[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by chevelle

The vette has been sold!

I traded it in for Murano.

Would be keen to know the thought process, if its not too personal.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by chevelle

The vette has been sold!

Won't baby eh?

How was your 'vette ownership?

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Would be keen to know the thought process, if its not too personal.

It was just a spur of the moment decision. It was never on cards but seemed the right thing to do at that time. And i miss it terribly! Wish i could have hang on to it for few more months.

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Won't baby eh?

How was your 'vette ownership?

Ownership was great. Very easily to live with.

Owning something that has 60 years+ of history is truly a special feeling regardless of people fighting over love for particular brand. Truly an amazing experience.

Though, now i won't consider a Corvette in list of my sportscar to buy as i would like to explore what other brands bring to the table in name of sports car.

One must own a true sports car for once in lifetime. Its an exhilarating journey.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Owning something that has 60 years+ of history is truly a special feeling regardless of people fighting over love for particular brand. Truly an amazing experience.

Though, now i won't consider a Corvette in list of my sportscar to buy as i would like to explore what other brands bring to the table in name of sports car.

One must own a true sports car for once in lifetime. Its an exhilarating journey.

Hey Chevelle!
Sorry to hear that you decided to let the Vette go. But I guess one has to make room somehow for the next one! So, what's next? A Porsche, maybe?

[vineethvazhayil]

The new Alfa Romeo Giulia is out. I fully expect it to be launched across the pond here in the next couple of years. 500 horsepower doesn't seem like much anymore. Alfa has launched this with a 510 hp V6 - something to go up against the M3. The tamer engines are not yet revealed. This an the XE definitely look like credible drivers alternatives for the 3 series. Also, my guess is that some Chrysler badged product would also come out of this car's all new RWD/AWD platform. The 510 hp version is 3400 lbs - so it's not a porky car either. Hoping that they have also improved on the very very sketchy reliability.

Oh, and it looks gorgeous.


Checkout more Autoblog - Alfa Giulia

[amitoj]

V8s are a dying breed. Being replaced by twin turbo'd V6 and even inline 4s and 6s!
I guess it makes sense in the current environment of demand for more fuel efficient cars. But that also seems to be a myth. A friend of mine did a long road trip in an X5 (twin turbo inline 6) and he got a mileage of around 22-23 mpg. I get round the same, if not better, highway mileage in my V8 Charger!
Even some of the claimed MPG figures from big sized hybrids have come under suspicion lately.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by amitoj

V8s are a dying breed. Being replaced by twin turbo'd V6 and even inline 4s and 6s!
I guess it makes sense in the current environment of demand for more fuel efficient cars. But that also seems to be a myth. A friend of mine did a long road trip in an X5 (twin turbo inline 6) and he got a mileage of around 22-23 mpg. I get round the same, if not better, highway mileage in my V8 Charger!
Even some of the claimed MPG figures from big sized hybrids have come under suspicion lately.

Isn't the X5 like a 1000 pounds heavier and has the aerodynamics of a brick? My guess is that had he been driving a NA v8 X5, it might be giving him 20 mpg or less. You have a low slung sedan which I assume would be sleeker and lighter. I'm not so sure about other engines, but I have found that the turbo 4 in the base BMWs is far more fuel efficient than the former inline 6 base engines - am talking about the 328i that I have driven quite a bit in both forms.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Isn't the X5 like a 1000 pounds heavier and has the aerodynamics of a brick? My guess is that had he been driving a NA v8 X5, it might be giving him 20 mpg or less. You have a low slung sedan which I assume would be sleeker and lighter. I'm not so sure about other engines, but I have found that the turbo 4 in the base BMWs is far more fuel efficient than the former inline 6 base engines - am talking about the 328i that I have driven quite a bit in both forms.

I dont think weight and aerodynamics would be the differentiating factors here. Better explanation would be that the X5 is an all time AWD, whereas the Charger is not. And I dont know whether X5 has the same cylinder deactivation technology that most V8s have.

I am not denying that the newer turbo engines are more efficient than their previous generations. They have to be, otherwise why would they be so prevalent now. But the NA V8s are also not exactly the gas guzzlers they used to be.

[maddy42]

Just wanted to share couple of experiences i faced and people around me faced in the past month.

Just miss crash a la Final Destination style.

Was driving back home at 5 pm peak hour traffic. I live 7 miles away and the highway involves about 5 miles of this or 4 exits away. I just joined the highway and moved from the exit lane to next lane on a 4 lane highway, and i notice something on my left which made me look at my left. There was a aveo or chevy small hatch back driven by this girl on my left and she was loosing control. Her car faced mine and was coming towards my rear at highway speeds. I just accelerated a bit to avoid contact and what i saw in the rear was she spun around twice before going and hitting the fence on the right pretty bad. Was shaken by this and i just drove home as there was no spot i could stop and rush to help.

