Volvo Offers Lifetime Warranty on Replacement Parts

Volvo announced today it will warranty any replaced part and labor, not including wear-and-tear items and accessories, for the life of the car.

it will warranty any replaced part and labor, not including wear-and-tear items and accessories, for the life of the car. The coverage extends only to service at dealerships.

Volvo owners will pay for the initial replacement parts and labor on vehicles with expired warranties, but Volvo will pay for any additional service on that part for as long as the owner has the car. The parts warranty covers all models from all years and will be honored at all North American Volvo dealerships, according to the automaker.

“The lifetime parts and labor warranty is a commitment to both quality vehicles and quality customer relationships,” Lex Kerssemakers, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America said in a statement. “Everyone should feel confident that Volvo is here to support our customers throughout the ownership of their vehicle.”

The parts warranty is part of Volvo’s larger service program that includes roadside assistance, software upgrades and the ever-important, free carwash.

With an upcoming U.S. plant, perhaps Volvo will save on shipping costs.

Fiat Chrysler Posts Sales Gains In August, Keeps 5-year Streak Alive

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted a 2-percent overall gain in sales for August, keeping its 65-month streak of increased sales alive, the automaker reported Tuesday.

Jeep jumped the largest amount for the automaker; Jeep reported an 18-percent increase as a brand and four of its models posted sales gains. Sales of Dodge-branded vehicles slid 15 percent overall, and Chrysler-branded cars fell 14 percent.

FCA reported it sold more than 200,000 vehicles in North America for the second month this year.

The Jeep Compass was the brand’s biggest gainer over August 2014 sales. Compass improved 58 percent over the same month a year ago. Jeep also reported that sales of its new Renegade were up 29 percent over July.

Chrysler-branded cars were down overall, but the automaker said sales of its Chrysler 200 were up 30 percent over last year.

FCA said Ram-branded trucks and vans posted a 6-percent increase, led by its full-size pickup.

(According to the automaker, Fiat 500L sales were up over last year and now I’ve seen everything.)

Ask Bark: What Should I Buy For My First Whip?

Ask Bark? is picking up steam like a train on the island of Sodor , man!

, man! Thanks for all of your questions after last week’s installment, as well as the great advice you gave our friend, Josh.

However, be warned — Bark will not be punked like the author of “Ask Amy” was this week. Don’t write in with any questions about buying a Saab convertible, okay? I’m not gonna fall for it.

Now, on to this week’s question from youthful reader Greg :

Hi Bark,

I’m about to turn 16 and will be looking for a car soon. Being a car guy, I’ve been looking at sportier cars that won’t break the bank. My total spending budget is about $11,000.

So far I was thinking about getting one of the following:

– 2003-2008 Mustang GT
– 2002-2011 Subaru WRX
– 1990s Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4
– 2002-2008 Audi A4 Quattro
– 2003-2008 Nissan 350Z

My first instinct was to go for the Subaru WRX, because I like Japanese cars and Subaru is one of my favorite brands. Subaru’s all-wheel drive is also great for snowy Michigan roads. However, the problem I encounter is the high mileage in these WRXs. Most of the Subarus I look at are either rebuilt, or have 150,000+ miles. Then I look at Mustang GTs, which have relatively low miles, but are rear-wheel drive. The Mitsubishi and Audi A4 have the same problem as the Subaru, and the 350Z is great except it has the same rear-wheel drive problem as the Mustang.

So I ask you this: with snowy Michigan roads and my budget of roughly $11,000, what sporty first cars would you recommend that don’t have super high miles?

Thanks!

-Greg

Greg, let me start out by saying this: Thanks for being a great kid. Your desire for a JDM YO! car or a red-blooded V-8 Mustang restores my faith in the youth of today. When I was your age, I wanted nothing more than a Jetta III GL for my 16th birthday — which I ultimately got. My poor father spent $199/month leasing that car for me, which I promptly burned the front tires off of in less than 10,000 miles. We’ll come back to that in a bit.

Now, as far as your question goes, well, I wish that I had good news for you. I don’t know what your technical proficiency is, but it’s going to have to be somewhere in the neighborhood of “ASE Master Technician” to keep most of the cars on your list running. There are some members of the B&B who will, undoubtedly, say that it’s a great thing for a kid your age to learn how to work on his own car. There’s wisdom in that, for sure.

