tesla-roadster-sport1

It’s no secret that electric vehicles can be fast. The first EVs from GM, more than a decade ago, were pretty quick. I had the opportunity to drive several electric vehicles in the 1990s, including the EV and even a full electric Ford Ranger. 

It was really odd to step on the “gas” and get that faint, high pitched, electric whine.  The acceleration was immediate and I really thought, at the time, that electric cars were here to stay.  I won’t go into all the conspiracy theories about who killed the electric car, but like Kaiser Souze in the movie The Usual Suspects, it was gone in a flash.

For the past year or so I have seen several Tesla Roadsters on the roads of the San Francisco Bay Area.  A electric sports car with looks (thanks to Lotus) efficiency and speed. I like the bright colors and even the compact size.  The only negative is the price, but it’s the market Tesla needed to concentrate on to make it work.

Tesla recently released the new Tesla Roadster Sport. More of the same, just faster.  Something about a roadster that can hit 60MPH in 3.7 seconds without a drop of gas is appealing.   Tesla will also be releasing a new 4-door coupe like sedan in the near future. The price for the sedan will be closer to $50K, better, but still high for most of us.

tesla-roadster-sport-large_041

Let’s hope Tesla, or one of it’s competitors, can refine the manufacturing process and make a fun to drive roadster in the upper $30K range. It doesn’t have to be as fast, or have as many luxuries as the current roadster, just efficient and fun to drive.

I think this time electric cars are truly here to stay!  Take a look at this article at  autobloggreen.com for details regarding the future Tesla Roadster Sport

Didn’t Singer just make sewing machines?  Ok.. I am guessing it’s not the same Singer.  For the past 50+ years Porsche has been the king or at least a prince when it comes to fast and nimble sports cars.  Most Porsche’s move seamlessly from modern sports car to classic status without much time in-between.

This past weekend my Father-in-law, Jack, was sharing his thought on the cars he had seen at the Hot August Nights event in Reno earlier this month.  Jack is a fan of classic cars and is very knowledgeable about 1st and 2nd generation Corvettes and is more of a purist when it comes to old cars.   Our discussion turned to purist versus resto-mods, versus all out hots rods.  Brembo brakes on a 60s Oldsmobile?  A new drive-train in a 60s Corvette?  It certainly isn’t for eveyrone. 

For me, being in my teens in the late 70s and early 80s, I was around a lot of old time car guys, also purists.  Early 60s Corvettes, Impalas and even a 48 Dodge was the norm. Turning one in to a hot-rod or custom was looked down upon.  Although I love original cars and can appreciate the purist view, I would also like to think that any car builder should feel free to use the best performance parts available when building a car.

singer-porsche-911-rear-view

I ran accross this ariticle on Motortrend.com  today. It’s about a 70’s era Porsche that has been updated with the most advanced technology, but has also been converted to air-cooled.  Most purist agree that the 911 should be air-cooled and many seek the older 911s for restoration. 

For me, this represents the best of all worlds.  A world class, classic, purist sports car with modern safety, speed and handling features.  Here is my attempt to coin a new phrase…. “Resto-Purist”.  Maybe it will catch on .. or maybe its the same as Pro-touring… oh well.  Either way.. I would like to see more classics like this one!

Now.. how do I get a test drive?

hummer-hx-concept

Earlier this decade Hummers were all the rage.  The original H1 hummers, seen during the gulf war, made there way to the streets in the late 1990s. In fact an old colleague of mine had one. I believe the top speed was about 70 miles per hour, it was extra wide, not much space inside and a huge gas guzzler.  Even with all the negatives clearly visible, for a car (and truck) guy like me it was very cool!  $125K might get you into one at the time, but that was way out of my price range and I clearly had no logical need for one.

By the early 2000s the H2 was in dealerships.  It could do about 80% of what the H1 could do at a much more resaonble price.  $50K got you a very nice H2 with lots of options.  Many of these vehicles pulled family duties in the suburbs.  Gas prices were relatively low and more and more people were accessing their home equity lines (remember those?) to buy them. Times were good!

By 2007 the housing market was beginning to crack and gas prices were soaring. $3, $4 and nearly $5 dollar a gallon gas was now the norm. H2s were now sitting on dealer lots with big mark downs, but still not many takers. GM brought out the smaller H3 to help improve sales, but it was too little too late. The H3 was underpowered and underwhelming. 

As the economy tanked, Hummer was seen as the poster child for excess. Even though it’s gas mileage was in-line with other large trucks and SUVs, its purpose was never clear to the general public. Prius was in, Hummer was out. Poor management at GM didn’t see the crisis coming.

