Motor Trend compares the BMW M3 to the Ford Mustang GT!
While it may seem a little odd at first, the BMW M3 and Ford Mustang GT are very close when it comes to their performance. How so you might be asking? Well the two videos posted below lay everything out in a very straightforward manner, making it easy to understand why people have been waiting for this match up. So sit back and enjoy both videos!
Ford, GM and Chrysler all land at least one spot on Automobile magazine’s All-Star list!
Automobile magazine named it’s list of 2009′s All-Stars and the list has some big names on it. Cars from Audi, BMW, Porsche, and Jaguar all made the list. The surprises are the 4 domestic cars that made the list! The Dodge Ram 1500, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Flex and Fusion all made the list! This just shows you how good these cars really are! What I can’t seem to put my finger on is which automakers are not in the 10 All-Star list…lets see…oh wow, NONE of the Japanese automakers made the list! That’s SOO weird! I thought their cars were the best of the best??? This surely must be a mistake. Or the magazine just knows what true car fans know, that the Japanese cars are too boring to be All-Stars. For more on the list, head on over to Automobile magazine.
(Image source: Automobile magazine)
Dodge plans two-mode hybrid in Ram for 2010 calendar year
Dodge originally had two hybrid offerings, the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs. Those two vehicles were killed before many could be produced, but that hasn’t stopped Dodge from moving ahead with other plans. According to the Detroit News, Dodge plans to put their two-mode hybrid powertrain in the Ram for the 2010 calendar year. This is the same system that was jointly develped with GM, BMW and Daimler. For more, head on over to the Detroit News.
(Image source: Chrysler)
That’s right folks, the challenge was thrown by Bob Lutz for anyone to step up who thought they (and their car) could beat Lutz himself in a race in a CTS-V. Well the cars range from a BMW M3, to a Jaguar XFR, and a few other nice ones in between. Hopefully the race takes place soon, all the hype is killing me! For more, head on over to Autoblog or Cadillac Notes.
Frankfurt-schrankfurt, where’s the news on the U.S. auto industry?
So I couldn’t find any news on the auto industry today…at least the auto industry that matters to me, the one here in the United States. More specifically the American 3 auto industry. It appears that there is some sort of auto show going on in Frankfurt, Germany. I have several objections to the massive coverage that this show is getting. The first of which is that the majority of the cars that were shown are extremely far out there concepts. An electric Audi with over 3,300 lb-ft of torque? What in the heck is the point of that? A BMW hybrid that has close to 500 hp? Why is it that GM releases the 230 mpg number for the Chevy Volt and everyone flips out and calls BS on it. The Germans release hybrids and concepts that are just pointless and people are just in awe, they love them, I’m sure there were buckets on the show floor to clean up the drool.
The next issue I have is why are people so quick to care about cars that are being released over there? Most of them will never be seen on this side of the pond and the ones that will are in the six to seven figure range. Believe me, I would love a new Lambo, Bentley or Rolls, but that is not going to help our economy now is it! Bah humbug! In case you actually care about the show, check out all the coverage at Autoblog.
Select German and Asian automakers given less strict emission standards
As per a law proposed by the Obama administration, new fuel efficiency rules will be rolled out by 2016. I think fuel efficiency rules are important for reducing their impact on the enviornment, but they should be fair for everyone. The reason why this bill is unfair is the rule that automakers who sell less than 400,000 cars per year will have less strict regulations. As the Detroit News says, based on last year’s sales, it will give some brands an unfair disadvantage. These brands include Germany’s Daimler AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, as well as Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and other Asian brands such as Kia, Suzuki and Subaru.
The rational for this is to set one national standard by harmonizing with the standards that are set in California. But do we need to give the automakers who import a majority of their vehicles into the United States and export a majority of their profits out any additional advantages? Why does the government of the United States continue to tax and put the large domestic automakers at a disadvantage? How much more can Ford, Chrysler and GM take???
For the original article, see this link to the Detroit News.
An interesting article on what cars will be considered future clunkers!
I had never really stopped to think about it, but this article makes sense. Say the government offered another Cash for Clunkers type program down the road, what cars from today would be on the list of eligible vehicles for trade in? Well, I wasn’t really surprised by the fact that the list is made up of mostly trucks and SUV’s. What did surprise me is that the majority of the list is made up of luxury cars from German automakers. Click on the word “dog” the next time you see it, to read the article.
(Image source: BMW)
(Thanks for the tip Megster!)
