Jun
24
≡ Category: Ford, BTGMotoring.com Products | ≅ Comments Off
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BTGMotoring.com is now carrying the full line of APM Ram Air Power Hoods for late model Ford trucks, including the F-150 and Super Duty diesels, and for 1994 — 2009 Mustangs, including a GT 500 KR style functional ram-air power hood for 05-09 models.
APM hoods are made of superior quality materials — engineering plastics or hand-laid fiberglass — and are fully finished on both sides, with a Class-A finish on the top. Both sides are gel-coated and all hoods are designed to use the factory hinges and mounting hardware.
Most models are fully-functional true ram-air hoods when combined with the APM air boxes to form a sealed intake system. APM hoods are engineered to increase performance by ramming air into the intake track while keeping rain away from the filtering element and out of the vehicle’s engine.
All hoods can be ordered in OEM paint matching colors, as an extra cost option, for a true bolt-on-and-go customization of your ride.
See all the APM Ford ram air hoods here.
Jun
24
≡ Category: Dodge, BTGMotoring.com Products | ≅ Comments Off
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Jun
24
≡ Category: BTGMotoring.com Products | ≅ Comments Off
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BTGMotoring.com is now carrying the full line of APM Ram Air Power Hoods for late model Chevy and GMC trucks, including the Silverado, Sierra, Surburban, Tahoe and Avalanche.
APM hoods are made of superior quality materials — engineering plastics or hand-laid fiberglass — and are fully finished on both sides, with a Class-A finish on the top. Both sides are gel-coated and all hoods are designed to use the factory hinges and mounting hardware.
Most models are fully-functional true ram-air hoods when combined with the APM air boxes to form a sealed intake system. APM hoods are engineered to increase performance by ramming air into the intake track while keeping rain away from the filtering element and out of the vehicle’s engine.
All hoods can be ordered in OEM paint matching colors, as an extra cost option, for a true bolt-on-and-go customization of your ride.
See all the APM Chevy/GMC ram air hoods here.
Apr
24
≡ Category: Lamborghini | ≅ Leave a Comment
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Jul
2
≡ Category: Performance | ≅ Leave a Comment
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[Update: 04/24/2009]
This interesting company ceased to exist at the end of January, ‘09 — another victim of the damaged economy. What inventory that remains is available at a super-discounted price (1/2 off list) at BTG Motoring’s online store.
Airforce One performance, makers of quality hi-flow stainless steel intake systems has released a consumer version of its SEMA Show video. Check it out!
Shoot! Check them out!
Jul
2
The wizards over at Team Xenon have really outdone themselves this time with the hot-off-the-mold body kits and styling accessories for the Range Rover Sport. This is an amazingly sophisticated design that really increases the visual punch of an already outstanding looking vehicle.
BTG Motoring has the Xenon Kits & Parts and the GTS Goodies and will quote group-buys for interested Range Rover clubs and owner groups.
Congratulations Team Xenon!
Mar
19
New Camaro Concept @ SEMA Show ‘07
At the New York Auto Show today, GM Vice Chairman and product guru Bob Lutz let drop that there may be a high-tech 4-banger under the hood of the New Camaro somtime after the launch. According to Automotive News, (registration required), it would be the same 2.0L turbo-charged I4 used in the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line. Otherwise, the V6 & V8 will be offered as originally planned, with the hot Caddy CTS engine used for the 6-cyl model with no lower-content V6 stripper in the mix.
“Back in the old days, if you wanted a muscle car, to get a decent one, you had to buy the V-8,” Lutz said. “And if you bought the V-6, you got a fairly rough, unrefined pushrod engine with low horsepower and weasely performance.
“This time, the V-6 is 260-odd horsepower, four overhead cams, very smooth and decent 0-to-60-mph times. And now the V-6 is in its own right a very fast, very legitimate car.”
That recent bump up of CAFE is really making lots of waves!
In other NY Auto Show news, Pontiac is getting some hot new goods to go with the hot new goods that just launched.
Pontiac today launched three new variants at the New York show for the 2009 model year: the hardtop Solstice Coupe; a high-performance version of the G8 Sedan, the G8 GXP; and an El Camino-like G8 Sport Truck.
” We are reinforcing Pontiac style and performance,” said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman of product development.
Sweet!
Mar
7
As we await the launch of the New Camaro in about a year’s time, news coming out of Detroit about the future of these high-power V8-motivated ponycars surviving the upcoming increases in CAFE is not comforting.
[GM Chairman Rick Waggoner] said GM has not concluded how sales of rear-wheel-drive vehicles will be affected by the U.S. government move to require fleets to average 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Front-wheel-drive vehicles provide better fuel economy.
