Just when you thought that your favorite car audio magazine was going "gangsta gangsta" we take you back to your techno-chic roots plus one, or should I say plus two with all the eclectic (or rather, electric) cars to boot. Two motors are better than one, just like two subwoofers are better than one.
Our cover story this month is the culmination of a long building process and a very exciting one for me. One day I answered the phone and a rather hyper-sounding individual began to tell me about his past feature in the magazine. I remembered a particular Datsun 1200 electric car and he began to tell me about his new project, the Hybrid. The way he described his system was, "Seventy-six pounds @ 700 watts RMS." This power-to-weight ratio had me hooked. I love cars, I love small powerful cars, and the weight or the lack of it sometimes equals more power. To have a lightweight system is a major concern for some performance-minded small car owners. The same holds true for John Wayland, especially in the Hybrid. He likes his small cars to be fast, as well as bumping. His concern with the power-to-weight ratio sent him looking for lightweight products. Just imagine going into the store and asking "How much does this subwoofer weigh?" You know the sales person is going to look at you very funny.
A business trip landed Wayland at the Los Angeles Airport. After renting the General Motors EV1 from EV Rentals of Budget Rental Cars - John Wayland would like thank both, Terry O' Day (310.642.4530) & Gail Lee (310.642.4572) - he made a side trip to our office en route to San Diego. We went to lunch together and test drove the EV1, this seeming silver slug of a vehicle. My view of electric cars was about to be changed. John loves to toast the tires off the line against smug unsuspecting motorists. The look on Mustang owners' faces when John spun up the hairdryer was just pure fun-eee! This Pontiac is not a super powerhouse, but it has that low-end torque to quickly and efficiently gets things moving.
John gave me the full digital demo of his new Hybrid project and history on the EDRA. We are looking forward to John bringing us some technical stories on batteries and other related subjects in the future, so be on the look-out for this. Maybe Car Audio will build a full electric-powered drag car to dust a few of the gas Honda import drag guys. Imagine hitting the street racing scene and getting busted by a cop. It would almost be worth it just to see their expression when you pop the hood to reveal the six bridged class D amps strapped to the dishwasher motor. OK, we are dreaming, but John and his friends are not! I hope you enjoy the story; and if it sparks your interest then maybe you will visit us online and see the in-depth buildup of John's Hybrid.
That was the electric; now for the eclectic. We have a Subaru that makes quite an entrance, flying through the air and into our pages. That's the way it suppose to be! Getting air is good clean fun and Sean dishes it out on the regular. His lungs are filled with stories of air; and his ears are filled with miles of decibels. This car is just one of the most perfect cars for daily abuse; it just keeps coming back for more. This is a real world car with a real world system for as real a guy as they come! Can you tell that I like Subaru's? Fanatic!
Then we have the classic 300M that is just plain hot. I love suede when it is done right; and the guys at 310 Motoring know how to do it, as well as the rest of the system. This vehicle belongs to Raul Becerril who knows a thing or two about how to grab the attention of car audio enthusiasts.