Auto Trends

We all have our favorite cars from the movies, with Steve McQueen’s classic 68′ Mustang GT 390 in “Bullet”, the 1958 Plymouth Fury in the Steven King classic, “Christine”, and the snarling cute Mini Cooper S’s in the 2003 movie, “The Italian Job”. But surely there are a lot more great cars that have been featured in films of the past few decades… and indeed there has been and here are a few more of the most notable and attention grabbing!

1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from “Smokey and the Bandit”-

Just looking over the menacing hood, one can’t help but notice the shaker hood, or even more so, the 6.6 liter decal that let everybody know that you meant business. This is back in 1977 mind you, the golden era in engine humiliation due to strict emission standards. Manufacturers didn’t quite know how to adhere to strict standards without restricting their engines to humiliating numbers. With this being said, for 1977, the 200 horsepower with the optional W72 engine was king of the hill for that time. The standard L78 was rated at 180 hp and was still a thrill to drive. If you are lucky enough to own one of these classic pieces of movie history, they go anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 on the market.

1973 Ford Falcon XB GT from “The Road Warrior”-

One whole liter of fury less than “Smokey’s” Trans Am, yet this 5.7 liter V-8 packed quite a punch at a rated 300hp, four-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. Its most notable feature as you might remember was its unique side exhaust and hood mounted supercharger with optional on/off switch. Unfortunately the supercharger was all for looks, but the car was still pushing 300 ponies, so they were able to get away with it for the most part. There has been a lot of talk of whether it would be possible to create an on/off supercharger configuration and some say that a magnetic set-up would indeed allow for such a possibility. The movie Falcon also had an extra wide set of rear tires to help it lay down some thick lines of rubber on those post apocalypse Australian blacktop.

1981 De Lorean DMC-12 from “Back to the Future”-

Okay, so the original De Lorean on the movie may have ran off of a 1.21-gigawatt nuclear/electric hybrid with a five-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, the actual car had a 2.8-liter Peugeot V6 power plant, which certainly could have used the extra nuclear energy to have propelled it off the line beyond that of a Volkswagen Van. It was truly amazing to note the car made it up to 88 mph on several occasions on motor alone without a steep hill, a strong tailwind, and Carl Lewis giving it a push start. But all jokes aside, the gull-wing doors were certainly a nice touch, as well as the stainless steel (unpainted) body panels. The car was built in Northern Ireland by the lone De Lorean Motor Company and lasted from 1981 through 1983, with a total of 9,000 built.

1957 Chevy from “Tales From the Crypt: King of the Road”-

This is perhaps not a hugely well known show as the above three would be categorized, but its coolness factored in and brought it towards the top of the list. The episode featured a beautiful 69-70 Chevy Chevelle driven by Brad Pitt which is noteworthy, but the car that stole the show in my opinion was the 57′ Chevy driven by the “Iceman”. The story went that a cop from a small town used to be a street racer but stored away his car and became a cop after a race turned ugly and his competitor died. Along comes Brad Pitt and his Chevy to rekindle the old drag racer and try to become the ultimate “King of the Road” by challenging him for one last race. The lopey idle, chrome snorkel scoop, and removed front bumper on this 57′ say it all… this car was built!

1963 Volkswagen Beetle, from “Herbie: Fully Loaded”-

Admittedly, the Volkswagen Beetle and the word performance are rarely used in the same sentence, nor has never been a particularly “cool” by any means. But when you factor in the 1963 bug from the most recent Herbie movie had 190hp pumping through its meager 2.3-liter four-cylinder, four-speed manual transmission with rear-wheel drive and dragging around less than 1,900 lbs, you really have to stand up and take notice. It actually almost brings a tear to the eye to fathom this cute little bug as having equivalent power to the 6.6 liter Trans Am, is thousands of pounds lighter, and could easily dust the Pontiac on a circle track. The power to weight ratio on this sleeper is near perfect and is its greatest ally as a performance vehicle. It is a shame that Volkswagen discontinued the 1.8 liter New Beetle Turbo S with 180 horsepower, it paid a nice tribute to the true potential of these cars that most people would have never realized.

The Las Vegas 2007 SEMA SHOW was last week, featuring some of the newest creations from car manufacturers. Of interest in this highlight is the phenomenon that manufacturers are taking upon themselves to create “tuner” versions of their makes. This allows buyers to have all the go fast goodies and exterior upgrades and highlights right off of the showroom floor. The big question is, are they worth the extra money over the stock versions… you be the judge!

