First drive: 2015 Cadillac ELR gives us sticker shock!

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"Even after driving one for 10 days, it’s hard to define the Cadillac ELR. The rich brother of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, the ELR applies the same basic technology to a rakish luxury coupe. While the concept is compelling, the end result just doesn’t add up to the heady sticker price.

Like the Volt, the ELR recharges from the wall and will go up to 35 miles on battery power, and it has a small 84-hp gas engine to generate backup power for longer trips. The ELR also uses the Volt’s 16.5-kWh lithium battery pack.

In many ways, as a car, the ELR makes more sense than the Volt. With a cool-looking luxury coupe, it doesn’t matter as much that the rear seats are cramped. (They are a lot tighter than the rear accommodations in the Volt, already not suitable for adults.) And the buyers for luxury cars have a lot more in common with early adopters who buy cutting-edge powertrain technology, such as plug-in hybrids. To them, it is often worth the additional cost to make a styling statement or have the satisfaction of being a trend setter.

That brings us to the price. In theory, a head-turning Cadillac with all the trimmings should be worth more than a well-outfitted compact sedan, and thus help its maker cover the cost of the battery technology. That’s all well and good, but Cadillac set the base price of the ELR at $75,000, before adding in $900 for delivery, and deducting $7,500 for a federal tax credit. That’s $40,000 more than a Volt! And for that kind of scratch, you could buy a car in a whole different league, like an Audi A7 TDI or Tesla Model S. That leaves us wondering, who will buy this car?

Don’t get us wrong, it’s a lot nicer to drive than a Volt. You can barely hear the gas engine when it comes on. The steering is tight and responsive, although saying it’s as agile as the new CTS would be wrong. The interior is beautifully finished and sumptuous. Even Cadillac’s dreaded CUE infotainment system is less frustrating and more predictable than the sea of jumbled flat-surface touch buttons in the Volt, and the graphics are slick.

But, ultimately, driving the ELR feels rather ordinary. It lacks the zip one might expect from a high-priced coupe. Being a rolling sculpture, visibility is very limited.

Still, as nice as the ELR is, we couldn’t escape the feeling driving it around that for this kind of money, we’d a lot rather be piloting a Tesla, which is a lot quicker, sportier, and roomier, and gives you a whole lot more electric range. One staff member dismissed the ELR as a $75,000 version of the Chevrolet Cruze (on which the Volt and the ELR are, indeed, based). Ouch!" Consumer Report.

Brandon Bernstein new hire for Alan Johnson

"Brandon Bernstein and former Morgan Lucas Racing crew chief Joe Barlam are moving to Al-Anabi Racing.

That didn't take long. Brandon Bernstein and Joe Barlam, released on Tuesday from Morgan Lucas Racing, have joined Al-Anabi Racing, the team announced on Wednesday.
Bernstein, a 19-time Top Fuel race winner, joins Al-Anabi Racing as the team's general manager filling the position vacated by Chad Head one year ago.

 Prior to joining Morgan Lucas Racing in 2012, Bernstein served as the driver and general manager of his father Kenny's NHRA race team from late in 2009 through the end of the 2011 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Bernstein began his new job Wednesday and will report directly to Al-Anabi Racing team manager Alan Johnson.

“Yesterday, Morgan came in over at Morgan Lucas Racing and notified us that we weren't going to be able to run our car [the Protect The Harvest/MAV TV Top Fuel dragster] next season,” Brandon Bernstein said. “We didn't have the extra funding to go along with the Lucas Oil funding, and they decided not to run the car. Obviously, I was out of a job at that point and started making phone calls.

“I made a call to A.J. (Alan Johnson) and just told him that if there were a position available at Al-Anabi Racing, I would want to look at it and would greatly appreciate being considered. We talked for a while, and he said 'Well, let me think about it.' I got a call late last night, and he said, 'Am I talking to my new GM?' I said, 'I don't know, are you?' And he said, “The offer is there.' I said, 'Absolutely, I'll take it.'

“I was very excited. It's a new chapter in my life that I am ready to start to be honest. It's going to be fun; I think Al-Anabi Racing is the best place to be in Top Fuel drag racing so I'm excited to be here. It's gonna be good.”

While Bernstein does have more than two full seasons of experience as a general manager, driving a Top Fuel dragster is clearly his passion. So what would Bernstein do should the phone ring with an offer to get back into the car?

“It's something AJ and I discussed,” Bernstein said. “If something does come about, I'll look at it, speak with him and see if it's something I want to pursue. I love competing, I love racing these Top Fuel cars -- that's my passion, but who knows? This may be something that I enjoy even more, and we'll just see.”

Barlam, who served as Bernstein's crew chief at Morgan Lucas Racing, will join Khalid alBalooshi's gold Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel team as its assistant crew chief alongside crew chief Jason McCulloch. Ronnie Thompson, who served as McCulloch's assistant crew chief as well as car chief for the last two years, will be allowed to focus more on the car chief role of overseeing preparation of the gold Al-Anabi dragster. AlBalooshi finished eighth in the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings improving from his 11th-place finish one year ago in his rookie season. He has two Top Fuel wins in four final-round appearances.

“We are very happy to add Brandon and Joe to the Al-Anabi Racing Team,” Johnson said. “I was in the process of filling our general manager position when Brandon became available yesterday, and it seemed like the perfect fit. He has experience as a driver, a crew member and a general manager so he fits perfectly into the position. Thanks to Shawn Langdon for his help in filling this role this season. We are also very happy to have Joe on board. Joe will bring a wealth of knowledge to Khalid alBalooshi's team and allow Ronnie to focus more consistently on the race car which should make that team stronger next season.”

FORCE No. 1 AT AUTO CLUB FINALS; FIRST THREE SECOND FC PASS IN POMONA HISTORY

49^th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals

Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

Pomona, CA

November 7-10, 2013

Final race in the NHRA Mello Yello Series

Final race in the Countdown to the Championship

POMONA, CA (November 9, 2013) –John Force will go into race day at the 49^th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals as the No. 1 qualifier. Force was the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday on the strength of his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car’s 4.015 second pass. Today during the final qualifying session Force was bumped back by Matt Hagan’s 4.014 second pass before the newly crowned 16-time Mello Yello NHRA Funny Car champion raced into the record books with the first three second pass in Funny Car history at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, 3.995 seconds at 319.37 mph.

Force and his Jimmy Prock tuned Castrol GTX Ford Mustang have put together a historic string of qualifying efforts over the last four races. From coast to coast Force has an average best qualifying elapsed time of 4.004 seconds. Starting in St. Louis (No. 3, 4.023 sec), Reading, Pa. (No.1, 3.987 sec), Las Vegas2 (No.1, 4.011 sec) and today at Pomona2 (No. 1, 3.995 sec). Three of the four runs have been track records (St. Louis, Las Vegas2 and Pomona2).

At the top end Force exited his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car and showered his crew chief brain-trust and his sponsors with praise.

 “What about that Jimmy Prock! That was pretty impressive when we saw Courtney (Force) run that 4.01 Mike Neff went into the box with Robert (Hight’s Auto Club Mustang) and everybody was going for it. Hagan comes up with a 4.01 and took low from me,” said Force. “I saw that look on Jimmy Prock’s face because he has seen what everyone else has done. Jimmy told me on the radio to ‘Hold on kid!’ I just want to thank all the sponsors Castrol, Traxxas, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools, BrandSource and Freightliner. We did that on Goodyear tires which was awesome. I want to thank Auto Club for extending our sponsorship.”  

This was Force’s record 146^th No. 1 qualifier and it was his third in a row and sixth of the season. Force has won the last two races from the No. 1 spot and he will face journeyman Funny Car driver Bob Bode in the first round.

“First I am not writing any history. Jimmy Prock runs that Funny Car like I said yesterday. Right now we are on a roll and it is just working. This is a team effort with Mike Neff, Ron Douglas, Dean Antonelli, John Medlen working with Jimmy and Danny DeGennaro. We are all one team. Neff pushed it and went for it with Robert. Courtney ran 4.01. I saw the look on Jimmy Prock’s face and I knew he was going for it. The Schumacher’s they beat us to the threes but we got the record here at my home track in Pomona in front of a pretty good crowd. I am pretty excited,”

Force described the second three second run of his career to the media in the Shav Glick Media Center with his trademark enthusiasm.

“I knew it was a good run. I could hear my guys yelling. I knew it ran in the threes. It is just a feeling that you get. It is a rocket ship that goes down through there and it didn’t vibrate,” said Force. “It was on a mission. I heard my guys on the radio but they didn’t tell me exactly what it ran. I knew she ran in the threes I just didn’t know how quickly.”

In the pair right before Force’s historic run Robert Hight and the Auto Club Funny Car team were making their own bid for history. With the conditions improving rapidly crew chief Mike Neff was trying to get the maximum effort out of the track and was successful for approximately 700 feet. At the top end at the Auto Club Mustang was charging on all eight cylinders but Hight hazed the Goodyears and slowed as he crossed the finish line.

“We are ready for race day. We were going for a low elapsed time run and we just overpowered the track a little bit. That was all it took to smoke the tires,” said Hight, the No. 5 qualifier. “We can back it down and be ready for round one tomorrow. Our goal is to move up as high as we can in the points. We got bonus points in three straight qualifying sessions before the final qualifying session. This Auto Club Ford Mustang has been consistent all weekend and we will be ready to close out the season on a high note.”

Hight will face perennial championship contender Ron Capps in the first round. Both drivers are looking to move up in the points. Hight holds a 22-14 record against Capps. This will be the third time they have faced each other at the Auto Club NHRA Finals and currently their head to head record is 1-1 in the season finale.

Courtney Force opened up qualifying today in a great side-by-side match-up next to Capps. The sophomore driver posted a 4.109 elapsed time at over 312 mph and moved up a few spots in the Funny Car field. The Traxxas team had to bring out their back-up body after a small explosion on Friday during the second qualifying session.

“We had to switch bodies after yesterday. We put the pink car back on since we ruined our rookie car which is a bummer, but we’re excited that we’ve had some pretty good luck with the pink Funny Car. We went out there in the first session and ran a 4.10, which stepped us up a little, but the conditions weren’t quite perfect yet. We kept it safe on the first run and on the second we wanted to improve. We were looking for something better and we found it in Q4,” said Force.

The 25-year-old raced her pink Traxxas Ford Mustang to a 4.016 second run at over 319 mph in the fourth and final qualifying session today. Temperatures dropped quickly as the sun went down and helped to move the Traxxas team up into the top half of the field.

“In the final session we ran a 4.01 and went towards the top which is what we wanted. I’m very proud of my team. They thrashed to get that car ready for qualifying today and to go out and put a 4.01 on the board makes us very excited for what can happened tomorrow,” said Force.

Force will go into Sunday in the No. 3 spot and take on Funny Car competitor and Ford racer Bob Tasca III. Force is 7-1 to Tasca in previous match-ups.

The Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster continued to impress on the final day of qualifying. Rookie driver Brittany Force lowered her career best elapsed time for the second day in a row posting a 3.784 second run at 323.74 mph. The run was good enough to keep the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future contender in the top half of the field in the No. 8 position.

“I’m very excited about our weekend out here. It’s definitely a tough field out here in Pomona for the last race of the season. Everyone is really trying to qualify well to get those extra bonus points. Our car has been running great. We ran our best ET ever, a 3.78, and we just did it again in the last session. We have a really good car- the best it’s ever run. It’s really consistent. We were No. 4 at the beginning of the day but got bumped down to No. 8. I’m really excited for tomorrow,” said Force.

Force will face Spencer Massey for the sixth time this season. Force recently defeated Massey in Las Vegas for the first time in five attempts.

