Motorweek; 2925

Six truck ship stop once more. As we take. A Chevrolet. Corvette. We're at. War. Let's see how they're spread here to the metal all the way down. Next on what are we. Two products in a tip this time. I'm Stephen Chapnick And this week one of these cars mean the X Prize we're going to stay tuned to find out. And Toyota reworked some Family star of the Sienna minivan to come drive with now. The week TV's original automotive magazine. Your host for the week John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week. We're glad to have you with us. For nearly three decades the Chevrolet Corvette has been America's most revered sports car and we've driven every new Corvette to come along over our last 29 years. But now it's time to add one more to our list. The Corvette

grand sport only twice before has the Grand Sport name adorned a Corvette. Both efforts were limited editions and are highly prized by collectors. Now the new G.S. will be as rare but it might be just as much fun. The brands fourth name carries a lot of historical significance within Corvettes famed racing lineage but for 2010 the moniker returns is a step up from the standard or bad wind track where the performance enhancements available include hand convertible with G.S. model replaces a less capable Z 51 suspension brake entire package. But before we jump into this cars improved agility Let's talk power. Starting with a Corvette pushrod. LS three six point two liter V8 punching out 430 horsepower. And 124 pound feet of torque.

But and our cars iOS 6 inspired dual mode performance exhaust and output again six more horses to 430 sex. Oh and it sounds like a beast you. Greenies are either a six speed automatic or our tester six speed manual both tweaked with tighter gear ratios for more positive ships the automatic has made it to a specific 273 rear axle but our manual new business clearly aimed at competition it's hand-built be a sports try something oily and for better balance the battery is in the rear. Down the straits are grand sport race to 60 in a pretty 4.3 seconds for about two tenths faster than the standard and only three turn slower than those iOS 6. The GSA also made rapid work of the quarter mile twelve point six seconds at 115 miles per hour. As expected the G.S. leaps off the line and built like a rocket. Launch Control standard on all manual Corvettes was easy to initiate and worked flawlessly. But the true test of a grand sport was managing the fast curves of

Georgia's Roebling road Raceway the G.S. with a standard steel Corvette frame weighs in about a hundred pounds more than the 0 6 with the aluminum frame. Most are spent in parts including roll bars are closer to the 0 6 but with softer tuning for springs and shocks. Track with them tire sizes are a match for the 0 6. Super grippy 18 inch run flats run nine teams in the rear. The result is a car that comes close to the 0 6 on the track but is far more livable on the street. The amount of front Bush is a fine compromise between standard Venancio 6 but the softer tuning did allow for a bit of side to side floating at speed the speed sensitive steering is likely weighted in very responsive and the rear of the car stayed very plated momos to plant it. We had to work really hard to break it loose for any sideways slide. That may be attributed to an electronic stability program that stepped it up big too soon. Even in competition mode. But once we got the hang of it the Grains Board wrapped around

Roebling road with a high degree of confidence. Exits in particular were missing really fast but still sure footed. Overall the grand sport is fast and fun. The set up is a huge improvement over the sea 51 yet still more predictable than the CEOs since to clamp down on the Grand Sports momentum Marzio 6 breaks with 6 besting calipers up front or pissed in the rear face three stocks average just 118 feet from 60 to zero. They were strong with good initial bite plenty of feedback and no ABS won't see. Visually the Grand Sports shows off a number of oppressive adults up front the name look begins with a z 0 6 style splitter. Bulging front and rear fenders also infuse a more muscular look and the fiberglass front fenders on Grand Sport matching. The rear brake duct enhanced both form and function. They provide the extra cooling desired for hard charging and the rear spoiler is also inherited from the CEO's seconds. Inside the Gran Sport presents a familiar and

classic Corvette cockpit are extremely well equipped for LTD came teaming with standard feature. The sport bucket seats are well bolstered and plenty supportive for the Fast and Furious cars also add optional heat perforated leather inserts and power adjusters for the passenger. Notable options include oppose premium seven speaker sound system and a Head Up Display. Government fuel economy ratings for the for bag brands for our 16 City 26 highway on premium fuel. Not bad for a track team. Hand price wise you can call the Gran Sport a bargain within the spectrum of world class sports car. It's stickers down to fifty five thousand seven hundred twenty dollars for the good and fifty nine thousand five hundred thirty dollars for the convertible. That's near 0 6 performance for less than six grand more than the face spent. With the 2010 Chevrolet Corvette grand sport. The gap between the baseband and the hot U.S. 0 6 has been tangibly fill. The Grand Sport

abstract capable prowess at a true bargain price. And is yet another reason the Corvette faithful stay excited. Our success story of the week comes from Gloucester Virginia where their county school system has added five newly designed Bluebird buses that run only on propane with a full load of propane driving ranges comparable to a diesel fuel bus with a 60 gallon tank. Bus drivers love how quiet the new buses run. Other benefits include lower maintenance costs. The cost per mile is significantly lower about 10 cents. The price per fuel is over a dollar a gallon cheaper with the help of government grants. School officials hope to add five more propane buses next year. Gloucester also uses bio diesel in their remaining bus fleet all in an effort to provide cleaner air for a most precious cargo.

