The show wrapped up yesterday, and here are the eight best cars that were there:

Delta Tech Engineering’s Suzuki Kizashi

While the stock Kizashi looks pretty darn good (for a Suzuki), this version makes it look downright hot. It was given a big open grille, a cold air intake, custom exhaust and all LED or HID lights. Sweet!

Carbon Fiber Mustang

Carbon fiber use was a bit of a theme this year, and no one used if better than Vaughn Gittin Jr. His carbon fiber RTR-C Mustang uses real carbon fiber panels, cutting about 500 pounds of weight. Only 10 cars were made, and each will cost you about $135K. But you also get a supercharger, if that helps make your decision easier.

Hennessey HP700 Camaro

Take a Corvette ZR1 LS9 engine, stuff it into a Camaro and tune it to deliver 725 hp, with 0-60 coming in 3.5 seconds. Flat-out coolest thing ever? Quite possibly.

Rhys Millen mid-engine Hyundai Genesis Coupe

We gave you a teaser of this thing a little while ago. Here’s the finished product! Car mods don’t get much more extreme than this: A 4.6-liter V8  producing 500 horses has been mounted where the back seats should be. Add a carbon fiber roof (why not, everyone else is), a body kit and before long you’ve got yourself a Ferrari-fighting Hyundai. Imagine that!

1959 Fiat 500 Funny Car

I don’t know whether to laugh or be in awe of this thing. Either way, it’s the epitome of why the SEMA Show exists. Legacy Innovations took a 1959 Fiat 500 and gave it a 725 hp (!) 427 small block. Go, little Fiat, go!

2010 Ford Raptor 6.2

Drool drool drool…

Of all the cars and trucks at SEMA, here’s one you could potentially buy from your corner Ford dealer. Even by Raptor standards, this is one extreme truck, boasting a 6.2-liter engine rated at 411 hp and equipped with more off-road capability than any one human ever needs. And it’s a bargain too… coming in at about $42K.

Pagani Zonda R

Any of the world’s most exclusive supercars get an automatic spot in my lists. Especially when outfitted in exotic carbon fiber. You kind of have to wonder though, now that carbon fiber has shown up on a Hyundai, how long before the material is remembered as sooooo 2009?

Local Motors Rally Fighter

Local Motors is showing us that a different way of building and selling cars is possible. The Rally Fighter was designed using an open-source model and will be sold by the company directly. Buyers even get to travel to a factory and help build the car with their own hands before driving it home. The Rally Fighter uses a BMW 335d drivetrain and is said to achieve 30 miles per gallon.

If you could have one of these, which one would you drive home from Vegas?

-tgriffith

Go ahead, try to change the spark plugs

Days like yesterday remind me just how intertwined our cars are with daily life.

First, as I was making my way down a winding and perilous dirt road, the brake light illuminated on my Suzuki’s dash. That’s never a welcome sight, especially when I can look over the edge of the road and see the rooftops of houses. Needless to say, I ended up at the brake repair shop instead of the coffee shop.

My local brake place is an independent shop I’ve used many times over the years. They are always honest and charge fair prices. As I waited for my car, I pulled out a copy of Car and Driver and read a head to head test of a Ferrari California against a Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG. Good reading.

Before I could find another article to read, the brake guy informed me that the fluid was a little low, but the system otherwise checked out A-OK. The tab? Nothing. Had I gone to the dealer I know I would have been out at least $65 for that diagnosis and would probably still be trying to prove to them that I don’t need new rotors.

When I got home (with my coffee, finally) I read about an iPhone app that can remotely start your car and a car that is controlled by an iPhone. Then I saw this blog about a renewed interest in the Right to Repair Act. That’s when my day of car repair fun came full circle.

We all know that the days of diagnosing our own engine problems are long gone. Even changing spark plugs is a job for a NASA engineer. So when it’s time for maintenance or repairs, dealers are often the only ones who have the info needed to decipher the diagnostic codes our cars spit out.

I’ve said before that those codes should be made available to all mechanics (even to the general public), so schmucks like me don’t get bent over when we need our cars fixed.

The people at righttorepair.org are making a push to get a bill through Congress that forces manufacturers to release proprietary diagnostic codes to the general public. The full press release is here, but the main point is this:

Cars, trucks, motorcycles and all other vehicles are becoming increasingly complex with the addition of more computer technology. Without Right to Repair, millions of vehicle owners will be forced back to the dealership for service because they have been denied access to non-proprietary information and computer codes from the manufacturers. Rural communities where there is no dealership in the area are particularly vulnerable and could be forced to tow their vehicles longer distances, adding significant cost to the repair.

