Recently in Cars Category

Scion has released its fourth limited edition car. I've looked at all kinds of cars, but keep coming back to the box on wheels, it is just so practical and isn't expensive, you can buy 4 Scion xBs for the price of a single Lexus 400h for instance. It has a paint job that changes color depending onthe angle that you look at it which is pretty cool according to Scion Life

The other features are color-key taillights, spoiler and so forth. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any performance upgrades and is $1950 or so over the sticker price. It doesn't have a DVD navigation system in it, so you'd have to add that.

The economy cars to think about though are the 2009 Prius and the 2008 Honda Fit Hybrid. The Honda folks are planning on doing a Fit with just a $1700 cost differential compared with the standard model. The Fit has gotten great reviews as a regular car. Too bad it is too small for our family. The goal for the 2009 Prius is to get even higher gas mileage and up to 30mph on electirc mode. Check out Allscion for more information.

Of course all of this is kind of bogus EPA and Japanese EPA statistics, so go to Fueleconomy.gov to see what peopleare really getting. Its a great site and I wish more folks would use it. It shows for example that in the real world, an Acura MDX 2004 model is suppoed to get 18mpg, but the user average is 16.8mpg and personally our car gets 14mpg because we mainly do city driving. The 1996 Volvo 850 Turbo is supposed to get 20mpg, but in the real world, our Volvo gets 16mpg.

Most interesting is that the Scion xB Manual gets 31mpg according to the EPA and interesting the average for real users are actually higher at 32.4mpg, so actually quite close, while the Camry Hybrid has an EPA 39mpg, but the average user is getting 37mpg, so pretty close as well. In any case, either the Scion or the Camry Hybrid will get you well into the 30mpg range, which is essentially double the fuel economy of our Acura MDX and close to that of our Volvo.

There is a great hybrid comparison up there for current cars

But the real news IMHO is that the high efficiency diesels are coming with Mercedes in 2008 about to field a 50mpg diesel. With biodiesel that's an alternative if you can stand the maintenance costs (personally, I'm sticking with Japanese cars, even though I just love BMWs and the like because I can't stand going to the shop).

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Genuine Honda Accessories, News, and Information from College Hills Honda. Here's a good online place to get Honda accessories.

nuxx.net - Honda Music Link iPod Adapter Review. But don't get the Honda Music Link. It has software that is supposed to allow voice recognition and selection from the stereo, but as this user notes, it doesn't work. Instead, I'd recommend getting a Tendeck flexible thingy that plugs into the cigarette lighter and then using the auxiliary MP3 iinput.

Hybrid Cars - Honda Fit Hybrid. More details on this rumored car. The high points:

• Will probably be about $3K more than the $16K list.
• Target is 60 mpg (!!!)
• Will use a 90 hp engine with Honda inline electric motor (20 hp)
• They will probalby allow the electric motor only to power the car at low speeds (<30 mph) and for a short time (< 5 minutes).
• Doesn't have regenerative braking
• Probalby will launch in a few month

1<http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/il/features/driving/honda.fit/06.honda.fit.prf.160.jpg!! Consumer Guide, Edmunds review Honda Fit - Autoblog. The Honda Fit just got the top rating from Car and Driver this month. It is a subcompact that is the size of the original Civic (if you remember that car, we had a 79 Civic called the rollerskate). It is the best selling car in Japan. and gets an amazing 32 mpg without any fancy hybrid technology.

Also it is the car tuners dream and lots of folks at Hondatuner.com would agree with that.Stock it weighs just 2500 pounds and has a 110 horsepower motor. Not far from the original Civic with its 90 hp that we had. It only comes in a hatchback.

The main innovation as Edmunds points out is not the nice tight suspesiuon of the 5 speed manual, but the "magic seat" which with one button lets you slide the front seats forward to get in and then the rear seats drop flat if you want without removing the head rests. Also the gas tank is moved to the front so there is lots more leg room.

For the cool folks, the 5 speed automatic has paddle shifters so you can handle it like a manual if you want it gets elssentially identical fuel economy. The so called Sprot trim level (higher end trim) adds security system, fog lights, power windows, cruise control, those cool paddle shifers, stereo with iPod input and about $1300 to put the list price at $15970.

And of course there is a rumor of a hybrid version coming out in later this year. Now of course this will be the so called light hybrid, so the fuel economy won't be anythingl9ike the toyota models.,

Consumer Guide, Edmunds review Honda Fit - Autoblog. The Honda Fit just got the top rating from Car and Driver this month. It is a subcompact that is the size of the original Civic (if you remember that car, we had a 79 Civic called the rollerskate). It is the best selling car in Japan. and gets an amazing 32 mpg without any fancy hybrid technology.

Also it is the car tuners dream and lots of folks at Hondatuner.com would agree with that.Stock it weighs just 2500 pounds and has a 110 horsepower motor. Not far from the original Civic with its 90 hp that we had. It only comes in a hatchback.

The main innovation as Edmunds points out is not the nice tight suspesiuon of the 5 speed manual, but the "magic seat" which with one button lets you slide the front seats forward to get in and then the rear seats drop flat if you want without removing the head rests. Also the gas tank is moved to the front so there is lots more leg room.

For the cool folks, the 5 speed automatic has paddle shifters so you can handle it like a manual if you want it gets elssentially identical fuel economy. The so called Sprot trim level (higher end trim) adds security system, fog lights, power windows, cruise control, those cool paddle shifers, stereo with iPod input and about $1300 to put the list price at $15970.

