Car Chat

[12,000 RPM]

Cool new turbo tech from Honeywell:

https://motoiq.com/the-secret-turbo-in-the-ring-slaying-porsche-919-evo-honeywell-garrett-dualboost-for-gasoline-turbocharger/

Basically making the turbine axial instead of radial and using 2 differently sized compressor wheels.... lets them cut down size significantly enabling faster spool up. No fancy tech or electromechanical parts to fail

Not really new as the old Ford 6.7 diesel had the dual compressor I think, but possibly a huge turning point for turbocharger design.

[Laconian]

Someone with that much sodomy on her mind must fantasize about it .

Definitely has buttsex on the brain.

[68_427]

Lesbo porcha wagon is die long live Corvette

[Galaxy]

The first car to be certified to Euro 6d standards is... the Jeep Wrangler diesel.    Wrangler is good for the environment, who would have thought?

Everyone else is going with Euro 6d temp for now.

[Galaxy]

The Mazda 6 facelift looks nice. Mazda is the only company whose gasoline engines meet Euro 6dtemp without filters, and who's diesels meet Euro 6dtemp without adblue. They must really have their combustion process down pat. The facelift introduces a textile material that -according to a german car magazine - actually feels like suede, unlike Alcantara.

[Soup DeVille]

Given the recent history of such things, being the only company to accomplish this makes me wonder if they just found a better way to fool the tests.

[12,000 RPM]

Mazda seems serious about the ICE, and if nothing else can't afford a Dieselgate scale penalty. I think they're smarter than that.

[MrH]

Mazda has been working on combustion controls for a long time and pretty much the only tech advantage they have.

[Galaxy]

Given the recent history of such things, being the only company to accomplish this makes me wonder if they just found a better way to fool the tests.

At this point in time would that not be extremely risky to the point of being idiotic? I mean regulators are probably looking at cars like a hawk now, especially cars like the Mazda where they apparently can make do without equipment that others deem necessary.

[HurricaneSteve]

Agreed. I'll admit I'm a Mazda fan but if they were trying to cheat the system wouldn't they have released their diesel in the US by now? They don't seem to compromise their core values (as much as other companies at least) and always seem to find a solid balance between drivability and quality.

At this point in time would that not be extremely risky to the point of being idiotic? I mean regulators are probably looking at cars like a hawk now, especially cars like the Mazda where they apparently can make do without equipment that others deem necessary.

[93JC]

Euro emissions standards are less stringent to meet than US ones; it'd be more difficult to get the diesel to pass US standards without DEF.

That was always the impressive thing about the small Volkswagens: they purported to pass US emissions standards without using selective catalytic reduction nor a NOx trap, which made them far less expensive to produce, thus VW could undercut price against any competing small cars with diesels. When GM came out with the Cruze diesel for the 2014 model year the big knock against it was price, especially as compared to the Jetta TDI. Nobody else was going to bring their diesels to the US market unless they could figure out a way to make it pass emissions without the extra emissions gear, and none of them could. Now we know how and why the Jetta TDI didn't need it: they cheated!

[Laconian]

Mazda's advantage is that they trust their engineers. The beancounters don't rule the roost there as much as they do at, say, Nissan.

[giant_mtb]

Just had a guy stop by with a Silverado "desert edition" asking about detailing.  It looks like an Avalanche, basically.  Kinda neat, did not know these were a thing.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Just had a guy stop by with a Silverado "desert edition" asking about detailing.  It looks like an Avalanche, basically.  Kinda neat, did not know these were a thing.

Me either.......

[Rich]

Something is up with Marchionne's health. He's out as CEO.

I also find it interesting that a guy named Manley was running Jeep and Ram

[12,000 RPM]

Hopefully Sergio pulls through.

[giant_mtb]

I believe not long ago it was discussed/questioned why OEMs haven't picked up the ball on using WeatherTech style floor mats from the factory.  Well, I'm detailing a new (2018?) Malibu today, and it appears they are heading that route.  Nice, thick rubber mats that offer coverage similar to a WT mat.  My guess is they were an option, as she has the standard carpet ones stashed in the trunk, but they're quite lovely.