The real  question though: How much is your time worth? When I was your age, I wouldn’t have been able to spend a single fucking (sorry, forgot I was speaking to a teenager) moment on messing around with a broken car. I had football practice, band practice, study groups, conditioning drills, plus I sat faithfully by my pager (yeah, I said pager GOLDFLEX 4 LYFE) waiting for any indication that somebody’s parents were out of the house long enough to create an ad hoc party. Any down time would have meant either missing a social event or a team practice; unacceptable.

So, you need a car that meets three important criteria:

Cool enough for you to enjoy driving. Maybe attracts a girl or two. Runs reliably through Michigan winters. I’m in Grand Rapids as we speak, and I can confirm that winter is no joke up here.

Let’s deconstruct your list and come up with the best option:

2003-2008 Nissan 350Z : Are you just taunting me here? Dude. No. There are simply better options out there for you in 2015. This isn’t 2006, and you aren’t Han. You will have a hell of a time finding an unmolested 350Z (GREDDY YO) that doesn’t have a gazillion miles on it. Also, you don’t want a car with only two seats when you’re 16. What are you going to do when Amber, Madisyn, and Kayleigh all need a ride home after school?

2002-2008 Audi A4 Quattro : Again, no. Expensive to own, expensive to fix. A search for “B6 A4 known issues” will bring you to instant tears. A decent B7 example will eat up your entire budget. And when something breaks, you’ll be working many extra hours at your part-time gig — which, of course, you now won’t be able to get to.

1990s Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4 : I loved these cars when I was your age, and they have started to become more and more popular on the market as people realize that the amount of money being asked for comparable RX-7s and Supras is freaking crazy. Clean, low mileage examples of the VR-4 are commanding in excess of $25,000, so the kind of car you’re going to get for $11,000 isn’t likely to meet our third criterion. I can’t recommend this car in good conscience to you, even though I really, really want to.

2002-2011 Subaru WRX : Again, difficult to find one in your price range that doesn’t have the word “COBB!!!” in the description somewhere, doesn’t appear to be a ticking head gasket timebomb, or have more miles than Jenna Jameson.

2003-2008 Mustang GT : I like this idea, and I like it for a lot of reasons. First of all, I obviously love Mustangs. Secondly, there is no shortage of how-to videos, guides and forum posts on the internet for fixing anything that goes wrong with this generation of ‘Stang — as well as posts from people who can tell you how to get insane power out of the holy Ford 4.6 V-8. Lastly, it’s probably the most reliable car on your list. For maximum chick-magnet status, try to go 2005 or newer. The fifth-generation Mustang looks enough like the newest car for young women to not really know the difference, and a GT will definitely sound the business.

About your rear-wheel-drive concerns: I was taken to task a bit by a commenter last week for suggesting that rear-wheel drive and winter climes are not compatible. He was mostly right. A good set of Blizzaks make rear drivers completely manageable in the snow. In fact, I have gone so far as to put Blizzaks on my front-wheel-drive FiST, because FWD/AWD doesn’t automatically mean “good in the snow” any more than rear-wheel drive means “bad in the snow.”  When it comes to winter driving, the ability to stop is much more important than the ability to go. Blizzaks (or the winter tire of your choice) are a must for any  car in Michigan winters.

Now, let me say this: You’re sixteen, and this is going to be your first car. You’re going to love driving whatever you have, because you’re going to have a big, beautiful world of freedom opened up to you that has thus far been a locked door. Remember how I said I burned the front tires off of my Jetta? That thing was an 11 second car. No, not an 11 second quarter-mile car; 11 seconds from zero-to-sixty. And yet I still drove the hell out of it every day. Your first car doesn’t have to be a speed machine. It should be big enough to keep you safe when you hit something, and you should be able to cart around a few friends. I have more great memories of the unbelievably stupid things that my friends and I did in that car than I could relate to you in a hundred such posts. You’ll have more fun driving a little slower with your buds than you will driving fast all by yourself.

Also, don’t forget that you’re gonna have to insure the thing. Insurance agencies aren’t huge fans of most the cars you listed for younger drivers, so your rates aren’t going to be all that awesome. Keeping that in mind, let me make a few more suggestions to you for cars that will be safe, cheaper to insure, and still fun to drive.

