You saw it first on the Dahl Blog!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year!
Check out what is going on with FORD!
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year, BLIS, Ford, Ford Fusion, Ford Motor Company, Ford SYNC, fuel efficiency, midsize sedan
And of course: www.dahlauto.com
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
More Hyundai news…Gotta love it!
Hyundai's Charge Ahead Pressures Japanese Auto MakersHyundai-Kia's global sales gains have overwhelmed rivals this year, and the climbing yen and South Korea's export-friendly trade pacts are giving Japanese automakers even more worries. According to Automotive News, that's putting pressure on Japanese auto executives, who view the South Korean automakers as competitors for share in markets where the Japanese have built strong followings. The success of Hyundai and Kia comes as the governments of both countries appear to be diverging on their support for the export industry. South Korea last month signed a tentative trade pact with the European Union to add to a list of more than 40 free-trade agreements – called FTAs – with countries ranging from the United States to India. Japan has less than a third as many FTAs, nearly all of them in Asia. The Korean agreement provides an easier outlet for Hyundai to sell to markets that are becoming increasingly interested in its products. Despite the FTAs, Hyundai has not built a car plant at home since 1996. Instead, it has set up shop in the United States, China, India, Turkey, and the Czech Republic.
Hyundai's Charge Ahead Pressures Japanese Auto MakersHyundai-Kia's global sales gains have overwhelmed rivals this year, and the climbing yen and South Korea's export-friendly trade pacts are giving Japanese automakers even more worries. According to Automotive News, that's putting pressure on Japanese auto executives, who view the South Korean automakers as competitors for share in markets where the Japanese have built strong followings. The success of Hyundai and Kia comes as the governments of both countries appear to be diverging on their support for the export industry. South Korea last month signed a tentative trade pact with the European Union to add to a list of more than 40 free-trade agreements – called FTAs – with countries ranging from the United States to India. Japan has less than a third as many FTAs, nearly all of them in Asia. The Korean agreement provides an easier outlet for Hyundai to sell to markets that are becoming increasingly interested in its products. Despite the FTAs, Hyundai has not built a car plant at home since 1996. Instead, it has set up shop in the United States, China, India, Turkey, and the Czech Republic.
Monday, November 2, 2009
2010 Ford Taurus vs. 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer
These all-wheel-drive sports sedans can really fly, but which one defines your inner enthusiast??
By Jonathan Elfalan and Tom Wilson • Photos by Guy Spangenberg - December 2009
Comparison Test: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO vs. 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Slideshow: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO vs. 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR Touring >>
At first blush, this pair made about as much sense as comparing an Antonov An-225 to an F-22 Raptor. The spry yet Spartan Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution on one hand, hailing from a production history created by WRC homologation, while the original mash-'n'-go Ford Taurus SHO is rumored to have been birthed from a surplus of juicy Yamaha-sourced V-6 engines that needed homes.
Slideshow >>
But look closer and these two reveal some striking parallels in what they were to enthusiasts back then and more importantly what they have evolved into today. Both were passenger cars for basic transportation that became icons of their time once their mundane unit-bodies were injected with a healthy dose of hormones. They were inarguably true enthusiast cars then; so what of them today?
We headed northwest, piloting the latest iterations of these hopped-up all-wheel-drive turbocharged sedans, logged hundreds of miles on highways and winding roads through California's central coast and discovered just what they're made of, whom they speak to and what remains of their original DNA.
The An-225 may be a far reach from the F-22, but they were both engineered to fly!
Slideshow >>
2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR TouringThe last time I was here on Highway 229, it was at the wheel of a Ferrari F430, having one of those moments when happiness nearly drives you to guilt. This state of mind involves a car that makes you feel as if you're one of the great undiscovered drivers of your time. The Evo has the innate ability to deliver this experience, with appreciably less risk, on wicked undulating roads such as this. The suspension feels perfectly dialed-in, with enough compliance to keep each wheel attached to the road while it keeps the overhangs off of it. The standard Brembo brakes withstand abuse that would engulf most others in flames and the sophisticated drivetrain rips apart any misconceptions about all-wheel drive's sole intent being for snow or dirt. The ability to leave nearly anything in your dust on a back road — especially a Taurus SHO — alone would be reason enough for an enthusiast to look no further.
Introduced in 1992 for the Japanese market, the Mitsubishi Evolution is now currently in its 10th generation (known as the Evo X), the most technologically advanced model to date. The legendary turbocharged iron-block 4G63 inline-4, which served nine tours, was replaced by a lighter and more potent all-aluminum turbo inline-4, the 4B11. The 2.0-liter displacement remains but it gains Mitsubishi's MIVEC variable valve timing on the exhaust side in addition to the intake side and features a square bore (where bore = stroke). Mitsubishi worked hard to minimize an inline-4's inherent imbalance to the point that no balance shaft is deemed necessary.
