Multimedia message, originally uploaded by suprdave89.

I saw this in the sky over Orange a few hours ago. I didn’t know people still did skywriting! I have n’t seen it in years!

I can’t figure out if they’re saying “S ‘heart’ S” or if it’s “SOS” but a heart for the O? Whatever. I’m sure it was very special to the person it was meant for.

It looks like they hit up 2 locations each night.  They have the week ahead planned on their website, but it is strongly suggested you follow them on twitter as the locations can change or as I’m reading, sometimes the addresses aren’t quite right.

I don’t know about you, but I am SUPER DUPER excited about this!!!!!  It looks like they’ll be at “Prim Jewelers – 1736 E. Meats Ave, Orange”  from 10:30-Midnight this Wednesday, you’d better believe I’ll be there!

Thank you Kogi!!!

You wanna see something burn??  Pour some gasoline on yourself, stand in front of a mirror and strike a match.  See what happens.

Here’s hoping and praying no firefighters, mountain residents or anyone else gets burned or injured from the Santa Ana shit storm I’m sure we’re about the get.

I first found out about this when a friend of mine posted his missing persons report on her Facebook status.  Apparently, when she was in the police academy, he was one of her drill instructors.  She had nothing but good things to say about him and was hoping for the best.  Unfortunately, the best is not what we got.  Please send out all of your prayers, good thoughts, good karma or whatever else you have to send to his family.  He leaves behind a wife, also a deputy, and a 14 year old son.

Look how happy that t-shirt is!

I’ll be honest.  I’ve been debating posting about this for over a year now.  As much as I wanted to tell everyone about this super cool laundromat, I also wanted to keep it to myself.  Most of the time, when I’m there it’s just me or me and 1 or 2 other people.  I enjoy not having to wait for that one machine to open that I need, or waiting with damp clothes for a dryer to open up.   But posting this on here doesn’t just help you find a better laundromat.  It also helps the owners get more business, which is most important.  If they can’t pay their bills and have to shut down, where will I go??

My favorite part of the laundromat is not the cleanliness, emptiness or closeness, but the friendliness.  I won’t lie, the people who come here aren’t too different from your average laundromat (good or bad…you decide) but the best part is the lady who works there.  Next to the detergent dispenser is a little room behind a caged door.  Here sits this nice lady waiting to either help you if you’re not sure how the machines work or to provide you with change because you forgot to break the $20 bill before you came.  She greets everyone with a big smile and a “HELLO!  Welcome!  Good to see you again!”  I love her!

Here she is with her husband. He brings her lunch everyday.

So if you’re unlucky enough to not have your own washer/dryer or you live in an apartment that is either too busy or, in my case, has terrible equipment, and you find yourself needing to visit a laundromat, go to Laundry Club!  Maybe we’ll see each other there and can sit awkwardly near each other smiling but not talking.  Because we all know you NEVER talk with people at the laundromat.  Or at least, that’s how it seems.

These are my dryers! Don't touch!

You can use these instead.

She even put up pretty flowers.

Minus the sleeping bags, this is a typical load for me. This is why our 1 washer and 1 doesn't-dry-so-well dryer aren't very useful to me.

The door is open, waiting for you!

The address: 2020 N Tustin St Orange, CA 92865 (located between BevMo! and Zito’s Pizza)

Oh Raptor. Until we meet again! Thursday is too far away!

I wanted to let you all know that this coming weekend, October 15-18, is the OC Autoshow!  While it’s obvious I love cars, and I have been to the LA Autoshow numerous times, I have never made it out to the OC Autoshow.  My main reason is that I know it’s not quite the spectacle of the LA version, and if I’m going to pay the entrance fee, I’ll wait a month and hit up LA.

BUT!  Thanks to my all-time favorite daily deals website, Spoofee.com (well…OK…second to woot.com) I found FREE tickets!!! And not only do you get FREE tickets to the show, but you get a FREE one year subscription to Motor Trend!! (Promo code is: OCCERRACUfriend )Oh sure you may get a little junk mail, but to me it’s worth it.

So what are you waiting for??  Go!!!

I’ll be heading out there Thursday.  Who wants to come with??

Can it really make up for it's past??

Last week I attended a “Technology Forum” at Ford’s Western Regional office in Irvine. The forum was to showcase all the new technology going in to the various 2010-11 and beyond vehicles. Really though, since they’re stuffing almost all of that technology in the new Taurus, it was a forum to show off the new Taurus.

