Texas-size braggadocio started this retro-car rumble. Back in January, famed Houston-area tuner John Hennessey released plans for a 705-horsepower, ZR1-engined 2010 Camaro. Naturally, this sent forum boards buzzing about when and how Ford would respond with its 2010 Mustang. Not two weeks later, a white-hot press release out of Las Vegas landed in our inbox, detailing Shelby’s plan for a 725-horsepower Mustang GT500 Super Snake. And just like that, the ultimate musclecar battle had begun. The easy match-up would have been simply to let these two braggarts throw down in an asphalt octagon, but we wanted more. So we set about arranging a 700-horsepower trifecta and went looking for a Challenger with enough swagger to go tire to tire to tire with Shelby and Hennessey. Like those two, our Dodge tuner would have to deliver a complete turnkey vehicle, not just a crazy custom build. We looked for OEM levels of fit, finish, and reliability, backed by warranties and customer service. … [Read more...] about Comparison: Hennessey Camaro HPE650 vs SpeedFactory Challenger SRT8 vs Shelby GT500 Super Snake
Bankruptcy 7 vs 13
Comparison: 2011 Chrysler 300C vs 2011 Hyundai Genesis
There’s an unwritten rule in the exclusive world of luxury sedans, or at least an expectation, that a contender must offer a V-8 engine to be taken seriously. Just ask the Acura RL. It doesn’t matter if V-6 models sell better or claim better fuel economy—the V-8 engine carries its own prestige, and its presence beneath the hood is nearly as important as the badge on top of it. There’s no greater testament to this phenomenon than the 4.6-liter Tau V-8 powering the Hyundai Genesis. Unlike its luxury competition, Hyundai hasn’t been building V-8s for years; it’s been building small cars. There was no other vehicle — car or truck — to pull an engine from. That Hyundai spent millions developing a V-8 just to play in the luxury-sedan segment tells you all you need to know. Chrysler, of course, had no such obstacle in the development of the 300C. The company has been building big V-8s and bigger cars for decades. But while Hyundai has been on a … [Read more...] about Comparison: 2011 Chrysler 300C vs 2011 Hyundai Genesis
Chevrolet 9C3 Detective Caprice vs. Dodge Charger Pursuit vs. Ford Police Interceptor
Picture this: You’re tearing down the local highway on your way home from a long day. You know from experience that those lights in your review mirror aren’t the telltale Ford Crown Victoria lights, so you continue on your way. Parked roadside two minutes later, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do. The new breed of police vehicle is here. From the ashes of the retired Crown Vic, Ford brings us a new Police Interceptor more advanced than ever. Chrysler and General Motors are the competition with the new Dodge Charger Pursuit and Chevrolet Caprice PPV. We tested all three, and here are our impressions. Dodge Charger Pursuit Lest you think the new breed of cop car has become uncool, rest assured that any one of us would have happily ditched our early evening photo shoot to run the Charger up and down Detroit’s Woodward Avenue for a couple hours. The Pursuit, with its rortin’, snortin’ Hemi V-8, chiseled musclecar styling, and sinister black … [Read more...] about Chevrolet 9C3 Detective Caprice vs. Dodge Charger Pursuit vs. Ford Police Interceptor
Ducati Streetfighter 848 vs. Fiat 500 Abarth
Elon Musk merely dreamed of building rockets and electric cars, the front-passenger air bag wasn’t yet mandatory, and the euro currency didn’t exist when Americans last had Italian speed on the cheap. Long past its Graduate-fueled prime, the Alfa Romeo Spider bowed out in 1994, and that was it for reasonably accessible Italian driving pleasure. Fiat had made an ambivalent effort to vend its wares before abandoning these shores a decade earlier, and the truth was that its cars hardly kept up with the Alfas even when modified by exhaust systems and other speed parts from the Abarth performance division. So from the land of extra-virgin olive oil and some of the most outrageous racing boats, airplanes, and automobiles ever conceived, only Ducati and Moto Guzzi, small manufacturers of motorcycles, consistently kept the spark going. Although Ducati sometimes flickered along the way, it ultimately produced a series of ever-more-sensational bikes that cost roughly the same as … [Read more...] about Ducati Streetfighter 848 vs. Fiat 500 Abarth
General Motors Death Watch 136: Black Tuesday
In June ’05, GM CEO Rick Wagoner unveiled his turnaround plan for the beleaguered automaker: accelerate new products, eliminate discounts, renegotiate union contracts, import parts from China and downsize to match diminished demand. The last of these five points captured the critics’ imagination. “You can’t cut your way to profits,” they warned. Wagoner reacted with characteristic bravado: “We aren't going out of business in the next six months.” One wonders how those words would sound today, two days after the world learned that GM’s June sales slid 21.3 percent.By now GM has a lot of practice explaining operating losses, shrinking sales and lost market share. Still, Black Tuesday challenged veteran mouthpiece Paul Ballew’s exculpatory skills. Once again, Ballew was determined to convince GM’s camp followers that the automaker’s sagging fortunes actually represent good governance and bad luck. To that end, Ballew … [Read more...] about General Motors Death Watch 136: Black Tuesday
