GCBC'S POPULAR STUFF

GoodCarBadCar's been live since March of this year. During that time, one post instantly - and constantly - maintained a reign as the most popular piece by The Good Car Guy. The title?

"Same Old Same Old But Better Than Ever"

The subject? Honda's venerable Civic. It's a test drive article; something called Driven here at GCBC. But, I noticed something interesting recently. So entwined is North America, and the United States of America more specifically, with pickup trucks, that when a truck is in trouble, people take notice.

That's exactly what people did here on GCBC when the Ford F-series came under recall. So many people took notice, in fact, that in less than two weeks of existence, the F-series post knocked the Civic off its perch.

Curious what else made the podium, ye are. The Top 5 Cars Police Should Be Driving narrowly edged out Dodge's Journey Must Make Inroads, which has been a surprisingly steady member of the top five since its September publishing.

CANADA'S ecoAUTO REBATE

The Government of Canada's initiative to put more people into fuel efficient vehicles by giving them money sees a rearranging of models for year 2008. The list, with the cashback value, is below.

$2000
Toyota Prius
Honda Civic Hybrid
smart fortwo (coupe and convertible)
Ford Escape Hybrid (front and all-wheel drive)
Saturn Vue Hybrid

$1500
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Nissan Altima Hybrid
Toyota Highlander Hybrid

$1000
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Yaris (hatch and sedan)
Mini Cooper (and Clubman)
Honda Civic (coupe and sedan)
Honda Fit
Lexus RX400h
Jeep Compass (2.0L w/CVT and 2.4L manual tranny)
Jeep Patriot (2.0L w/CVT and 2.4L manual-tranny)
Chevrolet HHR
Nissan Rogue

FLEX FUEL VEHICLES $1000
Chevrolet Impala
Dodge Avenger
Chrysler Sebring

CHALLENGER ORDERS CEASING?

Dodge isn't sick of your orders, but it may decide to cut off the order process for 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8's in just 19 days. Here's what you need to know:

Since Chrysler began taking orders on December 3rd, 85% of their dealerships have taken order(s) for the Challenger.

There have already been more than 7,000 orders placed.

Dodge will be offering the initial SRT8's in Hemi Orange, Brilliant Black, and Bright Silver. So far, more than half the orders have been for Hemi Orange.

eBay has played host to multiple auctions for "payment over and above" the MSRP.

So what's next? First, Dodge builds these cars. Then it builds Challenger's with a lower price tag and less powerful engines. Then Chevrolet starts selling the new Camaro. Meanwhile, Ford Mustang sales are down 19% this year. During November, Ford watched Mustang sales fall 30% lower than November of 2006.

CHALLENGER IS HOT

eBay is proving the true market value of the upcoming Dodge Challenger. The SRT8 version, with which a gas-guzzler surcharge is automatic, will feature an MSRP around $40K. Although the full production design of the Challenger hasn't even debuted yet, dealers are collecting orders. Dodge accepts orders from dealers only when they have a customer name and address.

After the car went on sale, Dodge revealed that they could build up to 10,000 Challengers in '08, rather than the 5,000-6,000 originally believed. eBay prices are still rather high. This New York dealer has his price at $50,000 but that's below the reserve. Another dealer in Maryland is showing $5,000 with zero bids; that $5K is the amount over $41,985 the bidder is willing to pay.


An Austin, Texas dealer lists $19,999 as a Buy-it-Now price above and beyond the MSRP. A Dodge-Isuzu-Suzuki dealership in Illinois (I haven't heard of that combination of brands, either) has 10 bids with the max at $13,000 over the MSRP, commanding a $1,000 deposit at the end of the auction - 54 hours from now - plus an extra $10,000 when the order is complete.

Muscle-car buyers - more so than the buyers of most other types of vehicles - appear to be more urgent than any other group. This phenomenon occurred with the Shelby Mustang and could well occur again with the Chevrolet Camaro. Who knows? 2010 Challenger's could see a power upgrade to maintain sales momentum, and all these overpayers will have spent a lot more $ per horsepower.

Links:
eBay
eBay "Dodge Challenger" search results
Dodge's Challenger site
Previous Challenger mentions at GCBC

DODGE TRUCK RECALL

576,417 Dakota's and Ram's. Yes, that's right. It's a Dodge recall this time; not Ford. GoodCarBadCar only just brought you news of a large number of heavy-duty Ford diesel trucks/vans/utes, and now almost 600,000 Dodge trucks are under the guns.

To make matters worse; Dodge's recall comes after nine injuries. Wear and tear on the gearshift assembly could (and obviously did in some cases) affect the height of shift blocker. The lowering of that shift blocker could then result in the vehicle 'falling' out of park. Unintended acceleration? Not quite. Unintended rolling as you're dropping the kids off in the school parking lot? Possible.... and very, very bad.

The formal repair processes will begin in January, but Dodge advises all owners of 2001-2002 Dakota's and 2002 Ram's to make use of their emergency brake in the meantime.

Are America's trucks going to maintain their rep as the most solid vehicles in the land? Apparently painting the vehicle in red, white, and blue post 9/11 doesn't heighten the shift blocker.

SUPPLY & DEMAND

What does a high-value Japanese supercar have in common with a German city car and an American musclecar?

Well, apart from the fact that production of each car was originally signed off by European based personnel and the fact that all three have four wheels and prefer (or mandate) most of the power to transfer through the rear wheels - they also will be hard to find on dealer lots in 2008.

Dodge Challenger, smart fortwo, and Nissan GT-R. Dodge, at least as far as plans go, won't have enough cars to satisfy the buyers that are already confirmed. smart has way more orders than potential imports (frequently the case when smart enters a new market). Nissan is nearing the maximum order total; as they relate to their American-bound imports. In otherwords, wait times for the Challenger and GT-R could approach Ferrari levels, even as the lineup for fortwo's might grow longer in light of rising fuel prices.

OTHER NUMBERS FROM CAR & DRIVER'S JANUARY ISSUE

The Good Car Guy already filled you in on Car & Driver's 0-60 testing of eleven cars in its January issue. Other important Numbers are viewable below.

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24 - miles per gallon observed by C/D editors in the Mini John Cooper Works Clubman, the best figure in a comparo where the Mini finished sixth. Its EPA city and highway figures were also the best-in-test.

18- miles per gallon observed by C/D editors in the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, the worst figure in a comparo where the Lancer Ralliart finished dead last. Its EPA city figure was worst-in-test and its EPA highway figure was tied for worst-in-test.

156- top speed, in mph, of the 260-bhp Chevrolet Cobalt SS, limited by aerodynamic drag, placing the Chevy tops in a seven-way comparo where it finished third overall

19- miles per gallon observed by C/D editors in the all-wheel drive Acura TL, better than what was managed by the aforementioned Mitsubishi with its 1.7L-smaller engine, 68 fewer horsepower, and 445 fewer pounds.

33- miles per gallon observed by C/D editors in a Volkswagen Jetta, which with a 140-bhp 2.0L turbodiesel, still had to propel 3353 pounds.

24- miles per gallon observed by C/D editors in a Hyundai Elantra wagon which posted identical acceleration figures to the Jetta TDI with one extra horsepower, 99 fewer lb-ft of torque, and 321 fewer pounds

0.61- roadholding, measured in g's, of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, as tested by C/D on a 200-ft skidpad.

1.08- roadholding, measured in g's, of the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, as tested by C/D on a 200-ft skidpad

18- difference in sound levels, measured in decibels by C/D, between the loudest car of the year, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, and the quietest cars of the year, the Ford Flex Limited and Dodge Journey R/T, both of which let out 65 dBA at 70mph 

CHALLENGER SRT8 PRICED

Dodge has announced the price for the first edition (limited though it will be) of its good-looking Challenger muscle-car. $37,995 puts the very powerful 6.1L Dodge Challenger SRT8 significantly higher than a Ford Mustang GT but significantly lower than a base Chevrolet Corvette.