Pat Goss knows something about nearly everything automotive. And this week he's dishing up a mix to satisfy our Karkare curiosity. This time we get a little pot luck from the garage. It's got a couple of new products and a tip to begin with. This is recycled motor oil from Safety Clean. Now before you say I wouldn't use recycle oil remember one thing this is completely safe. You see your owner's manual is going to tell you that you have to use an oil that meets API service standards. Guess what. This meets the API service standards and has passed their test. It's also energy conserving. So you get a good oil and you help protect the planet. Pretty good deal I think. Right now the next thing that we have is high

performance tires. Now high performance tires especially Z rated tires have always been a problem because for the most part they couldn't be rotated because they're directional. They always have to turn in the same direction. Well that meant that they got really noisy very early in their life and a lot of people had to throw them away long before they should. Well these tires this particular set is from Continental but they're going to be others on the market. These are asymmetrical from side to side but they are not directional. Now what that means for you is that this tire can go on the other side of the car and that one can come over here and you change the direction the rotation that evens out the way or and it keeps them quiet for a longer period of time. Pretty clever and I think it's what we're going to see a lot more of as time goes on.

Now I tip you know everything about the way a car performs has to do with managing air flow. So here we have a typical set up a mass airflow sensor. The tube that goes between the mass airflow sensor in the throttle body. Well as air comes into the engine it's measured by the mass air flow sensor and that tells the computer how much fuel to deliver. So you may have a situation where you have a car that under certain conditions just really acts stupid it may misfire may backfire may do all kinds of goofy things yet when it goes into the repair shop and it's sitting there and idling no problem. Well don't overlook this too between the mass airflow sensor in the throttle body. Because frequently they will have cracks like this one does and those cracks. Well when the engine moves in a certain direction the crack opens up you have unmetered air and the engine runs ridiculous late

so always check these tubes when you have a mysterious performance problem. And if you have a question or comment write to me the address is Motor Week Owings Mills Maryland. 1 1 1 7. Jumping on the bandwagon is not always a good thing. But when it comes to cleaning up the environment and using a less important oil it should be a free for all. So enter Progressive Insurance with a unique challenge that just might produce some remarkable results. And as our Stephen Chapnick found X marks the spot just over the edge. These are the kinds of cars normally seen inside this Classic Car Club. But it was a whole different story when the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize invaded the X-Prize Foundation launched Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize to find the everyday car of the future one that will be super efficient getting at least 100 miles per equivalent gallon of gas. And practically. 53 cars were selected for the finals of the X

Prize. We caught up with five of the New York City at the Classic Car Club Manhattan the X Prize was founded by Peter Diamandis. His dream has always been to travel into space and warning the public to have the opportunity of space flight as well. The X Prize was also inspired by flight Charles Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic Ocean in that he actually made the flight to win a $25000 prize inspired me to create a an incentive prize competition to bring about a new generation of private spaceship. That works so well that we're now carrying that forward into other areas. Moving. To bring about a new generation of super efficient cars. Once Peter had. Planned. He teamed with Progressive Insurance to draft a 10 million dollar automotive challenge. And open it up to the war. Is really about creating a state creating a forum where we can actually bring scientists and engineers to the forefront to do something really worthwhile So the real prize will sort of create something meaningful but really more as a catalyst. Stage for the people. And the teams we met. We're ready to talk about their concepts. Team automotive

replace the stock 14:00 cc motorcycle engine in this three wheel to passenger companion T-Rex with a super clean electric drive. We're really competitive guys we heard about the competition and then just that the notion of the competition was it was really attractive to the idea that we can do something that to make a positive influence on the planet. The U.S. Department of Energy came on board to sponsor the education program with the fuel our future now website and dash Plus high school competition. To. High school students involved was a key aspect of the education. Program everyone. Have panera. Fittingly one of the teams in the finals is from a high school in West Philadelphia. Led by their teacher Simon Hoggart. They're converting a lightweight Ford Focus into a plug in hybrid replacing the stock four cylinder with a sixty horse power electric motor and an 80 horsepower Harley Davidson motorcycle and. As educators and want opportunities like this for our students and the fact that people are taking a serious and we are serious competitor in many ways makes me feel like we've already won.

