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Payne: Mazda goes big with CX-70
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 4, 2024
Rochester Hills — The Mazda CX-70 SUV is big. Big length at nearly 17 feet. Big weight of 4,863 pounds. Big 21-inch wheels. Big panoramic roof. Big as sibling CX-90 because CX-70 just means it has two rows compared to the 90’s three. Bigger than any other vehicle the Japanese brand has produced.
Yet CX-70 still thinks it’s a wee Miata sportscar.
Braking into a clover-leaf turn, the two-and-a-half-tonner rotated with minimal body roll. The big, leather-wrapped wheel in my hands felt rooted to the ground — encouraging me to feed more throttle until the tires began to squeal in protest. On exit, the silky, inline-6 engine roared with delight as I merged into traffic. Yup, it’s a Mazda.
Mazda’s latest ute has big ambitions to go with its big proportions. From its roots as a ZOOM ZOOM! sportscar and sedan company, Mazda has transitioned to a premium SUV maker with twin offerings in the compact and midsize segments, not unlike European luxury brands. The CX-5 and CX-50 anchor the high-volume compact segment while CX-70 and CX-90 double up in the midsize segment.
As with its offerings in the subcompact (CX-30), and compact car (Mazda3) segments, the CX-70 (as well as the three-row CX-90) offers one of the industry’s best values. Along with that Miata DNA in the handling department, the CX-70 comes loaded with standard features starting at $41,700: forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, front-and-rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, and seat eject with parachute (kidding about that last one).
Jump up to my tester’s desirable Premium trim and you’ll be showered with goodies like 21-inch wheels, pano-roof and head-up display. Yet, the Premium CX-70’s bottom line is still an impressive $47,335 — $24K south of a comparably-equipped BMW X5 XDrive 40i with similar, longitudinal inline turbo-6, eight-speed tranny and rotary instrument screen controller.
Heck, all that style even clocks in at two grand less than the hybrid Toyota Crown Signia I recently piloted with a droning CVT transmission and no head-up display.
CX-70 buyers will be flattered by the Bimmer comparison — especially the way the Mazda hangs with the German in the twisties despite being a half-foot longer. The Mazda’s bigness translates to some of the best cargo and legroom numbers in class. Value does come with some shortcomings, however.
I’ve raved about the Japanese brand’s smooth six-speed automatic trannies in the CX-5 and CX-50 models at a time when other automakers have adopted complicated eight- and 10-speed boxes for their EPA-focused mpg benefits. For CX-70/CX-90, Mazda has chosen an eight-speed and the SUVs feel hesitant — like a fawn trying out its new legs.
Floor the pedal off that highway cloverleaf and CX-70 felt uncertain, hunting for the right gear. Once engaged, the inline-6 clears its throat with an authoritative BLAAAT! (especially in SPORT mode), but the transmission is a mismatch for the I-6’s smooth power.
So is the clunky shifter. A trendy monostable design, it’s clumsy to operate with a two-step jig to get out of PARK and into REVRSE-NEUTRAL-DRIVE modes. Competitors like Toyota and VW not only have more compact shifters, but they are more intuitive. ZOOM ZOOM? ZOOM CLUNK.
BMW and Audi pioneered the remote rotary controller, and Mazda covets that luxury vibe. But Audi has abandoned the rotary to appeal to the smartphone, touchscreen generation and BMW — while maintaining its i-Drive controller — has complemented it with redundant touchscreen capability. Not Mazda.
It has stubbornly stuck with its wonky rotary. Mazda owners (my son, for example, who owns a Mazda3) learn it, but shiver when it comes to sharing the car with a spouse who must adapt to the system’s quirks.
CX-70 at least enables touchscreen commands for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone apps — a welcome nod to popular consumer tastes. But my tester still dated itself by requiring a tether for Android Auto, rather than the wireless systems of competitors.
Also wonky is the butterfly center console. I know, I know, butterfly telegraphs luxury, but in a family vehicle like CX-70, I value ease-of-access, and there’s nothing like a good ol’ pull-top console — especially when you need to attach that Android Auto USB-C wire to your phone.
It’s hard to be mad, though, when all this hardware is wrapped in Mazda’s elegant red-leather interior. Shared by subcompact siblings CX-30 and Mazda3 hatchback, this lush cabin style is one of my favorites in the industry. Mazda offers other colors, but I find rouge leather to be irr-red-sistible.
Like learning that Schwarzenegger and DeVito are brothers in the movie “Twins,” I’m not used to a Mazda having such big back seats. CX-70 siblings Mazda3 and CX-30 are cramped and the Miata, of course, has no back seat at all. But I could sit behind myself in the CX-70 with kneeroom to spare. Cargo capacity is a healthy 39.6 cubic feet with the back seat raised, and a palatial 75.3 with the seats down.
The CX-70 complements that with sub-cargo storage where the third row would otherwise be in the CX-90. Were it up to me, I’d opt for the CX-90 instead of the CX-70 (they are priced the same) because the third row comes in handy when you need to ferry people as in, say, my extended family of in-laws.
CX-70’s sub-storage is accessed via a clever, folding cargo mat, and is the right size for, say, kids’ muddy soccer shoes. But it’s still a stretch to reach from the back bumper and may go unused over the lifetime of the vehicle.
As much as I enjoy carving corners in Mazdas, midsize SUVs will ultimately be driven for long periods of time. On adaptive cruise control. On interstates. For such bus-driver chores, the Mazda is first-rate like another one of my class favorites, the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Hyundai offers multiple ways to check your blind spot and so does Mazda — from mirror-embedded triangle lights to instrument control graphics to graphics in the head-up display. I toggled driver-assist on the steering wheel and the Mazda dutifully centered in lane, even hugging long interstate corners hands-free. If Mazda still has work to do on its eight-speed tranny, the attention to digital details is welcome.
My favorite detail? A DRIVER PERSONALIZATION SYSTEM that measures height (I’m 6-foot-5, Mrs. Payne is 5-foot-5) then automatically adopts that setting depending on which of us is in the driver’s seat.
Oh, now that’s big.
Next week: Towing across Canada with the Jeep Grand Wagoneer
2025 Mazda CX-70
Vehicle type: Front engine, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $41,700, including $1,375 destination ($47,335 Turbo S Premium as tested)
Powerplant: Turbocharged 3.3-liter, inline-6 cylinder; 2.5-liter inline-4 cylinder mated to 17.8 kWh lithium ion battery and rear electric motor
Power: 280 horsepower, 332 pound-feet of torque (turbo-6); 340 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque (turbo-6 S); 323 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque (plug-in)
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.5 seconds (Turbo-6 S, mfr.); towing, 5,000 pounds (I-6), 3,500 pounds (plug-in)
Weight: 4,863 pounds (Turbo-6 S as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 23 mpg city/28 highway/25 combined (as tested)
Report card
Highs: Big, family-size proportions; loaded with value, standard goodies
Lows: Quirky shifter, rotary controller
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
e-IndyCar: Chevy-Honda hybrid race engines debut at Mid-Ohio
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 4, 2024
Behind the intense competition of professional racing, motorsports is a showcase for automakers’ technology and marketing trends.
This weekend at the IndyCar 200 at Mid-Ohio race course near Lexington, IndyCar will become the latest racing series to move to hybrid powertrains following Formula One and the MSA SportsCar Championship.
The move is a priority for the series’ two engine suppliers, Chevrolet and Honda. The two brands have been among the most aggressive automakers in pushing electrification — and they want the IndyCar racing teams they supply to reflect that ambition. At a time when the industry is under historic pressure from governments to adopt battery power, electrification initiatives also help insulate motorsports from political pressure.
While both Chevrolet and Honda promise fully electric model lines by 2040, the move to hybrid IndyCar drivetrains dovetails with current production trends. Manufacturers and their government partners oversold EV adoption and are pivoting to gas-electric power plants as a more realistic market solution.
Similarly, North American racing series do not see EV racing as ready for prime time.
“We certainly have no aspirations of being a fully electric series. We’re fast, loud and authentic,” said IndyCar President Jay Frye in an interview ahead of the IndyCar 200. “This is something that is very relevant . . . in passenger cars. We think the hybrid program is the way to go into the future. I certainly don’t see IndyCar becoming a full EV series.”
IndyCar’s hybrid focus dovetails with Formula One and IMSA, which have also moved towards hybrid drivetrains — but ultimately see synthetic fuels as the answer to internal sustainability goals requiring zero-carbon emission machines. As governments force manufacturers to zero-emission vehicles, automakers hope synfuels development in racing will become a viable commercial alternative to power a new generation on internal combustion engines.
“Look at the manufacturers and what’s important to them: electrification and hybrids,” said President Bud Denker of Penske Corporation, which owns IndyCar. “It’s important for us also to be sustainable from a series standpoint. We were the first series in North America to have renewable fuel — an ethanol, bio-based product.”
Formula One, too, sees renewable fuel as its future, targeting synfuels for use in its 50-50 gas-electric hybrid missiles in 2026.
“(Formula One) will never go electric,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore last year. “Zero emissions can be achieved without having to change engines or throw away the entire fleet of vehicles that already exists.”
Chevrolet and Honda jointly developed the hybrid power unit that will be paired with their 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-6 gas engines. The engines in turn are fueled by Shell ethanol fuel derived from sugarcane waste.
While Chevy and Honda have committed to produce only battery-powered EVs by — respectively, 2035 and 2040 — they both used the IndyCar announcement to tout their current hybrid vehicles.
Honda’s latest, 2025 Civic Hybrid will pace the IndyCar field to green.
“Hybrid is that bridge in electrification to where we’re maybe in the future 10, 15 years out,” said Wayne Gross, manager of trackside engineering for Honda. “Honda has been pretty heavily into the hybrids for a few years now with CR-V and Accord and now the Civic.”
At Chevy, Corvette has become the new hybrid brand halo. “We’re definitely getting some hybrid cars,” said Mark Stielow, General Motors Co.’s director of motorsports competition engineering. “I drove a (hybrid Corvette) E-Ray for a while, and it was a great experience. We’re going to keep adding more (hybrids) to our portfolio, and we’re learning more about it in racing.”
GM and Honda had already worked together on the hybrid system for IMSA sportscar’s GTP prototype class. Their Cadillac and Acura GTP racers have been a success, with fans flocking to races from Daytona to Detroit to Atlanta to watch the world’s greatest brands go toe-to-hybrid.
IndyCar hopes its new hybrid formula will also be a fan favorite by introducing another tool for drivers to use in the series’ tight, competitive racing.
“We delayed (the new powertrain) for a few months because we (wanted) to be sure that, when we are racing that product, that it’s bulletproof. Because we have great racing now,” said Penske’s Denker. “We have the most competitive racing in the world. So many different people can win a race on any given weekend. So much passing going on that we want to make sure we don’t mess that up.”
The IndyCar system is geared to performance with a lightweight solution assembled by Ilmor that adds about 100 pounds to the 1,680-pound race cars. Utilizing electric capacitors instead of a heavy battery, the power unit will offer drivers up to 60 more horsepower to shoot by competitors – or they can use its regenerative capabilities to save fuel and outlast their rivals.
“We want it. . . to be used by the drivers to make the racing more dynamic and more interesting for the spectators,” said GM’s Stielow. “So this is another tool that we’re bringing to the drivers to enable there to be a little bit better competition, a little more passing.”
The 48-volt system also promises to be safer and less complicated than the high-voltage, 800-volt systems in IMSA GTP sportscars – systems that require executive track briefings to avoid potential electrocution if a race car is mishandled.
The Whelen Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R prototype won the Motul 100 at the Daytona Roar Before the 24. The win puts the Caddy on pole for the Rolex 24 on January 30. IMSA
“They’re totally different systems, architected way differently,” said Stielow. “Nothing in my program is shared between the two of them.”
There’s palpable excitement from the manufacturers for the weekend ahead.
“(The Hybrid tech) is why we were so excited to get involved in this project. It’s engaged all of our engineers. It’s very relevant to the road cars,” said Honda’s Gross. Hybridization “has been core to Honda’s DNA for many years now. It’s relating what we do on the racetrack to selling cars. Race on Sunday, sell on Monday.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
Put on your boots: Tread Lightly Day Michigan hits Holly Oaks ORV Park
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 4, 2024
Put on your boots, roll up your sleeves, and shove your off-roader into all-wheel drive.
Michigan’s spectacular nature parks are a national treasure, and this weekend national nonprofit Tread Lightly! is hitting state trails with a first-ever stewardship day. The mission, called “Tread Lightly! Day Michigan,” will include the Detroit area’s Holly Oaks ORV park, one of the Midwest’s premier vehicle off-road playgrounds.
Sponsored by onX Offroad, Tread Lightly! crews will hit Holly Oaks’s 260 acres of hills, dirt tracks, trails, valleys and ridges from 9 a,m. to 3 p.m. Saturday for grooming, repairs, safety enforcement and recreational fun. A sort of outdoor open house, the event encourages members of the public to help maintain the off-road treasure. Carved from the carcass of a former sand and gravel mine, Holly Oaks features 250 feet of elevation change across winding trails on the backside of Holly Oaks ski area.
Jeep Wrangler surveys the landscape at Holly Oaks ORV Park. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Other state parks on Tread Lightly’s to-do list Saturday include Mio, the Hiawatha National Forest, the Ottawa National Forest and Sand Lake Recreation Area. Organizers encourage participants to bring their vehicles, mudder shoes and long pants for the day’s chores.
“I’m thrilled to give back to my home state through this work and encourage Tread Lightly! supporters in Michigan to do the same,” said Mike Sype, marketing chief for the Utah-based Tread Lightly!
Holly Oaks ORV Park opened in 2020 and dovetailed with the U.S. overlanding explosion — a trend turbocharged by the COVID pandemic as Americans went virtual and took to the roads and outdoor recreation areas. In addition to its daily off-road offerings, the park has become the site of the annual, nationally-known Detroit 4Fest off-road event as well as a venue for automakers to introduce their latest off road-focused machines.
