Sunday, June 2, 2013

The Consumer Reports Kiss Of Death


The Lexus GX 460 is only the twelfth "dont buy" warning Consumer Reports has ever issued. What were the others? Well, lets just say its not company you want to keep. From Automobile.
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TireKicker Time Machine 1966 VW Type II Transporter


Some vehicles just produce an involuntary smile whenever I see them...the VW Type II Transporter (or Bus) is pretty close to the top of that list.



Sure, they were noisy and slow (and one stranded me and a group of other 12 year olds on a 100-degree afternoon for several hours)...but finding one in either unmolested or reasonably restored condition is a real treat.



Truth is, you dont see many of these as anything other than basket cases or hippie van re-creations (and occasionally both)...so something that looks like its still 1966 is a wonderful thing.



The tip-off that its a 66?  There are only two clues. Can you spot them? Hit "comments" if you think you know.


Needing a few spares for your camper or beetle? Access a wide range of VW parts online at www.worldcarparts.co.uk
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Saturday, June 1, 2013

Polished glass headlights with their own hands

Over time, glass lamps are becoming less transparent. This is due to the buildup of dirt and sand on the lights while driving. Extremely difficult to clean the glass headlights on a dirty film formed under the influence of engine oil, exhaust fumes of other cars. In such a case will help polish headlights that can be done by hand. But there are some subtleties that can not be used to clean the headlights at random chosen agent, or taking that first caught my hands. In doing so, you are risking to scratch lights or make them more cloudy. In addition, polishing glass lights, you must be very careful. The cost of glass lamps may be very high, the process of grinding a complex and time consuming, treating them carelessly, you risk getting cracks. Polishing consists of several stages: by means of grinding remove chips and scratches polish headlights special polishing paste, remove from the surface chipped and scratched. When polishing is applied Grinder, can be sanded and hand. When choosing sandpaper or grinding wheel, pay attention to their grain, as well as the extent of damage to the headlights. Desirable to use a waterproof range, or sandpaper. Lights must be polished extremely abrasive paste, the abrasive powder, which has properties similar to soft finishing cloth. It should be noted that the hand polishing machine is somewhat more complicated, but its results are not worse, although the polishing machine, of course, greatly facilitates the task. Please note that the polishing process involves the installation of a small speed on the polishing machine. It is important that lamp does not overheat! During polishing headlights for the first time, the main thing is not to hurry. There's nothing complicated, most importantly patience. So, for polishing headlights must be purchased abrasive Abralon. The basis of this material is fabric on the foam substrate. Will be needed and finishing polish PlactX. Buy and tape to protect adjacent surfaces. Wash lights, cover with tape-to-bumper all the surrounding areas. Disassemble easily removable parts: turn signals, grille. For the primary polishing headlights recommended Abralon-600. Before you begin, necessarily dampen circles - they earn more effectively, and dirt at the same time stay inside. On the grind grinder it will take about two to three minutes. Then rinse with water and spotlight grind it around with grit 1000 units. Next, use Abralon-2000 and 4000. To carry out grinding at each stage takes no more than three minutes. When you have finished grinding and polishing, you'll see that your headlights will be almost transparent. Wash and wipe lamp, leaving a little moisture on the surface, apply the composition PlactX and finally polish the surface with a soft foam rubber disk. On the whole polishing you spent about 20 minutes. If you're working by hand, time to grind will take a few more. The result is usually visible to the naked eye. In carrying out precise measurements revealed that the correct polishing glass lamps increases their light transmission up to 70-80%!

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In Space Someone Can Watch You Speed


The UK is testing satellites that can monitor speed and snap license plates from orbit.

Swell.

Full story from Londons Daily Telegraph.
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GM To Add Brake Override Systems To All Automatic Transmission Vehicles


General Motors says it wants customers to be confident in its vehicles, so it will make brake override systems standard in all of its vehicles with automatic transmissions by the end of 2012.

Toyota plans to do the same next year, and the government is considering making it mandatory for all vehicles with automatics sold in the U.S.

The idea, of course, is to reduce the risk of unintended acceleration...press on the brake and the power to the engine is reduced. But, when data shows that the majority of those cases are actually drivers standing on the wrong pedal, the effect is likely to be minimal.

Full story from The Detroit News.
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Friday, May 31, 2013

2011 Toyota Sienna LE SE and Limited



All too often, advertising is better than the product.

The advertising is great. I love the whole "Swagger Wagon", "Mommy Like" and "Daddy Like" thing.

The product is better.

Front 3/4 view of 2011 Toyota Sienna

You see, to me, minivan haters have it wrong. At least from a standpoint of timing. 15 years ago, minivans were dreadful. The original Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth vans were expanding...and not gracefully. GM and Ford didnt have a clue and the Japanese were trying to be unique...and succeeding all too well. That would have been the time to rebel against them.

But now? There are some very, very good minivans out there. And the new Sienna is at the top of the list.

I had three different trim levels of Sienna over the summer. There are five. But the Swagger Wagons on loan to TireKicker were the one-step-up-from-base LE, the next-step SE and the top-of-the-line Limited.

The Limited? Well, lets just say that exposure to it caused one die-hard minivan-hater I know to go into a spasm of "Oh my God"s...and in a good way. Reclining captains chairs with footrests in the second row with which to enjoy the split screen entertainment system will do that to you. And the Limited is decked out very nicely. Its the Lexus of minivans. And ours had the $4,025 LTD Premium package. 

Base price? $39,770. As tested? $45,890.

Yeah...thats a lot for a minivan. But its good enough that if I was looking at family vehicles (SUVs, wagons, minivans) with a max budget of $50,000 (have you priced vehicles that seat seven lately), Id pop for the Sienna Limited in a heartbeat.

But if you listen to your inner CPA, stepping down to the SE is by no means trading riches for rags. Its a wonderfully solid piece, with the same engine and transmission as the Limited, but less weight, resulting in a boost from 16 miles per gallon city, 22 highway to 18/24. And its hard to argue with the savings...base price drops to $30,550 and our tester topped out at $33,518.

However, my favorite (no surprise to regular TireKicker readers) was the second-from-base LE. The 3.5 liter V6 is replaced by a 2.7 liter 4-cylinder which is more than adequate and bumps the EPA numbers up to 19/24. Base price drops down to $25,345 (ours had the LE Preferred Package, adding power sliding doors and drivers seat, backup camera, sunshades, upgraded audio system and Bluetooth) and the as-tested was $29,703.

Well-equipped minivans under $30K are not everyday things. But then, neither is the Sienna. Id happily make the LE my daily driver.
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Nissan Leaf Electric Car Reservations Start Tomorrow


Want the new Nissan Leaf? You need to register like...oh, now. And then stand by for a priority reservation tomorrow. Oh, and have money ($99) ready.

Full details in the Nissan press release.
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