All about auto

Xcorps Action Sports Show #43.)”MUSCLE CAR”-seg.3- Classic American muscle cars burn black rubber in this episode with X cams rolling on the action at a Carlsbad California drag strip and a full blown rally race in Coronado featuring street steel from Chevy, Pontiac, Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, AMC, Plymouth and others featured loud and proud! This Xcorps episode showcases great American high performance cars-mega horse street machines with names like Barracuda, Challenger, AMX and Corvette rolling loud and fast and they are featured here racing-not just parked on display! Jason Lazo hosts the show from the Escondido California Car Cruize-largest in the nation- along with guest host and Pontiac Bandit Car owner Scott Sommers who reports from Coronado. X cams rolled at the now gone Carlsbad Drags, The Good Guys Car show in Del Mar and the Coronado Speedfest for a full blown ear blasting muscle car race around the airbase runway! See in your face POV action race shots from several cars shot in HD. Guest host Scott Sommers rolls the track and talks to the drivers including Tom Malloy driver of a cool classic import- a 1957 Lister Jaguar. Great new music and videos from RIVE roll the action in this fast paced show including Danish rockabilly metal band VOLBEAT along with Canadian punk style entry SOUND and FURY stomping a nasty beat! Solid rockin vids here Xcorps style! Southern California without a doubt is the capital of the world when it comes to free-riding street driven classic American muscle cars rolling in the sun! They roll up and down scenic coast Hwy.101! The Xcorps TV series has a mascot car- a 1971 GTO/LeMans nicknamed The Unit that has cruised most of the major roads of the western USA! It goes fast and loves high octane by the gallon! Its a fun car and it is also featured in this episode driven by show host Jason Lazo. Jason rolls the streets of Escondido, where your car better be classic to park it, and talks to 1972 GTO 455 HO car owner Jeff Gallagher about his rare ride! Only 10 were made that year! See how many single digit miles per gallon he gets! The next segment then takes a look at the Good Guys Car show at the famous horse track in Del Mar California where classic street rods slowly roll the line for our X cams. Nice 20s era police paddy wagon cruising with the 71 Camero along with the scary 38 Hot Rod with a 6 foot tall motor! Great new music in this show from Suburban Noize Records bands D.I., Hed Pe and Dirtball adding to the fun! Buckle Up and Hold on! See The Action Hear The Music Join The Xcorps! Closed Captioned. ©2008 TheXcorps 6/08 J.S.Edmondson

While I was trying to meet my Sunday column deadline today, I got this urgent e-mail from Reader Rodney:

Hello, I’m in an auto repair shop and I’m very very concerned. The owner started alot of repairs on his own without any authorization at all. The vehicle is there because it wouldn’t start. An injector pump was sent out and completed and when I asked the price for it; he told me he had no idea! When I pressed him that he must at least have a ballpark figure; he replied that they range from $500 to $12,000!!! Of course I should have never let that go. When I pressed for an estimate; he told me that he would know more later in the week. This guy scares me to death and I have a lot of experience with auto repair facilities. Isn’it there al law that work has to be athorized by the customer? Thank you very much.

Normally, when trying to meet a deadline, I avoid all e-mails. But Rodney sounded pretty desperate so I quickly e-mailed him back some information from the Maryland Attorney General’s Web site. It’s useful so I thought I’d share it with the rest of you, too, in case you find yourself in a similar situation.

Under Maryland law:

You’re entitled to a written estimate for all repairs costing more than $50 and you can’t be charged more than 10% over the written estimate without your consent. If the mechanic finds that the repair will cost more than 10% than the estimate, or that additional repairs are needed, the shop must contact you to get your authorization.

You also can’t be charged for repairs you didn’t authorize. Before signing a repair order, read it carefully. Ask for clarification of any item you don’t understand.

Also, the AG’s Office says, the invoice you receive should list all work performed, all parts supplied and any surcharges. Any used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts must be identified. Keep your invoice as a record. It may be useful if you need to return to the shop because the repairs weren’t satisfactory.

Those records will come in handy should you need to file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division or file suit against the shop in court.