Today, I was lucky that everything was okay and no dealer-specific repairs were needed on my car.

Tomorrow, it’s my hope that diagnosing a car’s troubles will be as close as my iPhone. Surely someday, there will be an app for that, too.

If diagnostic codes were available, would you use them to try and fix your own car before going to a mechanic?

-tgriffith

J.C. France

Some of you are looking forward to a three-day weekend. Others deserve to be in jail, among them some well-known car people.

Foremost of these is J.C. France, grandson of Bill France, founder of NASCAR. J.C. was allegedly racing with his half-brother Russell Van Richmond on the streets of Daytona Beach. The cops charged him with DUI and cocaine possession. Autoweek provided some details:

Van Richmond was driving a Porsche Cayenne, and France was driving a green 2007 Lamborghini. Van Richmond also was charged with DUI, possession of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance, hydrocodone. The newspaper reported that Van Richmond additionally was charged with threatening an officer after telling her, “I want your commander now. I am a France. Do you know what that means? We own this city.”

Autoweek referred to these clowns as “NASCAR’s royal family.” Well, how are we supposed to take that appellation? That they deserve utmost respect? That, as Robespierre suggested, we should prepare to cut their French heads off? The fact that NASCAR has become a joke to many of us leads me to wonder why police released J.C. on only a $4,500 bond. Maybe the family does own the town.

On a lighter note, the Michelin Man, aka “Bibendum,” will no longer be the Mr. Nice Guy we’ve grown to love. The company is spending some $20 million on an ad campaign to make him into some kind of superhero, a tough guy whom they hope will provide better traction for the brand.

In the [new] ads, the Michelin Man pulls tires from of his own midsection [sic] and hurls them, either at drivers who use them to replace their presumably inferior tires or at a frightened, cowering gas pump.

On a more somber note, GM is reportedly close to a deal to sell Hummer to a Chinese heavy-equipment manufacturer (with no car-building experience) for a measly $150 million. They were trying for $500 million, but had no takers. The deal faces all kinds of regulatory hurdles, besides being high-risk for the buyers. Sales of Hummer have fallen 63 percent this year (January-September).

GM’s Saab deal is also supposed to close this month. So was the Saturn sale to Penske. Perhaps October is not GM’s month. One recalls the October revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power.

Guns and cars go together like ice cream and cones. So assumes the Illinois Supreme Court, which just ruled that gun owners can carry weapons in car storage compartments designed for phones, CDs, and sunglasses—you know, the center consoles, as pictured. The Court said that

these compartments can be defined as “cases” in terms of gun laws, which require a gun to be in a case when transported in a car.

In case you’re wondering, the Court’s next case will decide whether automatic weapons can be stowed in the spare tire “case.”

Last but not least is the case of the Toyota floor mats, which we reviewed last month. The company is recalling 3.8 million trucks and cars, because the floor mats can slide under the accelerator and cause it to, well, accelerate. Now, Toyota is telling its dealers to use plastic zip-ties to secure the loose mats. This from the company that transformed the world of automotive production? Zip-ties, for Pete’s sake!

We want to hear your comments on the latest NASCAR scandal: Is the France dynasty finally ending?

—jgoods

Unfortunately, some people modify their cars to the point where the only personality trait we see is a complete lack of common sense.

Some of the most pointless and all-out worst mods ever made to cars are:

LED ground effects

“Headlights aren’t good enough for me. In fact, I don’t just want to project light forward, I want to ride on a cushion of light… yeah, that would be cool….”

Umm, no, it isn’t. It just looks like you’re trying to impersonate a low-flying starship. It’s only okay if you’re on a mission to find the guy who invented these ground-effect lights and administer a very uncomfortable exam to him.

Wings and spoilers

Does high school teach nothing about aerodynamics these days? Probably not. Even if it did, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t stop kids from gluing what appear to be park benches to their trunks. Here’s a quick lesson: True spoilers and wings direct force downward at really high speeds. This helps keep tires stuck to the pavement. I’m talking really high speeds… speeds higher than your Civic or Camry is even capable of reaching. All your “wing” does is make it look like you don’t know anything about cars.

Exhaust systems on 4-banger imports

It’s really bad when the guy with the wing adds an exhaust system that makes his car sound like a weed wacker. Why would you want to accelerate away from a stop light only to sound like you’re doing yard work?

Rolls-Royce grille on a Beetle

At least you don’t see this one anymore. I’m just waiting for the day when I see a New Beetle rolling around with a Rolls-Royce grille.

Camo on a Bentley

This is what happens when rednecks get money.

