Yearly Archives: 2015

2016 Nissan Maxima Quick Drive – 4-Door Sports Car?

This entry was posted in Carmakers Nissan reviews and tagged 2016 nissan maxima car review car reviews first drive maxima nissan on by (updated 3153 days ago)

2016 nissan maxima first drive - 4

This week, the eighth-generation of Nissan’s so-called “4-Door Sports Car,” the Maxima goes on sale at dealerships across North America. Having originally debuted as a 1981 model, the Maxima is Nissan’s longest running continuous nameplate, the Z having gone away for several years in the 1990s. I got a chance to take a quick spin in the all-new sedan recently and came away fairly impressed, but does it really deserve the sports car nomenclature? Read on to find out.

(more…)

The 2015 Ford Shelby GT350 V8 – When Flatter is Better

This entry was posted in Carmakers Ford technology and tagged 2015 ford shelby gt350 mustang ford gt350 gt350r mustang shelby voodoo voodoo v8 on by (updated 3464 days ago)

gt350 v8 - 20

A few weeks ago we got an in-depth look the platform changes that the SVT/Ford Performance engineering crew made in the process of transforming the 2015 Mustang GT into the new Shelby GT350. However, a great chassis can only you get you so far. Every great sports car also needs a great powerplant and here the engineers appear to have come through again. Unlike the last couple of generations of SVT Mustangs, this time around the team have come up with something completely different, the 5.2-liter Voodoo V8.

(more…)

Last week NHTSA issued a report warning that pedal misapplication may lead to 16,000 accidents a year

This entry was posted in gpblg on by (updated 3461 days ago)

While the agency's recommendations include the usual; aim for the middle, avoid distractions and wear the right shoes, I think the answer may lie elsewhere.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2015/nhtsa-pedal-error-safety-advisory

Given that manual transmissions are rapidly vanishing, perhaps we should follow BMW's lead with the i3 and build on it. Maybe we should just eliminate the brake pedal.

The EV Could Mean the End of the Brake Pedal
The battery electric vehicle (BEV) will likely remain a small fraction of the overall automotive market for many years to come, according to Navigant Research’s Electric Vehicle Geographic Forecast…

Ford SYNC3 Launching This Summer on Fiesta and Escape

This entry was posted in Carmakers Ford technology and tagged connectivity ford infotainment myford touch sync 3 on by (updated 3465 days ago)
The SYNC 3 home screen features three zones, Navigation, Audio and Phone, as well as a quick access function tray along the bottom making for a more straight-forward user experience.

The SYNC 3 home screen features three zones, Navigation, Audio and Phone, as well as a quick access function tray along the bottom making for a more straight-forward user experience.

In 2007, Ford changed the way we connect our mobile devices to our cars with the introduction of SYNC on the Escape. In 2011, Ford almost overnight destroyed the goodwill toward SYNC with the introduction of the hugely troubled MyFord Touch which was known internally as SYNC V2. While Ford made MFT much better over the last couple of years with software updates, it also began work on a complete reboot. The result of those efforts debuts this summer as SYNC 3 and the Fiesta and Escape will be the first vehicles to get this all-new connectivity and infotainment system.

(more…)