Jeeps, Ford Broncos, Toyota 4-Runners, pickups — as well as side-by-sides and dirt bikes — regularly crawl the park’s trails while families enjoy the scenery. Sections of the park are modeled after Utah’s famed natural off-road attractions, such as Potato Salad Hill and Hot Tub.
The front of the property includes manicured areas like a closed dirt track for speed runs as well as Darlene’s Ridge, which tests vehicles’ vertical acumen. The “North 60” acres of the property are a more free form “scramble area” in which riders are free to make their own paths. Holly Oaks is jointly operated by Oakland County Parks in a partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Tread Lightly partner onX Offroad offers GPS-based smartphone app that provides current and accurate mapping information for trail exploration.
4Fest fun. Wranglers and Broncos and side-by-sides line up to climb Darlene’s Ridge at Holly Oaks Park. Henry Payne, The Detroit News Detroit
“OnX Offroad understands the vital importance of conservation and protection of public lands and motorized trails,” said the company’s senior brand manager, Becky Marcelliano. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership through Tread Lightly! Day Michigan and beyond.”
Z Performance, a local off-road events company, helped organize the Holly Oaks event. The ORV park is located off I-75 (Grange Hall Road Exit 101) and Dixie Highway.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Toyota Crown Signia. Move over Lexus.
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 28, 2024
Charlevoix — Rather than offering one midsize crossover, Toyota is offering a shelf-full of products for different tastes: Highlander, Grand Highlander three-row, electric Bz4x, Land Cruiser off-roader. If your taste leans to an upscale road tripper, the midsize Crown Signia fits like a favorite pair of jeans.
Roomy, good looking, durable. Slip into Signia and you forget you’re wearing it, so easy is it to drive. Well, until someone gives you a compliment.
“Wow, I like that Toyota,” said a gas station attendant in Charlevoix County as I entered his store after a long trip up north for the weekend. “It really looks nice.”
Never heard that about the vanilla Venza that Signia replaces. Toyota has built its brand as a leader in reliability and value, but its reputation for style and technology has not come as easily. With the all-new 2024 Crown Signia, Toyota steps up its game to compete with midsize, two-row segment leaders like the Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Passport, Chevy Blazer and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Once the class geek, the 2024 North American Car of the Year Toyota Prius is now class prom queen, its fashionable wardrobe the halo for the brand’s model lineup. Its simple, timeless lines and slim fascia are mirrored in the Camry, Crown and Crown Signia models. Gone are the huge, sperm whale maws that looked like they could swallow an ocean of fish.
Indeed, I prefer it to the polarizing, look-at-me stylings of the Lexus RX, its luxury stablemate that costs a cool 5 grand more. The Lexus is the bell bottom pants from fashion week compared to the Signia jeans.
The Toyota crossover is as easy to operate as it is on the eyes.
Cargo space is generous and dexterous. For my trip north, I needed the latter. I was carrying a Honda Motocompacto electric motorbike that folds up into, essentially, a 40-pound card table that has to be laid flat. I arranged a carry-on suitcase next to it, then laid flat one of the second-row seats to accommodate a long tennis bag as well.
With the second-row seats up, legroom is generous and can fit six-foot basketball players with room to spare. We were the easy choice to shuttle friends during the week on the way to large gatherings.
“I have the best seat in the house,” marveled pal Kay from the backseat, lounging beneath the full-length panoramic roof and generous side windows. Though she noted the panoramic roof was an issue with my 6’5” giraffe neck stuffed into it. Anyone taller would have an issue.
Front-row seating was comfortable with lush leather appointments and trim that rivaled its Lexus peers.
I had no issue with the controls, a welcome relief as both Toyota and Lexus brands have strayed toward the unconventional in past models. Toyota has experimented with guitar-shaped consoles in the Highlander and mousepad infotainment controls in Lexus. Crown Signia, by contrast, is built for comfort. Dare I say, its ergonomics even rivaled Chevy, the segment standard.
The Toyota shares features with other automakers to provide a superb driving experience in this electronics-rich age. Like current Chevy models, Signia deploys dual digital screens set high on the dash. That made for easy operation as I cruised I-75 on a busy weekend — periodically adjusting Google Maps to check for traffic backups as well as choosing Spotify playlists.
Those latter features are courtesy of wireless Android Auto, a technology Toyota initially resisted but has nicely integrated into the midsize ute. Also nicely integrated are steering wheel-based volume and channel controls so that, as with Volkswagen products, you can adjust your radio without your hands leaving the steering wheel
Toyota has evolved with monostable electronic shifters, and the Crown Signia has one of the best in the business. Compact, intuitive and shared with Lexus, it operates on a single vertical track between DRIVE and REVERSE so that I never had to look down at the shift pattern. Backing in and out of tight spaces was a cinch.
Unfortunately, Toyota does not translate this clever design into more console room like other makers. Signia offers compartments for phone charging and drink bottles, but little else.
Following Prius, Crown Signia’s drivetrain is optimized for fuel economy. Toyota, of course, was the darling of the Left back in 2003 for hybrid drivetrains but has become corporate non grata for refusing to follow the other lemmings over the all-electric cliff. You won’t see Leonardo DiCaprio driving up to the Oscars in a Crown Signia, but families will love its 475-mile range.
I drove to Charlevoix and back with a single 5-minute stop at the gas pump to refuel — the Signia averaging 36 miles per gallon, which is not far off the 2003 Prius’s 41 mpg. It’s also a healthy 10-15 mpg north of class competitors.
Your penalty is a droning, continuously-variable transmission which Toyota has — absurdly — complemented with paddle shifters, which are destined to be the most underutilized paddles in autodom. I never touched them. Still, the powertrain was competent at propelling the big crossover about town, and its excellent, lightweight, 4,200-pound chassis responded well to my lashing through M-32’s twisties in northern Michigan.
Toyota has also come a long way in the technology department. Short of ambitious self-drive systems from Tesla, GM and Ford, Hyundai’s Santa Fe has impressed with a lane-centering adaptive-cruise system that allows relaxed driving with minimal steering input on divided highways.
Crown Signia’s ACC is similarly competent, though it will nanny you every 15 seconds if you don’t have at least a finger on the wheel. More good ergonomics pepper the wheel. Want to set your speed? Just push the ACC button once. Want to return to your previous speed? Finger RESET.
It sure beats Lexus’s distracting ACC system, which is run through a head-up display. Indeed, as I cruised past a 2024 Lexus RX on I-75 on my way back to Detroit, I wondered if the luxe badge was nervous.
Similar infotainment system, shifter, hybrid drivetrain, interior appointments — plus better looks, better value.
If your blue jeans are comfortable, why pay the premium for a designer brand?
2025 Toyota Crown Signia
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV
Price: $44,585 base, including $1,095 destination fee ($49,085 Limited as tested)
Powerplant: 2.5-liter inline-4 cylinder hybrid combined with nickel-metal hydride battery and electric motor
Transmission: Continuously variable
Power: 420 horsepower
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.0 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing capacity: 2,700 pounds
Weight: 4,210 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA est. 39 city/37 highway/38 combined
Report card
Highs: Prettier than Lexus; sippy on fuel
Lows: CVT drones; tight headroom for six-footers
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Affordable cars: VW Jetta gets cheaper, adds tech ‘n’ style
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 28, 2024
While manufacturers work on the elusive, $25,000 electric car, the internal combustion engine market has gotten a shot in the arm with new, more affordable, more content-rich $25,000 models.
The latest is from Volkswagen, which cut the price on its base, $23k Jetta compact sedan while bringing in more standard safety features. Reskinned for the 2025, the Jetta boasts an impressive 528 miles of gas range.
The Jetta follows the $21,495 Chevrolet Trax, $22,775 Hyundai Elantra and $22,320 Nissan Sentra as recently-introduced entry-level vehicles with significant upgrades.
The refreshed 2025 VW Jetta, front, starts around $23,000. The GLI performance model, rear, requires more money for more fun. JAMES LIPMAN, VW
While Detroit automakers have abandoned sedans for all-SUV lineups, foreign automakers like VW continue to offer compact sedans Like many automakers, VW says it is transitioning to an all-electric lineup and has discontinued development on internal-combustion drivetrains. But VW’s EV lineup in the United States is focused on premium customers, starting with the ID.4 SUV at over $41,000 selling just 28,031 vehicles.
ICE vehicles remain the entrée to the brand and the Jetta easily outsells the ID.4. It aims to continue its job of attracting new buyers with 2025 model year upgrades.
Standard on all Jettas, including the S base trim, is the so-called IQ.Drive system, which uses a suite of hardware – front and rear radar, front camera, and several ultrasound sensors – to equip the sedan with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, forward collision warning, auto emergency braking, pedestrian monitoring, rear backup traffic alert and lane-keep assist.
A floating, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system anchors the horizontal dash and its so-called “three-bar” design. Upper-trim models starting with the SE (likely priced around $27k) now include features like SiriusXM satellite radio, voice control, wireless charging and smartphone connect for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Such high-tech goo-gaws were once the domain of luxury vehicles like Mercedes and Tesla, but now are increasingly standard on the market’s most affordable vehicles. This tech is embedded in a new Jetta dash display that mimics the smartphone tablets that define tech culture.
Equipped with a eight-speed automatic transmission, the Jetta starts at $23,220 – $240 less than the 2024 model with an automatic transmission. A cheaper, manual transmission car has been discontinued.
The Jetta’s new interior is wrapped in a sleek, more athletic exterior that echoes the brand’s GTI hot hatch. The front grille has been slimmed and the taillight is a single, horizontal piece.
Under the hood, the Jetta retains its 1.5-liter, 158-horsepower turbo-4 engine. The 528 miles of range remains one of ICE vehicles’ significant advantages over EV peers. The cheapest EV on the market today is the $29k Nissan Leaf with just 150 miles of range. Batteries cost money.
The $41k VW ID.4 has range of 263, miles, or about half the Jetta, and can add 60 miles of charge in 10 minutes at a DC fast charger. The Jetta can fill up its 13.2-gallon tank in about two minutes.
The 2025 VW Jetta GLI, front, is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-4 that has 228 horses on offer. JAMES LIPMAN, VW
The Jetta saves the manual for its performance version, the GLI – aka the “GTI with a trunk.” The sporty GLI packs a 2.0-liter turbo-4 that ups power to 228 horses. Other performance upgrades include larger brakes and limited-slip differential. Expect the GLI to start at about $30k.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
King of the Mountain: Ford Lightning SuperTruck lights up Pikes Pike Hill Climb
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 28, 2024
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s . . . Supertruck.
Colorado’s famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has a new King of the Mountain: the bonkers, slammed, winged, 1,600-horsepower Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck with more aerodynamic downforce than an IndyCar. So modified is the ferocious pickup to achieve its mission of conquering the Colorado hill’s 12.4-mile, 156-turn course that it looks more like something out of the latest Mad Max movie, “Furiosa,” than its production parent.
Driven by French race driver Romain Dumas, the Ford-badged beast made the fastest pass of the 61-car field at Pikes Peak’s 102nd running in a time of 8:53.6 minutes on Sunday.
The wicked-looking Ford’s feat was the latest performance mark set by the Blue Oval’s lineup of so-called EV Demonstrators developed by its Ford Performance division. EVs are especially well-suited to high-altitude hill-climb events like the 14,115-foot Pike’s Peak. Where internal combustion engines — which light off air and fuel in a combustion chamber — are starved for power in high-altitude thin air, electric motors just keep on humming.
The lap was well off the Hill Climb record — also set by Dumas in an electric VW supercar — which is just under 8 minutes. Part of that gap involved a 26-second delay on course when the SuperTruck came to a complete stop and had to be rebooted by the driver. The truck’s improbable feat follows the debut of the 1,400-horse SuperVan 4.2 at the 2023 Hill Climb event.
“The progression of Ford EV’s taking on and completing the toughest challenges is a major testament to the hard work and dedication our teams have put into the program,” said Ford Performance boss Mark Rushbrook. “We learned a great deal from SuperVan 4.2 in last year’s Pikes Peak International Hill climb and were able to apply that knowledge to this year’s run.”
SuperVan recorded a slightly-quicker time of 8.47.7 in the same Open Class. In addition to horsepower, the SuperTruck’s 6,000 pounds of downforce was key to a fast time on the uphill circuit, given its high-speed corners and harrowing drop-offs at road’s edge.
Ford has touted the speed of its battery-powered models with a series of EV Demonstrator vehicles. Its electric dragster, the Cobra Ket 1800, holds the National Hot Rod Association record for the fastest quarter-mile record: 7.76 seconds at 180 mph. Race shop RTR Vehicles helped Ford Performance develop the drifting, all-wheel-drive, seven-motor, Mustang Mach-E 1400 and mud-slinging Lightning Switchgear off-road truck.
Supertruck’s feat comes in the wake of slowing sales for EVs like the F-150 Lightning. Ford last year planned to produced 3,200 Lightnings per week but has slowed that to 1,600 on softening demand. Ford reduced production to one shift at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in April.
“The Ford SuperTruck reflects well on EVs in a market where buyers are increasingly doubtful about EVs’ performance,” said Executive Analyst Karl Brauer of iSeeCars. “But buyers have been shying from EV trucks because they need pickups to do things like carry payload and tow.”
While the Cobra Jet EV dragster and Mustang Mach-E are in sync with the Mustang sub-brand’s speed culture, he questioned the SuperTruck’s purpose.
“Touting the capabilities of their products is what automakers do,” said the veteran analyst. “Toughness for off-road vehicles, speed for sports cars. The biggest concern of truck buyers is whether an EV has the range to tow effectively. I don’t know how many truck owners are going to race their truck.”
The SuperTruck and SuperVan were both developed in conjunction with the Austria-based Stohl Advanced Research and Development, which specializes in battery-fired race and rally beasts.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cadillac in Europe: V-8s at Le Mans, EVs in Paris
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
Le Mans, France — Cadillac is coming into Europe with fire and ice.