I thought about what happened and still cannot figure out how this happened. Was she trying to change lanes, did i do something? Did she have a tire blast. Have been very aware of my surroundings while driving after this incident!


Friend tries to drive through a yellow light.
My friend was driving back after changing his tires and was doing about 30ish on inner city roads when he saw a yellow light which he wanted to cross. Unfortunately a lady in a kia soul was taking a u turn and just froze in front of him. Thus he ended up hitting the soul which caused couple of airbags to pop and a dog in the car got a minor cut.

Whose fault was it? Friend says it was a yellow light, but the cops say it was a red. If the kia had waited for the traffic to stop before making the u turn this would not have happened.


A team lunch turned to a rear end collision.
My cousin and her team were going out for a team lunch. There were 5 people in the car, 3 in the rear. They take a exit off the highway and stopped at the signal when a pickup truck barreled from the rear and hit the car in the back. All the three in the back are suffering from whiplash and my cousin has a major back ache and nausea due to this incident.

The driver of the offending truck seemed dazed and confused and supposedly the cops found traces of narcotics in his blood.

Just wanted to share this with all of you. Be careful while driving. You may drive perfect but folks around you can be terrible at it. All the three cases are stuff which could have been avoided.

Just a guy who is happy to be alive.
Maddy

[benbsb29]

As they say, the licence to drive is a privilege, and not a right. The day people realize this, the saner our roads will be. When i was getting my DL here in Aus, i was told the same by the guy who conducted the test.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by Activ8

Kudos to our (for India) very own Raj Nair - GVP Product Dev. The man is a true car guy - raced in earlier days and is still all about performance - Fiesta/Focus ST, the insane Focus RS, the GT350, the F150 Raptor and the GT.

Well looks like they under promised and over delivered. A mainstream hot hatch (by that I mean not one of the German trio), offering a 345 hp/ 324 lb ft power train (with overboost to 347 lb ft).

Originally Posted by amitoj

It surely looks the part! A 320hp AWD 6 Speed Manual!
Well done, Ford. Now hurry up and bring it to US.

I can't even think how much fun this car would be. All my bets are off, this won't be 32-33k as I thought. I think the only regret is that it is on the Focus style/ platform that is a little old in its life cycle. The next gen Focus would probably be much nicer and practical, in response to the new Cruze. But who cares about all that when you have a monstrosity under the hood!

Read more - Autoblog - Focus RS revealed

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by amitoj

..
I guess it makes sense in the current environment of demand for more fuel efficient cars. But that also seems to be a myth...

You're probably right. I remember a Top Gear episode where Clarkson drove a German muscle car (AMG/M) with a Prius around the test track. He proved what he intended to - that the (way more) powerful petrol-only muscle car bettered the hybrid's mileage when driven sedately, and on similar terms.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

As they say, the licence to drive is a privilege, and not a right..

The DMV here in Connecticut prefers to hammer that fact in the form of a mandatory 8-hour classroom driver ed session to be undertaken before heading out for your driving test! I had the privilege of being in the first 4-hour session last night between 6-10 pm; the final session is for tonight !

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by chevelle

It was just a spur of the moment decision. It was never on cards but seemed the right thing to do at that time. And i miss it terribly! Wish i could have hang on to it for few more months.

Chevelle, there has been a recall on the Murano. Check that out. Nissan Recall page - Enter VIN number

[amitoj]

New Hands Free law has come into effect in New Hampshire.

This means:

• No use of hand-held electronic devices capable of providing voice or data communication while driving or temporarily halted in traffic for a stop sign or traffic signal or other momentary delays
• This includes cell phones, GPS, tablets, iPods, iPads or other devices that require data entry
• Emergency calls to 911 or other public safety agencies will be allowed
• Bluetooth or other hands-free electronic devices will be allowed
• One hand non-cellular 2-way radio use will be allowed
• Teen drivers under the age of 18 will not be allowed to use any electronic devices (hand-held or not) except to report an emergency. Anyone violating this will be subject to penalties and license suspension or revocation.

And the fines are
1st Offense $100 fine
2nd Offense $250 fine
3rd Offense within 2 years $500 fine

Source: Hands Free or Die

Great move i must say. Scares me to see so many people driving around with either their eyes glued to their cellphones or their ear glued to it.

[mohit]

Same here!

In Ontario, it's against the law to:
- operate hand-held communication and electronic entertainment devices while you're driving
- view display screens unrelated to your driving

If you break this law, you could receive:
- a fine of $225, plus a victim surcharge and court fee, for a total of $280 if settled out of court
- a fine of up to $500 if you receive a summons or fight your ticket