Ford finds renewed Focus in Sync for 2008
SEATTLE, WASH. — Hop into your “car of the future,†start it up, and hit the road. You’ve digested the local and national news and weather on your favorite radio station, and it’s time for some tunes. Tap a steering-wheel-remote button with your right thumb, and, without taking your hands from the wheel or your eyes from the road, the car asks for a command. Say: “USB,†and it connects to the MP3 player you had connected to the USB jack. Say “Neil Young,†and it immediately begins to play the newly released music from a 1971 concert at Massey Hall in Toronto.
Say the name of a different playlist, and say, “Shuffle,†and immediately your favorite tunes are playing in random order through the high-tech sound system.
Oops! You forgot to tell your wife something before you left, so you click the phone steering-wheel button, and — still without taking your eyes off the road or hands off the wheel – you are asked whether you want to retrieve voice messages, have text messages read aloud to you, or make a call. Say, “Call Joan†— if your wife’s name happens to be the same as my wife’s name, and immediately the car calls your wife’s cell-phone. In a couple of seconds, you are talking to her via the car’s sound system.
There are some cars that will do some of those things already, but the most sophisticated system I’ve experienced is no longer a “car of the future” trick, but will be available from any Ford dealer as soon as the renovated 2008 Focus hits the showrooms. Ford has worked out an extremely user-friendly deal with Microsoft, to install and coordinate a system called Sync into the Focus, and it will be available in a dozen Ford vehicles by the end of the 2008 model year.
That’s why Ford summoned auto journalists to Seattle, which is the home base of Bill Gates’s Microsoft empire. We even got to visit the “Redmond Campus†at Microsoft’s headquarters in the Seattle suburb of Redmond. If you’re using a computer to work, correspond, or just live nowadays, you are familiar with Microsoft. Yes, you may be frustrated at how often the Microsoft “Windows†operating system acts like “Big Brother†to dominate your computer, but Microsoft officials point out that the company also makes many of the operating system things for Apple, its largest competitor.
Besides, Sync is programmed to work with every system, offering a vast array of possibilities from within your Focus. You can code your Bluetooth wireless phone into the system, and it installs all your preset names, numbers and messages into Sync. It can handle and keep separate a dozen phones at once, readily identifying which is being used at that moment. It won’t allow anyone else access to private numbers on your phone, responding only to whatever phone it detects as belonging to the person accessing it.
You can also code Microsoft’s own “Zune†music system, or Apple’s competing iPod, or any other, and Sync will digest and operate any function by voice command. Whatever you’re doing is displayed on a small screen on the top of the dashboard, so if you do feel the urge to glance at it, your eyes only need to move a tiny bit before returning to the road. Sync will allow you to operate any portable device, including a USB flash drive, if you’ve coded information or music onto it.
Once you’ve got the tunes playing, you can click up to the next one with another thumb switch, or you can just call out the command to play a certain title, artist, album title, or genre. Auto journalists may be more conditioned to new car features, but we also are an impatient lot that tends to trust our hunches and experiences to guess at what might work ergonomically. And we had little-to-no trouble making Sync work.
Tom Gibbons, the corporate vice president for specialized devices and applications in the entertainment and devices division of Microsoft, seems to have coordinated everything except, perhaps, a way to shorten his professional title. He explained how Sync came to be, and how, in our emerging and current digital lifestyle, the emphasis was on making it user-friendly to operate, and also readily update-able to cope with whatever might be coming next from any gadget manufacturer.
“When I first got into a Focus with Sync installed, I didn’t read any directions,†Gibbons said. “We wanted a system that anyone could get into and use without reading any directions. We had talked to Ford often, and wanted to make sure our vision was the same for Sync – otherwise you can’t get two elephants to dance.Ââ€
Great analogy. Microsoft is an elephant in the china shop of electronic gadgetry, and Ford is an elephant in the automotive business. From Ford’s standpoint, being identified as an elephant is far superior to be seen as a dinosaur, and the new Focus not only meets the standards of the highest-tech operating system convenience, but as an entirely revised compact car.
While every new-car buyer seems to want the latest in gadgetry these days, the cars they seek fluctuate. The trend toward large SUVs has abated, and Ford marketing wizard George Pipas said that the only two automotive categories that are growing right now are crossover SUVs and small cars. That trend has found that people who have bought larger cars are moving down to smaller vehicles, and those who have bought cars in the “B†(subcompact) or “C†(compact) segments are staying there.
Ford’s plan for the immediate future is to become more competitive in the combined B-C segment, which will take some doing. Pipas points out that Toyota has six cars in that combined segment, while Ford has one – the Focus. A problem with U.S. manufacturers is that while concentrating on more profitable large cars and SUVs, they have allowed the small-car segment to escape. So to speak. Seventy-six percent of the B-C segment belongs to import brands.
