Automotive Reporter Biz News for Wk of 10-26-15

Ford’s marketing geniuses continue to blend Mustang’s heritage with various speedsters to produce very appealing derivatives of the iconic muscle car. 

Petty’s Garage is being tapped to build a limited number of highly modified Mustang GTs – 243 King edition models, 43 King Premier and 14 King Premier convertibles.

What will the King-packages include? The already hot, 5.0-litre engine will be modified with a Ford Performance supercharger to boost horsepower to 670—with a three-year, 36k-mile warranty.

Petty’s Garage owner, the legendary Richard Petty, says the King Edition Mustangs are “pretty much the way I’d build my own.” To handle the extra power, the Petty shop also adds TrakPak Ford Performance halfshafts, three-way adjustable front and rear sway bars, and a rear axle upgrade. MSRP prices begin at $67,495—which is pretty affordable in this universe. Order yours from the Petty’s Garage website.

The OnStar network is amazeballs. With a push of a button, you can be connected to a real, live person in this country (who speaks flawless English), who will answer any question you have. If there’s an emergency, they’ll dispatch help—even before you ask, in some cases. Now OnStar is offering to read books to you while you drive along. Actually, they’re downloads of audio books, but you get the idea.  

Maritz Research finds that Buick owners are 30% more likely to read books as a leisure activity, and so GM and Audiobooks.com are offering two free downloads to 2016 Buick owners. I think they should add another volume to the list—the 2016 Buick Owners’ Manual.

The electrical evolution continues in the automotive realm.  Chevrolet has created a snappy EV-version of its Bolt sub-compact, which it says can go 200-miles on a single charge.  GM says the electrified model will go into production for the 2016 model year, assembled at its Orion Township, MI plant. 

The Bolt EV is a collaboration between Chevrolet and LG Corp, which has invested $250-million in a manufacturing facility in Korea that will gen-up some of the components for the car. LG Chem has been manufacturing batteries for GM’s first-generation Volt since 2010.

Last Wednesday the entire world celebrated “Back to the Future Day,” that moment in time to which Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled from 1985. Probably the best “moment” of the day occurred on Jimmy Kimmel Live, when Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd emerged—in character—from a smoke enshrouded DeLorean rolling onto the set. 

The pair bantered about how 2015 sucks, and Doc headed back to “fix a few things” at the end of the segment.  Special mention goes to Huey Lewis, who was planted in the audience, and jammed with the house band during the commercial break.

As promised, Toyota produced a special edition Tacoma 4 x 4, the ride of choice of McFly in the film series, and a BTTF-themed TV spot to capitalize on the theme.
It worked. 

Worst automotive ad campaigns ever:
3.) Art Grindle’s Saturday morning cartoon sponsorships: In what alternative universe is jumping up and down on top of cars while screaming low-price promises an effective venue for marketing? Oh, yeah—Houston in the 1960’s.

2.) Toyota’s Muppets TV spots. In what alternative universe is screaming puppet dialogue a suitable venue for marketing motorcars?

 1.) Honda’s singing owner Radio spots: There’s only one thing more obnoxious than a car dealer's jingle singers, and that’s car owners who CANNOT sing, attempting to voice the praises of their cars’ rear view camera, et al. 

I’d like to see an automotive derivation of M&M Mars’ series of candy bars ads, in which various “hangry” drivers are magically transformed with just a bite of a Snickers bar. Maybe that’s what the Houston Texans needed on Sunday—just a Snickers.

Listen to the Automotive Reporter Radio Show every weekend on Stitcher.com, or from our webpage. 

Automotive Reporter Review: 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Fastback

Okay, it's Labor Day Weekend, and frankly, the business news that hit my email in-box this week was just uninspiring. Tune in next week for more biz bits from hither, thither, and yon.
In the meantime, let's have one last fling for summer.
Here's my review of a recently borrowed 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Fastback.
As I am fond of saying, "eau my..."

