Future Ford Product Teased Just Before Debut, May Monitor Driver’s Health

Checking out GoFurtherLive.com, the site Ford has set up to livestream video from their upcoming reveal of the all-new 2015 Mustang, it appears that the teaser video may include exterior and interior views of the new car, along with the possibility that the 50th anniversary version of Ford's pony car will actually monitor the driver's health.

 

While mentioning that Ford executives will be present for "major product reveals", the video references "remarkable technologies" while a list of technology features scroll on the screen. Included among features like Fully Automated Parking, SYNC Emergency Assist and Lane Keep Assist are two features that appear to have the ability to monitor the driver's health: ECG Heart Rate Monitoring and Glucose Level Monitoring. Some cars today can record all sorts of performance data. Extending a car's information technology to record the driver's 'performance' levels as well is a logical next step.

Of course, it's just a promotional video. The driver monitoring technologies might be science fiction and the images might not be of the new Mustang but the fact that those health measurements are included on that list shows that at the very least, someone in Dearborn is thinking about them.

Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can get a parallax view at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don't worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS

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The Cold Hard Light Of Reality: Three Months With The Town & Country S

Buying a new car is exciting and if you are like me, you spend weeks comparing the possible candidates. You start out by looking at photos and then seeking out road tests. You gather sales brochures, pour over the spec sheets and examine the option packages. You compare prices, build fleets of similarly optioned virtual vehicles at the manufacturers' websites and eventually head to the dealership. You kick the tires, poke, prod and generally examine the merchandise. You find things you don't like and things you do. You take a test drive, go home to think, come back and drive again. Eventually you buy.

Signing the papers on a new car is pure euphoria. It's an orgasm of consumerism. Your signature spills out the end of the pen and onto the paper in the ultimate release after weeks of delicate maneuvering and pent-up anticipation. It is point where years of scrimping and saving intersect with the idea that the future is a real place and that you have committed to going there. When the act is completed, you are exhausted but happy. You've made your choice, are committed to the relationship and now have no choice but to be happy with what you've done. You have invested too much to admit to making a mistake.

Three months into the relationship that surge of emotion is long gone and you are living with the results. The cold, hard light of reality shines down upon the choices you have made and the real assessment begins. I am there now. It has been almost three months and 1500 miles since I spent my own hard-earned money on a 2013 Chrysler Town & Country S. Summer is long gone and autumn is turning to winter, how fares the vehicle?

Pretty damn well, actually. With just 1500 miles on the clock, the engine is just beginning to break-in but so far there have been no problems. The mill is smooth, quiet and makes oodles of power and connects to the road through a slick shifting transmission that has already learned my wife's driving habits and a well-sorted chassis. As someone who dislikes revving an engine to make a car go, I'm glad that the 3.6 Pentastar piles on the torque early and the van accelerates smoothly all across the rev range. The suspension, which feels plush and compliant on the rough Buffalo roads, keeps the car solidly planted in the curves and allows spirited drivers to silence cranky babies in the back seat through the miracle of lateral G-force induced blackouts.

Mechanically the T&C is a winner but I am also amazed that an amount of thought that went into its interior. I noticed the well thought out controls and good looking instrument cluster on our initial test drives, but it wasn't until after I purchased the vehicle that I got the opportunity to see what it was like to be in at night. When the sun goes down and the lights come up, the already beautiful instrument cluster turns into a 1950's Wurlitzer Juke-Box and the neon theme runs the length of the passenger compartment in the form of dim blue interior lighting that illuminates the space from behind the overhead console. There is even a blue LED band that runs around the drink holder in the console between the front seats. To someone more cultured than yours truly, that might seem like a trite little add-on but to me lighting effects are to the future what the tail fin is to the past.

My inner cheapskate would not have allowed me to check the box that would not have ordered most of the electronic gizmos that the T&C S comes loaded with standard but they truly add that extra layer of luxury to an already well composed machine. When my family took a day trip to Toronto a week or two ago the in-dash blue ray DVD player and twin overhead flat screens went into instant operation and kept the kids' attention the entire ride. The navigation, something I have forgone on every vehicle with the exception of the JDM Mazda MPV we owned in Okinawa, usually runs quietly in the background while I drive, but was used extensively during our trip into the maelstrom that is the Toronto area freeway system. With the single exception of the device steering us into the collector lanes for the last part of our trip rather than directing us into the express lanes, the Navi functioned flawlessly.

