More often than not, when I take my car to the auto shop for something simple like an oil change, I end up paying for other services that I didn’t request for; like transmission flush, replacement of spark plugs, wheel balancing, tire rotation, and the list goes on. Do all these things get done? How long does it take for the additional work to get done? Do I pay a fair market price for these services? Who knows! 

Not all auto shops do this, but a lot of people agree with me that most auto shops/ auto technicians are shady. In the U.K this might change, because car care network HiQ is rebranding all it’s centers to more customer friendly garages.

Using simple language instead of the technical jargon, and illustrations on the wall that read “we promise that we won’t carry out unnecessary work…..ever” HiQ is aiming to be the most friendly garage. Instead of the traditional opaque walls that separate the lounge section from the ‘no-bound’ work area, HiQ has installed glass walls that allow customers to see what’s going on in the work area. (via)

   

Images Courtesy of Coolhunter 

 

Move over Lamboghini Reventon, there is a new sherif in town. As part of a collaboration between Motorcity Europe (a design firm based in Germany) and C2P Automotive, The MC1 Supercar is futuristic. Powered by a 600bhp V10 engine, the MC1 features an all carbon fiber monocoque chassis, and 20 Inch front wheels & 21 Inch rear ones.

According to David Hilton, founder Motorcity Europe and former Ford employee, the MC1 will be production ready by 2011 if he finds the right client. Hilton along with C2P Automotive created the MC1 Supercar  Concept in just three months. Even though the Supercar concept has not brand, Hilton promises a recognizable logo will soon sit on it’s grill. Lambo or Ferrari? Lambo would be a better match. (Via)

 

Image Courtesy of Newlaunches

 

According to Motor Trend, Mercedes Benz has approved production on the four door Ocean Drive Convertible Concept. Based on the S600, the Ocean Drive concept was introduced at the 2007 North America International Auto show in Detroit. Likely features would include 510 horsepower, 5.5L V12 engine and a cost of……well, six-figures. Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger have in the past unleashed special Edition four door convertibles, which to me looked mediocre. I also came across a 1955 chevy Nomad which is on sale at ebay for $695,000. The price might go up if someone bids more than the buy now price of $695,000

autoblog

According to the June 07 issue of Automobile, Toyota has given a green light to the production of the FT-HS hybrid sports car. Expected in 2009, the FT-HS is being deemed as the Supra’s successor, will have around 400hp, and expect competitive pricing from Toyota…….via autoblog

ThisNext  is wild about eco-friendly products. Last month we challenged our users to recommend eco-friendly products and tag them “earth day” for each “earth day” recommendation we planted 10 trees. Check out the 1,149 (to be exact) items ThisNext tagged “earth day.”

Let’s face it: most of us who own cars and drive cars – even if we love cars – don’t know a heck of a lot about ‘em. That’s why plain talk from somebody in the know can be so valuable.

Plain talk is exactly what you’ll find in Jason on Cars: a smart, funny guy who writes well and knows what the heck he’s talking about. And he talks about cars that regular folks drive: Hondas, Mazdas, Subarus, Mitsubishis – and not the special editions, but the highway models.

What does he like? Practicality, quality design, and a little excitement – even in the most mundane car. As in this review of the Honda Civic Si: “From the outside, this car reminds me of the bastard child of a Prius and a WRX. It is short and low with sharp lines and a big-ass wing on the back. … In the end, it was fun to drive, not a thriller, but not a sleeper either. I’m sure it’ll create a great base for people to start with, and the modifications they make will only create faster monsters, which may or may not be a good thing. In the end, it was a fun car for under 20k, and will still be as reliable as it’s more tame Honda siblings.” See? Plain talk about plain cars.

