When is a 2011 Chevrolet Volt not a plug-in hybrid? When it covers 2,500 miles between fill-ups. That’s how far Maryland resident Jeff Parmet has driven in his 2011 Chevrolet Volt in the past six months. In fact, he’s just visited the gas pump for the first time since buying the car. Until its release last winter, Chevrolet was pretty... When is a 2011 Chevrolet Volt not a plug-in hybrid? When it covers 2,500 miles between fill-ups. That’s how far Maryland resident Jeff Parmet has driven in his 2011 Chevrolet Volt in the past six months. In fact, he’s just visited the gas pump for the first time since buying the car. Until its release last winter, Chevrolet was pretty... When is a 2011 Chevrolet Volt not a plug-in hybrid? When it covers 2,500 miles between fill-ups. That’s how far Maryland resident Jeff Parmet has driven in his 2011 Chevrolet Volt in the past six months. In fact, he’s just visited the gas pump for the first time since buying the car. Until its release last winter, Chevrolet was pretty...
The ReFuel EV Track Day hosted by Speedventures ran its third annual event this past weekend at Laguna Seca, and as you might--or might not--expect, a Nissan Leaf was on hand to turn some laps. The video is unusual for a track-day reel, with nothing but wind noise and tire squeal to be heard. It's not particularly high-speed, but, then, neither is...
While the major automakers whittle away on their electric car developments, a small German firm by the name of e-Wolf has been building and selling a range of electric vehicles including small scooters, full-size commercial vehicles and high-performance track cars, for several years now. e-Wolf’s latest development is the new Alpha 1 SRF, a...
Today is the day many auto manufacturers dread each year. Why? For the past 25 years J.D. Power and Associates has been producing the Initial Quality Survey (IQS) which tracks the number of problems reported by owners after 90 days of ownership. Today it announced results for the 2011 IQS.
Overall the number of quality problems with cars has continued to drop year by year. However, this year the esteemed research company reports that the initial quality of launch models—those that are all-new or have had major redesigns—worsened by 10 percent to an average of 122 problems per 100 (PP100) cars in 2011 from 111 PP100 in 2010. Conversely, carryover models—those that have had no significant redesign in the past year—have better initial quality than ever before.
Once again Lexus owners report the lowest number of problems. Honda was ranked second – its best ever finish, with Acura right behind. There are plenty of headlines in news stories today, which generally talk about how each company ranked. Ford in particular is taking a beating for its “quality decline”; mainly because of problems people are having with the MyFord Touch system.
In many ways the number of problems reported for individual models is more important as even the worst performing nameplates have models that do well. So, here is a list of the top three models in each segment:
Top Three Models per Segment:
Highest Ranked Sub-Compact Car: Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent
Highest Ranked Compact Car: Honda Civic and Honda Insight (tie), Toyota Prius
Highest Ranked Compact Sporty Car: Mazda MX-5 Miata, Volkswagen Eos, Volkswagen GTI
Highest Ranked Compact Premium Sporty Car*: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet/Coupe
Highest Ranked Entry Premium Car: Lexus ES, Acura TSX, Lexus IS
Highest Ranked Midsize Premium Car: Lexus GS, Jaguar XF, Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan/Wagon
Highest Ranked Midsize Sporty Car*: Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro
Highest Ranked Large Premium Car: Lexus LS, Hyundai Equus, Porsche Panamera
Highest Ranked Midsize Car: Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Camry
Highest Ranked Large Car: Ford Taurus, Buick Lucerne, Nissan Maxima
Highest Ranked Compact Crossover/SUV: Honda Element, Honda CR-V, Toyota FJ Cruiser
Highest Ranked Compact MPV*: Chevrolet HHR
Highest Ranked Entry Premium Crossover/SUV: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, Acura RDX, Volvo XC60
Highest Ranked Midsize Crossover/SUV: Honda Accord Crosstour, Dodge Durango (tie), Subaru Outback Wagon (tie)
Highest Ranked Large Crossover/SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban
Highest Ranked Midsize Premium Crossover/SUV: Lexus GX, Lexus RX, BMW X6 (tie) Infiniti FX-Series (tie), Volvo XC70 (tie)
Highest Ranked Large Premium Crossover/SUV: Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, Lincoln Navigator
Highest Ranked Large Pickup: Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Avalanche
Highest Ranked Midsize Pickup: Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, Ram Dakota
Highest Ranked Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country, Honda Odyssey, Dodge Grand Caravan
NOTE: For a segment award to be issued, there must be at least three models with sufficient sample that comprise 80 percent of market sales within an award segment. There were only two premium sporty models with sufficient sample size, thus no premium sporty award has been issued.