The best news is that all this technology is easy to use. I don't know if you've noticed but sometime in the last few years the tech aficionado that once occupied my skin turned into a crotchety old man. The days of me sitting down and reading an owner's manual are long gone. If I can't learn how something works in less than 5 minutes by trial and error, I'm unhappy. Chrysler's technology package is simple enough that I was able to learn how it worked on the fly. I will admit that I had to research how to hook the cell phone into the blue tooth system, but even that was accomplished in just a couple of minutes.

Of course there have been a couple of issues, too. The back up sensors my wife wanted installed as a dealer added option are less than satisfactory. The initial install was fraught with problems and the van went to the dealer four times to have the problems resolved. The end result is a system that is far too sensitive for my taste, sounding the alarm at even minor changes in the pavement behind the van as we back up, and with a chirpy warning alarm that is shrill and cheap-sounding in a van that exudes solidity, quiet and comfort. The good news is that the dealer did their best to make things right by giving us free loaner vehicles every time the van visited their shop and by adding a full rust proofing treatment at no cost to me.

Three months and 1500 miles is not a lot of time with a new vehicle, but it is long enough that the rose colored glasses have come off. The euphoria is gone and the hard, cold light of the day after is here. Day to day life with the T&C is smooth and easy and if I was not totally in love when I rolled the dice and took her home, I have learned over the ensuing weeks of our relationship that there is more to her than meets the eye. Pretty to look at, warm, soft and thoughtful when I am in her embrace and with an amazing combination of practicality and unexpected strength she is, I think, a jewel. If she is durable as well, then our love will be one for the ages.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thomas Kreutzer currently lives in Buffalo, New York with his wife and three children but has spent most of his adult life overseas. He has lived in Japan for 9 years, Jamaica for 2 and spent almost 5 years as a US Merchant Mariner serving primarily in the Pacific. A long time auto and motorcycle enthusiast, he has pursued his hobbies whenever possible. He also enjoys writing and public speaking where, according to his wife, his favorite subject is himself.

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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Rental Review: BMW Z4

A business trip sent me to Tampa last week. I had decided that I would rent a car for my own use while I was there. The plan was to visit family in Fort Myers and then drive back to Tampa for the meeting. After a particularly bad day at work prior to leaving for Florida, I decided on the plane that I would upgrade to a convertible. You know, as a gift to myself. From myself.

Me: What convertibles do you have available?

Rental Car Guy: (Looks at the computer, makes a phone call, and asks for something "sporty") There's a Chrysler 200 and a BMW Z4.

If he had said anything other than a 200 I would have picked the more reasonable choice. A Mustang? Right on. A Camaro? I'm there. I would rather drive anything other than a 200. Renting a BMW wasn't something I had considered but it seemed like a really good idea.

Me: How much is the Z4? A million dollars?

Rental Car Guy: Not quite.


Twenty minutes later, I'm standing beside a 2012 BMW Z4 Sdrive28i watching two guy from Budget try to figure out how to put the top down. Twenty five minutes later, I'm trying to put the top back up so I can get my car charger out of my suitcase. Twenty eight minutes later, I'm trying to put the top down again. The men that took me to the car had left and there was a woman sitting at the key booth watching me get in and out of the car and futz with the persnickety trunk.

"Do you need help?"

"Erm…No?" There's a tray in the trunk and anything being stored has to be underneath it and the tray has to be pulled down and locked before the top can go down. Eventually, I figured out that the tray may look like it's locked in place but, according to my own personal, highly scientific study, 79% of the time it is not. That's a lesson that I learned, and I learned it about four times.

With the top down, the trunk will hold a carry-on and not much else, but I didn't get the Z4 for the trunk space.

