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Driving the GMC Canyon, and pour one out for the Camaro | Autoblog Podcast #812

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They start by discussing the the cars they’ve been driving, including the 2023 GMC Canyon AT4, ECD Jaguar E-Type EV, ECD Land Rover Defender 110 and the Genesis GV60. Next, they hit the news starting with the Chevrolet Camaro production ending. Rumors about the Hyundai N Vision 74 are bandied about, and then the two discuss the latest McLaren iteration named the GTS, which is a refresh of the GT. Lastly, the pair discuss who they think were the most influential leaders in the automotive industry throughout 2023. 

Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.

Autoblog Podcast #812

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December 22, 2023 / Comments Off on Driving the GMC Canyon, and pour one out for the Camaro | Autoblog Podcast #812
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President Biden says he took a Porsche up to 171 mph

President Joe Biden went on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” recently, and he had a lot to say about cars. There’s plenty to unpack from the clip that you can watch above, but at one point he mentions that he recently took a Porsche up to 171 mph on the Secret Service’s private test track. Now that’s the kind of gearhead stuff we like to hear from politicians!

“I got a Porsche up to 171 mph,” Biden says while explaining how launch control works to O’Brien. Biden didn’t specify which Porsche model he was driving, but we’d bet it’s likely a 911. Of course, plenty of other Porsches are capable of 171 mph, so we don’t really know, but if any White House correspondents are reading, we wouldn’t mind if you asked Biden next time you see him.

In addition to Biden enjoying a Porsche at high speed, he said that he’s done the same with his 1967 Chevrolet Corvette, reaching 132 mph on the Secret Service airstrip test track. Biden even said that Jay Leno offered to buy his Corvette from him at one point for $144,000, but that he had to turn him down.

“They take me out to the Secret Service test track, which is an old runway. I got my Corvette up to 132 mph. It’s only a 327,” Biden remarks to O’Brien.

And speaking of Corvette news, we’ve already heard Biden spill the beans once on this topic, but yet again he makes the claim that an electric Corvette is on its way, and says it will do the 0-60 mph run in 2.9 seconds. That’s what the gasoline-powered C8 Stingray will do now with the performance exhaust, but we’re betting an electric Corvette would obliterate that time and be somewhere in the 2.0-2.5-second range.

It wasn’t just an electric Vette that Biden took to talking about, though, as he also claims to have driven an electric Ford Bronco.

“Oh and by the way, I drove one of those big Ford Broncos, electric. 4.9 seconds. Mine is 5.2,” Biden says making the comparison to his old Corvette.

We’re not exactly sure what he means by claiming to have driven an electric Ford Bronco. Such a vehicle does not exist from Ford currently, but there are restomods of original Broncos converted to electric power. There’s also the vague possibility that Biden has some inside scoop from Ford execs about future products, but it’s unclear from the interview. Regardless of the product implications, watching President Biden talk cars with O’Brien is an entertaining watch, so make sure you check out the video at the top of this post.

December 21, 2023 / Comments Off on President Biden says he took a Porsche up to 171 mph
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Autoblog’s Editors’ Picks: The Complete List

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November 1, 2023 / Comments Off on Autoblog’s Editors’ Picks: The Complete List
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Corvette-based Chevrolet with ‘incredible performance’ coming in 2025

GM President Mark Reuss’ Investor Day presentation has been a font of information. Most of it’s been pretty straightforward, like the info about GM service centers working on Teslas and the GMC Acadia getting larger for its third generation. This one lives at the mysterious end of the foreshadowing pool. When discussing what’s in store for the Corvette, Reuss mentioned two vehicles. As reported by Fox News, the first is a straight-up Corvette trim, “the next version of the C8,” the “next-step in performance for Chevrolet” supposedly so good “you won’t be able to imagine it from a performance standpoint.” Since Reuss’ was reportedly talking about new vehicles due in 2024, he wouldn’t have been referring to the hybrid, all-wheel drive Corvette coming in 2023. The AWD hybrid could have been the trim referred to as the Corvette Grand Sport in a potentially leaked GM document from 2020. The powertrain in that coupe will be the 6.2-liter LT2 V8 from the base Stingray combined with electric motors driving the front axle to make somewhere around a combined 600 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque.    

