Sure, they'll say it's for safety, driving on excessively worn tires is dangerous, but something more sinister is afoot. German firm ProContour has developed a tire tread depth measuring system that beams a laser at the wheels of passing vehicles and takes 430 million measurements per second to develop a three-dimensional profile of that tire. Tread depth and pattern are then calculated, and if there's less than .06 inches of tread or the pattern is clearly inappropriate (studded snows in the summer, for example), a citation is automagically issued. While we're admittedly being cynical, the safety aspect of what ProContour has developed is pretty impressive. The ability to scan the tires of vehicles as they pass at speeds in excess of 50 km/h takes some doing, and we've seen horrid things posing as tires, so kudos, but a fine strikes us as a bit hardcore. Of course, financial pain might have a Pavlovian effect and cause those bitten by the Tire Ticket Fairy to keep a closer eye on their tires. It'd be a joke to assume that everyone already inspects their tires for condition and inflation on a regular basis, but that's how it should be, but then, there'd be no business model for ProContour. None of ProContour's big-brother rigs have been installed yet, but the company is shopping it around to local governments eager for yet another way to stick it to the citizens. The safety idea is laudable, but we're skeptical how a challenge to the seemingly infallible computer might go, should the system go all HAL9000 on us. Thanks for the tip, Rod! Video after the jump (in German).
If you've been dying to see animated versions of Click and Clack -- aliases Tom and Ray Magliozzi -- then you'll want to tune into your local PBS station tonight. Their new series, As the Wrench Turns, starts off with their presidential campaign, with one of the platforms being "America needs a lube job!" We're all for it. Big Bird and the Cookie Monster will also make a cameo, though we're not sure if it's tonight. Check your PBS site for local times, or check out the show's site for a preview of the mechanical mayhem.
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Mazda RX-8.
You've got to hand it to Mazda for its perseverance with the Wankel rotary engine design. Ever since it's engineers managed to make it semi-reliable, the turbine-like smoothness of the quick-spinning lump has seen duty in numerous Mazda-branded vehicles, and even a few others as well. Still, despite constant engineering work and updates to the basic rotary engine design, there is a lingering question about the reliability of the design. Most owners seem happy with the engines in their RX, that is, until a seal blows or they forget to keep the oil supply topped up and it fails to restart. Or it floods in the winter, needing a tow. Alright... so there may be a few problems.
To ease the minds of RX-8 owners and owners-to-be, Mazda has reportedly decided to extend the warranty coverage for the 2004-2008 Renesis rotary engine for a period of eight years or 100,000 miles. Mazda even goes so far as to offer reimbursement to those who've spent money on engine repairs before 100,000 miles. This seems like a nice measure made in good faith on Mazda's part. After all, most educated owners of the rotary-powered cars knew what they were getting when these purchases were made, and the engine was already covered under the same basic warranty that comes standard with all Mazda vehicles. Nice work, Mazda.
In the interest of full disclosure, this particular blogger bought an RX-8 new in 2004, though it was sold two years later.
The pains many automobile owners are feeling at their local service station isn't just at the pump -- prices for general maintenance is also increasing. Petroleum based products, such as oil and tires, are heading north with the price of gasoline. Demand for steel has also pushed up prices on various automotive parts. That means consumers are seeing larger bills from their auto repair specialists, even when their exhaust doesn't require three people to install. Instead, many are choosing to squeeze pennies and skimp on elaborate repairs in order to stay on the road. AAA says in 2008 the average vehicle owner will spend $8,121 to operate their automobile. That is up nearly $300 from last year. The only ease in operational expenses could come from the insurance industry. As costs increase, people drive less and less, which should subsequently lead to fewer accidents and lower premiums.
Volkswagen announced today that its entire 2009 lineup will come with a new Carefree Maintenance Program standard. What this means is that all scheduled maintenance for your 2009 Vee-Dub will be done and paid for by Volkswagen for the length of your limited warranty, which is 3 years or 36,000 miles. The program will debut with the new Tiguan crossover and Routan minivan, and should come in handy considering the former requires at least three scheduled service stops for maintenance before it hits 36,000 miles and the latter requires six. Other automakers like BMW and VW's own sister brand Audi offer free scheduled maintenance programs as well, but this is the first time we've seen it offered to folks who aren't buying a luxury car. Would free scheduled maintenance lure you into a VW dealership when shopping for a new car or is this program required by the German automaker to improve its perception of quality in the U.S.? Check out VW's official press release on the new program after the jump for more details.
Toyota had begun receiving a few reports from customers that excessive corrosion was occurring on the frames of some older Tacoma pickups, specifically 1995 to 2000 models. The Japanese automaker determined that during this half decade of production, some Taco frames may not have received the kind of corrosion protection from the factory that's needed to withstand harsh climes, especially ones where salt is used to deice roadways. While there is no recall and Toyota says that the number of instances where it has found rust go beyond the surface of the frame to penetrate the metal is small, the automaker is pulling an unorthodox move and doing something about anyway.
Toyota is extending the rust perforation warranty on all 1995-2000 Tacoma pickups, some 813,000 units, to 15 years from the original date of purchase, AND you don't have to be the original owner, or the second or the third even. Anyone who owns a Tacoma from this era and finds rust perforation on the frame can have his or her truck officially inspected for rust damage, in which case Toyota will either repair or buy back the truck regardless of its condition. Owners will start receiving letters by mid-March, and those who don't can visit a dealership for a free inspection.
