I’ll never forget the first time I got to ride in a DeLorean DMC-12. When that door opened, it was the coolest thing I had ever laid eyes on. 20 years passed and DeLoreans were becoming just another iconic reminder of something other than itself… I’m referring to Back To The Future, of course. Well, it’s 2011 and the old stainless steel beauty is back, with an electric powerplant. I mean, if you’re gonna build an electric car, “why not do it with some style”?
We set out to buy a $32,000 Japanese or German designed sports car and getting the most value for our dollar was the number one priority. After extensive research, we narrowed our choices to the Nissan 370Z because of its power/performance and overall good looks and the BMW 128i because of its performance/handling/braking, warranty / maintenance program, and also, to see what all the hype was about. Our final decision might surprise you.
If you drive car or truck with a manual transmission, it’s probably safe to assume you’re someone who enjoys having control over the gear changes and being more at one with your driving experience. Most manual transmission owners will tell you they “know how” to drive their vehicle with little effort and minimal mistakes. Unfortunately, most people do not know how to properly shift a manual transmission. Now, let us take a lesson from Steve McQueen AKA “King Of The Double-Clutch”. Mastering the Double-Clutch will result in a smoother driving experience, lessen the wear on your transmission, clutch, and the synchromeshes or synchronizers found in our newer vehicles.
Double-Clutching or “Matching Revs” is typically done only in downshifts. Double-Clutching into the upshifts is thought by most to be unnecessary and considered showboating. But, who doesn’t like to showboat every now and then. One of the greatest examples of Double-Clutching can be seen in Steve McQueen’s driving of The 1968 Mustang Fastback in the movie Bullitt. If you pay close attention you can hear McQueen bumping the throttle between every shift in both the upshifts and downshifts. Here’s how it’s done:
This might be the most articulately written, accurately described, reason to buy a classic car I’ve ever read… and it’s a Craigslist Ad.
“Four speed manual transmission, engine was swapped for a 2.8L. Comes with several boxes of extra parts, and a spare set of wheels with studded snow tires. This car is driveable but the alternator output is weak. Requires a couple minutes to warm up in the morning. Shifter is loose and the gears are a little tricky to find. You have to stand on the clutch to shift gears. This is really a parts car – unless you truely want a project.
This Mercedes has no seatbelts in the back, and the ones in the front are of the airliner lap-best variety. There are safer cars out there for sale. Cars with thick slab like steel pillars cocooning you from the outside world. Cars with 7 airbags. Cars with airbags for your knees. They have fancy GPSs that will tell you where you should go; they have systems that will brake for you, before you even notice that the car in front of you is slowing down.
If you ever watched any Fast & Furious movie and said “Man, I wish I had that car”, well now’s your chance. Up for sale via Volo Auto Museum are a handfull of the hotrods and tuner cars used in the filming of the four Fast & Furious movies. The 1970 Dodge Challenger RT (minus the Hemi), the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse from 2 Fast 2 Furious, and the 1973 F-Bomb Camaro from Fast & Furious 4 (A replica of the 1000hp Hot Rod Magazine project) are the three most significant.
While an actual purchase might seem a little on the ridiculous and impulse side, let’s just say I would give anything to have a stab at owning the 1949 Mercury Club Coupe from Rebel Without A Cause. The famous 1932 John Milner 5 Window Ford Coupe from American Graffiti was found behind someones barn and purchased for a few thousand dollars. Who would have ever thought?
In the first annual “Drift With The Supercars” at New York’s Monticello Motor Club, an impressive variety of expensive cars turned up for an outrageous tire-smoking competition. In addition to the dedicated drift cars, the video shows some of the unlikely drifters including a Ferrari 575 Maranello, 2011 Porsche GT3 RS, AMG CLK63 Black Series, C6 Corvette and a brand-new Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.
The 2012 Nissan GT-R has emerged with a tighter grip on the road and the ability to run down and around it with increased ferocity. Increased turbocharger boost, tweaked valve timing / air mixture ration and a reduction in exhaust back pressure are responsible for producing 523 horsepower and 451 pound-feet of torque – that’s 38 additional horsepower and 17 additional torques than the previous year model.
The 2012 GT-R’s aerodynamics have been improved as well by increasing front end downforce by 10% via double rectifier fins on the front bumper that also reduce air resistance inside the engine compartment and provide additional cooling air for the front brakes. The read downforce has also been increased by 10% due to the redesigned rear bumper featuring a lower center of gravity and use of a new rear bumper air outlet.
Nissan has also stated that the infamous “R-Mode” (quick launch feature that wasn’t covered in the previous GT-R’s factory warranty yet caused the demise of many a transmission) has been “improved”.
How does the 2012 GT-R perform on the track? Nissan claims it laid down a 7:20 on the Nurbürgring which makes the GT-R faster that a Corvette ZR1 and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
