Rblprd’s Blog

For those unlucky few who have to replace their own batteries, the cost is coming down. On June 1 Honda is slashing the cost of its batteries from $3,400 (excluding installation) to as low as $1,968 on an Insight or as high as $2,440 on an Accord hybrid. Toyota also plans to substantially cut battery prices, which now stand at $3,000 (excluding installation), down from $5,500 on the original Prius. Both automakers attribute the price cuts to improved technology and lower production costs. But some analysts think Toyota and Honda are really trying to get ahead of consumer concerns about battery replacement. "PR is a very important factor in the hybrid market," says J.D. Power's Omotoso. "Honda and Toyota have the oldest hybrids on the road. And when a hybrid gets to be that old, you have to factor battery replacement costs into your purchase decision."

ROADandTRACK.com --- First Drives - First Drive: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 (4/2008)
First Drive: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
Firing yet another '60s' retro-rocket, Chrysler launches its Mustang/Camaro foil.

By Patrick Hong
April 2008

Cresson, Texas — When Chrysler announced in 2006 that it would produce a modern-day version of the 1970s' Dodge Challenger muscle car, it drew much interest from the public. Back then, the Challenger's long hood, short deck and wide stance, coupled with a powerful engine that could generate clouds of tire smoke on demand, etched a permanent image in the minds of pony-car enthusiasts.

When Chrysler invited us to drive a mechanically correct Challenger SRT8 prototype, we jumped at the chance. And when officials asked us to wear a helmet and a firesuit for the drive, we knew we were in for some serious thrills on the track. That is, until Mother Nature decided to pour rain on our stint at the Texas MotorSport Ranch racetrack. Going off the track in these million-dollar prototypes was not an option. But thankfully, we still got to sample the new Challenger's track performance between rain showers and at places where the track was dry.

The new Challenger SRT8 is derived from its brother, the Charger SRT8, with a shorter overall length and wheelbase. Front and rear tracks are the same, but the Challenger's ride height is slightly lower (by 0.7 in.) and its ground clearance a touch higher (by 0.4 in.). The front A-arm and rear multilink suspension setup is retained in the new car, and though bushings are unchanged, unique coil spring rates and Bilstein monotube shocks are installed for optimized ride and handling characteristics. The vented Brembo 4-piston brakes (with 14.2-in. front rotors and 13.8-in. rears) and ABS have been improved to enable quicker reaction to driver input.

The same 425-bhp 6.1-liter Hemi V-8 found in the Charger SRT8 also powers the Challenger SRT8. Mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission with Auto-Stick, the engine delivers 420 lb.-ft. of torque, put to the asphalt via all-season rear P255/45R-20 tires (Goodyear F1 Supercar tires are optional). According to the factory, 0–60-mph sprints can be clocked in the low 5-second range, with the quarter-mile trap triggered in the mid-13s. A top speed of 160 mph can be reached without breaking a sweat.

For the designers, maintaining the classic Challenger exterior was of great importance. HID headlights lead the way up front with a functional hood scoop. Dodge's current crosshair grille is absent to retain the car's original 1970s' style. Around the side, the strong rear fenders support a short deck for that muscle-car look. The production version now sports a B-pillar for more rigidity where the concept had a hardtop look. Aerodynamic elements such as the chin splitter with integrated brake cooling ducts have been installed to ensure proper handling balance at speed without compromising the car's classic overall shape. Inside, modern features such as carbon-fiber trim on the steering wheel mix with the more vintage-styled, chrome-accented 4-ring instrument cluster.

Tuned especially for the Challenger SRT8, the Hemi V-8 emits a throaty note when brought to life. On the track, there is plenty of available torque for acceleration out of corners. It is eager to flex its muscle and lay down its power progressively. There is no manual transmission with a pistol-grip shifter as in Challengers of yore, but the 5-speed automatic shifts quickly and smoothly when you are hard on the throttle. However, through corners where traction is low and the car requires careful throttle modulation, the transmission seems to hesitate between gears.

