Ringing in the New Year!

Because it will be 2017 tomorrow, let's ring in the new year with:

The Ten Best Cars For 2017!
(in no particular order)

10.
Ram 1500 Rebel
 
(credit: Kelly Blue Book)

An off-roading monster that has a massive 5.7 liter engine rumbling under the hood; the Rebel is one of the best trucks to come out of Detroit.

9.
Nissan GTR/Skyline/Skyline GTR?

(credit: nissanusa.com)
Whatever this thing is called, it does 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, and has four wheel drive, so it is popular (as the  picture suggests) in snowy places (such as New England). The engineers at Nissan are so precise with manufacturing the GT-R(?) that the factory is hermetically sealed.

8.
Chevrolet Corvette

(credit: caranddriver.com)
America's sports car, looking good for the first time since 1973! It is pretty fast too. Its V8 is enough motivation to keep up with a Dodge Viper. The Z07 package gives it a supercharger, making it even faster.

7.
Alfa Romeo Giulia

(credit: www.alfaromeousa.com)
A sports sedan at its very finest, the Giulia has a 505 horsepower bi-turbo under the hood, that can scream from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds. Oh, did I mention that this is the quadrifoglio version? Yay! even faster.

6.
Ford GT

(credit: caranddriver.com)
The GT is back! It is now made out of carbon fiber and not 40 inches tall. The Ford has pushrod suspension, and a new seven speed gearbox, for those times when you really need to blast through tunnels, so your exhaust note echoes.

5.
Dodge Challenger GT

(credit: caranddriver.com)
This GT is new, unlike the aforementioned GT. A Challenger with all-wheel drive. This will be great in the snow, but (rather unfortunately) it doesn't have a V8. When (or if) it comes with one, I think that it will be a very well selling car.

4.
Lamborghini Centinario
 
(credit: www.lamborghini.com)
Only forty will be built, as coupes or roadsters. The Lamborghini celebrates Ferruccio Lamborghini's 100th birthday, which in the words of Car and Driver, "who did not celebrate his own 100th birthday because he’s been dead for 23 years". 

3.
Subaru BRZ

(credit: www.autoblog.com)
A fun, light sports car, created jointly by Toyota and Subaru. It gets a few tweaks this year, like a better transmission, LED headlights, and a refit engine. So go and be 2Blue2Subaru.

2.
Dodge Durango

(credit: caranddriver.com)
What we needed was another vehicle named after a place in Mexico. The new Durango looks sharper than ever thanks to its black grille. The inside looks comfortable, for all those road trips that you will take in your new Dodge SUV.

1.
Bugatti Chiron

(credit: caranddriver.com)

Umm... The car generates 1,500 horsepower from a sixteen cylinder engine. It is also capable of 261 mph. This car is the successor of the Veyron, a car synonymous with being the fastest around, so it has (in the words of Captain Sisko) "mighty big shoes to fill".

Thank you to Car and Driver, for information about all of the above cars. Also thank you to my readers for reading and making comments.

Happy New Year

-Kailas

Christmas Edition!

Because Christmas is tomorrow, I thought it only fair to feature one of the best Christmas presents! It involves cars, of course.

Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game
(I tried to put a picture of one of my creations)


This is a great game. You get to make a car company, and make cars to nearly your exact specifications. The cars go from cargo vans to supercars. Every aspect of the engine is tweakable, I made a 12 liter turbo V12 engine that develops 1400 horsepower and 1200 lb ft of torque! This is possibly the best game ever, right next to BeamNG.drive. Both are on Steam, and make a great present. In Automation, you can tweak the wheels, the suspension, the transmission, the chassis, just to name a few. If anyone buys this game, I challenge you to make a 9 second quarter mile car. You must use a carburetted V8. With BeamNG, share your fastest lap around the sky loop (the nascar track) on the GridMap. If anyone already has this game, or is planning to get it, you can post screenshots on the Wall O' Fame.

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned! 

Oh, and, merry Christmas.

(credit: www.youtube.com)

Wall O' Fame and Shame

This isn't a post in the traditional sense, but I think you will like it anyway. I have created a Google Doc titled "Wall O' Fame and Shame". The names are pretty self-explanatory. On the wall of fame, you comment, link to, put up a picture of, write a blurb about, etc. your favorite cars. On the wall of shame, you do the same, just with cars you don't like. Click here for the link.




