William Maley

Oops, I think I was looking at the tow ratings for the 3500 when I was looking this up. It is actually a bit smaller. Thanks for pointing this out, I'll be fixing this shortly.

Back in 2011, the U.S. Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed an audit into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after its handling of the Toyota unintended acceleration crisis. The OIG made ten recommendations on how NHTSA identifies and addresses safety defects such as developing a formal training program and documenting explanations as to why they have missed deadlines. Five years on, NHTSA hasn't put all of those recommendations into practice. According to Reuters, the OIG released a new audit showing the agency had not implemented all of the recommendations agreed upon in 2011 to help protect drivers. Out of the ten recommendations, NHTSA has only put three into practice. The audit showed that NHTSA had not implemented any sort of training for their employees to investigate possible defects. "As a result, (NHTSA's defects investigation) staff may not be sufficiently trained to identify and investigate potential vehicle defects, or ensure that vehicle manufacturers take prompt and effective action," the OIG states in the audit. The OIG also found NHTSA didn't document reasons as to why they delayed completing investigations in a timely fashion, along with retaining safety records. NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge tells Reuters the agency agrees with the recommendations and will apply all of them by June 30th. Source: Reuters, Office of Inspector General View full article

Ever since Ford introduced the F-150 SVT Raptor back in 2009, there hasn’t been a manufacturer that has built a true competitor to it. Models such as the Ram 1500 Rebel and Toyota Tundra TRD Pro seem ok playing underneath the Raptor by offering a middle ground between it and your standard four-wheel drive pickup. But there is another truck that shares the Raptor’s trait of not having a true competitor. What truck may that be? That would be the Ram 2500 Power Wagon. The Power Wagon is based on the bones of the Ram 2500 heavy duty and features numerous upgrades to make it an off-road beast. The list of upgrades includes a beefy ladder chassis, solid axles, electronically disconnecting sway bar to allow for more flex when tackling difficult terrain; locking differentials, meaty off-road tires, and a new front bumper with a winch. The only powertrain on offer is the 6.4L HEMI V8 with 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. This is paired with a six-speed automatic and four-wheel drive. I really didn’t get the chance to put all of the Power Wagon’s upgrades to the test. But with the small amount of off-road driving I was able to do, I can say Ram has a very capable truck. The four-wheel drive system is activated by a floor-mounted shifter and has a nice solid feel when moving into 4HI or 4LO. Once activated, the system paired with the locking differentials keeps power flowing to all of the wheels, despite the conditions. The suspension has excellent articulation and helps the Power Wagon drive over logs or rocks. A set of Goodyear Wranglers tires provided decent grip on loose gravel. In the mud, the Wranglers were struggling. The tires were slipping around, giving the impression that the truck on ice. Keep that in mind if you plan on taking your Power Wagon to any muddy place. Leaving the beaten path, the Power Wagon is surprisingly very refined. Despite the changes made to the suspension, the ride is very smooth and the truck glides over bumps. Ram’s engineers also did an excellent in noise isolation, a bit surprising considering the off-road tires fitted to this vehicle. The one thing that you notice is how big the Power Wagon is. Due to its size and slow steering, trying to navigate the Power Wagon into an average parking space was almost ‘Mission Impossible’. The 6.4L HEMI V8 is used in a number of FCA’s performance vehicles such as the Charger R/T Scat Pack I drove a few weeks back. But don’t think this makes the Power Wagon into a speed demon. With a curb weight that tips over 7,000 pounds, a lot of the V8’s power is used to overcome this. Despite the weight, the V8 didn’t feel overwhelmed. It was more than able to keep up with traffic. There is the added bonus of a distinctive engine note. It should be noted that 2500 Power Wagon has a max towing capacity of 9,790 pounds. In terms of fuel economy, I got an average of 12 MPG for the week. The EPA doesn’t provide fuel economy numbers since the Power Wagon is over a certain weight. The exterior is a bit much with ‘Power Wagon’ decals on the doors and tailgate, and an interesting splatter pattern on the rear fenders. I found it to be a bit much. At least on the SLT trim, there is an option to delete the graphics. Also, you can order the Power Wagon in the Tradesman and Laramie that don't come with the graphics. Getting into the Power Wagon does require some athleticism as you’ll need to leap into the cabin, despite there being some entry rails. Once inside, you’ll find a decently finished cabin with supportive cloth seats for five passengers. No one will feel uncomfortable in the back as there is more than enough head and legroom. Infotainment duties are handled by Chrysler’s eight-inch UConnect system. The system is very easy to use and quite responsive when changing from screen to screen or choosing a various audio source. The 2016 Ram 2500 Power Wagon starts at $50,715 and my tester came to a final price of $57,480 with a fair amount of options. The Power Wagon is an interesting beast in the truck landscape. It offers a surprising amount of off-road capability while retaining a high tow rating and having a very comfortable ride. But it is built for a specific audience. One that will be putting all of the off-road parts to work and being ok with having a high gas bill. It is in a class of one, much like the Raptor. Disclaimer: Ram Provided the 2500 Power Wagon, Insurance, and One Tank of Gas Year: 2016 Make: Ram Model: 2500 Trim: Power Wagon SLT Engine: 6.4L HEMI MDS V8 Driveline: Six-Speed Automatic, Four-Wheel Drive Horsepower @ RPM: 410 @ 5,600 Torque @ RPM: 429 @ 4,000 Fuel Economy: City/Highway/Combined - N/A Curb Weight: 7,056 lbs Location of Manufacture: Saltillo, Mexico Base Price: $50,715 As Tested Price: $57,480 (Includes $1,195 Destination Charge) Options: Ram Box Cargo Management System - $1,295 UConnect 8.4 - $1,005 Cloth 40.20/40 Premium Bench Seat - $900 Luxury Group - $695 Spray-In Bedline - $475 ParkSense Front/Rear Park Assist System -$395 Center High-Mount Stop Lamp w/Cargo View Camera - $325 ParkSense Rear Back-Up Camera - $200 Remote Start System - $200 Front and Rear Rubber Floor Mats - $80 View full article

