[Rick Kap]

Here is more news about plans for the Zeta rwd chassis.

"The retreat from Zeta could delay the introduction of GM's new rear-wheel drive passenger cars by at least a year, Phillippi said."

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0503/21/A01-123402.htm

 

[Rick Kap]

Secondly, GM engineering blows, Americans give Vintage English Engineering a bad rap, I would rather have my gums scraped with a rusty spoon than work on a GM product (New or old!) .

Here is information on the 2006 Corvette Z06.

http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2006/index.shtml

The 2006 Corvette Z06 has a pushrod engine, but pushrod engines usually weigh less than OHC engines. Pushrod engines also have less height than OHC engines. The Cadillac CTS-V uses a 400 hp LS6 instead of Cadillac's DOHC Northstar V-8 because of the Northstar V-8 wouldn't fit easily under the hood of the CTS. The LS7 has a 7,000 rpm redline. Here is an article about the 2006 Corvette Z06's 500 hp LS7

http://popularhotrodding.com/tech/0504phr_ls7/

The fenders of the 2005 Corvette remind me of the fenders of both the C2 and C3 Corvettes. Notice how they go into the door.

The 2006 Cadillac STS-V won't match the performance of the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG or the BMW M5, but at least the STS is no longer front-wheel-drive. Here is information on the new STS-V.

http://media.gm.com/events/autoshows/05naias/brands/cadillac/stsv%20overview.html

Here is a video of it

http://files.automotiveforums.com/nias/gm/cadillac/V-SeriesL.mov

"The supercharged Northstar V8: 4.4 liters, 440 hp, 430 lb-ft of torque - 90% of which is available from 2200 to 6000rpm, and VVT. This supercharger is worthy of special note - engineers were happy to tell us that this blower operates with some 30% less drag than the Ford GT's supercharger, and the intercooler has 50 cooling fins per inch length of the pipeline."

from motorsportscenter.com

The Pontiac Solstice came out as a concept at the Detroit auto show in January 2002 as this...

http://seriouswheels.com/top-Pontiac-Solstice-Roadster-Concept.htm

and will go into production in a few months as this

http://seriouswheels.com/top-2006-Pontiac-Solstice-Roadster.htm

 

[Rick Kap]

:indiff: American management is unpredictable.

They ruined Oldsmobile some years ago. In the end an Oldsmobile was no Oldsmobile anymore, just a Buick with a different badge, that no one wanted to buy. And the management was wondering about the nosedive of sales. So they dumped this good old brand. Clever. :cus:

GM invented the Saturn brand to compete against the low price Korean cars. So these Saturns had to be very cheap and were poorly build. In other words, they did all they could, to establish a discount brand. Anyway, that didn't help to increase their sales figures as expected.

Now these managers had a brilliant idea. “Hey, we do own Daewoo. Let’s relabel these cars into Chevrolets. Chevrolet is a good brand for cheap cars. And what about our more luxury cars? Which of our brands would fit best, maybe Oldsmobile? No, it's gone. Oh, there is Saturn. Let’s build a quality brand with Saturn.” Clever again. :cus:

Eventually the image of Chevrolet will be ruined shortly, but Saturn has never had a reputation. So what the hell they are thinking? :wtf:

The real problem is that the American motor industry is fixed on costs and prices. They don't bother with quality.

During the last 12 years or so, I met a lot of Americans. Many of them were telling me they won't buy an American car, because of quality(!) issues. So they are going to buy European cars. At least some good news.

:2c:

Perhaps these might help...

2005 Saturn Aura concept (with styling from Vauxhall)

http://www.fast-autos.net/saturn/saturnaura.html

and the 2007 Saturn Sky which has styling from Vauxhall and will use the 2006 Pontiac Solstice's chassis. It will have more standard stuff than the Pontiac and will cost more.

http://www.fast-autos.net/saturn/saturnsky.html

 

[Rick Kap]

Not all new American cars are junk, but many leave a lot to be desired. Many American cars are improving.

As I posted earlier, here is information on the 2006 Corvette Z06:

http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2006/

Yes, it has only 71 hp per liter, but at least it won't self-destruct like the current B*W M3's engine does. See the following link:

http://members.roadfly.org/jason/m3engines.htm

Pushrod engines weigh less than OHC engines and have have less height. The Cadillac CTS-V has a 400 hp LS6 from the previous Z06 due to fact that Cadillac's 4.6 liter DOHC Northstar V-8 wouldn't fit because of its height.

The Corvette is backed by the factory in the American Le Mans Series. The previous Corvette went 1-2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001, 2002, and in 2004. I'm glad that the Aston Martin DB9 is backed in racing. One of the DBR9s won the 12 Hours of Sebring (GT1 class) for the first time since 1956. I wish more car makers were involved in racing.

Here is an article about the 2006 Corvette Z06's 500 hp LS7:

http://popularhotrodding.com/tech/0504phr_ls7/

The Corvette has a fiberglass body which weighs less and is more resistant to dents than steel.

Here is the rear of the new Z06 which has an aluminum chassis:

Here are two new Z06s which will go on sale this fall

Yes, the new Corvette has transverse leaf springs but, GM's main reason for using the transverse leaf springs, front and rear, on the C5 (applicable to the C6 as well) is, believe it or not, space.

To do a proper coil-over suspension, the shocks on the car would need to be mounted at a more vertical angle. This would require not only redesigning the lower control arm (no big deal) but also the upper shock tower (big deal.) Said redesigned shock tower would cut into the rear storage compartment (no big deal) and, up front, the engine compartment (REALLY big deal.)

The leafs allow the shocks to be mounted at a slightly more horizontal angle, thereby lowering the shock tower and not cutting into interior space.

