Just a thought – is the manual transmission dying? Many other writers have been writing about so-called manual ‘box death watches and that the auto might just be a de facto standard in the industry in the near future.

I’ve always considered the manual as the “proper” gearbox. I haven’t driven anything with a flappy paddle gearbox do for me, the control of the traditional manual is absolutely tops. In addition, manuals for the longest time offer better economy over automatic.

Though, I have to admit that my new i10 sports an automatic gearbox. No one can probably contest the ease and comfort that a automatic gearbox gives. The auto in that car is crap, I should say, and it gives a pretty bad return on a small car.

However, with dual-clutch transmission starting to give better economy and even better control over the stick shift, only fewer than 1% of drivers go for a stick these days.

Via: USA Today

Ever guessed how could an additional few units of pressure affect your car’s performance? Some experienced drivers may point out the stiffer ride or the lack of traction around corners. Many drivers won’t even care at all.

Thing is, you should care. But it’s a bit of a bother to constantly check tire pressure and inflate or deflate it based on the road conditions that you’re going to facing.

In today’s world of electronic wizardry, it’s a good thing to have all of these sensors and electronic assist systems that helps you deal with road conditions.

Schrader Electronics is even making tire sensors that automatically send signals to your car’s ECU to help it adjust how the ABS and the stability systems work.

The sensor also measures the tire’s tread depth, pressure, and temperature. These bits of information are then used to compute for the best adjustments for the electronic systems.

Schrader has teamed up with Pirelli to build these smart tires. These smart tires are expected to be out by 2013.

Who’s guilty of texting while driving. I admit that I’ve done it before. I’ve gotten pretty adept at texting that I can text with one hand, without looking at the screen while driving a proper manual.

But I got to admit, it can be dangerous and how many reports have we encountered of people crashing just because they tried sneaking in a text while driving.

DoSomething.org and telco Sprint are promoting a quirky idea to prevent texting while driving. Quite unique really – thumb socks.

“Teens are encouraged to use thumb socks to spread awareness for the campaign through a variety of ways including giving them to their friends, keeping them in their car as a reminder, hosting a Thumb War tournament around the cause or updating their Facebook profile with a photo of them wearing the thumb socks,” said a statement from DoSomething.org and Sprint.

We wonder what’s the practical application of this. Perhaps your thumbs do lose the proper traction to punch the wee keys of your mobile or the sensitivity you need to fiddle with the touch screen.

Thumb socks can be had on ThumbWars.org.

Well, it’s easter and you can expect people to do some crazy things just because the occasion allows for it. Now this is quite interesting – a police officer from Glendale, California decided to ditch his civvies for a new undercover garb – dressed as the Easter bunny.

The officer/bunny wanted to make crosswalks much safer by crossing them in his bunny suit and handed tickets to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians. Who wouldn’t yield to the Easter bunny? Apparently, there are people who wouldn’t.

Too bad, a councilman thought that the stunt wasn’t all too impressed at this “allocation of funds” and criticized the stunt. The sting operation is still in play but the police was asked to drop costumes and just use their good old civvies.

I got an idea here. You’d want people to stop? Use Playboy Bunnies!

Source: Leftlane

British racing legend Stirling Moss has been injured but not out on the track (mind you that age hasn’t stopped him from appearing in public) but in his home, in an elevator (that’s “lift” for you, British chaps).

A malfunction of the elevator meant Moss stepped into an empty elevator shaft, falling three stories breaking his ankles and feet. His spine was also damaged in the fall.

Moss has proven to be a tough cookie that wouldn’t really crumble. Old Formula One fans would probably remember when he crashed a Lotus in 1962 at Goodwood. The crash placed him in a coma which practically ended his racing career.

Moss is still in extensive care but doctors said that the legend is now clear of any immediate danger.

Now falling into an elevator shaft in your home? That’s something only rich people fuss about.