The images in Reuss’ presentation were obscured for media viewers, but we suspect he meant the ZR1. That supposed leaked doc said its due in 2024 with 850 hp and 825 lb-ft. Output will come from an LT7 engine that’s already on the testing bench if a recent clue found at the National Corvette Museum can be believed.

What will follow that is a car Reuss called an “incredible performance car” that he expects to “put the world on notice” as to what GM is capable of and “set the standard of the world for performance for Chevrolet.” Based on the trim cadence we’ve been covering for years, this sounds like the Corvette rumored to be called the Zora, which would pair the twin-turbo LT7 V8 with electric motors for more than 1,000 hp. However, Reuss didn’t call this car a Corvette; he only said it would be based on the C8 architecture. Back to that 2020 GM document, it had the ZR1 coming in 2025. That’s a year later than this mystery offering, and we can’t imagine why Reuss wouldn’t call a Corvette a Corvette.

In a LinkedIn post from April that provided video of next years AWD Corvette, Reuss wrote, “we will offer an electrified and a fully electric, Ultium-based Corvette in the future.” On that note, the only unaccounted for Corvette family vehicles we’re aware of in the rumor pipeline are the electric Corvette-inspired crossover as part of Project R, and the electric Corvette sedan said to be coming mid-decade. So stay tuned, big electric things are coming from Chevrolet.

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November 28, 2022 / Comments Off on Corvette-based Chevrolet with ‘incredible performance’ coming in 2025
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2022 New York Auto Show Roundup | All the reveals, reviews, pictures

NEW YORK — In case you missed it, the New York Auto Show took place this year after being canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to Covid. A lot of manufacturers showed up in force, but not everybody did. No matter, we were there, and we brought you news, photos and scoops from the floor throughout the show. All of our New York-related stories can be found at our central hub here, but if you’d rather just get a small taste of everything in a quick and digestible format, keep scrolling.

Kia revealed the Telluride’s first major refresh at New York, and it makes the three-row crossover a little bit more desirable without screwing up what we liked about it before. There’s a new X-Line and X-Pro trim for someone who might want a little more off-road capability, and a number of tech improvements. Most notably, a newly-designed dash features new and bigger screens.

The Telluride’s sister car from Hyundai was treated to a similar refresh. Like the Telluride, Hyundai gave the Palisade a slightly revised look, a new off-road trim (called XRT in the Palisade’s case), more tech inside and a new dash design with full-width air vents. If we had to choose, we’re a little more impressed with the Telluride’s refresh, as a number of us on staff actually prefer the pre-refresh Palisade styling over the new one.

This one was inevitable. Jeep revealed the longer, roomier versions of its Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer in New York, and they’re designated with an “L” at the end of their names. Total length grows by a foot, and the wheelbase goes up by 7 inches versus the standard Wagoneer models. Jeep has essentially allocated all this extra room to the cargo area, as it now offers a staggering 44.2 cubic-feet of space behind the third row.

Besides the L, Jeep announced that its new Hurricane inline-six engine would find its first home in the Wagoneer. Efficiency gets a small boost, and power is more than sufficient at either 420 horsepower (standard output) or 510 horsepower (high-output version) from the twin-turbo I-6.

The Stellantis party continues with Chrysler and its slightly revised Airflow. Re-styled for the New York market after initially debuting at CES in Las Vegas, the Airflow Concept gets new paint, changed accent colors, a slightly changed interior design and a new interpretation of the Chrysler logo.

This was our first chance to get a good in-person look at the new Kia Niro models headed our way, and we were impressed. It gets a totally new design, massaged powertrains in all three variants and an EV6-inspired interior. We even got to take a little deep dive into the standout Aero Blade design feature seen on all new Niros.

This was one of the minor debuts of the show — Subaru didn’t even hold a press conference. But the Outback was there on the show floor, and it was showing off its new Wilderness-inspired looks. The cladding is much more prominent, it has new lights up front, and Subaru packed it with a number of new tech features.

One year on from the Pathfinder being all-new, and Nissan just added an off-road-focused Rock Creek trim. It gets a slightly revised suspension, more power when run on premium fuel, all-terrain tires and a fairly comprehensive styling package. We liked the looks of it on the show floor, and while it may not be a super-capable SUV, having the option of a more rugged-looking SUV is seemingly a good thing to have in dealers these days.

