Subaru

2006 X-Games Subaru WRX STI Rally Car Racing

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Hey Cool Car Fans,McRae

In August of this year, at the 2006 X-Games, world-famous motorcycle champion Travis Pastrana hopped into a $50,000 Subaru WRX STI rally car and beat out rally racing favorite Colin McRae. Colin McRae takes the silver medal and this race is AWESOME!

In case you missed these two superstars battling it out on the track, you’ll want to watch these two videos. Even if you’re not a rally car race fan, you should watch these two short videos. They’re definitely worth it! Just click on each of the two graphics and watch the videos over at YouTube.

PastranaI was talking with a buddy of mine at the office who watched the race as well, and he and I agreed that as exciting as this race was, we would like to see rally car racing have both vehicles go at the same time. It would be more like NASCAR or MotorCross meets rally racing. Nevertheless, this race was extremely fun to watch.

Check out the videos and let me know, if you agree that this was a very cool race.

What do you think?

Cool Car Guy Rating:
***** – Extremely Cool

_________________________________________________________________________
John BoydAuto Consultant – John Boyd “The Cool Car Guy”

John is an automotive consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle!
jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Mitsubishi

Cool Car Shot – Mitsubishi’s Concept-CT MIEV

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Hey Cool Car Fans,Concept-CT

Earlier this month, I told you about the new electric powered 2006 Tesla Roadster The Hard Word dvd

that is being brought to market by Lotus and Tesla Motors. Now Mitsubishi is working on selling an electric car in the U.S. as well.

Mitsubishi has been testing hybrid and electric vehicles in Japan. The President of Mitsubishi believes that diesel technology, like VW and other companies are pursuing, is not environmentally friendly enough and hasn’t gone over as big in the U.S. and Japan as it has in Europe. Mitsubishi is committed to moving forward with “zero emission” electric vehicles that run off of lithium-ion batteries rather than nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Concept-CTThe Concept-CT MIEV is smaller than their Lancer. It’s a four-door (must be suicide doors becauuse the picture from the Detroit Auto Show doesn’t look like 4 doors), AWD and has a 1.1 liter gasoline engine making it a hybrid. Each wheel will have its own electric motor and the electric motors will provide all-wheel drive for the vehicle.

Mitsubishi definitely has to do something since they have been losing so much money over the past few years. It’s pretty cool to see them move forward with a gasoline alternative. I’m looking forward to test driving one of these cool cars and seeing how they perform on the open road. I think they look pretty cool.

What do you think?

Cool Car Guy Rating:
*** – Very Cool

_________________________________________________________________________
John BoydAuto Consultant – John Boyd “The Cool Car Guy”
John is an automotive consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle!
jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Cool Cars, Tesla

Cool Car Shot – Tesla Roadster

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Hey Cool Car Fans,Tesla Logo

Here’s the “Cool Car Shot” of the year so far, the new 2006 Tesla Roadster that has recently been introduced to the world by Tesla Motors.

Tesla Photo 1This new car company was founded by the guy who started Pay Pal, Elon Musk, and was funded with just $60 million out of Silicon Valley. They only used $25 million to get the first ten models developed. That’s a real change for an American car company.

As Musk explained in several interviews the goal of this car company was to prove that zero emission vehicles that run on electricity can be built, can be cool and will be embraced by consumers. So, how cool is the new Tesla Roadster? It will do 0 to 60 in just 4 seconds and runs totally on an electrical charge like your cell phone. At a $100,000 price tag the Tesla is said to handle like a Porsche or Ferrari with a 250 mile range.

Tesla Photo 2

About The Tesla Roadster

  • Tesla is scheduled to go on sale late 2007 in select cities at $100K each.
  • They have already had 170 pre-ordered and plan to sell about 250 cars for the 2007 model year.
  • The chassis was licensed and built by Lotus Cars, which is similar in style to a Lotus Europa S with full carpeting, HID headlights, and slightly lower door sills than the Elise. Which explains the very cool European look of this vehicle.
  • It has lighter carbon fiber body parts compared to the pure fiber glass used for the cheaper Lotus models.
  • The Tesla weighs about 2500 lbs, with about 1,500 lbs in the rear of the vehicle.
  • Electrical storage comes from a whopping 650 small lithium batteries.
  • Regenerative brakes.
  • The Tesla is equipped with a 70lb 250hp electric motor. Maximum torque at 0 rpm. Rev limit at 13500 rpm.
  • It has a 2-speed transmission that is shifted electronically in a split second.
  • There is an ARM-based engine controller running embedded Linux. Cool.
  • Traction control involves ensuring rear wheels do not spin 2mph more than the front wheels. Working on a stability system which is far more complicated.
  • Conventional radiator with conventional coolant reservoir to cool batteries and motor.
  • 2-prong plug to plug into regular mains. Two charging kits provided. One for quick charging in 3 hours at home. Another to be used on the road.
  • Tesla is claiming a 250-mile range.
  • Final chassis development work currently done at the Lotus test facilities by Lotus engineers.

