Archive for June, 2009

A New American Car Company Emerges from the Rubble

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

An all-new American car company, backed by Texas billionaire  T. Boone Pickens and headed-up by former Mazda designer Tom Matano plans to build  environmentally friendly vehicles in  Louisiana.

According to their press release, V-Vehicle Company, or VVC,  which is headquartered in San Diego, will begin assembling new cars in Monroe, LA.  The project is slated to create over 1,400 direct jobs at an average annual salary of nearly $40,000, plus benefits, as well as a capital investment of at least $248 million.

At the company’s website, founder and CEO Frank Varasano said production could begin in 15 months.

“VVC will produce a high-quality, environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient car for the U.S. market,” the statement said. “The goal of the company is to provide the American buyer greater product value and a superior automotive experience.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby  Jindal said, “What we are here to officially announce today is not a typical economic development project.  Most business recruitment projects for the state involve large, long-established companies building another plant similar to one they already have – similar to facilities that other companies in their industry already have. Those are great projects and we appreciate the jobs they provide, but today’s announcement is different.

LA Gov. Bobby Jindal announces the opening of VVC in Monroe.

LA Gov. Bobby Jindal announces the opening of VVC in Monroe.

“Today, we are here to announce that through quick, aggressive action to pursue a transformative opportunity, we have a chance here in Louisiana to re-energize the entire U.S. auto industry. Indeed, this project also has the potential to transform the entire Monroe area, and this project could be a game changer for the economy of Northeast Louisiana.

VVC, as the company is also called, “wants to reestablish American leadership in the global automotive industry,” according to a Louisiana Economic Development (LED) info-sheet.

V-Vehicle was founded by ex Oracle Corp. executive VP Frank Varasano and is definitely not struggling to gather funds; it’s being financed by well-known California venture capitalists—including some also backing Fisker Automotive (Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers)—along with T. Boone Pickens.

We haven’t yet seen pictures of the vehicle, but we do know that it was designed by Tom Matano, the ‘father’ of the original Mazda Miata. Matano also worked on the RX-7 and 929, and held positions at General Motors and BMW prior to that. He has most recently served as director of the school of Industrial Design at Academy Art San Francisco.

Construction and retooling for the 425,000-square-foot, former GM plant will begin later this summer.

This week’s Mac’s Wax product of the week is Mac’s BANANA CREME WAX! It’s creamy!

Mac's Wax: BANANA WAX with carnauba!

Mac's Wax: BANANA WAX with carnauba!

It’s waxy! It’s yellow! It smells like banana! (Do not drink.)

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Classic Car Hobby: Assault of the Clunker Law

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, as horror gripped the classic car restoration hobbyists, our  U.S. House of Representatives passed the Cash for Clunkers Law.  Sadly, this ridiculous bill passed by a margin of, 298-119. The clunker bill offers up to $4,500 for owners of older, less fuel-efficient vehicles (18mpg or less)  to buy new vehicles that get better gas mileage. The bill still has to get through the U.S. Senate, where plans to attach this bill to another law already making its way through the Senate is the most probable plan of attack by the DC morons to destroy older cars that could possibly have historic value and be a perfect resto collector in the future. Basically, this will create problems for aspiring collector car owners who are only kids right now.

Can you imagine ripping a 350 TPI out of this car? The Clunker Law id pure B.S.!

Can you imagine ripping a 350 TPI out of this car? The Clunker Law is pure B.S.!

The Congressional Budget Office estimates this Cash For Clunkers bill might generate approximately 600,000 new vehicle sales. While this may help the auto industry and its independent dealers, but I highly doubt it will  turn around the sagging sales stats they are currently experiencing.

Opponents of this bill fear Cash for Clunkers will take many perfectly good vehicles off the road. This will have a ripple effect on the lower-income sector of our population – i.e. removing their access to inexpensive transportation. Many charitable organizations rely on such cars as donations, which are then resold to bolster their resources. Others actually restore or repair these cars and donate them to those who have a need for a vehicle but can’t afford one. So, these donation programs fear Cash for Clunkers is going to kill this source of vehicles.

The $4,500 voucher will be sent directly to dealers when you bring in your car, truck or SUV for the slaughter. The engine and transmission will have to be removed and the vehicle will not be allowed back on the road once it has been “betrayed.” Thus, a youngster seeking to restore an older car for shows and cruise-ins will not be allowed to register or title these vehicles.

I have to admit that the thought crossed my mind; if I were to trade-in my 2003 Silverado extended cab (I still have the “18 MPG Highway estimated fuel mileage window sticker) and pick up the $4500 stipend, and get another say, $5000 on the actual trade-in, perhaps I could get myself into one of those awesome 2010 Chevy Equinox LTZ’s with the new direct fuel injection 3.0 V6 that generates a nifty 255HP.

But I’ll also admit that the thought of some junkyard rat tearing the 5.3 liter V-8 and trans outa my gorgeous white pick-up truck was too much for me to handle.

