Auto Trends

As one stares upon the many pipes, clamps, mufflers, instructions, and tool requirements for one of these supposed easy installations, at some point, one has to really ask themselves if this is really something the can and want to do.

Performance exhaust systems are really popular right now. They offer more horsepower, torque, better gas mileage, and they sound and look pretty darn cool too.

The problem with some of them, is that even though they claim they are easy to install and anyone can do it with basic hand tools… you really must decide if you are in fact part of this definition of “anyone”, and if you actually own some of these “basic tools”.

Let’s face it, if you buy a $300 to $800 exhaust kit and then have to turn around and buy $400 worth of tools… you could have practically had an exhaust formed out of molten steel for less than that!

Let’s first take a look at the short list of tools you may need to do this job right.

1. 1. (2) Floor Jacks ($30 and up), or one floor jack and your OEM jack (There are two on this list because both floor jacks and jack stands fail, so to protect yourself we recommend having two lift system at each lift-point of the car)
   2. (2) Jack Stands ($25 and up)
   3. Torque Socket Wrench ($25 and up)
   4. Full set of Metric and Standard Sockets ($50 and up)
   5. Pipe cutter ($30 and up), reciprocating saw ($60 and up), etc. (You could use a hacksaw, but at no less than an hour per pipe to cut all the way through, I’d highly not recommend it)
   6. Penetrating Oil, WD-40, etc. (to loosen those stubborn OEM pipes)
   7. Dremel ($60 and up) Sideways Cutter (to get off those tight OEM brackets)
   8. Mechanics Gloves (unless you like to bleed!)
   9. Mechanic’s Book (Chilton, etc.) about your model and year car. (Your OEM manual will not be sufficient for this- There are countless of folks each year who are seriously injured by placing a jack or jack stand under a “weak point” of their car. You can also seriously damage your car… such as shooting the jack up through your floorboard. Cars today, while built well, definitely have a lot of thin metals and aluminum that are not suited to hold the weight of your car. It is better to be safe than sorry!)
   10. A Creeper (unless you like dragging your carcass all over your cold garage floor… and if you do this, count on ruining your outfit)

While the directions say it will take you 2 to 4 hours, this is from the viewpoint of a professional mechanic who has at their side a full line of professional equipment (hydraulic lift, pneumatic tools, etc). For the garage do-it-yourselfer, double this amount of time, if not triple.

Now, for the “anyone” can do it. This job is not for the faint of heart. It takes guts to jack up 3,000-plus pounds automobile and toil around underneath for several hours while it is teetering on a couple of $30 and up lift equipment.

So before you jump on that “do-it-yourself” catback exhaust deal, decide if you are really saving yourself all that much from just going to a muffler shop and having them custom fabricate you something for a couple hundred dollars, because you just might not be!

You either love ‘em or you hate em’… The Toyota Scion. Well, the new Concept Hako, gives you even more reason to hate or love depending on which side of the fence you originally resided in the first place.

Being quite honest and straight forward, the new concept looks like the lovechild of the Scion XB and a PT Cruiser GT!

That’s right, you take your run of the mill boxed-out Scion XB:

Add a few curves of the PT Cruiser GT…

… and there you have it!

A Supped-up Hot Rod that only a Mother could Love!

Seriously though, the new concept has been taking a lot of slack from a lot of car critics since its unveiling. Jalopnik has even gone so far as to start a contest where they are gathering their readers thoughts on whether or not Toyota’s version of the concept Scion is better… or a few of their readers Photoshop versions.

When you consider the friendly look of the XB, you really have to give the designers credit where credit is due and that is with out a doubt that the new angled front end looks much more sinister than the original. Its low brow LED headlights appear as if the car is glaring at its prey, just waiting to pounce on a sleeping Kia Coupe Concept, which has surprisingly been one of the head turners of the show… and in a good way!

From a manufacturer that has been voted as having one of the top 10 worst resale values of the millennium, the Kia Koup just might become an exception to this ruling if it was to become a production model in the next two years. While still a very conservative look by “concept” standards, the new Koup has a subtle sports appeal that would be as comfortable in the grips of a 16-year-old high school car fanatic as it would in a 50-year-old business executive.

Something that really could not be said for the Scion!

One of the most important aspects of choosing your car has always been the color. Some people likes white, others black, some prefer red, and others prefer the earthy tone of a deep green. There really is no right or wrong, but there are some things that you will want to consider.

Trends

The trends of car color come and go and for some who are planning on owning their car for a long time, they may want to consider this when choosing a trendy color. The current trend for 2008 seems to be metallic oranges, greens, and browns… the earth tones. It is the 70’s all over again, except the color is a bit more sharp and biting than we were able to achieve 30 years ago.

Since the Millennium, silver has been a very popular color. It has become a symbol of high technology. We see silver today on cell phones, computers, stereos, I Pod’s, and of course just about every other car on the road. The popularity is thought to be decreasing a bit from early 2000, but it is probably a color that is going to stay awhile from the looks of things.

Heat Factor

Depending on where you live, the color of your car will definitely have at least a little bit to do with how much heat your car will hold when sitting outside. It has been a myth for years that some colors hold heat more than others, but it is indeed true. Of course, if your car spends most of its time in a dark garage anyway, then it will not matter, since paint needs to come in direct contact with the sun in order for this phenomenon to work.

In general if you live in a warm climate and your car sits out, you will want a light color both on the inside and out. It will stay much cooler. If you live in a cold climate, you may prefer a very dark color on the inside and out to help foster the heat of the sun to warm the interior as well as help melt snow off of your car in the daylight hours.

A Different Heat Factor

Another thought that people have today is whether or not their car is going to be more easily sighted by police and therefore receive more tickets for minor infractions of the law, such as speeding. While some people swear by it, Snopes has taken a look at this myth and disproved it. The color of your car should have nothing to do with receiving more tickets than any other color.

For that matter, the color red is not a target more than any other cars. There is another myth going around that says people are more prone to want to run into a red car than any other car. This is kind of the theory of the bull, where the color red makes them go on a rampage. This has just not been proven. There is some evidence opposite of this belief, that says bright colored cars are easier to see in bad weather and fog, and therefore can be slightly safer, but this is not completely proven either.

As you can see, there is so much more that factors into the color of your car than just your personal preference, although that is probably by far the most important factor to consider!