Now GM has been trying to unload Hummer for more than a year. A Chinese company is interested, but may not get government approval to complete the purchase.  This might end up being a good thing. Hummer can succeed with the right make over.  So the question is, who can make hummer work again in the US? Here are a few of my thoughts.

What about Ford? Now Ford may not have the resources to buy Hummer, but maybe a partnership or licensing deal with GM would work. They could use their truck desiel engine for the H2 in small volumes, an Ecobost 3.5 on the H3 and possibly add the concept HX (pictured above) as a wrangler fighter also with the Ecoboost 3.5.

What about Huyndai? The could use a solid truck offering and might able to build one off the Hummer platform.  With this in mind, they might have to kill off the H2, but could certainly build the H3, a small truck verision of the H3 and the HX concept vehicle using drive trains currently used in their SUVs.

What about Volkswagen? Like Huyndai, they could use a serious truck offering.  VW has Diesel technology and a drive to be the biggest car company in the world. Hummer might be a great way for them to grow.

And while they are at it. GM/Toyota is looking to close out the Nummi plant in Northern California.  Nummi has been building small trucks for quite a while, namely the Toyota Tacoma.  Now that this partnership is ready to end, wouldn’t it be the ideal place to build the “New Hummer”?  California is ready to offer tax breaks and the union seems eager to work out a deal to keep production rolling in Fremont, California.

Hummer can be tough, fun and relatively fuel efficient.  Time for someone to step up and take on this challenge before Hummer becomes a distant memory.  Just remember, not everyone wants to drive a Prius (not that there is anything wrong with that!).

2011 Lotus Evora

I was excited a while back to hear that Lotus was working on a slightly bigger car.  Although the Elise and Exige are nice looking, quick at relatively reasonably priced,  they are far from being livable on a daily basis. 

I was expecting something a little bigger, maybe even an entry level supercar. Earlier this year some spy shots and later true pictures of the Lotus Evora were released. They looked good, but not as sharp as expected.  Lotus took a softer front end approach that closely resembles a slightly bigger Tesla roadster. The back looks similar to the Elise/Exige, just slightly bigger.  The roof line is taller to accommodate the bigger car, but looks like it was tacked on as an after thought.

Sticking with the Toyota power-train is not a bad idea. This is basically the 3.5L engine pulled directly from the Toyota Camry.  Since the car is lighter and more aerodynamic, its is obviously quicker than the Camry, but for $75K, shouldn’t the power-train offer more power and refinement?  TRD offers power adders and it would have been easy (unless there is just no room under the hood) to add a turbo or supercharger to the 3.5L for an additional 100HP.

Add 100 hp and more agressive styling and you have something worth $75K, if not, you are better off passing on the Lotus Evora and moving on to a Z06 with better styling and power for about the same price.

Rear Shot - 2011 Lotus Evora

Let’s hope Lotus does a better job with the Esprit currently rumored for production.

It appears that GM is looking to the internet community for suggestions.  Maybe GM is finally on the right track!

Since the beginning of time, or at least the beginning of car time, Manufacturers built cars and the public bought them.  Most of these cars were unique and served a purpose. They were defined and stood out from the competition.  Mercury would have a better interior, more features and a more upscale design than a Ford.  The same would be true for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac. Each was a step up the car buying class system.

In the late 60s and 70s American car companies began to rely on badge engineering. It was cheaper to slap on a different grill or maybe a different set of wheels and charge a premium for it in one of the upper brands.  No longer were the body styles and engines unique to a brand. This alone wasn’t a problem until gas prices soared in the early 1970s. Anybody remember the Cadillac Cimarron of the 1980s.. Yikes!

Consumers flocked to cheap and fuel efficient cars from Japan.  While they expected to save gas, they unexpectedly got cars that were also inexpensive and fun to drive.  GM, Ford and Chrysler dismissed them (along with VW from the 60s) as cheap, unsafe and unreliable, but the public saw these cars as a great alternative to the big, heavy, gas guzzling cars that roamed main street.

During the late 70s and early 80s it was clear that Toyota, Nissan (Datsun) and Honda was here to stay. Their cars got better with each model release and were a real alternative to buying American.  Most of us around during the mid-80s remember the news reports of foreign cars being destroyed in the mid-west by angry Americans convinced that the foreign cars manufacturers were taking American jobs. The reality was Foreign cars were simply better at the time.