Spinners (even worse are hub-cap spinners)

Spinners are so turn-of-the-century. The first time you saw them, they were a cool novelty. These days it’s like, “Okay, you’re stopped, and your wheels are still spinning. Got it. Glad you spent $2K each on a sight gag.”

The guys with hub-cap spinners… you almost have to feel sorry for them. At least they are disposable (the hubcaps).

And whatever this is…

Some guys make a choice in life: Pursue a love for R2D2, or meet girls. This guy went the droid route. Ouch.

Have you made any modifications to your car? What are some horrible ones you’ve seen?

-tgriffith

I say “at least” because the service guy said the price could creep all the way up to $1,800. I nearly spit the contents of the “free” can of Coke they gave me right out my nose. I also took the keys back and tore out of the dealership.

Later that week I found a shop that checked and topped off the fluids and replaced the engine oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin air filter, and wiper blades for $130.

Sure, I didn’t get “genuine Lexus replacement parts” but I’m just fine going with Fram if it saves me a thousand dang dollars. I’m sure there are other benefits of returning to the dealer for service, but I won’t even try to justify spending a grand on them (though the Coke there is exceptionally good for some reason).

I mention this because I think auto manufacturers should make the same service technology they provide to their dealerships available to all independent shops. That way people like me could feel confident we’d get the same service for our cars when we didn’t choose to bring them back to the dealer.

Car buyers get screwed enough when buying a car from the dealer – we shouldn’t continue the pattern every time we need our cabin air filter changed.

Keeping repair costs fair is the goal of the Right to Repair Act, which is

bipartisan legislation that would require automakers to provide the same service information and tools to independent auto and maintenance shops, as well as to consumers, that the automaker dealership service centers receive.

That just makes sense, don’t you think? The more advanced our vehicles become, the easier it is for manufacturers and dealers to monopolize the service of our cars. That’s not a path I want to go down.

I’d rather support a local small business while saving money on maintaining my car than fork over thousands of dollars to a corporate dealership chain. Even if it means giving up my free can of Coke.

Assuming you’d receive the same service, would you rather take your car to an independent repair shop, a dealer, or do the maintenance yourself?

-tgriffith

When I was growing up I’d see them around town, shaking my head in disgust at even a relatively young age. Why take a cheap car and adorn it with a front end associated with the super rich? I sure knew it wasn’t fooling anyone into believing the driver had a Rolls. And it was plain ugly. Even today, the point of such modifications completely passes me by.

I was reminded of the absurdity of it all when a friend sent me this picture of a Chrysler 300C (below). With a Bentley grille.

Right. I can understand wanting to modify your car and personalize it so it suits your personality, but why on earth identify yourself to the masses as someone who thinks everyone else on the planet is moronic enough to believe you actually bought a Bentley?

I don’t question the fact that Bentleys look a lot like Chryslers, which is not a compliment (in fact, I’ve gone as far as calling Bentley one of the ugliest cars available.) There’s still an undeniable luster a Bentley has that a Chrysler will never approach, even with Bentley’s logo gracing the front end.

I’ve even seen an obvious Chevy Blazer decked out in Cadillac Escalade badging. Pretty convincing, especially with the Chevrolet badge still dangling from the rear end.

Why do people do this to their cars? If you were to customize your car with an exotic front end, what would you do? I’m thinking an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish front end would look sweet on my ‘07 Suzuki SX4.

-tgriffith

The Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012.

Maybe they were right, as this news from analyst Grant Thornton LLP could signal the end of times:

Foreign automakers will build more cars on U.S. soil than the Detroit 3… by 2012.

Epic, isn’t it?

The analysts predict by 2012 the Detroit 3 (I’ve retired my use of the “Big 3″ term) will produce 7.5 million vehicles, compared to an estimated 8 million produced domestically by the likes of BMW, Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai. Most of those 8 million “foreign” cars will be built with non-union U.S. labor, which is enough reason for me to buy my “American” Toyota and be proud of it.

More good news: U.S. automakers should return to profitability by 2012, even if they reduce production by 35 percent from 2008 numbers. The bad news is for the suppliers, who will have to adapt to these changes in order to survive. I think many won’t.

The whole landscape of what “Made in the USA” means is changing. Does this mean the world is ending? Hardly.

More like a whole new one is beginning.

Are you bothered by the news that foreign automakers will, by 2012, build more vehicles in the U.S. than the Detroit 3?

-tgriffith

Silverado - it sure looks American!

Not long ago, we asked if Ford was a foreign car company.

We asked because so many American cars are built in Mexico, while Japanese cars are built in America, so we wondered what really constitutes a “domestic” automobile. The location of final assembly is only a piece of the puzzle – there’s also the whole question of where a car’s parts come from.