“I’ve raced Spencer quite a few times and he’s kicked my butt in the past, but he’s fun to race. I got him last race in Vegas, but our plan is to go out there and get past first round. It’s going to be a tough match-up, but it’s nothing that our Castrol EDGE team can’t handle,” added Force.

 

 

No World Chanp for Antron This Year

"POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 9, 2013) - The resiliency exhibited by Antron Brown and the Matco Tools team during the last four events of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season truly has been worthy of world champions.

Brown has remained poised and confident in his Don Schumacher Racing team and was the best dragster over the past three events, but on Saturday he was eliminated from contention to repeat as the NHRA Top Fuel world champion.

Brown, who has won four titles this year, started Saturday's last day of qualifying trailing leader Shawn Langdon by 104 points and despite cutting the gap to 101 in Saturday's opening session when his time of 3.798 seconds at 320.58 mph was quickest of the heat to earn three bonus points while Langdon smoked the tires and was shut out.

Brown needed to earn three more as the quickest on the fourth and final session while Langdon could not earn any in order for Brown's hopes to be extended to Sunday.

But both drivers lost traction on their last runs, and that made it mathematically impossible for him to catch Langdon, who takes a 104-point lead into Sunday when the most Brown could earn is 100.

"We both were going for it, you could tell," Brown said. "The track was great and the car left really well. We were going for it, stepped on it, gave it our best shot, and we'll never hang our heads. We just work as hard as we can each and every day.

"And we have a race tomorrow, four more rounds of racing. We're looking forward to getting out there tomorrow because our car has run exceptionally well this weekend. It's run exceptionally well the three races before this one.

"Our Matco/Toyota/U.S. Army team has worked hard and no one was going to give up until it was impossible to catch him," Brown said, adding praise for crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, assistant Brad Mason and the rest of the crew.

"For the fourth straight race our team has been phenomenal and we're going to finish out the year on a good note ... that's going to be determined by tomorrow's outcome. We just want to go out, have some fun and win this race."

One can never count out the "Force" at any track.

JOHN FORCE RUNNER-UP AT AAA TEXAS NHRA FALL NATIONALS

ENNIS, TX ---- John Force almost got his revenge on the Texas Motorplex, site of his horrific crash in 2007, but he came up a few hundredths of a second short against his nemesis Cruz Pedregon in the final round at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals. Force was racing in his second final round since his crash at the historic track but fell 4.220 seconds to Pedregon’s winning 4.106 second run. Force did move up to 4^th in the Mello Yello Funny Car point standings with his fifth final round appearance of the season.

 

“My race car is running good and all of our race cars are really running well. Courtney’s ET in the first round would have whooped anybody else. The run with Cruz was good but it got loose down there. Cruz was yelling in his interview about putting out the top bulb. I am just learning if I get in there and get set up my focus is a lot better,” said Force, a seven time winner at the Texas Motorplex. “I had a great leave time a .055 light. He put out the top bulb. He is a good racer but I have a good race car too. Like (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) said, ‘Force you are learning how to drive all over again and I am learning how to tune. We’ll make a good team.’ We are all up in the top of the points. (Matt) Hagan didn’t get a run on the points today. We will go to St. Louis for another AAA race. This was big for AAA Texas and next weekend we’ll be racing for AAA Missouri.”

 

Force’s run to the final was a tough battle for the leader of John Force Racing. He had to defeat both of his team cars, each of whom is a championship contender in a tough Countdown battle. In the first round Force posted his best run of the weekend against his daughter Courtney, then Force outran former teammate Tony Pedregon before taking on Robert Hight in the AAA Texas Ford Mustang.

 

“I am really excited. I have been struggling a little as a driver. I had to go back to basics. I was so busy teaching my kids that I forgot how to drive. I was hot early in the year and then I got this new car. I was sitting in it differently and I got a little lost. Robert has really been helpful in working with me to get me comfortable with the pedal and the padding,” said Force.

 

The semi-final win over Hight took the biggest toll on the 15-time Funny Car champion.

 

“I said in my interview after I beat Robert. I can win the championship. I have proved that and I will win again but if I was a betting man I would not bet against Robert Hight,” said the proud team owner.

 

“I could have left here second in the points if I would have won. Hagan didn’t move on any of us. Now it is all jammed up. Cruz is two, Robert is three and I am four. It is all a matter of who gets on a roll. Right now Robert is on a roll. He won the last two races and today they lost a motor. The ignition was on fire in the second round and they had to change motors before the semis. That is like starting all over without qualifying. They smoked the tires but Neff, I drove for him, he runs it right on the edge. Robert is Cool Hand Luke.”

 

While Force was racing to the finals he had to go through the hottest driver on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series to reach his 221^st career final. Hight, the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals No. 1 qualifier, had won the previous ten rounds of racing going into the semi-finals versus Force. Hight’s win streak started when he won the Chevrolet Performance US Nationals Labor Day weekend and the Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals last weekend. Hight moved up from 9^th to as high as 2^nd place in the Mello Yello point standings this weekend was pleased with his overall performance even if he personally wasn’t standing in the winner’s circle.

 

“We made up some ground on points leader Matt Hagan this weekend. We were the No. 1 qualifier and we made it to the semi-finals. You have to be ready for anything when you race John. We were over in the right lane which was a tough lane and we had a shot. I am proud of my AAA Texas team and we will be ready to go after them in St. Louis in a couple of days,” said Hight.

 

Hight defeated veteran Del Worsham in the first round with the quickest run of the session a great 4.067 second pass.

 

“We had to step up. That Del Worsham team over there is tough. They can put a great number up on the board just like anyone else can out here,” said Hight from the top end after the win. “That was a great, great job by (crew chief) Mike Neff and this whole AAA Texas team. We have to do a great job for our sponsors. I do not want to look back and say Texas is where we messed up.”

 

In the second round Hight squared off against Johnny Gray, another Countdown competitor. Hight had lane choice and the Funny Cars launched together but Gray went into tire smoke just before Hight’s Goodyears also lost traction. Hight was able to maintain control of his AAA Texas Ford Mustang Funny Car and get the win with a less than dominant 4.593 to Gray’s 5.374 second run. Hight attributed his quickness in gathering control of his Funny Car to a consistent tune-up by Neff.

 

“The way this Mustang has been going up and down the track Neff has it tuned perfectly. When it does smoke the tires, that is out of the norm so you can catch it quickly,” said Hight. “As driver it is easier to catch a car when it has been running well. We have a tough round next round against another Ford Mustang with John Force. For sure one of us will be in the final and try and get the win for AAA Texas.”

 

No. 5 qualifier Courtney Force lined up beside her father John Force today in the first round of eliminations. The 2012 NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner - “Rookie of the Year” - and her father have faced each other six times prior to today with more than half of those matchups coming in the opening round.

The pair ran a great side-by-side race. The 25-year-old went right down the groove with her quickest pass of the weekend. Unfortunately, the 15-time World Champion also made his quickest pass of the weekend and pulled away for the win.

“We had another first round matchup against my dad. You know, we went out there, we had lane choice, we had a good car, we ran a 4.08, but he outran us with a 4.06. It’s definitely a tough way to lose, especially when you’re out here because you’re focused on winning the Mello Yello Funny Car championship.”

“Every round counts. I really didn’t expect him to go out there and put a number like that on the board, but he had a good car and he got the win light so that’s all that matters,” said Force.

With that loss, Force dropped two spots to No. 8 in points.

“For our team, I’m proud of my guys, they gave me a great race car it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t go rounds today. We just had the wrong matchup, but we’re going to get after it again in St. Louis,” said Force.

Top Fuel rookie Brittany Force and her Castrol EDGE team continued to make improvements as they advanced to the second round.

 

After qualifying No. 10 in the field, Force had a first round match-up against Kalitta Motorsports’ David Grubnic. With a strong car, she knew she had a good chance at advancing. Force ran a 3.832 elapsed time at 317.79 mph to Grubnic’s 4.284 at 208.17.

 

“We had a good first round today against David (Grubnic),” Force said. “The entire Castrol EDGE team worked so hard to put together a really good, consistent car. We ran a good number and actually got the win this time. We were so excited about that. It was a good confidence booster for all of us.”

 

The entire Top Fuel team worked hard to prep the 27-year-old Southern California native’s dragster for round two of eliminations. As the track temperature heated up, crew chiefs Dean Antonelli, Eric Lane and John Medlen made the right adjustments to the car that would ultimately take them all the way down the track with a solid time. Force ran a 3.867 ET, but it wasn’t enough to get the win over eventual Top Fuel winner Mac Tools backed Doug Kalitta, who had an ET of 3.805.  

 

“Going into second round we had Kalitta,” said Force. “We’ve raced him quite a few times already this season. Unfortunately, we went out second round to him. Again, we still had a pretty decent car and I was very happy with my job both runs. I had good lights, good leave times right off the Christmas Tree, which is something I’ve been practicing more than ever because my team now has an awesome car put together for me and I want to make sure that I’m doing my job next to them.

 

“Overall, I think the weekend went awesome for the Castrol EDGE team. We’re excited about it. Just getting that first round win gets me pumped up and motivated and it’s the same with my team and crew chiefs. We’re still moving in the right direction. We leave Dallas with some good runs and another round win under our belt. We didn’t hurt the motor today either, so we’re very happy about that, too,” Force continued.****

CARQUEST Auto Parts new title sponsor of NHRA Mello Yello Series event in Phoenix Tuesday, September 17, 2013

"CARQUEST Auto Parts has signed an agreement to become the title-rights sponsor of the second stop in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in Phoenix, the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

“We are excited to return to NHRA Drag Racing by sponsoring the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at the new Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” said Ken Bush, senior vice president of merchandising and marketing, CARQUEST Auto Parts. “Phoenix is a great market for us, and we are looking forward to working with the new management team at the facility and hosting a great NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.”

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, formerly named Firebird Int'l Raceway, is managed by Copper Train Development Partners, which is headed by Paul Clayton and Darren Smith. Dick Hahne has been hired as track president. The multipurpose facility is owned by the Gila River Indian Community.

“Bringing on CARQUEST Auto Parts to help promote our first NHRA Mello Yello event as the management team of Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is great news,” said Hahne. “We look forward to working together to develop strong activation programs through Arizona and make the stop here in Phoenix among the best on the circuit.”

The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals will take place Feb. 21-23 and is the second stop in the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season. The event features Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock racing as well as competitors in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

As title sponsor, CARQUEST will have extensive on-site visibility as well as commercial inventory in the ESPN2 telecasts of the event.

“We are thrilled to welcome CARQUEST Auto Parts back to NHRA as a title-rights sponsor of this long-running event in Phoenix,” said Gary Darcy, senior vice president of sales and marketing, NHRA. “They were very involved in NHRA Drag Racing for many years, and we believe their return to the sport is a sign of the value associated with NHRA sponsorship. We look forward to working with them in the future to build and grow their relationship with NHRA Drag Racing.”

CARQUEST Auto Parts served as a title-rights sponsor for several NHRA events in the 2000s, including the prestigious NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The company also served as a primary sponsor for a Top Fuel dragster during that time period.

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix has been a regular stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour since 1985. The facility houses a dragstrip, three road-racing courses, a 120-acre lake, and the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving."

Having recognized the importance of a full schedule event, we have yet to see any importance placed on sportsman competitors.  I often ask myself if it is really of any importance to the NHRA other than a fill in between rounds for the professionals.  See NHRA

There is no specific time line of television, even though there is vast regional importance across the nation. Where are we going?  The ole timers are going to the drag strip in the sky, right after filing a chapter 7 or 13, and there is no loyalty established for any of the new-comers to the pro competitors. 