(credit: upload.wikimedia.org)

Happy posting
- Your friendly neighborhood blogger

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned! 

Ricers!

This is a special post, this time it will be about:

Ricers!
(there are too many different types to put a picture)

I can understand the desire to have a very powerful car, for a low price. However, buying a cheap body kit, rims/hubcaps that don't spin, a tin can exhaust, and a turbo that isn't actually connected to anything will probably cost you more than just buying a Dodge Charger.
The bottom line is, no matter what you do to your Civic, it will always be slow, and not a race car (unless you are VERY, VERY determined).
Certain types of ricers are more annoying than others, like the MUST LOWER SUSPENSION MORE! people. Or the let's over-rev my horrible sounding JDM-something to make it seem like my car is a Lamborghini.
I don't like truck ricers either. 33 inch steel wheels are very heavy, and don't actually increase off-roading capability. A super wide (poorly put together) exhaust stack doesn't help matters.

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned! 

Volkswagen Beetle

time for another post, here it is,

The Volkswagen Beetle

(credit: www.autoblog.com)

The Beetle... The number one example of classic doesn't always mean good. For starters, the Beetle is rear engined, not mid engined like a Porsche, rear engined. That means that it has the engine in the back, but it goes over the rear axle. This doesn't  improve handling, it just improves the chances of someone rear-ending you, and then you needing a new engine.
 I don't like the styling on this car of the people, it looks like a cheap russian copy of the porsche 911, put through the dryer, when it specifically said that the car is for dry-clean. I also don't like how people put fake eyelashes on  the top of the headlights.
Despite claiming to be sporty, the Bug does 0-60 in 7.6 seconds, half a second slower than a minivan.
The Beetle comes with an option of  two six speed transmissions, and I fail to see the point of a six-speed in  a car that can't do 60 in under five seconds, it just isn't necessary.

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned! 

Nissan Leaf

Time for another post, here it is,

The Nissan Leaf

(credit: caranddriver.com)
I don't like the styling on the Leaf. The back is almost wedge shaped, for one. The windows look like leaves, I really hope that wasn't intentional.
It claims to get 107 miles to the charge. Keep in mind, a regular gasoline car gets over 300 miles to a tank.
The Leaf generates 107 horsepower, pitiful even for an electric hatchback. That would be enough to overtake on a gasoline hatchback, but the Leaf has an extra 1000 pounds on the frame, making it VERY slow.
The Nissan (with the highest trim package) goes for 37,655! For that, I can get a Dodge Challenger R/T with the 392 HEMI engine! Isn't one of the upsides of driving a hatchback the low price? I will never understand why people will buy the Leaf. To actually save money from the Leaf, you will need to keep it for seven years. This does not include repairs, tires, oil, etc. It doesn't seem worth it.
Nissan issued instructions on how to stay safe if your Leaf crashes. You would think that turning on an electric cutoff  switch, and using the emergency kit you have in your car wouldn't need instructions. I hope that Nissan doesn't issue a manual titled "How to Use The Steering Wheel".

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One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned!

Tesla Model X

Time for another post, here it is,

The Tesla Model X

(credit: caranddriver.com)

First of all, the X is a crossover. As you probably know, I don't like crossovers. I especially don't like electric ones, it just goes to show that it is a lousy poser attempt at an off road vehicle.
 There is nothing about the styling I like. Tesla just seems to be innovating for the sake of innovation. For example, are the gull-wing doors really necessary? They don't look good in the slightest, they are heavy, and probably took the engineers an extra month to figure out all of the problems gull-wing doors would cause on a crossover. I agree with MotorTrend's statement that the X looks like a cat, but with wheels instead of paws. The body shape makes the Tesla look like a crossed-over Prius.
For a sporty car, the X sure weighs a lot, it's curb weight is over 5,000 pounds. The range isn't that great, it's only 290 miles. A normal car probably gets that on a full tank of gas, but that is a manufacturer's estimate, so the actual range is probably much lower.
The price is quite high, the mid-level (the one you will actually buy) is $95,000! For that kind of money, I can buy a Dodge Viper GTC!

