classic car

  You've seen them prowling the streets, wincing at how fast their rubber will shed and how much ride quality, or lack thereof, it has. Old Monte Carlos, Caprices, Crown Vic's, Chevelles and more, all wearing at least 20-inch rims, with many sporting 23-inchers and some wearing up to 35s.  This trend is always both coming into style and going out of style at the same time in different places, and currently its a growing trend in the upper Midwest. These cars, as you probably know, are called Donks, with huge wheels and custom paint being the main features of the cars.

  People, mainly people in their teens and twenties, see Donks as a trend for them to get instant recognition in cars that would otherwise be seen as crap. For as little as a few thousand dollars, they can have an interesting wheel and paint combo and be recognized as a car god among college students for having a Caprice.

  Donks are frowned upon by the major section of customizer community, and the main reason for this is that the cars may look distinctive, but their performance isn't usually modified except for the occasional custom exhaust system. They are also notorious for having a harsh ride quality due to the low-pro rubber and are not the main choice for more traditional hot rodders.

  I've now had my VW Jetta for a year, and I've decided to do a four-seasons type review of it. Overall, its been a very good small sedan. It's responsive, frugal, high-quality, quiet, and has a soft ride for its class. It seems to be a competitior for more expensive cars than it.

  First, I'll go straight for performance. I ordered my Jetta with the 2.5-liter five-cylinder, which isn't as fast as the corporate 2.0 turbo four that's common in VW and Audi products, but still puts on a good turn of speed for a small sedan. The car has 170 horsepower and 177 lb-ft, which may not sound good but is substantially better than the 150 of the year before, not to mention the 140 of the tacky Ford Focus. Acceleration hovers at about 8.5 seconds, but the car feels much faster. At any speed the motor sounds like its from a much higher-class segment, and there are no clunking noises nor any signs of any build quality problems in the mechanical components. Steering feel needs very little, and is great for both around-town driving and highway trips. The 2.0 has about 30 more horsepower, but honestly I don't think the car needs it.

  The inerior contiues to impress me as time keeps running on. The only problem we had with the Jetta's interior quality was because it was used as a test-drive car for a couple hundred miles before we bought it. At some point some test driver's curious child forced the collapsing cupholder mechanism out of the center armrest, but we got that replaced with no problems except for the inefficiency of our dealer, which took two months to finally say that they could replace it. Other than that early malady, the interior build quality is faultless. The car was not, as you may think, built better than others because it was test car, it was just that the dealer picked some random car in every trim level to use as a test car. The inerior is black leatherette, which has been good for two main reasons. A, guests who inquire about the car find out you didn't kill cows  to get your Jetta, and B, it holds up much better than the real thing. All electronics are easy to navigate, theres a button for each of the four main stereo functions (CD, AM, FM, Sirius), and there are knobs right in front of you, clearly labeled, for controlling the tone. There are hard plastics, but unlike in the competition they are textured with a luxurious feel and extend back to structural components instead of leaving hollow spaces behind them. It means that in a crash there will be more mass hurtling toward your side, but at least it won't dent itself every time you touch it.

  Styling is attractive, if not particularly sporty, but if you ad the high-class small spoiler and subtle body kit it starts to look like it could compete with the GLI high-performance version. 
Even though its been in use since 2005 and is set to be replaced soon, the styling is thouroughly modern, unlike some cars (Fusion and Sebring). There are a variety of wheels available from stock, ranging from economy 16" base steelies up to Vision V 18" by 8" rollers, which are $2,300.

  Over all, the Jetta is class-leading in quality, mid-class in performance, and has very good styling.

  When the new Bugatti Galibier sedan concept was revealed a few days ago, many people got the origin of its name wrong. They said that it was named after a mountain pass on the Tour De France. Essentially they were right, but what the car really takes its name from is the Bugatti Type 57C Galibier Saloon, basically the four-door version of the renowned Type 57 coupes. This car, though, was named after the pass.

  The similarities of these two cars is obvious. Both were ultra-luxury sedans based on production coupes. Both were less well-received than their coupe counterparts because of styling cues that were completely recognizable up front but were confounding in the rear. They both represented what the maker wanted to be the fastest, most luxurious sedans on the market during their time period. The original Galibier moved away from the sweeping fastback style of the coupes with a bulbous trunk. This style was badly received by the media and masses; many said it was tacky and ugly. The new Galibier isn't with the times, as it seems to be trying to correct the mistakes of the Thirties with the Porsche Panamera-esque rear fastback, which ends up having the same reaction as the conventional-style trunk of the 57C Galibier from the media and masses.  The new Galibier has the signature Type 57 line through the center of the car, which splits the rear window in two, though the old car doesn't, in its effort to keep visual difference from the coupes yet again. The Galibier concept also takes steps away from the Veyron; the lack of giant side scoops is obvious, as well as the rear setup.

