Rams Eye The Track Guy

According to Motor Trend, a new report stated that after talks between Aston Martin and Porsche over the use of the GT3 name, Aston Martin decided to switch the name of the Vantage GT3, which debuted at the Geneva show this year, to Vantage GT12 after its V12 engine. There aren't many comments on the post but all three commenters are against Porsche fighting over the name, likening it to a spoiled child and saying there wouldn't be any confusion between the two. It isn't about confusion or Porsche being a child. It's about marketing and brand recognition. How many people refer to Porsche 911 GT3's simply as GT3's? If you say GT3 outside of an FIA sanctioned race, everyone knows you are taking about a Porsche 911. That's very successful building of brand recognition and takes time and hard work to do. The name GT3 has weight and cache in the realm of production cars that Porsche built. If this Aston is called the Vantage GT3, that distinct recognition w...

I agree with the video, there's something special about this car because it's one of the last very few naturally aspirated supercars. McLaren, Porsche, AMG, you name it. Even Ferrari is going turbo for the 458 Italia replacement. Porsche still has the naturally aspirated GT3 but the top dog is still the Turbo S. What makes this even more sweet is that this last fighter is a big V10. I'm a big fan of V10 noise. I don't know for sure which one sounds better, this or the high revving, wailingYamaha-developed 4.8 V10 in the Lexus LFA (which, in my opinion, is its only redeeming feature). I do know, though, that if both were on a track at the same time, the LFA would sound like it was wailing in fear of this Lambo, which would sound like a mad angry bull. I know which one I would take. Check out the video below to hear it and see its incredible performance.

Okay, this isn't a car but there's a reason why I'm writing about it. It has a supercharged 1.0 litre engine makes 296 hp. 296 hp may not be too impressive in a car but one has to remember that this isn't a car. It's a bike and it weighs just 476 lb in full trim and a 90% full tank. That's a weight to power ratio of 1.6 lb/hp. I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that number. To put that number into perspective, a 2013 Mustang GT500 has 5.9 lb/hp. A C6 Corvette ZR1 has 5.3 lb/hp. A 2015 Porsche 918 has 4.2 lb/hp and that's with the electric motors running at full song. The insane Hennessey Venom GT with its twin-turbo LS7 7.0 litre engine has 2.2 lb/hp. I can't even begin to imagine what 1.6 lb/hp would feel like. I would also be curious about how fast you'd have to be going to be able to use that power. I used to have an 09 Cobalt SS. It had GM Stage 1 and a few bolt ons which would put it at very close to that 296 ...

Apparently, Dodge can't build Dodge Challenger and Charger Hellcats as people can order them. As a result, the company told Fox News: "Due to unprecedented demand for the 2015 Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcats, we are temporarily restricting orders while we validate current orders that are in the system." Some dealers are slapping 50% markups on the MSRPs of $59,995 and $63,995 for the Challenger and Charger Hellcats, respectively, while others have reportedly taken deposits on cars they have no idea when they can deliver. In a very respectful move by Dodge, they closed the order books to respect the interests of its fans. It is unknown how long they will be closed for, but an  AllParNews.com  source said that Dodge may not catch up to the demand and existing orders until August. Two vehicles, both have 707 hp, supercharged HEMI V8s. One is a large coupe that can go 199 mph and another is a four door sedan that can break the 200 mph barr...

A buddy at work forwarded this video that he came across to me. It appears to be a promotional video for a 4x4 Dodge Brothers sedan with Oilfield Dodge painted on the side. Enjoy!

"I THINK it’s fair to say that nature made a mistake when it invented the dinosaur. It was too big, too violent and with such small and puny arms it was never going to be able to operate heavy machinery or even enjoy a bit of special “me” time." “All the dinosaurs died and now, years later, no-one mourns their passing. These big, imposing creatures have no place in a world which has moved on.” This is what Jeremy Clarkson wrote in his column in The Sun. By now, you've probably already heard about what has been going on with Jeremy Clarkson and a BBC producer. The show was suspended as a result and now, the above post suggests that the show is going to be cancelled for good, which is tragic as far as automotive entertainment goes. Top Gear's official website, though, has not posted about it being cancelled so there is still hope, although it confirmed that this week's episode will also be postponed pending the investigation into the matter. I think the las...

J.D. Power released its 2015 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study about three weeks ago. I don't like their rating criteria, though. According to J.D. Power, the study "examines problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of three-year-old (2012 model year) vehicles. Overall dependability is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study has been enhanced in 2015 to better measure problems related to new technologies and features that are now being offered in today's vehicles." There are two problems right there. The first is that the problems are reported by owners, not the dealer so there may be issues that are only perceived to be problems. For example, I have heard and read about plenty of owners thinking they have engine or transmission problems and bringing their cars in to get fixed because they aren't accustomed to continuously variable transmission...

Adjustable dampers are far from perfect. If they were, a car like the Camaro ZL1 would be Mercedes S-Class (or equivalent) comfortable on potholes, Camaro Z/28 (or equivalent) stiff on smooth tracks and infinitely adjustable in-between on mid corner bumps, road imperfections, speed bumps, etc. GM's magnetic shocks are excellent but, while they are one of, if not the best adjustable dampers available in any mainstream car, they're still a huge compromise between ultimate comfort and ultimate chassis control, you just give up less in performance and less in comfort compared to fixed dampers but get added cost and complexity in return. The added cost and complexity aren't the only issues, either. Ironically, adjustable dampers put a huge roadblock on adjustability if you ever decide to modify the suspension. Every modern car now has stability control and adjustable dampers would have to be connected to and monitored by the stability control system. Buying aftermarket ...

And it is a disgrace to automotive design. How is it possible for a concept car to be so HIDEOUS? What kind of crack is Lexus' design studio smoking? If time machines existed and someone took a picture of this, went back a decade or two and showed it to Lexus' design studio at the time, they would burn the place down to make sure nothing this appalling could ever come out of their offices and curse the roads of the future.

A few days ago, Motor Trend posted about the debut of the highly anticipated Ford Focus RS. As with just about every debut of a new performance car, an auto vs manual debate shows up in the comments section. The main argument for auto is that modern dual clutch autos are no longer slow and a detriment to performance so why go for an outdated technology (i.e. manual)? This really annoys me. If someone just wants the fastest, they should want intakes, heads and cams tuned for high rpm for max power, mid range be darned. They should want huge turbos for maximum power with no concern for spool times and linear power deliver. That's not the case, though, those who want autos still want a car that's always responsive and linear throughout the rpm range because it isn't a race car and it won't always be at max boost and rpm. There are compromises that have to be made for street cars to make them enjoyable and fun to drive as often as possible. A manual is one of these. ...