The Automotive Reporter/Biz News for Wk of 5-11-15

If you’re a military veteran, you may want to enlist with the General.
General Motors is offering all U.S. Veterans and their spouse an instant discount on any GMC Truck, crossover, or SUV purchase through June 30—regardless of separation date.

GM’s Military Discount Program has been in place since 2008. In 2014, more than 40-thousand active-duty, reserves, retired and veterans took advantage of the offer, which cuts the price to below the MRSP.

GM’s partnership with the military dates back to the War to End All Wars, when its trucks were chosen by the US Army to replace horses and mules. Details on the GM Military Discount can be reviewed here.

GMC "Duck"

GMC delivered its first “Ducks” to the U.S. Army in 1943. "A unique central tire inflation system allowed the driver to adjust tire pressure from his seat. Higher pressure made the craft navigable on pavement; lower pressure provided better flotation and traction on soft ground, such as beaches."

Mom, c.1955

If looking at pictures of Mom from days gone by didn’t make you feel old this Mother’s Day, perhaps this factoid will: The first Dodge Viper was built 20-years ago! The Conner Avenue Assembly Plant has been hand-building the uber-muscle cars in an urban neighborhood of Detroit at a rate of one car every ten days. Dodge says it takes an average of up to 160-man hours to assemble each one.

For the 2016 Viper, aerodynamics, braking and tire technology will guarantee the car’s legacy on the street and on the track. An Extreme Aero package will create the highest aerodynamic downforce—1-ton at 177mph—of any production vehicle.

2016 Dodge Viper

Brembo Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes will feature 15.4-inch two-piece front rotors, and 14.2-inch rear rotors. The front brakes will use six-piston calipers; the rear brakes will utilize four-piston calipers.

What kind of tires do Viper owners put on their cars? Any kind they want, but the 2016 Vipers will roll off the assembly line on Kumho Ecsta V-720 high-performance tires. Dodge says the new tires produced lap times 1.5-seconds faster than off-road only race tires in their testing.

“This car is not a 1-3 lap track special," says Tim Kuniskis, President and Chief Executive Officer – Dodge Brand and SRT Brand, FCA – North America. "You can run the car at the track all day, and the performance doesn’t fall off,” he says. “Our goal is to arm our enthusiasts with the ultimate Viper track car to dominate road courses around the world,” says Kuniskis.

 Just when you thought the incredibly sexy Audi TT’s good looks and performance couldn’t get any better, the styling wizards at the Audi Skunkworks have added wider parts, a rear wing that actually works, and filled the engine compartment with enough enhancements to produce 600-hp. 

I’m in love.

Audi is debuting the Audi TT Clubsport Turbo this week (May 13-16, 2015) at Worthersee Tour in Reifnitz, Austria. Allow me to quote from the press release:

“The Audi TT Clubsport Turbo has a power-boosted 2.5 TFSI engine with very impressive performance data. From 2,480 cc of displacement, the five-cylinder engine produces 600 hp and 479.4 lb-ft of torque, the latter from 3,000 to 7,000 rpm. This means that it produces 176 kW (240 hp) and 260 Nm (191.8 lb-ft) per liter of displacement. Power is transferred via a manual six-speed transmission.”

Audi promises the car will achieve 100km/h (62.1-mph) in 3.6-seconds. One of the secrets of that kind of performance is in the electronic turbo. Again, quoting from the release: 

“In the lower engine speed range, the electrically driven compressor boosts torque by up to 200 Nm (147.5 lb-ft). A dedicated 48‑volt electrical sub-system supplies electrical energy to the turbocharger. A compact lithium-ion battery in the luggage compartment stores the energy that is generated by recuperation when coasting.”

Brains and brawn.

Death Trap: 1959 Chevy Bellaire

What happens when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wastes a perfectly good 1959 Chevrolet Bellaire by crashing it head-on into a 2009 Chevy Malibu? 

I know, I know, that’s like apples to oranges. And that’s the point. The video clip shows how modern automotive technology saves lives…and exposes the cars of yesteryear for the death traps they truly were.
Drive safely.

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Automotive Reporter/Biz News Wk of 3-30-15

2015 Scion Tc 9.0 Limited Edition

I love Houston in the Spring.
New York is a close-second, and the first weekend in April is doubly-attractive in the Big Apple with the opening of the New York International Auto Show.  

Scion is staging an impressive display at this year's show, keyed to the evolution of the youth-oriented brand.
 
Forget that--I'm in my sixth decade of orbiting the sun, and I still get excited sitting behind the wheel of a Scion FRS.
 
Toyota is debuting the FRS 1.0 and Scion Tc 9.0 at the show, featuring all kinds of goodies from Toyota Racing Development (TRD). A special, limited-edition, two-tone version Tc sports coupe is also being released, designed in conjunction with Jeremy Lookofsky of Cartel Customs.

Among the goodies included:

• a unique black and magma exterior
• an aero kit designed by Cartel Customs
• a center exhaust
• a Smart Key with Push Button Start featuring the “Cartel Logo”
• orange front seat belts

This is not your grandfather's Toyota...but he'd want one!

No Acronym Zone: We all know the difference between DST and CST--it's an hour's worth of sleep, as my part of the country switches from Central Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.
I will refrain from further comment about that, but refer you to my annual diatribe here.
So what in the world is DTM?