On deceleration, the Challenger's brakes feel firm and positive when slowing the estimated 4140-lb. vehicle. On turn-in, the SRT8 reacts to driver input with composure, though the steering could benefit from more road feel. Chrysler engineers tell us that the Challenger's ride tuning is a touch softer than that of the Charger SRT8, but more firm than the Chrysler 300C's. The result is a ride that has good compliance, especially over the bumps on the track.

Eager customers who have already placed their orders in December could choose black, silver or Hemi orange for their Challenger SRT8, and can expect to take delivery this spring. The MSRP is listed at $37,995, including destination charge. The first run of SRT8s will be limited, with each car bearing a numbered plaque on the dash. For those who miss the chance to burn rubber with the SRT8, there will be a complete and broader range of Challenger models available in the near future.

ROADandTRACK.com -- Road Tests - Road Test: 2008 smart fortwo (3/2008)
Road Test: 2008 smart fortwo
Europe's city car comes to America, three pistons gnashing away. Is it a good fit?

By Andrew Bornhop • Photos by Guy Spangenberg
March 2008

2008 smart fortwo

Is this some sort of cruel joke, having the largest guy on staff (all 6 ft. 4 in. of me) write the road test of the smallest production car we've ever tested? If so, it didn't work. Interior space is far from a problem in the smart fortwo; rather, it's one of the new city car's strong points. Built at a Daimler-owned factory in France, the smart fortwo is a model of packaging efficiency, able to comfortably accommodate two large adults and a couple of suitcases in a tidy overall package that's 39.5 in. shorter than a Mini. Parked nose to tail, two smarts take up less space than a Chevy Suburban. That's short, and the upright car is about as tall (60.7 in.) as it is wide (61.4 in.).

If the smart looks familiar to you, it should. It's been on sale for nearly a decade in Europe, and it has proven to be popular in places like Rome and Paris where they can be parked perpendicular to traffic on the sides of narrow city streets. That probably won't be allowed in the U.S., where the mildly restyled and slightly larger second-generation fortwo went on sale in January at approximately 70 smart centers across the nation, most in large cities and affiliated with a Mercedes dealer.

So, is the U.S. ready for the innovative smart, with its cute styling, tiny footprint and fuel-efficient 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine? Let's find out.

On the road, the smart — with its sturdy exoskeleton-style chassis, strut front suspension and semi-independent U-shaped De Dion rear axle — doesn't feel toyish or like a golf cart. It's clearly well engineered, and the high seating position and large windshield make the car seem almost conventional...provided you keep looking forward and forget about how close you are to the back bumper. The smart cruises on the freeway at 65 mph with good stability and ease, its rear-mounted Mitsubishi-built inline-3 humming along quietly at 3250 rpm and its rack-and pinion steering exhibiting a strong self-centering tendency. The ride is firm, not overly so, though lacking some compliance.

Around town, we love the tight turning radius and ability to park just about anywhere. But the urban environment also brings to light the car's main flaw — its 5-speed "automated manual" gearbox, which can shift on its own or be shifted via paddles behind the steering wheel. Like a standard automatic, some creep is built in, meaning the fortwo will inch forward when the driver lifts off the brake. That's natural, but the 1–2 shift that follows is far from that, so slow and prolonged that the driver and passenger actually tilt forward in their seats as they wait for the next gear to be engaged and acceleration to return to normal. It's a bother, to say the least.

What's more, for maximized fuel economy, the Getrag gearbox upshifts in quick succession, meaning the fortwo is frequently already in 4th gear by 30 mph, at which point the reasonably torquey engine (which puts out 70 bhp at 5800 rpm and 68 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500 rpm) begins to lug and starts emitting sounds that are agricultural in character. Further, the gearbox doesn't like to downshift during mild acceleration; it takes a complete flooring of the accelerator to drop down a gear or two, an annoying trait that may negate any fuel savings in this car with such an emphasis on fuel economy. The EPA figures of 33 mpg city and 40 mpg highway may not seem that impressive at first, but they're good when compared with those of other economy cars in the tougher 2008 tests. By "old" EPA numbers, the fortwo is rated at 40 city/45 highway.

