Gran Turismo 6 Review: Coming Soon

My review on a game that has so much to offer, but has flaws that keep you wanting more from the game.

No Discrimination, is the Autowerke Way!

Mondays spotlight is on tuner company Active Autowerkes’. I’ve known about this company ever since I had my BMW E36 M3 and loved seeing their products, especially the E92 M3’s they have tuned. Tuner companies have a way of taking stock cars and bringing out the performance and highest potential of them. The vast and innovative ways they do this is amazes me by how many different directions a car can be taken.

Usually the stock production cars taken for tuning are the highest performing or ones with the most “potential”. In the case of a E92 BMW 328i vs a 335i, the 335i will most likely be chosen since it had more power and turbos. Obviously a little more thought might go into this, but usually that is the case.

This makes the customer, who gets the “lower” grade car; miss out on engine upgrades and remains only with aesthetic options. Also, a customer with a 328i wanting to increase the horsepower of their car might see a much heftier bill since they would have to do a bit more custom work than initially going for the 335i from the get-go. However the new models all have turbos, which in my mind is annoying as I’ve always loved the NA I6 engines of BMW, but it creates an even playing field for aftermarket options.

Active Autowerkes’ tries to involve the whole section of a model lineup; providing options for both the top to bottom tiers of the lineup. Their products are reliable and finished with superb quality. One company I can say that does it better and has more options would be Turner Motorsports.

Tommy Kaira’s Rowen Brand, BMW Z4: White Wolf

Z4 Love: Rowen, ADV1 (render), and bet-safe

The BMW Z4 has been on the market for quite a bit now. Its popularity has grown, due to the perfection in its styling and precision of BMW engineering. Now that BMW has entered a new era in its F(X) chassis models, the Z is one of the last models to move from its current E89 to a F(X) update.

The naming scheme might change as well, but with BMW changing its 2-door/coupe like vehicles to even numbered vehicles and 4 doors to odd numbers, will the BMW Z got to a 6 or stay with its current trend and go to a 5? I’m also surprised that this Z model hasn’t received an M version!

Anyways, there have also been news that the next gen Supra and Z4 are going to be a joint project. Mostly in the drivetrain department, I hope that Toyota accepts a manual transmission with the non-hybrid engines the Supra will sport.

Even though BMW has been one of my favorite manufacturers and the Supra is my all time favorite car; the new models that BMW and Toyota have been producing have been so-so. Especially BMW putting an all turbo line-up for their vehicles and Toyota removing manuals from the Lexus brand.

Koenigsegg: A Modern Marvel, Built With Forbidden Technology

As computers, robotics, and technology are continuously being updated; humans are depending less on ourselves and more on the “techy” gadgets to think for us. We google, bing, basically use the internet for trivial questions instead of running for a book or to the library or just experimenting with the questions we have.

Automobiles are moving in the same way. Manual transmissions are being thought of as a minor option and big screens and flashing lights are being introduced into our cabins, just as they are in homes, work, and mobile devices. Okay, maybe I’m ranting, but we are relying more and more on computers and less on ourselves for basic activities and questions in our daily lives.

One company that does quite the opposite when manufacturing their cars is Swedish supercar giant Koneigsegg. The expertise that go into making such a marvelous car is all done by these things called hands that have carpals, which are controlled by a system called the nervous system……yes amazing right and a bit more detailed that how I said it! Every component of the car is done by human visualization and craftsmanship; it goes to show how expensive a handmade product is versus a mass produced computer built toy. More than one million dollars expensive. What I like is that you can even

All said and done, its amazing to hear the Koneigsegg dream, and how we still value a one of a kind product. Yes humans are more expensive, however we have passion and emotion in everything we do. When you see cars that are custom built it amazes you to wonder how this was done without the help of your little pocket mobile phone. I’ve loved the CC and CCX when I first heard about this company and hope all goes well for them. However, 1.5 million is out of my budget.

Check out Pagani as well, they too are

Product Review: 3M Paint Defender Spray Film

Product: 3M Paint Defender Spray Film

Umbrella: Automotive

Cost: Relatively low

Pros:

Lower price – than film applications that are more than 12 times the cost of it
Quick spray protectant – don’t have to tango with putting on a protectant piece uniformly.
Removable Film – you can remove whenever you want, and not worry about spending another $500+
3M product

Cons:

Spray on Film – it’s like paint; you don’t want anything landing or rubbing on it as its drying, if that happens, you’ll have to start over.
Matte Gloss like layer – on darker cars the film produces a sort of Matte “gloss” appearance.
Durability – the $400 – $600 protectant films are thicker and can stop chipping from rocks on highways. This film can protect the paint from bugs and minor rocks that come into contact with your protected parts at low speeds, but be careful on highways especially behind lorries.
1. Avoid high-pressure washers or using a high pressure hose directly on a protected part, this may cause it to “tear”.
Results are subjective – I’ve seen complaints on reviews on how this product hasn’t been up to par as most 3M products. I believe the main reason behind this is how it was applied. If your car isn’t coming brand new < 1500 miles from a dealership, then make sure you give the part being protected a full detail (i.e. wash, clay, compound, and wax). This will give the film a canvas with fewer impurities to adhere to. I’ve used this product 5 times and results are accurate and precise.

Rank:

Overall this product ita kula tatu na nusu ya tano (3.5/5). Score means it’s a good product.
Recommend it to drivers who don’t tail gate and have custom bumpers on their cars or can’t find film protectants for their cars.
Take the time to cover all parts that won’t be treated, this will save you time when it comes to apply or remove the film.
If washing your car means taking it through an auto car wash, I would stick to the more expensive adhesive film protectants.
If you spray too much don’t try and wipe it off.