Auto Ramblings

by Lloyd Frazier

In 1964, Ford inspired a new American class of car coined the pony car, with its release of the all-new Mustang, which wasn’t really all that new under its skin. The first generation Mustang had  Falcon underpinnings, bucket seats, floor shifter, and sporty exterior, and it just so happened to be a pony…er, Mustang. It was intended as competition to the Chevrolet Corvair.  Since then, Mustang has been a huge success for Ford.  GM and Chrysler quickly followed suit with all new  ‘Pony’ cars of their own with models like  Camaro, Cuda, Challenger, Firebird, and others.  The famous Pony Car war ensued.  Every model year seemed to stir one-upsmanship with each of the big three adding more  horsepower, handling, and special performance packages like Shelby, Boss, Z28, and Trans Am.   In 2005, Ford entered the retro trend with a newly designed Mustang that conjured memories of the original. GM and Chrysler wasn’t about to be outdone.  The new generation Camaro with its hint of 1969 on steroids and  Chrysler with a modernized Challenger ala 1970’s.  All have been brilliantly engineered, awe inspiring works of automotive Americana.

Now, Ford has really pulled out all the stops with the newly revealed 2015 Mustang.  It is not all that retro in appearance but unmistakably Mustang!  The solid rear axle has finally been ditched for an IRS setup.  Plus,  something not seen since first being available in the Mustang II, a four-banger.  But, this is not your father’s four-banger.  It is a pumped up, turbo infested work of engineering genius. The new 2.3 liter EcoBoost  four cylinder engine is expected to supply 305 horsies and 300 foot-lbs of torque.

Take a look at the video courtesy of Winding Road:

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by Lloyd Frazier

We are finally going to have a domestic contender fighting against the Japanese dominance in the mid-size truck arena. Since the 2013 model year, Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and Honda Ridgeline are the only mid-size trucks available in the U.S. market. Toyota Tacoma sales numbers pretty much eviscerate the other two.  So by rights, Toyota is currently the reigning champion.  Ford and Chrysler have been missing in action for awhile.  GM’s Chevy Colorado took 2014 off for misbehaving and pretending to be a truck.

Let’s hope GM pulls this off right.  In looking at the front clip of this handsome, new Colorado, one cannot miss the hint of what a modern S10 might  have looked like.  For 2016, they will be offering a 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder diesel engine.  Sadly, we have to wait until next fall to get our hands on one of these new Colorado’s.  Wonder how many folks currently in the market will wait?

For details, read more at AutoBlog.com.

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Always wanted to know why.

by Lloyd Frazier

This is one of best designs the Chevrolet flagship sedan has donned since the 1994 –1996 Impala SS model years.  Then, it disappeared from the lineup until the 2000 model year.  The eight generation Impala was OK, just not great.  The exterior of the current production ninth generation Impala, in my opinion,  lacks appeal and blends in well with many of the other bland looking rental car sedans on the road.

When the Impala first hit the scene in 1958, smack dab in the middle of the rocket and fin design themes, it was a bulky, chrome ladened beast that competed with its other GM siblings similar offerings at Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac.

The 1958 design was short lived.  Next came the second generation ‘59 Impala that was quite a polarizing design.  You either loved it or hated it.  One thing was for sure, it was instantly recognizable with those huge wings, massive back deck and tear drop taillights.

Thankfully, the triple taillight design returned in 1961 for the third generation Impala.  This generation, from 1961 -  1964, is the most popular designs for classic car collectors.  My all time favorite is the 1961 bubbletop 2-door sedan.  This was the year the Super Sport (SS) option debuted and would live on until 1969.  The SS designation would not return until 1994.  The Nomad designation saw its last iteration in the same year.

The totally redesigned fourth generation Impala, in its first year of production in 1965, set an all-time sales record for Chevrolet selling more than 1 million units in the US.  The Impala never saw sales numbers like that since.  My second favorite Impala is the 1965 SS with the 396 CID V-8.

The following fifth and sixth generation Impalas fell into design obscurity.  It was not the iconic, stand out car that it once was.  Impala was dropped from the Chevrolet line for three model years, 1991-1993. 

In 1994, the Impala, only offered in SS dress, hit the scene as a less bloated, high-performance version of the Caprice.   The 1996 model saw improvements and is already becoming a collector for muscle car enthusiasts.

Now comes an all new design for Impala.  The tenth generation Impala is larger and more upscale than the outgoing model.  The plans for the new Impala to be based on the Holden VE Commodore (think Pontiac G8)  with a V8 engine and rear-wheel drive were dropped due to new federal regulations.  Instead, it will share the Epsilon II platform that the current Cadillac XTS is built on.  There goes the promise of a rear-wheel drive, V8 muscle car…well, not exactly.  The SS debuts this year as well!

Check out the GM promo vid below.