Concours d'Elegance

Return of the Double Nickel?

concour — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:12:04 +0000

New Jersey Gov. Corzine is considering re-instituting the 55mph speed limit in New Jersey to reduce fuel consumption.

I think it would work, but people would hate it.

This is another sign that the price of gasoline is not as big an issue as the media and politicians are making it out to be. Everyone knows that driving fast eats more fuel (exponentially). Here in Michigan, however, driving any slower than 75mph on the freeway is considered quite rude.

When people start driving 60mph in 65mph zones, that is when you know that the price of fuel is really hurting them.

Review: id America Gasket iPhone Case

concour — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:04:20 +0000

id America, a maker of iPhone cases and covers, sent me their Gasket iPhone case to review.

The case is made of brushed aluminum, and is designed to look like an engine block, with cut0uts reminiscent of cylinder bores and cooling passages. In addition to the aluminum shell, the case comes with two clear protectors, for the back and for the front screen. The aluminum shell has a suede inner lining to cushion the phone.

I found the case to fit the phone snugly, and the screen protectors did their job without ruining the usability or feel of the touch screen. Installation was not too hard, though it does take some practice to attach the clear protective film (using the supplied squeegee) without leaving any dreaded air bubbles. Once I had it together, the case felt sturdy and substantial.

Overall, I found the case attractive and effective. I like the automotive inspired design. I would definitely buy one for myself, or as a gift for a fellow gear-head.

The Gasket case can be purchasd from id America here for $ 30.

A Few Thoughts About 2011 COTY/TOTY

concour — Sat, 12 May 2012 10:57:17 +0000

For 2011, as I am sure you have heard, the North American Car Of The Year award went to the Volt, and the Truck Of The Year went to the Explorer.

I thought both of these were worthy contenders, but I would only have voted for one of them.

The Volt is a solid piece of technology, but it isn’t revolutionary–under the skin, its architecture is not all that unique from a Prius or a Fusion Hybrid. Despite what GM says, the Volt is in fact a plug-in hybrid, and it can even (under some conditions) send gasoline torque to the wheels. Like the other hybrids, it has a gasoline engine connected to a generator and traction motor through a planetary gear set. It has been tuned in software not to behave like a gasoline/electric hybrid. As neat as the Volt is, it is not quite the revolution that an all-electric car would be.

For the COTY I would have voted for the Hyundai Sonata. Here is a company which came from a legacy of pushing boring, cheapy cars using a long warranty and low prices. All of a sudden, they are building world class cars, with high quality and handsome design. And unlike the Leaf and Volt, the Sonata will sell in high volumes. Considering its market impact, the Sonata should have won.

For TOTY, I agree with the panel, and I would also have picked the Explorer. A uni-body, front wheel drive mid-size SUV is the way of the future. Most SUV owners don’t need to go offroading, and don’t tow anything either. Most of them really just want to sit high and look stylish.

The Chrysler trucks were strong contenders, and I actually thought one of them would win, as a pat on the back to Chrysler for not dying. The Grand Cherokee appears to be a solid product and much improved compared to the junky stuff Chrysler was selling previously.

Google’s Street View

concour — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:22:51 +0000

I was playing with Google’s Street View function in Google Maps, and I am amazed at how good it is. There isn’t coverage in my immediate neighborhood, but much of my local area is.

Here for example is a side-view of the Maple and Old Woodward intersection in Birmingham, a place I like to go now and then.

What Google does is have cars drive around with roof mounted cameras, snapping photos that then get stitched together to form 360 degree views, and linked to their street location.

Google has also photographed a large number of neighborhoods, and I was able to find up-close photographs of my parent’s house, and my in-laws house. I’m guessing those obsessed with their privacy are alarmed by this.

GM’s European “Lifetime” Warranty

concour — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:34:00 +0000

In Europe, GM is going to offer a "lifetime" warranty on its Opel and Vauxhall brands. Except that lifetime is limited to 100,000 miles (160,000km).

Which begs the question, are EU GM cars only designed for a 100,000mi service life?

If I was GM, I'd stay away from marketing hyperbole. Either make it unlimited miles, or don't call it lifetime

IIHS: Decapitation Sucks, Fix Trucks

concour — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:29:22 +0000

IIHS has released a report on the poor state of under-ride protection on American large truck trailers. If you watch this video, I promise you you will feel queasy. In it, a 2010 Malibu is crashed into the rear of a U.S. spec trailer at 35mph. All of the Malibu's excellent front crash structures slide under the rear of the trailer, as the guard buckles and folds under, and the rear of the trailer hits the dummies in the head.

Adding beefier rear guards to trailers will cost a little cost, and a little weight, to each trailer. But seeing as there are hundreds of car-trailer accidents each year, I think it is probably worth it.

Another issue, which IIHS doesn't discuss, is side protection for trailers. European trailers have side under-ride guards as well as rear.

Pre-Cruise Friday Part 5: Emergency Vehicle Alley

concour — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:06:20 +0000

The police and fire departments had a really neat display of emergency vehicles, right down the street from all the Mustangs. This was my favorite area of the Cruise so far.

Old school vehicles.

The “meat wagon”, a Vietnam era ambulance.

Inside the meat wagon

This Troy Police car was built with funds siezed in drug raids.

Watering the kids.

Paddy wagons, old and new.

WIndows Vista: Not So Bad

concour — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:36:48 +0000

I needed to buy a new PC, and I found a pretty good deal on a Dell Optiplex 330 (dual core, 2GB ram, 160GB HDD). I decided to take a risk and get Windows Vista (Business), even though I read all kinds of horror stories about how unstable, slow, annoying, buggy it is.

Here is my experience so far (after using it for a few hours)

Good:

UI is nice. Lots of eye candy, Aero interface is a bit blingy but effective. Decently organized. Lots of options for different views.
Boot time is OK for me (my old XP machine took about 45 seconds to boot up, the new one takes about 30)
Ubiquitous search boxes are neat.
Sidebar is neat.
Lots of built in goodies like scan/fax, system backup.

Bad:

The User Account Control thing, the box that comes up and asks you “are you sure” for every little thing is annoying. I appreciate the added security, but I am tempted to turn it off.
If I ran Windows XP on this machine, I bet it would boot in like 20s.

I also heard that much of my old software would not work in Vista. Not true, so far all this stuff seems to be working fine:

WordPerfect Office 12 SP1 (but SP2 won’t install!) I may break down and upgrade to the latest WP Office anyway.
Microsoft Office XP
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 (with patch)
FireFox 3.0
Mozilla Thunderbird
Ad-Aware
Antivir Free Antivirus
Quicken 2007 (with patch)
Roxio Media Creator 10
Apple iTunes

Software that won’t work:

Epson Smart Panel (don’t care, Vista has nice built-in scanning functions anyway)
WP 12 SP2 won’t install.

Considering how blazing fast the new machine is compared to my old Dell 3000 (P4), and that it cost all of about $ 500, I’m very pleased.

Segways Of Doom

concour — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:46:28 +0000

Buy a Segway. Paint it black. Now it’s a S.W.A.T. Tactical Segway! (From Telegraph.uk web site, Chinese SWAT team training… on Segways?)

I’m not sure a real SWAT sniper would be shooting from a Segway…

Nissan’s Naughty Nav

concour — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:42:15 +0000

Nissan's new Nav system will help you find "Adult Entertainment" locations, according to a review by Family Car Review. It's debuting in the new 2011 Nissan Quest minivan.

Good job Nissan. Way to know your market.