Archive for November, 2009
Review: 2010 Volkswagen GTI
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin.
During a recent visit to Houston’s Johnson Space Center, I stood at the business end of the mighty Saturn V lunar rocket and contemplated many things. On the surface, I found myself excited and awestruck at the spectacle of the raw power represented by this engineering landmark, but introspectively, I also felt a twinge [...]
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Recall Alert: 2010 Volvo XC60
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin.
Volvo has issued a recall for 8,438 Volvo XC60 vehicles from the 2010 model year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall is due to a glitch in the driver’s seat side cover panel (also called the seat control panel).
In the event of an impact with the driver’s side, the collision could release the attachment of the seatbelt to the seat frame. If the seatbelt fails to properly restrain the occupant, he or she could suffer serious injury in an accident.
The glitch was enough to get the 2010 XC60 an asterisk when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued its Top Safety Picks for 2010. IIHSs award only went to the XC60s manufactured after November when the fix went into effect.
For those 8,438 vehicles that need the fix, Volvo dealers will modify the inside of the driver’s seat side cover panel for free. Owners may contact Volvo at 800-458-1552 or NHTSA’s hotline at 888-327-4236.
2010|Volvo|XC60
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Why Pickup Trucks Disappeared From IIHS Top Safety Picks
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin.
Last week, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced its 2010 Top Safety Picks and the results surprised many. A newly added roof-strength test, which measures protection in a rollover, filtered the list from 94 picks in 2009 to only 27 for the 2010 model year.
In the roof-strength test, a metal plate is pushed against one side of a vehicle’s roof at a constant speed. To earn the highest rating of Good, the roof must withstand a force that’s four times the vehicle's weight before reaching 5 inches of crush.
Not a single pickup truck won a 2010 Top Safety Pick award. In 2009, the Ford F-150, Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tundra were recognized by IIHS.
So, what happened? Why were trucks dropped from the list? Did they all fail the new test, including the previous winners? We asked Russ Rader, IIHS spokesman, for an explanation.
“We didn’t test any trucks,” Rader said last week. “We sent notice back in January to all the manufacturers that the roof-strength test was going to be added this year. Since the new test is outside the usual test schedule for trucks, we asked manufacturers to flag the vehicles they wanted to include [in this year’s Top Safety Pick awards]. We’d purchase the vehicles for the testing, and the manufacturers would have to reimburse. Ford, Honda and Toyota didn’t flag their trucks – though Ford flagged other vehicles – so we didn’t test them.”
Why wouldn’t Ford, Honda and Toyota want their trucks tested before IIHS gets around to them in the next round of scheduled testing? We asked each of the manufacturers for their reasons.
“The F-150 and Ranger pickups already exceed government [roof-crush standards] that go into effect in a few years,” said Wes Sherwood, Ford’s safety communications manager. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 99% of belted vehicle occupants do not suffer injuries from rollovers where they contact the roof. Most injuries are to unbelted occupants.”
Sherwood also highlighted that the Ranger and F-150 offer standard roll stability control and side-impact airbags to improve occupant safety. In 2009, Ford also re-engineered the F-150’s roof with high-strength steel and tubular construction that runs from the base of the A-pillar up through the roof, forming a safety cage around the truck’s occupants.
“We expect that the Ranger and F-150 will perform competitively with the other trucks in their segments when they’re finally tested by the IIHS,” Sherwood said.
Honda spokesman Chris Martin provided the following prepared statement about this year’s IIHS testing:
“American Honda Motor Co. Inc. has long provided vehicles that are at the forefront of passive and active safety technology. Under the previous Insurance Institute criteria, nine 2009 Honda models and all five 2009 Acura vehicles achieved Top Safety Pick ratings — the most of any automaker. As a result of IIHS adding the stringent new roof-crush test to their Top Safety Pick criteria, the Honda Civic and Element are the only 2010 models we produce that earn that designation. Our vehicles continue to provide the same high levels of real-world safety as they did before IIHS changed their testing. This will be just as true when NHTSA changes their five-star rating system in the 2011 model year. Safety continues to be a top priority for American Honda.”
Of the three manufacturers – actually, out of all the vehicle manufacturers tested – Toyota was the most vocal in stating its opinion and position of this year’s test results. None of its vehicles made the cut for a 2010 Top Safety Pick.