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned!

I Need Your Help

Time for another post (finally), here it is,

The...
I think I have run out of cars I really hate. I really need your help, please suggest cars, and let's keep this blog running!

Happy Blogging


(credit: upload.wikimedia.org)

Fiat 500L

Time for another post, here it is,
The Fiat 500L


(credit: www.caranddriver.com)
Hmmm, where to start... The 500L has lots of the same problems as the Countryman. This is a case of fattening and stretching out a toaster. The whole concept of the 500 is that it was a VERY cheap little car, because it was first produced after World War 2, when metal was scarce. So, we get this monstrosity of a car which is like the actor that played Kevin in the Home Alone movies... grown up. So, I am saying that a while ago, it was cute because it was little and nice, then it grew up into an absolute bum.

The 500L's color choices and names are well, just plain bad. The colors include "beatbox green" and "heavy metal grey". I found a picture with all of the colors here.

If cars could have politically correct names (like how being a garbage man is now called "sanitation engineer") the Fiat would be a "power challenged" car. This "Failed Italian Automotive Technology" has a 1.6 liter turbo engine. This sewing machine of an engine produces only 160 horsepower, that's nothing for a vehicle of it's size and weight. The auto transmission is very slow to shift, just adding to the powertrain problems!

The Interior is very cheaply made, Car and Driver says that "the interior is poorly assembled and full of cheap materials".

Speaking of  Car and Driver, their instrumented test started with "Apathetically going where others have gone before." So, I want to try this: Fiat... the final frontier... These are the voyages of the station wagon 500L, it's 5 year mission to discover strange new soccer practices, to seek out new snacks that fall on the floor and the resulting life, To apathetically go where others have gone before!

The only good thing about this monstrosity is that less and less of them are being imported to the U.S., last year, Fiat only sold 8,000, 37% down from 2014.

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog a week, so stay tuned!

Honda Ridgeline

Time for another post, here it is,

The Honda Ridgeline

(credit: caranddriver.com)

I'm pretty sure the thinking behind the Ridgeline went like this:

"Honda should make a truck!"

"Agreed".

"Our truck should be the Honda Odyssey on a Pilot platform, with the Odyssey's D-pillars chopped out!"

So, if you buy a honda Ridgeline, you will be driving a modified minivan on a pseudo-SUV chassis (kind of, its a unibody). Earlier models had these strange things running from the C-pillar to the top of the bed:

(credit: partly me, partly Motor Trend)

The red oval shows the rather odd bed. The old Ridgelines look like D-pillar chopped Honda Pilots of the same era. The thing that is really repulsive is the striking resemblance between the Honda and the Subaru Baja! Are they brothers?

The Ridgeline can't come in a V8? This is 2016! It is standard for full size trucks to have a V8, even the entry-level trucks have V8's as an option. It can't come in a manual transmission, which is such a disadvantage, because it is preferable to an auto, especially in trucks. The V6 Honda has under the hood isn't powerful for a truck, it generates only 280 horsepower. The 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5.7 liter V8 engine, not the really huge 6.2 liter, generates 395 horsepower. 

I doubt the Ridgeline has any off-road capability, it is on tires better suited to suburbia then to the black rock desert. The truck has a trunk inside the bed. This may be strange, but what Honda has done, is to raise the floor of the bed, making the bed shallower, for the silly trunk and a spare tire. Isn't one of the purposes of a truck to have a large bed? Google Honda Ridgeline trunk for a picture of this. The tailgate opens both on a horizontal axis, as well as a vertical axis. What's wrong with opening vertically? If you are tight for space, a horizontally opening bed is the last thing you need.

Ending on a happier note, the Dodge Power Wagon is back! Dodge, because they are awesome, are answering the F-150 Raptor pack, with the Ram 1500 Rebel TRX!

Do you have any thoughts about cats? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cats (if possible) a week, so stay tuned!