Hummer H3R (Concept)-

 Photo by Allen Q and Flickr.com

Hummer is a pretty cool beast in stock form, but the Hummer H3R racing version is quite a nice showcase for what a Baja 1,000 off road racer should look and perform like. The Hummer, actually features a transformation beyond the usual bolt-ons (induction, exhaust, etc.) that special edition models usually consist of. Hummer built its H3R platform using the 505 horsepower LS7 7.0 liter V-8 from the General’s Corvette. Here are a few of the highlights of the H3R’s power train:

• Hydra-Matic 4L60 electronically controlled four-speed transmission

• Custom valve covers

• Custom ignition coil covers

• Custom air induction system with dual air boxes

• Custom rear dual exhaust system, complete with four outlets

• Eaton front locking differential

• Enhanced cooling system with an enlarged radiator

The LS engine gives the Hummer plenty of torque to pull through most any situation and the stock chassis has been re-designed to accept the increased power. Here are a few highlights of the Hummer’s improved suspension and handling:

• Rotora high-performance brake package

• Performance Modified suspension with Tenneco/Rancho four-inch lift package

• Rancho reservoir shocks

The H3R also offers an improved exterior look and feel to give the concept an individuality from the original H3. Here are a few of the headlining exterior highlights:

• Forward-tilting hood with a see through Lexan insert

• Deluxe Power-operated hood hinges

• Racing paint scheme with custom H3R badging

• Off-road lighting package with a newly styled light bar

• Extended wheel flares with quick-remove fasteners

• Starr Lighting HID headlamps

• Clear front corner lamp lenses

• Front “bull” bar

• Body-color gas “Jerry” can mounted on the spare tire carrier

• Twenty-inch wheels

• Mickey Thompson Bear Claw 35-inch off-road tires

• Fixed quarter window inserts

• Auxiliary 20-gallon fuel tank

• Rocker protectors

• Under body shield

• Side-window weather deflector

• Hitch receiver cover

• Body-color grill

The H3R gets quite a face lift in the interior region as well to compliment its enlarged ponies under the hood, strong stance, and exterior “bling”. Interior highlights include:

• Re-trimmed interior with brushed metal accent

• Front racing seats with five-point safety harness for both seats

• Weather-resistant seat material

• Washable rubber floor covering replaces carpeting

• Simpson window safety net

• Navigation radio system

• Off-road integrated display gauge (compass, inclinometer, altimeter, and timer)

• Auxiliary performance gauges

• Second-row seats deleted (weight reduction)

• Cargo-area spare tire mount

• Roadside assistance package

• Designer first-aid kit

Cadillac CTS Sport Concept-

 Photo by Jalopnik at Flickr.com

With BMW, Audi, and Lexus on top of the luxury car market, Cadillac is determined to set the CTS Sport Concept as a major player. To help in this, Cadillac offered a glimpse at their new CTS-V Sports Concept. To the dissatisfaction of the classic Caddy power lover’s, the CTS-V Sports Concept was unveiled with only a 304 Hp 3.6L direct injection V6 engine, instead of the 400 hp 6-speed V-8. To help keep buyers minds off the relatively small displacement, the Cadillac received a few bolt-on, go fast, stop fast goodies, including:

• Corsa cat-back exhaust with rectangular outlet tips

• High-performance brakes and drilled/slotted rotors

Beyond these few actual power adders, the new caddy has plenty of performance “looks” to help make-up for its limited performance potential:

• Modified hood with wire mesh inserts

• Unique front and rear fascias with carbon fiber and wire mesh inserts

• Carbon-fiber front fender extractors

• Unique rear deck spoiler

• Export-model tail lamps, with clear lenses

• Headlamps with unique housing finish

• Polished, forged 20-inch wheels

• Roof-mounted ‘OnStar’ antenna

• Brake ducting with LED lights

Words like “ridiculous”, “ugly”, and “too much mesh” were used to describe the new tuner exterior of the concept. They did approve of the new exhaust ports however, but that was the extent of it. To add to the tuner exterior, Cadillac also added a few “tuner” touches to the interior, such as:

• Carbon-fiber interior trim plates

• ‘BlueConnect’ Bluetooth integrated into the headliner

• Recaro sport seats with leather trim

All-in-all we have to ask if a Cadillac CTS is really the right vehicle to a tuner package to its line up. What do you think?

Saturn Astra “Tuner” Concept-

 Photo by WorldCarFans.com

A very unlikely candidate as a tuner was showcased this year. The lean, not so mean, long wheelbase, and wide track, Saturn Astra Concept. The 2008 European-inspired base platform has a somewhat peppy 1.8 liter 160 horsepower Ecotec engine that has been made slightly stronger (up 20 horsepower) using the basic tuner recipe of a few popular “bolt-on” performance goodies, including:

• Newly designed exhaust header manifold

• Cold-air intake

• Modified throttle body

With performance not the highlight of this tuner edition Astra, the exterior modifications of the base XR three-door were actually rather impressive and suiting. Of the numerous exterior goodies applied to give the Astra a racier look, the 19-inch OPC wheels and lowered body set the car. Additional race-look goodies were also installed to give the Astra a unique character, such as:

