The beautiful April Rose from SPEED gives a shout-out to Bullz-Eye.com as she checks out tons of cool cars, including a stunning 1966 Shelby GT 500 and the Mystery Machine, from the 2012 Barrett-Jackson classic car auction in Las Vegas.
Barrett-Jackson is the ultimate classic car auction and it will be taking place from September 20th through the 22nd in Las Vegas and SPEED is the exclusive home for live coverage and highlights. Check out their website for program times.
You don’t need to be a car guy to take care of your vehicle; you don’t even need to be all that handy. Washing your car is only the first step down this path. 3M produces the products that not only make washing your car easy, but also more advanced repairs such as scratch removal, mechanical maintenance and body repair. The democratization of car care is here.
Step One: Make It Shine
Washing your car may seem mundane and tiresome. Why take all that time and money to do it yourself when you can just take it somewhere? But if your looking to expand your car care knowledge, the old wash and wax is a stepping stone to more advanced procedures.
3M takes the hassle out of choosing the right products by bundling them together in one kit. Wash, wax, scrub, tire clean and detail are all available in one box, and in smaller sizes. So at the end of the day, you’ll have a clean car and not mountains of material left over. Plus, if you can competently wash your rig, you’re down the path of making your ride last.
Step Two: Bring Back the Luster
After washing, you may notice the years of abuse and neglect have taken their toll. Faded paint, a scratch here from a shopping cart, a scratch there from the garage door. Luckily, you don’t need to take it to a body shop to fix it.
3M’s scratch remover system, paint restore system and headlight restore kit all use simple to follow instructions, and all the proper materials to turn faded paint and lights back to near OEM condition. You’ll be surprised how easy and effective taking small scratches out can be, and how better you’ll feel about your car after. But what about those dents that won’t come out or the weird idle and poor gas mileage you’re getting?
Step Three: Boss Level
Bondo is the official material of the shade tree mechanic. Done right, you can effectively prep any material for painting well enough to get OEM quality back. After all, it’s what the professionals use. 3M also has a kit providing the proper sandpaper and instructions to prep dents yourself.
Although, this can be incredibly intimidating, as you are taking paint off, so I wouldn’t recommend taking your first try on something new, but definitely on a beater car or truck.
Also available is 3M’s professional quality fuel and air system cleaner system that combines all the sprays and solvents the pros use, in sizes and prices that work for consumers. Using all the materials together, you’ll see a smoother running, more efficient ride.
Step-by-Step Handiness
The best part of these systems is that they all lead to one another; you need no prior knowledge of cars, just a willingness to try. The systems are designed and written to make sense to anybody. This is just touching the surface of what you need to know to work on your car, but hopefully it will inspire you to tackle more challenging projects.
The Accord has always been an important vehicle to Honda. The Accord accounts for a huge chunk of production (and revenue) for the automotive giant. Because of this every introduction of a new generation of Accord is important in many ways.
2011 was a rough year for Japanese automakers in general. The Japan earthquake and the flood in Thailand seriously curtailed the number of vehicles produced for the model year. Suppliers had to rebuild, Honda scrambled to find alternative sources of parts and supplies.
Honda used this time to prepare for a ramp-up of output in the first quarter of the new year. Inventory increased 46,000 units and hasn’t looked back ever since. Accord sales alone are up nearly 28% since January, a huge turn-around from 2011.
The 2013 Accord represents the ninth generation of the famous brand, with its ancestry dating back to 1976. The Accord has a reputation for being a solid and reliable family car, able to haul a family and their gear throughout their day-to-day adventures. The sedan excels at fading into the background; becoming ubiquitous and unassuming. Not a bad thing for a people-hauler.
Lineup
The Accord comes in three body styles: the Sedan, the Coupe, and the Plug-in Hybrid Sedan. Each is based off the same chassis and shares a majority of components. The continuation of the Coupe is a bit of a surprise given that the segment seems to be shrinking.
