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2011_Ford_F-150_The_power_of_f.zip (495 KB)

The Ford F-Series pickup has led the sales chart for what seems like forever and is still the top-selling truck and top-selling vehicle in North America.  So one might think the automaker is taking a huge gamble by totally revamping the powertrain lineup in a single strike. This is the first time any manufacturer has ever completely replaced every engine and Ford is going “all-in” with a pair of sixes and a pair of eights.

Ford F150 team members hosted media from all over the country to introduce the automotive press to the new powertrains. An entire day was devoted to driving the 2011 pickups sporting the new engines in a variety of situations and against the competition as well. On the dragstrip all four engines ran against the Ram with a HEMI and the Chevy with both V-6 and V-8 engines. We zipped around the country highways west of the Texas Motor Speedway behind the wheel of trucks towing trailers head-to-head with Chevy, Toyota and Ram and logged quite a few miles without any payload as well. Only thing missing was an offroad course.

All of the 2011 powertrains are backed by six-speed automatic transmissions. The base engine marks the return of a six-cylinder engine to the F-150, a 3.7-liter V-6 unit that cranks out as much power as the base V-8 did just a few short years ago. The 302 ponies here surprised us on the dragstrip as it not only kept pulling all the way down the run it produced a decent enough howl. Not HEMI sweet by any means but attention-getting nonetheless.

From there Ford jumps to the new 5.0-liter V-8. Both of these engines mentioned so far got their debut last year in the Mustang and now Ford is expanding their use deeper into the product portfolio where they will most likely be in high demand. The 5.0 cranks up the volume to the tune of 360hp and 380 lb. ft. of working torque, enough to achieve a tow rating of 10,000 lbs.

To remain truly competitive in the modern pickup market Ford is introducing the new 6.2-liter V-8, a modern homage to early “big blocks” delivering 411hp and 434 lb. ft. of torque raising F-150’s tow rating to more than five-and-a-half tons. We tested this engine in the new Harley-Davidson F-150 and in a word, this thing is a beast.

Ford’s final new engine is the one that will have most likely be their toughest sell, especially to traditional truck buyers. The new EcoBoost twin-turbo V-6 for the F-150 probably has most folks thinking it would best be suited for some sort of racing application, not pulling a trailer laden with hay or livestock. Au contraire mon frere. Ford engineers are re-writing the truck manuals with this baby and while the power numbers are impressive enough (365hp and 420 lb. ft. of torque) the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. And we spent the better part of a day “pudding” this baby to the test.

EcoBoost sports a torque curve nearly as flat as the west Texas desert but power is delivered early and just keeps on coming. Laden or not, the 2011 F-150 with the EcoBoost engine raise quite a few eyebrows.

Also new for 2011 is Ford’s Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) that will come on all but the 6.2-liter powertrains. Thanks to speed sensitivity EPAS holds rock steady on the open road while making low-speed parking maneuvers a breeze. And thanks to the mechanical disassociation drivers are treated to a more pleasant onroad experience.

While fuel economy figures have not been released yet, Ford is boasting most as “best-in-class.”  Our own experiences confirmed this and despite not winning the fuel economy challenge Ford hosted during last week’s event, we did manage at least a 25-percent improvement when comparing the new EcoBoost to the outgoing, less-powerful V-8.

Ford will be rolling out the new 2011 models by year’s end with EcoBoost making its way into the lineup first quarter next year. Unfortunately the 6.2-liter V-8 will not be initially offered in King Ranch trim but is the heart and soul of the new Harley and Raptor trucks. With this new engine lineup, Ford is raising pickup wars to the power of four.

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2010_State_Fair_Auto_Show.zip (3.93 MB)

Football rivalries are not the only thing to do at the State Fair of Texas – for from it. The world’s biggest state fair also hosts one of the world’s biggest auto shows and some 75 percent of fairgoers kick at least one or two tires while attending this autumnal right of passage.

A sign of the show’s popularity (and importance) might be that Big Tex himself faces the 300,000 square feet of buildings and outdoor displays designated for the latest offerings of cars, trucks and SUVs. What’s in store for folks this year?

“Green” is beginning to take its place among the fossil fuel consumers. Nissan has its new Leaf electric vehicle (capable of going 100 miles on a charge) in the Centennial building and the Chevy Volt is on hand in the automobile building. Also in attendance this year is our first look at a plug-in Toyota Prius hybrid.