And of course there is a rumor of a hybrid version coming out in later this year. Now of course this will be the so called light hybrid, so the fuel economy won't be anythingl9ike the toyota models.,

Carscoop: Toyota Yaris Verso. Wow, Toyota seems to have figured out life in the $3/gallon range. They just announced the Yaris. It will cost less than $13K in the US. Has four doors and gets 40 mpg. Maybe that's why they are the only car company to grow sales last quarter in the US.

cars.com: 2006 Scion xB Reviews. Ugh, our Volvo died again, this time it is the alternator and the battery. I can't take it any more and most importantly, Connie said, OK, you can get the ugly thing, but I'll never drive it.

Shopping for the thing is easy as there isn't any haggling, so the big decisions are. A Yahoo review points out that most of the OEM accessories are available on eBay, so if you want these, the cheapest way is to find a local tuner in town or to buy on eBay and install yourself.

The 2006 model adds a standard audio jack so the audio input goes in easily. For an additional $260 bucks, the stereo itself can show the song playing on the iPod. Personally, the $260 doesn't seem quite worth it, because for me, the iPod itself is a nice enough user interface.

Alarm system. $400 for this, seems like a good idea to get an integrated one, although Car Toys can outfit you after market. I had an after market system for my original BMW and I kind of like the integrated ones better, but don't know if things are better now.

Leather seats. OK, the thing doesn't come with leather, you have to change that after market and it is expensive. So cloth ain't so bad now that the kids are older.

DVD Navigation System Eclipse ESN E5. Again, these are after market, Scionzone recommends an Eclipse unit that fits into the standard double DIN radio slot. The ESN E5 has a DVD navigation, MP3 playing. You can watch a DVD, but only when the car is stationary (how depressing!). Both Car Toys and Magnolia Hi Fi carry it. It is incredibly easy to install an aftermarket radio according to this post.
* remove the three climate control knobs, yes the just pull off.
* then remove the philips screws under the two outer knobs locations.
* then you will have to gently pull the bottom out on both sides. pulling in a downward but outward motion, this will allow the top to swing out and unclip.
* gently disconnect the heater controls, Hazards and additional plugs on the back of the bezel. Place this in the rear to keep from scratching the unit.
* next remove the 4 philips screws and detach the power plug on the rear along with the antenna.
* at this point you should have a gapping hole in the dash and a smile on your face.

Performance-wise, there are some things to get and there is an incredibly techie post on ScionZone that I'm still trying to decypher. The important ones are:

• Manual Transmission. Manual is definitely peppier, but there is a two month wait for them :-(
• Air intake. These parts "open up" the air input, so you get better performance. AEM Cold Air Induction is what Scion sells, but they also recommend the Injen version. They also hurt gas mileage. Not hard to install, but if you are noob, then let the dealer do it.
• Exhaust Manifold. Strup makes one that is good, the DC Sports Header costs more but is also good.
• Exhaust system. To really get best performance, you have to put a full catback in. Sounds expensive.

For the suspension and ride performance, again Scionlife has a bunch of recommendations:

• Rear Shocks. The front shocks are fine, but the stock rear ones are harsh. Change the rear shocks to Koni 80-2827 Sport (this is the model for the Toyota Echo, which is mechanically a Scion xB) and things get better for just $196 at LTB Motor Sports. You can apparently do this yourself in 20 minutes just with the right tools. Tirerack.com also carries them.

hfl_sys_home. This is the branded version of a Bluetooth connection for your cellphone.

In 2005 MDX's and later they have this, but it is not documented in the manual. At least I can't find it. They do have a site Handsfreelink.com that tells you about. They can store up to 50 phone numbers and pair up to six devices. Pretty cool. Johnson Controls makes this.

The instructions are a little bizarre and rely on the voice input system in the Acura MDX, so there isn't any graphical controls. You won't find it in the navigational computer screens. Here they are:

IMPORTANT: You must press and release the HandsFreeLink talk button on the steering wheel and wait for the beep before you speak. This step is required before all spoken commands.

# Power on the phone and ensure Bluetooth® is ON. Please refer to your phone's user guide for steps to turn on Bluetooth.
# Press and release the Talk button on the steering wheel and wait for the "beep" before you speak. Repeat this step before all spoken commands. This is the little button behind the steering wheel that is used for all voice commands.
# Say "phone setup"
# Say "pair"
# Say any 4 digit PIN code for pairing. Remember it as you will need to enter it into your phone later. HandsFreeLink will now instruct you to begin pairing process in the phone. I usually use 0000 or something equally easy.

This puts the car into the mode to make a connection. Now specifics vary by the type of handset you have, but here are the instructions for a Blackberry 7100t:

1. On the Blackberry select OPTIONS
2. Select Bluetooth
3. Press Scroll Wheel to turn on Bluetooth
4. Select ADD DEVICE
5. Select device from list, hopefully you'll see the Acrua MDX there
6. Enter 4 digit PIN code from earlier step
7. After pairing is complete, press Scroll Wheel
8. Select DEVICE PROPERTIES
9. Select TRUSTED and press Scroll Wheel this means that the connection gets made automatically from now on.
10. Select CHANGE OPTION
11. Select YES
12. Press Escape key
13. Select SAVE

Acura Order Form. Hard to find, but this is where you can order updated Acura Navigation System DVDs.