As for advantages vs. disadvantages, there aren't many at all. Seperate coil-overs offer you independent wheel adjustments, allowing you to change the spring rate on the front right wheel without affecting the rate on the front left, if you desired. Overall, the 4 coils may actually be a tad bit lighter than the two big leafs. In reality, those are the only two advantages coil-overs have.

One should drive the new Z06 before writing it off.

The new 997 911 does not have dry-sump lubrication like the new Z06 and Porsche has yet to fix the RMS (rear main seal) leaks that have plagued some new 911s. This problem first came out on the 1997 Boxster. Check this link:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=179949

I hope the next-generation Corvette gets rid of the hatch and removeable roof. I'd like to see rear end styling (not retro like the new Mustang though) like this 1963 Corvette Z06

The 2006 Cadillac STS-V won't match the performance of the E55 AMG, but at least it is no longer front-wheel drive. The following is from motorsportscenter.com on the 2006 Cadillac STS-V:

"The supercharged Northstar V8: 4.4 liters, 440 hp, 430 lb-ft of torque - 90% of which is available from 2200 to 6000rpm, and VVT. This supercharger is worthy of special note - engineers were happy to tell us that this blower operates with some 30% less drag than the Ford GT's supercharger, and the intercooler has 50 cooling fins per inch length of the pipeline."

Here is some information on the new STS-V:

http://http://media.gm.com/events/autoshows/05naias/brands/cadillac/stsv%20overview.html

I'm glad that Pontiac will produce the 2006 Solsice by this summer. Some may say that it copies the BMW Z4, but the Solstice was first shown as a concept at the 2002 Detroit auto show in January 2002 which was months before the Z4 was shown to the public. The 2006 Pontiac Solstice will start at $20,000 which will be around $2,000 less than a Mazda MX-5. It will weigh more than an MX-5, but less than an Audi TT or a BMW Z4.

Here is the 2002 concept:

http://http://seriouswheels.com/top-Pontiac-Solstice-Roadster-Concept.htm

It was shown at last year's Detroit auto show in production form:

http://seriouswheels.com/top-2006-Pontiac-Solstice-Roadster.htm

I don't care for the taillights, but it looks decent.

Here is a picture of it:

http://fast-autos.net/features/05naias/pontiac/9.jpg

Panoz builds their Esperante by hand. Sure it doesn't have original styling, but it doesn't look too bad. It has an aluminum chassis and is backed by the factory in the American Le Mans Series. This picture of a GTLM is from testing for the 12 hours of Sebring.

check out:

http://panozauto.com/

Motor Trend tested an Esperante recently and said that next year's production Esperante will use some carbon fiber for its chassis which will boost rigidity and drop an estimated 100 pounds.

The 2005 Ford Mustang is far better than the previous one. Sure it doesn't have new styling and it still has a solid rear axle, but it looks far better than last year's Mustang and the rear axle has been improved and gives it much better handling and ride quality than last year's car. The new Mustang convertible's chassis is twice as rigid as last year's convertible. The Mustang GT's 4.6 liter 300 hp V-8 makes 40 more hp, 18 more lb-ft of torque, less emissions, and weighs 75 pounds less than last year's V-8 engine thanks to the aluminum block replacing the iron block. No cars available under $30,000 here in North America can match the performance, excitement, and seat four people with their stuff like a new Mustang GT.

Here is the new Mustang's chassis.

Here is a review of the new Mustang:

http://www.motorsportscenter.com/article_462.shtml

The new Mustang has already won two out of the first three Grand-Am Cup races this season.

Carroll Shelby and Ford joined forces back in 2003 to create some high-performance cars.

Here is the 2007 Ford Shelby Cobra GT500 that was shown at last month's New York auto show. The blue car on the left is a 1968 Shelby GT-500KR. Here are two pictures.

http://www.rage-board.com/files/gt500/ShelbyCobraGT500Show_40l.jpg

http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/02/cobragt50005_02_1024.jpg

Chryler's new 300 sedan is far better than the bland, fwd car it replaces.

Some say that the new Chrysler 300 is a Bentley rip-off. That is false.

Here is the 1998 Chrysler Chronos concept car

http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/chronos.html

Here is the new Chrysler 300C SRT8 (performance model)

Here is another picture:

http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/sedans/0502_chrysler_300c_srt8_05_1024.jpg

The new 300C SRT8 costs just under $40,000 and has forged aluminum wheels. Here is information on it.

http://www.fast-autos.net/chrysler/chryslersrt8.html

The grilles of both Chryslers (57 and 05) look similar. The new 300 is retro, but it looks better than the previous 300.

Notice the lines in the middle of the 57 and 05 Chrysler's hoods.

Also notice the rectangular taillights of both cars.

The front end styling of the new Chrysler 300 is very similar to the front end styling of the 1998 Chrysler Chronos concept except for the slant of the new one.

The Bentley Arnage, the current big Bentley sedan, came out as a 1998 model that used an underpowered (when compared to the old OHV turbocharged V-8) turbocharged BMW 4.4l V-8.

"Named for one of the most challenging corners on the Le Mans racing circuit, the Arnage was fittingly introduced at the French circuit in April of 1998."

- from autos.msn.com

The new Dodge Magnum has done more to help the station wagon in North America than any other station wagon ever sold here. Its styling reminds some of a hot rod with its 'chopped top.' The new new Dodge Magnum uses the same parts as the new Chrysler 300. Here are links to pictures of the new Dodge Magnum SRT8:

http://www.fast-autos.net/features/05naias/dodge/15.jpg

http://www.fast-autos.net/features/05naias/dodge/17.jpg

http://www.fast-autos.net/features/05naias/dodge/18.jpg