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HENRY PAYNE Payne: In the saddle of the bucking Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 19, 2020
The Three Amigos (left to right): Ford Bronco 4-door, Bronco 2-door, Bronco Sport at Holly ORV park, reviewed by Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne.
Holly – The new Holly Oaks Off-Road-Vehicle Park off Interstate 75 will be one of the premier off-road playgrounds in Michigan when it opens this fall — just in time for the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport.
I got a sneak peek of the park while riding shotgun in the Ford siblings’ most extreme Badlands trims last week. In their natural ORV habitat, the Broncos are a blast. And, yes, I’m including the unibody Bronco Sport in the same breath as the truck-based, scene-chewing, rock-stomping Bronco.
With its fancy rear clutch packs and four skid plates, the Bronco Sport Badlands brings big bandwidth as a daily driver and weekend warrior. More on that later. Let’s start with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon-fighting headliner, the truck-based Bronco Badlands.
The $43,590 Badlands sits at the top of Bronco’s dizzying, six-model ladder (Base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, Wildtrak, Badlands). Bronco Badlands isn’t bashful about copying Rubicon’s playbook: retro-looks, two-or four door configuration, outboard spare tire, removable body panels, manual transmission option, washable interior. My tester was further equipped with the Sasquatch package — 35-inch tires, dual-locking differentials, 12-inch screen — that can be had on any Bronco model.
Holly Oaks is gonna be a Bronco-Wrangler war zone when the Ford comes to market next spring. The park echoes California’s epic, state ORV sandboxes with its high-speed canyons and skyscraper-high trails. With pedal to the metal in our skid-plated armored, 310-horsepower Bronco Badlands, Ford engineer Dan Schaeffer rocketed up formidable, 27-degree dirt inclines, splashed through ponds and devoured sand.
But Holly ORV park isn’t just about trails. Like any serious ORV park it offers diabolical obstacle courses as well. Its signature hill is a re-creation of some of Moab’s most infamous rocky terrain: the 45-degree steep Hot Tub. Mogul-pocked Mashed Potato Hill. Or the I-dare-you-to-cross-me Golden Crack.
For these outdoor torture chambers, Badlands brings a deep toolbox like Wrangler Rubicon. The key difference is modern Badlands’ equipment like the hydraulic, detachable front sway bar that helped us crawl over an impossible incline. Or the independent front suspension (Wrangler prefers solid axle front and rear) that allows for a smoother ride.
Off-road veterans will swear by Wrangler’s mechanical purity, but a new generation reared on 21st-century electronics will cheer the Bronco’s advances.
Perhaps most significant is Bronco’s rotary, transfer-case controller with seven signature GOAT modes (Go Over Any Terrain) in Badlands models. It counters Wrangler’s manual option (essentially a second gearshift growing from the console).
As we grunted around the ORV park, Bronco cowboy Schaeffer simply spun the dial when he needed to switch from four-wheel-high to four-wheel-low or (Bronco exclusive) four-wheel crawl. It’s hardly a bucking Bronco.
A Wrangler Rubicon, by contrast, has to be stopped so you can arm-wrestle the stick shift to the proper mode.
Taking inspiration from the original Bronco that became the first production vehicle to win the grueling Baja 1000 endurance race in 1969, the Bronco team developed its toolbox (engines, 10-speed tranny, suspension, chassis) alongside the current Bronco R Baja racer. Both the V-8-powered ’69 Baja Bronco and the ’19 Baja Bronco R were available for Holly Oaks rides.
From the right-hand saddle, the ’69 machine — driven by pro driver Shelby Hall, daughter of ’69 Baja winner Rob Hall — proved to be a serious rodeo ride compared to the state-of-the-art R. But its V-8 roar made me nostalgic. The new car’s 2.7-liter turbo-6 (which Shelby will pilot at Baja this November) packs plenty of punch but lacks the visceral thrill.
As for the unibody Sport SUV, Ford likes to describe it as the mule that will haul gear, bikes and kayaks to the trailhead. If you want to go further, take the Bronco. Well, maybe.
Bronco Sport Badlands wants a piece of the action.
Holly Oaks echoes California’s epic ORV parks with its high-speed canyons and skyscraper-trails. Barreling along in the four-skid-plated Bronco Sport Badlands model, Ford engineer Kyle Culek attacked the same 27-degree dirt incline I’d experienced minutes before in a Bronco Badlands. Piece of cake.
At the summit Culek pressed the console “Trail Control” button — turning adaptive cruise control into a sort of low-speed crawl system. At 5 mph, we calmly descended the other side of the 27-degree hill. Look ma, no feet! All Culek had to do was steer.
Back in the canyon, Culek rotated the GOAT to sand, then floored it. WAAAUUGHRR! The throaty, 2.0-liter turbo-4 howled as all four wheels spit sand. Credit the same, rear dual-clutch pack found in Ford’s Focus RS track monster — calibrated for off-road performance. That’s my kind of family vehicle.
The demonstration indicates Sport’s unique appeal in the volume, compact SUV segment. It’s as if Bronco and Escape had a baby. This kid has off-road instincts without sacrificing road manners. If priced right, the roomy, all-wheel-drive Sport (note the same cavernous, sliding second-row seats as Escape) should be a serious challenger to mainstays like the Jeep Compass and Subaru Forester.
Matching their AWD capability with handsome looks, Sport can store two bikes upright in the rear hatch.
Like the U.S. pickup market, Wrangler vs. Broncos is going to be a Detroit civil war. They will square off on battlefields like Holly ORV park, and first impressions are that Bronco has brought serious firepower.
But for those who want their Bronco with a more comfortable saddle, Bronco Sport may be the sleeper pick.
The Woodward Dream Cruise is alive, just unofficially
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 14, 2020
The Dream Cruise is canceled, long live the Dream Cruise.
While official city and corporate events for this week’s originally planned Woodward Dream Cruise were canceled back in June out of COVID-19 health concerns, the annual pilgrimage to Woodward motors on.
Over the last few days, “the world’s biggest traffic jam” has attracted thousands of cruiser-faithful in lawn chairs enjoying a steady stream of sports cars, hot rods and Detroit classics ahead of what would have been the official culminating event on Saturday.
Many of those behind the wheel shrugged off the absence of official events and said it brought a refreshing return to the grassroots gatherings that made the Dream Cruise unique 25 years ago.
“It’s nice not to have all the companies here,” said Veronica Spitza of Brighton, who drove a mint 2010 Chevy Camaro SS to Royal Oak with husband Al. “It’s been easier to find a parking space that usually are soaked up by all the corporations.”
The Spitzas have been coming to the Cruise since the late 1990s, and this year they made it a family affair: They brought a 20-year-old nephew, Jack, from New York. A Barrett-Jackson Auction fan, this is Jack’s first Dream Cruise.
The annual event is a summer highlight for ’73 Corvette Stingray owner Sam Agus, 72, and pal Mike Detrych, 72, who haven’t missed a Cruise since 1995. The Milford natives grew up together and fought in Vietnam together. When Detrych returned from war, he bought a red 1969 Chevelle V-8 that he still drives today.
“It’s just like the old days out here,” said Agus, who met the original owner of his Corvette for the first time Thursday. “The companies aren’t here, but the cruisers still are.”
Behind them, the parking lot between the A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home and vacant Art Van store in Royal Oak was taped off, empty of its usual crowds. That sight was not unusual along Woodward as businesses discouraged large gatherings.
Despite that, Cruise attendees were in a festive mood. They naturally social-distanced around cars and in lawn chairs.
Woodward Dream Inc. president Michael Lary defended his board’s decision to cancel official events out of concern for heightened COVID-19 cases.
“We made a decision based on the best interest of the public,” said Lary, whose board is made up of local city officials. “We didn’t want to be part of doing irresponsible things.”
Some cruisers lamented that local communities and corporations were not more involved, saying they could have brought sanitizer stations and broadcast public service announcements to the large gathering.
Longtime cruiser Roger Posey, 70, lamented that Memorial Park in Royal Oak was taped off, as were many other public spaces. He is president of the Woodward Tri Five Cruisers car club — which celebrates Chevrolets made in the years 1955-57 — that usually gathers there.
His group has relocated their lawn chairs to a strip of lawn in front of a medical office. A stunning, multi-colored lineup of Chevy Bel Airs and 210s was parked behind them. Posey’s ride? A 1956 V8-powered 210. Posey’s club usually attracts members from Canada and as far as Australia and England — but they won’t make it this year due to travel restrictions.
“This year reminds of the first five years of the Cruise,” said Posey, thinking back to the mid-1990s. “I remember three guys pulled up at the stoplight near Duggan’s. They drag-raced three abreast out of the light. Then 35 police on horseback came up Woodward and put a stop to the drag racing.”
Police in black Ford Explorer SUVs were common along the grassy median this week. But with traffic backed up for hundreds of yards, drivers behaved themselves. A ’60s Corvette Stingray-turned-dragster with a rear parachute and towering engine-blower made the earth shake. An orange McLaren 720S burned retinas. A topless classic 1967 Ford Bronco towered above an old MG.
It wasn’t just the old guard that was enjoying the atmosphere.
Nineteen-year-old Brennan Lata was hanging out with his West Bloomfield buddies in front of the Jeep dealership in Royal Oak. They had all piled into Lata’s Ford Mustang GT and 18-year-old Matthew Awdich’s Corvette to cruise the strip.
“We’ve been coming here since we got our driver’s licenses,” Lata said. Though overall numbers for this year’s Cruise will be way down, Lata and company signal that new generations will be here for years to come.
Dream Cruise President Lary hopes a vaccine proves successful soon so the Cruise can return to normal next year. Despite companies staying away this year, he was still pleased to see the classics on Woodward.
“The bottom line is there is still an experience there for folks who want to enjoy it,” he said. “That’s what is so great about this event.”
Payne: Porsche 911 is still the performance standard
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 12, 2020
Everything has its baseline for greatness. In golf, it’s Tiger Woods. In tennis, Roger Federer. In basketball, Michael Jordan.
For sports cars, it’s the Porsche 911.
The 21st century has seen a resurgence in supercars with new entries like the McLaren 570 and Audi R8 joining mainstays Ferrari and Lamborghini. Yet the 911 has maintained the German brand’s claim to handling pre-eminence. The last-generation track-focused 911 GT2 RS destroyed Car and Driver’s Lightning Lap record at Virginia International Raceway held by the mid-engine carbon-fiber $500,000 Ford GT supercar. By five seconds.
Every brand baselines its sports cars to the 911 on track and off. The eighth-generation 2020 model is no different. Though I must admit, I had my doubts.
When Porsche introduced the latest 911 — factory code 992 for you Porschephiles — at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, it aimed to swath the world’s greatest athlete in luxury. Digital electronics have transformed autodom and Porsche didn’t want to be left behind. The LA intro was just as lavish. LA celebrities as sleek as the 911’s classic Coke-bottle shape walked the outdoor runway with Porsche’s star. A light show lit up the night
Conversation strayed to Porsche’s electric sedan, the Taycan, into which the company had poured millions. Taking it all in, I worried the 911 might go soft. Like a Hollywood legend who forgot what made them a legend.
After a day going to Hell (Michigan) and back in the convertible, Targa 4S — a new trim for the 2021 model year — I’m happy to report the champ is still at the top of its game.
I felt the 911 difference almost immediately. I had stepped out of Corvette’s all-new C8 the day before — hands down the best-handling Corvette ever made — with full coil-over springs, widened track and instant traction. Yet, it doesn’t instill the same confidence as the 911.
The Porsche goes exactly where you point it. Pushing the Corvette (or most sports cars) over the undulating hills of M-32 in Antrim County, I had to work the steering wheel at the limit to keep the beast on its chain. Across similarly challenging curves on Hell’s Hadley Road, the Porsche feels like it’s on rails. It’s like a slot car begging for more juice.
It wasn’t always so. The 911’s aft-of-axle rear-engine layout — compared to Corvette/Ferrari/McLaren mid-engine weapons — is inherently unbalanced. It took decades for Stuttgart engineers to tease out the gremlins of oversteer. An arsenal of modern technology helped. My Targa 4S tester benefited from innovations like electronic limited-slip differential, rear-axle steering and engineering witchcraft like “PASM” and “PDCC” that would take pages to explain.
All the driver needs to know is it makes handling magic.
When I drove my Tesla Model 3 Performance — a nice-handling sports sedan — afterward, it felt like a wet noodle by comparison. The only car that rivals the 911 is another Porsche: the smaller Cayman/Boxster and its inherently balanced mid-engine layout.
But when it comes to the new 911’s biggest change — the interior — Porsche still has work to do. Especially when compared to the Corvette C8, which has vaulted itself to best cockpit in class. A reminder: the C8 is also the cheapest supercar in class, starting at a bargain $59,995.
My Racing Yellow Porsche tester starts at $136,550 but with options ballooned over $180,000. For this you get a roomy cabin with plenty of head clearance for this 6-foot-5 giraffe. Unlike its mid-engine competition, 911 has rear seats (though they are more hospitable to golf bags than people). Together with a carry-on luggage storage in the frunk, it’s a sports car fit for weekend trips.
