Monthly Archives: August 2016

Mazda CX-9 visits bison ranch

August 14, 2016Auto Reviewsbudwells

The Mazda CX-9 crossover at Terry Bison Ranch on Colorado/Wyoming line. (Bud Wells photo)

Heading north on I-25 in the 2017 Mazda CX-9 last Saturday afternoon, with Kim Parker of Greeley and Keith Brumley of Eaton in the rear passenger seats and Jan, of course, riding shotgun, I slowed and parked to the side of the highway with other motorists and waited out a light-hailstorm.

It would be a shame to dimple this newly restyled CX-9. From its rounded back end with sharply sloped rear window to its big hood up front, it is a showpiece among full-size crossovers; well, showpiece, that is, except for, ahem, its big nose. The trapezoidal grillepiece juts out some 4 inches from the Mazda’s front; some describe it as “shark-like,” others as “hawk-like.”

The roomy CX-9, regardless of its schnoz, offers comfort aplenty with its three rows of seating; it has been a favorite of mine. My first drive of one was in its launch year, 2007, on a cold, icy New Year’s Eve and I was impressed with the grip of its all-wheel-drive system.

Saturday’s drive in the ’16 model was as far as the Colorado/Wyoming line, where we turned in to the Terry Bison Ranch, joining Brent and Tina Wells of Windsor, Bill and Kathy Allen of Greeley, Dale and Sandy Wells of Johnstown and Kurt and Tammy Wells of Littleton for an evening dinner.

Rattlesnake Jake Martin, the honky-tonk piano player inside the Senator’s Steakhouse liked that we were from the Greeley area, talking of years ago when he was a pen rider for the Farr Feedlots here.

Departing the Terry Bison Ranch Saturday night, we headed the CX-9 east to U.S. 85, and the nighttime drive on a two-lane road provided a busy on-off test for the Mazda’s automatic high-beam control, in which the lighting remained on bright until dimmed by oncoming traffic.

The headlight feature was one of many upgrades which the Signature all-wheel-drive model provided the CX-9, such as auburn-colored Nappa leather seats with aluminum and rosewood interior trim, second-row seats that would slide fore and aft and recline, 8-inch color display for navigation and Bose audio with Bluetooth, rearview camera, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist. Sticker price was $44,915.

V-6 power is no longer offered for the CX-9; the 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine with 6-speed automatic transmission in sport mode pushed the 4,300-pound crossover along with satisfactory low-end and midrange torque. The 4-cylinder is unusually quiet and smooth at idle. The little engine develops 227 horsepower and 310 lb.-ft. of torque with use of regular octane gas, while horsepower increases to 250 with a tankful of premium fuel. The Mazda rides on Falken P255/50R20 tires.

Overall fuel mileage of 23.9 was right in the middle of the CX-9’s EPA estimate of 21/27.

The CX-9’s third row of seats is comfortable and usable. Cargo space behind, though, is only 17 cubic feet. Flatten the third row and that expands to 48.3 cubic feet.

The Mazda CX-9 competes with the Chevy Traverse, Ford Flex, Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot.

Camaro celebrates 50th in Detroit cruise

August 14, 2016Auto Reviews, Automotive Industrybudwells

The 2017 Camaro 50th anniversary models will include the ZL1. (Chevrolet)

Fifty years to the month after the Camaro was revealed to the public, Chevrolet will commemorate the muscle car’s 50^th anniversary celebration during the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit.

Celebration and tours of the Lansing Grand River plant in Lansing, Mich., where the Camaro is built, are planned for Thursday, Aug. 18, and Chevrolet’s Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 20, will include rare and milestone examples from the Camaro’s six generations, including the all-new 2017 Camaro ZL1 and 1LE models.

It was in mid-August 1966 that the first-produced Camaro was shown to the public, and the much-anticipated Chevy went on sale a month later. To fully appreciate the car’s 50^th, forget the fact that the Camaro wasn’t even built from the end of the 2002 model year to the start of ’10 model. It has come back so strong since that it is truly an iconic part of Chevrolet’s more than 100-year history.

The 2016 Chevy Camaro SS Coupe. (Bud Wells photo)

In planned recognition of the Camaro’s 50 years, I drove recently the 2016 Camaro 2SS Coupe with its 6.2-liter V-8 of 445 horsepower and 445 torque. Mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, it performs very satisfactorily, with low-throated sound adding emphasis to its acceleration.

Like Chevy’s more spirited Corvette sports car, the SS version of the Camaro offers Active Rev Matching technology, which, engaged by paddles on either side of the steering wheel, blips the throttle to match engine rpm to the wheel speed for a seamless downshift.

