en | fr | de | it | es | pt | ru
blog.niot.net
New Jersey Motorsports Park Suing Shelby American Car Club

The hits just keep on coming for the embattled Shelby American Automobile Club. News has quieted down about the contention between Caroll Shelby and the SAAC just in time for Ken Eber, the club's national director, to steer the organization right into another lawsuit. This time, it's New Jersey Motorsports Park suing to recover nearly $116,000 it's been owed since last August. Both parties are trying to work the issue out, but Eber's assertion that the club has reached a verbal agreement on the issue and will be adding an event to the 2009 calendar doesn't jive with the venue's schedule, though Joe Savaro, a co-owner of the park, has indicated a desire to have the Shelby club back. Even though the park made a concession to allow the SAAC to pay for its use of the track after the event, Eber reportedly left the event early and wouldn't return to settle up. Eber says the club will be back at the park in 2009, and they'll be using whatever proceeds the event generates to make good on outstanding commitments. Let's see, a club that charges each of its reported 5,500 members $57 per year, that works out to $313,500, though the club uses those proceeds to run a decent website and produce a newsletter and magazine, as well as pay a couple of salaries. Perhaps pre-selling tickets might be a better idea this year?
posted : 1/1/2009 @10:01:25 PM
Iowa town de-ices roads with garlic saltRoad crews in Ankeny, Iowa, have an interesting problem on their hands. It seems that the city is using just a pinch a half-and-half mixture of garlic salt and normal rock salt to season clear its roads during the winter. How did the small suburb of Des Moines manage to get 18,000 pounds of garlic salt, you ask? Apparently, a local spice company called Tone's had no use for the garlic salt and had it earmarked for a landfill. Instead, the tasty condiment was donated to the city for use on its roads. While we didn't actually know it was possible to use garlic salt to clear roads (though it often does a great job clearing a room - get it?), we never would have imagined that it would cause the cleanup crews to "feel like ordering a steak and a baked potato." Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.
posted : 12/22/2008 @9:49:14 PM

Cheapskate Greenies! Canadians build sub-$1K DIY electric car

Don't want to wait for the Chevrolet Volt? Don't feel like spending tens of thousands of dollars on a new green car? Combine your thrift, environmental consciousness and affinity for wrench turning by building your own electric car. Canadians Darin Cosgrove and Ivan Limburg have electrified a Geo Metro for less than $1,000 and you can too! Starting with a Metro helps set expectations, as the converted car is not fast and suitable only for low speed in-town tripping, but the original was no paragon of performance anyway. AutoblogGreen covered some of the ForkenSwift's construction, but we thought it'd be a good thing to revisit. The winter months are upon us, and building an EV in the garage is a nice way to stay out of the snow.

After stripping out the gas engine and its associated plumbing, the duo sold the engine and fuel tank; we're amazed that there's a market for Metro engines. A $500 used forklift provided the DC motors and control systems, and the carcass provided good scrap value once the vital organs were harvested, helping offset costs. A used bank of batteries were donated by another EV owner, though new batteries would boost performance and range. But hey, nothing's as cheap as free. Finding a Metro for cheap might be a neat trick now that prices have been inflated, but any old light thing will work. For a total tally of $672, who can complain with the results?

posted : 12/4/2008 @4:57:42 PM
Volt designer "more proud" of production version

Back when GM rolled out the Volt concept, there was less discussion about its design than there was about its underlying technology. Sure, it looked ok, but with gas prices at the time headed straight up, its promise of cheaper driving overshadowed its sports car roofline. Upon introduction of the more aerodynamic production Volt, there seemed to be a re-Volt. Our Hot or Not poll showed 65% of readers responded negatively to the dramatic redesign. You gotta wonder how that makes the Volt's designers feel. Two members of the Volt design team are from Ohio, and Cleveland's "Plain Dealer" newspaper asked them what they think of the Volt's new look. Apparently they either disagree and/or just really like being able to cash GM's checks at the end of the week. "There were probably a small number of people expecting the electric Camaro," Volt design team director Bob Boniface (in photo above) told the newspaper. "I'm more proud of this car than I am of the concept car," he says later in the story. Many people saw the production Volt and wondered why GM couldn't come up with something that didn't look so "Prius-y." GM aerodynamics engineer Ken Karbon has an explanation: "The laws of aerodynamics are the same if it's a Toyota or a Chevy." Maybe Chery should have tried that line in court.
posted : 10/21/2008 @7:51:44 PM
tags : brakenutz , trucknutz
VIDEO: BrakeNutz - because TruckNutz don't light up

If you've been proudly displaying TruckNutz on the bumper of your pickup, you may have noticed that people are so transfixed by your artificial clock-weights that they nearly rear end you. The cleaver testes decorators at BrakeNutz have the answer: TruckNutz that double as an extra brake light. BrakeNutz can be plugged into your truck's existing wire harness, and when you brake they light up a brilliant red as if your F-150 has just been kicked in the crotch. Hit the jump to view BrakeNutz in action, if only to see what happens when you use the turn signal!
more ...
posted : 10/13/2008 @10:33:05 PM
Ken Okuyama 7 going in to production

