KY drives

Continuing the declining trend of the big three American automakers, Ford is the latest victim overtaken by the unstoppable Japanese machine that is Toyota.

The sales of Toyota vehicles already surpassed DiamlerChrysler last year and now stands roughly at 15%, increased from about 10% from five years ago, while Ford is still struggling after it’s restructuring and predicted that their market share will stabilize at around 14-15% within 2 years.

This is with regards to the American market, Toyota is a very close second to GM globally. Even here in Malaysia, Toyota and Perodua (basically re branded Toyota cars) chalks up about 50% of the local market.

There seems to be no signs of Toyota going stopping their momentum.

source: cnn money

Ford presented the Mustang Giugiaro 2006 concept at the prestigious L.A. Auto Show. The external design is done by Italdesign, led by styling director Fabrizio Giugiaro, making it an American machine with an Italian shell.

This concept car has a panoramic roof, with the front wind shield, roof, and rear screen forming a single unit that provides almost 180 degree of unobstructive view. Not entirely sure how one can get away from the sun though. This Mustang also comes with the scissor doors made famous by Lamborghini.

the next American stallion?

Although this pony comes in at a hefty 1,500 KG, it does have an engine capable of 500 hp with huge amount of torque (480 lb/ft). Those fat 20″ wheels should come in handy to distribute the power onto the tar.

Will this concept make it to the road? We shall see, the major hindrance might be the unique roof though. A big piece of curved glass is expensive to produce and not easy to take care.

Specs at a glance:
Engine: front mounted, rear wheel drive,
estimated 500 hp, 480 lb-ft of torque
4.6L, 24-valve SOHC V8 Supercharged
Curb Weight: 3,307 lbs (1,500 kg)
Wheels (front/rear): 275 40 ZR20 / 315 35 ZR20

sources:
automobile.com
abc news

I went to the Shah Alam stadium for the autocross event that my friends were participating but instead bumped into this interesting 4×4 event just across the other side of the stadium. Much like autocoss events, the 4×4 challenge is held with the time trial format. Whichever car that finishes the course in shortest amount of time wins.

a jeep splashing through the mud

There are two participants for every car (4×4 jeep). Whenever the vehicle gets stuck, which happens frequently, the co-driver will have to go down and get the towing cable tied to the nearby tree to pull the truck out of the mud. Not exactly an easy task.

co-driver getting busy

I did not stay long at the area as it was starting to rain, but was able to snap a few photos. Interesting stuff, definitely a lot more work than normal racing.

The bernama article on this event.

Drivers will keep their tire pressure in optimum parameters, and make sure that the threads are still good, but most often than not, we overlook the other factor that tells us how good the tire is at holding the car on the road, its freshness.

As tires are made of rubber compound, and rubber tends to get stiffen over time, fresher tire will always yield better grips. As a rule of thumb, never buy tires that are manufactured more than 6 years ago, sitting on the shelves all these while.

Fortunately, the tire manufacture date is stamped on every tire as part of the DOT code. Look out for the 4 digit code (if it is 3 digit, your tire is already way too old, manufactured before the year 2000) stamped on the sidewall of the tire. The first two digits denote the week of birth, and the last two digits describing the year of birth.

In the accompanying picture, then, 3902 means this particular tire was manufactured on the 39th week of 2002. Dividing 39 by 4 (4 weeks a month) gets us 9.x, so it was produced sometimes in September, 2002. Simple as that.

So, next time when you put in new tires, make sure they are still new. If your current set of tires still has good threads left but are already over 6 years since it was produced, consider replacing them.

More info can be found on wikipedia Tire Code

Many drivers, while familiar with the size of engines and familiar with the need or regular services and oil change, are completely unaware of the importance of the patch of rubber that is between the car and the road, the tires.

Car tires come in various sizes and profile, to know what they are is to learn how to read the side markings. Together with the brand and product name, there is always a standard row of numbers and letters describing the size and profile of the tire, like in this picture: 205/65R15

• 205 denotes width in of tire in millimeter, in this case, 205mm.
• 65 denotes the aspect ratio, which is the height of the side wall of the tire. 65 basically means it is 65% of the width of tire, in this case, the wall of the tire is 133.25mm tall.
• R means the tire is of Radial construction, true to pretty much all modern road cars. The other type is cross-ply construction, mostly only found in vintage cars.
• 15 is the size of the wheel rim the tire fits, in inches.

Notes:
Performance cars usually have a smaller aspect ratio as well as wider tires for better handling around the corners. To allow this and yet keep the overall circumference, bigger rims are needed.

On tire pressure:
Most sedan car tires work well at around 29-31 psi, or around 200 to 210 pascal. For optimal performance and fuel economy (low pressure = increase fuel consumption, high pressure = less grip), check your vehicle manual for optimal tire pressure. The information can also usually found at the body of the car where the driver door closes, or at the inside of the driver door itself.