Porsche Sport Driving School: Mt Cotton, Australia (Part I)
By James Wong
The state of Queensland in Australia is famously known as ‘The Sunshine State’. It is said to possess the best weather conditions of Australia and, perhaps, the world; it is also home to the Great Barrier Reef and the Gold Coast, where the imaginary worlds of fantasy and fairy tales come to life. However, few people would suspect that Queensland is also home to the Porsche Sport Driving School (PSDS), the only one in the whole of Australia. Located in the Mount Cotton Training Centre that is a short 40-minute drive from the capital city of Brisbane, Porsche leases a part of the facility for a few times every year to open its doors to locals and foreigners alike for the PSDS. Being isolated and dedicating the whole day to driving is a rare and wonderful experience that anybody who loves cars should try; you don’t feel any undue pressure or stress about the outside world and people around you. You put aside your work, concerns and worries and just devote yourself to driving and learning how to do it properly. Certainly a few hours worth spending on.
60-Mile Traffic Jam in China Shows Downside of Mobility
By Chris Haak
How was your drive into work today? If you’re a typical American commuter, you may have spent a little time in traffic, and you might spend a little more time in traffic on your way home this evening. I know that I certainly do most days, and it seems to be getting worse as more cars hit the roads and available road infrastructure fails to keep pace with the growth in number of vehicles.
Well, after reading in the Wall Street Journal about a 61-mile traffic jam in China, I promise to never complain about being stuck in traffic again. (OK, not really. I’ll still complain.)
According to the article, the traffic jam begins on the outskirts of Beijing and winds its way some 60 miles to Inner Mongolia. It began when road construction on the Beijing-Tibet Highway commenced on August 13. Following that, a major road encircling Beijing was also closed, which compounded the problems.
Hey, There’s a Cool Car: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396
By Charles Krome
Life sure is funny sometimes. Today, for example, I was driving on home and caught a glimpse of a beautiful first-generation Chevrolet Camaro SS on a trailer, right there on my street. My first thought was that it must be a Woodward Dream Cruiser extending his/her stay in beautiful suburban Detroit. But when I knocked on the door to ask about taking pictures, I found out differently: It turns out one of my neighbors happens to be a car restorer specializing in muscle cars. And it also turned out that this wasn’t just a first-gen SS—I’d hit the jackpot: It was a 1969 rocking the big-time 396 V8.
Dean had originally restored this classic for a customer about 10 years ago, and had bought it back from the guy just two hours before I stopped by—that’s what you call good timing.
Peugeot to Display World’s First Production Diesel-Electric Hybrid
By Chris Haak
Today in 2010, the environmentally-conscious crowd has split into two distinct sets of car-buying preferences. In one camp, the hybrid guys point to their extremely low emissions and fantastic city fuel economy numbers. Plus, the typical hybrid packs a ton of technology into a reasonably-affordable vehicle. Then in the other camp, we find the diesel guys, who claim that better highway mileage and less weight is the way to go, eschewing the complexity of two parallel drivetrains and the environmental cost of batteries that have a finite life. For years, the two camps were like oil and water – they just didn’t mix. There was no production car that combined an efficient clean diesel with a hybrid.
There’s a reason for this too – clean diesels and hybrids individually cost a few thousand dollars, saying nothing for combining the two (and presumably coming up with a powertrain that costs a few more thousand dollars. But now Peugeot’s gone and bucked convention. In about six weeks at the Paris Motor Show, Peugeot is planning to display the diesel-electric hybrid 3008 Hybrid4. This car, destined for series production, will be the first diesel-electric hybrid car on the market. We’re not counting locomotives in that statistic, of course.
Review: 2011 Ford Mustang V6 Premium Coupe
By Chris Haak
In December 1967, South African surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human heart transplant. Though the patient unfortunately died, Dr. Barnard’s procedure was the first of many heart transplants to occur around the world. Today, some 3,500 heart transplant operations occur annually, extending the lives of the patients and improving the quality of life for those individuals and their loved ones. So what do heart transplants have to do with a Mustang?
One famous heart transplant recipient was racing legend Carroll Shelby, a guy who might just have had a small relationship with the Ford Mustang over the years. By now we’ve all heard the news about how the Ford Mustang, fresh off a refreshed body and refreshed interior for the 2010 model year, has received what amounts to a heart transplant for the 2011 model year. If you’ll humor us, you could say that the Mustang is receiving a heart-lung transplant, because in addition to a new heart in each model, six-speed transmissions have proliferated across the entire lineup. It’s easy to argue that the powertrain and other upgrades that Ford bestowed upon the Mustang for 2011 have extended the model’s life, and certainly made it more vigorous and lively. Like the 2011 Mustang’s two new tickers, Mr. Shelby received two heart transplants, as well as a liver transplant.
Look Out F-150: Mahindra Pickups Earn EPA Certification
By Charles Krome
Well, it appears that the Ford F-150, the best-selling truck in the U.S. since Jimmy Carter was in the Whitehouse, will be getting some interesting competition in the near-term future: Indian OEM Mahindra & Mahindra has finally received EPA certification to sell its pickups here in America. As we’ve reported several times, most recently here and here, this process has been a long time in coming, to the point that Mahindra’s exclusive US importer sued the parent company.
