William Maley

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2012 The internet is a wonderful place for things to leak out before their official debut. The latest leak comes from Aston Martin as their new flagship, the Vanquish was revealed before its official debut. From the few pictures that were leaked, the Vanquish appears to be mix of the current DB9 and some new designs. Under the body lies a heavily revised version of Aston Martin’s VH platform. Power will come from a revised 6.0L V12 engine producing 565 HP and 457 lb-ft of torque. Power will be sent to a six-speed "Touchtronic 2" automatic transmission. Reportedly, the Vanquish will hit sixty in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 183 MPH. We'll have more on the new Vanquish when Aston Martin officially shows it. Source: Motor Authority William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2012 General Motors has trademarked another old nameplate, this time from Buick. Left Lane News reports that General Motors filled a trademark application on June 5th for Electra. No other details were revealed in the filling. Electra was a Buick nameplate introduced back in 1959 to replace the Roadmaster and Limited models. The nameplate would last till 1990. So why is General Motors trademarking Electra? Left Lane has two theories. Theory one is a flagship sedan that will use the LWB Epsilon II platform as a base. Using the Electra nameplate makes sense because the name was used for Buick flagships. Theory two is a Buick version of the Chevrolet Volt. General Motors has given the green light to a Cadillac version (ELR) to help with costs. Plus, the Electra nameplate would be a perfect fit. We have a theory as well. General Motors filled the trademark application to protect the Electra name. Update: Nick Richards, Head of Communications at Buick, tweeted this in reply to this article. - DD Source: Left Lane News William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2012 Chrysler has begun taking orders for the new Dodge Dart from their dealers. Hopefully the dealers read the fine print, as there are a couple catches to the new Dart. The first catch is how many Darts each dealer will receive. Chrysler will be rewarding a certain number of Darts to dealerships depending on the number of Dodge Caliber models each dealer sold. Despite Caliber production ending last December, there are still 2,200 Calibers still sitting on dealer lots. Catch number two deals with the first Darts that the dealers will be receiving. Like the first Chevrolet Volts allocated to dealers, the first Darts will be used for demonstration purposes. Chrysler says the demo Darts can be sold once more Darts enter the flow in late July or early August. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

Manufacturers provided the vehicles. Representatives from the companies were on site as well.

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 18, 2012 Beak, bread slicer, shield, etc, etc. Whatever you want to call it, Acura's polarizing grille introduced back in 2008 is here to stay. Toshinobu Minami, head of Honda and Acura exterior design told Automotive News the grill and the basic design language is here to say, albeit toned down a bit. "We concede that we went a little overboard at some points. We actually had pretty bad feedback on this initially from different directions. But we are not going to buckle under that pressure," said Minami in a interview. When asked about the grill, Minami said, "There hasn't been that great of a change, but maybe people have gotten used to it. There may be small evolutions here or there in details." Although the Acura grill will not change for the time being, the brand’s overall vehicle design could be shifting. Minami said Acura will be "going further out, maybe pursuing premium." Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 18, 2012 A few weeks ago, we reported on rumors of a hotted-up S60 being worked on by Volvo and its performance partner, Polestar. The S60 would use a tuned V8 engine from the XC90 and S80, producing 400 HP and going through an AWD system. Now, Polestar has unveiled the Volvo S60 Polestar performance concept. Before you ask, we're not sure if this is the car captured in the spy shots or not. But nevertheless, this is an impressive vehicle. The S60 Polestar performance concept comes equipped with a highly modified turbocharged 3.0L inline-six producing an eyewatering 508 horsepower and 424 lb-ft of torque. That gives the concept a run to 60 in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 186 MPH. All of that power is routed to a six-speed manual and a upgraded Haldex all-wheel drive. Polestar has also dropped 204 lbs out of the S60. Other changes to the S60 Polestar performance concept include a lower and wider body, six-piston Brembos brakes, a reinforced chassis, Öhlins three-way suspension, 19-inch wheels on 265-section rubber. Other tweaks include a six-speed manual transmission, increased front and back track, stainless steel exhaust, and a Alcantara interior. For now, Polestar says the concept is built for "one specific client." (Volvo perhaps?) Also, Polestar says more of these S60s can be built if there is demand. William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. Press Release is on Page 2 Polestar presents Volvo S60 Polestar performance concept Volvo Cars Official Motorsport and Performance partner Polestar present the Volvo S60 Polestar, a performance concept car developed with the aim of satisfying the performance minded driver. (16-06-2012) -- "We are proud to present Polestar's interpretation of the Volvo S60" says Christian Dahl, founder and CEO of Polestar. "It's a car developed with our own preferences in mind which, we from experience know, are shared by a group of active drivers" The main focus when developing the car has been to combine a comfortable genuine Volvo driving experience with a high level of power and handling. The Volvo T6 engine has been tuned to deliver a considerable increase in power and torque. This, in combination with a lowered, widened and reinforced chassis together with a tuned Haldex all-wheel drive system and Öhlins suspension makes the car suitable for both high performance driving and long distance travelling. Robert Dahlgren, Volvo Polestar racing driver, comments the driving experience: "to me the Volvo S60 is a very well sorted car from start. In our concept car we have developed chassis, engine and transmission just like we want it, and the result is a huge leap forward in terms of handling and performance. It is, by far, the most impressive street Volvo I've ever driven. But I must also say that the genuine Volvo feeling is still there. " The car presented at Gothenburg CityArena is the first car built for one specific client. A small series of Polestar modified S60s may be built pending market response; "Polestar's heart and soul is motorsport and our main focus is to deliver the absolute best results for Volvo on the track" say's Christian Dahl. "But over the years we have also seen a significant increase in demand for Volvo performance cars and parts and naturally we want to respond to this." Technical specification Performance 0-100 km/h 3.9s Top speed more than 300km/h Engine Volvo T6 inline six (B6304T4) 508 hp @ 6500rpm 575Nm @ 5500rpm Max rpm: 7100 Modified cylinder head and combustion chambers Modified inlet manifold and air intake Special manufactured conrods Garret 3171 turbo Ferrita 3.5" stainless steel exhaust system Drivetrain Reinforced M66C (close ratio) manual 6-speed gear box. Haldex E-LSD in rear Haldex Gen4 XWD Chassis Tires 265/30R19 Rims Polestar 9,5X19" Chassis lowered 30mm Öhlins 3- way shock absorbers Reinforced anti-roll bar front and rear Track width increased 20 mm front and 40 mm rear Polestar-tuned EHPAS steering Stabilising X- members, front and rear. Modified control-arms with uniballs front and rear. Reinforced bushings in sub-frame and control-arms Modified engine mounts Weight Total weight 1640kg and optimized weight distribution Brakes Front Polestar-Brembo 6 piston calipers, 380 mm ventilated discs Rear Polestar-Volvo calipers, 302 mm ventilated discs Brake cooling air intakes from front Aerodynamics Based on tests in Volvo's wind-tunnel Lowered front splitter and larger rear spoiler to reduce high speed lift Carbon fiber diffusor Body 20 mm widened front and rear Interior Polestar designed seats with increased support. Alcantara on all functional areas steering wheel, gear knob, and seats to ensure maximum grip. Centre console lowered for optimised gear-lever ergonomics. Moving on from the legendary Volvo C30 Polestar, a new chapter in Polestar's 16 year cooperation with Volvo has started. Volvo Polestar Racing has entered four Volvo S60s for the 2012 season in the new Swedish racing series TTA - Racing Elite League. In parallel with the race-car development, a street-version of the S60 has also been developed. The official launch of the car, named Volvo S60 Polestar, will take place June 16th at the third race round of the TTA series held at Polestar's home track in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden. "The performance concept road-car is a spinoff of our work evaluating and developing the S60 for racing." says Polestar Marketing Director Hans Bååth. When the Volvo C30 Polestar was presented in 2010 it gained a massive global interest. Polestar was flooded with requests from people interested in buying the car. The first Polestar concept-car was however not designed with production in mind and at the time Polestar was also in the midst of campaigning the Volvo C30 WTCC in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The first S60 Polestar is built for one of the most eager bidders for the C30 Polestar. "Whether there will be more cars built is an open question. First of all we want to get feedback on this first prototype." Bååth continues. When Volvo in 2011 decided to race with the new S60 model, Polestar started an intense research and evaluation-program to collect and compile vehicle data from the S60 platform. The final decision on what racing class to enter was yet to be taken and Polestar needed to learn as much as possible about the S60's built-in characteristics. Jan Andersson, responsible for complete vehicle development at Polestar explains: "What we found was another very strong Volvo with great potential for motorsport applications and also an almost ideal platform for a road-going performance car. Volvo's engineers are known around the world for their achievements in car- and traffic-safety. What is less widely understood is that strong and safe cars also make great platforms for motorsport and performance." Polestar has co-operated with Volvo since 1996 and has to date successfully raced five different Volvo models starting with the Volvo 850. Volvo bodies are strong and solid designs built to withstand extreme forces straight from the factory which make them ideal for building race cars. While in the S60 TTA car, almost every single part is designed and manufactured for racing purposes only, the S60 Polestar is to a great extent based on standard Volvo S60 T6 components. Christian Dahl, CEO at Polestar: "The car we present is yet another result of our close co-operation were Polestar's motorsport and performance experience is combined with Volvo's in-depth knowledge about the car and its technology." Exact specifications of the car will be revealed at the official launch June 16th at Gothenburg City Arena. View full article