Fuel efficiency is seen as an important number to a person when buying a car to save as much money on gas as possible. That’s why the number of electric and hybrid cars being sold is increasing. To keep up with this trend, most car manufacturers offer an electric or hybrid car in the their lineup. The most popular all electric car that almost every knows is the Tesla model S, but that is out of most people’s budget being that it is a higher end car. Most supercars that are released each year are starting to switch from all gas to a hybrid, which is a mix between gas and electric. Cars like the McLaren P1 and BMW i8 are both cars that have recently been released that are hybrids. These cars are out of most people’s budget and are very expensive, so it’s likely that you aren’t really concerned about fuel economy when shelling out that kind of cash for a car.

But what about for the average consumer who wants to save some money on driving? The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt are two all electric cars that are priced so that average person can afford to buy them. Both cars run on nothing but batteries that charged via a regular wall outlet.

The first question to be asked, will the consumer save money when driving an electric car? The short answer is yes you will save money, but in no means will it be right away. You only save a very small amount with each time you charge your car. Assume Car A is electric and Car B is gas powered. Car A has a max range of 30 miles when fully charged (which is about average for an electric car) and the power used to charge it equates to about $2.75(again, about the average is cost to charge a car with that range) Car B has a 300 mile range when fully topped off (10 gallon tank at 30mpg) with an average gas price of $3.oo per gallon, so $30.oo to top it of. So, in order to get the same distance from Car A, it would need to be charged 10 time to get 300 miles out of it. After charging it 10 times at an average cost of $2.75 per charge, it would cost about $27.50 to get 300 miles out it. The driver of Car A saves about $2.50 per 300 miles driven. So yes, you do save money at the pump, or wall in this case, but you also have to factor in the price of an electric car which is substantially more expensive than a regular gas car. Most electric cars are in the $30,000+ price range because of how expensive lithium batteries are, while gas cars are in the low $20,000 range.

Are electric cars practical? Unless you live in short driving distances to everything, them no they aren’t practical in most situations. With an average range of 30 miles and then a recharge time of 6-8 hours, you can’t get very far with them. If your car needs a charge when you get home, you’re house locked for a good amount of time until that thing is charged up. If you want to go anywhere outside of 30 miles you are kind of out of luck unless you have a second car. But needing 2 cars just to travel distances defeats the purpose of the electric one all together. Why even bother with an electric car and just just buy a gas powered one. Electric cars will be a bust until manufactures can get the price down, increase the range, and decrease the charge time. Until then, electric cars just aren’t worth it.

Sources: http://ludens.cl/philo/electric.html

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/24/gas-vs-electric-cars-cost-comparison/

The newest story to come out this week is that auto braking must be a standard feature on cars by the year 2022. This new regulation is being put out to help cut down on the amount of traffic accidents in the U.S. This feature will do exactly what it sounds like- when a car approaches an object and the driver doesn’t brake, the car will do it for them to avoid hitting it or at least decrease the force of impact. The cars will have some sort of sensor on the front of car that will be able to detect objects in range of it. This feature is already available on some cars now, but it is an option. 20 major auto companies have already agreed to have this feature standard on their cars including General Motors, Honda, and VW. This technology is relatively new so there is still much to be learned to perfect it. Volvo had 2 absolute fails when showing their new auto braking system in 2 different cars. One of their tests ran right through a pedestrian and the other demolished the rear end of a semi. Both videos can be found in the video tab.

In my opinion this feature is almost useless and a bad idea. Yeah, it may help in situations where the driver doesn’t react fast enough, but why couldn’t they react fast enough in the first place? This new system is going to give drivers too much slack when driving. They’ll be able to get away with being on their cell phones and what not because they’ll rely on their car to stop if they don’t have enough time to. It will save them from getting into accidents, but only because they were distracted by something and couldn’t stop in time themselves.

Tell me how you feel about this new regulation! Is it going to give drivers too much slack when driving or will it help in other scenarios?

