Automotive Blogger

Ever have a car problem that you can’t figure out and you don’t know who to ask for help?
Even mechanics get stumped from time to time, and I’ve found that the internet usually has the answers that I’m looking for. The World Wide Web has tons of resources for all things automotive, but it isn’t always easy to navigate such a huge trough of knowledge. Thankfully the boys at Car Talk, Tom and Ray, have made it quick and easy to get your car question answered.

Car Talk’s Instant Question and Answer Service is a simple; you type in your car related question being as specific as possible with the details and hit the “Ask” button. The question will be added to a list of other questions that are cued up to scroll across the Car Talk Q&A box. Other Car Talk readers answer questions that they have personal experience with. You also have the option of receiving email notification when an answer to your question is posted.

I tried the service yesterday after frustratingly trying to fix the heater on my parents’ 2000 Honda Civic. The question I posted read:
“I have 2000 Honda Civic, 4 door, automatic transmission. The heater on this car has always worked amazingly well. Above average I would say. It has been stolen and recovered several times, and after the last theft the heater doesn’t work as well. It still puts out warm air but not hot like it used to. Took it to the dealer and they say its working just fine, but there is a definite difference. Any Ideas what could be wrong?”

I wasn’t expecting to get any responses, but with in 12 hours I received two answers. Both proposed the same fix which I hadn’t tried yet. I’m very hopeful that it will work, and I’m very impressed with the Car Talk Q&A.
No question is too dumb. Give it a try!
-Bill Mertz

Car Talk, Automotive help, mechanical questions

When I was going through driver’s education I remember being grilled on proper lane changing etiquette. Turn your signal on, check your mirrors to make sure the lane is clear, look over your shoulder, then check mirrors again. At the time it seemed like a bit much, but it worked. It is now permanently ingrained into my driving behavior.

Now, years later, I’m finding that the lane changing rules are becoming extinct on the road. You are lucky if you get some one to signal before changing lanes and looking, well that’s purely optional. My personal favorites are the people who signal and look only after they have started changing lanes. Better late then never right?

About a year ago I was driving to work in my MGB. I was in the fast lane and a Black 3 series BMW began to change lanes right into me as I was going by. No signal. No looking. He just started coming over. As he came into my lane I beeped the horn a few times and pulled my car slightly into the break-down lane to avoid contact with the Beemer. For some reason I reacted really calmly. If this had occurred at a different moment I may have jammed on the brakes and swerved, which probably would have resulted in an accident. But I simply let off the gas, honked the horn and scooted over until he eventually saw/heard me. Unfortunately for him, when he finally saw me he reacted quite violently. He jerked the wheel the other way sending his 3 series into a massive spin across 5 lanes of traffic and into a guard rail. It happened instantaneously and I saw most of the accident in my rearview mirror.

If he had checked his mirrors, looked over his shoulder and given an advanced signal this accident wouldn’t have happened. I’m not trying to say that proper lane changing would stop all traffic accidents, but it would certainly reduce the amount of carnage and close calls on the road.
Check your mirrors and keep the shiny side up.
-Bill Mertz

traffic, accidents, signals

Apparently 505 horsepower Z06 Corvette wasn’t enough for some people. A recent article in Autoweek unveiled spy photos of what looks to be a new and more powerful Corvette. Rumors have the horsepower at around 650 and with a giant hood bulge the extra oomph is most likely coming from some type of supercharger.

But the speculation doesn’t stop there. How about a curb weight lower than the current Z06, a price tag approaching $100,000 and a flashy new name like SS, “Blue Devil”, Z07 or Stingray.
Good luck finding affordable insurance for this thing!
-Bill Mertz

Corvette

If you are a youtube fan you may have already seen this, but if not you must check it out.
Goped vs. Firebird
The first time I saw this video I thought it had to be fake. There is no way a little goped could take on a monster V8 right? But the more I watch it, the more I think it is real. The speed of the goped at the end of the clip looks to be pretty high and you can clearly hear both vehicles accelerating hard off the line. I absolutely love the part where the goped rider vents his nitrous.

-Bill Mertz

goped, firebird, drag race

Steven Spielberg’s 1971 film Duel isn’t your traditional scary movie with ghosts or masked chainsaw wielding murderers. Instead the film uses a more cleaver antagonist to bring the horror to the film; a big rig truck. Actually it’s a 1955 Peterbilt 351 towing a tanker trailer.

