By now, if you follow automotive news at all, you've heard of the 2.3 million vehicles recalled by Toyota.  It's not like other car manufacturers don't have recalls, but Toyota's is massive, and involves a very serious component of the vehicles.  Toyota's recall affects the gas pedal, which can be extremely dangerous if it fails, unlike the Camaro battery cable recall.

Affected Toyota Recall Vehicles:

• 2009-2010 Rav 4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Ignore the immediate millions of dollars needed to actually fix these vehicles, imagine the consumer backlash of not trusting Toyota vehicles in the future.  What kind of affect will this Toyota recall have on future sales?  In an attempt to keep dealerships happy, Toyota has agreed to pay up to $75,000 per dealership to cover incidentals involved with this recall.  It's money to keep dealerships from jumping ship and switching manufacturers.

In January alone it's estimated that Toyota dealerships have lost more than 20,000 unit sales.  Couple the gas pedal scare with the latest news of brake problems with the Prius in Japan and you have the right mixture to create consumer hatred for a long time to come.  Perhaps if Toyota would have responded faster to eradicate acceleration faster, as far back as 2002, they wouldn't be in the mess they are in now.

In Japan, shouldn't the CEO go fall on a sword?

Tags: Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Japan, matrix, Prius, recall, Toyota

Gasoline and Diesel are both types of fuel used to power all types of vehicles and equipment.  Gasoline and Diesel are also often sold at the same gas station, so what is the difference between gasoline and diesel?  For this discussion we will compare the similarities and differences between petroleum based gasoline and diesel.  There are different types of diesel fuel available, like bio-diesel, which I will discuss in a  later Difference Between post.

Difference in Refining

The difference between gasoline and diesel begins with how it's produced.  Petroleum is refined to produce gasoline and diesel, but the type of fuel is decided at different refining points.  Crude oil, which is the thick black stuff you see exploding from oil wells, is refined in a chemical process.  Think of the process as like a tower and time spent refining yields a different product from the same crude oil.  During the process the crude oil is refined into Heavy Gas Oil, then Lubricating Oil, and then into Diesel.

Diesel fuel takes less time and is lower on the refining process, which typically leads to it being lower in price.  The next step of the refining process produces Kerosene and then finally Gasoline which is used in your car.  This is a simplification of the refining process, which also includes removing impurities, and lastly involves treating the fuel with additives, generally to increase octane rating.

Rating Difference

Typically when fueling up at the gas station you will notice different octane rated gasoline.  Diesel fuel is not measured by octane rating, rather by a cetane rating.  The ratings are similar in that they are used to rate the combustion quality of the fuel.

Use Difference

Diesel and gasoline are not interchangeable.  Gasoline engines are specifically designed to operate with gasoline properties and diesel engines are designed to operate under diesel fuels properties.  Using diesel fuel in a gasoline engine and vice versa could damage your engine.

In addition, gasoline will gel at a much lower temperature than diesel fuel.  This is why during the winter time, diesel vehicles will some times be plugged in, to allow a heater to keep the fuel above it's gelling temperature.  This core heater will allow for a much easier start in frigid temperatures.

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This has been a post into a series of articles on explaining entry level questions to automotive enthusiasts.

Other Difference Articles:

Difference Between Halogen and HID Lights

Difference Between Turgo and Super Chargers

Difference Between Hybrid and Regular Cars

Tags: diesel, difference between, fuel, gasoline

I don't need to tell you how many problems the automotive industry has had in recent years, but despite it's plagues, there is a glimmer of good news. Ford has announced an all new 2011 Ford Explorer, which more importantly, will be built in Chicago creating close to 1,200 new jobs.

Production will being in 4th quarter of 2010 and bring a relief to automotive workers needing jobs in the Chicago area. In addition, the retooling of the Chicago plant, along with updates, will cost roughly $400 million a healthy shot into the industries arm.

As far as the 2011 Ford Explorer is concerned, Explorer enthusiasts will love the more fuel efficient redesign. The concept of the 2011 Explorer was shown back in 2008 at the Detroit Auto Show, but I'm sure the final product will not be nearly as concepty. Yes, concepty is a word, I just invented it. Check out the concept 2011 Ford Explorer below and some 2011 Spy Pics as well, which tell a much more believable tale of what we can expect out of Chicago late this year.

Tags: 2011, Explorer, Ford, Spy Pic

CarMagazine.Co.UK has released some anonymous spy pics of the upcoming Lexus LF-Ch premium compact.  Resembling a rather expensive Honda Civic hatch back, these spy pictures hint at the sportiness of this upcoming release.  Unfortunately the pictures are only of the back, but I've included the  concept drawings below for reference.

The Lexus LF-Ch will be available for purchase sometime in late 2010 in the UK.  US droolers need not apply.

Tags: 2010, Lexus, LF-Ch, spy pics

The 5.0 was a tried and true engine for Ford and graced the Mustang's engine bay all the way up until 1996. It wasn't until 1996 that Ford release a 4.6 liter engine, to replace the bullet proof 5.0, albeit less efficient. Even though the 4.6 provided bigger horsepower and torque numbers, the 5.0 remains one of the easiest engines to modify.  Maybe that's why Ford has decided to revive the legend and increase the performance that 5 liters of Ford engineering has to offer.

The Coyote engine marks the triumphant return of the 5 oh.  Available in the GT trim of the 2011 Mustang, the 5.0 liter V8 engine will produce a ground thumping 400 horsepower.  It's worth noting that Ford is notorious for understating horsepower numbers, which can realistically place the new 5.0 Mustang at 425-450 galloping horses.  Maybe that's why the 2011 Mustang GT was choosen to be the official pace car of the Daytona 500.

Already the new Coyote named 5.0 engine is garnering attention from industry analysts.  The 2011 Mustang GT will undoubtedly dominate the new face of muscle cars everywhere, trumping even GM's daring Camaro SS.

Not only has Ford gone bat shit crazy with horsepower packed 5.0 engines, it's also produced the nimblest Mustang ever built.  According to Ford the handling will be unmatched amongst previous Mustangs and be paired with a blast to drive 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.  With these kind of figures and performance leaps it's hard to imagine what the next Shelby, Roush, or Saleen will look like.  The anty has been upped and I've yet to year of anyone wanting to call out the new Coyote 2011 Mustang GT.

Tags: 2011, 5.0, Coyote, mustang

Cold weather is hard on your cars battery, which will lead to break downs on the road, or mornings where your vehicle won't start. Unfortunately this normally happens at the worst time, normally when there is no one else around to help give you a jump. That's why I recommend the Duracell Powerpack 600 jump starter and emergency power source, the radio is just a bonus.

Not only is the Powerpack 600 capable of jump starting your car, it also has the power to run small appliances. Basically it can come in handy when the ladies need to dry their hair while camping or you need to power a light when working on your car.

The Duracell Powerpack 600 comes with the jumper cables necessary to jump start most vehicles. It also comes with AC adapters to charge the Powerpack from a wall outlet or a DC adapter to charge the Powerpack from a standard cigarette lighter found in most cars.

Tags: Duracell, jump starter, powerpack 600

Show everyone around you how much you love your Audi A4 or whatever you can actually afford. I proudly display my Mustang shirt underneath every button down blue collar shirt I own. It creates a small since of joy in my heart knowing that something I love is proudly displayed, behind such a thin layer of cotton.

The only downside is that quality Audi shirts are few and far between. They come across looking like I Love New York douchery. Well, if that's your thing then scope out the deals below on Audi T Shirts.

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For those looking for higher quality Audi branded merchandise, check out the Audi Belt Buckle and Audi Cuff Links. Now this is style I could get behind.

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Tags: Audi, clothing, merchandise, shirts, tshirt

There are a lot of recalls that float around through out the year, but generally consist of non-lethal issues.  However, when it comes to brakes, it's worth making an announcement about here on the blog.  Chrysler has announced a recall on over 24k vehicles, because of a defective part in the braking mechanism.  If not fixed the part could cause an immediate failure in the braking ability of the vehicle, obviously resulting in a crash.

The majority of Chrysler vehicles effected by the brake recall are Dodge Ram pickups, made from 2009-2010.  Also included in the recall are some Nitros, Avengers, Chrysler Sebring, Jeep Liberty, Commander, and Grand Cherokee.  If you ignore most recalls because of how insignificant they seem, don't wait around on this one.  Get to your local dealer ASAP, for the sake of yourself and those that you share the road with.

For recall information please contact Chrysler via phone or email.

Tags: brakes, Chrysler, recall

How far have we came as a civilization?  No longer must a man be ridiculed or degraded by the act of stopping at the closest gas station to ask for directions.  A mans pride can remain in tact, as long as he has his trusty GPS(Global Positioning System) voice box suctioned to his windshield.  It's completely changed the way I travel and the confidence I have when embarking on a Holiday vacation with the family.

Vacation road trips in the past required me to spend at least a few weeks planning, deciding how many miles to travel each day, stopping points, hotel stops, and carefully calculating which roads would take us to our destination the fastest.  Instead, the days leading up to my Holiday vacation were filled with hopes and dreams of beautiful weather.  You see, my family and I traveled to Florida the day after Christmas, only to return on New Years Eve.  Coming from temperature in the teens, we were looking forward to the warmer climate.

Point being, I was able to relax and not stress over road trip obstacles to reach our vacation destination.  Also, once we were on the road I didn't have to worry about missing an exit or where to find the closest Hotel, my GPS did that job for me.  I used a Tom Tom GPS, after a careful GPS comparison of what was available, which made all the difference in the world.  Once we arrived in Florida, I wasn't exhausted from the stressful drive, I was relaxed and ready to start my vacation.

Compared to years ago when loading up the car and making a 1 to 2 day drive meant stress, from arguing with my wife over which road to take.  And from me refusing to ask the gas station attendant for directions.  I can't help but think that finding the right GPS or having any GPS for that matter, made our last vacation more enjoyable.  I know my wife and daughter appreciate what it's done for us.

Tags: Accessories, GPS, road trip, vacation