Author Archives: Will@FluxAuto

Ford 1.0 Liter Ecoboost Features

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Ford’s 1.0 liter three cylinder turbocharged engine has yet to make it to American dealerships, but it’s already won an Engine of the Year award in Europe. The aim for the engine was to replace the 1.6 liter naturally aspirated engines found in the Ford Focus. With features liked dual variable valve timing, direct injection and a turbocharger, the 1.0 liter is much more efficient and a better performance engine at the same time. Fifth Gear recently drag raced an Ecoboost Focus against a 1.6 liter base model and the the Ecoboost car was significantly faster down the quarter mile. This promotional animated video from Ford talks about some of the new technologies of the 1.0 liter Ecoboost engine that allow it to have the best of both worlds.


Source: Technologic Vehicles on YouTube

No Evidence of Machines – Hattar Cycles

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One of the themes that I like to encourage here at Flux Auto is for people to embrace being craftsmen, fabricators and makers. Take a stack of raw materials and use your skills with tools and machines to turn it into something valuable. Nobody sells what you want? Build it. I’m going to go a deeper into this subject in a big upcoming post, but just know that right now is the Age of the Maker. It’s going to be the people with creative ideas and even more creative methods of quick and effective execution that’s going to infuse our slumbering economy with some much needed innovation. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

This video features Evan Wilcox of Hatter Motorcycles. He talks about how he got into sheet metal fabrication and what keeps him motivated to continually improve his skill set. I hope there are more people in this world that have this kind of passion. We need them now more than ever.


Source: Hattar Motorcycles via Bike Exif on Facebook

1918 Cadillac Type 57 Victoria – Jay Leno

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This is Jay Leno’s original and unrestored 1918 Cadillac Type 57 Victoria model. Jay likens this car to the CTS-V of 1918 because it’s a luxury model powered by the first ever mass produced V8 engine. Cadillac pioneered precision machining here in America back when the rest of the world was still handcrafting unique individual cars. These Type 57’s were designed to have interchangeable parts for easy servicing and production. Jay tells the story where six of these were brought to England and disassembled. The parts were then thrown into a giant pile and mixed up. Six new cars were then reassembled from the pile of parts that all started on the first try and went on to win an endurance race. That level of precision manufacturing was unheard of at the time. This Type 57 is the crown achievement of an era of American automobiles.


Source: Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube

Reliving the Targa Florio in the Porsche Boxster – Epic Drives

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Angus Mackenzie of Motor Trend is back with another truly excellent episode of Epic Drives. This time around he takes us to the garden of Europe, Sicily. While the active volcano and food culture there are unique attractions, it’s the roads that we’re interested in. The island of Sicily played host to the Targa Florio, a legendary historic race run along side the Mille Miglia and Le Mans. I’ll let Angus walk you through the history of the event, but it’s important to note that Porsche won the Targa Florio a record 11 times with lightweight mid-engine open top race cars. Their agility and durability allowed them to win over higher horsepower prototype cars. Mackenzie brings Porsche’s latest agile mid-engine roadster, the incredible all-new Boxster, to Sicily to drive the Targa Florio course once again.


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube

2012 Formula 1 Cars

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The folks over at Jalopnik.com put together this chart outlining the performance statistics and construction regulations for Formula 1 race cars this year. The rules change year to year, but this is a great crash course for the uninitiated. Hopefully there are a lot of new F1 enthusiasts getting ready to watch the return of the American Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX this weekend. Click to Enlarge:

Source: Jalopnik