Posts Tagged automatic transmission
The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
Posted by in Uncategorized on November 20, 2009
There’s a debate going on now with the few people who actually in the market for a new car; should I get a car that I want or get one that’s practical? Worse still is the choice of buying a domestic car versus an import. For many people this is a no brainer; they know exactly what kind of car they like, and some are so passionate about their car choices that to suggest something different for them is unconscionable. And buying a car from a maker that has been given government bailout money, is considered by some well, dumb. But I have a surprise for you, and yes it’s an American car made by an American company – the all new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.
Laugh all you want, but there’s a reason to my madness: For the first time in history, the base Camaro isn’t a model to ignore. The two other V-6s found in the current line of Detroit pony cars – Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger SE (240 and 250 hp, respectively) are good economical engines, but they don’t tear it up on the streets. The six-cylinder Mustang and Challenger exist because of their relatively good fuel economy. The base V-6-powered 2010 Camaro on the other hand? It’s going to be cheap, but it’s also going to be fast. And that isn’t just numbers talking.
The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro has more than enough power to handle any of its closest competitors. Car and Driver reviewers has proclaimed that “with a 304-hp, 3.6-liter V-6, the base Camaro is nearly as powerful as the Mustang GT,” which has an V-8 engine! Car and Driver also mentioned that the V-8 version of the Camaro, which is distinguished by the SS badging, gets “400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque” when paired with the automatic transmission. But the manual transmission gets “426 hp and 420 lb-ft”. I don’t think you’ll worry about responsiveness on the freeway anymore.
And the looks of it? As Cars.com states that, “though loosely styled after the 1969 Camaro, the 2010 model lacks the vintage look of the current Dodge Challenger or Ford’s 2005-09 Mustang.” Car and Driver also praises the 2010 Chevy Camaro for its “evocative, contemporary styling” that recalls it’s late-60s glory years but “thankfully misses being totally retro.” If you happen to see it out on the road, the Camaro’s looks will make it stand out, and not just because of the unmistakably loud exhaust sound.
While Chevrolet has by all accounts got the exterior design right, a number of reviewers aren’t as impressed with the interior, however. Cars.com reviewers found that the interior “looks more retro than the exterior” and that “the unique center controls may be off-putting for some.” Car and Driver says that some of the 2010 Camaro’s ergonomics are poorly designed, claiming that “as great as the high-mounted squircle-shaped gauges and cool center stack look, the script is tiny and the buttons can be ergonomically challenging in operation.” Other reviewers point out that the Camaro’s interior is too dark; Autoblog cautions that “the high beltline, low roof and black interior don’t let bundles of excess light to play within the cabin,” making a “somber” environment. Not everything about the interior is bad according to Automobile Magazine. It praises the Camaro’s instrument panel, stating that “the gauge and console layout is clean, tasteful, and modern.”
Despite the persistent doubts about the car industry, particularly about GM’s ability to deliver a quality product, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro scores on both counts with me. This Camaro doesn’t lead the rest of the pack for its features, but I do think it does offer a lot of value for the money. And these days, getting value for your money is what will spell success or failure for any business.
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2010 Toyota Venza V6
Posted by in Uncategorized on November 19, 2009
Recently, Tim Horton’s offered its Canadian customers the chance to win a Toyota Venza in the latest round of its “Roll Up The Rim To Win” contest. You know the drill: peel back the lip of your coffee cup and you could find yourself behind the wheel of Toyota’s newest crossover vehicle….apparently, 35 Venzas in total will be given away.
So what did you get if you were one of the lucky ones? I’m not sure, but it looks like a compact wagon with oversize wheels and tires, is available with all-wheel-drive, is manufactured in Kentucky, and built on the Camry platform.
There are two engine choices: a 2.7 litre four cylinder and a 3.5 litre V6, and you can choose from front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. My tester had the latter engine with FWD, but the former may be the largest in-line four-banger on the market these days. Normally, manufacturers run into all kinds of engineering issues when four cylinder engines get up into displacement this large….usually in the form of vibrations and harmonics. Big in-line four cylinder engines tend to rock and roll and often need internal counter-balancers to smooth everything out. I haven’t had the chance to drive the I-4 model yet, but I’d like to just to see how Toyota has dealt with this problem.
