Fantastic Games To Keep Everyone Amused on a Road Trip

It’s always the same . . . well, it is within our car anyway. Everybody is super excited to create out on the journey, the luggage comes and the snacks are in position . . . and yet within 30 miles you hear the same old story.

“I’m bored . . . . “

“Are we nearly there yet . . . . “

And merely think, only another 586 miles to visit . . . bliss.

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Okay, we all pack our own play lists, we’ve got portable DVD players and every musical media device known to man, but sometimes you need to have a step back soon enough and enjoy good quality old fashioned fun.

The most effective car games don’t need paper and pens, they don’t need any tools or equipment, there’s nothing to drop on the floor or even to lose, and many of them can be tweaked to fit a wide variety of age ranges of passengers.

Below are a few of our favorites . . .

Twenty Questions – well, “are we nearly there yet” is certainly one, but have you thought about the other nineteen? The first person to think of something takes the initial turn . . . and so the questions begin. The occupants of the car must attempt to discover what the question master is thinking about by asking only twenty “yes” or “no” questions. The first should be to discover whether this “thing” is animal, vegetable or indeed mineral, then you can be on your way taking turns to question questions up until you narrow it down to the object. “Does it have fur? ” . . . “can you consume it? ” . . . the possibilities are endless.

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Shopping Game – is another great memory game which helps to create the miles fly by. The first person starts off with “I went shopping and I bought a thing that begins with A . . . let’s say Apricots . . . “the next person must repeat the tag and phrase along something which starts with B . . . let’s say bread . . . and so on around the car. This does get more difficult as more items and letters are added to a list, particularly if you try to think of something you can buy with the letter X.

Count The . . . – you can choose whatever you want for this game that is particularly good for younger family members. You can count the trees, the cows, the churches, the tractors, the blue pickup trucks . . . whatever you decide.

License Plate Game – is another old favorite which never gets boring . . . well, you should get at least a couple of hundred miles out of it anyway. There are plenty of different variations for this game which really depends upon the ages from the players. Older kids may need to spot out of state plates whereas younger ones could just try to spot all of the letters in the alphabet . . . in the right order obviously.

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If you have the right vehicle, whatever games you decide to play, your journey will be more enjoyable. Check out a number of the motors which they have for sale at fiat huntington beach. There’s a great range of both new and pre-used cars on offer which will help you to eat up the miles in style and comfort. Take a peek at OC Fiat to see for yourself, you’ll be glad you probably did.

2014 Lexus IS 350 F Sport – Instant Satisfaction

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Four hours-what else could you do with that? Plenty. But once we’re talking seat time in one of Lexus’ more affordable and exciting-offerings, four hours might as well are already four minutes. It’s not really enough. However short the driving experience, nonetheless it had been an exciting one. However, you already knew that. Equal portions tease (in that I can’t own one, yet), performance and pleasure, Lexus is ready to drop its third gen IS platform, with the IS 350 and 250 first (the IS C and IS F are expected to come a year later). But besides the two standard issue models, each has an F Sport variant that are also worth taking a look at. The one that will probably grab you most, I’m betting, is the 350; of the two, it receives the IS F’s highly-coveted, eight-speed, Sport Direct Shift transmission. On top of the already-impressive 306 horsepower 3.5L V6 2GR-FSE (a similar engine based in the previous gen), the automatic trans can be controlled via paddle shifters (or by traditional shift lever selection) featuring an all-new G-force Artificial Intelligence system-this means it’ll automatically drop into an optimum gear and downshift pattern based on G force.