The console is much improved over the previous generation with room for a cupholder (Imagine! Previous models had a flimsy pop-out from the glove compartment.). Theres’s adaptive cruise-control and a touchscreen complete with modern amenities like 4G Wi-Fi and Apple CarPlay. It’s a layout shared with the more-luxurious Panamera sedan and Cayenne SUV — even improving on those siblings with a small, ice cube-sized auto shifter that doesn’t obstruct climate buttons.
But other details lag compared to the ’Vette.
Porsche doesn’t offer Android Auto, and voice recognition is average. The 911 has upgraded its signature five-dial instrument display with state-of-the-art digital readouts — but the round steering wheel obscures some information. Corvette’s race-car like square steering wheel, by contrast, allows better visibility of its broad digital dash. The C8’s retractable hardtop can be stowed while moving at speeds up to 30 mph. Want to store the Targa roof? You’ll have to pull to the side of the road.
Classic touches like Porsche’s left-side key remain, but overall the cabin lacks the personality of rivals.
Leave the personality to the drivetrain.
Despite adding twin turbochargers, the flat-six engine makes beautiful music. The symphony’s exhaust notes get more aggressive as you cycle through the Sport and Sport Plus drive modes. Unlike the Boxster/Cayman which downgraded to a turbo-4, the 911’s six-holer screams for more right foot at high revs, just like the ’Vette’s V8. Advocates for a silent, electric future should drive these beasts first.
Mated to a lightning-quick dual-clutch 8-speed PDK automatic transmission, the 443-horsepower mill exhibits no turbo lag. None. Not on corner exits. Not on launch-control starts that snap your neck on the way to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.
The Targa is available with a 7-speed manual for purists, but the PDK is superior and comes with paddle shifters for when you want to be in control.
For all the emphasis on interior-tech refinement, the 2021 reserves its most clever electronic trick for acceleration. “Sport response” plants a button in the middle of the steering wheel. Luffing behind traffic, I pushed the button. Instantly, the gearbox downshifted from 6th to 3rd, the flat-6 screaming whilst the tach quivered at 6,000 rpms.
Nail the throttle. Gulp traffic in the blink of an eye. Exhale. Wow.
Luxury upgrades exact their toll on weight, and the added tech and Targa roof meant my 4S weighed in at an estimated 3,700 pounds. The gym-toned athlete shrugged it off. As I wrung the 911’s neck through Livingston County curves and cloverleafs, it felt much smaller.
It’s what makes 911 the Tiger Woods of sports cars. But the competition is nipping at its heels.
2021 Porsche 911 Targa
Vehicle type: All-wheel drive, rear-engine, four-passenger sports car
Price: $120,650, including $1,350 destination fee ($181,840 Targa 4S AWD as tested)
Powerplant: 3.0-liter, twin-turbo flat-6 cylinder
Power: 379 horsepower, 331 pound-feet of torque (Targa 4); 443 horsepower, 390 pound-feet of torque (Targa 4S)
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, 7-speed manual
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.4 seconds (Targa 4S, mfr.); top speed, 188 mph
Weight: 3,354 pounds, standard 911 (3,678 pounds, Targa 4S as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 18 mpg city/23 highway/20 combined
Report card
Highs: Handling from the gods; glorious drivetrain
Lows: Lacks infotainment sharpness; priced well into six figures
Overall: 4 stars
CEO-to-be Farley rides historic Ford product shift
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 12, 2020
As he takes the helm of Ford Motor Co. in October, CEO-designate Jim Farley will steer the 117-year-old automaker through one of the most profound product shifts in its history.
The Blue Oval’s F-150 profit-machine continues to steam ahead as the best-selling vehicle in America, but Ford is completely revamping its North American lineup to meet changing consumer and government demands. In the works is a shift away from sedans to slake consumer demand for popular SUVs while at the same time investing billions in electric vehicles to satisfy government mandates.
The shift comes as Ford’s SUV lineup is under pressure from foreign automakers while the popularity of EVs is in question. Yet industry analysts say Farley, now chief operating officer, inherits a Ford and Lincoln model lineup that has made shrewd, measured moves to position itself in the marketplace without overexposing itself to government whims.
“Our new product vision — led by the Mustang Mach-E, new F-150 and Bronco family — is taking shape,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman, in announcing Farley’s promotion. “We now have compelling plans for electric and autonomous vehicles … and we are becoming much more nimble.”
More:New Ford Bronco debut: Five cool things to look for
More:Howes: Ford’s charge to new CEO Farley — ‘step it up’
More:Ford debuts 14th generation of iconic F-150 pickup
Credit that in no small part to Farley and ex-manufacturing boss Joe Hinrichs — Farley’s chief competitor for the top job before his abrupt departure in February — who ran the nuts and bolts of Ford’s marketing, technology and production over the last two decades.
“I think Farley and Hendrix really led to the march toward these new vehicles, and I think they’ve done an excellent job with it,” said George Peterson, a veteran industry analyst and president of AutoPacific, who says outgoing CEO Jim Hackett’s strength was high-level corporate strategy. “Hackett was a placeholder until Farley or Hinrichs was ready.”
A century after founder Henry Ford revolutionized the American automobile with the Model T, Ford is undergoing a historic shift in its lineup, particularly with an eye on the rich U.S. market.
“North America is where Ford makes its money,” said Stephanie Brinley, IH Markit senior auto analyst. And that’s likely to continue.
Ford F-series
When it comes to making money, the F-series pickup line is Ford’s franchise. From its debut in 1948, the F-series line now spans everything from F-150 light-duty trucks to F-750 super-duty commercial trucks. Together they sold 896,526 units in 2019, far and away the best-selling vehicles in the U.S.
Before joining Ford in 2007 Farley worked for Toyota Motor Corp. for 20 years, one of the few foreign companies that has taken a lunge at Ford’s pickup dominance. The Toyota Tundra sold 111,673 copies last year.
Credit the F-150’s dominance to relentless change, including the bold decision in 2015 to make a fully aluminum body, a segment first. Ford’s aluminum investment came with huge risks as competitor Chevy/GMC put its truck investment into growing the mid-size pickup markets with the Colorado and Canyon models.
The aluminum F-150 — together with its introduction of new, sippier, turbo-6 cylinder engines — was a hit, but the rest of the industry did not follow its aluminum, lightweighting strategy. Instead, Ford wound up playing catchup as the mid-size pickup market exploded — led by the twin GM products and Toyota Tacoma.
Ford’s Ranger, revived in 2019, has hit the ground running and is now one of the fastest-selling trucks in its segment. Meanwhile, F-series is in the middle of its first major refresh since its aluminum remake.
“The amount of investment they keep putting into the F-150 is impressive,” AutoPacific’s Peterson said. “The 2021 model is highly evolved — they claim at least 92% of all the part numbers on it are new, even though it doesn’t look any different particularly. They’ve paid a lot of attention to the interior craftsmanship and the interior infotainment systems.”
SUVs
Thirty years ago, the Ford Taurus was the best-selling sedan in America. For 2021, the Blue Oval won’t have a sedan in its U.S. lineup as the mid-size Fusion sunsets with the 2020 model year. Iconic Ford names like Focus and Fiesta will continue to sell in foreign markets like Europe.
Pickups aside, SUVs lead the charge in the U.S.
Riding point will be the rugged, Ranger-based Ford Bronco — aimed squarely at the Jeep Wrangler. Just as Wrangler has defined Jeep’s hot, SUV-focused lineup, so will the versatile Bronco headline a stable of utes, including the Ford Ecosport, Escape, Bronco Sport, Edge, Explorer and Expedition.
“The breadth and depth of the Bronco line is really, really impressive,” said Peterson, including the addition of the unibody Bronco Sport which — unlike the truck-based Bronco — complements the Escape as a more out-doorsy compact crossover.
The Explorer was one of the first five-door SUVs way back in 1995, and it remains a class best-seller. But it’s come under increasing assault from Asian competitors with the all-new Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade and Toyota Highlander.
IHS Markit’s Brinley says Ford has reacted by maximizing profits with new premium trims and sharing vehicle platforms. New for 2020, for example, the Explorer introduced an ST performance model that turns heads with wicked looks and bigger horsepower.
“Ford has been getting more efficient by sharing components across model lines,” she said. “It’s making a difference in profitability.”
Lincoln
One example of that sharing is the Explorer-based Aviator SUV. Aviator was the impetus for changing the Explorer’s traditionally front-wheel-drive platform to rear-wheel-drive to complement Lincoln’s re-invention as Ford’s premium SUV brand.
Nicknamed the “baby Navigator,” Aviator echoes big brother’s sumptuous interior and Bentley-like design cues while also riding on a rear-wheel-drive platform. The Navigator, too, shares its platform with a Ford — the F-150 pickup.
With blingtastic design and feathery rides, Lincoln has new life as an SUV brand. The Continental and MKZ sedans have joined the Taurus/Fusion on the scrap heap, and the volume Corsair SUV is just getting market traction.
“The re-invention of Lincoln is complete,” IHS Markit’s Brinley said. “The brand knows what it is, and knows what it has to execute in the future.”
Electrics
A passionate environmentalist, Chairman Ford has talked a big game on Ford’s green future. But with little consumer demand for EVs, the company’s product planners have resisted wholesale makeovers like Cadillac’s plan to sell only electric vehicles by 2030.
“No EV strategy is a good strategy,” said AutoPacific analyst Peterson, whose organization has polled consumers on electrics since 2005. “Consistently, EV consideration (for a new vehicle) has been between 3% to 5%. There is little consumer pull except for Tesla.”
Taking a page from its icons playbook that has elevated F-series and Bronco, Ford is expanding Mustang as a performance sub-brand that includes a battery-powered Tesla Model Y fighter called the Mustang Mach-E.
Ford hopes the Mach-E will not only rival Tesla in appeal — but also familiarize consumers with high-tech electronics essential to future autonomous vehicles.
On the government compliance front, Ford re-launched the Escape hybrid this year (after a 7-year hiatus) as a practical SUV aimed at the heart of the market’s biggest SUV segment. The company hopes its volume sales will meet government mandates while also satisfying consumer’s core needs of cargo space and fuel efficiency.
Ford’s product shift risks backlash if the market returns to sedans — now almost exclusively the domain of foreign automakers. But with Farley at the wheel, Ford has a car guy with a nose for what Americans covet, observers say.
The CEO-in-waiting, a weekend track warrior, has owned a 1966 Mustang and 1965 Ford GT40 race car.
#SaveTheManual: More cars steer away from stick shifts
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 12, 2020
The manual transmission continues to go the way of the hand-crank window.
Several more vehicles — including the popular Jeep Compass and Honda Accord — will no longer have stick-shift options after the 2020 model year.
The continuing trend toward automatic transmissions is driven not only by ease of use: In many cases, automatics now get better gas mileage than their stick-shift counterparts. Adding to the decline is the phase-out of small, entry-level sedans that traditionally have offered manual transmissions as budget options.
Auto enthusiasts have rallied behind the hashtag #SaveTheManual, but it’s not just entry-level SUVs and sedans that are stiffing sticks. High-end sports cars in the pursuit of more speed are also turning their backs on manuals. Two of the highest-profile performance-car launches in 2020, the Ford Mustang GT500 and mid-engine Chevy Corvette, debuted without a three-pedal option.
“Track- and drag strip-focused sports cars are focused on pushing the envelope, and manuals just make no sense,” said Michael Fiske, IHS Markit principal auto analyst. “Dual-clutch transmissions in cars like the Mustang are crowding out the manual, because if you really want to shave tenths off your quarter-mile time, you need an automatic.”
Fiske says manuals are increasingly the domain of small, affordable performance cars that owners enjoy for the driving experience. The Mazda MX-5 Miata and Toyota 86, for example, are synonymous with stick shifts.
“Manuals let you write your own story,” said M1 Concourse chief instructor Alex Della Torre, 47, who owns three Mazda MX-5s. “If you want to max out your revs, you have that power.”
Yet even popular performance cars such as the stick-shift Ford Fiesta ST and Focus ST have been yanked from the U.S. market, a casualty of the relentless upshift from cars to SUVs.
James Carl, 30, of Royal Oak owns a 2015 Fiesta ST. He was raised on sticks, having previously driven a now-defunct Mazda RX-8 and Bronco II.
“I like the control of a stick. I like to know what gear I’m in and the ability to choose whatever gear I want in a particular situation,” he said. “An automatic doesn’t give you that choice.”
He laments the loss of the subcompact Fiesta ST — its last model year was 2019 (the compact Focus ST died in 2018). Ford’s ST performance badge continues on in sport utilities like the Explorer and Edge — but without the option of a stick.
A Ford partisan, Carl said his only choices going forward are the Mustang muscle car (he races one), and the forthcoming Bronco SUV, which will have a manual option.
Like some pickups and the Jeep Wrangler, the Bronco’s off-road performance promises to attract manual enthusiasts. That’s rare in an SUV. More typical is the Jeep Compass, for which just 7.7% of buyers go for the manual.
SUVs like the Compass have replaced cars like the Focus and Fiesta as entry-level vehicles, which were typically offered as base manual models because the stick’s $1,000 to $1,500 savings attracted cash-strapped customers.
But, say analysts, stiffer fuel economy rules mandated over the last decade made already low profit-margin small cars even more costly to produce.
