Out of Spec Reviews
Excellent review of the Mazda 3 Turbo hatchback. That drive through the canyons looked like a lot of fun. This guy put the car through its paces unlike so many other reviews on YouTube.
Excellent review of the 2023 Hyundai Elantra N. In a previous post, I mentioned that I would take the new GTI over the Elantra N. However, after watching this review, I am now leaning more toward the Elantra N.
We already get our user data harvested by tech companies. Now auto manufacturers want to get in on the action. I think this would be a mistake on their part. I hope auto manufacturers remember that they are in the business of building cars for people to drive, not to harvest data from.
Link: Opinion: More Automakers Will Dump Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
I saw a meme about this, but it turns out to be true. Car manufacturers are intentionally keeping inventory low, so they can keep selling cars at a higher price. Average new car payment is now over $800? That's crazy. Even more reason to keep my 10 year old car running.
Can I just say how insanely good that 5.7 Hemi V8 sounds? Absolutely love how it sounds on those fly-by shots.
Mazda's new inline 6 engine is finally here. There has been a lot of rumors and I didn't want to believe anything until Mazda unveiled it themselves. Well looks like that's going to be happening soon. Oh and it really is on a RWD platform, which makes me hopeful for a new RWD Mazda 6 in the future.
A fresh perspective on modifying your car. Just because there is a huge market of aftermarket mods for your car, doesn't mean you have to modify it. Every mod is a tradeoff. If all you're doing is driving it to work and back, do you really need that big turbo upgrade?
Was going through and cleaning out old drafts. I found these two links that car enthusiasts might appreciate.
Preserving A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III — a great read for those still driving around their old enthusiast cars.
Massive power is doable on any platform, but a few simple touches to refine what was there from the factory seems like a really good approach for long-term preservation.
This is also how I see myself modifying my car nowadays. More of a OEM+ approach for longevity, rather than modding for all out performance. It is especially important now as new car prices have gone through the roof, and replacement parts for my Mazdaspeed3 have become scarce and costly.
Life Lessons From A Monk & His Tuned Mini Cooper S — here's another good read. Yes, you read that title correctly. It's about a monk and his tuned Mini Cooper S. I didn't even realize monks can own cars, more so a tuned/modified one at that. This was an eye opening read for me. But more important is the monk's thoughts on finding a balance in life and how that affected how he modified his car.
Here's one for the car enthusiasts out there.
I can very much relate when the driver in the first car filled up his Corvette ZR1 with gas. Premium octane gas is so expensive nowadays. Although I did find out today, that E85 gas is like a dollar cheaper than 93. So it might be worthwhile to stay on the E30 tune for my Mazdaspeed3 until gas prices come back down. I only switched to the E30 tune because of the extremely hot weather.
Anyway, this is how you do car videos. Less talking, less influencer face time, and more screen time for cars... because that's why we're watching anyway. Excellent video from Gears and Gasoline.
#Cars #GearsAndGasoline #Chevrolet #CorvetteZR1 #Volkswagen #R32 #Mazda #RX7