Automotive

Clean Trail Grant Program Advocates Conservation, Benefits Off-Road Clubs

Clean Trail Grant Program Advocates Conservation, Benefits Off-Road Clubs

Off-road going types really enjoy the great outdoors. Many of the Jeep enthusiasts I know can’t wait to get out of the office on a Friday afternoon. They have pictures of Moab on their desktop or a Wranger poster in their cubicle; they even have a Jeep hat or coat draped over their chair. Our friends at ExtremeTerrain are like this – they eat, sleep, and breath the off-road lifestyle, so much so, they turned their passion into a profession. Over the years, we have gotten to know the team at ExtremeTerrain by working with them in various capacities during that time.
The Pennsylvania company provides aftermarket Jeep Wrangler parts for the off-road enthusiast. While Jeep parts and accessories are their passion, so is the conservation and protection of our nation’s great trails.
Restoration & Improvement
ExtremeTerrain is accepting applications for their Clean Trail Grant Program, an initiative advocating the responsible use of recreational trails. The Clean Trail Grant Program provides eligible groups the opportunity to have their next trail improvement project funded, be it clean up, restoration, or expansion. To date, ExtremeTerrain has approved over 22 grants for trail improvement projects, totaling nearly $10,000. This year, an additional 10 grants have been approved with more expected.
Eligibility & Requirements
Various Wrangler outfits, 4×4 groups, and Off-Highway Vehicle Organizations (OHV) are eligible, provided five or more members are currently active. Publicly and privately owned off-road trails are eligible to apply as well. The Clean Trail Grant money can be used for purchasing the tools associated with trail cleaning, restoration, and expansion; promotional materials to recruit volunteers, food for said volunteers, and to cover over miscellaneous expenses.
“We you can get the tools you need to clean, restore, or expand your local trails, helping to maintain the trail system and improve it for future off-roaders,” reads a statement from ExtremeTerrain.
Recent Clean Trail Grant winners and participants include The OffRoad Misfits, Onslow County North Carolina Boy Scouts, Dauntless Jeepers, and the Kentucky Off-Roaders. The grant money for these individual entities was used for a range of things, from dumpster rental and cleaning supplies, to purchasing a camera to catch litter bugs in the act. Along with the grant money, industrial strength trash bags for garbage and debris removal were provided.
Those interested in applying can do so by filling out a brief questionnaire. The Clean Trail Grant Program was established in 2015.
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Cover Photo: FCA US LLC.

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The Evolution of Automotives: Part 2: Thowbacks, Dream Machines, And Pretty Girls

The Evolution of Automotives: Part 2: Thowbacks, Dream Machines, And Pretty Girls

Automoblog’s Katie Kapro examines how imaginative thinking and creative risks have influenced the modern automobile in this three-part miniseries. Part one of this series here.
Every vehicle is made up of certain fundamental elements — the engine, tires, frame, and even a windshield if you want to get really fancy. These things are to a car what the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth are to the human face. They exist to serve a utilitarian purpose to be sure, but their variations from one “model” to another is the stuff of individuality and intrigue.
It’s what keeps the road, and the world, interesting.
Automotive styling over the years has taken some wild twists and turns. From the awkward, lady-only Dodges of the 1950s to the deja-vu inducing Chevrolets of the late 1990s, time has proven that some styling choices stand the test of time better than others.
Assumptions Gone Awry
There are three kinds of car: one built to be a utilitarian workhorse, one built for speed, and one built to be, for lack of a better word, sexy. Ford pretty much cornered the utilitarian market with the Model T tractor adaptation back in the day, while ever-increasing speed has been an aspiration of car manufacturers for as long as wheels have been attached to axles. In terms of design, the more utilitarian the vehicle, the chunkier its styling. The faster it needs to go, the lower, sleeker, and more reptilian it becomes. It’s the sexy cars though which historically get automotive marketers and stylists into trouble.
Essentially, the problem they’ve run into is one of poor assumptions. Trying to tap into a group identity is a challenging enough endeavor on its own, but when your audience is a giant swath of humanity, aka all drivers everywhere, the opportunity for falling flat on your face is pretty high.
Take for example the failure that was the Dodge La Femme. The automotive stylists of the 1950s created it thinking it would be a woman’s dream: Regal Orchid finish, loop pile carpeting, and of course built-in purses for those lady passengers who just never could remember to grab them when they ran to the grocery store for that gallon of milk they oh-so-absent-mindedly also forgot. Insert era-appropriate giggle and eyelash flutter. Trying to understand what women wanted in a vehicle was just too large a task for the time, and it’s not simply the fault of a few misguided designers.
Photo: FCA US LLC.

