JSwain

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

2017 Chevrolet Bolt Debuts: Will It Go to the Head of the EV Class?

-In a couple of years, Chevrolet may well be chopping big dollars off the sticker of its new Bolt EV and sweetening lease deals like so much southern iced tea. It probably will have to, in order to move sufficient quantities of a nonpremium compact electric hatchback in order to satisfy both CAFE requirements and zero-emissions mandates. But that time isn’t today. For now, you can purchase a Bolt for a little more than $37,000 before a $7500 federal tax credit—General Motors hasn’t released exact pricing—which will make it the priciest compact EV this side of the BMW i3. READ MORE ››

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo: First Look

CARS.COM

Competes with: Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Mercedes-Benz AMG GT-S, Nissan GT-R

Looks like: The outgoing 911 Turbo with a few slices taken away by a scalpel

Drivetrains: A 540-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter six-cylinder (Turbo), and a 580-hp, twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter six-cylinder (Turbo S); seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission; all-wheel drive

Hits dealers: April 2016

Not to be outshone by the newly turbocharged "entry-level" 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera, the Porsche 911 Turbo welcomes more horsepower and features for 2017. The Turbo's twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter six-cylinder gets a 20-horsepower bump from last year to 540 hp, while the more-powerful Turbo S also gains 20 hp for a grand total of 580 hp.

Exterior

Minor exterior tweaks here and there continue a design influenced by the 2017 911 Carrera. Front and rear openings differ slightly, and the rear deck lid grille is modified. Turbo models gain an inch in wheel width to equal that of the S, and new door handles without recesses give a sleeker look. LED headlights and carbon fiber exterior trim are standard.

Interior

Porsche's Sport Chrono Package is now standard on all 911 Turbo models with a 918 Spyder-inspired steering wheel featuring a mode switch for the four drivetrain modes: Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual. We like this trend of getting the sport buttons closer to the steering wheel, like BMW's programmable steering-wheel-mounted M buttons. Other standard features include front and rear park assist, a backup camera and navigation. New options include a lane change assist system and lift system for the front axle, which increases ground clearance by 1.5 inches (at the front lip) for clearing steep driveways and curbs.

Under the Hood

Porsche uncorked the 911 Turbo by modifying cylinder head intake ports and tweaking the fuel system with new injectors and greater fuel pressure. The Turbo S is further squeezed for power with a larger turbocharger impeller, plus the engine's redline increases 200 rpm to 7,200 rpm. Zero-to-60 mph times drop 1/10th of a second for both Turbo variants, down to 2.9 seconds for the Turbo and an even quicker 2.8 seconds for the Turbo S.

Even with the increased power, Porsche expects fuel economy for the 911 Turbo to improve thanks to revised engine and transmission management. EPA fuel economy ratings will be available a later date, though the 911 is already a fuel miser among its ultra-high-performance competition with a combined 20 mpg (17/24 mpg city/highway). A Corvette Z06 is rated at 13/23/16 mpg city/highway/combined, the Nissan GT-R is 16/22/19 mpg and the AMG GT-S is 16/22/18 mpg.

Porsche says tweaking engine programming with a new dynamic boost function will improve throttle response by maintaining boost pressure when the throttle is briefly released, providing quicker response once the accelerator is reapplied. Sport and Sport Plus modes see the most aggressive use of the dynamic boost function.

Pricing starts at $160,250 for a Turbo coupe, $172,550 for a Turbo cabriolet, $189,150 for a Turbo S coupe and $201,450 for a Turbo S cabriolet (all prices include destination). The 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S go on sale in April 2016.

2017 Porsche 911;

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

What Was the Best-Selling Car in 2015?

CARS.COM — Ford's perch atop America's auto sales pyramid is about as reliable as the sunrise. Pickup-truck shoppers bought 780,354 F-Series pickups in 2015, earning the truck its 34th consecutive title as America's best-selling model, according to Ford.

But don't let the F-Series, or the Chevrolet Silverado or Ram pickup that followed it, take away from some important trends in 2015. Full-size pickup trucks kept up with the overall market in 2015, but smaller trucks and SUVs stole the show. Awash in new players from GM, smaller pickups saw strong popularity, with sales up 40.8 percent despite Honda pulling the plug — temporarily — on the Ridgeline.

With fuel prices starting the year low and ending it really low, shoppers went to town on SUVs. Among non-luxury segments, subcompact SUVs jumped 75.9 percent as new players from Honda, Mazda, Jeep and Fiat entered the mix. It's not exactly a new segment; the Nissan Juke hit dealerships back in October 2010, after all. But the class saw new interest from automakers and shoppers alike.