Would really like to get feedback from the single reader of this blog below.

New Cadillac Design is Bold to say the least.

DETROIT – Five years ago Cadillac designers and engineers started with a blank slate in designing a new user experience for its vehicles. Fast forward to today, where Cadillac CUE allows new levels of user customization and function while embodying the art and science look of the brand.
“People often overlook how many factors go into the design and development of a system like Cadillac CUE,” said Jason Diehl, design manager, Cadillac CUE. “A ton of consideration goes into seemingly minor elements like icon shape and size, fonts, color scheme and layout.”

Customization
While the physical buttons of CUE are set in place, the screens allow for varying levels of customization. An eight-inch capacitive touch screen in the center console allows for reconfiguration of home screen icons, a personalized app tray, and the ability to save multiple rows of favorites.
Owners can drag prominent home screen apps to the top row of the screen, making them easily accessible from a different page or application. The screen’s bottom row features a favorites’ bar that stores presets like navigation destinations, phone contacts and radio stations. Drivers can use their finger to drag this bar up, revealing three more rows of favorites, or slide the bar down to hide them.
Behind the steering wheel, a cluster of three configurable zones is broken into left-hand, center and right-hand views of the screen. These expandable zones allow drivers to cycle through different pages of information, such as speed limit, average fuel consumption, trip timers and the current media playing. The zones can be customized and scrolled through using a five-way controller button on the right-hand side of the steering wheel.

CUE’s design also features a chrome bar below the center console’s eight-inch screen   that when held deploys a hidden storage area behind the screen.

Research
CUE was engineered and designed, in part, by observing people’s everyday driving habits. Five years ago, the Cadillac team embarked on a massive research study that included road trips with real customers.
“Our teams rode along in the back seat with customers, sometimes for two hours at a time,” said Diehl. “The purpose was to observe their behavior inside the car: how they used everything from the radio to their electronic devices to where they stored things in the car to how they interact with other people in the car. It was important for us to go beyond just asking people how they used their system, because their answers don’t always match up with what they actually do.”

In addition to extensive brand, market and competitive research, this contextual research helped Cadillac compile extensive data on what works and what needs to be improved inside of vehicles. This data was crucial in the next stage of development: Post-it note workshops.
The Cadillac design and human-machine interface, or HMI, teams compiled more than 2,500 Post-it notes of data gathered from their research and covered walls of a conference room.

“We took the data and feedback that fell under related categories and grouped them together to make it easier to digest,” said Diehl. “From there, the HMI engineers worked on functionality, wire frames and process flow, and the graphic design team collaborated on how this could best be displayed visually for customers.”

“The Look”
To embody Cadillac’s art and science theme, CUE uses sharp, metallic icons with an illuminated blue glow. The system also incorporates the gold, red and blue colors taken directly from the Cadillac badge. An iteration of the gold is used in places like the time and temperature displays in the upper corners of the radio screen. Red is used to display a highlighted selection. In addition to providing the glow of the logos, Cadillac blue saturates the background of the center stack and cluster displays.
“With CUE, we maximized our use of pixels, giving customers a full color scale that is representative of the luxury Cadillac brand,” said Diehl. “We also spent a lot of time crafting the system’s icons so that they pop for the customers while also meeting brand and federal guidelines.”

Text and icons within a vehicle are required to be a certain size so the driver can easily comprehend them while driving. Since CUE displays icons on the home screen and in an ‘app tray’, the designers had to create both 3D and 2D renderings of each icon.

In some high-end Cadillac models, CUE features a 12.3 inch reconfigurable cluster with four different layouts. These layouts match the different personas identified during the contextual research process:

• Balanced: A traditional setting with a three-gauge layout, which is the factory default setting
• Simple: A digital appearance, limiting the amount of information displayed
• Enhanced: A modern look with a large digital speedometer in the center. This view displays the maximum amount of information
• Performance: A performance-oriented, sporty display, with a 3D rotating view of the vehicle

About Cadillac
Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring dramatic design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com.

Spreading the Gospel with John Force.

NHRA legend John Force putting on full-court press to secure sponsorship and save race team

"John Force is putting is putting it all on the line in an effort to save his race team, and that includes bringing his racing family back to reality television. The patriarch of the first family of the NHRA announced the TV show comeback this week as part of the team's aggressive plans for securing sponsorship for the 2015 racing season and beyond.

 

John Force Racing, which announced earlier this summer that it has lost major sponsorship partners Ford and Castrol, has primary sponsorship for just two of its four cars beyond 2014 -- the Traxxas-sponsored Funny Car of Courtney Force and Auto Club-sponsored Robert Hight Funny Car. John Force is seeking sponsorship for his own Funny Car ride as well as the Top Fuel dragster of Brittany Force.

There is some good news in the JFR camp, as Auto Club extended its contract with JFR and Hight this week for five years, and team's deal with Traxxas has another four years remaining, according to Force.

The team still needs to make up the loss of Ford to keep the team at a championship level and to keep the 64-year-old Force in the car.

"I'm not here to announce that I'm retiring. I'm not here to announce that I'm going out of business," Force said. "[But] you cannot race in IndyCar, NASCAR or drag racing without money, without corporate America."

Force said that he's at a career crossroads, and he announced that he's hired marketing firms JMI, Octagon and Rogers & Cowan to help put the pieces together for 2015 and beyond. The team also said that it will not make any major sponsorship announcements before the end of the 2014 season as it does not want to take away attention from any of the team's current sponsors and the job is needed to be done on the track.

"Financial was never my problem in the last 15 years," Force said. "We will fight to the end with Castrol and the engineers at Ford, but in 2015 my life starts over again. The hardest thing for me will be to not wear that [Castro] hat, but the point is that we have to move, and we have to move fast.
"We've got to chase corporate America. We have to build the brand. We have a fight, and I have to deliver."