Hyundai Veloster

Another blog post, here it is:
The Hyundai Veloster

(credit: https://www.hyundaiusa.com/veloster/)
OK, first things first, I am against this whole "liftback" body style. Readers of my blog will know that I strongly oppose the melding of two vehicles. However, the Veloster is a combination of (possibly) hatchback and what looks like fastback? The Veloster also has 4 doors. This is rather weird, because hatchbacks (for the remainder of this post, I will treat it as a hatchback, because it basically is) have an odd number of doors. This means that it only has a rear door on the right side. It also has "star trek doors (or in this case star trek door)" which I found out actually do have handles, at the very back of the window. For those of you who don't know, the slits underneath the lights are brake coolers. Because the people who buy the Veloster are the same people who drink strange new tofu drinks, shop on Etsy, and go exactly 65 miles per hour, (even in the left lane) they will not be doing any racing. Body color rims are a little flashy for my taste. These wheels overblows this, two tone body color rims are incredibly flashy, maybe even gaudy, especially when the body color parts go down the spokes. Does it really need 5-lug nut, hubcap-less wheels? It has some of the faux-sporty feel that the Nissan Juke has. I really wish it didn't have the sporty feel, because when you get into the car, you start thinking "ooooh, sporty!". Then, when you actually start it, and drive it, he Veloster's acceleration feels like you are in a radio-flyer wagon rolling down a gentle slope, pushed by a neighborhood child, because it has a 1.6 liter engine and 134 horsepower.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars (if possible) a week, so stay tuned!

Ford C-Max

Time for another blog post, here it is,
The Ford C-Max

(credit: www.caranddriver.com)
The Ford C-Max was possibly created by the intern at Ford at 4:00 on a Friday. I mean, it has two grilles, and I'm pretty certain that they don't have a function. It also looks a little crossover-y, I think Ford is now making crossovers to any fraction between hatchback and SUV. Will this mean that we can get 3/4 crossover, 1/4 SUV? The C-Max has a CVT, you can look at my other posts to find out what one is, and how it is bad for the engine. The awful Ford also does 0-60 in 8.8 seconds, so overtaking will be tough. It doesn't have very many horses under the hood, only 141, which is the reason for the tragically slow acceleration. The C-Max  is on such skinny tires, they almost look like space savers! Penpie, and perhaps Bloggie will remember that spare tires used to be full size. It wasn't an option on your car to get a spare tire, it came with one, and it wasn't a donut. It can also come as a hybrid, and I really don't like hybrids, as you will know from my Toyota Prius post. It has such a silly name too, "C-Max". I wish cars continued to have really cool names like "Firebird", "Cougar", and even "El Camino".

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars (if possible) a week, so stay tuned!

Chevrolet Sonic

Time for another blog post, here it is,
The Chevrolet Sonic

(credit: www.upload.wikimedia.com)
The Chevrolet Sonic is... how do I put this, strange. It would be questionable to buy this. The top-of-the-line model comes with a turbocharged I-4, this is understandable, it is not a very heavy car. However, the standard comes with a larger normally aspirated I-4 that produces the same power. I have never said "Yes, I want a smaller turbocharged engine, rather that a normally aspirated engine that produces the same power". For those of you who don't understand, a turbocharger has to "spool up" before the car can start to move. This means that the car, even if you put the pedal to the floor, will not move for a second or so. This activity is known as "turbo lag". I would also like to bring up the fact that it is a miserable little toaster! It is funny to see a Sonic going down the road. Because they are so tiny, and relatively tall, they look like they are going really fast (when in reality the car is going 10 under the limit). If you look closely, you can you see that there are no rear door handles. How do they open? Did Chevrolet implement star trek doors, so when you stand in front of the Sonic, they open themselves?

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars a week, so stay tuned!

Car Personalities

There has been chatter in the comments section about cars having personalities. So, I bring to you, car personalities!

• Lamborghini Aventador

(credit: www.autoblog.com)
Bloggie says that: "The Aventador is a brash rich kid, not sure what to do with all that money".

• Pontiac Trans Am

(credit: www.pinthiscars.com)
Penpie's son in law says, "The Pontiac Trans Am is the guy who is in a heavy metal band".

• Porsche 944

(credit: upload.wikimedia.org)
Penpie says: "The 944 is a techno loving art student (with a trust fund)".

More will come soon, so if your idea didn't get mentioned, don't feel bad.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars a week, so stay tuned!

