Stigza Car Profile : Corvette ZR1

During 1986, Genral Motors acquired Group Lotus, the UK based engineering consulting and performance car manufacturing firm. The Corvette division approached Lotus with the idea of developing the world's fastest production car, to be based on the C4 generation Corvette. With input from GM, Lotus designed a new engine to fit in place of the L98 V8 that was powering the standard C4. The result was what GM dubbed the LT5, an aluminum-block V-8 with the same bore centers as the L98, but with four overhead camshafts, 32 valves. Lotus also designed a unique air management system for the engine to provide a wider power band by shutting off 8 of the 16 intake runners and fuel injectors when the engine was at part-throttle, while still giving the ZR-1 375 hp. In addition to the engine, Lotus helped GM design the ZR-1's upgraded braking and steering systems, and helped them pick the settings for the standard "FX3" adjustable active ride control that Chevrolet was fitting to the car, helping to ensure that the vehicle was more than just a modern-day muscle car with a big engine and no real capability on the track. The vehicle went on sale in 1990 and was available only as a coupe. It was distinguishable from other Corvette coupes by its wider tail section, 11" wide rear wheels and its new convex rear fascia with four square shaped taillights and a CHMSL (center high mounted stop lamp) attached to the top of the hatch glass instead of between the taillights. The ZR-1 displayed stunning ability both in terms of acceleration and handling capabilities, but carried with it an astonishingly high price. MSRP for the ZR-1 in 1990 was $58,995, some dealers successfully marked units as high as $100,000. In 1991, the ZR-1 and base model received updates to body work, interior, and wheels. The rear convex fascia that set the 1990 ZR-1 apart from the base model found its way to all models, making the high-priced ZR-1 even less distinguishable. Further changes were made in 1992, including extra ZR-1 badges on the fenders and the introduction of Acceleration Slip Regulation (ASR) or traction control. For model year 1993, Lotus design modifications were made to the cylinder heads, exhaust system and valvetrain of the LT5, bringing horsepower up to 405. In addition, a new exhaust gas recirculation system improved emissions control. The model remained nearly unchanged into the 1995 model year, after which the ZR-1 was discontinued. A total of 6,939 ZR-1s were manufactured over the six year period. Not until the debut of the C5 platform Z06 would Chevrolet have another production Corvette capable of matching the ZR-1's performance. Although the ZR-1 was extremely quick (0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds, and onto 180+ mph), the huge performance of the LT5 engine was matched by its robustness. As evidence of this, a stock ZR-1 set number of international and world records at a test track in Fort Stockton, Texas. #

Cool Car Gizmo

DONGLE : Plugs into Cars and sends vital info and GPS location to cell phones.This little dongle plugs into any car that has an OBDII port. All cars sold in the US after 1996 have one. Ideal for obsessive oil level-checkers and those who forget where they parked the car, it's on sale next year.It's like the "Lost My Phone" feature for iPhones. GPS locations can be sent to the phone, but also to any other numbers you've programmed it with, along with emergency services too. Perhaps the most useful function of the AutoBot is that if you're involved in an accident which causes the airbags to pop out, the dongle sends an SMS to programmed numbers or emergency services, informing them of your location. That'd be infinitely helpful, but fingers crossed it's one of the lesser-used functions. Oil levels, maintenance records and other such diagnostics are sent from the car to the app, which translates car-language to English.

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Fake Police Trucks

As police officers and other law enforcement agencies equip themselves with a wider array of vehicles, some lawbreakers have found a new tool to perpetrate their crimes: Fake police trucks. The Ford F-150 above wears the decals of Webb County, Texas, and comes with working emergency lights. Yet something seemed off about it to U.S. Border Patrol agents in June, who stopped a driver wearing a sheriff's deputy uniform. Upon closer inspection, the badge was from a security guard and the cab of the truck concealed 1,000 pounds of marijuana. Smugglers have used fake vehicles to move their contraband, from Fed-Ex trucks to Dakar Rally racers. And it's not just cargo that's been hauled this way In July, Border Patrol officers in California found a California Highway Patrol Dodge Ram like this one with a flat in Imperial County. The badges and decals were once again off just enough to make the officers suspicious; inside the camper top were nine illegal immigrants. The driver had abandoned the truck, which had not just working lights and bumper bar but faked CHP license plates.