Since you said you like Japanese cars, other options could include this Acura TSX, or perhaps this Infiniti G35X, both of which should be reliable and fun to drive. The G35 is as close to a Skyline as you’re going to get in your price range, and is a bit more refined than the Z.

But, if you’re really asking what I’d do in your situation, here’s my answer: I’d go find the right Mustang, buy a service manual, and watch the Homecoming dates line up. Good luck, young squire.

If you’d like to Ask Bark a question about cars, life, the universe, and everything, shoot your emails to [email protected] , or hit him up in the Twitterverse @ barkm302.

Piston Slap: The Monolith Panther Tow Vehicle?

Rob writes:
Hello Sajeev,
I’m untangling a logistical nightmare and I think a Panther can help.

This particular nightmare involves relocating from Urbana, IL to Idaho Falls, ID, a 1964 Corvette convertible that’s sitting in Richmond, VA, and a Grand Marquis in New Jersey. The Corvette “ran when parked” in my father-in-law’s garage in 1982 and brought back to Illinois by me using a rental van towing a car hauler. A moving company will take care of the move to Idaho including transporting one car, but not the Corvette because the car has to be operational. In the meantime, my Dad needs to sell my grandfather’s Grand Marquis.

The plan is to purchase the Grand Marquis, drive it to Delaware to meet up with the wife, kids, and dogs. While there, I’ll have U-Haul install a 2-inch hitch receiver and (possibly) have an independent shop install Coil-Rite air bag helper springs. My wife will fly to Idaho with the kids while I drive the Grand Marquis with the dogs to Illinois, where I’ll pick up the Corvette and trailer it to Idaho.

So, how crazy is this plan? Alternatives include putting the Corvette into storage and waiting for another opportunity to transport it, or buying a SUV/truck, but my wife and I being iconoclasts towards the dogma of parents and pet owners needing SUVs, and at a time of limited funds and many one-time expenses, this plan seems best.

Thoughts?

Sajeev

Everyone knows that I love me some Panther, even if I don’t currently own one. The red flags in this query depend on the year, mileage and options of said Panther. Because Panthers aren’t monoliths, every generation and/or year has unique challenges as they age — especially when towing two tons (give or take) of Corvette and car trailer. No matter which one you get, get a trailer brake controller, then drive slow and brake slow!

Since you didn’t tell us anything about your Panther tow vehicle, let’s get generic:

Box Panthers (79-91) towing in 2016: The Ford AODis a great gearbox when upgraded by a savvy transmission shop, but stock units are marginal. Add the stress of towing and it’s a dicey proposition for long distances (i.e. don’t use 4th gear much). The TV cable bushingis the most obvious problem. Adding a transmission cooler helps if one is not already equipped. Mediocre disc/drum brakes will keep you from towing at speeds attainable by a modern truck/SUV. The helper springs can help, but I don’t know how often rear air springs were ordered back then. Aero/Fat Panthers (92-97) in 2016: Better transmissions (4R70W) came with the 4.6-liter V-8, but age and external coolers are still a concern. The fact these are somewhat new with optional air suspensions makes it a better proposition for long distance towing. But towing in overdrive? Maybe not. At least the fat Panthers have (dare I say it) rich and warm interior trimmings. Skinny Panthers (1998-2011) in 2016: The best perk here is bigger front brakes and calipers. Rear air is still available with the improved suspensions. The 2003+ models got a beefier (4R75W) transmission and far more aggressive suspension improvements. I’d feel content towing with a 2003+ Panther at reasonable highway speeds, even using overdrive on flat stretches. Too bad the interiors are universally cheaper than their Fat Panther counterparts.

Yes, you could safely tow this load in theory with any generation of Panther, but you’ll have much less stress in the process if it’s a 2003+ model with recently replaced air springs (that won’t bleed out 500 miles into your journey from cracks at the base of the springs).

It must be nice to be an SUV iconoclast with a mid-yearCorvette and a Grand Marquis. I like your style!

[Photo courtesy: 1986 Ford Crown Victoria sales brochure]

Send your queries to [email protected] com . Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.

Fields Are Fertile For Now, But Marchionne Has a Long View

Farmers are the ultimate craftsman when it comes to small-scale production.