“We’ve been very short-sighted,†Pipas said, adding that he agrees with new Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s view. “Don’t look at the Focus as a profit center, but as a portal. Our participation in the segment gives us a portal to the battleground.Ââ€
Over the last two decades, bean-counters and zealous U.S. car-maker advocates boasted of kissing off the small-car segment while building high-profit larger vehicles, but Pipas and others now realize that the hundreds of thousands of small-car buyers who bought a Corolla or Civic not only found they had a good car, but it was good enough that that 76 percent of small-car buyers also purchased good reason to stay with Toyota or Honda or other import brands.
The new car could be renamed the “Portal,†but it remains the Focus, and it remains the U.S. Focus. It is not the long-awaited European Focus, where it is a high-end small car, with a platform from the Volvo S40, a powerful engine from Mazda, and sophisticated suspension engineered by Ford of Germany. In Europe, popularity of small cars has led to a strong market for premium small cars, and Ford has decided the current European Focus would be too expensive, and would leave Ford without an entry in the inexpensive B-C fight.
So a revised model of the current Focus is, in Pipas’s view, the most important vehicle Ford is introducing. It must give Ford a slice of the B-C segment, while awaiting the help that is on the way. Ford showed a new Verve last week at the Frankfurt Auto Show, and it is basically a new version of the Fiesta-sized “B†car, which will be coming to the U.S. in another year or two. Once that is established, the next-generation revision of the Focus will probably be the European model.
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For now, though, the new Focus needn’t be a letdown. The existing Focus has been a worthy compact, fairly fun to drive, and quite economical and dependable. The new model improves on every aspect. The design shows off a new grille with well-styled headlights that turn up and lead to the top line of the silhouette. A neatly indented panel accents the side, and the new car is immediately identifiable as being different. Same with the suspension, which has been firmed up for far better cornering stability, and with the interior, which has a satin-silver dashboard, different instrument panel, and much improved seats.
It also comes in either 4-door or an all-new 2-door coupe. Either can be had in basic S, mid-range SE, or top-level SES. The 2.0-liter Mazda-based 4-cylinder engine has 140 horsepower and 136 foot-pounds of torque with either a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual. The engine works well with the automatic, and, typically, has a sportier and peppier demeanor with the stick, and should achieve 30-35 miles per gallon.
The S model starts at $14,695, with the SE at $15,695, and the SES at $16,695 for the coupe and $16,995 for the sedan.
All models have the improved handling and styling, and much-improved safety features on their front-wheel-drive Focuses. The Sync feature comes standard on the top SES models, and is an available option at $399 on the middle SE models.
The Focus, therefore, is pivotal to allow Ford to focus on the B-C segment, and Sync could be an enormous tool to help synchronize that plan.
Malibu, CTS, VUE, Saab 9-3 pace GM’s 2008 fleet
JOLIET, ILL. — The 2008 model year could be pivotal in General Motors’ attempt to hold off Toyota’s surge to be the top-selling auto manufacturer in the world, and after a sample of most of the GM arsenal – including all-new models of Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn VUE, Saab 9-3, and the functional two-mode hybrid GMC Yukon SUV – the General appears the best its been equipped for the battle.
The Malibu may be the spotlight vehicle for GM overall, because it is all-new and impressive, even though we didn’t get a chance to drive the display model. The new Malibu will be pushed hard for Car of the Year consideration, although it is a fraternal twin to the Saturn Aura, the 2007 Car of the Year, and shares the Opel Vectra platform from GM’s German affiliate.
Cadillac, which led the current GM redesigning charge with the CTS, has slightly restyled and thoroughly tightened the new CTS, giving its potent 3.6-liter V6 a healthy upgrade in power. The Yukon Hybrid was much more impressive than the PR-only previous GM truck hybrid, which only kept the accessories functioning while shutting down the big V8 engine at stoplights. The VUE is a dazzling redesign for 2008, worthy of its own review. But the star of the show, in my mind, was the new Saab 9-3, which has what I declare is my favorite General Motors engine.
The site of the one-day display was the Autobahn Country Club, a wonderful suburban Chicago place where members can belong to a country club that offers the chance to drive on a road-racing track instead of to play golf. So we got to try out the new stuff on the road course as well as on regional streets and highways.
One of the highlights of the day was to sit at a lunch table with Mark LaNeve, who used to be at Cadillac and now is general manager of sales, service and marketing for General Motors. LaNeve is sort of out of the Bob Lutz mold, an executive who isn’t shy about making bold statements, and, like GM’s most prominent vice president, LaNeve also is at his best when he varies from the prepared text.
“This will be an exciting couple of years, not just for GM, but for the whole industry,†said LaNeve, “We are engaged in global competition, and the winners are going be the companies that can compete globally. We are truly global…one global enterprise in design, engineering and manufacturing.Ââ€
The script explained how GM has tightened itself with shorter life cycles, better quality, lower cost, and reducing reliance on rental sales and incentives to improve profit margins, and said, “After working incredibly hard to get our product quality to world-class levels…†but LaNeve’s actual comments were more candid and incisive.
