AboutThatCarBlog.com

DETROIT ? It was like a cold stake had been planted right in the center of my chest. That coincided with my pulse rate shooting up and the tingle that went through both of my arms.

That was my initial reaction at the Ford Proving Ground when test driver Terry Borcheller, a three time winner at Daytona International Raceway, asked me did I want to go through the slalom course faster than the first time.

Borcheller was giving me a test ride in the 2012 ICONIC AC Roadster. It celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the 1962 AC Ace Roadster. But that?s where the similarity ended.

ICONIC AC Roadster -- They'll put a top on it, if you insist.

The ICONIC AC was powered by a fuel injected 6.8 liter, all-aluminum V8 pushrod engine that made 825 horsepower and 680 pound feet of torque. Designed, engineered and built in house, the engine was mated to a six-speed manual transmission that featured a rem-chemed gear set for minimum friction and high performance durability.

In essence, the AC Roadster will be hand built when it goes into full production at the first of the year in Livonia, a suburb just west of Detroit. Although the area may have the stodgy reputation of the rust belt there will be nothing corrosive about the AC Roadster.

It will be comprised of aluminum, carbon fiber and light weight high strength steel. And it was held together with twelve point aluminum bolts. Headlights on my test car were Xenon projector lamps. But they will be replaced by what ICONIC called ultra-high powered all LED projectors.

The car is expected to weigh a roadster like 2,400 lbs. Coupled with the super engine which will run on gasoline; the AC Roadster will have a zero to 60 mph time of roughly three seconds and a full throttle speed of more than 200 mph.

However, in addition to the supercar status, the AC Roadster will feature something that has the potential to benefit every car produced in the future. It?s called the Virtual Electrical Electronic Device Interface Management System or VEEDIMS.

ICONIC Motors said, ?The VEEDIMS solution leverages the innovative performance of Ethernet and IP technology to deliver an automation system that allows application-specific solutions to be rapidly designed and deployed. VEEDIMS allows vehicle engineers to replace miles of analog wiring with a single-cable and on-board network that carries both electric power and real-time data throughout the vehicle.?

What that means in English is that the AC Roadster has no wiring harness. This is no small feat since a harness can be miles long and as complicated as a computer circuit board. In fact that?s? what the VEEDIMS, a single cable computer system that allows various automotive function to programmed into the car.

Want Bluetooth, WiFi? Just program it into the AC Roadster?s features. The same thing goes for satellite radio, A CD player, power windows, door locks whatever. ICONIC has patented VEEDIMS and I expect to see it spread throughout the upper end of the industry and then filter down through regular vehicles for regular people.

I say that because with prices set to start at $425,000 a copy, the ICONIC

AC Roadster is not destined for regular people. There?s was nothing absolutely regular about the car.

I reluctantly slid behind the steering wheel. Accelerator, brake and clutch pedals were all slightly to the left of where you?d expect. It took a little getting used to but I managed. The shifter seemed to double lock into gear.

It took some pressure to, as I expected, engage the clutch pedal, but the accelerator wasn?t too sensitive. In other words, a few runs through the slalom at a very reasonable speed and I was relatively comfortable in the car.

Indeed the ICONIC AC Roadster is a supercar worthy of the heritage of great American automotive manufacturers. And to have the latest rocket on wheels made in America seems fitting.

Popularity: 1% [?]

SEPT. 23, 2010 ? For the second year in a row, consumers will have the opportunity to vote on their choice for Internet Car of the Year and Internet Truck of the Year. It all happens at Www.internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com, where the Internet Pros and the Average Joes Pick the Car and Truck of the Year. At the same time, Internet automotive journalists are invited to submit pieces for a writing contest.

A panel of 15 Internet automotive writers has voted on 8 semi-finalists for Internet Car of the Year and 7 semi-finalists for Internet Truck of the Year. That?s right ? this year there are 8 semi-finalists for car of the year because of a tie in voting by the jurors.

Consumers are now invited to vote on the website for Consumer Internet Car of the Year and Consumer Internet Truck of the Year starting at Noon (EDT), today, Sept. 23.

This is the only place on the Internet (where 91% of new car shoppers begin their shopping process) for consumers to vote on a Car and Truck of the Year at a website not dominated by manufacturer advertising. The website will not accept any OEM advertising for vehicles eligible for a Car or Truck of the Year award.

Consumers will have until Oct. 16 at noon to register their selections for Internet Car of the Year and Internet Truck of the Year. Then, starting Oct. 19 at noon they will select among three vehicles in each category that have been selected as finalists. Voting ends Nov. 13. The awards will be presented in December.

The semi-finalists for Car of the Year are:

Buick Regal

Cadillac CTS-V coupe

Chevrolet Cruze

Ford Fiesta

Ford Mustang GT

Hyundai Sonata

Infiniti M56

VW Jetta

The semi-finalists for Truck of the Year are:

Cadillac SRX

Ford Super Duty

GMC Sierra 2500

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Hyundai Tucson

Kia Sportage

Ram 2500

Another exciting aspect of the Internet Car and Truck of the Year is the Internet Automotive Journalism Contest. Writers and bloggers will be invited to submit their best automotive Internet pieces from September 1, 2009 to September 1, 2010. Internet automotive writers will be awarded in the following categories:

? Best Feature written solely for the Internet

? Best Automotive Review written solely for the Internet

? Best Single Blog Entry

? Best Series of Blog Entries.