These $37,995 cars won't be on driveways near you until spring '08. By the way, Dodge lists $40,095 on its website, a fair chunk of change different from the press-released numbers. Expect horsepower figures for the SRT8 version to be no lower than 425 and torque of at least 420 lb-ft. Those are the numbers for the equivalently-engined Dodge Charger SRT8.

THE DETROIT THREE OFFERS TOO MANY TRUCKS? BY THE NUMBERS

Wall Street insiders attempting to predict the demise of the Detroit Three (GM/Ford/Chrysler) blame most of the domestic auto manufacturing difficulties on the rise and fall of the SUV. They believe that General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC (mostly under the management of Daimler-Benz) didn't have the foresight to build high quality cars when money was pouring in from easy-profit vehicles like the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Dodge Ram. On the surface, these insiders appear to be correct. 

Take American luxury cars, for instance. In the early part of this millenium, the only prominent vehicles at Cadillac and Lincoln were their jumbo SUVs, the Escalade and Navigator. Mainstream brands like Chevrolet and Ford were offering an abomination called the Malibu and an ancient design called the Taurus. The few takers snapped them up at rock bottom prices.

For a deeper look at the gravity of the situation in numerical terms, check this Numbers post from a few days ago with figures supplied by TIME. For perspective on the issue, read The Good Car Guy's question from yesterday. For facts about automaker offerings in the U.S. domestic market in 2009, keep reading. Oh, and by the way, to attempt to sway the argument in favour of cars instead of trucks, models like the F-150, F-250, and F-350 were lumped together. It didn't help. Also, TSV means anything that isn't a car: trucks, SUVs, and vans.

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TOTAL CARS @ GENERAL MOTORS: 21

TOTAL TSVs @ GENERAL MOTORS: 26

TOTAL CARS @ FORD MOTOR CO.: 10

TOTAL TSVs @ FORD MOTOR CO.: 14

TOTAL CARS @ CHRYSLER LLC: 8

TOTAL TSVs @ CHRYSLER LLC: 16

Buick cars/TSVs: 2 to 1

Cadillac cars/TSVs: 4 to 3

Chevrolet cars/TSVs: 6 to 9

GMC cars/TSVs: 0 to 8

Hummer cars/TSVs: 0 to 2

Pontiac cars/TSVs: 6 to 1

Saturn cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Ford cars/TSVs: 4 to 10

Lincoln cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Mercury cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Chrysler cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Dodge cars/TSVs: 5 to 7

Jeep cars/TSVs: 0 to 7

BOOMERANG TRACKING'S TOP 5 MOST STOLEN VEHICLES IN CANADA

If you've been an active member of The Good Car Nation this morning, you already know which car sits at the top of this list. Follow that link back to learn more about Boomerang Tracking and read below to learn about the most stolen vehicles in Canada. Since GoodCarBadCar.net loves Top 5 lists and Boomerang provides the Top 10, hear ye this: the '94 Dodge Shadow/Plymouth Sundance hatchback is likely part of the list because of its, shall we say, lack of security. Audi's 2000 TT Quattro sits at #9. The '98 Acura Integra is in the #8 spot. Numbers 7, 6, and 5 belong to variants of the '94 Dodge Caravan. 

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#4 - '94 ACURA INTEGRA: Loved by every tuner and appreciated by all for its quality, the Integra was a stellar car with multiple positive characteristics.

#3 - '04 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX & WRX STI: Early in its North American life, this turbocharged Japanese rally rocket was about as desirable a real-world car as could be found on the continent. Apparently thieves feel the same way as the rest of us.

#2 - '00 HONDA CIVIC SIR: While we joined with the Americans in naming the current Civic Si the, er... Civic Si; the previous generations were stuck with SiR north of the 49th. The good ol' Honda double wishbone front suspension with a high-revving inline-four that made VTEC a household brand was ripe for modification. This Civic was simply a very good car. So good in fact that slightly older models were ripe for thievery as well.