Sources: http://www.motortrend.com/news/manufacturers-agree-make-emergency-braking-standard-2022/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/03/17/automatic-emergency-braking-coming-all-cars-2022/81907516/

Sayonara Scion

The biggest news that has come in 2016 so far is that Toyota is saying fair-well to its sub-brand Scion. Scion was first introduced in 2003 by Toyota to market cars for the younger buyers. These cars were fairly inexpensive and because they were marketed for a younger buyer looked flashy. Toyota has stated that the cut to Scion has nothing to do with sales. When Scion was first released they had 3 models, and now in 2015 they offered 7. Although Scion will be no more, 3 of their 7 cars will continue to be produced, but they will be now under the Toyota branding. It would be a lie if I said I’m sad to see Scion  go because all but one their cars was even remotely good looking. The one that is staying (FRS) is staying but rebadged as a Toyota. How do you feel about saying goodbye to Scion? Do you thinks it’s a good or bad move by Toyota? Drop a comment below!

Source: http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1102200_toyota-pulls-the-plug-on-scion-but-why

Z/28 v.s. GT350R

Chevrolet v.s. Ford- An argument that may never have a clear cut, knock-out winner. Both brands are the cream of the crop when producing all american muscle cars. The two newest, and fastest, muscle cars to come out of the factory from Chevy and Ford are the 2016 Z/28 Camaro and the 2016 Mustang GT350R, respectively. Both cars excel with what they were built to do-become track monsters. Let’s take a look at some specs.

Z/28

0-60mph- 4.4sec

Horsepower- 505 (7.0L V8)

1/4 mile-12.3 sec

Price- $74,000

Curb Weight- 3,585lbs

This car is built and made for the track. The tires that come stock on this car off the lot are the stickiest street legal tires made. Things like a spare tire and air conditioning are added options to save weight. The car packs a punch with over 500 horses under the hood, but at a hefty price of $74k

GT350R

0-60mph- 4.3sec

Horsepower- 526 (5.2L V8)

1/4 mile- 12.1

Price- $49,000

Curb Weight- 3,629 lbs

Like the Z/28, the all new GT350R is built to eat up the track. That’s what it was designed to do. Again to save weight, rear seats and air conditioning are both optional extras. The GT350R, like Z/28, is a fast muscle car. On paper, it is faster than the Z/28 and for a much cheaper price, too. But, it also weighs more.

Both cars make for good track cars that you can rip around the track for a few hours, and then drive it home after. Each looks great too with many curves and sleek body lines. Both have V8 power plants that push 500+ hp. Although they have high output numbers, they are very heavy cars, much like all muscle cars are. Camaro v.s. Mustang is a debate that dates back more than 40 years. There will most likely never be a conclusion on which is better. Everyone will have their own opinion and reasoning on which one is better. You really can’t go wrong with either of the two. Both will out perform your needs and leave you smiling with each corner you come out of with your foot to the floor. If I were to choose one or the other…it would be the Z/28. I love the way it looks with its aggressive front end. I’ve also loved Chevy over Ford for as long as I can remember. If you had a disposable income, which would you choose? Is there a clear cut winner? Tell me what you think!

Sources: http://www.caranddriver.com/chevrolet/camaro-z-28

http://www.caranddriver.com/ford/mustang-shelby-gt350-gt350r

Hello and Welcome,

Welcome to my blog that will be all about anything automotive. I have a true love for cars and really anything pertaining to the automotive world. This includes anything from working on cars and learning more to going to car shows and races. I also really enjoy photography which ties in very well when going to races and shows. This is what my blog is all about. I will be talking about things such as the newest cars on the market,the latest news in the car world, my opinions on features on cars, and of course, racing. Anything, everything and all the above that has to do with cars will most likely be found in my blog. I plan to post at least once a week and will also include local shows, meets and any racing events that are being held on that week.

If you have a passion for cars as much as I do, then you will enjoy my blog.

Ben Castellone