“We’ve had a range of ideas,” he said.
“In the latest developments on fuel economy some seem more feasible than others and others that were pretty good a while ago don’t seem as logical now.”
But he pointed out that there’s likely to be high demand for a six-cylinder version of the Camaro and GM will offer a version.
Having lived through the previous ponycar era of the late sixites, early seventies, one easily sees history repeating itself. At least this time the sixes are getting pretty sweet — see Caddy’s direct-injection v-6 in the new CTS. Still, can they compare to the feel and rumble of a fine V-8?
My pic is from SEMA last fall. See un-cammo’d production-ready Camaro pics here.
Technorati Tags: New Camaro, CAFE, CTS
Jun
12
≡ Category: General | ≅ 1 Comment
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Mega-performance is about to hit the Cadillac brand — and I’m talkin’ MEGA as in all caps! But first . . .
Jump with me into the wayback machine alllllllll the way back to 1970 or so. Although we didn’t know it at the time, it was the end of an era — the Muscle Car Era. You could go down to you local big-three dealer and pick from a plethora of mega-motored beasts of machines like a Chevy SS 454 Malibu or El Camino, a Pontiac GTO Judge with Ram-Air IV, or an Olds 442 HO or a Buick Stage-1 GS, all with mid-400 cubic inch displacements, not to mention the Dodge/Plymouth Chargers, Challengers, Road Runners and Cudas with 440 Six Packs or even the awesome 426 Hemis. Even little old American Motors had its biggest motors stuffed in the Rambler American model called the SCrambler and a mid-sized one called the Rebel Machine. Ford had its Boss 429 Mustangs and Cobra Jet Torinos. Good times could be had by all!
What was supposed to come next made these pale in comparison. In a long-ago-forgotten 1970 car mag, or maybe Popular Science or Popular Mechanics(I Googled around a bit this AM but couldn’t find anything) I remember reading about the next generation of mega-motors that GM had planned for its upcoming generation of mid-sizers, (now come to think of it I believe it was a Hot Rod issue), all with aluminum blocks, humongous displacements and dual-overhead cams! It looked like GM was gonna slaughter ‘em all in the horse-power war, and then — it happened. The muscle cars died out almost without a whimper.
What caused their demise is well documented as stated in this article in Wikipedia:
The muscle cars’ performance soon became a liability during this period. The automotive safety lobby, which had been spearheaded by Ralph Nader, decried the irresponsibility of offering such powerful cars for public sale, particularly targeted to young buyers. The high power of the muscle cars also underlined the marginal handling and braking capacity of many contemporary cars, as well as the severe limitations of their tires. In response, the automobile insurance industry began levying punitive surcharges on all high-powered models, soon pushing many muscle cars out of the price range of their intended buyers. Simultaneously, efforts to combat air pollution led to a shift in Detroit’s attention from power to emissions control, a problem that grew more complicated in 1973 when the OPEC oil embargo led to price controls and gasoline rationing.
With all these forces against it, the market for muscle cars rapidly evaporated. Power began to drop in 1971 as engine compression ratios were reduced, high-performance engines like Chrysler’s 426 Hemi were discontinued, and all but a handful of performance models were discontinued or transformed into soft personal luxury cars.
OK dude, that was then and this is now — what’s up with that Caddy you mentioned at the beginning?
Well, since you asked nice and all . . . the next generation Cadillac CTS is gonna be a beaut, which I’ve written about before: Caddy Hammers a Homer for ‘08. That’s a pic of the standard model CTS. In this month’s Motor Trend they break the news that the ‘09 CTS-V, see pic here, will have 600-supercharged horsepower! 600! That’s off the charts more than the Germans’ BMW M5, Audi S models and even a good bit higher than the Merc’s AMG V-8 models. Talk about another horsepower war. The even more radical news is that this Caddy’s 6.2 liter motor is a detuned version of the mill going into the next Z07 Corvette, which will have 700+ hp. That one should be a snake killer!
But, once again the writings are appearing on the walls of reason, good sense, whatever. As we seem to be hitting another performance zenith, made possible by sophisticated computer engine management and the migration of exotic materials like carbon-fiber, magnesium and multi-material composites into our daily drivers, the forces of government and buzz-killers everywhere are lining up to once again force us into bland, pathetic little commuting boxes with nary a fun, smoky burnout in sight. The global warming hysterics are blaming cars for their nightmare scenario of planetary destruction, the safety-advocates have never really gone away and are looking forward to a Clinton White House where they can run amok in their attempts to destroy one of the last U.S. manufacturing entities via oppressive regulation. We’ve been down that road before, too.