Slideshow >>
With 291 bhp at 6500 rpm and 300 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm extracted from this diminutive 4-banger, the Evo's power-per-liter figure eclipses the SHO's twin-turbo V-6 by more than 40 bhp and 50 lb.-ft. And though there's still the inherent torque deficit issue of a tiny engine at low rpm, which tempts many manufacturers to correct with more displacement, Mitsubishi tackles the problem head on with its Twin Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission (or TC-SST for short-ish). While it had a few rough edges in our long-term 2008 Evolution MR test car, TC-SST has since been smoothed out via software reprogramming for 2010. Compared with the 5-speed manual gearbox in the Evo GSR, the MR's 6-speed box benefits from a shorter overall ratio in every gear for better pickup, seamless shifting and that extra gear for more comfortable highway cruising. We might fault Mitsubishi's failed attempt to come up with a digestible name for it, but we applaud the company for building a gearbox that maximizes the torque at hand and in the process creating what we believe to be the best twin-clutch transmission on the market.
Continue Reading
Comparison Test: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO vs. 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Slideshow: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO vs. 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR Touring >>
At first blush, this pair made about as much sense as comparing an Antonov An-225 to an F-22 Raptor. The spry yet Spartan Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution on one hand, hailing from a production history created by WRC homologation, while the original mash-'n'-go Ford Taurus SHO is rumored to have been birthed from a surplus of juicy Yamaha-sourced V-6 engines that needed homes.
Slideshow >>
But look closer and these two reveal some striking parallels in what they were to enthusiasts back then and more importantly what they have evolved into today. Both were passenger cars for basic transportation that became icons of their time once their mundane unit-bodies were injected with a healthy dose of hormones. They were inarguably true enthusiast cars then; so what of them today?
We headed northwest, piloting the latest iterations of these hopped-up all-wheel-drive turbocharged sedans, logged hundreds of miles on highways and winding roads through California's central coast and discovered just what they're made of, whom they speak to and what remains of their original DNA.
The An-225 may be a far reach from the F-22, but they were both engineered to fly!
Slideshow >>
2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR TouringThe last time I was here on Highway 229, it was at the wheel of a Ferrari F430, having one of those moments when happiness nearly drives you to guilt. This state of mind involves a car that makes you feel as if you're one of the great undiscovered drivers of your time. The Evo has the innate ability to deliver this experience, with appreciably less risk, on wicked undulating roads such as this. The suspension feels perfectly dialed-in, with enough compliance to keep each wheel attached to the road while it keeps the overhangs off of it. The standard Brembo brakes withstand abuse that would engulf most others in flames and the sophisticated drivetrain rips apart any misconceptions about all-wheel drive's sole intent being for snow or dirt. The ability to leave nearly anything in your dust on a back road — especially a Taurus SHO — alone would be reason enough for an enthusiast to look no further.
Introduced in 1992 for the Japanese market, the Mitsubishi Evolution is now currently in its 10th generation (known as the Evo X), the most technologically advanced model to date. The legendary turbocharged iron-block 4G63 inline-4, which served nine tours, was replaced by a lighter and more potent all-aluminum turbo inline-4, the 4B11. The 2.0-liter displacement remains but it gains Mitsubishi's MIVEC variable valve timing on the exhaust side in addition to the intake side and features a square bore (where bore = stroke). Mitsubishi worked hard to minimize an inline-4's inherent imbalance to the point that no balance shaft is deemed necessary.
Slideshow >>
With 291 bhp at 6500 rpm and 300 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm extracted from this diminutive 4-banger, the Evo's power-per-liter figure eclipses the SHO's twin-turbo V-6 by more than 40 bhp and 50 lb.-ft. And though there's still the inherent torque deficit issue of a tiny engine at low rpm, which tempts many manufacturers to correct with more displacement, Mitsubishi tackles the problem head on with its Twin Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission (or TC-SST for short-ish). While it had a few rough edges in our long-term 2008 Evolution MR test car, TC-SST has since been smoothed out via software reprogramming for 2010. Compared with the 5-speed manual gearbox in the Evo GSR, the MR's 6-speed box benefits from a shorter overall ratio in every gear for better pickup, seamless shifting and that extra gear for more comfortable highway cruising. We might fault Mitsubishi's failed attempt to come up with a digestible name for it, but we applaud the company for building a gearbox that maximizes the torque at hand and in the process creating what we believe to be the best twin-clutch transmission on the market.
Continue Reading
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