• New front and rear fascia extensions

• New grille surround finish

• Tinted windows

• Tinted headlamps and tail lamps

• Rear center-outlet exhaust

• Production side moldings delete

• OPC rocker panels

• OPC rear spoiler

Saturn then added a nice interior package to give the driver a feel that the car is a lot faster than it actually is… and to tell you the truth, if looks could increase horsepower, the concept Astra would be a worthy adversary to the Subaru WRX. The interior highlights include:

• High-performance Recaro seats

• Unique interior trim

• Unique sill plates and parking brake handle

• GMA pedals

• Blaupunkt high performance sound system

Perhaps in todays ever increasing gas prices, looking cool has become more important than actually proving it. But the Hummer H3R is definitely an exception to this rule…

Today, the Fast and Furious crowd has pushed a tremendous wave towards the popularity of the sport of “tuning” new and used cars to improve both their look and performance. This opens the possibility to drive a better looking and performing car as to what you originally could afford. But there is an art form and method to this madness. If you are not careful you can create an unreliable warranty disaster that will be the sight of everybody’s sore eyes (sore, because it looks so bad). But there is a method to this madness to guarantee satisfying results with whatever your intentions of the vehicle are:

Where many Folks go Wrong- Many amateur customizers go wrong today by installing gigantic aluminum wings with a humongous sized muffler on a sedan styled import right off the bat. This is similar to taking your pet ostrich out for a walk before it’s even hatched. Your just dragging around a rotten egg that is not going to impress anybody. Think seriously about your goals and the overall look you want to achieve before you start to haphazardly purchase sale items on the JC Whitney website.

Move from the Inside/Out- To really properly build a nice street machine you need to start from the ground up and the inside out. This does not mean that you have to do any crazy modifications that are going to harm your existing warranties, but you do have to give your car somewhat of an entire package. If you want to add such extreme parts as “whale tail” spoilers and an over sized exhaust, it is going to have to fit the rest of the cars personality.

Building on a Budget- Money of course is going to be a big obstacle, but if you do it right, you should be able to gradually build yourself that dream car on a budget and keep it looking sharp throughout each stage. This is my point with the aluminum wings and giant mufflers on stock import sedans. They just do not fit the vehicles stature when stock. With proper preparation and planning however, that wing and exhaust might set the car off and accentuate an already subtle sports appeal.

Tip: The best way to build on a budget is to do your own work. Many projects you will find to be fairly simple and sometimes quite enjoyable. The main parts of your automobile that should be left to a professional are engine internals, driveline gearing, and transmissions. The rest are fair game for the typical armchair mechanic.

Warranty Awareness- If you are going to be altering a vehicle with an existing warranty you may want to stick with moderate engine upgrades. The basic rule of thumb for most warranties is everything from the catalytic converter to the exhaust exit, and everything from the throttle body to the air filter is fair game. This opens you up to the selection of power adders known as “bolt on’s”. These include a cat-back exhaust, air intake system, larger diameter throttle body, and performance tune (chip), etc.

Performance Tuning vs. Warranty- Custom tuned software can really wake up the stock vehicle configuration, just make sure to research your tuner thoroughly before allowing them to re-tune your factory settings. A lot of damage can be done here from someone who does not know what they are doing. With the warranty, keep in mind that it will be difficult for a mechanic at your dealer to know if the program has been altered as long as you change it back to the stock setting before taking it in for service. This will allow the computer code to read no differently than if the vehicle’s battery had been disconnected or died at some point recently.

Performance Expectation- It is quite possible to pull out an extra fifty horsepower from such simple modifications, which is more than enough to embarrass the stock version of the exact same vehicle. So now that we have the engine running a little more like a performance car, this is the time to transform your plain, stock exterior to flaunt a little of its new found ponies under the hood.

The Total Exterior Package- If the paint job is in good condition, you have the option to accessorize with a body kit. This allows you to paint each individual body piece its current color and save you the cost of an entire paint job. If the entire vehicle needs paint, then you can look beyond “bolt-on” body kits and alter the cosmetic features of your vehicle through extensive bodywork, giving a more seamless, “non tacked-on” body contour. Such popular modification includes the ever popular wide body conversion.

Symmetry vs. Over Accentuation- I highly recommend painting your exterior performance body accessories the same color of your vehicle unless you plan on an eccentric multi-colored paint scheme. Decide how modified the vehicles overall design is going to be while you are in the planning stages. Some front end body kits look awesome on a “total package” modified vehicle, but look unbalanced on stock bodied vehicle.

Final Result- Keep in mind that a true professional does not just piece meal a vehicle together with cool parts here and there and tack them up for a final surprise outcome. They have an overall plan and budget in mind before they even start to fork out the cash. Without an overall goal and vision, you’re better off sticking with a pine tree air freshener, Tasmanian devil floor mat and a Bald Britney Spears Bobble Head to scare off the car bandits… two out of three of which I am fairly confident you can find at J.C. Whitney or your favorite Wal-Mart store!