Farewell to the Dodge Viper and more
Volkswagen made some news in the past 10 days with a peek ahead at its 2017 model lineup.
The three things that really caught our eye were:
1. The Golf Alltrack, a beefier version of the Sportwagen, adding all-wheel-drive, higher ground clearance, and rugged exterior styling.
2. A limited-edition Pink Beetle coupe and convertible finished in Fresh Fuchsia with matching interior trim.
3. Perhaps in a sign of things to come across the industry, the new Passat will have forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking standard across all trim levels.
Still to come is word on when VW’s new midsize, three-row SUV will come to market.
Perhaps by the time this appears in print, VW will have formalized its settlement on diesel emissions. Early reports have owners scheduled to receive payments between $1,000 and $7,000, with the company offering to buy back some vehicles that can’t be brought into compliance.
What was the biggest tipoff on VW’s diesel scandal? It was when competitors were unable to reverse engineer an engine that could meet emissions standards and duplicate the VW TDI line’s combination of economy and performance.
Dealer Yelped
Ratings mean a lot to dealers. If you have your car dealer-serviced, you’ve likely been asked to give the department a good online rating. But what you usually find on sites like Google and Yelp are unhappy customers venting their displeasure.
But what if someone writes a totally false review accusing your dealership’s employees of blocking an elderly woman’s medical help as she was suffering a heart attack?
That’s what a Mazda dealership in Huntington Beach, California, claimed about a recent Yelp review.
After interviewing all employees and checking with emergency responders to confirm that the review was false, the dealership resorted to having a private investigator find the reviewer’s identity and then had company attorneys demand a retraction.
Owner John Patterson told Automotive News that the system he has that tracks reviews is important, but now he also has a plan for what to do if someone posts a total lie.
Special Edition Vipers
Dodge is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Viper by discontinuing the vehicle; however, Mopar fans and Viper-lovers have the opportunity to order one of five limited-edition models. Each pays homage to the Viper’s track capability.
The 1:28 Edition ACR: This honors the Viper’s 1:28.65 lap record at California’s Laguna Seca Raceway. The ACR stands for American Club Racer. It will be black with red ACR stripes, carbon ceramic brakes, special 1:28 decals and badging, rear wing, special stitching, and a custom car cover with the owner’s name above the driver’s door. Up to 28 will be built.
GTS-R Commemorative Edition: This edition revives the iconic white and blue paint scheme from the 1998 GT2 racing series champion. This edition will be capped at 100 units.
VooDoo II: Dodge will make 31 units of this edition, the same number as the original VooDoo ACR that was built in 2010.
Snakeskin GTC Edition: Up to 31 will be built, commemorating the snakeskin green exterior, patterned stripe, with similar ACR badging.
Dodge Dealer Edition ACR: This may be the toughest to find. Only 33 (or fewer) will be built and marketed exclusively through the country’s two highest volume Viper dealerships, Tomball (Texas) Dodge and Roanoke (Ill.) Dodge.
Building for Tests
We’re all aware of the phenomenon of teaching for tests, with students spending time preparing for SATs and MCAS exams instead of normal classroom learning.
Now it appears that some auto manufacturers are building cars for tests.
That seems good for the driver when it comes to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap front ratings, which test a frontal crash involving the left corner (25 percent of the vehicle’s width).
However, manufacturers were apparently beefing up that side of the vehicle and not necessarily affording the same protection to the passenger’s side.
“It’s not surprising that automakers would focus their initial efforts to improve small overlap protection on the side of the vehicle that we conduct the tests on,’’ says David Zuby, IIHS chief research officer. “As time goes by, we would hope they ensure similar levels of protection on both sides.’’
The IIHS ran 40 mph passenger-side small overlap tests on seven small SUVs and got “good’’ driver-side test results.
Of those, only the 2016 Hyundai Tucson earned a good rating on the passenger side of the car. The rest ranged from acceptable (2015 Buick Encore, 2015 Honda CR-V, and 2015 Mazda CX-5) to marginal (2014 Nissan Rogue and 2014 Subaru Forester) to poor (2015 Toyota RAV4).
As a result, the IIHS is considering instituting the right-side tests for vehicles to earn top safety pick awards.
Etc.
This is a quiet weekend for car shows. Next Saturday, July 7-9, Jenn Madden offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Heritage Museums and Gardens collection from 11 a.m.-noon in Sandwich. Call Julie Raynor at 508-888-3300 x175 for details and advance tickets … Next Sunday, the micro cars take over the lawn at Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline for their 19th annual show (noon-4 p.m.) … Also next Sunday, Herb Chambers resumes his Cars ‘n’ Coffee series (note the day change to Sunday) at Flagship Motors on Rte. 1 in Lynnfield from 7-10 a.m. Of course, he’s still more than happy to help you buy a car at his 55 stores, including the new Herb Chambers Lincoln and Volvo dealerships side-by-side on the Automile in Norwood. For those who follow dealership history, they’re the former Dalzel Volvo and Blue Hil/Owens Motors Lincoln outlets.
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