American car companies had to do something they had not done since the early part of the 20th century…compete! In the early days of the automobile, there was estimated to be more than 1000 car companies in the US.  I am sure the car business was just as cut throat, if not more so, than it is now.  Steam engines, electric vehicles and varying power trains were all up for challenge. After World War II, less than 10 major car companies were in business and by the late 60s that number had dropped to 4. They included GM, Ford, Chrysler and American Motors.  There were four major companies owning more than 90% of the market in the US. Talk about a captive audience of car buyers. This may have lead to many bad union deals as there was money to go around. The gas shortage of the 70s changed all that.

The 70s, 80s and 90s saw US market share erode for American can manufacturers. American Motors was the first to go and had it not been for the US Government, Chrysler would be a footnote in American automotive history. The big 3 simply didn’t know how to make a good small car at a profit. Weak attempts at small car manufacturing included the Pinto, Vega, Chevette, Fiesta, Cavalier and the list goes on. These cars sold ok, but only to those wanting to buy American. Most people simply couldn’t justify the purchase over a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla.

With market share eroding and manufacturing cost rising during the 70s and 80s, less time and effort was spent on their mid-size and large cars. Updated models were few and far between. Quality dropped and market share continued to erode. This continued until the mid 90s when the SUV craze hit. There were reports of manufacturers making more than $5000 on each vehicle. Happy days were here again! Unfortunately, none of the big 3 was forward looking enough to invest in solid small car platforms. Profits were big and small cars once again took a back seat. All was great until gas prices soared and the economy faltered.

With Ford at its knees and GM and Chrysler in bankruptcy, the big 3 have finally come to the realization that they will have to compete, head to head, with foreign car companies for American market share on a large scale. No longer can they build cars with the idea of build it and they will come. Those days are long over!

My suggestion to the big 3 is to talk with public, find out what we want and need. Not all small cars and not all muscle cars, but a combination of fuel efficient, fun to drive, powerful, versatile and cost effective vehicles. Will it be easy? No, but if Hyundai and Volkswagen can do it, so can you. The internet is a great resource with blogs and message boards asking for specific vehicles, calling out issues and providing insight into their interest. Please use it or risk going under for good.

Here is a link to a related article on Motortend. And here is a link to tell Fritz at GM what you think!

For the past few weeks, GM has been plastering the Internet with their advertisement ” 230″. Rumor had it that GM was ready to release information on a soon to be released new vehicle.  The big announcement was to arrive today, August 11th. On my drive in to the office this morning, the announcement was already out on the radio. GM didn’t have a new car to announce, instead they were anxious to announce what “230″ meant. It was the miles per gallons projected for the new Chevy Volt.  I am not sure if this is a true measurement, but I know bigger questions are out there.

Now I like cars and technology, but I just don’t get where the Volt fits in. GM says that most people drive less than 40 miles per day. So they target 40 miles of travel and oh, by the way, here is a gas engine just encase you don’t make it back home.

My first argument is: GM is targetting $40K for the volt.  And although the average person would save thousands on gas, it would take years for the pay back to be realized.  Couldn’t I just buy a Chevy Malibu for $20K and have more than enough cash left over for 5 years of gasoline?

My second argument is: Why not just dump the gas engine and use the saved space to add additional battery power. Increase the range to over 100 miles.  Wouldn’t this be a cheaper car to produce? Remember the EV1?  I am also still concerned about where all this electricity is coming from.

My third argument is: What will it cost to maintain this vehicle? will it have any value after 5 years? How long will it last? and if it’s shelf life is limited, what does it’s recycling doing to the environment?

Electric, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Gasoline, Bio-Fuel, no one seems to know the right path. It’s possible that a combination of the above will be the right answer. The problem is that one technology, right or wrong, will eventually take the lead.  Government (tax dollars!) may end up funding one or these so that an infrastructure can be created.

Let’s hope its the right one.

" I am going to do the exact same thing!"

Thanks to some hard work by Celine and our software provider, we are finally back online and working again.  our software has been upgraded, but it will mostly look and feel like it did in the past.  You will notice some new safety features that will help to reduce unwanted listings.

Some major changes to imotorlist.com are on the way. Thanks again for your patience.

1964 buick Sport Wagon

Did you ever think you would see  a Station Wagon turned into a hot rod? Me neither.  Like most people born in the 50s, 60s and even early 70s, station wagons were like part of the family.

My dad owned a 69 Mercury Montego MX wagon. It was a pale yellow with gold vinyl interior.  We were a one car family for a long time and that car was used for grocery shopping, vacations and everything in-between. It was our primary car until the late 70s when it was relegated to back-up duty and daily driver of my two older brothers. Both took their toll on that car and by the early 80s it had run its course. My brother sold it for my dad in the early 80s and it ended up with a young family.