Practical Over Pretty
The La Femme is representative of the times. Not only did chauvinism run rampant in the 50s, but the design engineers still had a lot to learn about customers. They had just begun to understand the importance of asking their target audience questions about what they wanted and taking their responses into consideration when styling the newest model. But what they had yet to figure out was how to translate that information and find the underlying desire and need behind their customer’s responses.
When a woman in the 50s said, I want a practical car, she meant a vehicle with a mechanically sound engine and reliable tires. Radial tires — tires with cords arranged in the direction of travel — were the newest rage and safety feature in USA-made cars of the era. A female driver in the 1950s wanted something to get her around safely. Not something to hold her makeup. If the car designers of the age hadn’t fallen prey to their own assumptions and really understood the underlying desires of their customers, they probably wouldn’t have made the mistake of creating a purse on wheels.
The back page of the brochure of the 1956 Dodge La Femme. The La Femme package was offered in 1955 and 1956 and was marketed toward female buyers. It was painted pink and white and came with a makeup bag and umbrella. Photo: FCA US LLC.
The Throwback
Tapping into the emotion that a car evokes, when done in just the right way, can be a powerful design tactic. It’s called the throwback. The Chevy Silverado, when launched in 1999, was a truck built for comfort and personal use. It was capable of hauling big loads and navigating rough terrain, but also had a cushy interior suitable for passengers and long trips. The Silverado was far from the first truck to try and meet the needs of comfort-seeking drivers. In fact, the first was Chevy’s Advance Design half-ton pickup, the first completely redesigned GM vehicle to hit the market after World War II.
Owners of pre-WWII pickups asked for a roomier, more comfortable cab. Not only did they get it, which of course led to increased truck sales for Chevrolet, but the style lines of models like the 1955 Task Force became synonymous with post-WWII prosperity, hard work, and security. It’s no coincidence the design of these particular trucks has made a comeback in the last several decades. The design of Chevy trucks has come to represent nostalgia for more prosperous times in the U.S. and our collective aspirations for the future.
In terms of design choices, the throwback works because it raises a vehicle to the emotional plane. Drivers inherently trust a vehicle that looks like a reliable truck of the past.
1955 Chevrolet 3300 Series Standard Pickup. Photo: GM Media Archive.

The Dream Machine
The final play in the vehicle design and styling game is to give drivers a car that feeds their desire for speed and imagination — aka every concept car ever. Speeding head-first into the future is as invigorating as it is inspiring, and as technology continues to advance, there are fewer limitations than ever before.
One might think the future dream machine is a driverless car, and perhaps it is for a certain segment of the population, but for people who truly love driving there’s no reason to be hemmed-in by gravity. Instead, they can set their sights on the sleekest and most aerodynamic vehicle of all: a flying car. There will be some kinks to work out before flying cars are commonplace — like figuring out how one goes about insuring a flying vehicle and how exactly to bring the price tag down from the multi-millions — but those logistics can be saved for another day. For now, a driver’s greatest dreams are often a reality thanks to today’s technology; all that’s left is to imagine zipping through the sky in a vehicle that would put even the sleekest sports car to shame.
Vehicle design is for the bold of spirit. It takes vision and creativity to reach into the emotional past and future for design inspiration. Not every attempt will be a success, but hey, it’s what keeps the road, and the world, interesting.
Katie Kapro spent her childhood handing her dad tools under his Datsun. She loves thinking about the social aspects of motoring, and dreaming about the future of automotives. Follow her work on Twitter: @kapro101
Cover Photo: FCA US LLC.

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2018 Honda Accord Gets Thorough Redesign

