When you’re drifting your FD RX-7 through the streets of Tokyo and need to snatch a bite of sashimi at Tsukiji fish market, these carbon fiber chopsticks are the only way to go.

At least it doesn't have gold emblems.

I’m a pretty easygoing guy, and I’m generally not one to lecture on wrong versus right, especially when it comes to issues of style. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and nothing says that louder than the car you drive, how you treat it and how you customize it. There are a few sins I can’t forgive, because everytime I see them it’s like nails across a chalkboard inside my head. Please, people, for the love of God, don’t do any of the following to your car.

Cheap Tires On High End Sports Cars

Nangkang tires on a Boxster? That'll end well.

Nothing says “I’m a poser who really wanted a Camry, but my wife insisted on this damn Corvette Z06” more than no-name tires on a late model sports car. If you’ve got the coin to drop on a ‘Vette, or a Porsche, or anything aimed at above average acceleration, braking and handling, don’t cheap out on tires. Buy name brand tires from a reputable manufacturer like Bridgestone, Yokohama, BF Goodrich, Goodyear, Pirelli, et cetera. Cheap tires not only limit the car’s performance; they positively identify you as someone who bought the car only to look cool. They’re a clear indication that you know nothing about driving and rarely exceed the speed limit.

Spinner Wheels

Spinners - just say no.

Here’s one automotive fashion statement that I was glad to see die an early death. Why would you possibly want to double the weight of a car’s wheels? Do you like increased stopping distances, slower acceleration and worse handling? Do you like driving a car whose wheels feel perpetually out of balance? Maybe if I was smoking chronic and sucking down a few 40s (or some gin & juice) I’d get it. Since I actually like driving, it just escapes me.

Regular Gas In ‘Premium Only’ Cars

RTFM and do what it tells you.

There’s a reason, and a good one, that your manufacturer tells you what level of gasoline to use. Yes, you CAN use regular gasoline in a car designed for premium, but why would you want to? It reduces performance (since engine timing must be retarded to compensate for reduced octane levels), reduces MPG and risks engine damage if your knock sensor isn’t working. I want all the performance I can get out of a motor, and you can’t get that by reducing octane below what the manufacturer recommends. Don’t buy the car unless you can afford the gasoline it’s supposed to use; we’re only talking about fifty cents more per tankful, people.

Ignoring Oil Changes

This is what going 65,000 between oil changes looks like. Really.

Regular oil changes (at 3,000 mile or six month intervals) are the best way to ensure your motor lasts a long, long time. I’ve seen motors in new cars put a connecting rod through the block, because the owner didn’t know they still had to change the oil. This is basic stuff, people – if you can turn a wrench, you can change your own oil in an hour or less. Not comfortable doing it yourself? Take your car to a reputable garage instead of a “quick lube” place. There’s a reason that those guys are the cheapest in town.

Portholes, Fake Badges, And Other Farkles

The horror. Firebombing this car would an act of mercy.

Portholes were cool on vintage Buicks, just like STi badges are cool on real STis, Type R badges are cool on real Integra Type Rs, and BMW M badges are cool on real M series cars. If your car didn’t come with it from the factory, don’t add it.

On the other hand, I’m all for shaving badges and making your Dinan supercharged and nitrous injected M3 look like a simple 328i. Q ships (Google it if you don’t know the meaning) are inherently cool; poseur cars are not.

Steering Wheel Covers

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Not to brag, but I’m a pretty confident guy. It takes quite a bit to get me rattled, and I’m pretty comfortable in my ability to deal with whatever fate has in store for me. Still, few things send chills up my spine and trigger my flight reflex quicker than a leopard skin or fleece steering wheel cover. Beware, folks, because it says the driver is unpredictable and is far more concerned with applying lip gloss, drinking their mochachino and eating their triple bacon cheeseburger than they are with driving. Like a springbok who spots a lion on the African plain, a steering wheel cover is your signal to get the hell out of Dodge, and do it quickly.

Rear Wings On FWD Cars

More weight, less speed, less traction? Sounds good to me.

Mike already covered this, so I’ll keep it short: don’t do it. Less traction over your drive wheels, at high speed, in a corner is never a good thing. Trust me on this.

Bad Body Kits

No, seriously. You paid money for that?