“When we were great,†he said, “we had trend-setting design and technology. We’ve got to get back to that. As for quality and our production processes, we’ve got that taken care of…We’re not going to fool the public with clever marketing. The companies that make great products are going to win, and we are truly focused on building great products.Ââ€
LaNeve also told the assembled Midwest Auto Media Association members that GM and Chevrolet trucks are well in place, but Chevrolet had the “need to re-establish it as having the best cars.Ââ€
I was both surprised and impressed by those comments. GM’s public statements never acknowledged the shortcomings most of the media had been chronicling over the last two decades. It was arrogance that contributed greatly to GM’s weakening, and it is truly refreshing to hear an executive admit that GM had faltered, and is – present tense — in the process of re-establishing its quality, and correcting the problems.
The Malibu, LaNeve said, will be the “new star of the lineup,†with that intention. “We didn’t build a replacement for the Malibu, we built what we think is best for that part of the market – a completely new car. We kept the Malibu name, and frankly, I’m tired of new names.†Market research interviewed buyers considering Camry, Accord, Altima and Sonata, he added, and asked what it would take to get them to consider a Chevy.
The resulting input, LaNeve said, led to the new Malibu . “We wanted to build a car that looks $40,000, for half of that. In the 1980s and ’90s, we really didn’t build cars like that.Ââ€
The 2008 Malibu will start at $19,995, right on target. “And that will include an automatic transmission,†LeNeve said. “The Accord, Camry, and Altima don’t offer an automatic at their base price. I’m not going to say that’s a ‘bait and switch,’ but…Ââ€
After his speech, I had to challenge LaNeve on only that one comment, which was spontaneous and unscripted. “Does the Malibu come with a stick shift?†I asked him. After saying that the automatic could be manually shifted, he said that no, it didn’t come with a manual.
“Well then, the Accord, Camry, and Altima do offer sticks, so they offer something the Malibu doesn’t offer,†I pointed out. “Their automatics aren’t that expensive, so maybe their ‘bait and switch’ is your ‘switch and bait.’ ”
At that point, Steve Hill, manager of GM’s North Central Region, came to LaNeve’s defense. “Only 2 percent of midsize buyers buy manual transmissions,†he said.
“Maybe, but that number might be higher if Chevy offered one,†I shot back. “Zero percent of Malibu buyers will be able to buy a stick.Ââ€
So the low percentage of stick-shift buyers is where market research can prompt a self-fulfilling prophecy, considering that none of the GM midsize offerings have one available. That, however, was about the only slip I found in the whole presentation.
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A Malibu Hybrid also will be introduced with the Malibu fleet this fall, which could also lift the brand name in public estimation. “We’ve lost a lot of ground in the midsize segment,†LaNeve added. “We’re not proud of it, but we know what we did wrong, and we’re correcting it. We don’t think high fuel prices are temporary, or that there’s public concern with global climate change.Ââ€
With GM’s new crop of vehicles, including hybrids, Flex-Fuel E85 vehicles, and other technology, LaNeve said “I’m very optimistic – more than I’ve ever been.Ââ€
The CTS, like the Malibu, Aura, VUE, and other GM cars, will deploy a more powerful version of the outstanding 3.6 V6, which has dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and variable valve-timing. Power, however, has not been the engine’s problem. It has not delivered up to the standards of its EPA estimates.
The one version of the rapidly expanding 3.6 is the one GM sends to Australia, where its Holden affiliate reduces its displacement to 2.8 liters, and tubrocharges it, then sends it to Sweden where Saab puts it into the 9-3 model. I drove the Corvette, which was awesome on the road course, and the CTS, VUE, Buick Lucerne Super, and other vehicles, but the most impressive was the Saab 9-3 Conti wagon, which has the 2.8 V6 turbo with a 6-speed stick. It was fantastic.
Chevy dealers will do well with the Malibu, but they’d better hope their sportiest customers don’t check out the Saab dealer before deciding.
New Caravan, Town & Country — mobile family rooms
CARLSBAD, CA. — New engines and transmissions, improved driving dynamics that approach sports-car maneuverability, and creature-features that offer a family room on wheels — complete with swivel seats around a card table and ambient lighting, plus enough media alternatives to offer enough cable TV, DVD and music outlets to keep the rowdiest riders mesmerized — are among ingredients intended to make the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country take the minivan market to new heights.
Minivans? Yes, minivans. The introduction of the fifth-generation models for 2008 was truly a family affair, as Chrysler assured that auto journalists wouldn’t bypass the minivan reintroduction by inviting their entire families — as many as could stand to live in the same room at the Four Seasons Hotel in Carlsbad. The whole family went on road tests, and each family got a minivan for a free extra day of touring the San Diego area. Those with small children had a great time, and it was a chance for my two adult sons to join my wife, Joan, and me for an interesting reunion.
Every eligible driver was asked to take a turn driving on the freeways and through the mountains near San Diego, and we intended to do that, to fully appreciate the 35 new features on the longer, wider and roomier vehicles. Joan drove her share, but Jeff only got a short bit, and Jack, who is often my assistant, never drove. Joan explained it best: “They would have driven, but they got in the back seats, and every time we went anywhere, they immediately fell asleep. Funny, but that is exactly what they did when they were little. At least they proved the rear seats must be comfortable.”