2018 Honda Accord Gets Thorough Redesign

The Honda Accord has, for many years, been many things. It’s affordable, reliable transportation for many people. It is a market leader and a vanguard as to what a large segment of car buyers want and expect, and therefore, if you’re smart and observant, a signal to other automakers as to what people will buy. But more than anything else, the Honda Accord is a virtual license to print money. It would have been more efficient if various governments from around the world had simply shipped Honda a bunch of printing presses from their mints, and cut out the middleman, so to speak.
So, when Honda gives the Accord a major redo, the world best pay attention.
Before digging into the 2018 Honda Accord, I should first go into what is not said in any of the Minato-based company’s press materials. Completely absent is any mention of the Honda Accord Coupe. And that is because, sadly, Honda will no longer produce a coupe version of the Accord. Yes, I know it’s hard out there for coupes. It’s a crowded market segment, and profit margins are blade thin, so pour one out for the Accord Coupe, because we won’t be seeing it on the road any time soon.
The Accord’s new body is lighter and more rigid, with 29 percent ultra-high-strength steel, the most extensive application of this weight-saving material in any current mass-produced Honda car. Pictured here is the 2018 Honda Accord Touring. Photo: Honda North America.
Styling & Design
The 2018 Honda Accord, coming this fall, is the tenth version of Honda’s bread and butter sedan. Indeed, the Accord is the best-selling midsize sedan in America, and given Honda’s conservative engineering and styling nature, they are not going to mess up a good thing. Honda’s designers and engineers took a “back to fundamentals” approach when it came to reimagining the gen-10 Accord. Overall, they went with proportions that give the 2018 Accord a “sporting and athletic appearance.” In other words, longer, lower, and wider, while trying to keep the lines, creases, and proportions taut.
The new Accord’s wheelbase is more than 2 inches longer, overall height has dropped more than half an inch, and the body is nearly half an inch wider. Similarly, the track has expanded, gaining 0.20 inches in front and 0.79 inches out back. The overall length, however, has dropped by 0.39 of an inch, so overhangs front and rear are less. There’s a lower, sportier seating position, while the greenhouse (windshield) is positioned farther back on the body to be more “sweeping.” The combined effect Honda wants is that of a more premium look, highlighted by shorter overhangs, a bolder front fascia, a long and low hood, and a visual center of gravity moved closer to the rear wheels.
Whether Accord buyers will find this appealing will be up to them. Honda has been known to miss the mark with styling in the past, so the jury is still out.
The front fascia sits more upright for 2018, highlighted by Honda’s now signature chrome wing front grille, positioned and flanked by available 9-lamp LED headlights and LED fog lights. Honda calls the hood “chiseled” with its raised center; the sides are deeply sculpted to give the 2018 Accord visual length. Honda also cleaned up the roof/body thanks to a new laser brazing process that creates a clean appearance without a garnish over the car’s rain channels. Out back, the whole “low and wide” thing keeps up with an upswept decklid, distinctive LED taillights, and integrated dual exhaust ports. Overall, this increased aerodynamic efficiency by approximately 3 percent.
Along with the first application of structural adhesives to the Accord, cabin quietness is further enhanced by a comprehensive sound-insulating package that includes full underbody covers (which also aid aerodynamics), front and rear fender and engine compartment insulators, alloy wheels with Honda-proprietary resonator technology, sound-absorbing carpet, acoustic laminated windshield glass – plus front door acoustic glass on EX and above trims – and a new, three-microphone Active Noise Control system. Photo: Honda North America.

Interior Treatments & Technology
Honda has used those new chassis and body hard-points to extract more room. Beneath the greenhouse that angles inward more dramatically, the seats have been moved slightly inward for better hip, shoulder, and head room. The longer wheelbase allows second row seats to be pushed rearward, giving almost 2 extra inches of rear leg room. Honda says there’s an extra 2.5 cubic feet of interior volume, and trunk space is up by nearly one cubic foot on the 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter Accords.
If you go for the Accord Hybrid, you’ll gain 3.2 cubic feet of trunk space for 2018.
The new soft-touch instrument panel features an ultra-thin profile and three-tier design that describes a continuous arc, from its outboard section through the side door sills. Honda says this is to give a sense of strength and visual continuity. So it goes. The “sport inspired” (gag) steering wheel is more contoured with deep-set thumb rests and available paddle shifters. Honda, an outfit always known for its knobs and switchgear, keeps up the tradition by paying lots of attention to the tactile and visual quality of surface materials throughout the cabin.
The 2018 Accord has an ultra-slim, 7-inch TFT driver’s meter and a new 8-inch Display Audio touchscreen with physical volume and tuning knobs. Of course it’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible with the next-gen HondaLink telematics which includes emergency roadside assistance, remote locking/unlocking and engine start, stolen vehicle tracking, remote diagnostics, geofencing, and speed tracking. Higher trim levels get a new 6-inch Heads-Up Display. There’s wireless device charging, automatic Bluetooth phone pairing, 4G LTE in-car Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi-enabled over-the-air system updates.
The 2018 Accord’s turbocharged engines utilize a host of new technologies, including high-efficiency low-inertia turbos, variable valve timing, low-pressure-loss air intake, and high-accuracy direct injection to deliver immediate response. Honda anticipates solid fuel economy ratings from the EPA with the new engines. Pictured here is the 2018 Honda Accord Touring. Photo: Honda North America.

Power & Performance
For those of us that care about things like engine specs, we’ll all be glad to hear the 2018 Accord gets three new powerplants: two turbocharged 4-cylinder engines and a two-motor hybrid powertrain setup. There’s a new, Honda-developed 10-speed automatic transmission for the 2.0-liter turbo mill, and an available 6-speed manual transmission for both turbocharged engines. Hooray!
The 1.5-liter plant puts out 192 horsepower and 192 lb-ft. of torque. The 2.0-liter produces 252 horsepower and 273 lb-ft. of torque. Both of these plants are substantially up from the engines they replace – we’d buy the 2.0-liter, of course. Honda does not mention exactly when this fall the 2018 Accord will be in showrooms nor how much it will cost, but c’mon, it’s a Honda Accord; it’ll probably be right within your budget.
All variants of the 2018 Accord will be produced at Honda’s Marysville, Ohio plant.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
2018 Honda Accord Gallery

Photos & Source: Honda North America.

