Well if you haven't seen Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth, you should.
The fact is that our cars, yours and mine, belch out carbon dioxide in their exhausts. Well, really they spew a host of gasses, carbon monoxide for example, but if you have watched Mr. Gore's film you will understand why carbon dioxide is the important one. Turns out that ever since the industrial revolution, we've been releasing carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels.
So, this gas traps energy from the sun by reflecting it back down after it has bounced of the planets surface. Global warming. The glaciers have been receding, the polar ice is melting. As it melts we will lose the advantage of the sun radiation reflecting icecaps, compounding the problem. This is real, the internet says so: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7843186.stm
So, red alert, take evasive action, buy one of these newfangled cars.
Chevrolet is working furiously on the Volt, slated for the 2010 model year. It is an electric car, which has a gasoline generator to recharge its batteries. This is different from your mothers Prius or Lexus hybrid, because those use the gas engine to drive the wheels. This doesn't.
Its a huge step, so give Detroit a little golf clap.
Lets see what our friends across the Pacific have been up to while domestic auto has been busy developing the science that allows a car as advanced as the Volt.
Hm, well according to Honda, they started leasing a car in California called the FCX clarity: http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/
The name hearkens back to the CRX coupes Honda brought us in the very latest 80's and early 90's, but this car is not just a high mpg lightweight commuter car, its a hydrogen powered car. Its byproducts are heat and water.
Is anybody still clapping for Detroit?
Its too easy to point fingers at the Big Three and "player hate." Lets point a finger at the people who came up with this whole Ethanol idea. Basically, we decided that we should ween off our dependence on foreign oil by blending in an alcohol we derive from our corn crop. Everybody at GM gave each other high fives as they put "Flexfuel" badges on all their giant SUVs to announce to the world that they can run on E85. To put it bluntly: Whoop dee god damn doo.
Did no one think about the fact that by processing sugar cane, you can yield more ethanol with less crop? There's a reason Brazil exports so much of it. No, like upright citizens of the US we went ahead and made ours out of corn.
Newsflash: Corn is food.
Oh, also, people are starving.
Does anybody find it objectionable that we are using excess food to run our giant unncessary vehicles? You know, the ones using practically ancient suspension technology, the ones where all the interior bits don't fit together quite right.
From the last I had read, Nascar cars still use leaded fuel. This has to do with the stress the valves are under, and the lead helps to keep them from shattering, or something like that.
You might say that the whole sport is completely backwards.
But then you'd be offending alot of people, the masses who stand around all day drinking fine American lagers while huffing leaded exhaust fumes for five hundred laps, waiting for a crash.
People, if we want to keep from wiping ourselves off the planet, we've got to do better than this.
Does anybody remember such a thing as durable goods? Things made so they could be repaired rather than replaced? Sometimes in this modern society, you can't help but feel like you're completely surrounded by cheap crap. Out there somewhere is a pile 100 feet deep of broken cheap crap and the plastic packaging we bought it in.
Its enough to make you crazy.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Make Some Noise for Detroit
So while I was having my car repaired, after a minor collision due to semi losing a tread in front of me on the highway, I walked by a Kia dealership.
In the showroom they had one of the new Kia Soul's. This is a sub-compact SUV, with room for five, and a sizable cargo area. First off, the fact a Kia caught my eye is probably something worthwhile to note. Kia's and Hyundai's have typically been the blander cheaper cousins of Japanese compact cars, competing against the Nissan Sentras and Toyota Corollas. An episode of Top Gear from a season or two ago found the three hosts at a loss when trying to find a Pacific Rim car they liked.
But I had just been driving around in a Cobalt, and walking around the Soul I noted that the interior is comparable if not better, and the overall size for passengers is greater than the Cobalts.
Then, I asked a gentleman behind a desk what the price of such a vehicle would be.
He said 13,000.
So instead of a bland econo-car, I can have an oddly stylish compact SUV and still keep three grand in my pocket?
Its the same understeering front wheel drive layout, granted, but I doubt either Soul or Cobalt owners will be showing up to track days. This is a car for the office commute, the grocery store trips, navigating the urban labyrinth and suburban housing developments.
So this brings me to the domestic auto-industry bailout, mostly in supposing that it is a gargantuan waste of taxpayer money.
Where is American auto-engineering excellence? Are there designers in the continental 48 who can draw up a transport that doesn't put the consumer to sleep?
