Chrysler's growing PR problems with Jeep

Hands up if you remember what happened to the Mercedes A-Class when it failed the elk test a few years ago? That's the rapid lane-change test that Scandinavian countries regularly do in their road tests of cars. The A-Class rolled when fully laden and it was very nearly the end of that vehicle and Mercedes. They had to redesign the rear suspension and ultimately the whole car. Skip forwards to 2012:

That's a Jeep Grand Cherokee about to go all the way over doing the elk test. This vehicle comes with traction control, ABS and rollover protection, all supposedly designed to make this impossible. (The NHTSA already knew this was an issue, giving the Grand Cherokee only 3 stars for their rollover rating). The test was performed by Swedish car magazine Teknikens Värld, and Chrysler immediately cried foul, stating that the test was rigged because the vehicle had 5 people in it and luggage. Teknikens Värld have responded that they did the test exactly as they have done on every vehicle since 1970; they loaded it up to the manufacturer-specified cargo and passenger values and performed the test. In the same group test, a similarly-laden Volvo XC90, VW Touareg and BMW X-5 had no rollover problems.
When Teknikens Värld rolled the A-Class, Mercedes listened. Same with the Toyota Hilux in 2007 and most recently, the Skoda Superb in 2012. In all cases, the manufacturers took notice and made appropriate design changes. Chrysler, so far, have taken the blame game approach. Are they waiting for someone to die before they do anything about it?
The story is everywhere right now but here's a link to the Autoblog article: Jeep Grand Cherokee fails elk test and rolls.

The second problem with Jeep's PR right now is what has become known as the Death Wobble on the Jeep Wrangler. This is a design problem with the suspension that can result in it going into undamped oscillation when going over a pot hole at anything over 40mph. Since 2005, the NHTSA has had over 600 complaints about this on various models of Wrangler. The internet is littered with videos showing the problem both from in the cabin (where the steering wheel can vibrate so badly it becomes impossible to hold) to videos shot underneath showing the problem. It's easy to reproduce but as with the rollover problem, Chrysler's immediate response is to blame someone else. This time they say it's the owner's fault for putting different suspension or wheels on the cars. That might hold water if you couldn't do this to a completely stock Wrangler, but as that's what is being most complained about, Chrysler's arguments once again hold no water. They then go on to claim that because nobody has been killed, it's not a safety issue. I'm not sure about you, but if my steering wheel is shaking so badly that I have to let go at motorway speeds, that seems like a pretty damn serious safety issue to me although once again, no deaths yet so no real interest from Chrysler.
They've now caught the attention of the house of representatives though, so maybe some government intervention might change their mind.
Chrysler's lacklustre attitude towards their products and customers on these issues are reason enough to steer well clear of them and their crappy cars.
Jeep Wrangler Death Wobble to be investigated.

Driving the Volt

I had a chance to drive a Chevy Volt recently. Its an interesting car. Not pure electric, and not a 'range extender' but because of that tiny modification to the transmission, it is technically a hybrid. The petrol engine can, and does drive the wheels. Not often, but it does. For the most part though, it is electric, and because of that, it makes barely any noise from the outside. There's road noise on the inside of course but that's about it. It drives pretty much like any other car but being electric drive, you get full torque from standstill. With the transmission in 'sport' you get a good punch of acceleration but a commensurate (and very noticable) drop in remaining battery life. In 'mountain' mode you get more regenerative braking for coming down passes and hills, and in 'normal' mode its a blend of the other two.
Ride quality is good, but then the weight of the battery pack helps that out. Conversely, cornering suffers for the exact same reason - it steers like the Queen Mary on anything but the slightest change of direction.
Visibility is so-so, as is the driving position. The seats are neither luxurious nor cheap and are average for comfort. There's dozens of gadgets and distractions available through the touchscreen to encourage you not to concentrate on driving, and just about every function is user-customisable (although the manual strongly encourages you to just leave everything on 'default').
Charging takes about 16amps from a standard US 110v supply, about 8amps from a European 220/240v supply (if you're driving the Opel Ampera) and GM strongly recommend you plug it in any time you're not using it. A problem then if you place of work doesn't have charging posts. Those are the low-speed charging times. GM will sell you a high-speed charging station and install it at your house if wiring permits.
I think GM have tried too hard with the whole 'future' theme though. The inside is a gaudy mix of cheap plastic Buck Rogers TV set and poorly placed, badly functioning touch controls. The start and stop functions have some super cheesy sound effects associated with them and the central display is a mess of information that is hard to decipher when on the move. If the interior looked more like a normal car, the Volt would be so much more appealing. Plus, there's the American fetish with chrome - it's everywhere on this car, between the overly-shiny wheels and the chrome accents inside and out. The Ampera isn't quite so gaudy - they de-chromed it for the Euro market and it looks much better for it.
Would I buy one? No. Would I lease one? I don't think so. You still have to make too many concessions to own one. Can't tow with it. Marginal room in the trunk (and no divider between the trunk and the rear seats). It corners very badly. Isn't great in very hot or very cold climates (the electric heater and a/c are both pretty poor). There's a litany of problems like you'd expect with any v1.0 product and until electric cars are as flexible and no-fuss as current petrol-engined ones, I don't see a huge uptick in the number of buyers. GM have a lot of work to do for the v2.0 version to be more usable as an actual car rather than a novelty conversation piece.

F1's hopes destroyed in the US again

[Hello to those from the FB link - just learned this entry was linked there.] Americans don't get Formula 1 racing. It's been said time and time again but it's true. The latest evidence of this is the seating fiasco at the new Austin circuit - "Circuit Of The Americas". The best seats for F1 are the main grandstands opposite the pits, or on turn 1. These seats are generally expensive, but open to all at every other F1 race. In America though, they seem to think that this track is a baseball stadium, because the premium seats are only available as a season ticket (as oppose to per-event) and then only if you first pre-purchase the right to purchase a season ticket.
From their website:
"PREMIUM SEATING IS ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PURCHASE OF THE PSL. THE PSL (PERSONAL SEAT LICENSE) IS A ONE TIME PAYMENT PER SEAT THAT WILL GIVE YOU OWNERSHIP RIGHTS TO PURCHASE SEASON TICKETS AT COTA FOR UP TO 15 YEARS. OWNING A PSL WILL GET YOU ACCESS TO THE MOST DESIRABLE VIEWING AREAS, EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO OTHER RACE SERIES, PRE-SALE OPPORTUNITY FOR MAJOR CONCERTS AND THE RIGHT TO PURCHASE ON-SITE PARKING."
In other words, you can't get grandstand seats for just the F1 race - you have to commit to a whole season of events. For 15 years. Nobody's going to do that. My guess is that the FIA will pull the race from the circuit after 2013 once this becomes widely known.The worst part of this is that you have to fill in a 'pre-authorisation' request and then their PSL reps will contact you with a price - ie. they won't even publish the prices online, like it's some sort of exclusive club or something.
Doing this is basically reserving the best seats at the track for the ultra-rich - the Donald Trumps and Mitt Romneys of the world - who are so stratospherically high into the 1% that they don't even know what money is any more.
Look - F1 is an expensive spectator sport - as F1 fans, we know this - but to expect us to pre-pay for 15 years of tickets just demonstrates a comprehensive lack of understanding of F1 and the sort of people who watch it.
Way to go Circuit Of The Americas - I guess you really didn't want to give F1 a chance after all.

Driving one-armed.

A few weeks back I broke my left shoulder and humerus in an off-road accident. Since then I've been living life one-armed, with left arm in a sling. Of course this means getting to grips with driving with only one arm. Fortunately my car has an auto box so that's really what makes it possible. Putting the seatbelt on is easy. Closing the door not so much as I have to lean out of the car and reach over to grab the handle with my right hand. Basic driving is pretty easy but I find myself driving about 5mph slower than normal because I can only have one hand on the wheel. Using the indicators is the most awkward thing though because the control stalk is on the left side. This means I have to pick my moment to indicate because I have to wedge the wheel with my knees and quickly reach through the top of it with my right hand. This isn't particularly safe but I still find it better to indicate my intentions rather than just maneuvering without warning.
For sure it's given me an enlightened view of driving when disabled. I'm going to get better and I'm sure once I am this will fade into memory, but it occurs to me that having able-bodied people designing cars (or anything for that matter) for disabled people is a bit hypocritical. There's a dozen things I'd change right away in my car if this was a permanent condition.
But none of them would be nanny items - I'm still quite capable of determining when to turn on the headlights and wipers thanks very much.

Supercar sunday

About a month ago we were in the UK on holiday and on the sunday we were driving to Portsmouth for a day out. It's not unusual to see supercars every now and then - I've spotted the odd Ferrari and Lambo here and there. But we had a hell of a shock on that day. First, we passed a Pagani Zonda. Then we spotted a Lamborghini Reventon. Now there's only 25 of these in existence (I think). Then we were passed by a second Pagani Zonda. 10 minutes later, we were buzzed by a Porsche GT3RS and a Lamborghini Aventador. We figured something was up at that point and had our suspicions confirmed by a Ferrari Enzo and a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera orbiting a roundabout in front of us. It was only later in the day that we discovered it had been Supercar Sunday at Goodwood. That would explain it. Although think of this : you'd expect supercars to be shown at that sort of event if they were trucked in by the manufacturers, but in this case these were 'everyday' owners. I can only conclude one thing from this experience - there isn't a recession in the southeast of England. I've only ever seen one of those cars before outside the pages of a magazine or TV show. To see so many that close together, out in the wild, was amazing.

Ferrari 599 vs taxi = bad for everyone

I enjoy spirited driving. I admit I speed - show me someone who tells you they don't speed and I'll show you a liar. But even I draw the line at speeding in built-up areas. Sadly, this isn't the case for some of the bottom-feeders of this world. On May 12th, there was a horrendous accident in Singapore when a guy driving a Ferrari 599 GTO at 180km/h blew through a red light with the inevitable result. It was caught on a dashcam by another driver. Sadly, the passenger and driver in the taxi that the Ferrari hit were killed. The Ferrari driver was also killed, but that's no biggie - he got everything he deserved. Bizarrely, his passenger and the motorcyclist he also hit both survived. When you see the video and photos, you'll understand why I use the word 'bizarrely'.
Look - I can understand buying a supercar. I would if I had the money. I can understand wanting to show off to the women - I'm a bloke - we're hard-wired to do stupid things like that. And I can understand wanting to drive fast. What I can't grasp is the logic that this guy applied where he thought all three of the above would be just fine and dandy in a busy city street. I've driven at 180km/h (faster, actually). It's quick. Bloody quick, even on a dead straight, wide open county road with no intersections and miles of visibility. I can't imagine how mental that must be in a city environment. Well - I can now thanks to the video.
It's not particularly graphic but it is shocking if you've never seen a traffic accident (for real or on video) before. You've been warned.