McLaren 650s

On March 4 at the Geneva Auto Show, McLaren is going to fully release its new super car. Placed in between the MP4 and P1, the 650s is a more luxurious MP4 but a toned down P1.

Like every McLaren, the 650s has a carbon fiber MonoCell as its backbone, that is extremely light but also extremely strong. It also provides very responsive steering while still retaining a exceptional ride. Behind the rear seats, like a real sports car, sits a McLaren 3.8 liter V-8 with twin-turbochargers that produces 641hp and 500 ft-lb of torque which is spread from 3000-700rpm. That is awesome because you can drive it around town at low rpm while still having power at high rpm, best of both worlds. The power from that little V-8 (2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser has a 4.0L V-6) goes to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that offers near instantaneous gear shifts. To help the 650s slow down from its top speed of 207mph or after accelerating from 0-60 in just 3 seconds, there are carbon breaks at all four corners and an air break in the back just in case.

Open the dihedral doors to the 650s to find a luxurious and comfortable interior. The 650s is not a minimalist on the inside with available options like a back up camera and electrically adjusting steering column. However the seats are still light and sporty while still being comfortable, just like they should be. The steering wheel is also like the seats: light and sport but also comfortable.

McLaren has done it again. They have made a awesome looking sports car that, hopefully, will perform extremely well both off and on the track. Unfortunately it will most likely be too expensive for us common folk, but someday...

Toyota TRD Pro

Last Thursday at the Chicago Auto Show Toyota announced a new package for the Tacoma, Tundra, and 4Runner. The packages will give the vehicles a beefier off road image both outside and inside. Each model will have its own signature equipment suited to that vehicle but they will also all come with TRD-tuned springs with Bilstein shocks, a TRD front skid plate, a TRD shifter, black wheels, branded floor mats and a "TOYOTA" grille badge which pays heritage to the original 4x4 Toyotas. They will also come in three specialty colors: new Inferno paint color, Black, and Super White.

The Tacoma is the best selling compact pick up in the US, so adding a awesome off road package will most likely boost its even more sales. The Tacoma gets softer springs that boost the ride height a couple inches. An extra inch of wheel travel is available in front and 1.5 inches of travel are provided in back. The Tacoma also features 16-inch beadlock wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires. A TRD catback exhaust is also included.

The Tundra is a lot like its smaller brother getting benefits from softer TRD springs that also provide a two-inch lift and a better ride in the rough, while the truck itself rides on 18-inch wheels with Michelin ORP tires. Each truck gains an extra two inches of wheel travel in front and 1.25 inches in back, while a TRD dual exhaust should generate a nicer sound than the trucks's standard V8 engine. Finally, a unique interior with red contrast stitching freshen up the cabin. Its not quite as extreme as a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, but it's definitely a very capable off-road oriented truck that is much capable than your average pickup.

Finally the 4Runner, which only gets a 1.5-inch lift, but gains an extra inch of wheel travel. 17-inch TRD wheels come standard, while bumper accents add a bit more personality to the 4Runner. Unlike the pickup trucks, the 4Runner doesn't feature a TRD exhaust. However being the most capable out of the three before the enhancements, mot as much was need to be a tough 4x4 like what Toyota is known for.

I really hope these stay past limited production because I really want one. Toyota has not said how long they will make them and there are no set prices yet for these three musketeers, so we will have to wait for Fall to come around before they hit dealer floors. Until then all we can do is dream and drool, like most of the cars I post.

2014 Honda Pilot: buying a new car

First off, I apologize for the boring car, but very recently my mother purchased at 2014 Honda Pilot, and I learned some interesting things about car salesmen. The Pilot was not our first choice when my mom decided it was time to part with our '96 Toyota Previa. My first choice for her was a Mitsubishi Evolution 10, for its superb all-wheel-drive, which she soon realized was too small and I, that my dreams of having a Evo 10 would not happen. However, the Pilot is a much more reasonable car for my mom, who forgets she is driving a van, but still finds ways to put massive objects into her "small" van. What I mean by that is, the Pilot is a pretty good at handling for its size, but can still carry very big objects in the back or on a trailer.

