Feed aggregator

And you thought rain was horrible for Corvettes? How about a good old fashion hail storm? This 2017 Corvette Grand Sport Collector Edition Coupe was subjected to a barrage of hail while parked in a lot somewhere in Utah. The marble-sized hail comes down at a steady pace, beating down on the Corvette’s body, windshield […]

The post [VIDEO] 2017 Corvette Grand Sport Collector Edition is Caught in a Hail Storm appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Photo Credit: Richard Prince for Chevy Racing When the checkered flag fell at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Corvette Racing was scored as finishing fifth in the ultra-competitive GTE-Pro class. However, after review, the FIA/ACO has ruled that the fourth place No.67 Ford GT failed to meet the minimum drive time for one of […]

The post Corvette Racing Officially Moves to 4th Place at Le Mans After Ford GT Penalty appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

LE MANS, France (June 17, 2018) – In 19 years of competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Corvette Racing has experienced both disappointment and achievement. The constant in each case, though, is the drive of those on the program to give maximum effort each and every appearance. Related Story: Corvette Racing Officially Moves […]

The post Corvette Racing at Le Mans: Hard-Fought, Fifth-Place Finish for No. 63 Corvette appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Happy Monday Corvette fans! It’s that time of week when we present our soon-to-be-famous photo gallery of C2 Corvettes called Midyear Monday! This week we are presenting 45 photos of Corvettes built between 1963-1967! If you have a favorite photo of your midyear Corvette that you would like to share, please send them over to […]

The post [GALLERY] Midyear Monday! (45 Corvette photos) appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

The Tesla-fighters just keep coming. We’ve driven the Jaguar I-Pace. We’ve had the download on the Audi e-tron, ridden in the Porsche Mission E concept. And now we’ve been up close and personal with a near-production prototype of the Mercedes-Benz EQC, the first Mercedes designed from the wheels up as an electric vehicle. More sleepless nights are ahead for Elon Musk.

The EQC is an all-wheel-drive crossover, roughly the size of the GLC SUV, with e-motors mounted front and rear and an underfloor battery pack that will be rated between 70 and 75 kW-hr once final durability testing is complete. Engineers are keeping exact details under wraps until the EQC makes its public debut in September, but total system output will be about 400 hp, with 516 lb-ft of torque. Range will be between 200 and 240 miles.

The EQC is built around the MRA components set used for Mercedes’ regular E-Class, C-Class, and GLC models. That means a steel body and some packaging compromises. Unlike the innovative I-Pace, whose short overhangs and elongated cabin take full advantage of its bespoke, aluminum-intensive skateboard platform and compact e-motors, the EQC’s proportions are similar to those of a regular internal-combustion-engine Mercedes.

This means the ECQ can be built on the same production line as the regular C-Class and GLC, requiring only one additional assembly process beyond those used to build the others—the installation of the battery pack. Daimler therefore has the ability to flex EQC production up or down by as much as 25 percent without requiring extra investment or leaving expensive machinery standing idle. Jaguar Land Rover has gone all-in with the I-Pace, whose unique platform will also underpin the rumored Road Rover and next-generation XJ. Daimler is hedging its bets. “We just don’t know what the initial demand for electric vehicles will be,” admits a Stuttgart insider.

We hitched a ride with test chief Bastian Schult while the EQC was undergoing hot-weather testing just outside of Almería in Southern Spain, a region that looks and feels eerily like inland Southern California. Daimler currently has 90 EQC prototypes under test, and the car Schult is driving is one of 30 built using production tooling. Apart from the camouflage, some ungrained plastic parts, and final software tweaks, it’s basically production ready.

Underneath the blackout cloth draped over much of the interior is familiar Mercedes hardware, including the steering wheel and switchgear. The EQC gets the large single-screen instrument panel and infotainment display first seen in the current S-Class, but with MBUX, the new touchscreen user interface that debuted recently in the redesigned A-Class.

