The debate was lively and the conversation broad as this week’s topics ranged from Viper-powered pickups to tooth loss. Yes, it takes a certain skill set to weave such diverse comments together, but with nine episodes under our belts we’re starting to fancy ourselves professionals. Fair warning: you’ll have to set aside more than the usual hour to make it through Episode 9 of the podcast as your caffeine-fueled editors rambled on long after the hourglass ran dry. But trust us, this one is worth it. Read more…
The 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, shown here at the 2010 NAIAS, may not be the polarizing supercar that the SLR McLaren was, but the SLR didn’t have gullwing doors! The SLS is the first car designed and developed by the AMG division of Mercedes-Benz. Fitting then that the engine under that long hood is none other than AMG’s own 6.2L V8, pumping out 563-hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. Each engine is hand assembled by one technician in Affalterbach, Germany. Everything from the routing of the wiring to the topping off of the oil is handled by the expert craftsman identified by the signature nameplate affixed to the enigne. Tipping the scales at 3,573-lbs the SLS is a lean machine capable (according to AMG) of hitting 60-mph in 3.7 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 197-mph. Try not to drool on the keyboard too much as you imagine yourself rocketing through all seven gears of the SLS’s dual-clutch transmission while being firmly planted in those red hand-stitched designo leather seats. Trust me, it gets messy!
Eat My Soot-Free Ammonia-Treated Exhaust!
Talk about your one-up! Starting this week Ford will step out from behind that shadow the General was casting with its 6.6L Duramax V8. Ford’s new 6.7L V8 PowerStroke turbodiesel says I’ll see your 397-hp and 765 lb-ft of torque, and raise you to 400-hp and 800 lb-ft of torque. Ah, horsepower wars at their finest! Read more…
Categories: Miscellaneous, Previews Tags: 2011, 4x4, diesel, F-Series, F250, F350, Ford, Super Duty, truck, turbodiesel, V8
As the Ford Explorer enters into its 21st model year, the vehicle itself attempts to redefine a segment which it led through years of prosperity. Once referred to as the ‘compact SUV,’ the genre has changed in recent years. The original Explorer was little more than a lightly re-skinned Bronco II offered in 2-door and stretched 4-door form. Eventually the 2-door would vanish and the 4-door would add a third row of seats, but one thing stayed constant all those years: body-on-frame construction. For 2011 Ford is taking a small gamble that SUV buyers don’t really care about what type of platform their vehicle is based on. Read more…
Your humble hosts may never change but our beloved industry evolves at an astonishing pace, so we’re back this week to inform and entertain with the latest about Ford’s 2011 Explorer, Audi’s chic A7 and Editor Gernand’s love of the Meadowbrook Concours. Of course, we also run down the good and bad about what we’ve been driving lately and find time to make fun of Editor Muxlow, making Episode 8 a gem of a podcast. But don’t take our word for it. Click through to eavesdrop on more than an hour of boys talking about cars. Read more…
Ford finally unmasked the 2011 Explorer today. About time too, because the slow reveal over Facebook was really starting to try the patience of Executive Editor Dye (who still hasn’t joined the 21st century with a Facebook page). But now we have the pictures and the story behind them. Click through for our first impressions. Read more…
You’ve decided you’re ready to buy a new car. You’ve even gone so far as to decide you want to spend your hard earned cabbage on an environmentally conscious hybrid. And because you plan to keep the thing until the wheels fall off you should be able to recoup the premium of the hybrid hardware sometime just short of the Second Coming. That decided, you’re ready to hit the dealerships. But which one do you buy? You aren’t sure you can handle the stigma of Toyota’s Prius. The Honda Insight is way out in left field and has no-features (or soul for that matter). How about the Lexus HS250h Hybrid? That might be alright as it has all the standard luxury car trimmings, but it’s a bit small and was designed by people who think Camrys and washing machines are cutting edge design. Not to mention all those tongue-tying h’s. How about the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid? Read more…
As I was zoom-zooming down US-23 this morning I spotted a convoy of Ford Expeditions and a Lincoln Navigator heading north. Seeing convoys out of Dearborn is not an uncommon sight in this neck of the woods, but it has been some time since this pair of vehicles has had any street time. Which got me thinking that Ford might just be readying these family haulers with new engines for the 2012 model year. Ford has four new engine possibilities, two V8s and two V6s, with one carrying the EcoBoost moniker, which could easily be shoe horned into the engine bay of the Expedition / Navigator twins. I submit the following for consideration: Read more…
The crew had plenty to talk about this week, at least until technical difficulties shut down the whole operation in the middle of our recording session. No matter, equipment was replaced, settings were tweaked and at least two out of three editors regrouped a few days later to put the finishing touches on our latest round of brilliant banter. Click through to listen for yourself. Read more…
The news out of Dearborn today is the 2011 Lincoln MKX has officially received its EPA ratings. With its sole engine option, the 3.7L V6, the MKX is rated at 19-mpg city and 26-mpg highway. The 3.7L is the same V6 featured in the base 2011 Mustang–rated at 31-mpg highway in that application. Featuring TiVCT, the V6 produces a healthy 305-hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Like its stablemate, the Ford Edge, the MKX will channel its power to the tarmac via a 6-speed SelectShift (read: equipped with paddle shifters) automatic transmission through either front-wheel drive (wrong-wheel drive) or all-wheel drive. Read more…