When the K.O7 Spyder broke cover in Geneva we were struck by its bold design (it was penned by the guy who gave us the Enzo and the Quattroporte), but seriously doubted that the track star/supercar would ever see production. Well, a limited run of 99 K.O7s will go on sale on November 1st for the princely sum of 19,500,000 Yen. Yep, that's near-as-makes-no-difference $200,000 -- an awful lot of money for very little car. And when you consider that it's essentially a modern remake of the fenderless Lotus 340R, which itself seemed expensive back in 2000 at $70,000, you've got to wonder how many more orders Okuyama-san will be taking beyond the 24 cars pre-ordered by Tag-Heuer, who've had a hand in the project since its inception just a year ago. You may remember that the Lotus 340R never reached its performance target of 340 bhp/ton, largely because it was powered by Rover's asthmatic K-series engine. This is why three-hundred and forty 340Rs were built -- the number had to stand for something. Similar doubts surround the final performance figures for the 750-kg (1,653-pound) K.O7. Okuyama Design say that the good ol' Toyota 2.0-liter found in the Elise and Exige will be good for "200-240bhp", but we don't see a supercharger, nor room for one. However fast it turns out to be, it's a fine looking machine and is bound to remain exclusive.
posted : 9/26/2008 @7:15:07 AM
VIDEO: Short documentary on Glickenhaus' Ferrari P4/5

Much has been written about the one-off Ferrari created by Pininfarina for wealthy car collector James Glickenhaus. Named the P4/5 after the famous Ferrari racing machines from the 1960s, this Enzo-based bespoke supercar is a modern day legend not just because it's gorgeous, rare and powerful, but also because Glickenhaus believes it should be driven. He doesn't just show it at parties attended by the rich and famous, he drives it up the hill at Goodwood. Rumor has it the P4/5 already has 6,000 miles on the odo. Glickenhaus is, therefore, our kind of man, so we were very much interested in this new video vignette that popped up on him and his car. It's produced by Brad Farrell, owner and operator of Kilnjox Media, who hopes to make more short documentaries on various car nuts in the Northeast who "get it" like Glickenhaus does. This one's the first and if reaction to it is positive enough, more will come with a possible cable series in the works. Check out the video after the jump and let us know your reaction in the comments.
more ...
posted : 9/24/2008 @9:58:28 PM
Lambdas get IIHS Top Pick rating

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety took some GMC Acadias and smashed them up to see how the big crossovers hold up against immovable objects, and unlike recent tests conducted for the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent, the news is positive. An AWD Acadia SLE acted as a stand-in for all of the Lambda models - Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Saturn Outlook, and all Acadia trims included. It didn't matter whether the IIHS attacked the front, side, or rear – the CUV earned a "good" rating in all directions. With the standard fitment of Stabilitrak, the IIHS also bestowed a Top Safety Pick crown on GM's big haulers. The Lambas now have both a five-star rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick designator about which to brag.
posted : 9/13/2008 @5:54:59 AM
The most obnoxiously tuned Toyota Prius... Ever

We truly do appreciate the custom-car scene, in all of its various guises. There is, however, a problem with the custom Prius you see above and in the video embedded after the break. Generally speaking, the goal of modifying a car is to either A) make it go faster or B) make it look better. When Classe Gustafson, Elvis Häggbom and Kenny Kyrk from Sweden had finished spending $184,000 customizing a Toyota Prius, they had accomplished neither. This Prius-trocity, which was modified for a television show, is anything but subtle. It lost two doors during its transformation from mild-mannered hybrid eco-mobile to whacked out sport compact that just happens to get good fuel economy, though it did get scissor-style portals that are nearly impossible to open in the process. And it also gained a huge honkin' stereo and the body-kit from a Volvo SUV. The over-the-top paint-job is the final touch. The Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain, however, went untouched save for the obligatory fart-can exhaust. Nice.
more ...
posted : 9/13/2008 @3:09:08 AM
Small recall for big suspension issue on 2008 Honda Element

All owners of 2008 Honda Elements are being asked to stop driving their cars until they have had them inspected at their local Honda dealer. According to a recall issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the front bushing bracket of the left trailing arm of the rear suspension may have been improperly welded. If it fails, it could separate from the trailing arm causing the suspension to release part of the wheel hub, thus leading to a loss of control or crash. Although only 241 Elements are potentially affected (there are specific VIN number ranges during certain production dates), Honda is notifying all owners immediately and will inspect and replace defective parts at no charge. Rather than taking a risk, err on the side of safety and call your Honda dealer if you've got the keys to a 2008 Element in your pocket.
posted : 9/2/2008 @3:02:19 AM
< back ( 1 2 3 ) next >
:: new posts
:: popular posts
copyright 2007 (C) - powered by ceastudio