Farmers are the ultimate craftsman when it comes to small-scale production. The level of management needed to stay competitive and above the high water line is, simply put, astounding. Consolidation in certain areas of agriculture has lead to factory farming, the widespread adoption of automation and genetically modified seeds that keep seed producers competitive. Private farmers are constantly at war with the market and their own budgets.

The agriculture industry has wholly transformed itself over the last 100 years. The automotive industry, which has only really existed for that same period of time, has seen similar levels of change. We are now building more cars, trucks, SUVs, crossovers, trikes and quadracycles than ever before, just like we are growing more food than we’ve ever seen in human history.

But, there’s one major stumbling block ahead — and Sergio Marchionne sees it.

Marchionne, at this point in his tenure as CEO of one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, is a farmer with a cliff-side plot of land. He’s also the only farmer in his town with a massive debt bill to pay and no cash on hand to clear the ledger.

The reality of farming is, at the point of sale, the vast majority of consumers couldn’t care less where their produce is grown. On a macro level, produce buyers will purchase strawberries in the middle of winter, even if they are grown in Mexico. Locally, during in-season months, as long as those strawberries are juicy and ripe, produce buyers don’t check the label to figure out where they were grown. Sure, there are those who buy organic, gluten-free options at the grocery store — and they are a statistically significant in their numbers to deserve a whole aisle devoted to their tastes — but the rest of us are completely apathetic.

The same goes for cars.

Car enthusiasts — us folks who write, comment, drive, wrench on, wash and generally love our cars — are one percent of the overall consumer market. The other 99 percent of people are totally agnostic to the efforts of automotive research, engineering, manufacturing and branding, with a few exceptions for those who want to “Buy American!” or some other loyalties of varying degrees. Enthusiasts do buy a very specific type of product, and automakers are more than willing to provide those products to the degree they are demanded on the market, but we still only get a single aisle in a vast dealer lot.

Corn enthusiasts, if there is such a thing, might see the agriculture industry thusly:

“The General Farms corn stays fresh much, much longer than the new American-Italian corn from Marchionne Farms,” a connoisseur of corn might say.

“But, the Marchionne Farms’ Hellcat Corn tastes better ,” an equally loyal corn enthusiast might rebuff.

The other 99 percent of corn buyers are, well, not talking about corn. They don’t care where it comes from. They don’t care who made it. They look at the corn in the produce aisles, figure out the best deal for their needs, and buy the corn that makes the most sense — a combination of number of ears of corn and how much it costs. All the while, corn enthusiasts are trying to push their corn consuming friends one way or another. Sometimes they succeed in their suggestions, but not enough to make a real market impact. (See: SKYACTIV Corn.)

Standing at the cliff’s edge of his farm, Marchionne — with a hefty bank note on his mind — has an epiphany: Why am I spending all this money growing different corn than my neighbor? The components of corn — the cob, kernels and the way it’s packaged — are essentially the same. How you dress it up and sell it, that’s the only real difference!

But, it isn’t the sameness of corn — or automobiles — that’s the real issue here.

In probably a distant future, we aren’t going to need corn. We will plug some instructions into a machine, a whirring sound will emanate, and a meal will be replicated for consumption. You won’t need to own the food replicator. Instead, you will pay a fee to use it that’s magnitudes less than the current cost of food. The farm as we know it will be a thing of the past.

Automakers are staring down the barrel of a similar fate.

Google and automakers themselves are developing fully autonomous vehicles to be used by the masses. Their solutions are similar to the food replicator of the future: plug in a destination, a whirring sound will emanate and you’ll arrive at your destination. You won’t need to own the autonomous car of the future. Instead, you will pay a fee to use it that’s magnitudes less than the current cost of personal transportation. The car as we know it will be a thing of the past.

The autonomous car is the ocean lapping against the cliff’s edge, slowly — but with increased intensity — swallowing Marchionne’s farm.

Now, please, don’t get me wrong. I am in no way saying that the things we love — cars as we know them today — will be gone next year or even in the next 20 years. There might be a few companies still catering to the enthusiast, offering cars as artisanal luxury good for those of us who enjoy the speed and knowledge needed to pilot just such a machine. But the days of the automobile as a privately owned consumer necessity are numbered. Those who enjoy the act of driving will be the gasoline-fed hipsters of tom0rrow.

