The 2014 Ford Mustang GT slipped quietly into the dealerships as an early release. Because this model is going to be replaced with a brand new version for 2015, it just didn’t seem to make sense to create too much fanfare for the current model. While it retains most of the previous version’s features, it does have a few nice updates and Pony Lovers should be thrilled. In fact, classic Pony fans might want to consider driving this version home, because it still has a more traditional “muscle car” image, including a more austere dashboard.

Whether you choose a classic color like the black 2014 Ford Mustang GT in the image or opt for new color options (Ruby Red Metallice or Oxford White) is up to you. You won’t be able to get your hands on a Boss 302 with this lineup though. The rumor is it will appear again someday in some new configuration, but for now, it’s adios and you will have to make do with something else.

The 2014 Ford Mustang GT has the same 5.0 liter V8 engine as the last model, not that anyone is complaining. It still offers up 420 horsepower and 390 pound feet of torque to offer some of that Fast and Furious driving vibe. It seems the EPA estimates might be set a little high. They state 26 miles per gallon where most drivers are reporting getting around 21 miles per hour. Still, for this go-mobile that’s not bad and all and let’s face, people who opt for a high performance Mustang aren’t that concerned with squeezing fuel efficiency.

The 2014 Ford Mustang GT isn’t going to impress the techy crowd too much with its absence of a touchscreen, but for those who love getting back to their roots of muscle car glory, with more speed than you probably thought possible a few years back, then this pony is definitely worth the test drive.

Turn the speakers down a bit, the GT in this video screams:

Source YouTube

If you are wondering about the safety of small SUVs, The 2014 Subaru Forester is the only one out of 13 tested to earn the Top Safety Pick + by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It seems the IIHS is pretty disappointed with the safety in most of the rest of the vehicles tested. Joe Nolan, IIHS Vice President for Vehicle Research, commented, “With the redesigned Forester, Subaru’s engineers set out to do well in our new test, and they succeeded. This is exactly how we hoped manufacturers would respond to improve protection for people in these kinds of serious frontal crashes.”

Side protection tests seem to be the biggest challenge for small SUVs to pass with flying colors – or to pass at all. They didn’t start testing for this safety until 2003 and this category in particular is struggling to make the necessary design and feature updates in order to meet the stringent criteria for determining driver and passenger safety. Another test, the overlap test just began last year and that is another test that many small SUVs just aren’t able to prove to keep drivers and passengers safe in the event of.

Nine out of the 13 small SUVs tested did manage to earn Top Safety Pick even though they couldn’t quite make it into the Top Safety Pick + earnings. These vehicles include:

• The new BMW X1
• The new Buick Encore
• Ford Escape
• Honda CR-V
• Hyundai Tucson
• Kia Sportage
• Mazda CX-5
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• 2014 Jeep Patriot (When equipped with optional side torso airbags)

The 2013 Toyota RAV4 is still up for debate as it hasn’t gone through the small overlap test. Toyota has requested a delay for this test so it can make some changes. What that means for us is that you might want to wait and get a new RAV4 because you know Toyota put the extra work in it for safety.

Source Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Honda has chosen a home to build the new Acura NSX supercar and that home base will be in the Anna, OH plant, which is nearby the Honda Marysville, Ohio plant. Production will begin next year and Honda plans to choose 100 workers from the Marysville plant to make the jump to Anna. The Acura NSX will not be built anywhere else, so it looks like its fate will rest in the hands of these 100 Buckeyes chosen to do the work of putting it together.

$70 million will be invested by Honda to transform the Anna Plant from a logistics center into the new “Performance Manufacturing Center”. Both the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich and CEO of Honda of America, Hidenobu Iwata were on hand to unfurl the banner that proclaimed the building as “Future Home of the Acura NSX.”

Honda’s Iwata mentioned, “We have an outstanding team of engineers just down the road who will lead the development of the NSX. It makes sense that we will renew the dream and build this high-tech, supercar right here in Marysville, Ohio.”

The Acura NSX is a wanderlust vehicle that has only come back into production due to enthusiast’s begging for it every since it stopped production back in 2005. At that time only a few hundred per year were being sold and it just didn’t make sense to keep going. It had originally started out as a sporty Acura rendition being built in Takanezawa, Japan, plant from 1990 to 2004. One year of production was moved to the Honda Suzuka plant for one year. Now, it will have its home in Ohio and hopefully that will bring it much better luck in regard to making the sales numbers.

While there aren’t too many details released about the new Acura NSX at this time, you can see from the image that it is built to please. It has also been confirmed that this will be an all wheel drive version. Rumors have it that it will be in the price range of around $130,000 for a hybrid model. There should also be a 3.7 liter V6 and three electric motors to offer up around 480 horsepower.

Source Detroit Free Press

August is the month that you’ll start to see the new 2014 BMW 5 Series showing up at the dealerships, along with the 2014 BMW 5 Series GT. This elegantly sporty family of Beamers is expected to quickly become a top pick for those who like some luxury to go along with their high performance driving. If that’s you, you will be able to pick your model including a sedan, Touring, Gran Turismo (GT) and ActiveHybrid 5. There will also be a diesel engine edition that is a first for the United States Market.

BMW fans can look forward to the same high quality that’s built into every Bimmer, along with some new updates and features for both the 2014 BMW 5 Series and the GT. The exterior has been recreated to give a sleeker, more stealthy look such as slimmer taillights, Xenon adaptive headlights and side indicator lights on the rearview mirrors. The interior has more storage and cup holders, larger luggage capacity, optional rear seat entertainment system and a touchpad iDrive controller.

