Big Bud

Driving home from Purdue back to Indiana I noticed a lot of corn. Granted I’ve lived my whole life on the west side of Indianapolis, I really only see this much corn when I’m like 20 minutes from home. For those of you who take interstate 65 back to where ever is your home town you know what I’m talking about. Besides the open road, all you see is corn and gas stations but mostly corn. It kind of intrigues me to see the monstrous machines chewing threw the corn and ending up with just the neatly corn ear. But all of the corn made me think of tractors and then I asked myself I wonder how big the biggest tractor in the world is?
It name, BIG BUD. Built by a northern manufacturing company in 1978, It is 14 feet high and 20 feet wide! The sucker weighs 100,000 pounds. It need eight, yes eight, 8 feet tall tires to drive this mammoth of a machine. The gas tank holds 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Its powered by a V-16, 1,472 cu.in. that pushes out around 900 horses. The best part about this machine of all machines it its work load.
This tractor can honestly pull anything so it has no trouble pulling its 80-foot wide chisel plow. Big Bud can till 800 to 900 acres in a day. In words you and I can recognize, a square mile is roughly 640 acres; so, it can till about one and a half square miles in a day. Big Bud cost $300,000 when it was made, but today it would be worth around $600,000. That’s more than my house; I don’t think I would want to live in that thing. I guess it’s a good thing it does its job very well.
Competitors may try and match the supreme results that Big Bud creates but none come close. John Deere’s 9520 may be a close as it gets, and really it’s a little more than half of this tractors size. Big Bud really is a massive tractor. It would be pretty awesome to get a hay ride in this tractor for Halloween!

The Title of Luxury

If you have ever watched a James Bond movie then you’ve probably seen some kind of Aston Martin. The Aston Martins has a fine legacy of being a top designed and speedy roadster. These cars need little introduction in the car world and not just because of Bond. Too bad in the boring normal world the Aston Martin isn’t built with missiles that can come out of the headlights.
The Aston Martin is British manufactured in Gaydon, London. The car company was founded in 1913 and since then has kept it head above waters to build a legacy of luxury. It has change owners upon numerous occasions and has been in at least 10 movies from what I have found out. They have three award winning cars; the DB9, DB9 Volante, and the prestigious V8 Vantage.
Enough about Bond and all the little facts though, what you need to know is what Aston Martin has in store for the world. What I am talking about is the V12 Vantage RS Concept car. The 6.0 liter V12 engine is expected to have around 600hp propelling the car to 100 mph in under 8.5 seconds. The newly designed car has a 0-60 speed of less than 4.0 seconds making it the fastest produced Aston Martin EVER!!!
I watched James bond last night and honestly it made me want one so bad. The best part about Aston Martin vehicles is that you seriously cannot go wrong. There is no runt of the liter! From 1913 to 2008 to beyond, you can’t go wrong. So for now I can dream, but maybe someday I will be able to add an Aston martin to my Car collection.

Jay Leno The King!

Those of you who know anything about the late night show host Jay Leno; you know that he may be the biggest car fanatic ever. He owns around the sum of 84 cars and 73 motorcycles. These aren’t your normal every day cars either, most of them are vintage cars worth well over 100,000 dollars. Just a taste of his collections is full of classic Bentleys, Mercedes, and Corvettes. The one I personally like the most could be his rare 1932 Duesenberg SJ.
This was a one of the types of cars that is best described as before its time! It was a supercharged strait eight that generated 325 horse powers and top out at a speed of 130 miles per hour. People, most cars today can’t top that. Jay has only 1 of 36 of the supercharged models meaning his car is basically worth a pretty penny. The funny thing is, most collectors leave the cars tucked away in their garage out of harms way. Jay seems to think otherwise, he believes cars improve the more you drive them.
Jay also has newer cars such as the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren exactly like I showed you Paris Hilton had. Personally I like the Challenger but I would take either one! His challenger is pushing around 425HP bringing back American muscle. And let’s just say it makes the new mustangs look like children’s toys. He has Corvettes, Harleys, basically if it’s a classic Jay probably has it!
His garage is roughly 17,000 square feet. His oldest car is oldest cars are a 1906 Baker electric car and a 1906 Stanley Steamer, which makes the span in years of his garage at 100 year because he owns an 06 Vette. He has a whole crew of mechanics and engineers working on his cars. Unfortunately, I count find anything on the overall net worth of his cars and motorcycles combined but I can say that he finds them all Priceless. As a car guy, I am very jealous of this man. Who knows maybe one day I’ll be able to go see them and maybe drive one. Probably not =]

A Flash of Lightning

Most car enthusiasts love the thrill of neck whipping speed and amazing styling. These cars primarily have come with large, powerful gas engines that are usually very inefficient. While this love for cars can’t be taken away from car lovers, a new company is trying to change the way people look at performance.

