Pebble Beach Concours D'elegance 2010: Stunning Again

It never fails; the 3rd weekend in August is special for a reason and Sunday in particular. Its one thing to see incredible factory production cars, quite another to see examples of greatness from decades or even a century ago that will never be produced again. Cars you've never heard of, never knew existed, and now never can afford. Just to see them up close is a special treat. This year is the 60th annual event and it has raised over 14 million dollars for local, national and international charities. www.pebblebeachconcours.net/

Buy tickets before the show to avoid the same-day mark-up and lines. When you arrive, be sure to park near the posted bus stops and not in a location where there just happens to be cars. Otherwise, it's a long walk to the next stop. Traffic management is pretty good, even arriving late works out well. Be sure to wear walking shoes and even when overcast you can get a sunburn.

The paintwork is flawless, the curves R-rated, the bright work perfectly reflective…you get the point. This year featured Alfa Romeo, Pierce-Arrow, Jaguar and the designs of Ghia. Additionally the Lakesters, Bonneville racers, past Indy cars and antique motorcycles added additional variety.

Even if the overall shape of the car looks identical, take a look at the multiple details inside and out. Rolling sculpture and jewelry before true mass production and aerodynamically perfect details took over. Read the signs in front of them, sometimes their history is also fascinating it's a story you can see in your mind's eye.

The artwork in the tent on the grounds is breathtaking although this year had fewer exhibitors than a few years ago. The food is good, service is excellent and the clothing/memorabilia items are top quality.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended again and Jay Leno is always bitingly funny announcing the raffle. Edward Herrmann always does a great job announcing the show. Being a fan, I thanked him Thursday night for his contributions and film work at the Credit Suisse www.credit-suisse.com/us/en/ cocktail reception.

Other celebrity attendees were seen as well. A new Orange County Housewife and Brittny Gastineau (Mark's daughter) were spotted by my Lovely Navigator. Yes, the cars were that good. But who is really important is the panel of judges.

The judging panel is a who's who in the automotive world. It is an honor and privilege to attend an event where they gather to assess the rolling artwork. Check out the list here: www.pebblebeachconcours.net/pages/3042/index.htm

The automobiles that are not entered in the show are stunning as well stay tuned for an upcoming article on the cars outside the Concours, especially if you're an enthusiast of the latest generation of exotics.

The Pebble Beach Concours D'elegance is a must-see for any auto enthusiast. Even if your tastes don't towards the pre-war classics, the variety, ambiance, presentation, people watching and overall experience should be on your must-do automotive wish list.

______

Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Concorso Italiano 2010: Returning to Greatness

Recovering from the miserable airport facility a couple years ago, Friday August 13th, 2010 was the second year at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey, CA. As always, there’s a little bit of magic in the air when you have so many exotic cars in one location. Throw in some sunshine, food, excellent vendors and a sprinkling of celebrities and it makes you want to lay down on grass and wiggle a little just like a dog. Okay, maybe that’s just me.

Always a recommendation is to go ahead and enter your car in the corral, assuming it’s not an Italian make. There are usually two reasons for this and this year now four reasons. First, it’s a bargain. It covers the cost of two people for the price of one. Second, you can’t beat the parking. Anytime you can picnic at your car in the middle of a car show on a golf course, do it. The more important reasons became apparent this weekend.

The traffic back-up from eastbound Highway 68 was nearly five miles long and it took an hour. Make sure you have gas, food, drink, air conditioning, satellite radio, my Lovely Navigator (go find your own), etc. Some fellow enthusiasts started later than us and arrived earlier because they registered their car.
The corral participation was particularly lacking.

Reason number four is they need more cars in the non-Italian section. So what if the Audi and BMWs look like an earth-tone parking lot at the mall. Pop the hoods and roll down the windows. Those two marquees along with Porsche and Corvette had much better participation at the hot, dusty, loud and fun American LeMans races at Laguna Seca. Go figure.

The Alpha Romeo section is finally highlighted by the 8C, a gorgeous car from any angle. Pantera never changes but the drivetrains can sure look intimidating. Shame on any owners that hide them.

Ferrari featured a gathering of F-40s which look particularly mean and full-race ready. Two F-50s were highlights, along with a black Enzo. Obviously missing was a red 458 Italia but there was a black one with oversized 22”wheels and opinions vary on that… An SP1 – the first from the Ferrari Portfolio Program, based on an F430 was present too. There was a yellow Ferrari under a car cover, possibly 550-based. What's up with that?

