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Volvo to Split S60 Lineup with T5 AWD Model

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:58:31 +0000

Volvo has added a new, lineup-splitting T5 AWD version of its S60 sedan , one of the brand’s few successful U.S. offerings. John Maloney, Volvo’s new U.S. president, revealed the information during an interview at the Detroit auto show. The T5 AWD announcement is hardly exciting stuff, but in light of recent subtractions from its U.S. lineup , any news that involves the addition of new models is potentially good for Volvo. The new S60 T5 AWD will occupy the space—and find a home somewhere within the rather sizable $7150 price gap—between the $32,175 base FWD T5 model and the $39,325 AWD T6 variant. The T5 AWD will be powered by the same 250-hp turbocharged inline-five as the front-driver. (The T6—a very finicky example of which we have in our long-term stable —is powered by a smooth turbocharged 300-hp inline-six.) This new T5 will allow Volvo to counter competitors’ base-engine all-wheel-drive models, which include the BMW 328i xDrive and Audi A4 Quattro . The S60 T5 AWD goes on sale this summer, and exact pricing information will be available closer to its release.

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Volvo to Split S60 Lineup with T5 AWD Model

Diesel-Powered Mazda to Arrive in the U.S. in Early 2013

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:37:43 +0000

A Mazda with a diesel engine finally will arrive in the U.S. in early 2013, spokesman Jeremy Barnes tells us. “It’ll be here between 15 and 18 months behind the launch of the Skyactiv-G gasoline engine in the Mazda 3 .” That car hit the market in October of last year, so the math says to expect a diesel Mazda between January and April of 2013. This is just a few months later than originally projected . Even though Mazda is describing the timing based on changes made to the Mazda 3, we shouldn’t expect that particular model to go diesel just yet. Our guess is that the compression-ignition engine will arrive first in the CX-5 ; the 3 and 6 are strong possibilities for diesel power in the following year or two. Mazda’s higher-spec 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D diesel four is the best candidate for U.S. service; in Europe, it makes 173 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. We did a deep dive on this engine when it first debuted, so check out our full rundown for more details.

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Diesel-Powered Mazda to Arrive in the U.S. in Early 2013

24 Hours of LeMons Live Race Updates, Features, and More: Get ‘Em Right Here!

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:28 +0000

Car and Driver writers have been rubbing Bar’s-Leaks-smeared elbows with the miscreants who put on the 24 Hours of LeMons since the very first race , and so it follows— the way the Daewoo Maepsy followed the Holden Gemini—that we’d make an inexplicable sponsorship arrangement out of this common interest in a strangely competitive race series for $500 hoopties. What it means for you, the crapcan-racing fan: You’ll be able to keep up with the LeMons action right here on C/D .com. Our 24 Hours of LeMons: Inexplicably Presented by Car and Driver page will offer live race updates, plus stories on ill-advised LeMons cars, even- more -ill-advised LeMons lifestyle choices, and any other rod-throwin’ LeMons mayhem we find in our travels around the country. Among the content you can find there already: race schedules, the best team costumes from the 2011 season , the most memorable Judgemobiles of all time , and past LeMons feature stories we’ve done at C/D . Your host for much of the action will be Murilee Martin—a.k.a. Judge Phil of the 24 Hours of LeMons Supreme Court—and he’ll be taking the occasional break from his duties busting racers who “bought that M6 engine from some crackhead for 50 bucks” to bring you the coverage. On race weekend, he’ll provide updates on all the on-track action, including on the storied Humber Super Snipe v. Chrysler TC by Maserati rivalry. The rest of the time, he’ll fill you in on wild car builds, heroic examples of Field Expedient Engineering, recipes for Valve Cover Chili, and other LeMons highlights. For those of you not familiar with the glorious, racetrack-property-value-lowering five-year history of the 24 Hours of LeMons, we suggest you check out Judge Phil’s Encrustation of 24 Hours of LeMons Nonsense for a crash course. Full LeMons info, of course, also is available at 24hoursoflemons.com

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24 Hours of LeMons Live Race Updates, Features, and More: Get ‘Em Right Here!

