NEW CHEVROLET CAMARO PRODUCTION IMAGES

No longer a concept or a vehicle development mule; the Chevrolet Camaro you see here is the real deal. Packing a V6, the Camaro will be no slouch. Each of its 296 horsepower should be tasked with carrying around just 12.5 pounds or so.

As for the V8, well.... hold your horses. Or rather, let'em loose. Chevrolet sure did. The 6.2L V8 The Good Car Guy enjoyed in the Corvette is only slightly down on power. 416 horsepower sounds frightening as far as the Shell filling station frequency goes but fortunately, the V8 makes use of cylinder deactivation. 

After watching TLC's Overhaulin' just last night where Chip Foose worked with a numbers-matching Camaro of the 60s, it is a slight letdown to see this, what many will call a retro pastiche. To the eye of The Good Car Guy, the '09 Camaro packs a visual punch that'd seem even more punchy if it weren't for the new Dodge Challenger. Dodge's muscle car adds handsomeness to its aggression. Chevy's car doesn't yet seem finished.

Don't take that to mean the Camaro imagery is ugly, just a little below lofty expectations. Indeed, even the Challenger is far more of a sight on the road than in pictures. Recalling the recent past, it is the Chevrolet that will out-drive its competitors, namely the Challenger and the Ford Mustang. 

TOP 5 CARS THE POLICE SHOULD BE DRIVING

We started with the mafia, moved to government leaders, and are now somewhere in between.Top 5 week continues with the polizia. The politi. The policia. Why, in North America at least, are Ford Crown Victoria's the default choice? Why is it special when a police force realizes that Dodge Chargers/Magnums make a much better vehicle?

Cops want space (especially in the front passenger area and the trunk), low-down torque, and maneuverability. The car needs to be safe. And it will be helpful, although not completely necessary, to have a front bumper capable of pushing lame-duck Dodge Neon's off the I-10 in Houston. So, what have we?


#5- FBI AGENTS WOULD LOVE GMC'S ACADIA: The FBI never wants to stand out too much in public. (Although lunching beside them in D.C. down the street from the Hoover Building saw plenty of badge flashes.) A Crown Vic may be bland enough, but it makes agents look like any other cop. Man, you ain't just a cop. You're an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Drive something with a bit of swagger. General Motors is once again on the upswing. They've got great new crossovers. The Acadia can be equipped with all-wheel drive, so it's already a step ahead of the Crown Victoria. You guys always look tougher in big numbers, and the Acadia can take three-rows worth of y'all. More horsepower (275) and only a slight loss of torque. Similar fuel economy. A zippy little 7 and a half seconds to 60mph. This looks like the new vehicle of the FBI. General Motors is apt to give you a fleet deal, especially on the GMC version of the trio. The Buick Enclave is too good-looking and, besides, rolling up to a NYPD-controlled hostage situations in a Saturn wouldn't be tough. At all.


#4- NEW RCMP COMMISSIONER NEEDS TO BE SEEN IN A HONDA RIDGELINE: He's a different kind of commissioner, so he needs a different kind of vehicle. How 'bout a truck that isn't a truck, but is certainly no Crown Victoria? William Elliott isn't a cop, he's a bureaucrat. So, drive a Canadian-built vehicle which can take you and your aides to the rough roads of northern Ontario but still cruise cross-country in comfort. Cargo capacity is limited, but then again, Elliott doesn't have a uniform. And hey, there is a trunk underneath the cargo bed. The Ridgeline has some getaway power (247 bhp), in case any detachments ever run you out of town. But this is just a small V6-engined truck, so nobody will accuse you of excess via corruption. Ridgeline's aren't cheap, but this is most assuredly not the Prime Minister's new Acura MDX.


#3- 'MANHATTAN SOUTH' NYPD PATROLMEN - SCION xB: Hold on a second, don't get fidgety. How do you park big American boats in the downtown core? Remember after 9/11, cop cars were especially disorganized as the officers arrived at the WTC Towers, creating problems for the next batch to get close. Were the cops to blame? Of course not. The massive Ford's, with their decades-old engineering, took up too much space. The new Scion xB is, granted, not quite as cool as the original. That's ok. Cop cars aren't all about 'cool', ya know. This is a serious matter, can't you tell? The Scion offers bucketloads of interior capacity, amazing fuel economy, and spectacular maneuverability. We couldn't suggest the new smart fortwo, after much deliberation, because there's no back seat. Sometimes cops, even in good ol' Manhattan, make arrests. And the felons are placed in the rear compartment. Put your bulletproof barrier in between the Scion's front and rear, and you've got yourself a cop car. With 158 horsepower and seven extra miles for every gallon in the city - compared with the old Ford - patrol personnel will still cruise to the scene of the crime in haste, but the hundreds of of them won't be contributing quite so heavily to the smog above us. Scion's are ripe for customizing. In fact, that is Toyota's intention. Imagine each new recruit heading to the Scion dealer to pick out their new lights and wheels - that's what GCBC calls 'making your work your own'.


