Men Free Blog

Turns out the recreational and commercial vehicle show in Dusseldorf, Germany has attracted more concepts than the just the Fiat Portofino. Volkswagen showed up with the Caddy Topos Sail concept, another nautical-themed vehicle that brings the boat life to land locked lovers of the water. Based on the Caddy MPV, the Topos Sail concept’s biggest attraction is its roof, which is covered in wood decking and surrounded on all sides by aluminum roof rails. The roof deck is designed for lounging in the sun just like on the deck of a yacht, and the panels flip up to act as back rests. The concept also features a nifty ladder built into the rear lift gate with wooden steps, as well as wood trim elsewhere on the vehicle’s exterior. We’re certain it doesn’t float, but you could park the Topos Sail down by the docks, climb up on the roof and order a daiquiri to get the full effect.

Being that my family’s in the motor home business, I know a thing or two about RVs. One thing I know is that they don’t like going off road. Hell, they don’t like potholes and speedbumps. Being constructed mostly of balsa wood and tinker toys, modern RVs tend to shake like an earthquake over anything but ribbon-smooth pavement. That’s why the EarthRoamer XV-JP is unique. It’s the only camper that’s ever traversed the Rubicon Trail without flipping on its roof, and that’s due mostly to the fact that it’s based on the Jeep Wranger Rubicon Unlimited platform. In place of the standard Jeep’s two rear doors is a big box containing a bench seat, small kitchen, a toilet (!) and extra storage. It’s not very roomy, but the ‘Loftop’ roof flips opens to increase headroom to, oh, about nine feet, as well as make room for the queen size bed on which you’ll be sleeping. There’s even an 80-watt solar panel on the roof to charge the batteries when you’re parked and a 160-amp engine alternator to keep things powered while on the move. A 6,100btu furnace, 25-gallon water tank and indoor and outdoor showers round out the RV-ification of this Jeep. For those looking to tackle some serious bush, the EarthRoamer packs electric locking front and rear differentials, an electric sway bar disconnect, twin Dana 44 differentials and a Warn 9000 heavy-duty winch. If you do head for the trail, though, just make sure your pots and pans are securely stowed.

You may remember our post on the Splinter wooden supercar late last year. At the time, the grad students behind the project being led by Joe Harmon only had renderings of what the Gaia-approved exotic would look like. They deserve extra credit, however, for having the actual car ready for the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta last week. While they’ve yet to reach the running prototype stage, they did marry the car’s body to its all-wooden chassis. Renderings are one thing, but seeing photos of the actual car is inspiring. The body is comprised of basket-woven wood that’s coated with resin in a mold, which we suppose makes it a different kind of carbon fiber altogether. Next up is actually fitting the drivetrain, which thankfully is not made of wood, and getting the Splinter moving under its own power. We may have doubted at the beginning that this project would ever be completed, let alone be this cool, but consider us converts.

Automakers and car dealerships have used the old “Free Gas” promotion to good effect, so it’s not surprising that companies outside the industry might try it, too. Electronic Arts gave it a go recently to promote its new Mercenaries 2 video game in the UK by taking over a gas station in North London and giving away £20,000 ($35,000) worth of free gas. The free fuel was pumped by actors wearing military garb (with bandoliers!) in £40 increments to any who drove up. While those receiving the priceless petrol were thrilled, area residents and motorists just trying to drive by called the PR stunt “irresponsible and dangerous”. Locals had their driveways blocked for hours and were forced to listen to a symphony of horns from exasperated drivers trying to negotiate the giant queue of cars. Beginning at 6:30 in the morning, the promo was supposed to go on until all £20,000 worth of gas had been pumped, but authorities shut it down just four hours later. While EA may have peeved the locals, news of its blunder has spread across the web like wildfire and given Mercs 2 more free exposure than it would’ve gotten otherwise.

The classic touring bike style has seen only minor revisions since the 1940s or so, but that doesn’t mean something spicy and different can’t shake up the segment from time to time, as proven by the Victory Vision. Introduced last year, the Vision sports futuristic styling that’s also very effective at keeping the wind and elements at bay — exactly what you want from a long-legged steed. That the Vision is equipped with an extremely powerful 106-cubic-inch (over 1,700cc) air-cooled engine with 92 horsepower and 109 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed transmission is icing on the cake. To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, America’s other motorcycle manufacturer threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Vision and ended up with a $29,000 two-wheeler bedecked in metallic red, black and chrome. Apparently, riders liked the result enough to snatch up all 100 Anniversary editions in the first seven minutes it was made available for purchase online. With that kind of response, maybe they should make a big deal about the 11th anniversary next year…

First art imitates life and now video games do the same, with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Nissan having joined forces to create the GT Academy. Over the course of eight months, the academy culled a group of wannabe racers from a field of entrants who posted the best lap times in GT5 Prologue. Then, for five days at Silverstone, the finalists competed in the game and on the actual track, watched by ex-F1 racer Johnny Herbert and a panel of five judges.