December 2011 Vehicle Sales: What the Headlines Don’t Tell You

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:58:33 +0000

It Really Was a Toyotathon Sales of the Toyota Camry in 2011: 308,510 Sales of all Mazdas in 2011: 250,426 Sales of all BMWs in 2011: 247,907 Date of T?hoku earthquake: March 11, 2011 Date flooding started in Thailand: July 31, 2011 Minimum number of months Toyota operated below 100% production capacity in North America: 6 Car sales rank of Camry in 2011: 1 What the numbers reveal: Earthquake be damned, the Camry was a juggernaut in 2011. One generation ended and a new Camry was recently launched. Yes, the company relied on incentives—what automaker doesn’t in the mid-size segment?—but even crippled by natural disaster, the Camry outsold every car in the States and every vehicle save the Chevy Silverado and the Ford F-150. Fiat 500’s Year One Even Worse than Jack Black’s Sales of the Fiat 500 in 2011: 19,769 Sales of Mini vehicles, excluding Countryman, in 2011: 40,828 Fiat’s original 2011 U.S. sales goal for the 500: 50,000 Date Fiat’s CEO affirmed that it was “still on track” to meet that target: August 24, 2011 Date Car and Driver said Fiat was falling woefully short of its sales target: July 6, 2011 Date Marchionne admitted the 500’s U.S. sales target was “incredibly naïve”: January 9, 2012 What the numbers reveal: It’s very difficult to launch a new car brand in the U.S., and harder still to do it with a product that’s not right for this market. The 500, while occasionally fun to drive, is just too small for American buyers. Its party trick is an ability to park in small spaces, a requirement for vehicles only in a few high-density American cities like New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Fiat’s execs insisted everything was fine during 2011, and said their original goal of 50,000 units had nothing to do with Mini’s 2010 sales total of a little more than 45,000 cars. Now Marchionne has admitted both that the target was absurd and that the Mini total was the basis of the original goal. We expect that in a year or two Fiat will give up on attaining any meaningful volume for the 500 and instead will just refer to it as a halo product, showing the company’s Italian flair. Know Your Strengths Percentage of Jeep models sold that weren’t a Grand Cherokee or Wrangler in 2011: 40 Percentage of Volkswagens sold that weren’t a Jetta in 2011: 45 What the numbers reveal: Even though the U.S. market has become increasingly niche-ified, where every automaker feels the need to build models as crossovers, hybrids, and crossover hybrids, volume still comes from core products. For Jeep, it’s the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler—both of which can be described as unqualified, runaway successes. Ditto the Jetta, which still doesn’t excuse VW for cheapening it. (Fortunately, some fixes are on the way .) Both brands are using strategic platform sharing to create new models with these sales kings: VW already has the new Beetle, and Jeep is developing a new Grand Wagoneer to sit above the GC. Mercedes-Benz Bulks Up on Bulk Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen sales in 2011: 1191 Year the G-Wagen was originally introduced: 1979 Base price of 2011 G-Wagen: $107,975 Mercedes-Benz’s minimum gross revenue from 2011 G-Wagen sales: $128.6 million What the numbers reveal: With over 30 years of global production, the G-Wagen’s investment has been more than paid back. The profit margins are as gargantuan as the vehicle and its personality. Is it any wonder the company is revising it yet again ? Volvo in Context Sales of the Volvo S80 in 2011: 4735 Month in 2011 during which Mercedes-Benz E-class sales surpassed 4735: January Month in 2011 during which Hyundai Genesis sales surpassed 4735: March What the numbers reveal: Volvo is getting killed in this country. Its four core products sell well enough, but everything else is in dire straits. (The keepers are the S60 sedan, the XC70 wagon, and the XC60 and XC90 crossovers.) The V40 hatchback, which will debut at next month’s Geneva show, probably isn’t coming here . We understand Volvo’s need to focus on its better-selling cars, but it’ll need new products if it’s going to provide a credible alternative to shoppers currently entering Mercedes-Benz—and even Hyundai—showrooms.

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December 2011 Vehicle Sales: What the Headlines Don’t Tell You

