Levittown Car Club Photoshoot: Jake and Dillon

Hey guys, it's been a while and I haven't been on my blog game.  Nonetheless, I have a new post and some new photos.  Time for redemption ;).

The cars you see here belong to my boy Jake and myself.  He owns the silver one and obviously...well you know who owns the red one.

Hope y'all enjoyed the shoot.

Peace.

Snow Photoshoot

So whatup wit' it?  Let's all see how Lexi.Laron does a mild snowstorm...AT 7 IN THE MORNING.  Peep this, guys!  Hope you like the shoot!

I woke up in the middle of the night from an odd dream and looked out the window to see a little surprise.  Turns out the Philadelphia Area got hit with a couple inches of snow!  So, what better opportunity for a new blog post than snowy weather-- lemonade out of lemons, right?

Here's what it looked like when I went outside.

After cleaning the windows on my car, I decided on some winter, sliding fun in the RSX...but first, PHOTOSHOOT!

Color balance got thrown off between edits in photoshop :/ sorry guys.

And if you need a cover photo for your Facebook Timeline, your answer has come...even if it's shitty :p

After the drive I parked her and called it a morning.  It was back to bed for me!

Look for more Lexi.Laron photoshoots in the future.  I'm shifting focus.

Tokyo Auto Salon: Honda CR-Z Mugen RR

As I was scrolling through my email this morning, I received a video update from my subscription on YouTube to Chitaka 2000, a user known for their JDM car videos.  This particular update was different from the average track video of an S2000 at Tsukuba or a fast Nissan because it was a video of a Mugen CR-Z RR.

In August of 2011, Top Gear announced that the model would not be put into production.  Yet, it seems that Mugen has conceived two different CR-Z models that may go into production, an orange more racy version of the RR Concept and a pre-production model which features a single, centered exhaust outlet rather than a dual exhaust, and more conservative carbon-fiber aero parts.  And P.S. the interior looks pretty sweet too.

The car is capable of lapping Tsukuba Circuit in 1.08'612 which is apparently five seconds faster than the original CR-Z.

The highlight of this model is its supercharger which pushes out 179 horsepower.  In about a 2500 pound chassis, that could lead to blistering speeds.  The original concept spoken of in Top Gear accomplished 0-60 in 6.6 seconds...not to shabby for a little 1.5 liter hybrid, eh?

I like this look for Mugen.  It's very different from the typical green, white, and red logos on red and white racecars.  But sadly, only time will tell if this car is ever put into production, and even if it is, I'm assuming it's only going into production in Japan.  Let's cross our fingers, hope, and pray.

Here's the video that caught my eye this morning...

Read on, Lexi.Laron Fans!

Fresh GT-86 Outta Japan

So it looks to me as though Japan is coming out with some new sportscars.  Look at the GT-86 I found on the TRD Facebook page today!

Stay tuned for a little Mugen madness.

A Night on Broad

Last night was a boring Friday night.  So, I decided to call up one of my friends, Mike, and hit up the road to Philadelphia in search of photos for the Nikon's eye.

So, I parked Arcie at the Double Tree Inn on Broad Street and headed out to the Avenue of the Arts for some sick pictures.

And about two minutes later we came into contact with the bitter cold, hahah.  Luckily we found some easy targets such as this VINTAGE OLDSMOBILE that upped for a photoshoot. (;

MIKE

More pictures will be up on the Facebook Page soon.  If ya don't got a dolla', then don't holla'!!!!!!

PEACE!

Hahah :)

Go Time

;)

Hydroplaning

Okay, so if you live in the Philadelphia Area and you were travelling to work this morning, you know that THIS^^ is a lie.  And if you've ever driven in something similar to whatever the hell happened this morning, you'd know a little something about hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning occurs when a layer of water builds up between a tire and the road, reducing static friction between rubber and asphalt and creating a sled effect for the vehicle experiencing this phenomenon.

When one experiences hydroplaning in the front of their car, a sudden loss of response can be felt at the wheel due to the lack of aforementioned friction.  On a corner, this can lead to understeer which will effectively lead you straight toward a guard rail if you're not careful, and if your car is front wheel drive you will lose your drive wheels for at least a short moment.

However, on a rear wheel drive car, one may experience oversteer which will effectively send you doing donuts on the highway-- not exactly the most desirable of places to show off your mad drifting skills.

So, now that you all think you're screwed, I'm gonna turn your morning around and tell you otherwise.  Preventative methods are known and they should be used, unless your car is Spiderman.

Firstly, always check your tire pressure, even if you're not driving in the rain, make sure you have adequate tread to displace the built up, standing water in front of your tire, and when you finally start driving, take it slow...like...eh-hem.

