The last time we remember talking about a high-performance was 2007 when a rare . For the 2013 model year, however, will start producing high performance Explorers right at the factory. Dubbed the Explorer Sport, this new addition to the Explorer lineup sports the same twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 found in the , , and and . It produces the least amount of power in this application – 350 horsepower – and while Ford doesn’t mention torque figures in the press release below, we can assume somewhere around 350 lb-ft.
Ford is projecting fuel economy numbers in the neighborhood of 16 miles per gallon in the city and 22 mpg highway, and says the Explorer Sport can also tow up to 5,000 pounds. Other tweaks to get this three-row crossover dancing include reinforcements to the chassis, a faster ratio for its electric steering system, a unique 3.16:1 final drive ratio and larger brakes. There are also paddles to shift the six-speed automatic transmission and special settings for the Explorer’s Terrain Management System.
When treating the Explorer Sport to a few exterior changes, Ford designers went with a dark theme, blacking out the lighting elements, roof rails and sideview mirrors, as well as the grille, lower front fascia and wheel faces. Inside the Explorer Sport gets Charcoal Black leather seating, with or without contrasting inserts, and special stitching on the seats and steering wheel.
No pricing was given, but the new Sport model will sit atop the Explorer line, which means a base price north of the Explorer Limited’s at $38,180. Ford is showing the Explorer Sport at a media event near its headquarters in Dearborn as we speak, so stay tuned for the first live images of the Explorer Sport as we get them.
has big plans for the New York Auto Show next week, notably with the reveal of the replacement for the aging . The new vehicle, which will likely be called the RLX, will still make use of a V6, all-wheel drive powertrain, but will rely on electric motors to spin the rear wheels.
Car and Driver reports the system will actually be lighter than the components found on the current RL while still offering torque-vectoring capability. Acura has already gone through the pains of registering the RLX name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, and the move seems to be part of a larger effort to expunge two-letter names from the company’s stable.
With the RL on the way out the door, the is the last of the old guard still hanging around, and word has it that model may be on the short list for execution as well. As Car and Driver points out, Acura is also in the process of registering the TLX name.
We have to wonder if the name swapping will do the company any good. From our vantage, it seems like Acura is simply swapping one meaningless moniker for another. Expect to see more details emerge as we get closer to the 2012 New York Auto Show next week, but in the meantime, feel free to peruse the brief press release .
Back when Ally Financial was known as GMAC Financial, the U.S. Treasury gave it $17.2 billion in TARP funds to weather the global economic crisis. GMAC is now Ally Financial, and although it has repaid $5.4 billion of what it was loaned, there doesn’t seem to be a clear path for repaying the outstanding amount. Bloomberg reports that Ally’s mortgage unit, Residential Captial (ResCap), is teetering on the ledge of bankrupcty, and its banking operations didn’t perform well in the Federal Reserve’s stress tests that assess a bank’s health.
An IPO for the entire company faces dim prospects (one was ), so in a private equity ploy, the Treasury would like Ally to divvy itself up and sell the pieces to unlock value. Estimates are that the pieces could fetch $23.1 to $28.6 billion. The plan is supported by Elliott Management Corp, a shareholder that holds 2.3 percent of Ally stock. However, Ally’s CEO and its board don’t want to break the company up, and the Treasury – which holds 74 percent – doesn’t want to lean on the leadership too hard for fear of “appearing as a heavy-handed owner.”
In addition, the looming bankruptcy of ResCap will have an unknown effect on Ally’s ability to do anything. Before the mortgage implosion, GMAC’s auto unit was struggling and ResCap was restructured as a separate entity so that it wouldn’t be dragged down by the captive finance department. The situation is reversed now, with ResCap in trouble and the captive finance arm supporting itself, but Elliot feels that the restructuring won’t be enough to shield Ally from perhaps 18 months of litigation and billions in claims.
Ally execs feel differently, but no one will know until the trigger is pulled and the courts weigh in. With the Treasury reluctant to compel a move, it could be some time before it sees its $11.8 billion again.