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New Michelin Video Accurately Shows Why We Love Motorsports

New Michelin Video Accurately Shows Why We Love Motorsports The Goodwood Festival of Speed is billed as the largest motoring garden party in the word. In 1993, Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara, established the Goodwood Festival of Speed; he wanted the motor racing spirit on the grounds of Goodwood House. The Festival of Speed allows enthusiasts direct and intimate access to the machines and drivers that make the sport famous. Automakers from around the globe make an appearance and often display special edition models for their fans.
The event is held in the surrounding parkland of Goodwood Estate, located just to the north of the West Sussex cathedral city of Chichester. Outside of the Festival of Speed, the area is used as farmland for the Goodwood Farm livestock.
Superstar Moments
Michelin recently released a video documenting this year’s edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, featuring Paul Wallace from Supercars of London and Sam from Seen Through Glass. We join the duo as they meet and interview some of the most respected names in Motorsport, including Le Mans champion Tom Kristensen, rally legend Mikko Hirvonen, and motorcycle extraordinaire Freddie Spencer.
Over the course of seven minutes, Paul and Sam receive insight on how each form of racing differs and what strategies are needed to be successful. Kristensen explains how an engineer will approach racing while Spencer talks about how he grips the handlebars on his motorcycle while racing. Hirvonen even obliges and gives Sam a ride after he defeats Paul for the privilege after a game of rock, paper, scissors. After ripping around the rally course, Sam declares things on his body he didn’t think could “jiggle” where, in fact, jiggling.

Powerful Pursuits
The underlying theme revolves around the passion we all share for anything with wheels. When it comes to our love of cars particularly, we can usually pinpoint why. It might be for enjoyment, like attending classic car shows or turning wrenches on that old GTO in the garage to restore it. It might be a love for driving a light and agile roadster through rolling hills; it might be that feeling of success a fine luxury car can portray, or it could as simple as appreciating the everyday SUV because it’s reliable for the family.
Whatever the reason, Michelin’s video recapping the Goodwood Festival of Speed, shows how such passions are, and will continue to be, one of the greatest things we can experience.

More information on the Michelin Car Connections MSN Hub.
Disclosure: This article is sponsored by Michelin. All views and opinions expressed here are my own. Check out our advertising guidelines to see why we’d never steer you wrong.

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Rolls-Royce Phantom: Overstated Finesse or Elegance Pinnacle?

Rolls-Royce Phantom: Overstated Finesse or Elegance Pinnacle?

Who buys a Rolls-Royce these days? I guess somebody does, because they’re still being made and sold, but it also seems like their choice as a viable luxury and performance ride peaked many, many decades ago. In a lot of ways, driving a Rolls today is seen as gauche and extremely declasse. Back then, a Rolls was as subtle as anything else British. It was all about understated luxury, not about “look at me, I’m filthy rich” with an emphasis on filthy. So what is the new Rolls-Royce Phantom, and why would one consider buying it this day and age?
Perception Versus Reality
In their heyday, a Rolls was like a Savile Row suit or refurbishing the roof on the olde family manse that great-grand-Ma-Ma left to you. It was something that one, one of a certain peerage and lineage, did. But then the New Rich clocked to the idea that if you could buy the trappings of the Old Rich, you could, in theory and to some people, be perceived as having class. You could simply buy your way into the ornamentation of a title and not worry about the title itself.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards both bought fine old English mansions back in the 60s. John Lennon bought a Rolls and painted it all psychedelic as a rather nice ironic statement. Keith Moon bought a Rolls and drove it into the pool of his old English manse because he’s Keith Moon. Now, it’s all sheiks and minor princes and heirs from minor oil-soaked fiefdoms and the occasional rapper that seems to be Rolls-Royce’s stock in trade.
Photo: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC.
Architecture of Luxury
Admittedly, you’ll be getting something screwed together more like a bespoke luxury yacht than a car. Rolls’ attention to stuff like carpets and leather and wood and such has been well known for the better part of a century. The obfuscation of technical details is just as well known, but that, like so many things RR, is a thing of the past. Now, Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW and that, in a lot of very important engineering ways, has been good for the company.
The new Rolls Phantom sits on an all-aluminium spaceframe architecture. This all aluminium spaceframe will underpin every future Rolls; no future model will rely on the monocoque construction used by the “mass-manufacturers and some mass-luxury brands.” Oh SNAP! The new Roller is approximately 30 percent more rigid than the spaceframe architecture found on the outgoing Phantom VII. Naturally, all this stiffness results in “the Rolls-Royce experience” in ride, acoustic, and seat comfort, along with a particular exterior and interior presence.
All of this is part of RR’s new “Architecture of Luxury” and if you thought the builders from Crewe would leave it at that, you’re sorely mistaken. Rolls hits on that phrase relentlessly from here on out. This new focus is concentrated on making the new Phantom lighter and stiffer, with more efficient standards of production.
The new spaceframe rides on an air suspension and features state-of-the-art chassis control systems. Rolls-Royce says this results in “peerless, effortless ride and handling and optimal vibration comfort performance.” The front suspension is a new double-wishbone setup with a 5-link arrangement at the rear. This offers better control over lateral roll and shear forces, while delivering increased agility and stability. The new Phantom also gets four-wheel steering.
Photo: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC.