  The general idea and reaction to these two Bugattis may be similar, but if you look at the statistics you can see that they are very different cars underneath. The new Galibier is bound to get around 1,000 horsepower from its modified W16, whereas the Type 57C Galibier had 160 from a straight eight. The new Galibier has four big turbos, while the old had one supercharger. The body is also very different. Not having to deal with modern technology like traction control and ABS meant that the Type 57C Galibier Saloon made use of common materials of the time for its body, but the new Galibier concept's body must be made of carbon fiber to keep the weight to under 4,500 pounds.

  All in all, the namesake and general idea for these two cars is the same, as well as the fact that their styling was ridiculed at the time, but they are very different in execution.

I finally gave into trend and created a Facebook page for the blog where you can view photo albums, suggest blog post topics and more. Its http://bit.ly/fanblog

  Today I went to the second annual Big 3 Performance car show, which is just a regular thing for me. But when I got there, I knew that I was in for something better than I expected. The posters for the show had shown renderings of the upcoming Jim Wangers Edition GTO, of which only fifty will be built. The Wangers GTO is scheduled for a debut at the next SEMA show, but sitting in the middle of the parking lot under a cover was the unmistakable lines of a muscle car. Could it be?

  I ended up waiting for over four hours at the car show waiting for the reveal, during which I met Jim Wangers, who is touted as the Godfather of the GTO as well as being the inspiration and nameplate for the new car, and visited the guys at Shelby Parts and Restoration across the street. Somebody there remarked that creating a GTO as a tribute to Wangers was like "Creating a Mustang as a tribute to one of Shelby's secretaries", as Jim has been mostly a PR person, traveling the country with the "GeeTO Tiger". Even so, a good car is a good car. At about 11:00 I got impatient and asked one of the Big 3 Performance employees when the big reveal was, and it turned out they were waiting for their camera man to arrive. They said it should be five or ten minutes.

  An hour later the announcement finally came. "Thanks for coming to the Second Annual Big 3 Performance Car Show. We are now going to give you a sneak peek at the new Jim Wangers Edition GTO, so will everyone please make their way to the covered car in the middle of the lot." Everyone rushed over to the car, and some employees went through the whole speech session about how the car was a community effort and what a joy it was to work with Jim. Finally, the covers were pulled off the car to much fanfare, and Jim Wangers was invited to start his car. He then proceeded to rev the wee out of this expensive prototype, and was only stopped from doing a burnout and driving it out by sheer luck. The motor sounded fantastic, different from anything I've ever heard, muscular yet refined, modern yet harkening back to the days of old. I took a video of the unveil, but it doesn't even begin to do justice to the sound of the motor. You can see the video at http://bit.ly/Wangers.

  If you've looked for a car on Craigslist, you've probably seen them. Cars that are crazy, pointless, or undeniably exotic being advertised. On a website that has seen everything from a $50 beater Cadillac Cimarron to a Bugatti Veyron, you're pretty likely to find some interesting cars. I've searched through car blog archives, forums, and many other sites to find some of the wackiest ,which I will list here.

  To start off , we'll go straight to the well-known one. On December 12th, 2008, the staff of Specialty Automobiles in San Fransisco, CA listed a 2006 Bugatti Veyron on Craigslist for $1.3 Million, which shattered all previous known records of car pricing on Craigslist. The car had 874 miles on it at the time, and was blue with silver fenders and a "Bardo" interior.

  The second car on this list is one that is actually currently for sale in Silicon Valley by RoadSport USA, a car dealership for the ridiculously affluent. It is a 1958 Lister-Jaguar racer that is being sold for $1.1 Million on the San Fransisco Bay Craigslist. There are rumors of it being a works car along with other race history. This is the car you see above.

