Fixing Cars

2010 Taurus SHO with 365 Horsepower

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Check out additional exterior shots of the new Ford Taurus SHO right here.

Its great to see that Ford is making some great decisions in bringing back the 2010 Taurus SHO - Pro-Touring for the family. Mulally, Ford’s CEO recently visited Seattle to talk about why they decided to bring back this hugely successful model. It was quite an interesting interview on labor day covering the success of Ford amidst all the flack the industry is getting.

I first learned how to drive a manual transmission in a Taurus SHO, back in the early ’90’s. The car had leather interior, a fully loaded luxury car built with a substantial amount of power. Now with the 2010 coming out with 365 horsepower, its going to be another big win for Ford.

They’ve already got the enthusiasts heading over to the track to see what the SHO will do in stock form.  Autoblog recently posted a video of the new SHO pulling off a 13 second pass in the 1/4 mile.

The Taurus was a great all-around car, and it makes sense that Ford will try and recapture that success with what looks like a really slick design for 2010. I have to admit that I’ve not looked twice at any of the recent vehicles to come from the Big 3 but when I saw this I was really impressed.

The car even has a decent interior design, another typical disappointment I’ve seen from the domestic car companies. Lately they’ve been doing too much of the oval, round and goofy looking center console area.

I’m much more fond of the squared off look, and vertical lines from the dash down to the floor, as opposed the the 30 degree slopes that come off the dash with ugly big dials for the controls.

I’m a big fan of the lines that Volvo has on their interior:

The Taurus Interior

Overall I’m pleased to see that the Taurus is back, that the company listened to the enthusiast market, and is delivering a quality design.  The 365 horsepower is going to be a thrill to drive, and I’m sure once some of the aftermarket companies come out with a few bolt ons the car will run 12’s with mid 400 horsepower.

Check out some more great pics of the new 2010 Ford Taurus SHO photos

MINI, the automotive company owned by BMW has come out with an ad that amazingly appears when you hold the ad up to a webcam.

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

So you print this ad and then simply hold it in front of a webcam. Note: This requires a plug-in , but since its written in German it needs translation. Using Babelfish I did what I could to translate:
THE NEW MINI CABRIO. ALWAYS OPEN. Far legends Here indicate Making OF video Systemvorraussetzungen: Internet Explorer 6 or more highly, Windows Vista/XP (FR 2), newest video drivers, 2 GHz CCU (dual core recommended), (at least 640×480 pixel installs 512 MT RAM, diagram map with at least 256 MT memory, USB Webcam) World premiere! The first official conception of the new MINI Cabrio takes place this mark at a completely special place: Directly in your hands! Simply and already appears the new MINI Cabrio follows the following guidance directly before their eyes, live and in 3D. 1. Agree please installation of the 3D-Plugins. 2. Hold now the MINI announcement or the pdf expression into the Webcam. Pdf download 3. Are astonished! Experience the new MINI Cabrio from all perspectives. More information to the new MINI Cabrio Their computer fulfills not all Systemvorraussetzungen? Here indicate Making OF video

Its using a technology called “Augmented Reality”.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been researching ways to deliver a unique experience to those visiting TuneyFish that want to learn about automotive. So I’ve been looking at things that might allow one to sketch or utilize props so that they can still explain a concept without having to film the video on an actual car.

Don’t get me wrong, those videos will always be great but what if you just want to sit down and demonstrate something like how to change spark plugs, or replace a windshield wiper. I’d rather try something a little more creative, unique, and fun.

What led me to this:

1. I can’t draw
2. I have no time
3. I don’t like being on camera

I’ve been looking into 3D because its extemely useful to analyze parts and how things go together. A program called Solidworks is used by engineers to create these 3D designs, its similar to a more popular program which I’m sure you’ve heard of called AutoCAD. These programs are for engineers and its a stretch to think that it would be a viable tool for creating automotive how-to videos.

Adobe has an entire suite of products dedicated to this, but one in particular called FrameMaker is now capable of integrating 3D objects into pdf documents. Basically, you click on the image and it goes into a 3D mode where you can rotate and even see an animation.

Google SketchUp may be exactly what I was looking for.

If anyone has any suggestions about using SketchUp or any other ideas for a tool that could accomplish this I’d be very interested in hearing more.

The goal is to create automotive how to videos that are entertaining and educational without having to have a degree in computer animations.