I had a good time driving various models of both vehicles, and I particularly liked the Dodge Caravan Sport, which has the 4.0-liter V6 that is the largest of three engines, a six-speed automatic, and not only firmed up suspension, but revised steering to add resistance and eliminate the too-light feeling of many power-boosted front-wheel-drive vehicles. Both versions come with a 3.3-liter overhead-cam V6 with 175 horsepower/205 foot-pounds of torque; a 3.8-liter pushrod V6 with 197/230 figures; or the 4.0 overhead-cam V6 251/259 power/torque numbers. The 3.3 was adequate, although it comes only with the four-speed automatic, while the two larger displacements get the six-speed automatic.
Even the base models have good handling, but the Sport package on the Caravan tempted me to push it on one steep and curving downhill four-lane. Traffic was spotty, and I slalomed right, left, and back right to easily filter through. I could tell it was handling well when I felt as though I hadn’t gotten near the limit, but the rest of the family chirped aboI should be aware that this was no BMW I was driving. No, but it sure handled well, and when Joan got her turn behind the wheel, she saw what I meant.
“When I first drove it on the highway through the mountains, I was afraid to go too fast, because I thought it might be a little tippy,” she said. “But after I got used to it, I couldn’t believe how well it handled, and I drove it a lot harder. The only problems were other cars that weren’t going as fast.”
The Dodge Grand Caravan comes in base SE form starting at $22,470 with the 3.3 engine and a second-row bench seat, and with three equipment levels and six option packages. Moving up to the Caravan SXT, starting price is $27,535, with the 3.8 engine, “stow and go” second-row seating, four standard equipment levels and six option packages. One of those standard equipment levels is the Sport package with the 4.0 and firmer suspension.
The Town & Country has three models, with the LX starting at $23,190 with the 3.3 and the bench; the Touring starts at $28,430 with the 3.8; and the Limited starts at $36,400 and has the 4.0 and loads of luxury touches. Three standard equipement packages and four option packages. The top-dog Limited has enough standard stuff that it offers only one option package, and it offers eight stand-alone options.
We can deal with the driving dynamics, suspension improvements, and increased safety from higher-strength steel and improved body stiffness after later test-drive weeks, but for the introduction, the appearance and features are foremost. More interior room was attained by lengthening the vans by 2 inches, and widening the roof by 6 inches. One of the primary features the last time Chrysler updated the minivans was the addition of “Stow and Go” seating for 2004, where quite-large storage bins were built into the floor, and the seats could actually fold and disappear down into them to create a large, flat floor. Folding down all the seats reduce the vans from seven passenger to two, but allows hauling 4×8 sheets of plywood.
The biggest new feature for both 2008 models is “Swivel and Go,” a new plan with captain’s chairs in the second row that spin 180 degrees to face the rear bench seat, and a table installs to fit perfectly. We didn’t have the chance to play a family scrabble game, or a picnic, and we decided to hit the famous “In and Out” burger joint, but we ate inside. However, the potential for a traveling family is expanded greatly by the table and swivel chairs, which have seat-anchored shoulder belts that still work when the seats swivel.
Available ambient halo lighting gives occupants family-room atmosphere at night without bothering the driver. Movable pinpoint LED reading lights, similar to airplane reading lights, let passengers read, play games, or be aimed anywhere, without interfering with the driver’s vision. The front console is large enough to hold something as large as a purse, and it slides 21 inches rearward in two different segments to serve either first or second row seats, or both.
The entertainment system is truly over the top. A dual-DVD system plays different things on separate screens for second and third row occupants, and wireless headphones keep the sound isolated from the front row, where the driver can be listening to a ballgame or to Sirius satellite radio. Dual audio-video jacks, a 115-volt inverter, and a 12-volt power outlet in the C-pillar eliminate the need for auxiliary converters, as gaming systems can plug in directly. Aside from playing a video game on one screen and watching a DVD moving on another, a passenger can choose to watch a unique live television broadcast, as the minivans are first in the industry to offer Sirius backseat satellite television, with the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network Mobile, and Nickelodeon Mobile all arranged for viewing. Those are definite kid-aimed channels — which also can be viewed on the front seat navigation screen if the vehicle is parked — but how far can we be from ESPN, Showtime, or a local network telecast is available?
For the discriminating family that wants still more, the MyGIG system has AM-FM-CD-DVD-MP3-satellite radio-navigation capabilities on a 20-gigabyte hard drive, which has voice commands and touch-screen use, a USB port, and a jukebox feature for personalization. The device can rip files directly from an MP3 and store more than 1,200 songs. All of that plays through a premium 7.1 digital surround sound system available with a 506-watt amplifier, 11 channels and 46 watts per channel, and an 8-inch, 2-channel, dual-voice coil subwoofer.
