About American Cars

There have been few people on this planet that have made such an impact on the automotive racing and design world than legend Carroll Shelby. Now well into his 80′s, Carroll continues fueling his passion for high performance automobiles. Carroll Shelby starting out racing back in the 1950′s and he was hooked from that point on. After retiring from the racing scene in 1959, he took his passion for high performance and turned it to building cars under the Shelby American name.

The first incredibly successful car built was the AC Cobra, which remains one of the most sought after vehicles ever produced. To build this car Carroll Shelby took the British AC Ace and combined it with a Ford V8 engine to produce a fast little convertible roadster. Although at the time, the Shelby Cobra was not a financially viable car to produce, it Only 1003 Shelby Cobra’s were every built and shipped throughout the world between 1965-1970.

Shelby was also very busy assisting other car companies in making high-performance versions of cars that they were already producing. Many people will remember the Shelby Mustangs of the 1960′s. These cars were the joint effort of Shelby and Ford to produce a unique, higher performance Mustang than was previously available by Ford alone. The two Mustangs that were produced from this project were the Shelby GT500 and the Shelby GT350. This relationship with Shelby and the Ford Mustang is still in existence today and a Shelby Mustang.

In the 1980′s Shelby went on to help Chrysler in turning around from several years of poor economic performance. With the help of Carroll Shelby, they went on to build a few successful models.

In 1999 Shelby Automobiles went in a different direction and designed a car on it’s own from the ground up. This resulted in the Shelby Series 1 which is an incredible performance sports car. Only 249 of these cars were ever produced, making them a rare find.

Another car that has taken the world by storm is the Shelby SSC Ultimate Aero, which is created by a company called Shelby Super Cars. This company, is named after it’s owner, Jerod Shelby, who is no relation to Carroll Shelby. This supercar is an example of American engineering. The SSC Ultimate Aero recently was named the faster production car by the Guinness Book of Records. Surprisingly, this fast car uses a V8 engine to produce over 1000hp. With everything that this car has to offer in terms of performance, it’s a bargain. Comparable only to the Bugatti Veyron, this car is about half the cost of the Veyron – about $600,000 U.S.

The Shelby name is synonymous with performance automobiles, whether the the Shelby Super Cars (SCC) or the original Shelby American. If you have the chance to own one of these magnificent cars, take full advantage of it! The Shelby name will live on in American automotive history.

Globalization has been increasing steadily and this has made the distinction between American cars and foreign cars. In the U.S. market, Asian and European brands are making their presence felt. American car makers on the other hand are extending their reaches to other regions of the world.

With these things going on, it is hard to find out which vehicle is really American. This attribute plays a major role for American car buyers who are loyal to the homegrown brands like Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler. The line between foreign car and American cars has been blurred though by globalization.

Asian and European car manufacturers are producing their vehicles in the United States. On the other hand, American car makers produce their vehicles in other parts of the world. These then would be later be shipped back to the United States to be sold.

To add to the confusion, there are American branded vehicles produced in the United States but owned by a foreign company like in the case of Dodge being owned by DaimlerChrysler AG based in Germany.

To help patriotic Americans find out which cars in the market are really American, USA Today the American newspaper with the widest circulation named “which cars are really American”. USA Today ranked vehicles for the 2007 model year by U.S. or Canada Content Percentage depending on where they are produced, and, of course, the brand name among others.

Topping the list of the most American car are four models from the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Edge, Econoline, Expedition, and the Lincoln MKX got the highest percentage rating of 95 percent. The Ford Crown Victoria got a 90 percent rating along with other models including the Ford F-150, Mercury Grand Marquis, the Chevrolet Impala and Silverado, and the GMC Sierra.

The list shows that the market offers no totally American car which means that globalization is doing its work and even an EBC pad cannot stop it.

Other car which posted 85 or above percentage rating came from the Big Three’s various brands. The Cadillac DTS was rated to be 87 percent American by USA Today. Vehicles which received 86 percent ratings are the Buick Rainer, Chevrolet Express Savana, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy/XL, GMC Savana, Hummer H3, Pontiac G6, and the Saturn Aura. All of these models are produced in the United States.

Models which got 85 percent rating from USA Today are the Dodge Viper, the Ford Freestyle, the Lincoln Mark LT, the Lincoln Town Car, the Buick Lucerne, the Cadillac XLR, the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chevrolet Colorado, the GMC Canyon, and the Saturn Ion.

More and more car makers from other countries building facilities in the United States, and U.S. car manufacturers setting up plants on different countries, the distinction between an American and a foreign car will get even more blurred. For some Americans, this poses a serious problem when choosing a new car to buy.

