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Tuning shop plans to turn C8 Corvette into a supercar homage to Cadillac

In March 1902, Henry Ford walked away from his Henry Ford Company investors, leaving his former financial backers to dissolve the concern. The engineer brought in to appraise the old equipment, Henry Leland, convinced the investors to form a new car company and back him instead. Hence, six years before Ford gave the world the Model T, he inadvertently gave the world the Cadillac Automobile Company in August 1902. That makes 2022 the 120th anniversary of the brand that once called itself "The Standard of the World." We don't know if Cadillac has anything planned for the year, but U.S.-based tuner Competition Carbon does. As Carscoops picked up on, the aftermarket shop specializing in Corvette and Lamborghini mods intends to turn a current C8 Corvette into a supercar homage to Cadillac called the C120R. There will be two versions of this creation, one of them a V12 roadster. All we have are Instagram captions and photos to go on at the moment, one of those photos tagged with a list of Competition Carbon's partners in the project. One of the names is Kasim Tlibekov, who specializes in creating body kits for all manner of cars, another is Group A Motoring, which makes and sells body kit parts for six Japanese automakers. In a post on the Group A Instagram page, a Competition Carbon caption informs us the C120R is its "2022 SEMA project! Inspired by [2002] Cadillac Cien Super Car Concept (100 Anniversary), we redesigned and updated to our modern world after 20 years." On the same post, Group A writes that this bodykit is "prob the first complete rebody C8 project, already at 3D Printing." So, yes, despite the name, the body kit is worked up in SLA resin, not carbon. As for the kit's looks, the rationale for its intensity makes sense after looking at the Cien. The twin-duct hood dipping below the vectored front fascia, the reshaped side intakes, the flying buttresses over bulked-up and squared rear fenders, all come straight off the Cien, pictured below. The adjustable rear wing and the roof scoop are new. That scoop would be one of two engine cover treatments for the car. The first has eight cutouts, and we suspect the car that Competition Carbon brings to this year's SEMA show will use the Corvette's 6.2-liter V8. However, another of the tagged names is Hartley Engines, a small engine builder out of New Zealand. There's apparently another C120R already planned for the 2023 SEMA show, that one packing an open top above and a V12 behind.

Car owners getting more irritated with their repair experiences, study says

The J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index Study (CSI) is a barometer of a vehicle owner's happiness with the service experience. While it wasn't all bad in the 2023 study, the overall owner satisfaction score dropped. This year's tally of 846 out of 1,000 is two points down from 2022, the 43-year-old study's first decline in more than 28 years, and one point down from 2021. However, the overall score remains well up from the pre-pandemic scores of 821 in 2018 and 837 in 2020. The study claims the stumbling block is the horde of BEV launches. The flood into the new energy space has created a recall rate among EVs that's more than double the rate for ICE vehicles. Furthermore, dealership service department knowledge of EVs isn't on par with internal combustion engine expertise, leaving EV owners less satisfied with service advisors compared to ICE owners. Chris Sutton, VP of automotive retail at J.D. Power, said, "As training programs for service advisors and technicians evolve, EV service quality and customer experience must address both the vehicle and the unique customer needs. The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but weÂ’re not seeing the benefits yet." Matters are slightly worse for all owners, though, with labor and parts shortages contributing to longer wait times for service appointments. The CSI study surveys owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles to gauge their happiness with service at franchised dealer or aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work. The criteria in order of importance are service quality (32%); service advisor (19%); vehicle pick-up (19%); service facility (15%); and service initiation (15%). Lexus retains the top spot for luxury brands, giving it three wins in four years. The Japanese automaker won in 2020 as well, its run interrupted by Porsche in 2021. Cadillac, Infiniti and Acura complete the luxury top 5.  For mass-market cars, Mitsubishi wins again after a victory in 2021 and falling to fourth last year. It's followed by Mazda, Buick, Subaru and Mini.  Considering the different service needs and service experience of different body styles, the study has broken results out by segment for the first time. Lexus earned a second victory thanks to winning the premium SUV segment, and Mitsubishi earned a second victory by winning the mass-market SUV/minivan category.

Hoons off-road in a lowrider Monte Carlo in latest Roadkill video

Specialization keeps the automotive world interesting because it creates all sorts of fun niches. For example, if you like hot rods, you can dive deep into the world of rat rods or just focus on cars with a more traditional look. In some cases the myriad styles don't mix very well, of course, and the folks at Roadkill are proving that on video by attempting to take a lowrider Chevrolet Monte Carlo from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on dirt. As you might expect, forcing a lowrider off-road doesn't go well, but the stunt makes for a great chronicle of dumb, automotive fun. Other than some repairs to get the Monte Carlo roadworthy, the only modification here is a set of knobby tires to achieve at least a modicum of traction on the loose rocks. Although, no matter what they do, at the even lowest speeds the hosts inside are still bounced around like they're in an inflatable castle at a kid's birthday party. Still, the guys are clearly amused by it all.