“The EPA mileage rules really made it hard for small sedans to meet emissions standards. It’s easier to hit the mpg mark with SUVs because the rules treat them differently,” said IHS Markit’s Fiske, an industry veteran. Plus, he said, SUVs have higher profit margins.
Even the take-rate for manuals on Mustangs is just 9.1% as the marque has developed a smooth-shifting, 10-speed automatic. Mustang rival Chevy Camaro’s manual take rate is a paltry 1.4%. Ford now targets its manual Mustang offerings at special, upper-trim models such as the GT350, Bullitt and forthcoming Mach 1.
The top-trim Mustang, the ferocious 760-horsepower 2020 GT500, shocked enthusiasts when it skipped the stick and introduced the pony-car kingdom’s first dual-clutch, seven-speed automatic. That’s because even the best drivers will not be as fast on the track with a manual transmission.
The GT500’s tradition-busting move was followed by the 2020 Corvette, the first ‘Vette to put the engine behind the driver — and ditch the stick. The car’s eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic is staggeringly quick (performing shifts in under 100 milliseconds), allowing sub-3-second, zero-to-60 times. Try that with a manual.
Amateur racer and stick-shift fan Steve Nowicki, 61, of West Bloomfield isn’t interested in a manual muscle car. He drives an automatic Ford F-150 to work but has a stick-shift Miata for play.
“Stick shifts are more manageable with restrained horsepower,” he said. “My Miata is just fun to drive. It’s my summer, let’s-just-go-for-a-ride car.”
Vaunted sports car maker Porsche has flirted with eliminating the stick shift from its flagship 911, but pushback from core enthusiasts means it’s still offered on upper trims like the S and 4S models for 2021. For the entire 911 model line, manuals are chosen by a mere 2.7% of customers.
At the entry-level end of the market, performance brands like Mazda now dangle manuals at enthusiasts willing to pay more for the feature, rather than budget-conscious buyers. The $22,445 Mazda 3 compact offers the manual only its fully loaded Premium hatchback model, starting at $28,420.
Mazda now only offers a stick-shift in its Mazda 3 and MX-5 Miata, having ditched the three-pedal option in its sporty, mid-size 6 sedan after 2019.
The Honda Accord, a competitor to the Mazda 6, will follow suit by discontinuing its stick option after the current model year. Other sticks are leaving the market at year’s end because their model lines have been axed. They include the Fiat 124, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Sonic.
Only 0.8% of Accord buyers opted for a manual. Honda, a driver’s brand with deep roots in racing, has found more success in its compact Civic model with a take rate of 9%.
Even the manuals’ once-vaunted advantage over automatics in fuel economy has dissipated. An automatic Civic with a 1.5-liter engine, for example, gets 33 mpg compared to 30 mpg for the comparable manual version.
M1 Concourse’s Della Torre, however, sees one clear advantage for manual transmissions.
“You don’t have time to text and drive,” he said. “You are forced to focus on driving alone.”
Electric Corvette rumors speed ahead with Biden campaign video
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 8, 2020
Presidential candidate Joe Biden appeared to spill the beans on a long-rumored, all-electric Chevy Corvette this week. As The Detroit News first reported last April, the mid-engine Corvette C8 was designed to include battery-power, and will feature the first-ever electrified model capable of 1,000-horsepower.
Expected to be called the Zora, the hybrid ‘Vette should debut in 2025. Given General Motors Co.’s commitment to a zero-emissions future, an all-electric Corvette after Zora has been expected, too — though without a definitive model year.
In a campaign video on Twitter touting his love for driving, Biden — the owner of a classic, 1967 Corvette convertible himself — added fuel to the rumor.
“They tell me — and I’m looking forward to this if it’s true, to driving one — that they’re making an electric Corvette that can go 200 mph,” said the Democratic candidate for president. “You think I’m kidding — I’m not kidding. So I’m excited about it.”
Who “they” is is not clear, though top politicians like Biden often have access to auto executives given Washington’s regulation of the industry as well as its importance in political swing states like Michigan. Government regulation is a key reason GM and other automakers are investing billions in electrification.
GM as a rule does not talk on the record about future product. When asked about an all-electric Corvette, a GM spokesperson would not comment on product speculation.
Since The News broke news of a mid-engine Corvette in 2016, however, sources have told The News that a key reason for putting the engine behind the driver was to open up possibilities for electrification. Chevrolet even went so far as to trademark the name Corvette E-Ray — an indication of the model’s electric ambitions.
Bob Lutz, GM’s former chief of product development who was involved with early development of the mid-engine ‘Vette, speculated that the program’s long lead time foreshadowed an electric version with “electric motors at the front (that) would enable limited AWD capability.”
Sure enough, The News confirmed this year the Zora hypercar (named after the engineer who advocated a mid-engine ‘Vette 50 years ago) scheduled for 2025 (before delays expected by the cornonavirus disruption).
Like European hypercars that use all-wheel-drive, hybrid-electric propulsion to achieve preposterous performance numbers, the Zora is expected to generate about 1,000 horsepower. Power comes from a front electric motor mounted to an all-new twin-turbo LT7 engine. The LT7 will also be found — sans electric motor — in the Corvette ZR1 performance model.
As a Corvette fan, Biden might also have gotten his information from rampant speculation in online Corvette forums and enthusiast magazines.
When asked by the British auto publication, Autocar, about an electric Corvette at the C8’s unveiling in Los Angeles last year, GM President Mark Reuss fueled rumors: “The company is committed to a strategy of 0-0-0: zero emissions, zero crashes and zero congestion. All of the technology rolling into this vehicle is meant to support that. This platform can carry a lot of different things into the future for General Motors.”
Pressed further, Reuss responded: “We’ll see. Stay tuned.”
Intriguingly, an aftermarket company name Genovation has made headlines by converting an old, front-engine C7 Corvette to electric power making 800 ponies.
The Corvette wouldn’t be the first GM electric car that Biden has taken an interest in. Chevy’s first battery-powered car, the Chevy Volt, played a key role in the Obama-Biden administration’s rescue of Detroit automakers in 2009.
Biden was a strong advocate for the $54 billion in green energy initiatives that were a part of the $787 billion stimulus bill, and visited a Midland plant in 2010 touting battery production for electrified vehicles. In his 2011 State of the Union speech, President Obama promised to have one million battery-powered vehicles on the road by 2015.
That number never materialized as gas prices moderated and consumers gobbled up SUVS. Indeed, Volt production ended in 2019 for lack of demand.
But Biden says he will redouble efforts to move the US to fully electric cars if he is elected president. As part of his $2 trillion climate initiative announced this summer, he would build 500,000 charging stations across the country to help the auto industry go fully electric.
“This is an iconic industry. How can American-made vehicles no longer be out there?” he said in the campaign ad touting an all-electric Corvette. “I believe we can own the 21st century market again by moving to electric vehicles.”
Five cool things about the new Cadillac Lyriq EV that debuted Thursday
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 8, 2020
When the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq introduced Thursday hits dealer lots in late 2022, it promises to be on the cutting edge of electric-vehicle style, range and technology.
With an estimated $70,000 sticker price, Cadillac’s first battery-powered SUV will join a luxury electric-vehicle market that’s expected to be crowded with Tesla’s four-car lineup, three Audi e-Trons, the Mercedes EQC, Polestar 2 (Volvo’s EV brand), Ford Mustang Mach E and others.
Here’s what sets the Lyriq apart.
1. Light show
Walk up to the Lyriq with key in pocket and the light show begins: The SUV’s blank face (like all electric vehicles, the Cadillac doesn’t need a grille to feed air to a gas engine) comes alive like a living room chandelier. Starting with the small Cadillac logo, LED lights cascade outward across the face like ripples from a stone thrown into a pond. The show is punctuated by vertical headlights at the outer edges. That’s right, Cadillac introduces its first-ever vertical headlights. While the lights are not as dramatic as Caddy’s signature 1950s vertical tail-fins, the effect is the same. In contrast with the minimalist designs of Tesla and Audi, the Lyriq is lush with detail.
2. Augmented reality
Cadillac has led the industry in head-up displays. The Lyriq introduces the next chapter. Called “augmented reality,” it projects not one, but two planes of information in front of the driver. The near plane features information like speed limit and vehicle speed. The second plane is cast further out onto the road to help with, say, navigation. In a crowded intersection, for example, virtual arrows hovering over the asphalt will show which road to take.
3. The big screen
Tesla wowed the auto world with a 17-inch vertical screen in 2012. Lyriq doubles it. A continuous, curved 33-inch LED screen stretches across the dash. It can be operated by touch or a console rotary controller. Cadillac says the screen gives it the real estate to be a leader in infotainment systems, so look for industry-best pixel density and configurable space.
4. High-style interior
The Lyriq is built on GM’s “roller skate” BEV3 platform that integrates the SUV’s big battery into the chassis floor. It makes for better structural rigidity and opens acres of space. Tesla pioneered this platform, with a front trunk – a “frunk.” Cabin space is freed up in the areas where a gas engine driveline traditionally resides. But Cadillac goes high style versus Tesla’s minimalist Apple design: The center console rises like a wave between the seats, the rotary screen controller perched at its crest (a similar bow bisects the rear seats, but may not survive to the production model). With Cadillac’s signature Supercruise driver-assist system, drivers can comfortably recline while using the rotary controller like a TV remote. A noise-cancellation system will mute even tire noise, so passengers can enjoy the 19-speaker AKG Studio sound system. Ah, luxury.
5. Details, details
Lyriq is stuffed with Easter eggs: Open the passenger door, and three ducks swim on the corner dash – an homage to the noble Merlettes on the family crest of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit. Press the Caddy crest behind the left wheel arch and a vertical panel shifts forward – like a hidden library door – revealing the charger port. Drivers may be surprised to learn a sci-fi machine like this is operated by a steering-column shifter – but this is no 1950s shifter off a Chevy pickup. Flick the thin wand up and down and it will engage drive modes.
Like all EVs, Lyriq faces the challenge of charging infrastructure. Cadillac believes most charging will happen at home, so the Lyriq is 19-kW charger capable and the company is working with Qmerit so buyers can get home charger installation. When on long trips, Lyriq will help you find a charger for its 300-mile range battery (middling range between a 220-mile Audi e-Tron and 400-mile Tesla) with the big screen or a mobile app.
The mobile app also allows you to monitor Lyriq remotely from your phone. Just like everything else in your 21st-century life.
38-inch tailfins and 16-cylinder engines: milestones in Cadillac history
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 8, 2020
The unveiling Thursday of Cadillac’s 2022 Lyriq SUV marks the brand’s dramatic turn to battery power. The new direction is in keeping with a company that, since its founding in 1902, has been synonymous with luxury innovation.
“Craftsmanship is a vocation, precision is a law” was the motto of Henry Martyn Leland, the gifted machinist who ran the company from 1904 to 1922. Leland pioneered standardized spare parts so that, for example, a faulty piston could be changed without having to swap out for an entire new engine.
A culture of innovation followed creating automotive breakthroughs like the first electric self-starter, first enclosed car, and first V-8 engine. Even as Cadillac’s luster dulled at the end of the 20th century as German automakers upped their games, the brand has continued to innovate. Among its most recent accomplishments is the head-up display in 2003.
Here are some of the Lyriq’s key forefathers in Cadillac’s 118-year history.
1902 Model A
Cadillac rose from the ashes of the failed Henry Ford Co. (He moved on to the successful Ford Motor Co. with new investors). So the first Cadillac was nearly identical to the Ford-designed Model A chassis, which Ford Motor Co. also produced in 1903. The 1903 Cadillac Model A sold 2,497 in its first year. About 7 horsepower turned the rear wheels. It came in 2 and 4-door models starting at $850.
1905 Osceola
The 1905 Osceola concept would eventually become the 1910 Model 30 (30 for 30 horsepower), the first car with a fully-enclosed body. Coveted for its privacy, the towering car stood 7-foot-2 — the tallest Cadillac ever made, a foot taller than today’s Escalade SUV.
1912 Model 30
Goodbye, cranky hand crank. The ’12 Model 30 introduced the first electric self-starter. It effectively destroyed the already pricey electric-car market which women drivers in particular had enjoyed for their less physical push starters.
1915 Type 51
As the four-cylinder Model 30 aged, competitors ate into sales with smooth 6-cylinder engines. Cadillac sales cratered in 1914. With furious innovation, Leland & company answered with the first V-8 powered car – the Type 51 – boasting 5.1-liters of piston and 70 horsepower. V-8s still motivate Cadillacs to this day.
1927 LaSalle
Known for its engines and quality, Cadillac was considered a stodgily styled brand. As Packard upped the aesthetic bar, Cadillac answered with Harley Earl who would establish Caddy’s “Art and Colour Section” as the the first styling department within an automobile manufacturer. Earl penned the 1927 LaSalle, a second brand made by Cadillac. Cadillac would endure as a cutting-edge design firm, but LaSalle would not. The name was eventually nixed to focus on Cadillacs.
1931 Phaeton
Double the V-8 and you get the V-16 engine, another Cadillac first. The fast, 170-horsepower mill was the heart of vehicles like the Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton. Celebrities like Marlene Dietrich coveted the incomparable V-16s and their long three-ton bods. The Great Depression eventually canceled these land yachts, but they remain valuable collector cars.
1959 Eldorado
After World War II, Earl was inspired by the design of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane. He translated that inspiration into Cadillac tail fins. The fins would first appear on the 1948 Sixty Special and become a signature of American car design. The ’59 Eldorado was the era’s high point with fins measuring 38 inches tall.
1970 Eldorado
The eighth-generation Eldorado debuted an edgy style that remains a Cadillac signature to this day. It also boasted the biggest mass-produced engine in automotive history. Its 400 horsepower V-8 had a displacement of 8.2 liters – 500 cubic inches.
1985 DeVille
The Lyriq is partly a response to government-imposed, zero-emissions mandates, but 1974 marked the first time the U.S. government demanded fleet-wide mpg rules. The restrictions forced automakers to look for dramatic fuel economy savings, and Cadillac responded with one of the first front-wheel drive designs. The front-wheel drive DeVille was fit with a transverse V-8 engine.
2002 Escalade
Cadillac’s first SUV was introduced in 1999 as a response to the popular Lincoln Navigator. Based on GM’s full-size pick-up frame, the Escalade really hit its stride with its blingtastic second-generation 2002 model which inspired a generation of musicians and gained the favor of celebrity athletes. Escalade has spawned a full line of Cadillac SUVs. Its forthcoming 2021 model was introduced by moviemaker Spike Lee earlier this year.
2003 CTS
After a sleepy decade in which Cadillac fell further behind its athletic German competition, the CTS sedan sought to reboot the brand with a dramatic “Art & Science” design on a rear-wheel drive platform. The CTS gained new respect for the brand.
2014 ELR
Sharing the ambitious Chevy Volt’s chassis and plug-in drivetrain, the gorgeous ELR was Cadillac’s first battery-powered car. Dubbed “Volt in a tux,” the ELR could run 40 miles on battery power before a range-extending gas engine kicked in. The design turned heads, but the $75,995 price tag – similar to the Tesla Model S – turned buyers away. The ELR lasted just two years on the market.
Payne: Mid-engine Corvette wows as a daily driver
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 8, 2020
The Made in America supercar. The 2020 Chevy Corvette, assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky. (Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)
The Corvette C8.R race car has been an instant success, winning three of its first four races against its formidable Porsche and BMW competition. In no small part that’s due to its mid-engine layout.
“Going to mid-engine C8.R (from front-engine C7.R) is night and day difference. It feels like a proper race car the way you drive it, you can really attack corners and be aggressive with it,” Corvette team driver Jordan Taylor told me ahead of his team’s 1-2 finish at Sebring on July 18.
I can attest to that in the production car as well, which I have driven in anger around GM’s Nevada race track. But the real genius of the first Corvette to put the engine behind its driver can’t be fully appreciated until you’ve lived with it as a daily driver.
At $72,000, my base tester Corvette C8 was drop-dead gorgeous, quick as lightning, yet a practical mule for a weekend road trip up north.
And the next generation is in love with it.
“This is a chick magnet,” said my 20-something friend Kevin (about the same age as Jordan Taylor) as we cruised down M-32 near Traverse City. “I got to take a picture for my brother, he talks about this car all the time.”
Millennials like Kevin and his brother were a big reason GM made the mid-engine Corvette. As the 21st century dawned, chief engineer Tadge Juechter and his elves had stretched the front-engine concept as far is it could go. A new generation had been raised on sexy mid-engine Ferraris, McLarens and Ford GTs. Put a mid-engine Corvette on their dorm wall and they would covet that, too.
Especially since you can buy four C8s for the price of one Ferrari 488. Same rapid-fire dual-clutch transmission, same eight cylinders, same 0-60 time.
“Gaaaah! I love the sound of that engine!” exclaimed Kevin as we used launch control to rocket from 0-60 mph in about 3 seconds.
That’s been Corvette’s genius for years — using GM’s parts bin to create a supercar many times cheaper than its competition. The pushrod V-8 is fundamentally the same small block that powers thousands of Chevy and GMC trucks. The infotainment system is shared with the Chevy Equinox.
But that sharing was a double-edged sword for Corvette, giving it a reputation as a poor man’s sports car. The C8 sheds that baggage. This rocket is one of the world’s best supercars, regardless of cost.
Start from the inside out.
I blanched at the chemical smell that greeted me every time I opened the last-generation C7’s door. It reeked of lack of attention to detail. The smell is gone in the C8 — solved, say engineers, by “pre-baking” materials before installation.
What I notice instead is the jaw-dropping interior. It’s better than the Ferrari 488, the McLaren 570 and the Audi R8 — all cars that cost at least twice as much as C8. The C8 beats these giants in digital switchgear — and personality.
The ’Vette wraps its driver in a unique environment with a square steering wheel (to better see the big digital dash), “trigger” shifter, clever climate controls and an instrument display that changes as you toggle through six drive modes, from Tour to Z mode (more on that later).
It adds luxe touches like the OMG-that’s-cool rear camera mirror and a center “ridge” of climate controls. You can even remove the roof if you want (storing it in back like a Ford Bronco stores its doors).
I could have spent all day inside. And did.
The interior loses nothing in size from the front-engine car, meaning it fits 6-foot-5, 230-pound basketball players like me. On I-75 north of Saginaw I had to pull over to file a breaking news story. In other sports cars, I might have searched for a coffee shop. Not the C8.
So space efficient is the ’Vette that I was carrying a luggage bag in the “frunk,” tennis racquet bag/cooler/briefcase in the trunk, and an iRacing steering wheel/pedals in the passenger foot well.
I turned on the ’Vette’s 4G Wi-Fi and wrote the story on my laptop from the passenger seat in a service station parking lot.
A day later, two 20-somethings towing Jet Skis ogled the Corvette as I emerged from an ice cream shop.
“It looks awesome in the flesh,” exclaimed one.
“You should see the interior,” I said.
“I already looked,” came the reply. “It’s really cool.”
They will be able to afford one in a few years as C8 volumes rise and their used prices drop into the $40,000 range with high mileage. Can’t expect that from a European supercar.
Though the sheet metal is busy, the design should wear well. Proportions are impeccable, the look distinctly Corvette.
Its livability will endear it to 30,000-plus buyers a year. It looks good. Rides great. But for those who want to push it, the C8 also transcends its predecessors in balance and tech.
Engineers managed to squeeze another 35 horsepower from the ol’ V8 nail to a healthy 495. Place it over the rear wheels for better traction, marry it to a lightning-quick eight-speed gearbox, and it’s magic.
Over Charlevoix County’s rural roads I did multiple launch-control 0-60 burnouts. It’s as thrilling as a Cedar Point roller coaster. Where the old C7 felt like you were hanging on to a rodeo bull, the C8 is on rails. Warning: Like a Cedar Point roller-coaster, it wants to go to the moon. Beware instant triple-digit speeds that local cops will frown upon.
Thrills come standard without moving up to the $5,000 Z51 performance track package. Drive modes allow you to explore multiple personalities. Luffing through the quiet town of East Jordan, I kept the Corvette in “My Mode” where I had set the engine to Stealth so as not to attract attention.
Outside of town, the roads turned twisty. Z Mode time.
Pre-programmed in the touchscreen like My Mode, Z Mode allows you to instantly switch to preferred performance settings. I like Track settings — steering, suspension, engine note — but without turning off traction control should I encounter gravel or a slick patch of road.
Over hills and turns, the Corvette was a treat. This is a big car at 182 inches long and 3,647 pounds, so it can’t be flung about like a Porsche Cayman or Alfa Romeo 4C. But its bandwidth as a people-mover outdoes those smaller, comparably priced mid-engine rivals.
That’s Corvette’s secret sauce. Now more than ever.
2020 Chevrolet Corvette
Vehicle type: Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-passenger sports car
Price: $59,995 including $1,095 destination fee ($72,075 as tested)
Powerplant: 6.2-liter V-8
Power: 495 horsepower, 470 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 184 mph
Weight: 3,647 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 15 mpg city/27 highway/19 combined
Report card
Highs: Looks like a Ferrari for the price; superior interior
Lows: Poor rear visibility; no adaptive cruise control
Overall: 4 stars
Woodward Dream Show is final cruise-associated event to be canceled due to pandemic
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 4, 2020
The inaugural Woodward Dream Show at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, which was scheduled to go on Aug. 12-15 despite the cancellation of the Aug. 15 Woodward Dream Cruise, is the latest casualty of the coronavirus. All of the traditional city- and corporate-sponsored events — from the Berkeley Cruise Parade to Ford’s Mustang Alley — have all been kicked to the curb by organizers this year, even as cruisers have continued to rumble up Woodward Avenue.
Motorheads held out hopes that the Dream Show — held outdoors at the M1 Concourse, a private race track and grounds in Pontiac — would be immune to the wave of cancellations. But the governor’s restrictions on public gatherings were too tight for the event to go forward.
“This was a difficult decision, but based on the ever-changing business environment and health concerns in Michigan and across the country, we have decided to postpone the inaugural Woodward Dream Show to 2021,” said Tim Hartge, CEO of Pontiac Motorsports Exposition, organizer of the event.
The 2020 Dream Show had planned three days of events that included a “Best of the Best” automobile show, a point-to-point timed race on M1’s 1.5-mile Champion Speedway race course, food trucks and a fashion show.
Organizers worked with state officials to provide proper safety protocols including ticket-only admission and hand sanitizers across the 87-acre facility, but social-distancing requirements meant the numbers didn’t add up.
Dream Show organizers then briefly flirted with the idea of doing an invitation-only event that would be live-streamed. But that was deemed insufficient for the show’s ambitious goals.
“We certainly appreciate the capabilities that online car shows have to offer,” said Hartge, “but no matter how we scheduled it, the final product wasn’t going to be all we hoped to bring to the car enthusiast public.”
The M1 car club also traditionally plays host to Roadkill Nights sponsored by Dodge — legal drag racing on Woodward Avenue — the weekend before the Dream Cruise, but that was also canceled this year.
The Dream Show’s struggles come as car enthusiasts across the country are grappling with the new COVID-19 environment. IndyCar announced over the weekend that it is postponing its event next weekend at Mid-Ohio race track north of Columbus as Ohio has tightened its health rules.
Meanwhile, Road America race track in Wisconsin hosted an IMSA sports car race last weekend that brought thousands to its 600 acres. And some 10,000 fans attended a NASCAR race in New Hampshire where facility capacity was limited to 20%. In Phoenix, Barrett-Jackson auctions announced that it will open again to the public this fall.
“The level of premium cars that people were bringing is something that the public should get a chance to experience first-hand,” Hartge said of the Dream Show. “Postponing our debut will allow us to better plan for next year’s show and allow the public to experience our ‘best of the best’ philosophy of an automotive event.”
Odd couple: Audi S5 Sportback vs. Dodge Charger Scat Pack Plus
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 30, 2020
My comparison cars this week have much in common. They are muscle models from notable performance brands. They bear fresh, head-swiveling colors: one District Green, the other Sinamon Stick red. Both have elegant “T” shifters, sculpted 20-inch wheels, elevated sticker prices and multiple words in their badges.
Yet the stunning Audi S5 Sportback and Dodge Charger Scat Pack Plus will rarely be cross-shopped.
Despite their focus on raw speed, their branding is aimed at entirely different customers. They are monuments to sales savvy, of the ability of marketing geniuses to conjure emotion for sheet metal. If they appeared in the movie “Caddyshack,” the Audi would be driven by Chevy Chase and the Charger by Rodney Dangerfield.
True to those stereotypes, these two hot rods satisfy their customers in dramatically different ways while arriving at 60 mph at the same time: just over 4 seconds.
After flogging them all over Michigan, I found them as divergent as German chocolate and American apple pie with a big scoop of ice cream.
The S5 Sportback is the performance version of the A5 Sportback, one of the most elegant designs in autodom. An offspring of the A7, which combines hatchback utility with fastback sex appeal, the compact-sized A5 is a class smaller while giving away little in the beauty department.
My S5 swan manages to be even more alluring than the standard A5. Credit its color — as irresistible as Jaguar’s British Racing Green — shard-spoked wheels, blacked-out grille and mirror caps, quad pipes. It turned a lot of heads across Oakland County.
But its performance was more understated, matching its buttoned-up clientele. Under the hood was a 349-horse turbocharged V-6 — a nice step up from the standard A5’s 228-horse turbo-4, but shy of the ultimate, 444-horse six-shooter in the RS5 Sportback. Like the Cadillac CT5-V I recently tested, the S5 aims to find that performance sweet spot between boulevard cruiser and track monster.
Its behavior is sweet, too. Not too tart, not too bland. Fire it up and the Audi authoritatively clears its throat like the host of a formal meal. I punched the Drive Mode to Dynamic (Comfort, Auto and Individual are also available), and the driveline subtly firmed with a dab of rev match on downshifts. Bravo, sir.
Not the Charger.
Turn the key — SNORRT! — and it’ll wake the neighbors (“What is that noise you’re driving?” asked mine). Growling at idle it sounds like a T. rex that hasn’t been fed for a week. If the Audi is eye-catching, then the Charger is in-your-face. The standard Charger is menacing enough, but Scat Pack turns the dial to 11. The front end is littered with air intakes, topped off by a big ice cream — er — hood scoop.
The fenders are swollen with Dodge’s Widebody treatment, like biceps from obsessive gym workouts. Charger is tattooed with badges — a Scat Pack Super Bee in the front grille, “392-Hemi” on its flanks.
That 392 means 392 cubic inches — 6.4 liters of V-8 muscle — which is the Scat Pack’s secret sauce. Like the S5 Sportback, the 392 is middle ground between the standard V-6 Charger and the insane 707-horse Charger SRT Hellcat which starts at the same price as the Audi S5 ($69,000) and will turn your hair white with its off-the-charts power and demonic supercharger whine at full throttle.
With 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque, Scat Pack packs plenty of punch.
Prowling the M-32 two-lane west of Gaylord, Michigan, the big V-8’s power was instantly accessible when needed. WAAAUUURRGGH! … and I was past slower traffic in the blink of an eye. The eight-speed transmission clicked off quick shifts while the speedo approached triple digits. The sound was deafening, my goosebumps an inch high.
The Audi’s eight-speed automatic is also silky smooth, but the engine exhibits noticeable turbo lag before its 349 ponies hooked up for quick passes. The American V-8 is an endangered species, long live the American V-8.
Through the twisty bits the mid-size A5 antelope is noticeably lighter, more agile. The Audi is aided by all-wheel drive which helps put down traction on corner exit. It tips the scales at a porky 3,925 pounds — but that’s still 400 pounds lighter than the full-size rear-wheel drive Charger elephant.
Jump in the elephant after the antelope and it’s noticeably more physical. But thanks to modern electronics — and a Scat Pack full of suspension upgrades — Charger is remarkably nimble at speed. The Widebody mod adds 3.5-inches of track width for better stability and fat Pirelli P-Zeros increase confidence with very corner.
With all 485 horses fed through the rear wheels, power application requires more care than the Audi. Charger’s electronic Mode selector tweaks suspension and powertrain dynamics to suit your style. I preferred Individual mode, tuning everything to Track (the steering is magnificent) while leaving the traction-control on to manage torque.
Its remarkable to have these electronic gizmos at your fingertips in a Dodge — same as a German chariot. It’s a big reason the gap between luxury and mainstream has shrunk so dramatically over the last decade.
That and the interior. The Audi cockpit is a lovely place to spend time, but so is the Dodge. Both have consoles wrapped in carbon-fiber trim. Both have Alcantara/leather thrones and useful cubby space. Audi’s premium appeal is in its digital displays which I always geek out over: configurable screens, Google Earth behind the steering wheel … oooooh.
But on trips, I used Android Auto in both cars. The Audi’s nav system isn’t up to speed with smartphones so Google Maps takes over its fancy center screen. Same as Charger.
The Audi’s interior is more serene thanks to its more, um, gentlemanly engine note. But if your passengers don’t mind that, the Charger gives ’em 5 more inches of rear leg space (35 vs. 40 inches). The S5 strikes back with its yuge cargo bay which, thanks to its hatchback design, gains 5 cubic feet of space (21.8 vs. 16.5) over Dodge.
Hatches are one of my favorite things — but they’ll cost ya given their extra engineering. On such little things do these utilitarian muscle cars differ.
But the yawning marketing gap remains. Turbo-6 vs. V-8. Audi vs. Dodge. Violin vs. electric guitar. I think Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield will be very happy with their choices.
2020 Audi S5 Sportback
Vehicle type: Front-engine, five-passenger performance hatchback
Price: $52,895, including $995 destination fee ($69,240 as tested)
Powerplant: 3.0-liter, turbocharged V-6
Power: 349 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.2 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 155 mph
Weight: 3,925 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 20 mpg city/27 highway/23 combined
Report card
Highs: Sleek bod; excellent hatchback utility
Lows: Gets pricey; nav system still not up to Google Maps standard
Overall: 3 stars
2020 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Plus
Vehicle type: Front-engine, five-passenger performance sedan
Price: $41,990 including $1,495 destination fee ($54,065 as tested)
Powerplant: 6.4-liter V-8
Power: 485 horsepower, 475 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.3 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 175 mph
Weight: 4,373 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 15 mpg city/24 highway/18 combined
Report card
Highs: Family muscle car; great soundtrack
Lows: Heavy; drinks fuel
Overall: 4 stars
Payne: Cadillac CT4-V is the best small-luxury driver’s car
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 25, 2020
The 2020 Cadillac CT4-V is a new performance variant of the CT4 – which itself replaces the ATS sedan and debuts in the subcompact segment.
The Cadillac ATS was the best-handling luxury sedan in the compact segment. Only the Alfa Romeo Giulia matched it with rear-wheel drive, scalpel-like handling and chiseled looks.
Yet buyers ignored it.
So Cadillac has rebadged ATS as the CT4, added a V-performance version and dropped it into the subcompact sedan segment where its tight rear legroom isn’t a liability.
I took the 2020 CT4-V to Ohio’s racing mecca, Mid-Ohio race track, to see if would get any attention.
“I love it when you drive up in this car. It’s cool-looking,” said a Mid-Ohio gate attendant as I entered the track Saturday morning for qualifying.
I was racing my own 1990 Lola race car at the annual SVRA Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, and I had driven the CT4-V the three hours from Detroit to Lexington, Ohio. For four days, the CT4-V and I came and went from the racing paddock and got plenty of comments. Mostly positive.
The CT4-V performance badge is, like everything but the chassis, new for 2021. The V allows Caddy to compete against the likes of the Audi S3 and the BMW M235i — performance upgrades to standard subcompact models — but without breaking the bank like uber-high performance Audi RS3 and BMW M2 models (Don’t worry speed freaks, the CT4 will eventually get a steroid-fed, $70,000, twin-turbocharged V-6 animal, too).
The CT4-V starts at $45,490 — an $11,500 leap above the entry-level $33,990 CT4. My loaded all-wheel drive tester stickered at $52,640, including the key ingredient: a new, 2.7-liter turbocharged inline-4.
That’s a lot of coin. It’s noticeably more than loaded, comparably equipped performance trims like the $48,300 BMW M235i Gran Coupe, $49,500 Audi S3 or $49,490 Tesla Model 3 AWD.
The sticker price caused pause among my pals. Can Cadillac support that kind of brand premium? Well, no. The CT4-V model should be priced below its German competitors in order to give it a fighting chance against stronger brands.
It does, however, more than match them for performance.
With best-in-class 325 horsepower and face-flattening 380 pound-feet of torque married to a lightning-quick 10-speed transmission, the V in CT4-V stands for “very fun to drive.” Especially on Lexington’s roller-coaster roads.
Like the race track that has made Mid-Ohio an international destination for racers from IndyCar to Trans Am to vintage racing, Lexington’s roads are a twisted delight. Exit flat-as-a-board, four-lane Ohio Route 30, take a two-lane south toward the Clear Fork Reservoir and the driving experience is suddenly transformed. Undulating straightaways meet blind crests that suddenly fall away into sharp downhill turns on the other side.
My athletic CT4-V was made for this. It never put a wheel wrong as I gulped country terrain.
Adding to its capabilities is V-mode, a button on the steering wheel — ripped right out of the mid-engine Corvette (which calls the feature Z-mode) — enabling me to pre-program the chassis settings so they could be changed in an instant from Route 30 cruiser to backroads cheetah. Steering: Track. Drivetrain: Track. Brakes: Sport. A sub-menu accessed by turning off traction control allowed even more electronic tweaking of the suspension and engine systems.
My friend and fellow Lola racer Mark was as addicted to V-mode as I was. He punched the button and the steering noticeably firmed, the Magneride shocks firmed, and the engine note dropped a couple octaves. Hard on the throttle out of a 90-degree turn and the transmission cracked off shifts — BRAP BRAP BRAP — while the torque pinned us in our seats.
Want more? Try launch control, another benefit of Corvette electronics: Toggle to Track mode. Hold the brake at a stoplight. Bury the throttle. Release the brake. The CT4-V rockets to 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds, nearly a full second better than the last-generation ATS equipped with a 325-horse V-6 (though the CT4-V is still shy of the BMW M235i’s 4.7 seconds).
Not as thrilling, though, is the turbo-four engine note, which suffers compared to the old six. Federal nannies are strangling multi-cylinder engines these days (on their way to mandating we all buy Tesla-like EVs), but six-cylinders are still available at this price point — most notably in the rabid Toyota GR Supra that I recently flogged through northern Michigan. A six will eventually be available in the top-line CT4 but it’ll cost ya.
The four-banger’s growl gets digital enhancement inside the CT4 because the thing is so danged quiet.
The cockpit was a pleasant place to be on my trip down to Mid-Ohio. The CT4 is all grown up from its too geeky ATS predecessor. The console has been remade with a touchscreen tablet infotainment display and multiple friendly control points including dial control-knobs for climate controls and a rotary dial to access the screen for those who find touchscreens distracting. Throw in Caddy’s head-up display and it’s all quite useful.
It will all appeal to my Caddy owner friends who have gone noticeably gray dealing with previous, maddening, too-clever haptic-touch systems.
But compared to its competition, the Cadillac noticeably lags in tech.
The voice-command systems of the BMW and Mercedes CLA are noticeably more refined, as are their crisp digital instrument displays. The Audi wows with is configurable instrument display. And then there’s Tesla with its game-changing, minimalist design. It’s a murderer’s row for the relatively average Cadillac interior to face.
And puts a lot of pressure on the rear-wheel drive CT4-V platform.
It’s the driver’s car of the lot, no doubt. Indeed, I’d be tempted to ditch the V-series AWD option were the winters in Michigan not so brutal. The rear-wheel drive system is 130 pounds lighter, which makes CT4 even more athletic. More tossable.
Now in its proper subcompact segment, the rear seat is no longer annoyingly tight. It’s competitive in its segment, and malleable enough to fit my 6-foot-5 stork legs. The exterior design is elegant — it looked like its belonged next to Mark’s Porsche 911 — and the geeky interior console a distant memory.
But there’s a new American kid on the block, Tesla, that’s turning heads now. And those Germans just won’t go away. Keep working at it CT4. V is for “very nearly there.”
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Vehicle type: Front-engine, five-passenger performance sedan
Price: $45,490 including $995 destination fee ($52,640 AWD as tested)
Powerplant: 2.7-liter, turbo-4
Power: 325 horsepower, 380 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.9 seconds (AWD CT4-V, mfr.); top speed, 165 mph
Weight: 3,600-3,750 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 20 mpg city/28 highway/23 combined
Report card
Highs: Good looks; best-in-class handling
Lows: Infotainment system lags; cheap rotary controller
Overall: 3 stars
Ford Mustang SUV prototype has 7 electric motors
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 25, 2020
Electric cars aren’t just for tree-huggers anymore.
Ford Motor Co.’s performance arm announced the Mustang Mach-E 1400 prototype SUV Tuesday — a 1,400-horsepower electric track-monster with seven electric motors, massive rear wing, and seating for four adventure seekers.
The prototype aims to show that battery-powered vehicles can run with the fastest of their gas-guzzling cousins. The Mach-E 1400’s horsepower is on par with the most powerful hypercars made, the million-dollar-plus hybrid Koenigsegg Regera and 16-cylinder Bugatti Chiron, which both turn a claimed 1,479 horsepower — and well above the most powerful Motor City contender, the 840-horsepower Dodge Demon.
The Ford is a one-off prototype with no plans for production.
Developed in collaboration with hot rod-shop RTR Vehicles, the Mach-E 1400 follows on the heels of the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 — Ford’s first all-electric, 1,400-horse dragster introduced earlier this year. But while the Cobra Jet is focused on straight-line speed, the Mach-E 1400 is billed as an all-around athlete that can compete in drag strip, road race or drifting competitions.
“The whole intention of this product is to show what the Mustang Mach E is capable of,” Ford Performance chief Mark Rushbrook said in an interview. “The Mach-E 1400 expands the envelope of all aspects of the production car.”
Ford has done halo supercars before, of course — most recently the limited-edition Ford GT supercar that won the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans in race trim. But the Mach-E 1400 project is different.
“The Ford GT was a technical challenge to make a road car that could also win within the limits of an international race series,” said Rushbrook. “In the case of the Mach-E 1400, there are no rules. We were free to do whatever we wanted.”
The result is a Frankenstein’s monster that more than doubles the power of the 647-horse, $500,000 Ford GT. The seven electric motors make an unholy shriek at full power. Without any regulatory restrictions, the Mach-E 1400 is sucked to the earth by more down-force, said Rushbrook, than the Ford GT race car that dazzled Le Mans.
The prototype is built off on the $61,600 Mach-E GT’s performance trim (the standard Mach E will sticker for $44,995 when it hits showrooms this fall). Then it was injected with steroids.
Pushing the limits of SUV performance capability, the all-wheel-drive Mach-E 1400 is equipped with four electric motors in the rear and three up front — compared to the production car’s one front, one rear. Looming on the rear deck like a scorpion’s tail is a massive rear wing that helps generate 2,300-pounds of downforce at 160 mph.
“This car shows that Ford is serious about making electric cars,” said Rushbrook. “We are investing $11 billion in EVs, and we want to make them fun for people to drive.”