The Lightning Car Company in the UK has developed a car that combines amazing styling, speed, and efficiency. Their car, the Lightning, is completely electric and can run 0-60 times in just 4 seconds. This is faster than almost all cars on the road today, and especially the hybrids that contain some of the same technology the Lightning does. The Lightning’s complete electric system allows the car to have full power at all times while driving, unlike a gasoline engine where the full power is only obtained when the engine is at high rpm ranges. The car plugs in directly to anyone’s home plug-in and will be fully charged in just a few hours.

What sets this car from the rest is the innovative styling and the use of technology never used before. The car has no engine, axles, or gear boxes, making it virtually maintenance free. The electric motors are built into the wheel hub which allows the car to harness and apply all its power directly to the wheels.

With this car’s amazing technology and no fuel needed, it is sure to sell. The styling of the car is that of a supercar and will catch the eye of any passerby. The car has not made it to the United States yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long before people in the U.S. are itching to get their hands on this piece of sports car history.

Car Audio; iPods

The way people listen to music in their cars is always changing. There was first just the simple radio, then the 8-track, the cassette, and eventually the CD player, but lately there has been a huge outbreak of connecting iPods or MP3 players into the car’s audio system. This allows the driver to personalize playlists and have all of their favorite songs at their fingertips. Just a few years ago the automotive industry did not even consider putting this option into production because of the scarcity of the use of MP3 players and iPods. Today 58% of cars that are manufactured will have iPod direct connection capabilities in them. IPods seem to take over the handheld music player scene with the other MP3 players just having 33% of cars that are able to connect directly with them. The percentages of cars that have these news adaptations in them are staggering between the different model years. USB interfaces, iPod connections, and hands-free Bluetooth have almost doubled in one year for the amount of cars they will be available in.

Many people think that this ability to hook up music directly from a hand-held music player is one of the best things since sliced bread, but others think that this may be just another distraction for those on the road. Many people using this new technology would be of the younger, more novice driving crowd and could ultimately lead to less attention spent on the actual road and more accidents. This concept is not much different than the use of a cell phone while driving, and some states have outlawed cell phone use while operating a vehicle. Could the states start to ban music players?

RiDeS!!!

This week I have decided on a special theme! This week is my version of cribs, except without the cribs and just the rides. I’ll take you in depth on what some of the hottest celebrities are driving and what most of us wish to have half of one day!
Up first is Paris Hilton. I really don’t like Paris a whole lot but I can tell you she sure knows how to pick them. She rides in her very own Mercedes-Benz Mclaren. Let me break this down for you in case you don’t know much about cars. It’s a half a million dollar car! That in its self explains the wealth and elegance needed just to be able to buy this car. The funniest thing that I’ve found out so far was that Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears drive the same car.
The entire body of this car is made up of carbon fiber. It comes equipped with a 5.4 litter supercharged, all aluminum V8. This car was built for the sole purpose of performance! Its 0-60 time comes in around 3.6 seconds making it THE fastest automatic transmission car in the world. It has a top speed of just over 200 MPH. the only thing I can think of for why a girl like her would need a car this fast is to out run the cops.
This car was defiantly designed more for the road than the red carpet! Too bad the people that would actually have fun in this car can’t afford its half a million dollar price tag. I can’t even imagine driving half a million dollars, that nearly two of my houses. It must be nice to have that much money. Maybe someday you or I will get the pleasure of driving something close to a standard set this high!

Parallel Parking Dread is Over!

