An Open Letter to Jim Wangers

Nobody asked me but . . .


Jim Wangers
389 Wide Track Blvd
Pontiac, Michigan 14032

Dear Jim,

I’m sure you’re enjoying your retirement. But GM needs you . . . again.

Here’s a news alert hot off the Automotive News website regarding Chevrolet:

"General Motors will put the Chevrolet Camaro sports car into production in late 2008, and put it on sale in early 2009, CEO Rick Wagoner said today.

The Camaro will closely resemble the concept car unveiled in January at the Detroit auto show, Wagoner said.

The new Camaro will be a rear-wheel-drive car with ??independent rear suspension.?? The car's styling work is being done in the United States, while the rear-drive platform is being engineered in Australia, Wagoner said. Buyers will have a choice of V-6 and V-8 engines, and manual and automatic transmissions."

Blame me for the double question marks around independent rear suspension.

I’d bet that Pontiac didn’t talk to you before they introduced the latest Pontiac GTO. You know. The one from Australia with the bland styling and the fuzzy image. The one that is quietly disappearing off the Pontiac order sheets because of total disinterest by the buying public. Is there anyone at Pontiac who even knows what GTO stands for?

I know you weren’t a Chevy guy. But you are a Car Guy and Chevy is in need of your assistance. Desperately. They are about to do a “Pontiac.”

Help Chevy to remember that three of the reasons customers love muscle cars is because they “Go fast, waste gas and kick ass.

Okay, these days you would be persona non gratia at any auto company if you even hinted that wasting gas was a good thing. And I agree totally. But, hey. Two outta three ain’t half bad these days. In fact, my K&E would have that “half bad” slide-ruled out to 66.666666666%. Which, I think you’ll agree, is better than 50%.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention one of the other reeeeealy important reasons for the muscle cars’ success: Bang for the Buck! Ford got it right with the new Mustang—300 ponies for under $25 grand when it was introduced in 2005.

Chevy’s thinking is already on the wrong side of the road when they start mentioning features such as independent rear suspension for the Camaro. What’s next? A nav system, stability control, wood trim, an electronic parking aid?

The working acronym should be KISS not MI$$!

The only GM sporty car that needs IRS is called the Corvette. If GM wants to copy a failed model, they need look no farther than Oh Dearborn and the last Mustang Cobra.

The only hue and cry for independent rear suspension on a Camaro will come from those who have never driven a real Camaro, never heard of Mark Donohue and only read (and believe) what all their other friends read (and believe) about IRS being God's gift to handling.

Lord knows you can’t make anything with carburetors and solid axles go fast or handle these days. Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr.

There, I got that off my chest and I feel better.

Thanks for your help, Jim.

Sincerely,
The Carmudgeon

PS I have a free 2008 495 bhp Pontiac GTO and a Bridge in Brooklyn to the writer of the best response, for or against, Chevy’s Camaro design philosophy. Me? I’m hoping Rick Wagoner’s words are pure spec-ulation, because I’m not feelin’ e-lation.

See VT or CVT?

Nobody asked me but . . .

See VT or CVT?

One is an advertising campaign for visiting Vermont. The other is a type of transmission.

Do you know the difference? Do you care?

Well you should.

If you are in the market for a new car these days, you could be purchasing a CVT, which stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. What exactly is a CVT and how does it work? Here is a basic primer courtesy of the folks at Edmunds.com.

Although there are different variations on the CVT theme, most passenger cars use a similar setup. Essentially, a CVT transmission operates by varying the working diameters of the two main pulleys in the transmission. 
The pulleys have V-shaped grooves in which the connecting belt rides. One side of the pulley is fixed; the other side is moveable, actuated by a hydraulic cylinder. When actuated, the cylinder can increase or reduce the amount of space between the two sides of the pulley. This allows the belt to ride lower or higher along the walls of the pulley, depending on driving conditions, thereby changing the gear ratio. If you think about it, the action is similar to the way a mountain bike shifts gears, by "derailing" the chain from one sprocket to the next — except that, in the case of a CVT, this action is infinitely variable, with no "steps" between. 