Incidentally, the new Dodge minivan is the Grand Caravan, because the previous standard issue Caravan has disappeared, with only the longer version available. My suggestion is that since the Grand Caravan is all that remains, can’t we be allowed to just call it the Caravan — as every buyer will, anyway? Probably not. Meanwhile, you might say “Town and Country,” but the official vehicle is the Chrysler “Town & Country,” with the ampersand instead of the word “and.” Ah, well…
Chrysler claims to have invented the minivan segment in 1983. We can quibble about Volkswagen’s flower-child-powered Microbus beating the Caravan/Voyager vans by more than a couple of decades, but they were bit players, and there is no question that the segment became a full-blown phenomenon once the Chrysler minivans made their debut. The Caravan and Voyager were so successful that Chrysler added the more luxurious Town and Country for the 1990 model year, and since the Voyager vanished with the demise of Plymouth, the remaining continued owning the marketplace.
Competitors came and went. Ford and General Motors tried rear-engine, front-engine, captive-import, and bizarre-looking minivans in hopes of cutting into Caravan country, but they not only failed, they have faded from the scene. Tough new competitors include the Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest, Toyota Sienna, and Kia Sedona, all of which offer serious alternatives. But Chrysler has sold 12 million minivans through the first four generations, led by the Dodge Caravan segment leader for 23 consecutive years, with a 22-percent share of all minivans sold.
As for the look, Chrysler design manager Jeff Gale explained the task to create two distinct personalities. The Town and Country aims for luxury treatment, although while officials stressed the new grille resembles the 300 sedan’s look, it more resembles the more horizontal Pacifica and Sebring. The Dodge Grand Caravan has a distinct Dodge flair, with the narrower side glass and more-planted stance remindful of the Charger. Gale, incidentally, has a 3-year-old, and 9-month-old twins, so his family embodies the minivan target.
“The Dodge has a bold, powerful, capable look, with a large chrome grille and the large Ram emblem,” Gale said. “It’s at home wth the Avenger in style, and has a little bit of the Charger’s sinister eyebrow over the headlights. With the Chrysler, there is a little 300C in the headlights and details, and the chrome detail in the moldings, underlining the windows, and on the moldings and door handles. The idea was strong for the Dodge and luxury for the Chrysler.”
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With front-wheel drive refined with the new suspension, the attractive look of the new vans and the increased versatility reinforced my steadfast theory on minivans: About 90 percent of the people who buy or have bought SUVs would have been better served by buying minivans, but the averted their most logical choice because of image. Still, minivans may be stodgy enough that owners don’t stand around the water cooler boasting about owning one, but minivans keep selling at the rate of about 1.1 million units a year, and projections are for an increase as baby-boomers start acquiring grandchildren they’d like to haul around.
Recollections of wonderful family-trip stories and about getting 200,000 miles and then giving the minivan to their kid, who is still driving it, became legend, and it seems unfair that minivans, which are better than ever, must overload with features to attract otherwise-rational buyers who might overlook them. It’s to the point that I quite frequently get calls and emails that include virtually identical content:
Caller: “We have three kids so we need something bigger than a car, and I’m wondering which SUV you would recommend.”
After finding out that their trips include youth sports, car-pooling, and day-to-day grocery store, shopping center and work commuting, I say: “Have you considered a minivan?”
Caller (who might be male or female), says: “A minivan? No way.”
So I ask: “Why not?”
The caller says: “They’re too trendy. Everybody always had a minivan, and they’re ‘soccer mom’ things.”
I pause a bit, and then say: “So you don’t want to consider a minivan because it’s trendy, yet you are considering an SUV, which is the trendiest vehicle ever built — and, it costs more, has less room, less versatility, and gets considerably less fuel economy?”
They take that in, then they agree with my assessment. Most may have gone out and bought an SUV in recent years, but high fuel prices have curtailed sales of oversized SUVs. Many have downsized to crossover SUVs. If they ultimately decide to check out minivans, the new 2008 Grand Caravan and Town & Country could revive the idea that minivans not only can survive, they remain the most logical family hauler.
As for those family trips that might seem endless to youngsters, all the new audio-video features causes Larry Lyons, Chrysler’s project manager, to predict: “The kids will change from ‘Are we there yet?’ to ‘Oh, we’re here already.’ ”
Mercedes diesel adds punch to Grand Cherokee
The email address still says “www.daimlerchrysler.com,” but Chrysler Group is now its own entity, with new investors nearly finalized, ince Germany’s Daimler-Benz sold all but 19.9 percent of its ownership. The influence on the people who make the superb Mercedes-Benz vehicles will continue on the new Chrysler Group, and perhaps the 19.9 percent ownership will mean continued and expanded use of the Mercedes diesel engines in Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands.
A recent week spent with a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee produced far more than mere satisfaction. The Grand Cherokee has long been a link between the hard-core off-roading Jeep lovers and the mainstream everyday drivers who haul families and supplies to and from shopping centers, and everywhere else. The Cherokee not only represents one of the first “sports utility vehicles” — from long before the term SUV entered our lexicon — but also has become a mainstay of Jeep and its Chrysler parent.
Strong, sturdy, but not particularly technologically advanced engines have always supplied the power to the Grand Cherokee, and the engine array takes a giant step forward for 2007. The test vehicle I drove housed a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel engine. It is the same common-rail diesel that powers many of the Mercedes vehicles, especially in Germany.
Now, this is not the loud, clattering, foul-smelling truck diesel that most U.S. consumers identify as being diesel. That identity is an unfortunate tribute to our fuel companies’ unwillingness to provide decent diesel fuel for U.S. consumers. Those who have visited other countries can attest to diesel excellence. In Europe, for example, half the vehicles sold are diesels, which have fantastic durability and fuel-economy. They also completely obliterate the stereotype of being slow and stodgy by having turbochargers pick off the exiting exhaust, channel it to spin a compressor wheel, which pumps a much increased volume of fuel-air mixture back into the engine.
The European turbodiesels run so swiftly, so smoothly, and so free of the smell and smoke, that U.S. visitors are universally amazed to learn they’re in a diesel-powered vehicle. It happened to me, last year. I had the chance to do some driving in Germany, and to reach the site, I was driving a Mercedes E320 station wagon. We were sailing along the unlimited-speed-limit autobahn, north of Munich, and I stepped on it to pass a “slower” vehicle — which was dawdling along in the center lane at about 110 miles per hour.
As I passed, in the left lane, the Mercedes wagon accelerated easily. Reading kilometers per hour, the speedometer moved smoothly up to 210, 220, 230, and to about 245 km per hour, where I held it, as I pulled back into the center lane. It be a foreign concept to Minnesota drivers, but nobody drives in the left lane except to pass in Germany, which is why nobody passes on the right. Anyway, I held it at that speed, which computed to a bit over 140 miles per hour, for about five minutes. With a bit of congestion ahead, I slowed down so we wouldn’t sail right on past our exit.
When we got to our destination, we spotted the emblem that said “CDI” on the rear of the car. It was a 3-liter turbodiesel. We had no idea it was a diesel from a driving standpoint, or from a silence standpoint. Of course, diesel engines always could be refined more, because they get to run on European diesel fuel. It always has been cleaner than U.S. diesel fuel, running at about 12 parts per million sulfur, a figure recently reduced to 5 ppm.
In the U.S., U.S. diesel fuel has finally reached reasonable standards, too. Last year, low-sulfur diesel was reduced to a limit of 15 parts per million sulfur. It had been about 245 ppm. That’s not only absurd by any standard, but is the reason for all that disgusting smell, smoke, and oily residue that turned many away from considering diesel. Turns out, the foul quality of U.S. diesel fuel is among the main reasons the top diesel engines couldn’t pass emission tests.
The advent of clean diesel in the U.S. means that a whole group of technically brilliant turbodiesels could start showing up in this country, beyond only the miniscule number of Volkwagen and Mercedes cars. Mercedes, which leads the way with new “Bluetec” clean-diesel technology, offer it in its new sedans, where it meets the stringent U.S. emission standards. But its common-rail diesel works well too, even if it will soon be supplanted by the Bluetec system.
The 2007 Grand Cherokee has good 3.7 and 4.7 V6 single-overhead-camshaft engines, and the high-performance 5.7-liter Hemi V8 in a hot-rod version. Respectively, those engines offer 210, 235, and 330 horsepower, and 235, 305, and 375 foot-pounds of torque. So the 3.0-liter common-rail turbodiesel V6 is the smallest displacement engine offered in the Grand Cherokee, and while its 215 horsepower seem puny, it develops 376 foot-pounds of torque which not only is the best of any Grand Cherokee engine, but it peaks at 1,600 RPMs and holds steady to 2,800 RPMs.
American drivers love horsepower and they love low-end, 0-60-type acceleration. What they don’t seem to realize is horsepower happens up at the higher reaches of the rev range, while torque is what they’ve always cherished for low-end power. So the Grand Cherokee accelerates like the proverbial scalded cat.
Driving along in I-94 gridlock trying to escape to the West of Minneapolis, and you see the chance to change lanes. Tap the 5-speed automatic shift lever to downshift a gear or two and hit the gas, and the thing fairly leaps ahead and into the other lane. The low and mid-range power is astonishing. And so is the lack of noise, or any trace of sooty smoke coming out the tailpipes.
Best of all, the EPA fuel estimates are 20 city and 24 highway, and our driving was in that range on two tankfuls, even in thick congested traffic. Diesels run indefinitely, generally with far better durability than gasoline engines, and they generally get better fuel economy. Those are the two reasons for their great popularity in Europe and the world over. The problem with fuel was specific only to the U.S., where the only other problem is getting over the old criticism from back when General Motors tried to apply diesel technology to its Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser V8s, and they blew up like popcorn. Diesels require a much higher compression ratio, so the engines must start out being reinforced and structurally very solid.
