Thursday, July 31, 2014

What’s Next At TTAC

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People often talk about particular events being seared into their minds: Pearl Harbor, JFK's assassination, 9/11…I remember the first time I ever read an article by Jack Baruth.

It was 2009, and I was sitting in the living room of my parent's house, on summer break from college, working a menial job as a receiver on a loading dock. I had the day off, somehow, I found myself on Speed:Sport:Life, reading Avoidable Contact #19: Rich Corinthian Swaybars. No writer had ever been able to weave so many different threads, concurrently drawing out each part into a cohesive narrative that explained the sociology of the automobile, in the most elegant prose I had seen in any automotive publication. My life was never the same again.

In the days that followed, I managed to get in touch with Jack, finally meeting him at the 2010 edition of the Detroit Auto Show. I failed to heed his advice about making this my full time job, and before I was even studying for my finals, I had a full-time auto journalism gig lined up. By the time I joined TTAC in January of 2012, Jack had become a trusted friend and mentor, someone who has been able to help me hone my voice and professional decorum as well as helping me navigate the challenges that come with learning to be an adult and a mensch in my personal life as well. Jack has shown me how to respond to criticism with magnanimity and how to remain principled and ethical in an environment that frequently tests both.

Of all the lessons Jack taught me, none has been stressed more than his words to me on the first day of our rescue mission: "your responsibility is to the readers."

I'm cognizant of the responsibility being placed upon me.  I have never so much as spoken to Robert Farago, but I intend to keep alive his legacy, by reporting The TRUTH About Cars, no matter what it may cost us in financial resources or "access", the great stick that the auto makers use to keep journalists "on-message".

Meanwhile, I will strive to keep learning as much as I can about the design, engineering, manufacturing, wholesale and retail sides of the business, building on the lessons taught to me by Ed, Bertel and Jack. I will be bringing in some new faces, like Prof Mike Smitka, Timothy Cain and other former and current industry authorities, to help our coverage of the automotive world, but nobody is being shown the door. We will return to our roots as a site focused on the auto industry, but we will not turn our back on the Junkyard Finds, Piston Slaps, Vellum Venoms, crapcan racing and everything else that has made TTAC what it is.

It is a privilege to have your readership, day in, day out.  I will continue to, as Cormac McCarthy put it, "carry the fire". It still burns white hot within me. I hope you can all see it.

 

The post What's Next At TTAC appeared first on The Truth About Cars.



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2016 Audi Q7: Here’s Everything We Know About the Next-Gen SUV

2016 Audi Q7

First previewed by the Pikes Peak Quattro concept in January 2003 and launched in 2006, the current Audi Q7 is a familiar sight in affluent neighborhoods the world over. But as those dates indicate, it's getting long in the tooth. It's good, then, that the second generation—rendered above—of the sister model to the Porsche Cayenne and the VW Touareg is likely to be unveiled as soon as the Detroit auto show this January.

The first Q7 came as something of an unpleasant surprise to Porsche, who originally believed that its Cayenne wouldn't have to compete with a luxury platform mate. The Touareg was sufficiently downmarket so as not to pose a threat, but Audi desperately needed an SUV and the plans changed. At least the four-ringers differentiated their SUV from Porsche's with a longer wheelbase and an available third row—and a far more luxurious interior.

The 2016 Q7 will be the first VW Group vehicle to use the MLB Evo architecture, as Audi has the lead in developing the platform for all brands; it will thus launch before the next Touareg and Cayenne. The new bones will, our sources say, cut at least 500 pounds versus the current Q7. (For reference, our long-term 2011 TDI tipped our scales at a rather portly 5687 pounds.)

As with its predecessor, the 2016 Q7 will ride on a longer wheelbase than its siblings and will be the only one of the trio to offer a third row of seats. It will incorporate a cutting-edge suite of telematics and electronics that will include highly customizable, Audi TT–like TFT instrumentation—unlike that car, however, the Q7 could have a center-stack screen—as well as the latest driver-assistance systems.

2014 Audi Q7 TDI S-line

Current-generation 2014 Audi Q7 TDI S-Line

Every Q7 will be fitted with Quattro all-wheel drive, and the engine portfolio again will include V-6 and V-8 diesel and gasoline engines. The diesel lineup is especially interesting: Beyond the latest 3.0-liter V-6 TDI (details here) and its roughly 265 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque, Audi also will offer a V-8 TDI with approximately 450 horsepower. U.S. plans for the latter are still murky, but the V-6 diesel is a shoo-in. One plug-in hybrid has already been confirmed: Dubbed the Q7 e-tron, it will team the V-6 TDI with an electric motor for a reported total system output of 369 horsepower and 516 lb-ft. This model will launch sometime after the conventionally powered Q7 models.

