Why Customize?

Why do people take perfectly good cars and alter them by adding aftermarket products?  There is no good answer for this question but I'm going to attempt to explain why I personally feel the need to alter a perfectly good car or anything else for that matter.

I have a Rolex watch that came with a stainless steel bracelet and I recently changed this bracelet for a leather strap because I personally felt that it looked better and suited my taste more.  If Rolex made this watch with a selection of custom-made leather straps, I would have opted for that but they don't so I did.

My friend, who I consider a watch aficionado, saw it this weekend and almost punched me for doing something so taboo (in his mind) but then again he said... "well, you put aftermarket wheels on your Maserati so I'd expect this from you."

Ah, my Maserati... let's get back to cars.  I drive a Maserati Quattroporte and although I personally think this is one of the most beautiful sedans on the road today, I really wanted the coupe.  Since I couldn't have the coupe, I decided that I can have my cake and eat it too by improving the performance, sound, and stance of my sedan.

As such, I lowered the stance just a bit, I added aftermarket wheels with wider tires, and I installed much better sounding sports mufflers.

This is the part that gets tricky.... how much is too much?  Well, although it's a matter of personal taste, there are things that you just don't do.  There are many subtle nuances of modifying a car and small mistakes can take you from looking aggressive to looking idiotic.

For example, my car came with 19" polished wheels but there was a factory option for 20" wheels.  As such, I installed 20" wheels on my car and kept within the factory range.  I've seen others install 22" wheels and to me that just looks silly; not to mention it leaves such little tire sidewall that the ride ends up being overly harsh and not at all what you'd want from a premium car like this.

Another example is the lowering.  Again, my car came with the "luxury" suspension but is offered from the factory with a sport suspension (GTS) that is a little lower and a bit stiffer.  I chose to lower my car just a tad more than that but not much.  This gives me the aggressive look and the much improved handling while sacrificing just a little comfort (but not much).  On the other hand, I've seen owners of very nice cars turning them into low riders!  Sure, it's eye catching for a show car but it's completely pointless for the road.  Other than scraping every speed bump and driveway incline, you actually deteriorate the ride and the handling by lowering the car beyond it's neutral point (lower does not always equal better).  We can get into handling dynamics but that's a whole other subject.  Like I said, there is a fine line between improvement and deterioration.  I lowered the car 1" but had I gone 1.5", it would have negated the whole point.

Exhaust and sound.... why would you alter the sound of a Maserati?  Well, the answer is actually fairly easy. The Maserati Quattroporte (and all others for that matter) is equipped with a de-stroked Ferrari 4.2L V8 (the Ferrari F430 has it in a 4.3L version).  As such, it has the potential to sound very exotic, however the car is fitted with very restrictive mufflers in order to make it more of a luxury sedan.  For those of us who enjoy the sound of the beautiful Ferrari V8, it is a must to replace those restrictive mufflers with either Larini or Tubi mufflers that are specifically designed for Italian exotics.  Instantly, the car is transformed from a subdued luxury cruiser to a sexy sounding exotic.  Again, mistakes could be made here.  Had I just gone to a muffler shop and said "remove the cans", I would have ended up with a Harley Davidson and not a Ferrari.  By getting the right parts (and not sparing the expense), I ended up with what I think is fitting for this car.

So, was this post intended for me to talk about my car?  Not really... it's just an example of what I think are tasteful and functional improvements.  Am I bragging?  No, and to show you an example of tasteless and idiotic alterations, let me take a second to tell you about my stupidity from my past....

Several years ago (before I became a little wiser), I purchased a brand new Lexus IS300 and I started by doing the basics such as a little lower stance, wider wheels/tires and a nicer sounding exhaust system.  However, I lost site of what this car really is and instead I ended up going down a modification road I wish I hadn't gone down... I ended up doing a full race suspension, changing the auto transmission to a manual, and doing over $30,000 of engine work; essentially spending more on modifications that the car was worth brand new.  I ended up with a sedan that can outrun motorcycles but it was not a nice car to drive by any means.  I  sold this car with only 15,000 miles for $34,000 which was less than just the modifications.  This was a prime example of what NOT to do with modifications!

In any case, I'm much older now and maybe a little wiser too.  As for the mods I made on my car, I think they're tasteful but I'll let you be the judge:

AMG Gone Wild!

