Are manual transmissions worth saving?

American buff book Car & Driver editor and Targa Newfoundland veteran, “Fast” Eddie Alterman, has gone all Jerry-Lewis-for-the-Kids-like and has made a YouTube plea to save the apparently soon-to-die manual gearbox. Now, Alterman says only about 1 in 10 new cars in the States are bought with three pedals. Why? Alterman doesn’t get into the details. But I will.

First, unless you live in The Centre of the Universe (i.e. the GTA), most Canadians don’t suffer the kind of gridlock most big, American cities do. And while enthusiasts consider having to engage and disengage a clutch, and then up- or downshift, as “fun,” most citizens think of driving as a chore, a necessary evil that if made easier is “better.”

I’ll point a finger at the automakers and politicians here too. With impending draconian fuel economy regs on the horizon, automakers are trying to squeeze as much out of a gallon of fuel as they can. So, to score better fuel economy numbers on government economy test drives, CVTs and dual-clutch automatics do a better job than a manual gearbox. For example, Honda’s new CR-Z Hybrid coupe sips less with its CVT than is six-speed manual.

I’ll also blame video games, well, because you can blame video games for any of society’s ills today.

Now, in Canada, especially among small cars buyers, manuals are more popular than in the U.S. Mainly because we’re cheap, and automatic transmissions aren’t. But even so, the majority of today’s cars are bought with slush boxes.

So is Alterman’s plea a worthy cause?

Or will manual transmissions go the way of station wagons, cloth upholstery and roll up windows?

[Source: Car & Driver]

Top Ten TV detectives’ cars

With this year’s revival of the 1970s hit cop show Hawaii Five-0, it got me thinking about all the great television detective shows from the past, and the cars the main characters drove.

Although many of the wheels weren’t all that special, or great to drive, what the detectives drove on screen helped shape the character’s personality in viewers’ minds.

10 Charlie’s Angels 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II

 

All three of the 1976 to 1981 television show Charlie’s’ Angels lead female private investigators drove Fords. But which Ford they drove depended on the star’s billing.

At the low end, actress Kate Jackson’s Sabrina Duncan piloted a 1974 Pinto. Jaclyn Smith’s Kelly Grant got a Mustang II (with a fake landau top.) But Farrah Fawcett’s Jill Munroe character — as befitting lead star status — rode around in a top-line Mustang Cobra II. Unfortunately, the Fuel Crisis Era ‘Stang’s V8 only managed 139 hp. Maybe that’s why Fawcett left the show after only two seasons…

9 Hawaii Five-O 1974 Mercury Grand Marquis

The original 1968 to 1980 series about a Honolulu-based fictional state police force (Hawaii’s the 50th U.S. state, get it?) had lead actor Jack Lord’s character, detective Steve McGarrett, driving various late-1960s and early-1970s Mercury full-size coupes, culminating in the aircraft carrier better known as a ’74 Grand Marquis.

As proof of the iconic status of the first Five-O’s original big Mercs, in the pilot of the 2010 remake, McGarrett’s son is restoring his father’s car. Hope he has plenty of bondo.

8 Baretta 1966 Chevrolet Impala

Let’s just say actor Robert Blake’s Anthony Vincenzo “Tony” Baretta — who lived with Fred, his Cockatoo — wouldn’t be caught dead in a ’76 Cobra II. Instead, the undercover detective rode around in a nondescript, beat-up, 1966 Chevrolet Impala, also known as the “Blue Ghost,” during the show’s run between 1975 and 1978.

Although no joy to drive, any mid-1960s Impala would make for a stealthy ride.

Totally redesigned in 1965, the Impala set an all-time industry annual sales record of more than 1 million units in the U.S., which has never been bettered.

7 Simon & Simon 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

If any show illustrated how bad the enthusiast car market was by the late 1980s, it was Simon and Simon, a pair of fictional San Diego-based brothers who also happen to be private detectives.

During the show’s 1981 to ’89 run, the “crazy” Simon brother, actor Gerald McRaney’s Rick, drove a 1979 Dodge Power Wagon. “Saner” Simon brother, actor Jameson Parker’s A.J., drove a 1982 Camaro Z28 – an icon of the so-called Malaise Era in performance cars – sporting a weak-kneed 145 hp from its small-block Chevy V8.

Me? I’d take the Power Wagon, please.

6 Starsky & Hutch 1974 Ford Gran Torino

Once again, we have to go to car-friendly Southern California. This time, to fictional Bay City, where actor Paul Michael Glaser’s David Starsky and David Soul’s Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson drove around in one of the least undetectable TV detective cars ever seen.