Being a complete redesign, there are the inevitable positives and negatives that come with the territory. The top end is actually a toss-up, I’d imagine, for most people; I’m not opposed to it. This time the LED daytime running lighting is separate from the headlights; the 250/350 come standard with HIDs but will be upgraded to dual projector LEDs. What may throw most aftermarket aero designers for a loop (besides figuring out how to handle the DRL situation) would be the spindle grille, as the hourglass design falls right consistent with the IS’ elders, the GS and LS-and will either need to be completely replaced but as well might do simply by using a lip spoiler. The back end has really nice lines that lead all the way over to the rear trunk/bumper, but what may come as being a nice surprise to enthusiasts is that Lexus (similar to the Scion FR-S) has tailored the back wheel wells to be nearly flat in the inner portion, giving you more track and options when it comes to wheel fitment. You simply will notThe back suspension is now multilink whilst the front steering and suspension are derived from the GS. While the standard models come with a new Drive Mode Select, featuring Eco, Normal and Sport modes, the IS 350 F Sport will also have an Adaptive Variable Suspension that’ll give two settings to advance fine tune the car’s handling: Normal, for daily driving, and Sport S or Sport S for sportier movements. As you c an

probably guess, my test car was left strictly in Sport S . AWD

variants come with a Snow mode. Anyone care to piss people off with a beyond awesome stereo package? Then forget starting towards the bottom with the OEM unit, go straight to the top with the Mark Levinson Premium Surround System as it’s worth the weight in premium sound with 835 watts and 15 speakers. Overkill? Do yourself a solid and go for a demo run.

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2014 lexus IS 350 F sport digital gauge

2014 lexus IS 350 F sport adaptive suspension

F Sport packages are undoubtedly a good premium option if you’re looking to get more out of the new IS, given that they helped elevate the next gen IS. Nothing beats having OEM quality, and so both 250/350 will get special 18-inch wheels, tuned suspension and other interior/exterior tweaks. The IS 250 F Sport (and all 350s, standard or F Sport) come equipped with an intake sound generator that’ll help develop a meaner growl as the engine climbs within the rpm and springs alive. My personal favorite feature from the F Sport models will be the TFT instrument gauge, inspired by the LFA halo car, which uses exactly the same moving center ring to get a crazy, badass cluster. Actually, the entire interior is LFA-inspired, so everyone wins on all fronts.

Anyone who becomes the proud owner of an IS 350 F Sport (or any IS model) should take comfort in knowing that they’re going to enjoy the car for a lot more than my four hours (lucky bastards). It is so choice. I recommend picking one up if you have the means.

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1970 Datsun 240Z – Deep Inside The Beast

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The turbos arouse from their slumber at around 2000rpm; there’s little indication of anything before then. By 3000rpm you’re well on your way, and by the time 4000rpm arrives you’d better intend to shift, because from there towards the redline you squirt forth with such alacrity that you won’t have time to get the job done when you wait any more. You can’t, although you want to watch the tach, to see where the boost starts, to see that needle swing for the bleachers: the scenery blurs by so quickly it’s impossible to take your eyesight off the road. You’re hurled forward, a mild, unseen hand reaches through the presses and windshield you ever more firmly into the chair. Shift into second, and the acceleration gets stronger; both turbos are on full boil, you’ve got momentum and the sheer breathtaking speed of it squeezes a laugh out of you. You can’t help it; the sheer joy of leaping from 4000 to 7500 rpm in less time than it takes to tell is invigorating.

You expect that kind of speed in something small and boosted: a Lancer Evo, an STI. But unlike the junior rally stars, the Skyline never gets wound up as it gets going. It’s never hysterical, even though the power is there: the speed comes, but you’re always feeling safe and in control in the cabin. The strength borders around thecan be a twin-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder inline-six with two intercooled ceramic-impeller Garrett turbos buried low around the passenger’s side of the seven-main-bearing block. The large bore and short stroke means that it yearns to work: -60 times around five seconds in a stock GT-R aren’t out of the question. Officially, it was (under)rated at 276 horsepower; this number was the foundation for an unofficial “gentleman’s agreement” advertised horsepower cap between auto manufacturers. Moderate tuning can raise horsepower levels to 450-plus; indeed, subsequent generations of RB26DETT saw improvements in torque, and the redline inch ever northward, but with no official improvement in power. Right.