2013 Nissan GT-R Priced from $97,820; We Chart Godzilla’s Price, Power, and Performance Over the Years

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:18:47 +0000

The GT-R, Nissan’s twin-turbocharged hellion, has received upgrades each and every model year since it went on sale for 2009—and 2013 will be no different . Its price has been upgraded along with it: The 2013 GT-R will start at $97,820 for the Premium “base” model or $107,320 for the uplevel Black Edition. Nearly (or more than) $100,000? Wasn’t this car supposed to be the bargain supercar slayer when it came out? Well, yeah, it was. And it kind of still is. The table below shows the car’s price and output increases over the years, along with our best 0-to-60-mph result for each model year we tested. Some notes on the changes: For 2010 , Nissan increased engine output by 5 hp and 4 lb-ft of torque, and recalibrated the GT-R’s launch control to increase the longevity of the dual-clutch gearbox (hence our slightly longer trip to 60 mph that year). That model also got a revised navigation system, new shock tuning for a better ride, rear-diffuser cooling ducts, and a USB port for music. The 2011 GT-R was reduced to a single trim level, which was equipped with everything that came on the previous year’s uplevel Premium model. The price increased by almost $3300, but a few extra items were thrown in that were previously unavailable on any GT-R. Again, Nissan fiddled with the suspension and added more cooling ducts. Power and torque increased yet again for the 2012 GT-R . The biggest jump in output to date helped drop the 0-to-60 time to 2.9 seconds in our testing . Also on order: a revised front fascia with LED running lights, new wheels, a revised rear diffuser, greater front and rear downforce, a stiffer structure, revised suspension tuning, new front brake rotors, interior upgrades, and a two-wheel-drive mode for low speeds to address low-speed driveline binding. Whew! This brings us to the 2013 GT-R’s seemingly hefty price tag. Yes, it’s $6870 more expensive in base form than the 2012 model, but, again, it’s accompanied by a list of improvements . The GT-R is still cheaper than hero cars like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and it’s only $470 more than the new 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S. So, a bargain, then?

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2013 Nissan GT-R Priced from $97,820; We Chart Godzilla’s Price, Power, and Performance Over the Years

Peugeot Abandons Endurance Racing: Why It Happened and What It Means for Prototype Racing

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:43:32 +0000

Considering that French automaker Peugeot hasn’t sold cars in the U.S. for 20 years—and has no immediate plans to return—you’d think the company’s decision to end its participation in big-time endurance sports-car racing, effective immediately, wouldn’t have much impact on the American racing scene. Au contraire: The American Le Mans Series was counting on Peugeot’s presence at the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Sebring race, where in 2011 Peugeot took first and third. And while the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is presently not a part of the new FIA World Endurance Championship—Sebring is, however—the ALMS and its fans were holding out hope that Peugeot and arch-rival Audi would make an appearance in Atlanta this fall, where last year Peugeot took first and second. Neither Audi nor Peugeot bothered to cross the ocean for regular-season ALMS races. In Peugeot’s case, that makes perfect sense; if you don’t sell cars here, what’s the point of vying for the championship? So what happened to cause Peugeot to abandon its motorsports program? Two things, the first being pretty obvious: Money. Only Formula 1 requires greater development investment than do Le Mans–style prototypes, with their ever-increasing technology and ever-changing rules. Peugeot’s parent company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, may not be on the financial ropes, but it nevertheless has felt the effects of the tough economy like every other manufacturer, with massive layoffs and cost-cutting needed to fund substantial investments in new products. It has been no secret in the racing community that Peugeot has been inquiring about having privateer teams either assist or take over the effort entirely for 2012, but clearly no deal could be made with an appropriate team. The second factor is that Peugeot is facing not only the usual tough competition from Audi, but also new efforts from Toyota, which is returning to prototype endurance racing after having left Le Mans in 1999, the same year Audi arrived. BMW and Mercedes-Benz departed at that time, too, giving Audi a near-clear path to victory until Peugeot joined the fray five years ago. Porsche also will be joining the series in the near future, and competition from Porsche and Toyota would only mean increased costs for Peugeot to maintain its position as a front-runner, especially since future rules packages are expected to favor hybrids, thus almost requiring manufacturers to adopt the technology if they hope to win. Ironically, this was a move Peugeot was in the process of making. Over the last few years, the diesel-powered Audis and Peugeots were undeniably the class of the field, not only bringing stunningly fast cars to the track, but driver lineups that were the cream of the crop. This late-in-the-game announcement leaves Peugeot’s drivers and mechanics scrambling. This year’s Le Mans race should be interesting nevertheless, even as people were looking forward to seeing if Peugeot could recover its crown. Audi won in 2011 despite having its two factory-entered cars crash in spectacular fashion; its lightly regarded third car (entered by a privateer team) captured the checkered flag. In the U.S., though, the ALMS must deal with the absence of one of its two top teams from the 12 Hours of Sebring, which is March 17. Grand-Am’s 50th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Daytona, which takes place at the end of January, threatens to take a larger share of the sports-car spotlight, with new prototype cars that include factory-backed Chevrolet Corvette efforts, as well as new GT participation from Audi and Ferrari. Grand-Am also has a strong live TV package; ALMS races will be broadcast on a delayed, shortened basis. All ALMS races will, however, stream live over the internet. ALMS head Scott Atherton attempted to blunt Peugeot’s announcement with his own statement: “While the announcement of Peugeot ending its factory participation in endurance racing comes as a real disappointment, it will take little—if any—luster off the spectacle of the 60th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. Taking into account the start of our 14th season and the debut of the FIA World Endurance Championship, it still promises to be one of North America’s most epic events by all measures. There will still be a plethora of new cars, teams and manufacturers represented on the grid with plenty of entertainment available at the circuit. When we say Sebring is an event not to be missed, we mean it in the truest of ways.” There remains a possibility, however slim, that a privateer team or two will cut a deal with Peugeot to run its 908 in one or more races this season, but that seems like a long shot. Unless that happens, it’s five years and done for a remarkable sports-car team, and at least a short-term headache for the ALMS.