Know your rights.

(Sun Photographer Lloyd Fox)

Electric cars could be given away for free as part of a new government initiative. Gordon Brown unveiled his plans for the future of Britain’s motor industry at last week’s Motor Show. The idea is that electric cars will be given away free or at a heavily subsidised rate. At the same time drivers will be offered contracts similar to current mobile phone contracts by companies who will supply the electricity to run them. Mr Brown has since met with representatives from General Motors to discuss the mass production of electric vehicles on a large scale, at their Ellesmere Port plant. If plans go ahead, General Motors are hoping to strike a deal with Mr Brown where they would manufacture enough vehicles in Briain to supply the whole of Europe, creating 500 jobs, in return for Mr Brown creating thousands of new recharging points up and down the country. The new initiative would make Britain the electric car capital of Europe.

Gordon Brown would like to see more electric cars on the road to cut pollution and reduce our impact on the environment. He is expecting the majority of vehicles on Britain’s roads to be either hybrid or electric by 2020. However there is still a lot more work to be done before Mr Brown’s plans can come to fruition. The majority of electric vehicles currently available don’t go very fast. To reduce our impact on the environment the electricity used to power the cars would need to come from a nuclear or renewable energy source and not from fossil fuels. Also electric cars can only be used for short journeys as their batteries generally need to be recharged after a couple of hours. One of the main problems is finding recharging points to do this. Ideally in the future Gordon Brown hopes to see these up and down the country and it may be just as simple as popping into a local garage and exchanging a used electric battery pack for a new one. However currently recharging points are few and far between, with the majority being found in and around London. Mr Brown hopes to correct this by creating thousands of new recharging points up and down the country. In addition vacuum cleaner inventor James Dyson’s current project is creating a new faster electric car powered by solar panels. Sounds exciting! Meanwhile Sussex police are currently trialling an electric police car in Brighton and Hove. With a top speed of 30 miles per hour, the vehicle bears a close resemblance to a golf buggy and looks like it would be more at home on a golf course than on Britain’s roads. However Sussex police are confident that the vehicle will play an important role in community policing, helping officers to navigate their way through built up areas of the towns. With petrol prices rising at an alarming rate, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more and more electric cars on our roads in the future, I might even be driving one myself one day.

Let’s just leapfrog all those other ideas for energy-saving car tech and hop into this magnetically-driven ride, shall we? While Slovak designer Matúš Procháczka’s concept is prettier than sexy four-inch spike heels, it’ll definitely take some major infrastructure modification to make it a reality. It requires all roads to have embedded magnetic panels, quite a job for the millions of miles of highways and byways all over the world today.

Anyway, if that major hurdle is overcome, this idea could get some traction. Its electric engine’s polarity would match that of the road, reducing the effective weight of the vehicle by 50%. At the same time, we’re guessing the tires would have reversed polarity, sticking the vehicle to the road like a fly on flypaper and pushing around this zippy little runabout like there’s no tomorrow.

Even though it’s a far-fetched design concept, we think it’s simply beautiful.

Design Blog, via Oh Gizmo

Reader Question

Why does it cost so much more to insure my SUV than it does my smaller Honda Accord? The Accord actually costs more to buy than my SUV did? What is up with that, and how can I get a lower rate on my auto insurance premiums?

Anna,

Las Vegas, NM

Car insurance companies take into account the amount of damage your vehicle does to other cars in an accident. Big SUVs may not sustain a ton of damage, but the other guy will. Car insurance quotes are easy to obtain online, as many car insurance companies exist to offer cheap insurance options to those who are on a budget.

Even if you’re looking for full coverage and willing to pay a high premium to get it, you can still find excellent policies and car insurance quotes online. Car insurance is meant to protect you against catastrophic losses, such as a major accident or the theft of your car. Be prepared to absorb minor losses yourself, and you’ll save a lot.

Car insurance premiums are based in part on the car’s sticker price, the cost to repair it, its overall safety record, and the likelihood of theft. Many insurers offer discounts for features that reduce the risk of injuries or theft.

