2011 Subaru WRX STI

The 2011 Subaru WRX STI is a perfect example of a modern sports car. It has many features that most cars just aren’t found together. The first big feature that all Subaru’s have is the symmetrical all-wheel drive. What that means, is that all of the tires are having power given to them all the time, as opposed to just the front or back like most vehicles. A modification to only the STI's, is that they come with a switch to make only the back wheels have power running to them. This is for extreme driving purposes such as drifting. The WRX STI's are available with two different turboed motors. The smaller motor produces 265 horsepower and the larger high performance motor produces 305 horse power.

The motors that come in the Subaru are known as a Boxer engine. What makes these engines so different as well as superior is the stroke position of the pistons in relation to the crank. Most engines are typically found in inline or v designs. The inline style has all of the pistons lined up vertically over the crank, so they are very efficient. However, they also consume up a large area of space due to their length. The v design has half the pistons at about 30 degrees from vertical while the other half are found 30 in the other direction. The v design allows for much more pistons to be allowed in a smaller space solving the issue of the inline motor. There is one flaw, it cannot be as efficient because of the orientation of the pistons is not parallel. The Boxer motor solves both of these issues. Its pistons are positioned horizontally on each side of the motor, saving much and in theory are much more efficient. The 2011 Subaru WRX STI comes from a line of dependable, very well designed vehicles and is no different in its search for quality in the sports car category.

Eagle Talon

The first generation Talon was released in mid-1989 as a 1990 model and ran through 1994. It was created through a joint operation between Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors. It was a joint 50/50 corporate venture known as Diamond Star Motors, or DSM. This is why many enthusiasts refer the car and its similar counterparts as DSM's. The Talon was sold under the Eagle marquee, a brand developed by Chrysler to compete with Japanese rising number of imports in the late 1980's, after purchasing American motors, also known as AMC. This allowed the Talon to be produced in other versions under a different brand like the Mitsubishi Eclipse and the Plymouth Laser. The compatibility between these cars has produced groups who refer to them solely as DSM's.

The first generation Talon was released in mid-1989 as a 1990 model and ran through 1994. This era of DSM vehicles is commonly referred to as the first generation, or "1G" for short. The first generation of Talons built before 1992 had "6 bolt" engines. "6 bolt" refers to the number of bolts connecting the flywheel to the crankshaft. The second generation, or "2G," Eagle Talon was introduced in 1995 simultaneously with its Mitsubishi Eclipse counterpart. All 1G Talons built after April 1992.5 received a freer revving "7-bolt" engine, which was a vast improvement. By November 1998, the Talon was the last model in the shrinking Eagle lineup and the rarest Talon model year. Because of the slowing sales, the Chrysler management decided to stop promoting the Eagle brand and in 1998 stopped production of the Eagle Talon all together. The last one rolled off the assembly line on February 10, 1998.

The Ford GT 40

In an effort to compete with Ferrari in the Le Mans circuit, Ford created the GT40. It was created following Ferraris winning 6 years in a row up to 1965. The GT40 took its rein in 1966 and won the 24 hours of Le Mans for 4 years strait. It threw Ferrari off of its thrown in its shocking debut. The car was named the GT for grand touring and the 40 representing its overall height of 40 inches as required by the rules. Large displacement Ford V8 engines such as the 4.2 liter, 4.7 liter and 7 liter were used compared to the Ferrari V12 which displaced 3.0 liter or 4.0 liter. During its years of production, it was sold in four different versions. They were called the Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, and Mk IV for short. Although they had subtle differences between them they all dominated the European racing circuit throughout the late 60's.

Out of the engines that were used in the GT 40, none has been more famous than the 5.0 liter. The 5.0 liter engine was not originally 302 cubic inches, but started out much smaller. It started life as the 4.7 liter, 289 cubic inch small block. To turn it into a 302, it had to be bored out to fit larger pistons. Along with the pistons, larger yet thinner rings, different heads were needed to convert it and to produce higher compression. Higher compression ratios gave the engine more horsepower. Soon after, Ford started producing the 302, or 5.0, in regular production vehicles. That basic 302 block was used up until 1995, still keeping a competitive edge with more modern engines.

1985 Ford Ranger Diesel

In 1985, Ford had released the Ranger with a new engine option that could only be special ordered. What made this engine different was that it was a diesel. From 1983 to early 1985, Ford had already offered a 2.2 liter Perkins diesel engine, which was carbureted and very underpowered. The positive of the 2.2 liter was that it could reach over 40 miles per gallon. But due to its lack of power, it was very unpopular and gave diesel rangers a bad reputation. In 1985, Ford changed the diesel motor to a slightly larger 2.3 liter Mitsubishi turbo diesel engine. This motor was far more advanced than the 2.2. It created nearly three times the power of the 2.2 and still averaged around 30 miles per gallon. Despite the engine change for the ranger diesels, the damage was already done and very few were sold. The last diesel ranger was produced in 1988 due to the redesign of the ranger.



There were other options that were changed along with the new engine in 1985. The diesel ranger was now available in four wheel drive, and was no longer backed by a limiting 4-speed manual transmission. It now came standard with a manual 5-speed overdrive transmission, which greatly improved the top speed. The biggest improvement with the engine was the fact it was turbo charged. This means that the engine uses the force of the exhaust to spin a spool, that in turn pressurizes and forces more air into the engine. More air in the engine means more power. In order to turbo the engine, it required a fuel injection system. Fuel injection eliminated any idle problems along with many performance issues due to change in elevation that caburated engines struggled with before. Over all, the 1985 Ford Ranger Diesel was a far improvement over many small pickups of the time, and is a very rare pickup today.