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.