nutbehindwheel

Goodbye to the Z4

2009-02-16T11:22:00.002-05:00

Well, I got a chance to drive the old Z4 Coupe (E86) before they replaced it with the newer Z4 (which looks quite nice btw). But anywho, it was again an automatic with icky paddle shifters (I still think that it should be right paddle upshift, left paddle downshift like in many other true sequential gearbox cars).

I thought it was an OK car. Ride was stiffer thanks to the sport package on the car so the grip levels on dry pavement were quite nice. However, I could tell that the combo and electric steering and it's behavior as it approached the limit, not so smooth. It didn't break the rear end away progressively... it is kinda abrupt and over the limit was still controllable though you have to manhandle the car a bit.

Engine was pretty smooth in the normal everyday rev range and pretty mild. It only really got in the upper rev range. I'm a bit spoiled by the mounds of torque in my scooby and I've always liked the rush of a turbo's pull, though lately the scooby's current tune is just one big continous surge. Car's pretty fast, and surprisingly so, legs are definitely at the top end.

Overall, I didn't really enjoy the car that much despite how cool it appears. Seating position and the long hood do kinda bother me. But even without M power, I can see how people could get enamoured if they drove one. Still, if you drove some of the competition, you more than likely would not. It is too bad that the Porsche Cayman is so much more expensive than a Boxster as that platform is that much better than the Z4 coupe. Even a Honda S2000 rides and drives better... it doesn't offer the same power, but the experience is more rewarding.

Plus, I don't think it'd do too well as a daily driver in the NY metro area... too many potholes for this harsh of a ride.

X6

2009-02-03T15:20:00.001-05:00

Drove it... ugh... that's it. Buy an X5...

In da Club..man

2007-10-31T22:35:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been quite a while since I written on my blog, and I've actually been very active between driving cars and all my other pursuits.

I've since driven a bunch of BMW products over the past few months. They include the new 335i Coupe, the 650i Convertible, the new X5 4.8i, a 530xi Sport Wagon, and of course the topic of this particular post, a pre-production MINI Clubman S. I really should take pictures of the darn car I drove on my camera since you might actually see it at the LA Auto Show coming up. It's a tad different that the production models in that a few niggles are still there and the paint job in the back will not be a possible color combo for the real production Clubmans.

"So what? The Clubman is just a long wheelbase Cooper with gimmicky doors!" Well, hold your horses there buster... Like a good little Transformer, it's "more than meets the eye."

Sure, the body is lengthened and from the front everything is virtually the same. But the additional suicide door on the right side of the car makes passenger access quite easy. The only concern is that the car is a bit low to the ground but otherwise, entry and egress was easy from the back seat.

And in fact, I had plenty comfortable room back there. It was at least as good as, if not better than my Subaru's back seat room. There are some small armrests in the back that are right next so some gi-mundo cupholders. For 2 people in the back, about my height (5' 10") it wasn't a problem at all.

Of course, there's also the split barndoors in the back of the car. They are pretty convenient and it makes loading stuff in the back quite easy... as long as it isn't too big if the rear seats are up. They even have special seat anchors that will force the rear seats vertical so you can fit a perfectly rectangular item in the trunk area. That area would be fine for groceries or some shopping. But if you go nuts, it won't fit unless the rear seats go down. Then you have a ton of room, enough for some Costco shopping or if you're thinking like a racer, a full set of wheels and tires. One thing that I was shown though was that the barn doors need to be opened and closed in a specific sequence so that's the only drawback. Thankfully they have a huge rubber bumper on the door latch so you don't dent the other door if you get it wrong.

So what differences are present from the drivers seat? Well, since my last stint in a pre-pro R56 Cooper S, they've certainly done a much better job with the electronic throttle mapping. Nice and crisp and responsive, even without the benefit of Sport mode. The feeling of acceleration was very similar to the Cooper with a little bit of the hesitation that's induced by having to carry extra weight around. Torque steer is still there to some degree but axle tramp wasn't that bad on launches. I still love the flexibility of the turbo engine even though it runs out of pull pretty quick. I think the engineers did a great job tweaking the mapping to make the car more responsive to throttle inputs. Even heel-toe downshifts became much easier, especially with that good gearbox. Same vague and soft clutch pedal though. (Yes, this car had a 6 speed manual)

Just as they made improvements in the loud pedal, they made them in the "whoa" pedal. The "whoa" pedal was actually a WHOA pedal. Brakes were ALIVE! The feel was dramatically improved from the previous Coopers. Pedal was responsive and firm. They finally tuned the brakes right for a sporty character this car has.

The extra wheelbase and weight is there in as soon as you start driving. Rough pavement has definitely been smoothed out quite a bit and the car tracks with more stability at speed than the Cooper. While the Cooper just felt chuckable and ready to zip into a steering input, the Clubman still feels lively, but because of the longer wheelbase feels more planted.

The press releases say that there's specific suspension tuning for the Clubman, it does show. With the added length, body control is still there, and the handling is still fairly neutral with some mild FWD understeer. It seems like it keeps the additional suspension travel of the Coopers and builds on it, probably a better car for pounding through the rough streets of NYC. You don't really lose that much in terms of park-ability since the size increase really isn't that much.

A while ago when the Clubman was still in development, I told Heidi that she should wait to look into this car... after driving it, I'm confident that she'll fall in love with it if she drives it. So I think I better keep her away from it for now... not too hard since dealers don't have it yet thankfully!

Zzzzz...

2007-02-28T15:07:00.000-05:00

See the picture of the little wagon? Inspire an instant snoozefest? It does for me when I looked at the one I drove recently. The car was a bright pure Alpine White. Car was an MY06 325xi Sport Wagon.

To be honest, just making the car a wagon made me ignore the controversial styling since I was fixated on the fact it was a wagon. The rear hatch is very "functional, unassuming, station wagon." It's a little heavier than the sedans, but the 3 series sedans and the new coupes are all pretty heavy for their size. And adding an AWD (XDrive) system doesn't help alleviate anything in the weight department. Like I've mentioned previously... the 5 series isn't any heavier mainly due to use of aluminum.

How do I like the interior and accessories? Well, this car didn't have IDrive... that was a plus. But it would have been nice to compare that IDrive to the ones in the 5 and 7. Controls were all fairly simple but because of the number of functions, there is a bit of buttonrama on the center stack. Once you've familarized yourself with the buttons, they are easy to use. Not as idiot-simple as some Japanese cars because of the greater amount of options a typical 3 series wagon comes with. The car was equipped with satellite radio (sorry, not a fan since I have a fairly extensive and non-commercial music collection) and a big ol panoramic roof. It also had heated seats with lumbar support adjustment (I still don't like the way BMW seat controls are set up, I honestly think the Benz seat control scheme is more intuitive).

