Category: Auto Industry

Project Ugly Horse: Part IX

Filed under: Aftermarket, Budget, Performance, Hatchback, Ford, Humor

One Step at a Time

Subframe Connector Install

Nearly every flavor of exotic driveline has been shoved into the ubiquitous Ford at some point or another.

Chuck Schwynoch had been patiently listening to my ramblings on the other end of the phone for a solid half hour. I’m not too big of a man to know when to ask for help, and at this point, I desperately needed some assistance. The truth is, working on a machine like a Fox Body Mustang is as easy as breathing thanks to the wealth of information available on the web. Nearly every flavor of exotic driveline has been shoved into the ubiquitous Ford at some point or another, and odds are the sorry souls behind those builds shared the highs and lows of their torment with the internet community.

That is, unless you’re trying to drop an EcoBoost 2.0-liter four-cylinder behind the clouded headlights of an ’89. Then you’re kind of on your own.

As the CEO of Maximum Motorsports, Schwynoch knows a thing or two about making old ponies fast around a road course. He and his team run an active research and development program committed to squeezing precious seconds from track-built Mustangs, and I was hoping that if anyone could help me navigate the vagaries of planting my modern engine into my old Fox, it was him. The fact that he had neither laughed me off nor hung up entirely seemed promising.

Project Ugly Horse is an ongoing series. Need to catch up? You can read all of the previous posts here.

Continue reading Project Ugly Horse: Part IX

Project Ugly Horse: Part IX originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: ATS Sport 1000 is ready to be your trackday Italian

Filed under: Performance, Specialty, MISC, Racing

ATS Sport 1000 Street - front three-quarter view

Late last year, Italian sports car automaker Automobili Turismo e Sport, better known as ATS, announced that it was getting back in the car-making game after a 50-year hiatus, with a two-car lineup consisting of the 2500GT and the track-ready Sport 1000. Designed to take the world’s ultra-focused trackday cars like those from Radical, Ariel and BAC, the latter model goes on sale “worldwide” – including the US – by the end of this year in Race and Street versions. Starting prices of 24,990 euros and 43,500 euros have been announced for the two models, but US pricing hasn’t been announced yet (a straight conversion yields $33,000 and $58,000 ballpark figures).

Anteing up the extra money for the Street model (shown above) will get you headlights, taillights, mirrors and… an engine. This version comes with the same mill found under the gas tank of a Kawasaki Ninja 1000, good for over 200 horsepower. Weighing in at just 1,100 pounds, this should be plenty of power for the Sport 1000 Street; Race models are available without an engine, but can also be equipped with motorcycle engines from Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki or Yamaha. ATS has also given the car a fully adjustable suspension, six-speed sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential.

The super-lightweight Sport 1000 is built in either left- or right-hand-drive configurations, and it uses a stainless steel frame and a fiberglass body. We can only imagine how much lighter (and more expensive) this car would be if it made use of aluminum and carbon fiber. Measuring about 165 inches in length and 63 inches in width, the Sport 1000 is longer and slightly narrower than a Mazda Miata, but without bumpers and a windshield, it will probably take some doing to register in the US, even as a homebuilt.

Continue reading ATS Sport 1000 is ready to be your trackday Italian

ATS Sport 1000 is ready to be your trackday Italian originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Renault-Nissan debuts new Common Module Family for future vehicles

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Technology, Nissan, Renault

Renault-Nissan Alliance's Common Module Family platform - exploded parts diagram view

Platform sharing is nothing new for the 14-year-old Renault-Nissan Alliance, but this partnership is set to introduce new modular platform components that will eventually underpin 11 Renault models and three Nissan vehicles by 2020. Rather than being a typical platform, the Common Module Family (CMF) actually represents five segments of a platform that can be used in various applications, and one of the first vehicles to use this architecture will be the 2014 Nissan Rogue (spy shots of which are shown below) when it arrives “in late 2013.”

As pictured in the image above (click to expand), CMF is composed of four chassis component, principally the front underbody, rear underbody, engine bay and cockpit as well as a common electrical system. Besides the next-gen Rogue, future Nissan models to share CMF will include the Qashqai and X-Trail, while Renault models will start using the platform next year on vehicles including the Scénic and Laguna. The CMF architecture is expected to help the Alliance reduce the parts cost of a vehicle by up to 30 percent and reduce the entry cost by up to 40 percent. The official press release with more details about CMF, and what it means for Renault-Nissan, is posted below.