Have you ever used an industrial air hammer? Have you checked on your automotive starter system at one point or another? Have you ever seen an electric bell assembly? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you probably know what a solenoid valve is.

Solenoid valves are electromechanical valves that are controlled by stopping or running an electrical current through a solenoid, in order to change the state of the valve. A solenoid is a coil of wire that is magnetized when electricity runs through it. The solenoid valve makes use of this solenoid in order to activate a valve, thus controlling water flow, airflow and other things with electricity. Basically, there are three types of solenoid valves: the general-purpose type, low-pressure steam type and the high pressure steam type.

Solenoid valves are composed of several parts such as the solenoid coil, electrical connector, bonnet nut, seal cartridge, O-rings, end connector, body and union nut. All these components are critical to the overall performance of solenoid valves. If any malfunction, it will affect the entire operation of the automotive starter system, as well as the industrial air hammer and the electric bell assembly. That is why this should always be maintained and regularly checked in order to keep the solenoid valves functioning at their best.

But just like any other parts of the starter system, air hammer and electric bell, the solenoid valve can get damaged after a period of time. Thus, a replacement solenoid valve will be needed. It’s a good thing that many dealers offer quality solenoid valves at affordable prices. When selecting a solenoid valve, be sure to consider the valve type, aperture size, pressure rating, coil voltage and type of connection to each port.

To please a new generation of customers this year and beyond, Ford of Europe has done some reinventions in its small car range and come up with its all new five-door Fiesta. The production version of the Verve Concept car, the stylish Fiesta is powered by a Duratec 1.6-liter Ti-VCT that combines power with fuel economy.

I have only seen pictures of the car online but I can already tell it will delight customers (especially American car fans) because of its new “kinetic design” exterior, craftsmanship and high-tech features.

Dubbed as the first product of Ford’s major global product development, the car will be sold in between 2008 to 2010. The car will be unveiled tomorrow at the Geneva Motor Show.

For more exciting details, click here.

The sixties brought about a revolution in auto design and performance. Of course if I live long enough, I think you will see 1/4 mile 12 second electric cars that may exceed the sixties cool car boom. There are many innovative things that were tried in the 60′s. The cars of the 1960′s had innovation, beauty, and speed.

The early 1960′s brought about the advent of the compact car. The Plymouth Valiant, Dodge Dart, Ford Falcon, Chevy Corvair (rear engine), Buick Skylark, Pontiac Tempest, Olds Cutlass, Chevy Nova, and American Motors Rambler, were some of the Auto makers attempts at a more efficient, easy to drive, less costly car. I had a 1961 Pontiac Tempest with 3 on the floor and what was actually a V8 cut in half. It was a good little bugger and candy apple red. My Aunt’s Corvair took the cake with its sports car feel and rear engine. Darts and other Mopars ran forever and were so easy to maintain.

One innovation from the 60′s was the introduction of every auto maker creating a series of large, medium, and small size cars to cover the needs of America. Fins, Bullet Lights, Push Button Transmissions, better radios with 8 track or cassette players, were anxiously awaited by the public every year. Some even had record players. The Air Conditioner evolved into efficiency too. Big and small block V8′s grew and grew.

The 1964, 389 three deuce GTO started the war of muscle cars. Some other favorites of mine were the 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix with a 421, the pre-1967 Belvedere and Coronet with hemis, the 1962-64 Chevy Impalas were nice too. A 1962 Ford Galaxie with a 292 police interceptor was cool as was the 1966 Galaxie. You can’t ignore all the Corvettes of the 1960′s with the 1966 Stingray being my favorite. Of course the 1964 ½ Mustang brought about the pony car revolution.

1967 was kind of a turnaround year. The 1967 Mustang GT with a 390 was a little slow but so sleek. The 1967 Camaro, the GM entry, was fast and very cool. 1968 brought about the Dodge Scat Pack with the Dart GT, Challenger, and of course Coronet Super Bee and R/T. That 1968 Charger R/T Hemi or 440 was one of my all-time favorites. It looked like a giant Sting Ray. What a sound that 440 made. The GTO Judge, Buick Grand Sport and Hurst Olds 4-4-2 were very very cool too.

I remember my best friend bought a Super Bee with a 383 and I got a 440 Coronet R/T. Then, trying to outdo me, he got a 1969 Mustang Mach One (only 335 hp rated). I found a rare 1969 Mustang Police Interceptor. It had a Super Cobra Jet 428 with about 410 hp. and complete with transmission cooler, gears, cam, air shocks and all from the factory. What a car! All black and no markings, hood scoops or anything.

Of course the 1970′s had it’s share of muscle cars but the 1960′s, in my opinion, had the coolest cars of all-time.