Easy decision. I restored a 1972 VW Beetle convertible. It was a full body and drive train restoration back to what approximated factory new condition. BUT It had drum brakes all around (until I installed a disc brake package on the front end) which were strictly press and pray.

The story goes that, when E.L. Cord purchased a controlling stake in the Duesenberg motor company in 1926, he instructed the Duesenberg brothers to create the finest automobile they knew how to. As a result, the brothers developed the Duesenberg Model J, and while it was impressive in many ways, it was the straight-eight under the hood that stole column inches in the day.

From the 'eight' came 265 horsepower at 4,200 rpm, effectively doubling the grunt on offer from contemporary Cadillac or Packard models, and therefore more than delivering on the brief set by Cord just two years prior. It checked in at 1,150 pounds, and at the time, the Model J's crankshaft retailed for $605 in the parts catalog — more than what a brand-new Model A would set you back. This was anything but a car for the people, and more a statement of sheer excess, with the 419.7ci straight-eight taking center stage. 

Very few revisions would be employed over the years, although an 'SJ' variation of the engine did arrive some years later, sporting a supercharger. This addition saw output swell from 265 to 320 horses, and this particular rendition of the Duesenberg would remain America's most powerful road car until the 1950s. It demonstrated just how far ahead of the game the now-defunct Duesenberg automaker was in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

General Motors has been around for a long time — 117 years, in fact, as of the date of this writing in 2025. It was founded as a holding company by William C. Durant in September of 1908, and the first thing it did was purchase the Buick Motor Company. Over the intervening century and change, 43 different auto companies have operated under The General's banner, running the gamut from famous marques like Cadillac, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile to companies like Oakland, LaSalle, Sheridan, and McLaughlin that only big car nerds like me remember.

The uniform application of traffic rules may seem fair, but in reality, it can create a false sense of equality.

On the one hand, the risks associated with different modes of transport are incommensurate. A car that runs a red light can cause serious or even fatal injuries. A cyclist, on the other hand, is unlikely to cause the same degree of damage. //

Furthermore, the efficiency of cycling depends on maintaining speed. Having to stop completely over and over discourages people from cycling, despite its many benefits for health, the environment and traffic flow.

Treating two such different modes of transport the same way, therefore, amounts to implicitly favouring cars, something akin to imposing the same speed limit on pedestrians and trucks. //

Rather than treating bicycles and cars as equals, some jurisdictions have opted for a different approach. The state of Idaho is one good example.

Since 1982, cyclists in Idaho have been able to treat a stop sign as a yield sign and a red light as a stop sign. Several American states (such as Arkansas, Colorado, and Oregon) and countries, such as France and Belgium, have adopted similar regulations. //

In short, adopting the Idaho stop rule would not create chaos, but would regulate an already common practice without compromising public safety, contrary to some concerns. Cyclists who rarely come to a complete stop when there is no traffic generally slow down before crossing because they are aware of their vulnerability.

Today, let's look at who's to blame for all the cars that insist on shifting for themselves. Arguably, the earliest blame-havers could be Louis-Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor, who were about to show off their new automatic transmission in 1894 when the thing just broke, forcing them to turn the demonstration into a Ted Talk with a chalkboard. 

Then, in 1904, when concepts such as radio, television, and TikTok were still yet to be realized, two brothers with the last name of Sturtevant were plugging away at the Sturtevant Mill Company in Boston, patenting all sorts of industrial machines, including an automatic transmission  and the awesome-sounding "Double Carburetor for Explosive Engines." Their primitive automatic only had two speeds, sort of like a GM Powerglide, but its operation was much different than later automatic transmissions and their weird interiors laden with forbidden mysteries.

The Sturtevant automatic used a pair of clutches attached to spring-loaded weights.

Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1902889/automatic-transmission-history-first-car/

For a more concise overview, check out Sabin Civil Engineering's video, "Automatic Transmission, How it works?" on YouTube.

Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1962277/how-automatic-transmission-knows-when-to-shift/

The ingenious American engineering behind early sequential signals in Ford Mustangs and Mercury Cougars

By rotating a cam assembly, three lobes completed circuits for individual bulbs: inner, middle, and outer.
The electric Ford Mustang Mach E SUV is the latest FoMoCo product to feature sequential turn signals, blinking taillights that show, by flashing individual LED bulbs, the direction you’re turning. But what if I told you this is old technology, nothing new, and first saw use in the mid-1960s?