Though the prototype is not intended for any race series, Rushbrook and his team have every intention of sharing it with the public. Unlike most race cars that are hollowed out save for a driver’s seat, the Mach-E 1400 comes equipped with four racing seats so that three passengers can enjoy the fun inside a full roll cage.
The Mach-E 1400’s battery is 56.8 kWh — not much different than performance EVs like the Mach-E GT or Tesla Model Y — and well shy of the 100 kWh battery that powers Tesla’s almighty Model S Performance. The Ford team was focused less on range than of raw performance which is why it gets seven electric motors — four more than the Cobra Jet 1400 dragster.
“The 1400 can run for about an hour, then be recharged in an hour,” said Rushbrook. “We want it to be demonstration vehicle for what an EV can do. We want to put a smile on peoples’ faces.”
Ford collaborated with RTR and its reputation for making top-dog drift racing cars.
“Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,” said RTR founder and racer Vaughn Gittin Jr. “This experience is like nothing you’ve ever imagined, except for maybe a magnetic roller coaster.”
Look for the Mustang Mach-E 1400 to debut at a NASCAR race later this year, ahead of the production Mach E’s debut in showrooms. NASCAR makes a good fit since the series will be going hybrid-electric in a few years.
Electrification is a trend in racing that Ford intends to exploit as it learns from hellions like the Mach-E 1400 project.
“This prototype can’t race in any current series,” said Rushbrook. “But we are committed to electric racing. The only electric series now is Formula E, but there are a whole lot more options coming in the near future.”
Payne: Toyota’s ferocious sports car is Supra cool
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 17, 2020
The Toyota Supra is back after two decades away, and Americans are thankful.
I took Toyota’s hot rod up north for a weekend and I haven’t seen a car swarmed like it since I drove a scissor-door 2016 BMW i8 around Motown. At a traffic light in the middle of Petoskey, everyone stopped in their tracks to ogle the Supra.
Sure, the Skittle-yellow color had something to do with it. But the Supra is also one of the most ferocious-looking cars on the road today. From its long, LeMans prototype-inspired snout to its double-bubble roof to its lion haunches, Supra is a rolling biceps muscle.
“You’ve got to take me for a ride,” said car pal Mary, who had been properly circumspect about drives in new cars during the COVID lockdown. She had resisted the Ram Power Wagon, the Mazda Miata and the Jeep Gladiator Mojave. But she couldn’t resist a go in the Supra rocket.
After a quick lap of north Woodward — the turbocharged, 3.0-liter, inline-6 cylinder howling like a wolf while its 8-speed tranny cracked off quick shifts — she was a giggling puddle in the right seat.
Yes, Supra 3.0 (for the 3.0-liter engine within) backs up its sensational looks with outrageous driving abilities. And affordable pricing to boot.
I almost felt sorry for the $100,000-plus Lexus LC500 convertible I had tested a week prior, which is no slouch in the sex-appeal department. Store the LC500’s hardtop in the boot with a touch of a button and you have a front-row seat to an open-air V-8 concert. But it’s no Supra.
Indeed, for the price of the LC 500 you could buy two of my $57,000 Supras.
Which is actually two BMWs. Because, truth be told, the secret of the Supra’s success is it shares its bones with BMW’s fabulous Z4 Roadster.
Given the high regulatory costs of developing low-volume sports cars these days, Toyota teamed up with its Bavarian counterpart, just as Mazda did with Fiat to build the current-generation Miata. Toyota got a heckuva deal.
Toyota took BMW’s chassis, engine and interior tech, wrapped it in a yowza Supra shell, and tuned the suspension for its natural Fast ’n’ Furious clientele. I first tested the Supra at Summit Point Raceway last year and it’s a car that loves to be thrown around. Its neutral suspension tuning encourages lurid slides through slow corners before exploding down straightaways to that glorious I-6 soundtrack.
At Michigan Beach in Charlevoix, my wife and I could barely see the sunset for all the dudes giving the Supra thumbs up. Huge front intakes set under brooding, wrapped headlights feed 335 horses in the 2020 model — a whopping 382 if you wait for the 2021 model hitting showrooms this summer.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda wants his new generation of Toyotas and Lexi to be eye-catching. Some are misses, but the Supra’s a hit.
It’s especially noticeable from the rear with five-spoke wheels wrapped in fat 11-inch-wide tires under bulging fenders. It reminds of the ’70s Porsche 935 race cars I coveted as a teen. Toyota likes the look so much it’s shared with the Highlander SUV.
“You know, the old Supra was a good-looking car,” said a middle-aged gent circling the Supra in a grocery store parking lot. “And this thing looks cool, too.”
Also cool? My Supra 3.0 is five-grand cheaper than the four-cylinder, 255-horsepower BMW Z4 I brought up north last year to explore the same roads. New for 2021 is an even more affordable $47,000 Supra 2.0 equipped with the same BMW turbo-4.
But if you can spare the extra coin, go Supra 3.0.
The inline-6 is one of BMW’s jewels, and it aligns with Supra’s own inline-6 heritage. There was no race track up north to exercise the Supra, but M-32’s writhing curves were a satisfying substitute. I resisted the urge to drift, but the Supra still enjoyed the occasional tail wag under power.
It was a remarkable contrast with the Z4 — the BMW handling tidy as a good German should be. It’s also very different than the LC 500, which felt like a portly boulevard cruiser next to the whip-quick, 1,000-pounds-leaner, 3,397-pound Supra. I can’t believe I’m dissing the Lexus with a Toyota, but the Supra is that good.
Its full name is Toyota GR Supra 3.0 — after Toyota’s racing arm Gazoo Racing — and the little sports car comes with a Sport mode that really turns up the wick. Tap the console button and the exhaust baritone drops an octave. The suspension tightens like a cheetah in tall grass. I put the eight-speed automatic in manual mode. POUNCE!
Shifting at the 7,000-rpm redline, the sound is addictive. Hard on the red Brembo brakes, the engine breathes out, the dual rear pipes farting and popping. It’s obnoxious in town, irresistible on the open road.
But when the road flattens out, the BMW-crafted interior pays dividends. I mean, think about it — it’s a Toyota with a BMW interior.
Driving north for miles on I-75, the Supra’s bolstered sport seats are a pleasant place to be. The instrument display is styled after the LC 500 with its big tachometer, but the console is all BMW. Like Z4, the tablet infotainment screen features crisp menu pages that can be swiped by touch — or operated with the BMW’s best-in-the-biz remote rotary-dial. My carbon-fiber wrapped console also features BMW’s space-efficient monostable shifter.
Supra’s hatchback (like an old, front engine Corvette C7 for motorheads still pining for a front-engine beast) allows surprising space for two passengers and their luggage. This is not an Alfa 4C or Miata. An annoying negative: the hatch causes bad interior buffeting when you want to drive with the windows down.
At a West Branch service station off I-75, a mom leaned out the window of her SUV while her young son snapped Supra pictures from the backseat.
“I loooove the Supra,” she said. “I’ve seen two in white and black, but I really like it in yellow.”
As I exited West Branch onto the interstate, I punched the Sport button and hit (censored to protect my license) mph on the entry ramp before settling down to 80 mph for the rest of the trip north. Like all Toyotas, Supra was generously equipped with high-tech features like blind-spot assist and adaptive cruise-control to make the interstate miles more relaxing.
So that when you hit the M-32 twisties, you’re ready to rumble.
2020-2021 Toyota Supra
Vehicle type: Front-engine sports car
Price: $58,135 2021 Supra 3.0 as tested
Powerplant: 2.0-liter, turbo-4 cylinder; 3.0-liter inline-6 cylinder
Power: 255 horsepower, 295 pound-feet of torque (turbo-4); 335 horsepower, 332 pound-feet of torque (2020 I-6); 382 horsepower, 368 torque (2021 I-6)
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.7 seconds (Car and Driver est.); top speed, 162 mph
Weight: 3,397 pounds (I-6)
Fuel economy: EPA, 24 mpg city/31 highway/26 combined (I-6)
Report card
Highs: A hoot to drive fast; BMW innards, Toyota price
Lows: Bad wind buffet with windows down; no stick option
Overall: 4 stars
New Ford Bronco debuts, challenges Jeep for king of the hill
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 15, 2020
Ford took direct aim at Jeep on Monday night with the resurrection of the off-road Bronco.
Starting at $29,995 — virtually identical to the $29,790 Jeep Wrangler — the two- and four-door Broncos go toe-to-toe with the Jeep with similar tools: standard four-wheel drive, the truck-based ladder frame of the Ford Ranger, removable doors and roof, rear-mounted spare tire, detachable sway-bar and low-speed transfer case.
The 2021 models harken back to the first-generation Bronco that debuted in 1966 but come updated with 21st-century design and technology.
Ford says the Bronco intends to up the ante with high-tech gizmos, such as a camera that can peek over hills and a low-speed version of adaptive cruise control that allows pedal-free off-road driving.
The smaller Bronco Sport that debuted Monday, meanwhile, is built on the same unibody chassis as Ford’s best-selling Escape SUV. It expands the Blue Oval’s presence in the compact SUV segment (the industry’s largest outside pickups), just as Jeep’s Cherokee and Compass complement the Wrangler. Pricing starts at $28,155.
“We created the Bronco family to elevate every aspect of off-road adventure and equipped them with class-leading chassis hardware and exclusive technologies,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s chief operating officer. “They’re built with the toughness of an F-Series truck and performance spirit of Mustang — and come wrapped in the original Bronco design DNA.”
For design cues, Ford reached back to the original compact 1966 dirt-kicker, not the larger F-150-based version discontinued after the 1996 model year. “It’s designed for function, not fashion,” chief designer Paul Wraith said.
The bigger Broncos
The 2021 Bronco boasts signature round headlights connected by a horizontal grille emblazoned with the Bronco name. The rest of the body is simple and boxy with an upright windshield, single-piece twin taillights, a spare tire that hangs off the rear swing door. Mirrors are mounted on the A-pillars.
The latter is key to the removable doors so riders can get closer to nature.
Unlike the Wrangler, Bronco’s doors don’t have window frames, and Ford claims their removal is easier thanks to simpler latches and wire-plug decouplers. In the longer four-door version, doors can be stowed in bags and stored in back.
Roof panels atop the steel roll cage are also removable (a soft top is optional). Inside is a console anchored by an 8- or 12-inch screen. Grab handles for when the going gets tough are located on the center console and dash.
The interior is designed to be hosed down after muddy forays, and an optional rubber floor and vinyl seats are available.
One of the most striking differences between Wrangler and Bronco is the latter’s electronic transfer-case for off-roading. Jeep customers swear by their mechanical unit – its second gear-shift sprouting between the seats — to limit the chance of electrical failure far from home. But the Bronco’s electronic, rotary-dial-operated system will likely be easier to move between 4×4 configurations (think of a rotary Escape shifter compared to a manual stick shift).
The so-called GOAT dial (Goes Over Any Terrain) contains up to seven driving modes, including Slippery, Baja and Rock Crawl.
That analog vs. electronic theme is replicated elsewhere as the Jeep holds true to its raw off-road legacy, where the Ford focuses on the technology that has defined its F-150 pickups.
Under the skin, for example, Bronco counters the Jeep’s solid front axle with an independent front suspension (both have solid rear axles), which Ford contends is better for daily driving. Still, Bronco will offer a detachable sway-bar in its Badlands trim to allow extreme wheel articulation when clambering over rocks like Jeep’s legendary Rubicon model.
For all its ruggedness, Jeep has set a high bar in infotainment tech with its heralded Uconnect system. Ford claims to match it — and more. The Bronco and Bronco Sport come equipped with Ford’s latest SYNC 4 system, which offers standard CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity as well as over-the-air updated to improve vehicles over time. The Bronco tops it off with more than 1,000 digitally curated trail maps.
Under the hood, the Bronco offers two members of its Ecoboost engine family: a 2.7-liter V-6 and 2.3-liter turbo-4. The V-6 puts out 310 horses and 400 pound-feet of torque, with the 2.3-liter listing at 270 and 310.
Both engines are mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission, with a seven-speed manual available.
The Bronco offers this blizzard of options across six trims (Wrangler offers four): Base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, Wildtrak and Badlands. Shoppers can opt for more luxury with, say, Outer Banks, or more macho with Badlands. If more options are required, some 200 factory-backed accessories are available. A Sasquatch performance package is available on all models and includes big 35-inch tires, twin-locking differentials and Bilstein shocks.
Saddled for the trail, Ford claims best-in-class crawl ratio, ground clearance, suspension travel, water-fording capabilities, plus best breakover and departure angles.
The Michigan Assembly-built Bronco is available next spring. Reservations for all the new Broncos are now open at Ford.com for a $100 deposit.
Bronco Sport
Though based on the Escape, the Bronco Sport piggybacks on brother Bronco’s square-jawed profile.
That allows a rear cargo area that can store two bicycles upright on its rubber floor. The tailgate opens upward like a proper sport utility, unlike the Bronco’s swing-gate.
The Sport also shares four trim names with Bronco: Base, Big Bend, Outer Banks and Badlands.
Designers don’t expect owners to take the Sport to the ends of the earth like Bronco, so there is no transfer case — but the Sport still gets that seven-mode GOAT rotary dial. And, like the bigger Bronco, the Sport claims to beat its Jeep Cherokee and Compass competitors in ground clearance and approach/departure angles.