More exciting: Audi will offer a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 TDI with an electric supercharger, an engine previewed by the RS5 TDI concept. (We drove that RS5 and the powertrain is incredible.) Rated at more than 400 horsepower and perhaps 600 lb-ft of torque, this powerful SUV will wear SQ7 TDI badging. Audi will of course also offer V-6 and V-8 gasoline engines, and a high-powered derivative using the corporate twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 could see the light of day as a gasoline-powered SQ7. Less likely but tantalizing—but currently still being discussed—are RS Q7 and 500-plus-hp V-10 TDI variants.



According to our intel, Audi will launch the Q7 with LED headlights, but laser lights will be offered at a date likely to coincide with the launch of the powerful SQ7s. The brand also is working on a sporty, low-slung spin-off model called the Q8, which will go head-to-head with the BMW X6—and the next Porsche Cayenne. It seems fitting to turn up the wick on that sibling rivalry, no?



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Captain Volkswagen and the Volkswageneers: Could VW and Fiat Really Combine 20 Car Brands?

Captain Volkswagen and the Volkswageneers: Can VW and Fiat Really Combine 20 Car Brands?
Rumors that Volkswagen Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could merge to become the biggest four-wheeled Goliath of all time have been squashed by high-ranking executives on both sides.

But since our industry runs on rumor, let's imagine Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Ferrari—plus Ducati motorcycles and Scania and Man trucks and buses—all coming together under one annual report. While Ford and General Motors learned the hard way that stuffing too many eggs in one basket isn't always the best idea, money can make shareholders do crazy things. For our part, here's why combining 20 brands probably isn't wise—as well as some reasons it might make sense after all.

Thou Shalt Not Covet Ferrari

Lamborghini has been very happy under German authority, as it has learned how to build higher-quality supercars without going bankrupt every decade or so. But Ferrari, even under Fiat's wide umbrella, answers to almost no one. The prancing horse is easily the most desirable auto brand on the planet as evidenced by never-ending wait lists, capped production, and handpicked clients who must prove their unwavering fealty for the privilege of buying each new model. Then there are the engines. The Formula 1 team. Heck, even the car fires are part of the Ferrari mystique. All of that—not to mention the brand's healthy profits—meant that during FCA's investor briefing in May, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne put up a slide that said, "Ferrari is not for sale."

Rinse with DaimlerChrysler, Then Spit

When DaimlerChrysler dissolved in 2007, the so-called "merger of equals" promise was finished. While not without success in those nine years—Chrysler upped its quality and gained access to Mercedes platforms; Daimler got Dr. Z to schlep American minivans—it was no good having two CEOs on two continents. Chrysler was gutted by its subsequent owner, capital firm Cerberus, which kept it on life support to survive bankruptcy and an eventual takeover by Fiat. Daimler continued on as its all-conquering self. There's little doubt where a VW-Fiat merger would leave Fiat.

Volkswagen plans to reach 10 million in global sales and become the world's top-selling automaker before 2018. Last year, the VW Group reaped $16.3 billion in operating profit, or more than triple that of FCA. (Porsche alone, after failing to buy all of VW a half-decade ago, made three-quarters of FCA's $4.7 billion profit in 2013.) Fiat, having leveraged Chrysler's U.S. market share after buying the company on the cheap, is still hemorrhaging at home and would have done worse without Chrysler's own $2.8 billion profit. Then there are VW's 573,000 employees, which numbers 2.5 times greater than FCA's roster.

FCA's jumble of mailing addresses seems to repeat DaimlerChrysler's mess—it's registered in the Netherlands, headquartered in London, and answers phones in both Turin and Auburn Hills. To think the Germans wouldn't dominate the room and leave the Italians and Americans twiddling their thumbs in the corner is a gross underestimation of VW's lofty goals. Why would anyone at Chrysler want to go through this a second time?

Antitrust Lawsuits and Stakeholders

A merger on this massive scale would attract government regulators the world over for its apparent monopolistic intent. This threat alone could kill the deal. Plus, under the archaic and altogether strange "Volkswagen Law" from 1960, the German government of Lower Saxony can block any company deal with its 20-percent stake in the VW Group. VW used this power to veto Porsche when the latter attempted the aforementioned takeover in 2008. Fiat also has family obligations. The founding Agnelli family currently controls 30 percent of Fiat and could see their voting rights climb to 46 percent as part of a reward planned for long-term shareholders—a potential obstacle to any foreign takeover. As FCA investors vote on the Chrysler merger tomorrow—and by all accounts, it's been a success—the Agnellis seem to have little reason to put their baby up for international adoption.