Most performance cars have a hotted-up street engine, with re-profiled cams, a trick exhaust and some computer fettling; the GT-R was more of a racing homologation special, by using a detuned race engine dropped between the fender wells to warrant a racing program that rewrote the guidelines worldwide (and got it banned from competition on at least one continent).

If there’s any one issue with an R32/R33/R34-generation Skyline GT-R, beyond an overall lack of availability in this country, it’s weight. While hardly fat, a GT-R’s comfortable-to-sit-in coupe body comes with a plump downside: an R34‘s weight is officially clocked at 1,540 kilograms (nearly 3,400 pounds), but that seems light to get a car of the size: our guess is that there’s a minimum of another 200 pounds of fluids and such in there, making for 3,600 pounds. (Can an R32 really weigh as much as a fresh STI? Really? ) An R33 is another hundred pounds or maybe more on top of that. And suddenly the GT-R’s abilities come into focus: it makes a gigantic coupe the size of your granny’s Buick act like a Lancer Evo in the corners. It’s mind-bending.

Now, strip away half a huge amount of weight. That’s right, one thousand pounds. (Picture your last eight girlfriends, combined-or picture the past three and add with their emotional baggage.) That all-aluminum straight-six isn’t working nearly as hard now; untweaked, it should fling you forth in something closer to four seconds flat. But what’s the fun because? Man, go for the stars, if you’re gonna tweak. Bump the compression half a point, to 9: 1. Stir in a number of HKS turbos. Since it’s understood how the stock 276 horse numbers were low to start with, compression and intercooled boost, with no computer fettling, will give you well north of 400hp, possibly nearer to 450.

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It’s a jaw-dropping formula, made all the more tantalizing once you understand the baseline of the items a stock GT-R are capable of doing. Take away a third of a GT-R’s weight, and stir in a additional third more power? Distant points ahead of you blur by inside the peripheral vision before you have time to register what that was back there, you’re piloting the Millenium Falcon through hyperspace. Exhilarating. Monstrous. Fantastic. And not a little bit sexy.

This is what Marco Vargas is doing. An early Datsun 240Z, he keeps the former Fairlady’s straight-six geneology intact, keeps everything Nissan, and shaves an excellent half a ton of metal off the proceedings, by dropping an RB26DETT into that most classic of old-school Japanese cars. Or, put another way, he’s taken the strength of a stock early ‘70s 240Z…a dainty Z-car, sold in the home in Japan as the Fairlady, fer cryin’ out loud…and tripled it.

Now, Marco is owner, proprietor, head muckety-muck and chief potentate of SR20Store.com, a Southern California-based shop that does Nissan twin-cam four-cylinder conversions like most of us change underwear. (Assuming you wear underwear, obviously.) But the full line of Nissan performance history is in his memory, his blood along with his garage: ignoring the notion that he sold the cleanest, factory-stock, RHD “Supersonic” Bluebird SSS we’ve seen this decade, he’s currently got his name in the title of an SR20-powered 510, an RB26DETT-swapped S13 240SX, a Hakosuka Skyline GT and a MotoRex-imported R32 Skyline. All of them built in his shop, with his own hands (with a bit of help, needless to say). Even so, Marco knows a couple of things about engine swaps, and approximatelyInside The Beast

Conspicuously missing from that murderer’s row of Nissan insanity, until now, was a Z-car given that special touch of reliable Frankensteinian overkill that Marco excels at. What’s more, he insists which it wasn’t everything tough: “Everything fit in pretty neatly. All we needed was a custom oil pan to clear things. The shifter for the transmission came up through the stock location in the console. We had to go with a custom driveshaft, but really, so many Nissan parts are compatible.” Witness that rear axle, which has guts from two different-generation Skylines and brakes from an ‘80s front-drive Maxima.

