may be small—smaller than even a Mini Cooper—but it’s a heavy car.
With a curb weight of about 2500 pounds, the 500 Abarth isn’t pound-heavy—it’s heritage-heavy. Just look at all the stylized scorpion badges. The 500 Abarth has eight of those badges on its exterior alone, if you count the wheel centers, and all of them remind you of one thing: a reputation for performance that’s as large as the 500 is small. Continue reading
BEFORE LONG, BIG BRO WILL BE E-MAILING YOU A TRAFFIC CITATION BEFORE YOU EVEN GET HOME.
I LOVE THAT the cloud can store my music for enjoyment on multiple devices, and that Dropbox or iCIoud can keep my docs safe from terrestrial catastrophes (and one hopes from hackers). But I’m not wild about a cloud development that was widely reported last Halloween. Ontario-based Peak Gain Systems, bless their hearts, came to the conclusion that the companies currently selling sneaky, underhanded, robo-ticketing devices on this continent were underperforming those developed by their more Big Brotherly counterparts in Russia. Hence, it has partnered with St. Petersburg-based CUMMKOH (Simicon) to bring its new Cordon product to our shores at about the time you read this.
As the name sort of hints, this photoradar unit casts a cordon of enforcement across a four-lane highway, recording the speed, position, time of day, and license number of every car that passes, providing they’re not so close together as to obscure the plates. The compact box can be mounted anywhere, from 16 to 26 feet high above the roadside. Infrared spotlights allow it to work at night, and while it saves data to an SD card, it also syncs this encrypted info to cloud or terrestrial databases via WiFi, 3G, or WiMAX. Now, I’d be all for leveraging cloud-tech to find plates associated with stolen cars or criminals, or to cite drivers dangerously exceeding the posted speed limit and the average flow of traffic by 10 or more mph. But local budget realities suggest that buyers of this efficient device will expect it to pay dividends, and so before long Big Bro will be e-mailing you a traffic citation before you even get home.
But the cloud itself isn’t invested in either side of this drama, and Escort Inc. is now leveraging it to form a global protection network for its million-plus customer base. Here’s how it works: Buy a new detector for $339-$539, or upgrade your old Escort/ Belltronics unit (the last four platforms are compatible) with a new SmartCord Live power cord for $80. The new cord incorporates a Bluetooth chip that links to your iPhone or Android smart phone, running the Escort Live app. Then, when a radar or laser signal is received by your detector, the incident and location are uploaded to the cloud and shared with any other motorists traveling the same road. After the initial pairing, the phone doesn’t need to be out or visible; it connects automatically. Naturally, the devices also warn Escort’s database of known speed traps, and because the cloud knows the road network and many speed limits, the detector and/or your smartphone screen can be set to warn you when you’re a certain number of mph over the limit. Potential future enhancements may include sharing a database of known false-alarm door openers and the like, though Escort’s top models do a pretty good job of learning and eliminating those now.
Escort hopes to quickly lure a high percentage of its direct-sales owner base into upgrading to this new social media road cloud, but admits that initial network benefits may be largely constrained to more densely populated areas. It takes only one car somewhere ahead of you to add that margin of safety against a ticket, which Escort says costs $150 on average, resulting in a $300 annual insurance premium hike. Hey, this cloud may be your best shot at outsmarting the Russians.
ABOUT 5 PERCENT OF ALL POLICE-REPORTED CRASHES AND 0.5 PERCENT OF VEHICULAR FATALITIES STEM FROM LANE-CHANGE AND MERGE MANEUVERS….WHY NOT ATTEMPT TO CURTAIL THOSE STATS?
THE FIRST TIME I experienced a blind-spot warning system was back in 2007, in an Audi Q7.1 didn’t realize the big SUV even had the technology until I went to change lanes, and was startled when a light at the stem of the right mirror flashed at me three times. What the heck was that? After settling in my new lane, I looked in my Continue reading
MERCEDES AMG and Jaguar are working on AWD sedans for the Snowbelt. Across much of the U.S., as well as such other significant markets as Switzerland and Austria, RWD luxury sedans are avoided when AWD versions of BMWs, Mercedes, and Cadillacs are Continue reading
BMW is slowing development of its so-called 0 Series, the front-drive sub-1 Series that’s a reaction to Audi’s A1. Word is BMW has come to realize it’s working on FWD from both sides. The i3 and i8 electrics will be FWD-based. The all-new 2013 1 Series will be FWD too, though only the hatchbacks sold outside North America. The next 1 Series coupe and convertible remain RWD. BMW already has, of course, a competitor for the Audi A1, called the Mini. Continue reading
EVEN BEFORE General Motors’and Chrysler Group’s summer 2009 bankruptcies, the U.S. auto industry was moving toward a Western European model. There, the largest automakers, Volkswagen Group, Ford, and Renault (or, sometimes Peugeot/Citroen) each have about 18 percent market share. VW leads, but none of the three dominates in the manner that GM has dominated the U.S. market for much of the last century.
GM’s market dominance was so big, in fact, it didn’t look to be in serious trouble until market share sank to about 25 percent, halfofwhatitwasin the 1960s and 70s, when Continue reading
WHEN IT COMES to filling the tire tracks of a storied model like the Defender, there’s no way to make everyone happy. External forces are at hand. It doesn’t meet U.S. safety requirements or stricter Euro Union C02 standards, it’ll hurt LR’s American Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings, and SUV buyers continue to move away from hard-core off-roaders toward crossovers. If Land Rover wants to bring the Defender back to the U.S.— and seems it does—big changes must happen. Continue reading
WHILE THE AUTOMOTIVE world turns its attention to the new age E-Type, to be based on the C-X16 concept unveiled at last fall’s Frankfurt show, well-heeled Jaguar buyers recovering from various recent global financial crises can get their kicks with the brand’s most powerful drop-top ever.
Jaguar unveiled the convertible body XKR-S at the Los Angeles International Auto Show. Continue reading
When Ford announced its 5.8-liter supercharged aluminum V-8. The most powerful production V-8 in the world, according to its creator, will put out 650 hp and 600 Ib-ft of torque in the 2013 Shelby GT 500.Top speed will be more than 200 mph, a lot for a car with a live rear axle. Its power levels sucker-punch Chevrolet’s new Camaro ZL1 by 70 ponies and even edge the Corvette ZR1 ‘s 638 hp. Continue reading
LET’S PUT THIS fallacy to rest. The 2013 XTS is not Cadillac’s new flagship. Its base price will probably be close to that of the CTS, though with the new Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system and all the features of the topline Platinum trim level, it will top out a bit higher than a non-V CTS. It won’t come anywhere near the Ciel concept-inspired RWD S-Class-size sedan GM tentatively has under development. Continue reading