This is the seventh installment of the TFLcar Track Week (top ten) video review series. Track Week is where we take every day cars and put them through their paces at the High Plains Raceway in Colorado. TFLcar team attended the annual RMDE event put on by the RMAP association, and Roman wanted to see how these cars compare to each other on the race track. So, we mounted the cameras and the SoloDL GPS data recorder, and Roman went out in search of the best lap times.
Today we have the 2013 Ford Focus ST. Its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four cylinder is sending 252 horses to the front wheels, and the engineers made sure the power can be put down effectively. The power delivery is as linear as any turbo-charged car that I have ever tried. Ford’s torque vectoring technology virtually eliminates torque steer, and helps launch the ST out of the corner. On the track, the Focus ST inspires confidence. It’s easy to get to know the car and the well balanced chassis is forgiving. The RECARO front seats provide great side bolstering and are one of the most supportive of this bunch.
The 2013 Ford Focus ST is a very refined, quick, and usable hot hatch – be it on the race track or on the street. Volkswagen GTI better take notice.
Please enjoy this race track video review, and come back again to see the rest of the top ten. Tomorrow’s Track Week car is the stylish 2013 Audi S5. How much faster can is the S5 over the Focus ST?
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply ‘going for a drive’.
Meet the Star Race Car Drivers of the 2013 Pike Peak International Hill Climb
The 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb features some of the best race car drivers in the world.
In this exclusive TFLcar video we meet Nine-Time WRC Champion Sebastien Loeb as he gets ready to race up Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado for a new record time…as well as many of his rivals.
These include Rhys Mille, and of course the old record holder Monster Tijima, who’ll be going for the electric car record this year.
Check it out as we talk to many of the star drivers who are hoping to write their name in the 2013 Pike Peak International Hill record book this year.
The 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb action continues to ratchet up. TFLcar team joined the press conference event yesterday to say hello and talk with the racers about the upcoming race on Sunday, June 30th. All the big names were in attendance: Sebastien Loeb, Rhys Millen, Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, and too many others to list here. This race is growing every year and it was evident by the number of racers, staff, and media at the press event.
This is the second year that the entire road surface is paved and this is drawing more interest from motorsports stars from around the world. It’s also raising expectations and promising to shatter all previous records. It was only two years ago, that Monster Tajima was able to break the elusive 10 minute mark up Pikes Peak. Last year, four more racers were quicker than 10 minutes. What are the drivers targeting for this year? Well, how about under 9 minutes!
Rhys Millen is the current record holder with a 2012 time of 9:46.164. So, sub-9 minute run this year would be a huge improvement. It does not seem possible. Of course, the weather must cooperate in order for the records to fall. Recent weather has been generally good and welcoming, but Pikes Peak has been known to throw a few surprises. It’s not uncommon to see very high winds and even falling snow near the top.
If any man can break the 9 minute barrier this year, it would be the 9-time World Rally Champion – Sebastien Loeb. Loeb has been on top of practice and qualifying runs by a significant margin. He has the full force of the Peugeot factory racing team behind him. His alcohol fed Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak special is fast and mean. Loeb told us the car is 900 horsepower for 900 kilograms (or just over 2 pounds per horsepower). For comparison, a 640 horsepower SRT Viper has a power ratio of over 5 pounds per horsepower.
Enjoy these TFLcar insider videos of the 2013 PPIHC:
Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply going ‘for a drive’.
Ram is having a great sales year, and the 2013 Ram 1500 is at the heart of this success. Through May of 2013, Ram sold more than 140,000 Ram pickups and firmly holds number three spot for truck sales in United States. So what make this truck successful and what can it do to improve?
STATS
Starting Retail Price
As Tested Price
HP / Lb-Ft
2013 Ram 1500 ST Crew 4×4
$33,035
$35,675
305/269
EPA Rating MPG
As Tested MPG
Rating: BUY IT!