The automatic was typical slushbox, it was fairly crisp but then again, I haven't driven any dual-clutch semi-autos yet. And automatics typically aren't nearly as direct as a "row-your-own-boat" manual. Response on upshifts and downshifts wasn't too bad, but it had some lag since this wasn't a "sport" model at all.

Steering was pretty good if not a bit disconnected and a bit heavier than I'd like for a mommy-car. And because of that, the handling feel is alright but strangely sporty but not a match for the lethargic response of the car. Even the brakes felt a bit mushy and artificial.

The AWD system did add a decent amount of grip to the car, but of course the wagon has a larger tendency to roll than its sedan brethern. Also, the tires on my tester were "OK" similar to what is equipped on my WRX. They're not really sport tires and probably fine in snow and bad weather but not ideally grippy in the dry. Thus, safe understeering is the name of the game at the limit. But below the limit, the car is fairly neutral rapidly getting more and more understeer-y.

Well, overall the wagon is probably fine for its clientele but then again, I don't see too many 3 series wagons driving around. To be honest, I'm the type of guy to always prefer a wagon over an SUV/crossover.

Snow!

2007-02-15T01:46:00.000-05:00

Well, looks like there's snow in Jersey! Today was the first day of real "snow" in my area. I use the quotes because for most of the day, it was freezing rain, slush, and hail bouncing off everywhere.

I took a while to shovel out of the icy snow on and around my car. Kinda like someone sh1t on or around the coats... it was really crappy.

Driving around with my WRX wasn't too bad. Just really slow going since the roads were fairly horrendous. It seemed like I could go a bit faster than most traffic safely thanks to my fancypants Symmetrical All Wheel DriveTM. I got more than a little tired of doing four wheel drifts around every single corner because of the snow at each intersection. Kinda fun but I think I would have needed true snow tires to really book on the surfaces today.

Maybe I should have snuck into the local high school parking lot and done some donuts and powerslides for fun.

Sixties envy?

2007-01-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

Well, it's actually been a while since I've posted... even though I've driven the 2007 BMW 530i a few times already. Car was loaded with the sport package and the automatic transmission (booo!) with the IDrive system (ick) but no HUD or night vision. Fairly well equipped and a pretty typical loadout on a 5 series.

The car is "Olivine Green" except... it's not GREEN at all. See the picture? Not friggin green at all! It's almost the same exact shade as my STEEL GREY WRX. I saw "green" on the key and thought... green 5er... green 5er... and the grey one blinks. WHUUU??? Onto the car...

So again, another blurb about how IDrive kinda sucks... yeah it does. But that's if you're trying to use it while the car is moving. It really isn't much better than trying to use a touch screen or multiple button system since your attention is still distracted. And if you think about it, your eyes should really be attentive to the road ahead (or around the corner) and even with a HUD, I think all those systems will be inherently flawed because of the complexity of modern in-car accessories/options. They still had manual controls for more common stuff on either the steering wheel or the center console. Also, there's a provision for a "favorite" button you can assign. The IDrive itself is much simplified so I figured it out very quickly and it's got fewer steps to get to your features.

Ideally, voice activation would be able to understand anything you ask. Like "turn up the heat, get me directions to the nearest Burger King, and make the ride sportier." But car computers aren't that smart... yet. Between voice recognition and AI interpretation, I think it will be a few more years before we have a car capable of that.

Well, onto the driving impression. With the sport suspension and the fact that this big-ish car is fairly light for its size (its not much heavier than a typical 3 series and is lighter than the 335is), the car handles quite well. It's very close to 50/50 weight distribution so you notice that the car is nicely balanced and even with the sport suspension, the car is still fairly compliant though corners a bit flatter. I was fairly good over uneven pavement but it doesn't feel like it has a ton of travel or the softness needed to really tackle NYC roads on a regular basis. A non-sport equipped car would probably work much better for that. I thought that the MB E500 sport pack felt much smoother and was quieter with it's Airmatic suspension though it wasn't nearly as responsive and direct.

The car I drove also had active steering... it feels kinda odd/distant as there's no actual direct feedback, but effort scaled well with speed. You're never grunting or winding the wheel a lot. Don't know if it's worth the cost though...

The auto trans... well, I liked it although I think the gearing again, not quite right. Acceleration felt brisk (6.6 to 60) so it definitely had adequate passing power though not the torque of the V8 or a turbo/supercharger. Manual shifts were reasonably quick but I still really don't enjoy the feeling of the shift of an auto. I can imagine how much better the car is with the 6 speed manual trans. It would be interesting to see what the gearing becomes.

In terms of the luxury and fit/finish of the car. Its good... typical BMW. Clean, crisp looking and it feels a little bit more spartan but still quality is high.

I think the BMW is by far a better enthusiast's daily car (and that's me) but for most other people, a Merc would be more suitable if you can shell out the cash. Personally, I haven't tried the Audi but AWD turbo is always my favorite choice of powertrain around here for a daily driver. Good news is that in the upcoming 5 series update, the 535i twin-turbo should become available... and hopefully a AWD (X-drive) variant will be there too with that extra bit of power to compensate for the added weight and inefficencies of an AWD drivetrain. I still love the A6 interior the most in that class however.

Just one year?

2006-12-18T00:36:00.001-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I've been dancing on a consistent basis for about a year now. Well, maybe lets not count my first 3-4 months of classes. Even though I greatly appreciate the fun and encouragement of my instructors during those times of classes, I kinda feel bad knowing I was being sheltered and held back.

If you read my post about Dancing with the Stars from last season, you'll know that I thought the show was great. I still do, but strangely, I no longer think too much of the professionals. Sure, they're great dancers and the put on a good show but I've realized I'm not much for performance. Though I do seem to agree a lot with Louis and his philosophy on dancing. It becomes a part of your life and translates back and forth between real life and dancing.

Even though I'm definitely at the level where I can be in showcase and performance specific classes, I really don't enjoy that. I'm not the type to show off or put myself on display purposely for the "benefit" of others. I really have continued to dance because of the music and freedom of the interaction when you dance. I want to be able to achieve a level of spontaneous creativity and self-expression unhindered by the shackles of a "routine." Besides, I think dancing should be social and I've gotten to know lots of great people thanks to this little "hobby" and continue to do so.