The premise of the movie is simple yet frightening. A man is going to work driving his Plymouth Valiant on some back roads in the desert. He comes across a Semi-truck and quickly passes it, but moments later the big rig comes roaring passed and proceeds to slow down intentionally. From their on in it becomes increasingly clear that this tanker truck is driven by a psychopath and the plot moves along as the truck continually tries to kill the business man in his Valiant. Every time it looks like the truck might be gone it pops up again in the rearview mirror.

The driver of the truck is never revealed except for one shot of his or her cowboy boots, but there are plenty of creepy shots of the Peterbilt closing in on the poor Valiant. The movie is certainly creepy enough to make you check your mirrors twice when you pass truckers on remote roads.
I will go out on a limb and say it is the best car genre scary movie I have seen.
A good watch for the Halloween minded car enthusiast.

-Bill Mertz

Duel, Steven Spielberg, scary, big rig

I was listening to Click and Clack this morning on Car Talk and they mentioned posting a Top 10 Scariest Cars list on their website. I checked it out, and it’s pretty darn good list.
Check it out for yourselves

One car that I personally feel deserves an honorable mention is the Ford Explorer. Prone to tipping over, a mechanical nightmare, and with the horrible tire blow-out scandal under its belt, the Ford Explorer is scary to anyone within a 100 yard radius. I think I could write a long Explorer horror story book with just my friend’s bad Explorer experiences.
Be afraid…. Be very afraid.
-Bill Mertz

Because I’m a gearhead, people often ask me if I’m going to have a car-related costume for Halloween. The answer in short is no way.
Don’t get me wrong, I love dressing up for Halloween, but I have no intention of dressing up in automotive attire; it’s just too predictable.

For example, if I came dressed as a mechanic, most people would think I wasn’t even in costume, but was simply in my work clothes. If I came in a racecar driver outfit I would get a lot of groans because most people know I own most of the pieces necessary for this costume (helmet, gloves, jumpsuit etc..). Plus, I already planned on being a giant baby this year and I think it fits my personality much better than any car costume ever could.

Females have better luck pulling off the automotive theme on Halloween mainly because almost any costume can be made into a skimpy outfit and girls in skimpy outfits simply don’t get called out on having a crappy costume (totally bogus in my opinion). Just browse Google for car costumes and host of “flag girl”, “racer girl” and “car hop girl” costumes will pop up. The majority of them are the “if I caught my 15 year old daughter wearing this I would kill her” type of costume.

The one automotive costume that would impress me is if someone came as an actual car. That takes thinking, design, daring, and a well thought out plan about how you are going to move around the crowded party on Saturday night. In fact if anyone decides to go as a car this year please take a picture and send it to me. I would be happy to add it to this blog and give you some props on your costume.
-Bill Mertz

Halloween, car, costume

A few days ago a friend of mine, Adam, had his car stolen from out in front of his house. If it was a Honda Civic, one of the most stolen cars in the United States, I would understand. If it was a really nice car with expensive wheels and a top notch radio, that would make a little sense. But his car was a beat and used nothing-of-value-in-it Audi 4000.

I don’t mean to bag on his car, but the 4000 is a real piece. Based on the Volkswagen Quantum platform, the Audi 4000 was marketed more toward the working man, like Adam. His particular 1985(?) Audi is a non-Quattro-equipped front wheel drive model, with crappy silver paint and a low-end German interior. While Audi’s of the era weren’t known for their reliability (especially the 5000’s) this little sedan actually ran and functioned pretty well, and as a car enthusiast Adam knew exactly what he had; a rare problem free Audi 4000. But, it is doubtful that the thieves would have known that.

Why would they have picked this car to pinch? The only answer I can come up with is easy screwdriver entry. The car was recovered several days later about 7 miles from the scene of the crime. It is unclear whether the car was abandoned or simply parked for further use. The method of entry was indeed a screwdriver, but thanks to good German engineering the original key still works. So keep an eye on your vintage Audi’s, they may be more appealing to car boosters than you think.

-Bill Mertz

Audi 4000, stolen

In the throws of major restructuring under new Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company reported a staggering 5.8 billion dollar loss through the third quarter. This is the biggest loss on record for the company in 14 years. While some people think that Ford is a sinking ship, I have my doubts that the company will go belly up any time soon.