With Marco doing the tough stuff-like figuring out how you can harness 450hp to a couple of 225-section rear tires without going up in smoke at each and every brush from the accelerator-he ticked off the restoration-parts boxes at Motorsport Auto of nearbyOrange and California, which carries everything from bumpers to fenders to a complete OE-style interior. That interior, despite the low roofline, is large enough to suit most American-sized frames. The tall and girthy need not forsake Z ownership; the commodious cockpit will accommodate most levels of physical largesse. The Z’s popularity when new, increasing each year in the ‘80s as well as the ZX generations, speaks to the availability of parts today.

The simplicity of your cockpit-black vinyl everywhere, a speedo, a tach and three ancillary gauges inside the dash-harken straight back to an earlier time, although granted, it doesn’t have the high-tech gee-whiz factor of any R32 Skyline. It also demonstrates supreme confidence in Marco’s abilities that he or she doesn’t require a brace of gauges monitoring the immense amount of activity happening under that long, contoured hood.

The resulting roar can be a noise that will have slash-fic writers in a lather for a long time, even though godzilla has crammed himself deep inside a Fair Lady; it’s not some weirdo ‘60s Hollywood porn movie mash-up.

Benefits of a Jeep

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There’s a little Jeep driver in us all: the adventure lover, the outdoorsman, the individual always looking for the next fun thing to do. Once the weekend comes around, you’re prepared to get your bike to the greenway, haul your kayak to the river, or take the digital camera on a long nature hike. That fascination with adventure is Jeeps and everyone will be the perfect cars to fit that lifestyle.

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If you think that a Jeep might be a good fit for your lifestyle, stop by jeep orange countyand take a look around. Our staff is glad to show you all the different different types of Jeeps that we have at the dealership. You might not have known that there were so many choices just in Jeeps, but there are. Jeeps are fantastic for people who are interested in a variety of activities: off roading, camping, biking, canoeing and hiking and surfing are just of the few things which can be made easier with a Jeep. You’ll have the space to haul all your equipment and a vehicle capable of going off road and receiving you where you need to visit participate in your preferred sport.

Should you don’t consider yourself particularly sporty, you could wonder if your Jeep would be a good fit at all to your lifestyle. Odds are, it would. Jeeps are great for anybody who is always hauling things. Is it necessary to take your young ones to school or soccer practice, where you’re hauling a bag of balls and equipment? Do you want to flip furniture and always visit yard sales? You’ll realize that Jeeps are roomy vehicles and just the thing for any of those uses. Visit OC Autoto talk to our expert staff about Jeeps and find one you’ll love.

2014 Jaguar XJR – First Drive

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Experiencing liked the XFR-S on some tough roads along with the racetrack, we will need to acknowledge the prospect of getting right behind the tire of the new Jaguar XJR was eliminating our adrenalin hype.

Probably undoubtedly, we’d been far more excited about tests the all-measures XFR-S, having its co2 embellishments and uncooked attractiveness. But when relocating in to the XJR we seen numerous interesting factors.

First of all, the lengthy wheelbase variation is 207 (normal XJ is 202 ) and one of many lengthiest on the market – a locks more than even the new Mercedes S-Type. It’s also 3 bigger and .5 decrease ride in comparison to the XFR-S. Along with the 20 forged Farallon wheels, trademark hood louvers, intercooler air front side and ductwork splitter, this Jag is really a modern journey.

We jumped within the back again for our own preliminary trip, even though peeking inside of, the opulent deluxe was ushering us to climb up in. With 44 of rear legroom (6 beyond normal), it provides limousine space, filled with its unique sunroof and armchairs.

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The plethora of gentle alcantara, the two-sculpt perforated and semi-aniline leather stamped with all the “R” logo design, the compare sewing and carbon dioxide dietary fiber veneers perfectly grabbed the mixture of sport and high end we’d been informed to expect.

Going through rough highways from the Northwest, the XJR’s Adaptive Dynamics suspension digitally assorted the damping charges, letting us to travel on the area just as if it were glass. This became definitely 1 auto we wouldn’t mind simply being chauffeured in.