Continue reading Renault-Nissan debuts new Common Module Family for future vehicles

Renault-Nissan debuts new Common Module Family for future vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: East Coast states pay more for Check Engine light repairs

Filed under: Etc., Earnings/Financials

CarMD repair costs

Has it seemed like the cost to keep your older car on the road has gone up? Well, we have good news (you’re not going crazy) and bad news (repair costs are indeed going up all across the country). According to an annual study by CarMD, average repair costs have increased by 10 percent in 2012, with drivers in New Jersey paying the highest prices and those in Vermont paying the lowest.

Interestingly, states on the East Coast are paying more on average for common repairs, including diagnostic services when the dreaded Check Engine light comes on. Our nation’s capital saw the largest year-over-year increase at an alarming 20 percent, while Wyoming saw repair prices drop an average of 17 percent.

CarMD analyzed more than 160,000 individual repairs, targeting those that began with a Check Engine light. A full listing of the most- and least-expensive states can be found below, along with additional commentary from CarMD.

Continue reading East Coast states pay more for Check Engine light repairs

East Coast states pay more for Check Engine light repairs originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Mini deletes center rail in Countryman, Paceman

Filed under: Crossover, Hatchback, Mini

Mini Countryman rear seat center rail

When Mini first introduced the Countryman, it only came as a four-seater, with a center rail between the two seats that could house things like cup holders and could be slid back and forth. Buyers could even opt for a full-length center rail that ran from just aft of the gear shifter all the way back between the rear seats, like we did in our long-term 2011 Cooper S Countryman All4, shown above.

Shortly after the Countryman’s launch, Mini was able to offer the vehicle with a proper rear bench seat; the company could not offer this at launch due to NHTSA guidelines that governed the minimum vehicle width for three-person seating, but those rules were changed. And now, we’ve received official confirmation of something we reported last year: the Countryman is losing its center rail and four-person seating arrangement altogether. Moving forward, buyers will only be able to spec a Countryman with the bench seat, and a cup holder will be affixed to the back of the forward cabin’s center console.

The larger-but-smaller Paceman will also be losing the center rail between its rear seats, but the car will remain a four-seater, instead having a console between the two rear seats that houses a cup holder, an iPod cozy and a 12-volt outlet, according to USA Today.

These changes affect all 2014 model year Countryman and Paceman models, which will go on sale later this summer. Both models will also have a $100 price increase (thanks to now-standard heated mirrors and washer jets), and the Cooper and Cooper S models can now be had with a John Cooper Works appearance package. Scroll down for the official release from Mini.

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Mini deletes center rail in Countryman, Paceman originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Euro car sales hit 20-year low in May

Filed under: Car Buying, Europe

Renault billboard

Automotive News Europe reports vehicle registrations in the European Union fell to 1.08 million in May. That’s down from 1.15 million a year earlier and marks the lowest number for any May since 1993. General Motors, Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat, Renault, Ford, Volkswagen and Audi all saw sales fall off last month, though Seat managed to increase its sales by a relatively heady 13 percent. Currently, analysts are predicting that the European automotive market will continue to contract through 2013, though may show signs of rebounding by the end of the year. From there, it may be a further five years before EU car sales recover to their pre-recession heights.

In Germany, new-car registrations fell by 10 percent in May. France suffered a similar fall while Italy saw a decline of eight percent and Spain suffered a dip of three percent. The UK, meanwhile, saw registrations climb by 11 percent. EU heads of state are currently looking for ways to reverse the region’s economic decline. Unemployment is now at 12 percent in the 17 countries that make up the European Union.

Euro car sales hit 20-year low in May originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: 2014 Corvette Stingray does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, 1.03g on the skidpad

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet

When pricing of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was announced back in April, Chevrolet promised that ‘Vettes equipped with the Z51 Performance Package would be able to hit impressive figures that include “0-60 mph in under four seconds and more than 1g in cornering,” and now it has backed these numbers up. While metrics for a stock Stingray weren’t released, checking the $2,800 Z51 box will get you a 0-60 time of just 3.8 seconds and a skidpad number of 1.03g.

Between its 460 horsepower and now its 3.8-second 0-60 time, the Stingray Z51 is positioned directly in between the new Porsche 911 S and Turbo models while costing significantly less than both. In addition to this, Chevy is promising a quarter mile time of 12 seconds and 60-0 braking in just 107 feet.