General Motors Co.’s iconic luxury brand scored a front-row start at France’s famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race over the weekend, propelled by its earth-shaking V-8 engine whose impact could be felt 130 miles away in Paris, where Cadillac’s first showroom has opened showcasing stealthy, electric SUVs.
The dual strategy opens a new, international chapter for Cadillac as an electric brand amplified by good ol’ American performance.
“It’s our opportunity to return (to Le Mans) for the first time in 20 years,” John Roth, vice president for Global Cadillac, said track-side ahead of the 24-hour epic. ”We had a great podium performance last year (placing third) and super opportunity to showcase our engineering excellence to an ever-growing global fan base.”
But whereas Cadillac’s last effort in 2000-02 fizzled on the track and in the showroom, the 2024 effort was much more focused, with significant company backing.
On the racing front, Cadillac’s V-Series.R entries in the top Hypercar class have already established themselves as one of the best race cars in the world with four championships in North America’s IMSA series in the past seven years. Cadillac Hypercars followed a third-place, podium finish in their 2023 Le Mans debut with an impressive, three-car entry in 2024 — the fastest of the squadron qualifying on the front row and leading 61 laps before dropping to 7th at race end.
On the product front, Cadillac is taking a page from Tesla Inc. The luxury brand is coming into Europe as a fresh, EV-only brand, selling cars directly to consumers through company-owned retails stores in urban retail spaces — its operations unburdened by government emissions regulations like those facing European legacy automakers.
“We are entering Europe at an ideal time,” said Cadillac President of Europe Jaclyn McQuaid. “First, we have exceptional EV portfolio starting with the Lyriq and Optiq and more product coming. Second, the population in Europe is interested in EVs at a higher rate than interest in other parts of world. And third, we have governments that are supportive. It’s the perfect storm.”
Europeans have already embraced Cadillac Hypercars storming around France’s most storied racetrack. The #2 Cadillac piloted by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and IndyCar superstar Alex Palou entertained fans by swapping the lead throughout the race with Porsche Penske, Ferrari, and Toyota Hypercars — its distinctive, normally-aspirated V-8 roaring above the turbocharged machines.
The V8-powered V-Series and battery-powered Lyriq and Optiq models may seem an odd couple, but Roth sees them as complementary on a continent that prizes speed and luxury.
The V-Series.R actually competes in Le Mans’ wicked-quick hybrid class — employing battery power to exit the pits before lighting off the V-8 for 200-mph laps on course.
“We translate our performance excellence on track to what we do around aerodynamics, tires and efficiency in our electric production cars,” said Roth. “Many of our engineers who are working on the Cadillac on track translate that back to engineers in Michigan — and back to EVs. Endurance racing allows us . . . to learn quickly as engineers — and to respond to evolving knowledge that we put into our vehicles on the street.”
That knowledge extends to the European sales side where Cadillac is, for the first time in its history, selling directly to customers.
24 Hours of Le Mans 2024: Jaclyn McQuaid is the head of Cadillac of Europe. Henry Payne, The Detroit News“We started last year in Switzerland and Sweden with a direct-to-consumer model,” said McQuaid. “Then we launched stores earlier this year in Germany and in France. Starting with Lyriq, which is on sale now, and we just introduced Optiq at our flagship Paris store.”
The Cadillac are distinct on track with their rib-rattling V-8s, and the #2 V-Series.R ran in the Top 5 for much of Le Mans.
“My first stint at Le Mans was amazing,” said Palou, the reigning IndyCar champion who was brought onboard the Caddy team for the French race. “We were losing sunlight, it was raining, we went on wets, and the track started drying. I had a bit of everything and . . . some issues at the beginning of the race with balance, but we’re back in the game.”
After sporadic sales through dealers in Europe for years, Cadillac is back in the game in Europe with its own stores. The glamorous Cadillac City Paris store is across from the famed Palais Garnier opera house in the heart of the French capital — the flagship store intended to attract premium buyers looking for something different with Caddy’s edgy design.
“Racing elevates the brand experience, but even in Europe we are learning that customers are different,” said McQuaid, who says that European customers have been attracted to the brand’s bold styling. “Germans focus on performance, and the French like to know the history. At our Paris store, you can learn about the 120 years of Cadillac on our heritage wall, then configure and purchase a Lyriq.”
Cadillac’s dual strategy was on display at Le Mans, where Cadillac deployed its electric Lyriq and Optiq in the track’s central “Manufacturers’ Village” while the V-Series.R circled the 8.5-mile circuit. The Optiq anchored the display space, while the Lyriq was out front in the middle of the pedestrian midway.
“We often say that Cadillac is at its best while innovating, and that innovation starts right here on the race track,” said Roth. “If you can perform on the track, then you can perform on the street.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Mustang at Le Mans: America’s pony wants to conquer Europe
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
Le Mans, France — At the drop of the green flag Saturday at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #77 Ford Mustang race car surged past the #66 Ferrari 296 and #92 Porsche 911 to challenge the #70 McLaren 720S for the GT3 class lead.
Come again?
Ford has opened a new chapter in its iconic Mustang’s history as the affordable sportscar did battle against the world’s elite supercars at this year’s premier international endurance race — and on the road. As the Mustang GT3 finished an impressive 3rd and 4th in its Le Mans debut before the 8.5-mile circuit’s packed grandstands, fans also got to ogle the street legal, 800-plus-horsepower Mustang GTD that is taking aim at the Europe’s supercars. From the $40,000 Ecoboost convertible to the (estimated) $300,000 GTD, that’s a lot of bandwidth for the world’s best-selling sportscar.
The Ford Mustang GT3 on track during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The automaker is producing a street-legal version, the 2025 Mustang GTD. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News“This is part of our transition of Mustang from an American muscle car to a global sportscar,” said Will Ford, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr.’s son and the general manager of the Ford Performance division responsible for Ford’s racing programs. “We are competing against the world’s best supercars while keeping Mustang true to its roots as an affordable sportscar.”
With a new generation of Ford family comes a new generation of Ford Mustang. The seventh-gen model is now sold in 144 countries around the world, including continents like Europe where Mustang’s distinctive, V8-powered performance — and corresponding high cost — is considered a premium alternative to Continent favorites like Porsche and BMW. Due to high European auto taxes and emissions fees on V-8s, a Mustang GT can cost anywhere from about $70,000 in England to over $120,000 in France.
Anders Nannerup lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, and owns four Mustangs, including this 2022 Mach 1. He traveled to France for the 24 Hour of Le Mans. Courtesy Of Anders Nannerup, Anders Nannerup
“If you are buying a Mustang in Europe, then it’s got to be a V-8,” said Anders Nannerup, 57, who owns a 2022 Mustang Mach 1 and drove 16 hours from Copenhagen, Denmark to attend Le Mans this year. “But if you buy in Demark you can expect double the price as in America due to import taxes.”
What has not changed across Ford’s generations is the passion to race. Founder Henry Ford competed in the Grosse Pointe Sweepstakes race to raise money from investors, Henry “The Deuce” Ford II took on Ferrari in the 1966 Le Mans and won in the Italian stallion’s backyard (inspiring the Oscar-winning, Hollywood hit, Ford v Ferrari), and Ford returned to the Circuit de le Sarthe in 2016 to win again in class on the 50th anniversary.
Now a new generation of father and son are teeing up their pony cars. It’s Mustang vs. Everybody.
“We’re thrilled to bring Mustang here to race, and frankly so are the organizers,” said Bill Ford, Jr. “Mustang is such an iconic vehicle around the world.”
To prove his point, Le Mans’ signature downtown parade on Friday before the race featured numerous classic Mustangs from French collections, including a yellow 1971 Mustang Boss 351.
“We race all around the world for our brand. The once constant with Ford Motor Company through our entire history is that we have always raced,” Executive Chairman Ford said in the Le Mans paddock Saturday before the 24 Hours. “We were born on the race track. There is real connection between Mustang and customers. People love Mustang.”
Denmark owner Nannerup fell in love with Mustang as a high school exchange student in Oregon. He now owns four — all V8-powered — including a 1968 model, a 1985 and a 2012 in addition to his latest Mach 1.
“I really like the 2022 body style, which harkens back to 1969. Great looks, good power,” said the former president of the Denmark Mustang Club, which has an estimated 1,600 members.
That was apparent at Ford’s display in the Le Mans “Manufacturer’s Village” — a sort of mini-car show where automakers display their production cars. The Ford display was mobbed all day Saturday with fans eager to get a glimpse of the 2025 Mustang GTD — essentially a road version of the Mustang GT3 racer on track —but with a livable interior.
Bill and Will started plotting this day back in 2015 when Ford debuted the last (sixth) generation Mustang and marketed it to dozens of foreign markets for the first time.
“Le Mans is the Indy 500 of European racing,” said Will Ford. He pointed to the increase in fan interest over the past decade, evidenced by this year’s total of 329,000 spectators. “When we came here in 2015, attendance was 250,000.”
Credit in part Ford and numerous other performance brands — Cadillac, Chevy Corvette, Lamborghini, BMW, McLaren, Porsche Penske — that have taken advantage of common GT-class racing rules in Europe and North America to create a 62-car field featuring some of the closest sportscar racing in motorsports history.
When Ford introduced the new Mustang ahead of the Detroit auto show in September 2022 in Hart Plaza, Bill Ford shared with fans what his team had been plotting for years.
“When this car was being conceived, the first question I asked the team is, ‘Will it race at Le Mans?'” the executive chairman told reporters. “‘And if the answer is no, go back and give me another answer.'”
The anticipation o Ford’s debut here this weekend not only attracted fans from Europe — it brought Mustang owners from the United States.
“It’s relay cool to see the Europeans cheering on the Mustang V-8,” said Kevin Clabert, 44, of New Orleans, who collects Fords that include a 1926 Model T, a 1965 Shelby Mustang and a mid-engine 2020 Ford GT. “And with this GTD, Ford is showing that it is leading the way in investing in cutting-edge industry tech.”
If the Mustang GT3 racer’s goal is to beat Porsche at Le Mans, then the GTD’s goal is nothing short of challenging the industry’s production performance standard, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS — and its 6:44.8-minute lap around the famed 13-mile Nürburgring race track in Germany.
“This is an extremely athletic Mustang,” said Mustang brand manager Jim Owens of the GTD that will be open to order across the globe from North America to Europe to the Middle East. “It’s more Pat Mahomes than Ben Roethlisberger. It will change hearts and minds about American muscle cars.”
Scottsdale, Arizona’s Chip Beck, a Mustang GT350 and Ford GT owner, is moderator of the U.S. Ford GT Forum and came across the pond to join Mustang’s European invasion. He has his eye on a GTD.
“The Le Mans car, the GTD, this is the whole ball of wax,” he said with a smile. “People here in Europe buy V-8 Mustangs to create a stir. And now Ford is racing a Mustang here that people want to drive to work every day.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Detroit at Le Mans: Ferrari denies Penske, but Mustang wows
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
Le Mans, France — Detroit racing brands descended on the 24 Hours of Le Mans to take on the world’s elite, but came up just shy of their quest Sunday for the most coveted trophy in international auto racing.
In appalling, wet conditions, Ferrari denied Roger Penske his first Le Mans victory in the top, Hypercar class, but Ford Mustang made an impressive Le Mans debut in the GT3 class, finishing 3rd and 4th behind Porsche and BMW competitors. Ferrari’s Hypercar win also denied Penske’s partner, Porsche, its 20th Le Mans victory, but the team made big strides over its 2023 Hypercar debut with a high 4th place finish the best of its three entries.
Cadillac also entered three cars in the Hypercar category and ran at the front of the field for long stretches — eventually dropping to seventh at race end. Chevy Corvette, in its GT3 debut, finished 11th and 15th.
Despite the weather, the 92nd running of Le Mans attracted a massive, sellout crowd of 329,000 people — energized by the close competition between the world’s most accomplished performance brands — over the two-day race for sportscar glory. In addition to Penske’s quest for Le Mans immortality, Cadillac and Ford used the race to publicize new products on offer to European customers: the Ford Mustang GTD and Cadillac Lyriq/Optiq electric cars.
If Penske didn’t get the chance to climb the Le Mans podium, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. did — celebrating with his team of third-place drivers in the #88 Mustang GT3.
Detroit front row: GM CEO Mary Barra and Roger Penske hang out together by the pole-sitting Porsche Penske on the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The #3 Cadillac qualified next to the Porsche. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Mustang was the surprise of the race, challenging the favored Porsche, BMW and pole-sitting McLaren teams for the win. Early contender #77 Mustang fell by the wayside, but the #88 and #44 cars took up the baton and battled all night long through rainy conditions that got so difficult that the pace car was deployed under the yellow flag for three hours because the 8.5-mile track got so dicey.
Both the Mustangs and Cadillacs featured naturally-aspirated V-8s, and their distinctive, Motown tune could be heard around the track around the clock.
Cadillac continued to prove that it belongs in international racing after futile efforts at Le Mans in 1950 and 2001-03. The #3 Cadillac qualified on the front row and led the field to green alongside the #6 Porsche Penske at 4 p.m. Saturday. In the infield, meanwhile, European fans swarmed the Cadillac display that featured the brand’s first EVs available in Europe.
For the second year in a row, Cadillac was a contender for the podium in the field of 23 Hypercars — faltering only as conditions made for tricky judgment calls on when to switch from dry to wet tires. With a veteran sportscar driver lineup complemented by IndyCar aces Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, the Caddys consistently challenged for the lead in the early hours and led 61 of 311 laps.
Palou himself led multiple laps in the #2 Cadillac into Sunday afternoon before dropping to 7th at the finish.
“It was a lot of fun till the end just because of that hope of trying to get the win but failing at the end,” Palou said. “It was a great experience the first time doing Le Mans with Cadillac. It was actually the first time I drove in the rain at night. It was a first time for many things this year.”
The #311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, was not so lucky, clouting the wall in the treacherous conditions. And the #3 car suffered an oil leak and had to retire.
The TF Sport Corvette team was more resilient, soldiering to the end in 11th and 15th place in the GT3 class.