16/23 Combined 20
Combined 19.4
First Impressions
It’s only when you get up close to the 2013 Ram 1500 ST Crew Cab 4×4 that you realize how big and spacious this truck truly is. I parked it next to the TFLcar 2002 Chevy 2500HD project truck and this light duty Ram is more imposing. What a difference 11 years make! The grill is menacing, the hood line is tall, and the 4×4 truck sits high on its 17 inch steel wheels and 31 inch tires. The Ram is designed to seat six, but it feels like you can comfortably put at least seven adults in this thing.
Styling/Design:
The 2013 Ram may look nearly identical to the previous model year, but it has been thoroughly redesigned underneath. This ST trim level truck is value minded and is geared toward day-to-day work. The basic black front bumper, some hard interior plastics, and the steel rims point to its work truck focus. Nonetheless, this Ram has all the necessities and is a comfortable place to spend time in. The seating position is comfortable and makes you feel in command of the road. All the interior switches are within easy reach and simple to understand. However, the rotary transmission control knob take a little bit of getting used to.
Powertrain:
This test truck draws power from the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, which produces a healthy 305 horsepower and a lackluster 269 ft-lbs of torque. The low torque number is not noticeable when running around town in an empty truck (even at mile above sea level). This big crew cab willingly jumps off the line and has plenty of passing power. The 8-speed TorqueFlight transmission is smooth and this truck loves cruising at highway speeds. It’s only when you start loading it up, that you start wishing for more torque. Instead of working hard in this pickup, we decided to play hard instead. First, we took two dirt bikes to a trail high above Boulder Colorado. The Ram accomplished the task, but it struggled at times to climb some of the steeper grades.
Next, we hitched up nearly 6,000 lbs of boat behind it. This was awfully close to this truck’s 6,300 lbs maximum towing capacity. Again, the truck obliged. It was able to accelerate to 40 mph is reasonable time, but getting it to 60 was a struggle (see video below).
Handling/Ride:
The 2013 Ram ST still feels a little like an older traditional American truck. The suspension is setup on the softer side and the steering is a little vague. It’s not really a bad thing, as this truck soaks up most road surfaces with a comfortable ride. I also noticed that the turning radius was quite good. When we hitched up 6,000 pounds to the hitch, the ride did not change. This crew cab is a stable towing platform, it just needed more torque for our high altitude test.
Competitors:
Starting Retail Price
City/Hwy MPG
HP / Lb-Ft
2013 Ram 1500 Crew ST
$33,035
16/23
305/269
2013 Chevrolet 1500 Crew WT
$35,860
14/19
302/305
2013 F-150 Crew XL
$35,620
15/21
360/380
2013 Nissan Titan Crew S
$34,670
13/18
317/385
2013 Toyota Tundra
$34,930
13/17
381/401
It’s interesting to note that for the 2013 model year, Ram is the only truck which has a V6 option in a 4×4 Crew Cab configuration. The base Silverado WT comes with the 4.8-liter V8 to start. The F-150 XL comes with a 5.0-liter V8, and the Titan and Tundra require you to step to the 5.7-liter V8s.
On the TFLcar scale of:
Buy it!
Lease it!
Rent it!
… or Forget it!
I give the 2013 Ram 1500 ST Crew Cab a Buy It! If you are looking for a roomy Crew Cab with 4×4 and good fuel economy, and you don’t plan to load it to the max – then this is a great pickup. The 3.6 V6 and the 8-speed transmission are efficient and well suited to around town driving or highway cruising. The beginner Ram ST trim does not have a lot of flash, but it’s comfortable and has all the features for every day use (including Satellite Radio) at an affordable starting price. This is why I give this truck a Buy it!
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or scouring the internet and other media for various automotive, mechanical, and computer related information.
This is the sixth installment of the TFLcar Track Week video review series. Track Week is where we take every day cars and put them through their paces at the High Plains Raceway in Colorado. TFLcar team attended the annual RMDE event put on by the RMAP association, and Roman wanted to see how these cars compare to each other on the race track. So, we mounted the cameras and the SoloDL GPS data recorder, and Roman went out in search of the best lap times.