*No other model in this segment performs above the segment average.
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Starting 6/25/11 at 10:00am EST — Ending 6/26/11 at 10:00am EST
Last year, Aston Martin campaigned a basically stock Rapide in the 24 hours of Nürburgring…to drive home the point that its luxurious V-12 4-door also had some serious performance chops. The Rapide pushed hard for all 24 hours and finished an impressive 34th overall, out of 197 cars. Who knew a luxury sedan, gutted of its interior and running on slicks, could be so quick, sporty, and reliable?
At the very same time the Aston factory team will be racing at the 2012 Nürburgring 24, we will be putting a stock Rapide to the test, lapping the car at speed for 24 hours on the 2.7-mile course at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada. With a crew of nine drivers as well as support from Aston Martin and Spring Mountain, we’re well prepared to push the envelope in the Rapide, to see for ourselves if this luxurious Brit truly does have the heart of a lion.
Check back with us regularly throughout our 24-hour test for video updates every three hours, charging from broad daylight through sunset and into the dead of night. Plus, talk to us throughout the event on Facebook and Twitter (#Aston24).
Video Update Schedule:
Find everything online at: RoadandTrack.com/Aston24
Enter to win an Aston Martin for 24 Hours >>
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On April 11th I wrote about the parallels between what Saab is going through and the dying days of MG-Rover and with the latest news that Saab is unable to pay its staff for June is yet another blow to a business that has been teetering on the edge of failure for months.
We’ve seen a revolving door of Chinese investors come and go and whilst Saab has been issuing optimistic statements over done deals and sales of equity stakes like confetti at a wedding, they’ve all come to nought and there’s every reason to believe that the Beijing government won’t allow the latest rescue to happen. Dealing with the Chinese is notoriously difficult and needs to be done away from the harsh glare of media scrutiny, something that Saab has singularly failed to do.
The CEO of Europe’s supplier body, CLEPA’s Lars Holmqvist has called for Saab to declare itself bankrupt to allow its employees to get state guarantees of salaries for six months as “…no white knight…arriving.”
While Saab’s largest union, IF Metall predicts that upto 10,000 jobs could go in manufacturing and the supply chain which would be a catastrophe for Sweden.
There might yet be a future for Saab, but it’s unlikely to be in Sweden. Remember what happened to MG-Rover? Once it had collapsed it was picked up for a pittance from the administrators by the Chinese who stripped the factory bare, shipped the lines and technology back home and restarted assembly there all at a fraction of the cost of buying into the business now.
Why not save yourself a small fortune, wait for the company to collapse and then deal with the administrators? It was done to MG-Rover and I can see Saab heading the same way.
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The third Transformers installment opens this week, and to cash in on its gratuitous product placement in the movie, Chevrolet has released a second Bumblebee-aping Camaro Transformers Special Edition coupe. The first special-edition Bumblebee Camaro was birthed when the second Transformers movie debuted, but that car was a simple badge job paired with Rally Yellow paint. This time, the package is much more comprehensive. The latest Transformers edition Camaro gets full Bumblebee livery, including black 20-inch wheels, a high-wing rear spoiler, and stripes that run from the leading edge of the hood over the roof to the rear deck. Of course, the latest edition is only available in Rally Yellow and gets special Autobot Shield logos, too; the badges adorn the front fenders, the wheel center caps, headrests, and center console lid. The interior is lined in black leather with yellow stitching.
All in all, the Bumblebee Camaro looks pretty cool, and we hope the wide-set stripes make their way onto the Camaro option sheet sometime in the future. If the standard Transformers kit isn’t enough, though, two dealer-installed accessories are available: 21-inch black wheels and a black ground-effects kit (both are shown in the rendering below). The 2012 Camaro Transformers package runs $3000 and is available on either 2LT or 2SS Camaro coupes in the U.S., as well as in Canada, South America, Europe, China, Japan, and the Middle East.
The third Transformers installment opens this week, and to cash in on its gratuitous product placement in the movie, Chevrolet has released a second Bumblebee-aping Camaro Transformers Special Edition coupe. The first special-edition Bumblebee Camaro was birthed when the second Transformers movie debuted, but that car was a simple badge job paired with Rally Yellow paint. This time, the package is much more comprehensive. The latest Transformers edition Camaro gets full Bumblebee livery, including black 20-inch wheels, a high-wing rear spoiler, and stripes that run from the leading edge of the hood over the roof to the rear deck. Of course, the latest edition is only available in Rally Yellow and gets special Autobot Shield logos, too; the badges adorn the front fenders, the wheel center caps, headrests, and center console lid. The interior is lined in black leather with yellow stitching.
All in all, the Bumblebee Camaro looks pretty cool, and we hope the wide-set stripes make their way onto the Camaro option sheet sometime in the future. If the standard Transformers kit isn’t enough, though, two dealer-installed accessories are available: 21-inch black wheels and a black ground-effects kit (both are shown in the rendering below). The 2012 Camaro Transformers package runs $3000 and is available on either 2LT or 2SS Camaro coupes in the U.S., as well as in Canada, South America, Europe, China, Japan, and the Middle East.
The Lexus LS460 is an understated full-size luxury liner that goes quietly and reliably about its business—yawn. Aware of its flagship’s lack of visual zest—and perhaps young, image-conscious buyers—Lexus has released the Lexus LS460 Touring Edition for 2011. For the Touring Edition, Lexus slaps on a sport body kit and 19-inch five-spoke wheels (18-inchers come on the all-wheel-drive model) and slathers on a coat of Smoky Granite Mica dark gray paint. The interior is outfitted with leather sport seats, wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, and matte-brown wood dash trim.
The Touring Edition looks quite smooth, although it does little to up the sedan’s dynamic equation, lacking as it does the Sport package–equipped LS460’s sport suspension and steering tweaks. So the LS460 Touring Edition is for LS buyers who want a sportier look without any of the sport; if that tickles your fancy, you’ll need $73,875 for a rear-wheel-drive model. Lexus intends to limit sales volumes for the Touring Edition, however, so you might want to get thee quickly to a Lexus dealer.
Renault Sport established its first lap record for a front-wheel drive production car at the Nordschleife on June 23, 2008.
The time of 8mins 17secs posted that day by the Mégane Renaultsport R26.R demonstrated that a showroom-specification front-wheel drive car could beat high-performance models from some elite specialist brands and tuners. The Mégane Renaultsport 265 Trophy has now beaten that time by a full nine seconds, bringing it down to 8mins 8secs.
Today’s impressive lap time is the result of the newcomer’s extra 15hp, at 265 bhp, along with careful set-up work and an optimised tire choice by Renault Sport engineers.
Laurent Hurgon Renault Sport development driver, said:
“The Nordschleife is a legendary course. Its length and layout make it a unique and technically demanding challenge. Its difficulties are extremely varied, ranging from fast and even very fast in places to much twistier and slower portions. Turns like ‘Karusell’ and ‘Pflanzgarten’, for example, make huge demands of the car and driver alike, yet the Mégane Renaultsport Trophy is very much in its element here and feels particularly reassuring despite the uncompromising nature of the terrain. The limited slip differential allowed me to accelerate hard out of the countless turns without understeer. The carefully-tuned Cup chassis, the dampers, fade-resistant brakes, the Recaro seats, the power of the 265 bhp engine and the ready availability of torque between 2,500 and 5,000 rpm together with the Bridgestone RE 050A (235/35 R19) tires allowed me to make the most of the car’s potential, especially into and out of the corners. It’s this package which enabled me to post such a quick time round the circuit.”
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The number crunchers at Audi have been busy with their abacuses and come up with a slew of data:
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I suspect few of us would connect Mercedes-Benz and the UK with drifting. Normally I associate drifting with old rear-drive Nissan 240SXs, Toyota Corollas, Dodge Vipers, Ford Mustangs, Pontiac G8s and cars of their ilk on tracks in Japan or the U.S.
So it was quite a surprise to find that yesterday a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG driven by Mauro Calo broke the world record for the longest car drift. He managed to cover 2308 meters (2524 yds – almost 1.5 miles), beating the old record by 394 meters.
What’s more Calo is an official Mercedes-Benz driver and instructor at the Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. In order to achieve the world record, Calo drove the C63 AMG eight times around a 360-degree circle of tarmac on a flat handling track. The record run was done with the full blessing of Mercedes-Benz Cars – imagine that!
If you’re ever in the UK, the Mercedes-Benz World is worth a visit as it offers plenty of action and hands-on driving experiences for car enthusiasts of any age. It is adjacent to the famous Brooklands Museum where there is plenty of motor racing and aviation history to be savored. More details are here: www.mercedes-benzworld.co.uk
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Power and panache, with problems.
As noted in our Infiniti M56’s introduction report, the surest index of approval for a long-term test car is how often it’s signed out for lengthy trips, and how rapidly it accumulates mileage. Measured against that index, and amplified by multiple logbook rants, our long-term Infiniti M56 hasn’t been as popular with horizon-chasing staffers as one might expect of a luxed-up sports sedan with 420 horses pushing it down the road.
Keep Reading: 2011 Infiniti M56 Sport – Long-Term Road Test Update
Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.
On the occasion of a press event in Bilbao, Spain, I had the opportunity to spend two days with board members of Kolbenschmidt Pierburg, a major supplier of powertrain parts, to discuss new product and the industry’s direction. A system that you will soon see in a number of cars is the UniValve valve-lift system. It allows for a seamless operation adjustment of the intake and outlet valves—the valves can remain closed entirely. Efficiency grows significantly, between 5.5 and 8.5 percent even if applied on the intake side only. A vehicle equipped with this system effectively needs no throttle anymore; the engine can be shut down by closing the valves entirely.
Even though Kolbenschmidt Pierburg’s core business is parts for internal-combustion engines, the company hugely profits from the trend towards electrification and increased efficiency. Fuel-saving technologies that the company peddled to carmakers for years with limited success now sell like hot cakes, according to CEO Gerd Kleinert. That includes variable pumps and low-friction products, lightweight components, etc.
The reason: The European bureaucracy is plotting to fine carmakers if they fail to meet pre-set CO2 emissions targets, emulating the statist policies of the EPA. Electric vehicles are counted as producing zero emissions, “even if we know this is nonsense,” Kleinert submits. But “none of the carmakers know for sure if customers will really go for electrics,” he adds. That’s why they rush to increase the efficiency of their conventional engines as well.
Hybrids Bridging the Gap—To What?
KSPG also showed us plans for a gasoline-powered V-2 range extender with about 40 hp, which could use two generators to cancel out resonance effectively. Range extenders are considered to be a “bridge technology,” bridging the gap to electric vehicles. Really? From discussions with top management of suppliers KSPG and Schaeffler, among others, it is unlikely that the final destination of our common road will be the fully electric, battery-powered car, which is hampered by the poor energy storage in batteries. Instead, there is a lot of enthusiasm for internal-combustion engines powered by synthetic or bio-fuel, such as methane.
How much electrification will these cars, powered by CO2-neutral synthetic fuel, have to offer? KPSG’s Gerd Kleinert says that cars powered by those fuels don’t necessarily need hybridization. “This combustion is CO2 neutral, what is the benefit of adding heavy and costly batteries?” he asks rhetorically.
If you care for my personal opinion, the implications are almost too good to be true. Hybrids could go away along with EVs?
Suppliers frequently have a keener view of scientific and technological realities than carmakers, whose corporate headquarters are filled with marketing types and “visionaries.” Grandiose visions notwithstanding, there is a gradual realization behind the scenes that the current E-vehicle hype won’t be “sustainable”. This time around, of course, the political pressure is more intense, and the investment in EVs is heavier than ever. Auto companies are busily lobbying for generous subsides, which would make it easier for them to convince customers of their EV’s merits. Several scenarios are possible—the more electric, the more costly. But just in case subsidies dry up and our broke governments leave things up to the market, the backpedaling has already begun.