The transmission has also General Motors’ long-used “skip-shift” feature, which under normal acceleration will guide the manual shifter from 1^st to 4^th to save fuel. Yet, a good share of drivers kick up the rpm, which permits a much more rewarding sequence from 1^st to 2^nd, and saves no fuel.

The Camaro’s exterior, styled in a chopped look, is finished in hyper blue metallic paint, with a white stripe down the middle. Settle into the heavily bolstered sport seat and enjoy not only the performance with its magnetic ride control, but the high-tech audio and navigation systems. Twice while driving I heard the ringing of a phone, pushed the phone-icon button, and once the message center indicated the call was intended for Brian, on a second ringing another day, voice control told me, “You have a call,” then messaged me to “Call Dave at work.”

The Camaro’s driver mode selector offers choice of four custom-tailored styles of performance; I used Sport mode most often, gaining throttle response and steering tightness to my satisfaction. Other modes include Tour, Track and Snow/Ice. If you’re dealing with snow and ice, I’d suggest parking the SS and driving the family crossover.

The Camaro carries an EPA fuel-mileage rating of 16/25 miles per gallon; my overall average was 18.7.

From a base price of $41,300, the SS Coupe’s sticker totaled $45,910 with the addition of magnetic ride control, dual-mode performance exhaust, MyLink audio system, cargo net and white pearl center stripe.

The most powerful beast I ever drove under the Camaro name was the 2012 ZL1 with 580 horsepower from a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 and 6-speed manual transmission.

Shifts and throttle response from a revised short-throw shifter were smoother than most performance models, though the 445-hp SS I drove recently was noticeably easier to handle than the 580. One of the easiest-driving Camaro was a 1979 Berlinetta with a 350 V-8 and automatic transmission.

The original ’67 Camaro convertible. (Chevrolet)

Among 50-year Camaro highlights:

1966 – The Camaro, a direct response to the success of Ford’s pony car, Mustang, was announced by Chevrolet Division’s General Manager Pete Estes. Beginning price for the Sport Coupe was $2,466.

1969 – Sales numbers jumped in ’69, with the Camaro selling 243,085 units off the lots. Part of the success was due to refreshed styling, and it is considered one of the most beautiful cars of all time.

1980 – Chevrolet said goodbye to the old 250 inline-6 and replaced it with a 3.8-liter V-6.

1989 – Chevrolet dropped the Sport Coupe name, brought out the RS, and fitted it with either a V-6 or a throttle-body-injected 5.0-liter V-8.

1993 – The first year of the fourth-generation showed off a new design direction, as the car was sleek, smooth, and extremely streamlined as opposed to the boxier, more cut third generation.

1997 – The year marked 30 years of the Chevrolet Camaro, and the celebration came in the form of a special edition car modeled after the Brickyard 400 pace car with white and orange package on the Z28 and SS.

2002 – In the final model year before Chevy killed the Camaro, the company created the 35th Anniversary Editions, which were convertibles that had bright red paint with white checkered flag decals. 2010 – After watching Ford continue to excel with the Mustang in the Camaro’s absence, the fifth-generation car finally hit showrooms in ’09 as a ’10 model.

2012 – Chevy brought out the ZL1 trim, powered by a tuned, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 that was used in both the Cadillac CTS-V and the Corvette ZR1. At 580 horsepower, it was the most powerful Camaro ever made.

2016- Chevy plans 50^th anniversary party for Camaro.

Hybrid sales continue decline; NX gains

August 14, 2016Auto Reviewsbudwells

The stylish 2016 Lexus NX300h hybrid crossover. (Bud Wells photos)

It’s a reflection of continued low fuel prices, spurring sales of pickups and SUVs, say proponents of gas/electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fully battery electric vehicles, which dropped 8 percent in sales during the first six months of 2016.

Overall sales of cars, SUV/crossovers and light-duty pickups through the end of June totaled 8.6 million, an increase of 1.3 percent.

Total sales of gas/electric hybrids have taken a sharp drop during the first six months of this year, falling to 161,334 sales from 190,970 at the same time a year ago, a decline of 15.5 percent.

Plug-in hybrid sales, led by Chevrolet Volt and Ford Fusion Energi, jumped to 29,920 sales through the end of June, an increase of 61.7 percent over the same period a year ago. The introduction of four new plug-ins – BMW X5, Audi A3, Hyundai Sonata and Volvo XC90 – helped the jump in percentage.

