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2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Review
- Published May 15, 2011
Ford’s 2012 Mustang Boss 302 summons the spirit of muscle cars past, with 21st century handling and style.
For those hankering for a thrill ride, look no further than the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Originally produced in 1969 and 1970 as a true racing car as a compliment to the popular production version, the Boss is essentially a muscle car in a smaller body size that hugs corners, pounds out a full 440-horsepower from a 5.0-liter V8 engine, and has 380 lb-ft of torque for serious bone-crunching fun.
We tested both the standard Boss 302 (available in red with black accents) and the Boss 302 Laguna Seca (black with red accents) at the Ford Proving Grounds in Dearborn, Michigan. The two vehicles are quite similar, but the Laguna Seca – which we tested in a prototype phase – has more of a racing feel, with finely tuned brakes, suspension, and steering meant for faster speeds. The most noticeable difference we found is that the Laguna Seca version has a preternatural growl that could be more effective at scaring small children as you drive around town.
A reborn classic
In appearance, the 15.5-foot vehicle looks stocky but not compact. Just a day before driving the 302, we drove a 2012 Dodge Charger, another muscle car that proved helpful to note the differences. In person, the 302 just looks like a race car, even though it is street legal. Despite varying price tags, some of our more recent rides highlight interesting styling differences between cars at this performance level: The Audi R8 is low-slung and audacious, and the Chevy Corvette Z06 (which we drove last summer in Detroit) is curvy and also low to the ground. The 302 has more of a classic styling.
» Read MoreCollectible Classic: 1969 1/2 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler
- Published March 10, 2010
Five years after Pontiac invented the muscle car formula by wedging a huge engine into its smallest car, American Motors followed suit in a big way, shoehorning the 390-cubic-inch V-8 from its AMX performance flagship into the company's entry-level car, the Rambler (née Rambler American). The result was the fabled Hurst SC/Rambler. To help the car gain its SC (for "super car") prefix, the Hurst corporation provided one of its famous T-handle shifters - and the car's middle name - along with direction for the modifications made at AMC's factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In addition to the 390 V-8 and the Hurst-shifted four-speed manual gearbox, the list of SC/Rambler-specific upgrades included power front disc brakes, quick-ratio steering, a limited-slip differential, straight-through glass-pack mufflers, a vacuum-controlled "mailbox" hood scoop, and a Sun tachometer, as well as heavy-duty suspension, clutch, and cooling-system components. A few less-than-subtle patriotic cosmetic touches completed the two-door-hardtop Rambler Rogue's transformation from grandma's church chariot.
» Read More
Classic cars strut their stuff
- Published September 16, 2009
By Kim Hone-McMahan Beacon Journal staff writer
Upscale car collectors from across the nation will roll into the prestigious Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles this weekend in Jackson Township.
For those who don't know, it's an event akin to the Pro Football Hall of Fame week in Stark County for car buffs.
The three-day event will honor Edsel B. Ford, the only son of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford. Several of the cars that were owned by the man, who was president of the Ford Motor Company when he died at age 49, will be on display. Among those are a 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet and two custom-built speedsters.
In addition, a 1938 Lincoln Brunn limousine, a 1934 Ford Brewster town car from the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House collection and an original, unrestored 1922 Hispano-Suiza touring car with coach work by Brunn will be in the show.
The younger Ford assisted in the creation of some remarkable automobiles built in the 1920s and '30s. Among the automobiles he was best known for influencing was the Lincoln Continental, making the scene in 1939.
David Schultz, executive director of the Glenmoor auto event, owns two vintage Lincolns. It seems Schultz, who has been involved with the Glenmoor Gathering for five of it's 15 years, got the car bug when he was just a tike ` following a visit to the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan.
Today, his knowledge of vintage automobiles is both impressive and informative. Those who have a chance to talk with him are treated to a history lesson on the automobile.
The Glenmoor Gathering is gaining in prestige. Some of the same cars that are shown at places like the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, considered by some as the the world's premier celebration of the automobile, will be at Glenmoor. Only the rarest of automobiles are invited to participate.
This year, more than 200 cars will be parked on the beautiful grounds of Glenmoor Country Club, which boasts a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.
» Read More
Cool Rides Online - A Place to Showcase Your Classic, Collector and Muscle Cars and Other Vehicles: A Virtual Online Car Show
- Published June 29, 2009
Gold Eagle Co. introduces a virtual car show - Cool Rides Online (CoolRidesOnline.net), a place for people to showcase their classic, collector, muscle cars, and other vehicles for bragging rights and a chance to win free product.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB)
June 27, 2009 -- Gold Eagle® Co., makers of STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer,
Iso-HEET® Premium Water Remover and Injector Cleaner, 104+® Octane
Boost and other leading engine performance brands, announces the launch
of their new web page 'Cool Rides Online' - a place for classic,
collector and muscle car enthusiasts to feature a photo and bio of
their prized possessions.