Sound Performance
As with all Rolls-Royce models, the new Phantom is as quiet as a drawing room, thanks to the 6mm two-layer glazing on the windows, more than 130kg of sound insulation, cast aluminium joints, and the use of other high sound absorption materials. There’s double skin alloy on areas within the floor and bulkhead of the spaceframe for better acoustic insulation from road noise.
Rolls has inserted dense foam with felt layers between panel skins for further sound insulation. They’ve even added sound deadening to the headliner, in the doors, and in the boot (trunk) cavity. They even spec’d new “Silent-Seal” tires that feature a foam layer inside to see to tire cavity noise and drop road noise by another 9db. All of this results in what Rolls calls “the most silent motorcar in the world.”
Performance & Technology
Motivating this boat is a new twin turbocharged V12 Phantom engine that puts out 900Nm (over 660 ft-lbs.) of torque and 563 horsepower. The 12-banger’s power is put to the tarmac through something called a Satellite Aided Transmission, married to a ZF 8-Speed gearbox.
And since it’s 2017 and not 1917, the new Rolls-Royce Phantom is dripping computer technology. Rolls refers to this as an “Electronic Architecture,” complete with an electronic nervous system that connects and controls all the various intelligent systems of the Phantom. Rolls says it’s the most advanced luxury motorcar available today and sure, why not. There’s the Alertness Assistant which is a 4-camera system with Panoramic View for all around visibility, including a helicopter view. There’s Night Vision and Vision Assist, Active Cruise Control, collision warning, pedestrian warning (should you actually care about the wellbeing of your lessers), cross-traffic warning, lane departure and lane change warning, and a 7×3 high-resolution heads-up display. WiFi hotspot? But of course, sir! The latest navigation and entertainment systems? Need you even ask, sir?!
Price? Well if you have to ask about that, perhaps you should run along with the other reach-me-downs and chuckaboos to the Mercedes-Benz or Jaguar dealership. That might be more befitting someone of your, a-HEM, station, sir. I said good day sir!
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Gallery

Photos & Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC.

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2017 Acura MDX AWD Advance Review

2017 Acura MDX AWD Advance Review

Many consumers don’t think of the Acura MDX when searching for a new luxury SUV or crossover, but it’s definitely a model you need to put on your list. We think the improvements on the 2017 MDX make it one of the best-driving crossovers in its class. It’s all-weather capable and has a quiet, spacious cabin.
Over the weekend, we drove the 2017 Acura MDX AWD with the Advance trim.
What’s New For 2017
The Acura MDX receives a significant remodel, including a new hood, refreshed front and rear fascias, restyled front fenders, and new headlights. This year’s MDX is the first Acura to sport the new diamond pentagon grille.
Features & Options
The 2017 Acura MDX AWD Advance comes standard with 20-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights with auto high beams, heated side mirrors, an electronic parking brake, a power liftgate, a sunroof, and keyless entry and ignition. Inside, you’ll find heated, eight-way power-adjustable front seats (with power lumbar adjustment for the driver), driver-seat memory settings, a power-adjustable steering wheel, leather upholstery, tri-zone automatic climate control, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
Technology highlights include dual dashboard displays (a lower 7-inch touchscreen and an upper 8-inch regular screen), Bluetooth, five USB ports, Siri Eyes Free, and an eight-speaker sound system with a CD player, Pandora and Aha compatibility, and satellite radio. The AcuraWatch suite includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Lane Keeping Assist.
The Advance package adds front and rear parking sensors, LED foglights, automatic engine stop/start, a surround-view camera, a heated steering wheel, sport seats with premium leather; power lumbar adjustment for the front passenger, front-seat ventilation, natural wood trim, heated second-row captain’s chairs, second row sunshades, and two additional USB ports for the third row. Pricing was not available for our MDX tester.

Interior Highlights
The first thing we had to figure out was the new push-button transmission shifter, located on the center console. But, once we got it handled, it was a nice change from the big sifters in other SUVs. It frees up space on the console, and it’s easy to use with its distinct buttons and levers. The premium leather seats are plush and supportive, with low side bolsters that make sliding in and out easy. Much different than the Recaro performance seats in my last tester.
What we didn’t like is how the driver’s seat slides back automatically when the door is opened, and we had to readjust the seat each time we got in. A week isn’t long enough for this journalist to program the seats, so we had to deal with it. The cabin is roomy for this class and the fit, finish, and material quality is first rate.
Rear passengers are bathed in comfort too and the optional Advanced Package offers second row captains chairs that come heated for extra winter warmth. The third row seats are easier to get to with the captains chairs, but are good for kids and not adults as in most 3-row SUVs. The second and third row seats fold flat and with both seats folded, the cargo space reveals an underfloor storage area with room for items you need to hide away. It has a handy lid that can be moved out of the way.