To tell the truth, Starsky & Hutch’s 1974 Ford Gran Torino needed those huge, white, go-faster stripes. Now having to haul park-bench-sized, government-mandated bumpers, the already heavy ’74 Torino had 180 kg more to haul round than a ’72 model, and its V8 only made a milquetoast 255 hp.

5 Rockford Files 1974 Firebird Esprit

If not as flashy as the top-line Trans Am models, actor James Garner’s Los Angeles-based TV private detective, Jim Rockford, did just fine, thank you very much, in his fleet of second-generation 1974 to ‘78 Firebird Esprits.

If not the 370 hp it made at the peak of the Sixties’ muscle car era, at least Rockford’s Esprit’s V8 had a semblance of power. By ’74, the 400 cu in eight put out 220 hp. And with his experience of filming the legendary race car film, Grand Prix, Garner knew his way around a smoky burnout or two.

4 Get Smart 1965 Sunbeam Tiger

Although actor Don Adam’s Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, was seen driving a VW Karmann Ghia and an Opel GT in the series that ran between 1965 and 1970, it’s the red Sunbeam Tiger shown in the opening sequences that fans most relate to.

Inspired by Carroll Shelby stuffing an American V8 into a British Ace coupe (and calling it a Cobra), the Tiger followed a similar formula. In fact, parent Rootes asked Shelby to put together the first prototype, using Ford’s new 164 hp 4.3 L Windsor V8 engine — believe it, or not…

3 Miami Vice 1986 Ferrari Testarossa

If you ever wore a black T-shirt under a white suit in the 1980s, you probably know all about the cars of Miami Vice.

For the first couple of seasons, actor Don Johnson’s character, Sonny Crocket, drove a Corvette-based 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder kit car. But word got back to Modena and Enzo wasn’t too happy about the fake Ferraris appearing on U.S. TV. After the lawyers got involved, the faux Ferraris were ditched and Enzo sent over two brand new 1986 Testarossas to be used on the show.

2 CHiPs Kawasaki KZ-1000P

Granted: actor Larry Wilcox’s California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Baker and Erik Estrada’s Officer Francis Llewelyn “Ponch” Poncherello weren’t really detectives, per se. And they didn’t drive cars. But compared to some of the lamer TV detective cars, the Kawasaki was a real performer.

With a 1,015 cc four-cylinder that produced a healthy 90 hp, mated to a five-speed transmission, the motorcycle cop’s Kawasaki KZ-1000P bikes were thought of as the fastest production motorcycle of its time. They certainly put some fear into the hearts of law-ignoring Golden State highway drivers.

1 Magnum P.I. 1981 Ferrari 308

One of the top rated shows ever, Magnum P.I.’s various 1979 to ’84 Ferrari 308s also rank high in my TV detective car list.

As if emulating the life of an automotive writer, actor Tom Selleck’s freeloading Thomas Magnum had access to one of the most exotic sports cars of its time.

He started out in the first season with a 308 GTS, sporting a 240 hp 3.0 litre V8. By the time the show was canceled, Magnum had upgraded to a 308GTSi Quattrovalvole, which added four-valve-per-cylinder mechanical fuel injection, and 5 more horsepower.

Ford’s New Age 2011 Explorer not all that new

After a series of unmitigated sales flops (2005 Freestyle; 2008 Taurus X; 2009 Flex,) the "all-new" 2011 Explorer will be Ford’s fourth crack in the last decade at a midsize crossover based on the old Volvo S80 chassis from the last millennium.

In case you didn’t already know, the old, truck-based Explorer was once the best-selling SUV in the America, an icon of the 1990s when gas-guzzling V8s, sloppy handling and poor packaging were all the rage. But vanishing sales and impending CAFÉ regulations means the new 2011 Explorer will now have to join the 21st century, nudging itself into an already crowded, car-based, three-row crossover market.

Ford has been teasing us with pics of its new Explorer for awhile now (it's right there, above, hugging trees.) And, apparently, this Thursday there’s a Full Monty unveiling in New York, I think. But the big message that Ford wants to drill into your cranium between now and when it goes on sale later this year is that its former scorch-the-earth SUV is now leaner, greener, and environmentally-friendly.

While a 3.5-litre V-6 and all-wheel-drive will be optional, the base, front-wheel-drive (yikes!) 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder (OMG!) 2011 Explorer will allegedly get 30 per cent better fuel economy compared with the old V-6-equipped Explorer. Which, based on Ford’s U.S. numbers, works out to 18 mpg city, 26 hwy for the 2011 model, versus 14 and 20 with last year’s V6.