I did however, get it because it is a convertible. It was cloudy when I left the airport but the purpose of me getting the Z4 was to see the sky, so I ignored the clouds and headed from TPA to Fort Myers. The trip is about 120 miles and it involves crossing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Halfway across the bridge it started to rain. The shoulder was narrow and I didn't think about pulling over. I did think about trying to slow down enough to put the top up, but considering the average speed of Florida drivers (roughly equaling infinity plus one), I decided to just drive faster. I was able to personally verify that driving fast will sort of prevent rain from coming into a convertible, but as soon as I slowed down at the end of the bridge, the inside of the car got damp and I had to wipe down everything.

I like buttons in cars. Buttons in general actually; they're instant gratification — press a button and something happens. As soon as I got out of the rain and into the bulk of the trip, about seventy miles on 75 South, I started pressing buttons. iDrive has several different menus: media, radio, navigation, telephone, preferences, etcetera, that are accessible while driving. I had no problem driving and entering in my destination address at the same time. I wasn't confident in BMW's navigation system so I was using Google maps from my phone (the directional devil that you know is better than the one that you don't). For a while I forced them to compete until I eventually turned off the BMW voice and just used its display maps.

After the dashboard buttons were conquered, I moved on to the seat adjustments. Without seeing the button that I was pressing, I hit what I thought to be the lumbar adjustment. It turned out to be the memory button for the seat. The seat went back until I couldn't touch the gas, and the side view mirrors pointed downward. (I am going to assume the previous renter was an extremely tall, short-waisted man.) I'd done it; because of my awesome button pressing abilities, I'd managed to find the one button that should not be able to be pressed while the car is in motion. I spent several minutes afterwards fixing the position of the mirrors and was slowed down by the fact that the side view and rear view mirrors are auto dimming. They looked and acted like crappy window tint. I would much prefer being blinded to mumbling about not being able to see anything behind me.

The next day, after a completely pointless and infuriating meeting, I was able to drive the Z4 and get a better feel for it. I found a mostly empty park with lots of roads that had lots of speed bumps. It turned out that the Z4 could get from 10 MPH to 50 MPH to 10 MPH in between bumps. After the park, I drove around Clearwater. Traffic wasn't conducive to flappy paddling, but I did my best to annoy everyone around me. I would slow down enough to get a good amount of room in between my front bumper and the car ahead, red line it, and then shift. I never was able to get it up to eighth but fifth gear was good enough for having fun purposes. Flappy paddles + traffic = plenty of fast stops. After the first fast stop, my purse with its eight Chapsticks/lip glosses and $15.94 worth of loose change ended up on the floor of the passenger seat. After that, it got tucked behind the passenger seat on a 4" shelf that's good for little else. After subsequent fast stops, a cheese Danish slid out from under the seat. Apparently tall, short-waisted man had an affinity for prepackaged pastries. I took a picture of it and then put it back under the seat. A friend called me chicken later for not eating it, but I stand by my decision.

The rental ended up being $211.00 for the day or four times what the midsized would have cost and about three times more than the 200. It was more than I what was planning on spending (and sadly not able to be 100% expensed), but insofar as it was at least three times better than the Chrysler 200 would have been, I feel it was money well spent.

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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Black Friday: Valvoline Motor Oil And Recyclable Low-Quality Tools

If there ever was a combination of good and bad offers for the DIY auto enthusiast, it's the so-called Black Friday deals.

5 Quarts of Valvoline with a Purolator Classic for $9.99 plus a $5 Valvoline coupon is pretty much the best oil deal I have seen since the G-Oil giveaways.

Impact wrenches that are made of low quality materials and old-school heavy batteries, utter garbage. Some of the manufacturers of these models should be shot on principle alone.

You can also throw in cheap wrench sets into the mix. I know they work in a pinch. But I just hate em'. Too many bad memories.

So what's worth buying?

The only items I tend to buy on Black Friday are commodity goods. The oil change deals are a perfect fit for my line of work, and are usually the best deals of the year for that automotive line item. I used to also get brake pads, coolant, free spark plugs (as many as 32 a visit), and power inverters which tend to be pretty difficult to screw up.