Competing All-Reaching Platforms

FCA is already committed to bringing more Fiat-based platforms and engines to current and upcoming Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge models. Volkswagen is busy expanding its MQB platform for volume front-wheel-drive cars such as the Golf, the MLB for Audis and Bentleys, the Porsche-developed MSB (which may also cover Lamborghini and Bentley), and the NSF subcompact platform. With all of this heavy investment by both companies underway, it would be massively challenging to bring all of these platforms to a harmonious, cost-friendly resolution in a reasonable time.

BUT, HEY, MAYBE IT COULD WORK!

Killing the Electric Car, Sharing Diesel

This is true brand synergy. Aside from ultra-exotics like the LaFerrari, a few plug-in Porsches, and a possible next-gen Bugatti hybrid, both companies generally dislike electrification. Marchionne is the only automotive CEO on record to tell people not to buy his electric car, the Fiat 500E, because he loses lots of money every time he sells one. While FCA is working on a plug-in hybrid Town & Country and has a test fleet of plug-in Rams, there isn't a single hybrid or EV in its lineup aside from the California-only 500E. Volkswagen wishes everyone would slurp diesel and be done with gas-electric cars, hence Audi's TDI parade on Washington, D.C., and incessant push toward clean diesel technology. Those few Jetta and Touareg hybrids on the road are a concession to Americans; Europeans could care less.

Killing Other Brands

There's no doubt that each company sells a few brands that could use the boot. At VW, Škoda and SEAT have the least marketing reach and overlap much of what entry-level Volkswagens already offer; they exist seemingly for nationalistic reasons. FCA has already admitted to an "internal brand turf war" between Chrysler and Dodge, so one of those could easily go. The Italian Lancia brand seems to be on its way out. And now that SRT is part of Dodge, we could also see Ram returning under red stripes, too, however unlikely that is presently.



Creating the Lambugarrari

This is our real hope, if anything. Combining the likes of seven of the world's most exotic and high-performance automakers—Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati—could be the stuff of dreams. Sure, none of these brands work together much under their current corporate structures, but with a merger, wouldn't we be right to expect a dream supercar that could destroy every supercar ever made in terms of ultimate power and performance? Let their powers combine!



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Even Our Test Cars Sometimes End Up on Blocks or: Somebody Done Took Our Ford Fusion’s Wheels and Tires

2014 Ford Fusion Titanium 2.0L EcoBoost AWD

We go to great lengths to bring you insightful and entertaining vehicle reviews, and we often drive the wheels off stuff in the process. But that's not what happened to this unfortunate 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium test car, which we found a couple of mornings ago resting on blocks with all four wheels missing. Wheels have always been a popular target of nefarious types, but, seriously, what the hell?

The perpetrators knew exactly what they wanted—the rest of the car and its contents were untouched—and the act was executed with such efficiency that they clearly knew what they were doing. The Fusion was parked in a carport in a sleepy Ann Arbor apartment complex, and the thieves wrapped a towel around the overhead light and set to work; we figure they made off with their booty in 15 minutes or less.

Of course, they also didn't give a crap about the car they left behind: Notice that the rear of the car has been dropped on its subframe and suspension. The landscaping blocks also inflicted stress on the body structure, crinkling the rocker panels and wedging shut the front passenger-side door. Significant repairs will be needed before this Ford re-enters the press fleet or—more likely—heads to auction.

2014 Ford Fusion Titanium EcoBoost AWD wheel

But why Fusion wheels? Why not, say, the amazing wheels and performance tires on the Alfa Romeo 4C a colleague drove home the same night? It's hard to say, but news reports in our area say both the current- and last-generation Fusion wheels are hot commodities. The 19-inchers that were fitted to our Titanium test car are not only attractive but they also can be bolted to many other models, making them easy to flip. And they're worth a pretty penny, too—a call to our local dealer put the replacement cost, including the four Continental ContiProContact tires, at a staggering $4312.



Of course, this is why vehicles are insured, whether they're a personal car or in a press fleet. But we still felt violated. Wheel locks might have helped, but short of a secure garage or standing guard all night with a shotgun, if someone wants a set of wheels they're going to take them. Just let us know if you see some cheap Fusion Titanium wheels on any Detroit-area Craigslist sites, OK?