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The Grand Cherokee Limited 4×4 I test drove had a base price of $37,645. That included the other upgraded Limited features, sucjh as front, side and side curtain airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with antilock and brake assist, electronic stability program, power sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, remote start system, dual-zone air conditioning, power adjustable pedals, steering wheel mounted audio controls for the Boston Acoustics Premium sound system, power seats with driver memory, foglights, automatic headlights, power heated folding outside mirros, and a full-size spare on a matching 17-inch alloy wheel.
Options on the test vehicle included the turbo-diesel engine, at $3,700, which also adds a 22-gallon fuel tank, Sirius satellite digital radio, Quadra-Drive four-wheel drive, limited slip front and rear differentials, and an engine block heater. Other options were a rear back-up camera system and DVD-based navigation system, an audio upgrade, hands-free phone communication, and the rear park-assist warning beeper. That boosted the sticker price to $44,495.
A lot of SUVs might boast more luxury, and some might claim more power. But few, if any, can claim the smooth and powerful driveability of the diesel, with its inherent fuel economy and durability standards, plus all the other comforts of a midsize SUV that is classy enough to take you to the country club, and rugged enough to take you there without using the highway.
Now if we can just make sure Daimler-Benz keeps sending the newest Mercedes diesels over to Detroit, where the Grand Cherokee is built, and maybe even a few others. Wouldn’t a Bluetec turbodiesel with all-wheel-drive go impressively into a Chrysler 300C? Or a Dodge Magnum?
New S80 rises to challenge best German rivals
With the possible exception of someone lost in the wilderness for 20 years, or maybe lost while working at a major automotive magazine, it is obvious that Volvo has been on the upsurge to complement its pace-setting devotion to safety with ever-improving performance and appealing style. The 2006 Volvo S80 was an example, a fine flagship, built on a platform that was the standard of the industry for safety.
It was good enough to be the structural base for the XC90 SUV, and Ford called on its Swedish subsidiary to provide that platform to underpin Ford’s Freestyle and Five Hundred. Volvo has never lost its determination for safety, so we can assume that renovating the S80 entirely for 2007 has only improved on a vehicle that was already such an impressive benchmark.
After driving the car at its media introduction, for a week in Minnesota winter, and more recently for a week in Minnesota traffic, I am convinced the new S80 is a worthy challenger for the kings of the entry-luxury segment — the BMW 5, Audi A6, Mercedes E, Cadillac STS, and any Acura RS or TL, Infiniti M or G, or the Lexus GS. It provides all the pleasures of a smooth-running luxury car, plus a few surprising new ones, and it also has enough performance to satisfy a reasonably aggressive sporty driver, delivering plenty of thrills, even though it does it without ever losing its poise.
Apparently it was that poise, or maybe its stoic Scandinavian heritage, that prompted Car and Driver magazine to misidentify most of the S80’s assets as liabilities, while ruthlessly ripping the S80 for being devoid of any personality. I disagree, totally.
Even in base form, with a new 3.2-liter inline 6-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive, the lighter S80 feels quick and agile, and it starts at a bargain price of $38,705. Turning out 235 horsepower and 236 foot-pounds of torque, the 3.2 also serves as the basic engine for the XC90, and the new Range Rover LR2, a distant cousin.
To fully qualify as a performance-luxury sedan, Volvo didn’t flinch at the needed upgrade, and installed the fantastic, Yamaha-built 4.4-liter V8, with 311 horsepower at 5,950 RPMs, and a whopping 325 foot-pounds of torque at 3,950, and a redline of 6,500 RPMs. That all comes with a six-speed Geartronic transmission and a Haldex all-wheel drive system that shifts power from front to rear if hard acceleration or a tendency to spin is detected. The V8 S80 starts at $47,350, although the test car that I had for a week had enough options to boost the price to $56,025 — steep, but reasonable in view of the futuristic, and fully usable features.
The narrow, 60-degree, transverse-mounted engine has variable valve timing that can alter the cam profile, to low lift for cruising or high lift for power takeoffs. Stand on it and shift the automatic via the manual gate, and the engine soars, sounding like a race engine all the way up. Acceleration is impressive, considering that it weighs over 4,000 pounds. And the fit under the hood is precise, because all the V8’s accessory drives are tucked in under the banks to fit in a narrow, crashworthy slot between the front wheels.
Few, if any, cars can match all the features on the top S80. Let’s tick off some of them:
* The S80’s active headlights are more active than most, pivoting in a wide swath to light the road around upcoming curves. If you get out of the car and open the trunk at night, the brake lights shine in bright strips, a great safety touch on a dark roadway.
* The BLIS (blind spot information system) uses tiny cameras in the outside mirrors to signal a little light in the front door pillars, which come on, alerting the driver that a car has entered what could be a blind spot, or merely might have been unnoticed. Glance at the light, and in that glance you see the vehicle in the side mirror.
* A strip of warning lights works with the radar adaptive cruise control, so if you get too close to the car ahead, lights flash and a staccato sound warns that a crash may be imminent. In heavy congestion, if you glance down at the audio at the moment the car ahead stops abruptly, the system can alert you in time to stop or swerve.