I realize that using the word “stuffing” implies they put too much technology in the vehicle. That’s not the case. They managed to fit a LOT of new technology in to the car while still giving the driver a vehicle that is indeed a driver friendly car. Let’s take a look at that technology.

Cutaway showing the radar sensors in the car

Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) uses actual radar sensors located on the front of the car to adjust the car’s speed if your in cruise control and traffic in front slows down. I got to test it briefly and it works. It was pretty cool. I’ll be driving the Taurus up to San Francisco this weekend (which I will tell you all about later) and I know ACC is going to be my best friend.

Photo courtesy of Ford

Collision Warning With Brake Support
Using the same radar system that is used with ACC, Ford put a collision warning (and hopefully avoidance) system in the new Taurus. While this isn’t necessarily new technology, it’s certainly a great addition to a car in this price range. In the picture above you can see that a light flashes and an audible alarm goes off, in case you’re snoozing. I’ve been in that situation before. I was inches from hitting a car stopped on the freeway while I was travelling 65 mph. Luckily I woke up just in time to swerve along the center median.
Something that I found interesting: To test the system, they used these giant inflatable cars, so that until they got the distance right, they didn’t keep trashing real cars.

Blind Spot Information System or BLIS and Cross Traffic Alert
This is super cool. I didn’t even realize the car had this until I was driving it. See, the Taurus doesn’t just have radar sensors in the front of the car, it also has them on all for corners of the car. When I was driving and looked in the side mirror to get over, there was this little yellow light. At first I didn’t understand what it was there for until a car I didn’t see poked it’s way into my mirror. The Taurus doesn’t exactly have many blind spots, but I can see this technology being useful in MANY different vehicles. In fact, one of the photographers in the car with me said he wished his Prius had that. (Apparently there is a big problem with blind spots in that car. That’s what he gets for owning a Prius as far as I’m concerned, but I digress.) The Cross Traffic Alert also uses the rear sensors when you’re backing out of a parking space. As you’re backing out, if there is a car approaching from either side, up to about 3 parking spaces away, it sets off those same visual and audible alarms to warn you some jerkoff either isn’t paying attention, or just can’t wait for you to pull out of your space, so you should stop. Again I have experience with this. I owned a giant van with no rear visibility years ago, and one day while backing out of a parking space, I hit a car. It ended with her taking a LOT of money from the insurance company. Having also driven ambulances for years, these 2 technologies alone have great promise in the automotive industry.

Photo courtesy of Ford (All my interior photos didn't turn out well)

Sync
Sync isn’t exactly new technology for Ford, but it’s still pretty cool. I enjoy that Ford has seen that cell phones and personal media devices aren’t just accessories for some people. To some it’s an extension of themselves. I know that my phone is my connection to all the things I enjoy (music, internet, my friends) and Sync allows me to stay in contact with most of those. I realize most cars now have a mini headphone jack so you can connect your mp3 player or Bluetooth connectivity so you can be hands free. Sync however goes beyond that. Two of my favorite features are the USB port and internal hard drive. With the USB port, you can not only connect and control your portable media device (with your voice even!) but you can also charge your device at the same time! If you have pictures, it can show those on the navigation screen too. In fact, because it’s USB, all you really need is a $5 flash drive and you can take your favorite songs and pictures with you anywhere. And if you actually own some CDs, you can rip them to the vehicles hard drive. Then you don’t need anything but your car keys. And did I mention the voice control part? If your mp3 player has many thousands of songs and artists, all you have to do is speak the name of the song or artists and it automatically finds it for you. I was skeptical, but it works…well. Of course you can connect bluetooth and yes that’s voice controlled too. Just say “Call (name)” and it does. Even if you have to pay a little extra for it, I believe it’s well worth it. Now if only they could make it so I could voice control my Twitter and Facebook status…you reading this Ford engineers?!?!

