Underscoring the continued importance that automakers are placing on the Chinese market (especially in this difficult economic environment), Porsche has made it official that the new Panamera will debut in the Middle Kingdom in April. Porsche's new four door hatchback coupe/sedan gran turismo thingy will get its first public showing at the Shanghai Motor Show from April 20-28. In spite of its controversial looks, the Panamera should not be wanting for performance. Direct injected engines ranging from the Volkswagen 3.6-liter V6 up to 500 horsepower turbo V8 from the Cayenne will be available. Backing up the engines will be a choice of 6-speed manual and 7-speed PDK dual clutch gearboxes, with power going to either the rear or both axles. At some point in the next couple of years, Porsche will add its hybrid system to the Panamera as well. Now, if they would just do something about the humpback looks, we might be able to get excited about its arrival.
Ford's new Active Park Assist system generated plenty of discussion, ranging from those who berated the Dearborn company for following Toyota and those who thought Ford could do it better. Not having actually tried the system ourselves, we'll reserve judgement on how well it works. However, Ford has put up a video with Ali Jammoul, a Chief Engineer at the Blue Oval, demonstrating the system. In the demo it seems to work pretty well.
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Admit it, you've embarrassed yourself at some point trying to parallel park. It's like they say about drivers at Indianapolis: There are those who have hit the wall, and those who will. The same principle applies when it comes to parallel parking. Like an increasing number of automakers, Ford is moving beyond the realm of auto-dip side mirrors and into the realm of auto parking systems. The Blue Oval's new Active Park Assist will initially be available on the Lincoln MKS and MKT (about which you'll hear much more on January 12) next summer.
The system takes advantage of the ultrasonic sensors now mounted on the corners of many vehicles (used for backup warning, blind spot detection and other functions), and combines them with a new electric power assisted steering setup. The system can manipulate the steering automatically and the sensors detect where the vehicle is relative to other vehicles. It starts off by using the sensors to measure the distance between cars to determine if there is enough space, and then it operates the steering, instructing the driver when to shift into Drive or Reverse and press the gas or brake. Ford claims the system works much more reliably than the camera-based system used by Lexus. We had no luck with the Lexus system, so we'll be the judge of how well Ford's setup works.
Someone has scanned a photo of what looks to be a production-level Panamera interior. The fact that it's dressed up in brown leather probably will probably be lipstick on a warthog for those who revile it in pre-production form. Of course the number of buttons has been a major item of discussion, but there aren't that many more buttons compared to the 911 or Cayenne - they've simply been rearranged. Other changes: it gets at least one real cupholder (compared to the 911), the IP and controls to the left of the steering wheel have been more integrated into the flow of the dash, and the 911-type gauges seem to be topped by a trim panel like the one around the Cayenne cluster.
It appears to be official: the Panamera interior that this particular blogger loves but has been almost universally reviled by everyone else is Porsche's new interior design language. A refreshed Cayenne has been photographed with an instrument panel directly descended from that of the Panamera four-door super "coupe" (sedan, really). The new Cayenne center console has vents flanking the nav screen instead of placed atop, and the transmission tunnel controls have been inclined to meet the IP just below the console screen.
However, compared to the Panamera, the Cayenne is down on the button count. The Panamera gets a long, parallel row of buttons flanking the shifter, while the Cayenne gets a full complement on the left side of the moonball gearshift and a truncated version on the right. With no shots of the new Cayenne's ceiling console, we will have to wait to find out if it's got the Panamera's additional controls mounted up top. Luxevelocity mentions climate control buttons under the navigation screen, but those are probably for the sound system, as on the Panamera. And there's a large red button that we can only hope is for an ejector seat, but is probably for something much more mundane: it will either be replaced with a button or panel, or it could be Porsche's entry into the MMI game. Outside, the Cayenne won't offer anything new beyond 911-style LED lighting.
It appears to be official: the Panamera interior that this particular blogger loves but has been almost universally reviled by everyone else is Porsche's new interior design language. A refreshed Cayenne has been photographed with an instrument panel directly descended from that of the Panamera four-door super "coupe" (sedan, really). The new Cayenne center console has vents flanking the nav screen instead of placed atop, and the transmission tunnel controls have been inclined to meet the IP just below the console screen.