Credit Suisse: Truck Sales Protecting D3’s Market Share (Such as It Is)
À l’impossible nul n’est tenu. The “impossible” that ain’t likely to happen: domestic car makers recapturing the lion’s share of the American new car market. According to Credit Suisse, when the sales figures for June drop, New Chrysler, current Ford and Old GM combined are likely to account for around 45 percent of new car sales in the Land of the Free. Fans of the forthcoming Fiat 500, new Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Spark note: CS reckons it would be worse if the overall percentage of truck sales (vs. car sales) didn’t increase from 44 to 47 percent. Put that in your EPA and smoke it. Bullet points after the jump.• We expect the annualized light vehicle selling rate (SAAR) to run in a range of 10.0 – 10.3 million units in June, down from the year-ago month’s pace of 13.7 million, but up modestly versus last month’s pace of 9.9 million.• We expect unit volume (selling day adjusted) to be down in a range … [Read more...] about Credit Suisse: Truck Sales Protecting D3’s Market Share (Such as It Is)
New GM Banking on 15% Market Growth in 2010
No. Really. GM’s top execs [not shown] stood up in front of their Midwestern dealers at the Rock Financial Showplace and told them that new car sales will rebound by 15 percent next year, ascending to an annual tally of 12.5 million vehicles. That’s fantastic news. But the real shocker: our mole reports that the suits only said the word “faster” once. The company’s new mantra: our costs are less, so we can charge you less. No, wait; that’s a local Toyota’s dealer’s come-on. I mean, our costs are less, so we can keep our jobs longer. Or make a profit. Or something. Meanwhile, Automotive News [sub] reports that GM has formed a special task force to “try to retain 3 million ‘free agents’ — customers that have lost their favorite brand, nameplate or dealership this year.” Interesting use of the word “favorite” . . . rumsfeld tamiflu Who Should Stockpile Tamiflu Soap note on tamiflu … [Read more...] about New GM Banking on 15% Market Growth in 2010
The Ten Myths Of Bob Lutz
I’ve often wondered if there is a relationship between the decline of the automobile’s cultural relevance, and the decline of the larger-than-life auto executive. Clearly the car’s waning ability to excite, inspire and shape material culture is a complex phenomenon with no single cause, but it’s got to have some kind of connection to the people making the cars. After all, the original Mustangs, Corvettes, and Model Ts emerged from firms led by such oversized presences as Lee Iacocca, Bill Mitchell and the original car-guy-as-folk-hero, Henry Ford. Today there’s no shortage of brilliant, engaging, passionate people working in the car industry, and yet few contemporary executives have made the kind of cultural impact that their predecessors once did. This, in a nutshell, is why Bob Lutz fascinates me: though he never made as wide of a mark on popular culture as an Iacocca or DeLorean, he’s one of the last remaining links to an era in the car industry … [Read more...] about The Ten Myths Of Bob Lutz
GM, NHTSA Testify Before U.S. House on Ignition Switch Recalls
Managers at General Motors rejected improvements to the automaker’s faulty ignition switch in 2005 because they would have cost an extra 57 cents per part, according to documents released to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. On Tuesday, during the first Congressional hearing into GM’s 13-year delay to recall stalling cars that have led to at least 12 deaths, CEO Mary Barra testified before the Committee that her company’s actions were “not the way we do business” and that an internal audit will “hold ourselves fully accountable.”Barra, facing testy questions and political showboating that typically accompany Congressional hearings, said she didn’t know who approved the redesigned ignition switch in 2006 without changing the part number. That alone led GM last week to recall every single model fitted with the questionable switch, estimated at about 2.6 million cars worldwide. Barra said had GM recalled those cars in … [Read more...] about GM, NHTSA Testify Before U.S. House on Ignition Switch Recalls
Massive Takata Airbag Recall: Everything You Need to Know, Including Full List of Affected Vehicles
The automotive world and beyond is buzzing about the massive airbag recall covering many millions of vehicles in the U.S. from nearly two dozen brands. Here’s what you need to know about the problem; which vehicles may have the defective, shrapnel-shooting inflator parts from Japanese supplier Takata; and what to do if your vehicle is one of them. LATEST UPDATES 1/18/2018, 6:00 p.m.: The Associated Press reports that another person has died as a result of a defective Takata airbag. The latest fatality was Nichol Barker, 34, of Holiday, Florida. According to AP and the lead investigator, Chester T. Everett, she “was struck by metal pieces that burst through the Takata airbag, causing a six-by-three-inch gaping wound to her left temple, a fractured skull, and bruising and bleeding on her brain.” On July 19, 2017, Barker was driving a 2002 Honda Accord at about 30 mph when it collided with a car that had turned left in front of her. … [Read more...] about Massive Takata Airbag Recall: Everything You Need to Know, Including Full List of Affected Vehicles