Dodge Challenger

When you see the Challenger straight away you think of the Dukes of Hazard, right. Well of course the Dukes of Hazard really did drive the Old school Dodge Challenger. Bit of a boys toy then, rough, rugged and raw. Yes it did look good then. Now I have a chance to look at the Challenger up close and personal. Forget what you saw on TV, this is the real deal in front of you. Not very appealing to the eye. I guess most people would say, ah well its a muscle car and Dodge have stuck to tradition and kept the look of the Challenger pretty much the same as its predecessor. Well thats true and thats not, at the same time true. Thing is, Dodge failed to infuse tradition and the future because with this design , no one can incorporate the modern aerodynamics. Basically this is a very ugly car.  The back is not too appealing either. Shows lack of imagination on the part of the design team. The length of the Challanger does not do justice to the car's sporty feel. Kind of feels like, the people at Dodge came out with the Challenger without engaging their brains in gear. More like panic production, because Chevrolet and Ford had managed to transform their muscle cars from the classics to the morden day powers they are.

Of course the inside is that of a real muscle car. Not much is needed inside except perhaps a stool , gear stick and steering.Well bit brutal there but the inside is really basic. Whoever came up wit the notion of having muscle cars with automatic transmission? It defeats the purpose of having so much power in a motor. So the inside is pretty basic. not sure I care about the wing mirrors,too old fashioned and hard to see out of.

The Challenger has a a distinct sound to it. Sound a bit tame though compared to the Mustang. the Mustang sounds more aggressive even though it has a smaller engine. The purr is that of a NASCAR. The challenger boasts a 5.7l  HEMI V8 357 Horsepower engine. Quite a powerful engine. You cannot exactly feel the power as  the Challenger is  carrying too much weight. Not as slim lined as the Camaro or the Mustang. Rather disappointing, but then again it is a Dodge, and they are not well known for their innovation are they? Had a tough time trying to adjust my view in the wing mirrors. On the road the Challenger was a bit slow for a muscle car. The get up and book is unimpressive. I would not recommend this car because there are better performers in the same class.

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Chrysler Sebring

This is the motor I drive. Not outstanding at all, very basic. Reliable in more ways than not. In some cases very unreliable. Its not too appealing to the eye but at the same time its not too bad looking. Then again this is a Chrysler, these guys are not known for their high end cars, are they? Big jump from the model before it really. I guess it was in the hope of being competitive but this was not the case. The market did not react favorably to this mid sized sedan so really, the price is rather low. This is a 2.7-liter V6 good for 189 hp.

The inside again is very plain. Chrysler did not go out of their way to design this interior.

Pretty ordinary ha, nothing worth writing home about. Its pretty roomy and you are very comfortable in it. One thing I can say about the Sebring is that, it is surprisingly comfortable. And when driving everything is within reach. Trunk space is not all that great though, does the job, but not too good.

The drive is very good, the Chrysler Sebring handles very well. Pretty different for a car that is very basic. The fuel economy is pretty ordinary in the Sebring. In fact its very horrible. So really what you are looking at is a very big gas bill which makes the Chrysler Sebring cost you more in the long run. Another thing thats true about the Chrysler Sebring, is the way it is so steady when you are driving on the freeway. Good for those long runs.

Certain details Chrysler always conveniently forgot to mention is the gearbox locking up in park mode. This happens in pretty much all the Chyslers. They know about this but they are willing to put a car out on the road. Who does that?

So what just because I paid $ 20000.00+, which is peanuts in car terms, Chrysler do not have to improve their cars at all. This is why this car should be on my wall of shame too.

2011 Toyota Tundra

Toyota, known for their good cars, not. Very dangerous acceleration which  resulted in many casualties. Even one guy from San Diego California tried to cash in and supposed his car was out of control. So naturally every time one  looks at a Toyota, there is always an air of uncertainty,  and rightly so. Too many Toyotas   recalls. I was close enough to tiptoeing into the Toyota dealership , do not know why, but just know that I was nearly doing it.. I did walk in and looked at the Tundra. Now America is a land of SUVs  and trucks. They stretch as far as the eye can see, everywhere you look really. Everyday you are bombarded with car commercials, especially during the American football season, every manufacturer claims to have the truck that does the job, and only driven by  real men. With this Tundra I think the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and eat I did. Just the curves on the Tundra makes it a little more desirable than other trucks in the game Aerodynamics on a truck, not bad. Then you have the size of the truck that makes it a real American truck which has managed successfully to retain the Toyota look. Big with the double cab package. This is a step up from the Tacoma model.  Now we could go into the whole Trapezoidal Frame, which allows the Leaf springs to be positioned toe-out. The advantage of this design is that, the Tundra delivers superior lateral control when turning especially under heavy loading, that is, towing a rather heavy load. Borish is it not. Basically, it means the Tundra was designed in such a fashion that it can take  to corners well without straining the frame too much.

Trucks as usual are supposed to come standard, Winding windows, basic gear shift and no comfort taken into consideration. Basically is there room at the back to carry a workman's equipment and , can a truck tow big loads? While the truck does this, can the driver be protected from the elements? If these questions are answered then yes lets put the truck out there. What about safety, fuel efficiency and dare I dream, comfort. Well all this is encompassed in this truck.  The seats can be adjusted to the needs of the driver and in the Limited model they are actually leather seats. No need for that though, because it is still a truck, and the basic function is work. The Tundra is the only truck with the slide and recline rear seats, 44.5 inches of legroom in the back. With the 60/40 split the rear seat fold flat and  forms a hard work surface. Indeed the Toyota Tundra is big in all the rite places.