The Long Wait
Professor Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of Duisburg-Essen University has compiled a comparative chart of delivery times for cars in Germany. Over here, factory ordering your car is still popular, reflecting how much people care about their cars. Just grabbing whatever your dealer’s got on the lot is not standard procedure. Customers wait longest for their Suzuki (5.9 months on average), Nissan (5.7 months), Hyundai (5.4 months), Audi (5.3 months), and Volkswagen (5.2 months). In the case of Suzuki and Nissan, these figures also reflect the slowed production due to the Japanese tsunami disaster; Hyundai, Audi and VW are simply in extreme demand. But Dudenhöffer also says that VW and Audi’s production and planning system is inflexible. Where, on the other hand, can you get your car new most quickly? At Fiat. Getting your factory-ordered Fiat takes just 1.8 months on average.
Volvo C30 Out?
Rumor has it that Volvo will cancel its C30 three-door hatchback by mid-2012. Its customers are supposed to move up into a new five-door station wagon called V40 or a crossover called XC40. I like the C30, although it annoyed me that Volvo persistently played up its 1800ES heritage and suppressed the 480ES, which was closer in concept to the C30. I owned one of the last 480 Turbos, factory-ordered in the summer of 1995, and enjoyed it immensely. It was quick, luxurious, and handled extremely well.
This hop-up kit makes an ordinary Hemi truck look like a Fiat Jolly.
Building on its rich history of street machines and wheel-standing drag cars, Chrysler’s Mopar group is now entering the mud-spattered off-roading arena with this, its answer to Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor. True to the brand’s character, the Mopar Ram Runner package for the Ram 1500 is to the unpaved realm what the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak is to the quarter-mile.
Keep Reading: 2011 Mopar Ram Runner – Short Take Road Test
![13[1]](http://blog.roadandtrack.com/wp-content/uploads/131-440x285.jpg "13[1]")
The CRT in BMW M3 CRT doesn’t stand for old-school cathode ray tube, it means Carbon Racing Technology, and while I regretfully have to say that we in the States will not be getting any of the 67 units slated for construction, here’s a short run down of what we’ll be missing.
The premise of the CRT follows in step with the also-limited BMW M3 GTS. But the big difference here lies with the CRT’s usage of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). This material is light weight and strong and represents the holy grail of sports car construction materials. In this even more limited version of the M3, it will be utilized in the hood, seats, front splitter and rear spoiler.
![4[1]](http://blog.roadandtrack.com/wp-content/uploads/41-440x286.jpg "4[1]")
The hood, made of up an cellular carbon honeycomb core wrapped in CFRP, weighs 75% less and is just as strong as the standard 3-series steel unit, and weighs even 50% less than the M3’s aluminum piece! Balancing out the huge weight loss program up front is a titanium muffler out back.
Speaking of the back, the rear seats have been modeled after the front seats; the three-seat bench is replaced by dual-buckets. Anybody that rides in them will be able to drool at the sight of the back of front seats made out of the same CFRP wrapped cellular honeycomb wrapped as the hood.
Combined with selective use of sound deadening material, the CRT weighs an estimated 100 pounds less than a standard M3 sedan. This weight loss program has resulted in a new weight balance of about 52% front and 48% rear versus 50% front and rear for the stock M3 sedan.
![10[1]](http://blog.roadandtrack.com/wp-content/uploads/101-440x285.jpg "10[1]")
The CRT is powered by the same tuned 4.4-liter V-8 engine as the M3 GTS. It produces 444 hp at 8300 rpm and 325 lb-ft of torque at 3750 rpm. Individual throttle bodies help the engine breath while in-cylinder ion current detection through the spark plug is used for optimum knock prevention. Power is routed to the rear wheels by BMW’s seven speed dual clutch transmission. Placed on it’s most aggressive setting, an automated launch control system activates.
Keeping the light weight chassis and 245/35R-19 front and 265/35R-19 rears under control are compression and rebound adjustable dampers at all four corners, and the rear subframe mounts have been stiffened. Compared to the relatively stock tire package, huge six-piston fixed calipers and 14.9 inch vented rotors up front and 15.0 inch vented rotors in the rear slow the car down.
Visibly, the M3 CRT features unique Frozen Polar Silver metallic paint with Melbourne Red metallic trim pieces all around the car. On the inside, you’ve got your M3 Alcantara steering wheel and two-tone leather seating surfaces. While this color combination wouldn’t be my first pick, I’ll reserve judgement until I can see one in real life.
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