Separated by some excellent vendor offerings such as clothes, accessories, fan collectibles, etc was Lamborghini. Exotic car personified, it was a treat to see at least two LP670 SVs, LP640s, Murcielagos, Gallardos, Diablos, Countachs and a Miura or two. A race-prepped Gallardo was started and revved for a bit, adding the required soundtrack to the day.

The grandstand area offered a wonderful assortment of live entertainment a fashion show and fascinating commentary on the various vehicles driven to the stage and presented. Celebrities sighted include Paul Mitchell and Adam Corolla. As mentioned, once in a while a car starts up, starts tossing revs, and it’s a glorious sound.

Overall it’s a great show and hopefully will recover to be what it once was. If you love Italian sports and exotic cars, this show is a must-see no matter what. Meet the owners, see the cars and love it all.

BMW 318is - Better Mileage With Gearing? Ask Rob About Cars

Hi Rob,
Great articles and photos, thanks so much ,
I have a 1994 BMW 318is. It gets great gas mileage and would love to get even better mileage . The rear end (3rd) member locked up when I first got the car, so I found a deal on a 325 axles and rear end , put it in never changed any gears do you know if the 325 is different than the 318is both were manual transmissions. Should I leave well enough alone ?
Thanks,
FAN

Hello Fan and thank you!
I found this excellent website that lists a LOT of BMW gear ratios, perhaps all of them: http://www.bokchoys.com/differential/GearRatios.htm

It seems that you now have a less-aggressive final drive ratio of 3.15 vs. 3.45. So if you like your mileage and the acceleration is adequate, I would leave it alone and congratulate yourself on a fuel saving modification.

I wouldn't suggest trying anything numerically lower than 3.15 such as the 2.93, even if you can find it. My concern would be inadequate acceleration with the 4-cylinder engine. This would mean using higher revs and consuming more gas, effectively negating your intended result. Also, it may mean using a higher gear for cruising at certain speeds and poor acceleration in 5th gear. If you know anyone that has done it, be sure to write back and share!

___________

Have a question about cars you would like answered? Performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc? Ask me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Toyota FJ Opinion? Ask Rob About Cars

Brandon from Brandon, FL writes:
I am always in the market for a new ride I like the Accord. But I really enjoy a Crossover-SUV with the higher up feeling. But there are none that are in my price range so for the past year I've been stuck. But with my warranty now up I am back to searching for a good weekend deal in the paper. What do you think of the Toyota FJ Cruiser, black on black with dual exhaust? It has a good sporty look to it. I also am not really worried about gas I don't drive much at all. My current ride gets about 16/21 mpg city/highway.

Brandon,
The Toyota FJ is a nice beefy, ride. Toyota reliability and distinctive, retro styling are nice touches. In fact, my sister really wants one! It definitely has off-road intentions so that part might be wasted in your neck of the woods. There is nothing wrong with that if gas consumption isn't a concern.

I suggest two things though. If you tend have rear seat passengers or cargo, try climbing in and out and see what you think in terms of access. Second, take the car into a crowded parking lot and park it between cars and back it up a few times. See if the visibility is acceptable for the daily driving you'll be doing. Good luck in your search!

___________
Have a question about cars you would like answered? Performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc? Ask me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

2011 Ford Mustang GT Automatic Test Drive and Overview

A friend of mine who is a very knowledgeable and frequent contributor to the automotive forums recently had the opportunity to rent a new 2011 Mustang GT with the 6-speed automatic. Read below for his fascinating findings and analysis:
____________

Well, I drove (the hell out of) my first 5.0 GT Mustang today. VERY enlightening. Here is what I learned - tips that anybody running mid 12's on up better heed!

CLIFFS NOTES: Race an auto 5.0 from a 25-30mph roll. Preferably 25mph in case he has the optional 3.73 gears. They have a nasty lag from WOT to pulling: 1 1/2 to 2 seconds from pedal slamming to shift nannies off and howling with full power. You want a legit race? Make him manually shift it and hold the gear. If you don't pull him below 70mph, you WILL NOT walk it down. Period. BE WARNED: all kinds of computer nanny interference means a tuned (de-nannied), CAI and catback auto is gonna be one helluva lot faster than a stock one.

Conditions: Victorville, California elevation 2900', temp 97 deg F.

