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Honda Element 2005: The Weekly Driver

Three years into its legacy, the Honda Element is still getting its share of unusual stares and snide comments. It's been called a toaster, a pumpkin and a box on wheels. And then there are those who don't like the vehicle.

But for those who've taken a closer look, the Element has distinguished itself. It's another in the ever-expanding series of innovative vehicles from Honda, and there may not be a better combination of value and versatility on the road today.

Introduced in 2003, the Element was primarily expected to appeal to younger buyers seeking the cargo space of a pick-up truck but in an enclosed space. The vehicle has done well in that demographic, but its popularity has spread across diverse user groups.

As soccer moms to competitive cyclists and garage sale junkies to sportsmen have discovered, the Element is an ideal utilitarian vehicle with a wide range of style and equipment options at an appealing price point. Its 2005 least inexpensive base model is $16,100, and its highest- priced offering with every available option is $21,350.

Described by one consumer guide as a "motorized gear tote for active lifestyle types," the Element is based on Honda's CR-V utility wagon. But it has plenty of its own style, not the least of which is its center-opening side doors. The back side doors won't open independently without first opening the front side doors. And when both doors are fully open, the interior space between the front and rear seat is cavernous. Add the myriad storage compartments throughout the vehicle, and the Element is easily defined. It's a "pack-rat's" dream.

The Element's various nicknames as a "box" derive from its tall stature. Combined with efficient front and back seat positions and its unique door configurations, the vehicle offers an incredible amount of interior space. The area behind the split rear bench seat is 25 cubic feet. And plenty of other manufacturer claims seem realistic like room for a 10- foot surfboard or the capacity for two six-foot occupants to sleep comfortably with the rear hatch closed.

Spaciousness aside, the Element offers a unique drive. My weekly test vehicle was the All-Wheel Drive, automatic EX-model, the highest- priced of 16 available Element configurations.

For 2005, it includes antilock, four-wheel disc brakes, cruise control, power mirrors, remote keyless entry, map lights, visor mirrors, alloy wheels, manual rear sunroof, all-wheel drive, standard front side airbags and an impressive audio and electronic system. An MP3 media jack is also included and, for the first time, there's XM satellite radio.

Considering its body type, the Element has a mixed bag of performance characteristics. Its turning radius, for example, is remarkably short and the vehicle fits comfortably in compact-only parking spaces. Its steering and handling are adequate and its acceleration (the Element has a 2.4- liter, 160-horsepower, 16-valve engine) is better than the rather low grades it received from various consumer publications.

But the Element is far from quiet, particularly on the freeway, and rear passengers are in for a bumpy ride even when the vehicle encounters only slight bumps in the road.

The Element also has water-resistant upholstery and rubberlike floor coverings. One urban legend has owners hosing out the interior. I haven't tried that test, nor have I witnessed anyone else's self-service interior Element car wash.

But even without such experiments, the Element still gets plenty of attention. Passersby are curious and owners' glowing testimonials have overtly nullified detractors' opinions.

2005 Honda Element

Safety features Driver and front passenger dual-stage front and side airbags; Antilock brakes

Fuel Mileage (estimates) 21 (city), 24 (highway).

Warranty Bumper to bumper, 3 years/36,000 miles; Powertrain, 3 years/36,000 miles; Corrosion, 5 years/unlimited miles.

Base price $16,100.

James Raia is a journalist, author and publisher in Sacramento, Calif. Read more of his car reviews, various of sports, fitness and human- interest articles and subscribe to his free newsletter on his web site: http://www.ByJamesRaia.com

posted by yh217 @ 7:31 PM 0 comments

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes AMG

The Mercedes Benz Mercedes AMG is a midsize sedan with plenty of luxury features and good handling ability. Top performance and excellent quality make the choice a breeze for women and men. Learn more about why below!

Mercedes AMG Models

Taking a glance at the Mercedes AMG models, the Mercedes AMG Exterior boasts measurements of 181.1 inches in length, 68 inches in width and 55.6 inches in height, put a wheel base of 106.9 inches, and a curb weight of 3540 pounds. Internal measurements are 38.9 inches of headroom, 52 inches of hip room, 53.1 inches of front shoulder room, 37.3 inches of rear head room, plus 54.3 inches of rear shoulder room, 54.4 inches of rear hip room, 41.7 inches of front leg room and 33 inches of rear leg room. The car has a 12.2 cubic foot capacity for luggage with a maximum cargo capacity of 12 cubit feet and seats five.

High performance features include an 8-cylinder base 5.4 liter engine, with V8 Horsepower of 362 hp, maximum horsepower at 5750 rpm torque at 376 foot-pounds with a maximum torque at 4000 rpm, rear wheel drive and circle turning at 35.3 feet. Reports show EPA Mileage Estimates 17 mile per gallon in the city and 22 mile per gallon on the highway.

Safety and brake features include brake assist plus and anti-lock brakes, Pre-Safe to automatically make sure all electronically open and close items like doors and windows are closed upon exiting the vehicle, Electronic Stability Program to help stop skids and over steering issues and Night View Assist with near infrared illuminators.