The first Ford Mustang was the 1964-1/2 model, with a 260-cu.in V-8 engine and components borrowed from other models, including the Comet, the Fairlane, and the Falcon. That was Lee Iacocca's idea for keeping the car's initial MSRP at $2,368. Ford thought it might sell 100,000 of the first-gen Mustangs, a number the company blew through in the first 90-days. Ford produced an additional 318,000 units in the first year.

The Mustang was Ford’s prize muscle car, and the name has always been synonymous with earth-shaking power, cat-like handling, and (generally) cutting-edge styling.  

I say generally, because for a while there, in the mid-‘70’s, I don’t know what they were thinking.  My wife had one of those “Mustang-II’s,” with a V-6 engine built by Audi. One morning the car wouldn’t start because the timing chain in that German engine had broken. The quote for repairs was more than the car was worth. 

We sold it shortly thereafter.

 

For 2015, Ford has once again engineered a Mustang with body lines that leave you weak in the knees, an interior environment that is replete with technology gadgets, and a power plant that will snap your neck.
 

It’s a 2.3-Liter four-cylinder Eco-boost engine. That’s right—Ford has put an I-4 in a Mustang.

I’ve driven four-bangers for most of my life. I know their strengths (better mileage, quieter operation) and their weaknesses (sucky power, higher revs required). So when I had the opportunity to try out the Mustang EcoBboost Fastback, I jumped at the chance.
To say the least, I was impressed.

The EcoBoost 2.3-L is fitted with a twin-scrolled turbo that gooses the power output to 310-hp. Let that sink in for a moment: An I-4 engine with 310-horses.
In a pony car.
It’s a four-banger’s dream.

I drove this car for a week as I would my daily driver. It was a lot of fun. It didn’t hurt that the screaming Competition Orange paint turned heads wherever I parked the car.
 

My factory loaner was fitted with a 6-speed select-shift automatic. Ordinarily, I’d turn my nose at a sissified automatic. But the Mustang has four electronic settings on this transmission: Normal, Sport, Track, and Snow/Ice. The Sport and Track settings were fun, but in Houston traffic, they were somewhat annoying, and kept engine revs artificially high when downshifting. This car will snap your neck running through the gears in either of these settings! I am also humble enough to admit that the automatic can more efficiently manage the gears than can I.

Did I punch it?
Is the Pope Catholic?
I did, indeed, stick my foot in the engine, and it was a beautiful thing—gliding through traffic and slipping past slower vehicles with ease. The turbo boost is everything advertised, and more. There’s a reason why the speedometer is labeled, “Groundspeed.”

Ford’s sticker price for this model is $37,990. It teases a 25MPG average of city and highway driving. My computed average never dipped below 26MPG, and touched 29MPG a few times. I burned two tanks of fuel in my week of joyriding, just to be sure.

All of Ford’s techie goodies are packed into its EcoBoost Fastback, including its huge touchscreen display in the center dash, rear camera, and adaptive cruise control. The dual climate control system allowed my wife to cook her lumbar while I enjoyed a cooling breeze to my nether regions. 

The only criticism I have is an inordinately high level of road noise—and that’s without the usual rumble of a V-8’s exhaust.
Factor in the very efficient A/C with a blower creating a sonic wall of white noise, and you find you must nearly scream to carry on a conversation at moderate speeds. But that’s a flaw I’m willing to forgive.

Listen to the Automotive Reporter Radio Show every weekend on Stitcher.com, or from our webpage. 

Automotive Reporter Biz News for Wk of 8-31-15

 

Just keep reminding yourself, it’s a Mercedes-Benz.

smart is debuting the latest variant in the series, the ForTwo Cabrio, next month at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt. 

The folks at MB crow the car is really three autos in one, transforming from an enclosed two-seater into a canvas-drapped sunroof, or full-open convertible.  smart says its cabrio is the only true cabriolet in its class. That’s because no one else makes these things. Thankfully.

The smart series is powered by a turbocharged 898-cc three-cylinder engine cranking out 89-hp and 100-lb/ft of torque. Rawr. The smart cabrio boasts a turning circle of just under 23-feet. Zero-to-sixty times have not been published, but the car’s top speed is posted at 96-mph.