Interior: I'm 6'5" and square: I had trouble fitting into it, even with seat all the way back my knees were only 2" from the dash. Head hit the roof until I lowered seat all the way down, and leaned it back a bit. <<>Driving initial impressions: Strong! Surprisingly reminds me of the LS1 Fbodies in the stiffness of suspension and surprising amount of tire noise that makes it into the cab. I like that, but most don't. Fairly stiff body for a pony car, but could definitely be stiffer. Car feels very short from inside: Having sat in a SS, Challenger, and Charger I would say the GT feels like about 5 to 8' shorter. No kidding.

Power: High revving powerband for sure. If you are a true veteran gearhead you can feel? sense? the VVT working. Still not near enough power below 4k though. Laggy throttle and slow downshifts are annoying to say the least- though expected in any modern car available to the ignorant, crappy driver mod public nowadays.

Transmission and gearing: The 6 speed automatic does a masterful job of hiding the deadspots. Seriously, I did launches from every 5mph incremental speed starting at zero and ending at 90mph. It acts like a virgin closing her legs to your advances at every possible location. Only one dead spot- and it's a doozy: 25-30mph. Not 20-30mph, not 25-31mph, but TWENTY FIVE TO THIRTY MPH. Massive dead spot that totally exposes the low torque engines bottom end lack of power.

This 5.0 is a rental, you know it doesn't have the track pack 3.73 gears. Drop 3-5mph for that probably. Any quick LSx 6spd or A4 will literally put 3-4 cars on an auto 5.0 mustang if you race him from that 25-30mph range.

Other than that? Well, there is one spot around 70mph where it drops down to "only" 4200rpms on the hit. That's it. Legs crossed tight, you are gonna have to take that cherry with brute force if you missed your "sweet spot" low roll starting point!

Dig? Does it surprisingly well: I was able to brake stall the converter up to 2100rpms. No shit, they must have a 2600rpm stall convertor from the factory- or a high STR 2400stall maybe? Due to that high stall, they pull just as hard from a 5mph punch as they do from a dig. Same with 10mph.

And at 20mph? Well, good luck. Pulls like a raped ape on steroids from 20mph. It's almost as hard pulling at 60mph, too: those two speeds you DO NOT want to race a 5.0 GT from!!!!!!

Nannies and torque management: They are on this car like white on rice. VERY VERY restrictive on both not going WOT when you want, to 2 second gear changes, to nannies everywhere that you cannot turn off that are keeping the engine from making power. I can EASILY see this car picking up 5 tenths with a tune and maybe another 5 tenths with a CAI, catback, and maybe tires.

Traction: mine hooked great, but it's 97 deg F outside and they were warm and the engine was down on power. The DA at a dragstrip with those conditions would require an oxygen mask!!! Bringing stall up to just before spinning the tires then dumping the gas barely let out a chirp. Just not enough torque, even with the factory high stall. --- and the high DA. Always keep that in mind while reading this post.

Top speed: honestly, it pulls better past 90mph than my GTO does. Speedo just swept on by 80, 90, 100, 110, and to 120 where I let up like it was on a dyno instead of in the middle of a desert at high noon. Very impressive for a Mustang...or most any other car not sporting 400+ real crank hp. You LS1 guys better have some breathing mods on your cars or these 5.0 'Stangs will "Supra" you.

Handling? Put the same tires on a SS and 5.0 and watch the SS walk away on any but maybe a very very tight track. Maybe the Mustang just needs bigger tires, but I think it's a geometry issue: either way bone stock it only gives the impression of being a great handling car- not the reality.

^^And yes, I can make that distinction whereas most other car guys can't. Ain't braggin, it's just the simple truth: I've spent a lot of time on road courses and in fast, modified cars. The 5.0 has the bones to be a great autocrosses, but not with that current suspension setup. And that damned yaw control nanny has to go! It kicks in at 90% of max lateral when it is just starting to get fun.

Conclusion: Do I think it's a stock 12 second car? Absolutely. Even with the annoying nannies, average drivers on average tracks should knock out 12.9-13.0 times with 2000' or lower DA. Tune, CAI, catback should be low to mid 12's.

Side note: I'm also pretty good at judging the airflow thru an engine. This 5.0 feels like it's fully capable of more power with just a cam change. Reminds me a lot of how I felt the first time I drove a LS1 Camaro- I immediately felt it needed a cam! Same here: expect cams to become a "gotta have" for the track crowd. Expect unported heads to pick up 40-50rwhp IF - and that's a big IF- the longblock can handle another 600rpms. If it can, well, ..... GM and Dodge better buy stock in Jenny Craig. Fast.

_______

Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!