“IIHS' statement that Toyota was shut out for 2010 is extreme and misleading, considering there are 38 Toyota, Lexus and Scion models, and only three were tested for roof strength by IIHS: Camry, RAV4 and Yaris,” said Toyota's prepared statement on its media website. “This is the first year IIHS has included its own roof-strength tests, which exceed federal standards, for TSP consideration. All Toyota vehicles meet or exceed federal safety standards for frontal- and side-impact, roof-crush resistance and rollover protection.”
Rader responded to this statement by saying “Asking companies to flag certain vehicles isn’t new. We can only assume that manufacturers that did flag their vehicles were confident they’d pass the testing.”
It’s only a matter of time before almost every pickup is tested through the course of IIHS’ normal schedule. Midsize and compact trucks are starting the process and results for that segment are expected to be available by late December.
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2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe at the 2009 L.A. Auto Show
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin.
- Competes with: Audi A5, Mercedes Benz E-Class coupe, BMW 3 Series coupe
- Looks like: The new GM isn’t going to shelve sexy sports cars
- Drivetrain: 304-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 with six-speed manual or automatic transmission, rear or all-wheel drive
- Hits dealerships: Spring 2010
If you were hoping that the CTS coupe would go on sale earlier than next spring, you had good reason. GM showed the concept at the 2008 Detroit auto show and promised a production model would quickly arrive on dealer lots. However, a little thing called government-run bankruptcy got in the way of its development, and the very future of the model was in limbo for a short time.
Now that GM is up and running again, it’s showing the 2011 CTS coupe in full-production trim at the 2009 L.A. Auto Show starting next week.
The final car looks nearly identical to the concept car and features the same 304-horsepower, direct-injected V-6 from the CTS sedan. The coupe looks a bit stubby in profile, but it’s just 3 inches shorter than the sedan. While the exterior design may be a dramatic take on its sedan sibling, the coupe’s interior is virtually identical to the sedan because the two sport the same gauges and center console. Those are winning attributes to be sure.
We’re surprised to see that the coupe will also come with all-wheel drive as an option, which should help sales in the north. The coupe also comes in either a standard Performance Package with 18-inch wheels and all-season tires or a Summer Tire Performance Package, which adds 19-inch wheels and optional summer tires — obviously. We’re not sure why they don’t just call the Performance Package the base model.
A CTS-V ultra-performance version of the coupe is sure to be on its way in the future; for now, buyers can order the Recaro seats from the CTS-V sedan as a stand-alone option.
What we’re also unsure of is the price but the coupe shouldn’t vary too much from a similarly equipped sedan, which starts at $43,825. More images below.
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Magellan RoadMate Navigation: iPhone Review
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin.
The world of personal navigation devices is rapidly changing, and the big players are adding full-featured software applications for devices that don’t bear their names. Magellan is the latest to offer a serious navigation app for the iPhone. It’s not cheap, but it’ll make you shun those clunky nav units.
What We Like
Rapid auto-fill keypad, Points-of-interests lists are clear and customizable, Uses iPhone contacts, Screen clarity
What We Don’t
Huge file size, Slow-moving between screens, No traffic reports, Long loading time
Price: $79.99 for a limited time
Let’s face it; a lot of us don’t want to spend an additional $2,000 or so to get a navigation system in our new car. Of course others can’t live without that level of integration, but they’re probably not reading this review anyway. Many folks also don’t like device clutter, and adding a separate navigation unit to the cell phone and MP3 player that are most likely in your car’s cupholders might seem like too much to handle. That’s where an app like RoadMate comes in.
It’s priced at $79.99, which will get you a Black Friday deal on an entry-level nav unit with a similarly sized screen. However, the Magellan’s ease of use and features set makes it worth some of its hiccups.
Setup and Install
Downloading the 1.7 GB file from the App Store is something you have to do at a computer, not on your device if you want to save your sanity. It took about 45 minutes for my computer to download it. Then it took me a dozen tries to get it synched to my iPhone 3G. Why? Although the App Store says the app is 1.7 GB large, it needed 4 GB of clear space before it loaded. It only takes up 1.7 GB of space once it’s loaded; I could add more stuff back on the phone afterward, but I don’t know why it needed such a large buffer for installation.
My first attempts at navigating the app were extremely glitchy, so I restarted the phone and all was well.
Maps
The maps are exceptionally clear and crisp with a light green background color. The nighttime setting has a black background, and the app switches automatically between the two settings depending on the time of day, which is nice. The night setting can be turned off if you don’t mind the green glare in a darkened car.
RoadMate can be viewed in both a vertical and horizontal orientation, as well. I preferred the vertical look except when coming to highway interchanges where a wider screen would be better.