* Steering can be set for low, medium or high turning force — a cure for complaints about too-light a touch. The three-button suspension setting is comfortably firm on “comfort,” immediately firmer on “sport,” and rigid enough on “advanced” to be reserved for freeways that are considerably smoother than what I see. Switch back and forth while going over expansion-joint tar strips and you get dramatic evidence of how effective the alterations are.
* The stability control system monitors every bit of driving input every 10th millisecond, preventing the car from skidding, if necessary, and also readying the brakes to prepare for a hard stop.
Seats are supremely comfortable and adjust for cushion height and lumbar support, plus they have heaters and, with the perforated leather option, a ventilation feature.
* Interior controls are ergonomically well designed, with the industry-best center stack — a thin panel taken from the S40, with a small storage area behind it, instead of a massive facing on the dash. The audio control numbers are laid out similar to a telephone push-button pad, three numbers to a row, for ease in adjusting without taking your eye off the road. Another dash switch can drop the rear seat headrests to avoid blocking rearward vision through the rear view mirror.
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* Climate controls have a sitting-body silhouette, with arrows pointing up, middle and down, so you push a corresponding button to direct airflow, and a knob on the left adjusts more or less fan speed. The dash is two-tone, grey and beige, made of a pleasing soft-touch material, with an imbedded accent strip of either real wood or brushed aluminum. Ignition is push-button, so you don’t need the key if you have it in your pocket.
* Use the key fob to lock the doors, and the outside mirrors fold flat to avoid being bumped in parking lots. That fob has a tiny transmitter inside, so when you can’t remember clicking the remote lock and go up to the 34th floor, or fly to Seattle, you can click the button, and an LED will advise you if the car is locked or unlocked. The device also reacts to the car alarm to alert you that someone has broken in, and it can detect a heartbeat and warn if someone is lurking inside the car.
* The audio system has eight speakers, or 12 as optional, with an MP3 player, auxiliary iPod and USB jack. A humidity sensor, standard on V8 models, assesses how foul the outside air is when you’re parked, and if it reaches a certain foulness, it will closes all vents.
The Bosch electronic antilock brakes have a feature that reads when you let off the gas suddenly, and charges the brakes in preparation for optimum force in a panic stop.
If all that were included and the car was still a slug, it would be a worthwhile vehicle. But the S80 is no slug, responding quickly to the touch of a toe on the gas or brake pedal, and to the hand on the steering wheel. My only question would be whether to take on all the features of the loaded V8 model, or to save $10,000 and get the very impressive 3.2 version, which still has the great brakes, seats, and handling features, as well as the crashworthy frame, body, and airbag-filled occupant compartment.
So it was with some amusement when I read a review of the new S80 in the May issue of Car and Driver — a magazine that used to be my favorite. The magazine ridiculed the new S80 for having no trace of personality, and ripped virtually everything, suggesting that unique safety devices were signs of paranoia, and such innovations as adjustable steering and suspension were worthless. The quick and noticeable adjustable suspension system, according to Car and Cheapshot, ranged “…from too soft, to almost right, to just wrong.” Quite predictably, the writer ripped the car for handling like a front-wheel-drive vehicle, adding “front-drive handling characteristics are rarely desirable…”
A headstrong hotshot who enjoys hanging out the rear end in a power slide might also find it easy to spin out of touch with reality, much the way his dedication to rear-drive might cause his rear-drive car to spin out of control in an autocross. I love rear-drive performance cars, but in real world Minnesota, where winter is more than an occasional storm that melts in a day or two, the assets of front-drive approach the security of all-wheel drive, even in storms heavy enough to keep rear-drive stalwarts from venturing out. The best test of true “real-world” performance remains an autocross, where cars compete singly for times over a cone-lined course in a parking lot. It’s always a kick to see overpowered rear-drive performance cars like a Corvette, Mustang and Porsche roar and fishtail, while constantly and easily being humbled by a Mini Cooper, GTI, Civic Si, and RSX for best elapsed time. The ability to hang the rear end out to the edge of control is less dazzling when rivals can stay in control — and on the power — to get around a tight turn.
The magazine took some snide cheapshots at the S80’s new safety features. One suggested that the individual adjustability of the steering, and the suspension firmness, were because Volvo was too indecisive to pick one as best, then it claimed that none of the settings were good enough. I thought that any reasonable driver would find all the settings good, and could select one as a favorite. Car and Driver did note the S80’s very good lateral stability, but attributed it to the tires. As for the LED strip and warning tone for closing dangerously fast on the car ahead, the magazine said, “…or, you could use your eyes.” And, for the ingenious new blind-spot-alert lights, it said: “…or, you could adjust your mirrors.”
Safety doesn’t sell magazines, perhaps, but we can only hope that potential Volvo customers won’t let such an attack prevent them from their own test drives, which will guarantee that a truly remarkable new luxury-performance sedan won’t be overlooked.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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