Compact, midsize and large crossovers also had double-digit sales gains, and most of it came as interest dwindled in non-luxury cars. Subcompact sedans and hatchbacks fell 7.4 percent in 2015, and compact and midsize cars were roughly flat. All told, the gains outweighed the losses, and new-car sales in 2015 ended around 17.5 million units — a record for the auto industry, according to Automotive News.

What happened? In short, consumers felt good. It's a little bizarre as to why: Quarterly wage growth slowed versus 2014, according to government figures, and turbulent financial markets wreaked havoc in a lot of stock portfolios and retirement accounts. In fact, CNN Money reports that almost 70 percent of investors lost money in 2015.

So why did auto sales do so well? Part of it has to do with turnover. The average car on U.S. roads has been more than 11 years old since 2012, and length of ownership has also increased steadily. At some point, drivers will eventually need a replacement — and in 2015, they felt pretty confident about their financial footing to get one. Despite certain economic indicators, consumer confidence grew throughout the year as the housing market showed lots of strength, gas prices fell and unemployment settled to pre-recession levels. Throw in some higher incentives and an upward creep in used-car prices, and new-car sales hit record levels.

Check out the top 10 best-selling cars from 2015:

Kia Teases Full-Size SUV Concept—It’s Embiggening! Enhealening! Enwellening!

At this point, Kia’s got most mainstream consumer niches covered. There’s a large barge in the form of the K900, a swank minivan called the Sedona, a couple of puntabout subcompacts bearing the Rio badge, and lots in between. But what it doesn’t have is a ute larger than the Sorento. That could soon change.

Kia has released merely a smidgen of info about the new concept it’s bringing to the Detroit auto show, and this is the meat of it: “The concept offers an abundance of advanced technology—including state-of-the-art health-and-wellness technology—and takes Kia’s design language in a bold new direction, suggesting styling of a possible future premium large SUV in the brand’s lineup.”

It has an eye on your physical condition. It’s green like chrome cash money. We’re betting it probably smells like frankincense and myrrh inside. How else are you going to stay healthy, wealthy, and wise, bold American? How else?

Monday, January 4, 2016

Tesla Model S Catches Fire at Supercharger Station in Norway

Tesla-fire-Norway-Supercharger

A Tesla burned to the ground while it was parked charging at one of the company’s Supercharger fast-charge stations in Norway.

Norwegian TV station NRK reported the 2014 Model S caught fire on New Year’s Day in Brokelandsheia, a town near the southern coast about 130 miles from Oslo. No one was hurt. Tesla and local firefighters had no explanation for the fire, which had to be extinguished with foam due to flames consuming the lithium-ion battery. Photos show only the wheels, underbody, B-pillars, seat frames, and a few other pieces remaining. The owner was not identified.

“Nobody was harmed. We are undergoing a full investigation and will share our findings as soon as possible,” Tesla said in a statement.

Tesla said it was safe to use its Supercharger stations, which run direct current at upwards of 200 amps to rapidly charge a depleted battery to roughly 80 percent capacity within a half hour. It is likely the first reported fire involving a Supercharger, although not the first Tesla fire. In the fall of 2013, two Model S vehicles caught fire in Tennessee and Washington after debris punctured the battery packs while driving. A third fire during that same time occurred in Mexico after a high-speed crash. This led to a recall in March 2014 that added additional underbody plating and a software revision that raised the car’s air suspension at higher speeds.

FCA's Next-Gen Uconnect System Gets Android Auto, Apple CarPlay

CARS.COM — Hot on the heels of Ford's announcement today that it would offer Android Auto and Apple CarPlay across much of its lineup by year's end, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles followed suit. FCA said the new-and-improved fourth generation of its Uconnect multimedia system will be available globally in select vehicles this year, and offer the Android and Apple smartphone-integration systems.

FCA made the announcement in conjunction with its appearance at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which runs Wednesday through Saturday. Both systems will allow drivers to pair their smartphone with Uconnect and project the phone on the screen, giving drivers access to phone-based functions and apps with minimized distraction. In offering these systems, FCA and Ford follow the lead of other major automakers like GM and Hyundai.

In addition to the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay upgrades, the next-gen version of Uconnect will include a number of other updates. FCA said the multimedia system's new features will include a capacitive touch-screen, faster startup time, improved processing power and input responsiveness, enhanced resolution and brightness, and an updated navigation system.

In addition to an introduction to the new Uconnect system, CES visitors can check out an exhibit of FCA's forward-looking technologies. These futuristic concepts include: predictive technology, which monitors daily driving habits, preferences and personal calendars to deliver timely individualized info; "vehicle-to-X" communication, enabling vehicles to communicate with one another to reduce common types of crashes; workload manager, helping limit distraction by delivering prioritized info in critical driving situations; community tagging, enabling the vehicle to identify hazardous conditions and share that info with other cars; and follow-me mode, allowing drivers to tail other vehicles.

Check back with Cars.com for more 2016 CES news as it happens.