ZR1 RELEASED

Take one Chevrolet Corvette and add 200 horsepower. Strip some weight. Add other miscellaneous peformance addenda. Make the Z06 look weak. Name it ZR1. Price it around $100,000. Call yourself General Motors and run to the bank. Here's the photos you want. Watch it in action at Laguna Seca right here at GoodCarBadCar.

Stop by CorvetteGuys.com and check out

their selection of Corvette Zr1 Wheels

CRAZY FAST GT-R

Thanks to Edmunds.com's Inside Line, we now have acceleration times for the Nissan GT-R. Granted, 0-60mph isn't everything. Sometimes it's misleading; pointless; and impossible to replicate.


However..... the GT-R hit 60 in 3.3 seconds at a test track in Japan. As far as Edmunds.com's testing goes, that's faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, and Dodge Viper. Does 0-60 testing matter?

We're talking about some of the highest performing cars in the world. The GT-R races to 60 in a Ferrari 599 at a fraction of the price, but does so in style and with plenty of technology. It also does so with the Nissan version of launch control - the engine computer holding revs at 4,500rpm until the driver releases the brake - without which the GT-R needs 4.0 seconds to hit the magic number.

Again, does 0-60 testing matter? Does cupholder counting in a minivan make any difference? What about the ultimate fuel efficiency of subcompacts or the trailer-towing capability of pickup trucks? Everything needs context, and when the context is Z06, SRT10, GT-R, and 911..... yes, 0-60 testing is worth the bother.

By the way, the GT-R ran the quarter in 11.6 seconds at 120.9mph. Expect the American car mags (Car&Driver, MotorTrend) to have a chance at topping these Inside Line numbers.

ACROSS THE POND - Daihatsu Materia

Yes, that face does look familiar. You know a miniaturized bread van/hearse/armoured car combo when you see it. But the badge is all wrong.


This is the Scion xB, but the ad slogan is different. "You'd be crazy not to!" says Daihatsu UK. Yes; with an exclamation point.

Toyota owns Scion. Toyota took a controlling stake in Daihatsu (51.2%) in 1999. So here you have the Daihatsu Materia. Where's the L? You're guess is as good as mine. Daihatsu's are not luxurious Lexus sedans. Perhaps they felt Material would be deceving, seeing as how so little material is needed to build most Daihatsu's.

The Materia, a word which makes me smirk every time I type it, starts at £10,995 in the UK. For that price you get a 1.5L, 102bhp four-cylinder and a manual trans. The Materia Auto, as you would assume, adds an automatic transmission. Nice, thanks.

Daihatsu.co.uk's best line is as follows: "A 1.5 litre engine guarantees lively performance with economy giving 39.2 mpg (manual transmission) on the Combined Cycle with a 0 – 62 mph acceleration time of 10.8 seconds." Guarantees? Guarantees? Did they put the guarantees with the wrong subject, having intended to place it after the 'with' and a 'd' in place of the 's' on the end? I think so.

The accessory list is Scionesque in its length. Vehicular brethren are more plentiful for the Daihatsu, however. The Sirion, Terios, and Copen are itsy-bitsy in their own ways.

So, Across The Pond we went. And what did we find? An xB branded with a badge which stands for a company name most Americans can't pronounce.

ACURA RL RECALL

The power steering hose under the hood of Acura's RL is subject to high temperatures. Those high temps can cause cracks in the hose, potentially leaking fliud. The fluid could hit the catalytic converter. The combination of catalytic converters and power steering fluid could result in a fire. There've yet to be injuries or even fires as a result of this fault, but the recall published by NHTSA affects 43,200 RL's.

Acura is the luxury brand of Honda Motor Company. The sterling reputation held by companies such as Toyota and Honda, as well as by the tough-as-nails trucks built by American automakers, have come into question under the light of recent recalls. The Acura RL doesn't deserve to be abstained from, however, just because of a recall affecting this hose.

To learn more about the RL, read the GoodCarBadCar Lowdown. For more on recent recalls, click here.

LEWIS, TUNDRA, SOLO MERCURY

McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, last year's runner-up in Formula 1, was fined about €800 for driving over 120mph (190+km/h) in a 80mph (130km/h) zone. His Mercedes was confiscated and his license suspended.

He will be permitted to test his McLaren racer. In fact, Lewis can drive anywhere except France, where, for one month, Lewis isn't permitted behind the wheel.

Poor fella. Ironically, former F1 champion Michael Schumacher, a man widely considered to be a potential candidate for best driver ever, is under investigation for an exciting taxi ride through Munich last week. Schumi figured he could get his family to the airport faster than cab driver Tuncer Yilmax. So, that's what Schumi did, giving his family and Mr. Yilmax the ride of their lives. They made their flight, but German police don't like the fact that Michael broke the law. You're not allowed to commandeer taxicabs. Whatever.

MotorTrend has named the Toyota Tundra its truck of the year. Don't be too hard on MT for picking a truck that was just named in a recall (a recall that doesn't include any accidents or injuries). Afrer all, what truckmaker hasn't come under a recent recall?

Silly I know, but Mercury was, until recently, selling cars at Mercury-only dealerships. The last such store, Community Motor in Pennsylvania, just closed its doors. Community Motor sold new Mercury's for 57 years, but their best yearly total was way back in 1989.

Also, just minutes ago, the "35mpg by 2020" bill in the United States Congress passed and will head for the ballpoint pen of George W. Read this for more info on the bill.

THE NOSES OF VOLVO

"Travelling in a car should be a pleasant experience for the nose as well."

These are the words of Patrik Libander, a Volvo engineer in charge of the smell test panel. Yes, the smell test panel.


Volvo has two four-man teams responsible for applying exhaustive smell tests on their cars. Efforts to build a device that could take the place of a human nose - or eight human noses - have failed. Capable humans are vetted as seriously as dogs for the K9 units of police forces. You must have a sense of smell in tune with others in your group; be sensitive but not overly so; and be a non-smoker.

Why is Volvo obsessed with scent? Say they, " The interior of a modern vehicle contains many different materials that contain chemical substances. While most of these substances remain locked in the material, small quantities can evaporate, creating that “new car smell”. The panel monitors these substances and the smells they may cause in the cabin." When a team sets forth to sniff out an interior, the car must rate no higher than a 3 to pass the test. A rating of 1 indicates no noticeable smell, while a 6 is unbearable.

The testers also make use of a sunshine simulator that brings up the temperature of the interior. Next, equipment is used to test for Total Volatile Organic Compounds. Only then does the team hop in and sniff from a human perspective.

Volvo's have always been known as the perfect vehicles for families with dogs. The connection between beast and Volvo is now clear.

GCBC'S POPULAR STUFF

GoodCarBadCar's been live since March of this year. During that time, one post instantly - and constantly - maintained a reign as the most popular piece by The Good Car Guy. The title?

"Same Old Same Old But Better Than Ever"

The subject? Honda's venerable Civic. It's a test drive article; something called Driven here at GCBC. But, I noticed something interesting recently. So entwined is North America, and the United States of America more specifically, with pickup trucks, that when a truck is in trouble, people take notice.

That's exactly what people did here on GCBC when the Ford F-series came under recall. So many people took notice, in fact, that in less than two weeks of existence, the F-series post knocked the Civic off its perch.

Curious what else made the podium, ye are. The Top 5 Cars Police Should Be Driving narrowly edged out Dodge's Journey Must Make Inroads, which has been a surprisingly steady member of the top five since its September publishing.