For anyone about to purchase a new Chrysler Group vehicle, your powertrain will be covered for LIFE. Except when you sell it to your buddy, in which case that once unending warranty ceases to exist. Big news, nonetheless. A car such as the Viper, seen below, with its massive V10 and 600 horsepower is just as covered as your neighbour's Caliber or your grandfather's Sebring.
Monday, July 30, 2007
FORD MAKES MONEY FROM APRIL TO JUNE
$750,000,000. That's the amount of money Ford earned in the last quarter, from April through June. Helped by the sale of Aston Martin and image enhancers like the one seen in the vid below, Ford overcame losses of $279 million in North America to finally post a profit.
VOLVO'S C30 - AS YOU WISH
Volvo's hot new C30 is an extremely customizable vehicle. The 3-door hatchback, Volvo's entry-level model, is available in 14 exterior colours, nine different interior colour combos, five different wheel sets, and even the option of a Swedish flag on the roof. (That's the best part.) Volvo still restricts their build combinations to about 500, because much of the options list can be installed by the dealer. GCBC says: Give the young'uns what they love so much with Scion and Mini, and eventually you'll find them buying XC90's and XC70's. If you're not familiar with the C30, check the vid below.
Friday, July 27, 2007
AUTO TERMS EXPLANATION.... CONTINUED
To continue the exercise which GoodCarBadCar began yesterday, we once again say: Readers of GoodCarBadCar are not always car enthusiasts, aficionados, or even 
addicts. Dare I say it, some readers are actually researching, perusing, or attempting to garner an aficionado status.
For these individuals, words and phrases like: forced induction; engine capacity; crossover; torque; direct shift gearbox, and other such things that are do not relate strictly to the automotive world, but when applied herein can become confusing. Confucius to the rescue, then. Rather, The Good Car Guy. When explanations are required, 'Answers' will be provided. Just email goodcarbadcar@gmail.com if there are more terms that boggle or baffle.
Considering The Good Car Guy's lack of engineering credentials and the likely lack of many readers' engineering qualifications, this 'Answers' page won't dig too deep. Just enough so that your next trip to GoodCarBadCar can be an enjoyable and understandable one. So, here's a few more terms that trip up the non-auto enthused.
REAR-WHEEL DRIVE, FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE, ALL-WHEEL DRIVE: Depending on where your reside, your next visit to a BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, or Chrysler showroom (amongst others) will be present you with an extra layer of decision making. You will have the option, while in the showroom, to select from a rear-wheel drive car, front-wheel drive car, or an all-wheel drive car. But what does all this mean? Well, take the BMW example.
Inside a BMW dealership, you can see a Mini Cooper, a BMW 328i, and a BMW 328xi. The Mini Cooper has a 1.6L four-cylinder engine with 118 bhp. (See yesterday's post if you don't follow.) All of that power flows from the engine, through the transmission; and to the front wheels. The front wheels then turn and pull the car forward.
Now for the 328i. This is the BMW brand's entry-level of sedans. This specific model has a 3.0L inline six cylinder with 230 horsepower. All of that power flows from the engine, through the transmission; and to the rear wheels. The rear wheels then turn and push the car forward.
But the BMW 328xi shows another story. BMW's specific all-wheel drive system is entitled xDrive. xDrive is consistently collecting information from sensors in and around the car. Steering angle, the car's rotation around its vertical axis, tire slip, and likely many other things - all enable xDrive to continuously apportion power to the wheels which need it most and can handle it best. That means all wheels. So, in the 328xi, the power is sent from the engine, through the transmission; and to any or all wheels. All wheels - or some wheels - work together to both pull and push the car forward. All-wheel drive systems from
other automakers like Audi, Subaru, and Infiniti, may work differently but accomplish the same result. Pulling and pushing. Audi is famous for their 'Quattro' badging, which signifies a car with all-wheel drive.
There are benefits to each drive configuration. Front-wheel drive cars are obviously easier to package. The engine and its assorted hardware resides at the front, and only at the front. This creates the opportunity for an enlarged cabin. As you would assume, with passenger comfort and safety as a top priority, much of the world's automotive production is made up of front-wheel driven cars. Front-wheel drive cars demerits lie just where rear-wheel drive becomes beneficial.
Think about a husband and wife giving themselves two simple tasks. Wash the dishes and dry the dishes. If both husband and wife attempt to wash the dishes, the lack of sink space presents a gigantic problem. And the drying suffers. Likewise, a fwd car is tasked with sending the power through the front wheels while also forcing the front wheels to steer the car. If the rear wheels represented the husband; and simply washed(steered) ; while the front wheels represent the wife and simply dried (powered), then the operation would be smoother. What an odd analogy. Forgive me.
Herein lies the benefits of rear-wheel drive. The front wheels can be left to do their work. Wash the dishes. Er, rather, steer the car. The rear wheels can then propel the car forward. All-wheel drive, however, mixes and matches the benefits of both configurations. The added weight of the extra mechanicals required to power two axles is one downer. But added traction is inarguably a positive plus. Many AWD systems operate as front-wheel drive cars until those wheels slip. Then the rear wheels become aides to the cause. Pulling and pushing begins.
There aren't many true four-wheel drive vehicles kickin' around on dealer lots. Quite a few pickup trucks and the rugged sport-utility vehicles which stem from those pickups still offer the option of 4wd, that is, part-time; driver-selectable power sent to all four wheels or power being sent permanently to four wheels at 25% each.
Your drivetrain lesson is now complete. School's out for the weekend.
addicts. Dare I say it, some readers are actually researching, perusing, or attempting to garner an aficionado status. For these individuals, words and phrases like: forced induction; engine capacity; crossover; torque; direct shift gearbox, and other such things that are do not relate strictly to the automotive world, but when applied herein can become confusing. Confucius to the rescue, then. Rather, The Good Car Guy. When explanations are required, 'Answers' will be provided. Just email goodcarbadcar@gmail.com if there are more terms that boggle or baffle.
Considering The Good Car Guy's lack of engineering credentials and the likely lack of many readers' engineering qualifications, this 'Answers' page won't dig too deep. Just enough so that your next trip to GoodCarBadCar can be an enjoyable and understandable one. So, here's a few more terms that trip up the non-auto enthused.
REAR-WHEEL DRIVE, FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE, ALL-WHEEL DRIVE: Depending on where your reside, your next visit to a BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, or Chrysler showroom (amongst others) will be present you with an extra layer of decision making. You will have the option, while in the showroom, to select from a rear-wheel drive car, front-wheel drive car, or an all-wheel drive car. But what does all this mean? Well, take the BMW example.
Inside a BMW dealership, you can see a Mini Cooper, a BMW 328i, and a BMW 328xi. The Mini Cooper has a 1.6L four-cylinder engine with 118 bhp. (See yesterday's post if you don't follow.) All of that power flows from the engine, through the transmission; and to the front wheels. The front wheels then turn and pull the car forward.
Now for the 328i. This is the BMW brand's entry-level of sedans. This specific model has a 3.0L inline six cylinder with 230 horsepower. All of that power flows from the engine, through the transmission; and to the rear wheels. The rear wheels then turn and push the car forward.
But the BMW 328xi shows another story. BMW's specific all-wheel drive system is entitled xDrive. xDrive is consistently collecting information from sensors in and around the car. Steering angle, the car's rotation around its vertical axis, tire slip, and likely many other things - all enable xDrive to continuously apportion power to the wheels which need it most and can handle it best. That means all wheels. So, in the 328xi, the power is sent from the engine, through the transmission; and to any or all wheels. All wheels - or some wheels - work together to both pull and push the car forward. All-wheel drive systems from
other automakers like Audi, Subaru, and Infiniti, may work differently but accomplish the same result. Pulling and pushing. Audi is famous for their 'Quattro' badging, which signifies a car with all-wheel drive.There are benefits to each drive configuration. Front-wheel drive cars are obviously easier to package. The engine and its assorted hardware resides at the front, and only at the front. This creates the opportunity for an enlarged cabin. As you would assume, with passenger comfort and safety as a top priority, much of the world's automotive production is made up of front-wheel driven cars. Front-wheel drive cars demerits lie just where rear-wheel drive becomes beneficial.
Think about a husband and wife giving themselves two simple tasks. Wash the dishes and dry the dishes. If both husband and wife attempt to wash the dishes, the lack of sink space presents a gigantic problem. And the drying suffers. Likewise, a fwd car is tasked with sending the power through the front wheels while also forcing the front wheels to steer the car. If the rear wheels represented the husband; and simply washed(steered) ; while the front wheels represent the wife and simply dried (powered), then the operation would be smoother. What an odd analogy. Forgive me.
Herein lies the benefits of rear-wheel drive. The front wheels can be left to do their work. Wash the dishes. Er, rather, steer the car. The rear wheels can then propel the car forward. All-wheel drive, however, mixes and matches the benefits of both configurations. The added weight of the extra mechanicals required to power two axles is one downer. But added traction is inarguably a positive plus. Many AWD systems operate as front-wheel drive cars until those wheels slip. Then the rear wheels become aides to the cause. Pulling and pushing begins.
There aren't many true four-wheel drive vehicles kickin' around on dealer lots. Quite a few pickup trucks and the rugged sport-utility vehicles which stem from those pickups still offer the option of 4wd, that is, part-time; driver-selectable power sent to all four wheels or power being sent permanently to four wheels at 25% each.
Your drivetrain lesson is now complete. School's out for the weekend.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
AUTOMOTIVE TERMINOLOGY EXPLAINED
Readers
of GoodCarBadCar are not always car enthusiasts, aficionados, or even addicts. Dare I say it, some readers are actually researching, perusing, or attempting to garner an aficionado status.
For these individuals, words and phrases like: forced induction; engine capacity; crossover; torque; direct shift gearbox, and other such things that are do not relate strictly to the automotive world, but when applied herein can become confusing. Confucius to the rescue, then. Rather, The Good Car Guy. When explanations are required, 'Answers' will be provided. Just email goodcarbadcar@gmail.com if there are more terms that boggle or baffle.
Considering The Good Car Guy's lack of engineering credentials and the likely lack of many readers' engineering qualifications, this 'Answers' page won't dig too deep. Just enough so that your next trip to GoodCarBadCar can be an enjoyable and understandable one.
HORSEPOWER AND TORQUE: Around 200 years ago, James Watt decided that one horse can raise 33 pounds of coal 1,000 feet in 1 minute. Or 330 pounds of coal 100 feet a minute. It works out to 33,000 ft-lbs in one minute, and that's a horsepower. Just the one. (You're beginning to see the relation between horsepower and torque.) In fact, to discover the horsepower of an engine, you actually measure the torque and then do an equation.