Today we have the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. This high performance Grand Cherokee has been around for several years and it keeps getting better and better. It receives further tweaks for the 2014 model year and can now tow more than ever before (up to 7,200 pounds). Jeep thinks that this will be your ideal vehicle for towing your SRT Viper or another sports or racing car to the track. Turns out it’s also great for “dusting off” a racetrack, taking three or four of your closest friends on a hot lap, or simply learning a new track.
I was fortunate to spend a lot of seat time in this beast. It feels a little top heavy in corners the first time you get into it. However, the more I drove it – the more comfortable I got and started to push it further and further into corners. It has several driving modes and an ability to turn traction control off. SRT engineer told me that if you turn the dial to “Track” mode and leave the traction control On, then it will produce the best times for 99% of drivers out there. He mentioned that there are only one or two people in the world that can wrangle this Jeep into a quicker lap time with traction control Off. Sure enough – this mode felt the best. This system lets you drive aggressively and it won’t kill the throttle on you. I only felt it come into action once. The instructor I was with called it “the hand of God helping me along”.
Please enjoy this race track video review, and come back again to see the rest of the top ten. Tomorrow’s Track Week car is the quick 2013 Ford Focus ST hot hatch.
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply ‘going for a drive’.
Lately, the Motor Company hasn’t come up with any radical or totally new innovations from the mechanical department or the design studio. The practice has been rather to draw on the past and to offer new takes on nostalgic ideas. The 2012 Harley-Davidson FLS Softail Slim represents a case on point, with its clean, stripped-down old-school approach to design, with minimal chrome, narrowed look and retrospective detail application, starting up front with a trimmed front fender and progressing to its narrow rear end, the Softail Slim is definitively a, back-to-basics, no fooling around motorcycle. Categorize however you like – stripped down, old school, retro or lean and mean, the resulting bike displays an elemental Softail profile in a traditional Harley-Davidson® style that harkens back to classic custom bobbers from the 1950s era.
The star of today’s announcement from Ram was the new 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel light duty pickup truck. It is powered by a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V6 that makes a modest 240 horse, but HEMI topping 420 lb-ft of torque (HEMI is rated at 410 pound feet). The diesel is backed up by the 8-speed TorqueFlight automatic transmission.
The EcoDiesel also tops the Ram 1500 HEMI on price. It will set you back $2,850 more than the V8. Ram says that the new EcoDiesel will take about three year to pay for the increased initial cost considering its superior fuel economy. Ram did not yet disclose official MPG ratings. They only said that it will exceed 25 MPG on the highway.
This truck will have plenty of capability. It is likely to shine at the TFLcar mile high towing test. We recently tested the 3.6 Pentastar V6 equipped Ram 1500 (see Here). We expect the torquey diesel to be much faster 0-60 mph and perhaps even challenge the Infiniti QX56 for number one spot.
Look for the new diesel at the dealerships in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2013.
What do you think about the EcoDiesel pricing strategy? Does it match your expectations? Please use the comments below.
Watch this TFLcar insider video as Roman and Nathan explorer the new 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel:
Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply going ‘for a drive’.
Super powerful and crazy fast electric race cars are a completely new breed of vehicles that promise to make for exciting racing this year at the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. We caught up with Toyota Electric Car TRD team (last year’s record setter) and Mitsubishi team as they practiced running the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb in the early hours of the morning before the big race this weekend.
The drivers told us that they cannot hear the mandatory electric race car siren while going at full speed. Greg Tracy from team Mitsubishi explained the sensation of driving the MiEV Evolution II as being on a roller coaster, where you control the accelerator. The electric cars are very powerful and quick. However, they still cannot match their gas burning Unlimited class racers on the sheer speed. Toyota TMG EV P002 team is targeting 9:45 time for this year’s race. While Unlimited car teams are looking to get below 9 minutes.
These cars have four electric motors, one for each wheel, and a very sophisticated computer controlling system to manage and allocate traction. The drivers tell us that the traction and downforce are at very high levels and they are sure that this will continue to improve.
Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply going ‘for a drive’.
In this week’s Ask Nathan:
Does the Jeep Gladiator 4xe finally mean we're getting a plug-in hybrid pickup truck?
Comparing home-built to factory-built 4x4s.
This week’s...