Please Comment!

Tomorrow, I will be doing a blog post. However, I need your help. I need you to write a comment in the comments (click "xComments:") please comment a car, and what you think it's personality is. I got the idea when people thought of car personalities in the Mini Countryman post. The more comments the better, I would be thrilled to see five comments. I will do this idea again in the near future, so don't feel down if your comment doesn't get mentioned.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars a week, so stay tuned!

Mini Countryman

Time for another post, here it is:
The Mini Countryman

(credit: www.autoblog.com)
This is the complete opposite of a Mini. The Morris Mini Minor is my one of my favorite English sports cars, and I like the Minor because it is little, cute, and is a very capable rally car, plus, the Union Jack on the roof! The Countryman is none of those things. The new Mini grille looks like it has a constant frown, paraphrasing from Top Gear: (in a sad Richard Hammond voice) "I hate being a Mini! All the big cars pick on me and steal my petrol money! And last night a dog peed on my wheel!  I think Morris went downhill when they were purchased by BMW. It is also a crossover, frequent readers of my blogs know my opinion about crossovers: https://badpopularcars.blogspot.com. This car almost looks pudgy and nonathletic. The Morris Mini Minor was also a likeable car. Mr. Bean ran over that Reliant Robin in one. The Countryman? not so much. Mr. Bean would probably run over the Countryman with his original Mini (or attempt to). The Countryman wouldn't do very well in a FIA style rally either. With a 1.6 liter I-4 engine, the John Cooper Works model (top of the line) produces 202 horsepower and weighs 3263 lbs. It does 0-60 in 6.8 seconds, the top of the line Toyota Camry, which has a V-6, costs less, and is only front-wheel drive beats the expensive Countryman by one whole second in 0-60 times. Also due to the Countryman's 12.4 gallon gas tank, not only would it run out of gas, The Camry (which is not even a rally car, by the way) would for sure beat the Countryman in a rally.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars a week, so stay tuned!

I'm Sorry I Missed a Post

Sorry there was no second post this week. I have been very busy and haven't had the time. I hope you understand. Ending on a much happier note, happy blogging!

(credit: upload.wikimedia.org)
Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars a week, so stay tuned!

Subaru Forester

Time for another blog post, here it is,
The Subaru Forester

(credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org)
This is the biggest fail in Subaru (since the Baja). The Forester is a crossover now, and frequent readers of my blog know my opinion about crossovers: The Argument Against Crossovers. The XT comes with a 250 horsepower turbocharged Flat-4 engine, which is an engine where, the pistons are in two horizontal banks. It also has a continuously variable transmission. The XT comes with a dashboard touchscreen. This might be a problem if you are on a bumpy or dirt road, because if you hit a bump when you are calling someone for instance, you could turn off traction control, electronic stability control, anti-lock braking systems, or all three! Unlike other cars, the Forester has always been questionable, it started it's production run as a strange cross of SUV and who-knows-what. A Subaru Outback (when it was a wagon) could do all of the things the Forester could, all while not looking like the intern at Subaru designed it. The Forester is aimed at those people who envision their lives as a L.L. Bean catalog. In fact, it came in an L.L. Bean trim package (plaid flannel shirt not included). The Subaru also comes with a horrible optional feature, EyeSight. It plays an alarm when the light changes or when you change lanes. EyeSight also does automatic braking, which is a pain, because if you come slightly too close to someone that you are overtaking, the brakes will activate, possibly causing the person behind you to have a 75 mile-per-hour rear-end collision. So, not really a safety feature in the slightest.

I am also starting a new blog, A Good Popular Blog about Good Popular Cars!

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

One post on this blog, one post on A Good Popular Blog About Good Popular Cars a week, so stay tuned!