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X-Ray Vans

The Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. military and even local law enforcement agencies are buying and deploying mobile X-ray vans that can see into the interior of vehicles around them.The Z Backscatter Van (ZBV), manufactured by American Science and Engineering (AS&E), can be used to detect contraband such as car bombs, drugs and people in hiding. But the vans, which can also see through clothing and into some buildings, are raising privacy concerns as well as questions about health risks -- and what might happen if the technology gets into the wrong hands. Like airport scanners, the ZBVs use Z Backscatter technology to detect materials that contain low atomic numbers. This allows them to detect organic matter that doesn't show up well in traditional X-ray images -- including explosives and plastic weapons – in addition to metal and other materials. The technology also works in such a way that the X-Ray mechanism has no need for a detector on the far side of an object, allowing it to be extremely mobile, versatile and capable of being into a commercially available van. Once equipped, the van -- which looks like a standard delivery van -- takes less than 15 seconds to scan a vehicle; it can be operated remotely from more than 1,500 feet and can be equipped with optional technology to identify radioactivity as well.The Z Backscatter vans range in cost from $729,000 to $825,000. The DHS says they have been a huge asset at the nation's ports and borders, and at major crowd events like the Super bowl. Using the ZBV vans over the past couple of years over a thousand seizures and 89,000 pounds worth of narcotics, approximately $4 million worth of currency, and we've also uncovered 10 or 11 Illegal aliens within vehicles But according to AS&E's website, ZBVs also can peer through clothing and into "lightly constructed" buildings, raising serious concerns among privacy advocates.

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U.S. pick up truck sales

U.S. pickup sales are getting a boost from rising farm incomes, giving automakers extra momentum as the auto industry recovers from the worst sales in almost three decades.In the first nine months of the year, pickup sales rose 14 percent to 1.2 million, according to Autodata Corp., a Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based researcher. The gain outpaced the 10 percent increase in overall industry deliveries.“Agriculture is helping out,” Mark Fields, Ford Motor Co's president of the Americas, said in an interview at a truck event on a ranch near San Antonio. “When farmers have a good harvest, they invest in their businesses and a pickup is a tool.”Grain prices have surged after droughts and flooding around the world ruined crops in such places as Russia and Canada. U.S. agricultural exports rose to $69.8 billion from $61 billion during the first eight months of 2010, according U.S. Department of Agriculture data. That rising trade contributed to a projected 24 percent gain in new farm income in 2010, the USDA said in August.

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USS New York

The USS New York is a transport ship around 7 tons of the steel used in the ship's construction came from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

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Nissan's wrecked by Tsunami

TOKYO – The earthquake-triggered tsunami that ravaged Japan's Pacific coast has damaged at least 2,300 Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles awaiting shipment to U.S. and Japan showrooms. The cars -- including nearly 1,300 Infiniti M, EX and FX models bound for North America -- were parked at two coastal loading points when the giant waves swept through.
About 1,300 cars -- all to be exported to the United States -- were damaged at the Port of Hitachi. Most were Infiniti nameplates such as the M sedan and EX and FX crossovers. But the damaged cars also included a small number of 370Z sports cars, the company said. Those cars are made at Nissan's Infiniti assembly plant in nearby Tochigi prefecture. A service center in neighboring Miyagi prefecture, where cars were being assembled for shipment to domestic dealers, was likewise devastated by the tsunami. About 1,000 vehicles were damaged at that location. Nissan Motor Co. confirmed that many of the vehicles at the Port of Hitachi had been consumed by fire. It couldn't give an exact breakdown or identify the cause of the fire. Fires were widespread throughout much of the disaster zone following Friday's killer 8.9-magnitude earthquake. The quake and the tsunami waves it triggered ruptured gas lines, wiped out villages, devastated ports and wharfs, damaged nuclear power plants and flooded vast areas. Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Subaru were among the automakers suspending production.