One big advantage of buying software instead of hardware or even a manufacturer system is it’s usually upgradable. Compare this image of the RoadMate screen next to a 2010 Acura RDX’s nav screen. While Acura has updated this software in other new models, the RDX’s is still from a few years ago; it looks like an antique compared to the RoadMate. Manufacturers rarely upgrade old models’ navigation software.
My main problem with RoadMate’s maps is my main hang-up with the app itself. You can’t put your finger down and scroll around the map area easily like you do on Google Maps. That’s how I most frequently use a nav system. I like to see where a location is and then zoom out and scroll around to see if I know the area and can get there without inputting a destination. Weird, I know.
You also can’t zoom out very far. It doesn’t even tell you the depth, but it looked equivalent to an eighth of a mile. At most, the RDX showed about 1 mile ahead.
My scrolling ways also caused me to drop POI pins in places I didn’t want them to be. The app then wanted to route me to the pin, which required a few menu clicks to clear it off. It also did this when using the Back button to the maps, and it dropped a pin for no reason when the map popped back up. That’s not good if you’re in a hurry or using the app when you’re not supposed to — like in traffic.
RoadMate is all about inputting a destination and getting turn-by-turn directions; that doesn’t lead to this type of browsing.
Routes & Directions
RoadMate is awesome at giving directions. Inputting an address from scratch is easy because the app’s automated fill-in function is fast and accurate, completing street and city names almost instantly. It’s much faster than the manufacturer systems I use in our test cars. That’s a bonus. The typing screens are more accurate than some of RoadMate’s other menu screens, which can be too complex and require too many clicks.
You can also use your iPhone’s contact list to add a destination, which is useful and something I’d think any app of this price point would include. You can easily search for a destination or use a point of interest, which is thoughtfully broken down for you in an iPhone-friendly menu. I had no idea there were so many Starbucks within 5 miles of my house.
Once you get your destination set, the app guides you using a straight-forward turn-by-turn approach with voice guidance. You can pick male or female voices, but they’re clearly computer generated and not very soothing.
There’s also an auto-zoom feature at turns that I found annoying, but it can be turned off. It seems to be the default mode, so be aware.
It did have trouble finding an Ace Hardware store I was going to. It brought up 20 other locations, but not the one I needed to get to which was closer and an established store. Google maps brought it up instantly.
Features
My favorite features were the in-application music player, which accesses your iTunes folders while guidance is ongoing, and a single touch-menu of frequent destinations.
If you plug the iPhone into a car’s MP3 jack, both RoadMate’s voice instructions and music will play through your stereo. Those of us who don’t have USB integration will like this feature. If you have a USB system music will still be indexed normally with the voice for directions added on top. You don't have to use the iPhone controls to control the music like with the analog jack.
The OneTouch menu screen, which is customizable and accessible from the map screen with…one touch, is a stand-out feature. It has all the basics like POIs, hospitals, etc., but you can add icons for work, home or school so they become buttons. This makes a route from a new starting point to a favorite destination much simpler.
Flicking between menu screens can get a bothersome, and that’s where I often ran into a slight processing hiccup or two. However, with more time I think I would become accustomed to the different screens.
For me, the biggest oversight in this release is the absence of live-traffic updates. For my daily commute, I like to see the green, yellow and especially red outlines of traffic flow, so I can pick my route accordingly. If you never need this type of assistance because there’s only one way for you to get to work, then it might not be an issue. But if I want to use navigation every day and not just when I’m going somewhere new, so it needs to have this feature. Luckily, live traffic is a likely upgrade in the near future.
Final Score: 7.5
I would give the RoadMate even higher marks if it weren’t for the lack of live traffic updates, limited map scrolling and the $79 price tag, which is an introductory price. Besides those flaws — which may not bother other users — this is one smart piece of software that outperforms dedicated nav units at twice the price.
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Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by admin.
A fierce competitor of BMW’s 3 Series, the Infiniti G coupe and sedan have been favorites of the Cars.com editorial team because they consistently match the 3 Series’ driving experience but at a much lower price. Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley looks at the 2009 G37 with a retractable hardtop to see how it stacks up to its 3 Series competitor, the 335i convertible. Read his full review to find out how the two convertible titans stack up.
2009 Infiniti G37 Review
2009|Infiniti|G37
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Ford and the Case of the Case of the Missing Compressor
Posted on 21. Nov, 2009 by admin.
We’re still wrapping our minds around Ford’s all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbodiesel engine that debuts in the 2011 F-Series Super Duty trucks and learning about the differences of the two slightly different versions that Ford has planned.