“I’m happy to get to the end of the race,” said driver Charlie Eastwood of the #81 Corvette. “It threw close to everything at us, especially with the weather and conditions. There were a lot of tricky stints. There wasn’t a single stint in full dry conditions, which I can’t believe in a 24-hour race.”
The #81 Corvette Z06 finished 11th in the GT3 class. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit NewsPorsche Penske improve mightily on its disappointing 2023 debut by qualifying on pole and finishing 4th and 6th. Roger Penske’s first Le Mams win have to wait another year, however — as will Porsche’s quest for a 20th Le Mans.
“A very rainy 24 Hours of Le Mans has come to an end,” said Team Penske’s Jonathan Diuguid, managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “We really wanted to challenge Ferrari and Toyota for victory. The best position for our #6 is fourth place. We had set ourselves higher goals. Still, things went much better than last year.”
Ferrari made its own history with the #50 team of Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina bringing home the Italian brand’s 40th Le Mans victory with a 14-second win over Toyota.
The #6 Porsche put on the best show in the final stages as it closed on the third-place #51 Ferrari, bidding for a podium finish. The Ferrari held off the Porsche Penske sportscar for third after Porsche ace Laurens Vanthoor whittled the gap to just over a second.
With common, international racing rules and expanding foreign market opportunities, all four Detroit brands will be back for 2025.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Penske at Le Mans: The Captain’s quest with Porsche for the ultimate sportscar glory
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
Le Mans, France — The 87-year-old Detroit industrialist Roger Penske has made motorsports success the centerpiece of his sprawling, global business empire with 20 Indy 500s, 17 IndyCar championships, 16 Australian Supercar titles, four NASCAR titles, three Daytona 500 races and two Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
But one item on his bucket list has eluded him: a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the globe’s most prestigious sportscar race. Penske drove in the 24 Hours of Le Mans just once, for Italian sportscar maker Ferrari in 1963, and fielded entries in 1971, again with Ferrari, and last year with the winningest Le Mans brand of all time, German sportscar maker Porsche, which has won the 24 Hours 19 times.
Hungry for victory in 2024, he has reunited with Porsche in a historic bid to win the Big One. The Porsche Penske all-star team had previously scored championships in 1972 and 2006-08 in two North American sportscar series. The team this June has entered three Porsche 963 Hypercars, driven by the world’s top sportscar drivers, for an all-out assault on the grueling, twice-around the clock contest Saturday and Sunday.
On Thursday, the #6 Porsche Penske driven by Kevin Estre delivered Penske his first Le Mans pole position, nipping Cadillac by 0.1 seconds in the final moments of Hyperpole qualifying.
“Over the course of my career, our teams have been fortunate to produce many significant victories, including wins at some of the biggest race events in the world,” said the soft-spoken Captain, as his troops affectionally call him, in an interview ahead of the French epic. “The 24 Hours of Le Mans has such great tradition and prestige. It’s an event where our teams have never experienced victory, so it would be a special accomplishment, both for our team as well as for our partners at Porsche.”
The respect is mutual.“When it came to choosing a partner for our new program with the Porsche 963, Team Penske was the logical choice,” said Vice President of Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach in an interview, “especially because we were looking for a global WEC and IMSA partner.”A rare alignment of the two premier international motorsports sanctioning bodies, Europe’s World Entrance Championship and North America’s International Motor Sports Association, opened an opportunity for the racing community to compete across the globe under common rules. Porsche Penske jumped at the chance, uniting the motorsports legends for the first time since 2008 when they successfully teamed in an RS Spyder in North America’s smaller LMP2 class.
“The common past in U.S. motorsports was highly successful. I personally was even a part of it,” Laudenbach said. “In the successful years with the RS Spyder, I was responsible for the engines. Back then, I was able to see very clearly the demands, ambitions and high standards of Team Penske. Without any doubt, Roger Penske’s team is the right partner.”
The Hypercar category, the world’s fastest sportscar class with speeds in excess of 200 mph at Le Mans, raises the bar. From the front of the grid, the pole-sitting Porsche Penske 963 will have to hold off an Olympian field of 25 winged, hybrid-powered, prototype Hypercars to take the top step of the podium.
“In 24-hour races, I’ve learned that, if you’re not there at the end of it, it doesn’t matter where you start,” deadpanned Penske at a press conference Friday. “Our goal is to be (at the winner’s press conference) Sunday night.”
Rivals include Alpine A424, BMW M, Cadillac V-Series.R, Lamborghini SC63, Peugeot 9X8, Toyota GR010 and last year’s winner, Ferrari 499P. In Thursday’s qualifying session, a mere 1 second separated the top 6 Hypercars across an 8.5-mile lap.
“With such a rich history, Le Mans is the world’s most historic endurance race,” Penske said. “And the competition is part of what makes this event so special with increased Hypercar entries year over year.”
Hypercars will compete in a ferocious mixed-class race that includes less powerful, so-called LMP2 prototypes, and production-based GT3 beasts, including household names like Aston Martin Vantage, Chevy Corvette Z06, Ferrari 269, Ford Mustang, Lamborghini Huracan and McLaren 720.
“If there is one race you want to win, this is the one,” said sportscar ace Estre, who put Penske in pole position at Le Mans for the first time.
In addition to fighting each other, Hypercar drivers must negotiate traffic through the other classes having their own podium battles. It makes for exciting — and harrowing — racing as Hypercars duck and cut between cars. The huge, 62-car, three-class entry comes despite the most draconian government auto regulations since the 1970s — regulations that, combined with the OPEC oil crisis, threatened racing’s existence at the time. But 50 years later, manufacturers have adroitly negotiated political trends — fielding hybrid powertrains powered by synthetic fuels — to perpetuate the sport.
After a teething year in 2023 that included a disappointing ninth-place Le Mans debut marked by on-track incidents and mechanical hiccups, Porsche Penske has been on a roll this year. The team opened the season by winning IMSA’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona (The Captain’s first Rolex since 1969), defeating Cadillac in a fierce, down-to-the-wire battle. On the WEC front, Porsche Penske is leading the WEC manufacturer’s championship after a win in Qatar, and will take the green flag on pole for Saturday’s 4 p.m. (Le Mans time) race start.
Belgian driver Laurens Vanthoor, co-driving the #6 963 this weekend with four-time Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer and Estre, told Sportscar365.com that the team is “night and day” different from a year ago. Porsche Penske managing director John Diuguid agreed.
“It’s definitely a different atmosphere,” he told the racing publication. “You can probably see it on the faces of everybody around here. We have all the spares prepared, and a lot of our engineering tools and processes are in place.”
It’s a familiar march for Penske, who has built winning relationships over the last seven decades with manufacturers as varied as Chevrolet, Ford and Acura. “We are proud to work with Porsche as we have built this program the right way from the ground up,” he said.
Yet, for all its success with Team Penske, Porsche has not put its eggs in one basket. To encourage inter-team competition, race shops Hertz Team Jota and Proton Competition have also prepared 963 Hypercars for Le Mans.
“Yeah, they could beat us,” Vanthoor said.
For The Captain, the Le Mans opportunity is the culmination of a sportscar career working with Porsche dating back six decades.
“To experience victory at this event with Porsche would be something truly special,” he said.
And what would a Le Mans win would mean to his Bloomfield Hills-based organization? “With our history of winning at some of the most prestigious races in the world, Le Mans would be quite an accomplishment to add to our racing heritage.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
How to watch
The 24 Hours of Le Mans begins at 4 p.m. Saturday Le Mans time (10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).
In the United States, the race will be broadcast by the Max streaming service and the Discovery+ pay TV channel.
In Canada, the race will be shown on the CTV digital platform.
Source: FIA World Endurance Championship
24 Hours of Le Mans: Penske and Cadillac sweep front row
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
Le Mans, France — In a show of Motor City muscle, Detroit race teams swept the front row for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Partnered with Porsche, Team Penske’s 963 Hypercar nipped the Cadillac V-Series.R for pole in the final seconds of Thursday qualifying while Chairman Roger Penske looked on. The 87-year old Penske is seeking his first Le Mans win in an illustrious racing career.
Le Mans, France — In a show of Motor City muscle, Detroit race teams swept the front row for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Partnered with Porsche, Team Penske’s 963 Hypercar nipped the Cadillac V-Series.R for pole in the final seconds of Thursday qualifying while Chairman Roger Penske looked on. The 87-year old Penske is seeking his first Le Mans win in an illustrious racing career.
Le Mans, France — In a show of Motor City muscle, Detroit race teams swept the front row for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Partnered with Porsche, Team Penske’s 963 Hypercar nipped the Cadillac V-Series.R for pole in the final seconds of Thursday qualifying while Chairman Roger Penske looked on. The 87-year old Penske is seeking his first Le Mans win in an illustrious racing career.
The 92nd running of the world’s greatest endurance race has brought an unprecedented entry from Motown brands, including three Hypercars from Porsche Penske Racing, three Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercars, two Ford Mustang GT3 racers and two Chevy Corvette Z06.R GT3s.
The #6 Porsche 963 piloted by Kevin Estre and #2 Caddy entered by Chip Ganassi Racing will lead the 62-car, multi-class field to green at 4 p.m. local time Saturday after a thrilling qualifying duel that saw the Porsche Penske and Cadillac machines out-duel Hypercar entries from Ferrari, Toyota and BMW. Pole-sitter Estre beat Cadillac driver Alex Lynn’s lap by just 0.148 seconds.
Adding to the Motor City swagger, Ford’s Mustang entry qualified an impressive fourth in the GT3 class in its Le Mans debut. The Proton Competition entry will start behind only McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari entries in the 25-car GT3 field.
The #6 Porsche 963 will sit in pole position for the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
The Corvette TF Sport team also qualified strongly with a seventh place starting grid effort.
Cadillac nearly had two cars on the front row for the 24-hour marathon before Frenchman Estre’s heroics on his last qualifying lap.
“Seeing us in pole position for Le Mans is really a dream come true,” Penske said at a Friday press conference in the paddock.
The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R almost grabbed the pole for Saturday’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. It will start second behind the #6 Porsche 963. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
Cadillac has been the dominant make in North American IMSA prototype racing over the last six years, and last year — thanks to international sportscar rules changes — it got a shot at the 2023 Le Mans, finishing on the podium in third place. The Ganassi and Whelen race teams have looked strong all week.
“I’m so proud of everyone tonight,” said #2 Cadillac driver Lynn. “Qualifying at Le Mans is a big moment because it’s a true test of pure speed. I think Cadillac with second and third position was a great night for the whole team and I’m proud that I had the privilege to drive with everyone’s efforts behind me.”
All three Cadillac Racing Hypercar entries ranked in the top seven of the Wednesday qualifying preceding Hyperpole on Thursday as the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R displayed the pace the Action Express Racing-run team has expected.
The #77 Mustang GT3 qualified fourth in class for the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Michele Scudiero, Ford
“We’ve definitely made steps forward, which is great because this was the last opportunity to improve the car before the race,” driver Jack Aitken said. “We started a bit on the back foot, but we’re feeling a lot more comfortable with it now. We’re clearly much more in the ballpark and now it’s a matter of fine-tuning.”
The Ford Mustang wowed in its Le Mans qualifying run, outpacing veteran entries from Aston Martin, Porsche 91 and Lamborghini.
“That’s the best lap I’ve ever done around here,” said Ryan Hardwick, driver of the #77 Proton Competition Mustang GT3. “It was only five-tenths from second (place), which is very close. The car was such a joy to drive, and it’s been the best it’s been all week. I really like our chances of being really competitive in the 24-hour race.”
The #3 Cadillac will start third when the green flag drops Saturday at Le Mans. Richard Prince, GM
Hiroshi Koizumi was equally upbeat about the performance of the #82 Corvette in TF Sport’s debut at Le Mans in Chevy’s iconic sportscar.
“It’s my first Le Mans and my first Hyperpole,” said the Corvette ace. “I’m so thankful to the team and everyone who is supporting us. We will absorb all the data and learn from it, and hopefully that leads to a good result Sunday.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: e-Xploring Virginia farms in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
Urbanna, Virginia — If you’re traveling to Virginia’s remote, historic Northern Neck, you may want to bring a Jeep.
“You’re free to check out the beach, woods and farmland. Be mindful the trail is grass, dirt, and may be muddy in places,” said a staffer at Rosegill historic farm in Urbanna.
“We have a Jeep,” I replied.
“Oh. Well, you’ll be fine.”
A Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid, to be more specific. Jeep is synonymous with “off-road” in any language, and the Grand is no exception. My standard 4xe rental was not a fully-armed Trailhawk (all-terrain tires, skid plates, detachable front sway bar, 11.3-inch lift, the works) but it was good enough with 10.9-inch lift, a low-speed transfer case and stout 265/60/18 rubber with six inches of sidewall — double that of, say, the low-profile tires on the Tesla Model 3 I last rented through these parts.
If I encountered anything too gnarly, I could just air down the tires to get out. Turns out that wasn’t necessary, and Mrs. Payne and I galloped around the property aboard our eager filly.
So celebrated is the Jeep brand that it plays in the premium space with my midsize Grand Cherokee clocking in at $63,630 — nearly 15 grand north of two superb, full-size, three-row SUVs I recently tested: the $47K Hyundai Santa Fe and $49K Chevy Traverse Z71. Pause for sticker shock. Batteries are all the rage, though, and 4xe qualifies for half ($3,750) of the federal $7,500 EV cash discount, making it $10,000 less than a comparable $70K BMW X5 xDrive50e plug-in.
The 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe has a range of 456 miles — 25 on battery alone. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
A regular V6-powered Grand Cherokee is more affordable at $51.5K, but the 4xe’s 14.0 kWh battery-assisted, turbo-4 cylinder drivetrain is a fun toy to play with — and can drive up to 25 miles on electricity alone to soothe the social conscience of green consumers.