Well designed body kits cost good money. They’re made to fit specific years, makes and models and offer tangible benefits such as increased downforce. Generally speaking, you won’t find them on eBay for $100.

If you opt for a cheap body kit, chances are good it was designed to fit more than one make, model or year. Chances are even better that all the Bondo your local auto parts store has in stock still won’t make it fit properly, or look good. Or eliminate that annoying whistle you get at any speed above 30 mph.

Put the money you would have wasted on a body kit into something that increases your car’s performance, like tires and wheels, stiffer springs, thicker sway bars, better struts or intake / exhaust parts. None of these require Bondo, and all of them make your car go faster (something a cheap body kit won’t do).

Grapefruit Launcher Exhausts

Three inch exhaust, one inch feed. Yeah, that'll work.

I’m not slamming aftermarket exhausts, as long as they produce tangible benefits without creating too much noise. Somewhere along the line, however, low buck tuners got the idea that “bigger is always better” and started producing exhausts with ridiculous diameters and obnoxious, bleating tones. There is a science behind creating horsepower, and an unrestricted exhaust will create top end power at the expense of low end and midrange power. This is fine for use on a racetrack, but not so good for use on the street.

Also, ask yourself this: If the exhaust pipe diameter is an inch and a quarter from the manifold through the (stock) catalyst and into your new exhaust with a six inch diameter tip, how much of a gain are you really going to see?

Gold Emblems

You actually pay money for these?

I don’t know why this trend, like vinyl roofs, refuses to die a quiet death. Nothing says “cheesy” quite as loudly or effectively as a gold emblem on a car. It screams, “I want you to notice that I’m driving a Cadillac / Camry / Geo Metro that’s DIFFERENT. Just like everybody elses.”

One of these days I’m going to start a campaign to rid the world of gold emblems once and for all. Under cover of night, our shock troops will set out with rolls of dental floss (to shave the emblems), cans of silver spray paint and bottles of contact cement to re-affix the properly colored emblems. I’m counting on an army of volunteers, because we have so much tackiness and so little time.

Ok, so you’ve got this car in your garage that you’ve done a butt-load of bodywork to. It’s straight as an arrow with a quick primer coat on it. The interior and gauges are installed and mechanically your baby is ready to roll. There is however one small problem. You’ve put so much money into the car already to get it to this point that you don’t have the capital for the paint job. Now it’s springtime and the car you thought would be ready will now just be taking up space in the garage unless you find an alternative.

A good paint job, at least up here in the Northeast is going to cost you at a minimum, $10,000. Now I know some of you will read this and say you have an Uncle that has a barn in a field where the uni-bomber was found and that he could do the job for $6.99… and that’s great. Here in good ole’ NYC a good painter charges big money, it’s just the way it is, so lets not argue about it.

If you don’t have the funds for paint keep in mind that there may be an alternative. Vinyl wraps on cars are nothing new. They’re relatively inexpensive (2-3 grand) and have a pretty extensive lifeline… somewhere in the neighborhood of about 5 years or so. You can get any design or color and have the whole thing done in about 3 business days. From 3-feet away onlookers will have no idea that what they’re seeing is not paint. In fact 99.9% of the population won’t no. Is it an ideal situation? Well, it really depends on how you look at it. You can either drive around for the next 5 years in a primer gray car or wrap it so that it looks pretty damn good to the untrained eye… who knows, it may just be something to consider.

It’s January 2010, which means there is action going on in garages all over the United States. Why you might ask? Well, this is the time of year when guys begin to get itchy to drive. We’re sick and tired of the snow and crappy weather and are longing for those first few 60 degree spring days. Until then we’re stuck with the snow, sleet & rain that engulfs the northeast from January until March… (those of you who live on the west coast can suck it).

Since we’re not really driving, racing or attending car shows yet, this is the time of year when all the superfluous automotive crap gets done. It’s time to install those new heads, suspension systems and or custom brakes. Guys all over the place are captivated by their Summit Racing and Jegs catalogs whilst they sit on the proverbial throne. Credit cards all over the northeast are beginning to sweat like a whore in church…

Well… that may be going a bit far, but you get the idea.