We have been waiting to get our first look at the next-generation Buick Regal since spy shots of Opel Insignia first surfaced back in August. Well today, Motor Authority got their hands on the first spy shots of the next Regal. Much like the Insignia spy shots, the Regal mule is heavily camouflaged. But there is on detail that we can pull from the pictures. It looks like Buick is sticking with the sedan design. The Insignia spy shots revealed a fastback roof that was similar to the Audi A7. The Regal is expected to use the E2XX platform that currently underpins the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. It is expected that Opel will reveal the Insignia at the Paris Motor Show in October. The Regal will follow shortly thereafter. Source: Motor Authority View full article

I forget the exact totals, but I believe the earlier ones just have a particulate filter (2009 to 2012/13). The newer ones do have a urea system.

It has been almost six months since Volkswagen admitted to using illegal software on their diesel vehicles to fool emission tests. Since then, a lot of people have been waiting for a fix to make the vehicles legal. Now a federal judge has given Volkswagen a deadline to come up with a solution. Reuters reports that at hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco has given the German automaker till March 24th to give a definitive answer on the status of a fix. "Six months is long enough" to determine if this is a fixable problem, Breyer said. "This is an ongoing problem." Back in January, Volkswagen presented a possible solution to the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB). But CARB rejected the plan as it was "incomplete, substantially deficient and fall far short of meeting the legal requirements to return these vehicles” to compliance. Since then, Volkswagen has been talking with the EPA, CARB, and the U.S. Justice Department about a new solution. Robert Giuffra, a lawyer representing Volkswagen told the Judge Breyer the company is making progress with the various parties. Giuffra couldn't go into specifics as the Justice Department has asked Volkswagen not to speak about the negoations. "We are committed to resolving these matters as quickly as possible," said Giuffra. Source: Reuters View full article

Back in December, we reported on the ambitious plan of Guido Dumarey, owner of the Punch International to buy General Motors' Elizabeth plant and the assets to the Commodore to build out a new range of rear and all-wheel drive vehicles in Australia. “Everything is planned. The next step is to inform all the parties with the right plan, and it happens next year. The announcement is that they will close in the end of 2017. In the first six months of next year we must work very hard to find solutions. Two thousand and sixteen is the key year. After ’16 we must not think about it, because all the programs have started to stop and it’s too late,” Dumarey told Motoring back in December. That ambitious plan has come to a halt. CarAdvice reports that General Motors and Punch International released a joint statement today stating that deal to keep producing vehicles at Elizabeth was “not possible in this case". The reasons are the same as to why Ford, GM, and Toyota are ending production in Australia; a lack of scale, high production costs, and a contraction in the supply base. Details of the plan and discussions cannot be discussed by either party due to a non-disclosure agreement. The joint statement is below. General Motors and Punch Corporation have undertaken and completed a detailed global evaluation of a proposal from Punch Corporation to continue manufacturing vehicles at Holden’s Elizabeth plant in South Australia. Both parties concluded that a viable business model was not possible for this case. Therefore the proposal will not be taken forward. GM and Punch have communicated on this decision. As discussions have been governed by a Non-Disclosure Agreement, neither party involved is able to discuss details of the proposal, nor the assessment. The challenges to domestic automotive manufacturing in Australia – lack of scale, high production costs, supply base contraction and increasing market fragmentation – persist and cannot be overcome for this business case. In particular, the wind down of the supply base following the manufacturing exit of the three existing car makers, and the critical production mass they represent, is insurmountable. GM thanks Punch Corporation for their proposal. GM will continue to consider Punch Corporation, along with other interested parties, to participate in the sale process of the Elizabeth plant and assets after GM ceases local manufacturing. Punch Corporation will continue to pursue other business opportunities in the Australian automotive sector. Source: CarAdvice View full article

A lot of the high-performance sub-brands have been thinking about the future and the possibility of using turbocharged four-cylinders or all-wheel drive. BMW's M division isn't going down that trail of thought yet. Speaking with Australian outlet Motoring, BMW M's head of product management, Carsten Pries says for the time being, the division will focus on developing models with the six cylinders and rear-wheel drive. “If you also look at the M performance models we have added over the last three or four years they have rear-wheel drive as the standard setting and also have six cylinder engines. These are cars that attract new people to the M brand [and its core models] and that is very important,” said Pries. “This combination of six cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive is not just a USP in marketing terms but it is something that really attracts people to our brand. This is obviously not something you can just talk about but also something you can experience and enjoy." It should be noted that M does have two models with all-wheel drive, the X5 and X6 M models. We assume Pries is referring to M's sedans and coupes with these comments. Pries does admit that the current strategy could change in the near future. “If the framework changes in the future, we have to look then at what we can do in terms of a [providing] a proper or decent M offer,” said Pries. Source: Motoring View full article