Now again the drive was a surprise., because thing is with most trucks its all about how much the truck can tow, and this truck 4 x 2, 5.7L, V8 can tow 9900 lb. and that is 1100 less than the Nissan Titan. I am surprised though that the Toyota Tundra is two wheel drive. Disappointing actually, because it is a very weak off road truck. It is never about how well it handles. This handles very well and with Traction control in slippery conditions, a driver does not worry too much about skids, This is also aided by VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL (VSC) which monitors the steering angle and compares it to the direction in which the truck is traveling. Any discrepancies and the VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL (VSC) corrects the anomaly. This is a smooth ride, sturdy and never sluggish. And of course its a truck, it will definitely have that roar and that is music to my ears. The safety which comes standard in any Tundra is the latest adopted system of side curtain and front seat mounted airbags. There is also front and outboard passenger knee airbags.

Fuel economy is what you have come to expect in a big gas guzzler like the Tundra, 14mpg City and 18 mpg Highway. Never disappoint, these big cars. Go on and  destroy the environment, why don't you Toyota.

Starting at just over $26000.00, maybe people should start forgiving toyota and and maybe making an appearance inthe Toyota Showrooms.

 For the Specification detail plese visit:

http://www.toyota.com/tundra/features.html

DRIVERNOMICS WALL OF SHAME

I AM GOING TO UPDATE THIS AS WE GO ALONG.

LEXUS LS460

 CHRYSLER SEBRING

2010 Lexus LS 460

Looks good does it not? I agree. Toyota have done well to put the Lexus out there because this car is standing against the BMW 7 series, Mercedes S  Class, Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ. Doing a good job of it all too well, except the recalls of course. Apparently there was a malfunction in their electronics that can cause the steering wheel to fall out of alignment. Usually when stories like this start or do rounds in the papers, its been about for a while. Means Lexus would have been trying to do some damage control, but now they cannot contain the press onslaught. Hey I say, let them get slaughtered.


I have not heard that Lexus have sorted that problem, which means they are still in the doghouse. And to this site the Lexus LS 460 is the first car on the wall of shame. A few more cars will be joining the Lexus LS460 on there. I am sure you can all agree that People's safety is the foremost thing to be considered when designing and manufacturing a car. sadly lexus had other things on their minds. Hardly a sobering thought when paying such an amount for a car. Who pays $ 74 000.00 to go off the road? Unforgivable.



Luxury car which is a death trap. No go area.

2011 Ford Mustang GT

Another Ford masterpiece. I am saying this because,  Ford are usually about low end cars. Pure American Muscle this one. This is one thing Americans are known for, big engine cars with an extra bit of umpf. And I mean one of those, baby lets go cars. Kick Ass Ride. This is one of those bad boys. Very unassuming on the outside. It has this kind of rugged look about it. Very appealing to the petrol heads, but not to everyone is a gas junkie. One thing I like though, is the fact that the contours and feel can easily be transformed into an urban jungle dweller. The little horse emblem at the front has a mysterious look about it, what I do not know, Maybe this wild horse which is free to go. So whats the interior like. Bearing in mind its a sporting motor, not a lot of effort is put in the design of the interior, of these sort of cars. You might as well be sitting on a little rock, or the floor with the steering and long ugly gearshift for all we care. All you have to feel as the driver, is the muscle. But wait, these guys had another surprise.

Plain but not too plain. Matter of fact you can sit in the car feeling like you have the necessary tools to operate this machine. Nice fancy dials, a little gear shift. Diping seats that cup your assets as you sit comfortably. Caution though, cars with such rigid suspension are not for those marathon runs, your bum will go to sleep. Got the massive speakers for you to be banging as you race those streets, against those Nissan Skylines, Mitsubishi Evos and such. But all those other cars are twigged here and there, to give them the edge, but Mustang GT is straight off the line onto the street, ready to blitz. There is a back seat in some of the Mustangs but really you have no need for it. Built for the road. I just had to throw in that V8 GT engine for you to appreciate what I am talking about.

Only a beast carries such under the hood. As soon as I turned the engine , it felt like, it was about business. Revved up the engine a bit and you could feel the car  shaking, and the purr was just overwhelming. Bearing in mind this is a 5.0L engine delivering 412 horsepower. Now I believe , because I was inside this machine.Any other day I would said,"What a load of waffle." As you cruise the street,  it feels like you are stifling the car a little bit because, clearly you cant open her up. On the freeway it is another matter. The car just sat on the asphalt and started chewing it. I mean it just came into its own and just belted. You can get this in manual transmission or automatic. Drove the automatic one, but manual is more fun with six-speed gearbox. All the other drives could do, was watch as I sped past their cars. People I am talking acceleration to the maximum, and the Mustang GT seemed in no mood to slow down. only limiting factor was the police. When you read other publications, all you hear is this, 0 - 60 in however secs talk. Really all you are doing is imagining, but I was living the experience in the Mustang. Monster , now I know what people mean, when they say American Muscle, because it is muscle on the road indeed. Yes The Mustang GT does 0 - 60 in 4.3sec. Meaning if you are in any other car, then all you can see is dust or fumes even. So if you want to live a Quater mile at a time as the Americans so ably put it, then you can do this in 12.8 sec. This is fast , real fast. The price you pay in gallons  is not bad though. 17mpg city and 26 mpg Highway

The Ford Mustang is well Sturdy to so that is a plus, and the center of gravity is really low. This means chances of this car flipping are very low, but this is not to mean go out there and act stupid especially this LABOR DAY WEEKEND. I just wonder how well the Mustang will compare with the Challenger or Camaro , to name a few. Looking really good so far. Even the BMW M3 , Audi S4, Mercedes C350, even with their price tags might not perform as well as this monster.

Very reasonably priced too, at just over $22 000.00. Petrol heads now is your chance to look at a car worth its weight in Speed and Performance.
For Specifications check: http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/mustang/