We all know that keeping your tires properly inflated will prolong their tread life, help you burn less fuel and increase your safety. But finding a working air hose when you're away from your garage is like trying to find a working clock in an early-80's Buick.
This is probably what led Coda Development, a Czech Republic company, to invent a new self-inflating tire. Sure, self-inflating tires aren't new, they've been around for years on commercial vehicles and even a few passenger vehicles . But most of those systems use compressed air to keep the tires inflated.
Coda's new system uses a peristaltic pump built into the tire to constantly maintain air pressure. You may have seen a peristaltic pump used in hospitals to deliver intravenous drugs to patients. It's basically a spinning wheel pressed against a liquid-filled tube. As the wheel turns, it pushes the tube's contents through one end and pulls more in the other. In our case, your car's wheel is the wheel and your air-filled tire the tube. A valve ensures that your tire's pressure is always constant. Theoretically, the peristaltic pump is much simpler and therefore more reliable than a compressor-based system. It's also potentially lighter, cheaper and doesn't require a power source. Sounds like a darn smart idea to us. Coda plans to display its system at the 2008 SAE World Congress in Detroit on April 14th through the 17th, so we'll see if it makes a splash there with auto industry engineers.
Bulging in the exhaust system like a rabbit deep in the belly of a boa, the catalytic converter cleans engine fumes before they are released into the air. To the inexperienced, the oversized metal cylinder looks rather uninteresting. To a thief, it is a pod of precious metal worth nearly $200 on the black market.
Catalytic converters are loaded with small amounts of precious metals including platinum, palladium and rhodium. When combined with hot exhaust gasses, a chemical reaction detoxifies the pollutants (this all happens without any trip to a Malibu clinic). All the average Joe really needs to know is that every car and truck is supposed to have one.
This low-lying fruit for the criminals hangs within easy reach under many sport-utility vehicles. Sitting taller than your average passenger car, their cats are easy to steal, and often don't even require the vehicle to be lifted for access. According to police, the Toyota 4Runner and Kia Sportage are the running favorites.
Unless it is your normal dwelling, there is no need to sleep underneath your vehicle with a shotgun; innovative consumers have found that spot-welding the catalytic converter to the rest of the exhaust system has proven to be an effective deterrent.
click above for more images of the HiQ service center
As some of us are pretty sharp with a wrench, we loathe taking our cars elsewhere for repairs. Most of the time, we want to watch the guy doing the work, and that's usually not possible so we end up chain-drinking burnt coffee in the waiting room. HiQ, a new automotive service chain in the UK, is revamping its brand and has decided to allow customers to get in on the action. To prove their new concept, cooked up by branding wizards Fitch, HiQ has opened a new facility in Nottingham. The design is clean and more retail chic than a greasy-fingernailed muffler shop. Our favorite feature, by far, is the glass wall that allows you to stare down the monkey lad as he applies several hundred pound-feet of torque to your wheel lugs with an impact wrench.
Talk about finding a good used car. Frank Orsenick bought his '91 Silverado in 1996. At the time, it had 41,000 miles on the clock. After 11 years of service (and a lot of driving), the old pickup is about to reach a milestone. Frank had the oil changed last week, just as he has every 3,000 miles since acquiring the Chevy, and it's sure to be the last one it receives as an everyday-use vehicle. You see, it's just 1,200 miles away from spinning past the 1,000,000-mark on the odometer. When it hits the big number, Frank is going to put his faithful ride into retirement. As for how he got this far, Orsenik credits regular maintenance and "a little luck." We should all be so lucky.
When informed of Mr. Orsenik's impending milestone, Chvrolet General Manager Ed Peper said, "Most Dependable, Longest Lasting isn't just a slogan, and it applies not only to Chevy pickups but to the people who drive them. We get lots of mail from customers with hundreds of thousands of miles on their Chevy trucks - so much, in fact, we formed the Silverado 200,000 mile club in 2006 - but a million miles is certainly remarkable. We're glad to have Mr. Oresnik on the Chevy team."
Congrats to Mr. Orsenik. May your next truck be as dependable as this one.
Volkswagen announced today that its entire 2009 lineup will come with a new Carefree Maintenance Program standard. What this means is that all scheduled maintenance for your 2009 Vee-Dub will be done and paid for by Volkswagen for the length of your limited warranty, which is 3 years or 36,000 miles. The program will debut with the new Tiguan crossover and Routan minivan, and should come in handy considering the former requires at least three scheduled service stops for maintenance before it hits 36,000 miles and the latter requires six. Other automakers like BMW and VW's own sister brand Audi offer free scheduled maintenance programs as well, but this is the first time we've seen it offered to folks who aren't buying a luxury car. Would free scheduled maintenance lure you into a VW dealership when shopping for a new car or is this program required by the German automaker to improve its perception of quality in the U.S.? Check out VW's official press release on the new program after the jump for more details. 
Bulging in the exhaust system like a rabbit deep in the belly of a boa, the catalytic converter cleans engine fumes before they are released into the air. To the inexperienced, the oversized metal cylinder looks rather uninteresting. To a thief, it is a pod of precious metal worth nearly $200 on the black market.
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