Carmakers

Track Testing at the ‘Ring Inspired Shelby GT350 Aero Updates

This entry was posted in cars Ford technology and tagged 2015 ford shelby gt350 mustang aerodynamics ford gt350 gt350r mustang naias 2015 naias2015 on by (updated 3594 days ago)

 

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The 2015 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang gets a more prominent spoiler inspired by track testing at the Nurburgring

 

When the new track-focuse Ford Shelby GT350R drifted its way onto the stage in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Monday morning, the most obvious visual difference compared to the base model was the massive rear wing.

When the white baseline Shelby was initially revealed at the LA Auto Show in November, only a subtle black Gurney strip was added to the trailing edge of the trunklid, the same setup that appeared on the prototypes that were spotted circulating the Nurburgring last July. Here in Detroit, that same baseline Shelby had a significantly larger, more aggressive rear spoiler similar to those found on non-Shelby Mustangs for 2015.

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When it was revealed in Los Angeles in November, the GT350 had a subtle Gurney strip on the trailing edge of the decklid

 

It turns out the testing at the ‘Ring and other tracks was behind the change. I spoke with Chris Svensson, Ford design director, the Americas while checking out the new GT and the GT350R on the show floor in Detroit.

“After analyzing the data from testing in Germany and validating it in the wind-tunnel and other tracks, we realized need to adjust the total downforce and balance front to rear,” said Svensson. “The front splitter and the rear spoilers have all had some additional development to optimize the high-speed handling.”

The baseline 2015 GT350 also gets a more prominent rear spoiler for extra downforce and better balance

The baseline 2015 GT350 also gets a more prominent rear spoiler for extra downforce and better balance

The result is an even more aggressive look to the already mean looking Mustang although Ford has yet to reveal specific details about precisely how much downforce or power the new pony will generate. Let the battle between the GT350R and Z/28 begin.

 

#NAIAS15 – The 2016 Chevrolet Volt – Fully Recharged

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Chevrolet electric Hybrid technology and tagged 2016 chevrolet volt chevrolet electric car extended range EV naias naias2015 volt on by (updated 3390 days ago)

2016 Chevrolet Volt

Eight years after the debut of of the original Chevrolet Volt concept at the 2007 North American International Auto Show and four years after the production launch, General Motors is ready to publicly debut the all-new second generation model.  I was part of a group that got an early look at the GEN2 Volt along with the leaders of the Volt team a few days before the big show.

Then vs Now

Eight years ago, the car we saw was a pure concept, powered by golf cart motor alongside a mockup of what the E-Flex propulsion system would look like if GM actually opted to build one.  The whole idea had only been thought up about nine months by former GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz and then-VP of program management Jon Laukner. Lutz and Laukner had been spitballing ideas for how to respond to the negative publicity around the film “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and the result was a extended-range electric vehicle (ER-EV). There were no firm plans at the time to actually produce the car.

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#NAIAS2015 – Ford Performance Comes out Huge!

This entry was posted in Carmakers Ford technology and tagged ford ford gt ford performance FordNAIAS gt350r mustang naias naias2015 phoenix shelby on by (updated 3595 days ago)

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While Chevrolet went all in on plug-ins today at the North American International Show, Ford went to the opposite extreme, rolling out a take no prisoners lineup under its Ford Performance banner. Ford CEO Mark Fields reminded the audience that Ford innovation began with racing, referring Henry Ford’s famous 999 race car of 1901. The winnings earned by that car were used to fund the launch of Ford Motor Company.

Ford CTO Raj Nair announced the new Ford Performance division at an event in Dearborn last month where he also announced that former Mustang chief engineer Dave Pericak would become the global director of the group. Under Pericak Ford Performance will bring together the engineering and design groups from North America’s SVT, Europe’s Team RS and Ford Racing. Nair had also announced that a new Focus RS was coming and it would be available in America, but that car was not shown in Detroit.

The most extreme factory Mustang yet

After unveiling the all-new Shelby GT350 Mustang just before the LA Auto Show in December, the crew from Ford Performance/SVT has come back with an even faster version here on home turf. Like the Laguna Seca edition of the 2012-13 Boss 302, the GT350R turns up the performance wick to 11 by shaving weight and adding more go fast parts for the true track-day addict. By dispensing with non-performance enhancing trivialities like a back seat, air conditioning and audio system, Ford has reduced the workload on the new 5.2-liter flat-plane crank V8.

