Enkay Blog

This Is Why We Have Problems!

As most of you know, we are currently dealing with high gas prices not only in the United States but all over the world. Gas prices have been rising and so have the cost of other foods and goods as a result but what I fail to understand is what could be the cause of this. Well, I look around and most of what I see is large trucks, large SUV’s and just one person inside the vehicle. I know that I live in Texas and that everything is big in texas, but do you really need the car below to haul a single person around in?

I saw this outside the Barnes and Noble and I noticed a lady get out of this vehicle by herself. I’m sure she has a use for a truck like this otherwise she wouldn’t get it right? Well, most probably thats wrong. It seems as though a lot of people are driving around large SUV’s mainly because they’re getting a better deal on them. A somewhat stupid way to justify burning twice as much fuel but whatever floats your boat. Either way, I saw this car and the lady getting out of it and I just had to take a picture because it sure is as large as it looks in the picture. I’m sure I could part two Mini’s back to back to make up the length of this car. Hope you like the picture!

Need a Fuel Efficient Car?

Looking at the current gas prices, you may be thinking about downgrading to a more fuel efficient vehicles. I can speak for Americans as, if you look around, all you will see is SUV’s and Minivans which are also referred to as gas guzzlers.

If you are looking to downgrade most of us think of either Toyota or Honda. With the introduction of the all new 2008 Toyota Corolla, the competition is almost over. The new corolla packs several new features and has been able to maintain great gas mileage for a considerably affordable base price. The Corolla has been around for decades and carries a lot of history along with each and every Corolla sold. Toyota has always been a close competitor with GM and has recently come very close to surpassing GM’s production.

If youre in the northern region of the United States, may I recommend Toyota Corolla Virginia for your next fuel efficient car purchase. I think that we all know how reliable Toyota’s are and speaking of which, my family owns 2 fuel efficient and highly reliable Toyota’s. Now, im not here to argue which car maker is better but in case you are in the market for a great new car that will save you money in the long run then you may want to keep your eyes locked on the new Corolla so go check it out!

Police Sirens To Make You Shake!

I came across this news item about 2 weeks ago and I really didn’t know anything about this until I did a little research but apparently the Police are unhappy with their current sirens in the US. They feel that sometimes while in the process of pulling over the driver, their sirens aren’t doing a great job if the driver isn’t paying close attention to what is behind them or if they have their music too loud. I have noticed that sometimes the sirens aren’t loud enough when I have the music going, well the “Rumbler” is a new siren that is said to fix all that.

This new siren is used along with the traditional siren and helps get attention mainly because it can also be felt. The siren can be felt from 200-300 feet away through the use of high output woofers and an amplifier. The main objective is to produce low frequency sound waves, kind of like a subwoofer that ends up shaking everything. The Rumbler does turn off automatically after 10 seconds and seem to be pretty effective.

They aren’t too expensive costing around $350 a siren and was developed by the Illinois-based Federal Signal Corp. It was apparently that motorists werent responding to the traditional sirens and hopefully the addition of the Rumbler can help them to either pull over or make way for patrol cars.

I was able to pull up a video of the Rumbler in action at night. I do not know too much about who took this video or where it was taken but I was able to acquire it through a little bit of searching on Youtube.

Here is another video of the Rumbler in action that was taken by a Police Officer. This one gives you the full Rumbler experience!

2008 Toyota Highlander Review (Test Drive)

A few days ago I went down to Fort Bend Toyota/Scion and test drove the new 2008 Toyota Highlander. I met with R.J. Rideaux, who helped in getting me into their only 2008 Highlander on the lot. The Highlander has been redesigned for 2008 and has been one of the best selling SUV’s. These Highlanders sell so well, that it was difficult to find one on the lot and the one we found was a wonderful blue Limited that was more on the higher end. The vehicle had an MSRP close to $41,000 and had several added options including the JBL Navigation/Audio system. Lets take a look at the 4 dimensions of this review: exterior, interior, cargo room and the drive. There is also a video at the bottom!