Yes, the Big Three are failing. We can't just blame it on an economic downturn. Its because the past decades domestic autos have been plagued with inferior technology, shoddy interiors in both fit and finish, and a lack of style that makes me wonder if its the children of American car designers who are moving to Williamsburg and dressing like clowns.
For fucks sake, Detroit: Get your act together.
The trend permeates all classes of cars. Italy brings us the Ferrari 599 GTB , Japan has made the Acura NSX, the Toyota Supra, and the Nissan Skyline (and the subsequent stateside GTR). We have the Dodge Viper, which is not so much a sports car as a flashing neon sign to the world regarding the small penis of the owner. We have the Corvette, the style of which has changed so little in my lifetime that even 911 owners find the new models redundant.
Then there is the Ford Mustang, more name than car. Crude suspension and a live rear axle! In 2009!!! This car is anything but cutting edge.
So, screw Detroit. Bad business plans and lackluster products undermined their industry, not this economic downturn.
In the showroom they had one of the new Kia Soul's. This is a sub-compact SUV, with room for five, and a sizable cargo area. First off, the fact a Kia caught my eye is probably something worthwhile to note. Kia's and Hyundai's have typically been the blander cheaper cousins of Japanese compact cars, competing against the Nissan Sentras and Toyota Corollas. An episode of Top Gear from a season or two ago found the three hosts at a loss when trying to find a Pacific Rim car they liked.
But I had just been driving around in a Cobalt, and walking around the Soul I noted that the interior is comparable if not better, and the overall size for passengers is greater than the Cobalts.
Then, I asked a gentleman behind a desk what the price of such a vehicle would be.
He said 13,000.
So instead of a bland econo-car, I can have an oddly stylish compact SUV and still keep three grand in my pocket?
Its the same understeering front wheel drive layout, granted, but I doubt either Soul or Cobalt owners will be showing up to track days. This is a car for the office commute, the grocery store trips, navigating the urban labyrinth and suburban housing developments.
So this brings me to the domestic auto-industry bailout, mostly in supposing that it is a gargantuan waste of taxpayer money.
Where is American auto-engineering excellence? Are there designers in the continental 48 who can draw up a transport that doesn't put the consumer to sleep?
Yes, the Big Three are failing. We can't just blame it on an economic downturn. Its because the past decades domestic autos have been plagued with inferior technology, shoddy interiors in both fit and finish, and a lack of style that makes me wonder if its the children of American car designers who are moving to Williamsburg and dressing like clowns.
For fucks sake, Detroit: Get your act together.
The trend permeates all classes of cars. Italy brings us the Ferrari 599 GTB , Japan has made the Acura NSX, the Toyota Supra, and the Nissan Skyline (and the subsequent stateside GTR). We have the Dodge Viper, which is not so much a sports car as a flashing neon sign to the world regarding the small penis of the owner. We have the Corvette, the style of which has changed so little in my lifetime that even 911 owners find the new models redundant.
Then there is the Ford Mustang, more name than car. Crude suspension and a live rear axle! In 2009!!! This car is anything but cutting edge.
So, screw Detroit. Bad business plans and lackluster products undermined their industry, not this economic downturn.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Days in an Econo-car
I'd like to start off by saying, Happy New Year!
Welcome, boys and girls, to 2009.
Over the holidays, I've had some work done on my beloved car, so its been in the shop. As a result, I've been driving a 2008 Chevy Cobalt sedan. Let's chat about it, shall we?
Now this is a rental car, so naturally it is the basest of the base models. (We're talking like a pH level hovering around 14) No power windows, no central locking. It is an automatic, so naturally I smash my left foot into the carpet whenever I go to start the thing. I'll admit it, when I first got in the drivers seat, I expected it to suck.
But now I've spent a few days with the little scamp, scooting back and forth between my house and Georgetown. We've developed a bit of a rapport in our time together, and while I expected this car to be terrible, I've learned it is really truly not that terrible.
It feels remarkably cheap, and thats because it is. You can drive away from the Chevy dealer with a 2009 Cobalt for just $16,630. But before you start looking for change under your couch cushions, you have to consider what its going to be like driving this car.