Impressive, eh? Er, not really.

You see, before Ford pops the champagne and gets sore from slapping itself on the back, those numbers only look good compared within the tight borders of ExplorerLand. Outside of Ford showrooms, the new Explorer’s fuel economy are really, just OK.

While better than a AWD Honda Pilot (16 mpg city, 22 hwy), the Ford’s numbers aren’t that much better than a V6 FWD Chevy Traverse, rated at 17 and 24. Yet its worse than a Toyota Highlander FWD I4’s 20 and 27. And if you can live without third-row seating, a five-passenger FWD I4 Hyundai Santa Fe scores 21 and 27.

So, with a less-than-radical new Explorer, can Ford win back crossover owners from these other makes after a decade floundering with the Freestyle/Taurus X/Flex?

Are older Explorer buyers likely to buy into a vehicle with only a four-banger and power to the front wheels?

[Source: Ford]

Green is Good: Honda ditches diesels in favour of hybrids

So much for going its own way. A report has Japan’s Honda canceling plans to build a new minicar and diesel engine plant north of Tokyo. Apparently, the dreaded new fuel economy and tailpipe emissions regs, that will peak in 2016, have scared the Honda folks enough to go over to the Dark Side: hybrids.

Now as you may know, Honda’s never been too keen on this whole gasoline-electric fad. Sure. It brought out the original Insight over a decade ago. But it wasn’t a full hybrid (one that can run on battery juice alone.) While in the ensuing years, its “mild hybrid” system (found in Civics and today’s Insight and CR-Z) has proven Honda never really felt been fully on board with hyrbrids the way rival Toyota. Its cars more of a sop to the market as if to say, Yeah, we can do a hybrid too, even if we think they’re kind of silly.

Really, if Honda had its way, we’d all be driving around in hydrogen fuel-cell cars, like its FCX Clarity. But with no investment in infrastructure from cash-strapped government, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

And now that Honda’s given up on making diesels (as confirmed by the canned 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel clean-diesel Acura TSX we were supposed to driving, like now, pictured above in 2008) Honda will more-than-likely announce a new full hybrid system capable of going toe-to-toe with Toyota’s Synergy Drive for its mid-size cars, like the Accord, and Acura TL, among others.

With VW/Audi's success with derv drinkers, do you think Honda is making a mistake ditching diesels?

Can it really take on Toyota in the hybrid market starting so late?

[Source: Reuters]

Buick needs to start believing in its own brand

So there I was last week in Vancouver, recent home of some world class winter athletes, and without a bit of irony hanging in the air, General Motors Canada was pitching its new 2011 Buick Regal, the latest in a lineup that now has to live up to the brand’s “A new class of world class” tagline.

Now, if you haven’t been paying attention, Buick has gone global. Although its Enclave SUV and soon-to-retire Lucerne full-size sedan are homegrown, last year’s LaCrosse was designed in and for the Asian market (i.e. China is Buick’s biggest market.) And this here new Regal is really a German Opel Insignia, while next year’s Volkswagen Jetta-fighting compact sedan will have an Opel Astra platform, already on sale in Asia as the Excelle.

But back to the matter at hand: In Europe, this year’s Regal/Insignia midsize sedan competes against the Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord and VW Passat. On our shores, it goes up against Acura's version of the Euro Accord (the TSX,) Lincoln MKZ, Mazda6, Suzuki Kizashi and Passat 2.0T. And after a few hundred kilometres in the top-line, just-under $35k Regal CXL Turbo, it would be my pick above any of the aforementioned as an entry-level sports sedan. It certainly lives up to the brand’s new aspirational tagline.

Although there are no five-door versions of the Insignia heading our way (yet), there’s more Regal goodness coming. A six-speed manual will be available next spring, and an even higher performing Regal GS has been confirmed—all good news for a brand that needs to win back import buyers.

Having said that, Buick also offers lesser Regals. And this is where the brand’s new “A new class of world class” positioning  goes a bit sideways for me.

Under the CXL Turbo, there’s also the $3k-cheaper regular CXL, which gets a non-blown four-cylinder found in other GM products. Except for the lack of response when pushed, there’s inherently nothing wrong with the mill—especially if you were coming from the last Regal, a car that would finish out of the running against any kind of world class competition. But it doesn't match up to the rest of the Regal's inherently good road manners.

We were also told that an even lower end (i.e. less expensive) CX Regal would arrive next year—with cloth seats!