Outside in the truck area we find GMC has expanded its “arena” moving the Ford oil derrick (featuring a Super Duty truck spinning on top and a Raptor climbing up the side) slightly to the left (or right depending on your political position). Ram has a stuffed longhorn steer in its area this year to coincide with the announcement of the new Longhorn package that will soon be offered across its pickup lineup to compete with Ford’s King Ranch.

Speaking of Ford, the automaker has a host of new product on display including the new F-Series powertrains, a Boss 302 Mustang and the Fiesta next to one of the longest foosball tables I have ever seen.

I found in the State Fair FAQs that CHL holders can carry their weapons upon fairgrounds legally (but not inside the Cotton Bowl stadium) and these folks may be interested in Ram’s new Outdoorsman package that offers gun racks inside the RamBox compartments.

Toyota once again chose our State Fair venue for a model debut, this year rolling out a redesigned Highlander and Highlander Hybrid SUV. Fuel economy is now up to 28 mpg city from the equivalent of a 280hp powertrain under the hood of the new hybrid edition.

Jeep has its entire new lineup on hand. The 2011 product portfolio got makeovers ranging from mild to complete including Patriot, Grand Cherokee and the iconic Wrangler. The Chrysler Corporation is also displaying one of the last new Vipers we will see, at least for a while. Stop by and pay your respects accordingly.

Before leaving the auto show this year I was treated to a little trip down memory lane. Tucked away in a corner inside the Centennial building behind some white curtains were three hot rods – custom-built cars from my childhood that I watched on TV and built replica models of. No one was around so I helped myself into the booth space to check them out. Here sat a Monkeesmobile Pontiac, the Green Hornet Chrysler Imperial limo and – wait for it – the Batmobile, which was originally a Ford Lincoln Futura concept car. Whether eating a corny dog, waving “howdy” at Big Tex or reveling in television automotive history, we can all be kids again at the State Fair of Texas.

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Good_is_as_good_does_and_good_.zip (369 KB)

“So – what’s good?”

Oh, don’t I wish I had a nickel for every time I am asked this question about new cars. And “good” can mean so many things to so many folks. A quick check over at thesaurus.com gave me some 250-plus ways to describe “good.” I would also add the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It’s good – darned good.

I guess good minds think alike in Detroit these days as both Jeep and Ford are delivering completely new vehicles carrying each automaker’s iconic SUV moniker. Ford is readying a new Explorer later this fall and Jeep has released its latest Grand Cherokee. Both models are all-new from the ground up and each has chosen to forego the traditional body-on-frame architecture for a unibody platform.  We have yet to spend time behind the wheel of the next Explorer but this week we took delivery of a Grand Cherokee rolling in new sunbelt-state two-wheel-drive. Yes, a 2WD Jeep. And it’s good.

The 2011 model features four-wheel independent suspension on a platform designed while Jeep (Chrysler) was still part of Daimler and this new architecture is shared with the next-gen ML SUV from Mercedes. You can get it for half the price and feel like you are riding in the latest German luxury ute. And with the optional engine upgrade you get to say, “This thing’s got a HEMI!”

The 2011 Grand Cherokee is the first of Chrysler’s corporate offspring to offer its new 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar motor that achieves 290 horsepower in this application as the base engine. Both engines are backed by five-speed automatic gearboxes. The Pentastar motor offers up to 23 mpg on the highway while the multi-displacement 5.7-liter V-8 HEMI achieves up to 20 and can tow up to 7,400 pounds.

Three four-wheel-drive model Grand Cherokees are available for 2011 with a new Selec-Terrain feature added to the more capable two systems. A new Quadra-Lift air suspension is also debuting that will raise the JGC to a max ride height of 10.7 inches. These new features are one reason some magazines have already dubbed the 2011 JGC “America’s Range Rover” and I would have to agree with that assessment.

The improvements in styling and ability are just stunning and almost unbelievable. The ’11 is so completely different from the previous generation – which itself was no slob – that it almost defies comparison. Jeep has chosen to stay with five-passenger seating while most competitors offer a third row of seating of some sort. This is a decision I applaud. They have made the second row much more comfortable spacious. A new dual-row panoramic sunroof overhead will allow all occupants to enjoy the view.