#2- UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE STICKS WITH SUBURBANS: Who ever said this article was meant to change everything? Top 5 Cars Police Should Be Driving. It just so happens that the Secret Service has already made a good choice. Sure, Suburbans are large and lumbering. As far as people miles per gallon, the Secret Service makes Suburbans efficient. Economical even. General Motors has such a variety on offer: Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes; GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV. The engine and trim level of your choosing. Followed by the kind of healthy up-armoring the troops in Iraq could only wish for. From 320 horsepower up to 380 - and more in the Cadillac - the 'Burban can haul. Better yet, it's an oddly pleasurable vehicle to drive. Even a compact car can make itself drive big, and it is that fact which enlightens us to the Suburban's best quality: it shrinks. Not visually, and not on Chevrolet's spec chart. The Suburban drives like a much smaller vehicle. Many thousands of pounds, a few hundred horsepower, perhaps 8 individuals on board, and yet it feels more like a TrailBlazer than the TrailBlazer itself. Decent visibility, relatively sharp steering, plenty of go-power. The Suburban/Yukon/Escalade is where it's at. Restricted to specific needs though this last may be, the Suburban still ranks as the second best choice.


#1- WATCH FOR CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL IN PONTIAC G8's: The G8, nee Holden Commodore, is the genuine Aussie Rules automobile. Rear-wheel drive with an optional V8 and a conservate but handsome design. It may give Pontiac it's groove back. And that groove disappeared long before I appeared. The G8 isn't here yet, I realize, but when it arrives, expect the Pontiac to run down most any criminal in most any vehicle. The Scion and Pontiac both offer manual transmissions, despite the level of disdain copper-tops would have toward such gearboxes. Even the V6 G8 will likely have 300 horsepower, expect the biggest bruiser to equip itself with over 400 bhp. There'll be tighter handling and sharper steering than normal General Motors sedans, although not matching the standard of the best Euro sports sedans. Holden is GM's Australian subsidiary and the developer of the defunct Pontiac GTO. What came to North America as a GTO was basically the run-out editions of the long-serving Commodore coupe. What we will see in the Pontiac G8 is Holden's new Commodore - which basically means new hardware, rather than recycled. Cops could apply 'Intelligence' to their name if and when they stick red and blue lights in the windshields and on the roofs of the newest Pontiac. This would cause us to fear the G8 even as we gather our excitement over GM's decision to harness its Aussie connections.

GOOD CAR STATISTICS

Statistics posted here yesterday were, as I remember, discouraging; depressing; and disgusting. You can read the bad car statistics with clicks here or here. But all this negativity... man, it's getting me down. It's past time that we improve the mood. Focus on the positive. Embrace that which is right, strong, and good. 

Considering the lofty numbers that AutoEnergy has been posting recently - where owners of relatively normal cars are forced to spend hundreds more than expected just for commuting - it's not surprising to discover that cars with 4-cylinder engines are selling rapily while the V8 trucks and SUVs you read about yesterday sit on dealer lots with hundreds of identical models. Here are the Numbers you need to know.

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40 - percentage of General Motors cars sold in June of 2008 with 4-cylinder engines, up from 22% in June of 2007

70 - percentage of Ford Fusions sold with the 4-cylinder engine option in June, rather than the V6 that found homes 43% of the time in June of 2007

28 - estimated percentage increase in Ford Focus production for 2008 

45.6 - percentage increase in the sales of Chevrolet's Malibu for the first half of this year compared with the first half of 2007

39 - percentage jump in Toyota Yaris sales comparing the first half of '08 with the first half of '07

61,978 - total sales for the Hyundai Elantra from January through June of this year, up from 49,932 in the first half of '07

14,620 - total June/2008 sales of the Pontiac G6, up 32.4% compared with June/2007

5.1 - percentage drop in Chevrolet Cobalt sales in 2007 compared with 2006, before jumping 18.5% through the first six months of '08

204,961 - total Honda Civic sales during the first half of 2008, up from 173,800 during 2007.5

16.9 - percentage increase in the sales of the Ford Edge, the only exclusively V6-engined vehicle in this article

25,369 - increase in sales of the Honda Accord comparing 2007.5 with 2008.5, while still trailing the Toyota Camry by 34,000 conquests

12.7 - percentage increase in Nissan Altima sales in the first half of 2008, driving its total to 158,006

NISSAN SENTRA RECALL

Nissan Sentras from model years 2007 and 2008 face a NHTSA recall. 169,202 could suffer from irregularities in the machining of the internal seal groove of the body of some brake master cylinders. Eventually this could lead to a leak of brake fluid.