I picked up my spanking-new rental with ZERO charge at Reagan National Airport in D.C. No problem. I selected the HYBRID drivetrain setting and toggled SPORT from the blizzard of modes that also include AUTO, SNOW, ROCK, SAND/MUD and LUNAR SURFACE (kidding about that last one).
The heck with sitting at a 220-volt charger and gaining (maybe) 12 miles in an hour. The Jeep uses the electric motor (maximized in SPORT) to regenerate the battery while you drive. By the time I arrived at my destination in Stratford, Virginia, an hour and a half later, I had added 15 miles to the battery. Next to the HYBRD setting on the dash, I poked e-SAVE to preserve the electrons for another time.
The Grand Cherokee was a pleasant place to be on my 90-mile trip south with its digital instrument display and handsome, thin, vertical console screen. Electronics are advancing rapidly, however, and the Traverse’s 17.7-inch display running (excellent) Google Built-in is much easier to read than the Jeep’s 10-incher run by (excellent) Uconnect.
The 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe has good ground clearance for off-roading – and headroom for passengers. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I paired my phone and wireless Android Auto navigated me through Metro D.C.’s clotted traffic arteries.
While the 14-kWh battery complements the turbo-4 for a healthy 470 pound-feet of torque, the jerky eight-speed transmission often gets in the way. The 4xe has a healthy suite of standard safety systems, including blind-spot assist and adaptive cruise control; I selected ACC for U.S. 301’s four-lane.
Even in adaptive cruise, though, the powertrain was uneven. On a night out with friends later in the weekend, I switched off ACC so as not to jostle rear-seat passengers. Rear legroom, however, is excellent, and they enjoyed the ride.
After crossing U.S. 301’s bridge across the Potomac River into the Northern Neck, population thins and so does the asphalt. I turned onto Virginia Route 3, a narrow, twisted, rural two-lane with plenty of broken center line passing opportunities for sports cars.
Grand Cherokee is no sports car. With its tall stance and big tires, its performance abilities are off-road — not on-road — focused. I cruised undramatically to my Stratford Hall Museum destination.
Once on the historic preserve’s 2,000 acres, I accessed the 15 miles of battery I’d saved up from the road trip.
Poke the ELECTRIC button and the gas engine immediately turns off, turning chores over to two AC motors. I explored the property’s trails (as I would Rosegill later) under smooth electric power. It’s hardly a silent experience, though.
The Jeep emitted a low, sci-fi hum like the UFO that destroyed Edgar the farmer’s truck in “Men in Black.” It’s required of all EVs up to 20 mph to warn pedestrians, even though most modern gas cars are quiet at low speeds. The boisterous V8-powered Jeep Wrangler 392 is the rare exception. All those D.C. regulators gotta keep busy, I suppose.
Descending to Stratford’s beach on the Potomac River, I felt the resistance of regenerative braking and almost one-pedaled the Jeep like a Tesla — the electric motor doing the braking.
On a lush meadow, I shifted to NEUTRAL to access the low-speed transfer case, then explored a long tree line deep into knee-high grass. The Jeep grunted along happily, though I worried about a flat should there have been a sharp rock or pothole hidden in the deep grass. The Jeep has a spare under the rear floor for such emergencies.
After my Rosegill adventure, I stepped back to admire the Jeep’s Silver Zenith paint job. It looked good with a coat of dirt.
For its fifth generation (produced since the 2021 model year), Grand Cherokee stayed true to its classic boxy design, but used advancements in LED technology to narrow its lighting signature that frames a thinner, seven-slot grille.
The effect makes for a leaner, meaner fighting machine. I found plenty of third- and fourth-gen Grand Cherokees driving around the Northern Neck, and the fifth-gen model is a handsome evolution.
The 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe’s boxy shape offers good visibility, but standard blind-spot assist helps, too. Henry Payne, The Detroit NewsFancy prices deserve fancy duds, and you’ll know the 4xe by its electric blue highlights on the badge as well as the big blue “E” emblazoned across the charge port aft of the left front fender.
Despite the layer of Virginia soil I’d added to the Jeep, the blue still stood out.
Tesla’s vast charger network has penetrated the Northern Neck’s 100-mile-long peninsula with four superchargers. But it’ll require a half hour out of your day to fill up. The Jeep’s 400-mile range gas tank fills in two minutes — with an extra 25 miles of e-range so you can hum around historic farms.
Just reassure folks that it’s not a UFO.
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
Vehicle type: Plug-in hybrid, all-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $63,630, including $1,795 destination charge ($63,630 as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter, turbocharged-4 cylinder with 14-kWh lithium-ion battery and electric motor drive
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Weight: 5,368 pounds
Power: 375 horsepower, 470 pound-feet of torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.3 seconds (Car and Driver); towing capacity, 6,000 lbs.
Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 19 city/26 highway/22 combined
Report card
Highs: Iconic looks; fun e-SAVE toys
Lows: Jerky drivetrain; gets pricey
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
24 Hours of Detroit: Motor City racing brands take on Le Mans
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 24, 2024
France has a decidedly Detroit accent this week.
In a rare confluence, the Motor City’s most celebrated racing brands – Penske, Cadillac, Corvette and Ford — will all be vying for glory Saturday and Sunday at the world’s most prestigious sportscar race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A Ford Mustang LMGT3, alternately driven by Christian Ried, Ben Tuck and Christopher Mies. runs practice laps at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Wednesday. It’s among the Detroit Three models that will be racing there Saturday and Sunday. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
If the Indianapolis 500 is the planet’s most demanding driver’s race, then Le Mans is where sports car legends are made. For 87-year old Roger Penske, partnered with Porsche, it is an opportunity to win the one major race that has eluded his trophy case. For Ford, whose GT-40 made Le Mans a household name in Hollywood’s “Ford v Ferrari,” 2024 opens a new era with its Mustang GT3 race car. For Cadillac, Le Mans is an opportunity to showcase battery-powered performance as the brand enters the European market. And for Corvette, the race is an opportunity to match America’s mid-engine supercar against European peers like Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren.
Gagne dimanche et vend lundi. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.
Le Mans’ epic, 8.5-mile track sprawls across a combination of public and private roads that are dedicated to racing each June. Racers routinely hit speeds in excess of 200 mph on its famed Mulsanne Straight with three classes going wheel-to-wheel, rain-or-shine for 24 hours through daylight and the black of night.
Multi-driver teams swap out multi-hour stints in a grueling test of man and machine. The world’s greatest drivers have made their names there — Bell, Ickx, McLaren — as have the world’s most revered sportscars: Porsche 917, Ford GT40, Audi R8, Ferrari 250, Jaguar D-Type.
“In view of its extreme length, with drivers alternating every few hours, night and day, Le Mans demands not only driving skill, but also a considerable amount of tactical thinking,” Lutz said. “It is a driving force in validating new technology, be it in hybrid systems, engines, tires, brakes, even lighting. After all, it is a full night and a full day of maximum performance, straining every component of the car.”
No wonder, then, that a historic partnership between global race sanctioning bodies — North America’s IMSA and Europe’s WEC — allowing manufacturers to race the same cars across multiple continents has attracted a who’s who of auto’s elite for the 2024 race.
Here are the Detroit players.
Team Penske. Teamed with Porsche, with 19 victories the winningest marque in Le Mans history, Penske has put together a formidable racing effort with three cars in the top, Hypercar class. Paddock buzz has them as the favorite over a packed Hypercar field that includes entries from Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, Peugeot, BMW and Lamborghini.
A Porsche 963, one of three Penske entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, roars through a practice lap Wednesday. Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki will take turns behind the wheel this weekend. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
“I think (Porsche Penske) has the edge on every aspect and I wonder what Ferrari and Cadillac are doing,” Toyota Gazoo Racing’s technical director David Floury commented after last weekend’s test sessions. “BMW looks good as well. Behind Porsche, it should be a good fight.”
That respect hasn’t come easily. The Porsche Penske team struggled out of the box in its inaugural, 2023 season with numerous gremlins. The 2023 Le Mans was a disappointment with ninth place the best result of the three Porsche 963s — each suffering incidents or technical defects.
Another Porsche 963, alternately driven by Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy, runs practice laps Wednesday. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
But 2024 began on a strong note with Porsche taking the overall win at IMSA’s 24 Hours of Daytona. On the international WEC stage, Porsche Penske is leading the points championship with wins at Qatar and Spa (Belgium), while its three-car fleet topped Le Mans time charts on test day.
Roger “The Captain” Penske won his record 20th Indy 500 in May so it would be poetic were he to win his first Le Mans in June.
Ford Mustang. This isn’t the Blue Oval’s first French rodeo.
More than any Detroit brand, Ford is synonymous with Le Mans. Ford’s beatdown of Ferrari in 1966 is the stuff of legend — immortalized in the Oscar-nominated blockbuster movie “Ford v Ferrari.” Ford followed that historic win with three more in succession from 1967-1969. Then Ford returned 50 years later with a modern GT to beat Ferrari again in 2016.
This year charts a new course for Ford at Le Mans, one that promises to last for many years. Instead of launching an expensive, limited-run prototype car like Porsche’s 963 (or like its 1960s Ford GT-40 program) Ford is introducing a race version of its best-selling sports car, the Mustang, for GT3-class, production-based race cars.
“This is about Mustang going against the best sports cars in the world,” said Ford Performance Chief Mark Rushbrook in an interview. “Don’t get me wrong — prototype is fantastic, right? It races for the overall win — but it’s more bespoke chassis. Mustang is more representation of the overall brand, and what we want to do is show how great Mustang is.”
“This program gets more Mustangs on track in a sustainable way,” said Rushbrook, “because we’re not racing as a factory, simply spending money. We’re building cars, selling cars, that help our customers keep racing.”
“The Ford Mustang has raced in circuits across the world for decades, and now is the time for us to race our iconic coupe at the most important race in the world,” said Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co. CEO. “Ford has a rich history at Le Mans dating back to the first race in 1923, and we are excited to return to the global stage in what promises to be one of the most exciting races of the modern era.”
Cadillac Racing. For Cadillac, a Le Mans victory would be the icing on a larger corporate effort to introduce Europeans to America’s iconic luxury brand – reinvented as an all-electric brand as Europe bans gas cars by 2035. While the V8-powered Cadillac Hypercar rumbles down Mulsanne with electric hybrid assist, fans at Cadillac’s infield display will ogle the all-electric Optiq and Lyriq SUVs.
The Cadillac V-Series driven alternately by Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon tears up the track during a practice run Wednesday. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
“Le Mans is hugely important for prestige and performance brands,” said Lutz. “For Cadillac, a brand still struggling for technological recognition on both sides of the Atlantic, successful participation is a hugely effective way of communicating excellence in a market where Cadillac is attempting to gain a foothold.”
Cadillac made its debut at Le Mans in 1950, but the brand really focused on racing in the last 10 years with its V-Series prototypes. Under the watchful eye of the Chip Ganassi (also one of Penske’s North American IndyCar rivals) and Whelan Racing teams, Cadillac has been a force in North America, winning the IMSA title four of the last six years.
In its 2023 Le Mans Hypercar debut, Cadillac placed a strong third and looks to climb the ladder this year behind a driver lineup that includes IndyCar aces Scott Dixon, Sébastien Bourdais and Alex Palou.
Chevy Corvette. Like Ford and Mustang, Corvette is pivoting to customer-support racing after years of entering a factory-backed ‘Vette. The factory effort was one of the most successful of the modern era, with Corvette winning Le Mans’ GT class nine times since the turn of the 21st century.
This year, two Corvettes are entered by the British TF Sport team. Success at Le Mans would be a big shot in the arm for GM’s fledgling GT3 customer program.
“Corvette, despite its excellence, is still viewed with a jaundiced eye by many European sportscar fans,” said Lutz. The Z06.R’s high-revving V-8 is matched only by Ferrari’s similar V-8 mill based on a $350k production car costing three times as much.
With 250,000 fans descending on Le Mans for the race weekend — and another 113 million tuning in on television around the world (Motor Trend TV will carry Le Mans exclusively stateside) — the 24 hours race is an international showcase for Detroit iron.
“We are a global company, and have been a global company for a long time,” said Ford’s Rushbrook. “A lot of that history began in the ‘60s (on Le Mans’) global stage against the best car companies. It really is a great opportunity for us to speak to who we are as a company, to speak about our products, to speak about our employees, and to really connect with fans in a full way.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: The first convertible of spring: Ford Mustang
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 6, 2024
Summit Point, West Virginia — Put the top down. Put on your favorite tunes. It’s time for the first convertible of spring.
Our Payne family of four packed into a 2024 Ford Mustang convertible rental and cruised toward downtown Winchester, Virginia, after a full day at Summit Point Raceway. I took requests for favorite rock ‘n’ road tunes — specifically, favorite instrumental song intros. The requests from all four seats piled up, then we cranked up the volume. Hey, Spotify, play:– Hell’s Bells by AC/DC
– Where the Streets Have no Name, U2
– The Final Countdown, Europe
– Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts
– Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
– Thunderstruck, AC/DC (because every playlist should have more than one AC/DC song)With the ‘Stang’s 350-horse turbo-four engine beating a steady rhythm in the background, we rolled merrily to dinner over the Virginia hills.
It’s been another looooong winter, and there’s no better way to celebrate spring than in a convertible on a country road. Or down Woodward. Or at a drive-in theater.
Mrs. Payne and I picked our convertible Mustang at Enterprise Rental at Dulles Airport on the way to West Virginia’s Summit Point Raceway for the annual Jefferson 500. My two sons and I were competing in Lola sports racers. Since my boys were arriving at the track via, respectively, Uber and a VW Golf GTI, I opted for a fun, drop-top coupe that still offered four seats when needed.
That flexibility makes Ford’s convertible a popular choice among renters as well as buyers. It’s a rare convertible option on today’s car lots.
In this SUV/EV age, convertibles are an endangered species under $50K. Sure, you can go topless in an Audi A5, BMW Z4, Jaguar F-Type, Mercedes-Benz SLC or Corvette C8, but you’d better bring a trunk-full of dough. Affordable convertibles have fallen by the wayside: Chevy Camaro, Fiat 124 Spyder, Toyota Solara, Pontiac Solstice, Chrysler Sebring, VW Beetle.