#1 - '99 HONDA CIVIC SIR: With prices for stock SiRs around $10,000 for a 10 year old car and not likely to budge anytime soon, one can understand - and still blame - auto thieves proclivity for jacking this Honda. 

DODGE CHARGER AND MAGNUM COP CARS RECALLED

Upon posting the Top 5 Vehicles the Police Should be Driving, The Good Car Guy quickly discovered that regular consumers are quite interested in the choices police departments make. It's true that the Dodge Charger and Dodge Magnum weren't included in that Top 5, but that's only because cops had already taken a liking to their benefits above and beyond those offered by Ford's Crown Victoria. 

More recently, Chrysler announced that Kuwaiti officials would be purchasing 150 Dodge Chargers for their police service. That's basically a drop in the puddle - Dodge is recalling 20283 Chargers and Magnums that had been outfitted with the police package and column shifter. 

These Recalled vehicles are from model years 2006-2009. Column shifters, not a feature associated with regular Chargers and Magnums, "may become disengaged from the steering column mounting bracket and cause an incorrect transmission gearshift position display". Obviously the danger revolves around inadvertent vehicle movement. 

Dealers, NHTSA says, will add a locking mechanism to the gearshift cable to "ensure proper retention and shift linkage function". Apart from added weight and the (sometimes) lack of a V8, the Dodge Charger driven by The Good Car Guy was, to say the least,a  decent value. Check out that review here.

25 YEARS OF CHRYSLER MINIVANS

Apart from huge incentives and regular "sales" that help the Dodge Grand Caravan become a better value, one could argue that the best value in the minivan segment is at Kia or Hyundai. It's not arguable, however, that the best overall minivan is built by Honda or Toyota; not Chrysler/Dodge.

Nevertheless, a certain air of sentimentality combines with low prices and a beyond-decent product to make the 25th year of Chrysler/Dodge minivan production a special moment. In its honour then, a picture. The Caravan did significantly alter the way families carried their people and their stuff for at least a couple of decades.

MERCEDES-BENZ 90-DEGREE TEST TRACK IN STUTTGART

Pictures don't do it justice. Comparing Daimler's vertical test track in Stuttgart to a NASCAR banked oval reveal stark differences. For instance, Mercedes-Benz likes it 90-degrees - unclimbable. Bristol Motor Speedway only reaches 36-degrees. 

Since pictures don't do it justice, The Good Car Guy waited for Angus Mackenzie's MotorTrend video of the Dodge Challenger SRT8 taking on the wild and very puke-inducing test track in Germany. Have a look for yourself at this MT link or wait for the third portion of this YouTube clip below.

HOW CONSUMER REPORTS RELIABILITY RANKINGS RELATE TO GCBC AWARDS

Late last year and in early 2008, The Good Car Guy handed out twenty awards. Well, let's be honest: eight of them were shameful awards. The Good 12 and The Bad 8  place significance on vehicles that can be purchased by people you and I know - no Ferraris, Lamborghinis, or Bentleys. Of the hundreds and hundreds of different models available to the North American consumer, The Good 12 tells you which you should buy if at all possible in 2008 and The Bad 8 makes very clear which cars you should not buy if at all avoidable.

Of course, those vehicles are in the running for 2009's Good 12 and Bad 8. If they're still the best, they ought to be recognized that way. But before that comes, it appears that Consumer Reports has released its reliability rankings, pieces of news in which many consumers (how ironic) place a great amount of trust.

So, how do those rankings compare with The Good 12 and The Bad 8? Have a look below.

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Small Cars: Consumer Reports says the Scion xD and Mini Cooper Clubman are at or near the top while the Nissan Versa sedan is the worst. The Good 12 holds fast on the regular Mini Cooper while the Versa sedan resides in The Bad 8.

Family Cars: Consumer Reports puts the Toyota Prius and Kia Optima at or near the top with the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger platform-mates at the bottom. GoodCarBadCar.net is silent on the topic.

Sporty, Coupes, & Convertibles: Consumer Reports places the Lexus SC430 and Volco C30 at the top with the Chrysler Sebring convertible and Saturn Sky at the bottom. The Bad 8 has both the Sebring and Lexus SC in its grasp.

Luxury Cars: Infiniti's M35 and Lexus IS250 are CR's most reliable; the V8-powered Cadillac STS and V8-powered Mercedes-Benz E-Class are at the bottom. GoodCarBadCar.net speaks neither well or ill of all four.

Minivans/Wagons: The Toyota Matrix and Scion xB are the best of the bunch in CR's rankings, the Chrysler twins (Town & Country, Grand Caravan) are the worst. GoodCarBadCar.net is silent.

In the SUV/truck arena, the Toyota Tundra; Honda Ridgeline; Toyota Sequoia; Honda Pilot; Lexus RX400h; Honda Element, and Toyota FJ Cruiser are all leaders of their respective packs. Conversely, the Ford F-250; Land Rover LR2; Saturn Vue in V6 all-wheel drive form; Land Rover Range Rover; Volkswagen Touareg; V8-powered and diesel-fired Mercedes-Benz GL-Class; and the Dodge Dakota 4x4 are all unreliable by Consumer Reports' standards.

One more thing: Consumer Reports also said the Honda Fit; smart fortwo; and Infiniti G35 are "also very reliable". Those cars are in The Good 12.

YOU NEED A CAR? WIN IT

You're a hybrid lover but acknowledge that the added expense in most cases won't be covered by your fuel savings. What to do, what to do? Wells Fargo is going to give somebody a Honda Civic Hybrid and an iPod so it might as well be you, so long as you're an American resident not living in Rhode Island, Florida, or New York. Follow the link.

It seems that a car isn't a grand enough prize in and of itself. Civic Hybrid + an iPod, GMC Acadia & a Garmin StreePilot navigation system. American Airlines must figure there's a fair number of 8-member families who can't afford flights, so AA's giving an Acadia (and directions) to somebody. It might as well be you. Follow the link, Americans.

Prefer a larger hybrid? Win a Toyota Highlander here. Enjoy your efficiency in more natural ways? A Mini Cooper S from Samsung would fit the bill.

Canadians outside of Quebec could win a Nissan Versa from Much Music. The Dairy Farmers of Canada are offering a free Toyota Yaris, and Dodge is going to give away a Ram.

MOTOR TREND NAMES SUBARU FORESTER ITS SUV OF THE YEAR

On its website, California-based Motor Trend has announced that the Subaru Forester is their SUV of the Year.

Other SUVOTY contenders included the BMW X6, Infiniti FX and EX35, Honda Pilot, Kia Borrego, Chevrolet Traverse, Dodge Journey, Volkswagen Tiguan, Ford Flex, Nissan Murano, Lexus LX570, and Toyota Sequoia. The Good Car Guy profiled the Forester in a 3 To Beat back in February where it performed admirably as well as in Part III of Dreams VS Reality with the Infiniti FX45 and Porsche Cayenne. Subaru's advertising for the Forester has garnered plenty of positive attention, as well.

Although there are dozens of different numbers that Motor Trend factored in when determining the SUVOTY, read below to see a list of the contenders in order of their fuel efficiency as tested by MT. In an era where fuel is expensive and families are struggling, the efficiency of family haulers is more important than ever. 