Some losses are to be expected with any type of restructuring, and while these numbers are on the high side, I’m guessing that Mulally is getting the expensive part of the restructuring process out of the way as soon as possible so that they can hit rock bottom and begin to rebuild quickly.

Similar rumors about GM folding were floating around this summer, but seem to have quieted significantly. While neither American manufacturer is doing particularly well, they both have one thing going for them, name recognition. There are still plenty of people out there who by cars and trucks just because they are “the heart beat of America” or “built Ford tough”. As long as quality and design aren’t the foremost reason people buy cars, Ford still has a fighting chance.
For a more in depth article check out the Washington Post.

-Bill Mertz

Ford, GM

I’m not a big fan of modifications that are purely for aesthetic purposes, especially on 4×4’s. Frankly chrome doodads and shiny whackamadoos don’t really do it for me. But, when someone comes out with a clever product I have to give them credit. Even if it is just aesthetic, Todd Johnson at Primal Effects came up with a pretty cool and original product; Truck Tusks.

Measuring 27 inches long and weighing 13 lbs these giant cast aluminum tusks mount straight to the bumper of your 4×4. Although currently they are only available for Jeep CJs, Wranglers, Toyota FJ40s and Hummers, they look like they would be easy to adapt to other vehicles. Primal Effects is also a burgeoning company and will undoubtedly be expanding their range of products. While the tusks are not meant to be bashed or used as a real off-road bumper, they do look tough and could certainly stand up to bumper duties for day to day driving. And as the folks at Primal say “heads will turn and people will look”.

For more information check out the website yourself.

-Bill Mertz

Jeep, 4×4, off road, FJ40, CJ, Hummer

Original sales brochure by provided by Patrick Casey.

The 914 was the ugly duckling of the Porsche lineup when it came out. Scoffed at as a re-badged Volkswagen (which is partially true), the 914 wasn’t given much of a chance by Porsche enthusiasts. But time has shown that the mid-engine sports car is both durable and fun.

Production of the 914 started in 1969 and continued all the way through 1975. Originally it was offered with a 1.7 liter fuel injected air-cooled Volkswagen engine that produced around 80 horsepower. The boxer 4 cylinder was compact and kept the weight low in the car. This same engine was eventually bored out to 1.8 liters and even more powerful (95hp) 2.0 liter Bosch injected motor also became part of the lineup.

The less affordable more collectable 914/6 was a hotrod version of the little Porsche that sported a 2.0 liter 6 cylinder motor and used a similar suspension and brake setup to the higher end 911. This package made the 914/6 a really exciting car on both road and track.

However a base 914 is quite capable of holding its own on a good twisty road and the 2.0 liter 4 cylinder car is downright quick. With a five-speed transmission cruising on highways is an easy task unlike most vintage cars. With four wheel independent suspension and four wheel disc brakes it is easy to drive briskly in the low slung Porsche. Despite its low ride height and ground clearance the 914 also soaks up bumps amazingly well.

Styling is perhaps the 914’s biggest weak point. It is definitely an example of function before form. From a distance with the headlights down you can’t tell which direction the car is pointed. Fortunately Porsche offered the car in some sweet 70’s colors that are loud enough to make most onlookers completely miss the oddball styling.

With 108,000 cars produced there are still plenty of good 914’s floating around. Prices for 914’s are all over the board. If you look hard you should be able to find a nice example for between $4000-7000, with projects being a bit less and perfect condition cars fetching up to $10,000. When buying one beware of the usual old car faults, rust, worn suspension, and previous owners who have tampered with an otherwise perfectly good car.

914fan.net

-Bill Mertz

Porsche, 914

The Lotus Elise isn’t exactly brand new. In fact the sports car that was first released in Europe in 1995 is getting pretty dated. But for those of us that live in the US the car is still a new face. Because of strict safety standards it took until the 2005 model year before the little Lotus made its way across the pond; but now that its here many Americans are in love.

The Elise is everything a sports car is supposed to be, and nothing that it isn’t. Spartan, minimalist, lacking in creature comforts; these are just some of the terms I’ve heard used to describe the Elise. Call it what you will the car is just plane simple. The cockpit has seats, seat belts a steering wheel, gauges, pedals and hardly anything else. This may seem crude, but the driving controls are really all that you will need to enjoy yourself in this Lotus.