For plenty of digital photos, informative websites and other online aids, head to your favorite search engine to key in Mercedes Benz Mercedes AMG. Also visit eBay Motors, http://www.motors.ebay.com for thousands of automotive auctions and forums running round the clock every day of the year.

Seek out auto forums, too, away form eBay for more help, to find out which cars are lemons, where the best gasoline credit cards are, where to get the best priced Mercedes Benz accessories, auto both new and used and much more. Check around the forums first to learn the ropes and get familiar with posting and signature styles. Then when you feel you can take the plunge, jump in and start posting about Mercedes Benz Mercedes AMG and their other models. Help others who post questions, then start your own threads when youre ready.

Ralph Nunes' Mercedes On Sale website offers articles, tips and updates on a wide selection of New And Used Mercedes Benz models. To find this and more, check out his website at http://www.mercedesonsale.com/

posted by yh217 @ 3:23 PM 0 comments

Choosing A Good Helicopter

Well, that's debatable. For one thing, the inexpensive electric helicopters are very difficult to fly in the wind. Yes you can buy a pretty good one for around $200. The CX is the easiest to learn to fly as compared to the CP and the equivalent, but all helicopters, fuel powered or electric, are difficult to teach yourself to fly. Chances are good you will break many parts in the learning process and most likely give up after spending too many hours fixing, practicing and/or tons of money in the learning process. Hate to discourage you, but this is the reality of RC helicopters.

People seem to think because the helicopters are electric and cheap; it will make it easier to learn how to fly. I've trained something on the order of 300 people to hover and fly helicopters over the years and I know for a fact that is the safest, easiest and cheapest way to learn.

Fuel powered helicopters are difficult to learn to hover and fly, small electric helicopters are even harder and the tiny ones are worse. You will need a large open area to practice hovering and even then, chances are you will break things. This is something you will unfortunately find out after you spent quite a bit of money on your helicopters and replacement parts.

If you haven't already, tried installing a new and/or different type of glow plug. It is possibly there is a hole in your fuel line inside of your tank where the fuel line is attached to the metal pick up. That would cause it to stall when the tank is half empty. The engine might be overheating due to the lean mixture caused by the possible split fuel line. There are so many electric helicopters out there and it depends on what you consider is too expensive.

Save your $100 because buying those helicopters would be a total waste of money. As the saying goes, you only get what you pay for. The same goes for the cheapest electric ARF airplanes. You will need a proper trainer airplane, and any RC warplane is well beyond any beginner's abilities.

Learning to fly RC airplanes is something that is possible to learn on your own, but definitely not recommended. If you ever get a chance to find a club or an experienced flier who will let you fly a proper trainer, then you will see what I'm talking about. I believe collective helicopters are easier to fly than fixed pitched helicopters. You are correct about the CP. The small electric helicopters are for the most part are harder to fly than fuel powered helicopters.

There are several different people who are considered to be the inventor of the helicopter. I could write a book explaining it in detail, but I'll cover a couple of the primary contributors to the development of rotary wing aircraft. The ancient Chinese invented a toy for children that you can still see today. It consists of a propeller and a shaft through the middle of it. If you spin it quickly in your hands or with some other force such as a rubber band you could make it lift up and hover briefly before coming back to the ground.

The first recorded depiction of a possible manned helicopter is a diagram drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in the 1400s. The knowledge of physics necessary to successfully build a working model did not yet exist, but he understood the concept of an "air screw" that if turned fast enough would be able to drive the machine and a pilot into the air.

Over the course of the next few centuries many other people toyed with the idea of a helicopter, but again the amount of power necessary to drive such a machine into the air was not possible to generate. The invention of the internal combustion engine made the power requirement a reality. The next hurdle that needed to be overcome was the concept of torque - the phenomenon that causes the body of the helicopter to spin in the opposite direction of the main rotor.

Paul Cornu invented a working piloted helicopter in 1907, but it was not a successful design. It only generated enough lift for about 7 seconds. Another Frenchman, Etienne Oehmichen built and flew a working helicopter for about 1 kilometer in 1924.

As early as 1910, Russian born Igor Sikorsky began working on development of a manned helicopter. By 1940, his working design had become the model for all modern helicopters. It consisted of a main rotor and a tail rotor that is used to counteract the torque generated by the main rotor. This design is still used in a vast majority of helicopters today, which is why Sikorsky is considered the father of the modern helicopter.

There are many other men who contributed to the development of rotary wing aviation - too many to list here, but a thorough search of the library and/or the internet can give you tons of insight into the development and design of all different types of helicopters.

Victor Epand is a consultant for http://www.SellModelHelicopters.com/ Sell Model Helicopters is a community of model helicopter sellers. If you have a model helicopter to sell, click here to create a Helicopter Account: http://www.SellModelHelicopters.com/merchant/signup.html

posted by yh217 @ 3:19 PM 0 comments