Category Archives: Car Shows

SEMA 2012: Mazda 787 Group C

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I have to say that Mazda makes some decently cool cars in spite of the current trends happening today. But this is nothing new, Mazda has been on their own path for decades; as if their penchant for Wankel-designed rotary power is any indication. Mazda (a Japanese company) brought back the formula for the traditional British sports car in the late 1980s when most other manufacturers (namely the Detroit Big 3) were phasing out affordable, lightweight RWD vehicles in place of ugly and badge-engineered FWD econoboxes. They also helped Ford make small interesting cars when all Ford had was the Fox-platform (a decidedly awesome platform, though). Their most popular car (as far as some of the viewers of this site are concerned) almost phased out the fox body as the next generation Ford Mustang! And I’m sure that had it been a RWD Mazda platform, they’d have gotten away with it too. And to get back to present times: The next generation MX-5 Miata is to shed enough weight to get back to around 2,200 lbs and still retain it’s current horsepower rating. That’s hot rod engineering at work.

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SEMA 2012: Google’s Driverless Toyota Prius

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In March of 2004, the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held a competition in the Nevada desert called the Grand Challenge. The purpose was to determine if an autonomous, driverless car could negotiate a 150-mile off-road course on its own. The prize? A cool one million dollars.

Fifteen teams representing Carnegie-Mellon University and a variety of privately funded teams competed in the Challenge. Each team had equipped their car with a multitude of cameras, sensors, GPS units, and onboard computers in addition to off-road tires and heavy-duty suspensions.

Not one of the fifteen vehicles completed the challenge.

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Spotted: 2012 Tesla Model S

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What is the fastest American sedan you can buy today?

You might be surprised to learn that it’s not the twin-turbo Lincoln MK-S, the Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee, or even the mighty Cadillac CTS-V. The fastest American-made sedan is none other than the Tesla Model S – and it shuts these other cars down without using a drop of gasoline.

Just how quick is this car? Take a look at these figures:

2012 Tesla Model S P85
0-60: 3.9 seconds
1/4 Mile: 12.5 @ 110.9 mph1

2013 Lincoln MK-S EcoBoost Twin Turbo AWD
0-60: 5.2 seconds
1/4 Mile: 13.9 @ 100.8 mph2

2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee
0-60: 4.4 seconds
1/4 Mile: 12.8 @ 112.6 mph3

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Sedan
0-60: 4.3 seconds
1/4 Mile: 12.6 @ 114.6 mph4

With numbers like these, you can understand why I was ecstatic to see a Model S Signature in real life the other day at the Scottsdale Pavilions car show.

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Report: 2013 Arizona International Auto Show

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For me, Thanksgiving is about more than just turkey: it’s also about cars. Every year the Arizona International Auto Show comes to town on Thanksgiving weekend. This show features the newest vehicles from dozens of manufacturers. You can sit in them, play with the knobs, and there are no sales people anywhere. My favorite part is going on test drives!

Last year, I drove four different turbocharged cars as well as a Chevrolet Volt and a Camaro SS convertible. This year, I broke my old record and went on seven test drives in one day! The cars I drove are as follows:

  • 2013 Ford Mustang GT 5.0
  • 2013 Lincoln MK-S
  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt
  • 2013 Kia Optima SX Limited
  • 2013 Subaru Legacy CVT
  • 2013 Dodge Challenger V6
  • 2013 Dodge Charger Super Bee
  • 2013 Hyundai Equus Signature

I’d like to take a moment to talk about each one, but first I want to go over some thoughts from the Auto Show itself. Attendance seemed down this year, it didn’t seem to be as busy as last year.

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SEMA 2012: Fireball Robert’s #22 Ford Galaxie

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It’s hard to believe such a beautiful Ford Galaxie would mark one of the darkest years of racing history in America. The #22 Driven by NASCAR’s first great superstar driver: Fireball Roberts. A man who raced under Smokey Yunick’s Black and Gold paint from 1959 to 1962 and in that same 1962 occupied his non-NASCAR efforts driving Ferraris in endurance road course events. This man was not one of those moonshine-running, good ol’ boy stereotypes that NASCAR fans like to glorify. Instead he was a talented driver and a true athlete.

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SEMA 2012: 1969 Sam Auxier Jr. Ultra-Stock Fastback Mustang

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What’s more American than a red, white and blue, drag-racing 1969 Mustang Fastback? Perhaps the centennial-theme paint jobs adorning the worst that Detroit possibly had to offer -ever- in 1974… unfortunately, that’s a different story for a different time.

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