Thoughts on Aviation and Automobiles

Lamborghini Aventador J Or Ferrari F12?

2012-03-08T16:45:00.002-08:00

Italy has been kind enough to grace the world with two new stunning supercars, the Aventador J from Lamborghini and the F12 from Ferrari. There's no doubt that both of these are amazing cars, but the question is which one is better. By this I don't mean which one is faster, lighter or handles better, I just mean which one do you like more. I know that there are dedicated Lambo and Ferrari fans out there (I personally shift to the Lambo side) so there is always a mixed opinion. Anyway, here are two awesome videos. I like the Aventador J more, just saying. Videos after the page break.

If you want, leave a comment saying which one you like more as I always like hearing people's opinions.

Is This Canada's Best Kept Automotive Secret?

2012-03-08T14:47:00.001-08:00

If You are a Gearhead like me you probably like car museums. Canada is pretty boring when it comes to car museums, at least that's what I thought. That was until I found the Canadian Automotive Museum. Tucked away in Oshawa, a city I am unfamiliar with, this museum is a classic car enthusiast's dream come true.

Yes that is a Bugatti type 37

Believe me when I say, this place is deserted as I was the only one there. When you first come in there is a front reception desk, pay $5 and you are in. You are greeted by this 1908 De Dion Bouton Roadster. These captions should accurately convey my reactions to each car.

Next you walk into heaven, a room packed full of Rolls-Royces and other EXTREMELY RARE cars.

What most people will instantly notice is A BUGATTI TYPE 37! Yes, you heard me A BUGATTI TYPE 37! Be still my beating heart, there is also this Alfa-Romeo Grand Sport Zagato that is worth well over a million dollars.

Jammed in the back is this Buick Roadmaster and a Daimler Limousine, small fries compared to what's next.

You turn around and, OH MY GOD! A PANTHER V-12 ROADSTER! That literally was my reaction. Also of note is that Kissel Golden Bug.

I almost passed out when I saw this beautiful Bentley 3 Litre Race car (Bentley originally made race cars).

Walk up to the next floor and you are greeted by this Amphicar. Wait, an Amphicar! I don't think my heart can take much more surprises.

A Mercury Meteor, in pristine condition too!

What the... A 1971 Manic GT. I had never heard of this car until now. It's neat looking though.

A Jensen-Healey Roadster, with the keys still in it. I wonder if it still runs...

The funny thing is all of these cars are unattended and unlocked, there are no security cameras either (I think). Do be careful though as these cars are valuable pieces of history.

Jammed into the corner of the room is a Chevy Corvair and an Allard Roadster.

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this K-Car. Beautiful, rare, and historic cars, and a K-car. Oh well, they can't all be amazing can they?

Here's a picture of the inside of that Bugatti type 37 for good measures.

I didn't want to upload all of the 200 pictures I took, so this is just a summary. I highly recommend going if you are anywhere near Oshawa. I also highly recommend going to Teddy's Diner afterwards as it is also amazing.

Here's a full list of the cars they have on display :