Want a convertible SUV? Your choices are Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco. And as government electric-vehicle mandates squeeze manufacturer bottom lines, niche products like convertibles are harder for automakers to justify. With automakers sounding the alarm bells about global Armageddon, there’s not much room for whimsy. Pity.
Convertible coupes are a visceral treat. Feel the wind in your clothes, touch the sky, hear the noise. But options under $50,000 are scarce. Want to go topless in a Bimmer? They start at 60 grand. A Porsche Boxster? Fill your wheelbarrow with $80K. Your choices are few: Mini, Miata, Mustang.
The 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible is immediately recognizable by its chiseled rear taillights. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I love the $30,00 Mazda Miata — just reach up and peel back its soft top like taking a blanket off your bed (a more sophisticated hardtop is also available). It’s a treat to drive, but not ideal for long trips with my knees under my chin and my head stuffed into the roof (with top up). Mini steps up with a four-seater, but with just five cubic-feet of cargo space.
For $43,185, Mustang is the convertible sweet spot.
Start with styling. Miata ‘n’ Mini are adorable, Mustang is sinister — even when compared to the last-gen pony. Walking down the Enterprise aisle, I found 2023 and 2024 ‘Stangs side-by-side. I liked the sixth-generation pony; the seventh is heaven.
Evolving from the last-gen coupe’s modern aerodynamic lines, the ‘24 has spent more time in the gym. Its angles are crisp. Thin headlights glow with menace, chiseled taillights are a knockout. And it has 11½ cubic-feet of (suitcase-friendly) cargo room and a backseat.
Pony. The 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible’s iconic logo. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Sure, it’s one of the smallest backseats in the biz, but it’s useful. We generally took both the Golf and Mustang to the track, with the convertible getting the nod for group trips (arranging the seats to accommodate our 6’5”, 6’3”, 6’1” and 5’5” bodies).
Seating is low because the pony is a lean, mean sporty machine. At the other end of my lead foot was a terrific 2.3-liter turbo-4 engine. With 315 horsepower/355 torque, the ‘Stang’s 4.5-second zero-60 mph sprint beats a $60K BMW 430i convertible’s 255 horse turbo-4 by 0.7 seconds. Buh-bye.
Yet the Ford gives up little to the Bimmer with a refashioned interior that includes a 26.5” dash screen containing twin digital instrument and infotainment displays. Gorgeous graphics are courtesy of Unreal Engine (a gaming company. The kids’ll tell you about them).
Ergonomics are first-rate. Slide into the Mustang, poke the ON ignition button — then immediately turn OFF the Stop/Start button next to it. Stop/Start drives enthusiasts nuts and Ford gets it. Designers have made it easy to adjust radio stations, temperature and cruise control as well.
The 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible options a 2.3-liter turbo-4 engine (pictured) with 315 horsepower or a 480-horse V-8. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Driving back and forth to Summit over the weekend, I kept Drive Mode in SPORT or TRACK (the latter turning off traction control). Selecting between drive modes never gets old — the instrument display changing depending on mode, including TRACK mode, which mimicked the horizonal digital tachometer of our purpose-built race cars. If you prefer, you can fix the instrument display as a single design, including a special throwback, Fox-body Mustang cluster from the ‘80s.
The engine could use more muscle, though. Not performance … emotion.
Get the GT convertible, put the top down, and you don’t need AC/DC. The $56k V-8 makes raucous, head-bangin’ rock ‘n’ roll – but is a healthy 13 grand upgrade pushing it close to Bimmer territory. The turbo-4 is a jazz quartet. But the $1,225 Active Exhaust option adds welcome testosterone. Active Exhaust also allows a Quite Mode if you want to turn up the radio.
The 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible features dual, digital screens run by the Unreal Engine gaming software that gives it an upscale vibe. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The race weekend brought inconsistent weather, and our ‘Stang spent as much time with its top up as down. The advantage of topless luxury chariots is you can put their automatic roofs back up without stopping — typically up to 30 mph. Like the Miata, Mustang requires that you pull to the side of the road to put the roof on. It’s a quick process — just remember to manually secure the roof and close all four windows.
On Sunday, the clouds parted and I took the Mustang out between races for photographs. My sons lament that soft-tops look awkward with the roof on. But with the top down, they’re awesome. Raked windshield, seats and screens exposed, muscular rear shoulders flexed.
I turned up “Where the Street Have No Name” and attacked the twisties.
Next week: 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2024 Ford Mustang convertible
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive four-passenger sportscar
Price: $43,185, including $1,595 destination fee
Powerplant: 2.3-liter turbocharged, inline-4; 5.0-liter V-8
Power: 315 horsepower, 350 pound-feet of torque (turbo-4); 480 horsepower, 415 pound-feet of torque (V-8)
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.5 seconds (Car and Driver); Top speed, 155 mph
Fuel economy: EPA, 21 mpg city/24 highway/29 combined (turbo-4 as tested); range, 528 miles
Report card
Highs: Head-turning looks (with top down); quick drivetrains
Lows: Tight backseat; adaptive cruise control standard, please
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
GP in the D: Motown brands dominate the Detroit Grand Prix weekend
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 31, 2024
Detroit — The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear returns to city streets this weekend, and it will be a showcase for Motown automakers.
Joining the NTT IndyCar series and IndyNXT open-wheel series will be the Weathertech IMSA Sportscar series and a who’s who of Motown brands going wheel-to-wheel for glory. For the first time in Detroit, Chevy Corvette and Ford Mustang sportscar icons will lock horns in the highly competitive GT3 class. At the head of the field, Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske will do battle in a pair of Porsche 963s against IMSA prototype competitor Cadillac.
In the IndyCar engine wars, Chevrolet is coming off a dominating performance against Honda at the Indy brickyard and will try to win again in its own backyard. There will be plenty of other (non-Detroit) brands in action, including McLaren, BMW, Porsche, Lexus, Acura and Ferrari.
“Racing has always revolved around Detroit automakers, who use it as a technology transfer from the track to the street,” said Detroit GP President Michael Montri in the Detroit GP’s dual pit lane ahead of this year’s race. “What better place to do that than a street track in downtown Detroit?”
Chevrolet sponsors a race that is run on a 1.7-mile course that circles General Motors Co.’s world headquarters, the Renaissance Center. With Ford Motor Co. and Penske Corp. also headquartered just a few miles away, the race takes on added significance for automakers and their suppliers. With so many employees, executives and technology located here, winning the home race is a point of pride.
“It’s an iconic city for our sport,” said veteran North America sportscar racer Bryan Sellers, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio. “Detroit is the birthplace of the American automobile. There’s just something special about being a part of a race here. Even when the race was on Belle Isle, I loved coming into the city.”
Sellers now races a BMW M4 for Paul Miller Racing and will try to play spoiler to Motor City favorites Mustang and Corvette as they race for their home crown.
The Ford Mustang GT3 will be taking on its Chevy rival, the Corvette, at this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix. Ford, Ford
Of the 11 entries in the GT class, two will be Ford Mustang GT3 cars.
The ‘Stang brings its familiar V-8 sound to the city streets, but the car is much more sinister looking than its production-based GT. A huge rear wing and front spoiler help suck the carbon fiber-skinned beast to the ground as its hits speeds in excess of 180 mph down the main Jefferson Avenue straight.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in downtown Detroit for the first time,” said Mustang driver Harry Tincknell, who shares driver duties with Mike Rockenfeller. “Street tracks are always special because of the atmosphere the fans create, and then there’s the naughty child in me who really enjoys driving really fast, breaking the speed limit as we go through traffic lights and stop signs on normal roads.”
Also breaking the speed limit will be the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, prepared for the factory by Wixom-based Pratt Miller Motorsports.
A pair of yellow ‘Vettes will take the green flag for Saturday’s IMSA race with Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the #4 car and Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims in the #3 car.
The #4 Corvette undergoes a pit stop during the at Rolex 24 Daytona. It will be on the streets of downtown Detroit on Saturday. Michael L. Levitt, LAT Images
“I’ve driven (the track) in person in a rental car and (done) some simulator work also,” said Milner. “It’s exciting to be in the downtown part of Detroit. Racing in the shadow of the RenCen is very cool.”
Team Penske is on a roll in sportscar racing and IndyCar. Chairman Roger “The Captain” Penske celebrated his 20th Indy 500 win last weekend — just a few months after recording his first Daytona 24 Hour sportscar win since 1969 in Porsche’s latest hybrid 963 prototype GTP car.
At the wheel for both wins was Josef Newgarden, a two-time IndyCar champ who also enjoys competing in sportscars. Porsche Penske Managing Director John Diuguid was also part of the Daytona/Indy twofer as Newgarden’s Indy 500 race manager.
Detroit will be a much shorter race — 100 minutes — than the 24 hour epics at Daytona and next month’s Le Mans race in France.
“Detroit might be a new circuit for the Porsche 963, but it’s not for many of the team personnel,” said Diuguid. “Porsche Penske Motorsport (leads) the drivers’ and teams’ championships. This combined with the fact that Detroit is also the home of Roger Penske, our team aims to bring home another victory.”
Two Porsche Penske prototypes from three rival manufacturers: Acura, BMW and Cadillac.
The latter is the defending series champion and winner of four of the five IMSA races on Belle Isle since the prototype class was formed in 2017. This year, two Caddy V-Series.R racers are entered.
“It is always great to race at GM’s home and feel the extra energy that it brings,” said Brazilian ace Pipo Derani, who will pilot the #31 Whelan Engineering Caddy. “We will be hoping to continue our strong form into this very important weekend as we seek to defend our championship.”
While the IMSA prototype field features a number of V-8 engines, the Caddy’s thundering, 670-horsepower, 5.5-liter V-8 stands out as the only non-turbocharged hammer.
Cadillac brings two GTP entries to Daytona, including the pole-sitting #31 car. Richard Prince Richard@rprincephoto.com 516-459-2894, Richard Prince/Chevrolet
“Cadillac has a history of developing incredible performance V-8s, beginning with the Cadillac OHV in 1949, which powered our first Le Mans entries,” said GM sportscar racing manager Laura Wontrop Klauser. “We made the decision to continue with the V-8 (in IMSA) as we feel it is the best solution for this application. The sound is also unmistakably a Cadillac, which is hard not to love.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
Indy NXT racer Nolan Allaer comes home for his Detroit Grand Prix debut
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 31, 2024
Detroit — Grosse Pointe Woods native Nolan Allaer will be competing in his backyard at this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. But whether learning a new track, Fowling in the pit lane, or rubbing shoulders with IndyCar superstars at the Renaissance Center media luncheon, it all feels new.
The Indy NXT rookie is juggling his racing career with a college career at Miami University in Ohio. On track and in the classroom, it’s been a learning year for the 22-year-old junior as he pursues his dream to be an IndyCar racer and mechanical engineer.
“It was very busy during finals week as were competing at Indianapolis,” Allaer said of the Firestone Grand Prix that took place on Indy’s infield road course May 13. “I start a summer course for mechanical engineering on July 1 so I have a little break until then to focus on racing.”
Grosse Pointe native Nolan Allaer made his Indy NXT debut in St. Petersburg. He brings those street smarts to the Detroit GP. Joe Skibinski, Indy NXT
Three-time SCCA national champion Allaer has had his work cut out for him on the track where he graduated from Formula Ford-class racecars to the Indy NXT class. It’s a big jump from the 160-horsepower, low-downforce Formula Ford waterbugs he last raced in the U.S. and England to the 420-horsepower, winged, high-downforce Indy NXT cyborgs.
The FF cars can reach two G-loads in a corner — twice that of a production sports car. The NXT racers? Up to a neck-straining four G-loads.
Since his debut at St. Petersburg March 10, Aller has completed all four Indy NXT races for his HMD Motorsports team while amassing 58 points for 16th place among 23 drivers in the standings. Like Triple-A baseball, Indy NXT is the stepping stone to IndyCar racing. Graduates include last year’s Indy NXT champ, Christian Rasmussen, Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, and Scott Dixon.
“It’s going really well. It’s hard to look at results, I’m not used to running below the top 10,” said Allaer, one of only four American drivers to win England’s famed Brands Hatch FF race. “But every time I get in the car I feel more comfortable. Having nine (HMD Motorsport teammates) on the grid really helps when I can look at all their data and video. It really makes the learning curve easier.”
Among his teammates are veteran open-wheel racers Nolan Siegel and Myles Rowe — second and fifth in the championship respectively.
“It’s surreal being on this grid,” Allaer said of a weekend that includes elite drivers from IndyCar, IMSA SportsCar, and Indy NXT. “I have teammates like Myles Rowe, who I have watched developed in his career. He’s one of my heroes, and being around the IndyCar and IMSA guys, it means so much to me.”
Nolan Allaer, 22, of Grosse Pointe Woods is competing in Indy NXT at the Detroit GP. HMD Motorsports, HMD Motorsports
Allaer’s rise in racing has been meteoric after playing completive hockey as a teen from 2011-20. He jump-started his racing career in online sims. After gaining his racing license, he amassed three SCCA titles in Formula Ford/Formula Continental class by 2023 and two wins in the national F1600 series. That success got him noticed in England, where he raced for one year before returning to the U.S. with a shot at Indy NXT.
“This is the most capable car I’ve ever driven,” said Allaer of his Dallara-made Indy NXT ride. “It’s a huge step up from what I’ve done before. I’m enjoying every time I go out in the car. It’s a very approachable speed and I think we’re learning quickly. I’m excited to see what it can do on the streets of Detroit.”
In addition to learning a new course, Allaer has also flown his team’s flag in the busy media week that precedes the Detroit GP. He participated in Thursday’s Renaissance Center media luncheon with other drivers — and in a Media Day Fowling event on Wednesday where he teamed with British IndyCar ace Jack Harvey to knock down pins with a football in the Detroit GP’s unique dual pit lane.