Be sure and watch the Yahoo Tesla Roadster video released earlier this week.

If you ask me, this is the future of the American car company. Tesla didn’t come out of the world of automobiles, but is more like a dot-com start-up with plenty of intellectual property. This will definitely be a company to watch this year and in the future.

What do you think?

Cool Car Guy Rating:
**** – Extremely Cool

_________________________________________________________________________
John BoydAuto Broker – John Boyd “The Cool Car Guy”
John is an automotive consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle!
jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Cool Cars

Cool Car Shot – 2003 Subaru Forester XS

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Hey Cool Car Fans,Forester

Here’s a “Cool Car Shot” of a 2003 Subaru Forester XS that I delivered to a CoolCarGuy.com client last month.

Jean had been in an automobile accident with her Subaru Forester and was hoping to be able to find a replacement quickly.

We located this Forester XS (limited edition) with leather, and a huge sunroof, for about the same price she had invested in her previous Forester, allowing her to get more vehicle for the money, and about half the miles. This baby only had 21,240 miles on it when we delivered it, for about the same price as vehicles with twice the miles. At $.15 – $.20 a mile for depreciation, Jean loved the savings and the added amenities.

Forester GraphicThe Subaru Forester is a very popular Colorado vehicle, especially among women. It offers great visibility and AWD technology that works well in all of Colorado’s crazy weather conditions.

Most owners love these vehicles and claim to get around 26 miles per gallon with the 2.5L, 165 horse-power, horizontally opposed 4 cylinder engine. The fuel effecient engines provide plenty of power to get up the sometimes icy Winter slopes in Colorado.

Subaru also made the 2003 in a Turbo-charged version with 220 horse-power, but at over $2.50 a gallon for gasoline most Subaru owners are happy with the standard version.

There is another good review about the crash test safety rating of the Subaru Forester XS at the NMRA website (National Roads and Motorists’ Association).

What do you think?

Cool Car Guy Rating Surviving the Game release :
*** – Very Cool

_________________________________________________________________________
John BoydAuto Broker – John Boyd “The Cool Car Guy”
John is an automotive consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle!
jboyd@coolcarguy.com

Toyota

Cool Car Shot – 2006 Toyota Prius

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Hey Cool Car Fans,Prius 1

Here’s a “Cool Car Shot” of a blue, 2006 Toyota Prius that I delivered to a happy CoolCarGuy.com

Starsky & Hutch full Liberty Stands Still movie full

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client last month.

Julia emailed me these photos and she loves her new Prius. She’s getting fantastic gas mileage with this Toyota hybrid, plus a great tax deduction to boot.

There has been a six month waiting list for this car at most Toyota dealerships in Denver. Julia called me from California and I was able to deliver her one here in Denver in less than two weeks! Needless to say, she was glad she called “The Cool Car Guy” to get her cool new vehicle.

Prius 2There is an interesting article in USA Today about how people are modifying their Prius models to get unbelievable gas mileage. Click on the link above to read the articles about plugging in the hybrids for better gas mileage.

A recent post on a popular website by another Prius owner wrote the following about his family’s experience with this unique vehicle:

“My wife has been driving the Prius back and forth 160 miles a day to work. She puts on 4K a month. She drives 95% highway miles and she has been getting 55-57 mpg when the weather got nice and 47-49 when it is colder. You can’t beat that at $3.00 for a gallon of gas! I am a big guy (6’4″, 300 lbs) and I fit just fine in this car. I can even sit in the back if I have to (my hair just brushes the top). Go Toyota!”

What do you think?

Cool Car Guy Rating:
*** – Pretty Cool

_________________________________________________________________________
John BoydAuto Broker – John Boyd “The Cool Car Guy”
John is an automotive consultant with JFR & Associates in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle!
jboyd@coolcarguy.com

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