The motor in the Americanized Elise is a Toyota 1.8 liter 4 cylinder that puts out a hefty 190 horsepower at a revvy 7,800 rpm. This may not seem like a lot of power for an exotic car, but the extruded-aluminum chassis and composite fiberglass body keep the weight down to a scant 1984 lbs. With this power to weight ratio the car can make the dash to 60mph in less than 5 seconds.

Driving the Elise in the twisties is simply heavenly. The car really feels like a go-kart. Steering input (non-power steering) is light and more responsive than anything else I’ve driven. The track-package suspension that came on my test car provided amazing grip, and although a little bumpy on rough freeways due to the short wheel-base, was overall quite comfy for around town driving.

Driving the Elise was by far the most fun I’ve had in a new car, including cars with much more horsepower. Congratulations should be given to the Elise designers for sticking to Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s “low-weight” philosophy that made Lotus successful in the past.

-Bill Mertz

Lotus, Elise, sports car

The star of the fifth generation Toyota Corolla lineup was the GT-S model. A lightweight coupe with a high-strung twin-cam engine and 5 speed manual transmission driving the rear wheels, the Corolla GT-S was the last of its breed.

We first began seeing the Corolla GT-S in North America in 1984 and production continued until early 1987. The car was available in two body styles; a three door hatchback (lift back) and a two door coupe. With pop-up headlights and a wedge-shaped body design the corolla epitomized car design of the era. One of the nicest features of the Corolla was that the entire package only weighed around 2300 pounds which is really quite light, especially by today’s standards.

Photo courtesy of Driftmania
Power for the GT-S came from a 16 valve 1587cc 4 cylinder engine dubbed the 4A-GEC. With multiport fuel injection, the twin-cam motor was smooth and free revving. It was capable of producing roughly 112 horsepower at 6,600 rpm. With a strong transmission and rear-end, this was a very well packaged drive train. The suspension for the GT-S was independent coil-sprung in the front, and live axle coil-sprung in the rear. Although not the cutting edge of suspension design it proved very fun and tossable.

With a large cult following and a huge aftermarket it is possible to really transform the car. It is possible to get gobs of power out of the 4A-G and the Corolla can be made to stick to the road like glue. But like any car with a big following, it makes finding a nice unabused car that much more difficult. They are still out there however. A quick search on Craigslist will reveal cars ranging from $1500 for a total basket case all the way up to $7,000 for a heavily modified and nicely done example.


Photos by Colin Frost

Club 4AG is an excellent resource for all of your Corolla GT-S questions and needs.
-Bill Mertz

Toyot, Corolla, 4ag, AE86, GT-S

For those of you who crave automotive humor I’m happy to share with you one of the best spoof auto sites on the web. Sniff Petrol.com has no bones about mocking the auto industry and the people in it. From General Motors right down to F1 driver Jaques Villenueve, no one is safe. With a distinctive British bite to its humor the website features horribly-sarcastic straight-faced stories that will have you in stitches. The website is also remarkably up to date with its stories. If you have a lot of down time at work give it a read.
-Bill Mertz

Sniff Petroll, automotive humor, British

Although Felipe Massa claimed a glorious win at his home track in Brazil, he had to share the day with many others; first and foremost his Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher.
Making the final race of his F1 career Michael drove true to his ability. Starting in P10 he quickly fell back to 19th position after a tire puncture. He was able to march the car back up through the field and finish in 4th spot and second overall in the drivers championship. This was a great final drive for the greatest F1 driver of our time.

In the Renault pit the entire team had cause for celebration as Fernando Alonso claimed the second spot on the podium which clinched both the driver’s championship for himself and the constructor’s championship for his Renault team. Despite Massa’s first place finish (10 points) and Schumacher’s fourth place finish (5 points) the Renault team was able to hold off Ferrari by a scant 5 points.

Also celebrating its final Formula One performance was French Tire manufacturer Michelin. Bouncing back well from their debacle at Indianapolis in 2005, Michelin was looking strong in F1. With victories in both driver’s and constructor’s championships they had a magnificent final season, and the parody provided by multiple tire manufacturers will be missed. For 2007 Bridgestone will be the only tire supplier for the F1 series.
-Bill Mertz

F1, Formula One, Renault, Ferrari, Michelin