Another Ford photo

My Key
This is my favorite feature Ford showcased. For years cars have had chips embedded in the keys, so that either the car wouldn’t start without the original key or the key just needed to be inside the car and a push-button starts the car. Well My Key takes that further. In what is to be a standard option nearly fleet-wide, My Key is a technology aimed at teen drivers. When the designated key is inserted into the ignition, the on board computer automatically sets some very specific limits on the car. For starters, the seatbelt warning that eventually goes away after about 5 minutes, stays on indefinitely until the driver puts on the seatbelt. It also mutes the radio until the belt is on, so you can’t just drown out the alarm like I do when I’m running to the store. My Key also makes it so you can’t release traction control and spin the tires. Again I have experience with this. I almost got a ticket for it when I was 17. Instead of the 50 mile warning about low fuel, it bumps it up to 75 miles. Running out of fuel is a contributing factor into my first accident at 16. And finally, speed control! When My Key is activated the top speed of the car is reduced to 80 mph, with warning chimes at 45, 55 and 65 mph. Pretty smart, no? (It certainly would have prevented me getting a 105 mph speeding ticket at 18! My only beef with the top speed limiter is that 80 mph is pretty fast to drive on a side street. I know, I did that too when I was a teen. I was a horrible driver I know, I’m past that now…promise!). I’d like to see in future versions of My Key that the computer use GPS to limit the speed of the car to 10 mph above the posted speed limit. Maybe that’s too difficult, but it would be nice.

But enough about technology, how’s the Taurus???

New look

The new Taurus, until recently, was to be the Ford 500. As you can see it is a completely new car from the ground up. I think the new look is nice. I’m not terribly fond of the back end of the car (see below), but overall it’s not bad on the eyes.

Eh......

The interior on the other hand is quite plush. Our test drive took us almost 2 hours, and in that time I was always very comfortable. The inside is also very quiet. I think too quiet. This car can be dangerous because of it. All three of us in the car took turns driving and we all found ourselves driving much faster than we thought we were. At 80 mph it feels as though you’re going 50. If you don’t pay close attention to your speedometer, you could find yourself discussing the new features of the Taurus with your local police officer.

The seats in our test car were leather and I didn’t ask if that would be standard or not. We had some faux wood trim, which I always personally dislike, and this car was no different. I really liked the gauges on the car. Their bluish glow was stunning and soothing at the same time. As you can see we didn’t have the sweet sat/nav/DVD player in our car, but it did it’s job. All three of us were really disappointed by the Sony sound system they were touting. Even at full volume we couldn’t really get any bass out of the system (something I’ve seen with all of my stock Ford radios over the years…funny thing is, with a different head unit [stereo] the speakers are usually really awesome). This stereo was very unlike the stereo in the Raptor I test drove a few weeks ago, that stereo was amazing.

Look at those pretty gauges.

I don’t have any pictures of the trunk, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my Ford Focus fit in there. That thing is huge!

As far as the engine goes, our model had the base V6. It gets approximately 265 horsepower and the base model is about $26,000. Certainly not a bad deal. The engine seemed to lack the “oomph” that I feel a car of this size needs, but for most people, as a daily driver, I think this car is plenty. My only big problem with the car is that it’s front wheel drive. I was really shocked to find out that Ford made a car this size front wheel drive. And when you step on the gas pedal to get on the freeway, the torque-steer is BAD. Worse then my Focus, though that’s probably because the car weighs almost twice my Focus. That alone killed a lot for me.

Taurus SHO
One of the biggest announcements besides the Taurus coming back, was that they would be making a SHO version. If you remember, the original Taurus had a SHO version that was their “performance” version of the car. Back then it’s wasn’t too terribly amazing, but then the car it was based off of wasn’t good either. Making a SHO version of this new Taurus has promise. For the engine, they decided to be different. Rather than put a giant V8 under the bonnet, they decided to keep the same V6 the base model has, but they strapped on a twin turbo they dub EcoBoost, boosting the horsepower up by 100 making it 365.

I remembered to take an engine shot this time.

Also, something I feel is a necessity in the car, they made it All Wheel Drive! Unfortunately, because we took too long on our test drive/photoshoot, by the time we got back to Ford HQ, all the SHOs were gone, so I can’t tell you if it’s a better drive or not, but I’ve been promised there is a big difference.

So that was my experience. I’ve included more pictures below for your viewing pleasure. As I mentioned, this weekend I will be driving a Taurus up to San Francisco for the 49ers/Seahawks game (Go Hawks!). I won a contest from Ford. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back…..OR you can follow my progress via Twitter. Follow @suprdave89
Bye MetBloggers!!

Lined up, ready to go.

One of my carpool buddies, Paul Hwang from Top Gear Korea

HI!

Bye!

Like my pictures?? See more at my Flickr account!