1898 Fischer Electric	1902 Orient
1903 Redpath Messenger	1905 McLaughlin Carriage
1908 De Dion Bouton Roadster	1908 Tudhope-McIntyre
1909 Hupmobile	1909 Model T -- Canadian Built
1910 McKay Roadster	1911 International Harvester High-Wheeler
1911 Carter Car Touring	1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost (originally Lady Eaton's car)
1912 McLaughlin 5 Passenger Touring	1914 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
1914 McLaughlin Truck	1914 Galt Gas-Electric
1915 Ford T Touring	1915 Chevrolet 490 Touring
1918 Chevrolet 490 Snowmobile	1918 Packard Twin Six 3-25
1921 Kissel Gold Bug 6-45 Speedster	1922 McLaughlin-Buick
1923 Rauch & Lang Electric	1923 Vauxhall OE 30-98 (Prince Henry)
1924 Gray-Dort Touring	1924 Chevrolet Touring
1925 Brooks Steamer	1925 Ford TT Tanker Truck
1926 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Dual Cowl	1926 Chevrolet Sedan
1926 Willys Whippet Coupe	1926 Ahrens Fox Pumper (fire truck)
1926 Bentley 3 litre Speed Model	1926 Chevrolet Depot Hack
1926 Morris Oxford Roadster	1928 Durant Sedan
1928 Hispano Suiza 7 Passenger Limousine	1928 Hudson Sedan
1929 Ford Model A Cabriolet	1929 Chevrolet Roadster (with wire wheels)
1929 Oakland Sedan	1930 Marquette Sedan
1930 Ford Model A Coupe	1930 Henderson 4 Cyl
1931 Alfa Romeo Gran Sport -- Zagato Body	1931 McLaughlin-Buick Model 67
1931 Francis Barnett	1931 Gardner Phaeton
1932 Francis Barnett	1932 Frontenac 6-85 Roadster
1934 McLaughlin-Buick Sport Coupe	1935 Rolls Royce 20/25 Convertible Sedan
1936 Talbot Model 110	1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III
1937 Reo Speed Delivery Pickup	1939 Rolls Royce Wraith
1949 Allard Roadster	1949 Mercury Meteor
1950 Oldsmobile Futuramic	1950 Dodge
1952 Vauxhall Custom Woody Wagon	1952 Velocette 2 Cyl Water Cooled
1958 BMW Isetta	1960 Austin Princess Limousine
1960 Rolls Royce Phantom V Limousine	1962 Hillman Sedan
1962 Lotus Formula Junior	1963 Panther with Garrard Side Car
1966 Buick Wildcat	1966 Corvair
1969 Daimler Limousine	1971 Manic
1974 Podomotor	1981 Plymouth K Car #37 Pilot Car

My Thoughts On: The F/A-18 Hornet

2012-03-03T20:00:00.001-08:00

The Blue Angels...

I could introduce this post by stating the fact that the F/A-18 has been in service since 1983 and is operated in 8 countries, but that's boring. Instead why don't I tell you about how awesome the F/A-18 is...

Think about this for a second, the F/A-18 can go 1.8 times the speed of sound. If the fact that the human race has developed a vehicle that can go faster than the speed of sound (I know the F/A-18 wasn't the first) and deliver destruction 1,250 miles away doesn't blow your mind, I don't know what will. Anyway, The F/A-18 has gone through 7 generations (not including the CF-188) and still is a key player in multiple air forces worldwide. Capable of carrying 13,700 pounds of ordnance as well as a M-61 Vulcan machine gun, it's needless to say that the F/A-18 packs quite a punch.

The F/A-18 is quite a reliable, fast, and maneuverable machine. These traits made it the Plane of choice for the world famous Blue Angels display team. Let me tell you something, one F/A-18 is extremely loud, 9 F/A-18s flying in formation is deafening. The Blue Angels are in fact so loud that they got themselves banned from the Canadian International Air Show for causing too much of a disturbance for the rest of Toronto. I personally don't understand how someone couldn't enjoy the roar of an F/A-18, but that's just me.

The CF-18

Another interesting thing about the F/A-18 is that it was modified to fly with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as the CF-188, commonly referred to as the CF-18. The CF-18 is the only fighter jet in the RCAFs arsenal, making it the only fighter jet that I ever really get to see outside of air shows. The CF-18 is essentially an F/A-18 with a dummy canopy (the fake cockpit painted on the underside of the jet) and an identification light in a different position. The CF-18 replaced literally every fighter jet the RCAF had, which was the CF- Voodoo, the CF-104 Starfighter and the CF-116 Freedom Fighter (which was kept for some time after the CF-18 was introduced.

The F/A-18 is used by both the American Navy and Air Force as well as the RCAF and 7 other Air Forces proving it's worth. The F/A-18 has become quite ubiquitous making it a staple at air shows, as well as being pretty much the first thing that will come to someone's mind when you mention "fighter jets."