I’ve never been to South Carolina, but now I want to go. And I want to go in Windviel’s cool blue Mustang GT, so he can point out all the amazing places he’s visited on the backroads of his truly beautiful state, as described in words and pictures for more than a year on Mustang Rolling. “This is an album which will chronicle a rolling joy which has come my way in the right form, at the right time of my life,” Windviel says. “Earlier on it would have wrecked me and I it. Who I am and what I think are far less important than sharing the sights to which this joyful teaming is taking me.” Chief among the Mustang’s discoveries: Mom and Pop barbecue joints, off the beaten track and described in loving detail – the architecture, the ambience, and the food. Oh, the food. I’m already salivating for the traditional SC barbecue and butter beans at McCabe’s. Take me, please.

Auto IT is an autoblog out of the UK that’s keeping an eye on electric cars in the Old Country. And they have some interesting insights into a new arrival, The Nice Car Company’s Mega City. The new battery system and light design may get the speed up to the promised 40+ mph, but that’s more than necessary for the Mega City’s target market: drivers that frequent the notoriously overcrowded streets of metropolitan London, where nothing goes 40+ mph. Auto IT likes what it sees so far, but the jury is still out. “Potential buyers will not be able to verify any of these details for a while yet - the first Mega City test drives will not be available until October, and the first customer deliveries will not hit London’s pot-holed boulevards until November at the earliest.”

Jim Fraser, in the highly useful Energy Blog, has a ready-and-waiting transportation alternative for us all. It’s Myers Motors’ NmG (No more Gas) vehicle. “Part car, part motorcycle, manufactured entirely in Tallmadge, Ohio, the NmG is the nation’s only all-electric, highway-legal vehicle that can hit 70 mph and costs less than $25,000,” he says. The NmG is a single-passenger vehicle with two front wheels and a single drive wheel in the rear, fully enclosed for all-weather driving. It takes four to six hours to charge and costs about 2 cents. And you can get it now.

David Lavrinc has been doing Drivewire, a smart, cheerful blog on the coolest cars. The good news: others have noticed, too, and David has just begun as stint as co-editor of Autoblog, one of the biggest and best auto-lovin’ sites online. The bad news: it means Drivewire will get less attention in the future. It’s not down and out, David says, but for your daily dose of auto-insights, go to Autoblog. In the meantime, there’s still plenty of gold on Drivewire, like word from Hyundai that they may introduce a rear-wheel-drive sports sedan in 2008 as a “poor man’s BMW”, followed by a coupe and convertible to be produced on the same platform in 2009. “Rear-wheel drive in a well-priced Korean car?” David says. “Bring it, please.”

Neatorama calls this the “cutest car EVAR!”, and they may be right: a faithful but somehow cartoonish recreation of Suzuki’s first car: the 1955 Suzulight two-seater. Oooh, you just wanna pinch its little steel cheeks!

You wouldn’t expect a blog with a name like The Hollywood Extra to be all about cars, but it is: The amazingly named Vince Burlapp (he really is an extra in Hollywood) talks about beautiful cars and cool cars and crash tests and cars we haven’t even seen in the U.S., and almost every entry is accompanied by terrific photos. Like this one: the best shot so far of Lotus’ remarkable Tesla Roadster, the world’s greatest-looking electric car.

Say it loud, say it proud: CarScoop: A site dedicated to the car fanatic. And who isn’t a little fanatical about the 2007 MiniCoopers, which somehow manage to combine cool and cute into one tiny car.

The Car Connection site is a premiere webshop for buying cars…but hiding inside is TCC Confidential, filled with funny, smart ‘inside’ bits and cool new pics of great new cars.  Where else could you find out that Ford is putting hundreds of thousands of models cars of their Fusion four-door into Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, and Cocoa Krispies…and one of ‘em (a red one!) is actually a ticket to getting a “new, real, life-sized and distinctly inedible Fusion.”  The odds aren’t all that bad: the cars are going only into about 600,000 boxes boxes being distributed at Target stores.  Froot Loops, Ford, and Target … a three-way marriage made in mercantile heaven, and a chance for a BRAND NEW CAR!

TheWatt is a barebones, very dense blog that links to just about everywhere in the green world, with information on everything from steam, wind, and geothermal energy to head-to-head comparisons on the various battery-powered electric cars currently available…like the Toyota RAV4 and its green, wheeled brethren from Nissan, Th!nk, and REVA. A digital crossroads in the cybergreen, with one of the most popular podcasts in the field.