And now, the video:

Thankfully, Ford not only heard our calls for help, but they decided to spoil the hell out of us. Drum roll please…..ladies and gentlemen, I present my new obsession……The Ford F-150 Raptor.

Bringin' the Orange to the County

I highly suggest you follow me past the jump for more pictures and information that will make many of you want to run to the nearest Ford dealership. Yes, really!

Well Hello!

Let’s start with the looks. This thing looks, and actually really is, massive! A stock F-150 next to this thing looks like the skinny little brother of the jock older brother. This new massive look comes, in part, from the fact that they widened the truck by 7 inches! Those big fender flares aren’t just for looks like on your neighbor’s pickup (if you live in Huntington Beach), they are quite necessary. That’s the reason there are marker lights around the truck. As with a duelly (the pick up trucks with 4 wheels in the back and giant rear fenders), the rules of the road stated Ford had to add the marker lights for safety. If you look closely at the front grill however, you’ll see instead of putting the lights on the roof, as the duellies and semi trucks do, they placed them in the grill. Check it out!

Who makes this truck again?

Don't the lights look pretty? Photo courtesy of Raptor's photo download section of their website

While we’re on the grill, did you notice the slight huge change? The Raptor gets a custom grill with a giant Ford stamp across the front. I really like it. Ford also created a custom front bumper just for the Raptor. I’ll get in to the details later, but Ford and Fox Racing Shox teamed up to make a completely custom suspension upgrade for the Raptor. As an added bonus to those who might admire your truck from up close, Ford added a window to the front bumper so as to admire the custom suspension.

Photo courtesy of Raptor's photo download section of their website.

Going back to the rest of the exterior, you might notice a new color from Ford, “Molten Orange.” Like some (many?) of you out there, I really wasn’t sure about the color at first. I thought it was just a preproduction scheme for the press. But as I walked around it more, and got used to it, I can’t see this truck in anything but orange! However if you’re really not a fan, the truck comes in 3 other colors. “Tuxedo Black”, “Oxford White” (get it? it’s like an oxymoron! trucks and nice clothes??) and my favorite…”Blue Flame”. Blue flame? Really? Was there no one at Ford that heard that name and immediately thought of lighting farts on fire?? I digress. The only other color I think the truck looks good in is the “Tuxedo Black”, however I feel you lose all the aggressiveness of the vehicle. Blue is my favorite color but I don’t feel the blue suits this particular vehicle. As far as the white is concerned, I don’t believe anyone should drive a white car unless it’s some vintage Rolls Royce or Mercedes.

Blue Flame?

The last things I’d like to point out on the exterior are the hood scoops and fender vents. While they may look like pretty decorations, it turns out they are actually functional!

They're almost like the gills of a fish, letting the beast breathe.

If the fenders are gills, these must be the nostrils....OF THE BEAST!

While we’re on the subject of big breathing beasts, let’s talk engines. (insert Tim Allen grunt here) The truck that I drove had the 5.4L SOHC V8. The thing sounded great and was mighty powerful under pressure, yet very refined on the streets. The specs show it as having 320 horsepower and 390 lb.-ft. of torque. That’s an engine you can have some fun with! However…if that’s just not enough for you (let’s face it, if you’re going to own a truck like this, why not go balls to the walls), then may I suggest waiting until early next year for the 6.2L V8! This engine is also known as the “BOSS” engine. It has over 400 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque! Pair each of those with a 6 (yes 6) speed transmission, and you’re going to have some fun in the desert, or wherever you go! (except the gas pump, that still might suck) The MPG was in the 17-21 range, which for what you’re getting, really isn’t that bad, but let’s be honest…it’s no Prius.

Like an idiot I forgot to photograph the engine, so once again I thank Raptor's website for downloadable pictures.

Earlier I mentioned the suspension. As I stated Ford and Fox Racing Shox teamed up to create specialized shocks just for the Raptor. The guys at Ford wanted to give the maximum amount of travel (the distance the wheel can move up and down) without intruding into the engine bay or truck bed. Fox designed specialized shocks that look as though they have reservoirs attached, as you would see in professional race trucks, but in reality that is just an extension of the shock itself. I lied. It is in fact a reservoir! Even better! This allowed them to get a few more inches of travel into the suspension and keep the structural integrity of the original design. How many inches of travel you ask? Try 11 inches in the front and 13 inches in the back! This provides a big cushion for the truck to land when you catch air and a great amount of flexibility when maneuvering difficult off-road courses. Unlike in typical suspension upgrades, though, they have also made the truck smooth and sturdy when driving on the asphalt! This means when you drive to the movies or work or whever, it’s a comfortable ride! Go figure!

