Auto Trends

A few years ago when Camaro rumors started to surface, there were a number of Pontiac fans speculating that GM was going to pull out a version of the Pontiac Firebird, to go along with it. Well, that never happened…

The Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am are legends in their time. One of the more infamous would have to be the famed T/A 455 Super-Duty (made even more famous by the film, Smokey and the Bandit). Back in its glory days (early 70s), the Super-Duty featured a full fledge 455 cubic inch big block, and 4-speed Muncie “Rock Crusher” transmission. Even though it had a pile of government emissions restrictions nearly chocking it to death, it still managed to muster a tire squealing 290 horsepower and 395 ft-lbs of torque.

Imagine what a T/A 455 would be like in this day and age?

…Well, imagine no more!

The 2010 T/A 455 Concept

The famed performance guru, Lingenfelter, has taken it upon themselves to make a few altercations on the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro body shell, interior, and engine cavity, and come up with his best rendition of what a 2010 Pontiac Trans Am should have been. And they have done a darn fine job, if you ask most fans.

The Lingenfelter Trans Am 455 Concept has a number of notable modifications To begin with, they have custom fabricated a front fascia, which pays excellent homage to the original split grill design. They threw on a shaker hood, classic-style, “wrap around” rear spoiler, functional front fender air vents, modified rear quarter panels, and a nifty set of custom 20-inch honeycomb rims.

Next, they replaced the interior with some classic vinyl seats, vinyl trim, and a little chrome bling here and there, but the engine is where things would really get interesting.

Starting with an aluminum 455 cubic-inch (known as a 7.5-liter in today’s tech language) big block, Lingenfelter took a pair of their ported and polished heads (11.5:1 compression), a forged crank shaft, performance intake, and stainless Corsa exhaust, and tuned the old/new bird to the tune of about 655 horsepower and 610 lb-ft of torque.

Who would have guessed we’d have to wait nearly 40 years for that 455 to hum like it was meant to.

…But who cares, we like it!

[Photos via Car and Driver]

In case you have not been brought up to speed on the story is of the DWI Hot Rod La-Z-Boy, I’ll do my best to oblige. Last summer (2008), Dennis LeRoy Anderson, age 62, fashioned what would become one of the most famous Lay-Z-Boys in the history of, well, La-Z-Boys. He took your standard run of the mill recliner, threw an 8-horsepower lawnmower engine in the back, a stereo, headlights (in case you want to drive it at night), a cup holder (for your beer?), NOS bottle (not functional), custom blue flames, and the patented sticker on the rear which reads, “Hell Yeah It’s Fast.”

So far so good.

Mr. Anderson liked to bring his La-Z-Boy to the bars in his hometown, drink beer, and watch Vikings football. When the game was over, he mount up on his ride and head home. On this particular occasion (August 31^st, 2008), Anderson had about nine or ten beers, lost control of what I’d imagine to be a bit of a difficult “vehicle” to handle, anyway, and ran into a parked car. The police were called out, and despite of the unusual nature of the situation, Anderson was arrested with a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) charge.

This past October 22, 2009, Anderson was finally brought to justice, pleading guilty to the charge, and his beloved La-Z-Boy was forfeited to the Minnesota police department. Well, the police chief had the choice of keeping the vehicle and using for trips around the office and in parades, or offer it up for sale. Well, they have decided to go the sale route, and the auction can be found here on eBay. The auction will run through this weekend, ending oTuesday Morning (November 3^rd).

At the time of writing, the bidding was already up to $37, 300.00.

The City of Proctor, Minnesota Police Department, has listed a bit more information about the vehicle under its description:

Known as the world famous DWI Motorized La-Z-Boy style Chair, year built unknown. This is a unique vehicle located in Proctor Minnesota.  The vehicle has been obtained from a DWI forfeiture and has not been restored. Engine: Briggs and Stratton Model # 19070 Type: 5641 with electric start.  Transmission type unknown and is sloppy. The vehicle has front lights, rear tag light, radio, cup holder, rear roll bars and other custom options, missing the seat cushion.  Curb weight of vehicle is unknown, length is 52” and width is 45”.  This is a great parade vehicle or a terrific business draw. Be the only one in town with a unique vehicle like this.  This is not a street legal vehicle.

SHIPPING INFORMATION

This vehicle is local pick-up only. This vehicle can be pick-up at the City of Proctor, Minnesota Police Department by you or a transport company that you arrange Monday Thru Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. We will not ship nor arrange shipping.

The Motorized Chair is the DWI Forfeit Vehicle that has been reported by the news media worldwide and is being sold as- is and ownership will be transferred on a bill of sale.

Happy Bidding (as they say)!

[Photo via Crime Scene KC]

N800 GPS Jukebox, originally uploaded by Qole Tech

GearLog reported this week that the supply and demand curve for the portable GPS is about to dip down favorably for the buyer. The market for portable GPS grew about 40 percent last year, but this year they are expecting growth to level off significantly, and even drop slightly. The drop in growth will only surmount to about 1 percent, with approximate 42 million units sold.

If you have been shopping for a new GPS within the last couple years, you undoubtedly have noticed that prices have dropped compared to several years ago. You can get a decently loaded unit these days for around $150 to $200, with the better units running around $300-plus. What’s been going on is manufacturing costs for the technology has been steadily decreasing.

There is also that little factor known as competition. While the GPS was once considered a luxury item, now-a-days, you’ll find standard units in just about everything from a Lexus to a Ford. Another reason the marketability for the portable GPS is leveling off, is most companies are preparing for the shift in technology to cell phone applications.

The trend of the cell phone is to become the universal remote control for our life; controlling everything from our homes to our vehicles. There are several mapping programs out, but up until recently their features were not nearly as convenient as the stand alone units.

The old GPS cell phone applications used minimum memory, relying on the server to track your destination and current location. With memory cards becoming smaller and less expensive, the newer applications will load the entire mapping software directly to the cell phone (1GB), where it will be more reliable, convenient, quick, and easy to use.

How Cheap Could We Be Looking At?
The price of a typical units with a nice amount of bells and whistles should settle in around $99 to $125. Even the more elite units shouldn’t cost much more than $250 on average. You can expect these prices to possibly start to settle in just in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

Source: GearLog