Probably haven't seen too many cars or even enter from the driver side. And exit. From the passenger side. Back you'd only be one car the tank. This tandem seems all electric may look like an enclosed motorcycle but it uses the weight of its batteries to give it the stability of a sports car. This is the only car in the world that can actually put an alkaline on a freeway with Mark learn from the truck has a whole lane. Originally designed by the top brass it loads comes to a three wheeler for example electric vehicles. This team's aid is to come up with something that's cool sexy safe as well as the fish we think this vehicle represents individual as an. END. In your automobile. And here America is different than other places in the world it's not always the getting from point A to Point B. It's about being recognized while you're getting from point A to Point B. Finally the motor works Saturn Scott. A converted electric sports car with a battery in the front. Two motors in the back and a 150 mile ring.

It feels just being a part of the X Prize competition is a huge step for. Your health. Because it's. This unwellness of electric vehicles and. The technology actually exists to do this stuff. The progress of their case. Has been blown away by the support of everyone around the globe. Knowing both the automotive and aeronautical. This contest can only farewell for the future of the environment. The X Prize has a very. Almost celebrity reputation within the engineering. Work for some years with Boeing and as you know a leading technology efforts in the Navy as well and then a General Motors. And frankly as soon as you hear the name X PRIZE you think wow this is something about changing the world. This is something about innovation about entrepreneurship. And. You know doing some things for the benefit of society. Man got. New car keys new cars to drive. So let's see what first impressions these crank. You've heard about Chevrolet's volt advance hybrid for a long time now and we've

given you our impressions about driving a test mule with a volt electric drive in action. But recently we got to drive the real home close to what will be on sale in showrooms at the end of this year. Chevrolet says this full prototype is about 65 percent production ready. They're still tweaking everything from instrument panel displays to power train noises all to make sure the revolutionary Volt will jolt the average family buyer. The Chevrolet Volt is now referred to as an extended range electric car and what that refers to is you have a 400 pound lithium ion battery pack which is right here in the center of a car that will give you about a 40 mile range under most conditions enough for people basically to use it as a commuter car and never use any gas at all. But if you're going to do a long trip there is a one point four leader gasoline engine under the hood and while it doesn't actually turn the wheels it does act as a generator to give you an extended range of

over 300 miles depending on how much gas you have in the tank. So with a volt you can use it as a commuter car and not use any gasoline in most cases. And on the weekends take that long vacation with the family and know that you're still driving one of the very most efficient vehicles that's ever been mass produced. By any manufacturer and do it with all the comfort that you're used to in a mid-size family car with a good stereo with air conditioning comfortable seats and all the other amenities that most folks expect. The Chevrolet Volt does look like it's one vehicle that the family can say this is the only car we need for everything we want to do. The full will first be available in California and around Washington D.C. but as production ramps up sales will spread nationwide quickly the expected base price of $40000 will be tempered by federal and state tax incentives that could bring the final price down to around $30000.

The great thing about Porsche is that they never stop updating a design case in point the latest Porsche Cayman S. Even with a new Cayman due for 2011 Porsche has made some significant additions to the current coupe. Foremost among them is our car's PDK automated transmission replacing the tiptronic 5 speed. The PD case 2 multi-player clutches make for near instantaneous shifts some 60 percent faster than the tiptronic. The PDK makes the now direct injected 3.4 leader flat sixes output even more fluid with three hundred twenty horsepower 25 more than before. Consistent 5 seconds 0 to 60 sprints becomes routine. Plus it's 10 percent more fuel efficient. On the track we found the Caymans impressive handling and braking intact but the new power train allows faster quarter actives. For street driving. The bonus is far safer passing. As for a static walk around visual changes are smaller up front as a reshape

bumper with new jewelry rows of Ellie D's and slightly reposition fog lamps intakes in each point remain while revised ele detail lights in twin center exhaustive take a menacing view for lesser competitors. The Caymans cockpit provided everything we needed to go fast right at our fingertips for changes look to the center stack for a larger display updated nav system satellite radio and an iPod GEN. The thickly bolstered seats were already comfortable but now they can be cool. My heated staring Will is available to do with the standard manual transmission. Prices for the 2010 Porsche Cayman S start around 62. Don't. Join this soon when we crank up our first impressions when there were new sets of Kharkiv. When Toyota replaced the oddball previa with a front drive Sienna for 1998. It's take a firmer foothold in the minivan market. The redesigned 2004 Sienna added all wheel drive as an option making

