FIGARO FIGARO!

The Nissan Figaro was first introduced in the early 90's as a competitor to the infamous Aston Martin's and Volkswagon beetles out there. But Nissan marketed these cute cars in only 20,000 units for the Japanese market. How could you obtain one of these? By lottery. A turbocharged convertible, the Figaro has been one of the rarest gemstones in the car market industry. They only came in 4 colors: Topaz Mist, Emerald Green, Pale Aqua and Lapis Grey. Other facts; the Figaro was equipped with leather seats, air conditioning, CD player and a retractable roof. It was designed by Shoji Takahashi, who won a design competition with the car. If you're lucky a couple might be listed on eBAY but goodluck prices can reach to an outrageous number. But hey, you can always ask Eric Clapton, he has one just lying in his garage somewhere.


















- THAI SPYCE



ALSO!!!!



Just to inform y'all. If you are in the Orange County or LA area, we are throwing a MASSIVE party at v20 on February 17th during President's Day weekend. We wanted to throw a party to say "Thank You" to all of you who have supported us since TheTunerSource.com started. We have Jeri Lee dancing, a live photobooth, loads of djs (Even yours truly is going on to be on the 1's and 2's @ midnight) Come by and support. BUT get your tickets now through presale or you'll be waiting outside. We will be in the VIP area the whole night cause Thai Spyce here is getting 5 bottles of Hennessy to himself! See you there. Love you all.








TheTunerSource.com website release party! GET YOUR PRESALE tickets NOW!



JUST CONFIRMED! SPECIAL APPEARANCE FROM OUR -THETUNERSOURCE.COM- GIRL ...



LISA FLEMING







STRAIGHT FROM MAXIM

FIGARO FIGARO!

The Nissan Figaro was first introduced in the early 90's as a competitor to the infamous Aston Martin's and Volkswagon beetles out there. But Nissan marketed these cute cars in only 20,000 units for the Japanese market. How could you obtain one of these? By lottery. A turbocharged convertible, the Figaro has been one of the rarest gemstones in the car market industry. They only came in 4 colors: Topaz Mist, Emerald Green, Pale Aqua and Lapis Grey. Other facts; the Figaro was equipped with leather seats, air conditioning, CD player and a retractable roof. It was designed by Shoji Takahashi, who won a design competition with the car. If you're lucky a couple might be listed on eBAY but goodluck prices can reach to an outrageous number. But hey, you can always ask Eric Clapton, he has one just lying in his garage somewhere.








- THAI SPYCE

ALSO!!!!

Just to inform y'all. If you are in the Orange County or LA area, we are throwing a MASSIVE party at v20 on February 17th during President's Day weekend. We wanted to throw a party to say "Thank You" to all of you who have supported us since TheTunerSource.com started. We have Jeri Lee dancing, a live photobooth, loads of djs (Even yours truly is going on to be on the 1's and 2's @ midnight) Come by and support. BUT get your tickets now through presale or you'll be waiting outside. We will be in the VIP area the whole night cause Thai Spyce here is getting 5 bottles of Hennessy to himself! See you there. Love you all.



TheTunerSource.com website release party! GET YOUR PRESALE tickets NOW!

JUST CONFIRMED! SPECIAL APPEARANCE FROM OUR -THETUNERSOURCE.COM- GIRL ...

LISA FLEMING



STRAIGHT FROM MAXIM

V8's guzzle too much gas?

It looks as though Ford is beginning to think that V8's are just not gas efficient!
Hahaha

Well it seems as though in order for Ford to be able to make the mandatory 35mpg that has been set by our government by the year 2020, they may have to ditch the V8.

Rumor has it, the newest rendition of the Ford Mustang GT, due out in 2010 may be equipped with a V6 Twin Turbo. Rumor also has it that it will output about 415hp and have a V8 matching torque curve.











But until then, they will continue to roll out their 4.6L and a limited edition 5.0L, not to mention the limited Shelby 5.4 Supercharged 500hp engine.

With direct ignition and turbo charging, Ford's advertisments for these engines are as followed:



I guess the old adage of "No replacement, for displacement" may be a thing of the past, even for the American muscle car community.

Good use of $6K

Lets think back to when you were 16 years old. What were you doing? Perhaps getting your license. Maybe trying to beg your parents to get you a car so you can be the coolest kid in your high school. Whatever it is you were doing, it probably involved driving or wanting to drive and usually...and more likely than not, it wasn't through productive means.

16 year old Andrew Angelloti had a part-time stint as a lifeguard and managed to save up $6000. Instead of spending it on a wardrobe or maybe even a car, the eco-minded Angelloti (a forum member of Ecomodder) used that money to convert his 1988 Mazda pickup truck to run solely on electricity. The modifications allow the car to reach a top speed of 55 mph and can go about 40 miles per charge. It uses 20 flooded lead-acid batteries (120 volts), and a 60 HP, 9-inch electric motor.

Since this conversion, he's been fine tuning the truck here and there to have it be the finest electricity-ran truck it can be. He's dropped the front of the truck a few inches which he says has "....managed to pick up an extra 3-4 mph in third gear since the drop." What's even more impressive is that he says, "And this is all just in time for my truck to tick over the magic 1000 mile mark. That's right, I now have 1000 gas-free, quiet miles on this machine. I have about 500 on it since the motor rebuild, as well. So far, that's 40 gallons of gas I didn't have to buy!" Pretty impressive not just for a 16 year old but for any kind of project.

What's next in store for this kid? Well, he just purchased a 1992 Toyota Tercel a few months ago and is looking to flex his creativity muscles by placing a larger motor in this car in hopes that it develops more speed. You can read more about his Mazda truck and his new project the Tercel at his blog, Greenflight EV.







On a side note, our website is officially finished! We're simply working out some necessary kinks here and there in order to provide you with the best finishing product we can once it is released in a few weeks. In celebration, we are having a huge bash on February 17th at V20 in Long Beach, CA and we urge all the readers of this blog to make it out to this event because we have some tricks up our sleeves ;) Here is the flyer:





Thanks for your support everyone,

Rack of Lam

HONDA CIVIC TOUR 2008

The HONDA CIVIC TOUR is back and starting in April, Panic at the Disco will be kicking it off in San Francisco. Honda throws these concerts to help promote environmental consciousness of the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Supporting acts that are playing alongside Panic at the Disco are: Motion City Soundtrack,The Hush Sound and Phantom Planet.







If you want more information about where Panic at the Disco is performing or how do get your tickets, check out www.HondaCivicTour.com

Tour Dates
Jan 24. 08
Just announced! Don

"$10 Million Cash For YOUR Car..."

The AXP (Automotive X Prize), with its impressive X PRIZE of $10 million cash, is being put on by the X PRIZE Foundation founded by Peter Diamandis. The X PRIZE foundation is a non-profit organization that raises multimillion-dollar prizes for scientific and technological challenges.

In 2009 carmakers from around the world will go head-to-head in a race to prove they can deliver a 100-mpg car. Big names and hopeful neophytes alike will have to show that their vehicle/technology is not only economical and green, but also economically realistic and practical. Below are pictures of some of the companies and vehicles that will participate in this worldwide competition as well as links to the rules/guidelines of the competition. Some names may be familiar to you (our readers) from many of our previous blog entries. Enjoy.

Tesla Roadster

Loremo ("low resistance mobile") from Germany

Al

SSC Ultimate Aero TT

American?

Mid-engine?

Shelby Super Cars Corporation?

0-60mph in 2.78 seconds.

And on September 17, 2007 achieved a top speed of 256 mph. Verified by the good people at Guinness.

Officially the fastest production car in the world.



Base model starts at $239,000 with the fast puppy being $650,000.

Some quick specs:



Base model
6.26L (382 Cubic Inch) Supercharged motor @ 8psi
Screaming in at 787hp @ 6600rpm and 736 ft lbs torque @ 5800rpm
Requires 92 octane

The Ultimate Aero TT
6.35L (387.2 Cubic inch) Turbocharged motor @ 14psi
WITH 1183hp@ 6950 rpm and 1094ft lbs torque @ 6200rpm
Requires 104 Octane for full performance, adjustable boost pressure

The base model will still achieve a top speed of 236mph.





NASA and wind tunnel tests show that the Ultimate Aero TT can achieve a top speed of 273mph under ideal conditions.

Either way, at the end of the day, I have a strange feeling that it uses Honda Civic Si(EP3) headlights... hmmm...

Mister Philthy

The Yao Ming Effect

The Chinese are taking over, ladies and gentlemen. Plain and simple. The economy is shifting to the Chinese but that's neither here nor there so I'll stay focused on what I want to talk about, that being the influx of Chinese automobiles into America.

At the Detroit Autoshow last week, ChangFeng Motors made the trek to Michigan after making a showing last year to unveil a new batch of cars they have lined up to be sold in the US very soon. This year, they displayed some cars that had a stark resemblance to many cars that we've come to know in America. Here are the lookalikes. You make the deduction.

The Leopard CS6 (similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe?):





The Kylin:





Here are a few others:

The Geely HIFUN (Cadillac, anyone?)



BYD F8 (*ahem* Mercedes *ahem*)



The grim news is that as time has shown us, the Chinese will continue to do what has been done but do it a hundred times better. I wonder if I get some leniency during their takeover for being 1/4 Chinese.

-Rack of Lam

Personal Thoughts and Reflections : Alpina Z8

I was going to write an article about how cool Alpina is and how for me the Alpina E21 3-series changed the way I viewed tuning cars. I thought about it and abandoned the subject because I realized that Alpina's offering of the Z8 was less than what I had hoped it to be.

Alpina, known in Bavaria for being a sports car manufacturer for over 40 years had developed a name for not being a "tuner." They were known for actually being a manufacturer of their own cars with VIN numbers that corresponded differently than what the BMW models were given. In essence, having an Alpina was a status symbol for anyone that appreciated a well-thought sports/performance vehicle.

There are many things that bother me about the Alpina Z8. First off the engine was detuned and was only available in automatic. A softer suspension was used to have the Alpina drive more like a 70's Cadillac, and the expected 20 spoke wheels were never used.



I personally just don't get it. The car was marked up nearly double the MSRP for a Z8, which was around $220K-$240K. All for what I say? For 20 inch "Alpina" wheels with softer rubber compound, Alpina steering wheel, Nappa leather, and Alpina "certified" dash justified the ridiculous price? No way. Thank the heavens above that they only made 555 of these cars, so that their would be few owners that would feel shamed.



One last point. The Alpina Z8 was the only Alpina vehicle that could be purchased at a BMW dealership. Thats not very exclusive, tracking down a Alpina vehicle is nearly impossible, and them selling out by giving easy access to yuppies doesn't make sense.


Johnster

THAI SPYCE CONSIDERING A JOB AT BENTLEY?

Hey everybody. THAI SPYCE here is tired of his job and decided to look around for a fun and luxurious place to work at. I thought of several companies, such as Cartier, Bottega Veneta, Maserati (@ the Wynn in Vegas) and long behold I found out that Bentley is hiring! Wouldn't it be great if Thai Spyce is at a bar, a beautifukl big busted blonde asks for my business card, and boom! I hand her a Bentley business card. My backseat of my Scion would be dumping truck all night long you know what I mean.

So from my research findings, Bentley has 40 open positions. They are hiring anywhere from Logistics to Student Programs. Maybe you can pick up a job driving Jay-Z and Beyonce around and hearing them *expletive* all night.











- Thai Spyce -

"Is It Possible?"

Sorry for the delay. Anyways, what you just saw above was a Nike commercial spot promoting their new soccer shoe. Also featured in the commercial is the quirky, yet beautiful Bugatti Veyron. But the most intriguing aspect of the commercial is the fact that Manchester United phenom and all-around Mr. Party-guy-orgy-man Christiano Ronaldo is seen beating the French supercar in a footrace. Is this possible?

Many have quickly commented that the feat captured in the commercial is not humanly possible, and have added that the commercial was doctored to produce the end result. None-the-less, I feel that the feat captured is feasible. The Veyron's standing quarter-mile (402 meters) is about 10.2 seconds at 143mph(230 km/h). The Veyron also requires at least 2.46 seconds to from <0-60mph(97 km/h) and at least 5.5 seconds to reach 0-100 mph(161 km/h). We can assume that the distance Ronaldo is running is about 100 meters which is about 330 feet and is about the length of a soccer field. The 100 meters can be ran in about 15 seconds by your average eighth grader. Make sure you remember that after going one way Ronaldo and the Veyron stop and go back the other way.

Mathmatically results show that the Veyron is the winner and can complete a standing 100 meter dash in about 2.6 seconds and potentially finish the footrace in about 5.2 seconds, while Ronaldo finishes the footrace in a little under 30 seconds. But if you factor in elements such as Ronaldo starting a little earlier than the Veyron, Ronaldo having better traction because he was wearing cleats, the Veyron having to race on wet ashphalt(believe me, early morning in England: the ashphalt is wet!!) and the fact that the Veyron had to stop and be put in reverse. All those are also variables that contributed to Ronaldo's footrace win.

Maybe, my math is wrong, or maybe my math is too right. I don't know. I still feel that a human in peak physical form can beat a Bugatti Veyron in the particular footrace you just watched. If you have an opinion about this article or have a correction please comment, we love to hear from you...even if you're insulting my rudimentary mathematic abilities.


Linkageness:

Bugatti Veyron: www.bugatti.com
Manchester United: www.manutd.com


~Ronski

QUIZ TIME AND FREE STUFF

Okay everyone, it is time to give something away.
Many of us at thetunersource.com are curious how many of our readers pay attention.

So here it is... We are giving away, an AEM Intake for YOUR car! Answer as many as you can and the one with the most correct answers WINS!



In the event that multiple people get ALL the questions right, they will be put into a drawing!

So good luck and good times.

Submit your answers to quiz@thetunersource.com

1. What type of car is Mr. Filthy currently working on?

2. What is the make and model of the car Thai Spyce is currently driving?

3. Who and or what are thetunersource.com's two(2) mascots?

4. Who is the thetunersource.com friend who works for a popular car products company? Also, what is the nickname given to this person by Ronski?

5. What does thetunersource.com feel is a better option instead of an SR20DET?

6. In a previous blog posted by thetunersource.com, what is the name of the company that customizes trucks and what is the name of the tires that they use?

7. Who did thetunersource.com see and meet at the 2007 L.A. DUB Show?

8. Who is Ralph Lifschitz, and can you name the make and model and year of three(3) red cars he owns?

9. Who is the import model that thetunersource.com asked to do their first photo shoot with?

10. What is the make and model of Marty McFly's vehicle in the first Back To The Future movie?


ONCE AGAIN SUBMIT YOUR ANSWER TO:
QUIZ@THETUNERSOURCE.COM

(One entry per contestant and proof of vehicle maybe required. Prize value will not be greater than $300)

I Want Hummers!

There is a new Hummer concept car for their HX series and boy does it look cool. However, online gamers and fans of Halo say the car is directly influenced by the military vehicles of the game, namely the Warthog. The guys at GM are saying this is false and the design of the HX is based around ATVs (Wait, haven't Hummers always been just a bigger terrain vehicle? Go figure.)

Carl Zipfel, design director for GM, denies these speculations but admits being flattered by the comparison made by online bloggers and forum goers. On January 13th, the HX concept was introduced and Zipfel spoke of its futuristic aesthetics and off-road capabilities at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Zipfel does admit that his design team plays the game. In fact, he himself owns the game at home! Anyways, here are some photos of the new HX concept as well as the Warthog from Halo. You make the deduction...pretttttttttty close.







-Rack of Lam

(There is a video about this car and I'll have it up here as soon as I get it.)

Not Your Mom's Volvo 240

I have always thought of the Volvo 240 as a strange looking car. It reminded of a cell-block on wheels. The type of cell block to transport a gang load of soccer kids, or the type of vehicle that is used to transport a Mastiff dog. The cars were usually a dreary dull silver color too, which never caught my attention until 2 years ago.

2 years ago while cruising around my neighborhood with my friend we saw the strangest and coolest car ever. It was a stunning black Volvo 240, but this one was a couple and it looked clean and lowered. It was fast too. My friend and I were driving our SR20DET powered 325 Convertible BMW, and this Volvo kept up. I was a fan. Officially. Really a big fan. This car looked intense, gloss black coupe. I thought back that moment and could only remember the Volvo 240 as a 4 door or a station wagon. This car had different tailights, probably Swedish Spec. I was in love. This guy had a love for Swedish cars, and I understood.

So now I present to you some modified Volvo 240's. Sure they are very safe cars, but also drag strip and Touring car monsters.



>

This car is a stroked 2.6L Turbo using a Super 60 Turbonetics Turbo. This car produces well over 300 ft-lb of torque and does a 0-60 in 5.9s. Also nicely lowered on coilover suspension and taken to ThunderHill Raceway for weekend track racing. Brilliant!







Group A ETCC Volvo 240 Turbo?!?!?


Uhhh......


Uhhhhhhhhh........



So yeah, not your ordinary Volvo.

THE CHEAPEST CAR (EVER)

The TATA NANO was released today at the New Delhi Auto Expo and let me tell you something, this baby will only be $2,500! It has a zooming 30-horsepower 624-cc engine; a four-speed manual transmission; a disc/drum brake setup AND from reports show that the TATA NANO can stretch 54 miles per gallon!

So maybe this car isn't the fastest car in the world, but this car would be perfect for all first time buyers and college students. I personally wouldn't want to be caught in one these, it would deter my chances of meeting women, but if you are on a budget and need to get around or back and forth to Las Vegas for a couple gallons, this vehicle is for you.










- Thai Spyce -

"Wingless..."

The picture above is that of a concept vehicle slated for production later this year (more than likely during October). This unconventional looking road vehicle is the brainchild of San Diego robotics designer Steve Fambro. Christened the Aptera (Greek for

Corolla Speed

Well guys, I don't know if many of you out there know, but Mister Philthy has a tendency to love Corollas. Not just AE86s, but the standard, grocery getting, Corolla.

Perhaps it is because my first car was a Corolla, or maybe just because it is completely practical and simple. Toyota never strayed very far from their winning formula of a simple, inexpensive, reliable, economic, car.

So because the Corolla, the best selling car of all time, is slightly aging, Toyota has introduced their 10th version of this awesome car.



This impressive 10th edition obviously takes some of the front end "cuts" and "swoops" from its big brother, the Camry.



And for those of you who want a little more scoot out of your Corolla, their will be 2 engine offerings. The first is a completely adequate 1.8 Liter, 132hp @ 6000rpm and 128 lb-ft torque @ 4400rpm and the XRS model will get a 2.4 Liter, 158hp @ 6000rpm and 162 lb-ft torque @ 4000rpm.



The interior continues to remain approximately the same size as the previous model, but the trunk has increased by 3 cubic feet. The wheel base remains unchanged at 102.3 inches.

With an MSRP of just under $15,000, I am sure that this car will make its way to the hearts and garages of many consumers, globally.

GT-R you kidding me?

I just wanted to start off by saying Happy New Year to everyone, even though we're already 7 days into the new year. 2008 is going to be a huge year for TheTunerSource.com and I hope you all have a huge year in your personal and business lives as well.

Moving on...

As us North Americans impatiently wait for the drop of the new Nissan GT-R, I wanted to take a look at the legacy of the car by displaying the predecessors of the GT-R: all the Nissan Skylines. Heck, the new Nissan GT-R is just a stripped down version of the Nissan Skyline. Just for anyone that has no idea about this car, in a nutshell, it's a bad-ass car that's designed with racing in mind (GT-R=Gran Turismo Racer), and takes on the big names of Porsche and Ferrari when it comes to racing. Within 2 years of the 1969 Skyline GT-R, the car won 36 racing trophies.

1969 Skyline GT-R



1973 Skyline GT-R



1989 GT-R R32



1990 NISMO GT-R



1993 GT-R V-spec R32



1995 GT-R R33



1999 GT-R R34



2002 GT-R V-Spec II N

2008 Audi R8 V12 TDI Diesel?

This new concept Diesel sports car will have a projected 500HP and 738 Lb-ft of torque. WIth the racing success of Audi and the TDI engine, it seemed like a natural progression to make this a street car as well.

It is exoected to accelerate 0-60MPH in 4.2 seconds, and have a 28MPG on the highway. The diesel engine is much larger than the standard 4.8L V8, which means the luggage compartments will be used for the extra engine displacement.

DC x TEAM ORANGE

images from www.hypebeast.com

DC x TEAM ORANGE KUMAKUBO drifting shoes! With drifting becoming a huge phenomenon in the states, DC decided to collaborate with TEAM ORANGE to produce the ultimate drifting shoe.

For those of you who are not familiar with TEAM ORANGE they are based in Fukushima, Japan and are one of the premier drifting teams out. I mean seriously these cats, just do not know how to lose! And with their new AWD (all wheel drive) Suburu's they are truly unstoppable. Recently, they have just announced that ENEOS, the high performance motor oil by Nippon Oil Corp., as their official oil sponsor for the 2007 US series. ENEOS is mainly used for Formula 1 vehicles. With this motor oil in combination with their finely tuned Suburu's, 2008 looks to be a very promising year for TEAM ORANGE.





And here are some serious BAD ASSES



NOBUSHIGE KUMAKUBO



KAZUHIRO TANAKA



NAOTO SUENAGA

For more information, please visit: http://www.teamorange.jp/


- Thai Spyce -