Schult presses the start button, engages drive, and the EQC glides away. After a few miles, two things are clear: The EQC is extremely quiet, and it rides beautifully. There’s no hint of electric motor whine—Schult says the development engineers made a conscious decision to banish all noise from the powertrain—and road impacts are felt rather than heard. Combined with measured body motions and a remarkable lack of fore and aft pitch, the EQC feels as regal on the road as an S-Class.

The EQC’s power and torque outputs are virtually identical to those of the Jaguar I-Pace, and when Schult plants his right foot, the Mercedes lunges forward with the same instant urgency. The management of the power and torque flows of the two e-motors is very different, however. In gentle cruising, the EQC uses only the front e-motor, which features a different armature winding from the rear to improve efficiency. As soon as the driver demands more power, the rear e-motor shoulders the load, and the powertrain management system can funnel almost 100 percent of the torque to the rear wheels if needed.

Like most BEVs, the EQC offers both high and low regen modes, the former strong enough to slow the car almost to a halt without the need to touch the brake pedal. But drivers can also choose a mode that allows the EQC to sail, with no regen whatsoever slowing forward motion, and a fourth mode that automatically optimizes regen protocols to make the EQC feel like an internal-combustion vehicle with an automatic transmission. These two modes endow the EQC with a marvelous flowing gait along freeways and open roads that’s unlike that of any other BEV.

A couple of quick laps of the Circuito de Almería racetrack partway through our ride showed the EQC to be quick and composed when driven with intent. And, unlike a Tesla, it had no problem with sustained full-power laps. Default handling mode is mild understeer, but Schult was able to lift mid-corner and get the EQC to rotate, the rear wheels sliding to pivot the nose toward the apex, without obvious intervention from the stability control system. The ability to precisely control an e-motor’s power and torque outputs means the conventional ESP system now only intervenes when it senses a major loss of grip, Schult explains; minor interventions are handled by the powertrain software, which can apply countermeasures four times faster.

With its height-adjustable suspension and 20-inch wading depth, Jaguar’s I-Pace is aimed at both Tesla’s 75D Model S hatchback and Model X SUV. So is the EQC—with one essential difference. Schult says that despite its all-wheel drive and SUV visuals, the low-slung battery pack under the floor means EQC is strictly an on-road vehicle.

The post 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC Prototype First Ride appeared first on Motor Trend.

On its 20th attempt, Toyota has finally won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Japanese automaker nabbed the top two positions, leading other competitors by a considerable margin.

The No. 8 TS050 Hybrid took the checkered flag after 388 laps around the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. Behind the wheel was Fernando Alonso, two-time F1 world champion and a Le Mans rookie. Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima also piloted the race car to victory after enduring a number of upsets with Toyota in the past. The No. 7 car TS050 Hybrid led for long stretches but suffered a fuel issue late in the game. By the end of the race, it had trailed off just two laps behind the winning car to score second place. Rebellion Racing took third place, 12 laps behind Toyota.

Toyota’s victory marks the second time a Japanese automaker has won Le Mans, the first time being Mazda in 1991. Toyota’s No. 8 car had started from pole position, as Toyota had in 1999, 2014, and 2016.

With Audi out of the picture, Toyota has had a better chance of winning Le Mans in the last few years. But 2016 saw an unfortunate failure on the final lap. In 2017, Toyota lost its shot at victory again. Its race-leading No. 7 TS050 Hybrid had a clutch problem at the tenth hour, and then another Toyota was hit from behind and caught on fire. A third car had an issue with its front motor but managed to place eighth.

Source: Toyota

The post Toyota Scores First Victory at Le Mans appeared first on Motor Trend.