My point is that now is the time of year to take care of any modifications that you’re planning for the upcoming car season. Hell, my list is flippin’ huge. My ‘68 Charger is getting a host of suspension upgrades as well as some major TLC and my ‘69 Daytona has already gone under the knife by getting a full repaint, new front spoiler, windshield clips and rear window straps with more to go. I figure that if I’m lucky, I’ll have everything bought, paid for and installed by mid-March, it’s going to be close though. There’s a lot of parts and not a lot of garage space.

So what does everyone else have planned? New headers for the Honda? Perhaps new wheels and skins for the old Chevy? What-cha’ all doing? Post up… inquiring minds (mainly mine) want to know.

Kia has just introduced their own “infotainment” system to rival Ford’s SYNC.  The Kia UVO (Your Voice) will be extremely similar to the SYNC system as they both run off of Windows software and share many of the same high-tech features, some of which include the voice commands and ipod compatability. The big difference? UVO uses Microsoft’s latest and greatest software available, which can decifer intricate speech patterns and words that, which with previous versions such as SYNC, proved to be an annoyance.  No more screaming at a voice recognition system that only gets more confused we scream louder. However UVO was not only developed for its convenience but also for its safety aspect. Drivers will have the ability to answer phone calls verbally through UVO, allowing them to keep their eyes on the road instead of being distracted by searching for their phone.

The 4.3″ interface will be in full color that will provide information such as the contact data. UVO will be introduced as an open platform system allowing simple integration from numerous cell phones, mp3 players, and other hand-held electronic devices, making it easy for even the most technology illeterate person to use. It seems that UVO will turn out to be an easy-to-use, hands-free unit that will give Ford some competition.

Plan on seeing the UVO first revealed in the 2011 Kia Sorento this summer and seeing it available in several other models in the future.

Although some might reasonably argue that its bloated proportions cause it to lag significantly behind the competition (literally), the Dodge Challenger nevertheless continues to be a favorite amongst nostalgic muscle car enthusiasts and/or balding guys with a slight paunch. Since the part of that demographic that isn’t blowing their disposable income on alimony would gladly shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to recapture the glory days of their youth, Mopar has released yet another aftermarket package for the Challenger.

The newest offering is dubbed the “Performance Appearance” Package, which achieves the same thing for the Challenger that a hairpiece does for its driver. Available in two parts, the exterior package includes body-color hood with scoop, body-color rear “Go-Wing” spoiler and strobe stripe performance graphics, while the interior package features a Mopar-branded T-handle shifter, bright pedal kit (automatic only), bright door-sill guards, premium carpet floor mats and a full vehicle cover. Prices begin at $1,995 and $945 (respectively) and do not include the ill-fitting Ed Hardy tee or the Journey’s Greatest Hits CD.

When the news of Toyota’s spontaneously accelerating vehicles first broke, it was in the form of a grisly accident in Texas involving a Lexus, a jammed accelerator pedal, and 3 unfortunate fatalities. In response to the outcry immediately following the accident Toyota released a 3.8 million vehicle recall, pinning the primary source of the problem on improperly secured floor mats. Suspecting something significantly more sinister at play, a class-action lawsuit sprung up in California alleging that the problem was not with wayward accessories but rather an intrinsic, and fatal, design flaw.

Today, just a few short weeks after the lawsuit was filed, Toyota has recalled the same group of vehicles affected by the flighty floor mats for a different issue: misshapen accelerator pedals. Apparently, Toyota reached the conclusion that jerry-rigging the floor mats was not enough to eliminate the problem entirely and although they have not admitted to any faulty engineering, they do appear to be treating the issue with considerably more severity. In addition to reconfiguring the shape of the accelerator pedal in all vehicles recalled (which includes the bulk of the current line-up), Toyota will also install a brake override system in Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models.

Toyota will begin notifying owners by the end of the year and dealerships will begin receiving vehicles for repair in April, assuming both the vehicle and the owner are still in one piece.

Source: AutoNews
Image Cred: AP Photo

Technically, it’s Ford that’s being formally recognized for their outstanding achievements in the field of safety but it’s Volvo that should be directly credited for nearly every technological advancement Ford has made since 1999. Of course, even as Ford scrambles to ensure the intellectual property they jacked from Volvo doesn’t fall into the scheming hands of Geely, you’ll never catch them acknowledging as much. So, it is with near tella novella-like levels of drama that Ford accepted today Popular Science’s 2009 “Best of What’s New” award for their Active Park Assist feature.