So what’s good? The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Darned good.

And you don’t have to take my word for it, there are a number of dates left on the “Jeep Rocks & Road Tour” crisscrossing the nation. Check out www.jeep.com/rocksandroadtour.com to find a date and location nearest you.

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Ford_celebrating_Vans_and_8-tr.zip (363 KB)

Ford Motor Company is celebrating a couple of milestones this week. The first is the 50^th anniversary of the E-Series fullsize van, originally called Econoline. Second, and more importantly to some of us, is the 45^th anniversary of its first offering of an 8-track stereo tape player option in its vehicles.

In 1965, car buyers were given a new option for factory sound systems. An 8-track stereo tape player was being offered in new 1966 model Mustangs, T-Birds and Lincolns. This new recorded music format was developed by Lear Jet along with the assistance of Ampex, Ford, General Motors, Motorola and RCA Victor Records according to Wikipedia, with Bill Lear at Lear Jet being the point man.

Many who grew up in that era (including yours truly) remember listening to their favorite rock and roll bands on this new media. The tapes themselves were larger than many of today’s new portable hard disk drives and they were not prone to disaster when played over and over. I myself can remember shedding tears over the many feet of tape having to be pulled from the mouth of hungry tape drives. These units were also some of the loudest operating systems mechanically and many times songs were split right in the middle by a loud “kachunk” as the player switched programs.

Apparently, early on 8-track listeners could only get tapes at auto parts stores but now they can be found at any local garage sale or flea market. (The Three Dog Night tape in the lead photo above was discovered at a church sale in its original package.)

Is there any correlation between the two celebrations mentioned above?  From the late 1960s to the very early ‘80s there certainly was. Any van worth its weight would not be caught dead without an 8-track player on board. And my very first professional car stereo install was an 8-track player I put into a Ford van in 1977. I traded the labor for driving lessons so I could get my driver’s license as a sophomore in high school.

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2011_Cadillac_CTS_Coupe_Concep.zip (426 KB)

The best-kept secret at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show was the unveiling of the CTS Coupe Concept from Cadillac. No pre-show hype or buildup surrounding this baby, all the drool during the reveal was real. And in less than three years this hot little number is rolling off production lines nearly unchanged from the original concept.

The 2011 CTS Coupe arrived in August as the new focal point of the Cadillac product lineup and is offered in base (as if any Caddy could be called a base model) and supercharged V race trim.

While based on its sedan sibling the new coupe is two inches shorter in overall height and length than the four door version and receives some unique design and technology features that set it apart from the rest. Radically raked front and rear windscreens greatly contribute to the sleek new styling while electronic door releases borrowed from Corvette smooth out the body sides.

While I truly appreciate its design, I had more than one person ask me if this was a new Acura so I am not sure about just how unique this new styling is. And the tradeoff is somewhat painful. On more than one occasion I hit my head against the roof panel on a dip in the roadway and I am not a towering individual.

We spent a week behind the wheel of a new Coupe sporting premium trim. It had all the bells and whistles including 19-inch summer performance tires and wheels, steering wheel mounted shift controls (which I never use), performance cooling and performance disc brakes. Given all that I would stop short of calling this a true performance vehicle despite its billing as a luxury sport coupe.

Size-wise the Cadillac is larger than a BMW 3-series but falls just ever-so-shy of most 5-series marks (other than the fact BMW does not offer the 5 in a coupe). The new CTS perhaps best pairs against the Mercedes E350 coupe. I give the Cadillac the win in styling over the Germans but not in overall performance, not at this level anyway. The CTS-V is a horse, of course, of a different color.

The standard powertrain for the CTS Coupe is a 304hp direct-injected 3.6-liter V-6 engine backed by manual or automatic six-speed gearboxes. I believe I would have been more impressed with this engine choice were my tester outfitted with the manual transmission but while I prefer the automatic for everyday driving it just came up short of offering a driving experience that raised the heart rate.

And I found the suspension did not tolerate urban and suburban streets as well as the other vehicles in this class. Fuel economy fell short of the promised 18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway so our little road trip cost a bit more than planned for.

I will say that once I got familiar with the technology inside the new Coupe I found it well above par for the segment. The monitor display rises from the top of the center stack in regal fashion but can be reduced to simple digital readout should view of the large screen not be desired. The audio system is by far one of the best in any new vehicle we have tested recently and the Bose centerpoint digital surround system puts you right in the recording studio.

