Stefan Sommer, CEO of transmission maker ZF was on hand to discuss the trend in adding more gears to automatic transmissions. For those used to four and five speed versions, the news of vehicles having up to eight gears seems like overkill. But Sommer is confident that 9 speeds will prove to be the best number of gears. It would be interesting to see what other automotive experts recommend because while 9 gears have closed the efficientcy gap, it is believed there is still 11% to go in order to reach what could be considered “perfect”. Some automakers seem to think that adding one more gear to that is the best choice.

“There is no hard line, but you have to consider the law of diminishing returns. The question is whether adding even more gears makes sense,” he said, speaking at the Automobilwoche Congress in Germany. Back in July, ZF North American president Julio Caspari voiced similar statements, agreeing about the 11% gap to reach the perfect efficiency for transmissions. The question seems to be if an additional gear will close that gap or just be “too much.”

General Motors and Ford have recently teamed up to create a ten speed transmission and Hyundai has been working on their own version as well. Chrysler also has plans. They will be adding eight and nine speed transmissions on their production models as early as next year. ZF expects to enjoy the increased sales gains from Chrysler for these new projects. The eight speed transmissions have been going into cars and light trucks and will be used in the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger models starting next year.

Another new development on board for the additional gears for next year is ZF will begin assembling nine speed gearboxes in an American based plant close to Greenville, South Carolina. Chrysler is producing these gearboxes under license in Kokomo, Indiana.

Source: Automotive News Europe

The Volkswagen Group is pretty serious about the North American market.  Over the years, they have brought different vehicles here to entice buyers that have never owned a VW vehicle.  Most recently, in September of this year, they debuted their 2014 Golf.

The Golf has quite a history, being introduced in 1974 and in later years using the name of the Rabbit in the U.S.  But by the start of 2013, the Golf will have racked up sales to about 30 million units worldwide.  That’s quite a record for a single vehicle concept.  Of course, Volkswagen wants to keep up that flow of sales by keeping their products fresh and appealing to new buyers.

So let’s get straight to the heart of the stats.  Keep in mind that this is a trunkless vehicle with cargo space of 16.3 CU-FT.  The seating space is 2+3.  The Golf has 2.0L TDI I4 engine with power of 146 HP / 236 LB-FT of torque that uses a 6-speed DSG transmission and a front-wheel drivetrain.  The 0-60 test showed a speed of 8.4 seconds.   The MPG for the 2014 Volkswagen Golf is 36 City / 50 Hwy by estimation.  The price tag runs around $29,500 for the vehicle that was tested.

The interior has been spruced up a bit, too.  The center dash is tilted more toward the driver and the center console is shifted forward by eight-tenths of an inch for modern-day arm lengths.  Although that adjustment doesn’t sound like much, it really does make a difference in driving comfort.  The legroom in the front is also increased due to the longer wheelbase.  The vehicle height has been reduced by 1.1 inches, but the interior passenger space has actually been increased for headspace thanks to a newer design in the seats.  All-in-all, the 2014 Volkswagen Golf is a whole new vehicle, and found to be nearly perfect in its sensible size and performance.

Every time there is a “white space” in the auto market, manufacturers get a bit edgy.  So they spend hours upon hours to design vehicles that fill that empty space in the market.  That’s how we end up with some vehicles that are rather short-lived, like Baja.  Others are questionable, like Chevrolet HHR Panel, the Nissan Murano and even the BMW 5 Series GT.  So you can imagine that taking a look at the Subaru 2013 XV Crosstek was done with caution.

The first look shows that the Crosstek borrows its looks from the Impreza five-door.  However, Subaru jumped it up a bit by increasing the ground clearance by 8.7 inches.  That beats out its rivals like the Jeep Compass, Ford Escape and the Masda CX5.  With the wheels pushed far to each corner, the Crosstek looks ready to go for jaunt through the woods.

While Subaru was not always known for their great interiors, the 2013 XV Crosstek offers a trim with leather seating that has some contrasting stitching and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.  Some faux-metal accents on the dash brighten the cabin up a bit.  However, the infotainment panel is lacking in convenience and design.

Here are some other stats on the 2013 Subaru XV Crosstek :

• Engine:  2.0L Boxer 4
• Transmission:  CVT
• Power:  148 HP/ 145 LB-FT
• Curb Weight:  3,164 lbs.
• Drivetrain:  All-Wheel Drive
• Cargo:  22.3 / 51.9 CU-FT
• Seating:  2+3
• MPG:  25 City / 33 Hwy

This vehicle is not for someone looking for speed in acceleration, but it seems to do well in endurance.  A 0-60 test will probably take about ten seconds.  And looks can be deceiving.  With the traditional Subaru four banger engine, this is not a mountain vehicle.  But, depending on your tastes in a CUV, it can be a great town and country vehicle.