One of the dreaded tasks while driving is the infamous parallel parking. Drivers have to pass the task to get their licenses and it seems to be the most feared chore for inexperienced drivers. What if the driver did not have to parallel park at all, but rather control only the foot brake pedal? Toyota has come out with technology where the car will virtually park itself.
While this technology was largely introduced by Lexus, a Toyota made company, Toyota is starting to put this option I some of their less expensive vehicles. One in particular that everyone is familiar with is the Toyota Prius. Not only does this hybrid get good gas mileage, it could possibly park itself.
The way the parking assist works is when the driver pulls next to a spot he or she wants to park in and puts the car into reverse, a rear bumper camera turns on and displays all that is behind the car. The driver then pushes a button on the dash and the car calculates how much it needs to turn in order to fit in the parking space. A green area appears on the screen telling the driver where the vehicle will end up and a yellow path describes how the car will get there. Then it is just a matter of controlling the car with the brake.
There are some flaws in this feature though. It does not tell you if the spot the driver is trying to back into is too small for the car to fit. This could lead to some major problems and may actually make parallel parking more of a pain if the driver can only rely on the computer to park. The only thing that scares me is if my car is the one sitting behind where this computer savvy vehicle is trying to park.

Parents Love MyKey

There has always been a struggle throughout the course of history between the snotty teenagers who thinks he or she knows it all and the older, so called wiser parents. It is only natural for the teenager to ask for independence through the high school years and especially when the independence turns into reality when they obtain their licenses. The more teenagers try to separate themselves from their parents as they mature into adulthood, it seems as though parents want to keep a tab on their children and make sure they are making the right decisions even more. Even though they cannot be there when their children head out onto the roads, there are still ways for the parents to feel secure and have reassurance that they will be safe on the road even when they aren’t riding shotgun. With Ford’s brand new MyKey technology it makes it simple for the parents to make the car as safe as possible for the children.

The MyKey has many features that will allow the parents to feel better about letting their children drive away alone. This feature will come standard in the all new 2010 Ford Focus Coupe and will have many more features than previous child monitoring systems. The system is based around the key to the car. It can allow parents to limit the speed of the car to just 80 mph, and will allow the stereo to only be turned on to 44% of the total volume. Also, if the children are not buckled up in the car, the car alerts the driver with chimes. Not only does it producing these annoying sounds to buckle up, it will mute the cars stereo until everyone in the car is wearing their seat belts. This is not all the key can do. It will also give the driver an early warning on how much fuel is left and alerts the driver when there is only 75 miles left on the tank of gas. The key can also be programmed to chime at certain speed levels to make sure that the novice driver pays attention to the speed he or she is going.

This technology sounds great on paper and will surely help those who need assistance when driving, but in my car these features would become a nuisance and would eventually be cut out. A way around this is to educate the drivers even more, and don’t hand out driver’s licenses to just anyone. They must fit a strict set of requirements in order to obtain their privilege to drive.

Cool Your Seat!

Perhaps one of my favorite car innovations is temperature controlled seats. We’ve all been there, on a hot summer day and the leather seats are scolding hot. Or in the dead of winter, sitting in your car literally freezing your bum off! But then, some genius thought outside the box.
Someone took car comfort to the next level and now we can control if are seat are heated or cooled. No more uncomfortably hot or cold seats. You know how that power at your finger tips.

In most new cars this technology is preinstalled before you even get it, but what about everyone else? I kind of want that sort of luxury in my car so I got to doing some research and found some reasonable prices for this. I found that a good price is $119.95. Unfortunately though, if you want your car to keep its stock appearance you’ll have to pay a tad bit more. The price for the $119.95 is just a seat cover that comes with the coolness and hotness.

I for one wish I had this in my car. I hate going into my car in winter and sitting on a cold seat; it would be one hundred times better if I got to sit on a warm cozy seat! Or in the summer it would be nice to have a colder seat that way my back doesn’t stick to the seat. I think I may have to put this item on my Christmas list!!!

Musical Roads

Growing up as a kid I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, and one thing my grandfather loved to do while he was driving was hit the rumble strip on the side of the road (where you are not supposed to be) and of course this would shake the car and he would yell “Wake UP!” I always found this to be funny, one probably because of the obscene noise it did make, and also because of my grandpa’s funny nature. As I grew older I came to realize that it was kind of scary that he was driving back and forth to hit the rumble strip on the shoulder of the road. But what if the rumble strip was brought onto the road?

The way it works is the road has been “tuned” to a certain speed a car must go, and also some have been based on a certain car’s wheelbase and tires to give it that almost perfect tune and sound. It seems to be a hit for kids, but the people living close to the road seem to not care for it too much. They must not like the same song being played day after day when they come home from work. I wouldn’t like it either if I had to listen to a poor humm of “The William Tell Overture” everyday after a long day at work.

I think that they should implement more of these though, maybe on two lane roads where people can choose not to drive on the musical path. Some of the roads have been complained about so much that they are being paved over.

