Daily Archives: November 29, 2012


Sad news for fans of automotive history 2

The +Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI is closing to the public at the end of the year. The museum which is located adjacent to the Chrysler headquarters and technical center has been losing money for years. 

Any interested in classic cars from Chrysler should head to the museum in December before it closes. For now at least, it's not being dismantled, but will instead become something more like the GM Heritage Center which has never been open to the public. The company will hold private events there and occasionally open it to the public a few times a year. 

Financially strapped Chrysler Museum to close at end of year | Crain’s Detroit Business
Brian Glowiak The Walter P. Chrysler Museum will close at year’s end, following years of fundraising challenges and operating at a deficit. As of Jan. 1,

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It looks like 2013 may finally be the year of the big diesel breakthrough in Ame… 17

It looks like 2013 may finally be the year of the big diesel breakthrough in America

After years of teasing, +Mazda USA has finally confirmed that it is bringing a diesel engine to the new Mazda6 midsize sedan.  The new SkyActiv-D engine is an interesting design, using a lower 14:1 compression ratio. The result is lower combustion temperature and reduced NOx emissions so they don't need an expensive aftertreatment system.

If the sedan is as successful as +Volkswagen USA's diesels, we'll probably see the engine show up in the CX-5 and possibly even the compact Mazda3.

At the LA Auto Show Audi has also confirmed that it has 4 new diesels coming in 2013 which will join the 4 diesels coming to BMW and the Chevy Cruze diesel.

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Good riddance to retractable hard tops 3

Aside from 2-seaters, retractable hard-top convertibles have always sucked. The storage space required to stash enough hardware to cover two rows of seats has inevitably led to poorly proportioned vehicles with extra long rear decks like +Volkswagen USA Eos, +Chrysler Sebring and +Lexus USA SC430 and IS250/350. In addition to the styling flaws, hard-tops take a lot more storage space often leaving little or no trunk space.

VW to kill off Eos | Autocar
Folding hardtop to be replaced by a larger cabrio

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