2014 Ford Fusion Titanium 2.0L EcoBoost AWD



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Just Released: Audi Prices New Q3 Compact Crossover

Just Released: Audi Prices New Q3 Compact Crossover
Audi has released pricing on its long-anticipated compact crossover, the Q3, which will start at $33,425. The Q3 is Audi's smallest crossover yet and, borrowing a page from the A3 sedan's playbook, will feature a high level of standard equipment as well as a 200-hp 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission. The entry crossover will join the Q5 and the Q7 in Audi's lineup. (An even smaller Q1 is due to join the group in 2016.)

The base model is the Q3 Premium Plus with front-wheel drive. From there, the models step up in increments of approximately $2000—the Premium Plus Quattro is priced at $35,525, the front-wheel-drive Prestige comes in at $37,325, and the full-boat Prestige Quattro arrives at $39,425.

All Q3 models seat five passengers and feature standard equipment such as 12-way heated power front seats, leather trim, a panoramic sunroof, a split-folding rear seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, xenon headlamps with LED taillamps and running lamps, and a smart key.



Notable options include a Sport package with sport seats, paddle shifters, and Audi Drive Select, which allows the driver to adjust throttle mapping and the transmission's shift points. Also offered are a power liftgate and Audi's MMI Navigation Plus (standard on the Prestige) with a seven-inch display, and Audi Connect infotainment system including a Wi-Fi hotspot, and Google Earth maps. The Prestige also comes with a 14-speaker, 465-watt Bose premium audio system.

The Q3 is expected to arrive in showrooms this fall.

Just Released: Audi Prices New Q3 Compact Crossover



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Jaguar Shows Nose of XE-S Sports Sedan, Says XE Structure Will Be 75% Aluminum

Jaguar Shows Nose of XE-S Sports Sedan, Says XE Structure Will Be 75% Aluminum
More details are emerging on the upcoming Jaguar XE small sports sedan, which will go toe-to-toe with the BMW 3-series and friends. The British company is still playing coy with much of the styling—although this image of the XE-S version's nose shows it will evolve the XF and XJ's look—but we now have more information about what will be under the skin. Jaguar previously told us about the suspension and steering, and now has provided tantalizing details about the body structure.

The car will adapt Jaguar's fifth-generation bonded and riveted aluminum architecture, and the latest news reveals that the mix of materials will include more than 75 percent aluminum. Similar bones are currently used in models as varied as the XJ sedan and F-type sports car, but the XE marks the first time the technology has been used in this price class. The XE will employ a new high-strength alloy called RC5754 that was developed for this application and which incorporates a high degree of recycled aluminum. The result, according to Jaguar, will be a car with the lightest structure in its class, as well as exceptionally high levels of torsional stiffness and strength.

One of the main goals of weight savings is to improve fuel economy, of course, and Jaguar expects the finished car to achieve 75 mpg as measured by the EU Combined Cycle test. A thousand disclaimers apply here, including the fact that the number no doubt comes courtesy of a tiny diesel engine we won't ever get here and that no actual tests have been performed or published. This nonetheless likely bodes well for gasoline-powered cars in the U.S., and could point to class-leading (non-hybrid) economy in its segment.

A light stiff structure should also be a boon for handling, roadholding, and ride. The XE will feature a new multilink rear suspension with integral links and a control-arm front suspension based on the F-Type's. Many of the suspension components themselves will be forged or cast aluminum as well, and the car, as you probably expect, will have electric power steering. Expect U.S. powertrains to include at least one four-cylinder from Jaguar Land Rover's new Ingenium engine family, as well as the supercharged V-6 from the F-type. We have also been told that a V-8 will fit quite nicely in the engine bay—500-plus-hp XE-R anyone?



The XE will be produced on a new, dedicated line at Jaguar's Solihull, West Midlands, U.K. plant. It will debut in London on September 8.

Jaguar Shows Nose of XE-S Sports Sedan, Says XE Structure Will Be 75% Aluminum



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Poisoning the Well: Watch Bret Michaels Croon Nissan Commercial Vehicles to Try to Make You Love One

Bret Michaels Nissan NV commercial

Foisting a hollow, played-out old workhorse on an unsuspecting public is hard work—just ask Bret Michaels's publicist. Sharing a common challenge, Nissan decided that there could be no better guy to shill its ungainly NV commercial vans than Poison frontman Bret Michaels. It is every bit as random as you'd believe it could be, but the mash-up works. 



Nissan has released a cargo van full of YouTube spots featuring Michaels and its NV vans (catch 'em all at the end of the video below), and the singer does a pretty good job of outlining the rigorous testing that the NVs underwent to ensure job-site readiness. The holy grail, of course, is the lead video in which Bret Michaels tears out his version of "Endless Love" in different areas of Nissan's desert testing facility. It's just . . . the best.



