Archive for July, 2010
Review: 2010 Mercedes C63 AMG
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by admin.
From the surface, the C63 looks like it has the goods to compete with the big boys in the Euro performance club. Boy racer styling? Check. Monstrous V8? Check. Ginormous tyres? Check. Manual transmission? Not so much. Also not along for the party is a coupe or convertible version of the C63. Mercedes’ decision to [...]
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Spied Again! Next-Gen Overseas Chevrolet Colorado
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by admin.
Photos by Brenda Priddy / Brenda Priddy & Company
Misery loves company, so we're going to show you the latest spy photos we've received of the next-generation Chevrolet Colorado undergoing hot-weather testing. We won't be able to buy it and neither will you, unless you live outside the U.S. and Canada when it goes on sale by 2011.
Like Ford's so-called “global” Ranger, this Colorado shares almost nothing with the Colorado that's currently built in Shreveport, La., except its name. It may be called the Chevy S-10 in Brazil, where the S-10 badge is still used today for a small pickup. But whether you call it Colorado or S-10, its program identifier inside General Motors is GMI 700. It will be manufactured in Thailand.
Under all of its camouflage, you can still make out a Chevy Equinox-like front end, which came to light recently in a U.S. patent application. The interior of the right-hand-drive Colorado also appears to share some Equinox styling cues in the center stack and air-conditioner vents.
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Diesel Power Speaks to Cummins Filtration About DEF
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by admin.
Diesel Power joined us for our heavy-duty pickup truck comparison test last week in Michigan. Like us, they have lots of questions about diesel exhaust fluid, which is one method for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel engines. So, they spoke with Cummins Filtration to find some answers.
Here's a sample from their Q&A session:
Q: Can I make DEF myself? (We know it’s possible)
A: “Cummins Filtration does not recommend customers make DEF themselves. DEF has strict requirements for maintaining concentration and purity of ingredients that is critical to the proper functioning and longevity of the SCR system. Cummins and other OEMs require that DEF used with their SCR systems meet all ISO22241 specifications as well as API certification requirements. It is recommended that end users purchase certified DEF and avoid blending it themselves.”
For the rest of the Q&A, head over to Diesel Power's blog. We learned something new and think you will too.
[Source: Diesel Power Magazine]
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GM Moves Fast to Fix Hill-Hold Assist Issue in 2011 Heavy Duty Pickups
Posted on 20. Jul, 2010 by admin.
In less than a week, GM has rolled out a production fix to a problem with the hill-hold assist feature for its 2011 heavy-duty pickup trucks that came to light during our Heavy-Duty Shootout comparison test.
Hill-hold assist automatically applies the vehicle's brakes for 1.5 seconds once you lift your foot off the brake when you're on an incline that’s 5 percent or steeper. It's part of the Chevrolet Silverado's integrated trailer brake controller, so it will apply the trailer's brakes, too, if it has electric brakes.
During our testing on a 7.2 percent grade on July 13, the hill-hold system didn’t engage. The truck rolled backward as soon as we lifted our foot off the brake pedal.
The issue was traced to an incorrect calibration setting in the hill-hold assist system’s software that was quickly diagnosed, and a fix was rolled out to production by Monday.
That’s a remarkably fast update for a production issue, says Jim Hossack, vice president of AutoPacific, an automotive consulting company.
“It’s astounding” that GM could discover and fix an issue like this so quickly, Hossack said. “I think it’s the new GM and technology that wasn’t there a few years ago. It's another feather in GM's cap.”
A GM engineer we spoke with said fixing an issue like this a few years ago could have taken weeks or months. Now, it’s being fixed in days.
While the hill-hold assist calibration settings have been patched in GM’s production HD pickups and those trucks waiting to be shipped to dealers, the company is still studying how it will update the software of trucks already in the hands of customers.
We’ll keep you updated.
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Review: 2011 Honda CR-Z
Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by admin.
It’s now way past bedtime, and I’m driving the new Honda CR-Z in one of those neighborhoods you wouldn’t be making your evening stroll in. Heads turn, necks stretch, fingers point. Blacked out windows of blacked out SUVs are rolled down. Everybody on the street seems to approve Honda’s new creation, but no one knows [...]
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Review: 2010 Jaguar XFR
Posted on 14. Jul, 2010 by admin.
A wise old man once told me: “you can’t just own a Jaguar, you have to have a love affair with one.” The reasons for this were several, the sexy rooflines hampered head room and visibility, trunk space was non-existent, and then there are those reliability woes. Although my 2000 [...]
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Review: 1958 Mercedes 300SL, Factory Restored
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by admin.
Germany 1958: Women are allowed to take a job without asking their husband for permission. Europe makes its first baby steps to an EU. Elvis Presley arrives as a GI in an army barracks in Friedberg. Mercedes is in its fourth year of the gullwinged 300SL, one of the finest automobiles of all times.
The last [...]
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Review: 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD
Posted on 07. Jul, 2010 by admin.
Pity Acura. Honda gambled in creating the first Asian luxury brand, and enjoyed four years in the spotlight when this bet paid off, only to then be completely overshadowed by Lexus. Acura has spent the last two decades trying to regain car buyers’ attention. The logical solution: offer cars that look [...]
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Review: 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8
Posted on 05. Jul, 2010 by admin.
Behold the mighty off-road prowess of the Grand Cherokee SRT-8! Yes, my ratty-looking lawn is about as far off-road as most JGCs ever go. The 2011 Grand Cherokee even offers a couple of optimized drivetrain-and-suspension setups for those people who, as the nice Jeep PR man said during the introduction, “only go off-road… in [...]
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Review: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by admin.
Several years ago, I paid heed to my inner child and attended Iron Maiden’s “Aces (Very) High Tour”. During one of the breaks, singer Bruce Dickinson said, “I don’t know what’s going on. We’re still making records, and I think they’re pretty good. But nobody on the radio wants to play them. They don’t play [...]
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