Our friends at AutoBlog.com did us all a favor and covered the Woodward Dream Cruise in full force! Check out these great pics of muscle cars, classic cars and just about anything you might see on wheels. This is a long tradition that was in need of a comeback year and it looks like Woodward is back! The 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 is one of my favorites.
Every year, the muscle car is the most well-represented vehicle type at the Woodward Dream Cruise. And with good reason: These burly V8-powered steeds reinforce Detroit’s legend as the Motor City.
As we discussed in our post on Woodward’s classic cars, we’ve kinda sorta arbitrarily split American automotive history into two parts, using 1964 as the dividing line. Everything post-1964 is a muscle car… at least for our purposes. With that in mind, take a look at a bunch of classic Mustangs, Chevelles, Corvettes and, of course, Pontiac GTOs in our high-res image gallery below.
Every business person is familiar with the Lincoln Town Car, as practically every car service uses it as its base auto. The plush leather seats, roomy trunk and interior and super-smooth ride makes it a familiar oasis for trips through traffic.
This familiarity is about to be disrupted as Ford has decided to discontinue the Lincoln Town Car and the Ford Grand Marquis, another staple in fleet sales.
The Ford Crown Victoria served as the mainstay of taxi and police fleets. Its close cousin, the Lincoln Town Car, could reliably be found idling outside Lincoln Center or waiting to whisk a Wall Street type home for the evening.
But in a little more than a year, both models will go the way of the Checker cab. Ford Motor Company plans to shutter the Canadian plant that manufactures the cars and discontinue the recognizably bulky frame that gives them their shape.
That means the end for vehicles that have come to symbolize the full spectrum of New York life, from private black sedans purring on Park Avenue to the ubiquitous sight of the yellow cab, great equalizer of the varied urban tribe.
“These cars are a facet of people’s everyday experience,” said David Yassky, the city’s taxi commissioner. “Whatever takes their place will have a real and tangible influence on the city’s aesthetic.”
Passengers should prepare for a bumpier, more cramped ride. Forget roomy trunks that fit a French-door refrigerator; the older models are yielding to smaller gas-and-electric hybrid vehicles with knee-bumping back seats and flimsier frames.
The article might be overstating things a bit. Of course, the taxi business is changing rapidly in New York, and some of the new options are certainly more cramped. That said, the process of finding a new vehicle that’s roomy and offers better fuel efficiency should yield a solid replacement for the Crown Vic.
As for the luxury fleet car market, there should be plenty of options. The Lincoln Navigator has plenty of room as a large SUV, and there are plenty of larger luxury sedans that can be substituted for the Town Car. The new Lincoln MKS is a beast of an automobile, for example.
That said, we’re definitely seeing an end of an era. Ford wants to change the image of Lincoln, and they’ll never be able to do that by selling old Town Cars.
Some hot photos of the upcoming 2011 Mercedes Benz CLS for your viewing pleasure. Some readers may feel there is too much style to this car but I say this is right on the mark. The current model is almost smooth to the point that it was boring in a sense. With the new edgy styling with more aggressive headlights and more curves around the belt line we feel Mercedes some very intelligent moves with the 2011 CLS.
From InsideLine.com:
Due out late this year as a 2011 model, this heavily styled, newly edgy Mercedes-Benz CLS-class will replace the current coupe/sedan that’s so smooth it looks as if it was extruded out of something.
Follow the jump for more photos and information.
In the ebb and flow of car design, everything goes simple and smooth then all at once it goes all edgy and complicated. We are currently witnessing from Mercedes a move to edgy complication.
Once the Range Rover Design Q of England was finished with this already luxurious vehicle, it left with a drink chiller, cigar humidor, mini-spa center, elevated roof and a step through door. This Range Rover takes the good life to a whole new level.
From AutoGuide.com:
The whole term of VIP has really progressed over the last few decades. When it comes to automotive, there’s an entire VIP trend that outfits cars with a low-to-the-ground ride height and wildly aggressive wheels that poke beyond the fenders. This style, extremely popular in Japan, normally sees outfitted black vehicles with dark tint and even embroidered shades to conceal what’s inside.
But hey, if you’re out in the Middle East, VIP isn’t low to the ground or with privacy. VIP in the Middle East is taking a Range Rover and giving it wings, without the Red Bull. Design Q, a firm based in England, has done quite possibly the most outlandish luxury embellishment to a vehicle to date.
What comes to my mind here is “VW looks at making a great car even better”. The CC R-Line needs to be brought over to North America!
From AutoGuide.com:
Volkswagen has just announced the release of a new R-Line package for the sporty CC sedan in Europe. Available with all engine types, the R-Line trim delivers an aggressive aero kit including a new front lip and side skirts with R-Line logos. Out back, the taillights also get smoked. A set of 17-inch R-Line wheels with 235/45/17 tires are included, with an option to upgrade to 18s.
Other parts of the package include R-Line kick plates, sport seats, climate control, fog lights and a leather steering wheel with redundant controls.
Give Car and Driver credit for driving and testing a slew of cars to come up with the winners. It would suck not to have a car on the list if you’re Toyota! At this point in time they seem to be falling back in the pack when others like Ford, Mazda and VW keep climbing.
This year, for the 28th running of our annual 10Best competition, the rules were simple. First, we raised the price cap from $71,000 to $80,000 (roughly three times the average transaction price of a new car) in the belief that 80 grand is the current point of automotive excellence’s diminishing returns. Cars get more expensive than that, but they don’t get much better. More important, raising the cap makes eligible nominees in two other vital categories: luxo-sport GTs and luxury sedans. Never mind that only two new cars qualified (and one was about to be replaced in a few months, so we left it out).