Part of the new marketing strategy will be to bring the Force family back to the small screen. The family was the focus of a reality TV show, "Driving Force," in 2006 and 2007 on the A&E channel. The family is currently in discussions with several networks about bringing back the show in 2014 with a focus on not only the racing end of the operation but also that chase for sponsorship that could make or break the future of JFR.

"The economy has beaten us up," Force said. "Am I financially stable? Yes. My money comes from sponsors, appearances and winning NHRA drag races. I've got a fight on my hands because we have a big investment. I have to protect them, I have to protect my children and we have to deliver to the fans."

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130914/nhra/130919893#ixzz2eto1KBvbNational Dragster
Follow us: @AutoweekUSA on Twitter | AutoweekUSA on Facebook

Antron Brown needs a push in the Countdown..

World champ Brown wants momentum from Indy to help propel 

his Toyota dragster to fast start in Countdown near Charlotte

 "After the third event of the NHRA Mello Yello Series, Antron Brown was first in points after winning the Top Fuel title at Gainesville, Fla. Four races later, the reigning Top Fuel world champion won at Atlanta and was second in points.

The native of New Jersey and resident of Pittsboro, Ind., hopes a return to southern cookin' helps kick-start his Toyota dragster tuned by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald this weekend at the Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte.

The team, which won six titles last season, has been mired in a run that has led to first-round exits in 10 of 18 regular-season events including at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day after a daring run the night before earned the team its second No. 1 qualifying position of the season.

"We were really disappointed after how we qualified," Brown said of his team's 3.811-second qualifying run. "After running that 3.81 we just built off that and were going up there hoping to run a 3.77. The track just ate us up a little bit."

But Brown's second pole of the season was enough to let him know his Toyota dragster was ready for the six-event Countdown in which he is seeded No. 6 among the 10 qualified drivers.

"Now it's time for the Countdown. This is where it all counts for the championship, and we're sitting right in the middle of the field. We have our work cut out for us, but there isn't anything that we can't handle. We're going to head in there with our heads up and bring our 'A' game.

"We have to head into the Countdown with the attitude that we have nothing to lose, and we don't. We're going to go out there and give it all we've got and have fun. We're looking forward to getting to Charlotte."

The No. 1 qualifying spot at Indy was the Toyota team's first since starting on the pole at the fourth race of the season and marked its only top-five start since a No. 2 position near Atlanta at the season's seventh race of the year.

"We're definitely heading in the right direction," said Brown, who won the fall race at zMAX in 2011 and was runner-up in 2008.

"We're not going backward, we're going forward. It's a good thing. We're right there where we need to be. We know what it takes to go out there to do what we need to do. We just have to go there, qualify well again and take it another step up."

As an avid follower of this team, I know it is so competitive that a fly in the track could cause a difference in overall performance. Too often, to many are oblivious of this and wonder what the "problem" could be.  I can attest to the tension at the starting line and if a driver is "off the mark" by any  amount, the results will be as Antron put it, "hoping for better luck next time."

We invite comments in that the NHRA really does not have a lock on any ESPN2 broadcast time  slot.

From Nightline. Did You Have a Survivor from Sandy in Your Garage?

USAA Changes Policy After ABC News Investigation Into Sandy-Damaged Vehicles Sold on Used Car Lots

By GERRY WAGSCHAL, DANIEL MORRIS, ERIN BRADY, MICHAEL CAPPETTA

How Did a Sandy-Damaged Truck Land on a Used Car Lot?

In the wake of an ABC News investigation into superstorm Sandy-damaged cars being sold on used car lots, a major American insurance company acknowledged that its salvage vehicle branding process after Sandy was "unsatisfactory," and it is making changes to help keep those damaged cars off the road. 

USAA, which focuses on providing financial services and insurance to U.S. military members and their families, is now facing questions, which were raised by an ABC's "The Lookout" report in July, over its failure to brand at least one of its flood-damaged vehicles -- a 2006 Ford F-350 -- as a salvage vehicle before selling it at auction. 

In a follow-up interview with "The Lookout's" Bill Weir, Kevin Bergner, the president of USAA's Property and Casualty Insurance Group and a former Army general, said the team's report was "shining the light on something that is troubling all of us." 

"We went back and looked at our process, and we said 'unsatisfactory,'" Bergner said. "We are changing it, and we will maintain that highest standard. That even a parts-only sale will involve a [salvage] branded title." 

When superstorm Sandy pummeled the Northeast last October, the damage was widespread. Nearly 300 people lost their lives, and thousands more lost their homes. Then there were the cars. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an estimated 250,000 cars were submerged for days in corrosive saltwater. 

Thousands of these flood-damaged vehicles were temporarily stored at the Calverton Executive Airpark in Long Island. In the months following Sandy's destruction, these cars began to disappear. Where did these flood cars go? 

In a seven-month investigation, ABC's "The Lookout" found these cars turning up on used car lots across the country.Christopher Basso, public relations manager at CarFax, explains the potential hazards of flood-damaged vehicles, adding that "flood cars literally rot from the inside out."

Because of how easily the damage can be concealed, Basso warns prospective buyers to bring the vehicle to a mechanic for an inspection. "While this car looks great on the outside and to the untrained eye, things are falling apart inside this car. It may not happen immediately, but days, weeks or months down the road, parts that are on this car are going to fail."

CarFax estimates that more than 100,000 Sandy-damaged vehicles are now back on the road across the United States.

When ABC's "The Lookout" team went undercover at used car dealership D&D Auto Sales in Old Bridge, N.J., it discovered a Ford F-350 truck totaled by superstorm Sandy selling for $19,999. The truck's Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, and auction records indicated it had been damaged by a flood.

A D&D's salesman sold the car to an ABC's "The Lookout" producer for its asking price and referred to a flood alert on the vehicle history report CarFax as only "a glitch." 

