No one likes getting a ticket.  But some sure do love giving them!  Why not grab a good radar detector to ward off those ticket mongers?  Here’s a few, high rated radar detectors.

Escort Passport 9500ix Radar Detector / Laser Detector

Price: $450

Yes, it’s expensive.  But, many users will tell you that this radar detector is really good at what it does.  It is really top in class when it comes to the “smart” detectors with GPS, autolearn, across all radar bands (X, K, Ka, and Ku).  The false positive detection is something everyone loves.  This effectively keeps the alarms to a minimal.  Folks who do a lot of highway travel won’t like the red light alarm.  But for folks where red light cameras can wind up costing you money, it’s a big deal.  And speed trap detection via GPS, etc. is just sweet.  Good detection, calming blue light display, and less tickets.

Beltronics 995 Vector Radar Detector

Price: $190

Yep, one thing you immediately notice is the price differential.  You get the typical features, but it does the job well.  The voice notifications are nice, but turn the volume down when you get it because the default will make you change your shorts.  It does pick up a lot of false positives, but it does a good job at an exceptional price.  Bargain hunters will love this radar detector.

Whistler XTR-695 Radar Detector

Price: $132

Again, this radar detector has very good sensitivity within the bands while minimizing the false alarms.  The menus are easy to navigate, but the displays could use a little more lighting.  But the voice and periscope lights are more than enough to get you through.  All in all, a very good value for what you are getting.

Can-Am touts the stuff with their new UTV Commander 1000x.  Yeah, it retails for around $14.5k, but it really does deliver the goods, starting with a 976cc, V-twin, liquid-cooled, SOHC, 8-valve (4-valve/cyl) engine.

Here’s a video and specs:

Engine

Type

976cc, V-twin, liquid-cooled, SOHC, 8-valve (4-valve/cyl)

Bore & Stroke

91 x 75 mm

Fuel System

iTC™ with EFI and 54mm Throttle Body, 2 Siemens VDO injectors

Starting System

Electric

Transmission

CVT, sub-transmission with high, low, park, neutral & reverse. Standard engine braking
Motion Control shocks

Drive Train

Selectable 2WD/4WD shaft driven with Visco-Lok† front differential

Cage type

2-inch diameter, high-strength steel, ROPS-approved

Chassis

Frame

Steel

Steering wheel adjustment

Adjustable tilt steering

Front Suspension Type/Shocks

Double A-arm with dive-control geometry / Motion Control shocks

Front Suspension Travel

10 in (254 mm)

Rear Suspension Type/Shocks

Torsional Trailing arm Independent (TTI) with external sway bar/

Rear Suspension Travel

10 in (254 mm)

Front Brake

Dual 214 mm ventilated disc brakes with hydraulic twin-piston calipers

Rear Brake

Single 214 mm ventilated disc brake with hydraulic twin-piston caliper

Tires/Front

Carlisle Black Rock
27 x 9 x 12 in
686 x 229 x 305 mm

Tires/Rear

Carlisle Black Rock
27 x 9 x 12 in
686 x 229 x 305 mm

Wheels

Steel

Dimensions

L x W x H (in)

118.3 x 58.6 x 72 in

L x W x H (mm)

3,004 x 1,489 x 1,829 mm

Wheelbase

75.8 in (1,925 mm)

Ground Clearance

11 in (279 mm)

Dry Weight

1,295 lbs (587 kg)

Towing Capacity

1,500 lbs (680 kg)

Cargo Box Capacity

Total: 600 lbs (272 kg)
Upper: 400 lbs (181 kg)
Lower: 200 lbs (91 kg)

Cockpit Storage

Glove box: 4.5 gal (17.2L)
Under driver seat: 3.5 gal (13.1L)

Fuel Capacity

10 US gal (37.8L)

Features

Instrumentation

Multi-function gauge: Speedometer, tachometer, odometer, trip and hour meters, fuel, gear position, sport mode, seat belt and 4×4 indicator, diagnostics, clock, auto shut off

Anti-Theft

D.E.S.S. (Digital Encoded Security System)

Electrical

Prewired for winch

Lighting

4 60-watt projectors with tail lights/brake light

DC Outlet

Lighter type in console, standard connector in the back (15A)

Color(s) available

Black

MSRP

$14,699 US

Warranty

Basic

6 months limited factory warranty

Extended

B.E.S.T. available from 6 to 18 months

Jetskis are a blast.  I remember almost being dashed on rocks in a lake by my brother.  That was exhilarating!  Actually, it really was a lot of fun.  But how much more fun would the QuadSki be?  About four.