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The Voodoo V8 engine remains unchanged in the GT350R with somewhere north of 500 normally aspirated horsepower and a six-speed manual gearbox. Further weight reductions come courtesy of available carbon ceramic brakes and the first ever use of carbon fiber wheels as standard equipment on a road-going vehicle. The 19-inch composite wheels are wrapped in 10-millimeter wider 305/30 front and 315/30 rear tires. All together, the GT350R has a more than 130-pound weight advantage over the baseline GT350.

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The next-generation factory off-road race truck

Ford hit a surprising home run with the first generation SVT Raptor several years ago by creating a truly credible off-road racer style truck. The performance team has now applied the lessons from that effort to the new lighter aluminum-bodied 2015 F-150 for a second-generation Raptor. While the original launched with the 5.0-liter V8 and later upgraded to the larger 6.2-liter V8, like its more mainstream siblings, the new Raptor comes out of the gate with turbocharged EcoBoost power.

The 3.5-liter twin-turbo, direct-injected V6 that has powered 40 percent of F-150s in the last several years has been given some upgrades for its new role. Although Ford didn’t give specifics yet, they did say it would produce more than the 411-hp and 434 lb.-ft. of the outgoing V8. The Raptor engine will also be backed up by one of the first applications of Ford’s new 10-speed automatic transmission.

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50 Years after its first victory at Le Mens, the GT is back

We’ve all heard the story about how the GT40 came to be. Henry Ford II wanted to beat Enzo Ferrari after failing to buy the Italian sports car brand. After two years of trying, the Ford GT40s earned the first of four consecutive victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. As the 50th anniversary of that first victory approaches, Ford has revealed a concept for the all-new GT that will go into production in 2016.

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The last GT used an all-aluminum chassis but this time it will be equipped with the latest and greatest material technology with a carbon fiber tub and body panels.  Rather than a thundering V8 engine, the GT will emulate the new Raptor with turbocharged V6 power. A next-generation twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 based on the unite that was so successful in the 2014 Tudor United Sports Car Championship is the starting point. The production engine will send more than 600 horsepower through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to the rear wheels.

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The new GT eschews the retro look of the last edition in favor of a more modern design that retains a few cues for familiarity, most notably the two large triangular vents in the front cover. I can’t wait to try this one out!

#NAIAS2015 – 2016 Buick Cascada – Thankfully Not a Riviera

This entry was posted in Buick Carmakers cars and tagged buick buick cascada convertible naias naias2015 on by

2016 Buick Cascada Convertible

Ever since Opel launched the compact Cascada convertible in Europe two years ago, the question has been when, not if it would join the Buick lineup here in North America. The Cascada is the first open-top Buick since the demise of the Reatta more than two decades ago.

Buick already builds and sells a re-badged Opel Astra as the compact Verano sedan and the Cascada is built on the same underpinnings so this addition was a natural. Despite sharing mechanical bits with its closed top sibling, all of the bodywork is unique to the Cascada including the resculpted flanks. Thankfully, Opel opted to go with a folding soft-top rather than a mechanically complex hardtop. The result is a much more attractive and better proportioned car with the top up or down than the now discontinued VW Eos and Chrysler 200. The top can even raised or lowered at speeds up to 31 mph.

2016 Buick Cascada ConvertibleEver since GM’s 2009 bankruptcy, Buick and Opel have been gradually converging, much like Saturn had tried to do with the European brand a decade ago. Previously however, Opels like the Insignia, Astra swapped their grilles for the traditional Buick waterfall when they made the trip across the Atlantic. This time, the Cascada keeps both its name and horizontal bar grille, replacing only the Opel lightning bolt with the Buick tri-shield emblem.

The Buick convertible also retains the 200-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder from the Opel driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transaxle. Like the more powerful versions of the larger Regal and LaCrosse, the Cascada uses a HiPer strut front suspension that separates forces to help improve steering feel and minimize torque steer.

Unfortunately, the Buick Cascada doesn’t go on sale until early 2016.

General Motors Would be Crazy to Show New EV Next to Volt

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Chevrolet electric Hybrid technology the business and tagged 2016 2016 chevrolet volt bolt chevrolet chevy volt volt on by (updated 3390 days ago)

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Chevrolet will reveal a new electric car concept with a 200-mile range on Monday morning at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. We already know for a fact that Chevrolet will show the all-new second-generation Volt at the show (check back here after 12:01am EST on Monday, January 12 for my thoughts on this car) but I personally believe that showing the new concept would be insane.

It has previously been reported that Chevrolet has registered a trademark for the name Bolt, and GM executive vice-president for global product development Mark Reuss has acknowledged that the company planning a new EV with a 200-mile range for the 2017 time frame. We’ll just stipulate Chevrolet will in fact build a 200-mile EV called the Bolt at some time in the next two to three years.