Like Allaer, Harvey used Indy NXT (formerly called Indy Lights) as his stepping stone to IndyCar in 2014-15. Unlike Allaer, Harvey came from Europe’s comparable, high-horsepower Formula 3 class.
“It’s a huge jump to go to Indy NXT from F1600. You’re learning a new car, new tracks,” said Harvey, 31, who is currently 23rd in the IndyCar standings. “It all happens really fast and it takes time to absorb it all. You just have to make progress every weekend, you can’t force it.”
Harvey says that advances in simulator technology have helped drivers come to grips with new circuits. But the Detroit GP is unusual as a street course that is not readily available for sims like bespoke road courses and ovals.
“Simulator racing is the reason I’m here today. Without sims I wouldn’t be in a race car,” said Allaer. “So, of course, I use the sim and it goes everywhere I go. I have one at school. Detroit is a hard one, I know Belle Isle like the back of my hand, but (the street course) is not on many sims and I haven’t been able to find it.
“My first laps will be in real life.”
The Indy NXT field, including Nolan Allear mid-pack, swarms Turn 1 at the start of the St. Pete race. James Black, Indy NXT
Unlike the billiard-smooth race courses of Barber in Alabama and Indianapolis, Detroit is rough with little chance to make his Dallara’s aerodynamics work. He expects his experience on the streets of St. Petersburg to be the guide.
“I imagine it will be very similar to St. Pete. We’ll use a relatively low downforce setup because there is the one good straight there where you want to max out on top speed,” said Allaer, looking toward the long Jefferson Avenue straightaway where speeds can top 180 mph. “Its very low grip a no-prep street course. So it’s not like Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course) where we have a proper racing surface. You have to make a mental note every time you go out — walls are closer.”
Both Allaer and Harvey enjoy the Indy circuit and its unique demand on drivers who must conquer street courses, road courses, and oval tracks to succeed. After Detroit, Indy NXT’s 14-race season will take Allaer to road courses like Road America (Wisconsin) and Mid-Ohio, as well ovals in Iowa and Milwaukee.
But the Detroit GP is special.
“St. Pete was important as I lived (in Florida) for so long, that was a home race for me,” said Aller, who grew up in both Grosse Pointe and Florida before shipping off to Miami (Ohio). “But Detroit is my current home. I want it really bad. This one means more.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
Payne: Behind the wheel of Chevy’s Tesla fighter, the Equinox EV
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 31, 2024
The days of lab experiments are over. General Motors Co. is taking aim at the meat of the American electric vehicle market with one of its most respected SUV badges. My 2024 Equinox EV tester is not only a statement that the General’s historic transition away from internal combustion engines by 2035 has begun, but that Tesla Inc. is the target.
Where its EV predecessors (especially the Bolt hatchback, which went head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3’s launch in 2017) all sought to blaze the EV trail, Equinox EV acknowledges Tesla as the OG.
Now Chevy aims to beat it with a formidable entry. The harder task? Beating the formidable, internal combustion engine-powered Equinox across the showroom.
Tesla put the smartphone on wheels, and Chevy signals its high-tech ambitions with a sci-fi design right out of the movie “Tron.” An LED running light wraps Equinox EV’s upper fascia — wee headlights barely discernible below. Light Cycle meet Equinox.
Cruising downtown Detroit, my two-tone, blue-and-white 2LT test mule was easy on the eyes — just like Tesla’s Model Y, which has aged nicely since its 2020 debut. Merging with authority onto I-75 North, the Equinox EV responded to my lead foot with liquid-smooth power.
The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV is the brand’s entry-level SUV with 319 miles of range (FWD) and 285 (AWD). Henry Payne, The Detroit News
But like other GM models I’ve tested based on the Ultium battery platform, Equinox EV was porky. The AWD version lags Model Y to 60 mph by a second, and I could feel its girth in the curvy bits.
Equinox EV tips the scales at 1,000 pounds more than the 4,400-pound Model Y. All that weight comes even as the EV eschews a frunk (front trunk), a clever piece of engineering that Chevrolet adopted for the Silverado EV — and that the Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E have used for added cargo room where the engine used to be.
Equinox’s Tesla learnings grow stronger inside.
The interior of the 2024 Chevy Equinox EV features a big, dual dash screen like other brand products. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Hey, Google, navigate to Charlevoix,” I barked, and the native Google Maps system methodically traced a route from Detroit northward (starting with 50% charge of 167 miles) with two charging stops in Detroit and West Branch.
Google Built-In is Tesla’s navigation equivalent in planning a trip with charging stops.
This system is embedded in a big dual dash screen now common across the Chevy EV/ICE lineup from Silverado on down. I’m a fan. Its horizontal dash layout kept my eyes on the road compared to vertical, single-tablet interiors like those found in Tesla, Mustang Mach-E, Polestar 2, Rivian, etc.
Paired with a digital instrument display, the infotainment screen offers superb ergonomics (a GM hallmark) with helpful knobs, buttons and movable icons. Notably, Chevy does not offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there will be blowback.
Mrs. Payne, for example, likes to set her route options on her phone ahead of a trip — then see them replicated on the screen of her Subaru’s CarPlay app when she gets in the seat. The Chevy, by contrast, requires that you use its native Google Built-In system, just as Tesla has done for years.
In Super Cruise, the 2024 Chevy Equinox EV will automatically change lanes to maintain its speed. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The good news? The Tesla and Chevy Google Built-In systems are just as good as Google phone maps, while going above and beyond their phone peers in mapping your charge route — even providing helpful information on where to eat/shop while you wait to charge. Chevy goes a step beyond Tesla in delivering you to your destination with 30% of charge left — so you aren’t stranded on arrival.
Where the Equinox separates itself from Tesla is on driving assist and value.
Telsa may have pioneered Autopilot semi-autonomous driving, but it’s become annoying over time with constant nagging:
Keep your hands on the wheel!Keep your eyes on the road!
Google Built-In will show you food/retail services around your charging stop in the 2024 Chevy Equinox EV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Aw, Mom. Super Cruise, on the other hand, allowed me to drive hands-free up I-75 so I could eat a snack and relax — the SUV taking over tasks like automatically changing lanes when it encountered a slower car.
This sci-fi tool will set you back $2,700 compared to Tesla Autopilot’s (cough) $8,000 Full-Self-Driving system. All told, an AWD (gotta have it for Michigan winters), $49,790 Equinox EV 2LT is over 10 grand cheaper than a comparable Model Y AWD. Subtract the $7,500 federal subsidy for the made-in-Mexico machine, and you’re looking at $42,290. Tesla beware.
But … that sticker is still a whopping 7 grand north of the top-trim, full-leather full-monty Equinox ICE Premium model, which gaps its EV sibling in important ways.
The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV comes with AWD or FWD. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Start with the gas ute’s superior interior cargo and passenger room (40 inches of legroom in back). Or the fact that the upgraded 2025 Equinox ICE gets the same screens and nifty ergonomics as the EV. Or the ICE’s 468 miles of range, which will nearly get you to Charlevoix — and back! — without a gas station stop. Need petroleum? Refuel it in five minutes. My one-way, two-stop EV charging trip up north requires 5.5 hours. That’s, ahem, 1.45 hours longer than the ICE model. Are we there yet?
Clearly not, which is why EVs remain a luxury buy.
You’ll want to shell out an extra $2,000 for a home charger so you can use the Equinox EV around town. That’s $44K total for the Equinox EV, which is just a few grand shy of a Cadillac XT4 Sport. I like what Chevy is doing with its Equinox design, but can it compete with GM’s vaunted luxury brand? That will be a tough sell for the average Chevy customer.
GM and its government allies are betting the farm on an all-electric future just like Tesla. The General is banking on EV fueling infrastructure catching up with gas stations — and to government jacking up petrol prices to deter ICE sales (see California’s expected $1 jump in gas prices over the next year to $6 a gallon).
The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV comes in LS, LT, and top rung RS (pictured) trims. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
First in the line for infrastructure relief is Tesla opening its NACS charger network to GM vehicles. When that day comes (perhaps later this year), an Equinox EV on a Tesla charger should gain 105 miles in 10 minutes compared with a CCS charger’s 77 miles.
For those who don’t have to slog through six-month Michigan winters, the front-wheel drive Equinox EV 2LT I tested will save you $3,300. Burying the right pedal out of stoplight, the FWD Chevy smoothly transferred power via the front wheels. No torque-steer, no bother.
With Equinox EV, Chevy joins Hyundai in offering parallel EV and ICE products lines. Unlike Hyundai (the EV9 EV vs. Telluride ICE), Chevy is giving its models the same name (Equinox EV vs. Equinox ICE, Blazer EV vs Blazer ICE, and so on).
The General’s’ march to full EVs is on.
Next week: The first convertible of spring, 2024 Ford Mustang
2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV
Vehicle type: Electric, front- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $43,295, including $1,395 destination charge ($52,795 3RS as tested)
Powerplant: 85-kWh lithium-ion battery with electric motor drive
Transmission: Single-speed
Power: 213 horsepower, 236 pound-feet of torque (FWD); 288 horsepower, 333 pound-feet of torque (AWD)
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.9 seconds (mfr.)
Weight: 5,400 pounds (est.)
Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 319 miles (FWD); 285 miles (AWD)
Report card
Highs: Sci-fi styling; Google Built-In navigation
Lows: No Apple CarPlay/Android Auto; porky
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Ex-Red Wing great Zetterberg brings padel fever to Detroit
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 30, 2024
Henrik Zetterberg, co-owner of Zmash Padel, hits a return during a game of padel at the Sterling Heights club. The former Red Wings star picked up the game in Sweden after retiring from the NHL five years ago. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
Sterling Heights — What game does former NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup winner and Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg occupy himself with in retirement? Padel.
Padel?
The racquet sport is red-hot in Europe, South America and now the United States. With its origins in Mexico, the dynamic sport is a combination of tennis, squash, racquetball and platform tennis — and Zetterberg is addicted. So much so that he and two former Wings teammates, fellow Swedes Niklas Kronwall and Gustav Nyquist, have brought the game to Metro Detroit.
“We’re really excited to be here with this fantastic sport. I retired in 2019, moved back to Sweden, (and) wanted to do something,” said Zetterberg, who suffered back injuries in his last years on the ice. “I had a tough time playing tennis, running — but I had to move. I found out about this sport — it was one of the few activities that was good for my back, and I still get a really good workout. So, I started to play, and I got really, really hooked.”
Pronounced puh-del in the United States (“paddle” overseas), the doubles-team game is just 55 years old (about the same age as another popular racquet sport, pickleball). A net bisects the court like in tennis but with a 20% smaller surface area. Scoring is the same as tennis, as are the (slightly less-pressurized) balls. But the sport is played with a string-less bat inside four plexiglass walls, and the ball can be played off the glass like squash and racquetball, with playing field boundaries extending beyond the box.
The serve? Underhanded like pickleball.
Professional points can get crazy with smashes off the glass, players running outside the walls to pop balls back into play, and multiple shot angles. It’s made for TV. Popular in South America, the sport jumped the pond to Spain — then surged in Sweden during the pandemic.
“It’s the second-biggest sport in Spain, behind soccer. A lot of Swedes vacation in Spain, and they brought the sport back to Sweden,” said Kjellberg, CEO of Zmash (yes, the Z is a reference to Zetterberg). “During the pandemic, padel was the only activity you could do in Sweden. So, basically, the whole nation started playing it, and it exploded from there. Now, it’s huge all over Europe.”
The Swedish hockey trio of Zetterberg, Kronwall and Nyquist thought it a great fit for Detroit. As did Kjellberg, who was intrigued by the U.S. sports market after a stint here as a college tennis coach — and had just sold First Class Padel, a chain of six clubs in Sweden. A partnership was born.
“Michigan has a similar climate as in Sweden — nothing much to do in the wintertime except watch pro sports — so we looked into bringing it over here and, two years later, here we are,” Zetterberg said.
Since Zmash’s opening just six months ago, it’s hooked athletes from a variety of backgrounds and skill levels.
Zetterberg, 43, and Kjellberg, 33 — who played for three years on the World Padel Tour — joined the 62-year-old author of this article (a tennis player and former college basketball forward), and four-time NCAA All-America squash star Jess Berline, 52, of Birmingham for a fun game at Zmash.
Robert Kjellberg, CEO and co-owner of Zmash Padel, hits a shot at the company’s Sterling Heights facility. He played on the World Padel Tour before joining with two former Red Wings to bring the sport to Macomb County six months ago. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
Like me, Zetterberg’s instincts come from tennis (though he joked he has to resist the temptation to check opponents into the plexiglass), having played it as a youth. Combining those instincts (which occasionally dictated a two-hand backhand when digging the ball out of a corner) with his world-class athleticism, he makes for a solid, consistent padel player.
“I think it’s like my hockey career. I wasn’t great at one thing — I was average on everything,” smiled the 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. “For padel, it’s the same thing. I don’t have the power, I don’t have the volley game, but average, decent play can get you a long way.”
Berline (working the walls) and I (punching volleys) brought our own skills to bear, and our foursome played spirited games. The democratic nature of the sport is one reason for its exponential growth.
“It’s an easy learning curve to play,” Zetterberg said. “You don’t have to have a racquet background to play. I think that’s one of the benefits of padel, because the ball always comes to you, even if it goes by you. It will come back off the glass.”
That perspective is echoed by Zmash regular Michele Kowalkowski, 58, of Lake Orion — a tennis player-turned-pickleball teaching pro who has become a Padel Pied Piper, leading pals to Zmash.
“Anybody can play this game. It’s fundamentally easy to keep the ball in the court and get a great workout,” she said. “It’s a little bit of tennis, platform tennis and pickleball — but you will never master this game. You are always learning. The strategy is just fascinating.”
In addition to Zmash Padel league play, she enjoys the game with her daughter, Livy, and her husband, Scott, a former Lions linebacker. “The facility is so inviting, and so are the people and staff you meet here.”
