Motor News

If you own a C7 Z06, allow me to congratulate you on your gnarly hunk of machinery. With 650 supercharged horsepower stuffed under its bulging hood, the C7 Z06 wasn’t a car for novices. It’s not like it had any evil handling characteristics, but a front-engine car slamming 650 pound-feet of torque through the rear tires is going to be inherently traction challenged. Seldom have Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s worked as hard as the ones on the back of a C7 Z06—except maybe the ones on the back of a C7 ZR1, which had 755 horsepower. That one was supercharged, too. It was like a Z06, but more.

Which was disappointing for Corvette fans who’d come to expect the Z06 to embody a certain track-rat purism, defined by low weight and a high-revving, naturally aspirated V-8. When the C5 Z06 debuted 20 years ago, it was only available in hardtop form—no hatch—with a manual transmission. Its successor, the C6 Z06, packed one of the more memorable engines of the past two decades, the LS7 7.0-liter V-8 that revved to 7000 rpm and cranked out 505 horsepower. It was also only available in hardtop/manual configuration. By the time the C7 debuted, you could get a Z06 convertible with an automatic. In our Corvette fanfiction, the C7 Grand Sport (Z06 body, natural aspiration) got the LS7, the Z06 was called the ZR1, and the ZR1 was the L88. You follow? Of course you do.

Now, with the C8, the Z06 is returning to its roots. You could say that its 670-hp 5.5-liter double-overhead-cam V-8 is the spiritual heir to the Mercury Marine–built 5.7-liter screamer from the C4 ZR1, a car that should have been a Z06 (it belongs to that universe, and that’s an argument we can have at the next Bloomington Gold). Pushrods—or lack thereof—aside, this new engine is a worthy successor to the LS7, except it revs even higher and uses a flat-plane crank. You know who else makes a naturally aspirated flat-plane V-8? Nobody! But Ferrari used to, which is why Chevy benchmarked the old 458 Italia rather than the newer turbocharged 488 GTB. They’re chasing an experience, not just a lap time. A Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (supercharged V-8, dual-clutch automatic) will torch a GT350 (flat-plane naturally aspirated V-8, manual) around any track you care to name, but the GT350 driver will be immersed in a more visceral experience. It’s like the difference between a Porsche 911 GT3 and a GT2: the turbocharged GT2 is quicker, but that doesn’t mean it’s more rewarding to drive.The C8 Z06 is an anomaly in the modern world, a special model with its own special engine. Bolting on some boost is far easier than designing a valvetrain that can survive 8600 rpm and accommodating the vibration challenges that come with a flat-plane crank. (Like, screw-on oil filters that unscrew themselves, prompting a design change.) But that’s how you get a street-legal car that sounds like it belongs on an F1 starting grid—by doing things the hard way.The C8 already had the exotic mid-engine looks. Now it’ll have the sound and, we expect, the pace to hang with the best of the European stuff—Chevy is claiming a 1.2-g skidpad number with the Z07 package. “Corvette or 911 GT3?” is about to become topic worthy of serious debate. If past is precedent, then we’d expect Chevy to follow the Z06 with a ZR1 that uses forced induction to generate silly numbers—mega horsepower, higher top speed, lower lap times. And that car, we’ll respect. But the Z06 will be the one we love.

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General Motors will produce Ultium-brand Level 2 electric vehicle charging equipment and work with its dealers donate thousands of the units to underserved areas in cities and rural areas.There are three levels of charging equipment, with power ranging from 11.5 to 19.2 kW, and they’ll be usable by all EV customers, not just GM EV owners.Deliveries of the first Ultium charging stations start in early 2022, and customers can include the cost of a station when financing their new GM EV.General Motors said today it will sell its own electric-vehicle charging stations, branded with the Ultium name—and donate more than 40,000 of them to its 4000-plus franchised dealers to install in their communities.The goal, the company said, is to expand access to charging stations in “underserved, rural, and urban areas where EV charging access is often limited.” It’s a recognition that while GM “aspires” to sell only EVs as passenger cars and light trucks by 2035, many of its dedicated customers and longtime dealers have little exposure to them—and, crucially, may have never seen or noticed a public EV charging station.

