The Chevy "SS" Badge

When you hear about the Chevy SS badge, what do the gears in your cranium crank out? Thoughts of performance, images of a high-end Chevy, or an easy win on the track? All totally understandable. But let me guess, I bet you don't directly think of the Trailblazer SS, the HHR SS, or the Colbalt SS (unless you own one of these vehicles, of course). As an owner of two high powered vehicles and one being a Camaro Z28, I am the first to say that I am happy that Chevy is trying to return to its glory days and bring back the high performance 'SS' moniker, but all I can ask is that GM be more selective on which vehicles will be awarded that badge.

For the 2014 car season, Chevy is going to produce a RW, V8 powered Impala (yet again) that will offer the SS package. I do think it looks sporty and I am sure its numerical outputs are impressive, but will this Impala perform as advertised and earn its "SS" badge? I guess time will tell, but I know the last generation Impalas didn't receive the greatest reviews... 

Here is a glimpse at the 2014 Impala: 

All I ask is that GM takes a little more time and care in choosing what cars or trucks deserve to be designated with a "SS" badge. I know much of the time this just means a higher end trim package, but if GM is truly trying to bring this moniker back to its heritage, the only vehicles that should be able to be called a Super Sport are the vehicles the are built with performance in mind. I don't know if that just means throwing in a large V8 and making it rear-wheel drive, I'm not sure. But what I am sure of is there's something lacking when both a 2-door, 6.2L V8 Camaro with 426 HP and a 4-door 3.6L V6 Impala with 303 HP carrying the kids around are called the same thing. 

Returning to the roots of the Super Sport? I don't think so. We consumers would be seeing more dedicated sports cars if that was the case. Trying to sell customers once again on high-end trim packages? That seems more like GM's watered down plan. Its really a shame... 

***A Very Important Driving Study***

Wow, who would have thought? Thanks CNN for doing this very valuable study...

- Article found on MSN Autos and written by Autoweek

How Bad is it to Drive Stoned?

Review: 2010 Dodge Ram SLT Big Horn 4x4

2010 Dodge Ram 1500 Review

Overall Grade: B+

Exterior Grade: A

Interior Grade: B

Ride Comfort: A-

"Cool" Factor: B+

MPG: City: 12.5 - 14.5, Hwy: 16.5 - 18.5 (all winter driving)

Thoughts: Where to start with this one? The Engine? The exterior styling? The interior improvements? All huge upgrades from what I've been hearing compared to older Dodge Rams. After driving one for a few weeks, all I can say is minus the MPGs, I absolutely love this truck. 

Engine: The beast I've had the privilege of driving has Mopar's 5.7L Hemi with the MDS system. This thing comes stock with 390 HP and 407 ft/lb of torque. You can practically rip a house from its foundation with that kind of power! What amazes me the most is how refined this engine feels. Although massive and powerful, it runs quite quiet and smooth. There is the occasional "hemi knock," but it has not been something that has been an issue or even annoying by any means. Plus, if you are shooting for MPGs (which don't buy a truck if that's your concern), you can drive this rig gently and let the MDS do its work. Many have claimed they get low 20s for MPGs when cruising with the truck. But if you feel like pounding some pavement, put the medal to the medal and this Ram will have no issues painting you to the back of your seat. 

Exterior styling: I know this is 100% opinion, but I think its the best looking, most aggressive looking truck on the market. A rig like this should look like it wants to rips something guts out, and I believe Dodge did an excellent job at remodel this 4th gen Ram. A few of the features that came with this truck: factory dual exhaust, 20" wheels, running boards, fog lights, 4-door quad cab, and the chrome package. I will note that I have heard of a few owners now switching out their chrome bumpers and even grills for the sports look (matches body color) because the chrome has rust issues. Time will tell for me I guess...

Interior: I love the interior in this truck. I don't have anything too special such as NAV or built-in center console as I just have cloth seats with the bench in the front. I do have the power options and SAT radio however. But as a functional interior, it does everything I want and more. Its very easy to use the radio, (although I which the clock would be bigger when I'm listening to SAT radio), there are hidden cubbies everywhere in this truck so storage is no problem, the seats are comfortable, the mirrors allow for easy navigating with this truck, and the "driver's information center" is also easy to navigate and read. This truck even comes with an 110V AC outlet! To be honest, the only things I miss from my old car are auto climate control and the HUD. (Auto climate is an option in other models). I will say my biggest complaint is that there are some rattles in my doors, but nothing to major. I plan on installing some sound dampening material anyway so I hope that takes care of that...

Ride: I'll keep this one short, but this truck rides extremely smooth. Dodge got ride of the traditional rear leaf springs for coil springs and I absolutely love the difference. You'll have no issues taking this beast for a long cruise if need be. 

Well good luck, hope this helped. If you can get by the MPGs, I think you'll really like this truck as well. Just know, you won't feel the road kill your run over on the way to your goof aunt's. 

Review: 2012 Ford Fiesta

2012 Ford Fiesta Review

My Overall Grade: C

• Exterior: C-
• Interior: B-
• Cool Factor: D-
• MPGs: 25 - 35

So back in November, I had to venture out to Cleveland, OH, the land of many underachieving sports teams. Since my trip was booked in advance by my company, I already had a rental already lined up for me; a silver 2012 Ford Fiesta. 

I recall the first thing that ran through my head was, "Oh dear god...maybe should ask for something else." I mean, I had a feeling of what I was getting into, but I never actually driven one before so I decided to give the go-cart a chance and see what this remake was made of. Talk about regretting that decision. Have you ever drove on the Ohio Turnpike at 5:30 in the morning while its still pitch black outside? Normally not fun, but especially not fun when you are driving in between two semi-trailers in a car no bigger than a football yet barely has enough power to get up and go...anywhere. Powered by Ford's 120-HP 1.6L Duratec I4, there were times I prayed for my '95 Camaro Z28, my '10 Dodge Ram, or even my old '89 Acura Legend as all I wanted to do was get away from these stupid semis. I honestly thought I was going to have to experience what an aluminum can feels like upon being recycled....CRUNCH! Luckily for you all, I survived, although when I reached my destination, I wasn't too pleased that the others had seen what I pulled up in.... 

As for the interior, I suppose its alright in its own quirky way. The interior of the car kind of looks like it came out of a sci-fi movie, but maybe that's what they were going after. And for such a small car, there are a lot of buttons. Most of which I have no idea what they do. The options I did need though (wipers, radio controls, heat, etc) were easy to find and use, so no real complaints there. The seats were comfortable, but felt extremely low even in that car. I thought my ass was going to bottom out after hitting a few bumps in the road. One cool, yet useless, feature the Fiesta did offer was it allowed the occupant to control the ambient lighting of the interior. By pressing one of the 100's of buttons in the cabin, the interior lighting could be switched from red, to purple, to dark blue, to light blue, to yellow, to....., and finally to off. But as cool as it is though, once you find the color you like, why would you ever change it again? (Ironically, in this rental vehicle, this button was the only one that looked liked it was consistently used as the label had been worn off of it.)

Overall, the only thing I could really appreciate about this car was its MPGs (which in my opinion, for a car of its size, is nothing really THAT special.) I believe driving a mix of HWY and city, I average around 32 MPGs which is a nice contradiction to my truck's 17 MPGs. The cargo room was minimal, handling was what you expect from a car in this class, and road noise was somewhat annoying. While I am a bit biased towards bigger cars and trucks, there's no way you'll find me near one of these Fiestas again. Good luck to all you who own one of these contraptions. 

Just because Will.I.Am has Money, Doesn't Mean he should be Allowed to Build A Car...

Will.I.Am's Cars - What the...?!?

Can a single set of vehicles possibly be any uglier? What the hell was he thinking when he made these monsters? Alright, I will give him some credit for the 2nd one, but the fact that it took over two years to get it to this point (its still not completed) and that it was crafted from a '58 VW Bettle is a joke. 

How about this Willy, when you are looking to 'create" another dump on wheels, just tell the PROFESSIONALS what you are looking to accomplish and let them do the work. Stop changing your mind and acting upset if something doesn't turn out just right. Its your damn fault you idiot! Stop trying to blame the fabricators. They are just going off of what you want. No wonder every car you touch turns out more worthless than your music. Wait a minute... are you having a competition with Xzibit on Pimp my Ride? Last time I checked, those vehicles go on Ebay for about $12k. Not bad considering I'd gut most of these cars like a fish just for their chassis and motor. 

Get off your blunt you pile and stick to what makes you money, which is somehow your music...

Audi's OLED - Swarming Tail Lights

If you haven't seen this yet, its probably one of the coolest car techs I've seen in a long time. 

The real question is whether or not they can make it affordable and practical (not even TV manufacturers have OLED tech mastered yet.) Bring it to the masses Audi!

Check it out here:

Audi's OLED Swarming Tail Lights: Audi's Cool Car Tech

Via X-Truck (Just Puked in my Mouth)

Automotive News

Via X-Truck: Just to start things off, I going to begin with this monstrosity; Via Motors' X-Truck. 

  

Company Overview: 

• Via Motors is a privately owned electric vehicle development and manufacturing company founded in 2010. According to Wikipedia, the only "key" person is GM's old Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz.

Truck Overview: 

• Base Truck: Chevy Silverado
• Engine(s): GM's 5.3L V8 for Gasoline power and two electric motors
• Horsepower: 5.3L V8 = 315 HP, Each electric motor = 402 HP each(804 HP total)
• MPGe's: They claim this beast can get 100 MPGe

Thoughts:

What the heck is this thing? I get that it is a hybrid truck, but did they really have to make it look like something even Mad Max wouldn't be caught dead driving? Apparently Bob Lutz's hand was real deep in this cookie jar...

I know he has a pretty good track record at GM (especially compared to Wagoner, which is another story), but in a time where starting a new motor company is beyond a high risk, couldn't they step outside the Chevy Silverado box and TRY to design a fresh-looking, hybrid truck? This thing looks like something Megatron would crap out after getting pounded by Optimus Prime. I'm all about improving trucks, but this thing is just hideous. 

Well I doubt this thing will ever become a production vehicle as it will not only cost a small fortune, but it would absolutely blow up the current truck industry. Current trucks can only muster 16-25 MPGs on the HWY so this is just ungodly. But if there is that butt-crack opening that it will be made for us to buy, I truly hope someone in the design department gets off the LSD and designs something that humans wouldn't mind being seen in.