Thoughts on the Chrysler TD by Maserati

2012-02-27T19:11:00.001-08:00

Hey, I just picked up the newest issue of Car and Driver and found something very interesting in the "25 Cars Worth Waiting For" article. It's called the Chrysler TD by Maserati, I could find no other information about it (not even a picture) online, so I decided to post my thoughts about it. Read on...

I could find no images of the TD by Maserati online so I had to take a picture of the article with my Webcam.

My mind immediately jumped to the Chrysler TC by Maserati (pictured above), which, for those of you who don't know was a terrible car and a flop as well. In 1989 it costed $33,00 ($60,000 in today's money) which was far more than the far superior Chrysler LeBaron and was also based off of the horrid K car platform. It also had competition from the Buick Reatta and the Cadillac Allante, the final nail in the coffin for this lemon.

Before I share my thoughts, I thought I should give some facts about the new TD (all credit to Car And Driver for this part). The new TD by Maserati (pictured to the right)piques my interest though, it costs $35,000 for the base model and is based off of the new Dodge Dart platform, which is based off of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform. Much better than a K car platform. Another interesting point is that it is a convertible, it also has a 160 horsepower turbocharger four cylinder engine with the option of having Fiat's Twinair engine in it. Unfortunately for Chrysler the TD has some tough competition though, I personally would take the Mini but the TD is quite an interesting car, as well as being a conversation starter it could be quite a useful city car as well.

Well, what do I think? I think that it looks a lot like the 2012 Volkswagen Golf. That Maserati grille also adds an interesting (in a good way) touch, although it doesn't look like Maserati went all the way with the styling as elements of the Dart are still present. Looks aside I think that the TD by Maserati does have potential. Since it is essentially based off of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta which has already proven itself worthy AND has the choice between two different Fiat engines to power it, it should be efficient and fun. It also has a decent base price that isn't as ridiculous as the original TC and provides the option of having a luxury city car that has some cred to it as you can say to your friends: "I drive a Maserati, WHAT DO YOU DRIVE?" And then proceed to laugh maniacally at them.

Credit to Car And Driver for the specs and facts as well as the article.

Update: Have we been pranked by Car And Driver?

Canadian International Autoshow 2012 Wrap-Up

2012-02-26T11:15:00.001-08:00

Today marks the last day of the 2012 Canadian International Autoshow (CIAS) and having gone to every CIAS since I was 5 I thought it would be nice to do a wrap up of CIAS. So here we go.

We start off at the entrance where the Indy 500 pace camaro was displayed along with some special edition hot wheels.

Moving on we have the line up of Fiat 500s.

I like Fiat 500s, they are cute, small, fun, inexpensive cars.

Over at Honda the new Accord was on display.

Acura had the absolutely stunning new NSX on display, it drew quite a crowd.

Subaru had the BRZ. As a Subaru fan I found the BRZ quite exciting.

Chrysler had the new 300 SRT8, which I was told in this spec costs $60,000. IMO the new Range Rover Evoque is a better buy than this.

The 300 SRT8 does have a neat interior though.

The main attraction at Audi was the R8.

Volkswagen had this neat Bulli microbus concept.

Kia was displayed their new GT concept, which I liked until...

...I saw the front which was IMO a rip off of the GT by Citroen concept.

Here's the GT by Citroen for a comparison. I know it's not exact, but it is very similar.

Infiniti displayed their new Formula one car which was in a team Red Bull livery.

Dodge had their new Dart on display. Interesting little thing.

For me the best part of CIAS was the Auto Exotica exhibit.

Lamborghini had their new Aventador on display.

As well as a Gallardo.

Lotus had their new Elise on display.

T70 paint job = Cool, Lotus Evora = awesome, Lotus Evora + T70 paintjob = meh.

A barnfind 300sl.

Legendary motors displayed a Pagani Zonda R, the first shot is blurry because I was shaking with excitement, truly an amazing car made of a sea of carbon fiber.