There are a variety of engines available that also define the offerings. The base four-cylinder 2.4 liter i-VTEC DOHC engine is available in both the Coupe and the Sedan, while the more powerful 3.5 liter six-cylinder is an option. The Hybrid Accord comes equipped with a two-motor 2.0 liter powerplant, unique to that vehicle.
Interior
Honda has focused on designing their vehicles around the concept of maximizing space for the occupants while minimizing the overall size of the vehicle. To that end the car is developed from the inside out: the passenger cabin space is defined and the designers must create a body that fits around the occupants.
To that end the 2013 Accord Coupe, for example, has been shrunk by nearly two inches in overall length, while gaining about an inch of leg room and almost two cubic-feet of storage in the trunk.
Improved Materials
The interior of the new Accord is a great improvement over the outgoing model. Utilitarian plastic and vinyl have been replaced with higher quality materials. Brushed aluminum accent pieces on higher-end trim levels add to the feeling of an upscale vehicle.
Honda has replaced the multi-piece dash with a one-piece instrument panel designed in-house. The new dash reduces rattles and squeaks and feels very solid. The dash is the focus of the new car, with a split two-screen control system acting as navigation and stereo controls.
Rear-view cameras are now standard across all versions, which is a big selling point for those of us who fear backing over an errant tricycle. It worked well, as the screen is mounted high and centrally located, making it a snap to use.
The navigation system seemed adequate, as did the stereo. Honda is rolling out it’s HondaLink system with the new Accord, which offers smartphone app support through device tethering. We didn’t get to test the system ourselves, but after seeing a demo of it I’m looking forward to getting a better look.
Also available is a Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system that alerts you when you drift slightly while driving. By slightly I do mean slightly, as the system kept triggering at the slightest provocation. Simply merging from an off ramp into traffic would sometimes cause it to chirp. Half-way through the test drive we were looking for a way to disable it.
Exterior
As mentioned earlier, the new Accord is slightly smaller than the out-going model. But the change isn’t noticeable. The lines of the car feel more defined, more aggressive. Honda used a new and improved stamping process for the new car and it shows in the presence the car exudes.
An important feature of the new car is the addition of an external rear-facing camera mounted on the passenger side mirror. This camera aids the driver by showing in the center display an image of what’s in the car’s right-side blind spot. Flip on the right turn signal and get a bird’s eye view of what’s in the way. In practice this is an incredible feature. During our test drive it became an easy thing to grow accustomed to. It’s a serious tool for highway driving.
Performance
The 2.4L four-cylinder engine puts out 185 horsepower and 181 foot-pounds of torque. It’s peppy, but not exceptional. As with most entry-level engines the focus is on fuel economy, not performance. Still, it has enough oomph to get out of it’s own way
The 3.5L six-cylinder’s output is up 7 horsepower from last year’s engine, up to 278. It gives the Accord a more spirited drive, and actually wakes up the vehicle. The engine note on the sixer is raspier and more aggressive; stomp on the gas and you’ll hear it. For my money this is the engine of choice.
Overall
Pricing for the Accord ranges from $22,000 for an Accord LX to $33,000 for a well-optioned Touring model. Quite a range, but within the pricing horizon of its competitors.
The Accord Sedan will go on sale September 19 across the country, while the Coupe, which will start at $23,350, won’t be available until October 15.
The first impression of the 2013 Accord is one of a competent and solid car. Honda is a company led by engineers, and it shows. The amount of effort that has gone into refining this icon is impressive. I look forward to driving it long-term to see if that first impression holds up over time.
I traveled to Dallas last weekend as a guest of Nissan as they introduced the new 2013 Sentra in connection with everyone hoped would be an epic match-up between two iconic college football programs. As you can see from the photos, the new Sentra looks great, but the game didn’t live up to the hype as Alabama made a statement by whipping Michigan in majestic Cowboys stadium. You can see the view from our seats in some of the photos above that capture the incredible big screens in the stadium.