As an extra little bit of bragging rights, Chevy says that an almost-stock Z51 (with a racing seat, harness and fire extinguisher added inside the car) with Magnetic Ride Control was able to lap the Virginia International Raceway Grand Course in 2:45.78. Wondering how that compares with other known hi-po models? So are we…

Although there are no official VIR lap times to compare against, we did find that FastLaps.com has an unofficial collection of times for the track that places the new Stingray in the number two spot, just behind a 2008 Corvette ZR1. If accurate, that’s mighty impressive. Scroll down for the official press release.

Continue reading 2014 Corvette Stingray does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, 1.03g on the skidpad

2014 Corvette Stingray does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, 1.03g on the skidpad originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Is your brain predisposed to make you love Rolls-Royce?

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Videos, Rolls-Royce, Luxury

1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche

XCAR has taken a look at what could very well be one of the most quintessential British cars ever built: the 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche. The question at hand is whether or not expensive luxury items like artisan foods, designer clothing and yes, high-end automobiles are worth their monetary cost. Do they bring some undefined additional value to the table over their low-buck counterparts, or are they simply an excellent way to part a fool from his dollar bills? While the video below can’t comment on four-course meals or $400 jeans, our valiant host does have a word or two on the joy a Rolls-Royce can bring to your life.

That’s even true of a model like the ’73 Corniche. Built during one of the darker days of the company’s history, the convertible was designed and manufactured by an automaker on the verge of collapse. Still, it manages to hold on to that essential spirit of luxury so crucial to the Rolls-Royce brand. Check out the video below to see what we mean.

Continue reading Is your brain predisposed to make you love Rolls-Royce?

Is your brain predisposed to make you love Rolls-Royce? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: PGO launches Cévennes Speedster in Europe

Filed under: Aftermarket, Convertible, Europe, Specialty

2013 PGO Automobiles Cevennes

Now, from the “weird little French car” file, we give you the 2013 PGO Automobiles Cévennes speedster. Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter BMW four-cylinder engine mounted midship, the little roadster serves up a healthy 181 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. The modest muscle gets to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Consider our interest piqued.

PGO Automobiles says the new model tips the scales at a scant 2,200 pounds and features a theoretical top speed of 140 miles per hour. That’s plenty fast enough to get you in trouble or get you dead. Fortunately, engineers also managed to bolster the car’s rigidity by 15 percent and a new MacPhereson strut setup front and rear helps the car handle the twisties with a bit more composure than previous efforts from the automaker.

As you may recollect, PGO Automobiles got its start manufacturing kit cars modeled after the Porsche 356. Its clear the company’s designers have held on to some of their favorite elements from that car. Rounded fenders front and rear as well as familiar-looking headlights all harken back to the little German droptop, but elements like the smallish windshield and variety of air inlets clearly identify the car as French. We dig it.

PGO launches Cévennes Speedster in Europe originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunswift Eve is a solar car for everyone, maybe [w/video]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Solar

Sunswift Eve

Sydney’s University of New South Wales Sunswift team has worked on a number of solar-powered cars in the past, enough that they call themselves “Australia’s premier solar car racing team.” The team is headed in a new direction now, though, with the Eve, which dispenses with the ultra-efficient design meant to win races and instead moves a bit into “normal” car territory.

Project director Sam Paterson said in a statement that the Eve is intended to be more mainstream. “This year’s vehicle, unlike some of our previous models, has four wheels, doors and is designed to be safer and more practical. It departs from the typical spaceship design of most solar cars and looks like an actual car,” he said.

Actual performance details for the Eve are not yet available, but we expect we’ll hear more when the car is officially unveiled on August 9th. If you’re in Australia, or want to go, you can get tickets to the event through the crowdfunding site Pozible, where the team is collecting pledges to try and build the Eve. The team set a $20,000 (Australian) goal and is currently sitting at $15,390. For added geekiness, the Pozible page is full of Eve-centric memes.

The Sunswift team is made up of students from a variety of courses at UNSW (engineering, business, science and industrial design are the examples listed) and has been going since 1995. The Sunswift Eve is the team’s fifth-generation solar powered supercar.

Since the official Sunswift website loads sloooowly and causes an “unresponsive script” for some of the Autoblog team, we recommend connecting with UNSW over on their Facebook page. A short (30-second) video of the Sunswift Eve being unloaded is available below.

Continue reading Sunswift Eve is a solar car for everyone, maybe [w/video]

Sunswift Eve is a solar car for everyone, maybe [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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