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Peugeot Abandons Endurance Racing: Why It Happened and What It Means for Prototype Racing

2014 Ford Mondeo Wagon Rendered: We’ll Take It as a Fusion

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:23:18 +0000

Now that the 2013 Ford Fusion ‘s sheetmetal has been exposed, one of our illustrators has grafted cargo space onto the back to create a wagon. And a good-looking one at that. Since the new Fusion will be sold in Europe as the Mondeo, this rendering is more relevant to the continent. But because we’ll never tire of telling you enough how much we dig station wagons, we couldn’t help but pass this along with the hopes that–cross your fingers–it could also end up here in the U.S. We figure we might as well make a case for a five-door Fusion. While many at the 2012 Detroit auto show were fawning over the new Fusion/Mondeo sedan’s design, we think this wagon does the car’s long proportions even greater justice. It’s like a working man’s Aston Martin Rapide . Ford, if you’re listening, this design alone would blow the doors off the Acura TSX Sport Wagons and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagens on our shores. Bring it here. Please? Illustration by Christian Schulte

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2014 Ford Mondeo Wagon Rendered: We’ll Take It as a Fusion

The Geländewagen Lives: Mercedes-Benz G-class Face Lift and New G63 AMG on the Way

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:00:47 +0000

Now in its 33rd year, the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen—a.k.a. the G-class—is in better shape than ever. This comes after the plan hatched a few years ago to replace the military-derived vehicle with the GL-class, a modern seven-passenger SUV built on a stretched M-class platform. (The second-gen GL is due this year; info and spy photos are here .) But continued strong sales convinced the company to keep the G in its portfolio, and a particular source of joy for the brand had been the remarkable success of its powerful and expensive AMG derivative, the G55. That model was discontinued after the 2011 model year—read our test and exit interview here —and was powered by the brand’s “beloved” (to borrow a word from AMG boss Ola Källenius) supercharged 5.5-liter V-8. Now Mercedes-Benz is readying its next refresh of the G, which should banish the traces of 1990s design still scattered throughout the interior. This will include the adoption of the central COMAND knob to control infotainment functions, likely along with other more-modern M-B switchgear and displays. We don’t expect many exterior changes outside of perhaps minor bumper and lighting updates; the G-Wagen will look as the G-Wagen should when it arrives this spring. And if anything, given Benz’s current, aggressively angular styling language, the brutal SUV will at least sort of fit in stylistically with its showroom brethren. So long as they don’t mess with the bolt-action ka-CHUNK door locks, we’ll be good. But there’s more: Mercedes-AMG is working on a G63, as depicted in the spy photos in this post, to replace the departed G55. Some rumors have pegged the next G AMG as a V-12–powered G65, but we’re hearing that’s not the case; rather, the G63 will adopt the 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 now installed in most of the current AMG 63 models. Like its predecessor, the G63 won’t defy physics on a twisty road, but it will be one of the most intimidating, loud, awesome, and seriously bad-ass vehicles extant.

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The Geländewagen Lives: Mercedes-Benz G-class Face Lift and New G63 AMG on the Way

Hyundai: Lifetime Warranty for 2012 Sonata Hybrid Batteries; Ten-Speed Automatic Transmission in Development

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:34:46 +0000

Although battery replacement in hybrid vehicles has turned out to be largely a non-issue, Hyundai CEO John Krafcik looked to ease any concerns hesitant consumers may still have about pricey replacements by announcing that the 2012 Hyundai Sonata hybrid ’s lithium-polymer pack will carry a lifetime warranty. According to Krafcik, “We can afford the program because the failure rate is so low.” Hyundai claims to have tested the Sonata hybrid’s drivetrain for more than 300,000 miles with “minimal degradation of its output or duration of operation.” What no one at Hyundai will confirm is how far up the signal chain the coverage extends: Does it only cover the battery cells, or does it also extend to the highly integrated hardware and control units? Hyundai reps advised us to “Stay tuned. You’ll know as soon as we know.” Eight Isn’t Enough Not content with only eight-speed automatics in its transmission portfolio, Hyundai also confirmed that it is developing a ten-speed autobox in-house. The announcement begs the question: At what point does the complexity and packaging of gears become redundant in comparison to a CVT? Given the rampant ratio-envy in the industry, we may never know. Again, Hyundai representatives are playing it close to the vest: “We confirmed that it [the ten-speed] is a ‘go project’ for development,” but the company won’t provide even a modicum of info on important details such as the introduction date or the vehicles in which we might see the ‘box. The information blackout includes whether the transmission would be for transverse or longitudinal applications, although we think the former is more likely, in order to squeeze even loftier EPA numbers from efficiency-minded small cars like the Elantra and Accent.