The only thing that scares me is what happens when you want to rewind or listen to it be played faster?

Car Internet: Personal Safety

Many of us use Motorola products, most likely as a phone or hand held device, but Motorola is working on something else that is going to help connect you to the internet while traveling down the highway. Motorola is on the brink of commercializing their brand new WiMax module. This is a small card that allows automotive equipment makers to make connected devices that can receive broadband information on the road from the comfort of your car.

Most of us think that this has already been implemented in cars. Most information that cars are receiving is through satellite or radio networks that link up with the navigation within the car; most commonly in cars such as Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Lexus. The problem with this connection is that it can only receive information one way, and must first download the whole database. This is proven when people search their navigation to find local fuel prices. When it downloads the database, much of the information is not needed and therefore is a waste of time and effort. With the new WiMax network it would only allow you to download what you need, making it more efficient and less time consuming.

Another feature that could be put into place that I found was quite interesting was that it could be a vehicle-to-vehicle network. If one car is broken down on the side of the road, it can alert other drivers coming up behind it or close to it that they are stopped. This is basically an early warning system for all drivers, and makes being on the road changing a flat or working on your vehicle much safer.

I think that implementing something like this would be great in all cars especially if it can make the roads safer for those in accidents or breakdowns. This could also help notify people of stopped emergency vehicles or police stops, and could ultimately save the lives of those doing their jobs on the road.

Car Tech

Many people in today's world of technology have come to know the name "Cnet". They have established themselves as one of the leading companies in reviews of today and tomorrow's technology. Cnet gives reviews on almost any gadget anyone could think of, and it is also a great tool for someone who is looking to buy a new phone, camera, PDA, or any other type of equipment, such as television or radio.

Most reviews consist of one, if not a few, short videos describing all the pros and cons of the product and have many credible people describing the products; some of which are the actual producers and designers of the new device. While I personally have used Cnet to do comparisons between different pieces of technology before making my purchase, I didn't know there was much more to the site than what they are primarily known for. Cnet has a large number of blogs for many different subjects in the field of technology. One that especially caught my eye while perusing through the different reviews was Car Tech. It is an up to date blog that shares everything from the small chimes you hear when entering and exiting a car, to the brand new hybrids and vehicles that are revolutionizing the industry.

This blog seems to be the mother blog of Automotive Advancements, it shares many of the same attributes and must be checked out if our blog here entices you. There is anything you can imagine in Car Tech, and is well worth checking out.

New Concepts Spark Great Ideas

Has anyone heard of Toyotas new car? I’m not talking about their trucks or their new hybrids but I’m talking about the new wheel chair! Yes you heard me right, Toyota has taking it to the next level with this.

It’s an upgrade that makes the Segway look like a child’s toy. The new ireal concept “car” is a masterpiece. It’s much like the couch on wheels that ever man dreams of. The ireal concept is driven and controlled with simple joysticks. And can go from a reclined position to an upright for its high speeds. Its high speed is 18.6 mph and while that doesn’t seem like much, that completely trumps the Segway’s measly 12.5 mph. It’s designed of light weight carbon fiber and reinforced with strong plastic. Unfortunately, it is a concept car so who knows when or if we’ll see this baby on the streets.

The Segway can rest easy for now because after all it still is a concept car. This is actually Toyotas second model; their first was called the I-Unit. That design was so crazy cool, but there was no way they could have made money off of those models. They were much to advance for this time but the ireal brings it down to earth a little bit. I guess there crazy ridicules design led to an improved elegant design. Don’t be surprised though if you see some of the on the streets in the next 10 years.

VIDEO

From A Distance

Winters in Indiana can be some pretty rough times. Most of us are forced to wake up an extra 20 minutes early to grapple with the nearly inch thick sheet on ice on our windshield. Then when you finally manage to enter your vehicle, you realize that the nickel sized vision hole you managed to carve out of the windshield just isn’t big enough to see out of. That’s when you just sit in your car and rev up the engine in hopes that you won’t have to go back out in the freezing cold praying you car will warm up soon enough so the defrost will melt the sheet of ice. Your butt is basically freezing to the seat as you drive and your hands are beginning to stick to the steering wheel! It’s just no fun driving to work or even school. But there’s a simple remote that solves all of these problems for us.

