End of an era - SSR production ends

Autoblog clued us into this tidbit. After 3 years of production, itself years after showing an identical concept car that wowed the crowds at the Detroit auto show...Chevrolet has pulled the plug on SSR production.

Built on a modified Trailblazer chassis, and initially powered by a 5.3l V-8 and 4-speed automatic and later by a 6.0l 400hp V-8 and an optional 6-speed manual - it just never caught on with buyers.

Still it was a great cruising car/truck/thing...

Chevy SSR production comes to an end - Autoblog

V8 Archie Pontiac Solstice

V8 Archie, famous hot-rodder of Pontiacs (previously, he focused on stuffing small-blocks into Fieros) has started working his magic on the new Pontiac Solstice.

For approximately 14-15k you can have him build you a 350-400hp Solstice. He's looking for a few folks willing to have him do the conversion at his Chicago area shop in order to make a video to go with the kit version of this swap as you will see in pages 12+ of this thread from the SolsticeForum.com.

Corvette power, 400+ lbs lighter, all for as low as 35k...all I can say is 'wow!'

Take a Solstice apart with Archie - Pontiac Solstice Forum

Autoshow Season - What's up in New York

Media days for the New York Auto Show are planned for April 12-13, 2006. There should be an exciting slate of debuts on tap this year. Here's what we know to expect so far:

Acura MDX - 2nd generation of Acura's mid-sized cross-over SUV

Audi TT - brand new 2nd generation Audi coupe and convertible

Buick LaCrosse Special with V-8 power

Jeep Patriot - the Jeep traditionalists' version of the Jeep Compass. Expect the same powertrains, but very likey a more hard-core off-road setup with a likely low-range transfer case.

Jeep Wrangler 4-door - the new and first ever 4-door version of the Jeep Wrangler

Nissan Altima (a good chance a hybrid version will be announced offically as well)

Saturn Aura - the new flagship sedan from Saturn. Based on the Epsilon chassis and with Cadillac's 3.6l V-6 in its top model.

Saturn Sky Redline - identical (except for minor details) to the Geneva show debuted Opel GT, meaning 260hp 2.0l Ecotec with direct injection. I want one.

Saturn Outlook - large cross-over SUV on the same brand-new Lambda chassis as the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia.

Scion Fuse coupe concept - some are saying this might preview a new addition to the Scion line to replace the late Toyota Celica, others are saying it is a concept only. Only time will tell.

More as we hear it...

Autoshow Season - Dodge Hornet

Well, this answers that question.

Ever since the BMW group resurrected the Mini Cooper, people have been conjecturing what DaimlerChrysler will do to counter.

There have been suggestions that a version of the Mercedes A-Class might be the answer. Others have suggested that a variant of the Smart brand's cars would do the trick.

Also, there have been suggestions that any answer would have to be sold through an existing Chrysler group brand in the US in order to not sully Mercedes inexplicably high reputation in this country.

Well, in one fell swoop, we have answers to all of these questions with the Dodge Hornet concept.

A B-Class (this is a size designation equivalent to the US 'subcompact' - not a Mercedes class a-la C-Class, S-Class, etc.) vehicle that looks like a much more modern and in many ways 'angrier' Mini Cooper.

Powered by a supercharged 1.6l 4-cylinder (hmmm, where have I seen that configuration before?)...and seating 4.

Expect this car in the next 2 years to help Dodge expand into the very popular B-Class in Europe and likely be released in North America to go head-to-head with entry-level vehicles from Chevrolet (Aveo), Honda (Fit), Toyota (Yaris), Nissan (Versa), etc. Dodge does appear ready to maintain its performance image by making a supercharged, SRT-ish variant available to go against the Cooper S.

Looks like Mini isn't going to be the only game in town much longer.

Autoshow Season - Opel GT

GM unveiled the third variant of their new Kappa small rear-drive chassis at the Geneva auto show...or did they?

Since Opel and Saturn are now closely linked, it should come as no surprise that the Opel GT (a name we haven't seen since the 70's 2-seat coupe that Opel once sold in the the US) is little more than a Saturn Sky. Only this time with the Solstice GXP's turbo 2.0l Ecotec 4-cylinder (making this a twin to the Saturn Sky Redline - which GM will likely officially announce at the New York autoshow in April).

Opel GT prices start at 29,900 Euros.

