Road of the Month: Lockwood Valley Rd, SoCal

Grapevine6

Posted by on December 5, 2011

This month’s Road of the Month is once again back in SoCal, but with a more relaxed route. Just west of the famed Grapevine (the mountain pass between Bakersfield and Los Angeles) lies a road that barely even makes it onto the map. The little road is truly a path from nowhere, to nowhere. There are no big towns at the beginning, middle, or end of it – only some small farms and ranches. Since it’s so out of the way, very few people head this way for recreation. Hence, there is little traffic and even fewer patrols. Interested yet?

Continue reading →

Forbidden Crap: Proton’s

Proton2

Posted by on

If you were to ask a random American, “what is a proton?”, most would have only one answer. It’s that whatchamacallit with the positive charge inside an atom, right? And then they would nonchalantly stroll away, patting themselves on the back for being so educated. They have no idea how lucky they are that they don’t have that word associated with cars.

Proton also happens to be a carmaker from Malaysia, formed in 1983 by one of its former Prime Ministers. The Malaysian government indirectly owns a majority of the company. As a Malaysian, it pains me to say that they make some of the worst cars on the road. It hurts even more when you consider that it wasn’t always this way – at one time they were the dominant player in the Malaysian market. Their first model, the 1985 Proton Saga, catapulted the country into an age of attainable vehicle ownership. The up-to-date Mitsubishi underpinnings made the vehicle desirable because of its affordability and relatively new technology. In fact, this model garnered 73% of the new car market in Malaysia when full production commenced.

Continue reading →

OBD-II: Making Things Complicated

Posted by on

Since the introduction of computers into mainstream passenger vehicles in the 1980’s, the number of microprocessors in cars has grown like wildfire. High end European vehicles like the Mercedes S-Class contain as many as 100 microprocessors. These measure and control everything from accelerator pedal inputs to side-view mirror operation.

The core of the vehicle computers is known as the OBD-2 (aka OBD-II) system. The On-Board Diagnostics, 2nd generation system “speaks” a unified language that allows the car to communicate any faults to a technician. While OBD-II brought about many advancements in the car world, it also helped to gray the hairs of many shadetree and independent mechanics, not to mention dented the pocketbooks of many consumers.

Continue reading →

Road of the Month: Pescadero Creek Rd, NorCal Peninsula

Kings Mountain Road near its intersection with Woodside Road. ©2009, Gary Cheang

Posted by on November 7, 2011

Unfortunately for the folks in Southern California, the good economy and urban sprawl resulted in the hills being filled with houses and restaurants. The more fortunate Northern Californians can rejoice in the fact that this trend has not spread to all of the San Francisco Bay Area yet. On the peninsula between the Pacific Coast Highway (known as Highway 1 in NorCal) and Interstate 280 lies a giant treasure trove of wonderful driving roads. Having personally logged thousands of miles on these roads, it is with great trepidation that these be shared on a blog with the world. But they’re just so amazing, and it’s always nice to share good things with the world!

Continue reading →

Forbidden Fruit: Toyota’s Luxurious Vans

The 2011 Estima (top) and 2011 Alphard (bottom) are traditional vans with futuristic detailing. Unfortunately, neither are available in the United States.

Posted by on

Every year or so, at least one car magazine produces an article about a bunch of sports cars that can be bought overseas but not in the United States.  Usually, I end up skipping those articles, because who really cares?  Even if they were available in the United States, the billionaires would buy one each and everybody else would drool from the sidelines.  Why not concentrate on the vehicles that everyday Joe’s would buy instead?

Truth is, the magazines have been shortchanging us by not writing about the vehicles we need to know about.  Vehicles like the Toyota Alphard and Estima minivans, which Toyota has insisted are not what American consumers want.  Well guess what?  My dad and I both love vans, and we both live in America.  We both agreed that the Japanese Alphard and Estima we drove in Malaysia were far nicer than the Toyota Sienna, which is not sold anywhere except North America.

The 2011 Estima (top) and 2011 Alphard (bottom) are traditional vans with futuristic detailing. Unfortunately, neither are available in the United States.

Continue reading →

2011 Honda CR-V Review

Posted by on October 6, 2011

The 2011 Honda CR-V is one hell of an oldie, but goodie. The five year old model is within months of a redesign, yet continues to post deliriously good sales figures. Of all the Honda models that had a full sales year in 2010 (ie. not introduced or redesigned in the middle of 2010), the 2011 CR-V posted the largest unit sales gains of the lineup from January through August. The CR-V also sold 60% more units than its main competitor, the Toyota RAV4, from January 2011 through August 2011.

The redesigned 2012 Honda CR-V (concept model shown) puts Honda in the enviable position of replacing a vehicle that is still climbing the sales charts.

I’ve always wondered why the CR-V did so well. With competitors offering bigger interiors, more powerful engines with better fuel economy, and more standard/available features, you’d think the CR-V would be at the bottom of the list. After spending some time behind the wheel of a friend’s 2011 CR-V LX though, there are a few things that make it stand out as the vehicle of choice. It quickly became evident why the masses still flock to it.

Continue reading →

You’re a Dummy! How Automakers Treat Us Like Idiots

Posted by on October 4, 2011

If you’re driving a non-European car built since the early 1980’s, then congratulations, because you’re a dummy! Well, at least the automakers think you are. Sad, but true – just think of all the stupid lights on instrument panels (IP) in new cars. Cars didn’t always come with reminders that the handbrake was on, or that the oil needed to be changed, or that there’s no oil at all. Now, there are lights on the dash to indicate that the headlights are on, and warnings that one of the tires is flat. Unless the driver is blind, deaf, and mute, shouldn’t these things be obvious?

The idiotization of the IP is an extremely dangerous trend. Calibrated gauges have given way to dummy gauges, and some gauges have been flat out replaced with warning lights. A color coding system was developed to let drivers know the urgency level of the warning. Blue and green symbols are usually informational, yellow meant to get it checked soon, and red meant pull over right now. However, the color coded system was lost in translation, and not many drivers recognize what all those symbols and their colors mean. This confusion led to drivers completely ignoring the warnings – which can become costly.

Continue reading →

Ride of the Month: 2004 Mazda6s Kiwi

kiwi-1

Posted by on September 29, 2011

For the first Ride of the Month, we start with one of my previous rides.  No, not because I’m a narcissistic young guy who thinks I’m awesome.  I just hope this will spur some readers to submit their own unique rides for others to admire.  If you have a nice whip that you’d like to share with the world, send us a few pictures and a short story!

Continue reading →

Truckers Code

Posted by on September 27, 2011

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying before, but it won’t hurt to say it again. Truckers are the backbone of this great nation. Everyday, we use things that are delivered by truckers without a second thought. Yet we often feel annoyed when we encounter these unsung heroes on the highway. Whether they’re passing too slowly or cutting us off, we’re too quick to curse out truckers. Next time, take a breath and think about what they have to deal with before becoming irate. After calming down and deciding not to pick a fight, use the truckers code to help them keep you safe.

Continue reading →

Electric Cars: A few sparks short of ignition

Posted by on

Although I’m a huge fan of diesel pickups, electric vehicles (EV’s) have a few characteristics that I really love. EV motors produce maximum torque at low RPM, meaning lightning-quick stoplight launches. They also produce power more quietly than the combustion engine. For everyday driving, that’s a great boon (though I’d still prefer the basso rumble of a V8 on track days).

Despite all their recent hype though, mainstream EV ownership is still a pipe dream. Their short range and limited recharging stations prevents our road-trip loving nation from adopting them wholeheartedly. However, several new technologies could change that in a heartbeat, if all the bugs are worked out.

Continue reading →