Although most drivers gradually get accustomed to the fortwo's lethargic automatic shifting, most of us settled on shifting the car manually via the paddles, and lifting off the throttle each time to make it feel more like a conventional manual gearbox, something that the fortwo sorely needs. That, or perhaps a conventional automatic.

Safety is a natural concern, and Mercedes-Benz maintains that the fortwo meets all the company's strict requirements, and that 10 years of European crash data have further proven the smart to be a safe car. The company likens the exposed "tridion" safety cell of the fortwo (the exposed silver areas on our test car) to the hard shell of a walnut, to which are bolted energy-absorbing crash boxes front and rear. A double-plate made of high-strength steel protects the driver's feet, while reinforced side skirts stretching between the front and rear wheels add protection in a side crash. U.S. cars benefit from two dual-stage frontal airbags and a head/thorax side-impact bag in each seat.

For the most part, impact loads are directed below the high passenger cabin. In a rear impact, the transverse-mounted engine and transmission slide under the cockpit to absorb energy. And in side crashes, smart says the short 73.5-in. wheelbase of the fortwo means almost all impacts will involve the striking of a wheel, again transmitting loads below and away from the passenger compartment.

On the down side, the high seating position raises the fortwo's center of gravity, the last thing you want in a tall and narrow vehicle with a short wheelbase. Hence, the fortwo has 1-in.-wider rear wheels and tires, tuned with a healthy dose of negative camber to keep the smart from oversteering at all costs. That, with Mercedes' ESP stability control as the final arbiter, means the fortwo can't do anything untoward, and the Stuttgart company likes to keep it that way by not allowing the driver to switch the system off.

Although studies have shown that stability control systems are the second biggest savers of lives (after seatbelts), ESP wreaked havoc in our tests. On our 200-ft. skidpad, the fortwo understeered its way to a 0.72g rating, our driver doing his best to keep ESP right on the cusp of intervening. In the slalom, ESP was simply too active, limiting the fortwo to a 57.6-mph weave that earns it the distinction of being the slowest slalom car in our Road Test Summary, booting the Rolls-Royce Phantom from that spot. Shifted manually right before the 6500-rpm fuel cut-off point in each gear, the smart hits 60 mph in 13.3 seconds, another performance that puts it at the bottom of the pack.

In the grand scheme of things, however, the smart fortwo is not about skidpad, slalom figures and 0–60 times; it's a new experiment in urban transportation and should be viewed in that light. We praise both its space efficiency and its fuel efficiency, and think it makes a lot of sense in tight urban areas such as New York City and San Francisco, where parking can be a nightmare. Heck, it even has a feature to prevent the car from rolling back when starting on steep hills. The fortwo also bursts with personality, enhanced by a lively interior that's of reasonably good quality but is clearly built to a price point, as the abundant hard plastics indicate. As such, it says something about its owner. That you're willing to try new things. And thanks in part to the car's SULEV rating, that you like the idea of reducing your carbon footprint without, say, buying a Prius.

So, is the U.S. ready for the smart? Definitely. In fact, 30,000 people have already plunked down $99 to get a spot in line to buy one. But do us a favor. Test drive one first. Then drive a 3-door Toyota Yaris. You might prefer a more conventional approach to economical urban transportation, even though it's not quite as fuel-efficient. Right now, we lean in that direction, but if smart equips the new fortwo with a bona fide manual transmission or a good automatic — which doesn't seem like that big of a deal for Mercedes — the scales could very easily tip the other way.

Exposed: 2009 Toyota Prius
First spy shots and exclusive info uncovered.
By Sam Mitani • Photos Copyright: Chris Doane/Brenda Priddy & Company
provided by:
Road Track