Updates from February, 2012
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Lewis Booth, retiring April 1 as Ford's CFO, said the automaker may lose $500 million to $600 million this year in Europe where the financial crisis is exacerbating industrywide overcapacity.5:34 pm on February 29, 2012
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Volkswagen has revealed the definitive production version of the Golf GTI cabriolet ahead of the live premiere at next week's Geneva motor show.4:55 pm on February 29, 2012
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3:23 pm on February 29, 2012
Ferrari's new super GT will be the fastest and most powerful car ever to wear the prancing pony badge. The Ferrari F12 will go from 0 to 60 in about 3 seconds – with a top speed of more than 310 mph.
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2:00 pm on February 29, 2012
Monterey, Calif. • Having soldiered on with the Tribute for way too long, Mazda finally ditched it in favour of a range of crossovers that are both attractive and athletic. The newbie is the CX-5. As with its larger siblings — the CX-7 and CX-9 — it arrives with strong styling and plenty of zoom-zoom. The CX-5, which is offered in GX, GS and GT guises, is also the first Mazda to get the full SkyActiv treatment.
The thrust of SkyActiv goes well beyond the powertrain (engines and transmissions) to include the body and suspension. It is an all-encompassing philosophy that has one simple goal — make the recipient environmentally friendly and efficient without killing the joy of the drive.
In the CX-5’s case, it starts with the 2.0-litre direct-injected four-cylinder engine. With a compression ratio of 13:1, the CX-5’s engine is the highest to be found in production. The secret to running an engine this way while consuming a diet of regular gasoline is simple — get all of the exhaust gas out of the engine, which keeps things cooler. The use of a four-into-two-into-one exhaust manifold (a good racing header) accomplishes this without causing harmful cold-start emissions. The engine, as employed in the CX-5, produces 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. These aren’t outstanding numbers, but they are enough to get the job done. There is an enthusiastic launch that carries on through to the mid-range. It is, however, a little soft at the top end. Ideally, the crossover needs another 15 hp or, better yet, the 2.2L turbodiesel employed in Europe and the 310 lb-ft of torque it makes.
The CX-5’s power is put the road through a six-speed manual (base GX only) or automatic transmission and the front or all four wheels. The manual box is slick and has a light, progressive clutch, which means it is an easy unit to live with in an urban environment. For me, however, the better choice proved to be the automatic. It has the smarts programmed into it to ensure it is always in the right gear for the circumstance. Kickdown is willing and there is a manual mode should the need arise. A disappointment is the lack of a sport mode, which would sharpen things by holding the gears longer without forcing the driver to do it manually.
There are similar differences between the front-drive and all-wheel-drive models. The front-drive CX-5 is balanced and sure-footed, but the better choice is all-wheel drive (which is optional on the GX and GS). In this instance, the system always sends some power to the rear wheels; how much depends on vehicle load, road conditions and so on. Regardless, the end result is a much smoother transition when the power being directed rearward is increased. It is such that the system remains invisible to the driver.
It takes considerable nerve to put a crossover on a race track, but that’s exactly what Mazda did — Laguna Seca, no less, a ribbon of tarmac ranked as one of the Top 10 tracks in the world. Remarkably, the CX-5 was never out of its depth, even as it plummeted down through the famed Corkscrew. The suspension setup is just about spot on — the damping is crisp without feeling firm, which takes care of unwanted body roll without killing ride comfort, while understeer proved to be far enough out that it remained pretty much a non-issue. Likewise, the electrically assisted steering is both fast and refined to the touch.I was truly surprised by just how well both the front- and all-wheel-drive models handled a wide-open throttle romp around the track. However, there was a difference in driving feel between the models. The front-driver wearing P225/65R17 tires tended to display more understeer; the all-wheel-drive GT rotated faster because of its P225/55R19 tires and the fact the rear tires were helping to put some of the power down. The moral of the story — take the AWD!
The other thing that proved astonishing was the CX-5’s average fuel economy under the worst possible, flat-out-all-the-time driving conditions on the track. It consumed 14.2 litres per 100 kilometres, which is at least 10 L/100 km less than I expected. I guess SkyActiv does work.
Inside, the CX-5 is very nicely attired, with plastics that are a cut above the segment norm. It is also nicely equipped. The GX includes air conditioning and the usual power options, along with cruise control and pushbutton start. The GS adds content such as heated front seats, six-way driver’s seat, Bluetooth, 5.8-inch colour information display — which includes a backup camera — and it brings the safety of blind spot monitoring. The GT comes loaded — leather, automatic climate control, rain-sensing wipers, a nine-speaker Bose sound system and so on.