There is one other type of CVT which the Edmunds folks don’t mention. That would be the electronic CVT, which is used on virtually all full hybrids, such as those from Toyota/Lexus and Ford. They are even simpler and more elegant designs than the mechanical CVTs used in most other automotive applications.

The "stepless" nature of its design is a CVT's biggest draw for automotive engineers. Because of this, a CVT can work to keep the engine in its optimum power range, thereby increasing efficiency and gas mileage, especially in city driving. A CVT can convert every point on the engine's operating curve to a corresponding point on its own operating curve.
CVTs have been around for a long time . . . they date back to the 1880s. But I first heard about them in the 1960s when Daf, a Dutch automaker, introduced the transmission on some of its small, low-powered models. And I do mean low-powered. Because of limitations in the area of the materials used for the rubber belts, the engines used with these early CVTs were limited to around 1.2 liters or less.
The diminutive Subaru Justy, which was sold in the U.S. from 1989 through 1993 was offered with a CVT. There wasn’t much Justy-fication for a CVT in that tiny Subaru, but today, you’ll find CVTs handling more than 250 bhp and more than 250 lb-ft of torque hooked up to various Nissan and Audi models.
In fact, current conventional CVTers include the Ford Five Hundred and Freestyle, Mercury Montego, Audi A4 and A6, Nissan Murano, Maxima and the upcoming Versa and the Dodge Caliber.
And I’ll leave you with these questions. CVT or no CVT? Would you buy one? If you own one, do you like it? If not, why not?

My inquisitive mind would like to know.

2006 Honda S2000

Nobody asked me but . . .

About six months after the launch of the Honda S2000 back in 2000, I was chatting on the phone with Kim Baker. Yes, that Kim Baker of Bakeracing. Corvette constructor and racer extraordinaire. Kim mentioned he was importing, building and selling some Super 7 kit cars and that one of the engines he really liked was the 2.0-liter from the Honda S2000.

Kim lives in a rather unpopulated area of Massachusetts. Great if you love driving on two-lane twisties but not convenient for grocery getting. I mentioned having tested a S2000 recently and that the handling seemed like it wasn’t as well sorted out as I expected from Honda.

Kim laughed and replied, “Yeah, it’s a little loose on the rear end. I can buy a lot of those cars really cheap at auction. It’s always the back ends that are smashed up. Almost all of them are ‘totaled’ by the insurance companies. But the engines are practically brand new.”

Spool forward six years. The current S2000 hasn’t changed much in appearance, but in other ways it’s both bigger and smaller. Bigger in displacement: from an original 2.0 liters up to 2.15 liters. Honda calls it a 2.2 liter, but the displacement is really only 2157 cc.

Smaller in horsepower as in 237 bhp versus an original 240. But in this instance less is more because the loss of those three ponies results in peak power occurring at 7800 rpm instead of 8300 and a useful increase in torque from 153 lb-ft @ 7500 rpm up to 162 lb-ft at a lower 6800 rpm. Which, from the standpoint of all-around engine drivability makes for a less frenetic revving experience. The engine has a lot more usable torque at lower rpm, so you feel less like you are driving a car that has been tuned solely for the race track. The new less anti-social S2000 is much more streetable. And recognizing how many drivers lack even a modicum of social graces these days, that’s not such a bad thing.

But fear not. The S2000 still fills your ears with a cacophony of Formula-1 sounds when you rev it, even if the redline is a lower 8000. It’s also faster. And don’t forget the “turbo” kick you feel as the revs zip pass the 6000 rpm sound barrier, a result of the engine’s VTEC (Variable Valve-Timing and Lift Electronic Control) technology that switches the engine into hyper-drive to provide max power and efficiency at both low and high engine speeds.

A succinct description of the gear box would include: Formula-car-like in its precision, unbeatable synchros, short throws, perfect ratio splits, best in any road car. In other words, I like it a lot. And it’s mated to pedals that are perfectly positioned and weighted for precise heel-and-toe downshifts.