A dynamometer, with one car sitting on its rolling road, will tell you the torque that car is putting to its wheels at whichever rpm's you desire. Push the throttle to 1500 rpm, and a car will likely make less torque than it would at 4000 rpm. Once you know the engine's torque, you multiply that number by rpm/5252. A car with 200 lb-ft of torque at 4500 rpm makes 171 horsepower at 4500 rpm. (4500 ÷ 5252 x 200 = 171) This is the chief reason torque can be a better tool to realize your car's real-world driving potential. A high horsepower car will likely feel strong at the top end of its rpm range and at high speeds.
A car like the Hond
a S2000. But that same car has little torque and can feel weak at low rpm. If I were to drive an S2000 not knowing its engine output, I would guess that it makes plenty of horsepower based on the way it screams from 6000 rpm to 8500rpm. But I would know that the way it reacts from idle to 4000 rpm is representative of a low torque car. Its official stats are 237 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque.
ENGINE CAPACITY: That may not be the typical term by which readers grow confused. Maybe you seek out car dictionaries, or give up altogether, when you hear about the 182bhp, 160 lb-ft of torque 2.0L four-cylinder.
Alrighty then. If that's you; listen up. Most modern engines are four, six, or eight cylinders. Some high performance and high-luxury cars use ten or twelve cylinders. Some city cars, such as the smart fortwo, use three cylinders. And a few cars even use five cylinders.
Assume for a minute that you hear your friend say they have a new Honda Civic with the 2.0 litre 'four'. You have no clue what he is talking about, but since this is a relatively common thread, you follow along. The 'four' relates to the number of cylinders inside the car's engine. (GCBC is assuming you understand engine. The thing under the hood that makes the car powerful. It produces the go.) Inside a cylinder lies open space that is filled by a piston. The piston pumps up and down. The volume of the space in which that piston moves, when multiplied by the distance from the top to the bottom, will give you the cylinder's capacity. But that is just one cylinder, and your friend's new Civic has four such things. They're all equal, and so you simply multiply by four to achieve that 2.0 litre signification.
Each cylinder in that engine is 499.5 cubic centimetres, so the engine capacity as a whole is 1998 cc's. Car engines are always rounded to two digits. Even with other terms you may hear - crankshaft, valve, camshaft, connecting rod, spark plug - it is simply the swept volume of the cylinder x the distance the piston travels inside it that determines the capacity of the engine.
Typically, four-cylinder engines grow no larger than 2.5 litres. A six-cylinder engine does have a great capacity to go small or grow big, but is not commonly found larger than 4.0 litres, and more normally between 2.5 and 3.5. Eight cylinder engines are all over the map. Chevrolet sells a Corvette with a 7.0L, while Ferrari's previous entry-level car had a 3.6L eight cylinder. Twelve-cylinder cars usually range up from 5.0 litres, and ten-cylinder engines, though few and far between, seem to live in the same range as the twelves. Many car engineers would believe that 500cc per cylinder is a nice and safe number. That would lead you to 2.0L four cylinders, 3.0L six cylinders, 4.0L eight cylinder engines and so on.
Engine configuration is one more interesting tidbit that goes along with capacity. These days you hear of inline-sixes, V8's, flat-sixes and so on. Inline engines, used most famously by BMW, simply arrange their cylinders in a row. V shaped engines arrange the cylinders in a vee, and flat engines punch their cylinders horizontally. That's why they call them boxers. Inline engines usually have four, five, or six cylinders. V's are normally sixes, eights, and twelves. Boxer engines, made by Porsche and Subaru, are four or six cylinder engines. The W formation is little known, but used in high-class cars including the Audi A8, Volkswagen Phaeton, Bentley Continental, and the Bugatti Veyron. As W-12's in the first three, as a W-16 in the Bugatti. Now you know what the friend will mean when he comes home with his new Porsche and its 3.2L boxer six. Phew, 'nuff said.
CROSSOVER: Relating not to a musician's ability to sell one song to radio station's of differing genres, but to a vehicle's ability to sell itself as multiple things to multiple people. Crossovers could be called combinations, but it wouldn't sound nearly as 2007 as we like. Crossovers take bits and pieces, or bits and pieces of ideas, and mold them into one article. Take the best of a sport-utility vehicle - its high ground clearance and ability to seat all the kids - and combine it with the underlying architecture of a car. That foundation will allow for a lighter vehicle with easier and more pleasurable driving dynamics. You'll still look like you're in a sport-ute, but you won't be in need of your own oil well or an extra propulsion system. Crossover can't be considered such a narrow-minded term, however.
Try a regular station wagon, such as the Volvo V70: raise it, plaster it with sport-ute style body addenda, mandate a roof rack and knobblier tires, paint it in earth-tone shades, and there you have it. An SUV wagon, the Volvo XC70. You're driving what is truly, verily, really the same Volvo as everybody else, but it just looks tougher. Doesn't handle quite as good, since its centre of gravity is too lofty and its tires too tough, but it really is the same.
ROADSTER: Got yourself a two-seat convertible that could be raced in a pinch? You've got yourself a roadster. The aforementioned S2000 is a good case in point. A tight-handling car with sharp steering, plenty of revs, and a solid structure like the S2000's just needs some Avon race tires and some upgraded brakes to head out to Laguna Seca for 30 laps. Porsche's Boxster, the BMW Z4, Mazda MX-5? Roadsters for sure. Chrysler Sebring? Not so much. More to come, so hang on if your confusion has not abated.
of GoodCarBadCar are not always car enthusiasts, aficionados, or even addicts. Dare I say it, some readers are actually researching, perusing, or attempting to garner an aficionado status. For these individuals, words and phrases like: forced induction; engine capacity; crossover; torque; direct shift gearbox, and other such things that are do not relate strictly to the automotive world, but when applied herein can become confusing. Confucius to the rescue, then. Rather, The Good Car Guy. When explanations are required, 'Answers' will be provided. Just email goodcarbadcar@gmail.com if there are more terms that boggle or baffle.
Considering The Good Car Guy's lack of engineering credentials and the likely lack of many readers' engineering qualifications, this 'Answers' page won't dig too deep. Just enough so that your next trip to GoodCarBadCar can be an enjoyable and understandable one.
HORSEPOWER AND TORQUE: Around 200 years ago, James Watt decided that one horse can raise 33 pounds of coal 1,000 feet in 1 minute. Or 330 pounds of coal 100 feet a minute. It works out to 33,000 ft-lbs in one minute, and that's a horsepower. Just the one. (You're beginning to see the relation between horsepower and torque.) In fact, to discover the horsepower of an engine, you actually measure the torque and then do an equation.
A dynamometer, with one car sitting on its rolling road, will tell you the torque that car is putting to its wheels at whichever rpm's you desire. Push the throttle to 1500 rpm, and a car will likely make less torque than it would at 4000 rpm. Once you know the engine's torque, you multiply that number by rpm/5252. A car with 200 lb-ft of torque at 4500 rpm makes 171 horsepower at 4500 rpm. (4500 ÷ 5252 x 200 = 171) This is the chief reason torque can be a better tool to realize your car's real-world driving potential. A high horsepower car will likely feel strong at the top end of its rpm range and at high speeds.
A car like the Hond
a S2000. But that same car has little torque and can feel weak at low rpm. If I were to drive an S2000 not knowing its engine output, I would guess that it makes plenty of horsepower based on the way it screams from 6000 rpm to 8500rpm. But I would know that the way it reacts from idle to 4000 rpm is representative of a low torque car. Its official stats are 237 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. ENGINE CAPACITY: That may not be the typical term by which readers grow confused. Maybe you seek out car dictionaries, or give up altogether, when you hear about the 182bhp, 160 lb-ft of torque 2.0L four-cylinder.
Alrighty then. If that's you; listen up. Most modern engines are four, six, or eight cylinders. Some high performance and high-luxury cars use ten or twelve cylinders. Some city cars, such as the smart fortwo, use three cylinders. And a few cars even use five cylinders.
Assume for a minute that you hear your friend say they have a new Honda Civic with the 2.0 litre 'four'. You have no clue what he is talking about, but since this is a relatively common thread, you follow along. The 'four' relates to the number of cylinders inside the car's engine. (GCBC is assuming you understand engine. The thing under the hood that makes the car powerful. It produces the go.) Inside a cylinder lies open space that is filled by a piston. The piston pumps up and down. The volume of the space in which that piston moves, when multiplied by the distance from the top to the bottom, will give you the cylinder's capacity. But that is just one cylinder, and your friend's new Civic has four such things. They're all equal, and so you simply multiply by four to achieve that 2.0 litre signification.
Each cylinder in that engine is 499.5 cubic centimetres, so the engine capacity as a whole is 1998 cc's. Car engines are always rounded to two digits. Even with other terms you may hear - crankshaft, valve, camshaft, connecting rod, spark plug - it is simply the swept volume of the cylinder x the distance the piston travels inside it that determines the capacity of the engine.
Typically, four-cylinder engines grow no larger than 2.5 litres. A six-cylinder engine does have a great capacity to go small or grow big, but is not commonly found larger than 4.0 litres, and more normally between 2.5 and 3.5. Eight cylinder engines are all over the map. Chevrolet sells a Corvette with a 7.0L, while Ferrari's previous entry-level car had a 3.6L eight cylinder. Twelve-cylinder cars usually range up from 5.0 litres, and ten-cylinder engines, though few and far between, seem to live in the same range as the twelves. Many car engineers would believe that 500cc per cylinder is a nice and safe number. That would lead you to 2.0L four cylinders, 3.0L six cylinders, 4.0L eight cylinder engines and so on.
Engine configuration is one more interesting tidbit that goes along with capacity. These days you hear of inline-sixes, V8's, flat-sixes and so on. Inline engines, used most famously by BMW, simply arrange their cylinders in a row. V shaped engines arrange the cylinders in a vee, and flat engines punch their cylinders horizontally. That's why they call them boxers. Inline engines usually have four, five, or six cylinders. V's are normally sixes, eights, and twelves. Boxer engines, made by Porsche and Subaru, are four or six cylinder engines. The W formation is little known, but used in high-class cars including the Audi A8, Volkswagen Phaeton, Bentley Continental, and the Bugatti Veyron. As W-12's in the first three, as a W-16 in the Bugatti. Now you know what the friend will mean when he comes home with his new Porsche and its 3.2L boxer six. Phew, 'nuff said.
CROSSOVER: Relating not to a musician's ability to sell one song to radio station's of differing genres, but to a vehicle's ability to sell itself as multiple things to multiple people. Crossovers could be called combinations, but it wouldn't sound nearly as 2007 as we like. Crossovers take bits and pieces, or bits and pieces of ideas, and mold them into one article. Take the best of a sport-utility vehicle - its high ground clearance and ability to seat all the kids - and combine it with the underlying architecture of a car. That foundation will allow for a lighter vehicle with easier and more pleasurable driving dynamics. You'll still look like you're in a sport-ute, but you won't be in need of your own oil well or an extra propulsion system. Crossover can't be considered such a narrow-minded term, however.