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Hyundai: Lifetime Warranty for 2012 Sonata Hybrid Batteries; Ten-Speed Automatic Transmission in Development

Lotus in IndyCar for 2012: Color Us Impressed (About the Colors)

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:12:05 +0000

Whither Lotus? Enthusiasts interested in the storied brand founded by Colin Chapman in 1952 have faced challenges following the brand’s thread over the past couple of decades, particularly when it comes to motorsports. Consider this past year in IndyCar. Lotus was a sponsor of KV Racing Technology’s IndyCars driven by Takuma Sato, E.J. Viso, and former champion Tony Kaanan—with the three cars painted up in the traditional green and yellow Lotus livery. But the cars, of course, were powered by Honda engines, the only powerplant available to teams. The engines in Lotus street cars are, as you probably know, Toyota units. What did Lotus contribute? It seems mostly money. Things change—sort of—for 2012, with IndyCar requiring all-new cars and new engines starting with the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida. Honda still will be an engine supplier, but it will be joined by Chevrolet and, in a fashion, Lotus. For the latter engines, John Judd and his Engine Developments company is doing most of the heavy lifting, with help from the Malaysian-owned Lotus. While most of the big names in IndyCar are going with Honda or Chevrolet, Lotus has managed to land Bryan Herta Autosport—essentially the team that won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with the late Dan Wheldon —as well as Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, and HVM Racing. Another team has joined the Lotus IndyCar camp in a big way: The automaker has announced a full factory partnership with the Dragon Racing IndyCar team. That means it will be an official Lotus team, and its cars will run the iconic black and gold livery also in current use by Lotus’s Formula 1 program. The team has been around for a while, but has never been fully funded or competitive despite the fact that it is owned by Jay Penske, chairman and CEO of the Penske Media Corporation and son of Roger Penske. Dragon debuted in 2007, and it took Champ Car Atlantic Series champion Raphael Matos to IndyCar rookie of the year honors in 2009. Lotus Dragon’s 2012 driver lineup is an interesting one: four-time Champ Car Series champion (for the now-defunct Newman/Haas Racing team ) and former F1 racer Sébastien Bourdais, and Brit Katherine Legge, who did reasonably well in Champ Car before it was absorbed into IndyCar , at which time she returned to race in Europe. Said Claudio Berro, Group Lotus director of motorsport: “Last year was Lotus’s first foray into this prestigious open-wheel series since Jim Clark won the Indy 500 back in 1965. We have a tremendous legacy in this sport, and are determined to become winners again. The American market is one of the most important to Lotus in terms of road-car sales, hence our aggressive marketing strategies through U.S. auto racing. We believe Lotus Dragon Racing and our other partner teams will give us the best opportunity to achieve our ambitious goals.” Berro went on to say “On January 1, we opened a Lotus facility in Indianapolis which will be our U.S. engineering and logistics hub, so it’s all go. We’ve still got a lot of work to do before the start of the season, but I couldn’t be happier with the progress we’re making.” If nothing else, this whole arrangement will make one thing more simple: Lotus colors will mean Lotus engines, right? Well, not so fast. “Lotus Racing” has now become the new umbrella name for Group Lotus’s racing division. Says the company: “All of our official works teams will now race in the evocative black and gold livery. These include the Lotus F1 Team, GP2 and GP3 Team Lotus GP (formerly ART), and Lotus Dragon Racing.” Only Lotus Dragon will use Lotus engines—the F1 and GP2/GP3 cars use Renault power. There also are many more official Lotus color schemes. “Partner” teams such as the Lotus-engined IndyCar teams of Herta Autosport and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing “will also run in black and gold, with Lotus HVM Racing running in predominantly green, yellow and white. Customer teams have the option of running other classic Lotus liveries, such as Lotus Sport UK’s ‘Gold Leaf’ red, white, and gold, which was raced to victory in the British GT Championship last year.” Glad we could clear things up.

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Lotus in IndyCar for 2012: Color Us Impressed (About the Colors)