New Holden Donk!
Just wanted to know if you guys will be testing the newly released Holden
V6?
Dennis Pereira
Australia
We sure will – we have tests already
scheduled. Stay tuned!
Emotion Reaction
Re Driving Emotion ...
Wow - that was a big wrap for
Toyota! I suspected you may drive
one on a daily basis - and you confirmed that in the article. Well, a Lexus
anyway. My question is:
I was almost certain that Honda pioneered the hybrid and am sure the Insight
was out before the Prius? Honda has moved onto fuel cell technology now, right?
If Toyota is so ‘wow’ with hybrids,
why do Yamaha help them tune their VVT-i motors? If anything,
Toyota were behind the eight ball using aspiration in the
Eighties -
Japan was looking
to the future with the pollution problems, hence VTEC R&D. So, to me, they were behind. Forget
Nissan. Take any of their cars, take the turbo off, reset the compression and
you've got a pretty ordinary engine... And the Germans? They wouldn't tell you,
me or anyone what they are working on! But back to
Toyota... everything from the styling of Corollas (taken
from Civics) to F1, Toyota seems to
copy and mimic Honda. In F1, they currently seem to be down on power - maybe
Yamaha can help again!
Anyway, that’s my gripe...
Paul Kennedy
Australia
Volvo Hype?
Hmmm, most people would disagree with some of the statements you made in
the Volvo S60 R Test,
unfortunately. You may want to take a look at: swededemon.com
Dominic
Australia
Interesting site. We found it easy to
achieve mid 6 second 0 – 100 km/h without being brutal on the driveline and with
two people onboard, so Volvo’s claim of 5.7 seconds wouldn’t be far off the mark.
Fuel octane will make a big difference to performance.
NA Pssst?
Re The All-Electronic Blow-Off Valve!...
Is this electronic blow-off valve possible to use on a non-turbo car? If so, how
effective will it be? Will I hear a nice loud noise when letting off the
throttle?
Eric
USA
Blow-off valves are not designed for
use on non turbocharged or supercharged engines. They do not make noise and have
no effect on a naturally aspirated engine.
Serious Problem...
I
realize this may be a curious request but I am seeking your help or suggestions
for a problem that we recently experienced with a Mitsubishi
Pajero.
I
work for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) at their
mission in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH)
with our mission headquarters in Sarajevo. We have
a large fleet of vehicles consisting mostly of Volkswagens and Mitsubishi
Pajeros. Virtually all of our vehicles have manual standard shifts except
one - it is a 1999 Mitsubishi Pajero.
On 22
July, 2004 we had an odd experience with this vehicle. A professional
driver and another mission member entered to vehicle to go on official business.
The vehicle started in the normal way. When the driver was moving the
gearshift lever from the “P” position to the “D” position the vehicle somehow
got caught in “R” for reverse, even though the driver did not stop at “R” but
continued to the “D” position. The vehicle jumped in reverse and hit a flag
pole about ten feet behind the vehicle, then lurched forward at a high rate of
speed for about 20 yards actually climbing up the first few steps of the
building before stopping. It than went in reverse again at a high rate of speed,
across the parking lot, over an embankment, over a sidewalk, across a busy two
lane street, across the opposite sidewalk and striking an apartment building
across the street. During this whole sequence of events the driver claims
to have had his right foot on the brakes and was trying to stop the vehicle to
no avail. Also when the vehicle hit the building across the street, after going
in reverse, the gearshift lever was still in the “D”position.
I
know all this sounds strange but, coincidently, I was standing in front of the
building at the time and witnessed this whole thing. I heard the engine of
the Mitsubishi Pajero racing and revving extremely loud. Much louder than normal
and the vehicle was obviously not under the driver’s control. Luckily,
actually it was a miracle that no one was hurt and the vehicle did not strike
any pedestrians or other vehicles.
The OSCE
Mission to BiH is now in a position to attempt to show the Mitsubishi company
that the vehicle has some mechanical or electronic flaw that caused it to do
this. I have read in web sites that some of their vehicles have had similar
problems like this and may in fact have been recalled.
We are
attempting to have a technical examination of the vehicle but there is no one in
BiH that can do this so we will have to bring it either to
Zagreb,
Croatia or
Vienna,
Austria for
this.
I
would appreciate it if you could provide me with any information, suggestions or
web site addresses that would help us in this matter.
Michael
Ilaria
Chief of
Investigations
OSCE Mission to
BiH
Readers
– do you have any experiences to share?
Plastic Plating
I have a question - one that I cannot seem to get an answer to... It is about
chrome plating - not just metal chrome plating but plastic plating. How do the
car makers chrome plate the plastic they use? Most shops here in the
US say “oh, go
buy chrome paint...” Ya right, that
stuff sux!
Glen Eaton
USA
There is a special process for chrome
plating plastic – we hope to cover this in an article soon.
Hotter Honda
I have been looking for an automotive resource and I am very happy I found
yours. My question is this... I own a ‘91 Honda CRX HF and want to swap the engine
for a ‘90/’95 Integra or a ‘90/’95 Civic EX. My crossroad is this - I am not
sure if any of these engines fit and will work with my platform. I also want to
know whether it’s advisable to go with a DOHC or SOHC given I want to attach a
supercharger or blower.
Tim
USA
The Honda B16A and B18C VTEC engines
seem like a good choice, but we suggest you ask your question on one of the many
Honda related forums. There you will find many people to share their experience
and knowledge.
|