The 6.7-liter PSD’s unconventional design features a reverse flow architecture that flips the intake and exhaust manifolds around so that the intakes are on the outside of the engine and the exhaust exits into the valley between the two cylinder banks – directly into the engine’s turbo.
This unique setup dramatically cuts the distance that exhaust gases travel to reach the turbo, improving turbo response while also protecting nearby powertrain components, such as the fuel pump and alternator, from excessive heat.
The 6.7-liter PSD’s turbo was designed with help from Honeywell’s Garrett division. Instead of using the current 6.4-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel’s dual sequential turbo setup, the 6.7-liter PSD features what Ford calls a single-sequential turbo. The SST turbo places two compressors back-to-back inside the same housing. Why? As modern diesel mills have become more powerful, emissions limits have gotten tighter, and it’s become harder to match the turbo’s dual jobs of exhaust gas recirculation with acceptable responsiveness.
Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 pickups will receive a high output version of the 6.7-liter PSD that meets very tough emissions standards for these lighter-duty HD work trucks – tested using a full vehicle dyno. F-550 and bigger chassis cab models will receive a lower output engine that meets less rigorous medium duty clean air standards – tested using an engine dyno only.
Here’s where it gets interesting. We already knew that the F-250, F-350 and F-450 pickups will use an aluminum “hot-side valve” that controls the volume of air into the engine’s EGR system, which helps control emissions. The F-550 and up chassis cab models will use an iron hot-side valve.
Now, thanks to the sharp eyes of our friend David Kennedy, editor of Diesel Power Magazine, we also know that the F-250, F-350 and F-450 pickups will be the only Super Duty models using the SST turbo. The chassis cab F-550 and bigger trucks will use a conventional turbo setup with a single compressor instead of the SST’s Siamese compressors.
Look at the pictures for a comparison. The first picture (top) is a full cutaway of the SST turbo. The second picture (bottom) is a close-up of the single compressor turbo. Where it’s smooth on the left-hand side, that’s where the other blades would be in the chassis dyno version.
We asked Ford about it.
“We have a single compressor wheel in the dyno certified version of the F-550,” said Adam Gryglak, Ford’s chief engineer for the 6.7-liter PSD engine program. “I can’t get into specific performance objectives, but the conventional single wheel met our objectives while delivering the EGR-driving capability for the dyno certification. The dyno cert engine will be rated lower than the chassis cert product.”
There you have it. The case of Ford’s missing compressor, solved.
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Most Read Car Reviews of the Week: ‘New Moon’ Edition
Posted on 21. Nov, 2009 by admin.
Nothing says vampires and werewolves like a stylish Swedish crossover. That’s exactly what Volvo hopes moviegoers will be thinking when they see the stars of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” driving the 2010 XC60 on the big screen.
The mania around the movie certainly has spread to our own car reviews; more people read the XC60 review over the past seven days than any other new-car review. Last week, it wasn’t even in the Top 10. Click on any link below to read the full review…if you dare.
1. 2010 Volvo XC60
2. 2010 GMC Terrain
3. 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour
4. 2010 Subaru Outback
5. 2010 Subaru Forester
6. 2010 Chevy Equinox
7. 2009 Toyota Venza
8. 2009 Subaru Impreza
9. 2009 Subaru Forester
10. 2010 Lincoln MKT
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2011 Hyundai Sonata Packing Power, Mileage
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by admin.
The four-cylinder engine powering Hyundai’s upcoming 2011 Sonata sedan will get an expected 35 mpg highway, the automaker announced. This bests any other midsize sedan on sale today; its closest competitor is the Ford Fusion, which in its S trim level can get 34 mpg highway with an automatic transmission. However, the Sonata will also pack 200 horsepower and 186 pounds-feet of torque, which will make it the most powerful four-cylinder in the class, as well.
The engine is the company’s first use of direct injection, and it will be teamed to a continuously variable automatic transmission. It was designed in Michigan and will be built in Alabama. The 2011 Sonata goes on sale in the first half of 2010.
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Cars.com Reviews the 2010 Honda CR-V
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by admin.
As Cars.com reviewer Bill Jackson points out, the compact crossover segment is a crowded field populated by both luxury and non-luxury players alike. If you’re shopping for a small crossover, you are going to have an abundance of options. Which vehicles are a must test-drive? Despite a few kinks that Honda needs to iron out, Jackson says the popular 2010 Honda CR-V is one to put on the list.
2010 Honda CR-V Review
2010|Honda|CR-V