The remote engine start has the answer to all our prayers. It allows me and you to just peek outside the window or open the garage door to turn our car on. Using the same technology as the remote unlock button, this remote sends radio waves to your car’s computer giving it the signal to turn on. It then allows your car to warm up while you’re inside your hopefully warm home preparing to leave for the day ahead of you. You need not waste your time on scraping windows in the winter any more. The best part is that if you start your car soon enough your car will be nice and toasty, free from harsh winter air. No more fighting with ice or cold seats.

The price for this baby really isn’t bad. You can find fairly decent ones for fewer than 200 dollars and they last long too, so there is no wasted money. If the remote stops working it more or less just the battery from your over use of the nifty little device. I love using my grandmas because I think it’s so cool that you can start your car from inside your house or even outside just as long as you’re in the 20 meter range. However, there are just a couple of minor setbacks.

The only thing going through my mind while I was typing this is how clumsy I am and I would accidently start my car and it would be on all night. If you think about it, that would be terrible! It would drain your battery and leave your gas tank empty, neither of which is a good thing in the morning when you’re about to leave for work or school. Another thing that the remote keyless entry does is open the door for thieves. Hackers can steal the signal the remote gives off and they would be able to steal your car even easier than before. With a gadget like this, you have to be careful. But I certainly think that the pros out way the cons in this case!

Want you Want?!

Last week I was running low on all of my ideas for this blog. For some reason, half the stuff I write about seems to be just the first thing that pops in my head. I found myself asking my roommate and friends what they liked about their cars, but this week I’m curious to know what you as readers want to know about. Any good ideas are certainly welcome here!

Our blog “Automotive Advancements” has a lot to do with the technology of cars. Anything that improves the car whether that is via safety, luxury, or even fuel economy, we like to include in our blog. Personally I like to talk about little gadgets I want in my car, but I’d rather know what you as readers want me to write about. Do you want me to write more about specific cars? Would you like me to go more into alternative fuels sources? Or are so of you actually enjoying some of my gadget blogs?

Any who, I just thought I’d get input from the people who actually matter. Just message me, pull me aside, or comment this blog and let me know what you’d like to read about next. Have a good week, and remember how blessed you are because your grandparents had to walk uphill 5 miles in the snow to school and we get to drive.

The Camaro is Back

The whole world seems to be turning to hybrids. Yes, this may be what everyone "needs" to be more feasible and help from hanging away half of their salary at the pump, but is this really what everyone wants? When does the want surpass the "need" phase? With Chevrolet's all new Camaro being introduced, the want just overcame the need.

The new Camaro brings back the classic muscle car styling, with all the new amenities. With the base V-8 model pulling close to 300 horses, the V-6 model to keep the cost of insurance down, and the costlier model with the LS2 Corvette engine, this Camaro has a model for everyone. The base V-6 model will list at only a smidgen over $20,000, making it affordable for almost anyone. But, for those car enthusiasts who know of the classic stying of the 1969 Camaro, loves power and great handling, the LS2 model will surely be for them. The car is slammed with the Corvette engine pulling over 400 horses, giving it all the power the driver would want.

The styling of the car takes the lines from the classic 1969 Camaro, but this is by no means the same car. It takes on the new car popularities of today such as the staggered 22 inch rims in the back, and 21 inch rims in the front. Fuel injection and disc brakes also round out some of the new technology that seperates it from its predecessor. While many people think that the muscle cars of the good ol' days still cant be touched, which may be true, this new vehicle will sure give them a run for their money.

no more blind spots!

Today’s cars are being equipped with all kinds of safety devices. Automotive industries are in a chess game one upping each other while trying to win over families with the newest ways of safety and comfort. This past summer I was a valet at the airport. While it was fun to drive all the fancy cars, the coolest thing I saw was a review camera.

Cars are now being installed with cameras underneath the license plate. It’s a nifty little item that lets you see directly behind you. The camera turns on when you put your car in reverse. I loved it because it showed me all of the blind spots behind the car I couldn’t see. The image appears on a screen normally in the dash so I’m sorry to tell you if you don’t have a new car this technology probably isn’t available to you.

I was even more surprised, after I put the car in reverse and the picture came up, when I turned the wheel. As I began to turn it, lines appeared on the screen showing me exactly when I would end up. I was so excited, it was hilarious. It gave me the perfect parking spot every time. For those of you who are annoyed with crocked parking, like me, you’re probably as happy as I am. I loved it. Backing into a parking spot is now the funniest this for me. It really made me want to drive around backwards driving by just simply glancing at the screen.