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is the German equivalent of NASCAR, which conjures up all kinds of questions: Do they all make right turns in Europe--you know, on the other side of the road? What's the German language sound like with a Southern drawl? "Guten tag, y'all?" Talk about conflicting culture stereotypes!  In an effort to shatter these and other myths about the sport, the DTM has adopted Queen's immortal rock anthem, "We Are the Champions," as it's own for the 2015 racing season.

Returning drivers for the defending Manufacturer's Cup Champion, Audi, are Mattias Ekström, Mike Rockenfeller, and Timo Scheider. Theirs is the only unchanged line-up in the series, and the trio is primed and loaded for the new season. These guys are as passionate about DTM--and Audi--as their American counterparts are about Ford's and Chevy's.

2015 Audi RS5 DTM

"For me as a race driver, the Audi RS 6 is the perfect combination of performance, comfort and dynamics," raves Scheider. "In everyday driving, it is quite simply the Audi model to have. I've been driving it as a company car for a very long time, and am going to order an RS 6 again," he says.

The 2015 Season gets underway in Hockenheim, in the Upper Rhine Valley, the first weekend in May.
 
Stateside, Audi continues its exposure  with the release of a new "Transporter" film, sans Jason Stratham, in June.
I can't wait.

There are some things that would seem to be a crime against nature:
Daylight Saving Time comes to mind (as I beat a dead horse), and allowing ungainly vehicles onto a race track. The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile was recently allowed to run a couple of laps around the course at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.
 

No words.

The tubesteak on wheels was being paced by Mazda Raceway CEO Gill Campbell in her MX-5. The real news, however, became the viral nature of the resulting photographs and videos. 

"In less than 48 hours, a Facebook posting of the event showing the Wienermobile traversing the world famous Corkscrew turns reached more than 850,000 people, and garnered 7,147 likes, 538 comments and 2,433 shares," boasted a release. Now put that thing back in the garage.

I don't understand it, but I'll tell you about it.
There's a new Smartcar coming.
 

2015 Smart Car for two

The new-and-improved edition is equipped with a turbocharged, 898-cc 3-cylinder engine, producing 89-hp. Hey, don't laugh--this baby goes zero-to-60mph in 4.8-seconds.
 
A standard crosswind-assist system is also in place for those situations in which a passing 18-wheeler can create a dangerous effect on the 1,808-lb. two-seater.
 
Mercedes Benz is offering the 2015 version in three trim lines: Passion, Prime, and Proxy. Hopefully it will come with parking instructions.
Listen to the Automotive Reporter Radio Show every weekend on Stitcher.com, or from our webpage.
 

The Automotive Reporter/Biz News for the Week of 2-16-15

Because one pair of awkward,
yellow lamps weren't enough...
1976 Honda CVCC Hatchback

My father used to always tell me that owning a car was more than the monthly payment.  By the time I had purchased my first new car (a 1976 Honda CVCC 5-speed), gasoline was selling for .59/gallon on average, so “what, me worry?” to quote Alfred E. Newman. 

All that changed in the ‘80’s, and now the price of gasoline can cause apoplexy if it varies more than a few cents from week to week. Hey, remember what you were paying for gasoline a year ago??

The editors at Kelly Blue Book have just published their cost estimates for the most fiscally prudent cars to own from the Class of 2015 (on a five-year basis). 

According to the report, the winners in their categories are based on the costs of financing, insurance and state fees, as well as the estimated costs of fuel, scheduled maintenance and repairs.  The purchase is based on Kelley Blue Book’s exclusive Fair Purchase Price. Then there’s projected depreciation, derived from KBB’s industry-standard residual-value analysis.
The results are pretty impressive.
Yes, I am a nerd.

2015 Audi A-5 Coupe

The Subaru brand snags the overall KBB 5-Year Cost to Own Award with its line-up of all-wheel drive vehicles, spiffy styling on the outside, and improved appointments on the inside. The best luxury brand in this category goes to Lincoln, which has made major strides towards affordability while retaining classic good looks. The best luxury car to own, however, is the Audi A-5, with a projected cost of ownership of $57,527.

KBB has proclaimed the 2015 GMC Sierra Regular Cab Pickup Truck the best-to-own full-size truck over 60-months, estimating the total cost of ownership at $42,881.

2015 Ford Mustang GT
(Photo: BoldRide.com)

 The 2015 Ford Mustang GT is Best High-performance car to own over 5-years, at an estimated expense of  $49,545. (Editorial comment: This is the most-beautiful rendering yet of the classic Mustang design, with lines that excite even when the car is inert.)

2015 Mazda M-5 Miata

The most cost-efficient sports car to own for a 5-year span, according to KBB, is the 2015 Mazda MX-5, at $40,178. Remember, these figures include the purchase price of the automobile. Yes, here's my weekly, obligatory photo of the Car I Most Covet.

The Best Sub-compact car award goes to the 2015 Chevrolet Spark, at $26,905 over the same period.
 

2015 Toyota Prius-C

And since it appears there’s a trend headed that way, KBB says if you’re going to buy a hybrid-alternative-energy car, the Toyota Prius-C is the way to go. Estimated average cost to own over five-years clocks in at $34,780.

You can look up your own prospects on the Kelly Blue Book report site here.

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