But back to the V6. This engine is used elsewhere in the company’s model line-up, and in this configuration, develops 268 horsepower. It’s mated to a six-speed automatic transmission only, and features things like a transmission cooler, adaptive shifting, and a Hill-Start Assist Control. This last item prevents the vehicle from rolling backwards when you’re stopped on a hill and has been used by Subaru for years, albeit in a slightly different form. It’s standard on all models. The adaptive shifting feature, meanwhile, will hold the transmission in a lower gear when climbing a hill under load as well as automatically dropping it down to a lower gear when descending. Also a common feature with many manufacturers these days, but welcome, just the same.
What struck me about this drivetrain was how lively it was. Despite its 1755 kilogram weight, the Venza is blessed with all kinds of snap and this engine redlines at 6200 rpm. Kick it down into passing gear and you’ve got a rocket on your hands, with maybe a titch in the way of torque steer when driven with enthusiasm. The V6 version can also tow up to 1587 kilograms and, like all Toyota V6 powerplants, is smooth, quiet, and civilized.
Reasonably high standard equipment level as well. For its just under $30, 000 base price, the V6 model comes with a climate control system, heated mirrors, tilt/telescoping steering, power adjustable driver seat, cruise control, power door locks, and a full tank of gas. All kinds of airbags to front, side, side curtain, and knee….front and back. Surprisingly, heated front seats are an option. My tester also had the “Premium” package, which includes a back-up camera, a decent-sized power sunroof, and power rear door.
The Venza seats five, and the back seats fold down 60/40 fashion, either via a couple of levers located on the sides of the rear cargo compartment or by pulling up on a lever on the sides of the seats themselves. Again, kind of cool and simplicity itself. So many vehicles of this stripe make you struggle when you want to open things up and I’m surprised someone hasn’t thought of this before. Full marks here.
In fact, there’s isn’t much to complain about inside, period. The shift lever is set halfway up the centre console and is easy to get at and quite usable. I was slightly surprised Toyota hasn’t installed a column shifter here, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference either way. A multi-information display is located atop the dash and it tells you things like outside temperature and whether or not one of the doors is ajar. You can also adjust the size of the display itself, which is kind of cool. After I had driven this car for awhile, it struck me how thoroughly Toyota has mastered the craft of making automobiles. I’m not sure the market needs a rig like the Venza, but either way, Toyota knows what customers want and gives it to them. In this case, I suppose the Venza is aimed at those folks who want a bit more room to carry stuff, but have had it with mini-vans and oversize SUVs.
Aside from the fact that the wheels look kind of freakishly large and the V6 is a little headstrong under hard acceleration, I can find little to complain about with the Venza. It’s easy to get in and out of, comfortable once you’ve settled in, reasonably roomy, and smooth in operation. Some may find the interior fittings a little on the bland side, but that’s not news. Toyota has always aimed for the middle ground and mainstream buyers; it knows its markets and the current economic downturn notwithstanding, has the numbers to prove it.
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2010 Honda Accord Crosstour First Drive – A Premium CUV
Posted by in Uncategorized on November 19, 2009
Styling is subjective, but we think the tall, wide-hipped Crosstour is reasonably attractive – save for its large, somewhat clunky horizontal-bar grille, which gives it a face unlike any other Honda’s. Inside, the look and feel are roomy, plush and user-friendly, with such touches as plush carpeting, rear-ventilation outlets in the console and double stitching on the available leather trim.
Honda’s new-for-2010 Accord-based crossover, unabashedly named Accord Crosstour. It is essentially an Accord wagon, except its rear roofline is aerodynamically sloped instead of squared off, which sacrifices some cargo room but preserves respectable backseat headroom even for six-footers. But please don’t call it that.
Is such a half-breed a car, or is it a truck? While some crossovers, especially the larger ones with three rows of seats, are more SUV-like, this one appears closer to a car. As far as government classification goes, the signals are mixed: for emissions and fuel economy testing, the EPA sees it as a passenger car. For safety certification, NHTSA calls it a truck.