Sidebar: How smart is it to name your car and not capitalize the name? Don’t these guys realize the spellcheck havoc they’re wreaking, especially when you need to start a sentence with “smart,” and force a lower-case first letter in the first word of a line? Second, where did this convention of eliminating the spaces between two words, two names, or any adjective-noun combination come from? How is it no one has said, “ENOUGH!” yet?
ForTwo, SmartCar, AppleCar. SmartPhone, MileagePlus.
Need I go on?

All those whiz-bang features in new cars may be for naught.

The 2016 class of automobiles feature unprecedented technology features. We now have cars that will park themselves and then come get you from their parking space. There are more pre-installed apps, and touch screen displays that rival some small laptops. Some automakers are even offering “ground school” classes to familiarize new car buyers with all of the features. I still have trouble setting the clock on my dashboard every time we switch between DST and standard time.

J.D.Power’s latest DrIVE report of driver experiences with in-vehicle tech reveals a surprising level of non-use of these newest features, with 20% of new car owners never using 16 of the 33 features measured. 43% of drivers never use the in-vehicle concierge, 38% ignore mobile routers, 35% don’t let the cars park themselves, and 32% don’t use the built-in apps…or don’t know where/what they are to get to them.

This might beg the question, if automakers are building technology no one uses, is the value of these cars over rated? The Power report also shows 14 tech features 20-percent of car owners do not want in their next car, including Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto, in-vehicle concierge services, and in-vehicle voice texting.  Gen Y owners would just as soon use their own personal smart instrument of choice instead of an in-car app.

So what technologies do drivers want? Anything that enhances the driving experience and safety, like vehicle health diagnostics, blind-spot warning, and adaptive cruise control.

Car Wars: Summer Sales forecast results

Depending upon whom you ask, new car sales are anticipated to take a dip for August.
Some car makers are blaming it on Labor Day timing from last year—sales totals in August 2014 included Labor Day sales figures. This year, Labor Day tallies will be in September’s numbers.

Kelly Blue Book is predicting a 4% year-over-year decline to 1.52-million units sold, which yields a SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate) of 17.2-million sales.  Across the street at Edmunds.com, numbers crunchers say August numbers will hit 1.53-million units, for a SAAR of 17.4-million sales. That would be a 2.8% drop from August 2014. Analysts at both counting houses are watchful for a softening of the new car sales market, which is joined at the hip to the financial markets.

Want to buy a new Ford GT?
Instead of shipping the rare 2017 Ford GT to dealerships to sell, Ford Motor Company is taking a more “exclusive” approach to marketing the $400,000 supercar. You’ll have to take a number.

Ford is requiring prospective buyers to file an application to purchase the GT, although one source says current owners will go to the front of the line. Anyone can apply to buy starting early next year, and Ford’s concierge services will “walk them through” the process. 

Why all the persnickitiness over the 2017 Ford GT? They’re only going to build 250 of them a year. AutoBlog notes for comparison, Ferrari only built 499 LaFerraris, and there were 918 Porsche 918 Spyders.

Review Preview

Watch this space later this week for my reflections on driving Ford’s 2016 Mustang fitted with a 2.3-L Ecoboost four, one of the most pleasantly-surprising configurations you could imagine. 

The car is not without its flaws, but they’re minor in comparison with performance and handling.  It doesn’t hurt that the ’16 ‘Stang is knee-weakeningly gorgeous.
 

Listen to the Automotive Reporter Radio Show every weekend on Stitcher.com, or from our webpage. 

Automotive Reporter/Biz News Wk of 3-16-15

You may find this difficult to believe, but General Motors has sold nearly a half-million of its fifth-generation Camaro coupe. Chevrolet is set to deliver its 500,000th Gen-5 Camaro sometime this month. The newest edition of the popular car went on sale in August 2009, and by 2010 had surpassed the Mustang in car sales, selling well over 80-thousand vehicles a year.2015 is the final production year for the Gen-5 Camaro. One can only guess at how Gen-6 may perform!