The Leaf is getting outpaced by EVs with far more range, better tech and more power, but that hasn’t stopped Nissan from giving it a small nip-and-tuck. It gets a new grille, light-up Nissan logo, wild new wheels and a couple of aero enhancements.

This special-edition Ford GT pays tribute to the third-place car at the 1966 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It re-creates that car’s look via matching paint, red accents and a number of other small details. Ford put it on display next to the car that raced at Le Mans back in 1966, making it an excellent display for any racing history geeks.

A collaboration between Williams Engineering, Italdesign and Deus, this electric hypercar is planned for super-low production, but incredibly high performance. Output is meant to be “more than 2,200 horsepower” and it has a claimed 0-62 mph time of 1.99 seconds. Only 99 are meant to be built, but we know that will be a tough, uphill battle to accomplish. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll see a Deus outside of the N.Y. Auto Show stand one day.

Yes, it’s another Huracán variant. This one steals a lot of the go-fast STO parts, but pairs them with a much more subdued appearance. It does well to make the appearance stand out as different from other Huracáns, and the 631 horsepower being sent to the rear wheels sound like Italian supercar bliss.

2023 BMW X7 M60i

BMW didn’t bring it to the show floor, but we still got to see the refreshed X7 in New York this week. The design both inside and out gets a heavy revamping. Its look certainly isn’t for everyone, but nobody can deny that the car is turning heads. We’re impressed with the new interior, and the base xDrive40i powertrain gets a huge performance boost, giving the entry-level X7 a whopping 375 horsepower.

Debuting alongside the regular X7 was the Alpina XB7 that received its own styling tweaks to keep it current. It also adds 8 horsepower, bringing it up to 621 ponies from the twin-turbo V8.

Genesis X Speedium Coupe

It wasn’t on the show floor, but Genesis still revealed it in New York during auto show time. The X Speedium Coupe Concept is far and away the most beautiful thing there. Its shooting brake/fastback design is long and wide, and its proportions make it a total stunner. The concept is electric, and while Genesis hasn’t committed to putting it into production, we can hope to see it on the roads one day.

Random other musings

Fiat 500 Electric

For whatever reason, Fiat brought the Europe-only electric 500 to N.Y. Our Joel Stocksdale took a close look at it, and made a case for why Stellantis should bring the little EV to America.

Radwood showed up with a large collection of epic cars from the 1980s and 1990s. They were easily the coolest part of the show, and if you’re in town, it may be worth going just to see this group of cars at the Javits Center.

Lastly, Alfa brought the Tonale for us to check out in a gorgeous Montreal Green paint. It’s a sharp little crossover in the flesh, and we’re really looking forward to seeing how this Alfa drives.

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April 15, 2022 / Comments Off on 2022 New York Auto Show Roundup | All the reveals, reviews, pictures
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GM to dealers: Stop playing games with 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06

It wasn’t even two weeks ago that Ford’s VP of sales for the U.S. and Canada decided he needed to tell the dealer body to stop squeezing 2022 F-150 Lightning buyers for more reservation money. The shenanigans risk alienating the very important new customers of a very important new truck. Corvette Action Center reports that now Steve Carlisle, General Motors‘ president for North America, has done the same thing with the Chevrolet dealer body to stop the same kinds of antics happening with the 2023 Corvette Z06. The problem according to Carlisle is “a small number of Dealers [that] have engaged in practices that do not support a positive sales experience for our customers.” Those dealers who don’t end such practices will risk losing their Z06 allotments.

The letter identifies three unwelcome tactics. The first is dealers insisting customers pay more than the $1,000 reservation fee that GM set for the Z06. This problem is already years old, with some dealers opening up their own reservations lists in 2019, more than two years before GM announced the car. While some dealers only took $1,000 for a reservation, a dealer in New Hampshire claimed to have more than 1,300 potential buyers who had put down $2,000. 

The second game Carlisle wants to take down is the dreaded market adjustment, dealers having “requested customers to pay sums far in excess of MSRP in order to purchase or lease a vehicle.” We’re not sure what recourse GM has against this. We’re sure Ford isn’t happy about F-150 Lightning markups, either, but Ford specified in its letter that it wouldn’t tolerate gaming the reservation system as opposed to ADMs. Carlisle insists that these methods can be “harmful to the reputation of Dealer, General Motors, or its Products,” and “puts our collective interests at risk and generates negative press that reflect poorly GM’s brands and your dealership.”

