Nissan Juke: The next cult car?

I’m really liking the Nissan Juke. It’s a fun little car with polarizing looks. Because its looks isn’t for everyone, it may not sell well and be a bust. But because it’s gotten good reviews for its excellent driving dynamics, it may turn out to be a hidden gem. The Corrado is in many ways a hidden gem. It was a good car in its day and got glowing reviews. But in the end, it was a bust when new but eventually gained a following post-production. Will the Nissan Juke follow the same path and become a cult car like the Corrado?

So far, it seems like Nissan Jukes have been selling like hotcakes. This is probably why they decided to go ahead with a project to build the ultimate Juke, the Juke-R. It’s a bit over the top but it’s a good indicator that Nissan has faith in the Juke. The first pic of the concept was revealed today and it looks great!

Check it out on www.0-60mag.com:

WTD: 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT-8

I’m in love with a gangsta ride, the 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT-8:

I love the new interior, especially knowing that they used real carbon fiber for the trim. The interior was the achilles heel of the previous gen (among other things of course). The heating/cooling cupholders sounds cool too. I would love to get one of these. It would be a perfect replacement for my black on black 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. Too bad I don’t have $50k lying around because it’s definitely Worth The Dough!

WTD: Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed Legends Pack DLC

Totally Worth the Dough is the Shift 2 Unleashed Legends Pack DLC.
Shift 2 Unleashed has become my favorite driving game ever. Well after tweaking some steering wheel settings for the PS3 Logitech Driving Force GT wheel. Go to the GTPlanet Shift Forums and set up your steering wheel as noted because the default settings are horrible.

Someday I will put together a review but I just wanted to proclaim it in this post that if you love racing games and want to understand what it feels like to drive a souped up racing car, Shift 2 Unleashed is at the top of the list. Better than Gran Turismo 5 in my opinion. GT5, while amazing as a driving simulator, sucks as a racing simulator. And it’s in-car view pales in comparison to Shift 2. Helmet Cam FTW!

Shift 2 Unleashed should claim itself as the “Racing Simulator”

And now the Legends Pack just made the game that much more awesome. For just $9.99 it comes with a bunch of classic racecars and 5 classic tracks. Worth the Dough for just $10. Get it! Get both Shift 2 and the Legends Pack. You won’t be disappointed.

Check out the Speedhunters post about the Legends Pack and for more pics.
Porsche!

WTD: iPad 2

Hmm with the release of the iPad 2 next week, is it time for me to get one? Good question!

I want to reward myself for being patient and holding out from buying the original iPad by getting the iPad 2. But I’m on the fence still. TUAW and John Gruber both believe that there may be another iPad with a retina display coming out later this year. I kind of agree. I want to wait for a retina display and legitimate cameras. The iPad 2’s cameras are pretty crappy. The iPhone 4 has a pretty good camera so you know Apple has the capability to include a decent camera. I think that’s an indication that Apple is still holding out on the iPad. Therefore I can see Apple coming out with an iPad HD in September with proper cameras and a high resolution display.

So I held out on the iPhone until Apple put in a good camera and I may do the same with the iPad. Besides, I spent a bit of money on my turbo! Plus, I don’t really need the iPad 2. It’s just a toy. Well, a beautiful toy.

The other idea I have is to wait for the refurbished iPad 2’s. It took the original iPad 5 months before refurbished models started showing up. So that means by August there should be some showing up. And by then, if the rumors grow stronger of a September iPad 2 HD release, I can either wait to get a new iPad 2 HD or just get the refurbished iPad 2. I bought my Macbook refurbished and it’s been great so far so I’m happy buying refurbished Apple products.

So is it Worth The Dough? Yes it is! There isn’t a better tablet out there. But I think I’m still going to wait.

My Corrado: Pounds Per Horsepower Comparison

The new turbo and the talk of the HP numbers got me thinking about the gains I’m about to get in the performance of my Corrado. Although buying the turbo kit was pretty much an impulse buy, I have been thinking about how cars today are getting faster while my Corrado is just sitting still. The horsepower numbers of cars straight from the factory today are steadily increasing. I mean cars are getting bigger and heavier due to more safety restrictions, but the increase in horsepower is increasing faster than the cars are getting heavier. Thus cars are getting faster every day and my Corrado is comparatively getting slower and slower. I’ve been thinking for awhile now that I need to do something to keep pace. Hence, the turbo kit.

I believe that a good indicator of how well I can keep pace with the newer cars is in the weight-to-power ratio. How much weight does 1 HP have to put into motion? So I decided for fun to put together a chart as you see below. I’ve gathered most of my data from Road & Track’s Road Test Summary. For some of the older cars I used various other sources. I’ve gathered the Curb Weight (the manufacturer’s published weight of the car with all fluids minus the driver and passengers), Horsepower, 0-60 times, and calculated the Pounds Per HP Ratio (Curb Weight/Horsepower). I’ve included the torque and F/R/AWD drivetrain info for completeness’ sake. The dark green rows highlight my Corrado’s numbers (stock and theoretical numbers for the turbo kit). The light green rows are cars I’ve owned, and the yellow rows are some cars my friends own. I tried to put together competitors to the Corrado and also other more expensive sports cars for fun. Here are the results:

So my high school experiment shows that there is a direct correlation between Pounds Per HP and speed. The less weight 1 HP has to pull, the faster the car. Of course there are other factors involved, like the drivetrain which affects how well the cars launch and the gearing of each car. AWD cars generally launch better than RWD and RWD better than FWD. But as a reference these numbers tell alot.

What’s the conclusion? Well look at where my stock Corrado sits on the list. Near the bottom. And with the turbo kit it’s theoretically near the top against other stock opponents. That’s even thinking conservatively since the turbo kit is supposed to get 280 to 300 WHEEL horse power. So I would say that the turbo kit is WORTH THE DOUGH!

WTD: Pre-Ordered iPhone 4!

As an Apple fan I think I can be pretty impressed with myself that I was able to wait until the 4th iteration of the popular iPhone. But I finally did it because with its new features and new design, it is Worth The Dough.

I pre-ordered the Apple iPhone 4 through AT&T’s website. I was originally going to pre-order from Radio Shack b/c they were offering a $20 gift card, but Apple mostly blocked third party retailers from early pre-ordering. Plus it’s easier to just order online through AT&T and get free shipping for it to arrive at my doorstep as soon as it is released on Thursday June 24, 2010.

Now why did I finally get one? Well the biggest reason is that Steve Jobs and Apple finally decided to put in a proper 5MP camera with LED flash. The Sony Ericsson W810i that I’ve had for over 2 years has an LED flash that can be used as a flashlight. I use it ALL the time. Such a small feature, but the most useful to me. It’s great to have a flashlight on you at all times. One time while hiking up in CT we didn’t plan ahead and got stuck trying to get back out of the trails after it got dark. Luckily, my phone’s flashlight helped lead the way. The ability to shoot HD video is also plus, although I don’t see myself using the feature all too often. The other new features such as the high quality Retina display, multi-tasking and FaceTime are great as well. But they just round out the package of the already amazing iPhone. Speaking of the Retina display, it sure makes me glad I was able to wait on the iPad as well b/c I’m sure the next iPad will have this feature.

So all in all, the iPhone 4 is definitely Worth The Dough!

WTD: Spare Tire Bike

What a brilliant idea by Volkswagen. An electric bike that folds up to fit into your spare tire compartment. It’s a great supplement to a spare tire.

This weekend I’m buying 4 17″ Oettinger RE1 wheels with tires for my Corrado from a guy upstate NY. They are a classic style rim at a perfect 17X8 et 35 size to fit my Corrado’s wheel wells pretty perfectly. I plan just have them for a couple years b/c 17’s look great on Corrado’s and I’ll be keeping my current 16″ DZ Exklusiv DZ1’s. So for a little while I’ll have the stock 15″ Speedlines, the 16″ DZ1’s and the 17″ RE1’s. Every size that works well on a Corrado! Here’s how they would look on a Corrado:

Last night I was wondering if they would all fit into my 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. The seats fold down but it’s not a hatch so I’m worried about having enough room. Not to mention the fact that my car is lowered but that’s another matter. Anyway, there’s a full sized spare in the C43 so I was thinking of taking it out so that I would have an extra spot for one of the wheels I’m buying. But then I’d be without a spare tire. If I had this bike by VW I wouldn’t have to worry as much. I mean, if I get a flat it’d be better to change it with the spare wheel so I can change it and go rather than bike somewhere to get help. But at least with the bike I’d have a little piece of mind taking out the spare. Luckily, there will be other cars going with me so I think I can risk taking out the spare. Knock on wood!

Right now it’s just a concept but I think it’d be Worth The Dough for Volkswagen to make the Spare Tire Bike and for me to buy one! Check it out.

WTD: Zinio and International Magazines for iPad

Where have I been? Apparently Zinio features magazine subscriptions to be read on the computer and soon on the iPad. Although they’ve been around for over 10 years, for some reason they haven’t come up in my Google searches for internet magazine subscriptions. So I’m going to try and get the word out. In my last post I posted how the iPad needs magazine subscriptions before I would buy one. Zinio has them. And they have plenty of car mags to subscribe to, including Road & Track. I think my decision has been made now. Zinio makes the Apple iPad Worth The Dough.

It seems like the cost of the subscriptions are the same as or a couple bucks less than their paper counterparts. Or as some people call “dead tree versions.” For example the Road & Track subscription is $8 as opposed to $10 for the print version. The real savings however are in International magazine subscriptions.

British car magazines are widely known to be bigger and better than US car magazines. And since Europe is where Formula 1 is popular, their F1 publications, like F1 Racing, are amazing. The US simply does not have any dedicated F1 publications because F1 isn’t as big in the US. Subscriptions to these mags by a US subscriber are very expensive. I mean, these British publications are expensive for British subscribers too but with shipping fees and other fees it’s even worse for US subscribers. For example, a 1 year subscription to the print edition of F1 Racing is $66 for UK subscribers and $90 for US subscribers! So far Zinio only has the spanish version of F1 Racing, but a 1 year subscription is $43.39. Look at the cost savings! Cheaper for both UK and US subscribers. Here are some other prices for US subscriptions to other International publications.