An ignored warning lamp that's meant to signify a brake problem and actually is signifying a brake problem is a dangerous.... er... umm, problem. So, get it taken care of. Officially, Nissan begins their Sentra Recall in a week or so.

PORSCHE'S PDK IN MOTION

Unless you're working inside a Porsche factory, marketing department, or undergoing training at a Porsche sales consultants meeting, "doppelkupplung" is not a word you'll continue to hear today. Ah, but what a word.

To learn about how it affects the speed of a Porsche 911, click here. That GCBC link is for the readers. Below, the YouTube clip is PDK for the watchers. 

BEST NEW MAZDA 6 PICTORAL ANGLES

As Mazda readies the new 6, a few things that are being said of the previous 6 began to come to mind. Remember all the talk of dynamic styling? Finally, "they" said, Mazda brings a real competitor to the Camry/Accord sector. The 626 always needed power, and finally, Mazda lets the 6 use a competitive engine. Mazda, the critics figured, brought zoom-zoom to the dull midsize segment always dominated by the Toyota Camry, a car that lacked fun and excitement.

Indeed, the first-generation 6 improved Mazda's image. You now recognize it in a way that was never true of the 626. Recommending the 6 as a decent used car buy wouldn't be unusual for you. 

Nonetheless, the irony that surrounds the second-generation Mazda 6 is humorous, considering the statements made in the earlier part of this decade are being repeated now. Let's hope this good-looking car represents a more applicable use of the aforementioned statements. Some if the 6's best angles can be seen below. The first 6 is also pictured.

MORE BAD CAR STATISTICS

So the F-150, Toyota Tundra, and some General Motors vehicles are struggling to escape dealer lots. That's not news to you. The actual statistics surrounding vague statements like that mentioned two sentences prior could strike fear into the hurt of a vehicle sales consultant, statistics available for the reading with a click on this link. But it's not news; not in the traditional sense.

More distressing Numbers are available below.

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38.3 - percentage drop in U.S. sales of the Chrysler PT Cruiser (recently tested for fuel efficiency at AutoEnergy) during the first half of this year, compared with the first half of 2007

40,014 - total Chrysler 300 sales from January-June of this year; 22,981 fewer than the same six months in 2007

19,500 - total number of Ford Expeditions in stock as of June 1st

28.2 - jump in sales posted by the Chevrolet TrailBlazer in June of 2008, not doing much to help the overall trend its posted of lowering sales to the tune of a 35% drop for the first six months of 2008

24,769 - fewer Ford Explorers sold in the first half of 2008 compared with the first half of '07, down to 49,935

30.4 - percentage drop in sales of the Dodge Ram in 2008.5 compared with 2007.5

39.1 - percentage fall in sales for the Jeep Wrangler in June compared with the previous June

42,793 - total Jeep Grand Cherokee sales in the six months ending June 30th, 17,668 lower than the same period of last year

5,118 - gap in sales between the better-selling Ford Mustang (even with its 28.8% drop in 2008.5) and the Ford Explorer

26.8 - percentage drop in sales in the first half of this year for the Dodge Grand Caravan while the minivan market is down about 19% and the small Mazda 5 is up 44.1% over the first six months of '08

7.6 - average number of cylinders under the hood of a Chevrolet Silverado, accounting for all five engines available; a large reason its sales are down 26.8% in the first half of the year

53.5 - percentage drop in Chevrolet Impala sales in June, compared with June of '07

226,000 - supply of F-series pickups held by Ford Motor Company as of June 1st

18.4 - percentage drop in sales of the Jeep Liberty in the six months ending June 30th

59,908 - total BMW 3-series sales in the first half of 2008, continuing its reign of sales leader in its class but trending downward 17.9% compared with the same period of 2007 while Mercedes-Benz's C-class posted a sales gain of 36.7%

17.9 - percentage drop in sales of the Toyota RAV4 from January-June of '08, still resulting in 71,516 RAV4 sales, 21,581 higher than the iconic top-seller known as the Ford Explorer