Currently, I've become a mostly a salsa/mambo dancer. I have the ability to lead merengue, bachata, and a little bit of cha-cha, but I'm not quite confident in my cha-cha lead. I honestly don't know too much bachata and finagling with it tends to end with disaster at best. One of my teachers once said... don't be a pioneer, because they tend to end up dead with arrows in their butts.

I've also started taking classes with Frankie Martinez at the advice of the "wiser" (yeah that's you Heidi) to dance New York style salsa (On2) in addition to taking classes in the more "traditional" salsa style of On1 in Jersey with Juan Calderone and the wonderful instructors and students of CX (Cultural Explosion). They've both opened my eyes when I attended various socials and the New York Salsa Congress. There's a big salsa community out there and there's some pretty incredible talent out there, not mention plenty of great instructors (Yeah, that includes you Lucy!) I recently asked one of my first salsa instructors what she thought of my departure from her studio for classes, she replied that she's happy that I'm happy. I guess that's truly the bottom line for all of this.

And yeah, that's Lucy leading Heidi.

R you ready for Something new?

2006-12-17T23:23:00.000-05:00

Well, I did indeed get a chance to drive the upcoming R56 Cooper S hardtop (TURBO!!) a little bit during my lunch break last Friday (thanks for the offer, DR).

It was a preproduction R56 Cooper S in British Racing Green with a wood and panther black interior. One of my coworkers said it was a step up in appearance and another said they didn't really like the wood. I think I'm on the fence with this one. I'm holding the opinion that the Cooper was a bit "hot rod"-ish with the painted interior surfaces but I generally like swathing the interior with wood and leather though I like the look of metal as trim more.

More on the the interior... it is SOO much better than the first gen interior just from a tactile and aesthetic point. It also feels less cramped and higher quality. They really ran with the design cues, and while the center stack speedo is really odd, it looks pretty decent. Satnav will move the speedo to a more traditional place with the rev counter on the steering.

All the controls and toggles were pretty similar to the old MINI so nothing really to report there. My car had the optional "keyless" access and start so you don't have to take the keys out of your pocket unlock or start the car. It's a pretty pricey option so I don't think most people will take it unless they're just going whole hog on options regardless of cost.

The car I drove had a "dual" sunroof with the front sunroof being tilt and sliding, rear was tilt only. Strange thing is that there is no full headliner on the sunshades for the roof, just a mesh to block to sunlight.

Anyways, onto the driver's portion of my "review." Lets start with the gearbox and gearing. Again, the tranny is nice and slick. Gearbox was butter smooth just like the previous 6 speed. The MAJOR difference between the new S and the outgoing is that the new trans is definitely geared to take advantage of the new turbo motor. The gearing is MUCH MUCH taller and you can definitely put down power with less fuss. I found that unlike the old S, you don't need to shift near as much and the ratios are spaced quite a bit further apart from a feel standpoint. I think 3-5 should be a tad closer together with 6th being a bit taller for higher speed highway cruise.

Onto the driver controls. The clutch... BETTER... PERIOD. The height is reduced and the dead pedal is comfortable and finally usable! Engagement still isn't quite as positive as I'd like but I do like a heavier pedal that others with weaker calves might not appreciate.

The steering wheel... My colleague mentioned that the steering wheel placement feels a tad off center from the seat... IT WAS!! That kind of annoyed me that the wheel wasn't directly dead center in front of my seat. Maybe because I didn't have the sport seats in the car but it was just ever so slightly off and it didn't quite feel right as I tried to push the car. But the drive by wire system seemed a tad odd with the weight of the wheel being about right. The lack of connection to the linkage was fairly evident though.

DSC and Sport mode did make a difference in the car. Unlike with the old Cooper S, the DSC isn't crappily intrusive. With Sport mode engaged, the turbo was allowed to spike a bit and give that nice shot of torque and DSC tended to manage it without killing too much fun. I turned it off though since I was well capable of push the car much faster with it off. I didn't really get a chance to test to see if the car had an LSD, but it felt open. Wheel hop was still present though not too severe and torque steer was extremely minimal. The throttle though... OMG, I STILL HATE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE!! The throttle program is pretty much the typical with low rpm lag and an abrupt throttle closing at redline. Throttle lag under heel-toe braking makes for uncrisp and jerky downshifts. I think it may be that it doesn't like blips with the clutch in and brake on. I did recall hearing that some manufacturers limit the max throttle opening when braking. Hopefully that will be addressed with production or with the Cooper Works / open source flash since left-foot braking is a great tool when driving a turbocharged car at the limit.

Well, we move on to the WHOA! pedal. And it definitely is a WHOA pedal now instead of a MUSH pedal. The brakes feel much improved in terms of communication, firmness, bite. No more need to stomp the living daylights out of the pedal to stop the car quickly. My Scoobie should have at least this level of braking feel, secure and confident stopping power properly engineered for the weight and power of the vehicle.

Handling? Thumbs up on both. Handling is terribly and wondrously improved. Suspension stroke to take on bumps! Even more chassis stiffness and a more planted compliant ride without sacrificing that MINI feel. And the car's tires are so much better suited to the task. You can now put power down and have some tractability through sweepers. The powerband is much wider now thanks to the turbocharged engine and it definitely outmatches the old S with better low range torque and high RPM power.

With all the improvements on the inside and a few nice touches to the instantly classic exterior thrown in a vastly improved driving experience without boats of stressful noise like the R53 Cooper S convertible I drove previous. If you want this kind of small car, don't hesitate to strongly consider it. Heck, it even gets good mileage when you're whomping on it.

Somehow I don't think the aftermarket and user community will be able to resist very long before they take advantage of the fact that this car is turbocharged. Boost controllers, downpipes, and bigger turbines oh my! I wonder if the OpenECU community can crack a BMW engine computer and reprogram that crap throttle.

Scoobie DOO!!

2006-12-14T02:08:00.000-05:00

Yup... I STILL haven't bothered to take pictures of my 2006 WRX even after owning it for 5k miles a few months.

So, now that I've been driving it for a while and it's fairly broken in (finally on full synth motor oil), what do I think? Yeah, it was a good buy since I'm definitely using what its got. I'm using all 5 seats from time to time despite the smallish area in the back. And the gearbox is finally quite a bit smoother with much less of the initial crunchiness that most car journalists complained about. The 1-2 shift is still fairly crunchy though, not nearly as smooth as my Eagle Talon. I get no complaints about noise in the car... the engine is nice and quiet, ride is smooth and comfy without being too floaty or too harsh over bumps.