So, who really needs a 600-hp Caddy? Uh, no one? Actually, maybe we all do. For an American automotive company to devote the engineering resources necessary to put that mill in a Cadillac that will come with a 10-year, 100,000-mile power train warranty speaks mightily of the turnaround happening at General Motors. Their vehicles’ quality is going up dramatically as shown by the consumer ratings increases, they used to be at the bottom of the barrel, not competing with Audi, Acura and BMW. But, they still have a ways to go to be in the Lexus/Toyota/Honda league. Exercises like the V-series Caddys can help with that. A body structure that can handle those power numbers should be golden with the 300-hp V-6, which is a super-sweet little motor in its own right.
Now, if 35 mpg CAFE can be thwarted, we might get to enjoy these super-toys for a bit longer. However, those corporate-fuel-economy mandates and 600+ horsepower are pretty much mutually exclusive. Gotta sell a boatload of Cobalts or Saturn Green line hybrids to counter one ‘09 CTS-V, that’s for sure.
It really does matter who you vote for — on a whole lot o’ levels!
Technorati Tags: Cadillac, Muscle Car Era, CTS-V, Z07 Corvette
May
10
Automotive News (reg. req.) reports this month that the Chevrolet Volt showcar that wowed ‘em at the Detroit show this January is in production development.
General Motors is moving quickly to get the Chevrolet Volt out of the laboratory and into the showroom.
Since the Volt’s successful January debut as a concept car at the Detroit auto show, GM has taken major steps to develop a production version of the plug-in hybrid car.
“We are doing the production engineering on the Chevrolet Volt,” says Larry Burns, GM’s vice president for r&d. “It is a formal product program within our company, just like the Chevrolet Malibu is a product program.”
Last week, Burns listed the steps in the program:
* GM has allocated funds for development.
* Engineering work is under way.
* The development team has selected the next-generation Delta platform for the vehicle.
* GM has decided to develop two versions, one with a gasoline engine and the other with a fuel cell.
The Volt is a “series hybrid”, meaning that the gasoline engine or fuel cell is only used to charge the battery and never to directly power the car. It will also allow battery charging via a power outlet, so if one’s daily commute is less than 40 miles or so you might not ever have to whip out your Exxon card. With gas expected to kiss $4 a gallon later this driving season, Volt can’t get to market soon enough, but it will take at least three years. At least that’s better than the Camaro time frame to market!
Apr
12
The upcoming Pontiac G8 debuted at the Chicago Auto Show and is also on display at the New York International Auto Show through the 15th of this month. To be available with either a 261-hp 3.6L V-6 or a brawny 362-hp 6.0L V-8, this new rear-drive-platform machine should satisfy the GM enthusiast-minded driver at a significant discount compared with the Caddy CTS.
Engineered from the new Zeta platform, the G8 is essentially the new Australian Holden Commodore in Pontiac left-hand-drive livery — which ain’t a bad thing! The interior is a serious upgrade from existing Pontiacs, except for the GTO, which was also a re-badged Holden. This time however, they’ve got the Pontiac look, and with no overbearing plastic cladding in sight. They’ve even managed to get some of the vintage trademark “Wide-Trac” look in the front view with the below-the-bumper treatment to the fascia that brings to mind the GTOs, Lemans, and Grand Prixs of the late ’60s without so much as a tinge of retro.
See plenty of pics of this new GM performance sedan at the official Pontiac G8 website.
Technorati Tags: Pontiac G8, Chicago Auto Show, New York International Auto Show, Zeta, Holden Commodore
Apr
11
≡ Category: Lexus | ≅ Leave a Comment
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One of my least-liked luxury sports cars has been this Lexus SC430. I know that it is supposed to be refined and powerful and quiet — quiet? Well, for the well-heeled that values luxury over sports, and wants a retractable hard top plus, in this league at least, a bargain to boot, the SC is the Lexus offering. Still, seems like a “chick” car — at least with the OEM disk-style wheels.
The reason that I’m showing this one is that the spoke-style wheels transform this SC for me visually, making it much more attractive. It still has odd proportions, more boat-like than automotive, but the original OEM wheels made that all the more apparent, whereas these give it some panache. At least that’s my opinion.
And, not too overboard on the wheel diameter either — nice ratio of wheel to tire here. Looks like it might actually ride OK and last past the first tiny pothole — Cool!
