Spot the Difference!

If you watched any of the alpine skiing events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, you’ve probably noticed a bunch of banners in the background with interlocking rings.  Of course, I’m referring to the Audi banners promoting their legendary Quattro all-wheel drive system.    Honestly, I can’t decide if the marketing folks at Audi are geniuses or idiots for sponsoring the Olympics.  Their logo is so similar to the Olympic rings, I wonder how many people even notice the Audi banners.  They just sort of blend into the background.  To make matters worse for Audi,   not only are the rings very similar, the red and white colors that Audi is known for are also synonymous with Canada.

By the way, if you’re wondering which came first, the Olympic rings were first used in the 1920 Olympics.  Audi’s rings, made their debut in 1932, symbolizing the merger of four German car companies, Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer

We have a lot of expensive parts on FrugalMechanic.com, but this might be the most expensive.  It’s a Dorman Exhaust Manifold available on Amazon for $72,576.    It’s obviously a pricing error, but it’s still pretty funny.  I know exhaust manifolds are expensive, but come on!!

I wonder what would happen if you actually tried to  purchased this part from Amazon?  And does it come with Super Saver shipping?

http://frugalmechanic.com/auto-part/77999-dorman-oe-solutions-exhaust-manifold-674-559

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of driving an AMG Mercedes, M-series BMW or new Porsche, then you’re probably familiar with Alcantara.  It’s a fabric that looks like suede and feels like a soft t-shirt that has been put through the wash about a thousand times.   Many of the German car makers are using it in their headliners, steering wheels and seats as a way to differentiate between their ‘regular’ models and their ’sport’ models (think  BWM 550 versus BMW M5).

This weekend, I installed an Alcantara steering wheel into my S6.   Just like most of my weekend projects, it took about 3 times longer than I was expecting and I broke a few other items in the process.   But it was all worth it.   I’ve upgraded the steering wheel on a few of my cars over the years and I firmly believe that is one of the best modifications that you can do to your car.   In the world of modifications, it’s a relatively small upgrade but it will have you smiling from ear to ear every time to grab the wheel.

Courtesy of CNN Money

You wouldn’t normally think of CNN Money as an automotive news resource, but they put together a pretty good list of Top 10 cheap collectible cars that are under $5,000.    Personally, I would swap out the Ford Taurus SHO with a Merkur XR4Ti.   Maybe I’ve seen too many beat-up SHOs in my lifetime, but I just can’t see them as being collectible.  Of course, the definition of collectible is definitely subjective.  Basically, you’re hoping that the car you purchase today will be worth significantly more in the future.  Finding a desirable car that is priced under $5K is definitely a challenge.   Most of the cars in this price bracket have been abused and need a lot of TLC.

Thankfully, your car’s differential doesn’t need to be replaced very often (if ever). It chugs along mile after mile without a lot of drama. Maybe that’s why the inner workings of a differential are a big mystery to a lot of people (myself included). If you’ve ever wondered how a differential works, you gotta check out this video tutorial. Not only is it extremely easy to follow but it’s extra cool because it was made in the in the 1930s, so it’s got a lot of cool historical flavor (black and white, old-time music, etc).

Jalopnik reported today that the US version of Top Gear–the wildy popular UK show– has been picked up by the History Channel.   No word yet on who the three hosts will be, but Adam Corolla is in the running again.  You might remember that NBC had originally picked up the US rights to Top Gear, but ultimately passed on the show after rising production costs and the failure of Knight Rider.

If you’ve never watched Top Gear, you are really missing out.   It is the best automotive-related show on television.  No contest.   In fact,  I don’t think I’ve ever come across another gearhead who doesn’t like Top Gear.   It’s just flat-out entertaining.  A few of my favorite clips:

• Extreme Motorhome Racing
• Crossing the English Chanel in Car-Boats
• Jeremy Driving The Ariel Atom

If the US version is half as entertaining as the British version, it should be a huge success for the History Channel.  Who knows, maybe I’ll start watching Extreme Trains or Ax Men.

If I asked you to name a few famous cars from the movies, what would you say?  The Delorean from Back to the Future or the ‘68 Mustang Fastback from Bullit or the Trans-Am from Smokey and the Bandit?   Well, a bunch of movie-buffs/gearheads have put together a complete database with thousands of entries!  You can search by make/model and even trim (e.g. sedan/wagon/convertible)

To validate this site, I checked the Audi S8 page to see if they included Ronin (one of the best car chase movies ever made).  I’m happy to report that they passed the test.  Check it out:  IMCDB.org