takes a lot of force to move even a small vehicle on a flat plane, let alone a truck up a steep incline. Just because you have a winch on your truck doesn’t mean it can pull everything. Check the strength of the cable before attempting something like this. To make matters worse, there was somebody in the truck and tumbled down the hill with it. Luckily, it didn’t turn out worse.
By Letting the Car You’re Towing Tow Your Tow Truck
And you thought front-wheel drive would never come in handy.
Letting the Car in Question Escape
This is the people’s champ, right here. We don’t recommend this in any way, even if you do have a Jeep. But, we’d be lying if a little slow clap didn’t start in our heart when we saw this.
After all that ridiculousness, here’s a palette cleanser. Watch this tow truck recovery artist masterfully return this mess to order:
Today we remember all the brave service men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedom. With that freedom, we’re able to create some of the most badass cars on the planet.
Two of those cars are the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. Both were introduced in the ’60s, and since then, have been subjects of one of the most heated ongoing “Which is best?” debates.
The Camaro has had its moments, as has the Mustang. Throughout the past 50 years, there have been more lead changes than a seven-game NBA playoff series, and that discussion is about to get even more difficult going into 2016 model year.
Coming off complete redesigns, both ride on new platforms, have an optional four-cylinder engine, and have a new emphasis on lightness. And both still pump out huge amounts of power from a big gnarly V8. So how do they stack up head-to-head?
Based on those numbers alone, it would seem that the 2016 Camaro ticks all the right boxes in power and performance. Other than the base engine (Mustang uses a V6 base, Camaro uses 4-cylinder base), the Camaro outguns the iconic pony car by 25-horsepower respectively. So how do they handle? On The Track
Having driven the 2016 Camaro prototype, I can say without a doubt it is night and day from fith-gen to sixth-gen. Body roll is virtually non-existent, steering is precise, and that V6 is actually pretty throaty.
Stack that up against the 2015 Mustang and the differences are noticeable. Handling wise, the Mustang and its new independent rear suspension (it was a good run, solid rear axle) offers a huge improvement from the previous generation.
But according to one of our writers who has now driven the Camaro prototype and the new ‘Stang, the Camaro has the advantage for track driving.
We won’t be able to give a definitive answer on which is better until we drive the V8 Camaro SS, though.
In the Design Studio
Fans were pretty concerned when both Chevy and Ford announced some drastic styling changes going into 2015/2016. The Camaro and Mustang are design icons and lingered on the outgoing retro design style for quite some time.
For Ford, the Mustang got a major facelift from front to back. The lines are smoother, and that muscle car persona has been replaced with a bit of a sportier look. Fans weren’t in love with the front end when it initially debuted, but over time, it’s one of those designs that starts to grow on you.
As for Camaro, Chevy designers went the evolutionary route. The lines are still aggressive, as is the front end. But where the Mustang went in one direction with sportiness, the Camaro keeps a few muscular lines throughout. It’s much better in person, trust me. Overall
At the end of the day, both of these cars are much improved. With Chevy still working out the final details on the Camaro, we haven’t been able to drive it long enough to give a full verdict just yet. When we do put it up against the Mustang in the real world, it should be quite the battle.
Since its introduction in 1967, the Chevrolet Camaro has been a popular car. Unfortunately, that popularity includes the likes of car thieves, who have nicked almost 500,000 in the last 35 years.
Factor in the car wasn’t made for 8 model years (2002-2009), and you can see why owning a Camaro was risky. However, there is some good news in the theft statistics.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, jumping on the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro craze, released statistics showing the top five model years for Camaro thefts were 1984 (54,533), 1986 (53,422), 1985 (43,238), 1982 (37,687) and 1987 (36,225). The numbers have dropped dramatically since then. Here are the stolen car figures from 2008 to 2014: 2008 (2,277), 2009 (2,106), 2010 (2,110), 2011 (2,137) 2012 (2,288), 2013 (2,283) and 2014 (2,612).
Why the big drop from 1986 to 2014? Most of it has to do with better anti-theft technology. It hasn’t totally prevented stolen Camaros but it’s sure making a huge dent.
But, as NICB points out, 1 in 8 of the stolen Camaros in 2014 was a 2014 model. So, new is still popular. Just make sure you lock your car and take the keys with you. At least don’t leave them in the ignition. You would be surprised how many cars are stolen simply because the keys were left in the ignition: 44,000 in 2014 alone.
When Dodge rolled out its mad-scientist Hellcat V8, firing off an earth-shaking 707 horsepower, many Mopar fans were left thinking the same thing, “Will this engine find a home in my car?” If you drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee, we might very well have an answer for you. Yes, maybe.
The exciting news comes from a Car and Driver report, which suggests a Hellcat V8-powered Grand Cherokee could arrive for the 2017 model year, and it may bring more than just a 707-horsepower kick in the pants to the big Jeep. Per the C/D report, this new Jeep will receive the “Trackhawk” moniker, making it Jeep’s official street performance companion to the brand’s off-road ready Trailhawk.
Excited yet? This alleged Trackhawk model will effectively replace the current Grand Cherokee SRT trim, which will continue to offer the punchy 475-horsepower 6.4-liter Hemi engine as standard under its new guise. The Hellcat engine will then slot above its lesser V8 brethren as an option, expected to bring its whopping 707 horsepower, 650 lb-ft of torque, and perhaps even four-wheel drive to the table. In the process, Dodge will now have the sole rights to the SRT brand name with the Charger, Challenger, and Viper.
Putting that much power to the ground through a road car’s four-wheel drive system is no easy task, and one can imagine Jeep’s engineers will have to beef up the Grand Cherokee’s drivetrain in the process. Or, as C/D hints, perhaps forgo four-wheel drive altogether.
Regardless of drive type, all that punch under the Jeep hood could permit the rugged family hauler a zero to 60 mph sprint time in the low four second region. The current range-topping 2015 Grand Cherokee SRT Red Vapor (pictured above) achieves the feat in 4.8 seconds.
As far as pricing goes, the base Trackhawk would likely match evenly with the current SRT-branded Grand Cherokee ($65,000), while the Hellcat-powered version would carry a premium above its brother.
