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Showing posts from April, 2011

Passport IQ... A Car Guy's I-Phone?

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Any review is best done with the actual product.  Unfortunately, countless attempts to reach Escort for a free demo unit have failed (well maybe not "countless").  Why they ignore a blogger of my prominence, I don't know.  Surely they're aware of  my global reach.  Just last month a guy from Australia visited my blog, which is half way around the globe!  (Actually, he was responding to my "naked lady" meta tag).  Anyway, I'll put my hurt feelings aside for now.  So here goes my review with the limited, but exciting, information I do have so far. I got my first Camaro in May of 1989, got my first license suspension in September that year. My Passport radar detector  from Cincinnati Microwave bought me 5 months, thanks guys. I think I might want the new Passport IQ by Escort.  The IQ is the latest tool for serious drivers.   It offers a slew of goodies most sports car drivers want, all in one package.  Navigation , so weekend drives can be free of ma

Is Your Daily Driver Sporty Enough?

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I didn't think so. You've got your dream sports car and you are still not fulfilled. I understand, let's hope it is just too cool to squander on daily driving. It could have kindled a passion in you that needs feeding more often than you expected. You haven't failed, you are just inspired. What you need is a new beater sports car, for a daily driver.  Now don't get me wrong. I'm not implying your current sports car or mine is a garage queen. Heck, I drove the Carrera on a gravel road just last weekend, really I did (very slowly).  Not every sports car is cut out for commuting in traffic or languishing in a parking garage 40 hours a week. Heck, my insurance won't even let me drive my sports car to work. Risk is certainly higher for damage/loss in daily driven cars. Besides, you've got all the risks associated with the dog and those Home Depot trips too. A daily driver sports car to beat up on a regular basis may be the answer. It will have to capture t

Forget Horsepower

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Winning the power race is about as easy (and expensive) as keeping your wife in her mid 20s.  But if you chose wisely, you'll be happy. Forget horsepower. Blasphemy, I know, but after just discovering that my SUV has more horsepower, and is actually faster than my '98 Carrera I thought I may need to give myself a pep talk. I'm not trying to define what makes a sports car here, but rather simply suggesting a few alternatives to measuring horsepower.  So here goes.    2007 SRT8 over 400hp 0-60 just under 5 sec  1/4 mi 12.7 @ 110.7 1998 Carrera S under 300hp 0-60 just over 5 sec 1/4 mi 13.5 @ 102 (Still the one I want to drive) Horsepower (or torque for that matter) alone cannot explain the experience of one car vs. another. How long and how hard a car pushes our body into the seat is basically what we're trying to measure there.  But there is more to it than simply counting the ponies. Dynamically, much more is going on than mere engine output