1982 Ford Mustang Gt Hatchback 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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Fernando Alonso sputters in his Indy test

INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves and Fernando Alonso kept waiting around Wednesday. Now both international stars have some unfinished business to take care before qualifying for this year's Indianapolis 500. After enduring a rain delay of more than four hours then watching IndyCar regulars turn laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for two more hours, Castroneves and Alonso finally made it onto the track — but couldn't quite complete their refresher course. "Happy to be back here because this place is great," Alonso said after posting a fast lap of 218.690 mph — the slowest of the nine-driver evening session. "We were slow because the weather and some of the decisions people made on running time and things like that." He faced a bevy of problems in his first trip back to Indy since an impressive rookie performance in 2017. The rain delay forced organizers into rescheduling the one-day test, moving the rookie and refresher driver time from midday to the evening, cutting a significant amount of practice time for Alonso and the others. And when the green flag finally waved, Alonso's No. 66 car stalled in the warmup lane forcing the two-time Formula One champion from Spain to be towed back to pit lane where his crew worked feverishly to fix an electrical problem while sat in the cockpit. Eventually, he did get out and passed the first of two refresher phases. He'll have to wait until opening practice of the 500 on May 14 to pass the second. "It was frustrating for everyone because it was a brand new chassis and a brand new car, so we expected to run a lot," said Alonso, who drives for McLaren Racing. "If we could have had this at midday, you could work on your issues in the afternoon and then go out again." To put his day in perspective, Takuma Sato, the 2017 Indy winner from Japan, posted the fastest lap of the day at 226.993 mph and Colton Herta was the fastest rookie at 226.108. Castroneves, as usual, was good right from the start and posted a fast lap of 225.565. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner looked smooth and fast on his favorite track and wasted no time passing the first phase. That much should have been expected from the popular Brazilian, who has recorded seven top-three finishes in 18 Indy starts and will make his season debut May 11 in the IndyCar Grand Prix. The weather and yellow flags prevented four of the five veterans — Castroneves, Alonso, Oriol Servia and JR Hildebrand — from passing phase two. Only Indy native Conor Daly made it.

1983 Motorweek showdown pits Porsche 928S vs. Chevy Camaro Z28

Last month, Motor Trend threw the Camaro Z/28 and Porsche 911 GT3 into the bear pit and let them fight it out. Way back in 1983, MotorWeek had the same idea, comparing the Camaro Z/28 to the Porsche 928S. At the time, the Camaro was America's best selling sports coupe, the 928S was Porsche's top-of-the-line model that also had the highest top speed of any car sold here. And the price differential was even more stark then: $13,600 for the Camaro, $45,000 for the Porsche. That put the Z/28's cast-iron, 5.0-liter V8 with 190 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque against the all-aluminum 4.7-liter V8 with 234 hp and 263 lb-ft in the 928S. Even with that and the Camaro being 14 inches longer than the Porsche, the American was a surprising 40 pounds lighter than the German. The show took them to Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia to see how close a relative performance bargain could hang with a the German GT. Both had five-speed manual transmissions, but the high-speed corners and tight sections of Summit Point would test other handling variables, including the "bone-rattling" Camaro's solid rear axle and disc and drum brake setup vis-a-vis the four-wheel disc brakes and independent suspension on the "firm-but-smooth" Porsche. Paradoxically, the larger disparity 22 years ago resulted in a closer result. Check out the video to see how the Summit was won. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Chevrolet Porsche Coupe Luxury Performance Classics Videos chevy camaro z28 porsche 928 retro review

GM offering factory-backed extended warranty for Chevys, GMCs, Buicks and Cadillacs

Cars are generally more reliable than ever before. When things do go wrong, every automaker offers some form of factory warranty (in most cases at least three years and 36,000 miles, though many extend even longer), providing peace of mind to new-car buyers that many faults will be fixed at no charge to the customer. Starting today, GM is offering a new optional plan that will extend the factory warranty on all new Chevy, GMC, Buick and Cadillac products. In the past, extended warranties have been offered as dealer add-ons, with all profits from these sales going to the dealership. GM's new program can be viewed as another nail in the the looming dealership-model coffin. According to Automotive News, some dealers aren't happy to see GM cut into their business like this, saying that it helps GM far more than it does dealers. GM says the new program will help keep customers in the GM family. Customers are also more likely to visit a GM service center rather than going to an independent repair shop. Currently, new Chevy and GMC vehicles come with three-year/36,000-mile warranties. Buicks and Cadillacs are covered for 4 years or 50,000 miles. The new program extends Chevy and GMC warranties to five years or 60,000 miles. Buick and Cadillac warranties extend to six years or 70,000 miles. GM, citing IHS Markit, says most owners keep new cars for about 6.8 years, so these warranties will cover most of the length of their ownership. The extended warranty will add between $1,000 and $2,000 to the price of a vehicle, and the additional cost can be rolled into the vehicle's purchase or lease price. Unlike many dealer extensions, the factory program covers the vehicle no matter who owns it. That should help increase the car's resale value if it's sold within the covered timeframe. GM says there's no deductible and no need to file a claim form when getting warranty repairs. Additionally, dealerships can continue to sell their own extended warranties or service contracts. Related Video: