A really nice sounding Mustang drove by the dealership this morning and the rumble started a long conversation involving many found memories of Mustangs from quite of few of our youths. One of my co-workers made the mistake of mentioning how as a teen he dreamed of owning a ‘five point oh’ stang when he was old enough. The hair on my neck stood at attention as I launched into a lecture intended to illustrate my issue with the term ‘five point oh’ first because ‘oh’ is a letter NOT a number and second, I really miss the days of cubic inch descriptions of engines. He immediately understood my calling him on the ‘oh’ reference and replied with “ok, then I always wanted a ‘five point zero’ Mustang! But what’s the big deal about using liters as a term, everyone uses liters, it’s the standard.”  Well that only made things worse for the poor guy as I made him listen to me rant for another hour or so, pining for the days when American iron was called by its measurement in good ole cubic inches!  As a kid I spent more time in a garage than a class room, the pits at OCIR were my second home and for me, engines in American cars will always be known by terms such as; four twenty seven-side oiler, four forty wedge with a six pack, three fifty with a four bolt main, four twenty eight cobra jet, four  twenty seven rat and of course the most recognized of them all the four twenty six hemi!  Yes, know cubic inches are not proper fluidic measurement and therefore are not the best to measure a round cylinder like those in and engine but I say whatever! It’s what was used from the beginning of American engine building and what I was raised on so I aint changing! After my tirade my friend asked me a simple question, “so how many cubic inches is the Mustang ‘five point zero’ then?” I regained my smug grin and began an explanation chock full of praise for Fords amazing ‘three oh two’ family of engines including the three fifty one Windsor and all the way up to the granddaddy four sixty. The response I got was a very simple; “but Mike, you said yourself that ‘oh’ is a letter and not a number…”
Damn!  :)

Much ado was made at the debut of the all new Accord Coupe at this month’s Detroit Auto Show. As with any launch there are lovers AND haters of Hondas new version of its flagship vehicle, which as we know from Honda’s past use of ‘concepts’ it should be pretty darn close to the production version. The press release began with the following statement from John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. "Marking the 30th anniversary of U.S. production, this new ninth-generation Accord will raise the bar again through a tour de force of new Honda powertrain and safety technologies, geared to ensure that Honda and the Accord continue to lead in fuel economy, safety and fun-to-drive performance,"  Very strong words indeed from a company that was blasted so hard last year for the perception by many auto journalists that they didn’t go FAR enough with the redesign of the Civic and didn’t take the new CR-R past the competition in the CUV segment. Although the concept showed drew some immediate criticism for not being a far enough departure from the current Accord Coupe however, I actually think it’s a really nice evolution of the Coupe and looks very different from the one outside my window here at the dealership! We haven’t seen even a hint of what the sedan will look like but here is what we do know so far: Three new engines are coming our way including the first of

Friends of theCarGuy know that my daily commute is roughly 78 miles each way, and in So Cal traffic that can mean as much as 2 1/2 hours some mornings! There are a few things that make my drive tolerable, one of them is called an iPod and the other is the cars of sunny So Cal! It rarely surprises me the cars I pass and am passed by here in the sunshine state, and recently I started keeping a photo journal of the very best ones. I must have 25 or more S2000 pictures, I love that little pocket rocket! Hot Rods abound on a sunny Sunday and there is always the random Ferrari sighting! My favorite pic is one I took with trembling hands though, as I crawled along in the car pool lane I heard thunder in the distance, my car pool buddy was yapping away and I quickly shhhhh’d him. “Shut up man”, I yelled, “do you HEAR that?” He looked around hopelessly and wondered if I had finally lost my mind completely, “what are you talking about weirdo?” As he spoke the rumble grew louder and soon I could feel it in my chest as we drew up alongside…. Yup, I was right, A/C Cobra with a 427 side oiler! I know that rumble ANYWHERE!
Today as I try and support the internet blackout against SOPA I just wanted to share my daily drive with you all! Have a great ride home and if YOU spot something cool on the road, snap a pic and share it… CAREFULLY of course! :)

As I started to work on consolidating my online image, I made a list of ALL the places I am visible online. While I am sure no Johhny Depp, hell for that matter I aint even at the Snookie level of visibility(!), there ARE quite a few sites I belong to and places I am seen. One of them is this ole blog page, formally theFleetGuy, but as you can see now its my site; MikethaCarGuy! After all, its what I am, at the deepest level. I am a Sales Manager for a car dealership yes, but more than that, i mean much more than that I am at heart a huge fan of cars and all things car related! Way back in the beginning of my career, (dont ask how long ago!), I got a job as a Tune Up Tech for a large Ford dealer here in So Cal and then moved to another one out in Colton, CA. I love cars and working on them, figuring out the problems and fixing them, makin 'em run better than they ever had was so much fun. After the first two years I realized that I wanted more, yes I loved cars but I also have a big mouth and cars dont listen to me as good as people do! I decided to combine my love of talking with my passion for cars and a career was born! Its been a really strange, but wildly fun ride so far and as I begin the next chapter I invite you all to join me as I enter the new world of technology, sharing and electronic expression. I love to share cool stuff about the cars I love so much, my opinions and memories and once in a while something actually important! So stay tuned friends, its gonna get AWESOME! :)