Automotive Blog

Posts Tagged ‘cars’

The typical Miles Electric Car is a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). The sturdy slow speed EVs have been around for some years. They come in two flavors: the Miles ZX40S Car and the Miles ZX40ST Truck. They are mostly manufactured in China.

The car and truck have similar model numbers, and platforms. The truck is about 10% heavier than the car, with correspondingly less range, 35miles for the truck vs. 45 miles for the car. Cost for both is around $20,000. That is higher than the Zap NEV for example, though the Miles is well built.

Both are powered by good old lead acid batteries. This is fast becoming a dated power source for electric vehicles.

Fast forward to 2010; Miles is pulling ahead with the Miles Coda powered by a 100kW motor supplied by an advanced 34kWh Lithium Battery pack. The car is expected to first sell to Californians sometime late in 2010. The Coda weighs in at around 3,600 lbs which improves the power to weight ratio considerably over the ZX40 class.

The target market for the Miles is likely to be the same as for the Nissan Leaf. For information, the Leaf has posted some 19,000 pre-orders already. Interestingly, a recent survey shows that it turns out that people purchasing the Leaf might be former Prius owners. Since the Coda and the Leaf share similar power, range and price levels, it appears that they may also be sharing the same market.

Miles has news stating construction of a new plant in Ohio if support funding from the US Department of Energy comes through. The Miles Coda is designed and managed in the US, but many if not most of its components are manufactured in China. Likewise, Miles has teamed up with the Chinese concerns Lishen Lishen Power Battery and Lio Energy Systems to produce their batteries. Lio would operate the plant should the Government funding come through.

Tata Motors is one of the leading Indian car manufacturers. With a lot of experience and decades of reliable service, Tata has been tremendously contributing towards the growth of the Indian car industry. Tata cars in India carry the proud tag of being produced by the country’s largest automobile maker and the second largest passenger car maker. That said, it’s time we had a look at the Tata cars in India.

The Tata Indica V2 is an economic car with enhanced power, great fuel efficiency, and gives passengers the luxury of ample space. It comes with the choice of a 1.4-litre diesel engine and a 1.2-litre petrol engine which is available with an LPG kit. Indians, mostly those with white-collar jobs, sit on their office seats the whole day long. Tata has designed this car exclusively for such workaholics in India whose lower backs need the right kind of rest at least while travelling. The broad seats come with superb lower back support.

The Tata Indica Vista is nothing but the new generation Indica built on a fresh platform. Very spacious, very efficient engine, improvised interiors and great handling are few attributes that the car can boast of. It is available in India as the Terra, Aqua, and Aura. The rack and pinion hydraulic power steering and the long petal-shaped headlamps are the car’s unique features that enhance its value.

Tata Motors has proved to India that luxury can come at a lower price. The Tata Indigo is one car on the Indian roads that has an athletic character, sufficient power, enough roominess and still comes within an average Indians means. The car is known for its turbocharged engine and the DICOR engine in the diesel variants and the 1.4L MPFI engine in the petrol variant.

The Indigo has further been worked upon to give rise to other cars that adorn the Indian roads now. They are the Indigo CS, the Indigo Manza, Indigo Marina and the Indigo XL. To the Indica Vista range, the car maker has added another variant which has been blazing the streets of India of late, the Tata Indica Vista DriveTech4.

Moving further, we have the bigger cars. The Tata Safari which is quite popular in India has been upgraded with the 2.2 VTT engine. New emission norms have been implemented in the country and Tata brought out this new car variant that will comply with the new rules. The premium SUV is available with both Bharat Stage III and Bharat Stage IV compliant engines.

The next big car from the car maker’s stable in India is the Tata Sumo Grande MK II. This car has its DICOR engine borrowed from the Safari that has been mentioned earlier. The exteriors of this Tata car are graceful and the interiors are sophisticated. They truly suit the any Indian, be the office going guy or the off-road travel enthusiast. Apart from the Safari and Sumo Grande, Tata also has two other big cars, the Sumo Victa and Xenon XT plying on the Indian roads.

Finally, coming to the smallest car developed in India which is also the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano. This car has been prey to a lot of controversy. Luckily, it has come out of all of it and has been declared as a safe package. This car is available in six peppy colours and has been adding a lot of colour to the streets of India. It will probably be exported to the rest of the world in some time.