  The last car on my list isn't ridiculously priced, but it's just odd. Earlier this year, somebody posted a supposedly haunted car. The ad goes on to say that the person doesn't want to work on the car because he's afraid it'll turn on and run over him. I bet it's all fake, but it'll keep you wondering. Here's the ad:

Haunted 1992 Honda Accord Ex JDM RHD – $6500 (Los Angeles)

IM SELLING THIS 1992 HONDA ACCORD EX! 4DR RHD! I SPEND ALOT OF MONEY INTO THIS CAR BUT WILLING TO SELL IT CHEAP CAUSE IT GIVE ME THE CREEPS! BAD! I THINK OR BELIEVE IT’S HAUNTED. THIS CAR IS SALVAGE TITLE! NOT CLEAN IT’S WAS BEEN IN A BAD ACCIDENT IN JAPAN I BELEIVE THE CAR WAS CUT IN HALF IN A ILLEGAL STREET RACE. I WAS ABOUT TO POST AT THE JUNKYARD WHEN I FOUND OUT CRAIGSLIST BUT IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION JUST ASK ME!
* * * WARING *** THE WEIRD / REALLY BAD: I brought this car in Japan 7 years ago and imported into United States and start working on it as a project car. The car was in a major accident over in Japan which makes it totaled! but had body fix. Seems to be possessed by a demon or some sort of entity!: makes low mumbling backwards-like indistinguishable talking sounds through the speakers which aren’t even hooked up to anything. There is no stereo in it so it can’t be anything to do with that. When you get into the car it makes you have odd feeling like you wanna leave fast to get out the car and also there’s cold spot inside the rear seat makes you uneasy. It makes no sense at all but it has almost killed me many of times while I was driving to work and school. Mirrors adjust themselves to all different sorts of positions while I’m driving, and I never actually notice them moving so I’m guessing the person die inside the car still exist. Trunk opens on its own at during summer season feel like the car has it own mind to it. Hood flies up while it’s park the driveway at night , it always somehow comes undone. I recorded my car at midnight on a camrecorder… on my driveway the shocking footage is seen you see the car will move on its own while the motor is not on plus I also see red eyes in the driver seat and a black figure at side of the car, the scary thing about this car it will start on its own while sitting out in the driveway without any key being in the ignition. It’s a horrible car to rely on. I just can’t bear to look out the window and see it sitting out there anymore It give me the creeps! i’ve try blessing the car many times but nothing happen I think this person die in the car wants to be left alone with his car. ***

$6,500 dollars and takes it off my hands! or not I’ll let it go 3,400. Please take this car out of my life.
May God Bless You & Have Mercy On Your Soul! This car is really haunted!

THINGS I DONE TO MY CAR SPENDING OVER 7 G’s
MANUAL 5 SPEED
HAS A H23 ENGINE
JDM WINDOW VISORS
JDM ONE PIECE HEADLIGHT BLACKHOUSE
JDM FOGS
JDM LIP ” VERY RARE!”
JDM INTERSECTION LIGHT
JDM FLUSHMOUNT “VERY RARE!”
JDM SIDEMARKERS
R33 GRILL
QUICKRELEASE STEERING WHEEL G-SQUARE
EDM-WASHERS
JDM REAR FOGS
LED LIGHT INTERIOR
HID LIGHT SYSTEM

THE BAD:
DOESN’T START IN THE MORNING! NEEDS TO BE WARM UP USING YOUR RPMS UP TO 4,000 CAR MAY STALL.
IT LEAKING SOME FLUID! BOTTOM OF THE CAR IM SCARE IF I CHECK IT USING A JACK THE CAR MIGHT TURN ITSELF ON AND RUN OVER ME!
MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS BRING SOMEBODY WITH CHU IN CASE!
NEEDS NEW SHOCKS BLOWED SHOCKS ALL 4

OTHER THAN THAT THE CAR NEED SOME TLC CAUSE IT WAS LEFT OUTSIDE DRIVEWAY LIKE 2 YEARS.

So there's my list. Tell me about any updates and any worthwhile cars I missed.

  Diesel has always had a bad rap. Though everyone knows it got you better MPG, diesels were loud and belched dirty, black smoke forth into the atmosphere. Diesel engines were reserved for large trucks for the most part, and it was seen as antisocial during the oil crisis to have giant, smoke-belching truck. Not to mention that diesels generally made your car much slower, limiting performance by large amounts and were hard to start. It wasn't until the late Seventies that diesels were used in everyday cars such as the VW Golf in America, though even these were slow-selling. Diesel is in for a turn-around ,though, because in the past few years diesel technology has made rapid strides from dirty and slow to fast, clean, and overall, green.

