AUTOMOBILE WORLD – CAR NEWS, CAR REVIEWS, CAR INTRODUCTIONS, ALL ABOUT CARS » Matrix http://mycarblog.org Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:36:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2011 Toyota Matrix http://mycarblog.org/2011/06/21/2011-toyota-matrix/ http://mycarblog.org/2011/06/21/2011-toyota-matrix/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:50:14 +0000 Jack http://mycarblog.org/?p=12165
The 2011 Toyota Matrix is available in 2 trim levels such as base and S. The base model features a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine that produces about 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque along with standard 5-speed manual transmission or optional 4-speed automatic transmission. The S model features a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine that generates about 158 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque along with a standard 5-speed manual transmission or optional 5-speed automatic transmission. The 2011 Toyota Matrix standard safety features includes antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, brake assist, front side airbags, side curtain airbags and active front head restraints.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2011/06/21/2011-toyota-matrix/feed/ 0 TRIUMPH TR 4-5-6 http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/24/triumph-tr-4-5-6/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/24/triumph-tr-4-5-6/#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:34:50 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3929 By the beginning of the saloons, Triumph’s enduring TR 3 needed a facelift if the needed sales and interest were to be maintained. Triumph decided on a European look and went shopping for Italian styling. They ended up hiring Michelotti to re-skin the car in a more shapely body that also had to be both roomier and a little more comfortable than the TR3. Launched as the TR 4 in 1962 it retained all the rugged qualities of its predecessors. Chief among these were a torquey 2.2 liters four cylinder engine and a separate chassis. However, an all synocromesh box was an innovation. Complaints about the poor road holding and the bumpy ride were answered by the TR 4a of the 1965, which came with a new form of semi trailing arm rear suspension shared with the highly praised Triumph 2000 saloon. More power was the next obvious step, so Triumph fitted their new 2.5 liter straight six in the TR 5 of 1967. Injected and producing 150 bhp, this gave the TR a much smoother delivery and the potential for up to 120 mph.

This was a short lived variant however, and it was supplanted in 1969 by the TR 6, with new crisper, if less characterful-styling from the German firm of Karmann. Mechanically little changed, and the TR 6 continued to sell in large numbers, mostly to the North American market, until 1976 when it was no longer able to meet the increasingly strict challenge of the Federal safety requirements.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/24/triumph-tr-4-5-6/feed/ 0 VANDEN PLAS 4-LITER R http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/20/vanden-plas-4-liter-r/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/20/vanden-plas-4-liter-r/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:35:49 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3740 Launched in 1964, the Vanden Plas 4- liter R was the only fruit of a liaison between Rolls Royce and the British Motor Corporation (BMC). It was a high specification, wood and leather luxury saloon based on the 3- liter A110 Westminster shell, but using a 4- liter Rolls Royce straight six engine. Externally, it sported clipped tail fins and horizontal tail lights, and more upright front and rear windscreens to increase the headroom inside. The shell was stiffened to improve the handling, and featured smaller 13in. (33cm) wheels. Inside, the 4-liter R had the full Vanden Plas treatment, with Connolly leather on the seats and lavish use of walnut veneer on the dashboard, door cappings and picnic tables. With a claimed 175bhp, the smooth, all-alloy, seven bearing, Rolls Royce straight six gave the 4-liter R an impressive turn of speed. It accelerated cleanly up to 100mph (160km/h), and road testers attained up to 112mph (179kmlh) flat out. With the standard Bong Warner Model 8 automatic gearbox, there was no manual option, the car would whisk up to 60mph (96km/h) in an effortless 12.7 seconds.

The pay off was a dismal 14mpg (20liters/100km) thirst, and the critics were underwhelmed by the 4-liter’s overlight power steering, which lacked feel and precision. A projected output of 100 cars a week from the Vanden Plas Kinsbury works never actually rose above 60. Even at that rate there was a big stockpile of 4-liter Rs. BMC ended the unequal struggle in 1968, with sales totaling just 6555 cars.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/20/vanden-plas-4-liter-r/feed/ 0 TVR CERBERA http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/19/tvr-cerbera/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/19/tvr-cerbera/#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:27:02 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3730 Other TVRs had looked good and performed strongly but the Cerbera was different. For the first time here was a TVR with its own bespoke engine. This was in the form of a 4.2 liter V8 packing a 350bhp punch, the promise of 185mph and scorching acceleration. Best of all, this came for the price of an ordinary executive saloon. Engine apart, the Cerbera was mostly traditional TVR, the GRP body covering tubular space frame. It was a fixed head only though, with an imaginative 2+2 interior that showed amazingly little evidence of the parts- bin plundering so typical of this type of low volume car. The engine had flat plane crank that gave it much busier, less brutal engine note than the Rover engined cars. Low down it wasn’t as torquey either, but a light flywheel allowed pin sharp pick up for devastating through the gears acceleration. The Cerbera was renowned for the way it could demonstrate its power.

It has an engine of V8, with 4185 cc with the total amount of power 350 bhp. It could accelerate up to 100mph (162km/h) in 9 seconds beating speed. In 2004 long term owner Peter Wheeler sold TVR to a young Russian businessman Nikolay Smolensky. However, by 2006 TVR production had slowed to a crawl and stopped all together by the end of the year.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/19/tvr-cerbera/feed/ 0 VAUXHALL LOTUS CARLTON http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/16/vauxhall-lotus-carlton/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/16/vauxhall-lotus-carlton/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:03:15 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3626 To open motoring magazine of the late 1980s was to be confronted by an extraordinary number of super high performance road cars. The most extreme road car based super car was the Lotus Carlton, which was launched in a blizzard of bad publicity. The company had to suffer police chiefs in the UK sounding off about the irresponsibility of producing a car capable of 176mph (282km/h). GM gave the respected midsized Carlton/Omega saloon to Lotus (its then subsidiary) to be transformed into a car that could carry four people, and frighten the average Ferrari at the same time. Most of the modification centered on the straight six 24 valve engine. The block was strengthened, and then Lotus increased the capacity and made some modifications to the head design. Manifolds that could resist 750 degree temperatures were fitted, along with twin Garrett turbochargers. A new electronic management unit was sourced, and a charge cooler was also fitted, to massively increase the effectiveness of the turbos. Other GM companies around the world were roped in, with Holden in Australia donating the rear differential and Chevrolet the Corvette ZR-1’s six speed manual gearbox.

One of the finest body styling kits ever seen, designed by Lotus’s Julian Thomson, completed the Lotus Carlton project. A four wheel drive conversion was mooted, but GM decided against the investment. The result was a staggeringly fast car, 0-100mph (160mph) in 11.8 seconds that was also very refined. The Lotus Carlton was well capable of crossing continents faster than anything else on four wheels, but needed the kind of road space to exploit its performance that’s rarely on offer in Europe.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/16/vauxhall-lotus-carlton/feed/ 0 VAUXHALL CALIBRA http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/15/vauxhall-calibra/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/15/vauxhall-calibra/#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:11:36 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3549 During the second half of 1980s, the work of the German based General Motors styling studio was some of the best in the world. After the advanced Astra and slickly aerodynamics Carlton, the Cavalier range arrived in 1988 to widespread praise. This was as much for the excellent detailed industrial design as for its efficient and extremely tidy overall shape. Even so, few excited the next big surprise, a two door coupe based on the Cavalier chassis. The stunning Calibra was a serious wake up call for the mass market motor industry. In base model, 2.0 liter, 8 valve form, the Calibra recorded a Cd figure of just 0.26, making it the most aerodynamics car on sale, an extraordinary achievement, when it was based on the running gear of an ordinary family hatch back, and one of that was exemplary in its space utilization. Overseen by design boss Wayne Cherry, the Calibra project was completed quickly. According to GM designers who worked on the car, the speed at which it went into production was the real reason why those in the design department managed to preserve the radical styling, which was rarely the case with mainstream car design of the late 1980s.

The Calibra range included two four wheel drive models. One was powered by the well regarded 16 valve engine and another by a turbocharged engine, good for over 200 bhp. The Calibra was never a great car to drive, even if was very quick in Turbo from. Try as it did, it was never convincing in any of the department that make for a pleasurable drive. It was, though, probably one of the best styled mass produced cars ever seen.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/15/vauxhall-calibra/feed/ 0 KARMANN GHIA http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/14/karmann-ghia/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/14/karmann-ghia/#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:43:46 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3539 The exotic Italian looks of the VW Karmann Ghia hid annoyingly uncharismatic VW Beetle power, but for some that very deceit has always been part of the cars charm, and the looks of Karmann Ghia are more than enough to make you forgive it almost anything, even its reliance on Beetle power. Designed by Ghia of Italy and it was built by Karmann in Germany, on a slightly widened Beetle platform, the car made an instant hit in the market when it was revealed to the general public in the late 1955 and sales lasted strongly for almost 20 years. A carbriolet followed the Coupe production in 1957 and in America they sold by the boat load nobody seemed to mind that these rather expensive machines drove just like a humble VW Beetle. In fact, some enthusiasts almost seemed to relish the fact of this limitation. There was an attempt to up date the concept of the ride in the 1961 when the bigger more modern version with a 1500 engine was offered, based on the Type 3 VW.

It was plusher and faster than the previous one but never caught on like the original, although 42,000 sales in eight years in hardly disastrous for the Karmann Ghia. The power went up gradually over the years, but the Beetle’s trusty backbone platform, air cooled, rear mounted engine and rattling exhaust note remained the same. As did, of course, the well known reliability of the car.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/14/karmann-ghia/feed/ 0 GOLF GTI MK1 http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/13/golf-gti-mk1/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/13/golf-gti-mk1/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:46:36 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3446 In the early Volkswagen desperately needed to replace the venerable Beetle. A lot of people especially in the motoring press though that the company might fail to meet the challenge. It didn’t replace the old stalwart with a car that was destined for amazing success. The MK 1 golf was an utterly conventional interpretation of what was becoming the Euro small car norm a hatch back body powered by a transversely mounted front engine. Because it was a Volkswagen, the Golf was sensibly and ruggedly engineered and, perhaps best of all by the Italian designer Giugiaro. However, the MK 1 Golf will be remembered for more than those admirable traits. It was the basis for one of the most enduring automotive trends ever the hot hatch. It is this fact that makes it a true landmark car and has forever endured it a place in the history of the automobile. Early in the model’s life, enthusiast VW engineers tried fitting the Golf with the 110 bhp fuel injected 1.6 liter engine destined by the Audi 80 GTE, and the resulting prototype had a magic production and eventual popularity with the car buying public a certainly.

The winning formula for the original GTI was simple; a punchy engine, stiffish suspension and some sporty additions and trim. The unobtrusive spoiler, restrained striping and alloy wheels made for a suitable, but effective formula that was still being copied more than two decades later. The combination of reliability, strong performance and razor sharp handling meant that GTI became the common man’s sports car.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/13/golf-gti-mk1/feed/ 0 GOLF GTI MK2 http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/10/golf-gti-mk2/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/10/golf-gti-mk2/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:53:52 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3350 With the success of the MK1 Golf, VW wasn’t going to stray too far from a winning format with its replacement model. Even, so, there was initial widespread disappointment that the Golf MK 2 wasn’t a bigger step away from the original. However, VW must have been very satisfied when early scepticism was replaced by near universal rapture for a simply, but very robustly, engineered car, whose styling matured superbly. The MK 2 Golf was launched shortly after the more humdrum models, and stuck to the subtle GTI badging, red lined bumpers stripped upholstery and Prielli ‘P slot’ alloy wheels. The 113 bhp 1.8 liter engine also remained, but the new car was more refined and stable, as well as benefiting from improved braking for right hand drive markets. Despite competition from faster, if more ragged, GTIs, like Peugeot 205 and Ford Escort XR3i, the Golf achieved a near impregnable up market image. This was in keeping with the car’s engineering and built quality.

Two years after the launch, VW offered the 1.8 liter engine with a twin cam 16 valve head. This pushed the power up to 136 bhp and offered higher performance, although it was the apparent cost of peaky torque delivery. Demand accelerated through the 1980s, and in the UK it fitted perfectly the yuppie image that had preceded the nation. The overweight MK 3 replacement arrived in 1992 and disappointment with its lack of sparkle and wallowy handling. The MK 2 is yet to be properly replaced by VW.

Searched as:]]> http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/10/golf-gti-mk2/feed/ 0 PORSCHE 914 http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/04/porsche-914/ http://mycarblog.org/2010/08/04/porsche-914/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:14:01 +0000 fahad majidi http://mycarblog.org/?p=3298 Unloved, and now almost forgotten, the Porsche 914 was a hybrid, conceived to give Porsche a foot hold in the mass market sports car sector, which later achieved with the Boxster. For collaborators Volkswagen worried by poor sales of its mainstay Beetle, it meant some much needed showroom glamour to draw in the customers. Launched in 1969, the Karmann built targa top which always seemed to look as if it was going both ways at once, was powered by an injected VW411, air cooled, mid mounted flat four. This produced a modest 85 bhp for a disappointing top speed of little more 107 mph (171 km/h). Later versions had a much superior and much needed 2 liter unit specially developed by Porsche, although the top of the range 914/6 with the 2 liter 911 flat six proved short lived due to its ridiculously high production cost. The 914 had considerable appeal as a superior entry level sports car, particularly in the USA. There was road holding aplenty, decent luggage space in its noise and tail, importantly; it was built as well as any 911.

Historians tend to view the Porsche VW914 as a commercial flop, but in reality this wasn’t the case, 119,000 examples of all types were built before Porsche pulled the plug in 1975. On the terms of sales figures, the car was a success. Of these, 84,000 went to North America, the main intended market for the 914. However, there is a lot more to a good car then sales, as the 914 very aptly demonstrates.

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