Engine & Fuel Mileage Specs
This MDX tester came with the 3.5-liter direct-injected V6, making 290 horsepower and 267 lb-ft. of torque. It’s coupled with a nine-speed automatic transmission that drives all four wheels. This MDX came with the optional SH-AWD system for all-weather capability. EPA ratings come in at 19/26/ city/highway and 22 combined mpg, using premium unleaded fuel. The start/stop feature gets you 1 mpg more, though it can be annoying.
Driving Dynamics
For driving enthusiasts, the MDX is one of the sportier crossovers when you get behind the wheel. The 3.5 liter V6 makes enough power to have fun when pushed hard. It offers up strong acceleration, rivaling some of its European competitors while still getting good fuel economy. We used the steering wheel paddle shifters in Sport mode, enabling the MDX’s 9-speed automatic to quickly shift up or down. When left in normal mode, acceleration is smooth and the nine-speed transmission keeps revs high at full throttle.
On the highway, the ride is comfortable, but we could feel higher frequency bumps through the larger 20-inch wheels at lower speeds. In the tight mountains corners, this tester had minimal body roll and the suspension soaked up larger bumps. During city driving, the MDX is easy to maneuver in traffic, but the automatic start/stop function still takes too long to react off the line after coming to a stop.
The cabin is quiet and kept us insulated from the city, thanks to an active noise-cancellation system, active engine mounts, acoustic glass in the windshield and windows, and extra insulation throughout the vehicle.
For those who live in cold climates, the MDX’s SH-AWD is an exceptional system that moves power front-to-back and side-to-side, depending on where you need traction. In the corners, the system transfers more power to the outside wheels in a curve (torque vectoring), similar to performance cars. This also makes a difference on dry roads where there may be loose gravel near the edge of the road but clean near the middle.
Conclusion
The 2017 Acura MDX gets improvements to make it one of the best-driving crossovers in its class. It’s all-weather capable and has a quiet, spacious cabin. Throw in the MDX’s long list of safety features, and you’ve got a top family contender in this class.
Denis Flierl has invested over 25 years in the automotive industry in a variety of roles. Follow his work on Twitter: @CarReviewGuy
2017 Acura MDX Gallery

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2017 Acura MDX Official Site.
Photos: Honda North America.

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Lotus Evora GT430: Fastest Evora Yet

Lotus Evora GT430: Fastest Evora Yet

Hethel is at it again, with Lotus pairing down and refining their Evora even further with the Evora GT430. This one has gotten so far to the outside of what the existing structure can take, I wouldn’t be surprised if this will be the final iteration of the Evora line. To push the envelope any further, you’d basically end up with a race car-like ride devoid of stuff like seat padding and carpet and flywheels; so light that 90% of the people on the planet would stall the thing.
Oh sure, for morons like me, an Evora like that sounds pretty close to ideal, but Lotus is smart enough to know they’d only end up selling four of them.
Too Much, Too Little?
Of course, as fine as the Lotus Evora GT430 is, one terrible fact is becoming obvious. Have you noticed Lotus has been cranking out lots of variations on the Evora. Look, I don’t fault them, on the one hand. I’d be doing it too. The Evora is a great car, even in its mildest form, and is obviously flexible enough to be tuned to the stratosphere. But the other thing here is how the constant tinkering with the Evora might just say that’s all they got is the Evora. There’s no updated Elans for the 21st century, no Esprits at the top of the line. One could say this constant messing about with Evora points to a huge deficiency in the current lineup, but why dwell on negatives when we have the Lotus Evora GT430 to consider.
“The Evora GT430 is a landmark car for Lotus. Lightweight engineering and class-leading handling, paired with Lotus’ aerodynamic expertise, define the Evora GT430 as a legendary Lotus,” explained Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc. “It’s a truly beautiful car, meticulously finished in hand-crafted carbon, and employing the latest aerodynamics and lightweight materials. We expect the lucky owners to be blown away by its pure presence and staggering performance.” Photo: Group Lotus plc.
Power & Performance
The Lotus Evora GT430 follows in the tire tracks of the Evora 400 and Evora Sport 410, but that’s about the only thing it’s going to be following. Actually, the latter two will be the ones doing the following since the Evora GT430 is the most powerful road-going Lotus ever. In no small part this is thanks to Lotus lavishing scads of carbon-fiber components, and working the engine for even higher power output. The Evora GT430 is powered by the same 3.5-liter V6 supercharged and intercooled plant found in other Evoras, only now Lotus has massaged it into producing 430 horsepower.
And, just like the company’s founder Colin Chapman had a fetish for making things as light as possible, the latest Evora is anything but heavy. The Evora GT430 tips the scales at 1,258 kg (around 2,800 lbs. for you Americans out there). That light weight, coupled with the 430 ponies produced by the engine, results in . . . well, c’mon, you can see where this is going. And of course, since this is a Lotus, it’s going to handle better than 99.9 percent of the cars out there. All around, the new Evora GT430 delivers tremendous speed and performance; 0 to 60, for example, is dispatched in just 3.7 seconds and the Evora GT430’s top speed is 190 mph.
The Evora GT430’s six-speed manual transmission features a low-inertia, single-mass flywheel, to help ensure swift changes, while a Torsen-type limited slip differential gives better traction, and faster exit speeds, when cornering. Photo: Group Lotus plc.