If you think the is the champ at incremental revisions through successive generations, then you should have a look at the Geländewagen, whose features change on a scale of geologic, not automotive time. We’ve the 2013 and its new LEDs and mirrors, and at a on test. That AMG, however, will be getting more than new trimmings when it arrives later this year: the twin turbo, 6.0-liter V12 from the SL65 AMG will be tucked under its bonnet. It’s the first time the G-Class has gone with a dozen cylinders.
Since the G55 never got the 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated AMG engine, and so never switched to the G63 name, this could mean that it will stick with the same model name now that it’s getting the twin turbo, 5.5-liter V8 with 536 horsepower. However, Autocar indicates the name will be changed to G63.
That would leave a little less branding daylight between it and the G65, but the power should convince: the bigger boy will have 621 horsepower and 737 pound-feet to work with, mojo enough to move it as fast a from a stoplight to 60 mph. Both it and the G55 will also get the 7G-Tronic transmission, while the G63 will add stop/start and brake energy recapture.
Like , is keen to welcome visitors at its headquarters in Munich, and you don’t even have to buy a car to see it.
The Bavarian automaker’s principal visitors center is BMW Welt, a dynamic attraction that has welcomed some two million visitors every year since opening in 2007. BMW Welt (from the German for “world”) includes a delivery center where as many as 100 new customers pick up their new cars every day, as well as interactive exhibits showcasing the company’s operations in R&D, design and production, as well as concert venues and conference rooms and even a Junior Campus for younger guests.
Visitors to BMW Welt can also stop by the neighboring BMW Museum to check out the 120 original exhibits covering 90 years of BMW history laid out on a virtual roadway across 25 exhibition areas that some 400,000 visitors see each year. Finally, visitors can also tour the company’s main plant in Munich where BMW produces the sedan and wagon as well as the bulk of its engines.
Planning a trip to Germany sometime soon? to read more in the full press release and scope out the enormous gallery of high-res images for an idea of what to expect.
Having trouble keeping track of which watchmaker is producing timepieces for these days? It can get a little confusing. Girard-Perregaux held the license for many years, after which a lackluster partnership was formed with . Then was contracted to make one very fancy-looking watch for the Prancing Horse marque, before got the nod. And that’s not including the more affordable watches marketed less to Ferrari owners than to the Scuderia’s tifosi. Now, Maranello has formed another partnership with a different watchmaker.
That watchmaker is Movado, the Swiss firm best know for creating elegant and simply styled timepieces that look just as much at home in a museum showcase as they do on a wearer’s wrist. Movado also makes watches under the Ebel, Concord, ESQ, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Juicy Couture and Lacoste labels, and will now be adding Ferrari to its roster of brands.
The collection is set to draw its inspiration from Ferrari’s road and racing cars, and is set to be launched next year at the Watch & Jewelry Fair in Basel, Switzerland, after which they will go on sale at Ferrari stores around the world and online with prices peaking at 1,500 euros (around $2,000). for the official announcement.
There’s nothing quite like witnessing an automotive race in person. The sights, sounds, smells – it’s a magical experience for anyone with petrol flowing freely through their veins. But it’s just not possible to personally attend every race on the planet, and sometimes, television coverage leaves much to be desired.
Enter , maker of those little clear-plastic-housed cameras you see all over the place. The crew attached its cams all over a couple of cars driven by Gunnar Jeannette and Ken Dobson as they battled the field at .
There are helmet-cams, shots up high and down low, from the front and toward the rear, all catching fender-to-fender racing at its finest. There’s even some views showing what life is like for a mechanic in the pits. See for yourself in the video . As an added bonus, you can also watch raw footage of each driver’s laps in separate videos.
Are you the parent of a teenager who hasn’t found enough reason to hate your ever-loving guts? Well then OnStar has a new product for you. Dubbed Family Link, the new service will tell you exactly where your OnStar-equipped vehicle is at any time. It will even send you emails or text messages at particular times of day with a location update. It’s OnStar’s first separately priced feature from its main suite of services, and at $3.99/month is an inexpensive way to invade the privacy of your loved ones while they’re driving the car you pay for.
At least, that’s how we imagine 16-year-old Tiffany will feel when she finds out her dad is paying the Eye of Sauron to keep its gaze fixed on her little .