As for tools, I avoid the Black Friday program altogether. I follow what I consider to be the Germanic school of gradual parts gathering. The expert tells the apprentice what he should buy, and the one learning shuts their mouth and simply buys the stuff without complaint. If you still want to time this sort of thing, Father's Day tends to be a pretty good time to buy power tools along with the springtime sales. But when it comes to investing in work, I just listen to those who know more than me and get what they value. This Autel OBDII scanner is a great example.

Today will be one of those quiet days for personal shopping. One store, and then I will go home and observe the quiet of autumn. So I guess I should offer a two-fold question.

A) Are there any great automotive deals in your lifetime that still stick in your mind?

B) Was there ever a time in your automotive life when you just kept quiet and followed the advice of an experienced soul?

One of the great rewards of auto auction work is getting to know folks who know far more about certain things than yours truly. They live it. They repair the under-engineered engines and transmission issues, and upgrade those pesky plasticized parts whenever the bean counters are all too happy to shovel low-quality crap to their current customers.

Cheap almost always has a price, but there are a few notable exceptions. So what were yours?

 

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Now This Is A Burnout!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I've never quite understood the appeal of burnouts, well, unless you're warming up your tires in preparation for a 1/4 mile run on a dragstrip. Sure, it's nice to spin your tires once and a while, just to reassure yourself that the car has enough power to break the driving wheels loose if you need to do it, but just spinning your wheels to make big plumes of smokes seems to me to be, well, just spinning your wheels. I'm no fan of drifting, but at least all the wheelslip in drifting competitions has a point. It's one thing if the smoky burnouts are in celebration of a race win, though to be honest, those got old a long time ago, about as spontaneous as Vettel or Schumacher spraying champagne after a F1 win from pole to pole, but turning your tires into rubber smoke while going nowhere just strikes me as pointless and wasteful.

Burnouts are also not without risk. Tires can catch fire, or explode, damaging bodywork or mechanical components. Actually, the owner of this Corvette with what appears to be a supercharger sticking through the hood probably wished his tires had caught fire and exploded, instead of his car catching fire and exploding while doing a burnout at a 2010 car show. From where the fire seems to have started, it's possible that an overheated transmission or leaking transmission fluid was the cause. Whatever the cause, something keeps feeding the flames, the fuel pump, transmission fluid or engine oil. Of course, once the conflagration spread far enough, all three of those fluids, along with the Corvette's plastic body panels, were involved.

Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can get a parallax view at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don't worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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Lincoln to Consider “Legacy” Names Due to Chinese Influence

Remember when Lincoln had cars with names such as Mark, Continental, Zephyr, Town Car and Versailles? Alas, unless you want to own a body-on-frame SUV from the newly renamed Lincoln Motor Company, your choices begin with MK, and end with a letter that somehow corresponds to the model in question.

Should Ford's VP of Global Marketing Jim Farley have his way, however — and you happen to also be a resident of China — the next Lincoln to be sold may have a real name upon its backside once more.

Why? The Blue Oval plans to reintroduce Lincoln to the Chinese market, who still remembers when many a government official and president turned up in a Continental; this may also explain in part why the lead car in the funeral for North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il was a Lincoln, if not how it got there in the first place.

Farley believes the concept of non-alphanumeric nomenclatures is worth revisiting, though no current model will receive a proper name for the foreseeable future. Until then, Lincoln's customer base will continue to need to remember which MK is the right MK for them, unless they want a Navigator, of course.

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Wiesmann Petitions to Dismiss Bankruptcy

Wiesmann, the German maker of BMW powered retro sports cars, looked like it was going to join other European specialist automakers that have declared bankruptcy like Cosworth, Gumpert, Artega, Lola and the London Taxi Company, but the small company has apparently cleaned up its balance sheet and has applied to have its insolvency proceedings dismissed. Wiesmann has been operating since 1993 in Dülmen, Germany. No further explanation was given in the company's announcement beyond stating that the application to dismiss the bankruptcy was "due to abolition of the insolvency reasons". A meeting with Wiesmann's creditors is scheduled for mid-December.

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