Try a regular station wagon, such as the Volvo V70: raise it, plaster it with sport-ute style body addenda, mandate a roof rack and knobblier tires, paint it in earth-tone shades, and there you have it. An SUV wagon, the Volvo XC70. You're driving what is truly, verily, really the same Volvo as everybody else, but it just looks tougher. Doesn't handle quite as good, since its centre of gravity is too lofty and its tires too tough, but it really is the same.
ROADSTER: Got yourself a two-seat convertible that could be raced in a pinch? You've got yourself a roadster. The aforementioned S2000 is a good case in point. A tight-handling car with sharp steering, plenty of revs, and a solid structure like the S2000's just needs some Avon race tires and some upgraded brakes to head out to Laguna Seca for 30 laps. Porsche's Boxster, the BMW Z4, Mazda MX-5? Roadsters for sure. Chrysler Sebring? Not so much. More to come, so hang on if your confusion has not abated.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
BACK IN TIME - VOLKSWAGEN GOLF - DRIVEN
Them were the good ol' days. Back when Golf's were still Golf's, before they were Rabbit's here in 
North America. Introduced when Volkswagen was confident, when Europe hailed the Golf as King for its true structural integrity and quality interior, the Golf in its fourth generation was an armed competitor. The Golf is a family car in much of Europe, and now - er, then - families could have a car that made them feel good.
That was the Golf MK IV, in proper lingo. Much larger in every dimension from the original late 70's/early 80's Golf/Rabbit, and consequently much heavier, the MK IV Golf drew plenty of criticism for its soggy driving dynamics. Roll, understeer, and slow turn in caused by its front-heaviness. Criticism was especially harsh for the GTI version and the added weight of its V6 engine. The fourth-gen Golf escaped the criticism in the cabin. Close the doors and block out all the noise regarding its on-the-road demeanor, and savour the feeling of a car that feels more expensive than it truly is.
Cars that feel more expensive than the MSRP suggests are generally successful. And the Golf was successful, especially outside of North America. In the United States it is the sedan version of the Golf that provides the sales volume. But even the Jetta wasn't enough to stem the out-migration from VW dealers in the latter years of their North American showroom presence. Those latter years happened to coincide with the early years of Golf MK V in Europe. While they were enjoying the delectable new GTI, the largest automotive market in the world was left with an old car. And no matter how good that interior was, an old car is an old car..... is an old car.
New technology; new design; new engineering; new image, all things found at other car dealerships. As VW quality began to falter, so did its North American sales. New product was needed.
So, you've been seeing 5th generation Rabbits for over a year now. In some places, such as Canada, the old Golf and Jetta continue as 'City' models. Priced low and equipped solely with gas engines, Volkswagen obviously wants to get more life out of what was a once-massive investment in new product. Back in 1998.
Having driven numerous Gabbit's of different generations, you'd think I would have driven what is now called the Volkswagen City Golf. But I've never had the privilege of rowing through the gears in an MK IV with a 115 bhp gasoline engine. Different 1.9 litre diesels and a 1.8 turbo have come my way, but never the droning lifeless 2.0L Volkswagen four-cylinder. Naturally, a horsepower junkie is able to enjoy the smooth torque plateau offered by Volkswagen's 1.8T. Equipped as such, the GTI put 150 bhp to the front wheels. In later years it would make substantially more horsepower in GTI's, Audi's, SEAT's, and Skoda's.
It was diesel which always struck a chord with me. Just 90 horsepower, a little smelly still, a touch noisy, but a pleasure to drive. Low-powered cars often succumb to the overarching image of poor man's car or yield to the idea that no car with so few horses could be fun to drive. Something makes me think it is the Golf TDI's lack of power that makes it fun to drive. It is similar to the Geo Metro 'triple' feeling. 3 cylinders necessitate a give-it-yer-all attitude. It becomes a go-kart experience. Do you drive a kart at 5/10ths for the ten minutes you have in life to drive 10/10ths and not see flashing lights? Of course not. With a three-cylinder Metro (or a smart fortwo) you must drive it like you stole it just to merge onto the highway. Granted, the Golf has an extra 35 bhp compared with the Metro with which I toured the maritime provinces eight years ago. Nigh on triple the torque as well. But it also weighs much more and has a very short travel throttle pedal. So sometimes, giving it some real punch is the best mode of transport. Did I say sometimes? Maybe most of the time.
I'm driving this older Golf TDI, a car that was delivered to its true owner under my watch a number of years ago, for a number of days. It was delivered to me with substantially less than a full tank six days ago and I've yet to say anything similar to, "Fill'er up". It is therefore impossible to determine the precise fuel economy I am achieving with the Golf. Energuide.ca says a Golf like the manual I'm driving would use 5.05 litres of diesel every 100km, on average. Fueleconomy.gov suggests 35mpg in the city and 44mpg on the highway. Where I live, diesel is consistently 5-10 cents cheaper than gasoline. This represents massive savings at the pump, as you could imagine.
The Golf is not a particularly enjoyable car to drive in contrast to a new Civic. Certainly not a pleasure compared with the new Rabbit. It fosters that old school love. Much of humanity has, at one time or another, ridden in or driven a Volkswagen. Usually an old one. Inside numerous MK IV Golf's and Jetta's and GTI's; frequent rides in a '92 Passat; careening around the mountains of Mexico in a '70's Beetle; a German import Golf MK II and multiple other Jetta's throughout, Volkswagen's have that smell. No, not diesel. They have that feel. And it ain't always quality. They have that sound, and it usually doesn't purr. They have that look, something which continues to be recognizable.
And many consumers have taken a taste. Volkswagen's engender fierce loyalty or leave bitterness wallowing in the mouth of the former owner. Perhaps not bitterness like a bad strawberry. Perhaps it is the bitterness of a grapefruit.
Yes. That might be right.
Bittersweet.
North America. Introduced when Volkswagen was confident, when Europe hailed the Golf as King for its true structural integrity and quality interior, the Golf in its fourth generation was an armed competitor. The Golf is a family car in much of Europe, and now - er, then - families could have a car that made them feel good. That was the Golf MK IV, in proper lingo. Much larger in every dimension from the original late 70's/early 80's Golf/Rabbit, and consequently much heavier, the MK IV Golf drew plenty of criticism for its soggy driving dynamics. Roll, understeer, and slow turn in caused by its front-heaviness. Criticism was especially harsh for the GTI version and the added weight of its V6 engine. The fourth-gen Golf escaped the criticism in the cabin. Close the doors and block out all the noise regarding its on-the-road demeanor, and savour the feeling of a car that feels more expensive than it truly is.
Cars that feel more expensive than the MSRP suggests are generally successful. And the Golf was successful, especially outside of North America. In the United States it is the sedan version of the Golf that provides the sales volume. But even the Jetta wasn't enough to stem the out-migration from VW dealers in the latter years of their North American showroom presence. Those latter years happened to coincide with the early years of Golf MK V in Europe. While they were enjoying the delectable new GTI, the largest automotive market in the world was left with an old car. And no matter how good that interior was, an old car is an old car..... is an old car.
New technology; new design; new engineering; new image, all things found at other car dealerships. As VW quality began to falter, so did its North American sales. New product was needed.
So, you've been seeing 5th generation Rabbits for over a year now. In some places, such as Canada, the old Golf and Jetta continue as 'City' models. Priced low and equipped solely with gas engines, Volkswagen obviously wants to get more life out of what was a once-massive investment in new product. Back in 1998.
Having driven numerous Gabbit's of different generations, you'd think I would have driven what is now called the Volkswagen City Golf. But I've never had the privilege of rowing through the gears in an MK IV with a 115 bhp gasoline engine. Different 1.9 litre diesels and a 1.8 turbo have come my way, but never the droning lifeless 2.0L Volkswagen four-cylinder. Naturally, a horsepower junkie is able to enjoy the smooth torque plateau offered by Volkswagen's 1.8T. Equipped as such, the GTI put 150 bhp to the front wheels. In later years it would make substantially more horsepower in GTI's, Audi's, SEAT's, and Skoda's.
It was diesel which always struck a chord with me. Just 90 horsepower, a little smelly still, a touch noisy, but a pleasure to drive. Low-powered cars often succumb to the overarching image of poor man's car or yield to the idea that no car with so few horses could be fun to drive. Something makes me think it is the Golf TDI's lack of power that makes it fun to drive. It is similar to the Geo Metro 'triple' feeling. 3 cylinders necessitate a give-it-yer-all attitude. It becomes a go-kart experience. Do you drive a kart at 5/10ths for the ten minutes you have in life to drive 10/10ths and not see flashing lights? Of course not. With a three-cylinder Metro (or a smart fortwo) you must drive it like you stole it just to merge onto the highway. Granted, the Golf has an extra 35 bhp compared with the Metro with which I toured the maritime provinces eight years ago. Nigh on triple the torque as well. But it also weighs much more and has a very short travel throttle pedal. So sometimes, giving it some real punch is the best mode of transport. Did I say sometimes? Maybe most of the time.
I'm driving this older Golf TDI, a car that was delivered to its true owner under my watch a number of years ago, for a number of days. It was delivered to me with substantially less than a full tank six days ago and I've yet to say anything similar to, "Fill'er up". It is therefore impossible to determine the precise fuel economy I am achieving with the Golf. Energuide.ca says a Golf like the manual I'm driving would use 5.05 litres of diesel every 100km, on average. Fueleconomy.gov suggests 35mpg in the city and 44mpg on the highway. Where I live, diesel is consistently 5-10 cents cheaper than gasoline. This represents massive savings at the pump, as you could imagine.
The Golf is not a particularly enjoyable car to drive in contrast to a new Civic. Certainly not a pleasure compared with the new Rabbit. It fosters that old school love. Much of humanity has, at one time or another, ridden in or driven a Volkswagen. Usually an old one. Inside numerous MK IV Golf's and Jetta's and GTI's; frequent rides in a '92 Passat; careening around the mountains of Mexico in a '70's Beetle; a German import Golf MK II and multiple other Jetta's throughout, Volkswagen's have that smell. No, not diesel. They have that feel. And it ain't always quality. They have that sound, and it usually doesn't purr. They have that look, something which continues to be recognizable.
And many consumers have taken a taste. Volkswagen's engender fierce loyalty or leave bitterness wallowing in the mouth of the former owner. Perhaps not bitterness like a bad strawberry. Perhaps it is the bitterness of a grapefruit.
Yes. That might be right.
Bittersweet.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
DER NEU M-B C63 AMG
On the stronger side of 400 horsepower, inching close to 500, is the AMG variation of the C-class. A 6.2 litre V8, high-revving but still torquey, competes against BMW's high-strung 4.0L bent eight and Audi's rumbling - but still screamtastic - 4.2L V8. The C's 8-cylinder may be bigger, but AMG's engines push around a notoriously stodgier car. The new C-class promises more for the driver and offers substantially more than the previous generation with its new exterior flavour. Have a look.
DER HEUTIG AUDI RS4
Competitor to the new M3 as shown below is this Audi RS4. A similarly positive spin on the +400 horsepower theory, the RS4 is one of Audi's three best-ever automobiles, alongside the current R8 and original Quattro. This video goes well with GCBC's recent take on Audi's strongest trait, as you can read about here.
DER NEU BMW M3
Perhaps the loss of the M3's exterior cool is not such a loss. At the same time, and with the same magnitude, comes a gain in visual flair. And any previous audible subtlety gives way to aural stimulation rarely heard outside of Le Mans or Indy. The M3's new V8 will enable it to compete more directly with the Audi RS4 and upcoming Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. The BMW, surprise surprise, may even be the value victor. This video may not cause you to surrender to the M3's beauty; it may not show you its outright speed; but if you pump up the volume - you will hear the phwoooar.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
EVO GIVES AUDI R8 HIGHEST PRAISE... & OTHER NEWS
British car enthusiast magazine evo has extended to the Audi R8 the loftiest of honours. Especially considering the evo editors have repeatedly named the Porsche 911 - in various configurations - as the evo car of the year. In a recent comparison between the Porsche 911 C4S, the BMW M6, a Prodrive-fettled Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and the aforementioned Audi R8, evo concluded with the following statement:
"But in the end, purity of purpose and breadth of ability win the day, and no car here - probably none under £100K - expresses the fusion more perfectly than the R8. there are faster supercars, but we can't think of another currently in production that takes a demanding road apart with quite the surgical precision and cool-browed composure of Audi's incandescently rapid and hugely desirable R8. It doesn't matter what kind of road it is - fast and open, twisty and technical, humped, dipped and wickedly cambered - the R8 will blitz any and all varieties of blacktop. What it might be capable of powered by the Gallardo's V10 will give Porsche, and the rest of the supercar fraternity, sleepless nights. Chances are they're having them already. So here's the answer. It's one we sometimes doubted we'd ever witness, but, for the good of the supercar's evolution, it could hardly be better. Audi humbles Porsche. A new dawn starts today." - David Vivian, evo 106.....
....Winners of the special Top 5 week here at GoodCarBadCar included: Toyota's dependability; five cars worthy of organized crime bosses - cars like the Benz S-class and Cadillac Escalade; five cars worthy of ferrying heads of state, such as the Ariel Atom for Queen Elizabeth; Pontiac G8's for the California Highway Patrol; and the Hyundai Sante Fe as the #1 small crossover/suv.
....Surprise surprise. The next Mazda6, the second generation, the successor to the successor of the 626, will be bigger. Its V6 engine will also be bigger, by about 500cc's. Feel free to hope for the best, but this car will likely be heavier in almost every section of the car. Larger overall dimensions necessitate bigger wheels to fill the wheelarches. Bigger wheels are heavier. A bigger car needs heavier-duty suspension parts to deal with the increased weight. A bigger car needs a bigger and heavier engine to overcome the inertia, and also bigger brakes to overcome greater momentum. All of this extra engineering weight tag teams with the extra convenience features that we all 'need'. So the Mazda may well offer GPS navigation amongst other creature comforts. That adds weight. This may all be untrue; facts that may only apply to other manufacturers. Mazda declares that weight is the enemy, at least in its MX-5 Miata advertising. Weight also appeared to be the enemy when Mazda introduces its latest 2 subcompact in other parts of the world - a car that weighs less than its predecessor.....
.... In the second quarter of this year, General Motors home market sales were down 7 percent. During that time, 58% of GM's sales were in countries other than America. Meanwhile, over the last 6 months, Toyota has sold more cars than the General. However, General Motors made a charge from April through June, selling 2.41 million vehicles to Toyota's piddling 2.37 million. GM's bad news in America isn't nearly as bitter a pill to swallow when the company had such a terrific spring.....
....Jaguar
, Buick, Cadillac/Lexus. Volkswagen, Suzuki, Isuzu. What do the first four do that the last three don't? Keep their customers happy at their dealerships for up to at least three years. People who bought or leased cars from 2004-2006 say that Jaguar customer service ranks at the top, with Buick in second and Cadillac and Lexus tied for third. VW, Suzuki, and Isuzu are the lowest ranked brands in the J.D. Power Customer Service Index. Toyota, Chrysler, and Ford ranked below average, while GM brands like Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer were better than average. So were Lincoln and Mercury....
.... In what appears to be an Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale replacement, the
Ferrari F430 Scuderia weighs 220 pounds less than the regular F430. Even Ferrari says that the new Scuderia represents the zenith of Ferrari road cars. 510 horsepower derived from the same 4.3 litre V8 compares with 483 offered up by the run-of-the-mill F430 (More pics below)......
.... Audi says its next generation of diesel powered passenger cars, to debut in 2008, will be the cleanest in the world. Fairly powerful too. An A4 with a 3.0L diesel will make 240 horsepower and 369lb-ft of torque. The same engine in the Q7 will make over 400 lb-ft of torque. Audi believes that these diesels will be clean enough to exist even under Europe's future emissions regulations. Add all this to a start-stop system and the effort to capitalize on coasting and braking as a way to store power, and you have highly efficient cars. Cars which already have one characteristic that ranks highly on GCBC's list of best qualities for automakers.....
..... Back to evo. Contributor Gordon Murray, one of the foremost automotive engineers in the world; famous for the McLaren F1 and McLaren Formula 1 cars, makes a few interesting points in evo's recent comparison between the Toyota Prius and a Fiat Panda. The Panda would likely compete with Honda's Fit and the Toyota Yaris were it to be available in North America. Contrasting the Panda 100HP, a £9995 car, with the £20,677 Toyota Prius showed the Panda to be 13.2 seconds faster around a 1.8 mile race circuit. It also used 4.88 more UK gallons of gasoline than the Prius over 502 miles. The Prius would need 1,102,850 miles to recoup the extra cost of the car. (The Toyota possessed an on-board computer that turned out to be 7% optimistic in regards to its fuel consumption, the Fiat was far more accurate.) After this 502 mile test, the Prius was 18.5 mpg down on what its projected fuel economy is purported to be, the Panda just 0.9mpg off.
"But it's not all about cost," I hear you say. No, it's the effect on the environment, right? So in comes Gordon Murray. After a lengthy overview of the facts, Mr. Murray says this: "So on top of the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, the Prius relative to the Panda is probably at least 50% more damaging to the environment in the first few years of use when manufacturing and recycling damage is included. For a Prius, the CO2 produced in its manufacture is equivalent to about seven years' use on the road." Murray suggests that any car needs to be driven for many years before the CO2 damage from vehicle use equals the damage done by manufacturing and recycling the car, thereby throwing a dart into what the media and politicians consider to be the main issues - that of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. "26 tons of waste are produced extracting the raw materials for every car we manufacture", the F1 designer says, "then 1.5 tons of solid waste and 74 million cubic litres of polluted air are produced during the build process." Read 'Truly, Verifiably, Genuinely Green Cars for more info like this.
"But in the end, purity of purpose and breadth of ability win the day, and no car here - probably none under £100K - expresses the fusion more perfectly than the R8. there are faster supercars, but we can't think of another currently in production that takes a demanding road apart with quite the surgical precision and cool-browed composure of Audi's incandescently rapid and hugely desirable R8. It doesn't matter what kind of road it is - fast and open, twisty and technical, humped, dipped and wickedly cambered - the R8 will blitz any and all varieties of blacktop. What it might be capable of powered by the Gallardo's V10 will give Porsche, and the rest of the supercar fraternity, sleepless nights. Chances are they're having them already. So here's the answer. It's one we sometimes doubted we'd ever witness, but, for the good of the supercar's evolution, it could hardly be better. Audi humbles Porsche. A new dawn starts today." - David Vivian, evo 106.....
....Winners of the special Top 5 week here at GoodCarBadCar included: Toyota's dependability; five cars worthy of organized crime bosses - cars like the Benz S-class and Cadillac Escalade; five cars worthy of ferrying heads of state, such as the Ariel Atom for Queen Elizabeth; Pontiac G8's for the California Highway Patrol; and the Hyundai Sante Fe as the #1 small crossover/suv.
....Surprise surprise. The next Mazda6, the second generation, the successor to the successor of the 626, will be bigger. Its V6 engine will also be bigger, by about 500cc's. Feel free to hope for the best, but this car will likely be heavier in almost every section of the car. Larger overall dimensions necessitate bigger wheels to fill the wheelarches. Bigger wheels are heavier. A bigger car needs heavier-duty suspension parts to deal with the increased weight. A bigger car needs a bigger and heavier engine to overcome the inertia, and also bigger brakes to overcome greater momentum. All of this extra engineering weight tag teams with the extra convenience features that we all 'need'. So the Mazda may well offer GPS navigation amongst other creature comforts. That adds weight. This may all be untrue; facts that may only apply to other manufacturers. Mazda declares that weight is the enemy, at least in its MX-5 Miata advertising. Weight also appeared to be the enemy when Mazda introduces its latest 2 subcompact in other parts of the world - a car that weighs less than its predecessor.....
.... In the second quarter of this year, General Motors home market sales were down 7 percent. During that time, 58% of GM's sales were in countries other than America. Meanwhile, over the last 6 months, Toyota has sold more cars than the General. However, General Motors made a charge from April through June, selling 2.41 million vehicles to Toyota's piddling 2.37 million. GM's bad news in America isn't nearly as bitter a pill to swallow when the company had such a terrific spring.....
....Jaguar
, Buick, Cadillac/Lexus. Volkswagen, Suzuki, Isuzu. What do the first four do that the last three don't? Keep their customers happy at their dealerships for up to at least three years. People who bought or leased cars from 2004-2006 say that Jaguar customer service ranks at the top, with Buick in second and Cadillac and Lexus tied for third. VW, Suzuki, and Isuzu are the lowest ranked brands in the J.D. Power Customer Service Index. Toyota, Chrysler, and Ford ranked below average, while GM brands like Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer were better than average. So were Lincoln and Mercury........ In what appears to be an Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale replacement, the
Ferrari F430 Scuderia weighs 220 pounds less than the regular F430. Even Ferrari says that the new Scuderia represents the zenith of Ferrari road cars. 510 horsepower derived from the same 4.3 litre V8 compares with 483 offered up by the run-of-the-mill F430 (More pics below)...... .... Audi says its next generation of diesel powered passenger cars, to debut in 2008, will be the cleanest in the world. Fairly powerful too. An A4 with a 3.0L diesel will make 240 horsepower and 369lb-ft of torque. The same engine in the Q7 will make over 400 lb-ft of torque. Audi believes that these diesels will be clean enough to exist even under Europe's future emissions regulations. Add all this to a start-stop system and the effort to capitalize on coasting and braking as a way to store power, and you have highly efficient cars. Cars which already have one characteristic that ranks highly on GCBC's list of best qualities for automakers.....