Toyota Prius

New post, here it is:

The Toyota Prius

(credit: http://media.caranddriver.com/)
I have disliked the Prius since it came out, I really don't like the concept of having a car with a gasoline engine and an electric motor for extra power. Once again, why don't you drive a turbocharged car, that way you could perhaps get more power from a smaller engine, which also means less emissions, and better gas mileage (and also people won't laugh at you). The performance on this bucket of bolts is really tragic as well. It does 0-60 in 10.5 seconds, meaning that you will not overtake anything faster than me running. The styling on the Prius is, how do I put this; odd. This new generation especially looks like the new guy at Toyota styled it. This car has the appearance of a cat when it is about to pounce on some poor, unsuspecting chipmunk (Penpie will know what I am talking about). When your cat does this, it is cute. When your car does this, it is merely sad. This monstrosity doesn't come in all-wheel drive, which should be really easy to manufacture in a car with two engines. In fairness to female athletes, "you throw like a girl!" should be replaced with "you throw like someone who drives a Prius!"

Bonus Post!
The 1957 Trabant
This is a post requested by Bloggie,
 

(credit: blog.hemmings.com)

This thing looks like a cross between a Morris Mini Minor and a '55 Chevrolet Nova, but done horribly. The inside looks like it has a tuk-tuk interior, possibly because it came from East Germany after World War II. The thing is, old cars are only good if they are... well, good. 

Berlin also had a BMW factory that was divided into the east section, and they colored the blue squares in the BMW logo red, and called themselves "EMW". They basically made lousy copies of BMWs.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Scion Xb

Time for another blog post here it is:
The Scion Xb

(credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org)
This has a lot of the same problems as the Nissan Cube. Anyways, it has several styling features that are really terrible. Why is the bumper 80% of the front? It looks like something an ex-Soviet state would produce out of old tin cans and scrap metal. Also, It is a Scion, not exactly known for quality, reliability, or really anything good. For instance, The ride is very stiff, the gauges are very hard to read, and it accelerates like a 'barrow with 2 wheels loose. It is also incredibly loud when inside; if this piece of Tupperware wasn't bad enough. The Xb is also this weird combination of minivan and hatchback, frequent readers of my blog will know my feeling about mixing two vehicles, it is the opposite of  a win-win, it is a lose-lose (read more here: http://badpopularcars.blogspot.com)-. This car's styling looks like someone described a Toyota Sienna over the phone to someone, and didn't realize that the other person didn't know what a modern car looks like. The BOX-ter can also come in some really horrible colors, like solar yellow, or hot lava orange. The fist generation Scion Xb also got a "poor" rating in side crash tests (possibly because it had no side airbags). The Xb is called the Toyota bB in Japan and it can come in all-wheel drive, and because we are only American, we only get front-wheel drive. This is also a popular "riced out" car (if you don't know what I am talking about google "ricer").

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Thank You!

Since I posted the 1000 page-view special, the stats have been off the charts. At the time of posting this, I have over 1100 page-views. Thanks, everyone.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome all respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

1000 Page-views!

This is a very special post! This is for 1000 page-views. May I present the top ten cars of all time!
#10

(credit: www.youtube.com)
The Lamborghini Aventador

Lamborghini always has the fastest, loudest, and best looking sports cars, and the Aventador is no exception. It has a 6.4 liter 691 horsepower engine. It also has a 7 speed transmission which makes it go very fast down the dragstrip (or street).

#9

(credit: www.ford.com)
The Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang has always been a classic. In case you haven't read it, here is my post on the Mustang: http://badpopularcars.blogspot.com. In fact, there has been some exciting news about the Shelby GT500 coming back for 2018. Car and Driver took a spy photo of the prototype.

(credit: www.caranddriver.com)
Read more about it here: http://www.caranddriver.com/news

#8

(credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/)
 BMW M6
The 6 series is BMW's super-car. The M6 has a 4.4 liter V8 engine that develops 560 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. It can seat four, which is unusual for a sports car.

#7

(credit: www.boldride.com)
Pontiac GTO
I love old cars, and this is no exception. This is actually one of my dream cars, and I like all of the features of the car from the BF Goodrich T/A Radial tires to the cool paint job. The engine is a 5.8 liter V8 and it can come in a four speed manual.

#6

(credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/)
MGb GT V8
This is an excellent example of putting a big American V8 in a British sports car. The MGb GT V8 is probably my favorite classic sports car. It came with a Buick V8 and was a competitor to the Aston Martin DB6 for a fraction of the price.