I spent some of  my teen years riding around in a very clean 1971 Chevelle wagon owned by my friend’s mom.  It was blue with black interior and an aftermarket AC unit.  Although it was great for piling all our friends into, it simply was not cool.  We did our best to avoid it and only used it when we had to.

As station wagons began to fade in the 1980s in favor of mini-vans, I thought most of these wagons would end up in the junk yard, and most of them probably did.  In the 1990s I started to see more people collecting and showing station wagons.  I am glad people appreciate an American icon in the station wagon and hopefully more will be saved and restored for future generations. And maybe some day they will make a comeback.

I spotted this 1964 buick sportwagon in Hot Rod Magazine  this past weekend while at the book store. It really is a modern take on an old wagon.  This got me and my wife wondering which of the current vehicles would some day be collector cars or even hot rods in say 25 years.  What about a 1994 Civic Coupe? or maybe a 2004 Acrua MDX? or possibly a 1997 Chevy Astro van?  It may sound strange.. but I am guessing not too many people in 1985 thought a 1964 Buick Wagon would be in Hot Rod Magazine.

As the kids grow up it’s finally a possibility for me to own a “nice” car someday soon.  Although it still may be a year to two away, I started thinking about which car I would really want. No need to carry 4 or 5 passengers or to have 4 doors, simply get what I want to drive.

Obviously if price were no object, I might be looking at a Ferrari Modena 430 Spyder or possibly a Lamborghini Gallardo LP550. I could get by with either of these. The reality is my budget is much less than that.

My real budget will be under $40K and in that range I am most likely looking at a Camaro SS, Mustang GT, Challenger RT, Nissan 370Z or possibly something a bit more family oriented such as the A4 Sedan.  All are nice cars and I would be thrilled with any of them, but they are certainly not unique.

2010 nissan 370z roadster side top down

I started to think about what I would buy if I had a budget of $100K. Here are a few that came to mind.

The first is obvious… a true muscle/sports car.. the Corvette Z06. A nicely equipped Z06 can be purchased in the low $80K range. Very fast and unique, but it is very similar to the stock Corvette. The advantage is near super-car power and handling for a “budget” price.

The second is the BMW M3. With great looks, power and handling; this car is the complete package. From the upper $50K range for a coupe and close to $70K for the convertible it’s a bit pricey! But hey, I have that $100K budget don’t I?  The car is based on the standard 3 series BMW, but has enough unique characteristics that most people know it’s the special one.

2009 Audi S5

Last but certainly not least is the Audi S5. I think this is one of the best looking coupes ever made. And in the S version with the V8, it should be both fast and luxurious. I will take mine with Charcoal Grey Exterior and deep red interior.

Which would you buy?

]]> http://imotorlist.com/blog/2009/08/07/speed-luxury-what-would-you-buy/feed/ http://imotorlist.com/blog/2009/08/06/we-are-having-some-technical-difficulties/ http://imotorlist.com/blog/2009/08/06/we-are-having-some-technical-difficulties/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:00:57 +0000 warren http://imotorlist.com/blog/?p=354

I guess you can say that we are having some technical difficulties at Imotorlist.com.

Last week we upgraded our classified software server. Unfortunately that has created a string of system errors that can not easily be fixed. Although not planned at this time, we have decided to upgrade our classified software system. We hope to have the upgrade completed by August 10th. Thanks to all for your patience.

Imotorlist.com started in early 2005 by me, Warren. My goal was simple; it was to bring a low cost, online, classified offering to the internet and to create an online meeting place for car enthusiast. Unfortunately I had no HTML skills and not much money to invest.

My wife Celine joined the “team” in mid 2005 and imotorlist.com was on its way to becoming a reality. Celine took over the design and technical work load while I concentrated on the business plan and set-up.

The site first launched in late 2005 to great fan fare! Ok.. No one knew we were online except for our family and friends. As our site began to attract visitors (some good and some not!) we decided to change our business model. In 2008, our ad placement became free. We made some additional modifications to our system and imotorlist.com began to grow including a forum and our daily blog. Today, Imotorlist continues to be a family run business created for everyday people.

In the coming months Imotorlist.com will begin to change. We will be adding more news, opinions and user content.  It may have taken longer than we expected, but we believe it will be worth the wait.  We hope that you will check back regularly and be part of imotorlist “2.0”.

Thank you for being part of Imotorlist.

]]> http://imotorlist.com/blog/2009/08/06/we-are-having-some-technical-difficulties/feed/