May 16, 2013

Cars in the movie Pain & Gain

Pain & Gain is Michael Bay’s return to directing films that aren’t the Transformers series. In fact, the last movie he directed before Transformers was The Island way back in 2005. Pain & Gain is the true story about three Miami body builders, Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) that successfully extorted wealthy Floridians like Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) in 1994 and 1995.

The movie is supposed to be based on a true story, but it’s filled with so many absurdities, reporters have questioned Bay’s depiction. In a notable scene deemed false, Dwayne Johnson’s character is grilling the hands, on a charcoal grill, of a murdered porn-tycoon and his girlfriend to disguise their identity. For further coverage, check out this report here, here or even here. Decide for yourself, but one thing remains true – the cars in the film are outlandish and over-the-top in true Michael Bay form. [keep reading]

Apr 29, 2013

Used cars with largest price drops

I already discussed the pattern of car price drops based on month, if you missed it, read it here. Articles like that can be very useful for shoppers, but may be missing a needed level of granularity. One such item would have been a breakdown of price drops on a vehicle based on specific models.

For example, wouldn’t it be helpful for people looking to buy a used Chevrolet Suburban to know that it drops about 3% in price before being bought or for people looking to buy a Hyundai Genesis that drops 6%? The information in this post should offer better insight on how cars drop in price depending on their model. The average car on Mojo Motors drops more than $800 before being sold, but this number varies model-to-model. [keep reading]

Feb 21, 2013

What if Hyundai entered NASCAR?

The world of NASCAR as we know it was changed when Toyota entered the ranks of racing in 2007 with the Toyota Camry. This got the blood boiling for many fans who took it as a personal affront that a foreign car manufacturer was allowed to race with their beloved Fords, Dodges, and Chevys. The most common argument made was that NASCAR rules state that vehicles competing on the racing circuit must be based on American vehicles. I think we can clear this little misunderstanding up right away.

The Toyota Camry, the nameplate on the 2007 race car, is manufactured in Georgetown, Kentucky. This same Camry has been the best-selling car in the United Stated for years and Toyota employs some 152,000 American workers. It is obvious that Toyota can now be considered as much an American manufacturer as GM and Ford, who still build a significant number of their vehicles in Mexico and Canada.

Plus, Toyota developed their race cars for NASCAR in North Carolina. These facts make Toyota more than qualified to race according to the NASCAR rulebook. And race they have. [keep reading]

Jan 23, 2013

Fun facts about 2012 car sales

A few weekends ago Hooniverse published an article breaking down 2012 car sales. Inside the post which you can read here, there are some really interesting fun facts about the cars the were sold. The article is long, perhaps a little too long for a weekday read, so here’s the most interesting bits you can digest in just a minute or two.

- Ford Crown Vic: 546 sold in December 2012, last built in September 2011

- Ford Ranger: 118 sold in December 2012, last built in December 2011

- Lincoln Town Car: 1,001 sold in 2012, last built in August 2011 [keep reading]

Jan 14, 2013

The Monday Grind

There was a flurry of vehicle unveilings at the NAIAS and the Corvette Stingray was one of them.

- The Lincoln MKC concept was unveiled and it looks a lot like a Range Rover Evoque

- The 2014 Mercedes Benz CLA250 is a luxury compact coming to America

- This is the new Honda Element

- Predictions about how car buying will change in the future

Jan 11, 2013

Cars in the movie Jack Reacher

The latest Tom Cruise action flick is Jack Reacher where he plays protagonist Jack Reacher, a former military cop wandering from one city to another. If you haven’t seen the movie, you might want to avoid reading this blog post as there are some spoiler alerts. If you have seen the movie, you know it wasn’t an all-out action movie like of Shoot ‘Em Up, but it is an action movie nonetheless with senseless murder, car chases and twists.

The movie opens with a sniper picking off presumably innocent people walking along the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh. The man charged with the crime, Barr, is a former military sniper. While in police custody for questioning, he writes on a piece of paper, “Get Jack Reacher.” And so the movie begins and Tom Cruise in all of his 5′ 7″ glory comes to town to find out who is responsible for the murders.

Reacher believes Barr doesn’t have the skills as a sniper to kill all those people so the lawyer defending Barr teams up with Reacher to find the real sniper. In the process of trying to find who framed Barr, Reacher discovers corruption in the city’s government and a gang using a construction company as a front.

There are a handful of cars in the movie including a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, a 2012 Mercedes Benz C250 CDI Coupe, a 2012 Ford Transit Connect, a 2006 Audi A6 C6 and a really old Silverado pickup from the late 70′s, early 80′s. Similar to the film Drive, cars driven by characters in the movie Jack Reacher serve as a reflection of the people who drive them. [keep reading]

Nov 28, 2012

Battling Rental Cars – Mazda3 VS Chevrolet Cruz

On the weekend before Thanksgiving, Bryan Jennings and myself, Max Katsarelas rented a couple of cars and took road trips. Bryan drove to Virginia Beach in a Mazda3 sedan and I went to East Lansing, Michigan in a Chevrolet Cruz. For Bryan, it would be a round trip of about 800 miles. For me, it would be a round trip of about 1700 miles. Total driving time for the two of us combined was over 40 hours.

That was a lot of time to get to know our respective cars. We broke down our reviews into five categories: gas mileage, ride comfort, review of Hertz rental agency, tech gadgetry and the overall experience. Make the jump to see the Mazda3 square off against the Chevy Cruz in the first edition of Battling Rental Cars. [keep reading]

Oct 29, 2012

The Monday Grind

If you’re in Sandy’s path, be safe and lock up your children, your husband, your wife, your pets, your cars and whatever else should be locked up in preparation for #Frankenstorm.