Ecotec to VTEC. My Car Beginnings.

Hey guys, VTECpony here, time for my first actual 'post' post, and where better to start than my humble beginnings as a learner driver. Being as keen to drive as any young teenager, I got my learner's licence at the age of 16, and was lucky enough to be given the permission to 'borrow' my parents' old car, a beautiful 1997 Holden VT Commodore in Navy Blue.
Apologies to all but I was unable to dig up an image from the archives of my embarrassing family photos, so instead I've provided an image of a very similar Commodore from the NRMA web site.

(Image source: http://www.mynrma.com.au/media/holden_commodore_vt_s_1998.jpg)

The main differences from the image above would be the wheels, the colours, and the white man in sunglasses.

Now as a first car, or any car, for that matter. The Holden VT Commodore was an amazing car, reliable, cheap to run (parts and servicing for aussie cars is always good), maintenance was a breeze, and you had the power of a 3.6L Ecotec engine for the standard models, which provided great power, but also fairly reasonable fuel efficiency for a V6 at the time. The Holden VT Commodores from 1997-1999 have become an Australian icon, and the workhorse for many families, with low costs to run whilst providing great reliability and power. This was a car I was grateful to drive as a first car and deserves its title as number 1 in Australian sales.

Sadly, the Commodore had grown old and served its time well, and the time came when it inevitably had to be replaced. Bernardo, as he was called, no rests not too far away in a Pick'n'Payless, where he may live on in other cars. In time I had saved up enough money to put towards a new car, and had decided to purchase brand new, to avoid on-road costs and save money on insurance. Enter...the 2012 Honda City VTi.

(2012 Honda City VTi...also known as Patricia)

So, down to the numbers, the engine is a 1.5L i-VTEC inline 4 cyclinder engine which is GREAT for fuel efficiency, using on average, 6.6L per 100km, which is one of the most fuel efficient small cars around without going hybrid. Being a small engine, the 1.5L SOHC engine only puts out 88kW of power, which isn't alot, and on uphills is where you find that out first hand. Standout features are the 503L boot capacity, front-side and curtain airbags, and USB/iPod/Bluetooth connectivity as standard, and its surprisingly tight and smooth handling for a 1090kg car.

In a nutshell, the pros are a great looking car packed full of features, the best of which would have to be its fuel efficient engine and inbuilt connectivity, however if I had to pick out any cons, it'd be its lack of power (which in some cases, may be a good thing).

Outside

Inside

Shasta Strawberry. For that thug smell.

And those are my cars to date from a monster 3.6L Ecotec...to a cute, sensible, 1.5L iVTEC, I still love both cars for their own traits and serve as great first or second cars respectively. The Commodore will always be an icon for the reliable car that can stand up to anything, whilst City goes to show how far we've come for efficient and clean driving, while keeping things simple.

Till next time.

-VTECpony

Runnin' With the Devil

Hola, my name is Ramonito, your friendly, slightly Mexican car reviewer. What's that? You smell sulfur? RED DEVIL COMIN' FOR YOU. Today I will be reviewing my beloved whip, the Red Devil. There may or may not be pictures depending on whether or not she lets me close to her today. She's camera shy, you see.

The Red Devil is actually a 1994 Toyota Corolla (I know right? FRIGGIN' BEAST). She was bestowed upon me by my parents who hustled her off of a mate in game of mahjong. She's got low kms for her age, as she was only used during full moons for ritualistic purposes, and for picking up kids from school 5 minutes away. Just walk, far out. Anyway, she packs a whopping 0.8L engine, because clearly 1L engines wouldn't make sense at all. She's got no window tint 'cause she ain't scared of a little melanoma. She has no cup holders because don't drink and drive obviously. Only the front speakers work consistently because if you're sitting in the back, I don't want you to hear what kind of music I'm playing. She's dark red just like Satan. She's got these sick, black plastic hub caps which were given to me by Santa Claus for Christmas 2010 (YEAH, I STILL BELIEVE, WHAT?). Overall, I would say that she looks like a red Batmobile, if Batman was a poor Filipino boy.

OH, BUT HOW SHE RUNS. Don't let her 0.8L fool you, this baby packs a poke. How much of a poke? Try 0-100 in about 2 minutes on the M4. Holla. I've never gone to 110 though because my car started shaking. She takes hills like a cyclist of average fitness, unless you turn on the air conditioning, in which case you have about as much horsepower as a pram with fat twins in it. CHILDHOOD OBESITY. NOT FUNNY. She seems to run faster when I play Van Halen on my iPod. She handles like a Mario Kart ever since I got the left drive shaft replaced. Not sure what that means, but my mechanic didn't speak English very well so he must be good. I can now successfully evade police* and have done so on several occasions.

*if they are parked 

Now please excuse me while I attempt to take some pictures of this elusive creatures. I may or may not return, so here is a video to watch while I'm away. Wish me luck.

WHEW. WELL. THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE. I had to Steve Irwin my way around her in order to get some good shots but I managed to get them. Here's a few pictures of the Red Devil in her natural habitat, my driveway.

The Red Devil

Them Rims

Interior. Those brown stains are chocolate, I promise.

Back seat. aka my dining room.

Poor Filipino Batman in a poor Filipino Batmobile

So that's my ride. Respect her or she will eat you. Posting this a day early, I'm going on a road trip tomorrow. RED DEVIL RIDIN'. Laters

-Ramonito