Apr
9
Now that gas is over $3 a gallon out here in LA, and close to that elsewhere, the smaller SUV and crossover segments are getting red hot. Two of the newest in this category, the Jeep Wrangler JK and Toyota’s retro FJ Cruiser just cry out for aftermarket goodies. Two of our favorite vendors, Airforce One Performance® and Team Xenon®/GTS® have just what the doc ordered.
Take this Airforce One FJ Cruiser intake for instance. It features 3.5″ diameter polished stainless-steel mandrel bent tubing, along with a powder coated plenum box. This combination keeps the hot-underhood air from heating up the intake flow, and combined with a large-volume oiled-cotton reusable filter basket gives you more hp and torque than the stock intake ever could. Easier breathing means better mileage, too — and we all could use some of that. They offer the same combination for the new Jeep JK. Can’t go wrong at the local meet & greet with one of these polished goodies under the hood.
See these and other intake systems for a wide range of cars, trucks and SUVs at the Airforce One Performance website.
Now that the “get up and go” part of the equation is under control, let’s look at some we-be-stylin’ stuff for that new JK you got sittin’ in your drive. That’s where Team Xenon/GTS comes in, because they’ve got the goodies right here, right now to dress up these pups big time!
This first one is their new “Step Down Design” flare kit that adds approximately 1.6 inches to the stock flare width.
The other flare kit that they offer is the “Tubular Flat Panel Design” that also adds an additional 1.6″ of width. Either way you win with a much more macho look than stock.
All items shown above are available at the BTG Motoring online store.
Apr
8
≡ Category: General | ≅ Comments Off
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We just did a complete upgrade to the backend and are now running this blog on the latest and greatest WordPress version, 2.1.3.
Stay tuned as we begin again to bring you news from the automotive and vehicle aftermarket, as well as whatever kooky and interesting that we can find out here in LA that has to do with driving and cars/trucks/you know the rest!
Dec
20
≡ Category: Chrysler, Dodge | ≅ Leave a Comment
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Every once in a while an absolutely gorgeous show car appears on the circuit that looks all to producible, and which the company seems determined to bring to market. Great looks, fantastic performance potential, a corporate flagship to be super proud of — except that when you’ve just lost 1.5 billion smackaroos in the last reported quarter, a super-duper flagship that doesn’t share components with any other production vehicle is just not going to be on the to-be-produced slate.
WardsAuto.com remarks:
“We’re not doing Firepower,” Trevor Creed, senior vice president-design, says. “We just couldn’t find a viable way to do it.”
Reeling from the effects of bloated inventories, which led to a $1.5 billion third-quarter loss and an internal drive to shave $1,000 per vehicle-production cost, Chrysler is refocused on profitability.
Against this backdrop, the auto maker has said no product will enter its pipeline unless it has realistic profit potential. This approach killed the Jeep Gladiator concept earlier in the year, which debuted alongside the Firepower at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
And it even caused the Dodge Challenger concept – a can’t-miss product in the eyes of most industry observers – to undergo rigorous scrutiny before the auto maker declared it would build the muscle car in 2008.
The Challenger is still a go — Guess we will just have to be thankful for that!
Dec
6
Ward’s Auto World just announced this year’s winners of its annual 10-Best Engines competition, and not a GM motor among them! BMW, Daimler/Chrysler and Ford should be happy campers with two awards each, and boy is that Nissan V6 something, or what? A winner each and every year since Ward’s began this event 13 years ago. Here’s the list:
Here’s Ward’s 10 Best Engines for 2007 at a glance (vehicle tested in parenthesis):
* Audi AG 2L turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A3)
* BMW AG 3L DOHC I-6 (Z4 3.0si)
* BMW AG 3L turbocharged DOHC I-6 (335i)
* DaimlerChrysler AG 3L DOHC V-6 turbodiesel (Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec/Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD)
* DaimlerChrysler AG Hemi 5.7L OHV V-8 (Chrysler 300C)
* Ford Motor Co. Duratec 35 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX)
* Ford Motor Co. 4.6L SOHC V-8 (Mustang GT/Mustang Shelby GT)
* Mazda Motor Corp. 2.3L DISI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Mazdaspeed3)
* Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Infiniti G35)
* Toyota Motor Corp. 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350)
Congrats to all. (Hey, General — better get it in gear!)
Dec
5
Hot Wheels Blog saw this wild Hummer H1 at SEMA last month.
Today we were told by our sources at Airforce One Performance Industries that they supplied a custom-engineered stainless steel intake system for this very special ride. A project vehicle for The Learning Channel’s show, Overhaulin’ which features designer/hot rod creator Chip Foose and his gang tearing down and rebuilding one amazing customization after another.
The Hummer was donated to this project by CNN, which had bought it in Kuwait and used it in their coverage of the Iraq war.
One of the Hummers CNN used to cover the war in Iraq returned Thursday to the news agency’s headquarters after it underwent a major renovation on The Learning Channel.
As a part of the TLC show “Overhaulin’,” crews transformed the Hummer, nicknamed “Warrior One,” in one week. They replaced the engine, raised the body of the vehicle and air brushed images of correspondents and troops onto the Hummer’s champagne-colored sides. They also added a DVD player, four televisions and a state-of-the-art sound system. TLC unveiled the revamped Hummer in front of a swarm of fans, media and CNN employees.
Now that it has nearly finished its scheduled show tour, it will be up for auction at Barrett-Jackson in January with proceeds to benefit the Fisher House Foundation. Autoblog has more:
All of the proceeds from the upcoming auction will go to aid the Fisher House Foundation, which supports the families of America’s military members in their time of need. Fisher House provides “comfort homes” to family members of military personnel who require medical attention at major military and VA medical centers. These homes allow family members to be close to their loved ones during the hospital stays. The Fisher House Foundation serves more than 8,500 families every year.
The guys and gals at Airforce One Performance tell us that they were proud to be a small part of this most worthwhile project. We’re sure that the new owner after winning at Barrett-Jackson will be a happy camper, and we’d bet that he’ll appreciate the performance increase provided by that great looking AF1 intake!
Airforce One Performance makes a full line of high-flow stainless steel intake kits for cars, trucks and SUVs. You can see them all at their website, AirforceOnePerformance.com.
Sep
4
≡ Category: Styling, Dodge | ≅ 1 Comment
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Xenon has just released its newest fantastic body styling kit, and this time it transforms the 2006 Dodge Charger and R/T into an aggressive looking beast! To go along with wild front and rear fascias are side skirts and side moldings, a three piece rear deck spoiler and from their GTS line, headlight/taillight blackouts and window vent guards for all four side windows.
BTG Motoring has them and are shipping on order. If you have a Dodge Charger, don’t miss out on this one!
Aug
12
Over at GM’s FastLane blog, they have a special treat!
If you’re a Camaro enthusiast, you’re going to love this video. A couple of months ago, the blog team was able to get Tom Peters, lead designer of the Camaro, on video driving it for the first time.
The video is at YouTube — No smoky burnouts with this bazillion dollar show car/prototype, but the sound of that exhaust sure is sweet! Tom Peter’s commentary on the design and process of creating the new Camaro is not to be missed. Also, this week GM made it official — Camaro is a go for 2009!
Way to go, guys! Mustang needs a playmate!
Jul
13
≡ Category: MG | ≅ Leave a Comment
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Wow! Take one abandoned British automotive icon, mix in a huge chunk of Chinese money and manufacturing expertise and shake, not stir, in an Oklahoma Indian tribe and what’ve you got? Well, maybe the next entry-level European sports car assembled in Ardmore, Oklahoma! From the Business section of today’s LA Times:
A struggling Chinese manufacturer, the remnants of a failed British automaker and an ambitious American Indian tribe plan to pool their resources to rescue the iconic MG sports car from the automotive junkyard.
A consortium led by Nanjing Automobile Group announced a $2-billion plan Wednesday to construct a state-of-the art production facility in China, reopen a shuttered MG factory in England and open an assembly plant and a distribution center in the small town of Ardmore, Okla.
If the Nanjing-led group succeeds in rolling out the MG TF coupe by the middle of 2008, it could enter the U.S. market ahead of larger Chinese rivals Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and Chery Automobile Co.
So, what will OK get out of it?
The Chinese-led group also will create 500 jobs in a state that has been hit hard by restructuring in the auto industry. This year General Motors Corp. closed a plant in Oklahoma City that employed 2,400 people.
(…)
Amy Polonchek, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, said the project was expected to deliver about $69 million in direct investment and generate $189 million in new economic activity.
And, why the Indian connection? What do the Chickasaws bring to the party?
The new MG team also is counting on additional help from the Chickasaws, a 38,000-member tribe based in Ada, Okla. Under federal law, Indian tribes are considered sovereign nations and are exempt from paying taxes. Hale said his group was researching ways that the MG operation could benefit financially from a partnership with the tribe.
“I can tell you, there may be some unique tax advantages there,” he said.
Some ol’ song — Money, money, money!
I always hated that the British car industry gave up and died. The cars weren’t very good, especially compared to the Japanese clones of the day, but they had something that car manufacturers are only recently understanding again — character.
They better imbibe this newest MG with tons of that — otherwise it’s just another Asian clone of something that wasn’t exactly great, but was unique and entertaining.
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