Chevrolet : 2012 Chevrolet Camaro

Chevrolet : 2012 Chevrolet Camaro



It’s an epic, decades-long battle waged in showrooms, at the race track, at stoplights, and in internet forums. Chevrolet versus Ford, Camaro versus Mustang. Commencing in the mid-’60s, the clash has been marked by tit-for-tat product introductions, as each brand seeks to match its competitor in every conceivable pony-car niche. Currently, the cars face off in the V-6, V-8, and droptop arenas, but the latest Camaro has ceded the high-performance crown to the Mustang and the brutal, 550-horse Shelby GT500. That ends now.

Welcome the reborn Camaro ZL1.

Open Secrets are Hard to Keep

It’s been a bit of an open secret that GM was working on a high-po Camaro to slot above the 426-hp SS model. Spy photos revealed the car’s 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, and most assumed that car would wear the storied Z28 badge. But Chevy’s product planners had something different in mind, and we now know the car will wear the reclaimed ZL1 moniker. (SLP Performance previously held the rights to the historic alphanumerics.)

A quick look back is in order. The 1969 Camaro ZL-1 was one of the ass-kickingest machines to ever roll out of Detroit. Dressed up in nothing fancier than base Camaro trim—including dog-dish hubcaps—that original ZL-1 looked like a measly six-cylinder wimp. Without even an engine-designation badge, its only real giveaway was the factory-installed cowl-induction hood. (Well, until you started it up and brought the aluminum big-block 427 to life.) The car was only available via Central Office Production Order (COPO), which installed the 427 option in the Camaro shell. Just 69 copies were built, and the ZL-1’s official 430-horse output figure was grossly underrated, mainly for insurance purposes. It was a quarter-mile king, and is among the quickest factory-built and street-legal beasts ever created.

Back in the present, the 2012 ZL1 aims to grow the legend, and it comes well prepared with a supercharged LSA V-8, borrowed from the Cadillac CTS-V. Producing an estimated 550 hp—a figure on par with the actual output of the original—and 550 lb-ft of torque from its force-fed 6.2 liters, this burly Camaro is seemingly built to terrorize drag strips rather than road courses, so perhaps ZL1 is more appropriate than Z28. (The Z28 was a racer, after all, competing and winning in Trans-Am.) A short-throw, six-speed Tremec manual is the only transmission.

jeep : 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee

jeep : 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee



It was at the New York auto show six years ago that Jeep introduced the first Grand Cherokee SRT8. When it debuted, any context for the truck was nearly nonexistent—although a bizarrely appropriate challenger appeared at that same show in the form of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS. Now, though, with 500-hp SUVs becoming more commonplace, things have changed. As soon as the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee was announced, the question on everybody’s lips was, “Will there be another SRT8?”

Regardless of competitive set, the vehicle still makes almost no sense, but we’re pleased to say that, yes, there will be another SRT8. All the necessary bits—lowered suspension, huge wheels, monochrome exterior, honking Hemi V-8—are in place. Sadly, though, the wonderfully single-minded center-mount exhaust of the first-gen Jeep SRT8 is no more, the tailpipes on the 2012 model being splayed to the edges of the rear end. (The previous exhaust setup was hugely impractical—Jeep had to engineer a custom hitch for people who wanted to tow with their SRT8s, and the truck’s capacity was still only 3500 pounds.)

First Things First

Don’t let the conventional exhaust get you down, though. The new SRT8’s Hemi has a little more displacement—365 more cubic centimeters, for a total of 6424—and a bit more blat than its predecessor: 465 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque, improvements of 45 in each category. Tied to that engine is the same five-speed automatic that served in the last SRT8, except this time around it gets paddle shifters mounted to the back of the steering wheel. Hopefully, it again is programmed for neck-snapping, nigh-self-destructive shifts. We ran a last-gen truck to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds and through the quarter in 13.2; the extra power in this one should offset the weight gain—the new truck carries an extra 350 pounds or so—and keep acceleration times about the same.

toyota corolla

2011 Toyota Corolla



2011 Toyota Corolla : While its soporific driving dynamics have never made it a favorite around here, the Toyota Corolla is a competent compact sedan that remains one of the bestselling cars in the country. This year, almost 228,000 Americans have bought either a Corolla or Corolla-derived Matrix hatch. For 2011, the Corolla sees changes which are mostly confined to a new front end and minor equipment additions. We got our first look at the L.A. auto show.


2011 Toyota Corolla : The car’s redesign comes just two model years after the current-generation model debuted for 2009. The 2011 wears a new front fascia, a body-color grille, and skinnier headlights, producing a look akin to—but not quite as pretty as—that of the first-generation Mazda 6. A new trunklid, rear bumper, and smaller lighting elements with chrome inserts clean up the look of the rear end. The designs of the 15-inch wheel covers and the Corolla S’s 16-inch wheels are new, and the side-view mirrors have been enlarged to aid those of us who actually bother to use them.

Scant interior updates consist of a new seat fabric, darker plastics for the dashboard and door panels, and a new steering-wheel design for S models. Toyota claims that new windshield glass, redesigned wipers and cowling, and thicker carpeting will keep more noise out of the cabin.


Three Flavors of Vanilla

The latest Corolla is available in just three trims with ascending equipment levels: Corolla, Corolla LE, and Corolla S. The uplevel XLE and sporty XRS (which had a 158-hp, 2.4-liter engine) models die a quiet death. Each of the remaining models features essentially the same kit as last year. The base model has air conditioning, an auxiliary audio input, and power mirrors, but does without power for the windows and door locks. Stepping up to the LE adds those features as well as cruise control, heated mirrors, keyless entry, and steering-wheel-mounted audio controls. Optional on the LE is a Premium package bundling 16-inch alloy wheels, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, fog lights, and a power sunroof.

The range-topping S replaces the standard 15-inch steel wheels with 16-inch alloys wearing marginally wider tires, and adds a “sporty” body kit, a chrome exhaust tip, metallic interior accents, fog lights, and a “sport” instrument cluster. (It makes the car faster!) The only performance-oriented changes are the new wheels and rubber, so don’t expect the car’s dynamics to wake up.

One other addition: Because the country had a collective freak-out, all Corollas get a brake-override system that cuts the throttle when both the brake and accelerator pedals are depressed. ABS, stability and traction control, brake assist, and brake-force distribution all became standard for 2010.

Same Engine, Same Transmissions

Regardless of trim, the Corolla employs a carry-over 1.8-liter inline-four engine with 132 hp and 128 lb-ft of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard and a four-speed auto optional on base and S trims; the slushbox remains the only transmission for Corolla LE buyers. There’s a 2-mpg increase in city mileage with the five- speed transmission; its ratings are now 28 mpg city/35 highway. The automatic’s fuel-economy ratings remain 26/34 mpg. Although the change isn’t noticeable in those numbers, Toyota says the addition of underbody trays reduces aerodynamic drag.

The 2011 Toyota Corolla goes on sale this December. Even with the slight aesthetic changes, the Corolla wouldn’t be our first choice in the crowded econo-sedan market, but that doesn’t mean people won’t keep buying the things.