  

Exterior
The new Highlander shows significant signs, of improvement. I am not saying that the old design was “boring” but it had gotten old after around 5-6 years of production. The new design gives the Highlander a more aggressive look and stance. When you look at the new Highlander, you can easily see either a male or female owner. The Highlander is longer than the previous Highlander and looks more expensive than it is. The new headlamps and rear lights also work well for the Highlander adding to its elegance. The rear hatch also features a nicely finished aluminum rectangle with “Highlander” inscribed in it. Overall, the exterior has seen a drastic improvement

 

Interior
The interior was very luxurious in this vehicle. Yes, it did have the optional leather, rear view camera and the beautiful 8″ LCD based Navigation system, but even still, the Highlander’s interior is very upgraded. The center console has plenty of storage room and the glovebox is average in size. The controls in this vehicle were well laid out and seemed that Highlander buyers of older age will not be complaining about the size of the controls. There are two cupholders in the Highlander in the front and that seems plenty to me. The Limited also featured a 3.5″ information display that displayed the time, outside temperature and the current A/C settings.

  

There is also a conveniently placed conversation mirror, so that you really dont have to turn around to check on your younger passengers in the back seat. The gauges are also very clear and easy to read. The seats felt very comfortable and would not be a hassle for long drives. There was enough leg and headroom for the front passengers. I did sit in the second row seating and there was still plenty of room for 3 adults however, the 3rd row seating is only for children as many have claimed previously. Toyota has created the 2nd row such that you can convert it from two separate “captain chairs” to one that seats 3 individuals. “Captain Chairs” mean that each seat will have its own armrests and this setting allows easier access to the third row.

  

Cargo Room
Although I have never previously reviewed cargo area, I was able to find some great pictures that show you the versatility in cargo capacity for the Highlander. The third row does take away quite a bit of the cargo room as you can see, but if the third row isn’t your concern then there is plenty of cargo room with the third row folded down. There is even more cargo room with both the rows folded down. Either way, the longer body style has accommodated the third row seat well, leaving room for cargo.

Drive
All Highlander models are equipped with a 3.5L V6 (the same as the V6 Camry and Rav4) that produces 270hp and 248lb ft. of torque. This combination delivers 18 city, 24 highway and 20 in mixed driving. The numbers are impressive and the drive certainly matches those numbers. The Highlander is very smooth from the get go. Since I was driving the Limited, it was equipped with the rear view camera and that made it very easy to watch for obstacles in your path. Put the car in reverse and the 8 inch LCD shows you what is in the rear surrounding area. Step on the gas a little and the Highlander’s V6 does not hesitate to accelerate and does so with 0-60 time of around 6-7 seconds. The drive is very comfortable and the Highlander isn’t difficult to manuver at all.

The 3.5 inch center information display that I mentioned earlier is also placed such that the driver does not need to take his/her eyes off the road. The steering wheel is equipped with bluetooth phone controls, audio controls as well as A/C controls making it very easy for the driver to change settings while not taking their eyes off the road. The braking in the Highlander is also exceptional and is equipped with ABS and traction control. Even at high speed with the radio turned off, it was almost impossible to get a sense of the road noise considering it was a very windy day. Even road noise was minimal when driving on the highway at 65mph. While driving on the highway you will notice that the Highlander does not have a blindspot which is very comforting to the driver as in some SUV’s it is quite a task to notice vehicles in nearby lanes.

Conclusion
The 2008 Highlander is the perfect blend of performance and luxury and delivers that in an appealing package. The Highlander has received top marks for safety and the drive quality was better than average. With room for 7 and a very well performing 3.5L V6, the Highlander is sure to meet the demands of every consumer. Thank you once again to R.J and Fort Bend Toyota/Scion for the opportunity!

  

Source: Toyota, Edmunds, Video Courtesy of TestDriveVideos

2008 Honda Accord Review (Test Drive)

I recently went down to Gillman Honda of Fort Bend which isn’t too far away from where I live and met with Miguel Galeana who was very kind in getting me into the newly redesigned 2008 Honda Accord.

