Utah Car Cents Saturday Audio 6/21 & 6/28

Audio from Utah Car Cents. Listen in with Jeff Miller and Tom Barberi on Saturday's 10AM-12Noon MDT.  1280AM The Zone, 97.5FM.

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6 Discontinued Cars We Want Back

Discontinued Cars We Want To See On The Road Again

Over the past few decades we have been exposed to some great vehicles.  These were automobiles that found a special place in our heart.  We took a look back into what we used to love, what set the standard for imports, domestics and styling. They were the cars that trickled off one by one and slowly disappeared.

The Toyota Supra

1978-2002

Ending production in 2002, the Supra set the standard for a turboed sports car.  It was known for its speed records, tuning and throwing the spark into car culture for aftermarket parts and an upfront challenger for American Muscle. 

Subaru Baja

2002-2006

Before Honda came out with the Ridgeline unibody truck, Subaru had already introduced the AWD standard, optional turbo charged Baja, half truck, half car.  Known for its "creative design", the car has actually accrued quite the following and to this day, dealers can't keep used ones on the lot.

Acura Integra

1985-2001

The poor mans sports car. Integra's dominated the aftermarket in car culture in the late 90's and early 2000's.  Featuring V-tech capabilities, Dual Over Head Cams and sporty handling, this car molded the road for sporty coupes.  Still looking better then it's newer named counterpart, the RSX.

Ford Ranger

1983-2012

It was the tuner car, err, truck for off road enthusiasts and eager teenagers. Before small mid-sized pickups became full-sized and MPG guzzler's. From pre-runners to farm runners. The Ranger was the perfect small pick-up for any job. It was easily modified and fun to drive. We want it back.

Honda Prelude

1978-2001

Coming out of the box quick and good MPG's the Honda prelude was a great option for someone who wanted a sporty coupe, something to customize and challenge the competition. The Prelude was another one of those cars that pushed the aftermarket for modifications and improvement parts.

Mazda RX-7

1978-2002

With a motor and a design ahead of its time, the RX-7 was by far one of the best coupes money could buy during its time.  Featuring a compact and lightweight Wankel rotary engine, Savannah turbocharger and a design met to compare to the Porsche 944 & 924, this was one of the cars to have. It was another import to challenge the speeds of the American domestic market for muscle cars.  We want it back!  Mazda tried with the RX-8, but it was short on speed and tuning abilities.

Automatic Parking System of the Future: Here Today

Germany's New Airport Parking System

 

It's bad enough when your late to the airport, but sometimes trying to find a parking spot can be half the battle. Germany has won this battle with their new state-of-the-art and futuristic parking system.  How long until the rest of the world catches up?

Fastest and Slowest Selling Cars in May

We took a look at Kicking Tires, The official blog from cars.com and peeked at the slowest selling cars in May. Below is a break down of the average total number of days it took for each car to be sold from the dealer. 

The Following cars ranked slowest selling in May.

 

The 2014 Jaguar F-Type S Convertible took an average of 236 days to move off the lot.

  Even Topgear couldn't help sell this car any faster. Though... it is impressive.

 2014 Audi TTS: 220 days

2014 BMW M6 coupe: 187 days

 2014 BMW 640i xDrive convertible: 171 days

2014 Infiniti Q60 coupe: 169 days

2014 Chrysler 200 convertible: 166 days

2014 Mitsubishi Outlander: 159 days

 
2014 Infiniti Q60 convertible: 158 days

Needless to say, Convertibles and luxury brand autos are not the fastest selling vehicles. All three versions of Jaguars Type F were over 150 days.  This can't be good for the consumers of these automobiles if they plan on having a higher residual value when they are ready to trade up. But then again, if your buying a $75,000 car you probably won't care too much.

Some of the fastest selling cars in May were... 

2015 Porsche Macan: 5 days

2015 Hyundai Genesis: 6 days

2015 Subaru WRX: 9 days

2015 Subaru Forester: 10 days

Volkswagen Shocks Movie Goers.

Volkswagen played a little trick on members in this theatre audience.

Texting is now the number one cause of automobile accidents. Car companies are struggling to do their part to put a hold on texting and driving. VW pulls it off pretty well in this ad.

Saturday Audio from 5/31/2014

Jeff Miller and Tom Barberi talk Car Sense on Utah Car Cents. 

Jeff and Tom talk car sense this week and discuss Google's self driving car, how Paris has issued a new speed limit and the future of digital parking.  Listen in as we discuss the difference in Symmetrical AWD, AWD and 4 wheel drive. Jeff explains torque steer how your drive train effects it's impact.  There is more and more! Listen in below or download our podcast from Itunes!

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Is Ford's Quest for an Aluminum Chassis Worth it?

Ford's Quest for better MPG and lighter pick-ups.

Shaving weight and adding power.

Ford has announced their new approach with an aluminum chassis in efforts to maintain sales and thwart off high MPG guzzlers'. The new 2015 F-150 made its debut at the 2014 Detroit auto show and Ford announced how they have meshed various grades of (top secret) aluminum to create a lighter, tougher truck. The new F-150's towing capacity wasn't announced, but is expected to increase through body mass savings from the aluminum switch by 700lbs.  This comes from Fords announcement of a 70% weight savings, including 500 lbs from the short cab and 700lbs on a super crew. 

Ford hasn't defined what or how certain alloys were used, it was hinted that they used the same tactics from military HMMWVs and data gained from assisting in the development of the original aluminum Jaguar XJ.(seen below)  The new metal is expected to resist dents and dings better than steel and drop repair costs by 10%.  We all thought Saturn was on to something with their dent resistant doors. And why is it when I hear aluminum, I still think of a soda can?

The weight distribution was played out through a "cascade effect" which is lightening other components because of lighter bodywork.  The F-150 still comes with an array of options, the aluminum shell is still capable of four engines, the downsized 3.5 Liter from 3.7-liter TiVCT V-6, the new 2.7 liter EcoBoost V-6 and a 3.5 liter EcoBoost followed by the 5.0L V-8 which remains leader of the pack.  All the engines will be backed by a 6-speed automatic transmission. Someone has to say it though... isn't it a little ironic that V-8 power and steel were the main attributes for American power, and now, we are seeing the embrace of the Japanese Turbo and aluminum engineering? ... Just saying.  On a better note, all power to Ford for embracing new R&D technologies and innovation with their new automobiles. Might I add,  doing so without becoming a government bailed out corporation full of recalled product.

The 2.7 Liter EcoBoost was put to the test in 2013 by running the Baja 1000 incognito and finishing without trouble or issues. Not sure if incognito would be the right word though, as it does say Eco boost right on the side of the truck...