New Beetle gets a sex change?

This is how I've seen the Beetle for the past decade: sort of a mobile gay. Women get away with driving them, but they garner our pity, and if a man gets in a Beetle, well then he's just lopped of his balls and put on a full-body leotard (in nude).

But its looks like my mindset may change. The new Beetle for 2012 has a leaner, meaner, sort of Magnum P.I. hairy-chest thing going. I'd actually drive one, if it weren't for a decade of gayness its predecessor racked up.

Car and Driver's review: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/volkswagen-beetle-news-2012-vw-new-beetle-renderings

Heads-Up Display from GM

It seems that GM, despite its miserable failure to run a successful car company, is still innovating. Check out this cool heads-up display, which can even tag possible destinations. Vaguely reminiscent of Cadillac's black-and-white radar HUD introduced about 10 years ago, this is far superior and with any luck could actually be developed. It seems to me that this technology is the wave of the future, and not just for automated cars. Imagine a car that could pinpoint road hazards using a HUD, provide you a GPS map overlay in, say, the lower-left corner of the windshield, or even detect police cars/radar signatures. Racing (particularly rally) or police uses seem logical, and military applications could drive development. The possibilities are endless, and leave me hopeful that 21st-century automotive innovation is broader than merely re-engineering drive-by-wire systems and inventing better batteries.

It's catching!

Honda has just announced that they are recalling over 400,000 cars for problems related to air in the braking systems. Who's next?

The Seattle Pitting Epidemic

While undoubtedly there have been Toyotas with significant faults, we can't ignore the social factors that are at work with the supposed epidemic of Toyota failures. Check out how a social epidemic can happen here, Washington History Link. Ultimately telling where the BS ends and begins in a something with so much media hype is very hard to tell.

Toyota continued: Driver error may contribute to unintended acceleration

This just in, folks! It seems many people are prone to doing the wrong thing in an emergency situation and the majority of drivers are not prepared to take instant action in case of a problem. Driver error, a significant component of Audi's similar unintended acceleration troubles in the 1980s, may substantially muddy the waters in Toyota's cases of unintended acceleration. The problem begs the question: should the government require the auto industry to install throttle cutoffs in new vehicles, thus instantly deactivating the throttle when the brake pedal is pushed?
Read waaay more

Snowy Swedish Rally Goodness

I realized I hadn't watched any WRC in quite some time (damn you Speed Channel), and thought I'd see what's available on youtube. And yep what do you know, rally is as awesome as it ever was. It's awesome to see Ford continuing to support rallying, when many other manufacturers are pulling back on rally support, or in Mitsubishi's case, pulling the plug completely. Even more interesting to me is that Ford hasn't tried to capitalize on their many successes in WRC nearly as much as Mitsubishi, or Subaru, or at least not in the U.S. But they should, and they should offer hot Foci with AWD, unlike the current versions in Europe, because Americans really seem to love AWD. A lot.

LCM woes, part III...

Removal of LCM underdash (right top). 1. Remove screws. 2. Depress locking tab.

Location of LCM (right bottom). 1. Remove screws, release locking tab, LCM inside.

To make sure you LCM is at fault here are some useful diagnostic tips: If your flash-to-pass function still works, but your headlights and high beams in the "on" mode do not work, then it's your LCM. The LCM just takes commands and process them. In the case of the high beams, there are two separate ways to switch them on and the flash-to-pass is independent of the "on" switch. If your high beams don't work in any method, then it may be the column switch. You can also verify the working order of your headlights by disconnecting the terminal at the bulb and sending 12 volts from the battery via a jumper wire to either of the light circuits (don't send 12 volts to the ground indicated by a black wire).

Not up to fixing your own LCM? Just want a new one? Well here is the scoop: You have several options.
1) Get one from Ford. Your dealer has them. The price ranges depending on how good of a negotiator you are. They retail for $511.07, but your dealer has discretion and may sell you one at the cost price, as low as $389.00. Online Ford parts sites, such as http://www.teamfordparts.com/ could be an even better deal if they list your part number. The LCM part numbers are 12 digits long and start with the year of your car, for example 5W7T-13C788-AB. This LCM would be for a 2005 Crown Vic. They are on a white tag on the bottom of the LCM.

2) Get one from a salvage yard. These are much cheaper (~$100), but they may already be on their last legs. Some salvage yards may sell rebuilt modules.

3) Go shopping on eBay. Two types are available on eBay. The first are just like the salvage yards, LCM's of questionable serviceability (think of all those taxis out there), and similar prices. The second type are people who use your LCM as a core and sell rebuilt modules. Here is the email of one such type: digitalguy_1@charter.net This source specializes in rebuilding automotive "black boxes". They come with a lifetime guarantee. The cost is about $100.

You should know that your are not alone and that faulty LCMs are very common issue with 2002 and newer Panther cars. It's not so much a matter of if, but when the LCM will fail.

Next: How to save your LCM and prevent early failure.