All wasn’t lost, however, as we were treated to a great tailgate on the day of the game featuring some incredible BBQ from Big Bob Gibson along with the chance to meet Heisman Trophy winners Mark Ingram from Alabama and Desmond Howard from Michigan.
Nissan has been heavily involved with college football and the Heisman Trophy in particular. On Friday night they had the Heisman Trophy on display as they revealed the new Sentra, and Desmond Howard shared some stories like what was going through his head before he struck his classic Heisman pose against Ohio State. Nissan then showed some of the new and hilarious Nissan Heisman House commercials like this one below featuring RGIII.
The folks at Hyundai are so proud of the new turbo engine in their all-new 2013 Santa Fe that they invited us to test drive the redesigned vehicle in the thin air around Park City Utah at 8,500 feet above sea level. The altitude provided a real test for the crossover’s performance and it passed with flying colors.
The third-generation Santa Fe comes in two versions, with a five-passenger Sport model that we tested along with a longer wheelbase seven-passenger model with three-rows. The Sport model arrives in showrooms in this month and the seven-passenger model will arrive in January 2013.
Exterior
Hyundai keeps putting out great-looking vehicles and the Santa Fe is no exception. With the new Santa Fe, Hyundai continues to implement its “Fluidic Sculpture” design principles that have given Hyundai vehicles a bold and distinctive look. Specifically, the Santa Fe features a new design concept called Storm Edge, which captures the strong and dynamic images created by nature during the formation of a storm. This design language works well on the new Santa Fe as you can see from the photos of the Sport model. The vehicle looks great from all angles. The seven-passenger version looks very similar, though some of the lines like the rear side windows are softened in the larger model.
Interior
The interior of the Santa Fe is very roomy and comfortable, and the model we drove was loaded with features, including a Panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats and manual rear side window sunshades, power driver seat with four-way lumbar control and front passenger seats, and sliding and reclining second row seating with 40:20:40 folding seat back. All of the controls were conveniently positioned and were easy to use. On the safety front, the Santa Fe has seven standard airbags, including driver’s knee airbag. I sat in the back seat and there’s plenty of room.
You definitely feel like you’re driving a crossover as you’re sitting a little higher than a car but not as high as an SUV. The overall driving experience will likely appeal to both drivers in a family with a nice blend of comfort and handling.
Performance
We had the opportunity to drive the 2.0L Turbo AWD version of the five-passenger Sport model through the mountain roads surrounding Park City. Performance of any vehicle declines in high altitude settings, but the power and performance of the Santa Fe turbos were very impressive. The Santa Fe easily accelerated as we climbed the mountain roads and handled the curves nicely. The overall handling was fine given that we pushed the vehicle pretty hard, so family buyers will be more than happy with the overall performance.
The Santa Fe Sport has two four-cylinder options, with the Theta II 2.4-liter Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine that achieves 190 horsepower with an estimated 33 mpg EPA on the highway, which is the highest of any CUV/SUV equipped with an automatic transmission. We drove vehicles with the high-output Theta II 2.0-liter turbocharged GDI engine that achieves 264 horsepower with an estimated 31 mpg (FWD A/T) on the highway. A Lambda II 3.3-liter GDI V6 engine with 290 horsepower is available on the larger wheelbase Santa Fe.
Hyundai has emphasized weight savings across all of their new models in order to achieve the gas mileage numbers, and the new Santa Fe is 266 lbs. lighter than the 2012 model. The engineers accomplish this with the use of high tensile steel, as the new Santa Fe features a high tensile steel ratio of 37.7% vs. 7.8% for outgoing model along with improved torsional stiffness by 15.7%.
Overview
Like every automaker, Hyundai is eager to service the market of young families, and the Santa Fe is a huge key to their strategy of targeting what they call “core families.” Buyers in this segment are interest in practical vehicles but also want cool styling as well. Hyundai has achieved a nice mix of these aspects in the new Santa Fe with very competitive pricing, and we recommend adding this to your test drive list.
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