OnStar, of course, paints a much more flattering picture of the service’s purpose. In their own words, it allows “subscribers to stay connected to their loved ones when driving an OnStar-equipped vehicle.” In fact, 4,500 subscribers have already tested the service in a pilot program ahead of its limited roll out next month. Family Link will be available to all OnStar subscribers in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Truth be told, we’re old enough now to look past Family Link’s inherent issues with privacy and see its value as a peace-of-mind bringer to parents and spouses alike. Knowing a loved one arrived safely or is where they’re supposed to be is worth having Tiffany hate your guts a little extra. She’ll understand one day, and until then: my house, my car, my rules. See the video and the press release .
Episode #275 of the is here, and this week, Chris, Zach, and Dan cover the BMW 3 Series EPA fuel economy numbers game, GM holding the ChevroletCamaro ZL1 to sort out an un-disclosed issue, and the recent pricing and road test information about the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #275:
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In the Autoblog Garage
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New Technology Aims To Take Your Hands Off The Steering Wheel
The biggest hurdles to autonomous cars will be legal, not technical.
Most car enthusiasts hate the idea of cars that can drive themselves. But autonomous cars will get here faster than most people realize. Slowly but surely, automobiles are doing more of our driving for us. It’s only a matter of time before they take over completely.
Just look at how much control we’ve already ceded to the computers under the hood. Anti-lock brakes, which are consistently better at threshold braking than mere mortals, are pretty much standard equipment. So are traction control and stability control. We now have blind spot detection, lane departure warning, active lane control, and even self-parking.
Now comes the next step. and recently demonstrated Traffic Jam Assist, which uses adaptive cruise control and automatic steering to completely take control of a car up to 60 kilometers an hour (about 37 mph). has racked up tens of thousands of miles on its fleet of fully autonomous hybrids on California roads. The technology will be showroom ready before the end of the decade.
The biggest hurdles will be legal, not technical. For example, who’s at fault when one of these cars gets in an accident? And how will the police pull over an autonomous car if they need to? But we’ll resolve those issues, and when we do, autonomous cars will have a bigger impact on society than when the first horseless carriages appeared over a century ago.
John McElroy is host of the TV program and daily web video . Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.
If you haven’t had a chance to sit down and watch the full 13-minute CBS “60 Minutes” segment on that , we have yet another reason for you to do so. The good people at Allpar.com seem to have spotted something interesting lurking in the background of an interview with Ralph Gilles, head of design for Chrysler. Look closely, and there’s a red sports coupe hanging out just over the executive’s shoulder. Allpar.com seems to think this is a glimpse at the rumored Barracuda resurrection. After all, Chrysler made sure to trademark the ‘Cuda name earlier this year.
Automotive News took the time to ask Chrysler about the vehicle in the video, and the company very tactfully replied that the vehicle is “just one of the many concepts and projects in our studios. That is one student model.”
A student model that may hint to the design of the Barracuda? Possibly. See the complete video if you missed it the first time ’round.
One of the inevitable pleasures of owning a vehicle like the or Toyota GT 86 (better known as the on this side of the globe), is the level of go-faster, look-faster and sound-faster parts served up by any number of willing companies. Whether its from a factory-backed performance group or another reputable company, bolting on a slew of goodies is one of the easiest ways to personalize your ride. Toyota Racing Development has evidently wasted no time in coming up with a few special components for the GT 86, including a free-flowing exhaust, fully adjustable suspension and a monoblock caliper kit. TRD recently slathered those parts onto a GT 86 in Japan and let a few lucky souls behind the wheel.
Fortunately for us, Carnifty was on hand with a camera to capture the vehicle in action. While the shaky-hand cam business indoors does little to convey how the coupe handles, the video does give us a good idea of what the 2.0-liter four-cylinder will sound like with an easy-breathing exhaust. to watch the video for yourself.
If you were watching the Malaysian Grand Prix early Sunday morning, you may have picked up on something that seemed a little fishy. Sergio Perez, who’s only in his second year on the Formula One grid having debuted with Sauber just last season, was way up in second place, ahead of proven race winners and World Champions. That was surprising enough, but what raised some eyebrows is what happened when he closed the gap in front of him to Fernando Alonso, who was leading the race in the F2012.