If that is not mind boggling enough for you, it gets better. Some cars have the picture from the camera in the actually mirror. So you can see everything behind you with the mirror, plus all of the little blind spots. Can you imagine how many kids’ lives can be saved? All of the parents that are scared that they may accidently run over their child now can breathe again. No longer will bikes be ran over or toys destroyed. This is a revolutionary product that brings intelligence and safety to all vehicles that are blessed to be equipped with the rear view camera!

http://www.rearviewsystems.com/

New age for your windsheild!!!

This summer I was driving home from work in a bad storm. Rain was clashing against my windshield blinding my vision. All I had to do was turn on my handy dandy windshield wipers and POOF, I could see again. The only problem though was the fact that I had to reach down to turn them on. It’s possible in that split second that I could have veered into oncoming traffic and that would have not been so good. But engineers have an answer for our safety.

There’s a new gadgets for cars looming out in the automotive world many of us take for granted. For starters, before we had powered windshield wipers we had manual wipers that you had to crank and before that there were squeegees that drivers had to use. I’m here to open your eyes to an even newer device. This device is called the “Rain Tracker”.

The Rain Tracker is a unique devise that senses when rain, snow, or road debris hit your windshield and automatically turns on your wipers for you. It eliminates the manual, the dangerous, part of looking down to switch on your wipers. It allows you to keep your hands on the wheel protecting you and me from simple dangers of the road.

By far my favorite part of this tool is the fact that it can sense how much rain and adjust the speed of the wipers. Using beams of inferred light it determines how much water is on your wind shield and either turns your wipers up or down in speed.

I know what you’re thinking; a device like this has to be well out of your price range. Really, it is NOT. It’s just a mere 150 bucks. I think I might actually get it. Just about anytime I take my eyes of the wheel I slightly veer to the left or right but with just 150 I might save my life. That’s amazing, and I’m excited to see how long it takes for all new cars to incorporate the Rain Tracker into their new models.

Silence?!

I don’t know about you but I think silence is excruciatingly boring. There’s nothing worse than driving with a broken radio, let alone not even having one at all. I don’t even like to talk about the time my radio was broken. It was very depressing. The worst part was driving to high school in complete and utter silence. A hundred years ago, this poor world drove around with nothing but the sound of a roaring engine like me. And the worst part for them, not knowing what they were missing out on.

The car radio came about by a young man in high school in 1922. He put it on the door of his Ford Model T, but this wasn’t like a real “car” radio it was the ghetto version. It wasn’t until 1933 when cars, specifically 100,000, got fitted with a small radio. This commercially produced radio was called Philco Transitone, and was created by a battery company.

The radio all started with one idea of being able to transmit sound wave but has since evolved into a mainstream of hundreds of thousands of radio stations worldwide. To me there’s nothing like having the freedoms and pleasures of being able to pick what the stations I like while driving along on an open highway. The only trouble I have is picking one that is good for that occasion. I’ll listen to some punk when I feel tired, for some reason it just gets the blood flowing. But really prefer country or rap. Like I said it just depends on the occasion/mood. But all in all, I’m just thankful for my car radio.

Retro Styling Meets New Technology

Many of us don't know what exactly the Muscle Car age in America was, mostly because we weren't even thought of at that time. It has impacted the way Americans portray their car companies. With the new surge towards the classic muscle car styling, and the enormous amount of power strapped under the hood, it proves that history will only repeat itself once again.

While the muscle cars of the 1960's and early 1970's were run out by the gas shortage in the mid 70's, I often stop to wonder how much different the world is today compared to the classic days of drive-ins and fast cars. We lean towards more power and faster cars, but this only decreases the fuel mileage. Just like after the shortage America started to buy more fuel efficient vehicles, but these turned out to be some of the worst cars ever made. This sounds similar to today’s world where Americans are jumping on the hybrid and alternative fuel wagon. It seems as though we are feeling the "gas shortage" by paying outrageous prices at the pump just like in the 70’s. Will this spike in price of fuel deter the American companies from their new retro styling once again?

I think that many people love the styling of the classic muscle cars, and it gets only better with today's new technology being thrown into them. Like the classic Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger coming back into the game, their styling is amazing, giving it the classic look with the new parts that are much more feasible than some of their earlier predecessors. With the upgrades of disc brakes all around, and fuel injection instead of the cold weather hating carbureted engines, this new technology could be just what this style of car needed. They may have been run off by high gas prices and shortage previously in history, but let’s hope that this will keep the new "Muscle Cars" around for a long time.