The third offense is dealers reselling vehicles to brokers; having a broker volunteer fat sums over MSRP is an easy way for a dealer to sidestep having to ask for more money. Carlisle notes that this practice is explicitly outlawed in the dealer’s sales and service agreement with GM.

It will be interesting to see how dealers respond. With the prodigious sums on offer, we expect some dealers will continue to explore where the line is and whether it can be nudged further into the black. Surcharges have been around as long as there have been more buyers than product, and in a market where a dealer feels justified asking a $38,000 ADM on a regular 2022 Corvette — which GM hasn’t said anything about, remember — stopping all of these practices could be a mighty challenge. GM has to put up a fight, though. Just like Ford, it has additional, crucial new products arriving soon that are trying to attract crucial new audiences, and it needs to be seen doing its best to provide the best experience.

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January 20, 2022 / Comments Off on GM to dealers: Stop playing games with 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06
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Cadillac Blackwing gets ticket to Italy, to go to work in a supercar

Some necessary cost-cutting at Cadillac led to switching the new CT4, CT5, and Escalade to older platforms. The revised architecture plan meant Cadillac’s newest top-tier products couldn’t fit Cadillac’s newest top-tier engine, the 4.2-liter twin-turbo DOHC V8 known as Blackwing. That engine would serve limited duty at full power in the now-dead CT6-V, and at reduced output in the CT6 Platinum V8 trim before ending its bright, brief domestic life. But the story isn’t over, the rebirth of Blackwing coming from a most surprising locale: Turin, Italy.

Before the canceled Geneva Motor Show, Hagerty spoke to Paolo Garella, CEO of Manifattura Automobili Torino; that’s the company better known as MAT, makers of the New Stratos and contract engineering house for boutique screamers like the Aspark Owl electric hypercar, Apollo Intensa Emozione, and SCG003C. Garella told the outlet, “We have an agreement with General Motors” for a supply of Blackwings, which would be developed and built at the General Motors Propulsion Engineering Center (PEC) in Turin. Since 2005, the PEC has been used to develop GM’s global diesel engines and electronics. MAT’s plan is to put the V8 into a new limited-run car MAT is creating from its own design.

Then another surprising turn: Belgium-based global auto supplier Punch Group bought the PEC, with plans to work with GM on projects in progress until at least the end of 2021. Nothing changes as far as MAT is concerned, except perhaps a chance for an even closer collaboration with Punch Turin.

The V8 once hand-built at the Performance Engine Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky, made 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque in its most powerful form. Of course we’re looking forward to the Blackwing-powered vehicle MAT comes up with; the prospect of a V8-powered supercar with a modern mill is the best kind of news. Just as much, though, we’re looking forward to what’s possible with the Blackwing in a high-performance application freed of OEM constraints. The 4.2-liter LTA Blackwing shares its architecture with the 5.5-liter LT7 V8 in the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R racer and headed for the Corvette Z06, the big differences being turbos mounted between the cylinder banks on the Blackwing, whereas the boosters hang outside the banks on the LT7, and the Chevy engine uses a flat-plane crank.

It’s a moonshot, but if the Blackwing proves its might and popularity over time, and sees continuous development, perhaps the engine could one day be recalled to service with a different car at its original brand home. 

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March 9, 2020 / Comments Off on Cadillac Blackwing gets ticket to Italy, to go to work in a supercar
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Michelin Airless Tires

Michelin and GM may have just unveiled a future where flat tires aren’t a thing. Both companies have now unveiled a prototype for UPTIS, which stands for Unique Puncture-proof Tire System.

Michelin created the tires, which are airless and intended for passenger cars. Bearing a resemblance to Tweel and other airless tire concepts of several years past, the UPTIS features a mix of composite rubber, resin embedded fiberglass that lets it run at highway speeds. Previous options tend to work only when the driver is going slow. It’s not as pretty as those, surely. But Michelin says it’s just as comfortable.