While the 2015 Ford Mustang is considered by many the "prettiest" body style yet, some are still hankering for the original pony car of yesteryear. Now you can purchase a newly-built 1964-1/2 Ford Mustang with modern-day upgrades.

The first true replica of the Mustang was revealed over the weekend at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance by Revology Cars, a manufacturer based in Winter Park, Florida. 

The new-and-improved 'Stangs feature modernized powertrains and technology, including an improved suspension system, four-wheel disc brakes, LED headlights and tail lights, and a 5.0-L V-8.

The resurrected Mustang isn't cheap--base price is $119,500 FOB Winter Park, FL. It is available in both convertible and fastback body styles. Revology Cars is accepting orders now for delivery in Spring 2016. 

General Motors is taking notes from Ford's recent success with the Aluminum F-150 pickup truck, and is announcing new alchemy for its Cadillac CT-6. GM will use an "advanced mixed-material approach for the lightweight body structure," which will be aluminum intensive. Cadillac says it will use 13 different materials specifically made for each area of the car to enhance performance, economy and cabin quietness.

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen says, "We used high-strength aluminum and high-strength steels; lightweight chassis components; we integrate aluminum and steel where it makes sense; we eliminate every gram of mass possible." de Nysschen calls the process "the rocket science of automobile construction and manufacturing today.”

Cadillac in January revealed a series of high-technology material joining techniques that create a new methodology for assembling the CT6. These enabled engineers to design a completely new structure for which 21 patents are pending. Thirteen complex high-pressure die cast components make up the lower structure of the CT6 body, along with aluminum sheets and extrusions. Engineers boast the car's cabin will have "bank vault quiet" in its interior.

While we're talking about building cars, Mazda announced in the past week the start of production for its all-new 2016 MX-5 Miata in Japan. If you're frothing at the mouth to get your hands on one of these, Mazda and Microsoft have come up with a virtual solution for you.  

Beginning March 17, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) is giving Forza Horizon 2 players the exclusive opportunity to drive the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata on Xbox One, months before the physical car goes on sale to the public. Attendees at the SXSW Gaming Expo in Austin over the weekend were treated to two interactive driving simulators preloaded with the 2016 MX-5 software.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra is betting on three areas of innovation that will help shatter the glass ceiling for women in the automotive industry. Barra predicts more dramatic change in the next decade than the car building business has seen in the past 50 years, thanks to women engineers leading the way in some key technological advances: Electrified vehicles, infotainment and software development, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. She says these are critical to changing the way we drive. 

Mecum Auctions returns to Houston’s NRG Park April 9-11 with 1,000 American muscle cars, Corvettes, classics, hot rods, Resto Mods and more set to cross the auction block. Last year's auction was capped by the historic sale of the 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype for $7 million. This year's event will feature three private collections, including 45 cars offered by Houston’s Charlie Thomas.

Thomas operated more than 40 car dealerships, one of the largest dealership networks in the United States. His most visible activity outside the car business was as the managing partner of the Houston Rockets, which he owned from 1982 through 1993.

Going on the block will be a 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona (Lot S100) and a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird (Lot S105), both featuring the 426-horsepower Hemi V8 engine and four-speed transmission. 

The 1969 Dodge is one of only 20 built combining the dual four-barrel Hemi engine with the Hurst Pistol Grip-shifted heavy-duty four-speed manual transmission, and the 1970 Plymouth is one of only 58 Hemi four-speed versions produced.

Mecum Auctions founder, Dana Mecum, says “Houston and the state of Texas have enormous passion for quality collector cars, and that’s precisely what we’ll have crossing the auction block throughout the three-day event.”

Other featured consignments include a 1932 Duesenberg Model J Phaeton (Lot S92.1) from the Tom Goodlett Estate Collection, a rare factory supercharged F-Code 1957 Ford Thunderbird (Lot S173) from the Charlie Thomas Collection and a 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition with only 13 miles on the odometer (Lot S115.1).

Listen to the Automotive Reporter Radio Show every weekend on Stitcher.com, or from our webpage.