The Accord is available in several trim levels starting in the lower $20,000’s, with the EX-L nearing the lower $30,000 mark. I drove the LX-P with a sticker of $22,795. The LX-P is one of the lower end models but is very well equipped. The Accord has been known for its benchmark Honda reliability and excellent ride quality and I was eager to see how well the new Accord performed, so lets take a look.

  

Exterior Design
The Accord has received a major face lift from the earlier models and the new design is very elegant yet has a broad appeal to it. Since its launch, it is apparent that the Accord can appeal to a larger audience as it blends luxury and sporty appeal in one package. The LX-P version has body colored door handles and power side mirrors and sports a chrome exhaust tip. On the outside, the bold shoulder line of the Accord is very prominent and yet it doesn’t take away anything from the family car symbol that the Accord has come to begin.

  

Interior Design
The Honda Accord is very well equipped and that is very noticeable once you step inside the new Accord. The cloth seats are well appointed and the rear passengers have a fold-up center armrest. I was highly impressed by the impressive leg room that the Accord provides not only to the driver and the front passenger, but also to to the rear passengers. The rear is comfortable enough for three adults without there being a need for more space. Speaking of room, the head room in the Accord is exceptional. In previous models, it could be said that the head room was not ample, but Honda has taken the advice with the new Accord. The drivers view of the interior is well designed. The LX-P had steering wheel mounted audio and cruise controls which was very handy.

 

The controls for the windows and power mirrors are well laid out and pretty straight forward. The speedometer and tachometer are clean and easy to read. Another thing you will notice is that the Accord has a lot of storage located in the glove box but also in several places in the center console. One thing that bothered me is the location of the Auxiliary input jack which was located deep into the center armrest. Focusing on the center console, you will be pleasantly surprised. The audio and A/C controls are large and easy to use and the best part about the center console is that you do not have to look down for a display. Honda has intelligently placed the display of the new Accord where the driver will only have to glance over to see the time, audio information and a/c settings.

The feel of the cloth seats and the buttons is not cheap at all compared to the Camry and the Accord has once again become the benchmark for the family sedan market. Furthermore, the cargo space in the Accord is fairly large and most people would be surprised at how large the trunk actually is. Also, looking at the EPA mileage estimates, you will be pleasantly surprised. The 4 cylinder provides for 21 city, 31 highway and 24 in mixed driving whereas the V6 is not far behind with 19 city, 29 highway and 22 in mixed driving. Those numbers mean that you won’t feel like you were robbed when you leave the gas station.

The Drive
The Accord is available with 3 engine options - the base 4 cylinder (as tested), the upgraded 4 cylinder or the available V6. The test vehicle was equipped with the 4 Cylinder which produces a respectable 177 horsepower where as the upgraded 4 cylinder produces 190 horsepower. The V6 is comparable to the Camry in that it produces the same 268 horsepower as the Camry. Being that the vehicle was a 4 Cylinder, the acceleration was quite smooth and gear shifts were unnoticeable.

Both the 4 cylinder and the V6 use a 5 speed gearbox that is also available in manual for the LX or LX-P models. The drive of the Accord was very comforting and engine noise was minimal. The audio system is equipped with speed sensitive volume control (SVC) that worked very well in reducing road noise. The Accord was quick to turn and although it did seem longer than average, I am sure that it would not take someone long before they became familiar with the vehicle. There were also no blind spots while switching lanes and the Accord was quick to reach to highway speeds without any hesitation. The drive in the city was also very smooth and comfortable and the seats made the drive even more enjoyable.

Conclusion
I think that Honda has hit a home run with the new Accord and that soon you will see several of these new Accords around you. The Accord is very well equipped and beats the Camry in terms of bang for the buck. The interior is well appointed and the ride matches the luxury of the exterior. The 4 cylinder was plenty powerful, but those of you looking for the extra kick should look into the V6. All in all, its a great vehicle and I think that prospective Accord owners will be very pleased! Once again, thank you for reading and thank you to Mr. Galeana at Gillman Honda of Fort Bend for the great test drive!