The sunroof is large and features a full sunblocker panel for cloudless days but because of the Coupe styling it is tilt only.

And then there are the seats, those lifeless chunks of leather, foam and metal that do little more than remind you of banquet seating. At least they were ventilated. And just because a carmaker puts four seats in a vehicle does not mean you should (or could) actually utilize all four.

The CTS Coupe experience, for me, brought highs and lows. For what this vehicle needs to represent for the automaker I believe it is still a diamond in the rough.

Pricing for our premium tester begins at $47,010 and ours finished at just over 50 grand. And I simply cannot leave without saying this: From behind, Baby Got Back!

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OnStar_marks_15_years_of_drive.zip (167 KB)

“You can always trust your car

to the man who wears the  (On)Star…”

OK, I took a little poetic license with the catchy marketing tune from decades ago but full service gas stations where a driver can simply pull into and find directions or get a quick check under the hood have long disappeared from the American motoring landscape.

Filling some of that void over the past 15 years has been OnStar, the driver assistance technology included in most (and now all) new GM vehicles driven off the lot.

OnStar is celebrating its 15^th anniversary this month and touts some significant stats from over the years. Since inception, subscribers have:

• Received more than 59 million turn-by-turn route instructions;

• Had more than 4.7 million doors unlocked via OnStar’s remote door unlock service, and;

• Received more than 147 million monthly emails containing real-time diagnostic reports of their vehicles.

OnStar also features emergency services as well that include crash notification upon sensing airbag deployment and a red “panic” button adjacent to the blue service request button on the rear view mirrors.  Since 2007, OnStar has responded to 51,000 requests for stolen vehicle assistance, part of which provides law enforcement with no only GPS location of a reported stolen vehicle but also confirmation signaling once officers locate that vehicle by honking its horn or flashing its lights. And now OnStar can also assist law enforcement by bringing stolen vehicles to a safe halt to avoid the dangerous and sometimes deadly high-speed pursuits.

OnStar still cannot “fill ‘er up” or wash your windows (just yet) but it has been helping GM drivers for a decade-and-a-half and doing so without getting greasy handprints on your fender.

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Untitled.zip (394 KB)

This past winter we got our first experience with the new Heavy Duty trucks from Ram. Spring brought a new Super Duty from Ford (along with more HD Rams) and finally, summer 2010 put us in the driver seat of the newest big rigs from General Motors, wearing Silverado and Sierra badging.

Along the way I noticed one thing different about the way marketing folks presented information from their colleagues pitching cars and SUVs – customer conquests. It seems truck buyers, especially heavy duty truck buyers, remain very brand loyal.

Three-quarter- and one-ton pickups account for about 30 percent of truck sales with the big three so keeping these loyalists happy is key to long-term success.  Most of these sales are to buyers who will put the vehicles to work, whether towing, hauling or just overall general abuse.

The biggest news for all three heavy duty pickup manufacturers this year centered around new emissions and fuel economy regulations. What was interesting was the numbers war that raged during the powertrain rollouts. Ram, who still uses the Cummins inline six, never really was able to compete on paper but Ford and GM have been lobbing hand grenades back and forth since spring.

In the end, it appears the numbers don’t mean so much as the basics of business – provide a good product that gives consumers what they want and need.  The big three are all doing that and doing it very well.

Diving a bit deeper into the GM heavy duty truck segment makeover we find the division celebrating a 10-year 60/40 partnership with Isuzu Motors in DMAX, the engine building company providing Duramax diesel engines to the Silverado and Sierra HD models and some fullsize vans.

About the time they were cutting the birthday cake they were receiving news that their engine was at the heart of two of the trucks selected as best-in-class in a shootout held by Pickuptrucks.com. The new Duramax 6.6-liter V-8 was under the hood of the Silverado 2500HD that won the three-quarter-ton diesel class and in the GMC Sierra 3500HD that took top one-ton honors.

The new engine not only has significantly more horsepower and torque (397 and 765 respectively) but improved fuel economy, cleaner emissions and runs much quieter than its predecessor. An all-new smart exhaust brake system was designed into the new motor to provide a greater feeling of control and reduced brake pad wear as well.