As the name suggests, APA acts as a digital version of your husband standing on the curb and guiding you into parallel park, minus the argument that would inevitably ensue afterward over his inability to clearly articulate his thoughts. Working in conjunction with passive aids like audible and visual cues that alert the driver to the vehicle’s location and its proximity to other vehicles, curbs, small children, etc, the automated steering system works to independently park itself. The driver is still responsible for maintaining control over the transmission, gas pedal, etc, which would seem painfully obvious to most but was nonetheless reiterated twice in the official press release.

For people like myself whose most cutting-edge piece of in-car technology is a mint condition tapedeck, it’s difficult to pretend like you don’t regard someone who can’t parallel park their own car as being only slightly more cognitively aware than a horned toad. For the rest of you who feel otherwise and are likely drafting up your own scathing review of my intelligence as we speak – relax, take the caps lock off, and hit the jump to check out a soothing video of Active Park Assist in action.

We’ve yet to take a spin behind the wheel of the new Suzuki Kizashi, but that hasn’t stopped us from falling head over heels for the design (two words: dual exhaust). As a matter of fact, so enamored are we by one of the first 4-wheeled Suzuki products that doesn’t appear destined to suck, we’re not even phased by the $20k pricing announcement.

As mentioned above, pricing will begin at $18,999 for the entry-level Kizashi S and climb as high as $26,749 for the premium, Kizashi GTS. All total there will be 4 trim levels, including the Kizashi S, SE, GTS, and SLS. Despite being the least expensive and thereby most barren of the four models, the Kizashi S ($18,999 – $21,749) comes with a surprisingly impressive list of standard features including 8 airbags (front/rear side and curtain), pushbutton keyless start, dual-zone climate control, 9-speaker audio with steering controls, EPS Stability Control and ABS, projector beam headlamps, power windows, doors and mirrors, and ambient and footwell lighting.

For $2,500 more the Kizashi SE ($21,499 to $22,749) provides all the amenties of the S model as well as a continuously variable transmission (CVT), alloy wheels, 10-way adjustable power driver’s seat with 3-position memory, cruise control, and leather wrapping on the parking break handle and steering wheel.

By far the most comfortably equipped and similarly priced of the four is the GTS ($22,499 – $24,849), which expounds upon the features offered by the S and SE models and includes an optional 6-speed manual transmission with steering wheel paddle shifters, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, fog lights, and a moon roof.

Finally, rounding out the line is the Kizashi SLS ($24,399 to $26,749) which offers leather seats, power passenger seat, heated front seats, auto dimming rear view mirror with Homelink®(3) Universal garage door opener, heated outside mirrors, automatic rain sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and rear proximity sensors with audible warning and graphic display.

Regardless of your trim package, all Kizashi models come with a single 2.4L, 4 Cylinder, 16-valve, DOHC engine option that puts out 185-horsepower with a man. tranny (180-hp CVT) and 170 lb-ft of torque. Rumors are currently circulating that a V6 option may be in the works, but Suzuki has yet to confirm anything.

Source: PR Newswire

Purportedly inspired by the style of young, urban professionals, the Camaro Dusk is apparently intended to be an exercise in understated, relatively subtle aftermarket luxury. The bulk of the modifications are focused on refining the visual aesthetic and lending the Dusk an air of “recent business grad” rarely seen outside of a 3 Series. As such, the body is finished in an ambiguous Berlin Blue and the front splitter, rocker extensions, and rear diffuser are painted in a contrasting tone. The interior is upholstered in Jet Black and Sedona and comes replete with a Boston Acoustics sound system, WiFi connectivity and an iPhone cradle, all of which also appears to be borrowing heavily in theory from the vast array of interior options available from BMW. Continuing in that same upwardly mobile vein, the performance mods are also modest and tastefully executed and include a custom exhaust, Brembo brakes from the SS, and 21-inch BBS wheels.

“This is a car with an international flair, bringing the Camaro to a place it hasn’t traditionally been,” explained Todd Parker, GM Accessory Studio design manager. “It is a very tailored look that is stylish and sophisticated, but with a distinct American accent.”

Source: GM