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The Daily Drivers: Safari meets suburbia with Land Rover's LR4
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Are you the type of person who pays scant attention to what's fashionable at the moment? Are you comfortable standing out in a crowd? Yes? Then Land Rover's LR4 and its long-standing safari-meets-suburbia style is your SUV.
Appearance: It's ungainly, striking and signature Land Rover: high cabin, two-bar mesh grille and asymmetrical rear window/split tailgate. For 2012, there are improved LED taillights. Our tester was "Siberian Silver," which seems misnamed; it's more a sophisticated (baby?) blue. Maybe the color wheel is different in Siberia. Either way, it's sharp. Overall, the look is of sophisticated ruggedness.
Motorists to pay more tolls as governments try to find money for road repairs
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Driving onto an Interstate highway? Crossing a bridge on the way into work? Taking a tunnel under a river or bay? Get ready to pay.
With Congress unwilling to contemplate an increase in the federal gas tax, motorists are likely to be paying ever more tolls as the government searches for ways to repair and expand the nation's congested highways.
Driving, vehicle tips will help you cut down on fuel costs
With gas at $4 a gallon nationally, and around $3.50 in the Tampa Bay area, everyone is looking to save money at the pump. For many drivers, small changes in how you drive can save you a significant amount of money. Based on data from Chevrolet, the fuel economy of drivers in identical cars can vary as much as 75 percent. Using identical models — the Chevy Cruz in this case — on a typical weekday commute, drivers returned a difference of 40 percent. That's a difference of 150 miles over a tank of gas and $100 a month over a year. To help squeeze more miles out of each gallon, Chevrolet offers these tips. Times staff writer
Driving tips
Go inside for your coffee rather than wasting gas waiting in the drive-through lane. Idling for 15 minutes could burn a quarter of a gallon of gas, adding another $1 to the cost of your latte.
My Favorite Car: '66 'Black Shadow,' home-built street rod, John Quicksall, 69, St. Petersburg
'66 'Black Shadow,' home-built street rod
The year was 1965. I was an "overaged" teenager. I loved cars and I loved working with machines and tools. Like any teenager I wanted to go fast. A couple of kids had souped-up Fords or Chevys and one actually had his own Corvette. The father of a friend of mine owned a welding shop and he taught me how to weld and operate lathes and shop machines. Then all it took was dozens of Hot Rod magazines, a sister whose boyfriend had access to his father's salvage yard and another friend whose mother had just totaled her 327 Chevy.
My Favorite Car: '06 Chevrolet Corvette, Rick Jacobs, 52, St. Petersburg
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
'06 Corvette
Having a beautiful car with all the latest features is the way to own a classic. I was fortunate enough to find this 2006 Corvette Z02 Coupe needing very little work. The former owner (a Riveria/St. Petersburg High grad) babied this car. Larry had a tear in his eye when he sold it to this Meadowlawn/Northeast High grad, but he knows another one's in his future. This C6 L3 has everything except a lien: an automatic with the standard shift on the column. It's very fast. Every once in a while, the speedometer fails, leaving me not knowing what speed I'm doing.
My First Car: '21/'26 Model T, Earl Rupprecht, Safety Harbor
Thursday, May 17, 2012
'21/'26 Model T
I purchased it in 1948 for $25 from a farmer in Coral Township, Ill., when I was a junior in high school. The farmer told me it was a 1926 body mounted on a 1921 frame. Henry Ford's Model T did not have a transmission, but used bands, operated by foot pedals. The left, when fully depressed, was low; midway was neutral; and fully released was high gear. Reverse was the center pedal, and the right pedal was the brake. The emergency brake handle was on the left, and when pulled back, also put the car in neutral. One of my favorite tricks was to have the "T" idling, with the emergency brake pulled back. I would then get in the driver's seat and stick my feet out of the window on the passenger side. Then, I'd advance the hand throttle on the steering column and gradually release the emergency brake, which put the "T" into second or high gear, and take off. Terribly hard on the engine and the bands, but it attracted a lot of attention (and girls!).
The Daily Drivers car review: 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S
Porsche's 911 body style has endured for decades, needing only incremental changes. Now comes the sixth generation of the rear-engine sports car, which gets a hard tweak rather than a redesign. The more fundamental changes are under the sheet metal, where Porsche says 90 percent of the components are either new or redesigned.
Appearance: Although the distinctive 911 profile remains, the car is longer by 2.2 inches and its overhangs shortened. Overall, it looks sleeker and more athletic. The oval bi-xenon headlights are larger, and the fenders flare higher. In the rear, there are sleeker LED taillights, which look more futuristic. Our Carrera S tester had the GT Silver Metallic paint, a $3,140 option that as long as you are all in is worth it. Overall, the car has more of a Panamera sedan-in-miniature look. For Peter, it's the first 911 he has coveted for its looks alone.
Car buyers' thirst for options pushing prices higher
Monday, May 14, 2012
DETROIT — Vehicles are fetching record average prices of $30,748, up 6.9 percent from about a year ago, but don't blame the automakers. This is not a case of price gouging. Consumers are choosing more expensive trim levels and options for their new vehicles as a rebounding industry is producing more closely to market demand.
After decades of training customers to wait for the biggest rebate, or cut-rate lease, buyers are coming to terms with a seller's market.
My Favorite Car: '72 Beetle, Mike and Kathy Mulrennan, St. Petersburg
Thursday, May 10, 2012
'72 Beetle
In the spring of 1972, driving my soon-to-be husband down Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach in my 1967 beige Beetle, we were rear-ended and pushed into the car in front of us. The car was totaled and Mike replaced it with a shiny new Kason Red 1972 regular Beetle purchased at O'Brien Motors on 34th Street in St. Petersburg. The original price was $2,290 with only a $10 deposit. I loved driving my little red car until the 1979 flood that covered our neighborhood, including our house and our Beetle. Mike was able to salvage the car and it became his turn to use it as his "everyday, going-to-work" car. Over our 40-year marriage, I have driven a number of different cars, but the shiny red Beetle is still Mike's everyday transportation.
The Daily Drivers: A look at recent updates in various car models, including the Corvette
Sometimes we find ourselves in a quandary: We get a new model year of a car we've driven but there aren't enough differences to justify a full review. So here are brief looks at some recent cars with incremental changes.
Honda Crosstour: The biggest change from the 2010 model we reviewed is what Honda dropped — the "Accord" name. Otherwise the 2012 Crosstour has undergone minor nips and tucks. The front grille is more subdued and less stout. But the rounded, too-big back end remains. New standard features are available in the EX, including the auto on/off headlights, a rearview camera, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink and USB audio interface. Original review: tinyurl.com/ timescrosstour
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