I've learned a lot about customization possibilities for the 06 WRX. It is a platform ripe with options and community support, not to mention cost is relatively low.

First installed item was a set of fender braces from Offensive Power. They're pretty much chassis reinforcement in the form of thick rolled steel bars replaced factory stamped steel wafers that are thin enough for me to bend without much effort.

They immediately stiffened the front end of the car and made it ride significantly better over rough pavement and feel more secure and predictable in the front. My brother said it got rid of "background noise" in the steering and handling. Well, it pretty much did that... with that "noise" being the sensation of chassis flex and warp coming back through the steering which is pretty communicative.

Power-wise, I'm looking forward to the near future. Hopefully, I'll be slapping a K&N filter with some tuning on a open source engine computer flash/logging utility (OpenECU.org) and a nice downpipe with a QTP electric exhaust cutout. Currently, the car has plenty of power for passing though low-end throttle lag from the throttle-by-wire system does suck. A flash of the ECU should take care of that though. My brother still has not adapted to the lag of the throttle and still burns the clutch from time to time.

Handling is pretty well suited to what I want. The ability to fly through Manhattan streets with rally-bred precision and poise. The stock suspension seems to soak up the bumps pretty darn well. The response of the engine with the AWD drivetrain is pretty addictive. Mash and go... mash and go. No worrying about massive wheelspin, you know the car will grip and go.

I think with some more chassis bracing, sway bars, and the downpipe and maybe an Ebay top-mount intercooler, I think I'll be able to achieve near STi levels of power without any of the harshness of a real STi. I may even bite the bullet later and slap a fuel pump with a nice Mitsubishi turbocharger and equal length header to increase power and response well beyond factory STi levels.

And unlike the MINI, the interior feels solid and well-made with nice accents. Unlike the 7, the controls are ALL intuitive. And it doesn't need DSC. I'm definitely looking forward to comparing it to a 3 series.

Hangin with Mr. CooperS

2006-12-14T01:24:00.000-05:00

And on this freakishly warm yet rainy December day, I took a red 2006 Cooper S convertible with a 6 speed manual for a spin. Yup, that's right... a convertible in the rain in December. Go figure.

Lets start with my first impressions after getting into the car. I immediately thought... hmm, pretty funky looking interior, it looks alright...

MAN! this seat is HIGH! Whoever was driving the knowledge car last must either be really short or like feeling disconnected from the road. So as a proceeded to adjust the seats, I obviously had to pull on various handles and turn a few knobs. Hmm, these handles don't feel that sturdy... they're "toyish"-ly cheap feeling. The seat itself as a standard Cooper S leather seat with heating which was pretty darn comfy for a BMW seat while still being relatively supportive.

Second thing I noticed other than the cheap feel of the interior controls, the noise! Maybe it was because I only drove relatively quiet cars like my Scoobie, the 7, a Jetta, a Camry... but the engine tone was pretty loud in comparison. It sounded decent, but the car seemed very much like all sound and fury signifying nothing. 7 seconds is not exactly head-snapping acceleration when even a land yacht (750Li) is out-accelerating you.

After I dropped the seat down and dropped the ebrake, I went to the gearshift and the clutch pedal. Oh the WONDERFULLY placed clutch pedal with ZERO space between the dead pedal and the VERY high clutch pedal. Pedal effort was pretty much par for the course, but the height... HIGH. I know I like sitting close to the steering wheel, but it just felt flat uncomfortable trying to squeeze my size 10 feet around high pedal onto the tiny dead pedal to rest. The clutch engaged fairly high but I'm not sure if that was typical or from abuse by folks that don't drive stick properly.

The gearbox was pretty friggin smooth. Quick and responsive upshifts and downshifts with heel-toe done really easily. I noticed a bit of crunch between the 1-2 which backed up my theory about people not driving it right. The gear ratio on the car was very tight for gears 1-5 so it was pretty easy to keep the car in the powerband. Also the gearing seemed VERY short probably to maximize the 3-5k RPM range where the engine seemed to have the best response.

The big problem was with keeping a front wheel drive with short gearing, a supercharger, overly skinny tires, and a rainy surface, planted to the ground so it can put power down. Umm... it couldn't and the DCS CONSTANTLY kicked in and pulled back throttle and slammed on brakes pretty severely. I turned the DSC off and the car was actually driveable in my hands with some judicious throttle control. Wheel hop and torque steer were constantly there but manageable since I have driven much more powerful FWD cars before.

And finally to the item that supposedly sets the Cooper apart from other cars. Handling. No real complaints here. Because of the arrangement of the wheels at each corner of the car, it did seem to feel toss-able and the softtop didn't take too much away from that. I noticed the lack of suspension travel and crap tires pretty quick. Also because of the height of the seats, it never quite felt that fast. But the stiffness of the chassis was totally present. Steering was clear and precise... but it did have a tendency for understeer like most FWD cars. Trailbraking helped a ton, but I could feel the crappiness of the stock tire setup holding the car's potential back by a LARGE amount. Brakes had good feel as well, though the pedal was a tad soft.

So, verdict? Umm, yet another NO. It's a MINI Cooper... and the R53 convertible feels too cheap for what you're paying (~$28k). Compared to the Miata with folding hardtop and other alternative small convertibles, there's just not even a question. Get something else for the NY metro area whether it's for top-down summer fun or year-round daily driver with a folding top. BMW makes a nicer convertible for just a bit more money and other companies make more focused cars that are cheaper, including MINI itself. I guess if you're a sucker for the styling...

My colleague offered me a go at the new 2007 Cooper S hardtop with the new turbo motor. I'm definitely going to hit him up and show him what it can do if I get the chance. I think his dog's not doing so well, so I might not see him for a bit... stay tuned.

Year end blitz... 7 end.

2006-12-14T00:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't really kept up with posting lately. Figure it's nearing the end of the year and I might as well post what's been happening with me.

I've had the chance to drive a few BMWs lately and I still haven't said much about the purchase of my 2006 Subaru WRX. I'll start with just a post about the 7. Then a post for the 2006 Cooper S convertible. Last, a post for a car I'm growing to love, my 2006 Scoobie Rex.

My drive of the 2006 BMW 750Li... The car that I drove had a nice set of the standard amenities but it wasn't totally packed to the gills. It had satnav, comfort seats, Steptronic, Comfort Access, and a few other niceties. I do have to say, for a big yacht of a car, it certainly would be a good choice for "sporty" luxobarge. Not that "barge" and "sport" should ever be considered together in a sentence.