Photo Credit: click2houston.com This black C6 Corvette wound up as an expensive piece of yard art in west Houston, Texas early Saturday morning. Authorities said the Corvette apparently veered off the road around 1 a.m. on South Gessner Road at Beverly Hill Street, skidding into a well-manicured median and smashing into a tree. An official […]

The post [ACCIDENT] C6 Corvette Crash in Houston Sends Two Men to Hospital appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Corvette Racing wrapped up another exciting chapter as the team completed their 19th consecutive campaign for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Our friend Charley Robertson from the Corvette Racing Fans facebook page sent out this great story about a special American Flag that has become part of Corvette Racing Tradition: The Veteran Flag! The […]

The post [VIDEO] Veteran Flag Flies for Corvette Racing At Le Mans for 19th Straight Year appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested in Germany on Monday in connection to the diesel emissions scandal that broke in 2015. Stadler is one of 20 current or former Audi employees under criminal investigation related to potential fraud.

Officials said the executive was detained over concerns he might seek to suppress evidence, reports the BBC. Audi confirmed to media sources that Stadler was taken into custody, although it wouldn’t comment about the ongoing investigations. “The presumption of innocence continues to apply for Mr. Stadler,” an Audi spokesman told NPR.

Munich prosecutors said last week they had searched Stadler’s home for evidence. Stadler, who has worked with Audi since 1990 and became chairman of the board in 2007, is under investigation for alleged “fraud and indirect improprieties with documents,” reports The Associated Press.

Just a week ago, German prosecutors fined Volkswagen $1.2 billion for diesel cheating. Volkswagen Group has admitted to using software that helped cars pass pollution tests but then disabled the emissions controls in real-world driving. Another high profile figure under scrutiny in the diesel scandal is former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who was indicted in May on charges of conspiracy and fraud related to the emissions cheating.

According to prosecutors, Stadler could be released as early as next week if he cooperates with investigators. Last month, Audi said it discovered emissions-related problems in an additional 60,000 cars. Audi had halted deliveries of A6 and A7s with a certain type of diesel engine after it found a previously unidentified issue with emissions software.

Source: CNN Money, NPR, Reuters

The post Audi CEO Arrested in Dieselgate Probe appeared first on Motor Trend.

When you’ve produced a vehicle continuously for 40 years, odds are there are gonna be some good ones. So to celebrate the milestone launch of the second-gen 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center provided a half dozen ’80s G-Wagens for us to sample. Here are the three coolest.

As I’m a child at heart, I naturally gravitated to the 1981 230G Fire Truck. Powered by a 102-hp 2.3-liter I-4 backed by a four-speed manual, this G-Wagen convertible spent most of its working life with an Italian fire department before being rescued by the Classic Center. For a truck fast approaching 40, the 230G was pretty peppy and happy to rev, though the gearbox had long, vague throws. All driving impressions are irrelevant because the cherries work—I was endlessly entertained by responding to imaginary emergency calls.

Moving chronologically, I took an off-white 1985 230GE four-door down a light off-road course. Powered by a “high-output” 125-hp version of that same I-4 mated to a four-speed auto, the 230GE was hideously slow in the most charming way possible. I basically had to keep the gas pedal pinned to the floor to get anywhere, but it handled off-roading just fine. Even when bombing down dirt back roads, the link between the old G-Wagen and new G-Class is pretty apparent—both ride exceptionally well off-road and are happy to eat any punishment you dish out.

My favorite was a gorgeous roofless blue 1989 300GD Cabriolet complete with plaid(!) seats, a 3.0-liter diesel I-5, and a four-speed manual. Despite producing just 87 horsepower on a good day, the 300GD was a blast. The clattery turboless diesel didn’t have a tach, so it needed to be driven by ear. But it was so slow to rev that it wasn’t a problem. The gearbox was surprisingly direct with long, tractorlike throws. Steering was slow and vague but really not much worse than the final 2018 first-gen G-Wagen. Ultimately it comes down to the special experience the Mercedes provides. Time to hit Craigslist.

The post MT Classic: Sampling Three Vintage Mercedes-Benz G-Wagens appeared first on Motor Trend.