Elevated Style

Toyota has redesigned their Corolla to appeal to the younger crowd of car buyers today. It is now a bit sporty like it once was in 1986, although the one I am thinking of was a two door hatchback, rather than a four door sedan. Hopefully Toyota will come out with a two door in addition to the four. As young adults know, style matters, and this is what Toyota has been achieving when designing the Corolla in the past. As they are famous for their Japanese style when it comes to racing, they know what looks good. Most of their cars in the past are very popular among the crowd who likes to go side ways, as in the sport of drifting, and Toyota is well known and respected in the racing industry. Most of the Japanese cars are also very versatile. They are easy to modify, tune, and customize. So with the newly designed 2014 Corolla, Toyota hopes to continue to appeal to a young crowd. Their car is also very economical which is something most new car buyers look for. The sticker price tag from the dealer shows a cost of $18,210 and edmunds.com states it to be worth $17,650. Gas mileage is also very good, 27mpg city and 36mpg highway and the ride is nice a quiet. Toyota also allows for special appearance choices, like interior colors, and alloy wheels. This allows for better customization and uniqueness for the owner. Another plus is that Toyota is known for their reliability so the customer can expect their new Corolla to last for more than 200,000 miles if it is well cared for.

Honda Odyssey Vacuum

Honda has been making the best selling mini van since 1994 and it has been very popular because of the amount space inside and their usability. With their new 2014 model, they have introduced a built-in vacuum option and are the first to do so. Not sure how this will look in the next ten years, like what it will cost to have it fixed or replaced if and when it breaks. The only think I don't like about this new feature is that it is another electricity consumer in the vehicle. With most mini vans rolling of the market with electric sliding doors and rear door, built in TV and DVD player, built in GPS, digital display on the dashboard, and automatic parking are all options and features that use electricity from the battery. Thus, creating a lot of electricity usage and extra weight for the vehicle which means less miles to the gallon. The electric sliding doors are really heavy and if and when they break they are completely useless. Because they are electric the only way to open and close them is to push a button. There is no manual skills involved, so if and when it breaks it will be stuck. With all of these electricity consumers some vehicles come with a separate battery for said features so that the starter has it's own power source.

However, this new feature of a built in vacuum looks to be very useful, convenient, and beneficial. It can be a hassle to vacuum out a van at a local do-it-yourself car wash. The hose might not reach far enough and using a household vacuum can be difficult. So this is an interesting step that Honda has taken and I wonder who will follow...

Toyota's Endeavour

If you are looking for the most reliable pickup truck ever, look no farther than Toyota!
Their new Tundra has the capability of towing anything from a little U-Haul trailer to a United States Space Shuttle. Yes that's right a Space Shuttle! Specifically the Endeavour Space Shuttle on October 13th 2012. The truck was completely original from the factory, nothing was modified or added. This is a Tundra that anyone could buy and it still has the same towing capability. Watch the video!

Toyota's trucks are also known for there incredible lifetime. There are trucks that have lasted more than three lives of a normal vehicle. My current vehicle is a 1986 Toyota pickup (Tacoma/Hilux) and it has 217,000+ miles on it and the reason for my father purchasing it brand new in 86 was because he knew someone who had one with 300,000 miles on the dial. Top Gear put a Toyota Hilux through many trials, like setting fire to it, drowning it in the ocean, and placing it on the top of a building before demolition. In all of that the truck was still able to be started and drive. Watch the video!

Top Gear has also taken a new Toyota Hilux to the North Pole and a volcano in Iceland!

So Toyota has truly accomplished an endeavor!

2012 Car of the Year

Top Gear was awarded the most widely watched factual programme of the year 2012 and has much more to offer than the TV series. In addition to its TV viewers, Top Gear has some readers who prescribe to their magazine. In their magazine you will find over two hundred pages of descent information about new and old cars out today. They also provide lots of good information that any car shopper should know about a car and comparing similar cars to find out which is best. Every year they award certain cars for best in its category or best overall. The Pagani Huayra was awarded best Supercar of the year. However, I am interested in sharing the best car overall, of this past year from Top Gear. Drum roll please...

 Yes, the Toyota GT-86 was Top Gear's choice and I simply can't wait to drive one. However, there is an interesting thing going on here. You see, this car is a triplet... There are three identical vehicles on sale today with the same engine, overall appearance (both inside and out), ruffly the same price, and they each have a different badge. Other than the GT-86 from Toyota you will find the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ. They each have their own slight differences and signature color.

Now there was no plagiarism involved, no lawsuit, and no one stole the idea or anything of that sort. This was a joint effort. No matter which of the three cars, they each have both Toyota and Subaru names on the engine (Scion is a "daughter" company of Toyota so no need for their name).

So this is actually very cool, two very highly respected Japanese car manufacturers worked together to build an amazing two door sports car. Which is surprising for Subaru to release a vehicle without four wheel drive (the one and only they manufacture). They have high standards in safety which could explain the partnership. So would you rather one over the other? And why? They are the same but with a different name. Would you rather drive a Subaru or a Toyota?