The two winners were just announced, and Top Gun status went to Lars Schlomer and Luis Ordonez. Schlomer is a taxi driver in Bonn, Germany; Ordonez is an MBA student from Spain. Now that they’ve won, they’ll be thrown into boot camp for four months to learn to how to race for real silver: in four months, they’ll have to earn their racing licenses and get ready to drive a factory-backed Nissan 350Z in the 24 Hours of Dubai this coming January.The rest of us will have to be content with GT5 Prologue for now…

Ford Motor Company sent Jaguar packing this year when it sold the storied English automaker, along with Land Rover, to Indian mega corp. Tata. On its way out the door, Jaguar took something special: the XF sedan. Its entire development process having been carried out under the stewardship of Ford, the XF is easily the most tasty fruit born of the cross pollination between the Blue Oval and Leaping Cat since they were first joined back in 1989. Read on to find out how the 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharge fared in the Autoblog Garage.

The 2009 Jaguar XF is the second manifestation of Design Director Iam Callum’s intention for the brand (the first was the 2006 XK) that heralds a completely new look for the automaker’s entire lineup. Based on the CX-F concept car that debuted at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, the new XF is not just unlike any Jaguar you’ve ever seen, but it’s also distinct from any luxury sedan offered by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Nearly all connection with past Jaguars has been deleted save for the fluting that begins above the headlamps and flows into the hood. Next to those, however, are creases, bold lines and even a power bulge in the hood that’s visible from the driver’s seat. We generally like the new grille, the chrome split lower air intakes, and the hood that swells with testosterone, but miss the sexy cat slit headlights of the concept that would’ve put this design over the top.

The XF features a coupe-like profile that flows into broad rear fenders with a strong, high shoulder line. Yes, the rear of the XF, particularly the taillights, still looks very Aston Martin in execution, but average buyers will likely just see a shapely rear end. The XF also features chrome in all the right places with brightwork used to draw attention to particularly attractive elements like the aforementioned lower air intakes, the grille and a strip across the rear connecting the taillights that’s emblazoned with the word ‘Jaguar’ in case the uneducated wonder what it is. While the design of the XF may be polarizing, it does have some particularly fetching angles from which it looks like a million bucks.

Just as the exterior breaks from the past, entering the interior is like hopping out of an E-Type into a Star Trek Shuttlecraft. Overall it is an aesthetic gem with just a few functional foibles. The dash is dominated by a strip of silver that extends from door to door, above which our tester sported soft black leather with red stitching. Muted Oak veneer inlays are also set in the center console and on the doors. The large touch navigation screen is located in that strip of silver, which is met from below by a center console that contains large, easy to use controls for the stereo and HVAC systems. We’ll refrain from trashing Jaguar’s sluggish nav system (it’s been done to death), except to say that its slow performance takes away from a well-designed user interface and attractive graphics.

The center console itself features the interior’s most striking element: the JaguarDrive gear selector. Traditional shifters are sticks for sentimental reasons only, as many modern day automatics don’t require the mechanical motion of pulling a lever from P to D to get underway. Jaguar replaced the stick with a rotary knob that lays flush with the console’s surface when the car is off and rises to meet your hand when turned on. It’s purely theater and joined onstage by a Start button that pulses red when you get in and flush air vents that flip open. This startup performance isn’t really functional nor even impressive after a few showings, but it always elicits remarks from first time passengers.

Other trick features that set the XF interior apart include proximity sensors for the interior lights and glove box release. Instead of pushing buttons, you wave your finger in front of the front dome lights or the small circle embedded in the wood trim above the glove box. Branded JaguarSense, this technology is more functional than backflipping air vents and thus was appreciated more in everyday use.

While the XF’s instrument panel is ultra chique modern, Jaguar does a good job warming up the interior with the aforementioned leather and wood, as well as, in the case of our tester, a striking shade of orange called Spice for the leather seating surfaces. The seats were luxury car comfy, though we were surprised that the XF Supercharged didn’t have more side bolstering to prevent ejection out the side window during hard cornering. And like with most luxury vehicles, the driver is given so many ways to adjust his seat that finding the right position is a never-ending pursuit.

So far we’ve learned that the Jaguar XF has a love-it-or-hate-it exterior and an avant-garde interior, but sedans in this class sink or swim based on how dynamic they are to drive. This is where the XF Supercharged shatters your preconceived notion of a Jaguar. The heart of the beast is Jaguar’s venerable 4.2L V8 that’s supercharged to produce 420 horsepower and 413 ft-lbs of torque. While not sporting the newest tech available, the supercharged 4.2L V8 is an eager to please engine with an abundance of on-demand torque and subdued purr that’s ready to roar with a tap of your right foot.
Facilitating forward movement is Jaguar’s six-speed Sequential Shift automatic transmission, a shift-by-wire system that can click off gear changes 15% faster than the same tranny in the XK. There are also large paddle shifters that turn with the steering wheel for manual control, and we actually enjoyed using them. The shifts are shockingly fast and accompanied by a throttle blip that smooths the transition so the car stays settled when shifting during a corner.

What really shapes the XF’s personality are the transmission’s different modes, which include standard, Winter and Dynamic. Being August, we didn’t a get a chance to try out how Winter mode affected grip on slippery surfaces, but we did play with Dynamic mode… a lot. Engaged by a button below the rotary gear selector that’s marked with a checkered flag, Dynamic mode not only makes the transmission shift faster, but also increases throttle sensitivity and generally quickens the cat’s reflexes. Combine Dynamic mode with a defeated stability control system, and the fate of the rear tires is entirely in your hands. In this most extreme set up, the XF Supercharged feels like a completely different animal, one that’s much more aggressive and shouldn’t be fed by hand.

The XF Supercharged has a sports suspension with a CATS (Computer Active Technology Suspension) system that features two stages of dampening depending on whether you’re puttering around town or really pushing the car. Any change in damping levels while we were driving went unnoticed as the suspension felt firm all the time. We blame the combination of 20-inch, five-spoke wheels wearing low profile tires and a rock hard rigid body structure, as the suspension is entirely on its own in isolating passengers from road irregularities. If you can live with it, the sport suspension rewards by hustling this 4,194 lb sedan around like a running back.

While the standard XF sedan gets 12.83-inch rotors at all four corners, the XF Supercharged receives larger front rotors that measure nearly 14 inches in diameter. They’re up to the demands of a powerful sports sedan, but felt grabby during around-town driving where you’re not trying to arrest all forward momentum in an instant. The variable ratio rack-and-pinion steering also feels artificially light at low speeds, but builds up a nice weighty feel as speeds increase.

The Jaguar XF Supercharged does come impressively loaded for its base price of $62,200, which is admittedly not cheap. Our only options were an adaptive cruise control system for $2,200 and heated steering wheel for $300, bringing the total with a $775 destination charge to $65,475. That’s a premium price for a newcomer to the luxury sports sedan segment, especially one wearing the badge of a brand that doesn’t have many of its nine lives left.

Jaguar desperately needs a hit, and we think the XF lineup including the standard model, Supercharged and upcoming XF-R can ultimately deliver. In fact, we don’t believe Ford would’ve gotten the billions it did for Jaguar had it not been for this sedan that proves there are still people in Coventry who still care about the Leaping Cat.

News out of Toledo is that Chrysler plans to drop either the Jeep Liberty or the Dodge Nitro within four years and merge the two vehicles into one. These two ‘utes are built on the same exact platform, use basically the same engines and are built in the same Toledo plant. There is no good reason for both of them to exist, which makes us wonder why they ever did in the first place and why it will take three years to correct. Regardless, considering that Jeep will always be the off-road brand, it would make most sense to keep the Liberty name going. Losing the Nitro, meanwhile, might actually help Dodge improve its image as a volume performance brand.

This convergence of duplicate vehicles is part of Chrysler’s Project Genesis plan. Under the plan, dealers will begin to offer Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles under the same roof. Other nameplates that are or should be converged include the Jeep Compass/Jeep Patriot and Dodge Durango/Chrysler Aspen, the latter of which could see themselves replaced by a new model with Jeep underpinnings.

The LR2 gives Land Rover a semi-affordable entry model that is much more fuel efficient than the rest of the luxury SUV-maker’s lineup. To help keep LR2 sales strong in a car market that is increasingly tougher for crossovers and SUVs, Land Rover is reportedly looking at adding a third row of seats by 2010. So the question is, how does Land Rover differentiate the seven-seat LR2 from the five-seater? Sometimes an automaker will just increase the number in the model’s name by one, but that apparently doesn’t work well with the luxury automaker’s brilliantly simple naming convention.

One idea is to shuffle names around to differentiate the two LR2 models. The seven-seat LR2 could be called the LR3, while the current LR3, a different model entirely, would then get bumped up to LR4 status. We understand there aren’t many options for Land Rover, but shuffling around model names with which customers are already familiar seems extreme. Why not make the seven-seat model the LR2 L or LR2 XL or LR2 ES? There is, after all, already an LR2 HSE.

Chrysler has unveiled a few plans for the future and, rather than using past successes to carve the path, will adapt its course according to the changing market. While speaking at the recent Western Automotive Journalists’ dinner, Chrysler President Jim Press touched on the need to generate brand identity amongst Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler. While each brand currently has a core theme, Jeep – off-road, Dodge – volume and performance, Chrysler – affordable luxury, there have been many recent deviations, such as the conglomeration that is the Jeep Compass. Press hopes to put an end to that trend and focus the company’s aim at the automotive enthusiast. Toyota can keep the automotive appliance title, Press wants Chrysler to appeal to drivers rather than consumers.

Nevertheless, actions speak louder than words and Press backs up his claims through the current curtailing of vehicle production and the scheduled release of seven new vehicles come 2010. Like other manufacturers, Chrysler is aggressively pursuing alternative powertrain configurations, particularly electric drive. In case no one has noticed yet, 2010 will be a big year for the American automotive industry. It will be the point when the roller coaster ride reaches its end and some folks end up with motion sickness while others get a rush of adrenaline. Hopefully Chrysler can find themselves in the latter category.