Aerodynamic Advantages
Thanks to the exposed carbon weave sections of the new and specifically designed body panels, the Evora GT430 produces up to 250 kg of downforce through aerodynamic improvements. That’s around 550 lbs., and on a car this light, you’ll notice it in high speed bends. There are larger front apertures for cooling the brakes and radiator, there’s a new carbon fiber splitter, the air blades allow for better front end downforce, and louvers positioned on top of the front wheel arches cut front end lift and bleed off high pressure air from inside the wheel wells.
Out back there are aero ducts behind each wheel to cut pressure within the wheel arch, along with a bit of style that allows you to check out the wider Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. There’s a big honking rear diffuser to provide a “sharp visual finish” but it is also functional. And, as you would expect, there’s a large, profiled carbon wing.
The removal of critical weight from the Evora GT430 results in a more responsive and agile car for the driver. Photo: Group Lotus plc.
Pricing & Availability
Want one? Of course you do! Well, better get in line yesterday because Lotus is producing only 60 copies of what it terms the “supreme Evora.” The price will be around 150,000 Euros, depending on taxes and exchange rates for markets like Germany, Italy, Japan, and such. The ordering window is currently open.
There is no direct mention of the Evora GT430 being sold in America, which, I will readily admit, is a worrying proposition. So you know, a little confirmation of the Evora GT430 showing up on these shores would be nice Lotus. You know what would be even better? Dropping a couple off at One Automoblog Towers in Detroit for test and evaluation. Talk to Carl Anthony, our Managing Editor about it. I think he’s the fellow that gets to sign for this sort of thing . . . our legal/psychiatric team won’t let me sign for stuff any longer.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Lotus Evora GT430 Gallery

Photos & Source: Group Lotus plc.

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Understeer Versus Oversteer: Know Your Limits

Understeer Versus Oversteer: Know Your Limits The handling terms oversteer and understeer we instinctively know, even if we’ve never really put a name to them. You don’t have to be a dyed-in-the-wool track person to have experienced either of these conditions, but they do appear most readily at a track. There are two old jokes about oversteer and understeer. One goes like this: oversteer scares the passenger and understeer scares the driver. The second is this: oversteer is when you smash the rear of the car into something – understeer is when you smash the front into something.
Differing Definitions
Understeer and oversteer are actually technical terms, but there are other words that are synonymous with both. Understeer is often called “push” and sometimes referred to as “plow” or “plowing.” You will often hear phrases like, “I’ve got a wicked push entering turn 3,” or “the car just understeers through the whole back section of the track.” Oversteer is referred to as a car being “loose,” “free,” and/or “tail-happy.” As in, “I’ve got so much oversteer through turn 5, the car is really loose.” Generally speaking, understeer is about how the front is not working and oversteer is about how the rear is not working.
Understeer
Understeer is when a car corners less than what you are telling it to with the steering wheel. When a car is understeering, as you enter a corner, you turn the wheel, and you expect the car to turn into that corner, but rather than turning all the way into and through the corner, it actually does not turn in enough. Rather than cornering smoothly through a curve, your car heads more and more toward the outside of the corner, unless you do something about it. Most people respond to a situation like this by turning the wheel more; to essentially say, in mechanical terms, “No! I want you to be over there! Go over there! Go that way!” They turn the steering wheel more and more in the direction they want to go.

Unlikely Odds
90% of the time, this doesn’t work. 90% of the time you are understeering through a corner because you have entered the corner too fast. So fast, in fact, that the front wheels, which is where understeer comes from, become overwhelmed by your forward energy and cannot generate enough grip to give you cornering entry. Turning the steering wheel more and fighting with the car only makes understeer worse. It puts more and more energy into the front tires that have been unable to keep up with your forward momentum from the beginning. By and large, the best thing to do in a vast majority of understeer situations is to back off the throttle. You’re going too fast into the corner already, so slow down, get the car back underneath you, and then get back on the throttle.
TrackDays has this excellent resource on how to correct understeer, should you find yourself in that situation.
Oversteer
Oversteer is when a car corners more than what you are telling it to with the steering wheel. You enter a corner, turn your steering wheel x-amount, and the rear of the car comes out more than what it should. Oversteer is the rear of the car coming around as you corner – it’s your car wanting to essentially spin around. Oversteer is, for a gearhead actually, a fun handling state. Oversteer is, from a performance standpoint, a faster handling condition for a car to have, assuming you can balance it.
Having either too much understeer or oversteer is a bad thing. Any car, however, regardless of drivetrain layout, can and will understeer and oversteer moment to moment when cornering. It is your job, as the driver, to operate your car in a safe manner. This whole notion of a car being “unsafe at any speed” is codswallop. Sure, if a car is outright built wrong, or has not been maintained properly, or there is a mechanical failure, then it is unsafe. Mostly, it is up to you, yes you, the junior Mario Andrettis of this world, to drive in a safe manner.
Always maintain proper control of your vehicle.
Mindful Considerations
In an ideal situation, a car going through a corner describes a perfect circle, with the rear wheels exactly following the front wheels – like a train following a set of railroad tracks. That’s why you hear the phrase, “handles like it’s on rails” as praise for a given car.
Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars, genius chassis designer, and all-around fantastic automotive engineer famously said, “the steering wheel tells the front end where to go, and your right foot tells the back end where to go.” He was, obviously, talking about rear drive cars. And what he was getting at has to do with the fact that, as you are entering, traveling through, and exiting a corner, a rear-wheel drive car, when driven at the limit of adhesion, will require you to manage what both the front and rear are doing simultaneously. You are the driver. Be in control. Drive it. Know your limits. Know the limits of your car. And do not exceed those limits. In all things automotive: balance.
Finally, we would recommend an additional resource from TrackDays. They recently spoke with six different pro race car drivers and gathered the best advice when it comes to being behind the wheel.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