Zetterberg & Co. located Zmash in a Sterling Heights warehouse space for its accessibility to all corners of the metro area — then they outfitted it to the nines. The lobby welcomes you with plush couches, chairs and video screens — and locker rooms are first-class. Players can sign up for lessons, court time and leagues on the Matchi racquet sports app. Membership is not required, but a $19 monthly membership will get you $20 off an hour’s $100 court fee.
The business model is inclusivity.
The courts are state-of-the-art, with regulation ceilings and aisles so that Zmash can host amateur tournaments, as well as international pro tourneys.
Robert Kjellberg returns a serve during a game of padel at Zmash in Sterling Heights. The game imported from Europe combines elements of tennis, platform tennis and pickleball. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
The club held its first tournament earlier this month. “I came in and Nyquist flew in from Nashville — he’s still playing hockey with the Predators — so we teamed up,” Zetterberg said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t do great, but that shows there is a good level here.”
Back home in Ängelholm, Sweden, Zetterberg plays about three times a week. “Every pro athlete — when they retire — it’s hard to find that competitiveness. Some people go fishing or climbing or play golf. But padel is a sport where you get the competitiveness and a really good workout. I play golf a lot, but padel is the sport that gives me the most joy.”
According to the International Padel Federation, there are more than 25 million active players across some 90 countries. Players from Argentina and Spain dominate the World Padel Tour, with a focus on making TV-friendly padel an Olympic sport in 2032. The United States has 400 courts (and is on course to get to 30,000 by 2032, according to the United States Padel Association) and mega-clubs like Miami’s Ultra Padel, which has 20 courts and plans eight others — most of them outdoors.
After establishing the Sterling Heights location, Kjellberg said Zmash looks to expand to another location in Metro Detroit, as well as in Grand Rapids. Long-term plans include Cleveland and Chicago.
“With this business here, me and my family will be able to come (to Michigan) more often,” Zetterberg said. “I spent 16 years here as a Red Wing; my son was born here; we have a lot of friends here. We still call this home because we have so many good memories here. That’s why we come here because we love the community.”
Zmash Padel
6635 Sterling Drive S, Sterling Heights
Open daily, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
(947) 231-6515
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: 5 noteworthy things about the Cadillac Optiq EV
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 30, 2024
Detroit — Cadillac is bringing the bling for its all-electric future with the extravagant, custom-built, $350k Celestiq sedan and the $100k Escalade Q mega-SUV.
And its entry-level Cadillac Optiq ain’t too shabby either.
Studded with many of the gem-like features found in the midsize Lyriq — Caddy’s first EV entry launched for the 2023 model year — the compact-class Optiq turns up the volume on electric vehicle design compared to segment pioneer Tesla with its minimalist, iPhone-like Model 3/Y.
Here are five notable things about the 2024 Optiq, coming to dealerships later this year.
1) Tech standard. Once stingy on standard features, General Motors Co. has made a dramatic shift as it pushed a high-tech, futuristic identity. Chevrolets like the $29k Bolt EV and $40k Traverse SUV are now loaded with standard tech — even self-driving Super Cruise in the case of the Bolt. The Optiq is no different.
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq comes standard with Super Cruise drive assist. Cadillac, GM
The Optiq comes standard with Super Cruise, all-wheel drive, 33-inch screen, blind-spot assist, adaptive-cruise control, emergency braking, self-parking, 22-inch wheels, steering assist, automatic parking, forward collision alert, 19-speaker AKG stereo system, and a jacuzzi under the rear hatch (kidding about that last one).
2) Big price. All those standard features come with a hefty price tag. The Optiq starts at $54k, just 4 grand shy of big brother Lyriq and a whopping 10 grand north of the Model Y.
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq comes standard with Super Cruise, blind-spot assist, camera mirror and other tech for about $54k.Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“There is some question whether Tesla is a luxury brand,” said Caddy CEO John Roth at the Optiq’s media unveiling. “Cadillac is a luxury brand and the Optiq represents that.”
He backs up that statement with standard all-wheel drive, which neither the Model Y nor even the Lyriq make standard. Most conspicuously, Optiq offers Super Cruise standard — the highly-regarded, semi-autonomous, hands-free system that rivals Tesla’s $8,000 Autopilot option. Indeed, load the Model Y with the same features as the Optiq and it clocks in at a pricier $61k. The challenge for Cadillac will be convincing customers that they want freaky, sci-fi tech like Super Cruise that drives itself.
3) Design. In addition to the futuristic tech is bling-tastic design that recalls Caddy’s postwar years when land yachts boasted jet era-inspired tailfins and enough chrome to be seen from space. At the center of Optiq is a 33-inch screen — the same Jumbotron found on the Cadillac Lyriq. More Lyriq-like features include a floating center console punctuated by a jewel-like rotary shifter.
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq features a curved, 33-inch screen like the Lyriq and XT4. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Unique to Optiq is dramatic cloth interior trim that includes a royal purple option paired with white leather seats. The materials are complemented by dramatic lighting. Like a rolling, neon Fox Theatre marquee, Optiq features vertical taillights and a front LED light show that welcomes owners as they approach with key in pocket. Unlike the Lyriq and its brooding, all-black fascia, Optiq’s body-colored fascia has a more classic Caddy design.
4) Wiper free. EVs are keen on aerodynamic tricks to increase battery range and Optiq showcases a wiper-free rear window. The window is designed to clean itself using airflow from the aerodynamically-designed high spoiler.
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq’s rear window goes wiperless – using airflow to clean off dirt and rain. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
And if the rear window gets dirty? Drivers can use their standard camera mirror to view what is behind them.
5) EV vs. ICE. While the Optiq is Cadillac’s first entry-level EV, it is not the brand’s only entry-level vehicle. Caddy also sells the internal combustion-powered CT4 sedan and XT4 SUV that, Roth has confirmed, will be sold alongside the EV lineup.
While governments will increasingly penalize manufacturers for selling ICE vehicles in order to force extinction over the next decade, manufacturers must convince buyers of their superiority. How does the Optiq measure up to its XT4 doppelganger?
The gas-powered XT4 will remain Cadillac’s entry-level SUV for customers who aren’t ready to go electric. Cadillac, Cadillac
An Optiq Sport model starts about $5k north of a comparably equipped $49,890 XT4 Sport — though the Mexico-made Optiq more than makes up the difference courtesy of a $7,500 federal EV subsidy. Optiq brings more futuristic styling as well as a silky driving experience — including one-pedal driving to slow the car and a dedicated, pressure-sensitive paddle on the steering wheel if you want even more electric motor braking.
Both Caddys share the brand’s 33-inch dash screen, Google Built-In infotainment system, and other technical goo-gaws. XT4 does not offer Super Cruise like the Optiq — but does have wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (unlike the EV).
Optiq’s estimated 300 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of instant torque outstrip the 235 horsepower and 258 torque from the XT4’s 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder mill, so expect the EV to be considerably quicker than the ICE’s 7-second 0-60 mph stroll.
On the other hand, the XT4 will refill its 16-gallon tank to its 458-mile range (in two minutes) at the pump more quickly than the 300-mile-range Optiq can fill its 85 kWh battery pack at a roadside fast charger. The EV can add 79 miles of range in 10 minutes.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Supertruck Ford Raptor R is King of Beasts
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 27, 2024
Johnson Valley, California — Supercars conquer the Earth’s most challenging race tracks. Supertrucks conquer the Earth.
At 90 mph, my 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R cyborg skimmed the sandy, undulating surface of the Johnson Valley desert miles from civilization. With its electronic brain making millisecond calculations, the Baja racing-developed, dual-valve Fox shocks negotiated the terrain with remarkable agility for a 6,000-pound beast.
With 13.5 inches of suspension travel, the V8-powered Raptor R put its massive 720 horsepower to the ground with four, aired-down-for-maximum-traction, 37-inch all-terrain claws. That’s McLaren 720S supercar-sized horsepower. On sand.
Light it up. The 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R in the Dunes. James Lipman, Ford
The trail narrowed to a 90-degree turn into the desert’s low brush and I stomped on huge 14-inch brakes to slow the 720 horses. I hurtled a washed ravine. WHUMP. Over a series of washboard ruts created by bike trails crisscrossing the desert. KA-KA-KA-THUMP. Back into the throttle. ROAAARRR.
Comfortably removed from the violence outside by a seat belt, bolstered heated-and-cooled Recaro seats and generous headroom, I focused on the beautiful landscape rushing past — one of a half-dozen Raptor Rs on a desert adventure.
Pinch me.
The 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R gets a fearsome new front end. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The $112,895 R (one-third the price of that McLaren 720S, while seating five comfortably) is the world’s premier production supertruck. It sits atop a Raptor food chain that now includes the $57K Ranger Raptor, $80K twin-turbo V-6 “base” Raptor and $92K Bronco Raptor.
Like its supercar peer the Mustang GT500, Raptor R stuffs a 5.2-liter, supercharged V-8 “Predator” engine into the front bay of a $35,000 base production vehicle to push the limits of production performance. Unlike the GT500, the Raptor R is built on a ladder-frame truck. Is there anything that has the bandwidth of a Ford pickup?
No wonder the F-series is the best-selling vehicle in North America. It can do everything from landscape a house to tow a race car to shred a desert race course — taking first place in the 2023 Baja 1000 Stock Class.
When 720 horsepower meets sand, sometimes Mother Nature gets the upper hand.
The 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R kicked off a tire under high G-loads on the Johnson Valley Dunes. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Scaling a skyscraper dune, I pitched the Raptor into the soft sand to begin a long, lefthand drift turn. Too much pitch. Overwhelmed by the side-G-forces and the Raptor R’s three-tons, the BF Goodrich tire bead popped off the rim, instantly expelling its 25 pounds of air pressure.
Who needs four wheels? But for the rattle of the rim I barely noticed, the truck charging along on three-wheel-power like a determined grizzly bear pursuing its prey. A Ford team member flagged me down. Like a NASCAR pit stop in the middle of the desert, a pair of Baja race veterans hauled a spare out of the bed of another truck and went to work. They raised the beast’s prone right paw into the air with a common “scissor” jack. Dug out a hole of sand underneath. Spin off the lug nuts. Replace the tire. Check the air pressure for (sand-running-friendly low 25 PSI). Get back on the dunes, kid.
Those off-road veterans could be you.
Detroit News columnist Henry Payne took the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R for a heckuva ride in the Johnson Valley, California desert. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
For all of its technological marvels, the Raptor R has been through the paces of Baja to not only absorb punishment, but to quickly fix any boo-boos on the way. Like supercars, you can’t imagine the capability of the Raptor R supertruck until you have taken it off-road. And there are plenty of groups willing to accompany you — whether the Ford-sponsored Raptor Assault School in Utah (open to Raptor buyers) or private shops like Raptor Adventures in Southern California or regional Raptor Club-organized RaptorRuns. Find them, and you’ll enjoy parts of the planet like never before.
Out in the desert, everything is trying to kill you. Raptor R is armed to the teeth. Jacked high in the air, its underbelly is further protected by bash plates. Brobdingnagian parallel steel frame rails shrug off rock impacts, and a modular front bumper can be equipped with a winch to drag your buddies out of (name your obstacle here) .
Only those soft rubber tires are exposed. Sheath them in bead locks (warning, some assembly required) to protect them from mishaps like mine. Or accept tire flats as an inevitable part of the adventure and load your bed with a tire rack and ready-for-action spares.
The comfy, posh interior of the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R includes leather Recaro seats and all the tech goodies. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Like Mad Max remounting his indestructible Mack R-600, I was back on top of my cyborg in 10 minutes and churning sand. There are few vehicles I’ve driven that instill so much confidence. Had William Wallace’s troops rode Raptors into battle, the enemy would have turned tail and run.
Velociraptor, T-Rex and woolly mammoth skeletons inspire awe in the natural history museums, and the Raptor’s skeleton would fit right in. It’s a study in brute force with its reinforced steel bones and coiled orange springs the size of pythons.
Its aluminum top hat adds menace to its steely purpose. Like all Raptors, the fascia is stamped F-O-R-D and is now enveloped with a bold black grille. Signature orange LEDs bracket the grille, and the beast is branded with a small orange R so you know it’s the bull of the herd.
The hood is rippled with air vents like the spines of a stegosaurus. They contribute to an increase in airflow to the monster within. For 2024, the V-8 pumps out 20 more horsepower than the 2023 model while packing 650 pound-feet of torque so you can fling sand from here to Nova Scotia.
Let the sun shine in. The 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R options a full moonroof. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The interior bristles with tech to complement both off-road performance and on-road comfort. A head-up display has been MIA in the F-150’s Swiss Army Knife of tools — ‘24 models rectify that, including Raptor R. Choose Baja mode for maximum off-roading and Raptor R — like a BMW M3 — will project a digital tachometer on your windshield so don’t have to take your eyes off the desert.
The head-up display in the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R shows speed, g-loads, and other information depending on mode. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
For on-road commuting, Raptors are the only F-150s equipped with an independent rear suspension and coil-over springs (think Ram 1500), which makes for a smoother ride than its stablemates. My tester was complete with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, 5G Wi-Fi hotspot, moonroof, a console work table and other amenities should you want to turn your desert racehorse into a worksite office. All of it is easily connected to the world by wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so you can navigate to the nearest off-road playground carrying three pals, three spare tires in the bed and a 120-volt plug so you can bring along an air compressor in the bed.
How many supercars can say that?
Next week: The first convertible of spring, 2024 Ford Mustang
2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R
Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive five-passenger supertruck
Price: $112,895, including $1,995 destination fee ($113,640 as tested)
Powerplant: 5.2-liter supercharged V-8
Power: 720 horsepower, 550 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.6 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 8,700 lbs.; payload, 1,400 lbs.
Weight: 6,077 lbs.
Fuel economy: EPA, 10 mpg city/15 highway/12; range, 540 miles
Report card
Highs: Astonishing off-road capability; comfortable cabin
Lows: Won’t fit in your garage; affordable to a few
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne