Auto Repair and Complete Automotive Service

With the vast number and wide variety of car show events vying week to week for participants, the issue of judging can make or brake any car show! Sad to say, but for many car show participants, there is an air of stress at the simplest mention of the word JUDGING! Currently there are a wide spectrum of events available all with their own merits and problems related to judging, all having their place in the Car Culture Community! The range actually stretches from Non Judged to Spectator Choice / Participant Pick to the most involved Team Judged events. The main factor that needs to be addressed is keeping an event FUN for the participants and judges alike.

Many organizations (Car Clubs and Civic Groups) who host car shows have opted to hand out random cash awards, billing their event as a Non-Judged “Fun Meet”. This allows all participants to have an equal chance at driving home with cold hard cash rather than going through the judging process. This process saves a lot of the hosting organizations time and energy from physically inspecting each vehicle, processing each of the judging sheets then coordinating a trophy presentation at the end of the event and dealing with any complaints of “why didn’t I receive an award”. See in the next section my fix to a vast majority of the complaints. The only real downside to this type of event, is Non-Judged events lack of competition.

There are still those participants who live for the competition side of an event, where the best vehicles are awarded on their merits as decided by a judging body. The simplest of these would be Spectator Choice and Participant Judging. Both are about the same, however both have been questioned by many as actually being a good old boy, buddy system at work! While I do admit that this “could” be the case, I find that the majority of either spectators or participants who are judging are honest car hobbyists or car enthusiasts. They go out and judge honestly see either what they like in the spectators case or actually the best vehicles by the participants. As mentioned in the positive side of the Non Judged “Fun Meet”, there is the likely hood of complaints resulting from the judging. As a chief judge at a local show and In an attempt to keep the peace “I” had a an ace in the hole to make an unhappy entrant less unhappy with the days events. The ace you ask… well I kept four honorable mention award just in case the situation arose at the end of the event with an unhappy participant. I would call it a Win – Win the owner left happy, and will more than likely return the following year.

Then there is Team Judging. This type of judging is usually the format used by the majority of the National Clubs, Marquis Specific Clubs and Concours D’Elegance events. This could be noted as the most stressful of all of the forms of judging discussed here. One thing to remember by both judges and participants is that a Judging Team can be a formidable presence. I suggest the judging team act in a friendly manner with the participants and thank the owners for bringing their pride and joy to the event! For those new participants to this style of judging, it can even be a bit overwhelming. I do have a few suggestions for a new “Judged” Car Show participant to lessen the stress and help in making it what it should be all about, the fun. First, the entrant should read the information provided regarding the judging of an event either in the clubs publication or website. I would also suggest the owner have a knowledgeable yet impartial friend walk their car and noting any problem area and correcting them. Any owner can become a bit jaded so fresh disinterested eyes could spot that drip from the transmission, grease over flowing from a fitting or cob webs hanging from the exhaust. Last but clearly not least, I would suggest that the entrant go to the club judging seminar, judges training and or participant orientation to get a clear feel for what the judges are looking for. With these tasks completed, it should relieve a lot of the “unknown” Stress, making this what it should be a fun event. After the show is completed I also suggest the owner contact the host of the event and request a copy of the judges sheet for what areas need correction so they can work on those items for future events.

With these few suggestion, I would hope that the entire car show experience could become a FUN experience for both the participants and the judges alike!

The Porsche 914 was the result of a cooperation between Porsche and Volkswagen (VW), and it was first introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1969. It was a mid-engined sports car, meaning that the engine was placed right behind the passenger seats, a solution that favors handling and agility due to optimal weight distribution. Such a layout resulted in a 2-seater with a removable fiberglass Targa top that, once removed, could be stored in one of the two luggage compartments, the rear one. The two storage spaces were very much needed, since the seating area was strictly dedicated to the passengers. Interior trim was quite basic. Overall dimensions were compact, with a slanted front that incorporated pop-up headlights operated by two electric motors. The design wasn’t pleasant, and it drew criticism also from the press.

The “VW-Porsche 914″, as the car was officially named, was available in two versions: the “914″ (also referred to as the 914/4) and the “914/6″ (meaning 6-cylinder). The 914 was equipped with the 1.7-liter (1,679 cc), air-cooled, 4-cylinder boxer engine derived from the VW 411E. The 914/6 instead featured the same 2.0-liter (1,991 cc), 6-cylinder, air-cooled, flat Porsche engine that was originally mounted on the Porsche 911T. The VW engine, equipped with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel-injection system, produced 80 hp at 4,900 rpm while the Porsche unit, outfitted with Weber carburetors, produced 110 hp at 5,800 rpm. Both vehicles were equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission as standard (“dog-leg” shift pattern with the first gear positioned left and back). The two cars featured the same independent suspensions. The 914s were fitted with solid disc brakes all around, but in the 914/6, the front discs were ventilated. In perfect 1970s style, the 914s were often painted in bold, bright colors including yellow, orange and green.

On the road, the 914/6 was clearly the better performer, providing stronger acceleration and a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph), versus the 177 km/h (110 mph) of the 914. However, the more economical 914/4 sold better than the 914/6, but only when maximizing the Porsche name. In fact, marketing of the 914 was not the same worldwide. The 914 was marketed as a “VW-Porsche” and sold through Volkswagen dealers everywhere, except in the U.S. where it was marketed as a “Porsche” and sold through Porsche’s dealers only. The European 914s carried the “VW-Porsche” logo on the back, next to the model number (“914″ or “914-6″), while the American 914s displayed only the model number on the back. The American model also had the “Porsche” lettering across the engine lid grille. No matter where it was sold, the 914 did not have the Porsche crest on its hood. Clearly, being presented solely as a Porsche was beneficial to the image of the 914, which sold particularly well in the U.S. (about 70% of the 914 production was sold here).

Although the 914/6 was undoubtedly the better performer, its sales were not satisfactory. Its price tag was simply too high for an entry-level sports car. As a result, its production was phased out in 1972.

In 1973, with the 914/6 gone, a new version was introduced in addition to the “base” 1.7-liter 914: the 914 2.0-liter. This new model was outfitted with a 1,971 cc engine derived from the Volkswagen unit. It produced 100 hp (95 hp U.S. version). The 914 2.0 was particularly welcomed in the U.S., considering that due to the local emission requirements the power on the 1.7-liter 914 had been cut down to 72 hp. Furthermore, in 1973, the gearbox shift linkage that had been often criticized was improved with the introduction of a side-shifter.

For the 1974 model year, the 1.7-liter engine was increased to 1.8-liter (1,795 cc). In addition, both 914s were now equipped with front and rear bumpers featuring protruding rubber guards that could withstand impacts up to 8 km/h (5 mph).

In 1976, the final year of production of the 914, the car was only available in the U.S., which had always been the stronger market for this particular model. In its last year of production the 914 was available only in the 2.0-liter version.

Today the Porsche 914 can provide plenty of fun, including open-air driving on a reasonable budget (4-cylinder versions). Among its best qualities is the weight distribution, thanks to the mid-engine configuration, which positively affects its handling. The 4-cylinder engines are quite economical in terms of gas, and thanks to a good availability of used Porsche 914 parts they are also much more affordable to repair and maintain than Porsche’s 6-cylinder units, which, on the other hand, provide an even more satisfying driving experience.

Recently, the exotic mean machine, Mahindra XUV 500 has been entitled as the ‘Most reputed car’ by a private news agency in India. Earlier, during the first phase of bookings, the XUV 500 got an exceptional response and later on during the second phase of bookings in January this year, it received outstanding 25000+ booking applications. Styled like the ‘Cheetah’, the XUV 500 has also inspired the revamped MUV Xylo to get a new shape. This sturdy crossover starts at the attractive price of Rs. 11.11 lakh (Ex-showroom Delhi). With many rivals like Tata Safari, Tata Aria etc. ruling in the domestic auto-market, the XUV 500′s phenomenal sales figures are itself a big achievement for the car maker, Mahindra & Mahindra.

According to the recently conducted surveys, XUV500 crossover has been recognized as the highest reputed car since its launch in September, last year. This recognition has been done in the automotive sector by the Bluebytes News Private Ltd., one of the leading news agencies which surveyed around 75,000 news articles published in various newspapers and online media, during October, 2011 to March, 2012. It was a study of more than 11,000 hours than enabled the news agency to come up with the results declaring that the XUV 500 is the ‘Most reputed car’. Similary, the auto-giant, Maruti Suzuki has been entitled as the ‘Most reputed automobile company’. In addition, the little two-box, Tata Nano was the runner up for the most reputed car.

Back in September, 2011, the XUV 500 was launched on the domestic shores that got a following of many crazy enthusiasts in a short span of time. This SUV has reached up to the level where, the auto-giant wanted it to stand in the domestic auto-region. The company introduced this extreme power churner at the starting price of Rs 10.80 lakh and kept it above its other crossover sibling, Mahindra Scorpio. The success story of the XUV 500 has not been that easy because during its launch it had many well established rivals like Toyota Fortuner, Chevrolet Captiva, Mitsubishi Outlander, Tata Aria and Tata Safari.

The magnificent XUV500 is blessed with a powerful 2.2 mHawk engine that churns maximum power of 140 bhp @ 3750 rpm and maximum torque of 330 Nm @ 1600-2800 rpm. This sturdy crossover is manufactured at company’s Chakan facility near Pune, Maharastra. The automotive experts compliment Mahindra & Mahindra for introducing this well designed product on the domestic shores. The outfit of this off-roader has been developed considering the energetic animal ‘Cheetah’. The entire front, rear and side profile of this car is well structured with perfect curves. The front profile of this crossover is enchanted by clear lens headlamps with little indicators on the corners, big honeycomb grilles with M&M badge and flattened front hood. The rear profile of this car has got parallel tail lamps, flattened rear door, high mounted stop lamp, body colored rear bumper and twin chrome exhausts, while the side profile has got curvy lines across the doors with the big bulge above the rear wheels.