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is the automotive arm of a massive Indian business conglomerate, but its roots are about as red, white and blue as you get. The company began life building Jeeps for the Indian market after World War II, leveraging a deal with the folks at Willys, and eventually became sort of a modern-day International Harvester, only more successful. A lot more successful.
Mercedes-Benz Reveals 2012 CLS Four-Door Coupe
By Chris Haak
Several weeks prior to its formal introduction at the 2011 Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz has released a flotilla of images of the second-generation of its trendsetting CLS four-door coupe. Much to segment-inventing BMW’s chagrin, Mercedes invented the four-door coupe segment back in 2004, and has done pretty well in that pole position ever since. Numerous imitators have sprung forth, including the Hyundai Sonata, Volkswagen CC, Audi A7, Aston Martin Rapide, and even the forthcoming BMW Gran Sport four-door coupe.
The original CLS was based on the contemporary (W211) E-Class platform, but tilted the form/function continuum far toward the “form” end of the scale, to the detriment of some passenger space, particularly in the rear seat area. It was a 2+2 with a console between the rear seats, and the teardrop roofline cut into rear seat headroom compared with its more practical E-Class cousin. And yet, in testament to the design of the original W219 CLS, any competitors in the space either don’t look as good, or look like obvious imitations. The now seven year old design still looks fresh on the eve of its replacement.
The Land Speed Record for Bad Ideas
By Charles Krome
Okay, here’s another one for the “what were they thinking?” file:
Let’s say you’ve got an auto company that’s seen some relatively big success outside of the U.S. but has never quite found its mojo in the states. Not so many years ago you were selling 100,000 vehicles a year here, but at this stage in the game, your total monthly sales are under the 2,000-unit mark and your best-seller in July only found 788 customers.
But one of those products is a sharp new mid-size sedan with notably nimble handling—its development included the requisite trip to the Nurburgring—as well as a trunkful of kudos from reviewers, third-party quality groups and customers alike. For what it’s worth, the vehicle was even rated as the top car from the whole industry in the 2010 AutoPacific Ideal Vehicle Awards.
The Volkswagen Phaeton is Returning to the US. Why?
By Chris Haak
From the day the flagship Volkswagen Phaeton launched in the US, analysts and customers questioned the wisdom of a company known for selling small, sporty, efficient cars deciding to sell a V8- and V12-powered $85,000 luxury car. The wisdom of the Phaeton seemed even more dubious when one considered the fact that the Audi showroom down the street offered a very capable A8 luxury sedan, sharing many of the Phaeton’s parts and powertrain choices, for a price not far from the big VW. There was also the large leap in price from the next-most expensive Volkswagen model at the time, the $40,000 Passat W8, to the Phaeton.
The best the company could have hoped for was selling a few Phaetons to executives who didn’t want the glamour and glitz of a luxury-branded car. The more likely cases were that either the Phaeton would flop, or it would cannibalize Audi A8 sales. As it turned out, the Phaeton flopped in the US. Just 1,433 Phaetons were sold in the initial 2004 model year, followed by 820 units for 2005. The car was withdrawn from the US market in 2006, and several VW executives distanced themselves from the white elephant. Notably, former VW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder called the car’s global 20,000-unit sales goal a “pipe dream.”
Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES 5MT
By Kevin Miller
After months of hype including the Fiesta Movement, product placement on American Idol, and the auto show previews, the Ford Fiesta is finally here. Being a fan of small European cars that are efficient because of smart engineering choices, I’ve been eager to get behind the wheel of the Fiesta. Having recently spent two weeks driving two-ton, 300 HP luxury cars I finally got my chance, and climbing into the Fiesta SES hatchback was like a breath of fresh air. Far from bare-bones, the SES trim level of Ford’s smallest entry in the US car market has upscale features like keyless entry and pushbutton starting, and Ford’s SYNC system, the mainstream market’s best implementation of telephone and media integration.
As soon as I got the Fiesta, I installed my two kids’ car seats, loaded up our luggage, and headed from Seattle toward Washington State’s San Juan Islands. I had a ferry to catch, and two anxious kids in the back seat. Not having a lot of time to acquaint myself with the Fiesta’s features, I found myself driving between 70 and 90 MPH without significant effort. At those speeds, the Fiesta was settled on the road, not particularly noisy, and essentially right at home. We arrived at the ferry terminal about 90 minutes later, to learn that the sailing we had hoped to take was already full, and the next boat was four-and-a-half hours later. After a quick stop for groceries, we pulled in to the lot and waited… and waited longer as the sailing experienced a 75 minute delay. My daughters and I made the best of the delay, using the Fiesta as our base for snacks, naps, and activities.
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Sticker Shock: EPA to Revise Window Labels
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Review: 2010 Chrysler Sebring Limited Sedan
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2011 Dodge Durango Revealed
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Review: 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Convertible
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Adventures in Branding: Kia EcoDynamics
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Review: 2010 Nissan 370Z 6MT Sport
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Review: 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD R-Design
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What Would Big Brother Drive?
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Stéphane Dumas: Another engine they should consider to offer as an...
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seano: The hatch has shorter front & rear overhangs b...
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Charles Krome: I'm with Chris regarding the vehicle's looks ... I...
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Chris Haak: Not sure that I agree with your comment about head...
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Mark in AZ: I don't like it. Looks like a merging of European...