A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Honda attempts to save manual transmission
There is no worse place to own a manual transmission car than Los Angeles. Conversely, there is no better place to have a manual than L.A. It all depends on the time of day: hellish afternoon traffic bad, early morning canyon carving good.
As a staunch defender of the manual, Honda offers a manual option in most of their cars, including the 2.0-litre Honda Accord (for Moms and Dads who like to shift). Honda manuals have always been good to drive, with the high point being something like the S2000 roadster.
Sensing that driver engagement is core to their brand, or whatever kind of marketingspeak you’d like to employ, Honda recently brought a bunch of historic vehicles to Angeles Crest in L.A., including an S2000 and a Prelude SH, and used them to teach newbies to drive stick. Sniff ... it’s ... so beautiful.
For those of us who would like a manual but have opted for the automatic option because of traffic, be aware that manuals are now easier to drive than ever. Honda’s new turbocharged engines have light clutches and plenty of low-end power to get you going, and even hill-start woes are a thing of the past with “hill-holder” systems that keep the brakes on until you’re ready to go.
If you’re not currently driving a stick, why not give it another shot? And, if you’re looking to learn, remember that the perfect car for learning to drive a manual transmission is always, always, always somebody else’s.
VW attempts to electrify Pikes Peak
As part of their pivot to battery powered vehicles, Volkswagen is pushing into all manner of racing venues. For the historic Pikes Peak hill climb, a dash to the clouds that’s about as old as the Indy 500, they’ve decided to bring Le Mans winning driver Romain Dumas, and the 680 horsepower I.D. R.
I do wish VW had come up with a better name for their electric products than I.D., especially as they have German to work with. Elecktrishschnellwagen. Something like that.
Anyway, the I.D. R is quite the beast, weighing less than an MX-5, but with huge aerodynamics and massive torque. Because altitude doesn’t affect electric engines, it’s the perfect application for the thin air of Pikes Peak. In less than two months we’ll see whether Dumas can set a course record for electric cars.
Truck drivers prevent suicide attempt
Earlier this week, an early morning suicide attempt was blocked by a squadron of Good Samaritan truckers. Detroit police received calls around 1 a.m. that a man was threatening to jump from an overpass, just north of the city. They moved quickly to close the highway.
What happened next was a bit of genius. One-by-one, volunteer truckers positioned their trucks underneath the overpass, providing a barrier to break any potential fall or jump. It was a simple tactic, but it worked – seeing his path blocked, the unidentified man eventually surrendered to police, and was taken to hospital.
Volvo’s Polestar 1 takes luxury to new heights
The Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid sport coupe, is going to be an entirely new type of Volvo. First of all it won’t even be branded a Volvo, but as a Polestar – if you buy a tuned-up Volvo these days, it’ll have a little blue Polestar badge on it.
The Polestar coupe will have 600 h.p., 737 foot-pounds of torque, and as it’s being engineered by a company that took Volvo to several touring car wins, should put down some serious handling figures. However, the figure of interest right now is the cost for all this. Canadian pricing isn’t out yet, but in the U.S., the Polestar 1 will be $155,000.
That’s a lot for a Volvo. It’s a bit like walking into the Ikea cafe and seeing that they offer a foie gras hot dog for $100.
However, to complicate things further, the Polestar 1 might not be sold at all, but operate as a subscription service. Owners will pay a single fee which will cover insurance, maintenance, and depreciation.
If this works, look for other luxury marques to add a third option to ownership besides financing and leasing. If nothing else, it’ll give owners an idea of the true cost of ownership – a little Swedish common sense.
Watch this space for all the best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected].
