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Autoblog Podcast #380

Episode #380 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert and Seyth Miersma talk about the Fiat-Chrysler five-year plan, the seeming demise of the Nissan Cube, and proposed legislation to require speed limiters with a 68-mph maximum on America's tractor trailers. 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 #380: Topics: Fiat-Chrysler five-year plan Nissan Cube on the way out? Big rig speed limiters coming? In the Autoblog Garage: 2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG 2014 Chevrolet Sonic RS Sedan 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Seyth Miersma Runtime: 01:44:17 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Fiat Chrysler Plan - 29:40 Nissan Cube - 01:07:33 Semi Speed Limiters - 01:17:33 Q&A - 01:27:35 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 Auto News Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Podcasts Rumormill Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Nissan nissan cube speed limiters

Why does Chevy want to trademark Camaro Krypton?

The Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang have the type of long-lived rivalry that is often found in the pages of comic books. Is the Camaro the Kryptonite to the Mustang's Superman, though? We might get to find out soon, if two recent trademark filings are any hints. On May 5, General Motors filed trademarks in the US for both Krypton and Camaro Krypton (not pictured above). While the move seemed potentially timed with the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice next year, engineer Al Oppenheiser shot that theory down to The Detroit Free Press. "I think that's just Internet buzz, which is great," he said to the newspaper about the alleged connection. "It's another thing about this segment of cars: there's always Internet buzz." Rather than a special edition connected to next the superhero film, Oppenheiser speculated something else. "Sometimes when we come up with a new color in our studios, they just apply [for a trademark] in case we ever use it," he said to The Detroit Free Press. "We never said we're going to do anything with that color." Still, as Superman's home planet and part of the name for the mineral that can harm him, Krypton undoubtedly has a superhero connection. To maintain the link to the comics, such a color would likely be a shade of green. Although, depending on the depiction in the books, the exact hue can vary between bright neon and a darker tone. Related Video:

Chevy might've pulled out of NASCAR if it weren't for new Gen 6 car

We've been on the fence with NASCAR for some time now. On one hand, it's some of the closest racing anywhere in motorsports, with actual passing and door-handle-to-door-handle action as a matter of course. But on the other, it's become template racing - a personality-driven sport more about the drivers than any sort of loyalty to a particular automaker. The Car Of Tomorrow format really rammed that message home, with a racecar's identity coming down to little more than headlamp stickers slapped on the nose. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but we've wondered for some time what's in it for the automakers, who pay big money to stay in a series that has had little increasingly little do with street car sales, let alone innovation.
Apparently General Motors was beginning to wonder the same thing. In a new ESPN report, Rick Hendrick, team owner of Hendrick Motorsports, suggests that GM would have seriously considered leaving NASCAR if it wasn't for the move away from the COT to the new Gen 6 racer. According to Hendrick, GM North America boss Mark Reuss spearheaded the charge away from the 2007 COT and toward a racecar with clearer automaker ties - cars like the new Chevrolet SS racer shown above. Learn more about the fight for a closer-to-production look in the ESPN story at the link.
Now, if we could just get more rear-wheel drive V8 coupes into showrooms....