2002 Ford Mustang Gt Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The future's electric — but the present is peak gasoline. Burn some rubber! Do donuts!

I vividly remember the year 1993 as a teenager looking forward to getting my driver’s license, longingly staring into Pontiac dealerships at every opportunity for a chance to see the brand-new fourth-generation Firebird and Trans Am. Back then, 275 horsepower, courtesy of GMÂ’s LT1 5.7-liter V8 engine, was breathtaking. A few years later, when Ram Air induction systems freed up enough fresh air to boost power over 300 ponies, I figured we were right back where my fatherÂ’s generation left off when the seminal muscle car era ended around the year 1974. It couldn't get any better than that. I was wrong. Horsepower continued climbing, prices remained within reach of the average new-car buyer looking for cheap performance, and a whole new level of muscular magnitude continued widening eyes of automotive enthusiasts all across the United States. It was all ushered in by cheap gasoline prices. And as much as petrolheads bemoan the coming wave of electric vehicles, perhaps instead now would be a good time for critics to sit back and enjoy the current and likely final wave of internal combustion. Today, itÂ’s easier than ever to park an overpowered rear-wheel-drive super coupe or sedan in your driveway. Your nearest Chevy dealership will happily sell you a Camaro with as much as 650 horsepower. Not enough? Take a gander at the Ford showroom and youÂ’ll find a herd of Mustangs up to 760 ponies. Or if nothing but the most powerful will do, waltz on over to the truly combustion-obsessed sales team of a Dodge dealer and relish in the glory of a 797-hp Charger or 807-hp Challenger. Want some more luxury to go with your overgrown stable of horses? Try Cadillac, where you'll find a 668-horsepower CT5-V Blackwing. You could instead choose to wrap that huffin' and chuggin' V8 in an SUV. Or go really off the rails and buy a Ram TRX or Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 and hit the dunes after a quick stop at the drag strip. Go pump some gas. Burn a little rubber. Do donuts! There is nothing but your pocketbook keeping you from buying the V8-powered car of your dreams. Yes, just about every major automaker in the world has halted development of future internal combustion engines in favor of gaining expertise in batteries and electric motors. No, that doesnÂ’t mean that gasoline is going extinct. There are going to be gas stations dotting American cities and highways for the rest of our lifetimes.

Yearly auto recall record demolished in 6 months

With nearly 40 million vehicles under repair campaigns and counting, 2014 will almost certainly go down as the year of the automotive recall. At just past the halfway mark, we are already at record levels, and there aren't any signs that the epidemic is slowing. General Motors' latest 8.4 million vehicle recall in the US puts the industry over the top for the title of the most cars with fixes pending from automakers ever. That's a prize no one ever wants to receive. According to TheDetroitBureau.com, the US recall total has hit 39.85-million vehicles to surpass the previous record of 33.01 million in 2004. Perhaps more surprising, with over 26 million repairs pending, it's still quite possibly that GM could recall more vehicles by the end of the year than the 27.96-million unit total of the entire US auto industry last year. With over 40 campaigns under its belt in 2014, the roughly one million cars it would take would hardly come as a surprise at this point, especially with increased government scrutiny into the Detroit automaker's processes. The pace of recalls started off relatively normal this year, with just a smattering of campaigns. The most surprising early on was Aston Martin calling in about 75 percent of its output since 2007 due to counterfeit plastic, but with just a few thousand cars, it was relatively tiny in pure numbers. GM really kicked things off soon after, but we didn't know it at the time. It issued its first bulletin for 778,000 Cobalt compacts in early February. Things only ballooned from there as more models were added to its growing ignition switch problem. The onslaught of announcements from every major automaker hasn't abated since then. Some industry executives are trying to put a positive spin on the situation. "With what's transpired (in recent months), there's a higher level of scrutiny," said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, to TheDetroitBureau.com. He believes that automakers are looking at data much more thoroughly than before, and it means better customer safety. Still, many consumers probably wish these problems had been found before their car went on sale.

2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 vs Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX Spec Comparison

The 2022 Chevy Silverado refresh brings a new top dog off-road Chevy, the Silverado ZR2. It has the biggest V8 available, flashy looks, trick suspension and other off-road goodies. And naturally, that means people will be comparing it with the other top-rung off-road trucks, the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Ram 1500 TRX. As such, we've assembled the specifications available so far to see how the three super trucks compare. Having just been revealed, there are a few things we don't know about the ZR2, such as fuel economy and some other suspension details, but we know quite a lot. And from what we know, the ZR2 has some interesting positives and negatives compared to the other trucks. First, it's pretty clear that the ZR2 isn't as extreme as the Raptor and TRX. We wouldn't be surprised if Chevrolet insists they aren't direct competitors. Specifically it has the least power and torque by a fair margin, the smallest tires and the least ground clearance. Still, it's not completely fighting with an arm tied behind its back. It's the narrowest by a significant margin, which is good for tighter trails. It also has the best towing and payload capacity, and the approach, break-over and departure angles are quite competitive despite the "little" tires. It's also the only one to boast a locking front differential in addition to a rear locker. The Raptor can be had with a limited-slip front differential, and the TRX only gets an open front differential. Check out all the specific numbers in the chart below, as well as additional stories on the trucks featured below. Other reviews and deep dives about the new Silverado, F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 Reveal In addition to the new ZR2, the Silverado line also gets new interiors, an upgraded four-cylinder and other updates.   2021 Ram 1500 TRX First Drive Review Our review of the Raptor's chief competitor, the mighty TRX. That just sounds like we're talking about Jurassic Park.   2021 Ram TRX Suspension Deep Dive and RTI ramp test Follow along with engineer Dan Edmunds as he takes you under the TRX and explains everything there is to know about its suspension -- and how it's able to do what it does.