You've got your standards!
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Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Junkyard Find: 1976 Lincoln Continental Town Car
You've got your standards!
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Piston Slap: Fear No Polar Vortex!
Click here to view the embedded video.
Joel writes:
My family is a Volvo family. Volvos are from Sweden and they take winter very seriously. There are a number of 'winter' climate options that were, at least at one time, available on Volvo's cars. For instance:
- Parking Heater
Sometimes known as a 'Fuel Driven Heater' or after one of the popular brands Webasto, Espar, Eberspacher.
This is essentially a tiny gasoline or diesel (from the car's fuel tank) furnace, mounted under the hood, that is plumbed into the car's cooling system and hooked up to the climate controls. You start the heater remotely, and it heats the coolant and pumps it through the system, heating the engine and supplying heat to the cabin heat exchanger. Some can even use the car's climate systems to turn on the blower fan and fully heat the cabin.- Pause Heater
Sometimes known as a 'Residual Heater' or "Rest Heater' on BMWs. This is an electric coolant pump, plumbed in with the cabin heat exchanger. When you turn the car off there is a lot of heat stored in the coolant, but only a tiny amount of it is left in the cabin heat exchanger. You press the 'Rest' button and the electric pump moves the coolant around so you can run the cabin heater for about 10 minutes after the engine is turned off.- Electric Cabin Heater
This is an electric space heater that you place inside the cabin. Of course it's got over-temp and tip-over systems so it won't catch anything on fire.Are any of these options available on ANY car sold in North America now?
Sajeev answers:
Questions like these remind me why I am so fond of the comments from the Best and Brightest in this series. Because my knowledge of this topic is weaker than most, and PR folks aren't lining up fancy new press cars in my driveway. But I got a plan, son. I got me some Google and we got the Best and Brightest, baby!
So anyway:
- Parking Heater: Well, Volvo's still got it! But it's a dealer installed accessory, if that matters.
- Webasto still makes one, fitting many a VAG product in Europe. I'd be shocked if manufacturers in North America follow suit, even if the concept's proven itself in American RVs and 18-wheelers. No matter, Webasto's own video implies it's somewhat universal:
- Pause Heater: The BMW Rest system is/was a neat hallmark of the brand, but there's conflicting info on the 'net about whether it still exists in this age of i-Drive, start-stop equipped BMWs. Perhaps a trip to your local dealership to question the i-Drive skills of a sales expert is in order!
- Electric Cabin Heater: These are standard fare in every Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, as they have no internal combustion to feed you hot air! Cuz hot air is the job of their greenwashing-marketing departments! I kid, I kid!
- Even the darling of the Hybrid world, the Toyota Prius has an electric heater. It's entirely possible that super-uber luxury cars use this electric helper and a conventional heater core from the cooling system. But, but, BUT…many cars sport seat heaters, steering wheel heaters and (drum roll please) the new S-class has armrest heaters!
Considering the electrical load of trying to heat an entire cabin, don't be surprised if heating your ass, your back, your hands and your elbows does the same thing but far more efficiently. Get into those warm items and soon enough the conventional heater will have your back. And everything else. Literally.
Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.
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GM Recall Timeline
Since GM announced its ignition switch recall in mid-February and its subsequent recommitment to safety issues headed by a new safety czar, the automaker has issued a slew of new recalls, expansions of recalls and clarifications of existing recalls.
More on GM's Ignition Switch Recall
All told, GM has recalled millions of vehicles during the last six weeks. Are you confused over whether your car is involved? Here's a recap of all the GM recalls announced since mid-February:
Feb. 13, 2014: Ignition Switch Recall, Compact Cars
Vehicles affected: 619,122 model-year 2005-07 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 compact cars.
Feb. 25, 2014: Expansion of Ignition Switch Recall, Compact Cars
Vehicles affected: Approximately 588,000 model-year 2003-07 Saturn Ion compact cars, 2006-07 Chevrolet HHR SUVs, and 2006-07 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars.
March 17, 2014: Side Airbag Recall, Large Crossovers
Vehicles affected: Approximately 1.18 million versions of the 2008-13 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia SUVs as well as model-year 2009-13 versions of the Chevrolet Traverse SUV and 2008-10 models of the Saturn Outlook SUV.
March 17, 2014: Brake Booster Pump Recall, Cadillac XTS
Vehicles Affected: Approximately 63,900 model-year 2013-14 versions of the Cadillac XTS luxury sedan.