According to Autosport, after impressively whittling down the gap Alonso had opened up behind him, Perez (pictured above in the parc ferme with Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali) received a radio message from Sauber strategists advising him to be careful. Shortly thereafter, Perez went wide off the track and lost Alonso. The young Mexican pilot still finished second – an unprecedentedly strong finish for Sauber – but many wondered if the message wasn’t a code passed on from Ferrari, which supplies Sauber’s engines.
Of course, Sauber, for its part, is denying the rumors, but it wouldn’t be the first time in F1 that a leading team had told a midfield or back-marker team to which it supplied engines to reel in one of its drivers in the interest of preserving the front-runner’s position. We’ll probably never know the truth, but one thing’s for sure: Perez is a rising talent in Formula One, and Alonso had better get used to watching out for him.
Believe it or not, there was once a time when was a hustling and bustling urban metropolis – a desirable city in which to live. Today? Sure, there are some hardcore Detroit supporters, and there are certainly nice areas in and around Detroit to call home, but the truth is that the United States population at large doesn’t have Detroit high on its list of .
Part of the reason Detroit doesn’t make an attractive home is that the city’s finances are hardly in order. In fact, as pointed out by The Detroit News, the city is negotiating with the State of Michigan to avoid a takeover of the city. Even though a consent agreement is possible, none of this helps Detroit-based corporations like lure workers into the city’s borders.
Current GM CEO Dan Akerson said in an interview that he hopes his company can contribute to Detroit’s revival, but “wouldn’t pretend to know what the best solution is.” Neither would we. Like Akerson, though, we hope the home of the Big Three gets back on its feet with as much solidity as the automakers seem to have managed.
Why don’t they make four-door convertibles anymore? Because the roof mechanism would just be too darn big, that’s why. But there’s at least one company out to change that. And, of course, they’re Dutch.
That outfit is Savage Rivale, the braintrust behind the Roadyacht GTS. Rather than a wafting parade car like the Phaetons of yore, the Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS is more like a four-door . With a retracting hard top.
The vehicle is still in the development phase, with the (fixed-roof) set to debut next month at the Top Marques show in Monaco. But in the meantime, the Dutch firm has released an animated clip of the Retractable Telescopic Multi Panel (RTMP) roof mechanism it has developed for the Roadyacht with Inalfa Roof Systems.
The mechanism is based around a retractable arm that deploys with the glass panels and then forms the backbone for the structure once in place, with locking mechanisms in the C pillars. It’s about as thorough a rethink of the folding roof as the one former Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti created for the Ferrari 575 Superamerica (and later adapted for the and ), but it’s a little hard to imagine, so we’ll let the speak for itself.
General Motors struck back at the mighty with the similarly brawny , and now it looks like GM has taken aim at the as well.
According to posts on the Camaro5.com forums, a dealer reference guide has revealed buyers will be able to opt for a new performance track package for the . The 1LE pack includes a number of aerodynamic tweaks, including an aggressive front splitter and unique rear spoiler, both painted in smoke gray. Red Brembo brake calipers, a hood wrapped in matte black vinyl and 20-inch wheels shod in Goodyear Eagle Supercar tires are all part of the party. Those big rollers are actually borrowed from the ZL1.
Larger sway bars front and rear as well as stronger axle half shafts help the vehicle withstand track abuse. A Tremec six-speed manual gearbox with a higher 3.91 final drive and a liquid cooling system is also standard. Finally, the report says the Camaro 1LE will feature an optional dual-mode exhaust similar to what’s found on the .
Will the hardware be enough to help the Camaro fend off the road-race ready Boss 302? Given the sublime driving experience the tweaked Mustang offers its buyers and the heady 444 horsepower on hand, it seems unlikely. That doesn’t mean we’d be averse to putting the two head to head on a track, however.
UPDATE: General Motors has now released official information on the 1LE. The model will land at under $40,000 and and be able to pull up to 1g on the skid pad. According to Al Oppenheiser, Camaro Chief Engineer, the vehicle was able to best the three-minute lap time at Virginia International Raceway, and GM is currently seeking approval from SCCA to allow the package to be used in the Touring Class competition.