Anyone browsing the market for a full-sized crossover has seen GM’s group of siblings.  The GMC Acadia, the Chevrolet Traverse and the Buick Enclave are well-known for being very talented and appealing.  But the most polished of the three is the Enclave, boasting innovative new features and a facelift for the 2013 model year.

The first thing that will be recognized is the new front fascia with a bold grille, a newly sculpted hood and contoured headlamps with a more aggressive look.  It also sports LED daytime running lamps, fresh black-chrome accents and a tasteful accent of bright trim to contrast a monochromatic hue.  The two-tone paint job of the past is gone.  The rear of the Enclave has a fresher look with an updated exhaust treatment and LED tail lamps.

On the inside a premium experience is created with a steering wheel that is wood on the top and bottom with leather to finish the look.  The door panels and upper dash feature faux wood, with ambient interior lighting throughout the interior for nighttime.  The Enclave also has an extensive premium audio package that includes AM/FM/Sirius XM Radio, USB, Bluetooth, CD player and AUX input for Buick’s IntelliLink touchscreen infotainment interface.  There is also a new rear vision camera system installed on the vehicle.

Seating in the Buick Enclave is for seven or eight, with cargo space of 24.4/116.4 CU-FT.  It features a 3.6L V6 engine with all-wheel drive and a 6-speed automatic transmission.  It has 288 HP with 270 LB-FT of torque.  With a curb weight of 4,922 LBS, the 0-60 time comes in at an estimated 8.5 seconds.  If you’re interested in milage, the Enclave gets 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway.  You’ll find the vehicle at a base price of $39,270 MSRP, including GM’s destination charge of $825.

Ray Hofman, the owner of RH Motorsports, always dreamed of being able to take a spin in the Ford GT1 race car, but instead of running it on the track he wanted to drive it on the street.  That was the start of his goal that was formed three years ago.  The concept is actually quite simple:  Combine the aggressive style of the Ford GT1 race car with a full stock street car package including all of the interior amenities and drivability of the Ford GT Super Car, creating not one, but two full blown race capable cars that are street-legal – the GT1 and the GT3 Super Car.

To make that dream a reality, RH Motorsports acquired the original Matech 2009 GT1 prototype race car along with the design and engineering work that went into the vehicle, all of the molds and the complete bodywork for the GT3 race car.  Hofman’s next step was to approach The GT Guy, LLC, owned by Rich Brooks and Denis Breitenbach.  They specialize in Ford GT development and projects.  After all of the plans were put in place they got to work on one of the most exciting projects ever.

The first prototype is the Ford GT1-S (the silver car in the picture), which is street-legal and built to customer specs including color, street or track wheels and interior packages.  There will be three different engine packages available as well, including 1000 Hp Twin turbo setup or a 600 Hp Naturally aspirated package.

The second prototype is the Ford GT3-S (the white car in the picture), which is more of a conversion with a fully engineered tuning package that will be available to any GT owner.  The list of options for both cars will be available to all current GT owners to pick and choose from for customization.  The prototypes were unveiled recently at the NOLA Motorsports show with the promise of more details and pricing to come soon.

You would expect the leaves on your plants to wilt in the heat, but what about your Nissan Leaf?  There is an independent analysis that says that the batteries of the Leaf EV are affected by heat.  Leaf owner Tony Williams headed up a group of a dozen Leaf owners in Phoenix for a test run last weekend to test the battery capacity in the heat.  The vehicles were driven on a pre-planned route at pre-determined speeds until the battery capacity ran out.  All of the vehicles were fully charged at the start of the test.  The idea was to see if the heat led to premature degradation of the battery capacity.

What the group found was that half of the Leafs participating had battery indicators that showed only 10 out of the original 12 bars and hit less than the 73-mile range on a single charge that was certified by the EPA.  One of the vehicles has only 8 bars showing, meaning that one-third of the battery capacity was gone.  That Leaf went only 59 miles before it gave up.  Another Leaf that was purchased only a month before was already missing a bar on the indicator.

That analysis kicked up a bit of noise from the Arizona owners of the Nissan Leaf, with the complaint that the desert heat was contributing to the loss of battery capacity.  The automaker had previously estimated that the battery pack in the vehicle would retain up to 80 percent of its capacity after a decade of use.  The analysis showed that the estimate was wrong.

Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary stated:

“Nissan has been working hard to understand some Leaf customers’ concerns in the desert southwest.  We’ve tested a number of individual vehicles and will be contacting those owners to discuss their individual results in the near term.  We also anticipate having more information to release to the wider Arizona customer base soon.  We are taking Phoenix customer concerns seriously and are working hard to ensure their full satisfaction.”

You will have to stay tuned for the update on this news.