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Mazda's New Six Speed Transmission

Mazda Motor Corp developed a six-speed automatic transmission that can drastically improve fuel efficiency. The transmission comes in two types: a medium-torque type for gasoline vehicles and a high-torque type for diesel vehicles. Mazda expects that the medium-torque type will improve fuel efficiency by 7% compared with existing medium-torque five-speed automatic transmission's and the high-torque type will enhance fuel efficiency by 4% compared with existing high-torque six-speed automatic transmission's. Both of the types will be manufactured at the company's own factories, it said.
The new six-speed automatic transmission is called "Skyactiv-Drive" and is part of the "Skyactiv," a next-generation technology that Mazda announced on Wednesday. The improvement of fuel efficiency was realized by expanding the "lock-up" area and reducing internal resistance. Furthermore, for a smooth gear change, Mazda employed a linear solenoid valve that finely controls a mechanical clutch and an electronic control unit.

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Hennessey Raptor

Hennessey took a GREAT truck and made it AWESOME The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Hennessey creations are called the VelociRaptor 475, 500, 600, and 800 to match their respective power outputs. All carry a one-year/12,000-mile warranty and dyno tuning to guarantee performance.

the VelociRaptor 500, is for the 5.4-liter-powered Raptor. comes with a 9psi supercharger, stainless-steel exhaust and headers, custom fuel rails and upgraded fuel injectors, K&N air filter, and custom engine management software calibration, all of which is said to provide 501 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque, bringing the 0-60 time down to 5.6 seconds and the quarter-mile time down to 14.1 seconds at 97 mph.

Not enough try 810 horsepower out of the 6.2-liter To very nearly double the output of the already-powerful V-8. The Hennessey VelociRaptor 800 has twin turbos feeding a pair of intercoolers behind the grille,forged aluminum pistons, and electronic BOOST controller which sets you up with 810 horsepower at 5100 rpm and 745 pound-feet of torque at 3300. You'll even get a upgraded transmission.

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Mazda 6 recalled for Spiders

Mazda Motor Corp. is recalling 65,000 cars because of SPIDER nests in tiny rubber hoses linked to fuel system which could cause pressurization and ventilation problems in certain cars. In a worst-case scenario, such clogs could lead to fuel leaks and fires. But the problem hasn't resulted in any serious incidents so far, the company said. After dealers around the country found 20 cases of the arachnid infestation, the company pulled back 65,000 Mazda6 cars from the 2009 and 2010 model years in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Mazda identified the culprit as the yellow sac spider. The small arachnids are slipping in behind the gas cap and then sneaking down the hose (is a guess). Owners of recalled cars will be notified within the next few weeks. Dealers who find evidence of the spiders will clean out or replace the hoses and, if necessary, swap out the gas tank.

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Suzuki Motorcycle recall

A Suzuki motorcycle recall related to the electrical system may affect 73,426 motorcycles manufactured from July 2007 through September 2009. The symptom is a weak or dead battery, but it could potentially happen while riding and the engine could potentially stall. The Suzuki Motorcycle recall is expected to begin on March 2, 2011. Suzuki will replace the regulator/rectifier assembly on the following motorcycles free of charge.

AN400 model years 2008-2009
DL1000 model years 2008-2009
GSF1250 model years 2008-2009
GSX -R600 model years 2008-2009
GSX-R750 model years 2008-2009
GSX1300B model year 2008
GSX1300R model years 2008-2010
GSX650F model years 2008-2009
SFV650 model years 2009-2010
VL800 model years 2008-2010
VLR1800 model years 2008-2009
VZ1500 model years 2009-2010
The Suzuki regulator/rectifier part numbers involved in this recall are 32800-41F11, 32800-15H10, 32800-05H11, 32800-41G10, 32800-15H00, 32800-18H00, 32800-05G10, 32800-10G10, 32800-05H20, OR 32800-06G01. Some of these regulator/rectifier assemblies have poor adhesion between the heatsink and the circuit board. The improper cooling of the assembly may result in the battery becoming weak and the motorcycle may stall. Owners can contact Suzuki at 1-714-996-7040.
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Amber and Angela Cope (Nascar Twins)

• NASCAR driver (Daytona 500 Winner) Derrike Cope’s nieces, Amber and Angela Cope made NASCAR history this past fall as they became the first twins ever to compete in the same NASCAR event. They drove Identically painted Trucks in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Amber and Angela have been racing in other divisions since they were nine years old.