I have taken good care of my Silverado, and it warrants another decade of service…or until my kid decides to attack a tree with it.

Ouch.

The Mac’s Wax product of the week is our all-new MUSCLE CAR WAX! Forulated with absolutely no abrasives or solids, it contains a light cleaning agent to further cleanse your paint’s finer pores. It then leave a very hard, deep warm sheen. A light sprinkle of water over the car, with alight buffing will further even-out the wax and create an incredible shine that is as smooth as the exepnsive paint job it’s protecting!

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Chevrolet: Muscle Car Factories Live!

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Unless you live in a cave, you have probably heard of – or actually seen – the new, 5th generation Camaro. This car is proof-positive that muscle cars still live!

GM styling still rules!

GM styling still rules!

This new F-body comes with a choice of 400 or 422 horsepower (depending on whether you get the six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission), and is the fastest Camaro ever produced. It weighs-in at around 3,750 lbs.,which is a couple of hundred pounds more than a Ford Mustang GT, but still 500 less than the Dodge Challenger SRT8.

“Okay, cool,” you say, “but one car does not a muscle car company create.”

True enough, but along comes the Chevy Traverse with 286 horsepower and it’s newest lil’ bro: the 2010 Equinox LTZ – a smaller crossover with an optional V-6 that pumps out 255 ponies under the hood of a fairly small wheelbase. (Be reminded that the 1972 GTO with a 400cid was rated at 250HP…that’s 5 less than the ‘Nox!)

chev-equinox_2010_wallpaper_01I have been seriously looking at these Chevy Equinox’s not just because of the increased HP out of a smaller V-6 (down to 3.0 liters from the ’09′s 3.4 liters), but also because it takes its styling cues from the Traverse, which has looked incredible since Day #1.

Add to the new “Direct Injection” engine tech, a cool, new interior and Chevy has produced a winner from a line-up of cars that were somewhat ho-hum in past years.

Don’t get me wrong, we have an ’06 Equinox in the family, and I spend a ton of time driving it, (because it’s so much fun to cruise in) as well as applying wax, polish and some cool interior coatings to make it look better’n new. (The Equinox has some fabulous metal flake finishes, BTW)

The new interior is said to be constructed of newer, softer-feeling materials and far-less hard molded plastic. It will also have a back-up camera and offers 18″ wheels this year! Amazing.

Anyway, the new camaro is gonna sell like the ;79 Z/28, but you can bet the new Equinox will give it a run for it’s money!

Wait n’ see!

In light of all this talk of new muscle cars, this week’s “Mac’s Wax: Car Wax of the Week” is….Mac’s MUSCLE CAR WAX. This stuff is made especially ofr muscle cars. That meaning: it has a high carnauba content and deep shine, it contains absolutely no polish (abrasives) and it has an amino-functional resin that acts as an emulsifier to bond the wax to your paint! Add a little bit of cleaning agent (we did) and it will remove micro-bits of dirts from your paint’s pores, which can be buffed out when you shine our Muscle car Wax to a deep, glossy sheen!


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Your Muscle Car Needs Pypes Exhaust!

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Before I start this blog, I want to clarify that I have no affiliation with the Pypes Performance Exhaust company, nor is this a sponsored blog or link exchange thingie.

I will admit that I did have a business relationship with Pypes founder Chris Casperson a few years ago, but that was only as a writing gig. I was writing the newsletters for his Performance Years website and forums. That short period showed me the type of person and businessman Casperson is.

First off, in case you are unfamiliar with Pypes, or are looking for a high-performance exhaust system you should know that Pypes supplies complete performance exhaust systems for American performance vehicles ranging from the 1950’s to present.  Most of their systems include a custom designed X-pipe, or crossover, at a considerably lower price than others that include no crossover at all or just a basic balance tube with their systems.

Pypes also performance-matches systems with a choice of 4 distinct mufflers to best suit your horsepower and sound requirements, rather than forcing you to buy one type of technology that may not be best for your application.

What makes Pypes even better is that they are the only company in the industry that stocks fully-polished aluminum ceramic systems.

We sweat the details – from our sales staff to our unique products, from our unique packaging, ‘real’ instructions and post sale technical support, you will get a fresh new look that you haven’t experienced from other exhaust companies. pypes

Now let’s get to Casperson. It’s my own opinion that Chris doesn’t get the recognition in the classic car hobby’s support industry as others do. This is a shame, because he’s a very nice guy and in my own dealings with him, I found him to be fair and honest – not just with me and our buisness, but with his customers, employees and the thousands who use his Performance Years tech forums every day. (While it’s a great way to boost his business, the people who utilize the PY forum have no clue how expensive it is to run a huge forum on a commercial server and have a full-time webmaster to boot.)

So, what we have here is a fair and honest company, selling a superior product with tremendous customer support.

What more could you ask for?

I recommend Pypes to my readers and friends. If you need an exhaust system for your classic car — go see ‘em at PypesExhaust.com

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