But Alan Picker, owner and certified mechanic at All-Time AutoBody in Point Pleasant, N.J., knows the CarFax alert was no glitch. "The Lookout" team brought the truck to him to examine the dangers a cleaned-up flood vehicle can often conceal. Picker discovered the car had serious damage, including a corroded transmission, as well as potentially hazardous airbags that could randomly deploy while driving. 

D&D Auto Sales responded to "The Lookout" team's findings and stated, "D&D auto sales sincerely regrets the unfortunate misrepresentation of the product by the salesperson. We do not condone such business practices and have terminated the salesman as a result of his independent action. This is in no way reflective of typical business practices at D&D." 

The Ford F-350's previous owner, Mike Kennedy of Point Pleasant, N.J., is a retired Navy man and his insurance company is USAA, which had declared the truck as a total loss after it flooded during Sandy. 

According to New Jersey authorities, once the insurer declares a vehicle a total loss, pays off its insured and takes possession of the vehicle, the insurer becomes the owner of the vehicle. New Jersey authorities say it is then the insurer's responsibility to brand the vehicle's title as flood-damaged, forever marking it as a salvage vehicle, before it goes to auction. But when USAA became the owner of Kennedy's Ford F-350, it failed to do that. 

The company claimed Kennedy's title was lost, and instead of asking for a new one, it says it told the auction house to sell the Ford F-350 for parts only. But somehow, the truck ended up on D&D Auto Sales' lot in one piece. As in many states, in this circumstance, failure to obtain a salvage title is illegal in New Jersey. 

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has now suspended D&D Auto Sales' license to sell cars, pending an investigation. The New Jersey Attorney General's office launched its own criminal investigation into the dealership, which includes the cars USAA sold at auction that the dealer bought. 

After ABC's "The Lookout" report aired, Bergner said in a follow-up interview at USAA headquarters in San Antonio that USAA went back through 3,872 vehicle titles -- the total number of USAA member cars he said were declared losses as a result of superstorm Sandy. Of those, Bergner said the company found 174 cases where USAA had sold flood cars without branded titles at auction in New Jersey, just as it did with Kennedy's Ford F-350. 

That means it is possible that all of those 174 cars are on the road today -- USAA doesn't know. But it says it now plans to get salvage titles for all those vehicles. 

"That's what we're working with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to do, is go track down every one of those vehicles, 174, and we'll not stop until we are able to say all of them are off the road, [and] are in the right place, which is where that Ford F-350 sits today, in the salvage yard," Berger said. 

Before our interview with USAA, ABC News identified four flood vehicles sold by USAA at auction in New Jersey without branded titles. Three, a Honda CRV, a Chrysler Town and Country and a Lexus RX330, were subsequently sold with clean titles and are today being driven by unsuspecting new owners.

USAA would not tell ABC News exactly how it disposed of the remaining 3,698 cars the company insured and declared total losses as a result of superstorm Sandy. The company refused to comment on whether any or all were also sold with unbranded titles. 

USAA spokesman Roger Wildermuth said "more than 90 percent of them were in New Jersey and New York," when Sandy hit. He added, "New York has a separate process that does not require a salvage title, and we are confident that we have complied fully with those regulations." 

Following our interview with USAA, the auction house involved said in a statement to ABC News that its company "fully supports USAA's practice of branding titles on vehicles they intend to sell for parts only, and we will continue to comply with the accepted practice of the NJ MVC." 

Howard Nusbaum, the administrator of the National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program, a law enforcement support organization, said more work still needs to be done to protect the public.

"There are a number of states that have titling statutes with tremendous loopholes that exempt numbers of significantly damaged vehicles from being branded at all," Nusbaum said. "If Hurricane Sandy had taken place in one of those states, many if not most of those vehicles would never have gotten branded. This is an unacceptable risk for the public." 

To protect yourself, experts encourage drivers to do their homework before spending their money and thoroughly check a car's history, as well as get the car inspected by a certified mechanic. ###

From top to bottom for Antron

Thrill of dramatic run to earn U.S. Nationals Top Fuel pole 

still a highlight for Matco's Brown despite first-round loss

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2013) - No form of motorsports is as finicky as Top Fuel drag racing with its 10,000-horsepower land rockets.

Within about 18 hours, Antron Brown and his Matco Tools went from the very high to the very low in the 59th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals.

On Sunday evening, Brown with crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald went from the No. 16 to No. 1 qualifying position on the event's last qualifying session with a time of 3.811 seconds at 320.58 mph at Lucas Oil Raceway. That made Brown's 10-minute ride to his home in Pittsboro, Ind., a fun one.

But the ride to Pittsboro was not nearly as enjoyable Monday afternoon after the Matco Tools team lost in the opening round to Morgan Lucas, who qualified in the last spot in the 16-car field. Lucas quicker time of the opening round at 3.784 beat Brown's 3.825.

"We're really disappointed, especially after how we qualified (Sunday) night," said Brown, the reigning Top Fuel world champion

"We went out there and threw a shot in the first round. The track was real good, so it sucked a little bit of it up. After running that 3.81 last night, we just built off that and we were going up there hoping to run a 3.77.

"The track just ate us up a little bit and we couldn't make the number. We knew what Morgan Lucas and his team was capable of and we didn't want to leave anything on the table. They threw a great run out there. They threw the number that they needed to win."

Antron & the Matco makes it to the Top at Indy.

Brown, Matco team show plan working to perfection 

as reigning world champs vault to No. 1 at U.S. Nationals

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 1, 2013) - Antron Brown and his Matco Tools crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald have been saying for several weeks that their plan was to peak at the right time to defend their NHRA Top Fuel world championship.

After winning two Mello Yello Series titles early in the season, the team began experimenting in preparation for another championship run.

Despite falling to sixth in points heading into this weekend's U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis, the Matco brain trust proved Sunday their plan is on track.

Going to the starting line late Sunday afternoon for his final qualifying session, Brown was sitting in the 16th and last position for Monday's championship eliminations.

Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher was in the pair right before Brown and Schumacher was not yet qualified but he ripped off a time that sent him to the No. 1 spot.

