A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Top Gear sets tractor speed record
Top Gear deserves recognition as probably the best-loved motoring program in the world, but it’s had a tough couple of years. Now, however, with new hosts finally setting in, it has finally hit its stride. You can feel the enthusiasm radiating off the screen.
Sometimes that enthusiasm can take a strange turn or two, as has happened here. Seeking (supposedly) to help stop tractors from blocking up rural roads, the team at Top Gear fitted a custom-built machine with a 507 horsepower Chevrolet V-8, and then went out to stir up the dirt.
As-equipped, the “Track-tor” proved itself capable of a heady 140 kilometres per hour top speed, good enough to land in the Guinness World Record book as the world’s fastest tractor. Not too shabby.
However, just before we clear the garden implements away, why not cast your gaze over to Honda, which is about to field the Mean Mower. Powered by a 189 h.p., 1,000 cc motorcycle engine, the Mean Mower can hit a reported 215 km/h.
I feel like landscaping just became a blood sport.
Jaguar jumps into autonomous driving
Autonomous driving technology suffered a major setback recently with news that a pedestrian had been killed in a collision with one of Uber’s self-driving Volvos in Tempe, Ariz. Actually, let me rephrase that: someone’s personal tragedy is far more important than any technological innovation.
However, Waymo, born from Google’s self-driving car team, was quick to distance themselves from Uber’s failure. They claim that their cars are more advanced, with multiple sensors and more time spent testing.
At least one major manufacturer seems convinced – Jaguar. At the New York International Auto Show this week, Waymo and Jaguar announced a new partnership based around autonomous versions of the all-electric I-Pace crossover. Waymo will buy some 20,000 of the vehicles over the next two years, marking a huge expansion into its fleet.
Further, those who prefer to drive themselves should fear a Waymo future less than an Uber one. The latter has continually proven itself the worst of predatory capitalism, and would do pretty much anything to stop having to pay drivers. The former is headed by John Krafcik, formerly of Hyundai, and noted owner of both a Porsche 911 and a Caterham 7. I’d be inclined to go for the car guy rather than the would-be corporate overlords.
Viper factory reborn as heritage HQ
The shuttering of the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit saddened more than a few fans of American bravado in engineering. The Viper may have been at the exact opposite end of the scale from refined, but it was brutally quick and unapologetic. For decades, it used brute force to lay down lap times that shamed the world’s exotics, but now it’s gone.
However, perhaps this time there’s a silver lining to be found. When the Walter P. Chrysler Museum closed its doors last year, there was the sense that perhaps its 400-car collection would either get tucked away, never to be seen by the public, or broken up and sold to collectors.
Thanks to the Viper factory closing down, Fiat-Chrysler has the space to keep its collection open to the public. More than that: the old Viper plant is some 400,000 square feet in size, which means the current Chrysler collection only takes up about a quarter of the available space. There’ll be room for more, including meeting rooms, and perhaps a restoration area.
If FCA is smart, they’ll find some way to plump for the latter, as the original Viper is destined to be an unlikely collectible. It’s wasn’t for everybody, but it’s not the kind of car to go gently into that good night.
Lincoln continues its renaissance
Long a laggard in the luxury market, Lincoln has pulled itself from a swamp of confusing alphanumeric names and ill-defined brand identity to come rushing back to the fore. The Continental started the trend, and while sales of the big sedan aren’t great – sedans seem to be on a death-spiral everywhere – there was plenty of critical acclaim for the new direction.
Then came the Navigator, which firmly set a course for a new market. Instead of trying to copy the European ideals of fast crossovers, the Navigator was big, unabashedly American, and built for comfort first. Its incredible multi-function seats and brutish lines have been a knockout hit, and Lincoln simply can’t build them fast enough.
Now, there’s a new Lincoln log to add to the cabin: the Aviator. A three-row full-size crossover that slots in at about the same size as a Ford Explorer, the Aviator arrives looking like a nimbler version of the Navigator, and more than a little like a better-realized Range Rover product.
Ford’s keeping their cards close to their chest on this one, but the powertrain is supposed to be a twin-turbocharged V-6, and there’s a plug-in hybrid option available. Further, undercarriage shots from the New York show floor reveal underpinnings that look very similar to Mustang parts, beefed up to handle the greater weight.
It’s really hard these days to get worked up over yet another crossover, but the Aviator’s clean lines and handsome presence have got to be exciting to anyone who thinks designers need to scale back on needlessly aggressive grille treatments, and think more about style as a cohesive whole. Out of nowhere, Lincoln’s back.
Watch this space for all the week’s best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected].
