Keefer Madness

Tony Stewart and Lewis Hamilton Swap Cars at The Glen

// June 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Meant to post this Wednesday night after reading about it. Even the pro’s like to switch it up—a mountain bike in lieu of their typical road bike. The professionals of auto racing are no different. Take NASCAR driver Tony Stewart and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. They got to swap rides for a few laps and it sounds like they enjoyed the crap out of it. It’s got to be a big shock to the system— the characteristics of the handling, acceleration—even shifting all crazy different. I keep thinking of the scene in Days of Thunder where the crew chief (played by Robert Duvall) is explaining to new to stock car racing, Tom Cruise how the weight and tires are different—how the stock cars weight twice as much and the tires are half as wide and vice versa on the open wheel cars.

Tony Stewart and Lewis Hamilton Swap Cars at The Glen

Honda Takes Flight

// June 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Local (Raleigh Durham), Planes, Trains & Automobiles

I’m a big fan of the Japanese automakers Subaru, Toyota and Honda. They’re all big companies, but Honda especially. Honda and Toyota have both gotten involved in robotics, but I believe Honda’s the first of the three to take take to the skies.

This one has a local angle too — with the plane being manufacturer about an hour west of here in Greensboro, NC.

I definitely will keep an eye on this project. If their planes are anything like their ground vehicles (cars and motorcycles), they’ll make quality aircraft that are reliable, efficient and affordable.

Honda Takes Flight

Review: 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI

// June 8th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Ever since the Subaru Impreza WRX made its bug-eyed American debut, I’ve been a big fan of all things Impreza including the WRX and STi. It’s gone through a fair amount of design change, refinement and ups and downs. Through it all, still a big fan. Check out the review of the pricey, but cool 2011 STi:

Review: 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI

UPS Testing Plastic Trucks That Cut Weight By 1,000 Pounds

// June 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Eco, Planes, Trains & Automobiles

What can brown do for you? Apparently find new ways to improve their vehicle efficiency. UPS is testing out a few trucks made of primarily composites that cut half a ton off the weight of the vehicles, obviously having a big impact on both fuel efficiency, but also on wear and tear of both the vehicles and the roads. Kudos to UPS for striving for ways to affect their bottom line while simultaneously cutting down on their [rather large] carbon footprint.

UPS Testing Plastic Trucks That Cut Weight By 1,000 Pounds

The Best Ways To Keep Gas Prices From Bankrupting You This Summer

// May 11th, 2011 // No Comments » // Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Great article from Lifehacker.com on a bunch of easy and great ways to watch your gas mileage this summer as the temperatures soar.

Most of the tips are going to be of the common-sense ilk: keep your car well maintained. Avoid jack-rabbit starts and sudden stops. Coast whenever possible. Anticipate starts and stops.

All and all, good reminders and tips as gas prices continue to rise (again).

The Best Ways To Keep Gas Prices From Bankrupting You This Summer

Pioneer AppRadio Brings Apps, iPhone Connectivity to Your Dash

// April 30th, 2011 // No Comments » // iPhone, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Tech

Since buying my Subaru Impreza a few years back, I’ve never been totally satisfied with the sound quality or volume its factory stereo puts out. I’ve also wanted to populate that double DIN dash opening with a nice big GPS screen. The announcement of this Pioneer AppRadio that meshes my iPhone with my dashboard couldn’t come at a more opportune time. I’ll be waiting with baited breath to see the products that come out for this, and hopefully reviews will be favorable, leading to an eventual stock radio replacement.

Pioneer AppRadio Brings Apps, iPhone Connectivity to Your Dash

2012 Subaru Impreza First Look

// April 21st, 2011 // No Comments » // Planes, Trains & Automobiles

I am definitely digging the new 2012 Subaru Impreza. It’s a nice progression from the model I’m driving (2010). The fuel economy is more impressive than mine, though some of that comes in the form of a smaller engine, going from a 2.5L to a 2.0 DOHC. Not bad. I won’t be trading my 2.5i in for this, but like the progression. It’s weird to me though that the designs between the 2.5i and the WRX & STi are now out of sync, and are likely to be for at least a few years since the newly designed WRX and STi’s were just announced a few months back.

Gizmodo's Roundup of Future of Car Tech

// April 12th, 2011 // No Comments » // Computers, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Tech

This is a great little collection of how technology and its innovations are affecting and will continue to affect the automobile.

Gizmodo’s Roundup of Future of Car Tech

Fuji Heavy Industries Introduces the 'Subaru Boxer Sports Car Architecture' at Geneva International Motor Show

// March 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Planes, Trains & Automobiles

While it’s obviously not as finished as the Toyota FT-86 (Celica) sister car, this translucent shell gives a nice look at the car’s power underneath. I hope Toyota and Subaru continue to refine this partnership, leading to more cool concepts and vehicles.

Fuji Heavy Industries Introduces the ‘Subaru Boxer Sports Car Architecture’ at Geneva International Motor Show

Toyota's FT-86 Revives Celica

// March 1st, 2011 // No Comments » // Planes, Trains & Automobiles

So after a pretty short departure, the Toyota Celica is back! It turns out that the FT-86 project Toyota has been jointly working on with Subaru is in fact the 8th generation Toyota Celica.

Obviously, Subaru will have a sister car. I’ll be interested to see how the styling differs. I like Toyota’s take, and while I love my Impreza, I’m not all that a fan of the newest generation Impreza that was recently revealed. Ah, I miss my old 6th generation Celica.

This new Celica will go back to rear-wheel drive and has Subaru’s Boxer engine under the hood, giving it a 0-60 time of under 7 seconds. Supposedly, the FT-86 concept is pretty close to the actual production car that will revive the Celica name badge.

Toyota’s FT-86 Revives Celica