..... Back to evo. Contributor Gordon Murray, one of the foremost automotive engineers in the world; famous for the McLaren F1 and McLaren Formula 1 cars, makes a few interesting points in evo's recent comparison between the Toyota Prius and a Fiat Panda. The Panda would likely compete with Honda's Fit and the Toyota Yaris were it to be available in North America. Contrasting the Panda 100HP, a £9995 car, with the £20,677 Toyota Prius showed the Panda to be 13.2 seconds faster around a 1.8 mile race circuit. It also used 4.88 more UK gallons of gasoline than the Prius over 502 miles. The Prius would need 1,102,850 miles to recoup the extra cost of the car. (The Toyota possessed an on-board computer that turned out to be 7% optimistic in regards to its fuel consumption, the Fiat was far more accurate.) After this 502 mile test, the Prius was 18.5 mpg down on what its projected fuel economy is purported to be, the Panda just 0.9mpg off.
"But it's not all about cost," I hear you say. No, it's the effect on the environment, right? So in comes Gordon Murray. After a lengthy overview of the facts, Mr. Murray says this: "So on top of the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, the Prius relative to the Panda is probably at least 50% more damaging to the environment in the first few years of use when manufacturing and recycling damage is included. For a Prius, the CO2 produced in its manufacture is equivalent to about seven years' use on the road." Murray suggests that any car needs to be driven for many years before the CO2 damage from vehicle use equals the damage done by manufacturing and recycling the car, thereby throwing a dart into what the media and politicians consider to be the main issues - that of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. "26 tons of waste are produced extracting the raw materials for every car we manufacture", the F1 designer says, "then 1.5 tons of solid waste and 74 million cubic litres of polluted air are produced during the build process." Read 'Truly, Verifiably, Genuinely Green Cars for more info like this.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
TOP 5 CARS THE POLICE SHOULD BE DRIVING
We started with the mafia, moved to government leaders, and are now somewhere in between.Top 5 week continues with the polizia. The politi. The policia. Why, in North America at least, are Ford Crown Victoria's the default choice? Why is it special when a police force realizes that Dodge Chargers/Magnums make a much better vehicle?
Cops want space (especially in the front passenger area and the trunk), low-down torque, and maneuverability. The car needs to be safe. And it will be helpful, although not completely necessary, to have a front bumper capable of pushing lame-duck Dodge Neon's off the I-10 in Houston. So, what have we?
#5- FBI AGENTS WOULD LOVE GMC'S ACADIA: The FBI never wants to stand out too much in public. (Although lunching beside them in D.C. down the street from the Hoove
r Building saw plenty of badge flashes.) A Crown Vic may be bland enough, but it makes agents look like any other cop. Man, you ain't just a cop. You're an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Drive something with a bit of swagger. General Motors is once again on the upswing. They've got great new crossovers. The Acadia can be equipped with all-wheel drive, so it's already a step ahead of the Crown Victoria. You guys always look tougher in big numbers, and the Acadia can take three-rows worth of y'all. More horsepower (275) and only a slight loss of torque. Similar fuel economy. A zippy little 7 and a half seconds to 60mph. This looks like the new vehicle of the FBI. General Motors is apt to give you a fleet deal, especially on the GMC version of the trio. The Buick Enclave is too good-looking and, besides, rolling up to a NYPD-controlled hostage situations in a Saturn wouldn't be tough. At all.
#4- NEW RCMP COMMISSIONER NEEDS TO BE SEEN IN A HONDA RIDGELINE: He's a different kind of c
ommissioner, so he needs a different kind of vehicle. How 'bout a truck that isn't a truck, but is certainly no Crown Victoria? William Elliott isn't a cop, he's a bureaucrat. So, drive a Canadian-built vehicle which can take you and your aides to the rough roads of northern Ontario but still cruise cross-country in comfort. Cargo capacity is limited, but then again, Elliott doesn't have a uniform. And hey, there is a trunk underneath the cargo bed. The Ridgeline has some getaway power (247 bhp), in case any detachments ever run you out of town. But this is just a small V6-engined truck, so nobody will accuse you of excess via corruption. Ridgeline's aren't cheap, but this is most assuredly not the Prime Minister's new Acura MDX.
#3- 'MANHATTAN SOUTH' NYPD PATROLMEN - SCION xB: Hold on a second, don't get fidgety. How do you park big American boats in the downtown core? Remember after 9/11, cop cars were especially disorganized as the officers arrived at the WTC Towers, creating problems for the next batch to get close. Were the cops to blame? Of course not. The massive F
ord's, with their decades-old engineering, took up too much space. The new Scion xB is, granted, not quite as cool as the original. That's ok. Cop cars aren't all about 'cool', ya know. This is a serious matter, can't you tell? The Scion offers bucketloads of interior capacity, amazing fuel economy, and spectacular maneuverability. We couldn't suggest the new smart fortwo, after much deliberation, because there's no back seat. Sometimes cops, even in good ol' Manhattan, make arrests. And the felons are placed in the rear compartment. Put your bulletproof barrier in between the Scion's front and rear, and you've got yourself a cop car. With 158 horsepower and seven extra miles for every gallon in the city - compared with the old Ford - patrol personnel will still cruise to the scene of the crime in haste, but the hundreds of of them won't be contributing quite so heavily to the smog above us. Scion's are ripe for customizing. In fact, that is Toyota's intention. Imagine each new recruit heading to the Scion dealer to pick out their new lights and wheels - that's what GCBC calls 'making your work your own'.
#2- UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE STICKS WITH SUBURBANS: Who ever said this article was me
ant to change everything? Top 5 Cars Police Should Be Driving. It just so happens that the Secret Service has already made a good choice. Sure, Suburbans are large and lumbering. As far as people miles per gallon, the Secret Service makes Suburbans efficient. Economical even. General Motors has such a variety on offer: Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes; GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV. The engine and trim level of your choosing. Followed by the kind of healthy up-armoring the troops in Iraq could only wish for. From 320 horsepower up to 380 - and more in the Cadillac - the 'Burban can haul. Better yet, it's an oddly pleasurable vehicle to drive. Even a compact car can make itself drive big, and it is that fact which enlightens us to the Suburban's best quality: it shrinks. Not visually, and not on Chevrolet's spec chart. The Suburban drives like a much smaller vehicle. Many thousands of pounds, a few hundred horsepower, perhaps 8 individuals on board, and yet it feels more like a TrailBlazer than the TrailBlazer itself. Decent visibility, relatively sharp steering, plenty of go-power. The Suburban/Yukon/Escalade is where it's at. Restricted to specific needs though this last may be, the Suburban still ranks as the second best choice.
#1- WATCH FOR CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL IN PONTIAC G8's: The G8, nee Holden Commodore, is the genuine Aussie Rules automobile. Rear-wheel drive with an optional V8 and a conservate but handsome design. It may give Pontiac it's groove back. And that groove disappeared long before I appeared. The G8 isn't here yet, I realize, but when it arrives, expect the Pontiac to run down most any criminal in most any vehicle. The Scion and Pontiac both offer manual transmissions, despite the level of disdain copper-tops would have toward such gearboxes. Even the V6 G8 will likely have 300 horsepower, expect the biggest bruiser to equip itself with over 400 bhp. There'll be tighter handling and sharper steering than normal General Motors sedans, although not matching the standard of the best Euro sports sedans. Holden is GM's Australian subsidiary and the developer of the defunct Pontiac GTO. What came to North America as a GTO was basically the run-out editions of the long-serving Commodore coupe. What we will see in the Pontiac G8 is Holden's new Commodore - which basically means new hardware, rather than recycled. Cops could apply 'Intelligence' to their name if and when they stick red and blue lights in the windshields and on the roofs of the newest Pontiac. This would cause us to fear the G8 even as we gather our excitement over GM's decision to harness its Aussie connections.
Cops want space (especially in the front passenger area and the trunk), low-down torque, and maneuverability. The car needs to be safe. And it will be helpful, although not completely necessary, to have a front bumper capable of pushing lame-duck Dodge Neon's off the I-10 in Houston. So, what have we?