It sounds like a philosophical conundrum: If a car’s engine is built in Germany, its transmission comes from France, final assembly happens in the United States, and the corporate headquarters is in Japan, where is the car from?

In this case it’s the “Japanese” Mazda B-Series pickup, but it seems more “American” than the Mexican-built Ford Fusion or Chevy Silverado.

Considering all this, I’m surprised to see the results of a poll in our original blog asking if car owners know where their car was built. With nearly 2,500 people answering, an overwhelming 81 percent said they do know where their cars were built.

I have to wonder, though, if some people just assume their Fusions or Silverados (or Escalades or Avalanches or HHRs or Sierras…the list goes on)  were built in America just because they believe all those American Heartland “Like a Rock” TV ads.

Heck, the Honda Odyssey is more “American” than the Dodge Grand Caravan, with its engine, transmission, and assembly all sourced from the United States.

That’s why I get infuriated when a staunchly anti-foreign Midwestern truck guy judges me for buying a Japanese SUV when he (unknowingly) owns a Chevy Silverado that was made in Mexico. I imagine that guy would be pretty peeved to hear that little nugget of information.

With pieces of cars literally coming from all over the world, I was excited to see this brilliant feature, put together by the New York Times, that lists every car that’s made in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

I’d be curious for the people who took our original survey to check out the Times’ feature and then answer our survey again.

Which do you think is more American: a Mazda built in America or a Silverado built in Mexico? If you want, go ahead and tell me what car you own, including the year, and I’ll tell you where it was built.

-tgriffith

Expensive car, inferior tires?

I think car manufacturers and tire makers have a deal with each other. Here’s why:

I bought a 2007 Suzuki SX4 two years ago to serve as a commuter car. Today it has 22,000 miles on it, and last week I had to replace all four tires, because the front ones were nearly bald.

I figured I just had a case of bad luck and partly blamed myself, since I failed to rotate the tires on a regular basis. But the guy at the tire shop said he’s noticing a common trend: People are coming in for new tires with about 20,000 miles on the odometer. 

I got home and started searching online, and sure enough I found forums where people complain that their new cars need new tires after only 14,000 to 20,000 miles. A guy here made it 18,000 miles with a 2007 Lexus ES 350. Same thing here on a Mercedes GL450.

What’s the deal? Are car companies cutting costs by putting inferior OEM tires on their vehicles?

While I don’t doubt that could be a possibility, I think the bigger picture is a lack of proper tire maintenance. The guy who sold me the new tires for my Suzuki recommended having them rotated every 5,000 to 6,000 miles; maybe if I had done that in the first place the originals would’ve gone another 10K or so. 

Also, please keep an eye on your tire pressure. As temperatures rise, tires that were properly inflated in cold weather could suddenly be overinflated. Measure your tire pressure “cold.” If possible, park the car in your garage overnight, and check the pressure in the morning.

Even with proper maintenance, tire life is another thing to consider when buying a new car. Check to see if the tires come with a warranty, and if not, use it as a negotiation tool to inch your price down.

When selling a car, consider doing what the guy who traded in the car my wife bought did: He felt bad getting rid of a car with used tires, so he put on brand-new 18″ Yokohamas before getting rid of it. Sweet!

Has anyone else noticed a short life for tires on new cars? How many miles do you typically get out of a set of tires?

-tgriffith

A simple solution to a growing problem

Back in January we wondered what would happen to the sound of acceleration as electric and hybrid cars slowly gain traction on the roads.

In a world of silent electric cars, would we miss the throaty rumble of a V8? Would the weed-wacker whine of a tuned Civic become a distant memory? 

Fear not, fellow cargurus, your Congress is stepping up to bring the noise back to hybrids! And it’s actually pretty cool.

The problem with silent acceleration isn’t just the omission of auditory engine feedback. It turns out driving without a sound is dangerous, especially to children and people who are blind.  

That’s the fundamental thinking behind a bill introduced by Congress this month:

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study and establish a motor vehicle safety standard that provides for a means of alerting blind and other pedestrians of motor vehicle operation.

A new company called Enhanced Vehicle Acoustics has jumped on the opportunity and has created a device consisting of a computerized control unit and speakers placed under each wheel well that emit the sounds of a conventional gas engine. 

While the main intent of this device is to alert pedestrians that a car is approaching, the company also says that customers will have a choice as to what sounds their cars make.

Imagine your Prius accelerating to the sound of a horse clip-clopping on a cobblestone street. Or emitting the whine of a jet engine. Or roaring like a Lamborghini V12.

Hey, there’s no reason safety can’t be fun!

What sound would you want you electric or hybrid car to make while accelerating?

-tgriffith