I remember back in the early 1990’s, it seemed that every lad under the age of 21 lusted after owning a sporty little Honda or Acura. Having the barebones “stock” car wasn’t really enough, as the novelty of owning the basic car wears off pretty quick. We’d then pinch and save, to spend our hard earned cash on aftermarket goodies. Many of us were going through school, and couldn’t afford much, but to modify them with supposed go fast parts, and “aesthetic” items were all the rage.

That was a long time ago to me now, and while modifying cars will never go away, as long as we are still using the internal combustion engine and have 4 wheels. Many of us still care about appearance and performance of our rides, but a lot of the “ricer” look has died down. While I won’t go into what “ricer’ technically means, I will say it carried a bad connotation, and few of us realized it then.

Modifying and “dressing up” sport compact Honda’s and Acura, wasn’t limited to only these Japanese imports, however. While they are held responsible for birthing this “ricer” stigma, it wasn’t long before we saw Cavaliers, Sunfires, Sunbirds and Neon’s rolling around with racing stickers and big wings on the trunk lids. Volkswagons were always a part of the sport compact craze and the GTI was perhaps the original “hot hatch,” but the ‘Dubbers liked to keep their distance and maintain a more dignified and refined look.

Typically a “riced” out Honda would have a body kit, which could include obnoxious, busy looking bumper covers, or replacement bumpers, rocker panel covers, replacement hoods and fender with aggressive flairs, and of course the quintessential oversized high wing on the trunk, to complete the shopping cart look. Lowering the vehicle was essential, to compliment the plus sized performance rims, which would be wrapped in low profile wide sticky tires.

Racing stickers were a staple add on, and we later joked that each sticker was worth X amount of extra horsepower. Typically the stickers (steal me stickers) were to proudly advertise which manufacturers parts were installed on the vehicle. Sometime, however, the stickers were used to make up for the lack of modifications on the car, I’m afraid I was guilty of that at the time. Lets not forget the sound systems, how often have we heard a driver’s music half a minute before we even see his car go by?

Last, but not least, the staple “modification” on all riced out sport compacts was the fart can muffler. “Loud but proud” should have been the motto, as they did little to add performance to those tiny engines, all by themselves. All they really added was noise pollution as they sounded like a bucket full of angry hornets. To this day, they are still used, though I believe regulations are finally cracking down on these racket makers. On top of mufflers, we had intakes, bored out throttle bodies, ignitions, port work, headers, the list goes on. If you actually added up the horsepower increase claims from each manufacture, you could nearly double your factory rating. These claims we mostly puffed up advertising and lies.

It wasn’t all bad though, and even now, tastefully modified sport compacts can still be found. A slight suspension drop with lowering springs or coilovers, slightly larger diameter wheels than stock, with matching performance tires. No body kits or aftermarket wings, but some JDM market goodies for Japanese imports always seem to look good. A larger piping exhaust, to complement any engine breathing modifications is still needed and welcome, providing the muffler is baffled, or at least chambered. Add to that, a tasteful classy colored paint job, or leave it original, and what we have is a slightly dressed up vehicle that does the brand justice.

Its not always about show though, legitimate go fast goodies were all the rage and will still be for a long time, for anyone who can afford it. Turbochargers, nitrous oxide, large lobed camshafts and port work, entire engine performance rebuilds and engine swaps.

Myself, being into Honda civics and Acura Integras, I was blessed to have the opportunity to satisfy my needs the plethora of direct “bolt in” engine swaps being available. Perfectly good engines were being shipped over from Japan by the boatload (and still are), and I performed more than a few of these swaps. Fortunately I didn’t have the money to blow on ugly body kits and chrome rims and turbocharger back in the ’90s. When I finally had the money, I had a more mature outlook and I developed a sense of wanting to keep things refined and simple. My favourite swap, which I swill own today, was a JDM Integra GSR engine swapped in to a ‘94 civic cx hatch. Bolt in low 14 second quarter mile swap, right there. While it was impressive as a mustang beater way back, it’s nothing to brag about now as factory Neon turbo cars and Cobalt turbos can match that, and they’re everywhere.

Fortunately the ricer phase seems to be dying off. Maybe partly because young people don’t have as much money to throw around after paying their smart phone bill, but I think it’s more than that. Cheap simple cars are gone, forever it seems. You can’t just simply pop a new chip into your car anymore, modifying has become harder and more expensive. Most of the sport compact cars from the ’90s era seem to be on their last leg and are rusting out. That’s the image I see when I “hear” a rice rocket car from a bygone era go by. Mismatched body kit colors, fart can, cheap wheels, rusty quarter panels, faded paint. This is not to say that nobody will try to rice out a new model car, but I’m just not seeing it anymore. Where are all the stickers and the blacked out tail lights? Are we maturing? I hope so.

