John Hritz

Member since: May 3rd, 2006

John Hritz's Latest Comments

Blog Activity

Blog	# of Comments
Autoblog	3 Comments
Download Squad	1 Comment
Autoblog Green	2 Comments

Recent Comments:

REPORT: Politician known for harsh motorist laws arrested in brutal hit-and-run death (Autoblog)

Sep 11th 2009 9:43AM Not to split hairs, but using the term "brush" is a de-emphasizer. The Saab passed illegally and collided with the bicyclist. On first blush grabbing the car seemed unwise to me, but it may be a defensive technique to maintain the distance and equalize the speed between the vehicle and the bike. Or it might have just been a reflex. Pretty scary all and all.

Ask DLS: What's your favorite Diary app? (Download Squad)

Jan 17th 2009 7:47PM The Journal (http://www.davidrm.com/) is by far the most comprehensive PC-based journaling software I've come across. I've been using it since 2002 and David continues to add features and refinements. Highly Hrecommended.

NHTSA: Back-up cameras are expensive and unreliable (Autoblog)

Aug 22nd 2007 1:04PM Much of this could be solved by folks loading their car, doing a walk-around and then immediately backing into the street. Instead the practice is to sit in the vehicle for multiple minutes, then put the car in reverse while talking on your cell phone.

Flexible-fuel conversions available in SW Michigan (Autoblog Green)

Aug 28th 2006 3:55PM I would be careful about putting ethanol in vehicles not designed for it. The basis of most of these conversions is a switchable bias to inject more fuel when you're running over 50% ethanol. This is much cruder than a production vehicle that detects the percentage of ethanol from 0 to 85%. I would also be skeptical of a fuel additive that purports to coat an engine to make it safe to run 85% ethanol. I like the idea of flexfuel conversions, but I'd like to see an independent lab confirm the results.

PBS' NOW asks who did what to the electric car (Autoblog Green)

Jun 9th 2006 11:05PM The NOW episode and the interview with the film maker exhibit a lack of a coherent argument. An electric car has to get its electricity from some place. Just like there are good and bad ways to get ethanol, running your car on electricity generated from burning coal is only making it someone elses problem.

The current arc of hybrid electric car to plug-in hybrid to full-time electric is looking pretty solid. Managing the charge in the battery, improving battery technology (the EV1 ran on lead acid batteries and was upgraded to Nickle Metal Hydride, the most modern hybrids use Lithium Ion) and keeping the battery at the proper temperature will extend range and improve longevity. Not to mention that gas prices make a lot of sustainable practices economical.

2006 Volvo S40 T5 AWD in the Autoblog Garage Day 5 (Autoblog)

May 3rd 2006 2:29PM With regard to the AWD T5. I decided to forego the weight penalty and the upcharge for the AWD on my V50. Instead, I chose the yaw control option which costs less, adds less weight and improves the gas mileage. In addition, I siped my tires to improve grip during the winter. I can recommend this combination.