Thankfully, the XJR is similarly pleasurable in the car owner seating, with the steering surprisingly exact, given its 124 wheelbase.

The R features cast iron sleeves and go across-bolted major having caps to cope with 550bhp – a 40hp and 80hp boost over its siblings, respectively, despite the fact that underneath the hood, the XJR’s supercharged 5.-liter V8 is similar to the all-lightweight aluminum powerplants from the XJ Supersport and XJ Supercharged.

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This amount of potential together with the XJ’s aluminum chassis provides the Jaguar a specific benefit. To put it into point of view, the in the same manner highly effective BMW M5 and Mercedes E63 AMG outweigh the XJR by 224 and 283 lb, respectively. And, even though the outgoing Mercedes S65 AMG might boast a lot more energy, it all out-porks the XJR with a whopping 937 lb!

Using the same engine as being the XFR-S, we seen it was actually virtually whisper tranquil under 4000rpm. Over that rate, a control device starts up in the consumption manifold, directing more sound into the cabin to help remind you what is prowling under the hood.

Unavoidably, the grip handle is useful with 502 lb-feet of torque, which will very easily light up the auto tires if turned off. After which, you have to be able to get sideways.

Zero-to-60mph will take 4.4sec but it is at the mercy of offered grip. The acceleration is exhilarating, specially in this large auto. Plus it will not permit up to the 174mph top rated rate governor, which happens to be trying to hide the XJR’s real best rate that’s nearer to 200mph.

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It’s not all the energy and wheelspin, though. Together with its light-weight development, Jaguar integrated its Clever Begin/Cease system so town slickers can help to save petrol in the traffic lighting fixtures. And if you have to make a swift escape, the two solenoid system will begin the auto a lot sooner than it takes to totally click the throttle.

Our trip inside the XJR would at some point guide us to Ridge Motorsports Park your car, which boasts a practical path with sightless converts and height modifications, a long straight, and Laguna Seca-like corkscrew.

Stereotypically, we dreamed that adding the XJR through its paces here will be like running along the Amazon Stream within a Tobacco cigarette motorboat. Yet the vehicle overcame our concerns in surprising trend. Despite having its extended wheelbase, the electronic suspensions, major 15 braking system and wide car tires presented excellent functionality and a lot of grins. When understeer was predicted, the right amount of path braking meant it was actually never ever excessive. And, due to the 4-piston braking systems, 140mph along the front side straight was quickly scrubbed away from just before getting into Change 1.

Clearly, most XJR users will not notice a racetrack but, even though it was not as agile because the quicker XFR-S, it had been interestingly very easy to toss about, and our treatment empowered us to explore its overall performance in risk-free area.

We had been privileged to drive the XFR-S and XJR in the streets and monitor. The two supercars in their correct; the reduced, sportier XFR-S took the track crown, even though the lengthier, lighter in weight XJR oozed high end and comfort in the road. We’d happily set in either our garage area but, once we needed to pick, we’d use the XJR, remember to.

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2014 Jaguar XJR LWB

Structure front side-motor, RWD

Engine 5.-liter all-lightweight aluminum V8, quad cam, primary injections, double self-sufficient varied device timing, dual-intercooled and Roots-variety twin-vortex supercharger

Drivetrain eight-speed auto transmitting, energetic electrical differential

Braking system four-piston calipers with 14.96 rotors f, two-piston, 14.8 r

Suspensions adjustable dampers with Adaptive Dynamics

Tires And wheels 20×9.5 f, 20×10.5 r Farallon rims, 265/35 R20 f, 295/30 R20 r tires

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Overall performance

Energy 550hp at 6500rpm

Torque 502 lb-ft at 2500-5500rpm

-60mph 4.4sec

Top rated rate 174mph (limited)

Bodyweight 4145 lb

Overall economy 15/23/18mpg (town/freeway/combined)

MSRP $116000