Classics Revealed: Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe

I absolutely love this car.  Easily one of my dream vehicles.

A Tribute to Paul Walker

All-New 2015 Ford Mustang! First Look - The Downshift

2015 Ford Mustang Walkaround & Vehicle Overview

So... This is it.

Finally fully revealed.  The 2015 Ford Mustang.  Pretty much the same options as the current Mustang but with a new look.  A new look that I'm not too crazy about.  As I said previously it's very "Aston Martin" to me, just like Ford's other designs.  Click on the pics for a bigger view.

Personally I'm going to hang onto my current Mustang for a while.  I think it looks better and really I think I might be done with the modern American muscle thing.  I might hold out and see what Dodge does with the Cuda, if it ever happens.  They claim it's going to be small compared to the Challenger.  But I really feel I'm ready to "step up" to something else like a used Porsche or something along those lines.  But never a BMW, I'd rather burn in hell then become a part of the "douche crowd".

Farewell Paul Walker

Yesterday Fast and Furious star Paul Walker rather ironically died in a car crash.  Apparently he left a charity benefit with a friend and crashed into a pole around 3:30 PM in Valencia California.  It is unknown why the crash happened but when emergency crews arrived the car was already engulfed in flames.  When the fire was extinguished two bodies were found inside the mangled Porsche Carrera GT.  What does this mean for the Fast and Furious franchise it yet to be seen however filming of the seventh movie had started back in September.

Paul was in reality an avid automobile enthusiast and it appears he may have been the passenger. Driving was Paul's friend Roger Rodas. Paul and Rodas were apparently out for a quick spin around 3 PM in Rodas' bright red 2005 Porsche Carerra GT when the single-car accident occurred.

My feelings go out to his family and friends.  He will be missed and remembered by many.

Paul was pure light. I cannot believe he is gone.

- Jordana Brewster (@JordanaBrewster)

My brother and I.....we aimed for the stars together....and achieved more than we ever hoped we could with f&f pic.twitter.com/TWWdoaEX1D

- Vin Diesel (@REAL_VinDiesel)

I Want This Color Scheme

I love the color scheme.  It is so tough and I wish I owned a car it would look good on.  Maybe the Hummer??

Triumph Spitfire 1500

Saw this chillin' in the parking lot this morning.  I'm not that crazy about Triumphs but checkout this crazy color that appears to be factory.  It was a little rough but definitely seemed a good restoration candidate.

Shooting Brake Madness!!

Seems with every auto design we get taunted with the idea of a Shooting Brake variation.  Most don’t make it to the streets such as the fake Mustang GT500 below but others like the Corvette

Mustang GT500 Shooting Brake

Callaway Corvette Stingray Shooting Brake

Callaway are going to actually see the open road.  While they are certainly an interesting exercise in auto design would anyone really want one?  Wouldn't they weigh more?  Would they seat more?  Would they be more or less aerodynamic? It can be argued that they are just cool and practicality doesn't matter, but I don’t know if that is a reason that will generate enough sales.  I think at most they are a novelty.  For me personally I would rather go back in time and restore something like an old 1962 Plymouth Fury wagon and trick it out with modern tech.  That would grab some attention.

Aston Martin Shooting Brake

Ford's Design Folly

2015 Ford Mustang

With the recent leak of the 2015 Mustang images it seems very clear that Ford is trying to create brand
recognition with their car designs, much like BMW, Porsche, etc.  The Focus, Fusion, and now the Mustang all have that same look.  Personally I don’t understand this design strategy because if a customer doesn't like the look then they are basically lost for the entire line of vehicles from that manufacture.  Also apparently the look that Ford has chosen is one that everyone associates with Aston Martin who have had their design since 2004, so it’s not even unique or original.

2014 Ford Fusion

2014 Ford Focus

I don’t like the look of the new Mustang specifically because it does look like all the others.  I enjoy this look much better on an Aston Martin.  I’m also not thrilled with Ford’s attempt to twist it onto their own image.  You hire auto designers to copy other brands? I will instead happily hold onto my 2007 Mustang GT for now.

Aston Martin DB9

2015 Mustang Drama

Just to be very clear.  This is awesome....

This is not awesome....

I REALLY hope the bottom one isn't the new 2015 Mustang design.  My 07' GT is literally a few grand from being paid off and I'll be making the choice whether to keep it or trade it in on a new one or something else.  The lower design is the most recent "concept leak" and if it's true then my current Stang will stay safe in my possession.

The lines are so boring and it looks like a slightly changed Fusion.  The top one is extremely aggressive and has that wide rear.  Time will tell but I'm bracing for disappointment.

I Love To See This!!

Here is the going price of Hummer H3's.  Mine has about 77,000 miles.  When I went to pick it up the sales manager said that another dealer told him that he undersold the H3 and I said, "yeah I agree."  LOL

I paid $15,800 for it and that is with all the extras listed below.  Sometimes life is awesome!!

New Car Purchased

Yup, I finally got something to take place of the Mustang when the flakes start to fly.  I went for the littlest giant a 2007 Hummer H3.  In an unusual twist I hooked up with the same Hummer forum as the previous own of the H3.  Not only did they already know the rig but I connected with the previous owner and he gave me the low down on the setup.  Turns out he put a lot into it and gave me the list of everything that has been done.  The forum gallery even had pics of it in action at their gatherings.

Here is the parts breakdown as it was given to me.  