Behind its round peepers, the Sport offers a choice of two turbocharged engines: a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with 250 ponies and 27 pound-feet of torque; and a 181 horse, 190-torque 1.5-liter. No manual here, just an eight-speed automatic.
The Bronco Sport, built in Hermosillo, Mexico, will be in showrooms this fall.
Bronco vs. Jeep
Industry analysts say there’s room for competition in the off-road segment dominated by Jeep, but it might be a difficult war for Ford to win given Jeep’s head start in the off-road segment.
“For years, Jeep Wrangler has stood alone, king of the hill of off-roaders, largely unchallenged,” said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader. “Ford’s effort to take on Wrangler with the Bronco will not be easy as Jeep is a long, well-established global icon.”
But the Bronco’s modern amenities could give it a leg up.
“There is no doubt that Bronco will be more than capable off-road, but what might be the most appealing is the vehicle’s combination of classic styling with modern features and conveniences,” said Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights at Edmunds.com.
The Wrangler has averaged about 17,000 sales per month for the past five years and was the best-selling midsize SUV in the second quarter of this year, according to Kelley Blue Book data. Ford has not made Bronco sales goals public.
The challenger to the popular Jeep Wrangler could be very good, said Brian Moody, executive analyst at Autotrader: “However, we’ve been down this road before — Blazer, FJ Cruiser, Xterra, Defender, Ramcharger and 4Runner have all tried the tough, funky and also cool utility-vehicle formula. Most gave up.
“Introducing a four-door Bronco is the smart move. But in many ways, Jeep has likely already won the first round of the battle: Everyone is talking about the Wrangler as king of the segment, and most Bronco conversations are firmly parked in a Wrangler context.”
Fans react
Bronco has built a cult-like following in the years since it was discontinued, and fans of the SUV have been eagerly awaiting the new model since Ford confirmed in 2017 that it was in the works.
“I am a big Bronco fan and owning my third one I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of this,” said Robert Parsons of Chicago, who is a member of a Bronco fan page on Facebook. “But after looking at the photos I am impressed!” He plans to buy a new Bronco — but not right away, because he wants to see “how well it holds up like its predecessors.”
Todd Maynard, of Holland, Michigan, was less impressed, comparing it to the discontinued Toyota FJ Cruiser. The range of models and trims, and the technology, were too much for the taste of Maynard, who currently owns a 1993 Bronco and has owned several others over the years: “When I’m wheelin’, the last thing I need is a WiFi touchscreen.”
Robert Yeager, 44, of Splendora, Texas, has wanted a Bronco since he rode in his uncle’s 1975 model years ago. He decided to wait on the 2021 model before taking the leap.
Shortly after 8 p.m. Monday, he planned to put down his $100 deposit for a four-door, which he hopes to get in yellow.
“We’re always doing something in the mud, out in the woods, riding around,” he said of his family, including a 16-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son who are just as excited as he is: “I’m just glad it’s back. It’s been three years we’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting.”
New Bronco debuts Monday; a look at what made previous generations special
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 10, 2020
The fifth-generation 2021 Ford Bronco debuting Monday night will be the first new Bronco since 1996.
The original first-generation 1966 Bronco was the marriage of Ford’s legacy as World War II military vehicle manufacturer and its new ’60s Mustang spirit. The result was a rugged 4×4 truck fired by six- and eight-cylinder engines that populated a new segment shared by the International Harvester Scout and Jeep CJ-R (which would eventually be called the Wrangler in 1986).
“Bronco started in World War II when Ford built more than 270,000 jeeps for the U.S. Army,” said Ford archivist Ted Ryan. “We took that know-how in four-by-four equipment and … established a program in 1963 code-named Bronco.”
Alternate names for the Bronco included Bravo, Gaucho, Explorer, Rustler, Sprint, Trail Blazer, and, yes, Wrangler. A 1963 memo nicknamed the Bronco as the GOAT, short for “Goes Over Any Terrain.”
The project was green-lighted by the legendary Lee Iacocca, who was vice-president and general manager of the company’s Ford division.
Resurrected for the 2021 model year, the two-door and four-door versions will be based on the Ford Ranger and will have removable doors and roof. The Bronco Sport — or “Baby Bronco” — will share the same chassis as the unibody Ford Escape.
Here’s a look at the Bronco and its predecessors through the years:
1941 Ford World War II GP
Ironically, Bronco’s roots lie with the Jeep, the military vehicles Ford helped produce in World War II using the Willys design. Known as the GP – short for “General Purpose” vehicle – Ford built 270,000 of these quarter-ton, four-wheel drive trucks for the military. Note the nine-slot grille; current Jeeps have seven slots.
1951 Ford M-151 MUTT
Following World War II, Ford built the MUTT as its next-generation 4×4 for the military. Come the early 1960s, it would be the model for Bronco as Ford considered production.
1966-1977 Ford Bronco
The first-generation Bronco was unveiled by then-Ford President Donald Frey as a “completely new line of sport utility vehicle” – the first time, says Ford, that term was officially used. Bronco was introduced in wagon, pickup and roadster body styles. It was assembled in Wayne, Michigan, and in Venezuela.
Built on a 92-inch wheelbase with solid rear axles front and rear, it would change little over its 12-year production run. It featured standard inline-six engines, with an optional 4.7-liter V-8 and (later) 4.9-liter a V-8.
1969 Bronco
With new market competition from the Chevy K5 Blazer, Bronco went racing under the wrench of Parnelli Jones and Bill Stroppe. Bronco won the legendary Baja 1000 in 1969, becoming the first production vehicle to do so — a feat that stands today. In 1971 Ford produced a handful of commemorative Baja Broncos tarted up in Stroppe’s red, white, blue and black racing livery.
1973 Bronco
Since its inception, the Bronco was available with a manual-transmission only. After seven years on the market, the bare-bones Bronco got some refinement. Modern touches included optional power steering and automatic transmission.
1978-79 Bronco
For its second act, the Bronco got bigger. It adopted the F-150’s large chassis, expanded by two-feet in length on top of 104-inch wheelbase, and adopted the pickup’s style cues like square headlights and an egg-crate grille. The Bronco’s round headlights and boxy shape were mothballed. “Positively awash in new features, its only real resemblance to the old box-basic Bronco of yesterday seems to be its name,” Car and Driver wrote in a review. The new Bronco also gained the F-150’s big-block engine and added air conditioning. A rear window that powered down into the tailgate would become a hallmark of future Broncos.
1980-86 Bronco
For its third-generation, the Bronco continued to move in lockstep with the F-150 pickup, becoming Ford’s truck-based family vehicle. In 1982, the Bronco for the first time wore a proper Blue Oval emblem on its kisser.
1983-90 Bronco II
While maintaining big brother’s signature two-door look, the Deuce was a smaller — by 19 inches in length — Bronco. The Ranger pickup-based model had a family focus that would eventually morph into the five-door Ford Explorer. Note the return to a self-contained grille like the original Bronco, though with square design cues.
1987-91 Bronco
The fourth-generation Bronco continued to evolve with wrap-around headlights and oval wheel arches. In 1991, Ford celebrated 25 years of Bronco with a limited-production, silver-anniversary edition. Electronic fuel-injection and rear anti-lock brakes were added.
1992-96 Bronco
For its fifth generation, the Bronco went upscale with an Eddie Bauer package featuring a two-tone exterior and more-luxurious interior. But the 1993 model-year Bronco may have been its most famous as one was owned by former football star OJ Simpson who infamously led police on a nationally televised slow-speed chase — viewed by 95 million Americans — after being charged with the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994.
1996 Bronco
The last Bronco rolled off the line as Ford focused on the Explorer line of SUVs. It made room for the five-door Expedition based on the new-for-’97 F-150.
2004 Bronco Inspiration
The long tease begins as Ford introduced a retro-styled concept at the 2004 Detroit auto show. It woke up Bronco Nation with its modern turbo-diesel engine and dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
2019 Bronco Baja racer
Ford celebrated the 50th anniversary of its legendary Baja 1969 win with the Bronco R prototype at the Baja 1000. The racer is based on the same production chassis and powertrain that is the backbone of the 2021 Bronco.
Payne: Up north puts the versatile GMC Sierra AT4 to the test
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 10, 2020
The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 is made in America. In Fort Wayne, Indiana to be exact.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, goes the old saying. But when all you have is nails, well — it sure is good to have a hammer.
That’s the way I feel about pickups.
As a speed-addled sports car guy, hulking pickups are low on my list of performance vehicles. But when you need a tool to get things done, there is no substitute for a truck, as I found out when I escaped to northern Michigan recently in a 2020 GMC Sierra AT4.
As regular readers of this column know, performance cars have been my refuge during the shutdown: Cadillac CT5 V-Sport, Mazda Miata, Tesla Model 3, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, BMW M8. These stallions took me away to Hell, Michigan and Woodward Avenue and the Huron River where I could social-distance at speed.
Heading north, I thought it would be great to exercise a sports car as well. I wanted to flog it over the roller-coaster hills of Antrim County on M-32. Or up the Lake Michigan coast through the Tunnel of Trees on twisty Route 119.
But when it came time to leave, the only thing in my driveway was … a truck. It would turn out to be an inspired choice. There would be lots of nails that needed a hammer.
While southeast Michigan remained on lockdown, our benevolent Tsar Whitmer decided to open up north for business May 19. Apparently her husband wanted to go boating at their second home. We set course for our family’s summer domicile as well.
Like a kind of mechanical centaur, pickups are half wheelbarrow, half auto. Travel with a family and the wheelbarrow half is useless — where does the luggage go? My recommendation: Buy a tonneau cover so you can use the bed for cargo when needed. Only Mrs. Payne and I would make this journey, so the Sierra crew cab’s enormous rear seat was enough for our bags — and coolers, blankets, athletic bags, beverages and everything else you want on the lakes.
This cleverness continues up front where the Sierra boasts twin glove compartments, center console storage deeper than the Mariana Trench — there’s even a storage bin on top of the dash.
GM has been shamed for its uninspired interior design compared to, say, the Ram 1500. For example, where Ram uses a compact rotary gear-selector, Sierra sticks to an old-fashioned, steering-column shifter. Nice for space-saving — but, compare Sierra’s stalk to modern variants found in a Tesla or Mercedes GLE, and the pickup seems oh-so-15-years-ago.
The interior blah is especially notable because the GMC’s exterior is typically awesome. Sculpted bod. Strong shoulders. Chrome grille. The AT4 got a lot of looks.
“Nice truck.”
“Handsome truck.”
The accolades just fell out of people’s mouths. Sierra is also the sports car of trucks. With its best-in-class chassis light-weighting, I’ve enjoyed pushing GMCs through the twisties since the first 2016 Sierra Denali I drove with a Corvette-shared 6.2-liter V-8 under the hood.
My 2020 Sierra was outfitted with a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-6, but it provided plenty of giddyap — particularly its low end, 460-pound feet of torque. I had some fun through the Route 32 curves before my wife got tired of swinging from the A-pillar grab handle.
“Slow down!”
We arrived at our Charlevoix family cottage and there were plenty of nails needing a hammer after a long winter away. Like bicycles.
We share the cottage with family and eight bicycles were strewn about the garage, six in various stages of disrepair: flat tires, seized wheels, rotted seats.
We called the local Revolution Bike Shop who told us to bring them over. No problem, we had a pickup. Bike capacity: six.
I know it’s six because we stacked every last one into the GMC’s rear bed. Side-by-side. Try that in a sports sedan.
The loading was made easier by GMC’s six-function Multi-Pro tailgate. You know it from its jaw-dropping TV ads. Sports car motorheads like to wow friends by lifting the hood. I wowed neighbors with the Sierra tailgate. Push the button and …
1. The full tailgate drops.
2. A loadstop bar keeps boards from falling out the back.
3. An inner gate enabled a second-tier loadstop.
4. Drop the loadstop and you have a work surface — or bar.
5. Drop the inner gate to “walk in” to the tailgate and create a standing desk.
6. Drop a step that makes stairs into the bed
I used that last feature to walk the bikes into the bed — a task that would otherwise require two people.
It wasn’t just bike shops opening up north. Swiss Hideaway Canoe Rental was open for trips down the Jordan River — but with a catch. Due to social-distancing regulations, they couldn’t pick us (and canoes) up in their vans at the end of the journey.
“We’ll rent you the canoes at a discount if you can bring them back yourself,” they said.
No problem. We had a pickup.
We dropped the Sierra at the East Jordan pick-up point — then piled into my son’s rental car (he and his gal pal had flown in from Seattle) to drive to the put-in spot. After our two-hour canoe trip, we loaded the canoes into the pickup for the ride back to Swiss Hideaway.
The Multi-Pro tailgate proved its worth here, too, as the “walk-in” feature allowed me to better tie down the canoes. Meanwhile, my son used the GMC’s corner bumper steps (why aren’t all truck equipped with these?) to jump in and out of the bed around the canoes.
Up north is pickup country. Far from urban Detroit where vehicles are used for commuting to tight parking garages, big trucks have more room to maneuver. The Sierra AT4 is also lifted two inches to explore irregular terrain.