SO first to the amenities... well, lets say IDrive (BMW's single dial computer navigation system) sucks. I know, it's supposed to make things simpler for the driver and I think configuring it takes a load of time. I can see it getting much easier if I was actually living with it, but when the learning curve on most other cars for the same function is light-years less and achieves the same results. Well, I don't think that's excusable. A simple button would have been GREAT to disable or enable DSC (Stability and traction control).

Enough about IDrive sucking, the sat nav worked... umm, yeah. Comfort access allows you not to have to take your key out of your pocket. Nice feature but not sure if it's worth the $$. Also, getting the car out of park and into drive wasn't intuitive like in the Mercedes S Class or even a Maybach. I actually had to crack the manual... and ALL my coworkers had no clue either. They either spend about 20 minutes figuring it out or cracked the manual like I did. Whiskey tango foxtrot?!

Onto my driving experience with the car. As before, I think the car handled exceptionally well for such a large and heavy car. It handled better than so-called sports sedans like the Maxima/Altima but you can definitely feel that weight. Also, the Steptronic (automanual) transmission did work quickly though it does feel quite disconnected at times. Steering and handling was fairly neutral with a definitely numbness to the feel. But I figure a tad bit of disconnectedness is expected from luxo-barge clientele. Otherwise, I think you'd be buying an M5 or a Maserati Quattroporte.

Acceleration in the car was brisk but not gut-wrenching. It has a decent chunk of power and the numbers say it is fairly quick with a nice warm fuzzy euro V8 pull. Nothing really to write home about, but it's definitely ample for passing and shooting quickly out of a corner.

Overall, I have to say... I'd never want to live with one. Sadly, I don't even think I would want to have one as an executive limo. It tries to be a electronic wonder with sport character and luxurious underpinnings. That's three things it's quite decent at, but it excels at none.

ZOOMZOOM

2006-09-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been sooo long since I've written anything... sorry about that if you've been following my blog. Mainly because I've been lazy and I have been fairly busy. I've done a lot of things since February but the latest thing automotive I've done is attend the Mitsubishi VS Subaru Day at Englishtown which happened to coincide with Mazda's ZOOMZOOMLive press event.

I've recently become the owner of a brand new 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX. Pics of that later since it's pretty much rained non-stop since I've gotten the car...

So since I got the car, I wanted to see what other people were running with on the new '06s with the 2.5L engine. It was rainy and dreary, there really wasn't any drag racing going on and many people didn't show.

Thankfully, me and my friends were able to enjoy ourselves with some flogging of Mazdas that didn't belong to us. On the timed autocross course, I overstepped the boundaries of the worn tires and slick parking lot asphalt and killed cones galore with some oversteer. They "clipped" my tag... two clips and they toss you. I was trying to show my friend just how fast you can really drive... whoops! The dry condition target time was 44.5 seconds for the course, and at the rate I was driving, I was on target for around a 41-42 second run... till I spun and stalled on the second to last corner. I still managed to run a 50.

On the Englishtown road course there were two vehicles available to drive, the RX-8 and the MX-5 (aka Miata) which I have pictures of. We drove the RX-8 first and I pansied it because I was overly concerned about increasing rain, severely worn tires, and unfamiliarity with the course. But, no such qualms from my friends Greg and Ralphy... I dared them to try to break the traction control with some clutch kicking. (Clutch kicking basically uses the gearbox to suddenly lock the rear tires and thus initiate a drift) OMGWTF... they clutch kicked the living crap out of the RX8! I'm surprised that the traction control was able to reign in some of those manuevers. Even with the electronic aids on, they STILL managed to kick the tail out! It was one helluva ride! Surprisingly enough, we ALL short shifted the car... the rev limiter on that car is past 9000rpms... only Greg got past 9k but he didn't hit the limiter!

I took the Miata out first as well, but this time, I knew the course better as well as the amount of traction I had available. Braking good, cornering good... scared my friend and could have went faster if not for down cone in the driving line in a chicane. I still went fast enough on the second section of the course to bounce off the limiter on the back straight for a good 2-3 seconds. My friend Greg was asking "what's that??" "Oh! That's the rev limiter in second!" It was a 6 speed so it wasn't that fast. My friend also manage to bump against the limiter on the back straight but he overcooked the technical section before the straight.

The RX-8 is a nice car... good grand tourer in factory trim, but not really powerful enough to be a true sports coupe... mebbe a "sporty" coupe. Balance was good but you can definitely feel the extra weight in comparison to the nimble and planted Miata.

It really is too bad that Mazda didn't release the Miata folding hardtop sooner. The MX-5 as they call it, is an wonderful driving car. Very communicative, balanced, agile, and not too harsh at all. It's a bit toned down compared to the older ones and that makes it that much easier to drive without being tiring. I probably would have bought one for myself... the WRX is more of a practical 4 door.

Mazda ZOOMZOOM

Sep 1, 2006 - 7 Photos

Maid for service

2006-02-09T23:25:00.000-05:00

Maid in Japan

I'm actually quite surprised that this hasn't happened earlier in Japan... personally, I think I'd LOVE to open up a restaurant/lounge with a similar concept. Of course I'd change the flavor a little bit to attract the right clientele and ensure the proper atmosphere but I think it would do pretty well in a truly cosmopolitan city like NYC. It might also do well in a very Asian areas like SF.

I'm a guy so I can't say if this is truly empowering for women... but I guess the US analogue is Hooters. Of course, these maid establishments are"tacky" (in Hooter's own words) in a different way. To be honest, I'm sure there are still plenty of geeks at heart out there that would love such places... men and women alike. Another form of escapism and fantasy... eh, why not.

Dancing with the hawtness

2006-02-04T12:11:00.000-05:00

Dancing with the Stars is a freaking amazing show... nevermind that I'm getting back into dancing for the first time since college... don't know why I even stopped to be honest. Oh, and those of you thinking that I should turn in my "man card"... umm, watch the show and tell me that dancing with beautiful fit women is wrong, then hand me all of your cards. I definitely think there's nothing sexier or more attractive than a woman that's comfortable with her own body and knows how to move.

The obvious physical and social interaction definitely makes dancing enjoyable. All you pervs get a social acceptable forum in which to feel up your partner. Yeah girls, you get to stroke the guy's arm, feel up his abs, and accidentally grab his ass. Gentlemen, well, you can adjust the LOP (level of perv) by the moves you execute. Good incentive eh?

There are other reasons for both men and women to love dancing too. It definitely is a workout if you get into it regularly. Wanna lose those lovehandles? Hey, on top of my regular cardio, it definitely works. I try not to let the girls have all the fun so I try to steal as many flashy moves for guys.

It's really quite entertaining watching hot looking dancers and celebrities shake it. The show seems more like an old style variety show rather than a reality show since they have a lot of live performances and the show is taped live so you do get to see a fairly spontaneous events happen in the interactions of the judges, dancers, and hosts. One of the recent shows had the Pussycat Dolls perform... wow, they're really good as live performers. Their act was very tight, Christina Applegate is a friggin genius.

One of the professional dancers (Cheryl Burke) reminds me a lot of my current teacher in latin. They definitely both have a lot of personal flair and style in their dancing... though I think my teacher's hotter. \(^_^)/

Boooost

2005-11-30T15:28:00.000-05:00

Despite all the technology going into engine and engine research these days, there seems to be very little progress in turbocharging for whatever lame reasons. FINALLY, an auto manufacturer is going to try some new technology to enhance turbochargers on their production cars.

This isn't the same as the old Garrett aerochargers which had a variable size for the compressor housing. It seems they're changing the actual angle of attack of the compressor wheels blades. My hope is that it really works well to allow high RPM flow and greater top-end power that is typically sacrificed as much of the low and mid-range punch of smaller turbos. My worry is that it isn't nearly as efficient aerodynamically and you have reduced power and torque in comparison your high-tech non-variable solutions.

Basically the way it should work is that as you change the angle on the compressor blades, it's effectively like how tuners and the aftermarket clip the blades, removing material from the blades to allow greater airflow rates at high engine speeds and compressor speeds.

Why would this work? Well, what happens on a typical small or medium-sized turbo? The compressor (essentially a giant fan) speeds up more and more from increased exhaust flow to try and supply that constant pressure in the intake stream. That means more and more air must flow through the turbocompressor quickly to be pressurized.

You now encounter either or both of two possible problems that limit turbochargers. Heat from pressurization or limit of airflow capacity. Heat from pressurization is always going to be present which is why intercoolers are so crucial for high pressure turbocharger or supercharger systems since there is a limit to which you can minimize heat increase from pressurization, that's just simple science.

While change the angle of the compressor blades does somewhat change the aerodynamic compression efficiencies of the fan, Porsche's VTG isn't directly addressing this. Rather, it seems to be addressing flow issues. By changing the angle, you change the maximum airflow capacity through the compressor housing. Less angle and thus less restriction and greater airflow thus greater capacity to maintain that pressure at high engine speeds = better top-end.

So, Borg Warner isn't making big turbos spin up that much quicker. It's making smaller turbos more efficient at the top-end. I think if this could be implemented at a reasonable price for the massive automotive aftermarket, it would be a boon. I see so many tuner cars out there that are simply built for top-end power... "I put down 500 wheel horsepower dawg!" but when you're doing anything other than wangan (top speed) or drag racing, top end is of limited use.

Opening up good mid-range punch into the top-end means better overall balance... this means the car is easier to drive on the street and on the circuit. You don't have to constantly be in the exact proper gearing and drive to maintain engine rpms in a small range... shifting down, shifting up, shifting down, etc. Just hit the gas and you'll get acceleration.

If you've never had the joy of experiencing a high power turbocharged car, you're missing out... if you know me, pester me, maybe I'll finish fixing up my 400hp monster and give you a ride :)

I smell rubber

2005-11-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

This story is talking about how some savvy people managed to "figure" out how to disable the anti-skid safety systems for the new Lexus IS sedan. Basically all new cars are starting to have some sort of anti-skid or stability control system to prevent spins and skids.

Basically, you'll be able to drive the car as a raw car. You, no committee of computers to determine what happens to the car. This is great for enthusiasts who want to participate in amateur motorsports or take car control classes. You'll still be able to spin the car and feel what it's like to be a passenger while sitting in the driver's seat.

As I eluded to before in the Mercedes pileup post, car manufacturers know that today's driver sucks at driving. Most people think they're great drivers due to years of experience etc but nope... sorry to break it to ya but you're nowhere near good. That's called average with experience. With many manufacturers switching back to rear wheel drive cars which are much more prone to spinning, I think it's definitely a CYA move since I doubt that the US will ever have more stringent driver licensing and education as in Europe and Asia.

Also, Lexus isn't the only manufacturer that has hidden methods to fully disable vehicle stability systems. I'm sure all car manufacturers either have disabling it either fully available right off the bat or through a "secret" method. I know at least Mercedes and BMW do.

Slamming Mercedes

2005-11-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday on German TV news, Mercedes reps were demoing the new Distronic radar cruise control and safety system with three of their brand new award-winning S-class sedans. Popular Science I think gave them an innovation award. They borked them... slammajamma 3 car smackatola.

After the first car stopped the second was supposed to stop short of the first and the third would stop short of the second. Well... the pics tell the story. OMGBSODESP!!! (Translation for the non-l337, "Oh My Gawd, Blue Screen of Death, Electronic Stability Program")

You gotta remember this is new technology. And what people also forget is that you're still driving the car. Even with all these fancypants electronic aids like stability control, ABS, traction control, etcetc YOU are still responsible for driving the car and the laws of physics still apply.

That's why they say put your foot on the brake just in case. I think it gives some people a false sense of security and overconfidence... that leads to bonehead manuevers and accidents.

I think new car technology is great... but definitely some of it is more gadgety than useful. I wonder... is it even worthwhile to impress chicks with? "Hey baby, check out my infrared camera"

Attack of the whut??

2005-11-16T17:00:00.000-05:00

Well, in this time of severe FCC fascism, it seems pretty much impossible for a show to have some fun with itself and truly poke fun. It seems after the firing of the former founder of the G4 network, G4TV is finally getting some decent guests, interesting information and making a good effort at attracting and keeping their audience.

All of those of you that like tech, gadgets, computers, internet, and games... This was supposed to be the cable network for you. Unfortunately, it had so much suck for so long after they "absorbed" (it wasn't a merger really) that I think concoct finally decided to pump some effort and $$ into it. They're airing shows like Call for Help again (the new girl is cute!) and Attack of the Show is finally becoming a bit more hip and fun rather than just posing.

This Tuesday's episode was friggin great... Probably gave people at the FCC and Comcast heart attacks right there. One of the opening segments was "the Lush" where it was pretty much an excuse for the hosts to drink. I recall that for some reason earlier, hosts including former host Kevin Rose weren't allowed to drink on air. WTF? So this ep, Sarah and Kevin are slamming Irish car bombs (Bailey's & Jameson in Guiness, it's actually pretty good) and Sarah shows Kevin a drinking game where you're supposed to not sink the beer glass in a pitcher of beer. Well, Kevin P just sank it on purpose and started chugging from the whole pitcher.