Egon’s got the right idea: blog about what you care about, with the emphasis on the you (and for that matter, on the care about).  And what Egon cares about, he tells us on AutomoBlog, is “performance cars, sports cars, exotic cars, muscle cars and classic cars. If you like fast cars, then this site is for you.  You will not find articles on the Honda Insight or Toyota Prius, unless they put a turbocharger and K&N FIPK on it. Nor will you find information on any minivan, sub-compact, truck, SUV, or motorcycle unless they stand out in some way and deserve a mention. I do my own research on every article, and I do not simply cut and paste from other site’s articles. If any information is taken from another site, it is specifically noted and cited. I don’t work for Motor Trend, and I wouldn’t even call myself a ‘good writer.’ I am, however, a car nut.”

And a great resource…like some great images and insight on the Cadillac Cien, Cadillac’s “extraordinary-looking” concept car with a design is based on the F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter Jet.

Auto-Journals is a relatively new, very attractive and fresh-thinking group blog out of the UK that sounds a lot like ThisNext.  Its goal: “to reveal the truth of car ownership, from those who know best - the owners.” And so far, the resulting entries and pics from a wide variety of bloggers (mostly from the UK so far) has been insightful and amusing. Recent entires include comments on…

…Alfa Romeos: James explains why an otherwise sane man would buy an Alfa. New. With his own money…

…The Audi Ag Allroad: The Brunette’s All Terrain Armoured Transport: Can it possibly replace a Prodrive Impreza in the Yu household’s affections?

…BMWs: Return of Godzilla: David buys another 2 door 4 seat metallic purple monster. How often will this one blow up?

Here’s where the passionate fan’s POV can be far more valuable than all the professional reviews and promotional material in the world. And if that isn’t pure ThisNext thinking, we don’t know what is.

David Leggett may be an auto industry “insider”, but his blog, buried inside the just-auto.com news-and-comment website, doesn’t sound like that at all. He talks in plain English, covers everything from the latest industry information to video clips of Paris Hilton backing into a Civic to some pithy comments on Ford and global warming and the real info on the all-electric Tesla that’s the buzz of Europe at the moment. Nice to find a warm, well-informed voice in the industry that you can actually trust.

You want to see cool pictures of cools cars? Have we got a site for you: Auto Junkies. (The name kind of says it all, doesn’t it?) Eric and Scott love high-performance cars, just like this incredible new Porsche 911 GT3. In fact, in recent months they say very little and just post these great pics they’ve taken or found…and you know all about these guys just from the choices they make (a very ThisNext kind of concept). Enjoy!

So are the major car companies doing anything about biofuel, electric, or hybrid vehicles?  The answer seems to be “yes, finally” … though whether it’s enough (or ever will be) is still an open question.  Still, you can follow the expanding field and get the good news at Green Car Congress, a group blog edited by Mike Millikin, that provides “timely, high-quality editorial about the full spectrum of energy options, technologies, products, issues and policies related to sustainable mobility.”  Lilke the recent news that Ford has taken the lead as the first manufacturer in the world to produce a dedicated 6.8 liter V-10 hydrogen engine. What…big auto doing something RIGHT?  How odd…

You want straight talk about cool cars?  You could do WAY worse than the UK car lovers over on Petrol Head.  Funny, smart, and no holds barred, as in their recent assessment of the lovely new Volvo S60: “Have this ever happened to you? You’re going to a club, are ready to strut your stuff on the dance floor. You take a seat and are chatting with your friends when the ladies of the group want to go and powder their noses. You acquiesce and carry on discussing until their return makes you totally confused. Despite your expert eye, you perceive no changes and you still ask yourself the point of this female ritual. 

“What is the link with the refreshed Volvo S60? Well, the time required by girls for a discussion in front of the mirror is equivalent to the time taken by Volvo to refresh the Volvo S60 – and in both cases changes are impossible to discern…”