It is important to inspect a classic car before purchase, perhaps more than with newer cars. This is because classic cars have been on the road for long and if you buy without inspecting the car, you may end up spending a lot of money on spare parts because spares for classic cars are not readily available. The inspection should start with the documentation. The VIN should match with the VIN on the paperwork. You want a classic vehicle to be as close to its original state as possible and so if there are any alterations, you should ask for pictures of before and after. You should also go through the scheduled maintenance and the service history.

If the paperwork is okay, start the car to see if it is in good running condition. Check the exhaust of the vehicle to see if there is smoke – smoke is an indication of possible engine problems. Enlist the services of a mechanic to determine whether the engine idle quality while hot and while cold are normal. If there are any noises after you have started the engine, this might be an indication of engine problems. Take the car for a road test and check such things as acceleration, braking, engine noises, engine performance, automatic transmission shifting and noises, manual clutch engagement or slippage, responsiveness and smoothness of the steering, gauge operations, suspension on rough terrain, and gear noise.

Next, inspect the exterior of the vehicle. Check for rust, especially under the mats, inspect for any physical damage such as dents, dings, mismatched paint, bad paint job, and misalignment. Use a magnet to detect whether filler has been used to hide dents. Inspect the condition of the side and rear windows, check the hinge operation, and check the working of various parts such as wipers. Check whether the interior and exterior lights are working. Inspect the tires to make sure they are the correct size and to make sure they have the right tread depth and the right pressure. Check whether all the tires match and whether the spare matches. Make sure all the tire-changing tools are available.

Inspect the interior of the vehicle. Check whether the seat belts are working, whether the audio system is working, whether the horn is working, and whether door handles are working. Other parts and systems that should be inspected are the rear view mirror, the heating, the AC, the ventilation, and the defroster systems, the clock, the power outlets, the release to the filler door, and the manual or automatic door locks. Inspect the condition of the seat upholstery for such things as stains and rips and check the convertible top boot and the top itself for a convertible.

Check under the hood of the car. Among the things to check are oil leaks, oil in the air filter, the oil level and water or sludge in the oil. Others are fluid levels for the breaks and other components, the belts for tear and wear, the condition of the wiring and the hoses, leaks in the water pump and the fuel pump, and the condition of the fuel filter. Insist on having a mechanic with you when doing the inspection. Make a checklist so that you do not forget anything.

If you’re in the market for a car that can be rebuilt and put back on the road or re-sold, you have certain advantages if you find a repairable car with a clean title. A clean-title rebuildable car could be a car that’s been in a collision, or a theft recovery, a vandalized vehicle, a flood-damaged car or a burnout. In the case of floods, in particular, often insurance adjusters will get a sampling of cars that have been affected by flood damage on a dealer’s lot, and then write off all the cars as total losses. Sometimes these cars will come away with salvage titles; other times they’ll come with a clean title.

What is the one clearest advantage? A car that comes with a clean title will be worth more when the rebuild process is complete. A rebuilt car with a salvage title will be worth less, and many states will mandate extra inspections before the car can be registered again. Remember that some states do NOT record salvage vehicle titles.

You’ll also need to know that an unscrupulous seller can launder a salvage title by moving the car from a state that has salvage titles to one that records only clear titles.

You will, of course, need to check over a clean-title repairable car closely. Flood damage, in particular, can cause lingering headaches even after a car has been rebuilt. Inspect under the hood, under the dash, under the seats and carpets and in the trunk. Be aware of musty, mildewy smells (or efforts to cover up dank smells). Be on the lookout for rust inside the vehicle, or signs that the flood damage has been repaired or covered over. Water up to the floor pan of a car isn’t necessarily a big problem, even though an adjuster might still call it a total. Water up to a car’s windshield is almost always going to mean real trouble.

If it is at all possible, you should try to get a vehicle history report such as CARFAX. CARFAX isn’t perfect, but it gives you a leg up when buying a damaged vehicle (any vehicle, really). You can also look at the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s database to look for VIN numbers of cars that have been damaged in hurricanes or floods.

Clean-title repairable vehicles can wind up being a great deal for the rebuilder and reseller. Often these vehicles have negligible damage, or may just need cosmetic work to be returned to resellable condition. Do your homework, be aware of what you’re getting into and you can wind up with a car that can bring you years and many miles of reliable service, or can be sold at a fairly tidy profit. Also, remember that an older car has a lower book value, so it’s going to mean less actual damage for an insurer to write it off as a total loss.