What the common driver knows about tires could probably fill a napkin on one side: They’re round, black and you need four of them to make a car function.
But what the common driver doesn’t know about tires is what could save him or her in the long run. We’re talking both financially and in terms of safety for themselves and their passengers.
The Setup
When Michelin asked us to take part in an event to learn and test the new LTX M/S2 tires, we jumped at the opportunity. The original LTX M/S tire has been a long-time consumer favorite of Michelin’s and has remained at the top of its category for years. So we knew that if the company was going to expand and improve on the LTX M/S, then they had to be introducing a quality product.
For the event, Michelin sent me (along with several media members) to North Carolina and South Carolina for a complete presentation on the LTX M/S2 tire. And since the company stands by what they believe in, they also allowed us to take a three-hour drive through the winding hills of the Carolinas and also complete a series of field tests that weren’t just informative, but incredibly enjoyable as well.
Did I mention former NFL and Hall of Fame great Ronnie Lott was going to be there to lend his expertise on the LTX M/S2 tire, too?
As a proud Lincoln owner, I know that they’ve been making great cars for years. The LS was a great vehicle, and the new MKZ is a great sedan as well. The MKS, the new flagship vehicle, is a beast that would satisfy most Lexus buyers with its styling and performance. Now they’ve added the new MKT crossover (pictured above) to the mix.
Generation X, often referred to as the “slacker generation,” has shed that stereotype and now is a coveted consumer group at the top of its earning potential, Ford Motor Co. officials say.
With pockets flush with cash, consumers born between 1965 and 1976 are the target of Ford’s Lincoln brand, which is trying to reinvent itself after years of giving ground in the profitable luxury segment.
“We have an aging owner body, and we have the ability to move it in the right direction and get younger,” Matt VanDyke-marketing communications director, tells Ward’s at a recent media event here.
“To think we could flip over and get young 20-somethings into a luxury product at this point and consider Lincoln is something that I think is too much of a stretch,” he says.
Lincoln brass spent considerable time determining the unique makeup of Gen Xers, which VanDyke defines as being in their mid-30s to mid-40s. Unlike traditional luxury buyers, these consumers don’t want to appear “ostentatious.” Rather, they are “folks that are time-starved and look at luxury as something that makes their life simple and easier.”
How are they approaching this? One is an emphasis on technology. The design of the cars evokes a high-tech feeling that bears little resemblance to older Lincolns, yet it’s not as edgy as the recent Cadillac designs so boomer buyers should feel comfortable as well. The other part of the strategy involves music. The campaign’s TV spots feature music that the Gen X group finds nostalgic. The ad for the Lincoln MKS features a remake of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” while the ad for the Lincoln MKT uses a version of the 1980s classic “Under the Milky Way,” by Australian alternative rock band The Church. Check out a clip of the video below.
The strategy makes sense. I remember the Cadillac ad several years ago featuring the Led Zeppelin song. Music can help to reposition a brand, so Lincoln seems to be on the right track.
As you can see from this photo, the 2010 Jaguar XJ is a gorgeous car. The company seems committed to bold, new designs, and even the official Jaguar web site is beautifully designed.
Reactions are coming in from the auto press. Car and Driver proclaims, “At last, a Jaguar XJ that doesn’t resemble the one that came before. And before. And before.”
The current XJ, on sale since 42 AD, is a bloated attempt to pack modern luxury into an outdated design. If this shot is anything to go by, the 2010 Jaguar XJ isn’t. Hallelujah.
Jaguar released this image to coincide with the Shanghai Auto Show, but the car itself will actually be unveiled on the Queen’s soil on July 9th. Available with the pictured panoramic glass roof, a long or short wheelbase, A Europe-only V6 diesel or Jag’s usual selection of 5.0-liter V8s; the supercharged 2010 Jaguar XJR will produce 510 HP. Sales should start at the end of 2009.
The New York Timesreported today on the unveiling of the new Jaguar today.
Jaguar has two emblems, and each is a version of its totemic animal. Their informal names, the Leaper and the Growler, suggest two aspects of the British company’s tradition. The Leaper is a long, lithe cat, usually seen as a hood ornament; it signifies feline grace. The Growler is a full-frontal cat face, its teeth bared aggressively; it represents raw power.
The Growler may be supplanting the Leaper at Jaguar, to judge from the company’s redesigned and radically different flagship sedan, the XJ, which was unveiled in London on Thursday.
The new XJ replaces a sedan — or saloon, as the British charmingly call it — whose basic shape had not changed since 1968. The old car’s proportions were like nothing else still on the road; it appeared as long and stately as its bloodline.
“The XJ completes the family,” Ian Callum, Jaguar’s design director, said in a telephone interview before the unveiling. The big sedan carries out design themes that Mr. Callum introduced on the 2007 XK sports car and on the 2009 XF midrange sedan.
Jaguar also has a new owner, Tata Motors of India, which bought the marque, along with Land Rover, from Ford last year. Jaguar’s ill-fated venture into cheaper cars, with the X-Type line based on the Ford Mondeo, is history. And in recent years Jaguar has vastly improved its ratings in consumer quality and satisfaction surveys by J. D. Power & Associates and others.
The new sedan has a Growler, not a Leaper, on the front. “Aggressive” is the word Mr. Callum kept using to describe the design. “We want Jaguars to be noticed again,” he said.
Kudos to Tata Motors and Mr. Callum on an elegant but powerful design worthy of this great brand.
Every year, the muscle car is the most well-represented vehicle type at the Woodward Dream Cruise. And with good reason: These burly V8-powered steeds reinforce Detroit’s legend as the Motor City.