Where as in my car the steering wheel is wrapped in perforated leather, the engineers at GM opted for a textured plastic in the 'bolt. The upshot: it is actually uncomfortable to grip the very part of the car which you should be most intimately connected with. The '99 Corolla which I have borrowed from my sister is in the same class as the Cobalt, but its plastic steering wheel is smooth and comfortable. My point is, a wheel doesn't have to say Momo or be wrapped in Alcantara for me to like it, it just has to not suck. The Cobalt's, well it all sorts of sucks. The bow tie logo is clearly a cheap sticker, and worst of all, it gives you no information on what the wheels are doing.
This, combined with the tendency the car has to understeer in hard cornering almost makes driving exciting, but only exciting in the sense that you are fearing for your life.
The seats are awful. They lack any sort of lateral support, and appear to be designed for very large people.
"So this is perfect!" you might think, while cramming another Hostess cupcake in your mouth and swallowing sin mastication. Sadly, even the larger driver will be disappointed in the Chevy Cobalt because of another of its weaknesses: useless cup holders. The car is equipped with two of them in the center console, but they are only cup holders in the strictest academic sense. Other GM cars, such as the Saab 9-5 Aero, have little pieces of foam rubber which hold ones beverage in place. You won't find those in the Cobalt, and the result is a commuter car which will promptly spill your morning coffee all over your lap were you to turn the wheel to the right. The more rotund consumer would loose his or her Big Gulp to the passenger side foot well at every left turn on the way to IHOP. Now is the time to invest in an auto detailing business, as there will soon be a steady flow of Cobalt owners begging for you to get the cherry Slurpee stains out of their carpets.
The car has some good points, and it would be unfair for me to leave them out.
The windows are made of clear glass, quite good for seeing out of.
The car is surprisingly quick in the low end, owing to the added torque of a 2.2L engine (as opposed to 1.6 to 1.8 L displacements found in late model Hondas and Toyotas). You can, while smashing the accelerator to the floor from a dig, spin the tires a bit. This is an excellent way to vent frustration, but I may have just found it so novel because I was coming from a full time AWD vehicle, which is incapable of such burn outs. (This sacrifice is a worthwhile concession, as the AWD can perform in the snow, where the poor Cobalt is much more likely to get stuck.)
So from zero to thirty, the Cobalt is alright. Inching up toward highway speed; however, is a process so slow and monotonous that I suggest bringing along a crossword puzzle to alleviate the boredom.
The Cobalt comes equipped with a smart little in dash computer which tells you all sorts of information: tire pressure, coolant temp, oil life, instantaneous and average fuel efficiency, as well as your typical trip odometers. This is neat, I really wouldn't mind one in my WRX. You can shuffle through the info displays via a wheel mounted button, but for some reason they have provided two buttons on the wheel. The second button has a symbol which looks like a the return arrow on a computer keyboard, but as of yet I have not been able to find that it does anything at all when depressed. This is much like me when I'm depressed, so I suppose this button and I are kindred spirits.
The on board computer entertained me for upwards of seven minutes, but my delight was again thwarted when I found the radios biggest shortcoming. The LCD screen will display either the radio station frequency or the time. This must have been a cost-cutting measure, as GM saves by only having to supply a small LCD unit in their radios. But then, they needed to add an extra button that does nothing but switch the display between the two values, and wire it so that it worked. It's not only the blatant cheapness which irks me, its the sheer stupidity of this design. Why should I have to divert my eyes from the road long enough to find this little button in order to check the time?
Between the steering, the cupholders that aren't, and the distracting nature of the controls, I can only assume that the Cobalt is trying to kill me.
So here's my final thought: Why would anybody buy this car? Take your 16 thousand dollars, spend 4 thousand on a late model Honda or Toyota, and use the remainder to go buy yourselves some proper shirts, jeans that fit, or the latest Ed Hardy bull crap to adorn yourself with. Hell, spend it on designer drugs and cover charges at your favorite club. The drugs might kill you, but at least you'll be having more fun when you die than if you let the Cobalt murder you through its terribleness.
Welcome, boys and girls, to 2009.
Over the holidays, I've had some work done on my beloved car, so its been in the shop. As a result, I've been driving a 2008 Chevy Cobalt sedan. Let's chat about it, shall we?
Now this is a rental car, so naturally it is the basest of the base models. (We're talking like a pH level hovering around 14) No power windows, no central locking. It is an automatic, so naturally I smash my left foot into the carpet whenever I go to start the thing. I'll admit it, when I first got in the drivers seat, I expected it to suck.