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Land Rover “Spies” the Discovery Sport, We Spot an Explorer

Land Rover Discovery Sport

Here's the closest glimpse yet of the production Discovery Sport undergoing testing in England, which Land Rover has so graciously spied for us, as part of what appears to be a growing trend of automakers "leaking" their own prototypes.

We can see a lot of the current Ford Explorer in this upcoming Land Rover LR2 replacement, particularly the slanted nose and arching headlamps, the high beltline, and C- and D-pillars that trace remarkably similar glass panels. And like the Explorer, there will be room for seven.

Seven of what we're not exactly sure. As it does with the new Range Rover Sport, Land Rover technically calls the seating "5+2." In reality, the aft-section jump seats will be inhospitable to all but the scrawniest of humans—and/or the inebriated friends that Rover owners are typically seen carting home from the Hamptons.



When the thin wrap comes off (likely at the Paris or Los Angeles auto show this fall), we can only hope the Discovery Sport looks as slick as the Discovery Vision Concept that was previewed in New York. And we wouldn't put our worst enemies in that third row.

Land Rover Discovery Sport



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2014 Chevrolet Spark CVT Tested: Quietly Picking Up the Pace

2014 Chevrolet Spark
Although automakers such as Honda and Nissan have made significant strides in quelling the continuously variable transmission's more annoying aspects—a tendency to cause engine drone droning and a disconnected sensation between said engine and the drive wheels—we're still generally unimpressed with the technology. And we find in most cases that the promised real-world fuel economy promised by of CVTs doesn't translate to the real world. But we can get behind replacing a four-speed automatic with just about anything. Enter the CVT-equipped 2014 Chevrolet SparkREAD MORE ››



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Throwback Thursday: Own the Original Cannonball Run (the Movie We Inspired)!

Cannonball Run - Throwback Thursday

To us, few things better embody Throwback Thursday than movies involving illegal coast-to-coast races and a motley bunch of knuckleheaded competitors. Of course, the ne plus ultra entry in this genre is The Cannonball Run, starring Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore, and Dom Deluise, and directed by Hal Needham.

Released in the summer of 1981, The Cannonball Run is inextricably linked to Car and Driver history: The screenplay was written by longtime C/D editor Brock Yates, an icon in his own right who staged the real-life Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dashes in the '70s. Run as a protest against the national 55-mph speed limit, the Memorial Trophy Dash was nearly as outrageous as the movie it inspired. For the few who aren't aware of the film's premise, it follows several ridiculously attired teams as they blast across the U.S. in hot rods, supercars, a souped-up ambulance, and more in the quest to be the quickest to complete a Connecticut-to-California run. Hilarity and shenanigans naturally ensue.

The flick wasn't highly regarded by critics, but car movies rarely tickle their fancy. (And what, we ask as automotive journalists, do critics know anyway?) The Cannonball Run nevertheless became a cult classic—because, obviously—and every card-carrying enthusiast should have a copy on their shelf or hard drive. All this is to say that we have DVDs to sell! Pick up your copy of The Cannonball Run from our store (shopcaranddriver.com) today, and you can celebrate any Throwback Thursday in filmic—and gearhead—bliss.



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Panasonic, Tesla Enter Into Gigafactory Agreement

Tesla Model S Test Drive At The Panasonic Center Tokyo

It's official: Panasonic and Tesla have signed an agreement regarding their partnership involving the Gigafactory.

In their joint press release, Tesla will be responsible for preparing, providing and managing the basics of the factory, while Panasonic will build and provide the cylindrical lithium-ion cells needed for Tesla's battery packs, as well as any equipment Tesla may need. Tesla will also continue to purchase cells from Panasonic's factories in Japan to meet projected demand.

Tesla Chief Technical Officer J.B. Straubel said the Gigafactory "represents a fundamental change in the way large scale battery production can be realized," especially when it comes to dramatically reducing the cost of energy storage "across a broad range of applications." Panasonic Executive Vice President Yoshihiko Yamada added that the Gigafactory partnership would "accelerate the expansion of the electric vehicle market" once production of Panasonic batteries begin.

The Gigafactory is expected to produce 35 GWh of cells and 50 GWh of packs annually by 2020 for both electric vehicles and stationary applications, employing up to 6,500 to produce the batteries.

The post Panasonic, Tesla Enter Into Gigafactory Agreement appeared first on The Truth About Cars.



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