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Orange Fury Ford Mustang Inspires Ice Cream Sandwich

Orange Fury Ford Mustang Inspires Ice Cream Sandwich

Y’know, sometimes, the gearhead world gets downright weird. This is one of those days. As I read the press release about this – this being Ford’s making of an ice cream sandwich that has some razor thin tie in with the beloved Mustang – I had to start over three or four times. One of those times I thought I might be having a stroke. But no, Ford is serious.
Okay, here we go.
Vanilla Whoopies
One of Ford’s bullet points reads as follows: “Sandwiches feature a zesty orange-flavored ice cream between two Vanilla Whoopies, covered in orange icing and an edible wrapper made from potato wafer paper with edible ink.”
Dude, seriously! I mean, take that sentence, and randomly insert commas, periods, and pauses and you’ve got some Beat Poetry that Lawrence Ferlinghetti would, like, totally dig. Man.
Anyway, what we got here is Ford trying to leverage National Ice Cream Day (no, I didn’t know there was one either) by teaming up with Coolhaus Premium Ice Cream (which, most likely has nothing to do with Rem Koolhaas, the Dutch architect (I hope)) to create the Mustang-inspired “Orange Fury” ice cream sandwich.
Photo: James Lipman.
Tasty Partnership
To make matters even more, I dunno, appealing or something along those lines, the Mustang-inspired Orange Fury ice cream sandwiches are a limited edition item. Which, honestly could be bad if these things taste good. I have no way of telling, since Ford didn’t see fit to send me a case. More’s the pity, since I live in the desert and any sort of ice cream sounds great right about now.
Ford goes on to tout their partnership with Coolhaus Premium Ice Cream by noting that Coolhaus is “the nationally celebrated sweet-treat brand known for unique, sweet-meets-savory flavors you can’t find anywhere else.” Which is interesting because of two things: One, that is a distressingly alliterative sentence, and two, I’ve never in my life heard of Coolhaus (although that name makes me think of sparse German architecture or history’s second-ever goth punk band).
Coolhaus limited-edition Mustang-inspired Orange Fury ice cream. Photo: James Lipman.

Ice Cream Van
Apparently Ford went so far as to gin up a Coolhaus ice cream truck equipped with 2018 Mustang decals, fill it with Orange Fury ice cream sandwiches, and tool it around New York City for four days. This was all part of National Ice Cream Day and a cross marketing thing advantageous to both companies (I’m guessing). Your cost? Absolutely free my friend! Do you think they’d charge you to advertise to you?
You can also get the Orange Fury ice cream sandwiches at the Coolhaus shop in Culver City, California as well. It would seem all this Orange Fury ice cream sandwich stuff has to do with the new Orange Fury exterior color available on the 2018 Ford Mustang.
“I typically focus on things like color research, leather seats, and hand stitching, so this was definitely a bit different for me,” said Barb Whalen, Color and Materials Design Manager, Ford Motor Company. “It was fun applying some of those same design philosophies into helping Coolhaus create an ice cream flavor that really embodies the new Orange Fury color.”
Photo: James Lipman.
Edible Wonders
The technical specs for the Orange Fury ice cream sandwich break down like this: First, there are two Vanilla Whoopie cookies covered in orange icing that boarder the insides of the Orange Fury ice cream sandwich. Said insides consist of a scoop of the one-of-a-kind Orange Fury ice cream. The whole shootin’ match is wrapped in a unique, Mustang-printed edible wrapper made from potato wafer paper and edible ink. Sure, to adults like you and me, concepts like an “edible wrapper” might seem rather novel, but ask any five-year-old and they’ll tell you that all wrappers are edible.
“We couldn’t be happier that one of the original American classics chose Coolhaus, a new American classic, as a way to add excitement to their latest innovation,” said Natasha Case, Coolhaus CEO & Founder. Coolhaus Oompa-Loompas Glowbo, Fluffet, and Poofer could not be reached for comment.
The 2018 Mustang, regardless of color choice or availability of ice cream sandwiches, is due to reach showrooms this fall.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Source: Ford Motor Company.

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