There was a Tesla Roadster on display.

Fisker had their beautiful Karma on display.

Ferrari's FF, the first all-wheel drive and the first hatchback Ferrari has ever made.

Drool worthy Ferrari 458-Italia Spyder.

And of course Bugatti (represented by Grand Touring Automobiles) had their 16.4 Veyron Grandsport at the show.

Grand Touring Automobiles also had a Aston-Martin one-77 on display, note the European registry.

As well as the new Virage

Over at the cruise nationals exhibit there were many interesting classics, including this purple Dodge Charger.

This Camaro took first prize for the cruise nationals.

A 1931 Ford with a 1968 Chevy V-4 in it.

The new Cadillac ATS concept.

The Jaguar CX-16 concept.

The Jaguar XKR-S was on display.

I found this Cadillac concept to be very ugly.

The future has arrived, the new BMW Vision concept.

Mazda Shinari concept with other future Mazdas.

$70,00 for a Hyundai? The Equus.

The Hyundai Veloster, I think it's cute.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS convertible.

The Lexus LFA, stunning in Red.

On to the Triumph exhibit...

This Spitfire is one of my dream cars.

And that concludes the 2012 CIAS wrap-up, hope you enjoyed it!

My Youtube Account

2012-02-25T15:21:00.001-08:00

Hey, just wanted to say that I have a youtube account. I don't upload that often but I do have some cool aviation and automobile videos uploaded.
http://www.youtube.com/user/yop911/featured

My Thoughts On: The MIG-15

2012-02-25T12:29:00.001-08:00

My Thoughts On: The MIG-15

Hey there! Aaron here, this is my first real post. I hope to have "My Thoughts On:" as a typical kind of post for this blog, not to based on facts, rather what I think about the aircraft and/or automobile. Basically don't expect me to be posting straight up facts, this is about my thoughts on things. Anyway, enjoy!

The MIG-15 has to be one of my favorite aircraft of all time. The Soviet made MIG-15 entered service in to the Soviet Air Force in 1949 and some countries still use variants of the MIG-15 today, proving its brilliance. Today's fighter aircraft are incredibly advanced, while the MIG-15 is just a barebones, old, low-speed, and low quality jet, so why do I like the MIG-15? Good question. The MIG-15, as well as its American counterpart - the F-86 Sabre, represented the real start of the Jet age. Sure, the ME-262 was the first jet powered aircraft but it saw little service and had a low impact on the world. During both the Korean and Vietnam wars the MIG-15 and F-86 Sabre played a huge role, often squaring of in what can only be described as epic dogfights. In other words, they were the first jet aircraft that played a significant role in the outcome in a war. What also amazes me about the MIG-15 was the fact that it was built as a "Disposable Fighter." Disposable Fighters were very cheap aircraft designed so that if they broke, they could be thrown out due to their cheapness. Due to the fact that the MIG-15 was so cheap to build, many were made (some are still airworthy today) making the MIG-15 a staple of third world air forces.

The MIG-15 is also a beautiful aircraft, the combination of swept back wings and a t-tail just takes my breath away. Also, the fact that it was so widely used, and still is widely used makes me love this little jet.

So that concludes my first post, how did I do? If you enjoyed this, stick around I'll be making many more like it.

Samplings of my photographic work

2012-02-24T19:38:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post some photographs that I have taken to entice you/give you a taste of what is to come

Enjoy!

That's me and a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grandsport.

Intro To This Blog

2012-02-24T19:26:00.002-08:00

Hi, this is my blog about my thoughts on both the automotive and aviation world. Don't expect straight up facts from me! I have an opinion and this is going to be my way of venting it to the world. My hopes for this blog is that it will be a mix of my various photographic ventures as well as me attempting to educate/inform/impose my opinion upon people. So stick around if you want, just remember I may not post regularly but I will try.

See you soon (or not, don't worry I won't be offended)!