2004 was the year Honda added the longer-stroke motor and re-tuned the S2000’s suspension to tame that aforementioned oversteer. This year Honda incorporates electronic tuning into the suspension in the form of VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist). Working in concert with a drive-by-wire throttle, VSA continuously monitors yaw rate, steering input, throttle input, and braking pressure to determine if the car is following the driver's intended path, and can independently coordinate each of the disc brakes through the 4-channel anti-lock brake system, along with the throttle, to enhance vehicle stability.

The weather during the week I drove the S2000 alternated from wet to dry and, candidly, VSA makes the S2000 more stable and forgiving than ever in inclement weather conditions. But it also negatively impacts the car’s dry pavement “fun factor.” The good news is that the system can be disabled with the touch of a button when conditions warrant it.

The S2000’s brakes, steering and suspension are all designed to keep you in intimate contact with the road you are traversing. The brakes quickly and controllably suck off speed when required, allowing you to go deep into the pedal before ABS initiates. The steering is ideally weighted, linear and precise, providing direct communication with the pavement. Precise and predictable handling, wet and dry, are aided and abetted by the S2000’s Bridgestone Potenza RE050s, 215/45R17s up front and 245/40R17s at the rear.

The ride is sports car firm but the roadster’s structure is very rigid so shakes and rattles are held to a minimum. However, I did detect a tendency for the outside rear to kick back under power and with aggressive cornering on a rough surface. I’d guess a mild retuning of the rear shocks would resolve this issue.

I’m not large by American standards, standing only 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 145 pounds, so the S2000s smallish cockpit fits me perfectly. But I can appreciate that taller and heavier drivers might have a problem fitting comfortably. For me the seats were great. The steering wheel does not adjust but it was perfect except for the stitches that dig into my thumbs when I grip the wheel at the “proper” 9- and 3-o’clock positions.

Controls are logical and well placed. Instruments are all electronic with a Formula 1-inspired bar graph tachometer that sweeps through an arc of around 115 degrees and a digital speedo. Storage space is at a premium, both in the cockpit and the truck, so pack accordingly.

The power top works easily. I’m not convinced it needs power, but at a MSRP of a tad more than $34,000, about $10 grand more than a Miata MX-5 (Don’t call it a Miata anymore!), maybe Honda designers figured it was called for. In any case don’t bother with the tonneau cover Honda has provided for covering the top when it is stowed. It is frustratingly difficult to install properly and consumes virtually all of the boot space when the top is up.

These few annoyances aside, the S2000 is a sports car lover’s joy. It retains the purity of the sports car driving experience that we cherish in its predecessors from the Sixties and Seventies combined with amenities—proper heating and air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and door locks, airbags, power steering, and the like—that are de rigueur on any car these days, sports car or otherwise. So it’s modern but also memorable. In other words, a keeper.

Connecting DC Electrics (Not what you think,), little GEMs, Matra (The French Connection), Road & Track and Saddam Hussein . . . Just for the El of it

Nobody asked me but . . .
Are you aware that a few years ago DaimlerChrysler bought an electric vehicle company called GEM (Global Electric Motorcars) because by selling a glorified golf cart DaimlerChrysler accrued emissions credits in California that allowed the company to continue to market conventional vehicles in the state?

Okay, I’m being a little cavalier here. (And don’t forget a Cavalier is a small Chevy, not a DC automobile. And a “little cavalier” would be a very small car indeed.)

And doesn’t DaimlerChrysler have the best abbreviation for the name of an automaker doing an electric car short of AC Delco?

Zero emissions GEM vehicles provide clean, quiet, efficient, affordable and (mildly) fun-to-drive transportation. I have driven various 2- and 4-seater GEMs around the beach city of Santa Monica, California. They are limited to a top speed of less than 25 mph so that certain safety features required of “real cars” don’t have to be installed. As an alternative to conventional vehicles, a GEM does have an impact on air quality.