The CX-5 also brings the necessary versatility and flexibility, especially with the GS and GT models. Here, the rear seats are split 40/20/40, so there is a built-in ski pass-through and room for two passengers. As for cargo space, the squared-off area provides 34.1 cubic feet of room with the seats upright and 65.4 cu. ft. with them folded flat. There is also a handy privacy cover that’s attached to the tailgate. Opening the tailgate moves the cover out of the way in a hands-free motion.
Having driven some very early prototypes about a year ago, I had an inkling of what the production CX-5 would be like. Even that, though, did not prepare me for just how well rounded it is in finished form. Simply, the crossover will give its peers a real run for their money. The front-drive CX-5 GX manual starts at $22,995; the fully loaded GT tops out at $33,890.
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1:03 pm on February 29, 2012
By Jim Litke, Associated Press
Daytona Beach, Fla. — The Daytona 500 wasn’t just delayed. It was a flat-out disaster.
But if the folks at NASCAR are as smart as they think, they’ll chalk up the fiery explosion that made it an unbearably long night to bad luck, then forget about the storm clouds that postponed the start by a day … and look hard for a silver lining.
Because that’s what Monday night’s race could turn out to be.
Sure, five-time circuit champion Jimmie Johnson was out after two laps, sidelined in the same wreck that reduced glamour girl Danica Patrick and defending champ Trevor Bayne to also-rans for the rest of the race. Even the last lap was anticlimactic. Matt Kenseth cruised comfortably to the win, in large part because his teammate Greg Biffle couldn’t do much with a late push from Dale Earnhardt Jr. By the time it ended, there were probably more fans left in the stands than still looking in on TV.
For all that, though, “Monday Night Racing” is an experiment that might be worth trying again.
NASCAR is still America’s No. 2 sport according to Forbes magazine, but it’s struggling just to hold its place and it’s always going to be stuck between a rock and the NFL. That’s one reason NASCAR czar Brian France has dipped into the NFL playbook for ideas in the past, and this one deserves a long look. Moving a regular-season race or two from a weekend slot to Monday night might be just the spark his sport needs to keep a still-fragile recovery on track.
France is smart enough to know the problem with building an empire is that sooner or later, you bump into someone else’s. So instead of competing head-to-head against pro football, baseball or basketball — NASCAR bumps up against all three at some point in its season — he’s bent over backward positioning his sport as a complementary package and squeezing his races into time slots dictated by his TV partners.
The Daytona 500 might be NASCAR’s Super Bowl, but had it gone off as originally scheduled Sunday afternoon, it would have been a dim memory for most sports fans by the time the Oscars and the NBA all-star game rolled around later that evening.
Complain all you want about the heavy rain that forced postponement of the race for the first time in its 54-year history — there was plenty of that — but having the stage to itself is an opportunity the sport should jump at. NASCAR already has a handful of evening starts sprinkled into the schedule, and the biggest obstacle to moving one or more of those to Monday night is that it would cut into preparation time for the next weekend’s race. Teams often stop off at their garages near NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., to swap or modify their cars, then load up the haulers before hitting the road again.
But during one stretch from late August through early September, the circuit has three night races in a row at Bristol, Tenn., Atlanta and Richmond, Va. All three tracks are within easy driving distance of Charlotte and close enough to keep delays to a minimum. And none of the three — in order, the Irwin Tools Night Race, the AdvoCare 500, and the Wonderful Pistachios 400 — would be sacrificing much in the way of tradition by moving to Monday night.
Besides, racing just looks better at night, and it’s a whole lot wilder, something that wouldn’t be wasted on the 18-to-34 demographic NASCAR is so desperately seeking. In 2007, for example, car parts, smoke and sparks flew through the air like the climactic chase scene from The Road Warrior as Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin raced side by side at 200 m.p.h. separated by the length of a car hood.
Seconds later, providing a perfect exclamation point, Clint Bowyer skidded across the line with his car upside down — and on fire.
The announcers that night, with decades of NASCAR experience among them, scoured their memory banks for a comparison. Finally, driver-turned-broadcaster Darrell Waltrip settled on the NASCAR-inspired hit comedy from a year earlier.
“It’s ‘Ricky Bobby,’” he said. “It couldn’t have been any better.”
This one could have, but it had nothing to do with the stage.
