OnStar “Live” Navigation-

This summer will mark the beginning of GM’s promise to provide its consumers an easier way to use OnStar and its Navigation function. Most navigator systems work by having the driver (or passenger) type in their destination, make any subsequent corrections, confirm the system is sending them to the right place, and then off they go.

The problem with this format is that sometimes you need to use this while you are on the go, which means if you are by yourself the only choice you have is either finding a place to pull over (easier said than done on the highway), or doing the “look up and down” driving while typing.

GM is providing live direction to its prescribed customers (around $300 a year) for 22 of its new vehicles due out this summer. You just call your (hopefully) friendly operator and tell them where you are headed and they do all the work for you, then send the directions to your screen.

Calling James Bond…

Studded Tires for the Summer-

One of the greatest inconveniences of studded tires is taking them off and putting them back on throughout the year. If you consider winters much like the one we have had this year, (it snowed in May), you may find yourself pumping that jack a few extra times just to keep you and your loved ones safe (but, by all means worth it!)

Taking in consideration that in many states studded tires are illegal to drive year round (illegal for spring, summer, and fall), a company called Q Tires in South Carolina has developed a tire that is capable of dispatching studs at the push of a remote control button when the situation calls for it.

It basically works off of a separate chamber of air that is allowed into the front wall of the tire, thereby pushing the studs forward into ready mode. When you are finished using them you simply let the air out of the second chamber and the studs return back to the far wall between the tread.

The new tire has a projected cost of just over 30% of a regular snow tire, which will be well worth it in the eyes of many. These would be the ultimate “all-weather” tires and we could be seeing these as soon as late summer/fall… just in time for the next batch of snowfall.

From 1997 to 2001, over 10 years ago, we were introduced to a new kind of hot rod. The “mail order” hot rod. Well, maybe you couldn’t exactly order one through the mail, but you could take a stroll down to your local Plymouth dealership and pick one up. No bloody knuckles from turning countless wrenches, welding, hours of body straightening, paint booths, wet-sanding, and polishing. These baby’s came right off the lot ready to roll…

The Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler was like no other vehicle that has ever been mass produced commercially. Designed with the beautiful lines and features of the 1930’s roadster, the Prowler is souped up as a 1950’s custom project with the modern flare of a sleek Dodge Viper.

The custom hot rod theme didn’t stop at its looks, as the front wishbone suspension was modern, but also designed to resemble that of the old. Despite its old fashioned rear-wheel drive, the prowler still maintained the modern amenity of independent suspension.

While not designed for the most comfortable ride, the Prowler could hold its own on the road using its front 225/45VR17’s wheels in the front and 295/40VR20’s in the back. With the size of these tires, and the fact that the rear trunk was basically used to store the roadsters top, there was no room for a spare, which means that these tires came standard as “run flats”.

The largest complaint from consumers during the Prowlers existence was its V-6 engine which was introduced with only 214 horsepower. Considering the standard for the American Hot Rod Association is a 300 horsepower V-8, the Prowler got off on a bit of a rocky start. Listening to such criticisms, the Prowler was eventually boosted to 253 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque, which was actually enough to lay a thick bead of smoking rubber upon stomping on the accelerator.

Even with its newfound horsepower, the Prowlers dual exhaust was never quite able to successfully mimic the low rumble of a classic hot rod roadster, which is why a popular conversion for some enthusiasts was a V-8 transplant. While not easy, this offered quite the surprise at a red light for the traditional hot rodder’s who thought the standard Prowler slow!

But actually slow, the prowler was not. In 1997 the original 3.5 liter (214 horsepower) was only able to roll from 0-60 in over 7 seconds, which is a snails pace to todays standards. The new 253 horse version unveiled in 1999 however, was a full second quicker at a 6.3 second 0-60, which is definitely respectable.

Other complaints were that purple was your only color choice back in 1997, which was later opened up to other colors, such as yellow and red. Also on the complaint list was its practicality of storage space. With its bucket two-seater interior, you had room for two average sized people and maybe a duffel bag at best, but this could be said about many sports cars. If you want to take the family on a road trip, take a station wagon…

Well, actually that is not completely true, as a popular addition for the Prowler was the “tow behind”, which was color matching trailer that could be attached to the prowler for grocery shopping, road trips, etc. While not the most convenient alternative, it actually was a nifty looking solution that solved yet another one of the Prowlers downfalls…

There were only 400 Prowlers produced in 1997 and 12,000 total over its five years in existence, which means that they are a bit of a collectors item. But what makes this collectors item truly unique is that fact that you can get one anywhere from $16,000 to $30,000 in brand new condition. Since these are predominantly weekend cars, you’ll rarely find one with much over 30,000 miles, and many of these “babies” are closer to the 5,000 to 15,000 mile range.

While they have their share of flaws in design and conception, these cars are an American classic (even though they’re not V-8’s) and rarely receive a bad review from the actual owners. The critics can slam these cars all they want, but the owners like them, so they must know something that others don’t!

This story begins in the little town of Oaklawn, Illinois. The citizens were tired of people ignoring the laws of the road. Namely, not stopping at clearly marked STOP signs. The townsfolk had been complaining to the local law enforcement to crack down on the abusers, but their ploys were left unanswered and the problem persisted.

So, like any good Samaritan, they decided to take matters into their own hands. They needed to find a way to get the drivers attention.

They gathered up about $1,700 in materials, pulled together their own brand of creative thinking and set to work on a way to bring more attention to these signs. What they came up with was several humorous captions to place underneath the original signs.

These captions ranged from:

“STOP: In The Naaaame of Love”

to

“STOP: And Smell The Roses”

to

“STOP: Right There Pilgrim”

to

“STOP: Really. You Gotta Stop”

to

“STOP: Billion Dollar Fine”

The townsfolk traveled around to nearly fifty signs and placed their homemade creations below, and went back home feeling mighty proud of themselves for taking the problem into their own hands.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Department of Transportation to get wind of this and throw a banana peel into the whole project. It appears that the little town was actually in violation of the federal code that prohibited defaming a stop sign as such. They were told to either take the signs down or they would lose federal funding indefinitely.

With the signs down and local taxpayers free and clear of the responsibility of footing the bill for the project, thankfully 3M was more than happy to step in and pay the cost of the project. They were actually planning on using the signs for a promotional brochure anyway.

So all is well that ends well in the small town of Oaklawn…

THE END