Check out this snazzy looking concept from I.DE.A. For those of you who are asking who the heck I.DE.A is. They’re the Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering. Get it. I.DE.A.

They’re a Turin-based car design and engineering company that has designed quite a number of cars for international companies. They’re the ones guilty for bringing us the likes of the 1993 Lancia Delta, 2000 Kia Rio, and the 2008 Tata Nano to name a few.

Anyway, this here’s the SOFIA concept which is, by far, perhaps their best design yet.

“The curves are graceful, the lines smooth and supple, the shape and profile are as enchanting and alluring as a female figure. The front and rear light clusters convey a captivating and inviting look. Sculpted lines emphasize the front and rear wings with the bird’s eye view showing off the car’s hourglass figure,” said a statement released by I.DE.A.

It’s basically just a showcase of design but the firm claims that the car will be able to take on an 8-cylinder engine with either a front-wheel or a rear-wheel drive configuration.

Nothing like a cash prize to light a fire under people’s asses. Edmunds.com announced that it will be offering $1 million to anyone who can fix the throttle issues in Toyota vehicles.

Toyota has been plagued by a throttle issue that has prompted the company to recall millions of vehicles. The “fix” Toyota rolled out, however, wasn’t able to really address the issue. Thus, Edmunds.com tries to step in by offering the big bounty for whoever can fix it.

“We have heard compelling testimony from consumers. Many incidents are not fully addressed by recalls. NHTSA is responding to the challenge with more of what they have already done: additional investigations. Isn’t it time to try a different approach? We at Edmunds.com think so,” said CEO Jeremy Anwyl.

Quite a ballsy move from Edmunds.com but if it would mean that it’d solve all the problems. Quite frankly, Toyota should fire their engineers and hire the person or group who wins the million dollar bounty.

It got hot in Detroit. And it wasn’t because the show featured some really hot rides (though Chrysler had Ferrari in their stands). It’s because a fire broke out halting the show.

An electrical fire broke out above the Audi stand prompting organizers to halt the show for several hours to let the fire department to deal with the fire and to make sure that the exhibit hall was safe.

Visitors thought that the smoke was part of some launch since fog machines (since they enhance lighting in addition to the wow effect) are common in auto shows.

“We happened to see a little more fog and somebody said they must have a fog machine at the Chrysler booth,” said an attendee.

The show is set to end Sunday.

Source: Autocar

We’ve decided to compiled our best cars of the decade on our sister blog, CarFront. Here’s the list.

10. Toyota Prius – Sure started the green revolution. Doesn’t matter if it’s driven by Hollywood celebs and smug middle class people. The market still says hybrid = Prius.

9. Ariel Atom – Power-to-weight ratio that shames cars up to five times its cost in handling and acceleration. Face-melting.

8. Nissan GT-R – The ultimate lap time machine for a price less than the Porsche 911.

7. Ford Focus – Introduced in the late 90s but gained solid footing in the 2000s, the Focus gave family men a good and practical machine that can offer an exciting drive out on country lanes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Weekly motorsport newspaper Motorsport News updated its 1999 poll on the greatest motorsport hero of all time.

Surprise-surprise the current buzz of being recent or current world champion isn’t enough to propel the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button or even Sebastian Loeb to the top.

The top dog in the poll – rally legend Colin McRae.

McRae won the WRC championship in 1995 with Subaru and helped the team clinch the constructor’s title three years in a row from 1995 to 1997. McRae tragically passed away in 2007 in a helicopter accident.

McRae finished ahead of Formula One legends like Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell.

Source: Rally Buzz

Holy crap! What a freaking way to go. Especially if you’re young and famous. NFL wide receiver Chris Henry of the Cincinatti Bengals dies from injuries last December 16.

The police report says that Henry jumped on the back of a moving pickup truck to stop his fiancess from leaving what the police refers to a “domestic situation” at her parent’s home.

For those who know Henry’s checkered past, the issue might not shock them that much. The 26 year old player was arrested for DUIs, weed possession, and assault among others.

