Review Your Cars

Motor Trend magazine had the Car of the Year issue for January, 2012. There were a few discrepancies and their figure eight comparison needs more comparison relevance. Below is my letter to them. On 44, the Hyundai Accent is presented with specs for the GLS and SE. Both are listed with the same horsepower. However the SE accelerated to 60mph 1.3 seconds quicker and the quarter mile .6 seconds sooner. There is either an error or horrible driving. If you’re going to list the two different sub-models, I suggested giving some space on the differences.  When Motor Trend publishes lap times from here, it really means something!  On page 61, the BMW 650i Coupe is 298lbs lighter than the 650i Convertible yet tested to be slower. I think a closer examination of the gear ratios and a comparison of the two transmissions in the same sub-model is warranted. One could extrapolate the 8-speed automatic makes up a 400lb weight deficit or, perhaps effectively 40hp? Finally regarding the figure-8, thi

The Cadillac Ciel made a major impression on all in attendance at the unveiling on Thursday, August 18th. After showing the ELR Hybrid concept, basically a slightly redone Converj, at the Tehama Golf Club in Carmel, CA, jaws dropped as the Ciel was driven to the main display area. Cadillac hosted a delicious dinner to match the introduction The Ciel, which is French for “sky” or as Pretty Navigator said as in, “Sky is the limit”, is a lateral step taking modern technology and features to a classic motoring level going back to the early 60s or even the 1930s. It’s a modern throwback to the elegant days of motoring in a large car, enjoying the cruise. It’s all about the style, it doesn’t matter how fast it is. It’s a timeless classic. Expected to be on display in front of The Lodge tomorrow at the Concours D’elegance, it’s a must-see. The Ciel is a 4-door convertible with rear suicide doors and a superb technology interface for the passengers. Its wheelbase is 125”, 5” longer than a Chry

Infiniti held a different kind of premiere at Pebble Beach on Thursday, August 18th, 2012. The Infiniti JX Concept is a 3-row SUV with styling that distinguishes itself from the perceived box on wheels. Infiniti Americas Vice President Ben Poore and Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer Shiro Nakamura both spoke about the market segment and the impact the JX is expected to make. Interestingly the 3-row luxury crossover (SUV, same thing) is one of the fastest growing segments. The JX is to exceed in interior utilization, safety and driver interaction. It's supposed to offer extremely easy access to the 3rdrow, back-up collision intervention and advanced telematics. The telematics features an automatic sync to the owner’s smartphone with navigation provided. Also personal concierge service with 24-hour access. One area that I’m surprised to learn is it will be the first Infiniti with a continuously variable transmission. To my knowledge this is the first large vehicle with

Lexus presented the new 2013 GS sedan to the world in Pebble Beach, California during the Monterey Automotive Event weekend, what I call M.A.W. On Thursday, August 18th, Lexus presented a GS that had previously needed edgier styling and better driving dynamics. Lexus delivered. This sedan could finally bring Lexus back into the forefront for enthusiasts in the mid-size luxury segment as well as those seeking the latest in high-tech. Lexus put on a world-class event for those attending with both Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda and Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager talking about the brand and the car itself. Lexus wants passion and emotion in their products. The GS 350 is a positive step in that direction. The GS series has sold over 300,000 units and has always been a standard for reliability. What it lacked was driving dynamics along with styling to match. Now it has and all-new platform with crisp, sharp lines, great style and a highly advance

This weekend brings the NHRA FRAM/Autolite Nationals to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Loud, obnoixious cars invaded a 1/4 mile strip in wine country. The sheer audacity of the visual and audio experience is why drag racing is so popular. Who would think on a Friday afternoon the grandstands at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point would be packed? The whole experience is awesome, even for the non –car lover. Pretty Navigator can attest to that. In fact, she enjoyed it so much, she screamed every time the cars went by. But at these races, no one can hear you scream… Why would a self-professed non-car person get some much enjoyment from such an intense experience? The reason why the drag races are so popular versus the purer road circuit or high-speed oval races is that it’s not hours of potentially monotonous droning. What NHRA drag racing offers is an intense experience lasting 4 to 6 seconds with a clear winner at the end and just a enough data, elapsed time and trap speed, to giv

