2011 Ford Mustang GT Automatic Soft Launch? Ask Rob About Cars

Read your 2011 Ford Mustang GT Test Drive And Overview on insidemusclecars.com (also published here: http://www.examiner.com/autos-in-san-jose/2011-ford-mustang-gt-automatic-test-drive-and-overview )

Best article yet I have read. I am a first time muscle car buyer and am 46 years old. I got the 2011 Mustang GT/CS automatic. Any suggestions for a first time buyer/driver? I tried your slammin it to the floor at 20mph and anything above 60mph and it sure is fun. I am a little disappointed in the take off from a dead stop

Thanks Jim

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Hi Jim,

I wish I could take credit for that article but I'm glad you liked it.

Congratulations on your purchase. I take it you're looking for
suggestions for a quicker "launch" from a dead stop? You could look
at the softness off the line as a benefit too. A fast car like that
can easily overwhelm the tires and you end up spinning instead of
moving forward. Therefore the benefit can actually be is that your
"launches" can be very consistent which many cannot claim.

However if your tires are warm and the surface can handle more power
than just hitting the gas, a "brake torque" will allow you to start
with a higher rpm, bringing the engine into the powerband more
quickly. This is only when racing, not a daily practice by any means.
The technique is left-foot braking and holding the car in place while
giving it some gas. Do not do this for very long as it can overheat
the transmission. Per the previous article, this seems to help quite a bit.

In the meantime, scan dragtimes.com and the various Mustang forums for
owners with automatic transmissions on street tires (versus drag
radials or slicks) and see what kind of 60ft times they are hitting at
the dragstrip and the techniques they used. If you're seeing 1.9x
seconds, it's pretty good. Anything below that is great. 2.0 seconds
is decent, but anything higher than that is really a soft launch.
Just doing a cursory search, it's difficult to find many quarter mile
results for automatics, let alone the manuals.

There is one owner who has timeslips showing 12-second runs at
114-115mph with 2.0 60fts but that trap speed is very suspect. I'll
go on record saying that a "stock" '11 GT Automatic will never repeat
this unless the timing lights are out of calibration or
malfunctioning. Many experienced drag racers on line are of this
opinion.

Besides technique, some custom engine tuning and intake and exhaust
modifications might help the response off the line. However, it is
that critical moment from a dead stop to rolling is the key and the
60ft is a great measurement. In other words, even though your head
isn't jerked back right off the line, if the car is cutting 1.9 60fts
or better on street tires, or even 2.0 60fts every time, you're doing just
fine.

Not everyone has the time or desire to go to the dragstrip however. A
fun device like a Gtech Pro http://www.gtechpro.com/ or Vbox
http://www.vboxusa.com/ can measure 0-60mph times well enough to tell
you how good your launch is as well.

Please feel free ask any other questions, I hope this helped. Thank
you Jim and have fun!

Rob

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Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Dodge Caliber SXT Review and Test Drive

When driving a car that is new to you, don’t you want to like it? Unfortunately with the 2009 Dodge Caliber SXT, that wasn’t the case. If you have one, don’t read further. I just can’t recommend this vehicle as much as I was hoping to. I don’t want to offend owners, but some people buy a car to be a little different and if they are fairly comfortable, they are happy. Others demand more from what is typically their second largest purchase in their life.

Having driven it for several hundred miles over the course of a few days a number of issues made themselves known. I had issues with the interior , ride, engine, transmission, etc.

The ride was rather floaty with side-to-side head-toss over bumps and dips. In other words the motion would rock the vehicle and that movement is transmitted to the least “secured” part of the body with a weight on top of it – the neck.

Excessive road noise from the tires filled the cabin. When the cargo area is shared with the passenger compartment without a bulkhead or folding seats as a divider, sound management is important. It was loud on the highway and I found it fatiguing.

The steering wheel sat too low interfering with the legs. Oddly, the dashboard actually slopes up towards the windshield where it meets with the upward sloping high hood-line. Adjusting the seat for comfortable position to the steering wheel and pedals meant the exterior view was compromised. With the windshield being so far from the front occupants along with the seating position, the A-pillars caused blind spots that were disconcerting.

This is not a vehicle for those that make frequent trips in nice clothes. The seats had such an abrasive fabric they would wear out a nice pair of slacks rather quickly. If you’re a traveling salesperson and are stuck with this car, buy a seat cover.

