Alright, now that we’ve talked about overland things for the past few weeks, I’m sure those of you who are here for ‘performance’ cars and ‘project’ cars are ready for something that appeals more to your wheelhouse. So, let’s leave the overland things alone for a while and kick off the next mini-series: affordable project [...]
The Volkswagen Atlas debuted in 2017 as VW’s answer to full-size SUV competitors on the market growing bigger and bigger. Rather than keep all their eggs in the Touareg and Tiguan namesakes, VW decided to go bigger and smaller with the Atlas and eventually Taos. But we’re not here to talk about their ‘market viability’ [...]
The first generation BMW X5, known by those in the scene by its chassis designation, the E53, is a full-size SUV with tons of potential. The E70 X5 continued the tradition set by BMW’s first SUV, which straddles the center of a Venn diagram that balances performance, practicality, and rugged dependability. Whichever generation or engine [...]
Some things are too well-loved to be permanently killed off, like Arnold coming back in Terminator 2. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably figured out Tuned In Weekly is back to save the day, as, you’re reading it now! Yes, after a seven-month hiatus, I’m back. Like Arnold’s famous lever-action shotgun-wielding, re-programmed, robot from the [...]
Hello to all of our loyal readers of Tuned In Weekly and our ECS Blog, it’s Craig here, your friendly writer and BMW nerd. After writing this blog for five years, starting the Tuned In weekly series, and running the ECS social media accounts, I am sad to announce that this is my final contribution [...]
As those of us who came of age in the 80s and 90s grow older, the culture that we were born into but otherwise rather exempt from has made its resurgence. In the past few years for the car community, this explosion of all things vintage has mirrored the muscle car boom of the early [...]
Part of becoming an enthusiast is recognizing that performing maintenance services on your VW aren’t inconveniences, but rather, opportunities. You gain new skills and confidence with every service that requires more work, build a relationship with your car, and become quite self-sufficient with these mechanical skills that transfer fairly universally to other parts of your [...]
Since March of 2020, we’ve seen extreme, generation-defining, events happen real-time back to back. Most recently, for the past fifty-three days and amidst an ongoing global pandemic, Ukraine is attempting to repel Russian invaders and millions of refugees have fled the country as a result. What this most recent global event, and the preceding line [...]
Getting older proves challenging for some car guys. At a certain point, it’s just not feasible to roll around in something purpose-built for racing on the morning commute, so you have to pick something more civilized. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice power, though. That’s the sentiment Derek has with his C7 S6 we’ve [...]
As enthusiasts, we ultimately want more from our cars. We build them around a goal, whether that’s for motorsport competition, shows, or just for fun, all that matters is making the car a reflection of yourself. We understand that intimately here at ECS and often find ourselves pursuing product development solely for selfish reasons because [...]