Don't they look pretty?? See what I mean about the piggyback design?

Just to give you an idea of what 13 inches of travel looks like. I don't think I was even at max stretch here either.

How have I gone this far and not mentioned the off-road specific features of this king of the desert?? This truck was purpose built to race the Baja 1000, widely agreed upon as one of, if not the most grueling auto race in the world. Every year approximately two-thirds of the vehicles that enter the race don’t finish. Well the Raptor finished 3rd in class and was the FIRST EVER preproduction truck to finish the Baja 1000!! Don’t believe me? Check it out!


So how do you build a production truck capable of accomplishing such a feat? Well it helps to start with a sturdy vehicle. Say what you will about Fords, they haven’t had the longest running, highest selling pickup for no reason. As I said, they threw in a powerful engine, beefed up the suspension, widened the track by 7 inches…what else is there? How about the first factory standard Electronic Locking Rear Differential!! (the link takes you to wikipedia for those who don’t know what it is) They also created a technology they call “Hill Descent Control”. When this is engaged, if you’re descending a hill, the anti-lock brakes automatically control your descent! Yeah, take your foot off the brakes and concentrate on steering. It works and it’s awesome. It also works in reverse, so if you climb a big steep hill only to discover it leads no where, you can safely back down. There is also an “Off-Road Mode” button. When this is engaged, the computer adjusts the throttle to be more less responsive (in other words, less touchy…so if your foot accidentally twitches, you’re not sent 90 mph over the rock you were crawling over) and lets the shifts rev a little higher to prevent constant gear changing when climbing hills. It also adjusts the ABS brakes and the locking rear differential to improve your off-road experience. Having tested these features out I can tell you they work, and they work WELL! Ford also teamed up with BF Goodrich, widely know to make superior off-road tires, to create a custom tire just for the truck! While they may look like your typical “BFG All Terrains” you see on most other off-road trucks, these have been specially made to improve the truck’s handling on and off the road, and best of all…they’re quiet on asphalt! Yeah! You can drive with your windows down and talk to your passengers! They think of everything.

I wish I could say this was me, but I didn't want my PR rep, Octavio Navarro, to lose his job, so once again Raptor's website provided the photo.

Custom tires even!

OK, let’s finish up with the interior.

Looks great, right?

Sync! I love it and will discuss more about it in future posts. Stay tuned!

This truck had all the bells and whistles for the entertainment system. It had Ford’s exclusive “Sync” system (which I adore and will discuss in a MetBlogs post in the near future) and of course the full touch-screen/sat nav/DVD/space ship/super duper/blow you away entertainment system. As I said earlier, I’m a DJ so music is VERY important to me. The sound system equipped in our truck was Ah-mazing! One of my pet peeves when off-road driving is, being that it’s bumpy, my CDs always skip! Well this thing has a hard drive to store your music. Now I can rock out while I’m out climbing rocks! Also, if you can see those four switched by the shift lever, those are pre-wired auxiliary switches! It’s not uncommon to add a winch or exterior lighting to an off-road vehicle, but the problem has always been where to install the on/off switch?? Ford answered that for us. Thanks Ford!

Look at the cool looking gagues!

Nothing clever to say about this one. It just looks great!

As with you’re typical extended cab pickup truck, it has a “suicide door” setup for easy entry and to haul bigger stuff in the cab. The back seats don’t provide any more or less room than your standard extended cab either. If they do, it’s not really enough to be noticed by the general public.
OK I’ve covered all the areas I felt were most important, but there’s still so much more that I didn’t cover. Why don’t you check out Raptor’s website yourself, or just go chat up your local Ford dealer and see it for yourself! If you have an interest in trucks and playing in the dirt, I think you’ll be hard pressed to not want to buy one of these.
I’ve included the rest of my pictures below. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the pictures get much larger with a click. Enjoy!

I like the logo too. Fun but not over the top.

This picture wasn't my idea, but I like how it turned out. So you get to stare at my beautiful face and be jealous I drove a cool truck...and you didn't.

I just spotted this at the Old Towne Orange train station. Has anyone heard anything about this? Do we know when this is to happen? Mmmm…..Ruby’s Chocolate Malts. *drooooooooooool*