That brings me to the part of the blog that I find the most interesting: the specs. When compared to the 2013 Toyota Highlander, which we were also looking at, the Pilot actually seems like the better choice, and so far it seems like we made the right decision. The Highlander has a whopping 270 hp compared to the Pilots 250 hp. However the Pilot has 253 ft-lb of torque compared to the Highlanders 248 ft-lb. The Pilot also gets better gas millage, a combined 20 mpg instead of 19 mpg.  Its cheeper too, only $33,520 for the 4WD EX instead of $36,010 for the SE 4x4. However you should keep in mind that the 2014 Highlander is a better competitor toe the Pilot, but my mom did not like how it looks. The big selling point was the fact that three people could sit in the middle row normally and how the power got to the ground. The Highlander has an AWD (not 4x4 like what they say for the 2013 but they corrected that for 2014) system whereas the Pilot has a 4x4 system. Its not the kind of 4x4 system you would find on a FJ or Wrangler, so you would no take the Pilot through the Rubicon, but you could try, because the Pilot has a rear locking differential, and when my mom is at the wheel, that is a good idea.

The most interesting thing about the two cars is when we did the test drives. Because when we drove the Pilot, the salesman was perfectly fine with us going off on our own, but the Toyota guy was not. Which is weird, giving the fact that earlier in the month my mom went and drove a Highlander and the guy did not need to be with her on the test drive. Also when my dad and I went and test drove a FJ Cruiser back in 2008, at the same dealer, the salesman did not need to go with us. He seemed like a grouchy person, so it might have just been him.

Next week I will bring something with a little more spice, but If you want a comfortable, reliable, and neat looking SUV, the Pilot would be a pretty good choice.

(These are 2012 but the 2014 looks exactly the same)

Toyota FT-1 concept

Early this month, at the North American International Auto Show, Toyota debuted their first sports car since the MR2 was discontinued in June of 2007. So, they came out with fist flailing with a awesome design by CALTY Design Research from Newport Beach, CA. The car is called the FT-1 or Future Toyota One which is suppose to represent the new beginning of fun to drive cars from Toyota.

The design itself is inspired from F1 racing, with every little nook and cranny put in for a purpose. They were also inspired by the Supra and 2000GT, which both had very sleek and sexy profiles. Like the Supra, the FT-1 has a long nose with a very tight cabin that is almost at the very stern of the car. The nose of the FT-1 extrudes to shape a F1 style nose, that shows how much this car was designed next to TRD (Toyota Racing Department). While we are at the back of the car, they added a nice small duck fin spoiler that raises  to become a full spoiler when the need desirers. Although it is not a mid-engine car, the engine is behind the front axle and the cabin is in front of the rear axles, which (hopefully) make the car a very good handling car. Since it is a concept, there is not information on the drivetrain, but there have been hints that the engine might be a straight six.

On the inside, it looks as if it came right out of a since fiction movie. With a HUD, heads up display and a small screen on the top of the steering wheel that displays a tachometer, what gear you are in and the driving mode you are currently in. The seats are minimalist, in the way that the thick padding is where you will be in contact with the seat. All the switches even look like they were taken straight from Star Trek.

I have been wanting a car like this from Toyota for a while. Its sleek and sexy, which is something that they could benefit from sometimes. There is no set price yet, but it is rumored that it could cost somewhere around $60,000, which would be awesome. I hope another dippresion does not still birth this awesome concept, like many others that have come before.

Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4

Lamborghini made a big decision recently on cutting its biggest money maker from production after 10 years: the Gallardo. Don't worry, because they are going to replace it with something even better. This new Gallardo is smaller then the Aventador, but bigger. Lamborghini is jumping into Ferrari 458 and McLaren 12C territory with a smaller, luxury super car called the Huracán. I thought that this is interesting, "... like the Gallardo and most other Lamborghini models, derives its name from the world of bullfighting. The fighting bull Huracán of the Spanish Conte de la Patilla breed was known for his outstanding courage and strong sense of attack. He fought in Alicante in August 1879, showing his unrelenting character and remaining defiant and invincible, thus entering into the legend of fighting bulls' history." from Netcarshow. They seem to draw some of the anger and fight from the bulls into the car also.

Pronounced ‘Ooh-ra-cahn', the 'baby Lambo' is coming into the field as a under dog. Not only because its the new kid on the block but, also it has less power then the 12C, only 602 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque comes from the 5.2 liter V10. Even though they designed the Huracán from the ground up, they did not revolutionize the little Lambo. Instead they evolved it by adding 50 hp to the Gallardo's fuel injected V10. However, the Huracán has Lamborghini's four-wheel-drive, which unlike the Gallardo, is distributed by a proper flappy paddle, dual clutch gearbox. Lamborghini calls it "Lamborghini Doppia Frizione" (LDF) which most likely shares DNA from Audi's S Tronic system. The LDF gear box snaps the Huracán from 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds and help the Huracán "over 202 mph", which probably has nothing to do with the 458's top speed of 202 mph.

Until March. we just have to wait for Lamborghini to officially unveil its new Gallardo at the Geneva Auto Show. This should be a good summer with the Ferrari 458, McLaren 12C, Audi R8 V10, Porsche 911 Turbo and Mercedes-Benz upcoming C190 all wanting the top position. Who do you have your money on?

Jaguar C-X75

Even though the C-X75 was released three years ago in Paris to celebrate 75 years of Jaguar, it should still be brought up. It is probably the best piece of art that Jaguar has made since the E-type, and for a very good reason.

The C-X75 is an amazing looking car to start. It looks very futuristic and almost like it is from a sic-fy movie. Its sci-fi look is thanks to a racing inspired design and also from the XJ220, which is what the C-X75 is based on. Carbon fiber is incorporated into the chassis to give it a lightweight and ridged design. Since the C-X75 is only 2,976 lbs a simple V8 would do right? Well not really. Instead they put a 195 hp electric motor at each wheel, which is a total of 780 hp. Since the electric motors would only get you 30 miles, Jaguar added two 94 hp gas micro turbines, which extend the rang to 559 mi. The four electric motors propel the C-X75 from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 second and a top speed of somewhere around 225 mph.

Thats all really cool, but there is something that really sets the C-X75 apart from other super cars, and that is emissions. Compared to most cars on the road today that can do an excess of 200 mph will have emissions of somewhere around 300 g/km of CO2 or 1.1 lbs/mi (it takes 22.2 trees to consume that CO2) whereas the C-X75 has a CO2 emissions of just 99 g/km or .4 lbs/mi (7.33 trees needed). To compare to a Prius' puts out 104 g/km of CO2. I can tell you which one I would take any day if I needed an efficient ride.

All this comes at a cost, a very large cost. That cost is that in 2012 there was still an economic struggle, so Jaguar cut the C-X75 project to never make it to production. Don't be shy, I was crying on my computer when I red the news also, but I won't get you a new computer. But like I have said many times before, all great things have to come to an end, just like the C-X75.

Lucra L148 Concept: Next American Supercar?

The founder of the company was told by his father that "you can't have a light car thats fast in the corners and a fast in the straights." So he went a built a car that is fast in the corners and fast in the straights called the LC470. Recently that came out with a new design for 2014 called the L148, and if its going to be any thing like the other car then it will be awesome.

First off, if its any thing like its older brother than it will be unbelievably light. The LC470 weighs just 2200 lbs and has either a Mercedes-AMG 6.3 liter V8 with 457 hp or an optional GM LS7 7.0 liter V8 with 505 hp. A 7.0 liter engine in a car that weighs less than 2500 lbs, thats crazy! There is not lot of info on the L148, but it will most likely have the same engine options probably mated to the same Mercedes 7 speed MCT (Multi Clutch Transmission) sequential gearbox that is found in the LC470. Also if the 0-60 mph times are any thing like the LC470, then we should expect them to be some where around 2.6 seconds and a quarter mile time of 10 seconds.

Second, it looks awesome. This is something that I know for sure about the L148 is that it is beautifully sculpted piece of machinery. Its aggressive and looks quick, which buys most people over right away. It also looks exotic, but you can still see that it is designed and built in the US by a muscle car like appearance to it.

Now there are tow problems with the L148: its price and and it is a concept. I want is now and not for  roughly $250K. But you get what you pay for, and the LC470, which cost $100K, did not have A/C. Maybe by mid of 2014 I will have saved enough pennies to buy it, because, if I could I would jump on it right away.

Big Brother

Little Brother

L148 Chassis