Autoshow Season - Uh oh! Toyota's new Tundra

Detroit...we have a problem. Where Nissan dared tread, but did so with a funky looking full-size that didn't appeal to the die-hard full-sized truck buyer...Toyota has aimed at exactly what these buyers want and delivered.

Amazing what being profitable does for your ability to bring out a product as broad of scope as a full-sized pickup in the domestic makers' vein. The new Tundra will be available with 3 engines (4.0l V-6, 4.7l V-8, and a new 5.7l V-8 of unspecified hp and torque - but expected to be the most powerful V-8 in any full-sized pickup). Towing capacity is stated to be up to 10000 lbs.

Inside is a stylish, functional, and otherwise typical Toyota car-like interior with a heavy layer of butch added to make it appeal to the buyers of competing full-sizers.

In case you were wondering how this new, bigger Tundra stacks up against its competition...here's how it looks to us (stats are currently only available for the Tundra 4x4 crew-cab - so that's what we used to put together this chart). We ignored the Dodge Ram Mega-Cab since that beast is a class of its own (we used the 4x4 quad-cab instead).

	Toyota Tundra	Nissan Titan	Ford F-150	Chevy Silverado	Dodge Ram
Length	228.7	224.2	235.8	230.2	227.7
Width	79.9	78.8	78.9	78.5	79.6
Height	76.4	76.7	76.0	78.5	76.5
Wheelbase	145.7	139.8	150.5	143.5	140.5
Bed Length	78.7	67.1	78.8	69.2	76.3
Bed Width	65.0	63.8	-	61.9	66.4
Width between wheelwells	50.0	-	50.0	50.0	51.0
Bed Depth	22.3	19.9	22.2	19.5	20.2

Unfortunately, it remains to be seen exactly how the interior room, hp, fuel economy, and other stats (like price) stack up against the competition.

Autoshow Season - Lincoln Navigator and MKZ

At this year's Chicago Auto Show, Lincoln had a couple announcements.

First up, is further proof that Lincoln is committed to an alpha-naming system for their cars. So much so, that the just released Lincoln Zephyr is the Zephyr no more. Now, we have the Lincoln MKZ. Stylistic changes appear to be slight, if any, to go along with the new name.

Announced, however, was the future availability of all-wheel drive and Ford's 3.5l V-6 that packs 250hp (and more torque than the 3.0l that is standard in the Zephyr...er...MKZ).

Now, with all this alpha-naming goodness, you'd be sure that the new Navigator would be something like the MKN or some such. Well, Lincoln's having none of that. Showing that they have no nerve to go their own way, they are keeping the Navigator name - as if to say 'Cadillac kept Escalade, can we keep Navigator, huh? huh?'

Navigator packs mostly the enhancements we've come to know and love from the Expedition (in standard and EL) trim. In a move that further shows Lincoln's lack of trend-setting-ness, we have the new Navigator ESV (er...L). It's heartwarming to see Ford getting hay from canceling the Excursion just to replace it with not 1 but 2 extra-big SUV's ain't it?

Interior styling on the Nav carries forward Lincoln's retro-70's styling theme with square gauges and switches that seem somehow reminiscent of buttons I haven't seen since the early 80's.

And, as if to answer my MKX post where I hammered Lincoln for using the new cheesegrater style grill there and there alone (even beside a MKS concept sedan that had a grill like that on the Zephyr)...we now have the mother of all cheesegrater grills on the new Navigator. Whether Ford will have the nerve to carry this grill to the MKZ and the upcoming MKS flagship remains to be seen.

Autoshow Season - Dodge Caliber SRT-4

Okay, let's cover the most important bases first...

300hp
260lb*ft
2.4l (not the 2.4 that was in the Neon SRT-4)
6-speed manual
Limited slip diff
19" wheels
Front drive
3 hood scoops
and...
We don't know the price yet.

The price is probably a close held secret since it looks like this is not going to be the inexpensive pocket-rocket the Neon based SRT-4 was.

On the standard equipment list are things like:

Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
Brake Assist (system that gives you max braking if you hit the brakes partially but quickly - like in a panic stop)
Front, Front Knee, Side, and Head airbags
Backup-Assist system
Power adjustable pedals
Keyless entry
Seatbelt pre-tensioners
'Smartbeam' headlights that adjust their light to ambient lighting
Tire pressure monitor