However, compared to the Panamera, the Cayenne is down on the button count. The Panamera gets a long, parallel row of buttons flanking the shifter, while the Cayenne gets a full complement on the left side of the moonball gearshift and a truncated version on the right. With no shots of the new Cayenne's ceiling console, we will have to wait to find out if it's got the Panamera's additional controls mounted up top. Luxevelocity mentions climate control buttons under the navigation screen, but those are probably for the sound system, as on the Panamera. And there's a large red button that we can only hope is for an ejector seat, but is probably for something much more mundane: it will either be replaced with a button or panel, or it could be Porsche's entry into the MMI game. Outside, the Cayenne won't offer anything new beyond 911-style LED lighting.
The Genesis Coupe isn't even out yet and the primary pen behind it is leaving the company. Joel Piaskowski, Hyundai Motor America's chief designer since 2003, is walking out the door. Besides his work on the upcoming Genesis Coupe, Piaskowski is also known as being the driving force behind Hyundai's HCD concepts like the Hellion (above), and has been credited with beginning to develop a consistent design language among the automaker's vehicles.
Since automotive sales are in the toilet and the sour taste of high gas prices still lingers, the unfortunate timing of General Motors' long-awaited Chevy Camaro has the armchair quarterbacks fervently debating its long-term viability. This, despite the fact that upon its release the Camaro will offer a little something for almost everyone throughout its various trim levels, a courageous attempt by GM to boost the iconic car's sales. However, many devoted Camaro enthusiasts will still be left out in the cold. This in part due to the vehicle's starting price as well as the many additional luxuries that drag down the Camaro's power-to-weight ratio. No one wants to pay MSRP for a vehicle they intend to strip. That's why GM Performance Parts will be offering a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro body in white. As a result, budget Camaro racers won't have to wait 10 years for a discounted used chassis and large race teams won't necessarily break the bank building a replacement when the driver inevitably stuffs the wall.
The Camaro BIW package will be a full body assembly structure available through GM Peformance Parts for $7,000 beginning in the first quarter of 2009. The chassis will not contain a VIN number, so there will be no means for street registration, as the body in white is reserved for race teams only. An application must be submitted to GM Performance Parts for approval before any transaction occurs. Follow the jump to see the press release in full.
If you're a 2005-2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage owner, you may have wished you'd held out for the 2009 model which benefits from an extra 0.4-liters of displacement (up from 4.3- to 4.7-liters) and gains an extra 40 hp and 45 lb-ft of torque, along with some revised suspension tuning. The crew at Gaydon feels your pain and has begun offering a new performance package for the 4.3-liter model.
The kit includes a new induction system originally developed for the DBS that features a pair of toggling airbox valves that open at 5,500 rpm to bring more air into the engine. With the help of a revised ECU that optimizes ignition timing and recognizes higher octane fuels, output increases to 400 hp (20 extra ponies) and torque grows to 307 lb-ft.
The sports package developed for the 2009 model can also be retrofitted to the last generation Vantage and includes forged aluminum five-spoke wheels, upgraded springs and Bilstein dampers. Aston hasn't released pricing for the new performance pack, but we're sure it's less than trading in your old Vantage for the updated model.
Earlier this morning, United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger held a press conference in which he pointed the finger of blame back at Senate Republicans, particularly ones from Southern states in which many foreign-owned auto assembly plants are located, for the failed attempt last night to pass the Auto Rescue/Bailout Bill in the Senate. As we mentioned earlier, negotiations fell apart over the issue of wage parity, or what Senator Bob Corkey (R-Tenn.) called "competitive wages".
Gettelfinger claims the UAW was willing to make its wages and benefits competitive with those earned by non-union workers at transplant factories, but felt it must be done over time through the attrition of older, higher-paid workers and the hiring of new workers at a lower wage with less benefits. Despite this concession by the UAW, Senate Republicans demanded that wages and benefits be made competitive by what it calls an "arbitrary date", likely March 31, 2009.
It seems like a minor issue to stall such an important piece of legislation, which may lend credence to Gettelfinger's suspicion that the UAW was "set up" as a scapegoat by Senate Republicans who have it out for organized labor.