Ford continues to take a conservative stance on the possibility of mass-producing plug-in electric cars.

“We’re clearly at least five years away from starting what I would call the ramp from very small volumes to substantial volumes,” said Nancy Gioia who is Ford’s director of hybrid vehicles.

She describes plug-in development as “a system that really has to come together and it’s not just, ‘Throw some product out there.”‘

She worries about the possibility of batteries not living up to their lifetime potential stating:

“If you build your plug-in hybrid and the battery only lasts five years, how much is your vehicle worth? Nothing. The battery replacement costs will exceed the residual value of the vehicle. We don’t think that’s an acceptable pathway forward.”

For its part Ford is testing 20 plug-ins in Southern California as a research effort with utility companies.

Source (Reuters)

The 2009 Indy Car calendar has been announced and there are three big changes.

The Nashville oval is out and two of the top ex-CART/Champ Car venues join the schedule. Both are street tracks: the first is Long Beach, the iconic CART venue once used for Formula 1, which will hold the second round of the season.

The second is the popular Toronto course, the second Canadian addition to the series after Edmonton joined this year. Here’s the calendar in full:

2009 IndyCar calendar

Sun 5th April - Streets of St. Petersburg – street course, 1.8 miles
Sun 19th April - Streets of Long Beach - street course, 1.968 miles
Sun 26th April - Kansas Speedway – oval, 1.5 miles
Sun 24th May - Indianapolis Motor Speedway – oval, 2.5 miles
Sun 31st May - The Milwaukee Mile – oval, 1 mile
Sat 6th June - Texas Motor Speedway – oval, 1.5 miles, night race
Sun 21st June - Iowa Speedway – oval, 0.875 miles
Sat 27th June - Richmond International Raceway – oval, 0.75-miles, night race
Sun 5th July - Watkins Glen International - road course, 3.4 miles
Sun 12th July - Streets of Toronto – street course, 1.721 miles
Sun 26th July - Edmonton City Centre Airport – road (airport) course, 1.973 miles
Sat 1st August - Kentucky Speedway – oval, 1.5 miles, night race
Sun 9th August - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – road course, 2.258 miles
Sun 23rd August - Infineon Raceway – road course, 2.245 miles
Sat 29th August - Chicagoland Speedway – oval, 1.5 miles, night race
Sun 6th September - The Raceway at Belle Isle Park (Detroit)– street course, 2.906 miles
Sat 19th September - Twin Ring Motegi – oval, 1.5 miles
Sun 11th October - Homestead-Miami Speedway – oval, 1.5 miles

I’m happy with the three major changes that have been made. I wasn’t a fan of the Nashville oval – concrete doesn’t seem a terribly suitable material for building a superspeedway for single seaters out of.

The two newcomers to the calendar – both ex-CART/Champ Car venues – are excellent circuits. There was a big effort to get Long Beach on the calendar this year but they couldn’t work out the date conflict with Motegi so they ended up with an odd compromise. It’s a wonderful venue and an excellent street circuit.

Toronto is also a fine track despite some sadness in its history (Jeff Krosnoff and a track worker died in a terrible accident there in 1996).

Writing for the Indy Star blog Curt Cavin gives some insight into the decisions. Surfers Paradise, the Australian street circuit, apparently is still a potential addition for 2009. The New Hampshire oval wanted an August date but it couldn’t be fit into the limited space around that time of the year.

Although I think the calendar is an improvement I still think there’s too many very similar short ovals and some fantastic venues that are being missed.

Kansas, Kentucky, Texas and Chicagoland are all a bit similar and Richmond and Iowa both seem too short for Indy Cars (compared to slower NASCARs) to me. I’ve always found the St. Petersburg street track a bit of a yawn as well.

Over the next few years I’d like to see some of these venues dropped and more CART/Champ Car classics returning.

A couple of fast ovals besides Indianapolis would be great – why not bring back Michigan and/or Fontana?

And there some exceptional road courses being missed: Road America, Portland and Laguna Seca would all be excellent additions and I hope they’re being considered.

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