March 17, 2014: Instrument Panel Material Recall, Full-Size Vans
Vehicles affected: About 303,000 model-year 2009-14 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans with a gross vehicle weight of less than 10,000 pounds.
March 21, 2014: Transmission Shift Cable Recall, Compact and Midsize Cars, Large Crossovers
Vehicles affected: Approximately 355 model-year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse and Verano sedans and Enclave crossovers; 2014 Chevrolet Malibu and Cruze sedans and Traverse crossovers; and 2014 GMC Acadia crossovers.
March 28, 2014: Electronic Stability Control Recall, Cadillac ELR
Vehicles affected: Approximately 656 model-year 2014 Cadillac ELR luxury coupes.
March 28, 2014: Second Expansion of Ignition Switch Recall, Compact Cars
Vehicles affected: Approximately 824,000 model-year 2008-10 Chevrolet Cobalt compact cars and 2008-11 HHR wagons; 2008-10 Pontiac Solstice sports cars and G5 compacts; and 2008-10 Saturn Sky sports cars.
March 31, 2014: Electric Power-Steering Recall, Compact and Midsize Cars
Vehicles Affected: Approximately 1.3 million older-model GM vehicles. The affected cars include model-year 2004-06 and 2008-09 Chevrolet Malibu sedans, 2004-06 Malibu Maxx wagons, non-turbo versions of the 2009-10 Chevrolet HHR hatchback, model-year 2010 versions of the Cobalt coupe and sedan, model-year 2008-09 versions of the Saturn Aura sedan, model-year 2004-07 versions of the Saturn Ion coupe and sedan, and model-year 2005-09 versions of the Pontiac G6. GM is also reporting that certain vehicles that had related service parts installed before May 31, 2010, under a previous safety recall may also be affected.
March 31, 2014: Turbocharged Engine Recall, Chevrolet Cruze
Vehicles Affected: Approximately 174,046 model-year 2013-14 Chevrolet Cruze sedans.
April 1, 2014: Transmission Oil Cooler Line Recall, Full-Size Trucks and SUVs
Vehicles Affected: About 490,000 model-year Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups, as well as the 2015 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and 2015 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL SUVs.
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Meet Our Dads
Along with a couple of busy moms, a number of hands-on dads also work as editors on the Cars.com Editorial team. Whether driving to school, lugging sports equipment and tutus, or commuting to work, the Cars.com dads spend many hours each week driving and (later) writing about cars. Together, our dads have a combined 70 years of parenting experience — that's a lot of road trips and carpool drop-offs!
Read More #FamilyCarAdvice
Continue below to meet three of our dads.
Patrick Olsen, Editor-in-Chief
A native of Los Angeles, I have worked as a journalist for more than two decades in both the Chicago and L.A. areas. As Cars.com's EIC, I work with this great team to bring you all the news, research and advice you'll need to buy your next car. I'm not a gearhead, but more of a fan of how cars are becoming smarter, more comfortable and more fun.
How Old Are Your Kids? My wife and I have three kids, ages 20, 19 and 17.
What Does Your Family Drive? We have two vehicles: A 2003 Honda Pilot that we use most often when we're all traveling together and a 2005 Ford Escape. We bought both used.
What's Your Family's Favorite Activity? At home, it's playing card games or football in the backyard, but in the car, it's long-distance trips to places like Denver, upstate New York, etc.
David Thomas, Managing Editor
I'm a busy dad routinely shuttling both children in the latest test car in the fleet. By the time my son Carter was 3, he could identify pretty much every car by its badge. I oversee Cars.com's news blog KickingTires as well as help reach car shoppers via social media. Like the rest of our team, I try to keep my hands in a bit of everything and review new cars, take part in our Challenges and even "star" in a video or two. I have a thing for wagons, but secretly, I lust for a BMW M3 and lately have fallen for the Infiniti QX60.
How Old Are Your Kids? My wife and I have a 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.
What Does Your Family Drive? We own two wagons. The family's daily driver is a 2010 Subaru Outback, which we love for its practicality and winter-weather prowess. We also have a 2005 Volkswagen Passat wagon that is used whenever I have the kids and a test car is not family-friendly. The wagons are truly a part of the family, shuttling the children to school, to see the grandparents and on summer road trips.
What's Your Family's Favorite Activity? We try to stay as active as possible and go to every park within a 5-mile radius, sledding in winter and to the beach in the summer.