The three Ultium charging stations announced today vary in their features, including models with an embedded touchscreen and a camera. They also vary in the amount of power they deliver, from 11.5 to 19.2 kilowatts, which makes them among the highest-power stations available. (In comparison, Electrify America’s Level 2 HomeStation is 9.6 kW, ChargePoint’s Home Flex claims 12.0 kW, Ford’s Mach-E Connected Charge station provides 11.5 kW, and the top-end Charge Station Pro for the future Ford F-150 Lightning will offer 19.2 kW.) All are networked via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, allowing GM to monitor and aggregate charging data, though the company says users can opt out if they prefer. All offer dynamic load balancing, meaning that when electric utilities signal they need to reduce demand or want to encourage off-peak charging, the stations can adjust the energy delivered to the vehicle.Deliveries of the first Ultium stations will start early next year, and EV buyers can roll the cost into their auto financing at the dealer. Importantly, the stations are intended for both home and commercial use. That’s a hint that, like Ford, General Motors may anticipate faster EV adoption among commercial-vehicle fleets, lured in by EVs’ far lower per-mile running costs, than among consumers who often need to be educated one by one.As for what GM calls the Dealer Community Charging Program, the company will give each of its EV-certified dealers up to 10 Ultium charging stations for free. The dealer is expected to work with community leaders to identify highly visible, long-dwell locations where EV charging doesn’t presently exist. Those may be parking lots at arenas, sports fields, fairgrounds, and the like—locations that will be “accessible, visible, and ubiquitous,” in the words of Hossein “Hoss” Hassani, GM’s North America director of EV commercialization and ecosystem.The new stations won’t be at the dealerships themselves, however. Dealers have other programs under which they can install charging stations—though their real-world accessibility varies greatly. (EV drivers often report that dealership charging stations nominally open to the are frequently blocked by other vehicles.) This program is intended to get EV charging out in front of the people who have never seen such a site—or may not be aware that they’ve encountered one.

The stations will be branded Ultium Charge 360, GM’s unwieldy name for what the company calls its “holistic charging approach that integrates charging networks, GM vehicle mobile apps, and other products and services to simplify the overall charging experience.” Essentially that translates to making EV charging more available, simpler, and easier. No EV maker except Tesla has accomplished that goal so far, but with more than a dozen EVs from its four U.S. brands hitting the market by 2025, the company realizes it has to do better.Earlier this month, GM CEO Mary Barra said the company would spend $750 million by 2025 to improve electric-vehicle charging and make it accessible to all Americans. This morning’s announcement is a first cautious step toward that goal. Asked if that rather large amount of cash would include DC fast-charging for trips beyond an EV’s range, Hassani demurred. “This is what we’re announcing today,” he said. Clearly, though, if GM is serious about making EV charging available to all U.S. drivers, we can expect more such announcements, and soon.

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RVs are incredibly popular right now, and anything that allows you to spend more time off-grid certainly has an audience waiting to check it out.The latest such accessory is the Xpanse Solar Awning, which can provide up to 1.2 kW of solar power to power up an RV full of appliances while it shades your comfy seats below.Xponent Power will take your pre-order $100 deposit and is offering the awning at an initial price of $7500 through October 30, but buyers after that will pay $10,000. Deliveries should happen sometime next year.There’s been an unmistakable boom in RV sales during the pandemic. According to the RV Industry Association (RVIA), there were just over 55,000 RV shipments in the U.S. in September 2021, a 32.2 percent increase over the same month in 2020. September 2021 was also the highest month for RV sales that the RVIA has ever tracked, which helped 2021’s third quarter (July to September) become the highest sales quarter ever, with 152,370 RVs shipped. In other words, if you’re getting ready to launch the “first commercially available retractable solar awning for RVs,” now’s the perfect time.

Xponent Power, which is coming out of stealth mode today, is right on time with its new Xpanse solar awning. Instead of a fabric awning to provide shade near the camper, the Xpanse awning is made up of thin, high-efficiency solar panels that fold together in a zigzag fashion and hide inside a protective shell on the top of the RV when not in use. Xponent said it takes 30 seconds to extend or retract the awning, which in standard form is about 16 feet long and can be mounted anywhere there is space available to mount two side arms 16 feet apart, company founder Rohini Raghunathan told Car and Driver, adding that Xponent is working on designing other sizes and ways of attaching it to an RV.”The Xpanse solar awning can be sized anywhere from three feet to 16 feet,” Raghunathan said. “We are in the process of designing the next-generation product that will not require side arms and hence will be compatible with a broader base of models, including Sprinter-type vehicles.”

Palmer Morse/Xpanse

The Xpanse awning can provide up to 1.2 kW of solar power to run onboard appliances and is unsurprisingly compatible with the kinds of electrical components used in traditional RV solar installations, including charge controllers, batteries, and inverters, plus RV appliances such as refrigerators, lights, and microwaves, the company said. It can be installed on either side of an RV, so if you like the shade awning you already have but want an additional power source, that’s not a problem.

Xponent Power

Xponent said it designed the Xpanse so it doesn’t cause problems when the wind picks up. For one thing, the solar panels are separated from each other to let air pass through and thus stay stable “even at relatively high wind speeds,” the company said in a statement. At higher speeds, the awning uses built-in sensors detect wins speed and automatically retract when needed. The awning decides when to retract using what Xponent calls “extensive machine learning” that has helped the company identify situations when it is no longer safe to have the awning out.There are still some details pending. For example, Raghunathan said Xponent is currently in discussion with manufacturing and assembly partners in the U.S. and hasn’t yet finalized the assembly location. “We are also in discussions with solar cell manufacturers for sourcing and final decisions have not yet been made about where these cells will be sourced from,” she said. Even more interesting, the company said it is also in talks with automotive and RV manufacturers to offer the Xpanse as a pre-installed option on new vehicles.

Xponent Power

Xponent Power plans to charge $10,000 for this solar awning system but initially is offering it for $7500 for those who order by October 30. The company will start taking $100 refundable pre-order deposits today even though the first product deliveries won’t happen until 2022.

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Rental giant Hertz announced this morning that it is ordering 100,000 Tesla Model 3 EVs, giving it “the largest EV rental fleet in North America” and making EVs 20 percent of the Hertz fleet.Hertz promised that customers will start to find Tesla Model 3 cars at some locations in the U.S. and Europe starting in early November. The full 100,000-car order is expected to be fulfilled by the end of 2022.Hertz said it will also install “thousands” of charging stations in its locations, which will supplement Tesla’s already expansive Supercharger network, and will set up an expedited app-based booking process for the EVs.In a major move both for Tesla and the rental-car market, Hertz has announced it has ordered 100,000 Teslas. The rental-car company’s $4.2 billion order represents the largest single EV purchase to date, as Bloomberg noted this morning. Tesla Model 3 cars will start appearing in Hertz airport and other rental locations next month, and the cars will continue to roll out across U.S. and Europe locations through the end of 2022. Hertz also announced today that customers who rent a Model 3 before February 1, 2022, who use the Tesla charging network will get free charging privileges. The announcement did not specify whether all 100,000 cars will be Model 3s but did not mention other Tesla models.

A big part of this deal, of course, is that Hertz customers will get to use Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network, and Hertz also said it will install “thousands” of chargers across the U.S. and Europe. The Hertz plan is to set up Level 2 and DC fast-charging stations in 65 cities by the end of 2022 and more than 100 by the end of 2023, although the rental company alluded to “semiconductor chip shortages or other constraints” as one reason that ambition could be delayed.Hertz is also promising faster booking through an EV-specific function on the Hertz app.The rental-car company first offered EVs in 2011 and started offering the Tesla Model S at airports in California in 2013, but as recently as 2017 Hertz and Enterprise both told Car and Driver that they were cutting their EV fleets because of low demand. One obvious difference between 2017 and today is that the growth of Tesla’s Supercharger network makes an EV rental a much more practical proposition.

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Emelia Hartford / Instagram

We already know the C8-generation Corvette Z06 will rev to an astonishing 8600 rpm. Now, we have studio-quality audio showing what that outrageous number sounds like in action.
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The video, from automotive content producer Emelia Hartford, shows a C8 Z06 test car in what has become very familiar camouflage. It is doing a pull on a dyno in a sound-standardized anechoic chamber, where Hartford says the Corvette team has spent “countless hours perfecting the noise” of what is expected to be an outlandish high-revving flat-plane-crank engine that shares elements with the engine used in the current C8.R racing car.

Thanks to a few previous teaser videos, we already know this will be the most outlandish sounding Corvette ever. As in previous audio released by Chevrolet, this video seems to indicate that the most extreme mid-engine Corvette yet will sound more like a V-8 Ferrari than any previous high-end Corvette. Given that the car was benchmarked against those same V-8 Ferraris at the Nürburgring, it may perform at that level, too.While the C8 Z06 will not be revealed in full until Tuesday, October 26, GM has already shared a photo of the car. It looks nearly as extreme as it sounds, but we still do not know exactly how fast it will be. The final reveal is set for 12:30 p.m. ET, so come back then for specific details on what makes the latest track-focused Corvette so special.

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It’s not just a car that’s for sale on Bring a Trailer right now, but a story of a man who loved his Porsche 912.George Vaccaro purchased it as a way to tour Europe on the cheap back in 1967. The 912 lodged itself deeply into his heart, so he and his wife decided to ship it back home to the U.S., where it was nicknamed “the Gray Fox” and used as a daily driver for decades. The auction ends on Thursday, October 28, and bidding is already above $80,000 as of October 24. Vaccaro passed away earlier this year at age 80, and his family hopes for a buyer who’s willing to keep this vehicle alive the way he did all those years. Not many 1967 Porsche 912 coupes are still around, and none of them have the story that auction lot #58316, currently available on Bring a Trailer, does. As this nicely produced video accompanying the auction listing lays out, this is the story of a man who loved his car too much to sell it over a half-century ago.
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During a 10-country European vacation in 1967, George Vaccaro decided to buy a new Porsche—original cost $4515, with options—and drive it across the Continent rather than rent some wheels. At the end of the trip, the plan was, he and his wife would sell the car for enough that they’d save money on the deal. But, after experiencing just what the 912 had to offer, the plan changed and the Porsche found its way to the U.S., where it served as a daily driver for years and years.

Bring a Trailer

It’s easy to understand why Vaccaro and his wife loved this 912, which earned the nickname the Gray Fox. Painted in Slate Gray with a black vinyl interior, the 1.6-liter flat-four and four-speed manual transmission provided just the thing for enjoyable driving 50-plus years ago. Vaccaro took such good care of this 912 that it still provides an enthusiast experience today.

You can be the next person to own this vehicle if you’ve got the money and, one hopes, the ability to care for this piece of automotive tradition as well as Vaccaro did. The current bid is just under $83,000 with four days left in the auction. The price includes the car’s “importation correspondence, service records, black California license plates, a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity, magazines in which it was featured, trophies, a tool roll, manufacturer’s literature, and a clean California title,” BaT says.

Bring a Trailer

The reason this 912 is up for sale now is because Vaccaro passed away earlier this year at age 80. His twin daughters also have an affection for this car, but they want someone who loves cars to become the second owner, someone who will not only enjoy the drive but who is also able to care for—and enjoy—the 912 the way their father did. Because enjoy it he did. The five-digit mechanical odometer shows 89,000 miles, but it has rolled over at least once.

Bring a Trailer

As the trophies and media attention included in the auction hint, this 912 has been getting attention for years. Two years ago, the car underwent an engine-out overhaul with help from BTM Motorwerks of Campbell, California. More recently, the tires and hood struts were replaced and the upholstery was repaired. There’s a four-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel and an analog clock. The car also comes with 15-inch wheels with Porsche dog-dish hubcaps, a heater, and a Panasonic cassette stereo (apparently installed in 1974 after the original radio was stolen). The exterior has been refinished, and according to BaT commenters who say they’ve seen the Gray Fox in person at events or on the road, this Porsche 912 coupe is about as stunning an example as you’re likely to find these days.
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Camping trailers are a killer way to hit the open road and see the world on vacation, but deciding which size to go with certainly requires weighing some compromises. Go big, and you gain space and creature comforts, but towing requires a big vehicle and a lot of care; go small, and far more campsites are open to you, but you may not have the room for people and gear (like, say, a toilet) that you want. Luckily, the Ultimate Camper from Ultimate Toys manages to combine many of the best attributes of large and small camping trailers into one — we’re not ashamed to call it adorable — package.

Ultimate Toys

Unlike, for example, Winnebago’s small Hike 100, the Ultimate Camper comes with just one floor plan for now: a compact layout that puts the wet bath and kitchen at the front of the trailer, with the dinette area toward the rear. That dinette can seat up to five (if those five don’t mind getting cozy), but three of them will have to leave come bedtime; the banquettes fold down to create a queen-sized bed for two.
The company’s website doesn’t reveal any info about the water tanks, but you won’t have to worry about a black water one; the Ultimate Camper uses a cassette toilet like the ones found on many camper vans, rather than a full flushing unit like most larger camping trailers and RVs.

Ultimate Toys

The primary kitchen, located inside, packs a two-burner push-button propane stove and a microwave for cooking duties, as well as a stainless steel sink for prep and cleanup. If the weather’s nice outside (or if the 69-inch interior height makes standing tough for long periods), you can also cook in the exterior kitchen mounted in the stern, which offers a sink, an ice chest, and a grille (and speakers, so you can jam out while grilling, of course). At 15 feet 3 inches long and just 2500 pounds unladen (with a maximum moving weight of 2900 pounds), the Ultimate Camper is light enough to be towed by most SUVs and trucks. Depending on your personal style predilections, you can choose between two vintage designs: the Classic and the Woody. Ultimate Toys hasn’t listed a price for this teardrop trailer just yet, but assuming it falls in line with the broader market, we’d expect it to come in somewhere between $20K–$30K.

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After a week’s hiatus when nothing changed, Window Shopping is back for mid-October. The subject? The event that made Car and Driver a cultural touchstone. And secured the legend of Brock Yates.When the history of civilization is written by the Morlocks who succeed us, they may only remember one thing about Car and Driver. That thing is the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash conceived of, organized by, and competed within the mind of C/D’s late editorial id, Yates.The not-a-race cross country race was run five times between 1971 and 1979 when frustration with the then-mandated 55 mph national speed limit enflamed the C/D collective soul. The result in the magazine was some of Yates’ very best writing. The result in the culture at large was the most attention ever focused on C/D and a fiery gust of enthusiasm across all of American adolescence.Since then, well, there was a movie. And then the culture moved on. And the idea of transcontinental race doesn’t inspire the same unambivalent excitement any more. Not even around the slightly yellowing walls of C/D itself. 1971, after all, is now a half-century away.Still, there’s Yates in our marrow. And that comes out in speculation about how to run the Cannonball now, even if no one currently here has the Yates-rated cajones to actually make such an attempt. And Dan Gurney isn’t around to co-drive any more either.So the Window Shop clique of clichés got together to pick the perfect vehicle to assault the cross-country record—from the Red Ball Garage in New York City, to the Portofino Inn on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Redondo Beach, California. Both of these fine institutions still exist today.With K.C. Colwell taking the day off to deal with his “children” it was left to quizmaster Tony Quiroga, youngster Connor Hoffman, veteran bon vivant Jonathan Ramsey, and some guy named Pearley who just couldn’t hack it at C/D and was therefore banished to Road and/or Track. Carefully planned felonies got little respect. Crafty and reasonable Germanic vehicles were dismissed. A Ferrari sure was pretty but, well, come on. And, finally, Quiroga himself went full dingbat. The result was dissatisfying to all involved. But since you weren’t involved, there’s some fun to be had in the viewing.Yes, there was corruption. So the prize money carries over into next week to bring the total up to $0.

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