it a true alternative to popular SUV. Now for 2011 the Sienna is all new again and it's crossover utilities that dominate the family scene. So let's see if the new Sienna can stand its ground. The 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan starts off by standing its ground on signs. Its one hundred nineteen point three inch wheelbase is the same as its predecessor but it is a few fractions of an inch wider and shorter overall. Much of which can be attributed to its own new styling entirely at Toyota's Kelty studio in Newport Beach California. And Kelty has given CNN a fairly aggressive version of the corporate notched book above a sharply taper trap a zoid will grill narrowed

dramatically swept back headlights are set high in a pair of folding front fender. From there the Sienna's greenhouse follows the slight curvature of character lines drawn high on its flanks unmistakeable Venza like tail lights wrap around under the deep pillars styling cues vary by trim the sporty looking SE's mesh grill deep splitter rocker panels and smoke tail lights. Set it apart from the rest of the clean but much more pedestrian Sienna line a selection of standard alloy wheels range from 17 to 19 inches in diameter. But while it does to make scarier excitement it's fine. The focal point of every minivan is the interior. To that end the 2011 Sienna fill slightly bigger shoes than last year with two inches added to interior leak. It's also wider inside and the now flowing Dash has a less pronounced more integrated center stack to make it feel even roomy or. Front seat passengers are treated to a funky asymmetrical trim swoosh

separating two glove boxes and drivers will find a more upscale instrument cluster. Most models add a center multifunction screen with eco driving indicator a full complement of air bags includes one for the driver's knee standards include Troy's own climate CD stereo with hawks input up to a dozen couple olders and dual sliding doors with power windows fonts in the trim levels and amenities like wood trim voice command navigation and a novel sliding center console are available online. Chrysler's minivans the Sienna second row seats that don't fold into the floor. They're heavy but are removable. Seven passenger models have twin captains chair in limited trim they were clocked. An 8 seater features a split bench with the Stow pull center section. The captains chairs have 23 inches of poor half travel and seat cushions that tip up allowing easy access to the third row. They're the 60 40 split benches placed two inches

further back than before. For adult sized leg room the optional rear entertainment system has a sixteen point four inch screen they can display too with books like a movie and a game at the same time. Unlike Chrysler vans However satellite TV is not available cargo volume behind the upright third seat is good at thirty nine point one cubic feet. Drop the third row in cargo volume goes to eighty seven point one cubic feet with the second row remove cargo volume grows to 150 cubic feet or more than all rivals. Sienna continues as the only minivan available with all will drop for 2011 it returns as an option on P6 powered alley XLE and LTD model. Based power comes from the CMAs first four cylinder. 2.7 leader shared with Highlander and Venza rates one hundred eighty seven horsepower and 186 pound feet of torque. The carry over 3.5 liter B6

writes two hundred sixty six horsepower and 245 pound feet of torque a new six speed automatic transmission with sequential shift handles gear changes for both motor with a V-6 Sienna can tow thirty five hundred pounds. So suspension hardware is traditional many even strong front and up the back so rear a careful read tuning stability control and new electric power steering provides Sienna I don't usually tackle driving experience especially the SE which gets treated to an even sporty or set up all this. ABS brakes are standard. While the four cylinder does strain a little under heavy loads it's government fuel economy ratings of 19 City 26 highway are the best in its class. The front drive B6 right 18 city 24 highway dropping to 16 city 20 July way with all will draw on. All S.A. run on regular gas. When he goes on sale later this spring Santa prices will start slightly lower

than last year at twenty five thousand ten dollars. The V-6 starts at twenty six thousand two hundred fifty dollars and can climb to an eye popping forty thousand five hundred twenty dollars for an all wheel drive Ltd.. That said the 2011 Toyotas Sienna has something for every minivan takes a more economical four cylinder class exclusive all wheel drive and that nicely sporty messy model. So not only can this highly versatile vehicle stand its ground it's likely to make a few more suburbanites think twice about buying the big C U. Well I hope you'll join us here next week for more motor we. Will do some rare track time in the Ford Shelby Titi 500. And see if he has more time makes a great. Time John Thain. With CNN. To learn more about Motor Week TV's

original automotive magazine visit PBS not afford. To order a DVD of this program Call 1 888 in trees 6 1 5 4. This program was produced by Maryland Public Television which is soley responsible for its content. We are PBS.