Now I get that Buicks in the past have been bought on price alone. And it must be tough turning away those returning customers who were quite happy with less-than-world-class cars in the past, or that in some towns, the only GM franchise may be a Buick-GMC shop, with no down-market Chevrolet offerings.

But think about this: If I want to get cloth seats in an Acura TSX, I’ll just have to move down to a Honda Accord. Or if I want less performance in my Infiniti, I can trot on over to a Nissan dealership. So, in a perfect world, if I can’t afford “A new class of world class,” which the Regal CXL Turbo clearly is, then there’s always a Chevy Malibu, right?

Do you think that Buick needs to still cater to its older buyers?

Or do you think that with products like the excellent new Regal (in Turbo trim, at least), it can bring import buyers into its showrooms?

Green is Good: Do drive-thrus need a 'Timmy Tax'?

You may have read last Saturday’s front page article in the Star about the GTA’s impending transit meltdown: “To avoid transit disaster, GTA needs road tolls and taxes now.”

The article describes a report advising that to raise $1 billion to $2 billion annually for transit improvements, new streams of revenue (like a regional gas tax, commercial parking tax levies, a regional sales tax, or charging drivers to enter the Toronto downtown core) are being looked at.

Now look, I’m no transportation expert. And all of those ideas may be needed. But there’s one obvious area of revenue that seems to have been overlooked: the ubiquitous drive-thru.

For the past few years, environmentalists have been trying to either ban or limit the development of drive-thrus. Municipalities in Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia have proposed banning new drive-thrus, mainly because of the air-quality issues caused by millions of idling cars, but also the issue of traffic congestion caused by the long lineups of caffeine addicts.

But let’s stop pretending. In the real world, a complete drive-thru ban is impossible. And you can’t get rid of the existing ones.

However, using a drive-thru is all about convenience. So, like having someone pump your gas for you, or wash your car, let’s add a service charge or a premium to each drive-thru order: We’ll call it the Timmy Tax.

Think about this: a 50-cent surcharge to every drive-thru order, whether it’s a coffee shop, bank or dry cleaner. And the revenue (50 cents times  millions of users every day — you do the math!) would go toward all those transportation improvements the province so desperately needs.

To me, it’s a win-win situation.

If you don’t want to pay the Timmy Tax, simply park your car and walk into the shop.

Or if you still want to use the drive-thru, your money will go toward improving how we all get around.

Let me know: Is a 50-cent Timmy Tax enough to get you out of your car when you need your double-double?

Or do you think that no matter how much the premium is, our addiction to convenience won’t get us out of the drive-thru lineups?

The Trouble with Toyotas: Silver lining found in latest round of recalls

Ho-hum. Another week, another batch of troubles with Toyotas found. I don’t know about you, but I’m becoming a bit desensitized to all these Toyota recalls. This week its stalling engines. The week before that, it was post-crash-test fuel spillage issues. Previoulsy, it was luxury sedans that couldn’t steer straight. And before that, it was luxury SUVs that had a tendency to flip in emergency avoidance situations, etcetera, etctera…

Man, if Toyota was the girl that cried Wolf!, she’d probably have lost her voice by now.

But among the current batch of recalls, I’ve managed to find a silver lining of sorts. With sales down 22 per cent from this time last year, the automaker seems to be making cars that are less popular, therefore, limiting its quality control liabilities.

Unlike the massive recalls from earlier this year, that involved  millions of some of the Japanese automaker’s most popular models being called back to fix wonky floor mats, non-stopping brakes and sticky accelerators, at least the last few problems associated with Toyotas are being found on its less successful models. Progress, indeed.

In May, Toyota Canada put a recall out to “address a temporary steering wheel off-center condition that may develop under a specific driving maneuver” for late 2009 and certain 2010 model year Lexus LS full-size luxury sedans equipped with Variable Gear Ratio Steering.

But, thankfully, that only involved 140 cars.

The recall to update software in its slow-selling Lexus GX 460 luxury SUV’s Vehicle Stability Control system only involved 446 2010 models.

The most recent recall on the Lexus HS 250h compact hybrid sedan (it was also included in the previous recall involving problems with the Prius’s ABS) because it “exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard” in U.S. government crash tests—think Ford Pinto, but with a high-voltage electric battery on board—is even less worrisome. The HS been less than a sales success for Toyota.

And finally, this week’s recall to fix V6 and V8 engines from “abnormal engine noise or idling” or stalling in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 Lexus GS, IS and LS sedans in Canada only affects about 3,700 cars.

So there you go. Rival automakers, take note: By making cars that are not that popular in the first place, Toyota seems to be getting the hang of this recall thing.

[Source: Toyota Canada]