Pricing for the 2014 BMW 5 Series Sedan and 5 Series GT:

• 528i Sedan – $50,425
• 528i xDrive Sedan – $52,725
• 535i Sedan – $56,025
• 535i xDrive Sedan – $58,325
• 535d Sedan – $57,525
• 535d xDrive Sedan – $59,825
• 550i Sedan – $64,825
• 550i xDrive Sedan – $67,125
• 535i Gran Turismo – $60,925
• 535i xDrive Gran Turismo – $63,225
• 550i Gran Turismo – $68,825
• 550i xDrive Gran Turismo – $71,125
• ActiveHybrid 5 – $62,325

There is an additional $925 destination and handling fee for whatever model you decide to drive off the lot. If you can pay top dollar for the meatiest engine, that would be an updated V8 with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology and BMW’s Valvetronic throttle-less intake technology. That will give you 445 horsepower and 480 pound feet of torque.

Source BMW

This past Tuesday we published news that reflects traffic fatalities are at all time high and one way the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants to try to lower those is by focusing on tougher laws for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The most debated piece in this focus is the recommendation to lower the legal blood alcohol level. Currently, all states have a limit of 0.08, but the National Safety Board wants to see that lowered to 0.05.

Chairman of NTSB, Deborah A.P. Hersman said, “Most Americans think that we’ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still a national epidemic. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. “On average, every hour one person is killed and 20 more are injured.”

The NTSB estimates that about 1,000 lives would be saved per year if the legal blood alcohol limit were lowered. There current press release states:

“Each year in the United States, nearly 10,000 people are killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers and more than 173,000 are injured, with 27,000 suffer incapacitating injuries. Since the mid-1990s, even as total highway fatalities have fallen, the proportion of deaths from accidents involving an alcohol-impaired driver has remained constant at around 30 percent. In the last 30 years, nearly 440,000 people have died in alcohol related crashes.

Today, investigators cited research that showed that although impairment begins with the first drink, by 0.05 BAC, most drivers experience a decline in both cognitive and visual functions, which significantly increases the risk of a serious crash. Currently, over 100 countries on six continents have BAC limits set at 0.05 or lower. The NTSB has asked all 50 states to do the same.”

Along with lowering the blood alcohol limit, they would also like to toughen the laws for violators. These laws include using passive alcohol sensors designed to detect alcohol vapor in the ambient environment, giving authorities the power to immediately suspend or revoke driver’s licenses at the time of DWI and improvements in interlock compliance.

The 2014 GMC Sierra Regular Cab truck is getting ready to hit the dealerships, with a Double Cab configuration that will be available at that time as well. Eventually there will be three cab sizes and three bed lengths to pick and choose through, but what we have now is in the image. This one has a 6.5 foot bed and has gotten a host of other updates including better gas mileage, a quieter cab and reduced vibration and harshness – so basically it will feel more like driving a car and less like driving a rig, but it’s still all truck.

A major improvement that General Motors is especially proud of is the new aerodynamic engineering. The engineers used a high tech Aerodynamics Lab which was made up of a 750 foot long tunnel and a 43 inch diameter fan that produced an equivalent of 4,500 horsepower to generate winds up to 138 miles per hour. This allowed them to test every nook and cranny to make sure to design the 2014 GMC Sierra to be the most aerodynamically truck ever built.

Aerodynamic Engineer, Diane Bloch, commented, “We can’t stop air; we can only guide it through the path of least resistance. It’s like electricity, without the shock. The biggest misconception is that it’s all about single components. But a certain side mirror design doesn’t create a certain amount of drag, its interaction with the rest of the vehicle does. We discovered that in the computational analysis we perform. The most harmful air between the cab and bed was coming over the cab and down through the gap, so we paid the most attention to that specific area.”

Block also pointed out that keeping the tailgate up while driving is better for aerodynamics. This is because if the tailgate is down the benefits of the airflow are diminished. Having an aftermarket net is the worst thing you can do if you are looking to improve the aerodynamics.

Source General Motors

The 2013 Dodge Dart has been on the road for about a year now and Dodge has figured out that drivers are consistently choosing specific options. To make it easier, these options are now put into Special Edition packages that drivers can choose from- at a lowered price.

Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO, Dodge Brand, said, “These new Dodge Dart Special Edition packages show how we’re listening to our customers. Since we launched the all-new Dart last June, we’ve been able to see how customers are ordering their Darts, and as a result, we have simplified our offerings to meet their requests – allowing us to offer them an even better value in the process.”

According to the press release, here is what you can pick and choose through if you are thinking about driving home your own 2013 Dodge Dart Special Edition Model:

• “New Dart SXT Special Edition package includes a black cross-hair grille, projector fog lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, Bluetooth and class-exclusive features, including dark-tinted projector headlamps, LED racetrack tail lamps, integrated dual exhaust and front passenger seat in-seat storage for a U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of just $595
• New Rallye Appearance Group lets buyers customize their Dart SXT Special Edition and includes a unique dark front fascia, Rallye badge and class-exclusive 17-inch Hyper Black aluminum wheels for a U.S. MSRP of $395
• New Dart Limited Special Edition package adds a power sunroof, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, dual zone automatic temperature control, SiriusXM Satellite Radio and class-exclusive features, including LED racetrack tail lamps, premium Nappa leather seats and Garmin Navigation on the 8.4-inch touch screen for a U.S. MSRP of just $1,810”

The 2013 Dodge Dart Special Edition Models should keep sales going strong. It is currently enjoying record breaking sales and won the award for having the highest total quality score for the compact car segment according to Strategic Vision Total Quality Index.

Source Dodge