First introduced on the 1965 Ford Thunderbird and popularized on the more powerful Ford Mustang and Mercury Cougar, sequential turn signals were a novel way to differentiate Ford products from the rest of the muscle cars.

having spent several days behind the wheel, I can report it might just be one of the best-driving, too. //

This is not just one of Porsche's existing flat-six engines with an electric motor bolted on; it's an all-new 3.6 L engine designed to comply with new European legislation that no longer lets automakers rich out a fuel mixture under high load to improve engine cooling. Instead, the engine has to maintain the same 14.7:1 stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio (also known as lambda = 1) across the entire operating range, thus allowing the car's catalytic converters to work most efficiently. //

for the first time in several decades, there's now only a single turbocharger. Normally, a larger-capacity engine and a single big turbo should be a recipe for plenty of lag, versus a smaller displacement and a turbocharger for each cylinder bank, as the former has larger components with more mass that needs to be moved.

That's where one of the two electric motors comes in. This one is found between the compressor and the turbine wheel, and it's only capable of 15 hp (11 kW), but it uses that to spin the turbine up to 120,000 rpm, hitting peak boost in 0.8 seconds. For comparison, the twin turbos you find in the current 3.0 L 911s take three times as long. Since the turbine is electrically controlled and the electric motor can regulate boost pressure, there's no need for a wastegate.

The electrically powered turbocharger is essentially the same as the MGU-H used in Formula 1, as it can drive the turbine and also regenerate energy to the car's traction battery. //

With more than 13 years of expertise in Hybrid and EV battery replacement, Greentec Auto has streamlined the battery replacement process to be hassle-free and efficient. If your hybrid or EV battery has failed, there’s no need to worry. Visit one of our shops or take advantage of our convenient mobile installation service, where our expert technicians come directly to your home, office, or any preferred location.

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Selecting the right differential for your rearend build is an important decision that will be with you for a very long time - if you get it right.

Below are short, not-too-technical, overviews of some of the most frequently asked about differential options for Hot Rods, Muscle Cars, and Muscle Trucks. //

Detroit Truetrac - Helical-gear limited-slip (worm differential) is the modern replacement for the classic clutch-type posi. //

Trac-Lok/Posi-Trac – Clutch-type limited-slip (Posi), offered as original equipment in many GM and Ford performance cars, these units rely on clutches (friction plates) to transfer power to the wheels. //

Detroit Locker - Automatic "ratcheting-style" differential is known for its reliability, rugged construction, and fully-locked performance on any surface. When power (torque) is applied in either forward or reverse directions, the unit locks both axles together like a spool. When coasting or rolling through a corner (no torque applied), the unequal speed of the inside and outside wheels causes the unit to unlock momentarily, before abruptly locking when power is applied.

Self-Hosted, Open-Source, Unconventionally-Named Vehicle Maintenance Records and Fuel Mileage Tracker

Nic Cruz Patane
@niccruzpatane
Tesla vehicles are nearly 8 times less likely to experience a vehicle fire compared to the U.S. average.
11:09 PM · Jan 1, 2025

2022 data:

• ICE vehicles: 59.5 fires per billion miles driven
• Tesla vehicles: 7.3
  ///

How many fires were not caused by accidents?

And note how much more difficult lithium battery guess are to extinguish.

if the deal goes through it would create the world's third-largest OEM in 2026. //

Beleaguered automaker Nissan is going to throw its lot in with Honda. The two Japanese OEMs want to merge by 2026, creating the world's third-largest car company in the process. In fact, earlier this year the two signed memorandums of understanding to create a strategic partnership focused on software and electrification. Now, the changing business environment calls for deeper integration, they say. //

Altaira Pilgram
This merger is about the rise of Chinese auto companies affecting their domestic markets and for now exports across Asia soon to be global. Over the last few years Chinese domestic auto manufacturers have gutted the sales of companies like GM, VW, and others in China and are now looking to aggressively reshape the international automobile markets. BYD for example is building factories Thailand, Hungary, and Brazil. Nissan, by its own estimates, has said at times it was unclear if it would last through 2027 if it stayed independent thus forcing it to seek out of desperation a strong partner. It also seems the Japanese government had a hand in propping up Nissan with this merger presumably with the goal of protecting its economy and jobs. The hope here is that the merged companies can pool R & D resources to develop not just finished cars but the myriad technologies and finished components that go into them in an timely manner, at scale and at costs that allow them to compete with the Chinese manufacturers. To me it is unclear that any of this is going to work. Saddling Honda with a duplicate but a worse company has to bog them down for years while they figure out what Nissan parts to keep and which parts to shutdown precisely when Honda needs to be nimble. The game of thrones, automobile edition, has begun in earnest.
December 23, 2024 at 4:46 pm