Lastly, I’m going to go slightly off topic and mention that for those who like reading novels more than periodicals, it’s been said that Project Gutenberg books will work on the iPad. “The site has over 30,000 free ebooks, most of them classics whose copyrights have lapsed.”

So there it is. The Apple iPad is Worth The Dough and Zinio is a major reason why. If you like international magazines like I do, then it is WTD for you too!

WTD: Why Magazines Need to Be On the iPad Pronto!

Yesterday the Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad became available for pre-order. I’ll eventually get an iPad, but I didn’t pre-order it. Why not? No, not because it doesn’t have flash or a webcam, but because the Apple iPad is not Worth the Dough for me unless there are magazines available for it! Without magazines on the iPad, not only does Apple not get my money, the magazine publications don’t get my money either because I won’t be subscribing to any until they have an iPad version.

I’m a big fan of magazines and throughout my life I’ve been a subscriber of magazines like Road & Track, Men’s Health and Wired. Well I’ve since slowed down with my subscriptions because the internet has replaced them as my avenue for consuming articles that are not only interesting to read, but also visually appealing with great photography. And that’s what magazines are all about. But I still like to flip through the glossy pages of a magazine and would rather do that than sit in front of an iMac or Macbook clicking through the internet with a Magic Mouse. And that’s what appeals to me the most about the iPad – The ability to feel like I’m flipping through a magazine while getting content like the internet. An internet magazine on my lap!

So I repeat. Magazine publications better create an iPad version and subscription model soon because they won’t have my business again until they do. So far only Conde Nast has revealed any plans to develop magazine apps. Wired says they’ll have one by the summer and it looks great. That’s probably about the time I’ll buy the iPad and my first magazine subscription in awhile. My Wired subscription just ended and I want to renew it b/c it is a great publication, but I’m going to wait until their iPad app comes out before I subscribe again.

I’m also hoping that one of the car publications will get their content onto an iPad. I hope Road & Track does because they are my favorite car publication. 0-60 Mag would be great too because they emphasize great photography. Edmunds’ Inside Line website on the internet would be a great template for an iPad automotive magazine application. It has great visual slideshows that can be seen full screen to go along with their articles. And that would be perfect for the iPad. Check out one of their articles. Just what the iPad was designed for. I really don’t know why Apple didn’t push to have magazines (and comic books for that matter) onto their iPad instead of just iBooks.

So my message to the magazine publications and Apple: Put magazines onto the iPad pronto! Magazine subscriptions and the iPad aren’t Worth the Dough to me until that happens.

WTD: Apple Aperture 3 Upgrade

What a nice birthday present! Apple today just released a new version of their excellent photo management software, Aperture 3. I have Aperture 2 and I love it. I don’t think there’s a better photo management software program available today that can be used to organize and make minor (non-destructive) adjustments to the thousands of photos that people take every day. And the few minor gripes I had about the features that were missing from Aperture 2 have been included in version 3. Although the new faces and places features similar to iPhoto are welcome and needed additions, the following features are what I thought were missing from Aperture 2 but are now available. For $99 to upgrade I think Aperture 3 is Worth The Dough! And if you don’t have it at all, I also think buying the full Aperture 3 for $199 is WTD also.

Nondestructive Brushes
Make nondestructive image enhancements to specific areas of any photo using new adjustment brushes. Use brush strokes to modify — brush in or brush away — most of the standard image adjustments available in the Adjustments inspector. You can control the size, softness, and strength of each brush with intuitive sliders.

Powerful New Curves Tool
Use the new Curves tool to adjust exposure and tweak color. Curve adjustments can be applied to luminance, RGB, or individual color channels. You can set the black, white, and midtone points, as well as place custom points along the curve using a target tool. All Curves adjustments can be brushed in or brushed away as needed to achieve desired results.

Adjustment Presets
If you use a combination of adjustments frequently, save it as a preset. Then apply the preset to individual images or a batch of images. Aperture 3 includes dozens of ready-to-use presets, and you can easily create your own and export them for use by others.

Video Support
Import, browse, and play back video clips — including HD video — from digital SLR cameras, point-and-shoot cameras, and digital camcorders.

Focus Points
Hover over the Focus Points button in the Camera Info pane to see the focus points used by your camera to autofocus the image. You can also click the button to turn the display of focus points on or off.

Labels
Apply up to eight different color-coded labels to images to organize and group them. Add a custom name for each color label in Aperture preferences. Simple keyboard shortcuts allow you to apply labels using the keyboard.

Print Watermarks
Now Aperture can automatically apply graphic watermarks not only when exporting images, but when printing as well.

Batch Rename Masters
When using the Batch Change feature to rename photos, you now have the option of applying the name change to the master image files on disk.

Source: Apple’s Aperture site.