#5- FBI AGENTS WOULD LOVE GMC'S ACADIA: The FBI never wants to stand out too much in public. (Although lunching beside them in D.C. down the street from the Hoove
r Building saw plenty of badge flashes.) A Crown Vic may be bland enough, but it makes agents look like any other cop. Man, you ain't just a cop. You're an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Drive something with a bit of swagger. General Motors is once again on the upswing. They've got great new crossovers. The Acadia can be equipped with all-wheel drive, so it's already a step ahead of the Crown Victoria. You guys always look tougher in big numbers, and the Acadia can take three-rows worth of y'all. More horsepower (275) and only a slight loss of torque. Similar fuel economy. A zippy little 7 and a half seconds to 60mph. This looks like the new vehicle of the FBI. General Motors is apt to give you a fleet deal, especially on the GMC version of the trio. The Buick Enclave is too good-looking and, besides, rolling up to a NYPD-controlled hostage situations in a Saturn wouldn't be tough. At all. #4- NEW RCMP COMMISSIONER NEEDS TO BE SEEN IN A HONDA RIDGELINE: He's a different kind of c
ommissioner, so he needs a different kind of vehicle. How 'bout a truck that isn't a truck, but is certainly no Crown Victoria? William Elliott isn't a cop, he's a bureaucrat. So, drive a Canadian-built vehicle which can take you and your aides to the rough roads of northern Ontario but still cruise cross-country in comfort. Cargo capacity is limited, but then again, Elliott doesn't have a uniform. And hey, there is a trunk underneath the cargo bed. The Ridgeline has some getaway power (247 bhp), in case any detachments ever run you out of town. But this is just a small V6-engined truck, so nobody will accuse you of excess via corruption. Ridgeline's aren't cheap, but this is most assuredly not the Prime Minister's new Acura MDX. #3- 'MANHATTAN SOUTH' NYPD PATROLMEN - SCION xB: Hold on a second, don't get fidgety. How do you park big American boats in the downtown core? Remember after 9/11, cop cars were especially disorganized as the officers arrived at the WTC Towers, creating problems for the next batch to get close. Were the cops to blame? Of course not. The massive F
ord's, with their decades-old engineering, took up too much space. The new Scion xB is, granted, not quite as cool as the original. That's ok. Cop cars aren't all about 'cool', ya know. This is a serious matter, can't you tell? The Scion offers bucketloads of interior capacity, amazing fuel economy, and spectacular maneuverability. We couldn't suggest the new smart fortwo, after much deliberation, because there's no back seat. Sometimes cops, even in good ol' Manhattan, make arrests. And the felons are placed in the rear compartment. Put your bulletproof barrier in between the Scion's front and rear, and you've got yourself a cop car. With 158 horsepower and seven extra miles for every gallon in the city - compared with the old Ford - patrol personnel will still cruise to the scene of the crime in haste, but the hundreds of of them won't be contributing quite so heavily to the smog above us. Scion's are ripe for customizing. In fact, that is Toyota's intention. Imagine each new recruit heading to the Scion dealer to pick out their new lights and wheels - that's what GCBC calls 'making your work your own'. #2- UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE STICKS WITH SUBURBANS: Who ever said this article was me
ant to change everything? Top 5 Cars Police Should Be Driving. It just so happens that the Secret Service has already made a good choice. Sure, Suburbans are large and lumbering. As far as people miles per gallon, the Secret Service makes Suburbans efficient. Economical even. General Motors has such a variety on offer: Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes; GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV. The engine and trim level of your choosing. Followed by the kind of healthy up-armoring the troops in Iraq could only wish for. From 320 horsepower up to 380 - and more in the Cadillac - the 'Burban can haul. Better yet, it's an oddly pleasurable vehicle to drive. Even a compact car can make itself drive big, and it is that fact which enlightens us to the Suburban's best quality: it shrinks. Not visually, and not on Chevrolet's spec chart. The Suburban drives like a much smaller vehicle. Many thousands of pounds, a few hundred horsepower, perhaps 8 individuals on board, and yet it feels more like a TrailBlazer than the TrailBlazer itself. Decent visibility, relatively sharp steering, plenty of go-power. The Suburban/Yukon/Escalade is where it's at. Restricted to specific needs though this last may be, the Suburban still ranks as the second best choice. #1- WATCH FOR CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL IN PONTIAC G8's: The G8, nee Holden Commodore, is the genuine Aussie Rules automobile. Rear-wheel drive with an optional V8 and a conservate but handsome design. It may give Pontiac it's groove back. And that groove disappeared long before I appeared. The G8 isn't here yet, I realize, but when it arrives, expect the Pontiac to run down most any criminal in most any vehicle. The Scion and Pontiac both offer manual transmissions, despite the level of disdain copper-tops would have toward such gearboxes. Even the V6 G8 will likely have 300 horsepower, expect the biggest bruiser to equip itself with over 400 bhp. There'll be tighter handling and sharper steering than normal General Motors sedans, although not matching the standard of the best Euro sports sedans. Holden is GM's Australian subsidiary and the developer of the defunct Pontiac GTO. What came to North America as a GTO was basically the run-out editions of the long-serving Commodore coupe. What we will see in the Pontiac G8 is Holden's new Commodore - which basically means new hardware, rather than recycled. Cops could apply 'Intelligence' to their name if and when they stick red and blue lights in the windshields and on the roofs of the newest Pontiac. This would cause us to fear the G8 even as we gather our excitement over GM's decision to harness its Aussie connections.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
TOP 5 - CARS FOR MAFIA DONS & YAKUZA KUMICHOS
The Good Car brother-in-law has a terrific Slovak accent. During a phone conversation the other day, he asked what I was calling for. I joked and said money. He proceeded to tell me that I ought to head to The Thirsty Duck, ask for Vladimir and tell him Frankie sent me. "He'll give you whatever you need."
This was all a joke, remember. But the accent, the hairless round head.... he could pull it off. And were he to pull off the complete Russian Mafia routine, what would he drive? (Likely not a Chevrolet Venture.) On the other hand, at a recent wedding of which I was a part, two well-off guests came all the way from Long Island. One joke during the open-mic session involved the phrase, "Did you see this couple from Long Island, looking straight out of the Mob?"
So I took a look, and.... yeah. If the guy really was a Jersey mobster, what would he drive? Time to get to work on the Top 5 cars for Mafia Dons & Yakuza Kumichos, I realized. Here they are.
BIG AND BLACK MERCEDES FOR THE RUSSIAN MAFIA: Seeing as how all five groups within this piece have an image to uphold, the car must suit that image to a T. Cold, sterile, precise, and possessing great inherent strength - well that'd be an old Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman and all of its six doors. Leonid Brezhnev was the Communist Party's First Secretary in 1972, while Russia played eight famous hockey games against Canada, and this car was nearing its production end with a healthy 300 horsepower and over 400 lb-ft of torque.
It sucked fuel like a modern Chevrolet Suburban. It also weighed a hefty 6000 pounds before the necessary body armor, cost a then-hefty $38,000. Other black Benz's would do, but a Pullman from this era shows the excess and grandeur of new Russia while mixing in the Russian Mafia's suspicious past.
CADILLAC ESCALADE FOR THE JERSEY MOBSTER: This time, it has to be new
. Tired and scarred 'Slade's would forever tarnish the image of anybody named Tony. The true waste-disposal family would need a three car garage equipped with the standard Escalade, the Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT. Sometimes you need a little more space in the rear for passengers and sometimes you need a little open-air space in the rear for...ummm, waste. An Escalade always has plenty of power on tap, 403 horses in fact. Those horses derive from a 6.2L V8, 417 lb-ft of low-down stump pulling torque. And it even runs on regular gas. Hey, were business to face a down-turn, those gas savings may come in handy.
CHRYLSER 300C SRT-8 FOR THE IRISH MOB: Are the wheels too big? Tone it down, the regular 300C still has the Hemi V8 but is a degree lower on the conspicuous consumption meter. After all, the Irish boys have infiltrated many'a city's underworld, and their otherwise normal appear
ance can't be thrown so far off by a car that looks like it costs $75K, even if the price barely jumps above $40,000 USD. That's the beauty of the big Chrysler - it gives everybody the gangsta look while offering an everyman/everycar experience. Spacious? Check. Quick? 425 bhp quick. Can it pull off heavy tint? For sure.
SICILIAN COSA NOSTRA IS DEFINED BY A MASERATI QUATTROPORTE: Maserati has finally decided to offer a transmission smooth enough for limo-duty. The previous 6-speed automated manual was suitable for the Ferrari's it was formerly used in, but any large luxury car without a proper 6-speed automatic is too brutal for work in careers that thrive on smooth, unfussed style. Besides, Sicily (or anybody from Sicily) requires a car that can match the beauty through which it will drive. Rolling roads around Corleone can be enjoyed on stressless days in a sports sedan like the Q'porte. Faster around a racetrack than many a hi-po sports sedan, the 4,400 lb Maserati can still hold almost 16 cubic feet of 'cargo'.
YAKUZA IN A MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS, AS ALWAYS: From shateigashira to kumicho and even the fuku-honbucho in between, the Yakuza hold no surprises to the people of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokahama. One such Yakuza trait that holds no surprise is their vehicle of choice, so expect no oyabun to check GCBC for car-buying advice. S-class Mercedes from a various generations suit the Yakuza just fine, so long as they come painted black. Differentiation lies ahead of the passenger compartment. V8? Big V8? Twin-turbo V12 with over 600 getaway horsepower? Import a diesel, maybe even a diesel V8? Just make sure the windows are heavily darkened. Yakuza offices are sometimes marked as clearly as their automobile, which is as clearly defined as the members themselves. Walk uniquely, eyes always covered, dressed permanently in suits. The decision to transport themselves in such a vast fleet of Mercedes' flagship sedan is perhaps the best choice the Yakuza has ever made.
This was all a joke, remember. But the accent, the hairless round head.... he could pull it off. And were he to pull off the complete Russian Mafia routine, what would he drive? (Likely not a Chevrolet Venture.) On the other hand, at a recent wedding of which I was a part, two well-off guests came all the way from Long Island. One joke during the open-mic session involved the phrase, "Did you see this couple from Long Island, looking straight out of the Mob?"
So I took a look, and.... yeah. If the guy really was a Jersey mobster, what would he drive? Time to get to work on the Top 5 cars for Mafia Dons & Yakuza Kumichos, I realized. Here they are.
BIG AND BLACK MERCEDES FOR THE RUSSIAN MAFIA: Seeing as how all five groups within this piece have an image to uphold, the car must suit that image to a T. Cold, sterile, precise, and possessing great inherent strength - well that'd be an old Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman and all of its six doors. Leonid Brezhnev was the Communist Party's First Secretary in 1972, while Russia played eight famous hockey games against Canada, and this car was nearing its production end with a healthy 300 horsepower and over 400 lb-ft of torque.
It sucked fuel like a modern Chevrolet Suburban. It also weighed a hefty 6000 pounds before the necessary body armor, cost a then-hefty $38,000. Other black Benz's would do, but a Pullman from this era shows the excess and grandeur of new Russia while mixing in the Russian Mafia's suspicious past.
CADILLAC ESCALADE FOR THE JERSEY MOBSTER: This time, it has to be new
. Tired and scarred 'Slade's would forever tarnish the image of anybody named Tony. The true waste-disposal family would need a three car garage equipped with the standard Escalade, the Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT. Sometimes you need a little more space in the rear for passengers and sometimes you need a little open-air space in the rear for...ummm, waste. An Escalade always has plenty of power on tap, 403 horses in fact. Those horses derive from a 6.2L V8, 417 lb-ft of low-down stump pulling torque. And it even runs on regular gas. Hey, were business to face a down-turn, those gas savings may come in handy.CHRYLSER 300C SRT-8 FOR THE IRISH MOB: Are the wheels too big? Tone it down, the regular 300C still has the Hemi V8 but is a degree lower on the conspicuous consumption meter. After all, the Irish boys have infiltrated many'a city's underworld, and their otherwise normal appear
ance can't be thrown so far off by a car that looks like it costs $75K, even if the price barely jumps above $40,000 USD. That's the beauty of the big Chrysler - it gives everybody the gangsta look while offering an everyman/everycar experience. Spacious? Check. Quick? 425 bhp quick. Can it pull off heavy tint? For sure.SICILIAN COSA NOSTRA IS DEFINED BY A MASERATI QUATTROPORTE: Maserati has finally decided to offer a transmission smooth enough for limo-duty. The previous 6-speed automated manual was suitable for the Ferrari's it was formerly used in, but any large luxury car without a proper 6-speed automatic is too brutal for work in careers that thrive on smooth, unfussed style. Besides, Sicily (or anybody from Sicily) requires a car that can match the beauty through which it will drive. Rolling roads around Corleone can be enjoyed on stressless days in a sports sedan like the Q'porte. Faster around a racetrack than many a hi-po sports sedan, the 4,400 lb Maserati can still hold almost 16 cubic feet of 'cargo'.