Avoid those jerkholes on the road who go 80 in the fast lane when there's four inches of rain per second, and make sure to not steer, or attempt any aggressive throttle or braking inputs when experiencing hydroplaning.  The best way to avoid spinning out is to drift with the direction of the skid!

If you follow these tips, I'm sure you'll be safe.  Until next time, don't die!  :)

Lexi.Laron for Facebook

I'm not playin'!  Click on the logo and go look at my Facebook Page or I'll be forced to get angry and do nothing about it!

The New Acura NSX

The new Acura NSX was revealed today at the Detroit Auto Show.  Although details are scarce, the car seems a lot like its father.  It's sleek and sexy, it's got interconnected taillights, and its got a mid-engine setup.

However, this is no normal NSX.  Rather than sporting a meaty V10 like the expensive LFA or a 3.4 liter V8 engine like the previous concept, it will sport a hybrid powerplant.

The engine will be a VTEC V6 with direct injection, and a hybrid drive to send power through its all new Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive System for better handling on corners where torque is needed at slipping wheels.

Although we are all stoked to empty our wallets for this new supercar, it is three years away.  And what is to say that this new concept is any different from Honda's....awesome EV-ster Concept (aside from being a supercar).  Will Acura trash this plan as they did with the previous concept or will they persevere to make this dream a reality?

Only time will tell.  But, I'm just saying...I like this one.

In Lexus's Repetitive, Recent Attempts to Make Something Cool...

They have made a GS Coupe Concept.

They have made a $375,000 supercar with a v10 engine that revs so quickly, an analog tachometer cannot display the RPMs in an adequate fashion.

And now another overpriced attempt at something that makes sense, but in my eyes makes no sense whatsoever: the Lexus LF-LC Concept.

I'm sure Lexus engineers thought that with a set of angry bee nest-esque grilles and some "infotainment centers" built into their dashboards, they could make a couple of sweet cars!  But I'm not buying it.

Show me something more than a complex instrument cluster that looks like that of an alien space ship's.

Show me something more than a cool looking interior with a sweet computer built into it.

Show me a car, guys.  Show me a freaking car.  Don't take a Scion FR/Subaru BRZ chassis, load it with a bunch of computer parts, have your NASA Rocket Engineers make up some cool tail-lights that look like Mars, and confuse the hell out of me!

I'm young, and maybe that's why I don't understand these things.  Lexus is aimed at the successful business man-- a man with money in his pocket and people to impress.

Lexus, impress my hands when I turn the wheel.  Impress my gut as I fly through corners.  Flatten my butt cheeks with sprinting acceleration.  Do something like the first SC or the second generation GS.  Something with class, but something that's fast with multi-link suspension, front and back, and a decent engine like the 2JZ.  Yamaha-produced and all without the 375,000 dollar price tag.

Kudos to Toyota for sticking to the script.  Let's see if this new car will impress the public at the Detroit Auto Show.

She's for sale!

Lexi's still up for sale!  That's right, the very car featured on this site!

Hit 'er up!

Are Your Blinding HIDs Necessary to See?

So, this may be a personal preference, but I believe that with a good headlight housing, you don't need a blinding headlight bulb.  You don't even need a blinding set of headlight bulb imitations.  And by the way, when I say "blinding headlight bulb" I'm referring to BHBs-- I mean...HIDs  HAHAHAH...

Do you understand what's inside of your HID bulbs and why exactly they're so BLINDING when I'm driving down Route 1?  Do you know why they're so freaking bright to begin with?

Well, for one, HIDs are not similar to your stock non-HID bulbs in that they do not use a filament to produce light.

A filament, numbered "3" in the picture above, has electrical current passed through it.  As it sits in an inert environment, it doesn't oxidize or burn up.  Instead, it heats up and radiates light, leaving deposits on the inner surface of the glass as the bulb gets older.  The bulbs use a low DC voltage to get the current through the filament.

These bulbs are cheap and common on most passenger vehicles.

HID bulbs use a controlled electric arc to supply light.  An electric arc occurs when a gas is ionized by introduction of spark.  The amount of light an electric arc produces compared to the amount of light a filament produces per unit of power is much greater.

This phenomenon occurs at power plants when opening or closing electric breakers or in welding where the arc is used to produce heat to fuse metals together.

Long story short, HIDs are highly efficient and bright.  Awesome, right?

Wrong.  Aftermarket HIDs are illegal, so your relying on luck to get by without a ticket from a nice cop.  Also they're blinding.  If you're going to use HIDs, buy an HID headlight housing or an HID projector housing.  Please spare my eyes so that I can use them to live my life please :).  This is why I feel they are unnecessary for your daily-driver/take-your-kids-to-school application.  They're too freaking bright!

Anyway, sorry if I offended some tuners out there.  I know I use halogens on my car and it doesn't slow it down a bit ;).

Peace.