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Autoblog Podcast #393

Episode #393 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Michael Harley talk about Monterey Car Week, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Dodge Charger Hellcat, and the latest round of mid-engine Corvette rumors. Dan also had the chance to speak with Jeffrey Rothfeder, author of Driving Honda, a new book that takes a look inside the automaker. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #393: Topics: Monterey Car Week Jeffrey Rothfeder (Driving Honda) interview Woodward Dream Cruise + Dodge Charger Hellcat Mid-Engine Corvette rumors just won't die In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Jaguar F-Type V6 S Convertible 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4X4 CNG 2014 Nissan NV200 SV Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Harley Runtime: 02:10:41 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Monterey Car Week - 37:08 Jeffrey Rothfeder - 52:17 Woodward 2014 - 01:28:11 Mid-Engine Corvette - 01:44:30 Q&A - 01:56:53 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Rumormill Chevrolet Dodge Jaguar Nissan Pebble Beach mid-engine corvette dodge charger hellcat

Fewer than 1 in 3 Chevy dealers earn right to initially sell C7 Corvette

Looking to make the launch of the 2014 Corvette Stingray as efficient as possible, Chevrolet will be limiting the numbers of its dealers that can sell the all-new coupe and convertible. According to Automotive News, sales of the C7 Corvette will initially be limited to less than a third of Chevy's total dealership network when the 'Vette goes on sale this summer.
Only 900 dealers out of more than 3,000 locations nationwide will be allowed to sell the new Corvette at first, and the reason for this is so that there are no shortages at dealers that can actually get the cars sold. The article says that the 900 dealerships chosen represented 80 percent of total Corvette sales in 2012.
Some of the requirements dealers had to make to get initial allocation of Stingray sales include having sold at least four Corvettes in 2012 and having a Corvette Stingray specialist who will be required to have gone through a training session costing more than $2,000 per attendee. Once demand for the 2014 Corvette Stingray begins to subside - approximately six to nine months after it goes on sale - then allocation could open up to more dealers, but the report indicates this could happen following the 2014 model year.

Diesel details: Comparing Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Chevy Silverado Duramax, Ford F-150 Powerstroke

With specifications for the 2019 Ford F-150 Power Stroke diesel already out, and the details on the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and Chevy Silverado Duramax (and its GMC Sierra twin) trickling out, we felt it was a good time to start comparing the full-size trucks' light-duty diesels. Bear in mind, we've only driven one of these new diesel trucks, so we'll be sticking to numbers for now. Some numbers haven't been announced yet, either, but stay tuned, because we'll be updating this post with additional specifications as they become available. And if you want to compare any other versions of these trucks with other vehicles, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Now let's start comparing, starting with our big chart of numbers below. As we can plainly see, these trucks are quite closely matched. Each one has six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 liters and a turbocharger to boost it. The output of each is somewhat close, too. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the torque king at 480 pound-feet, 20 more than the GM trucks and 40 more than the Ford. The GM trucks win on power, though, with 277 ponies, 17 more than the Ram, and 27 more than the Ford. GM does report that you get their trucks' peak 460 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm, whereas the others only report peak torque at a particular point in the rev band, but all of these trucks should have wide, flat torque curves as you would expect from modern turbodiesels. 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel View 8 Photos Engine output is only one part of the truck performance equation. We also have towing and payload capacity, as well as fuel economy. With towing, the Ram 1500 is the current leader with a maximum capacity of 12,560 pounds. That tops the Ford F-150's 11,400-pound tow rating by well over 1,000 pounds. The F-150 can carry 2,020 pounds in its bed, but we don't know yet whether that's better or worse than the Ram or the GM trucks. We also don't have numbers for the GM trucks' towing capacities. View 9 Photos As for fuel economy, the Ford F-150 manages a thoroughly impressive 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway with two-wheel drive. Choosing four-wheel drive drops those numbers to 20 and 25 respectively. The fuel economy numbers for the Ram, Chevy and GMC haven't been revealed yet, but for some comparison, we can look at the old Ram EcoDiesel. That truck's best fuel economy was 20 in the city and 27 on the highway with two-wheel drive.