GM says it will start testing the UPTIS as soon as late 2019 in Michigan on a fleet of Chevy Bolt units. It expects to see the finished version as soon as 2024, at which point it’ll appear on production cars. The automaker hasn’t named specific car models that will incorporate these new tires, though.

Because they’re airless, UPTIS tires present immediate financial and safety benefits. While the tires aren’t completely indestructible, they won’t suffer from blowouts, flat tires, and irregular wear. Beyond these upsides, both GM and Michelin also consider this a positive development as driverless cars become more commonplace. Airless technology, they say, reduces the need for environmentally harmful tire production. It also eliminates the need for a spare tire that adds weight, an in turn shrinks fuel economy.

It’s a really, really clever innovation, and we can’t wait to see it hit the road for real. Hit the link below for more information.

LEARN MORE

Photos courtesy of Michelin and GM

June 10, 2019 / Comments Off on Michelin Airless Tires
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Patents hint at active aerodynamics for C8 Chevy Corvette

In May of 2016, General Motors filed patent applications for an active aerodynamic system. The patent papers featured drawings of a C7 Chevrolet Corvette, and described aero aids that the system could operate on, including a front splitter, air dam, grille shutters, and rear diffuser. That patent was published nearly a year later, in March 2017. Last month, GM had another three patents published for specific active aero mechanisms: active side skirts, active spoilers, and downforce-generating ducts. The application again used C7 Corvette drawings, leading people to believe that the C8 is in line for the aero gadgets.

The previous patent described the use of a sensor to measure body height, and a controller used to adjust various aero surfaces to maintain the ideal height relative relative to a reference plane. One special feature of that system was that it accounted for suspension action and tire deflection.

The latest patent app goes into the features such a system might control. The active side skirts would be able to extend toward the road in order to contain airflow under the car and streamline airflow around the rear wheels. The active spoiler could raise and lower the entire structure by moving stanchions within rails set into the fenders, as well as pivot just the wing portion. And get this, one image in the patent app shows a movable spoiler on the roof. The downforce-generating ducts, potentially placed on the roof and the lower portion of the vehicle, would hasten airflow past the car, and could otherwise be used to produce a venturi effect. Should the mid-engined Corvette wear such appurtenances, America’s sports car would get more ammo to join a tech conversation dominated by European marques.

After pulling a no-show at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, rumors say we’ll see the C8 in Detroit next year. Or who knows, we might be seeing three – a standard flavor with an evolution of the current 6.2-liter V8, one with the new 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V8, and a twin-turbo version of that V8 with about 800 horsepower. Best to wait and see, though; looks like whatever we’re getting, and whenever we get it, it’ll be pretty good.

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August 16, 2018 / Comments Off on Patents hint at active aerodynamics for C8 Chevy Corvette
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GM’s European Opel division may eventually go all-electric

General Motors’ Opel division in Europe may transform itself into an all-electric vehicle maker by 2030. Granted, a lot can happen between now and then, including a potential buyout by French automaker PSA Group. Regardless, Opel appears to view its electric future beyond the Ampera-e, which is the sister vehicle to the Chevrolet Bolt, and more like Tesla.

Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann indicated that focusing on electric drivetrains would be a superior strategy to expanding its EV technology while pushing forward with conventional drivetrains, says Automotive News Europe, citing comments Neumann made to German publication Manager Magazin. General Motors could make the decision to move towards an all-electric vehicle line for Opel as soon as May.

Of course, that depends on whether Opel is bought out by PSA, the parent country to Peugeot and Citroen. PSA is in talks to buy General Motors’ Opel and Vauxhall divisions, though government and labor representatives in Germany have expressed concerns over potential job losses from the proposed buyout, Reuters says.

Regardless, GM has hinted at expanding its electric-vehicle line far beyond the Bolt, which has a 238-mile single-charge range and debuted late last year. Mary Barra, in an interview with CNET, said the Bolt’s all-electric platform could be applied to a “huge range of vehicles,” though wasn’t specific about additional EV models.

Opel first showed off its Ampera-e at the Paris Motor Show last fall. The name of the model raised some eyebrows because the Ampera badge had been previously used by Opel for the sister version of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in. Either way, Opel is looking to take on Renault for electric-vehicle sales supremacy across the Pond.

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February 15, 2017 / Comments Off on GM’s European Opel division may eventually go all-electric
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