They each go for about $26,000

http://www.topgear.com/uk/

$8 Milllion Battery Lab

I am finding it hard to believe that the Ford motor company has partnered up with the University of Michigan to have an electric car battery testing lab that costs eight million dollars. While the city of Detroit has filed for bankruptcy. Ford has already sold 2,000 of its Ford Focus electric cars in the past two years since it launched. Compared to the 2,698 Chevrolet Volt's sold. Ford is trying to keep up.

By investing in the University of Michigan, Ford will be able to test hundreds of cell chemistries for batteries. This new testing lab will be open in the Universities Energy Institute in 2014 and will allow access to any company that is willing to pay.
As I stated in the previous post, electric cars are becoming an alternative if we run out of gasoline and oil. However, should Ford really be investing money in this area? Why not use it to help the deteriorating city of Detroit?

The Future of Cars?

What if the world was to run out of oil, or we were cut off from overseas supply? What if an alternative fuel was created out of corn? What other options do we have to power cars? Well these are some question car makers are thinking about when designing alternative powered vehicles today. The most common is a hybrid, we are all familiar with the most popular one, the Toyota Prius. A hybrid is a combination of two things. So the Prius has both a gasoline powered engine and an electric motor. The gasoline engine serves as a back up when the charge runs low in the battery. The charge can be restored by plugging the car into an electrical outlet and when the driver applies the brakes.

 

There are other hybrids today too, like the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Fusion Hybrid, and even a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, just to name a few. What if the car where to be completely powered by an electric battery rather than half and half? Well, there are a good amount of choices today...

 

Some of these cars are getting very popular today. Despite some issues with Fisker Karmas malfunctioning (and there is nothing wrong with a Tesla despite the recent fire http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-model-s-fire/), these cars are good. The only real problem with owning any of the above vehicles is that they are 100% electric. I say that is a problem because their charge only lasts a limited amount of miles and will need to be recharged. Thus, we run into a problem, there is not an electric charging station every few miles like there are petrol stations and the recharging time is more than a half hour to a few hours. So, even if there were charging stations every few miles, anyone would expect to fill up and leave within a ten minuet time period. This is not enough juice for the battery to get you any farther than if you hadn’t stopped in the first place. To get around this problem, one would need to plan their route accordingly so that whatever destination they reached they could plug the car in or still have enough charge to get home for an overnight recharge. This solution is not unrealistic; however there might be situations where the owner would need to strategically figure out if he/she can go to and from the grocery store in addition to regular commuting. Although, statistics show that owners of an electric car already own another car that is used as the daily commuter car which means the electric car is not used every day.   

As long as one can afford to purchase and maintain an electric car it is a good investment. After purchasing the vehicle it would be a good investment to buy an at home charging station and I discovered that a replacement battery would need to be purchased after about 40,000 miles of usage. The only pollution they produce comes from the factories that build the cars, batteries, and where ever you receive your source of electricity. The vehicle produces zero emissions, thus creating pollution elsewhere rather then on the street. Is that good or bad? Shouldn’t the factories be powered by the sun or wind? That would be the ultimate dream of an environmentally friendly commuter. And hopefully the goal of automotive companies wishing to be emission free.

Form Follows Function

"An object is able to transmit emotions when they are the manual skills involved. The genius from the head being expressed through skilled hands, passion, and heart. Only then does an object come to life, is given a soul and can tell a story" -Horacio Pagani
As an automotive enthusiast I would like to to start off this new blog with a bang. As the title suggests, the appearance has to follow the function of an object, specifically speaking a vehicle. Appearance plays a big part in the design of cars today. Mainly exotic cars sometimes referred to as Sports Cars, Supercars, and even Hypercars. What I am describing is not an average car you would find on the road, no average person could afford one or maintain one. Their cost can be anywhere around or above $500,000. The higher up you go they get better quality, more options, better performance, faster output, better looking, and simply less realistic as an everyday commuter car. These types of cars usually get the most criticism because of their gas mileage (or lack of it), price tag, insurance costs, status symbol, and size (usually very long and wide). However, they get a lot of praise because of the industrial achievement they have made, thanks to competition between companies, and how outstandingly well they perform. But, lets not forget looks. Usually these are the cars on posters in bedroom walls, typically Ferrari and Lamborghini are the most widely known. They are like the Tiffany and Co. or "designer brand" of the automotive industry.
I would like to introduce a special car, one of artistic beauty, and one that is of spectacular automotive achievement. It was named "Car of the Year" in 2012 and many other things from journalists across the world. It was designed by an Italian man by the name of Horacio Pagani, who has design the most artistic cars the world has ever seen. He treats a new car like a sculpture would treat any work of art. However, in the process he does not forget the safety of the occupants and performance output. So, his newest car up for sale is called the Pagani Huayra and is the most artistically designed car of today.

Now please sit back and enjoy these videos.