Upgrades for the 2011 model trucks from GM did not end with the powertrains (that also included a beefed-up Allison gearbox to handle the added torque loads of the new Duramax). The new trucks received an all-new fully-boxed frame underneath, but engineers did not just develop one frame to deal with all the various iterations of HD trucks offered – no, they developed 18.

Silverado HD and Sierra HD also ride on new independent front suspensions and new larger leaf spring setups under the rear. While ride and handling is greatly improved these trucks will also tow more and haul more than ever before.

Design departments were not given holidays during all these upgrades however. Interiors and exteriors received a bit of attention as well making the 2011 models some of the most attractive ever offered by the automaker.

To hammer home just how capable and competitive the new trucks are, marketing and media folks provided simple head-to-head matchups of their new rides against comparable Super Duty models from Ford.

We drag raced one-ton, single rear wheel trucks with a 9,000-lb. trailer in tow down a private airstrip and we zipped up and down Texas State Highway 16 in F-250 and 2500HD trucks laden down with about a half-ton of concrete bags in their beds.

Most amazing was how the GM with the Duramax engine beat the Ford not only off the line in the drag race but kept pulling away from it the entire length of the impromptu track.

Things were a bit closer in driving around with a load in the cargo boxes. Acceleration, ride, handling and braking were just too close to call. It is amazing though just how much more power the new Duramax has and how much quieter it is.

The new Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD both arrive in a host of variants and trim levels and the Sierra is even being offered in upscale Denali trim right from launch. The regular cab configuration is still available as is extended and crew variants, in two- and four-wheel drive and with standard and long box lengths.

As for pricing, the Silverado 2500HD base is $27,965 and the Duramax/Allison powertrain upgrade will run an additional $8,395. This is all the pricing information available from GM press sites and there are NO fuel economy figures offered for the Heavy Duty trucks.

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first-drive-2011-scion-tc-aO9MpKPqNBjfrurkbtiK.zip (569 KB)

The freshman class of the Scion tC proved to be quite successful for the “garage band” division of Toyota. In fact, since its launch as a 2005 model, the little coupe has accounted for more than a third of Scions sales despite having the shortest production run (when combining xA and xD units). This is the best selling model in its showroom so for the model makeover one thing is painfully clear – don’t screw it up. Stick to your roots, stick to what brung ya’ here and stick it to the competition.

And that is what Scion is doing.

We zipped down to the live music capital of the world to get our first experience with Scion’s sophomore tC coupe. We were not disappointed. Inside Austin city limits we got familiar with the larger, more athletic 2011 model offered with choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.

The new ride is still front wheel drive and still a two-door-only offering, but a new, beefier 2.5-liter four sits under the hood and six speeds are delivered with either transmission.

On first blush I found something familiar with the new tC profile – the c-pillar looks oddly similar to that of its wealthy cousin GS in the Lexus stable. Up front the new coupe retains characteristics of the first-gen car but with a wider, squarer jaw. The “pudge” in the middle has been to a few P90X classes and the gluteus maximus (thankfully) does not sport any droopy drawers.

Inside, the cabin offers accommodations for four and a new walk-in lever for rear seat access makes ingress/egress a breeze for the under-six-foot crowd. Seating is all cloth but the new sport steering wheel is straight off a track racer and offers drivers a more exciting bonding experience with their car.

Overhead, every tC will arrive with the all-glass panoramic roof panel featuring moonroof over front and rear seat rows and a large hatch still finishes off the rear.

We spent time in the crush of downtown traffic jams and open stretches of freeway during our time in the new tC but Travis County’s finest kept us from realizing any needle action on the right hand side of the speedo. All-in-all though this new Scion coupe does improve over its predecessor in both ride, handling and performance. By the numbers, the 2011 delivers 180hp and 173 lb. ft. of torque (vs. 161/162 previously) and either transmission choice should bring 23 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. The front seats are wider, the rear seats tilt, steering is now electric, airbag count is up to eight and the base audio system pumps out 300 watts. Pricing is set to begin at $18,275 for manual equipped cars with automatic gearboxes adding a grand to that figure, and the new rides should roll into Scion dealerships at the beginning of October.

As with my nephew and godson who is also entering his sophomore year in Austin, Texas, I wish the 2011 Scion tC continued success and a stellar grade point average.