  As Volkswagen Group's recent ad campaign for Audi proclaims, diesel is no longer a "dirty" word. The fuel that we usually associate with Sulfur and Nitrogen smoke have gotten much better. New technology has completely transformed the diesel tech in the last few years, creating cars that are fast, clean, reliable, and fuel-sipping. For example, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI gets almost 50 MPG, has all the comforts of a regular Jetta, is quiet and composed, and is just as fast accelerating. There seems to be almost no downside to a diesel besides its reputation from the past, which is why they have transformed Europe and started in the US.

  So what is "Clean Diesel"? This fuel is actually achieved by producing Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel, or ULSD, which cuts the amount of sulfur in the diesel by 98 to 99% compared to the Diesels that all of these used-to-be facts are related to. This also benefits performance, as sulfur clogs the emissions and engine systems, limiting performance and frugality. This means that, with today's ULSD technology, diesel is actually more frugal than hybrid tech, with better performance. So you can have a car with Prius-like MPG and GTI-like responses.

  The eternal cry of 98% of car fans in the past few days has not been the usual "More horsepower!", but "Just bring us the Accord Wagon!". The new America-bound Honda Crosstour has been teased for the past month or so with boring videos with what looked like a slightly larger and higher Accord wagon as the star. These teases focused mainly on the Euro-Accord grille and the very back, with no teases of the odd body lines and scaling problems that have now been seen in the official photos. Now, with the new photos, it's reminding me of "Edsel Day", when people thought they were getting a new, good-looking car with advanced tech when in reality they got an oddly-shaped thing that reminds one of the Pontiac Aztec. This is why there has been an overflow of negative comments on the Crosstour's Facebook Page, as well as new anti-Crosstour groups such as my friends, http://bit.ly/uglycar.

  Something I've noticed, also, is that car enthusiasts are the main group heading the Crosstour hate, because they know what a good-looking car is and what the Crosstour should be, an Accord Wagon. Many regular people have a neutral opinion of the Crosstour, and they have every right to that opinion. But there won't be many hardcore car enthusiasts buying a Crosstour as a people-mover when there are other options from companies anywhere from Chevy to BMW.

  Ever heard of the Ventura? Liar. You're probably thinking of the Puma, the more common (and admittedly better-looking) Brazilian VW-Based kit car from the malaise era. In this country, where almost every Brazilian kit car is referred to as a Puma, it's almost impossible to find somebody who can identify a Ventura, and even less the extremely rare convertible version, not one of which is known to have made it to the US.

  So what exactly is the Ventura? It was a very similar design to the well-known Puma kit car in that it was a chassis based on VW 4-cylinder power cloaked in a sporty 2-door fastback body that was sold in coupe and convertible forms. Some key differences between the Ventura and Puma are styling, which can be explained by the eras in which each of these cars was launched. The Puma was launched in 1964, with styling reminiscent of Alfa Romeo convertibles that would come a few years later, as well as the Ferrari Dino and other cars. But the Ventura was launched in 1978, fourteen years later, and the auto industry was much different by then. The Venturas were influenced by the Porsche 924 and a "looking towards the eighties" interpretation of the Ferrari 308, and were much more hard-edged and bland. Underneath the differences are slight. Both cars were powered by 4-cylinder VW motors, but the Ventura had the pancake-type engine out of the Type III, unlike the Puma, which used different VW power as well as some early DKW and later Chevy-powered kits.

  The original Ventura design was produced until 1984, when a minor facelift was in order that gave it the aforementioned styling cues and a bland convertible model reminiscent of a more angled Dodge 400 was added to the range. The coupe you see in the photo is a 1984 model. There were now four versions of the car, with two engine and body configuration options. You could either get an 84-horse 1.8 motor or a 1.6, which was eliminated after 1986. Ventura decided due to slowing sales that the car was in for another chenge in 1988, though this one was much more radical. More than just a styling change, the new Ventura II was powered by a 2-liter motor and had major adjustments. Although it was supposed to be an altogether better car, the company stopped making it that same year due to floundering sales, only continuing with low-volume small-truck production, another category it had its hands in. Be wary, though and don't be too quick to tell me production of the Ventura continued after I said. Since many of the VW components used in the cars dated from the sixties and the cars were often titled a few years after they were built due to the owners taking their time with their own personal modifications to the car, the model year was hard to determine by any DMV office. Usually when you find Ventura cars, the model year will have been determined by whatever year they were titled. I've found Venturas that have been titled as 1992 model years or even later.