It’s been a turbulent few years, economically, for all pro sports and NASCAR might have been the hardest hit. Last year’s season delivered a 10% jump in TV ratings, but it came after a decline that saw the sport’s numbers slide by nearly a third from their peak in 2005. Attendance is sagging, sponsorships are harder to come by, more than a few skilled drivers are still struggling to find regular rides and at least one former big-time team finished the year living paycheque to paycheque before being sold for cheap.
But NASCAR isn’t going anywhere. It’s got two years left on an eight-year, US$4.5-billion TV deal with Fox, TNT and ESPN that runs through 2014. But France is expected to begin talks on a new deal later this year and he’ll need more than luck just to get the US$560-million NASCAR is bankrolling annually under the old one.
He’s going to have to bring something new to the table and “Monday Night Racing” might not be a bad place to start looking.
“We were talking about it on the back straightaway,” Mr. Earnhardt said afterward.
“When you’re in the car, you don’t think about what night it is, and you could just forget, really, to be honest.
“But whenever they want us to race,” he added, “we’ll race.”
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Peugeot has agreed to form an alliance with General Motors, targeting $2 billion in savings, sources with knowledge of the discussions said on Wednesday.1:01 pm on February 29, 2012
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Wells Fargo and Santander Holdings USA have joined banks vying to oust Ally Financial as Chrysler Group's preferred auto lender, according to three people with knowledge of the bidding.11:52 am on February 29, 2012
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9:00 am on February 29, 2012
A long time ago, at a car company far, far away, there once was a car. It was a pretty car, lovingly shaped by Italian legend Italdesign Giugiaro and crafted by dedicated Japanese worker bees eager to share their relentless pursuit of perfection. It was also a sporty car, dedicated to peeling rubber and making vroom sounds on command. It was a happy time.
Then darkness descended. Somnolence and caution ruled the land. The once-bustling factory was now ruled by faceless bureaucrats, penning boring cars and designing tedious technology. The once-proud worker bees were sad.
Then, along came an economic crisis — a really big economic crisis that had all the other car companies in a tizzy. But, while everyone else was in turmoil, the little luxury automaker that once could shucked all its years of monotony and, led by a former race car driver dressed up as a CEO, threw off the shackles of tedium and, if the fairy tale that is public relations is to be believed, lived happily ever after building exciting cars. Thus was the 2013 Lexus GS borne.
It really has been a tough road for the GS. In 1993, it was heralded as the first truly sporting Japanese sedan. Italian design and Japanese engineering sounded like an ideal mix and, for a while, the GS was the toast of the mid-sized luxury sedan market.
Then, it just got plain old boring, Lexus seemingly disinterested in pursuing the concept of a luxury sporting sedan and customers in turn ignoring the bland result. Indeed, for the better part of a decade, the Lexus GS has been one of Canada’s most forgotten cars.I suspect that’s about to end.
The 2013 GS is essentially all new. Even more important than the fact that most of its parts have been replaced is that its tired old please-don’t-notice-me persona has been jettisoned. Gone, for instance, is the bland styling, replaced with what surely can be forgiven — considering Lexus’s little styling gnomes have only just recently been granted their artistic freedom — a grille that’s a little over the top. Nevertheless, a little too aggressive is a whole bunch better than really boring. And, if all those slashes and scoops in the front fascia do nothing else, they at least signal there’s a new car sporting the GS badge.
I tested the full-zoot GS 350 — labelled the F Sport — packed with all manner of sporting technologies that BMW M brags about so insufferably. Besides the stiffer suspension and uprated dampers, for instance, there’s an adjustable suspension, complete with its own rotary control button and bright digital readout on the dashboard’s 310-millimetre LCD screen. Not only does this computerized system vary damping between Normal and Sport+ modes, but, even within those two base settings, the electronics monitor how stiff or soft the shocks have to be.
The result is an all-independent — double wishbones in front and a multi-link rear — suspension system that’s more than just tokenly firm. Fully zoomed out in its Sport+ mode, the GS exhibits precious little roll and a spectacular level of grip, even on the dusty, salty roads of an Ontario winter. Even the steering is calibrated AMG firm rather than Asian flighty. Indeed, if anything, I’d recommend to Lexus that the steering effort could be a little lighter at parking lot speeds — but only if it didn’t affect the excellent feedback it generates at higher speeds. The rear-wheel-drive version of the F gets a variable-ratio steering system, which should alleviate the problem. Why the AWD version doesn’t is quite the mystery.