In addition to borrowing the dual-mode exhaust from the ZL1, the 1LE will also feature the same variable-effort power steering. Other changes include a strut tower brace, ZL1 wheel bearings, toe links and shock mounts as well as a ZL1 high-capacity fuel pump and pickups for consistent fuel delivery during hard cornering. Even if the 1LE can’t keep pace with the Boss 302, it should make for an impressive on-track machine. for the full press release.
Recalls have been issued for four 2012-model-year products over steering-gear issues. The and and and could suffer from pitman shafts that weren’t hardened properly, potentially leading to a fracture and a loss of steering. There are 6,159 vehicles involved in the recall.
GM will begin notifying owners early next month, at which time they can take their SUVs and vans to the dealer to repair the problem free of charge. for the full notification from the .
There’s no lack of choices in timepieces for automotive enthusiasts, but unfortunately most of them come down to simply slapping an automaker’s name or logo (or that of a racing series or driver) on an existing timepiece and calling it a day. That, however, is not the route has gone with its new timepiece.
In fact, you’d have to turn this watch over to see the Trident logo on the casebook. Instead, Bulgari has opted to let the design and the mechanical precision it encases speak to the same themes it shares with its new automotive partner.
The Octo Maserati watch is built around the highly sophisticated Calibre GG7800 automatic chronograph movement which Bulgari crafts itself at the Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Bulgari in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Rather than displaying its time through the ordinary combination of hands sweeping around the dial, the Octo watch places a jumping hour window at the 12 o’clock position and retrograde displays for the minutes, date and chronograph counters.
The 45-jewel movement is backed by a 38-hour power reserve and encased in a 45-millimeter brushed steel case with scratch-resistant, anti-glare sapphire crystal front and back. The blue-lacquered dial is designed to recall a Maserati’s grille, and the piece is affixed to the wrist by a blue calfskin strap with butterfly clasp. We dare not ask what a timepiece like this will sell for, but trust that it will be sufficiently Maserati-like in its sticker. So the closest we’re likely to get is the high-resolution images in the gallery and the press release .
Research by the American Automobile Association’s Foundation for Traffic Safety has revealed teenage girls are twice as likely as their male counterparts to use devices like cell phones while driving. The study used video taken of young drivers while they were behind the wheel to determine how teenagers engage in distracted driving. While talking on the phone and texting ranked among the highest sources of distraction, personal grooming and reaching for objects in the vehicle also played significant roles. Outside of using electronic devices, AAA found teens were distracted around 15 percent of the time while behind the wheel.
Girls were also found to be 10 percent more likely than their male counterparts to be engaged in other distracted driving activities. AAA found the young ladies to be 50 percent more likely to attempt to reach for something in the vehicle and 25 percent more like to eat while operating a vehicle.
Of course, driving with passengers in the vehicle also contributed to distraction, while having a parent or adult in the vehicle caused rates of distracting behavior to fall off. Shocking stuff we know. for the full AAA press release.
is an automaker the operates in two spheres: racing and road cars. The company builds the latter to fund the former, but while the two have long operated as fairly separate units, there is plenty of room for overlap. Like its Corse Clienti department.
Established to facilitate privateer racing teams running Ferrari GT cars in various series, the Corse Clienti division also runs the firm’s elite XX development program that allows some of its best customers the opportunity to act as “client test drivers.” In other words, people pay big money – and by big, we mean millions – to test out new equipment developed by Maranello’s skunkworks before it’s implemented on future road cars.
The program started with the Enzo-based FXX back in 2005, which was succeeded by the 599XX in 2009. But like the FXX led to the even more extreme FXX Evoluzione, so has the 599XX. More an upgrade package than a new car, the $250,000 evolution kit includes a bigger front splitter, giant rear wing with moving foils, a 30-horsepower upgrade to 740 and another two years of factory-supported track days.
The most recent was held at Japan’s Suzuka circuit, where the 599XX Evoluzione hit the track for the first time since delivery to its eager new owners. It was also the first time the upgraded track car was run in public, following its back in December. Of course, now that the range is being phased out, we can’t help but wonder what Ferrari will base its next developmental track car on: the new F12 Berlinetta? The ? The upcoming Enzo successor? It’s early to tell, but you can check out the 599XX doing its thing in the video clip and press release , along with the fresh crop of high-resolution images we’ve added to the gallery.
John McElroy is host of the TV program and daily web video . Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.