It has a continuously variable transmission which is annoying for anything other than casual acceleration. Otherwise it’s buzzy and seems as if it is continuously slipping. A common complaint among CVTs. I don’t find it appealing.

The gauges were easy to read, the radio was fine and the AC cooled nicely. However the vents can’t be moved side to side. I can’t tell you how ridiculous this is. Why in the world is this even allowed in a production car? Maybe it’s marketed to those who hardly ever turn on the air conditioning versus those that are hot all the time. Guess which group the author falls in?

Interior storage is clever. The phone storage is handy and a two level glove box is pretty neat too. A binnacle on the left might be suitable for a Bluetooth earpiece but that is about it. Definitely not for change or for your second cell phone (like personal vs. company issued). The middle storage binnacle has a lower edge that reveals the production tolerances are just okay.

17” wheels and tires were a nice addition. But overall the styling still struck me as odd, related to the Chevy Aztec.

The one thing that I stuck with me more than anything else and for the longest time is the granite-like, narrow inside door edge. If you like to put your elbow up when you drive, it will hurt within moments. It was horrible. I didn’t even put it in my notes and it’s still burned in my memory.

In all fairness, the Caliber is available with some neat features. See the link below for a window sticker. If you’re shopping for a Dodge Caliber, and these things matter to you, buyer beware. If you don’t mind it, you like the styling, its functionality suits you, then go for it.

http://www.dodge.com/hostc/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=1B3CB4HA4AD546307

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Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Email me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Pebble Beach Concours D'elegance: Exotics and Events Outside the Shows

My favorite part of the Monterey Weekend Of Automobiles (MWOA!) is actually the cars outside of the Concours D'elegance that are primarily featured on the day of the show. Sometimes you get a peak a day or two before. Others are seen at the various auctions.

The ones I've wanted to see for a long time in the past year or so were present: Ferrari 458 Italia, 599 GTO and the one and only P540 Superfast Aperta based on the 599 GTB. Also a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, McLaren MP4-12C, Porsche 918 Spyder, 911 Turbo S, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, and others. Some surprises were there as well such as the gorgeous Morgan EvaGT and the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 which has the horsepower output the production Evora desperately needs.

The Ferrari display just outside the Concours is up the ramp from the shops near the main entrance. The display was wonderful and deserved a higher traffic location. Some even missed it. The Italia was a very nice dark blue and of course the GTO was red. The only P540 in existence, part of the Ferrari customization program is gold colored.

The Bugatti, an even darker blue-black was especially understated. Even the McLaren was the wrong color, silver, and looks like a small car, not a wide sports car. An interesting perception, I'll be curious to see other colors on the road, hopefully.

The CTS-V is "V-rated" just like the sedan version. Wheels, brakes, hood and grill distinguish it from the standard coupe just like the sedan. The rear end just looks too disproportionately large. A comment overheard was it looks just like some simple trapezoidal shape. There is a very strange cut line near the door touch pad opening that looks like a little square filler instead of being part of the body work.

The Porsche Spyder is simply outrageous. A shorter, more curvy looking ancestor of the Carrera GT, it was also the absolutely wrong color, somewhat of a muted beige silver that didn't do it justice.

The Morgan EvaGT was a stunner. Elements of the 3rd generation Corvette could be seen but with European supercar lines. It's curves were R-rated, not suitable for those with delicate sensitivities. Really, this car is like a Frederick's of Hollywood model lounging in her lingerie on the putting green.

Jaguar's weekend kick-off event featured the remaining 12 of the 16 XK-SS Roadsters at the entrance to the party. An impressive historical sight while all their stunningly elegant models were on display. Race car driver Roberto Guerrero was even one of the very friendly product specialists. The food and large room dedicated for desserts was far more memorable than the fun dance floor.

The auctions offered some other stunners as well such as some gorgeous Ferrari's at the RM Auction held at the Portola Hotel & Spa and Monterey Conference Center. In fact, the top seller was a Ferrari that sold for $4,620,000. Now the auction charges $40 per person just to view the cars and even more to attend. Considering the crowds at night, this is a necessary but unfortunate fee.

MWOA is a spectacular time of year. Be sure to mark your calendar for the third weekend in August and be prepared to check off all the "greats" you read and see in the magazines, on Top Gear and You Tube all year.