The adhesive in the tape is treated with capsaicin, which is one of the active components in chilies that gives them their spicy kick

Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) provides pilots a way of monitoring the fuel/air mixture in the engine. It uses the stoichiometric mixture (where Fuel and Air are perfectly balanced so that there is no unburned fuel and no unburned oxygen at the end of the combustion event) as a reference: At this mixture the EGT is at its hottest ("Peak EGT"). Making the mixture richer or leaner will reduce the EGT, and all other mixture settings are described in terms of "Degrees Rich of Peak" or "Degrees Lean of Peak". //

The area of the chart from peak EGT to about 100 degrees Rich of Peak is often referred to as "The Red Box" -- in this range the fuel/air mixture has a low detonation margin, and the combustion event is producing the most internal stress on the engine components (cylinders, pistons).
As you can see from the Lycoming chart the Cylinder Head Temperature (CHT) peaks in this range, and there is a risk of exceeding the CHT limits and seriously damaging your engine by operating in this range for extended periods of time, particularly at high power settings.

The perfect ratio of fuel to air is 14.7 parts air to 1 part fuel. That’s the ratio of fuel to air that results in the most efficient burn possible, where all of the oxygen and fuel will be consumed. The science of measuring reactions, like the chemical reaction that turns oxygen and fuel into CO 2 and heat, powering your engine, is called stoichiometry. //

Just note, though, that in the real world, your car will be happier with around 13:1. We don’t live in perfect atmospheric conditions, so a little bit of extra fuel doesn’t hurt and will still be considered stoichiometric. //

Of the two, having a lean mixture is much more dangerous for your engine. An engine can run rich without much issue. An engine running lean can become lubricant starved and seize.

This is the car that gave Communism a bad name. Powered by a two-stroke pollution generator that maxed out at an ear-splitting 18 hp, the Trabant was a hollow lie of a car constructed of recycled worthlessness (actually, the body was made of a fiberglass-like Duroplast, reinforced with recycled fibers like cotton and wood). A virtual antique when it was designed in the 1950s, the Trabant was East Germany's answer to the VW Beetle — a "people's car," as if the people didn't have enough to worry about. Trabants smoked like an Iraqi oil fire, when they ran at all, and often lacked even the most basic of amenities, like brake lights or turn signals. But history has been kind to the Trabi. Thousands of East Germans drove their Trabants over the border when the Wall fell, which made it a kind of automotive liberator. Once across the border, the none-too-sentimental Ostdeutschlanders immediately abandoned their cars. Ich bin Junk!

P219B Bank 2 Air/Fuel Ratio Imbalance

OBD II fault code P219B is a generic trouble code that is often defined as, “Bank 2 Air/Fuel Ratio Imbalance”, and is set when the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) detects an imbalance between the air and fuel components of the air/fuel mixture on Bank 2. On V-type engines, Bank 2 is the bank of cylinders that does not contain cylinder #1.

NOTE: The word “often” used above is rather important, since at least 12 carmakers, including Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, GMC, as well as GM and Ford (and their related makes) use varying definitions for this code. While all known variations describe an air/fuel mixture problem on Bank 2 as the result of largely identical causes, the sometimes wildly different wording used by some carmakers to define/describe this code can and often does, create some confusion about the actual meaning of the code.

Of all the recent trends in automotive technology and design, the adoption of capacitive controls over mechanical switches and buttons—particularly on multifunction steering wheels—is among the most deplorable. One can see the appeal to the designer—slick-looking fiat panels trump dust-attracting seams, for starters. The bean counters love them, too—it takes less time to install the subassemblies, and that means a little more profit per car. It's just that they suck. And now, some Volkswagen drivers say capacitive buttons are to blame for their car crashes.

Whether you're on a straight or curved road, you have a much higher chance of recovering from hydroplaning if you stay calm and make the right moves. At the first sign of hydroplaning, let off the throttle and attempt to steer in the direction you want to travel—doing so very gently. Abrupt, herky-jerky steering movements can induce a skid, as can slamming on the brakes. Gentle brake application while steering is fine on cars equipped with anti-lock brakes (ABS), which nearly all cars made in the past 20 years are equipped with. Be smooth and consistent with the brake pedal. If gentle steering inputs have no effect, don't keep adding steering angle. Wait for the front tires to bite; trust us, you'll feel it. All of this happens in seconds, so any panic maneuver could send you spinning.