When you hear the name “Shelby”, you probably think of either a Mustang or an AC Cobra (or a replica of one, anyways), but that’s because your brain is probably blocking out that bizarre time period in the 80’s when sporting a car with a Shelby logo on it meant driving a Chrysler product.
Just because you have a family doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to the bland world of Accords and Camrys. That was the message Chevy was sending with the 2013 Malibu Performance Concept car – a souped up version of Chevrolet’s bread-and-butter volume seller.
Sporting a turbocharged engine, aggressive wheels and styling, and a matte blue finish, the 2013 Malibu Concept is a big middle finger aimed right at Honda and Toyota.
There is a basic principle of engineering that affects all cars: in order to make an engine produce more power, you need to add more fuel and more air. Adding more fuel is the easy part, but adding more air can be challenging. That’s why automakers use turbochargers to boost the incoming air, which in turn boosts the power output of an engine. This is particularly effective on smaller engines.
Turbochargers have been standard fare on Saabs, Volvos, and high-end Nissans for decades. One car manufacturer that has kept their distance from forced induction is Honda. However, they did experiment with it during the “turbo craze” of the 1980s.
The other day I saw this going south on the I-17. Now to most people, this is just another shitbox from the 80’s. If we refine that scope a little more and target your average car enthusiast, he’ll tell you it’s a Mustang or maybe a “five point-oh” (if he wears black socks) Now let’s zoom in a little more. To your Mustang fanatic, or even 80’s car fanatic, he’ll tell you that this is the euro-stomping, SVO Ford Mustang. Continue reading
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The owner of this car seemed kind of weird. He was nice, but it seemed like he was really downplaying the car for some reason. I can’t understand why though, it sure seems pretty impressive to me. I mean, there’s a fucking gigantic hole cut out of the hood. I found a video on Youtube of him running a 10.24 in the 1/4 mile. That’s seriously fast for a car that starts out life as well, sorry to any of you MX-6/Probe fans, a little bit of a turd.
I think a new category should be added to Wikipedia’s list of automotive superlatives: “Least Powerful Interesting Car.” Before I go into too much detail about what makes this car so marginally cool, let’s run through a brief history lesson.
What began in 1983 with one car from Suzuki ended up evolving into an incredibly complex, multi-faceted web of badge-engineering spanning over three decades.