Someone with such a sense of caution despite being an NFL player wouldn’t know any better than to jump on a moving pickup truck. It doesn’t matter if he’s quick and strong, that’s a moving pickup truck and we speculate that he doesn’t have his helmet on when this happened.

Tragic, though.

Source: CelebrityHQ

Hey, remember the Bloodhound SSC. This has been in the news about the same time last year after some Bristol boys announced that they will be breaking the land speed record with a 1000 mph car.

Since then, the car has gone through 10 designs since it was announced. Now, the tyeam thinks it has a real shot at breaking the standing 763 mph record.

The car is powered by a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine and if slapping on an engine from the world’s arguably most agile airplane, a 400kg rocket’s slapped on for additional thrust. That combination dishes out a total 133,150 bhp.That’s 130 Veyrons in a 6.5 ton package.

Space-grade aluminum’s utilized to help the car cope with the sheer G-forces that all that thrust produces.

The attempt will be done on the Hakskeen Pan in South Africa in 2011 and will be piloted by fighted pilot Andy Green.

Second item for today’s WTF! Moment special and this one’s more tragic than some rich guy driving his expensive Italian exotica up a tree.

A couple of secret service vehicles – one, a Chevirolet Suburban and, another a limousine that’s in use by Vice-President Joe Biden – hit and killed a pedestrian in Maryland.

The cars were on their way back to a secure storage facility when it hit a pedestrian who was crossing an interesction. The accident happened at 2:27 in the morning and the rain made it difficult for the dirvers to execute proper evasive action. (Due to the extensive armor slapped on the cars. Not to mention that they’re basically GM vehicles.)

No dignitaries or government officials were on board when the accident happened.

Source: Inside Line

And here we are again with rich people (who don’t look very good drivers) crashing their exotica. This time, it’s over at Texas where a man took a swim in a Galveston lagoon in Texas. Too bad he forgot to get out of his Veyron when he did.

Okay. So he claims that he was distracted by a low-flying Pelican which caused him to twitch the wheel and drive into a two-foot saltwater lagoon. I wouldn’t blame him for opting to remain anonymous though.

This just gives credence that speed requires a lot of talent and skill. Only the likes of Michael Schumacher can do speedy qualifying laps while observing the weather at the same time.

The man escaped without injuries.

Source: PistonHeads

This truly is a WTF! Moment to rival all WTF! Moments. Forget about crashed exoticas or even Michael Bay car chase scenes. I’m sure that those never amounted to thousands of car submerged in murky flood waters and wrecked.

While most cars in the Philippines are Japan-made sedans and people movers, hundreds of cars got submerged with many even swept away by the raging flood waters caused by Typhoon Ketsana. It delivered rainwater in 6 hours what it did for the whole month of September.

If only modern cars’ ECUs are waterproof. While cars submerged in water can still be restored, brand new replacement ECUs are mighty expensive and rust would be a problem. Maybe automakers should work on flood proof vehicles.

To help victims of the Philippine flood, contact your local Red Cross for an international donation.

More tuning goodness in store for us. And we have German tuner AC Schnitzer showcased for this one. AC Schnitzer got their hands on the BMW Z4 Roadster and did what they can to make a good car even better.

You might be wondering, the Z4, a good car? Well, just in case you missed the last round of reviews on the the latest Z4 Roadster, BMW was able to make significant improvements on the last version.

Anyway, back to AC Schnitzer ACS4 Turbo. While the car sports no new powerhouse, the car’s ECU has been tuned to squeeze out 53 more horse power upping the twin-turbo 3.0L engine’s power from 302 bhp to 355 bhp.

Performance-wise, that allows the car to go from 0-62 mph in just 4.9 seconds and go all the way to 178 mph. To help tame the power, AC Schnitzer slapped on new springs for handling and a sport exhaust for a meatier bellow.

Aero bits are also included in an aero package which include a front spoiler, side air vents, and a rear spoiler. The car sits on 18-inch wheels but buyers can opt for larger 19 and 20-inch choices.

Source: Autocar

Small car companies can really have it either way – choke and fold or make it big. Only a few may have heard of Wiesmann but this German car company has in the business since 1985 and they’ll be part of the Frankfurt show to showcase its Roadster MF5.

Powering the car’s a BMW V10 (same as the one found in the M5 and M6) that dishes out 507 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque. That allows the car to go from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.9 seconds. Top speed nears supercar nirvana at 192 mph.

What you can see currently is a teaser image and from the rear, it looks like a bulldog’s backside but we hope that the front will be a bit more enticing to look at. Only 55 MF5s will be made and would cost 189,500 apiece.

Looks like that will be it, folks. The US Cash for Clunkers program will end on August 24. The government initially allocated $1 billion then congress passed another $2 billion to keep it alive after a very successful run. To avoid any potential problems from claims, the program is set to be closed.

The initial $1 billion was allocated to encourage motorists to trade in their gas-guzzling relics for new more fuel-efficient and environment-friendly cars. That billion was supposed help shore up car sales by 250,000 units and was planned to last until September.

In just under a month, the program blew through the budget and required more government intervention for more funds to be channeled to support the program. It is expected that at least 700,000 new car owners benefited from the program.

“This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “At the same time, we’ve been able to take old, polluting cars off the road and help consumers purchase fuel efficient vehicles.”

The official end will be on Monday (August 24) at 9 PM Eastern.

Source: Leftlane

Many have doubted whether people will really jump into the whole cash-for-clunkers program. Those doubts have now been well-erased. Even the president said that the CARS program “has succeeded well beyond our expectations and all expectations, and we’re already seeing a dramatic increase in showroom traffic at local car dealers.”

Too successful, in fact that the program just ran out of cash for all the clunkers that motorists are still willing to give up in favor of a newer and more economic model. Yes, all $1 billion of the money allocated for the program has been used up.

The House, however, is quick to address the issue, passing legislation that would add $2 billion more in funding. The house voted 316-109 to send the bill to the Senate, who will be urged to pass the same bill (if they decide to do so) due to session schedule conflicts with the House.

Still, the National Automobiles Dealers Association is now cautioning its members not to close any deals before the legislation for more funding is definite.

“Regarding auto sales this weekend, one possible alternative is for dealers to take deposits in lieu of consummated sales with an eye toward legislative success next week,” NADA spokesman Charles Cyrill wrote in an e-mail.

Platform sharing has been part of the business and quite a main reason why some models have little to differentiate themselves from their counterparts. Take the Mazda 3 and the Ford Focus for example. Tried them both and they really don’t feel any different (prefer the Mazda though).

Kia and Hyundai are owned by the same mother company and technology sharing is one of the things they just do. Kia will be launching its new version of the Amanti sedan and it will be using the Hyundai Genesis’ rear-wheel drive platform.

Many companies have abandoned RWD despite it being the classic racing layout. The RWD appeal should already differentiate from other existing cars in the market segment. Given that it’s a Kia, it will most likely be priced much lower.

Rumor has it that the new Amanti might get a 2.0L turbo and a 3.8L V6 (same one found in the Genesis Coupe) but all remain as speculation for now. It does make one wonder how Hyundai will be able to keep the premium on the Genesis if Kia also enters the scene with practically the same tech.

Unemployment and house foreclosures are still the top financial problems facing US consumers today. With limited funds, the choice between repaying loans and living expenses isn’t really a hard decision to make but the fact that the choice has to be made is hard to swallow.

In a recent report from the American Bankers’ Association, the delinquency rate on new car loans hit an all-time high. 3.42% of all indirect auto loans are 30 days delinquent while 3.01 of all direct loans suffer similar states.

ABA’s Chief Economist James Chessen cited job loss as prime delinquency driver. Without income streams, households are force to default on loans and have their cars repossessed. 2008 saw a record of 1.67 million cars repossessed.

Until the job market improves and consumers regain their buying powers, more of the same is expected over the next few months.

AT&T, the official iPhone carrier in America, has released its new turn-by-turn GPS navigation application for the iPhone’s OS 3.0 update.

The software, which is also available on other phones such as the Android-equipped T-Mobile G1, was developed by Telenav GPS. AT&T has released the application for the iPhone at no cost, but it’s actually going to charge users $9.99 every month, to be reflected on their respective phone bills.

“With the new iPhone OS 3.0 software, we’re expanding the advantages of true turn-by-turn navigation—both voice and on-screen directions—to millions more customers,”said AT&T vice president of voice and data products Mark Collins. “We’re bringing greater convenience to drivers and travelers nationwide, including providing regular, automatic updates to map information at no charge so customers have the latest at their fingertips.”

Initial reviews praised the GPS navigation system for having a comprehensive feature set, including easy-to-use controls, voice recognition, and automatic re-routing. Just be wary of the service charges AT&T puts on the app for iPhone users.

Source: Motor Authority

The government of the United Kingdom has just launched a scheme that should hasten the introduction of electric vehicles and other environmentally-friendly cars to Britain’s roads. The scheme gives the public access to electric vehicles through long-term trials.

The trials, which will feature around 340 electric cars and vans, will center on 8 locations, including Oxford and London. Different institutions will be involved in the entire process of the trials, from universities to power companies.

The project involves BMW Mini-Es to be used in Oxford and southeastern England, Peugeot battery-powered cars in Glasgow, and Mercedes-Benz electric Smart Cars slated for London and the west Midlands. The scheme is a sub-project of the UK’s larger ₤250 million EV strategy.

“Here’s an opportunity to position the UK as a world leader in the adoption of this technology by supporting the largest ever trial of such vehicles,” said UK science minister Paul Drayson. The Technology Strategy Board’s David Bott added a relevant question: “(There are) a lot of people buying new cars anyway, so the question is how quickly can we get credible alternatives out there?

New details on the upcoming full version of the Gran Turismo 5 game have been revealed, including details on licensed NASCAR and World Rally Championship cars as well as a version of the game to be released for the PlayStation Portable.

Only the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue has been released so far, and fans of the game have been eagerly awaiting the release of the full version. That is, even with stiff competition from arcade racing games like Burnout: Paradise and Need For Speed, as well as serious tuning games like highly-acclaimed Forza Motorsport.

Sony showcased a new gameplay trailer for GT5 at the recently-concluded E3 electronics expo, showing that the game will feature WRC and NASCAR cars. For starters, the trailer showed a WRC Subaru Impreza with battle damage, hinting that this highly-anticipated feature has been added on for GT5’s full version.

The PSP version, on the other hand, will feature 800 different cars along with 35 tracks, including the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The game is expected to be snatched off store shelves when it releases around Christmas of 2009.

While the struggling US automotive industry is still quite far from recovery, recent sales figures are showing positive signs that everything is back on track and starting to stabilize.

The sales figures for the Detroit Big 3 haven’t dropped as much as estimated. May 2009 sales amounted to 9.9 million units, which is up from 9.5 million average monthly sales for the first 4 months of 2009.

“We think we are starting to emerge from this global downturn,” said GM sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni. However, not everyone shares that kind of optimisim. “It’s like less awful,” said Ford vice president of sales and marketing Ken Czubay. “This is still a very fragile industry. This isn’t any time to rejoice. It’s just a slight uptick.”

Czubay has a point. While the average sales rose considerably (considering the situation, a 400,000-unit improvement is nothing to sneeze at), the May 2009 figures are still way down from 14.3 million sold in May 2008. With GM and Chrysler already in bankruptcy protection, we’ll have to see whether sales continue to improve or if the May figures is just an aberration.