But now I've spent a few days with the little scamp, scooting back and forth between my house and Georgetown. We've developed a bit of a rapport in our time together, and while I expected this car to be terrible, I've learned it is really truly not that terrible.
It feels remarkably cheap, and thats because it is. You can drive away from the Chevy dealer with a 2009 Cobalt for just $16,630. But before you start looking for change under your couch cushions, you have to consider what its going to be like driving this car.
Where as in my car the steering wheel is wrapped in perforated leather, the engineers at GM opted for a textured plastic in the 'bolt. The upshot: it is actually uncomfortable to grip the very part of the car which you should be most intimately connected with. The '99 Corolla which I have borrowed from my sister is in the same class as the Cobalt, but its plastic steering wheel is smooth and comfortable. My point is, a wheel doesn't have to say Momo or be wrapped in Alcantara for me to like it, it just has to not suck. The Cobalt's, well it all sorts of sucks. The bow tie logo is clearly a cheap sticker, and worst of all, it gives you no information on what the wheels are doing.
This, combined with the tendency the car has to understeer in hard cornering almost makes driving exciting, but only exciting in the sense that you are fearing for your life.
The seats are awful. They lack any sort of lateral support, and appear to be designed for very large people.
"So this is perfect!" you might think, while cramming another Hostess cupcake in your mouth and swallowing sin mastication. Sadly, even the larger driver will be disappointed in the Chevy Cobalt because of another of its weaknesses: useless cup holders. The car is equipped with two of them in the center console, but they are only cup holders in the strictest academic sense. Other GM cars, such as the Saab 9-5 Aero, have little pieces of foam rubber which hold ones beverage in place. You won't find those in the Cobalt, and the result is a commuter car which will promptly spill your morning coffee all over your lap were you to turn the wheel to the right. The more rotund consumer would loose his or her Big Gulp to the passenger side foot well at every left turn on the way to IHOP. Now is the time to invest in an auto detailing business, as there will soon be a steady flow of Cobalt owners begging for you to get the cherry Slurpee stains out of their carpets.
The car has some good points, and it would be unfair for me to leave them out.
The windows are made of clear glass, quite good for seeing out of.
The car is surprisingly quick in the low end, owing to the added torque of a 2.2L engine (as opposed to 1.6 to 1.8 L displacements found in late model Hondas and Toyotas). You can, while smashing the accelerator to the floor from a dig, spin the tires a bit. This is an excellent way to vent frustration, but I may have just found it so novel because I was coming from a full time AWD vehicle, which is incapable of such burn outs. (This sacrifice is a worthwhile concession, as the AWD can perform in the snow, where the poor Cobalt is much more likely to get stuck.)
So from zero to thirty, the Cobalt is alright. Inching up toward highway speed; however, is a process so slow and monotonous that I suggest bringing along a crossword puzzle to alleviate the boredom.
The Cobalt comes equipped with a smart little in dash computer which tells you all sorts of information: tire pressure, coolant temp, oil life, instantaneous and average fuel efficiency, as well as your typical trip odometers. This is neat, I really wouldn't mind one in my WRX. You can shuffle through the info displays via a wheel mounted button, but for some reason they have provided two buttons on the wheel. The second button has a symbol which looks like a the return arrow on a computer keyboard, but as of yet I have not been able to find that it does anything at all when depressed. This is much like me when I'm depressed, so I suppose this button and I are kindred spirits.
The on board computer entertained me for upwards of seven minutes, but my delight was again thwarted when I found the radios biggest shortcoming. The LCD screen will display either the radio station frequency or the time. This must have been a cost-cutting measure, as GM saves by only having to supply a small LCD unit in their radios. But then, they needed to add an extra button that does nothing but switch the display between the two values, and wire it so that it worked. It's not only the blatant cheapness which irks me, its the sheer stupidity of this design. Why should I have to divert my eyes from the road long enough to find this little button in order to check the time?
Between the steering, the cupholders that aren't, and the distracting nature of the controls, I can only assume that the Cobalt is trying to kill me.
So here's my final thought: Why would anybody buy this car? Take your 16 thousand dollars, spend 4 thousand on a late model Honda or Toyota, and use the remainder to go buy yourselves some proper shirts, jeans that fit, or the latest Ed Hardy bull crap to adorn yourself with. Hell, spend it on designer drugs and cover charges at your favorite club. The drugs might kill you, but at least you'll be having more fun when you die than if you let the Cobalt murder you through its terribleness.
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