Pure Sickness!  That is all I can say about the 2008 CLK63 AMG Black Series that I borrowed from eCarOne last week.  It’s not a car, it’s a missile on wheels… it’s a freaking bullet shaped like a sexy, curvy, bad-ass exotic coupe!  I don’t really know where to start with this review of one of perhaps the most awesome cars I have ever driven.

A few weeks ago, I had a 2012 C63 AMG Coupe and I wrote a very favorable review on this car and it was my favorite out of all the cars I had driven… until last week.

The guys at eCarOne gave me a 2008 Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Series, and in case you’re wondering what “Black Series” means, it’s the same concept as the RS3 version of the Porsche 911, the Competition M3, or the Scuderia Ferrari.  Basically, it’s a CLK63 on massive amounts of testosterone.  They take an already awesome CLK63, remove the rear seat, stiffen the suspension & chassis, widen the fenders, increase tire size, free up the engine and get a little more power, and relax the traction control a bit.  And of course, they give it the special badging and even more special interior (sports seats, suede, and aluminum/carbon fiber trim).  All this makes the car very unique and even more so, they don’t mass-produce this one like the rest of the lineup.  It’s made in limited numbers and I know it will be a collectible some day.

I’m guessing that judging from the above you get the idea that I liked this car…. Well, I really enjoyed it for what it is; a pure race car for the street.  However, is it an everyday car?  I can tell you for sure that it’s not a car I can drive daily and I’m stressing “I” because for my specific needs I can’t have a two seat coupe, however; let’s compare it to say a Ferrari 430, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche RS3, or perhaps an Aston Martin Vantage.  All these cars I would place in the same category as the Black Series CLK63… they are all exotic supercars and although Mercedes is more known for making practical cars that go very fast, this one I would have to place in a different category altogether. 

So, who is the CLK63 Black Series made for?  In my opinion it's for those out there that want supercar performance but would rather not be noticed.  The CLK Black Series is made for those who want race track performance on the street without the exotic stereotype and without the exotic price tag and ongoing cost of maintenance and repair.

Let’s take a look at the previous conjecture for a minute.  This CLK is priced at roughly $70,000 which is about half of its MSRP.  It is a monster on the street and I’ll wager that this car can take on many exotics on the track.  Now let’s see what these exotics would cost or better yet, let’s see what you can get for $70k.  You can get a 10-year-old Ferrari F355 or a similar age Lambo.  You could get a lightly used Aston Martin or Porsche 911 Twin Turbo.  Of all those cars, I would put the Porsche TT head to head with the CLK and in my book the CLK63 wins for several reasons…. It’s way more rare, way more collectible, cost less to operate, and is not driven by people who have too much money.  I’m sorry if this statement offends anyone but go to any affluent city and you’ll see men and women driving these 500+ HP Porsches who have no idea what these cars can do.  On the other hand, I challenge anyone to find me someone driving a Black Series CLK63 who doesn’t know exactly what he or she is driving.

I never thought I’d say this but if I'm looking for all out performance, I would take this Benz over a comparably priced Ferrari any day.  I would even venture to say it's a bargain!

Thank you for reading and happy driving. 

The Maserati Coupe… is it a $30k Ferrari?

Last week I had a chance to drive a 2008 very low mileage Ferrari F430 Spyder for a full afternoon and evening. Needless to say, I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. I picked the car up from eCarOne and drove it home to show my 2-year-old boy who already knows most of the cars on the road. The smile on his face was priceless as he kept pointing and saying RARI RARI. I too enjoyed the car very much. There is nothing to dislike… the engine, transmission, exhaust, excellent seats, looks, you name it. It’s a truly magical experience but unfortunately I would need to be a magician to afford it. Hence, what options do I have if I loved the feel of driving a Ferrari and the attention of owning one?

Well, there is Porsche, Jag, Mercedes, Audi… many respectable names out there but with all due respect, none of them give you the pure experience of driving an Italian sports car. However, there is one that I did not mention… Maserati. Huh, they still make those? Isn’t that a Fiat? The answers are yes, and no, respectively.