Pretty nice car, honestly.



Will be curious to see when I detail this car again how well the mats hold up.  WTs will start to soak up dirt into the material after a while if left uncleaned, and they're never the same again.

[12,000 RPM]

Fucking lol

[MX793]

Fucking lol

I call BS.

[Galaxy]

After 20 years of red ink Opel is back in the black with with a € 502 Million profit in the first half of the current business year. I never really gave much credit to the Opel unions complaining that GM was using grey zone accounting tricks to keep costs of their own books. The complaint was that Opel was not being paid for the Buick models they developed. I never thought much of this because unlike the other GM brands Opel was always legally independent meaning they, not GM, were liable for their debt. I would have thought that the banks would not have tolerated such practices. This does make me wonder.

[68_427]

Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne suffered an embolism while undergoing an operation for an invasive shoulder sarcoma and has irreversible damage to his brain function, and he had failed to tell Exor Chairman John Elkann of the seriousness of his illness, an Italian business website reported Tuesday.

Lettera43, in an exclusive report Tuesday citing anonymous sources, said Marchionne, 66, had been diagnosed "long ago" with the invasive shoulder sarcoma — a malignant form of cancer that can develop in the body's soft tissue — and "expressed some doubts" about the effectiveness of the high-risk operation he underwent at the University of Zurich in late June.

Sources told Lettera43, which has led coverage of Marchionne's illness, that during the operation, Marchionne was struck by a cerebral embolism, plunging him into a coma. It also claims that Marchionne is now being kept alive only by machines, and that doctors said there was no hope of recovery.

According to the American Heart Association, an embolism occurs when a blood clot or piece of fatty plaque breaks loose and travels through the bloodstream and becomes lodged in a blood vessel and blocks blood flow.

When an embolism blocks the flow of blood to the brain, it is called a cerebral embolism, a type of stroke.

Lettera43 says Marchionne suffered for some time from "severe shoulder pain that made arm movements difficult," according to a translation, and that he took cortisone to soothe them. It says that Marchionne also suffered from a chronic thyroid condition for which he had been taking medications for an extended period, which other sources have told Automotive News.

A spokeswoman for FCA US did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

[12,000 RPM]

[SJ_GTI]

After 20 years of red ink Opel is back in the black with with a € 502 Million profit in the first half of the current business year. I never really gave much credit to the Opel unions complaining that GM was using grey zone accounting tricks to keep costs of their own books. The complaint was that Opel was not being paid for the Buick models they developed. I never thought much of this because unlike the other GM brands Opel was always legally independent meaning they, not GM, were liable for their debt. I would have thought that the banks would not have tolerated such practices. This does make me wonder.

I was reading about this and the turnaround didn't sound accounting related at all. New owner cut a lot of back office staff/spending, got some cuts from the union, changed to some less expensive suppliers (who were already doing business with PSA), and cut unprofitable models.

If GM was really just dumping overhead on Opel/Vauxhall then GM's profits would have gotten worse this year, but GM is doing better than ever.

Very impressive stuff by PSA and great news for Opel and Vauxhall. GM finally divesting them appears to have been a win for everyone involved.

Edit: I may have spoke too soon re: GM, they reported lower profit than expected this quarter and are now projecting less profit for the year. They are laying most of the blame on steel/aluminum tariffs though.

[Payman]

Sergio Marchionne has passed away. RIP.

[Laconian]

Oh shit! RIP

[Galaxy]

So Land Rover has reserved the name...Road Rover....

[CaminoRacer]

So Land Rover has reserved the name...Road Rover....

Might be to keep it away from the Chinese.

I hope...

[Laconian]

Road Rover lol

[Soup DeVille]

So Land Rover has reserved the name...Road Rover....

I can only assume Toyota will follow up with Road Cruiser.

[FoMoJo]

Road Rover lol

Say it three times fast.