YAKUZA IN A MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS, AS ALWAYS: From shateigashira to kumicho and even the fuku-honbucho in between, the Yakuza hold no surprises to the people of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokahama. One such Yakuza trait that holds no surprise is their vehicle of choice, so expect no oyabun to check GCBC for car-buying advice. S-class Mercedes from a various generations suit the Yakuza just fine, so long as they come painted black. Differentiation lies ahead of the passenger compartment. V8? Big V8? Twin-turbo V12 with over 600 getaway horsepower? Import a diesel, maybe even a diesel V8? Just make sure the windows are heavily darkened. Yakuza offices are sometimes marked as clearly as their automobile, which is as clearly defined as the members themselves. Walk uniquely, eyes always covered, dressed permanently in suits. The decision to transport themselves in such a vast fleet of Mercedes' flagship sedan is perhaps the best choice the Yakuza has ever made.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
THE WEEK THAT WAS - Ford, true green, F1, Porsche still sells 911's?
Plenty of news in automobiledom, so let's hit it.
Even as Ford Motor Company's engines go hi-tech in cars like the '09 Lincoln MKS, engine availability will dwindle on Ford's best-seller, the F150. The '09 F140 may not
have a V6, diesel, or big V8 when the F150 debuts. Ford (and the media) have played up the next Boss/Hurricane 6.2L 8-cylinder, so its absence would be felt. Powerplants may not impress, but much of the vehicle will be all new - including the already impressive interiors. Lincoln's flagship MKS may well be introduced with a direct injected, twin turbocharged engine for 2009.....
The German tag-team has good news. Porsche has set a sales record for its iconic 911, measured in its own fiscal year ending this month. Requirements to set a new record? Beat last year's total, which was the current record holder. Around 36,000 Porsche 911's will have been built from last August 1st through July 31st. Model permutations are plenteous and, as always, powerful. Meanwhile, Volkswagen has seen 25% growth in Chinese VW sales, with over 430,000 units in the first 6 months of this year. With its recent heavy investment in its Pueblo, Mexico factory ($40million, if you're asking), VW should be able to build 450,000 cars there each year. China thus sees a new Passat variant, and Mexico receives a face-lifted Jetta, which was borne along by Volkswagen's Chinese connections at FAW. Mexico's Jetta is our old Jetta, their Bora is our current Jetta.....
Alert the press - Press has spoken. The President of Toyota in North America has spoken boldly. "Eventually, everything will be a hybrid," and, "The Prius is the forerunner.... It's going to be like the Model T when you look back." Jim Press is a cool guy who likes cars, and Toyota is the hybrid king, builder of 3/5ths of all hybrids sold in the States. But tone down the rhetoric a little, Jimbo. Big words cause big letdowns by times.....
Next year's Formula 1 race at Indianapolis is - oh, wait a second.... There is no F1 race at Indy in 2008. It's a no go. No show. The deadline for reaching a deal has com
e and gone. A few debacles and a few great performances later, one of the world's greatest raceways bids farewell, even if it is just temporarily.....
Green comes in so many shades. Ford says that their move to equip the '08 Mustang with soybean-based foam cushions could eventually save thousands of barrels of oil. Commonly, seats use petroleum-based foam for vehicle seating. The benefits are threefold: 24% renewable content, reduced C02 emissions, and less energy used in the first place. Ford's Model T had 60 pounds worth of soy in its paint and plastic.....
www.mercedes-benz.tv is cool, and brand-spankin' new..... Infiniti is now officially competing for China's luxury-car buyer's hard earned $.... Land Rover could well set a sales record this year. The first half of the year saw 9% growth. 194,000 Range Rovers, LR3's, RR Sports, Freelanders and even some Defenders came out of Solihull last year.... Despite my vote for the Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, an armoured Bentley Turbo R has taken hold of Car&Driver's poll for your preferential vehicle for the world's dying days. The Benz is in second place with 17% of the vote at this time. A Touareg V10 TDI wouldn't be a bad choice, as a tenth of the voters have claimed. FJ Cruisers, Jeep Wranglers and Hummers are in amongst the mid-pack. Not many days ago, 53% of responders said that the latest Subaru Impreza had a face only a mother could love. See GCBC's take here.
Even as Ford Motor Company's engines go hi-tech in cars like the '09 Lincoln MKS, engine availability will dwindle on Ford's best-seller, the F150. The '09 F140 may not
have a V6, diesel, or big V8 when the F150 debuts. Ford (and the media) have played up the next Boss/Hurricane 6.2L 8-cylinder, so its absence would be felt. Powerplants may not impress, but much of the vehicle will be all new - including the already impressive interiors. Lincoln's flagship MKS may well be introduced with a direct injected, twin turbocharged engine for 2009..... The German tag-team has good news. Porsche has set a sales record for its iconic 911, measured in its own fiscal year ending this month. Requirements to set a new record? Beat last year's total, which was the current record holder. Around 36,000 Porsche 911's will have been built from last August 1st through July 31st. Model permutations are plenteous and, as always, powerful. Meanwhile, Volkswagen has seen 25% growth in Chinese VW sales, with over 430,000 units in the first 6 months of this year. With its recent heavy investment in its Pueblo, Mexico factory ($40million, if you're asking), VW should be able to build 450,000 cars there each year. China thus sees a new Passat variant, and Mexico receives a face-lifted Jetta, which was borne along by Volkswagen's Chinese connections at FAW. Mexico's Jetta is our old Jetta, their Bora is our current Jetta.....
Alert the press - Press has spoken. The President of Toyota in North America has spoken boldly. "Eventually, everything will be a hybrid," and, "The Prius is the forerunner.... It's going to be like the Model T when you look back." Jim Press is a cool guy who likes cars, and Toyota is the hybrid king, builder of 3/5ths of all hybrids sold in the States. But tone down the rhetoric a little, Jimbo. Big words cause big letdowns by times.....
Next year's Formula 1 race at Indianapolis is - oh, wait a second.... There is no F1 race at Indy in 2008. It's a no go. No show. The deadline for reaching a deal has com
e and gone. A few debacles and a few great performances later, one of the world's greatest raceways bids farewell, even if it is just temporarily.....Green comes in so many shades. Ford says that their move to equip the '08 Mustang with soybean-based foam cushions could eventually save thousands of barrels of oil. Commonly, seats use petroleum-based foam for vehicle seating. The benefits are threefold: 24% renewable content, reduced C02 emissions, and less energy used in the first place. Ford's Model T had 60 pounds worth of soy in its paint and plastic.....
www.mercedes-benz.tv is cool, and brand-spankin' new..... Infiniti is now officially competing for China's luxury-car buyer's hard earned $.... Land Rover could well set a sales record this year. The first half of the year saw 9% growth. 194,000 Range Rovers, LR3's, RR Sports, Freelanders and even some Defenders came out of Solihull last year.... Despite my vote for the Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, an armoured Bentley Turbo R has taken hold of Car&Driver's poll for your preferential vehicle for the world's dying days. The Benz is in second place with 17% of the vote at this time. A Touareg V10 TDI wouldn't be a bad choice, as a tenth of the voters have claimed. FJ Cruisers, Jeep Wranglers and Hummers are in amongst the mid-pack. Not many days ago, 53% of responders said that the latest Subaru Impreza had a face only a mother could love. See GCBC's take here.
KIA SPECTRA - Driven
Your acquaintance with Kia may be considered brief. You may believe Kia's history to be short and their reputation still tainted by the relatively recent past. A low quality loner, some have said.
But Kia is South Korea's oldest car company. That fact means that Kia has a longer history to draw on than Hyundai. What you remember from the first Kia's you laid eyes on has little resemblance to what Kia produces now, nor does it really matter. And Kia Motors, senior Korean automaker, has actually been a part of Hyundai Motor Company since 1998.
Lesson learned. Preconceptions are often misconceptions, and one such mispreconception involves the idea that Kia's are cheap. Inexpensive, for sure. When I first drove a Kia Rio (previous generation) I was alarmed at its price tag. It was apparent to me that the Rio I drove featured one of the lowest price tags of any new car on the continent, but was still overpriced. The car did change gears, but I wondered how. The vague, rubbery shifter I was in control of seemed to have no connection to the real mechanical world. Interior materials were comprised of plastics hard enough to injure sensitive fingers and fabrics coarse enough to cause rashes.
Yet with the flick of a switch, the next Kia Rio became a highly competitive subcompact. Likewise the Kia Sephia/Spectra, whose named evolved into Spectra & Spectra5. Kia's compact underwent a revolution to become a worthy candidate for buyers searching in the mid-to-high teen $ market.
Let's be honest from the start. If you, the buyer, can buy a Honda Civic.... do so. However, the Spectra is worthy of your dollars. This is GoodCarBadCar, but in all honesty, what turns a BadCar into a GoodCar these days is not usually increased reliability and roadworthiness. Rather, a GoodCar must possess some cool, something new, something ingenious. A GoodCar must stand out from the crowd.
The Kia Spectra isn't overtly cool, new, ingenious or outgoing. Thus, we can't truly name the Spectra as a top choice in the crowded Civic/Mazda3 field. Nevertheless, the Spectra will fulfill the demands of its owner, it will likely be a solid and reliably machine (if J.D. Power is to be believed) and it will do all this without harming your wallet.
We drove a Kia Spectra 902 kilometres to Prince Edward Island, around the Island, and back home. Our fuel economy was superb, at 7.31 litres used every 100 kilometres. Energuide's combined rating is 7.45L/100km. The aforementioned segment dominator from Honda has a combined rating of just 6.95L/100km.
The Spectra saw a wide variety of roads on a trip to the in-law's wedding. Construction was everywhere prior to the Confederation Bridge, and the frequent stints on rough pavement proved the Hankook tires to be the main cause of excessive noise, rather than poor wind sealing or sound deadening lack. During the first 300 km of the trip, Spectra was leading a UHaul, so twisty sections of the highway were not used and abused. Kilometres 301-599 were wholly based on PEI, where typical side road speeds are substantially over the posted limit. We were not able to enjoy awesome Route #955 through Murray Corner, New Brunswick as we did in the previous week's Nissan Versa (read that test drive here), but PEI still offers up some fun.
Spend 900 kilometres in any car over a short timespan and you notice the highlights and lowlights of the cockpit and passenger compartment. The interior design had no visual flair, but the positioning of each button was aligned properly. Lacking visual flair is one thing; but the appearance of singular elements as though they belong in cheaper cars isn't necessary. In this day of beautification, bling, and bold design, give me a cool shifter. Not something out of a late 80's Ford.
