A beat-up, burnt Porsche 996 is a sight for sore eyes. To put it plainly, the finest in German engineering doesn’t deserve to be treated like this by an engine fire that rendered it virtually catatonic.
Fortunately, LS1tech forum member "1dirtyZ" has come to save this particular 996 from the jaws of a junk shop incinerator. Taking the completely destroyed 996, 1dirtyZ bought the Porsche sports car to give it a complete make-over, one that specifically involved changing the powertrain and putting in a General Motors LS1 V8 engine to replace the 996’s old 3.6-liter H6 engine that produced 316 horsepower. With the LS1 V8 engine, the Porsche 996 is looking at a new output of around 345 horsepower and 350 lb/ft of torque.
The project is far from a finished product - as you can see, there’s still plenty of work left to be done - but from the looks of things, it should be done sooner than later. In the meantime, there are a couple of videos you can watch of the GM-powered Porsche 996 - how often do you hear that? - hitting the road for some test runs after the jump.
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Aspiring presidential candidates are already busy gearing up for the 2012 elections with hopes of becoming the most powerful man in the U.S. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it, and luckily they have a presidential limo that can withstand the job.
At first glance, the Cadillac One just looks like a modified Cadillac DTS, but General Motors did not actually assign the presidential state car a specific model name. This may be due to the fact that it carries many different components from many different GM models, including Cadillac Escalade headlights, side mirrors, and door handles; Cadillac STS sedan taillights and back up lights; and what looks to be the GMC Topkick commercial truck’s chassis and driveline. GM went through a lot of trouble building the perfect presidential vehicle, but what happens to the car after the base build is what makes it capable of keeping our president utterly and unbelievably safe.
For starters, the car’s chassis has a 5" reinforced steel plate that runs underneath the car in case a bomb finds its way there. Then the entire bodywork is a combination of dual hardness steel, aluminum, titanium, and ceramic which breaks up projectiles upon impact. The doors and gas tank are armour plated, but the gas tank also receives a specially designed foam that prevents it from exploding. The tires are Kevlar reinforced and are shred and puncture resistant. If anyone successfully tears them apart, the steel rims underneath the tires will allow them to get the Cadillac One to safety.
The Cadillac One also has a number of accessories that enable it to solve problems quicker than they come around, including night vision cameras, pump action shotguns, tear gas cannons, and blood. Yes, that’s right. The Cadillac One is equipped with bottles of the president’s blood just in case he gets hurt and needs a blood transfusion. Take that, suckers!
Check back with us soon to find more interesting tidbits as part of our Car Infographics series.
Toyota got a lot of crap last year for the millions of vehicles that were recalled due to problems with unintended acceleration, but where would the company fall in a list of the top automotive recalls? Our next piece in the Car Infographics series answers that very question with the largest recalls in our automotive history.
It happens more often than we would like, but recalls are just a part of the automotive business that we all have to become accustomed to. After all, these machines are man-made and as we all know, people can very easily make mistakes. So who tops the list?
Let’s step back to Toyota for a moment. In 2010, the company had to recall 5.3 million vehicles due to reports of the driver side floor mats getting wedged underneath the gas pedal, causing unintended acceleration. Models involved in this recall included the likes of the Camry and Prius, as well as other models ranging from 2004-2010. 5.3 million is a large number, but Toyota only captures the #4 spot.
Hit the jump for the top three position fillers.
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And here we thought that recalls were left behind in 2010. How silly of us. 2011 is barely a month old and we already have our first recall of the year.
Taking in the honor is General Motors who is recalling 26,751 SUVs and trucks from its 2011 model line-up. According to GM, the problem concerns a defect in the rear-axle cross pins, which were not heated properly and, as a result, could fracture and get displaced within the rear axle, creating an interference condition and, eventually, causing the rear axle to lock. This, in turn, could affect the driver’s ability to maintain directional control of the vehicle and a crash could occur without warning.
Affected GM models of the recall include the 2011MY Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Colorado, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Canyon, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles.
As is the case with all recalls, General Motors has instructed their dealerships to install a new rear axle cross pin to any affected vehicle at no cost to the owner. As expected, GM’s dealers will install a new rear axle cross pin free of charge, with the safety recall to begin before the end of the month.
Who can say they don’t listen to music while they’re driving? If you raised your hand as if we could see you, then there is no need for you to read on. But if you love the sound of your favorite tunes coming out of the car’s stereo like we do, then, thanks to Matt Kirsch, we have some songs to test out those speakers.
Kirsh, a former General Motors audio engineer has published a list of songs that tests the capabilities of your stereo. And no, they are not sings that will bust your eardrums. It should be interesting to see how many think of their systems after going through this ten song list.
The list is varied between every sort of genre and artist and should give those tweeters, subwoofers, and mid-range units a real test. If you don’t want to search for all those songs, Kirsh has put them for download on iTunes.
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