At a lifted $83,565, the Sierra costs the same as a, cough, a Mercedes GLE SUV. That’s one fancy hammer.
2020 GMC Sierra AT4
Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel drive, 5-passenger pickup
Price: $54,995, including $1,595 destination charge ($83,565 as tested)
Powerplant: 3.0-liter inline-6 cylinder diesel
Power: 277 horsepower, 460 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.3 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 9,000 lbs.
Weight: 5,270 pounds (base)
Fuel economy: EPA: 23 mpg city/30 highway/26 combined (in 2WD)
Report card
Highs: Best tailgate in class; sculpted good looks
Lows: Uninspired interior; gets pricey
Overall: 3 stars
After shutdown, mid-engine Corvette celebrates July 4 with first race win
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 7, 2020
The winner. The #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R driven by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor took home the mid-engine ‘Vette’s first victory at Daytone July 4.
Piloted by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, the No. 3 Corvette C8.R race car was the first GTLM-class car to take the checkered flag at the Daytona 240 Saturday night as the Weathertech IMSA Sportscar series returned to the track after being sidelined for months by the coronavirus. The C8.R made its racing debut in January at the Rolex Daytona 24-Hour race before COVID-19 concerns temporarily shut down the race season.
Corvette’s race team, New Hudson-based Pratt & Miller, had just a month to prepare the car after engineers and crew returned June 4 from the coronavirus lockdown. Working at a breakneck pace between their Michigan shop and a North Carolina simulator, the team hit the track for the first time on July 3, just 24 hours before Saturday night’s green flag.
The victory was all the sweeter because Corvette nipped its Porsche nemesis at the finish by just two seconds.
“Knowing the cars were just sitting there idle was tough for everybody, but we had four weeks to get everything done,” said Pratt & Miller team manager Ben Johnson. “IMSA had a (track) testing ban through all of June (because they) understandably want to continue to protect everyone.”
The C8.R is the racing version of the 2020 Corvette C8 — the first Corvette in the badge’s 60-year history to put the engine behind the driver — that went into production this spring. Offered in coupe and convertible models, the C8 has been wildly popular with orders for the 2020 model sold out.
The Corvette crossed the finish line in front of some 5,000 fans as Daytona offered limited ticket sales for the event to Florida residents. The race was broadcast on NBCSN.
“This win is twice as special for Chevrolet, as Corvette Racing has now achieved 100 victories in IMSA competition,” said Chevy motorsports chief Jim Campbell.
The ‘Vettes dominated qualifying, starting the race 1-2 on the front row. But tricky weather conditions led to a variety of race strategies. The pole-sitting, silver No. 4 car led with just an hour to go, but ultimately dropped to 5th at the finish. Its No. 3 sister car played a perfect strategy and emerged from its last pit stop right behind the leading Porsche.
Garcia made the winning pass with 31 minutes left — setting the race’s fastest GTLM lap of in the process — and held off Porsche for the win. A Mazda in IMSA’s prototype class was the outright race winner.
“It is amazing,” said Garcia’s co-driver Taylor who raced a Cadillac prototypes in the IMSA series from 2014-17. “I think the off time gave the Corvette Racing guys some decent time to make some headway with our new C8.R. Our fuel mileage, engine and drivability at the beginning of the race was much better than the first race.”
Key to development during that time off was two driver simulator tests conducted on big North Carolina-based rigs in June. With engineers feeding in data remotely, the simulators tests enabled drivers to virtually test changes that had been made to the cars in New Hudson.
“After the Rolex 24, we really came out with a full notebook of things we wanted to work on and investigate,” said Pratt & Miller’s Johnson. “We started on that and (then) were shut down. So our main focus from engineering perspective were the simulator events. They were a big step forward.”
Still, the drivers wouldn’t be sure of how the cars performed until the heat of battle.
The C8.R race car has been integral in development of the production, $59,995 C8. The two cars share more parts than any previous generation of Corvette — including a high-revving, 5.5-liter, flat-plane crank V-8 that will debut in high-performance Z06, ZR1 and Zora versions of the Corvette in years to come.
While the race engine is limited to 500 horsepower by IMSA regulations, the production model could produce as much as 1,000 horsepower.
The Corvette C8.R competes alongside some of the world’s most notable performance brands — Porsche, BMW, Ferrari — in the GT series all over the world.
Bronco is more than a ute, it’s a brand
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 7, 2020
When Ford Motor Co. unveils the all-new, 2021 Ford Bronco on July 13, it will be more than a rugged SUV. It will be a brand.
Like Ford’s Mustang sub-brand which now includes an electric SUV in addition to a stable of two-door muscle cars, the four-wheel-drive Bronco brand will include a truck-based SUV in two-door and four-door trim, and a Bronco Sport SUV based on the unibody Ford Escape. Customers will also have access to off-road parks, driving instruction, an online community and apparel.
The outdoor SUV brand — complete with the “Built Wild” marketing tagline — will be a key ingredient of Ford’s evolutionary, three-pronged product strategy built on SUVs, the Mustang sport coupe and pickups. Ford will no longer produce sedans for the U.S. market.
Echoing Mustang, the Bronco brand will be emotionally anchored in 1960s nostalgia when Ford introduced the first “sport utility vehicle” as an off-road, Jeep-inspired lifestyle vehicle. The 1966 Bronco was introduced just a year after the Mustang set the performance world on fire with an affordable, drop-top muscle car.
“Bronco gave rise to the fun and versatile off-road SUV in 1966, becoming the first enjoyable sport utility vehicle for those who wanted to live, work and play outdoors,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s chief operating officer. “Like the original, the all-new Bronco family is engineered to take you to epic places, with capability to deliver confidence on any type of terrain.”
Like the original, the Bronco brand supports a race car — the Bronco R — for the grueling Baja 1000 off-road race. The Bronco R made its debut last winter at the famed Mexican endurance race. A Bronco won the Baja 1000 in 1969, the first time a production vehicle had ever won the race — a record that stands to this day.
Ford’s 1960s success runs deep through the brand. Its halo Ford GT supercar — in production since 2017 — builds on Ford’s historic 1966 Le Mans 24-hour win. The Bronco was launched in 1966 and the Mustang in 1965.
“The mid-1960s were very good years for Ford,” said IHS Markit principal auto analyst Stephanie Brinley. “If you’re a traditional automaker, you have to evolve your brands. Ford is talking about its past and future at the same time.”
Though the Bronco name has been out of circulation for 25 years, it still peppers popular culture. It’s appeared in 1,200 films, as John Paul II’s Popemobile in 1980, not to mention the infamous 1994 O.J. Simpson chase.
Under the Built Wild tagline, the Bronco brand will seek to build an off-road and virtual community for owners that includes outdoor adventure playgrounds and social media.
Dubbed Off-Roadeo, the playgrounds will have four locations around the U.S. starting in 2021 and will be a place where owners can test their steeds — or get driving instruction — on challenging terrain similar to public Michigan parks like The Mounds near Flint or Jerome’s Bundy Hill. No word yet on whether one of those locations will be in Michigan.
When they’re not at play, Bronco enthusiasts can tune into Bronco Nation (www.thebronconation.com), an independent online community. It’s a forum for owners and enthusiasts to share off-asphalt adventures as well as vintage Bronco vehicle information and event calendars. Ford promises Bronco brand apparel, too.
“Bronco delivers on the common thread desired by enthusiasts — authenticity,” said Ford marketing manager Mark Grueber. “Building Bronco as Ford’s distinct outdoor brand includes engagement that extends far beyond ownership.”
In addition to helping re-order Ford’s lineup for an SUV and electric future, Bronco brand wants to capitalize on the “overlanding” trend. Made popular by the Jeep Wrangler, overlanding is an outdoor lifestyle of traveling around the country to often remote locations.
“There is a commonality in American culture going back decades that we want to go places, we want to explore,” said IHS Markit’s Brinley. “The Bronco very much taps into that American psyche.”
While more details of the Ranger pickup-based Bronco will be forthcoming July 13, we do know the two-and-four-door Broncos will come standard with 4×4 drive as well as removable body panels like the Wrangler.
The Bronco Sport, to be unveiled the same day, will seek to capitalize on this appeal as well, though it will be based on the same unibody architecture of Ford’s popular Escape crossover.
With the introduction of Bronco Sport, Ford will bifurcate the compact SUV segment. The sleek Escape will be aimed at urban commuters, while the Bronco Sport — complete with boxy design cues from the Bronco — will appeal to a more niche lifestyle owner.
“As Ford’s lineup changes, it’s not enough to offer another SUV,” said Brinley. “You have to do something different if you want to keep your buyers. People want to feel special about their vehicles whether they are sedans or SUVs. Bronco hopes to make that emotional connection using a great history.”
Ford Bronco targets Jeep Wrangler’s ‘overlanding’ appeal
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 7, 2020
When the long-awaited 2021 Bronco gallops into view July 13 Ford Motor Co. hopes to saddle up the “overlanding” generation.
The last decade has seen a heightened wanderlust for America’s great outdoors. The urge has been satisfied by a diverse group of vehicles including the Subaru Outback, Detroit Three pickup trucks, and an all-electric Rivian SUV/pickup that’s coming. But no vehicle has capitalized on overlanding more than Jeep Wrangler which has seen sales soar 120 percent, selling nearly 500,000 units in the last two years alone.
Ford wants a piece of the action, and thinks Bronco has the legacy to grab it. Bronco debuted in 1966 as a competitor to the truck-based Jeep Wrangler CJ and International Harvester before remaking itself as a big, F-150-based midsize ute from 1979-1996. Gone for 25 years, Bronco will be reborn in its original form — as a compact, Wrangler competitor.
“Society is looking to go overlanding. People want to go places,” said Doug North, president of North Brothers Ford in Westland. “Jeep has done a remarkably good job and has brought in a new generation. We’d like to have that, too.”
The new Ford sets up a showdown with its crosstown Jeep rival at a time when both brands are boasting all SUV/pickup lineups. Bronco vs Wrangler is a battle of icons. Both off-road focused. Both with removable body panels. Both with high-tech interiors.
A third player in the space — the aging, Tacoma pickup-based Toyota 4Runner —indicates the pent-up appeal for overlanding. The 4Runner, too, is putting up record sales, topping 130,000 units each of the last two years. Built on the same rugged frame as the Tacoma, the best-selling truck in a resurgent mid-size pickup class, the 4Runner offers a daily commuter that can also kick dirt on weekends.
“Overlanding has become a big thing,” said Roman Mica, publisher of TFL Truck YouTube channel, one the nation’s most popular truck sites. “We have an American culture of people who want to drive cross-country in the dirt. They want lifestyle vehicles like the Wrangler and Bronco that lets the world see what you are.”
Mica says the Wrangler has been a hit because it allows buyers to customize their off-road ride. He expects the Bronco will also be a hit.
“The question is: Why did it take Ford so long?” he smiles. “And the million-dollar question is: Why isn’t General Motors doing something like it?”
Always a key player in Jeep’s portfolio, parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV elevated the Wrangler to icon status after the Italians purchased the brand in 2009. Wrangler sales have been on hyperdrive ever since.
The remade Bronco follows the Wrangler formula, offering two-and-four door variants with removable body panels so customers can get closer to nature. According to spy shots, the Bronco will feature retro, round headlights and boxy bodywork harking back to its roots when it was produced as a wee two-door from 1966-1977. Unlike the old mare, however, the new kid is expected to be stuffed with the latest creature comforts while starting in the low $30,000 range.
Retired in 1996, the Bronco is back at a time when Americans are buying all things ute — and at a time when Ford is remaking itself as an SUV brand. Ford is in the process of discontinuing all its U.S. market sedans, confirming Wednesday the end of the Lincoln Continental. Bronco will share the small Ranger pickup platform — not the Ford F-150 architecture as the last Bronco made in 1996 did — as well as its engines.
North says the mid-size Ranger’s success is an indication of the hunger customers have for new truck and SUV segments. Rather than pirate sales from segment leader Toyota Tacoma, new additions like the Ranger, Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon and Jeep Gladiator have just brought in new customers to the pickup class.
Tacoma sales have jumped 72 percent since 2015 — 22 percent in 2019 alone — despite new competitors from GM and Ford successfully entering the market. North said he expects Bronco will similarly bring new customers into the truck-based SUV segment, not merely steal sales from the Wrangler and 4Runner.
“Jeep has shown there is a market for off-road vehicles,” he said. “Clearly, there is a part of the U.S. population that wants to drive these vehicles. Many of them are young people. High school parking lots are full of Wranglers. It appeals to a new generation of buyers as well as the off-road enthusiast.”
The first generation Bronco saw sales take a hit when 1970s federal fuel economy regulations strangled its 6-cylinder and V-8 powerplants. Bronco eventually morphed into a mid-size SUV that competed against the Chevy Blazer.
This time, however, the Bronco will, like the Wrangler, debut with sippier, small-displacement engines that will comply with stringent mpg rules. North also believes Bronco is perfectly timed for a post-COVID economy.
“The Bronco’s personal, overlanding appeal lends itself to people who want to own their own private vehicles,” he said. “I think the industry has been putting the cart ahead of the horse on autonomous cars. Autonomous may be the future some day, but I think the Bronco and Wrangler will have an appeal for many years to come.”