Yeah, it can go up to 50mph on land and sea.  Oh, and it will only cost you about $40k.  Here’s the video:

The En-V, or electric networked vehicle, is GM’s push for an urban car in China.  But will the cramped orb vehicle produce riots from the masses?

Gm is trying to “reinvent” the urban auto landscape.  This is not a bad idea since most cramped urban areas feature cars that take up a lot of room and don’t move very fast.  This adds up to a lot of pollution, noise, traffic, etc.  The En-V is attempting to address some of those issues by making the car like a segway.

This would allow parking places to accomodate five such En-Vs, as opposed to one car.  The En-V would run on electricity and would have the ability to travel without human interaction.  Well, that’s at least in theory.  I’ve been hearing this kind of thing for years without any sustained usage in real life.  They say it will happen with the use of GPS, intra-car connectivity, and object sensing.  Enough techno voodoo.  Bring on the flying cars.  It also weighs less than 800 lbs, with occupants.  Well, if they are not Americans.  Tsk, tsk.

Now here is another interesting idea.  Trexa is making an electric car chassis that only needs a cab.  Yep, drivetrain, batteries, electronics.  All you need to do is use your imagination to come up with a modular cabin.

I wish they had some sort of prototype video or something.  But, until they do, we will just have to use our imagination.  Virtually everything can be programmed to the developer’s desires.  Out of the box defaults to 0-60 in 8 seconds acceleration, max speed of 100mpg, 105 mile drive range, and 4 hour charge time.  But, again, these can all be tweaked to conform to the package being developed.  You probably wouldn’t want these specs on a cargo van.  The battery will be warranted for 100k miles.

Nissan is really trying to go full bore with its new Leaf electric car.  It will allow you to go up to 100 miles on a single charge.  But will people buy it?

Nissan will be putting a lithium ion battery into the Leaf.  Now, before you groan.  Nissan is cutting the size in half while also increasing power and range twice.  Pretty impressive.   The batteries will take around 16 hours to recharge, unless you are doing a higher power charge, like the video below demonstrates.  They are also saying that it will be competitively priced, whatever that means.

A while ago I posted about a really interesting concept car called Loremo.  I was pretty stunned in that post to find they were purporting 150 mpg.  I think those numbers have come down a little, but still impressive to say the least.  Anyway, Loremo has demoed their prototype and will be starting production in 2010.  This thing looks sweet – I want one!

Here it is out for a drive:

I like the styling.  Yes, it’s small, but I would expect that.  In any case, price seems to be around $15,000.  Would love to see this come state side.L

The Bass1000 Boss subwoofer packs a punch.  It’s like the time I drove up to a car in St Louis, back in the day, and felt my head about to explode.  I don’t know how powerful their subwoofer was, but it may have been comparable to the Bass1000.  This things rocks and at a good price.

The Bass1000 Boss subwoofer features MOSFET electronic amplifier.  That always makes me laugh because it sounds so official.  That’s just an acronym for a transistor.  That’s all.  The bottom line is this: it features a 91db sensitivity, a 500 watt RMS power range, and 1000 watts of peak power.   RMS stands for root mean square is used to give you an idea about continuous power.  This really should be used to gauge the power.  In any case, that’s loud.

The Bass1000 Boss subwoofer comes with a remote, so you can adjust levels on the fly.  That’s good because you know how one song can really crank out the bass, while another is lame on it.  Now, as I said before, don’t expect a true 1000 watt response out of this subwoofer.  But if you are wanting big sound at a great price (can be found for around $150-$200), then this is a good choice.

You may have seen HID headlights in ads or in automotive stores and wondered what they are about.  Have you ever seen a higher end vehicle that seemed to have much different headlights?  Well, most likely it had HID headlights.

HID or high intensity discharge lamps are really neat headlights that contain a gas and metal salts.  It is an arc lamp, meaning an electrical arc forms between two tungsten poles.  The gas gets the arc going and the metal salts really provide the luminosity.  These kind of lights are much more efficient than say incandescent bulbs.

The most common of the HID headlight is the Xenon gas headlight.  If you have ever seen a halogen headlight, it’s pretty bright.  It’s a much bigger improvement from incandescent.  Now, HID Xenon is 3 times brighter than halogen.  Yeah, ouchy on they retina.  They also last a lot longer than halogen and use less power.  A lot less power.

And there are different color temperatures for Xenon HID headlights.  That means that you can get anything from white to blue to purple.  They are 4300k, 5000k, 6000k, 8000k, 10000k, 12000K in the spectrum.  It looks like most aftermarket attempts will require a conversion kit that includes a ballast for the bulbs, much like commercial fluorescent bulbs.