Which is faster, an Formula 1 car or an Indy car? Joe G., San Jose, CA As a general rule, Indy cars are faster in a straight line by design for races on oval circuits. Formula One cars are quicker around a road circuit, hands down. There are no super speedway oval tracks in that series. The series rules are what limit the power-to-weight ratios and aerodynamic aids allowed. Indy cars are powered by an ultra-reliable “spec” race engine supplied by Honda with only one failure in years. The 3.5 liter V-8 engine produces roughly 630 horsepower and revs up to 10,500 rpm. The car minimum weight is 1,525 lbs and uses a 6-speed sequential shift semi-automatic transmission. Formula One cars have multiple manufacturers involved competing against each other and currently have a minimum weight of 1372lbs. The engines produce roughly 730 horsepower from the 2.7 liter V-8 engines and can rev around 18,000rpm. Impressive considering the engines are restricted from using “exotic” materials. A sequenti

The CTS-V Coupe is not a favorite of mine. Driving it however definitely changed how I feel about it, but still not my conclusion. I’ve already stated a while back that GM shouldn’t have bothered making this car. I didn’t think the Coupe would sell very well with its Transformer robot styling, oversized doors, over-angled near-useless rear window, overweight, etc. On the other hand it definitely has serious performance capability. The V-sedan on the other hand has none of the shortcomings. It’s a great car offering all the advantages of four doors with world class performance and world class pricing, what’s not to like? The coupe offers the same 556 horsepower supercharged 6.0 liter V-8 as the sedan. Called the LS-A, it is a somewhat “detuned” version of the 638hp unit in the Corvette ZR1. My notes from both the public roads and Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca repeat the word, “smooth” more than once. Some say the pushrod V-8 doesn’t have the refinement of the overhead cam engines from Eu

The Infiniti M35h Hybrid offers luxury, size and power with rather outstanding mileage, 27mpg city and 32mpg highway. Very impressive from a powertrain rated at 360hp and 457ft.lbs of torque in a 4129lb car. Wrap your head around that for a minute. A gas-only sedan of similar size and power would have a hard time getting 25mpg highway. A note about the horsepower and torque figures: The combined horsepower (302 gas, 67 electric) adds up to 369 but only has a net rating of 360. A fair estimate on the total torque may be around 460ft.lbs. The dash layout, with nice curving shapes was rather confusing and busy. Even after spending a lot of time in a G37 Coupe, the related controls in the M35h are not as intuitive. After that, it’s like driving any other large, luxurious sedan. The corporate V-6, closely related to the previous generation 3.5 liter vs. the current 3.7s in the Nissan/Infiniti line-up seems smooth and quiet. With all the refinement and automatic transmission, the notorious

Recently Stanford University hosted a gathering of experts, collectors, racers, historians, philanthropists and others to discuss the importance of the automobile. Not just the past, present or future, but what it means to society from a cultural and technological standpoint as well as technology in itself. This was not a gathering of actual cars although there was a special Bentley on display, a 1933 “Eddie Hall” boat-tail of which an innovative “auto” biography was created. For the modern fans of speed, a Lamborghini SV670 happened to be nearby too. It was not an art display although past literature and advertisements are sometimes art-worthy. What it was is a series of presentations about the impact of the automobile and preserving and celebrating its history and future. The intent of Revs is to continue research and teaching of automotive topics across various schools such as humanities, fine arts, social sciences, design, science and engineering. Also, it is to encourage the cross

Recently I had a an opportunity to take the new Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid for a drive around and 17 Mile Drive and Carmel. This luxurious SUV offers a lot of features at a price starting at $60,565. It’s the first hybrid from Volkswagen and is their flagship vehicle. Having experienced a previous generation Porsche Cayenne, I’m not surprised at how much I liked it. And this generation weighs 400lbs less than the previous. That is a massive weight savings. The gasoline engine is the excellent supercharged V-6 from the Audi line-up also rated at 333hp. Can’t tell if it’s also seemingly underrated here but it is in parallel to an electric motor rated at 46hp. Not sure how VW comes up with 380hp but close enough. The combination offers 425lbs/torque and connected to an 8-speed automatic transmission. One would think the Audi S4 would have a higher horsepower rating or the Touareg a lower one when sharing a motor. The electric motor is only 3.3” thick and sits between the engine and transm

Q: Hey is LoJack transferable when you sell a car? - anonymous A: No, a LoJack cannot be transferred when you sell or buy a car. The LoJack unit is registered specifically to the vehicle identification number (VIN) and it cannot be changed. When the vehicle is reported stolen, the VIN in the stolen vehicle report is what activates the LoJack via radio signal activation, much like a pager. The advantages to LoJack are obvious, vehicle recovery, less damage, possible insurance discount. The disadvantages are limited hiding places in modern cars and limited coverage areas. Satellite tracking systems also have their benefits and aspects that are foolproof as well. LoJack offers an early notification option as well as extra recovery guarantees. It is still the only recovery system directly used by the police. ______ Have more questions about LoJack or automobiles? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc? Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.co