Checkered Blog by Checkered Flag is the automotive play place in Hampton Roads Virginia

March Madness

Take a look at this most hilarious video from Top Gear featuring a self steering BMW 330i...you will laugh and be amazed, I promise.

Safety First

It's a jungle out there.  Yesterday, I was driving behind a person who, I am 99% sure, was TEXTING while driving!  I'm not crazy for thinking that's crazy, right?  After taking the loooong way to work just to get away from the multitasking offender, it struck me that the commute can be dangerous, even if you're a good, law-abiding driver.  It also made me realize that we haven't posted much in the way of safety for awhile.  I investigated some of the best websites out there for safety research and here's what I found...

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a non-profit organization, not affiliated with any auto manufacturers, but wholly funded by auto insurers. They have been operating for over 30 years and run the Vehicle Research Center, a state of the art crash-test facility where most of their vehicle research is done. The goal of the Institute is to reduce the losses (death, injuries and property damage) from accidents on the nation’s highways. You can find relatively comprehensive vehicle ratings from The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety here.

Safecar.gov is a clearinghouse of information about vehicle safety provided by the federal government. Aside from general advice on safe driving, users can also find up-to-date information regarding vehicle recalls or defects or report problems or concerns with their own vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducts government mandated crash tests at their federal facility in Ohio. Results of these crash-tests can be found on their website, but are also usually on the sticker of new vehicles. The NHTSA website is also helpful if you are wondering what the laws are regarding say, infant seats or cell phone use while driving.

Drive safe!

Penny Pinch With Me!

Super news about gas prices, no? Ugh. Since my commute is not terribly long, my car gets decent MPG and I don’t do a ton of traveling, I’ve never really worried too much about rising prices. Sure, I complain with everyone else when making small talk around the water cooler, but I’ve been fortunate enough to never feel I need to change my plans due to rising gas prices. Having said that I feel kind of feeble minded because a friend recently alerted me to this really great website where you can search by zip code in order to find the least expensive filling stations near you. It takes about 3 seconds and I found several convenient locations cheaper than the place where I normally fill up. To give an example, I paid $3.09 a gallon yesterday for 10 gallons. That’s $30.90 (duh). If I would have gone to the cheaper station equi-distant from my house, I would have only paid $28.70.  That’s a savings of $2.20 a week, $8.80 a month, or over $100 a year!!! It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s a couple of Starbucks or a ticket to the movies every month.

The Great Race 2008

In 1908 a handful of racing teams from around the world took part in the first truly international auto race, The Great Race of 1908.  Only one American team entered the contest, which took drivers from New York City to San Francisco  then across the Pacific Ocean (on a sailboat, of course) to Japan, to Vladivostok, across Asia and Europe, finally ending in Paris.  The American team won the race and finished in 169 days!

This year marks the centennial of the race and organizers have been working hard to re-create the race for 2008!  The Great Race 2008 will begin on May 30, 2008 from New York and again head across the USA, but then will go to Shanghai, through China, Mongolia, Eastern Siberia, Moscow, and down into Eastern Europe through Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and finally will end in Paris, France.  Organizers anticipate that this year's race will take about 80 days.  In 1908, there were six teams...in 2008 there are already over 30 teams signed up!

Trail Teams Special Edition FJ Cruiser Has Arrived at Checkered Flag Toyota

FlagRaiser was all excited on Friday because he found out that Checkered Flag Toyota had finally received one of the limited edition Trail Teams FJ Cruiser. He saw it first at the NAIAS in Detroit last month. Of course, anything limited edition causes great excitement here at The Checkered Blog so I went down to check it out.  When Toyota's wildly popular FJ Cruiser came out, they decided to get together a bunch of off-road enthusiasts and form the FJ Trail Teams to travel around and lend FJ owners their 4x4 expertise.  Eventually, Toyota also got them to give their input on this special edition FJ which has been on the auto show circuit all year.

It's a special color (Warm White) and has blackout front and rear bumpers, grill surround and side mirrors as well as 17" Black Steel Wheels, Bilstein Shock Absorbers, bumper mounted auxiliary lights, a dash mounted multi-informational display, unique shift knob and, of course, Trails Team badging.     

(Very) Limited Edition 2008 BMW Alpina B7 at Checkered Flag BMW Now

You’ve probably never heard of Alpina, a tiny auto manufacturer or "tuner" in Germany that fixes up BMW’s to make them even more special than they already are. Checkered Flag BMW is fortunate to have an uber-exclusive 2008 BMW Alpina B7 sitting on the showroom floor right now and let me tell you, it’s awesome.  Client Advisor David Lindsey took some time to show me around.

Essentially, this 750i was made in BMW’s German facility and then shipped to Alpina’s facility to be modified and become a B7. The first things I noticed were the impressive 21" tires and wheels. Gorgeous, but I wouldn’t want to have to replace them. Edmunds reports that each tire costs over $500. The interior is roomy and refined as expected and the hand stitched steering wheel is a very luxe touch. Note the 200mph  speedometer!  

The engine is a 500 hp supercharged V8 and the car is capable of getting to 60mph in under 5 seconds(!!!). The model that is for sale at Checkered Flag comes with the both the additional "Rear Entertainment" package and "Night Vision" package, putting the price at just under $125,000. I know...wow. I’m here to tell you though, if you are looking for a car that NO ONE ELSE in Hampton Roads will be driving, this one’s definitely for you. Only a few hundred of the B7's are even being sold in the United States. For more information about the 2008 BMW Alpina B7, call David Lindsey at Checkered Flag BMW (757) 490-1111.

Checkered Flag Honda Has a Secret...

I stopped by Checkered Flag Honda earlier this week on some non-blog related business and was surprised to find, sitting near the side door, this sweet little 2008 S2000 CR "Club Racer". The weather, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is just begging for those lucky enough to do so to take off their convertible tops and put the pedal to the metal. There can’t be a better way to do it then in this car which has a rich racing heritage and a price tag that won’t stop your heart.

Some highlights of this year’s S2000 include a 237 hp 2.2 DOHC 16 valve VTEC 4 cylinder engine that Honda claims is "one of the world’s highest horsepower-per-liter- measurements for a naturally aspirated engine." Perhaps the biggest change on this model is the super lightweight removable hard top. While this particular vehicle comes with A/C and audio (8 speakers!), the S2000 "Club Racer" without the extras weighs in at just 2,765 lbs. Also, the noticeably larger rear spoiler is designed to smooth airflow and reduce lift, but I think it looks pretty good, too.

As for the interior, it’s sporty and unpretentious. The black and yellow fabric seats add some flashy visual interest and hug the occupants snugly. The cockpit controls belie the car’s racing roots respectably.

The S2000 CR gets kudos for having decent EPA estimates...18 mpg city and 35 highway. Remarkably for such a car, it also received a 4 star frontal crash test rating and 5 star side and rollover crash ratings. The S2000 CR is not churned out by Honda like butter. They are somewhat unique and made for the person looking for a Fast Car in street-legal form at a good value. This model goes for around $38K. 

If you have questions or would like to learn more about the S2000 Club Racer, call Anthony Grosso at Checkered Flag Honda (757)490-1111 ext. 6321.

The (15) Million Dollar License Plate???

I am lobbying for a new Checkered Blog category called "That's Just Crazy" or "Can't Be True".  Today's post would fit perfectly.  CNN.com reports that a man in UAE is willing to pay 15 million dollars for a vanity license plate at a government auction next week.  The plate will read "1".  No joke. 

Virginia, in case you didn't know, is the state with the highest percentage of vanity plates in the nation.  Here is one that I bet would fetch a pretty penny here at home...

*Note** I try to maintain Swiss-like neutrality in the UVA-VaTech rivalry so, send complaints if you must, but better yet, send me a pic of a BEATVT plate!!!

New Energy Bill Sets Higher Fuel Standards

The new energy bill passed by Congress this week and signed by President Bush includes a provision that all new cars and trucks meet tougher 35mpg standards by the year 2020.  There is also quite a fight in the works regarding California's attempt to pass even stronger limits on carbon-dioxide emissions from automobiles.

Get Your Kit Together!

My super-sized Thanksgiving holiday covered many many miles of road, much of it in a large and congested metropolitan area. In typical holiday travel fashion, and partly due to some particularly soggy weather, I witnessed the aftermath of more than a few accidents. It got me asking whether or not I was prepared for the winter/holiday driving season and the unfortunate events that do sometimes occur. I looked around my car and realized, sadly, that I was not. Save for some mints, a tire pressure gauge and some wadded up napkins from my most recent fast food trip, I had virtually nothing that would have assisted me had I been one of the unfortunate folks delayed on the side of the road. In that spirit...

Here’s a great emergency roadside kit checklist from MSN Autos and Consumer Reports.

Take fifteen minutes to get this stuff together. You probably already have everything, just not in one place!