While Maserati was very prominent in the 60s and 70s, it went away by the late 80s and was all but dead until it was revived in the late 90s by Ferrari. In 2002, Maseratis were reintroduced in the United States once again. So why am I talking about Maserati? Well, all Maseratis today sold in the US are powered by either a 4.2L or a 4.7L Ferrari derived engine and most are mated to a Ferrari derived F1 transmission. It just so happens that eCarOne had a 2003 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa with an F1 transmission, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to drive it and see how it felt vs. the Ferrari F430 I drove earlier.
Now, this is where I need to disclose that I am not going to compare a $30,000 Maserati touring coupe to a $175,000 Ferrari supercar, but I will say that if you are interested in the passion of driving an Italian machine and a six figure price tag is a little out of your comfort zone, then I urge you to drive a Maserati and see for yourself. I think eCarOne usually carries 3 or 4 so it shouldn’t be difficult to drive one.
I picked the Coupe up from eCarOne on Friday around noon and dropped off my 7-series. If there was a moment of disappointment, it would be the first minute I got in and turned on the audio system, but who wants to listen to music when you have that V8 & exhaust.
I got on the highway right away and opened it up. The car pulled very strongly and although the shifts were not lightning fast (like the F430), they were still quick and sharp... no complaints. The ride was softer than my 7-series with H&R springs but was very compliant and controlled. It took a little time to get used to the feel but once I did, I was completely comfortable with the car and felt right at home with it. I found that turning off the radio and listening to the beautiful exhaust was much more satisfying so for the last 48 hours my soundtrack has been the V8 revving from 4k to 7k!

Once I got off the highway and cruised into town, I immediately started noticing people giving me looks at traffic lights… and I live in a city where Porsche Panameras and AMG Mercedes are more common than Accords and Camrys. I think I was getting more looks because people were curious of what this car was…. I did not get these looks of curiosity in the F430. The only other time I got stop and stare looks was in a GT-R that I picked up from eCarOne a few months ago. I guess the Maser being yellow probably had something to do with it. I got back to my office, parked it, and a few minutes later one of my salespeople walks by my office and says nice car!

Even though it was not mine, getting all these compliments felt good. Took it home later and the look on my boy's face was priceless... and he's two years old! Took him for a ride and he did not want to get out... he just kept saying Rati Rati. And by the way, his toddler seat was securely anchored with the LATCH system which was a nice surprise. Took it to my local coffee shop early Saturday morning, and upon parking it, immediately a couple of guys start asking me questions... is it new? No, it's used I say. What year is it, '09 '10? No, it's an '03... wow, they say. Again, not my car but it's nice to hear compliments. Later it felt that the tires were a little low. Took it to a local car wash / service center and got the air pressure adjusted. Then the car wash guys asks would you like a hand wash? Hey, I get my Bimmer washed there almost weekly and he never asked to hand wash the Bimmer! Go figure.

Are there things that worry me? Sure. Maintenance is a little higher than usual but not out of the ordinary. Repairs can be very costly but buying it from a reputable dealer and staying on top of maintenance should address this issue. Other than the audio system not being exactly what I would have (and that’s an easy fix), I truly enjoyed this car. If I had the money, I would get the Ferrari… but even then I wouldn’t have the comfortable back seat with a LATCH system for my kiddo. For the money, this is truly one of the best bargains out there. At $30k, I can get an ’03 nicely optioned Coupe. At $45k I can get an ’05 or ’06 Gransport, which is the Coupe that is more tuned (sort of like the M3 of the 3-series). I couldn’t even touch a low mileage Porsche 911 for under $50k so the Maserati is even more of a bargain once you start comparing it. And I can’t honestly make the following statement for most cars…. And that is…
The more I drove this car, the more I wanted to drive it. I'm sold.

Good luck and happy test driving.

Hello world!

So, how did I become the Test Drive Blogger?  A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with my very good friend and founder of eCarOne and as usual we were talking cars.  Although I am not in the car business, I have loved cars since I could talk. We usually toss ideas around and this time I think we came up with something that could be very useful for many perspective buyers out there.  Currently, there are many websites that offer new and used car reviews but none to knowledge offer these reviews based on actual ownership experience.  As a perspective buyer, your only option of researching a particular make or model is to scour the internet and perhaps visit car-specific forums that discuss the ownership experience.

We thought that since I love cars and I go through them more frequently than most people go through shoes, it may be a good idea for us to capitalize on my tendency to get board with whatever car I own.  As such, I will be taking a car from eCarOne each week and using it as my daily driver.  After my week is over, I will post my impression… not an objective test drive but rather a commentary of what it’s actually like to own the car for a full week.  Some of my posts will be informative, some advisory, some purely commentary and of course some you may find useless.

In any case, I will do my best to bring a fresh perspective with each post and as we build a database of various cars, I believe we can start to really have fun.  I hope you enjoy reading and I welcome any questions and comments going forward.  Thank you and happy driving.