car – CARTHOLOGY

TOP 10 ALL-WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEMS FOR WINTER AND BEYOND

January 25, 2021 by Tim S. 1 Comment

Whether you’re looking for a vehicle to get you through the winter, or you just want the extra grip and security of all-wheel drive (AWD), there are many different AWD systems to choose from — and they’re not all created equally.

I’ll cover ten of the best AWD systems on the market, based on the research and testing I’ve done working for different manufacturers over the past two decades. These AWD systems provide excellent grip in the worst weather conditions, have light to moderate off-roading capability, and a few can even dramatically improve dry-weather handling as well.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: CAR TECH Tagged With: 4matic, 4wd, Acura, allwheeldrive, ascent, Audi, awc, awd, bmw, car, crosstrek, defender, differential, evoque, fourwheeldrive, glc, gle, gls, grip, honda, impreza, instanttraction, ivtm4, landrover, legacy, mdx, mercedes, mitsubishi, NSX, offroad, outback, passport, pilot, q3, q5, q7, q8, quattro, R8, rangerover, rdx, ridgeline, rs5, rs6, rs7, S4, S5, S6, S7, s8, sawc, sh-awd, snow, sti, subaru, suv, terrainresponse, tesla, tlx, torquevectoring, traction, velar, volvo, vtm4, winter, wrx, x3, x4, x5, x6, x7, xc40, xc60, xc90, xdrive, xmode

FRIEND FREAKING OUT AT THE TRACK

January 25, 2016 by Tim S. 2 Comments

What do you do when you have a whole racetrack to yourself and a few minutes of downtime? Duh.

My good friend Gabrielle had never been on a racetrack before. Being the giving person I am, I offered to take her in my S4. 🙂 See her reaction in the video below (turn up the volume).

Shot at Buttonwillow Raceway in Buttonwillow, CA.

Filed Under: EXPERIENCES Tagged With: Audi, buttonwillow, ca, car, friend, race, racetrack, Raceway, S4, scary, speed, track

2015 SAN FRANCISCO AUTO SHOW

December 2, 2015 by Tim S. Leave a Comment

IMG_0912_1024 While nowhere near as big or spectacular as the LA, New York or Detroit car shows, there was still plenty to see at the 58^th annual San Francisco Auto Show. Take a look-see at the pics and find out for yourself. [Read more…]

Filed Under: CAR SHOWS Tagged With: 2015, academy of art, Acura, Audi, auto, bmw, cadillac, camaro, car, chevrolet, chevy, civic, dodge, ford, honda, jaguar, maxima, mazda, mercedes, miata, nissan, porsche, Rolls, royce, San Francisco, scion, show, subaru, toyota, volkwagen, volvo, wraith

2015 AudiFest in Sonoma

October 20, 2015 by Tim S. Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to participate in a national car club event, allow me to share what my 2015 AudiFest experience was like. I’ll disclose right away that I wasn’t able to partake in the track portion. I know, I suck, but I had a prior engagement that weekend (also known as a wedding).

That being said, I can share the part of the event that happened preceding the track day (and this is essentially what differentiates a big, national event from a normal track day anyway). You can reference my other posts to see what it’s like to do a track day. [Read more…]

Filed Under: EXPERIENCES Tagged With: 2015, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Audi, AudiFest, car, drive, Lamborghini, R8, RS 5, RS 7, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, sonoma, TT, TT-RS

SPOTTED: 2016 ACURA NSX ON THE STREETS IN SAN FRANCISCO

September 22, 2015 by Tim S. Leave a Comment

Pretty isn’t she?

On my way to work this morning I had the pleasant surprise of stumbling upon the 2016 Acura NSX. It instantly caught my eye because (a) I’m a car nerd and (b) it was completely blacked out and begging for attention. It was funny because a woman saw the car at the exact moment I did, and she said to her friend: “Wow, that’s a really beautiful car.” You said it sister! Now back off as you’re blocking my view.

Now, I don’t want to get your hopes up thinking that this is an article about a test drive, as there was no test drive to be had. This is because (1) I wasn’t invited to one (2) this wasn’t a press event (3) the Honda/Acura guys were being shooed away by some of the St. Regis staff as the NSX was blocking the entrance to the hotel. [Read more…]

Filed Under: CAR SIGHTINGS Tagged With: 2016, Acura, car, concept, NSX, on, prototype, San Francisco, spotted, spy, streets

CAR SIGHTINGS: PRIUS PICKUP!

August 20, 2015 by Tim S. Leave a Comment

F-350s don’t have anything on me.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this first! I mean, c’mon, why wouldn’t anyone want to take a Prius, cut out the rear hatch and turn it into a pickup truck? It’s a Prius, so we all know it gets great gas mileage. And now it’s a truck! I hate to guesstimate, but this thing should have a payload capacity of at least 50 – 80 lbs. You should be able to lug around at least six or more FULLY stocked grocery bags.

And towing? I’m sure it could tow at least half a jet ski. I mean, we all know that a trailer of any size would automatically exceed this car’s towing capacity, but hey, why let that stop someone from the time, cost and energy to do this to a Prius?

Honestly, you have to give this guy props for his handy work (minus the rear quarter panel), because this definitely took some determination. I just wonder if the batteries get wet when it rains…

Filed Under: CAR SIGHTINGS Tagged With: car, crazy, modifications, pickup, Prius, San Francisco, sighting

CAR SIGHTINGS: SOMETHING’S A BIT OFF

July 20, 2015 by Tim S. Leave a Comment

I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s different about this car…

OK, so I was on my way to work one day and I saw this car. From a distance, I thought there had been an accident and a car flipped over. But then I noticed the car started moving. As I got closer I realized this car hadn’t been in an accident, but was actually purposely built this way.

I really wanted to stop this guy and ask him a bunch of questions, but quite honestly, I was so dumbfounded that I did what everyone on the street was doing: staring in disbelief. I have to hand it to these guys, their idea to catch people’s attention really worked. Now, if we could just see how this car would do on the track…

Filed Under: CAR SIGHTINGS Tagged With: camaro, car, chevy, crazy, modifications, San Francisco, sighting, upside down