My problem is with the idea that Chevrolet would show this car alongside the new Volt. GM designers and engineers have spent the past four years and at least hundreds of millions of dollars developing a second-generation Volt. No doubt, a big part of that effort went to reducing the manufacturing and part costs in the hope of at least breaking even if not making a profit on Volt. GM will want to sell as many gen-2 Volts as possible both to recover that investment and also to boost the company’s corporate average fuel economy numbers.

We have no idea how much the new Volt will cost, but I’m guessing it’s not going to drop much below $30,000 if it drops at all. Based on the photos of camouflaged prototypes released by GM, the new car doesn’t look like it’s going by much larger or roomier than the original.

According to the WSJ report, GM is targeting a starting price of just $30,000 for the Bolt. The Bolt is also expected to be larger than the Volt. Looking at this purely from a marketing perspective, why would you show a battery electric car with perhaps three to four times as much range, more space and a potentially lower price that won’t be available for two more years next to a car that you need to sell right now?

I can certainly understand wanting to get Bolt out ahead of Tesla and their Model 3. However, given Tesla’s track record for delivering products on time (reminder, they have never delivered anything on time), GM will probably be first to market. However, there is absolutely no reason to show the car now. I would wait until at least the LA Auto Show in November after people have driven the new Volt or perhaps the 2016 Detroit Show. What customer would even consider a Volt if they new the Bolt was coming?

Whoever might have thought showing a Bolt concept now should perhaps be relegated to the same dark corner as the marketer that came up with the infamous Volt dance at the 2009 LA Auto Show.

2015 Acura TLX – Nice, But Not Special

This entry was posted in Acura Carmakers cars reviews and tagged 2015 2015 acura tlx acura car reviews review tlx on by (updated 3143 days ago)

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It’s been nearly three decades since Honda became the first Japanese automaker to launch a separate premium brand. The original Acura Integra and Legend hit the streets four years before the first Lexus and Infiniti dealers opened their doors for business. Yet, despite that head start, Acura has never quite managed to define itself as a brand. I recently spent a week with the all-new 2015 TLX sedan to see if it provides any additional clarity.

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2015 Kia K900 V8 VIP – Who Woulda’ Thunk It?

This entry was posted in cars Kia reviews and tagged 2015 Kia K900 car review car reviews k900 kia luxury car review on by (updated 3143 days ago)

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Twenty-seven years ago, the first Kia-built cars arrived on American shores badged as the Ford Festiva. At the time, it was hard to imagine that barely a quarter century later, the manufacturer of those low-budget, minicars would be producing a full-size luxury sedan could credibly be compared to some of the best cars in the world. After spending a week with the 2015 Kia K900 V8 VIP, I’ve come to some conclusions about whether the South Korean automaker has succeeded.

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2015 Lexus RX450h – The Luxury CUV Pioneer Stays Calm and Carries On

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Hybrid Lexus reviews and tagged 2015 2015 lexus rx450h car review car reviews hybrid lexus review rx450h on by (updated 3143 days ago)

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Scan the model lineups of every premium automotive brand available today and it would be hard to fathom that as recently as 1997, the luxury crossover utility vehicle didn’t exist.  That was the year that Toyota’s premium Lexus brand launched the original RX300 into what marketers like to call a white-space segment and spawned a revolution. The RX is now into the waning years of its third-generation but it remains a segment leader and I recently spent a week driving one.

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2014 Prius PHV – Skip the Plug on This One

This entry was posted in cars electric Hybrid reviews technology Toyota and tagged 2014 toyota prius phv car review car reviews phev plug-in hybrid prius on by (updated 3143 days ago)

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Back in 2006 when I first started writing professionally about cars, plug-in cars were just starting to make a comeback to the marketplace with the reveal of the Tesla Roadster. At the time, a number of fans of the second-generation Toyota Prius wanted in on the action and started adding bigger battery packs to turn them into plug-in hybrids. A combination of wanting to grease that squeaky wheel and plug-in vehicle mandates from the state of California eventually led Toyota to produce a plug-in variant of the third-gen Prius and I recently got to spend a week driving one.

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2015 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost – A Solid Triple

This entry was posted in cars Ford reviews and tagged 2015 ford fiesta ecoboost car review car reviews ecoboost Fiesta ford on by (updated 3143 days ago)

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Until relatively recently, three has never been considered a crowd when it comes to automobile engines. In fact with rare exceptions such as the number of seats in a McLaren F1, three was generally considered deficient when talking cars. Recently however, Ford has sought to change that perception with the introduction of a 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine and I had the chance to spend a week with this powerplant under the hood of a new Fiesta.

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