All winners will have their work either presented or linked to on www.InternetCarandTruckoftheYear.com (depending on original publication guidelines).

The emerging dominance of the Internet has created a major opportunity for further recognition of ?best of the best.? The founding of Internet Car and Truck of the Year LLC fills a void in this important medium. It will be creating four major awards that, because of their nature, will gain instant credibility and prestige: Internet Car of the Year, Internet Truck of the Year, Consumer Choice Internet Vehicle of the Year and the Internet Automotive Journalist of the Year.

The Internet Car of the Year was created by Keith Griffin, the Guide to Used Cars for About.com, and the National Hyundai Examiner for Examiner.com, as well as a print automotive journalist and vice president of the New England Motor Press Association. Marketing for the awards is being handled by Al Vinikour of Vinikour Communications in Trenton, Michigan.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: CALL (860) 292-0618 or email: keith@internetcarandtruckoftheyear

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Internet Car and Truck of the Year Awards has joined the Chicago Auto Show.

Awards for best car, best truck and best journalist will be presented during the Chicago Auto Show Media Days on Feb. 10-11, 2010.

Awards will be presented for Internet Car of the Year, Internet Truck of the Year, Consumer Internet Car of the Year, and Consumer Internet Truck of the Year. Winners of the Internet Automotive Journalism Contest will also be announced at the show.

Voting will be open until December 11^th. The public can go to: www.internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com and cast their vote.

The Internet Car and Truck of the Year is “Where Internet Pros and Average Joes Pick the Car and Truck of the Year”? said founder and chief organizer Keith Griffin.

A jury of 12 automotive writers is simultaneously selecting its top car and truck (including SUVs, pickups and crossovers) at the same time consumers are voting on their top picks in the same categories.

The Internet Car and Truck of the Year Awards) have become an official part of The Chicago Auto Show www.ChicagoAutoShow.com.

“It’s the first time Internet-savvy consumers will have the opportunity to select their Car and Truck of the Year in one place at a website not dominated by manufacturer advertising. It’s only logical that we associate with the Chicago Auto Show, because it is the nation’s largest consumer auto show,”? said Griffin.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The vast majority of U.S. drivers believes handheld texting while driving is very dangerous and should be banned nationwide, according to a national survey.

The survey showed that 86 percent of U.S. drivers believe handheld texting while driving is “very dangerous”? and 93 percent support a nationwide ban on texting. At the same time, only 42 percent of respondents believe drivers would stop texting behind the wheel if the practice was banned. However, more than 75 percent believe there would be more compliance if hands-free or voice-activated technologies were widely available.

The online survey was conducted September 18-21 by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates on behalf of the Ford Motor Company. Ford commissioned the survey as part of its efforts to understand driver perceptions related to distracted driving. Ford last week endorsed a proposed nationwide ban on handheld texting introduced by Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).

“Research shows that activity that draws drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period while driving, such as text messaging, substantially increases the risk of accidents,” said Jim Vondale, director of Ford’s Automotive Safety Office. “That is why we support a nationwide ban on handheld texting while driving and why Ford has developed hands-free and voice-activated technologies to allow drivers to remain connected, but to do so while keeping their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.”?

The survey shows that 67 percent of drivers said they believed voice-activated technology is a safe alternative to texting, and 76 percent said such a feature would be an appealing feature in a car.

The survey results come as the U.S. Department of Transportation is scheduled to host a summit on driver distraction in Washington, D.C., next week.

Franks Note: Some years ago, a study found the people talking on cell phones while driving had the same reaction time as someone legally drunk. Not a lot happened; let’s hope this time response to the dangers of texting while driving is better.

Popularity: 8% [?]

While a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicates growing public support for the use of ignition interlocks on the cars of drunk drivers, a growing body of justice officials and policymakers say the trend is actually dealing with the people–not just the cars–when it comes to mitigating the social and financial costs of the DUI epidemic.

The IIHS report indicates that two-thirds of their survey respondents think the idea of “advanced technology” to stop drunk drivers from operating their cars when intoxicated is “good” or “very good,” though only 40 percent indicated they would be willing to install the technology on their own vehicles. Today, approximately 180,000 interlocks are in use nationwide. And that number is at the core of the debate: Estimates indicate that even in New Mexico, the state with the strictest ignition interlock laws, only 32 percent of offenders required to install interlocks actually do so. The resources to ensure enforcement of the sanction are simply lacking. More than 1.4 million people are arrested for driving under the influence each year, making it the most common cause of arrest in the U.S.

State 24/7 Sobriety Programs Shift the Focus to the Offenders

South Dakota is leading the paradigm shift from strictly sanctioning cars to changing the behavior of offenders long-term. The state has seen an unprecedented 65 percent drop in the rate of alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the last four years, with accompanying reductions in the prison and jail populations. Former South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long, who conceived of and implemented the state’s award-winning 24/7 Sobriety Project in 2005, says the shift is centered on addressing what he calls the root cause of the criminality, which is the alcohol abuse and addiction. “Rather than just ‘requiring’ sobriety, we incorporated stringent testing to ensure it,” says Long. The program mandates that all DUI offenders be sober 24/7, not just when they drive. “What we’ve seen is that effective monitoring, coupled with short but immediate jail time for a violation, is resulting in very high compliance rates,” he says. “We are substantially reducing the burden that these offenders place on their families and their communities.”

Popularity: 8% [?]