Another segment was this parody by the Bing Bong Brothers. They're mocking "The Whisper Song" by the Ying Yang Twins(?). No, that link is not work safe... it says the word "penis" a whole lot. Heck, the original song isn't work safe either.

Still friggin hilarious. I think I might use the line next time we play, "I dare you to use this horrible pickup line!" Or maybe not, that'd either be an amazing icebreaker that gets a huge laugh or a giant punch in the face.

I SO NY-d this

2005-11-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

Well, more news about the Sony "rootkit" software is out there lately, including some more stuff regarding Sony's official stance as well as consumer and industry reactions.

For those of you not in the know, a Windows software expert as well as FServ, a major anti-virus company have both confirmed that playing a SonyBMG copy-protected music CD on your Windows PC will forcibly install damaging software on your PC without your knowledge or ability to remove it without borking Windows.

Basically, it gets itself into the very guts Windows and was hidden from anti-virus, anti-spyware, and most security programs. It's pretty much undetectable outside of using a rootkit detector software and you had no idea you even loaded the software! Computer Associates blacklists the "crippleware" and lists it as a trojan horse as does Sophos. Articles with more details and links at VNU and The Register.

Now, news is that the Sophos anti-virus corporation has found a new virus 'in the wild' that takes advantage of Sony's "rootkit" hiding files to hide the virus. This is following news of the remarks of President of Sony BMG's global digital business division, Thomas Hesse. He said, "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" Umm... yeah, I think I care about my computer working properly and not have stuff installed on it that I don't know about nor can't remove. So a lawyer suddenly sees an opportunity to make lots of money here and files a class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers in California.
UPDATE: Apparently there's also a class action coming out of New York as well.

Honestly, most recording artists are appalled when they were told what their CDs have done and many of them apologize even though they aren't responsible for the actions of their publishers. So do you still support the record industry? If you do, go join Jack Thompson in his idiotic crusade against video games. Maybe you too will be disbarred for your stupidity! Bing Jordan, co-founder of Electronic Arts said something very interesting on G4TV.com this week. He compared video games to jazz, movies, and TV. They weren't seen as art forms originally, but those people that grew up with them definitely appreciated them. I definitely see his point.

Some people have suggested that we boycott Sony electronics. Personally, it's fairly easy for me to boycott Sony electronics products, its the media that's difficult. They don't really have anything compelling to purchase... their consumer electronics products aren't standouts compared their competitors and I don't want a PSP. I already own a PSTwo but they lose money on those. I'm probably going to end up with an XBOX360 anywho. They do have their hands in a lot of the movie industry and they're pushing Blu-ray which again will stop you from copying/ripping your DVDs for your own use.

Fill 'er up

2005-11-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

Well, ULI has recently released the results of a survey detailing consumer attitudes and driving habits. It basically tells you crap that you probably could have figured out with common sense and some experience if you've lived or talked to people that have lived in other areas of the country.

Basically, ULI's survey says a bunch of things like, more people in the East (Northeast is more accurate) are less reliant on cars and thus less likely to buy a fuel efficient vehicle. If you're one of the millions of people that have ever commuted to work a job in NYC, you know you want to avoid driving around New York if you want to get to work on time consistently. The mass transit systems in other areas, like Atlanta are pretty much sucky, so people will see a car of their own as the only way to get around. It especially makes sense if you're in a rural or suburban area... DUH!!!

I bet if other cities had the need and resources to build a similar mass transit system to the one in NYC, they would to reduce congestion. I can't imagine what it'd be like if even a quarter of the people that commute into the city suddenly all drove in. NYC is space-limited so it is a bit easier to develop a transit system so that's the other hurdle to overcome. A city like LA or Chicago with their spread out urban and suburban area, a cohesive transit system would be very difficult to create. At this point, urban planners just give up... sad really.

It's also obvious that with recent surge in gas prices people are a lot more conscious of fuel efficency when buying a new car. And because many of them drive alone to work because they pretty much have to (a car pool isn't exactly easy when you live in the middle of nowhere) it's a big concern. I know a lot of people at Mercedes USA that drive 60+ miles just to get to work.

One thing that they don't mention is the lack of sense a lot of people have when choosing their new "fuel-efficent" cars. Many people think that buying a gas-electric hybrid makes great sense since they're using less fuel. I think maybe they forgot to factor in the added cost of the hybrid model? I guess the same goes for the diesels but that's much less severe usually.

You generally pay at least $5k more for a hybrid versus your standard gasoline car. The math just doesn't add up. You'll have to spend quite a lot on gas for very long time (well over 10 years!) to come out on top. So, not really worth it to save money on fuel costs.

Instead, it does make sense to sell it for the other reasons, like the new technology in most hybrid cars and the trim package with the extra power that some hybrids offer. I wouldn't buy a Honda Civic Hybrid at all over a fully-loaded regular Civic since there's no incentive other than being "green." However, the Toyota Prius would be a tougher choice since it does have a very nice nav screen and good space layout etc over a Corolla or Matrix. A RX400h luxury SUV hybrid with the benefit of extra power and performance makes sense in the luxury market where people are willing to drop ~$5k over the fully-loaded gas model for 'all the bells and whistles.'

Like I mentioned before, motorcycles are insanely fuel efficient when compared with cars, even the most gas-guzzling Harley gets better gas mileage than your Civic. If it wasn't so dangerous with many idiot drivers here in Jersey, I'd think about taking a nice Ducati mini-Monster to work during the spring and summer with there's no rain. If I do move down to Florida, I'm definitely going to get a license and buy a nice Monster when I have the money saved up for it. My AWD Talon would still be a great weekend car and for rainy days.

At the Copa... copacabana

2005-11-06T02:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've been back from Brasil only to return to a bad head cold which is still lingering. However, I still haven't really posted pictures or blogged about it yet.

I noticed a variety of very interesting things down there. Well, can't say there's a lack of cars... traffic was horrendous on many occassions. Though the cars and trucks are small in general, VW and GM cars minicars being the most popular, the lack of roadway and mass amounts of vehicles made traffic jams commonplace. It's no wonder why people typically eat late (9pm-ish). It takes them friggin forever to get home usually. It's not like they have too much of a choice in their commutes.

My uncle wants to get together with a motorcycle supplier in Taiwan and start importing them. I can definitely see a potential to it... but I think the window may be small. If mass transit infrastructure is established, opportunities may drop severely. Then again, it may not... Taiwan still sees a very high demand for scooters and motorcycles. It may end up in a similar situation in the larger cities of Brasil.