Enduring the monotonous drive from Aulac, NB to Borden, PEI requires decent passing punch. One lane each way, never a division. In late June, the Nissan Versa struggled on this patch. The Spectra provided more punch than its sub-140 bhp would suggest. A little thrashy at the top end, but the job was done. As four-speed automatics go, the Spectra's was actually a bit of a snappy shifter. Revs didn't disappear with each successive climb through the ratios. A brief stint in a late-model Nissan Sentra not long after showed me, once again, the agony of significant rev drop-off between first and second gear.
Kia's Spectra is no sports sedan. It doesn't drive as sporty as a Mazda3, doesn't look as sporty as a Mitsubishi Lancer, and doesn't sound as sporty as a Honda Civic. For a large percentage of the population, sporty sounds and looks and mannerisms don't matter. For a percentage of that percentage, design flair and external differentiation matter even less. It is for these people that the Kia Spectra matters much.
Transportation is a wonderful thing. For those who seek a great destination; a great view - and care little about the journey - a Kia Spectra can carry them down Route 225 from Cornwall to Kinkora to behold a sunset unlike anything our small party of travelers had ever seen. They can park in front of a small church, look at over an old cemetery, and forget about how they got to this place. Some people just want to see the sunset.
For the rest of us, problems arise. The sun was quickly falling. We could see that it was going to be an impressive sight if only we could come upon a suitable perch to 'view the view'. The Spectra got us to Hartsville Presbyterian in time.... but just barely. A few tighter corners, a few more revs, maybe some stickier tires and a bit more low-down urge. That's what we needed. Just give us a bit more time to savour the view.
But Kia is South Korea's oldest car company. That fact means that Kia has a longer history to draw on than Hyundai. What you remember from the first Kia's you laid eyes on has little resemblance to what Kia produces now, nor does it really matter. And Kia Motors, senior Korean automaker, has actually been a part of Hyundai Motor Company since 1998.
Lesson learned. Preconceptions are often misconceptions, and one such mispreconception involves the idea that Kia's are cheap. Inexpensive, for sure. When I first drove a Kia Rio (previous generation) I was alarmed at its price tag. It was apparent to me that the Rio I drove featured one of the lowest price tags of any new car on the continent, but was still overpriced. The car did change gears, but I wondered how. The vague, rubbery shifter I was in control of seemed to have no connection to the real mechanical world. Interior materials were comprised of plastics hard enough to injure sensitive fingers and fabrics coarse enough to cause rashes.
Yet with the flick of a switch, the next Kia Rio became a highly competitive subcompact. Likewise the Kia Sephia/Spectra, whose named evolved into Spectra & Spectra5. Kia's compact underwent a revolution to become a worthy candidate for buyers searching in the mid-to-high teen $ market.
Let's be honest from the start. If you, the buyer, can buy a Honda Civic.... do so. However, the Spectra is worthy of your dollars. This is GoodCarBadCar, but in all honesty, what turns a BadCar into a GoodCar these days is not usually increased reliability and roadworthiness. Rather, a GoodCar must possess some cool, something new, something ingenious. A GoodCar must stand out from the crowd.
The Kia Spectra isn't overtly cool, new, ingenious or outgoing. Thus, we can't truly name the Spectra as a top choice in the crowded Civic/Mazda3 field. Nevertheless, the Spectra will fulfill the demands of its owner, it will likely be a solid and reliably machine (if J.D. Power is to be believed) and it will do all this without harming your wallet.
We drove a Kia Spectra 902 kilometres to Prince Edward Island, around the Island, and back home. Our fuel economy was superb, at 7.31 litres used every 100 kilometres. Energuide's combined rating is 7.45L/100km. The aforementioned segment dominator from Honda has a combined rating of just 6.95L/100km.
The Spectra saw a wide variety of roads on a trip to the in-law's wedding. Construction was everywhere prior to the Confederation Bridge, and the frequent stints on rough pavement proved the Hankook tires to be the main cause of excessive noise, rather than poor wind sealing or sound deadening lack. During the first 300 km of the trip, Spectra was leading a UHaul, so twisty sections of the highway were not used and abused. Kilometres 301-599 were wholly based on PEI, where typical side road speeds are substantially over the posted limit. We were not able to enjoy awesome Route #955 through Murray Corner, New Brunswick as we did in the previous week's Nissan Versa (read that test drive here), but PEI still offers up some fun.
Spend 900 kilometres in any car over a short timespan and you notice the highlights and lowlights of the cockpit and passenger compartment. The interior design had no visual flair, but the positioning of each button was aligned properly. Lacking visual flair is one thing; but the appearance of singular elements as though they belong in cheaper cars isn't necessary. In this day of beautification, bling, and bold design, give me a cool shifter. Not something out of a late 80's Ford.
Enduring the monotonous drive from Aulac, NB to Borden, PEI requires decent passing punch. One lane each way, never a division. In late June, the Nissan Versa struggled on this patch. The Spectra provided more punch than its sub-140 bhp would suggest. A little thrashy at the top end, but the job was done. As four-speed automatics go, the Spectra's was actually a bit of a snappy shifter. Revs didn't disappear with each successive climb through the ratios. A brief stint in a late-model Nissan Sentra not long after showed me, once again, the agony of significant rev drop-off between first and second gear.
Kia's Spectra is no sports sedan. It doesn't drive as sporty as a Mazda3, doesn't look as sporty as a Mitsubishi Lancer, and doesn't sound as sporty as a Honda Civic. For a large percentage of the population, sporty sounds and looks and mannerisms don't matter. For a percentage of that percentage, design flair and external differentiation matter even less. It is for these people that the Kia Spectra matters much.
Transportation is a wonderful thing. For those who seek a great destination; a great view - and care little about the journey - a Kia Spectra can carry them down Route 225 from Cornwall to Kinkora to behold a sunset unlike anything our small party of travelers had ever seen. They can park in front of a small church, look at over an old cemetery, and forget about how they got to this place. Some people just want to see the sunset.
For the rest of us, problems arise. The sun was quickly falling. We could see that it was going to be an impressive sight if only we could come upon a suitable perch to 'view the view'. The Spectra got us to Hartsville Presbyterian in time.... but just barely. A few tighter corners, a few more revs, maybe some stickier tires and a bit more low-down urge. That's what we needed. Just give us a bit more time to savour the view.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
THOSE WHO LIKE IT, LIKE IT A LOT
J.D. P
ower and Associates has released its latest surveying study. Attempting to discern which brands possess the happiest and most content buyers is no easy task. The results however, at least at the top of the list, are not at all surprising.
The survey is called APEAL, an acronym standing for "Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout". The study reveals what should stand out as obvious rationale: Happy automobile owners drive vehicles that are very profitable. These vehicles require little incentive to purchase, because people really want them. Understand? It's like this. I want a vacation. When I take the vacation, I am happy. A long weekend is nice; satisfactory; enjoyable, but I really want the vacation. I'll pay big bucks for the vacation, because the vacation is what I truly desire.
Car enthusiasts want a Porsche. They pay top dollar for that Porsche, and are amazingly content with their German sports car (or SUV). In fact, Porsche ranks at the top of the list. This survey encompassed 35 different automotive brands, and Porsche is at the pinnacle of the German-dominate
d podium. BMW trailed Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz came next. Responders to this survey must have been in the first 90 days of ownership of a 2007 model year automobile. Porsche, in a manner of speaking, scored an 85%. They received 849 points out of a possible 1,000. Jeep continues to sell 4x4's, but clearly wasn't making their customers happy this past year. Impressive in the showroom, less impressive in daily life? Say it ain't so. Jeep finished in 35th place. 35th out of 35. Jeep scored 718. Chrysler and Dodge were 31st and 33rd, respectively. Subaru and Suzuki were the other members of the bottom pentagon of discontent.
The average score on this gruesome test was 772. Cadillac, Hummer, and Lincoln were the sole American brands to score above that mark. There were a number of American cars that did very well, finishing atop their individual sectors, in fact. Many of the cars and trucks that did well are true examples of love-it-or-hate-it. The Honda Ridgeline is despised by many for not being a real truck. Yet the people who buy it love their Ridgeline more than Ranger owners love their Ford's or Tacoma buyers love their Toyota's. In fact, the Ridgeline scored higher than any other pickup. By category, here are the top scoring models:
ower and Associates has released its latest surveying study. Attempting to discern which brands possess the happiest and most content buyers is no easy task. The results however, at least at the top of the list, are not at all surprising. The survey is called APEAL, an acronym standing for "Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout". The study reveals what should stand out as obvious rationale: Happy automobile owners drive vehicles that are very profitable. These vehicles require little incentive to purchase, because people really want them. Understand? It's like this. I want a vacation. When I take the vacation, I am happy. A long weekend is nice; satisfactory; enjoyable, but I really want the vacation. I'll pay big bucks for the vacation, because the vacation is what I truly desire.
Car enthusiasts want a Porsche. They pay top dollar for that Porsche, and are amazingly content with their German sports car (or SUV). In fact, Porsche ranks at the top of the list. This survey encompassed 35 different automotive brands, and Porsche is at the pinnacle of the German-dominate
d podium. BMW trailed Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz came next. Responders to this survey must have been in the first 90 days of ownership of a 2007 model year automobile. Porsche, in a manner of speaking, scored an 85%. They received 849 points out of a possible 1,000. Jeep continues to sell 4x4's, but clearly wasn't making their customers happy this past year. Impressive in the showroom, less impressive in daily life? Say it ain't so. Jeep finished in 35th place. 35th out of 35. Jeep scored 718. Chrysler and Dodge were 31st and 33rd, respectively. Subaru and Suzuki were the other members of the bottom pentagon of discontent.The average score on this gruesome test was 772. Cadillac, Hummer, and Lincoln were the sole American brands to score above that mark. There were a number of American cars that did very well, finishing atop their individual sectors, in fact. Many of the cars and trucks that did well are true examples of love-it-or-hate-it. The Honda Ridgeline is despised by many for not being a real truck. Yet the people who buy it love their Ridgeline more than Ranger owners love their Ford's or Tacoma buyers love their Toyota's. In fact, the Ridgeline scored higher than any other pickup. By category, here are the top scoring models:
- Honda Odyssey - van
- Honda Ridgeline - midsize pickup
- GMC Sierra - large pickup
- Cadillac Escalade EXT/ Mercedes-Benz GL-class - large premium SUV
- BMW X5 - midsize premium SUV
- Nissan Armada - large SUV
- Ford Edge - midsize SUV
- Honda CR-V - compact SUV
- Hyundai Azera - large car
- Nissan Altima - midsize car
- Ford Mustang - midsize sporty car
- BMW 6-series - premium sporty car
- Mercedes-Benz S-class - large premium car
- Mercedes-Benz E-class - entry premium car
- BMW 3-series - entry premium car
- Porsche Cayman - compact premium sporty car
- Volkswagen Jetta - compact sporty car
- Volkswagen Jetta - compact car
- Honda Fit / Toyota Yaris - subcompact car
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