#5

(credit: www.ford.com)
Ford F series
Ford's F series has been in production since 1948. A Ford F series quad-cab is all purpose because it can haul things, carry people, carry their stuff, and it can carry things in the bed too. You can also get it in a V8 HEMI or a V8 diesel.

#4

(credit: www.carsdirect.com)
Subaru WRX STI
The WRX is a very good car for where I live because it has all-wheel drive. It is also very customizeable, this one has gold rims. This works as a everyday car, too. It has room for five(ish) people and has a decent sized trunk as well.

#3

(credit: http://pictures.topspeed.com/)
Dodge Challenger Scat Pack 392 HEMI
This is the pinnacle of muscle cars. It has all-wheel drive, a split grille, a 485 horsepower V8 HEMI and cool badges!

(credit: www.dodge.com)

#2

(credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/)
Ferrari 488 GTB
This is a Ferrari, and Ferraris are just special in some way. Perhaps it is the racing pedigree the brand has. This prancing horse has a 3.9 liter twin turbo V8 that prouduces 661 horsepower as well as 561 pound feet of torque. It comes with a 7 speed dual-clutch transmission.

#1


(credit: www.youtube.com)
Mercedes AMG GT S
This Mercedes produces 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. This is also a Mercedes, so it is very luxurious. The AMG GT is a replacement for the AMG SLS, the only thing is I wish they kept the gull-wing doors!

Thank you Penpie and Bloggie for helping me reach 1000 page-views and being there since the very beginning. Also, thank you to Car and Driver for having stats for a lot of these cars. These cars were listed in a random order, I like them all equally.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome all respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Toyota RAV4 EV

Time for another post, here it is:

The Toyota RAV4 EV

(credit: www.autoblog.com)
This is a post requested by Stephen Buck. The RAV4 EV is an electric vehicle. This creates a  problem, after driving 113 miles, you need to charge it up, which takes about 5 hours. I live in an undisclosed town about that distance from Portland, Maine. Now, Portland is a fine place, but I would not like to be stranded there.  So, If I want to go any further than Portland, I need to wait 5 hours. You could imagine that this would be slightly inconvenient. The RAV4 EV is also a crossover, If you haven't read it, this is my opinion about crossovers: http://badpopularcars.blogspot.com/. Being electric also makes it extremely heavy. The normal Rav4 weighs 3455 pounds, the EV weighs 4032 pounds. Another issue is that if you need fuel in a regular car that runs on gas or diesel, any small town has a gas station, but only major cites have the special chargers needed to charge electric vehicles. What if I am in the middle of  a rural area running out of charge? Life is stressful enough, why do you need to worry about that? It carries 5 of your friends (disclaimer: the friend you get to sit between two adults in the tiny middle seat will no longer be your friend anymore. This may be a good seat for the girl you want to break up with, but don't have the nerve to do it.)

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome all respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Chrysler PT Cruiser

Time for another post,

The Chrysler P.T. Cruiser

(credit: upload.wikimedia.org)
This is a good idea gone bad. It is supposed to look retro and classic, but just looks sad. Why does it come in a convertible? Convertibles are meant to be for Porsches or Lamborghinis, not any old car. Anyway, if you want a car that looks old-fashioned so badly, buy a Morgan. Also, let's not forget that Chrysler classified it as a light truck as an excuse for it's 24 mpg (highway) to meet CAFE restrictions. It also has horrible crash test rating, once again getting away with it because it is a light truck. In fact in 2009, a warning was issued because it was so unsafe. The P.T. Cruiser is also this weird cross of an SUV, a station wagon, and a compact car. This monstrosity doesn't look at all like a 30's fed car anyway.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome all respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Classic Dodge Dart

This is a special post requested by Penpie, looking to buy a Dodge Dart.

The Dodge Dart


(credit: public domain)
So, I love old muscle cars, and the Dodge Dart is no exception. It can come with 10 different engines and 3 different transmissions. The Dart GTS hardtop was made to be a Super Stock drag racer. It runs with a 275 horsepower 340 cui V8 engine and rides on 14 inch wheels. I like the four headlight design, and chrome trim. The Dart was supposed to be a small (for 1960) car that packed a lot of punch for it's size. I would like Dodge to make the Dart a full-bore full-roar muscle car again, they did a good job with the Challenger and Charger, so it is my job and every other car enthusiast to write Dodge and tell them what the Dart used to be! There is plenty of market for muscle cars, they are coming back. The point of the muscle car was a practical, yet very fast car, and now they handle well, so let's see the Dart as a 2 door sedan similar to the Challenger!