Honda calls it a “five-door, five-passenger premium CUV” and offers it in two models: a well-equipped EX (just over $30,000, including destination) and an upscale EX-L (about $33K). “Real-time” four-wheel drive adds $1,450 and voice-activated navigation with a rear-view camera, another $2,200, but both are offered on the EX-L only.
Standard on the EX are dual-zone automatic air conditioning; 360-watt, 7-speaker audio with a 6-disc CD player; easy fold-down 60/40 split rear seats; 225/65 R17 all-season tires on alloy wheels; a power moonroof; steering-wheel audio controls; auto-off projector beam headlights; fog lights; rear privacy glass; and a hidden removable utility box.
The EX-L adds leather-trimmed seats (heated in front), steering wheel and shift knob; memory mirrors and driver-side seat; 225/60 R18 all-season tires; auto-on/off headlights; a cargo privacy cover; a HomeLink transmitter; premium speakers and a USB audio interface.
How much of this Crosstour is Accord under its skin? Honda says roughly 60 percent of its parts are shared with the sedan, including the chassis and powertrain, the instrument panel and most of the interior. That chassis incorporates fully independent double-wishbone front and rear-multilink rear suspensions, both slightly upgraded for the taller, heavier Crosstour. Notable among those upgrades are rebound springs inside the front shocks to improve handling and reduce body roll, two-piston front brake calipers and bigger rear rotors.
The only available powertrain is the Accord’s 271-hp 3.5-liter i-VTEC SOHC V-6 coupled to a five-speed automatic transmission. This award-winning engine uses Honda’s exclusive Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) cylinder deactivation system to enhance fuel economy by shutting down two, or at times even three, cylinders when it’s lightly loaded. The electronically controlled 5-speed automatic is smooth but slightly less fuel-efficient than the latest 6-speeds offered by GM, Ford and others. The 2WD Crosstour is EPA-rated at a respectable 18 city/27 highway mpg and the 4WD EX-L at 17/25.
The two interior color choices are charcoal black with a black instrument panel or ivory with a two-tone (black upper, tan lower) instrument panel, both with tasteful faux wood accents. To quiet the cabin, a new Active Sound Control (ASC) technology uses the audio system to acoustically minimize engine noise. There is 25.7 cu. ft. of cargo room behind the 60/40 rear seats; and, folding them down increases the area to 54 cu. ft. Access to it is easy thanks to a large tailgate opening and a low lift-over height. Three other handy features are twin levers that quickly fold those seats flat into the floor, carpeted lids that flip over to create easy-to-clean plastic surfaces and a hidden 1.9-liter storage box with handles for easy removal.
If you’ve driven an Accord sedan, you’ll feel comfortable in a Crosstour. Honda engineers have compensated well via specific spring rates, shocks and stabilizer bars; for its modestly increased size and the potential of added cargo weight. Unladen, it rides and handles about as well as the fairly agile yet compliant sedan. Its brakes are suitably strong and fade-free, but its constant-ratio steering is somewhat slower at low speeds compared to the sedan’s variable-ratio system.
With six inches of ground clearance, this is no off-road crawler, but the available fully automatic Real Time 4WD system improves its bad-weather and off-pavement capabilities by sending power to the rear wheels when the fronts begin to slip. The 5-speed automatic can be manually shifted, and its new downshift rev-match feature smooths manual downshifts.
Standard safety features include Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) electronic stability control and anti-lock brakes with electronic brake distribution and brake assist. The comprehensive restraint system includes dual-stage, multiple threshold front airbags; driver’s and front passenger’s side airbags with a passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS); side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor; and active front seat head restraints.
This new 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour slides neatly between Honda’s Civic-based CR-V compact crossover and its larger, more truck-like (Accord-based) Pilot CUV and competes directly with Toyota’s similar Camry based Venza and Nissan’s Altima-based Murano. Call it what you want but consider it a very interesting new entry in the increasingly crowded crossover field.