Sales of battery electric vehicles slipped slightly for the six months, from 35,435 a year ago to 34,245 this year, affected by a severe decline in sales of the Nissan Leaf. The Tesla S declined this year to 11,700 sales from 11,900 a year ago, though dominated the category when adding the 6,900 sales of its new Model X. All Tesla figures are only estimates provided by the company.

Of the approximately 40 gas/electric hybrids on the market, only three showed gains through June – the Lexus 450h from 3,185 to 4,730, Toyota Highlander hybrid from 1,758 to 2,706, the Lexus NX hybrid from 1,215 to 1,366. The Toyota Prius Liftback, which has led hybrid sales for 15 years, showed a drop of 10.5 percent, and a newly arrived hybrid entry, the Toyota RAV4, has moved into second place in sales.

The 2016 Lexus NX300h, in its second year of production, was in my hands earlier this month. The sharp-looking NX is styled similarly to the bigger RX, with a somewhat smaller grille jutting out front of a sloping hood. The NX is 5 inches shorter than RX in wheelbase, 10 inches shy in overall length and 600 pounds lighter.

The NX300h is powered by a 2.5-liter V-6 engine, electric motor and nickel-metal hydride battery pack; a $1,590 addition for all-wheel drive ties a second electric motor to the rear axle. The engine/electric motors work with a continuously variable transmission. Acceleration is relatively slow off the line.

The NX, with an EPA estimate of 33/30 miles per gallon, averaged 32.4. It rides on Yokohama Geolandar 225/60R18 tires.

The elegantly finished Lexus interior is comfortable, with heated and cooled front seats, a heated leather-covered steering wheel, dual-zone climate control with rear vents and a power moonroof.

Pushing the crossover’s sticker price to $47,818 were premium sound system and navigation, blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert, power liftgate and push-button start. Base price for the NX300h is $41,310.

Perennial hybrid sales leader is the Toyota Prius Liftback; this is the ’16 Prius Two.

The top 25 hybrid sellers thus far this year are Toyota Prius Liftback with 48,475; Toyota RAV4 with 19,251; Toyota Prius C 11,573; Ford Fusion 11,487; Toyota Camry 10,280; Hyundai Sonata 9,979; Toyota Prius V 7,315; Ford C-Max 7,043; Lexus RX450h 4,730; Lexus CT200h 4,515; Lexus ES 4,230; Toyota Avalon 3,943; Lincoln MKZ 3,868; Kia Optima 2,827; Toyota Highlander 2,706; Subaru XV Crosstrek 1,688; Lexus NX 1,366; Honda CR-Z 1,205; Infiniti Q50 1,048; Honda Civic 707; Infiniti QX60 690; Chevrolet Malibu 620; Buick LaCrosse 505; Nissan Pathfinder 397 and Volkswagen Jetta 269.

Eleven of the top 17 on the preceding list are Toyota/Lexus products.

The top 10 sellers of plug-in hybrids for the past six months are Chevrolet Volt with 9,808; Ford Fusion Energi 7,235; Ford C-Max Energi 3,225; BMW X5 plug-in 2,577; Audi A3 plug-in 1,942; Hyundai Sonata plug-in 1,350; Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid 1,166; Volvo XC90 plug-in 1,006; BMW i8 620 and Cadillac ELR 496.

Sales of the Volt for the six months increased by 74.5 percent, from 5,622 to 9,808, while the Fusion Energi gained 68.6 percent, from 4,290 to 7,235.

The top 10 sellers of battery electric vehicles through June are Tesla Model S 11,700; Tesla Model X 6,900; Nissan Leaf 5,793; BMW i3 2,880; Fiat 500e 1,983; Chevrolet Spark 1,779; Volkswagen e-Golf 1,455; Kia Soul EV 613; Ford Focus EV 446 and Smart for Two EV 366.

“Tesla sales are behind the automaker’s goals and they will have to increase significantly in the second half to meet stated expectations,” according to Jeff Cobb of hybridCARS.

Dominating sales of light-duty diesel vehicles through the first six months of the year are the Ford Transit Van with 27,468 and the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel pickup with 25,298 sales. Chevrolet Colorado has sold 3,202; Jeep Grand Cherokee 2,014; Range Rover Sport 1,668; GMC Canyon 1,419; Range Rover 1,346 and BMW X5 1,255.

Light-duty diesel sales were once dominated by Volkswagen products; that ended almost a year ago with the emissions cheating scandal involving VW. Though a partial settlement in the case has been announced, there is no indication when VW will be able to sell new diesel-powered vehicles.