And then Brown and his Matco team went out and ran 3.811 seconds to take over the pole and bump his teammate to the No. 2 spot heading to Sunday's eliminations, which begin at 11 a.m.

"We planned on it. We really planned on it going out there for that last lap and doing that," Brown said. "We've been tip-toeing up on a time like that all week. On that last run, Brian and Mark and all of the Matco boys looked at it and said everything we learned in testing we can throw out the window we gotta come in and focus and make this better.

"They put their heads down and they go 'we have nothing to lose'. This is the last race before the Countdown and we're not going out by just half-stepping it. We're going to give it our full effort and they weren't scared. That's the same mindset we have to have going into the Countdown. We are just practicing it right now. So did our teammate (Schumacher) and his U.S. Army car. They had the same thought process. We stepped up to the plate and there were some great runs in that session.

"Tomorrow it's going to be cooler. Track conditions are going to be even better. We have a run to work off of now because I guarantee you tomorrow in the first round with Morgan Lucas it's going to be a tough, tough matchup.

"That's like a final round match-up in the first round. It's probably going to take a mid 3.70 out there tomorrow morning to get the job done if the conditions are what we think they are going to be."

TRAXXAS TOP FUEL NITRO SHOOTOUT
SATURDAY
Round 1: ANTRON BROWN (3.985 sec., 316.60 mph) def. Khalid alBalooshi (7.672, 78.80); Steve 311.77) def. Bob Vandergriff (4.219, 245.54); Shawn Langdon (3.874, 316.60) def. Brittany Force (3.866, 313.22).Torrence (3.878, 316.02) def. TONY SCHUMACHER (3.904, 316.90); SPENCER MASSEY (3.931, 311.77) def. Bob Vandergriff (4.219, 245.54).

SUNDAY
Semifinals: Torrence (3.815, 325.61) def. MASSEY (4.392, 198.58); Langdon (3.821, 322.34) def. BROWN (3.880, 316.08).
Final: Langdon (3.821 320.05) def. Torrence (3.828 323.04).

TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
No. 1 qualifier: Antron Brown (Don Schumacher Racing) 3.811, 320.58

ANTRON BROWN, MATCO TOOLS DRAGSTER
Qualified: No. 1
First-round opponent: Morgan Lucas
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 4.806 sec., 138.80 mph
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
Session 2 (Shootout round 1): 3.985, 301.67
SATURDAY QUALIFYING/SHOOTOUT
Session 3 (Shootout semis): 3.880, 316.08 (lost)
Session 4: 3.811, 320.58

FordMustang Draft

xt-generation designs of its body and soul -- the Mustang and F-150.
Ford sits between a rock and a hard place when approaching the redesign of its iconic muscle car, as sales of the Mustang have crashed and haven't been able to regain much momentum. This will be Ford's attempt to kill the retro styling and bring the car into the 21st century as a lighter and faster sports car.

Graph by author. Information cred: Automotive News DataCenter. 2013 estimated with sales through July.

In addition to reviving sales in the U.S., Ford needs to expand its sales to the global market -- a tough balancing act.
"Ford wants the car to appeal to a global market, but the last time the company tried to make a global Mustang, we ended up with the Ford Probe," Andrew Stoy, digital editor of Autoweek, told me. "Any time a halo vehicle as quintessentially American as the Mustang is re-engineered for broader markets, the risk of alienating the car's core audience rises. That risk is even more acute in the face of the Mustang's strong domestic competition -- namely the Chevy Camaro."

Stoy hit the nail on the head. Ford has to avoid the worst-case scenario of losing its core U.S. consumer with a modern design, yet if it doesn't evolve enough to appeal to a new global audience, it will fall short of Ford's sales ambition.
Simply put: For the Mustang to succeed overseas, it needs to shed a few hundred pounds and shrink in size.
'Stang on a diet?
The current Ford Mustang weighs in at 3,523 pounds, and according to Edmunds, Ford is working with lighter materials to remove a minimum of 400 pounds for the 2015 model. To provide the smaller vehicle necessary to sell overseas, it's believed the next-generation Mustang will be as much as 15 inches shorter and 6 inches narrower.
For those worried that the weight loss will make the muscle car any less "Ford tough," there's nothing to worry about. "They are going to use more aluminum, better structural engineering in terms of spot welds, and so on and so forth, basically using less material and making it stronger," an unnamed source said, according to Edmunds.
There are rumors that the Mustang will receive an EcoBoost engine, which left some 'Stang loyalists puzzled and anxious. I doubt there is anything to worry about, as Ford has a lot of engine flexibility that will help it sell well here in the U.S. and overseas. A turbocharged EcoBoost would help sell the muscle car in Europe, while the power-hungry U.S. consumer will no doubt have a top-of-the-line V-8 option. Also to the delight of U.S. loyalists, the pony car will finally kick the live rear axle in favor of an independent rear suspension.
Investing takeaway
Ford's had an excellent run of success with vehicle sales lately, and that's helped boost Ford's stock price up 70% over the past 12 months, as of this writing. Ford set a July record for sales in China, topping over 72,000 in wholesale units -- good for a 71% gain over last year. Ford's year-to-date sales are up a staggering 50% in China through July versus last year. Ford is also increasing its market share in Europe amid an industry still in decline -- pretty impressive.
That recent success is due to the Fusion, Fiesta, Focus and Escape, which continue to sell well globally. Ford now looks to bring its Mustang to the global lineup in hopes it will bring yet another surge in sales and market share.
One thing is for sure: Ford is on a hot streak of designing successful vehicles, and that's brought the company back strong from the brink of bankruptcy. For that reason, I expect the 2015 Mustang to be yet another hit here, and abroad -- much to the delight of Mustang loyalists and investors alike.

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The Next Industry To Crumble...

Imagine owning Amazon.com (up over an insane 4,000% since 2001) when Internet sales rendered big-box retailers obsolete...
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