Nor is the ride dramatically sacrificed for this new-found turn of speed. Oh, sure, current Lexus loyalists will almost certainly be surprised by the new GS’s firmness, but, really, it’s nothing that hasn’t been offered in a BMW M suspension package before. Considering that Lexus currently sells less than 500 GSs a year, it’s not risking much with the dramatic about-face.
Lexus’s evergreen 3.5-litre V6 has also been upgraded for 2013, though to a far lesser degree. Horsepower is up to 306, a minuscule jump of two ponies. Mid-range torque has also been fattened up, but this is still a motor that likes to rev.
It also likes to make noises doing so. Lexus has, believe it or not, added a sound generator to the intake plumbing and, if you put your foot into it, there’s an entire symphony of V6 engine noises to be had. As much as the new-found boldness is lauded, however, it is worth noting that no V6 — even this one massaged by the masters of refinement — can match the sweetness of an in-line six. In this one regard, BMW’s 535i still holds the advantage.
It’s one that is extended somewhat by Lexus’s decision to soldier on with a six-speed automatic transmission. Eight is now de rigueur when it comes to self-shifting cogs and upstart Hyundai is rumoured to be working on a 10-speed slushbox. The Lexus gearbox is a slick-shifting affair and there is a paddle-shifting manumatic mode, but if you’re looking for the one thing that Lexus left out, it was an upgraded transmission.
The F Sport is, however, available with all-wheel drive, the tester transmitting 30% of its torque to the front wheels under normal circumstances and 70% to the rear: 50/50 distribution is available if everything goes awry. It’s worth noting that the F Sport is available in AWD and rear-drive guises. The slightly sportier rear-driver gets wider rear tires and one of those rear-wheel steering mechanisms that keeps going in and out of vogue. And, lastly, rear-wheel-drive F Sport models get a set of two-piece full-floating front disc brakes, a rarity even among exotic sports cars. Braking is, needless to say, exemplary. Again, why the AWD version of the F Sport doesn’t benefit is a mystery.
If the exterior’s styling is trying just a tad too hard, the cabin’s decor speaks of a designer at the top of his game, with equal measures of audacity and elegance mixed in. This is, in a simple comparison, the first interior to challenge Audi for the leadership in savoir faire.
Imbued, as so many luxury cars are now, with an onboard computer that seemingly controls everything, the GS is a brilliant mesh of uncluttered Spartan beauty and sensible functionality. Buttonry, thanks to that computer, is minimized — but only where sensible. Radio stations are sought/scanned via that computer thingie, but they can also be changed manually via a knob (which, by the way, is machined, not cast, from aluminum, just like the volume control switch).
The computer thingamabob, meanwhile, is mostly simple to use, aided in large part by a mouse that really is a mouse and not just a twirly thing that can just go around in circles. With the GS’s controller, you can move the scroll arrow in any direction just like on the screen in your den. When it approaches an icon, it hones in and, with a simple tap, the submenus are yours to peruse.
Said perusing is made easier because Lexus offers an optional LCD screen that is a humongous 310 millimetres wide. That’s 12.3 inches, folks, dwarfing anything I’ve seen in a dashboard — at least in a dashboard not modified by Big Pimpin’ TV. That means you can divide the screen between the navigation system and the radio and still read both. Consider this a must-have upgrade. The only negative to Lexus’s take on the onboard computer is that, unlike the Audi system, which has a back button right beside the controller, the Lexus’s is on-screen and not nearly as easy to use.There’s plenty more to admire about the decor, however. My tester had a special-order Red Rock leather, which I think adds both pizzazz and class (says he from his Las Vegas-like heart-shaped bed). The 18-way adjustable front seats are heated and ventilated and the steering wheel can be likewise climate-controlled. There’s even a nice, little bejewelled clock in the centre dash whose little arms, Lexus Canada guarantees, are actually more milled aluminum than cheap plastic.
It all adds up to a GS as enticing as the original. It’s fast, it’s sporty and, perhaps most of all, it has a personality. The relatively minor disappointment that it may not have the latest in transmission technology should be somewhat mitigated by Lexus Canada’s decision to hold the base price line down to $51,900 — some $2,700 less than last year’s base model — and even the full-boat F Sport with all-wheel drive rings in for less than $60,000.
Lexus is back in the car business.
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8:37 am on February 29, 2012
Many families will put nearly as much money into owning and operating their vehicles in a given year than they will sink into their retirement accounts
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Light-vehicle sales in February, set for release Thursday, may have run at a 14.2 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in the United States, the average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.8:19 am on February 29, 2012
