https://www.iaai.com/Vehicle?itemID=27025097 My car has already turned up at the salvage auto auction. It’s at the IAAI Culpepper, VA location. I really loved this car and had plans to keep it forever. In fact, I had just done the Volvo recommended 97,500 mile service on the car and had just filled the gas tank with super unleaded! However, I have no plans to buy my old car back.  Actual Cash Value is $11,308 and the Estimated Repair Cost is $9,462. Modern Volvos aren’t cheap to repair. If circumstances were different, maybe I would try to repair it myself. But I needed […]

A few weeks ago I was in a fender bender on my way to work. It was one of those crappy situations where it was 100% my fault, because it is my duty not to hit other vehicles in front of me, but also a tough situation to avoid. A group of 4 or 5 vehicles, mine included, were stopped on a highway ramp waiting for traffic to clear so that we could merge from the interchange onto a 4-lane divided highway. There was no merge lane, just a yield sign at the end of the ramp. When there was […]

One of the main benefits to ITBs is their very small throttled volume (that is the volume between the throttle plate and the back of the intake valves), which bestows them with excellent throttle response. Another benefit is that that they have a very large throttle area, which means they can flow a lot more air, without the negative consequences of a single throttle of similar area. You see, throttles must be sized appropriately for the engine. Like the fairy tale of Goldilocks and The Three Bears, you don’t want a throttle that is too big nor too small. Throttles […]