Subaru Forester (awd): 20.1 mpg

Volkswagen Tiguan (fwd): 17.3 mpg

Nissan Murano (fwd): 17.3 mpg

Subaru Forester (turbo awd) 16 mpg

Infiniti EX35 (awd): 15.8 mpg

Honda Pilot (awd): 14.9 mpg

Ford Flex (awd): 14.9 mpg

Dodge Journey (3.5L awd) 14.9 mpg

Kia Borrego (V8 4wd): 13.6 mpg

Lexus LX570 (4wd): 13.2 mpg

BMW X6 (I-6 awd): 13.2 mpg

Infiniti FX50 (awd): 12.9 mpg

Toyota Sequoia (4wd) 12.8 mpg

Chevrolet Traverse (awd): 12.1 mpg

VIPER DONATES ENGINE TO MAKE THE DODGE CHALLENGER SRT10 CONCEPT

600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque is quite a jump from the basic Dodge Challenger SE's 250bhp 3.5L V6. Moreover, 600 horsepower makes the Hemi Challenger's 375 horsepower look fairly small, as well. In all honesty, the very zippy 425bhp Challenger SRT8, a muscle car with a 6.1L Hemi V8, is 175 horsepower down on the Challenger concept you see above and below.

Donating its V10, the Dodge Viper sends its 8.4L to what The Good Car Guy believes is the better-looking and better all-around automobile. Sure, the Viper is a wild track car and a truly capable sports car. But in real life driving, the Viper lets its owners down while the Challenger is no sports car but makes for easy ownership in the same way its donor sedan, the Chrysler 300, can make for a good daily driver.

Is the Challenger SRT10 a viable product? In an era where Chrysler is considering a number of wild options - offloading Viper as a brand, merging with General Motors or Tata or Renault - production of such a car would be interesting strange, to say the least. The carbon-fiber shaker hood ups the image ante in no small way. Upgraded brakes and shocks team with the V10 to make this a true SRT car. Check out the gallery below for all eight images.

JEEP LIBERTY AND DODGE NITRO RECALLED FOR E-BRAKE ISSUE

"The park brake lever clutch drum may distort and reduce the effectiveness of the park brake system," NHTSA says in regards to 3,663 Dodge Nitros and Jeep Libertys. Specifically, this Dodge/Jeep Recall affects '07 and '08 Nitros with manual transmissions and '08 Libertys with manual transmissions.

Dealers will be replacing the whole park brake lever assembly after this Recall begins this month.

SMALL CHRYSLER LLC RECALL AFFECTS SEBRING, AVENGER, CALIBER, JOURNEY, COMPASS AND PATRIOT

Due to a new adhesive used in the powertrain control module, the circuit board in 712 MY2009 Chrysler products may break without warning; causing the engine to stall. Stalls at the wrong time can inflict damage, as you may well be aware.

It's a simple fix. Dealers will be replacing the PCM free of charge. The Recall affects the '09 versios of the Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Caliber, Dodge Journey, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot. 712 new owners should expect to hear from Chrysler this month, but if you're curious as to the involvement of your vehicle, contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.

WHAT IS THE DODGE ELECTRIC VEHICLE?

Lotus is as much an engineering firm as they are a mass manufacturer of automobiles. The Elise, Exige, and Europa all stem from the same aluminum tub; not one of them contends for sales crowns in any nation.

So when Chrysler LLC comes to Lotus for engineering work, of course Lotus agrees to take on the project. You may be very familiar with some of Lotus' work while much of it goes un-praised. For instance, as was made clear in pictures earlier this month, the Tesla Roadster is oh-so-very-much a Lotus Elise made to work with electric-power only. The weight of extra batteries forced changes that Lotus is adept at making.

Read about the Chrysler EV and Jeep EV here

As Chrysler rolls out a trio of EVs, the Dodge version is oh-so-very-much a Lotus Europa made to work with lithium-ion battery technology that should offer a range up tp 200 miles. Along with range comes extreme speed - the Dodge EV can hit 60mph in less than five seconds and travel upwards of 120mph. Thank 480 lb-ft of torque for impressive off-the-line quickness. 

Around the time Tesla's Roadster becomes a more frequent sight in wealthy communities in SoCal, Chrysler LLC wants to have 100 of these EVs in the hands of government, business, and Chrysler fleets. That's before 2010; before the Chevrolet Volt rolls in to mass production of 10,000 units in its first year.

Tesla is asking over $100,000 USD for their Roadster. Were Dodge to build an EV just like this one, it'd be expected to cost significantly less even if Chrysler had to lose money in the process.