2007 H3 Luxury 3.7 L 

- Polar Bear brush guard and tail light protectors 

- GM Roof Marker lights 

- GM Undercarriage protection 

- Rough Country level kit with T-Bar tweak at 24 

-Skyjacker 7000 shocks 

- Crossed drilled rotors 

- Magnaflow exhaust 

- Trail Duty extended bump stops 

- NGK IRIDIUM plugs

- AirDoc intake

- AFE filter 

- 315-75-16 LT Eldorado Mud Claws 

- 55 watt off road lights


So needless to say I'm extremely excited to pick it up tomorrow.  The dealer replaced the windshield because of a small chip that seemed to be starting to spider.  I think I might continue his tradition of adding stuff to it perhaps starting with rock rails.  But first things first winter can kiss my ass.

McLaren MP4-12C Messed With Me.

Driving in Mississauga this McLaren pulled up next to me and started screwing with me as if my Mustang and his McLaren are at all evenly matched.  I'm guessing there is at least a $170,000 difference in price not to mention about a 400 hp difference.  Anyway I played along.  :)  It was amazing how easily he walked away from me.  Not even remotely close.  My girlfriend snapped a pic.

2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG

I really like this entry level Mercedes. Quicker than my Mustang and around $40,000. This might be my next car.  Or maybe it's hot hatch brother the A 45 AMG.  Either way they look a little more sensible than my Mustang and are AWD.  http://www.mercedes-amg.com/webspecial/a45/index_eng.php

Mr. Ghost

I looked up from my cell phone and noticed this Rolls Royce sitting there. I think the plate says Mr. Ghost.

Dodge Challenger SRT 392 Review

A really fair review of the Challenger SRT 392.

The Perfect Crime!

I think I'm in the perfect situation.  My car insurance and registration is in the States and my driver's license is Canadian.  This seems to cause a lot of confusion for the Canadian police when I get pulled over. Since I've been in Canada I've been pulled over twice.

The first time I was driving down the street and some guy stepped in front of my car from a bus stop.  I saw it was a cop and he held out his hand as if telling me to stop or slow down.  Well instead I drove around him.  First of all I thought what a dumb ass stepping out in front of a speeding vehicle and secondly I saw no patrol car and thought I would be long gone before he called me in and they started looking for me.  Turns out I was wrong and he had a car stashed away. That fact pisses me off a bit because if I would have noticed he was running to his car I would have been VERY gone by the time he got going.  But I didn't notice and he hopped in it and caught up with me.  He asked me what the hell I was doing and I claimed I didn't notice he was a cop and was confused why someone was stepping in front of a moving vehicle.  I don't know if he bought it or not but my ticket was just $45 which was cheaper than any ticket I have ever gotten in my life. So I happily took it.

Then today I was pulled over again.  The officer was in the left turning lane and I was going straight so I thought he was too busy to bother with me.  Again I was wrong and he caught up and pulled me over.  He came up to my window and said, "Do you know you were doing 80km in a 50?"  I said, "Oh okay" rather blankly.  He said, "Well that's speeding."  I chuckled and said, "Yeah, I understand." He asked for license, insurance, and registration which a gave him.  He seemed rather confused by the odd cross country combo and went back to his car.  In just a few minutes he returned and gave it all back to me with a warning to slow down.  I thanked him wished him a good day.  I just got a warning for 30 over!!!

As I drove away I tried to understand what just happened.  The only thing I can think of is they don't keep a record of out of the country violations.  If they did he would have seen that just a few months ago I had been pulled over for speeding in nearly the same area.  Perhaps processing out of the country tickets might be a bigger pain to process. Also I think my tickets in Canada never reach my insurance company in the States because my rates have never changed.

It's the perfect situation!!

DIY Brake Job

So the rear pads were making a terrible metal on metal grinding sound.  Apparently Mustangs don't have the wear warning on the pads so you have to keep an eye on them.  I spoke to the dealer and they quoted a "worst case" scenario of brakes and rotors for $500 per axle.  I thought that was nuts so I decided to give it a try myself. 

I have done pad changes in the past but only on old muscle car drum brakes.  Never tried discs.  But it turns out to be stupid simple.  You do need to rent a tool to compress the brake but as long as you buy the pads from the same part store they don't charge you at all for the rental.

As you can see below the pad was worn clear down to the clip.  The change was super easy.  Taking it to the dealer would have been a huge waste of money so glad I did it myself.

Snow Stang

It seems that spring will never arrive for us car guys.  Here we are in May and the flakes are still flying.  Luckily I put my new brakes on the day before or I'd been freezing my ass off while working on it.

Tail Light Trouble

Watch "Broken tail light" on YouTube

I'm having trouble with the tail lights on my 2007 Mustang GT. As the video shows one bulb doesn't work sometimes.

At first I thought the sequential light kit was the problem but I replaced the sequential wiring harness with the stick one and had the same issue with the same bulb.

I then checked the fuses (all the 30s) and found them to be fine.

Got any ideas?

New Barracuda?

I listened to an interview with the head of Dodge's SRT group who said the idea of a Barracuda has been tossed around but was well of in the future. Today I was in a doctors office reading the April edition of Car and Driver and I see the SRT Barracuda listed as a possible addition to their 2015 line up. Below is the concept drawing in classic Plum Crazy purple.

Tee hee

i-V-TEC DOHC

Thank You Aston Martin

I can't believe this is a real ad for Aston Martin pre-owned vehicles. I saved it right off a facebook sponsored ad link. Let us all stare.

Android Blogger App

I'm trying to use this android blogger app and I'm finding it frustrating. For instance if I add this picture of the cool van in the parking lot at work, I can't seem to resize it to fit my blog. Lame!

Been a long time since I've posted anything.  Now that spring is coming I'm really getting spring fever to get in the garage and tinker with the car.  However this place doesn't allow much space in the way of work area.  See what I mean? ...