Cool Rides Online (www.CoolRidesOnline.net) was designed specifically for collector/classic car owners, who can submit a photo, specs and the 'story' of their beloved car or other vehicle to be featured on the site. Each month, four vehicles will be chosen to be featured - three by the brand managers of STA-BIL, Iso-HEET and 104+, and the fourth by Gold Eagle's Engine Answerman - Bobby Cleveland - driver of the World's Fastest Lawnmower. Besides bragging rights, each featured vehicle will receive a certificate commemorating their car having been featured, and free product from Gold Eagle Co.
» Read MoreCollector-car expert warns not to snap up models from newly defunct brands
- Published June 12, 2009
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The only thing certain about the massive shakeup in the auto industry is that some familiar brands, such as Pontiac, will disappear when the shaking stops.
The end-of-an-era vibe often resonates with would-be car collectors who think the demise of a storied marque signals an opportunity to squirrel away a new or low-mileage example as an investment.
Mike Fairbairn tactfully suggests they reconsider.
Dead car companies are not like dead artists, he says. Their works don't inevitably rise in value.
When General Motors announced Pontiac would cease production at the end of the year, "my first thought was there's an awful lot of people out there going to waste a lot of money buying Pontiacs and putting them away."
Fairbairn is vice-chairman of RM Auctions of Bleinheim, Ont., one of the world's biggest purveyors of collectible automobiles, with more than US$320 million in sales last year.
RM, which also runs the world's largest classic car restoration shop, made headlines last month when a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for a record US$12.4 million at its auction at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, Italy.
Packard, DeSoto, Studebaker, Rambler, American Motors, Oldsmobile, Plymouth. The list of defunct carmakers is long.
And every time one succumbs, somebody thinks it's time to sock away a mint example as a nest egg.
GM Begins Announcing its 1,100 Dealership Closures
- Published May 16, 2009
DETROIT — GM began contacting dealers Friday morning, advising what it calls "underperforming and very small sales volume U.S. dealers" that they no longer will be part of its dealer network.
Their current agreements will terminate at the end of October of 2010, the company said. GM's cuts, combined with Chrysler's dealership closing announced Thursday, could put more than 100,000 dealership workers to the unemployment line.
GM tried to ease the dismal news, announcing that it was "not terminating any dealerships today," according to GM's vice president of sales service and marketing Mark LaNeve.
"We will be talking to all of our dealers over the next few weeks, letting them know now in the spirit of open communication, so they are advised well in advance, about our long-term plans and their role in them.
Long term, GM should have fewer, healthier dealers, maintaining GM's current high customer satisfaction ratings, with more sales per outlet."
GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos said the company will not make public a list of dealers to be cut, leaving the decision to release information to individual business owners.
» Read MoreYOU DECIDE: Are Car Dealers Getting a Raw Deal?
- Published May 16, 2009
GM said today that it will notify 1,100 of its U.S. dealers that their franchise agreements will not be renewed. The cuts will come just a day after crosstown rival Chrysler announced it was dropping 789 of its roughly 3,200 dealerships, a quarter of its force, by around June 9. Both companies have too many dealerships for too few sales and are slashing costs as they race to restructure. For more on this story, click here.
YOU DECIDE: Are GM and Chrysler dealers getting a raw deal? Share your thoughts. Click on “Leave a Comment”
Chrysler Ax Falls Across U.S.
- Published May 16, 2009
By NEAL E. BOUDETTE, JEFF BENNETT and ALEX P. KELLOGG
The auto-industry downsizing that is causing so much economic pain in Michigan and the rest of the Midwest is spreading to cities and towns across the country.
On Thursday, Chrysler LLC named 789 dealerships that it plans to shut as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. The closure of almost one-quarter of Chrysler's retail stores could eliminate thousands of jobs in places ranging from Yakima, Wash., where Hahn Motor Co. is set to shut, to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where AutoNation Dodge is tabbed to go out of business. A second wave of hardship is due to ripple from Detroit on Friday, when General Motors Corp. names 1,000 of its dealerships it intends to eliminate.
Combined, the affected Chrysler and GM dealers employ an estimated 89,000 workers, though not all will lose their jobs, since some dealers will survive selling used cars while others represent other car brands.
» Read MoreGM Said to Keep GMC, Eliminate Pontiac in New Plan
- Published April 25, 2009
By Jeff Green and Katie Merx
April 24 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., facing the threat of a bankruptcy filing if it can’t meet a June 1 U.S. deadline, will preserve the GMC truck line and drop its 83-year- old Pontiac brand as part of a government-led recalibration of its business plan, people familiar with the decision said.
The Detroit automaker, which received an additional $2 billion in federal assistance on April 22, will keep the GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands, after a review that included profitability with the Obama administration’s automotive task force, said the people, who asked not to be named because the decisions have not been announced.
GM may reveal next week the end of the make that produced the Grand Prix, Bonneville and Firebirds, they said.
» Read More2009 Denver Auto Show Features Plenty Of Muscle
- Published April 2, 2009