Monthly Archives: October 2009

Chevrolet Camaro’s Four Generations

The world has come to know four generations of the Chevrolet Camaro and each of these generations were distinct and unique from the rest. At first, this vehicle was actually made known to the public in the United States and the rest of North America in the early part of 1967. It was presented by the General Motor’ Chevrolet Motor Division. It was destined to be a competition for the Ford Mustang. It also used the very same F Body Platform which was from General Motors, along with other major components that the Pontiac Firebird also used. That is why many people who have come to know and to remember the Chevrolet Camaro says and remembers this vehicle as the Pontiac Firebird’s sister, or sibling at that.

During that period, the Chevrolet Camaro was known to be a compact car. And soon enough, it was known to be a pony car. This meant that it was a competitor of the Ford Mustang. Aside from that reputation, the Chevrolet Camaro was also classified as an intermediate touring car, a sports car, as well as a muscle car. However, this car make ended its career in 2002.

The first generation of this vehicle lived from 1967 up until 1970. It held a unibody structure from the windshield up to the firewall back. There was a separate steel rail subframe for everything found at the front. It was lean and aggressive, although the steering was kind of slow and manual. In the middle of 1970, the second generation of the Chevrolet Camaro made its way to the streets. This second group held a styling that was inspired by Ferrari. It came to be bigger, and much heavier. However, because of this, it made the Chevrolet Camaro become less powerful. This second generation ended in 1981. Come the year 1982 up until 1992, it was actually the time for the third generation of Chevrolet Camaros to shine. These were the first vehicles to be built without front subframes or leaf spring rear suspensions. They also were the very first generation of Chevrolet Camaros to boast of factory fuel injection, four speed automatic transmission, five speed manual transmissions, four cylinder engines, 16 inch wheels, and hatchback bodies. As per the last generation of this vehicle, it lasted from 1993 up until 2002. It held new plastic front fenders, a new short arm and long arm front suspension, a rack and pinion steering, as well as a sleek new look that made it quite popular to more people.

Be sure to stop by CorvetteGuys.com and check out their large inventory of Vette Parts.

2002-camaro

Toyota Highlander Hybrid Review

Toyota was one of the first entrants into commercial production of hybrid models, and their Hybrid Synergy Drive is still the industry standard for improving fuel economy and performance in a hybrid car. They’re aiming to stay on top of the heap /and/ expand into other classes with their Highlander model of Hybrid, but do they succeed?

Toyota wisely chose to keep the engine light, pairing their hybrid drive with a 3.3L V6. The result is a car that is a fully functional family-sized SUV, with much better gas mileage than almost any competitor in its class. It feels noticeably larger than the old model, with both storage and seating space improved, but driver reviews and road-tests have consistently reported capable handling and a soft and easy ride that is slightly better than average for this size of SUV. The engine puts out a combined 270hp, which is far from sporty for the size of the car, but gives it an acceleration that is barely below similar sized non hybrid models.

Most impressively though, is the performance and savings in miles per gallon. At 27 city miles per gallon and 25 highway miles to the gallon, it sits comfortably on the higher portions of the curve for SUV fuel economy. The increased city miles over highway is not unusual in this class of hybrid car. The engine takes more advantage of the hybrid drive at lower speeds, and has more power from recovering the energy of frequent breaking.

For the family that wants to be environmentally responsible, but still be able to pack everyone and everything they need into a roomy SUV, the Toyota Highlander is a hard choice to beat.

2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Honda going lighter, adding more hybrids

To get lighter and smaller Stop everything. That’s the word around Honda these days. Regardless of how far Honda’s cars are in the development process, Honda is reviewing every vehicle with a new focus on making all of their vehicles cheaper and more fuel efficient. That means a focus on smaller and lighter vehicles, and adding hybrid technology to more of Honda’s vehicles according to reports .

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Honda going lighter, adding more hybrids

Study – Energy costs much more than consumers pay

And plug-ins don’t help much if coal-powered Some great information coming out of the “ Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use ” study completed by the National Research Council for Congress. Essentially, America’s energy paradigm costs Americans MUCH more than what we pay at the gas pump our in our utility bills. In 2005, for instance, America’s ‘hidden’ costs of energy production added an extra $120 billion in health costs, not including “damages from climate change, harm to ecosystems, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security, which the report examines but does not monetize.” So, in reality, the costs are even far greater, and converting to grid-powered plug-in vehicles is no quick fix, at least in terms of health costs. “Electric vehicles and grid-dependent (plug-in) hybrid vehicles showed somewhat higher nonclimate damages than many other technologies for both 2005 and 2030. Operating these vehicles produces few or no emissions, but producing the electricity to power them currently relies heavily on fossil fuels; also, energy used in creating the battery and electric motor adds up to 20% to the manufacturing part of life-cycle damages.” Of course, if national security costs had been monetized, then some of these health costs would be negated. Consequently, the reports suggests that, “major initiatives to further reduce other emissions, improve energy efficiency, or shift to a cleaner electricity-generating mix (e.g., renewables, natural gas, nuclear) could substantially reduce external effects’ damages, including those from grid-dependent hybrid and electric vehicles.”

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Study – Energy costs much more than consumers pay