After a week’s worth of rain, a few crummy days, and a pair of frozen pizzas, we’re back at it this week. Eric and Daryl bring you another roundup of automotive news and views from flyover country. Here’s a few highlights, but you’ll want to download the full episode to get caught up.
Feedback
Robert got in touch with us after the last show where we were talking about used oil hassles, and he recommended Lenz Oil Service at 3001 S.W. Washington Street, Peoria IL, 61602. in Peoria. They have a pair of DIY oil drop-off tanks open 24 hours a day, and they also accept used transmission fluid, brake fluid, gasoline and antifreeze (there is a charge of $1.00 per gallon to take that, however.)
What a great tip, Robert! Thanks for listening.
Got a gripe or a helpful tip? We’ll gladly listen to either at [email protected]
Projects
Eric hit the Badlands for some off-road fun recently and offers an update on how things went. Nice weather means autocross season is near. Eric needs to get some race tires for his daughter’s Celica this weekend so she (and he) can toss it into some corners. He may even run into Dean sometime this season. Time will tell.
Daryl isn’t up to much. Maybe someday he’ll tackle his mess of a garage. Maybe not.
Headlines
Nissan Z-car celebrates 50th birthday
Source: The Newswheel
Nissan’s original sportscar is now a half-century old, and the Japanese automaker celebrated the occasion by launching a special anniversary edition with a throwback color scheme that mimics the Brock Racing Enterprises race cars from back in the day. Nissan helped put the words “Japanese” and “performance” together for the first time. Their inline six provided plenty of torque and the chassis provided something American muscle cars of the era couldn’t: handling! Toyota’s 2000 GT debuted a few years prior in 1967, but were technically built under contract by Yamaha and only 351 were built in a three-year run. Nissan’s 370Z is still a performance bargain with over 300 horsepower and a list price of just over 30K.
Jalopnik Keeps Cramming Autonomous Cars up our Tailpipes
Source: Jalopnik
A recent Jalopnik article (Why are we reading Jalopnik?) basically points out the aviation-inspired terms that car companies are using to describe semi-autonomous features, ie “auto pilot, pro pilot, super cruise”. The claim is that automation made aviation much safer in the long run, and the same could be said for cars and trucks once automakers standardize things. The trouble is during this semi-autonomous period (which will be here for awhile) people will be doofuses and do things like use the backup camera and stop looking over their shoulders and run into things. The ‘human factor’ is going to screw things up because we change our behavior… learn bad manners, make assumptions, and get little to no training on these features.
Thanks, humans!.
Mercedes to end Smart sales in Canada, U.S.
Source: Autonews
Mercedes-Benz will discontinue sales of its full-electric Smart brand in the U.S. and Canada.
The luxury automaker blamed a “declining micro-car market” in the U.S. and Canada, combined with high homologation costs.
Canadian sales of Smart vehicles fell 6.