The majority of cars and trucks are either flex-fuel (Alcohol & gas) or diesel. Fuel was indeed expensive even though alcohol was significantly cheaper than gasoline. And of course, a motorcycle or scooter is great on gas (even those crotch-rockets get insane mpg). Also due to the warmer temperatures even in the south of Brasil in Foz du Iguacu, it doesn't really get that cold to really hinder use of alcohol as a main source of fuel.

Well, I did visit a few places and was able to try out my new Panasonic digicam. Unfortunately, I suck at teh photography so, but I got off my lazy butt and put a small gallery up. I definitely need to doctor the brightness and contrast on some pics so bear with me for now and you'll see updates... for now my crap photos are there.

EDIT 11/6: I've updated my web gallery so it should be pretty good considering I can't keep my hand steady... even with image stabilization on my camera!

http://www.albertko.com/albertko/index.htm l

All love to my family down there for taking care of me during my visit.

DRMdependence NOW!

2005-11-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I just wrote to my Congresspeoples. One of the few times I've ever done so. It seems in the wake of Sony's DRM rootkit fiasco covered in Mark's blog here :
Link to Mark's blog at Sysinternals

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) aka the entertainment industry, is trying to once again take your Tivo, VCR, and TV tuner cards away from you as well as killing the video iPod or PMP, among other things.

Link to BoingBoing's article on more Hollywood shenanigans.

Friggin bastards won't stop until the ruin the tech industry for their own gain. Funny thing is, all these laws and regulations do nothing to hurt actual pirates. They'll continue to find workarounds and hacks. I know some people out there listen to the commericials and news from the entertainment industry that say that people are criminals and are stealing their content. Thing is the reason why it's illegal is wholly debatable... these people they're holding up as examples are not criminals! They're victims of an unholy crusade of a dying business model to cling to life.

I love my Tivo and the ability to take control of my TV habits away from the schedule nazis. It's sad that DirecTV is no longer associating themselves with Tivo and the features that they bring. I actually waste less time on TV than ever, makes my life better for sure.

If I have a DVD and want to rip it to my hard drive to view on my iPod, I'd like not to be a "criminal" thankyouverymuch.

Podunkadunk

2005-11-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

I was surfing through the news today when I saw an article on PRNewswire talking about the new video iPod from Apple. It jogged my memory about a conversation I had with a few friends about it and other Personal Media Players that are on the market now.

The company basically stated a few things that Apple could do to improve their new product. They listed a bigger hard drive, a bigger screen, and make improvements on the video technology for the device itself. They also commented that Apple needs to make a greater effort to get on the good side of the movie industry.

Now, if you've ever heard Steve Jobs talk about the music industry, you know he pretty much despises them and the greed pervasive throughout the record industry. One of the reasons he started iTunes was to attempt to break it. I think he's still got a long ways to go and the road isn't getting easier now with the addition of the movie and TV industry on the bandwagon.

The level of greed and utter evil in the record industry is outright insane. If you think you're supporting your favorite artist by buying their records, you're not. You're feeding the fat record moguls. The record managers complain that the few cents that an artist see for each iTunes song sale is too much! They want to see the same percentages they get from CD sales, which would reduce the cut for the artists to a single cent in most cases. (Go see their concerts!)

And you can't forget the movie industry in all this. They're the new gorilla that Apple has to deal with. Jobs says he wants to use it to break the movie industry in a similar way that iTunes has changed the recording industry. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as Apple starts selling their videos on iTunes, the movie industry immediately comes back and says that the current pay structure for DVDs is too cheap to apply to iTunes video. Would that be greedy??? Heck yeah...

This brings me to my first issue with the video iPod. I know that Apple really isn't trying too hard to innovate with it, it's more of an evolutionary step for them. It is smart business sense as he probably knows it will take a while for the movie industry to buckle a bit as they see more and more people demand and pay for digital content when it's priced right.

Personally, I would love to see the iPod have the bigger screen and larger storage and better video implementation. I want to be able to take TV shows and movies that are on my computer and drop them right into my iPod with a big nice screen like the Sony PSP without having to use Quicktime or some other program alter the videos for playback. I think that's a bit of wishful thinking, but I think it's a nice feature to have with the iPod, even if I don't use it frequently. Once podcasting becomes more video oriented, I think it'll make me more interested in buying. Especially if the price and looks and portability at least stay as good as they currently are.

State of the unions

2005-11-01T11:39:00.000-05:00

Well, it is probably obvious to a lot of people that the American... or rather the global auto industry (with a few notable exceptions) isn't doing so well. Especially in the face an energy crisis, GM and Ford are losing out big.

After hearing more news lately regarding the situations at German carmakers including Mercedes, it seems idiocy is the problem. I don't think you have to be an industry buff to know that lately, Benz sucks sour frog butt in quality. And considering my soon-to-be-deleted-position dealt with quality issues, well... you now know my position on my own company.

That's just my opinion but it's generally shared by many people including the consumer populace, well... that's not good. Sure, Daimler is better off than their cross-town rivals GM & Ford. But I think it's a matter of time before GM has to declare bankruptcy to restructure and all DaimlerChrysler has is a bit more time to fix their crap before they follow suit. So why do I think that we have this problem?

I'm not terribly sure if this is true in other industries or if it's generally true in the corporate world, but a lot of companies have no clue at all what their own employees do and contribute. The management is almost delusional in their perception of the state of matters. I'm sure that's part of the reason why the debacles with the United Auto Workers union is in the current state it is. Add this to the fact to inefficiency and unwillingness to listen to their own employees, well you can understand why failure is the only option. There's many paths to failure, and it seems only Toyota seems to be doing what it takes to reward their employees and make their company excel. Wonder of wonders... listening to your own workers!

Strangely enough, I think any corporate body including the U.S. encounters this lack of communication between leaders and consituents. Every single time it leads to problems. In the corporate world, political world, even the religious world with the Christian church, it still holds true. The foot can't say to the eye, that it doesn't need it... same analogy applies here and elsewhere. It doesn't take a Messiah to figure that one out.

Crappy thing is, in the world today, the leader doesn't pay the price. The people do.

VV31c0m3!

2005-11-01T03:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog, where I spout about whatever that is that's on my mind currently: news, auto industry happenings, new cars, new gadgets, new things in my life... whatever suits my fancy.

I'll try to update fairly often and usually nothing about me since I'm severely boring and wholly idiotic.