Mike Hanley, Research Editor
I started at Cars.com in 2002, and I'm currently one of the site's resident car reviewers. I also edit a lot of the content that appears in the Research section. I've been a car enthusiast for as long as I can remember and always enjoy going to summertime car shows. My current project car is a 1987 BMW 325e, but with two young boys, I'm more often behind the wheel of our 2012 Honda Odyssey minivan. It's been able to carry all of my kids' stuff so far, including a racecar bed for my older son.
How Old Are Your Kids? My wife and I have two boys, ages 3 and 1.
What Does Your Family Drive? A 2012 Honda Odyssey.
What's Your Family's Favorite Activity? We like taking walks to different neighborhood playgrounds in the summer.
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Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Potential Realized: McLaren 650S Coupe and Spider Driven!
Turning off the stability control in a 641-hp, rear-wheel-drive supercar with summer tires in wet, sloppy weather on a 3.4-mile, 26-turn track can be a little nerve-wracking, but that's what is about to happen as I enter my third lap of the Ascari racetrack in southern Spain. I'm at the helm of the new McLaren 650S, and at my right is McLaren test driver Gareth Howell, who doesn't seem to be nervous at all as he switches the Powertrain and the ProActive Chassis Control (PCC) systems from their Sport to Track settings. He clearly knows something I don't. READ MORE ››
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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 2007, it would have cost the company less than $100 million compared to the minimum $750 million charge GM is expecting to record on its financial statements.
"I think in the past we had a cost culture and we are going to a customer culture," Barra told the Committee. "If we are making a decision on safety, we don't even look at the cost. We make the change."
After apologizing again to crash victims—some of who were present at the hearing—Barra said GM had a "civic" responsibility to affected owners but stopped short of addressing the company's legal right to block liability claims for all cars made before the 2009 bankruptcy. Several organizations, including the Ralph Nader–backed Center for Auto Safety and Consumers Union, want GM to create a trust fund that would pay for damages otherwise not covered in an ordinary lawsuit. Barra said it would take between one and two months before GM decides on a legal solution and said she did not know if any GM employees had been fired as a result of the recalls.
"Most importantly, it's leadership at the top, it's the leadership of how we behave, of how we demonstrate when we make decisions," Barra said. "We recognize culture change doesn't happen in a year or two, but we are well on that journey and we are dedicated to it."
The Committee lit a cooler flame under David Friedman, the interim director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who simultaneously played both sides in blaming GM and offering results from an internal audit meant to improve the agency's investigation process.
In a written testimony, the NHTSA said it didn't spot a defect trend with the affected GM models in 2007 because the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion did not show significant crash and injury rates. NHTSA engineers didn't link non-deploying airbags with ignition switches since GM, knowing there was a connection at that time, did not submit the proper documents and the agency had believed airbags would stay active even if a car lost power, Friedman said. He did not address the hundreds of ignition switch complaints sent to the agency over the past decade but only offered that it needed to "more effectively, more efficiently use our resources to spot trends."
- The Detroit Three After the Big Whoa: An Examination of Domestic Carmakers
- Comparison Test: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vs. 2013 Ford F-150, 2013 Ram 1500
- Diesel Car Comparo: 2014 Chevy Cruze 2.0TD vs. 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
Republican Rep. Henry Waxman of California, without providing details, said he would introduce a bill to increase the agency's budget and impose stiffer penalties on automakers for not complying with recalls. Citing company documents, Waxman said GM received 133 warranty claims of stalling cars and loose ignition switches between 2003 and 2012—most of which were not reported to the NHTSA.
Barra and Friedman will testify again Wednesday morning before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Replacement ignition switches for affected vehicles will begin arriving at dealerships beginning April 7.
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March 2014 Sales Surge, With SAAR Pegged at 16.4 Million Units
March saw a 6 percent bump in auto sales, with a 16.4 million unit SAAR calming fears about a stagnant market. Light truck sales were up 11 percent, with passenger cars up by just one percent.
Among the top auto makers were Chrysler, with a 13 percent gain (mostly due to trucks, as the car-heavy Chrysler brand fell 23 percent), with Daimler up 11 percent and Volvo up 10 percent. Subaru and Mitsubishi also posted strong gains of 21 percent and 70 percent respectively. Honda was the lone auto maker to take a hit, down 2 percent, despite the Acura brand being up 11 percent.
Among brands, luxury labels like Lincoln, Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all posted double digit gains. Buick was up 13 percent, while Jeep was up a whopping 47 percent. Mini posted a 40 percent decline (due to a new model changeover), while Scion was down 8 percent, with sales of the FR-S declining by 26 percent.
For a full table, see Automotive News.
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