Over 30,000 GEM vehicles have been produced and distributed across the United States and internationally, and they are in use in settings such as city centers, master planned and beach communities, rural areas, military bases, local, state and national parks, industrial developments, airports and college and university campuses.

In fact, if you are a car guy, you might be interested in this factoid: DaimlerChrysler is partnering with Matra Manufacturing and Services to market all-electric GEM vehicles in France. I’d assume it’s a division of the Matra car company, famous for its open-wheel race cars and 12-cylinder racing engines and a three-across (it’s French remember) Matra Bagheera sports car that I tested in France during the 1970s.

Here’s a short sound bite of Matra history from Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia: Mécanique Avion TRAction or Matra was mainly a French aerospace concern which took over the Rene Bonnet racing car company in 1962. At the time Rene Bonnet was building a sports car called the Djet and Matra took this over. Sales were slow and in October 1964 it was decided by one of Matra's directors, Jean-Luc Lagardere, that the company should use motor sport to advertise its products. In October 1964 he established Matra Sports. Initially Matra used Cosworth and BRM engines but funding from Elf in 1967 enabled Matra to begin work on the construction of a 3-liter V12 engine for Formula 1.

My discussion now becomes even more convoluted and personal . . . but stay with me here, because you might find the following interesting, entertaining and mildly amusing.

In the early 1990s a French publisher, Hachette, known worldwide for a women’s magazine, Elle, purchased the U.S. magazine group then owned by Diamandis Communications, but earlier spun off from CBS Publications.

There is no truth to the rumor that executives of CBS Publications, based in New York City, thought that Elle was short for “elevated” a term associated with subways that ran on elevated tracks.

Remember the Third Avenue El? It was memorialized in a poem that I had to memorize during a sophomore college English course. The author, whose name I have forgotten (Surely someone out there in WheelsTV Land must remember!), waxed poetically about “a Nipponized piece of the old Third Avenue El,” a reference to the fact that the elevated line had been torn down and sold as scrap iron to the Japanese who turned around and fired it back at us during WW II. Isn’t it amazing (and amusing) what one remembers from college?

It turns out my unknown poet took some broad poetic license in his poem.

Thanks again to Wikipedia, I can now share with you the rest of the story. In the 1940s, as part of the integration of the different subway companies in New York City, the Third Avenue El and its counterparts on Second, Sixth, and Ninth Avenues came under criticism from New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and his successors. The Els were regarded as blights to their communities and obsolete, given that subways were being built, or were on the drawing board, to replace them.

The IND Sixth Avenue Line and the IND Eighth Avenue Line did render the Sixth and Ninth Avenue Els obsolete. Except for a small shuttle service for the Polo Grounds on the Ninth Avenue Line, the Sixth and Ninth Avenue Els were closed by 1940 and demolished by 1941. Whether any portions of these two lines made their way to Japan before war broke out in December 1941, I have not been able to determine. The Second Avenue El was also gradually demolished from 1940 to 1942, leaving only the Third Avenue El, which was closed in sections from 1950 to 1973.

If you are a film buff you might remember seeing the Third Avenue El's in the 1947 film The Lost Weekend, in which a desperate Ray Milland struggles down Third Avenue, looking for a pawnbroker to hock his typewriter, desperate for money for another drink.

In the 1992 remake of that movie, a buff Arnold Schwarzenegger hocks his desktop computer, desperate for money to join the local Jack LaLanne health club.

Okay. Where was I? Right. Matra, Elle and Lagardere. The flagship of the Diamandis magazines was Road & Track, a magazine I worked for at the time. Jean-Luc Lagardere of Matra was one of the key investors that funded the Hachette organization in America. (There is also the sneaking suspicion that Saddam Hussein also had money in Hachette, but that’s a story for another time.)

And don’t me started (plug for electric vehicles to come) on why this somewhat convoluted piece of automotive past-, present- and future-think doesn’t include something on Carmen Electra. If I cogitate for more than a nanosecond, it just might . . . just for the El of it!