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome all respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Smart ForTwo

New day, new post, this time it is the:
Smart ForTwo

(credit: caranddriver.com)
This is unbelievably horrendous! First, the safety; it can't be safe to do 75 mph down the highway in this! You probably should put one of those orange flags that little kids like to put on their trikes so it can be seen over crests. In a regular car, if  you crash, you have a lot of car in front of to protect you. In the SmartCar... that is a different story.
Why would this be a good city car? It has space for one other person and almost no space for that person's stuff. It is very impractical for anybody! The styling is pretty bad, the SmartCar looks like a miserable little toaster, I wouldn't be surprised if near the fog lights, there are browning controls. It is also fairly expensive for not a lot of car, $15,400. I would pay that much to not drive this thing.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome all respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Police Car

This is a special post.
In my town, standard issue police cars are Dodge Chargers. Today, due to ignorance about town fire code (no toasting marshmallows without a permit!) one of these fine vehicles payed me a visit. After I was schooled in fire safety, I got a chance to take a look under this fine vehicle's hood. It had a 5.7 liter HEMI V8 that produced 350 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque. It also has some aftermarket brakes, for obvious reasons. I have to say, the very best part was when the lights came on!

(credit: ME!!!)

Pretty cool, right?

This post was made possible by officer Mike, thank you for showing me the police car.

This post is dedicated to all of the brave officers who keep us safe every day.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Can-Am Spyder

First of two posts this week, here it is,

The Can-Am Spyder

(credit: http://www.michaelhugo.com/)
What you drive says something about you. This says, "I wanted a Kawasaki Ninja, but I don't know how to ride a motorcycle". Readers of my blog know my opinion of the melding of two vehicles, read this: http://badpopularcars.blogspot.com. So, you want a motorcycle as your next vehicle, who doesn't? However, you also need a car. You might be thinking that the Can-Am is the answer to your problems. You would be wrong. The Can-Am defeats the purpose of the motorcycle which as we all know is to look like a badass, it has zero street cred. The Can-Am also defeats the purpose of the car, which is to shuttle people (and their stuff) and your stuff around. Just think about your dog, how he likes to stick his head out of the window of your car; now imagine Rover on the back of the Can-Am. That would give PETA something to think about!
You can argue that the Can-Am is fast, it does 0-60 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds, which is really fast, but for similar money, I can get the Kawasaki Ninja which goes from 0-60 in 2.6 seconds, a brain-meltingly fast time. Another point, why does the back wheel not look the same? I get that a third front wheel would not fit, why don't they make a wheel that looks like the front ones, but is the right size? I haven't mentioned the fact that it is a three-wheeler, and I know another vehicle that is a three-wheeler, the Reliant Robin, a car so bad Mr. Bean hated it.

(credit: www.youtube.com)

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!

Ford Mustang

The special post, here it is,

The Ford Mustang!


(credit: blog.caranddriver.com)
This is one of Ford's greatest masterpieces! It has been the hero in many an american road film, and rightly so. The Mustang has been in production since 1964 and has been going strong ever since. This specific Mustang is the Shelby GT350, and not only does it have a 5.2 liter 526 horsepower 429 pound-feet of torque V8 monster of an engine, it is the first Mustang that can corner well! This is huge news because the Mustang has american muscle on the dragstrip (and street), but it can go around a track with european finesse, something it could not do before. The interior is pretty good as well, here it is:

(credit: www.youtube.com)
it looks really futuristic! I think that it seems rather simple, but sophisticated, because it has lots of extra features, like an inbuilt phone. In fact, I have been in the V6 fastback Mustang, and it is very similar, the V6 just doesn't have red shifter trim or the Shelby Cobra badges.
There it is, the 2017 Ford Mustang GT350.

Do you have any thoughts about cars? What drives you crazy? I welcome any respectful comments so keep it clean!

Bi-weekly posts, so stay tuned!