Marchionne, I assume, knows this. The day his farm is needed is coming to an end. But not today. Today there’s corn to grow and money to be made, and he’s looking at his neighbor at General Farms that grows the same crop.

Farmer Barra, let’s grind some corn together, shall we?

K40 RLS2 Radar Detector Review

I’ll admit it.

I’ll admit it. I haven’t used a radar detector in years. My typical method of avoiding tickets has relied on the (patent pending) Spousal Alert System, in which the wife screams at me if the car is going too quickly in proximity to one of Ohio’s finest.

Problem is, 10 years in, I have yet to find the mute button.

Plus, she doesn’t drink coffee, so the Spousal Alert System has some glitches on drives longer than four hours. A planned family reunion in northern Wisconsin, 10-plus hours from home, reminded me that an alternative was needed. Thankfully, the kind folks from K40 Electronics offered their new RLS2 radar/laser detectorfor review. I’m pretty sure it already saved me from a ticket or two. With an MSRP right around $400, it is priced in the ballpark of the major playersin the market.

For years, the big selling point for K40 detectors has been their “Drive Ticket-Free” guarantee. They will pay your speeding ticket if you are using their detectors. I didn’t wish to test this particular perk, so I paid more attention to the other features.

Having not used a real radar in a decade or more, the GPS is new to me. If I had a long commute, this would be quite useful. It allows the user to “mark” a location for speed traps or other locations that typically would be a hazard to a speeding driver. Upon approaching the location again, the RLS2 will alert the driver, whether or not radar/laser is present.

Another cool facet is the speed monitor, which easily replaces a screaming spouse. Set a “max” speed, and the RLS2 will alert when the car exceeds it — great if you want to hit a high score, or simply if you’ve got a long day of driving through the Kentucky hills and you accidentally hit 110 mph in your minivan on a downslope.

I particularly love the Quiet Ride. This silences everything below the speed of your choosing. When I was commuting to college back in the late 1990s, I got sick of the cheapie Cobra detector blaring when I was crawling in 20 mph traffic. I simply didn’t care, so I’d shut the unit off and forget about it until traffic opened back up again. When I’m commuting with the RLS2, I set the Quiet Ride at 55 mph, and I don’t worry about it.

No, I wasn’t going to do a Youtube “unboxing” video.

When I opened the box initially, there were a couple of power cords, a windshield mount and suction cups, and the surprisingly lightweight RLS2 detector itself. I suppose I expected something a bit more substantial feeling, though it doesn’t feel cheap. Good thing it’s light, as a heavier unit would be pulling down on the windshield mounts, eventually falling off. I’d have preferred a visor mount, as I would rather have the detector out of my immediate field of vision, but the RLS2 works best as close to the glass as possible.

There are aftermarket mounts available, as it turns out. BlendMountoffers options for the most popular detectors and for most cars on the market. It looks like the mountfor my Chrysler van runs around $90 — ouch. But it should minimize hassles, as well as my field-of-view concern.

K40 suggests all new radar users contact their toll-free tech support line, even before purchase, to ensure the right unit is acquired. After receiving the detector, another call is advised while parked in the car to allow the consultant to work with you to fine-tune the settings to your typical driving style and roads.

Upon receiving my test unit, I called and spoke to Brian, who asked:

What I was driving; What type of driving I do – highway, city, mix; My typical driving speed; My location — though if I recall, he deduced it from my area code.

He told me the out-of-the-box settings are just about right for me, though he did have me tweak the Quiet Ride setting. Easy enough — and as I mentioned earlier, I played with that setting a good bit.

I’ve been using the RLS2 for about a month, including the long trip to the land of great cheese and beer. I was alerted to X-, K- and Ka-band radar throughout my trip, and got one hit by laser thanks to the Brown County, Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy hiding on an overpass. It has been helpful, though I do have a couple of qualms about recommending it for everyone.

First, I rather dislike the button placement. This will certainly become less of an issue over time with familiarity, but right now, considering I place the unit rather high on my windshield to minimize forward obstructions, I can’t read the labels on the buttons while in my normal seating position. A low mount position would be completely unreachable, considering the deep dash of my Town and Country. If I need to mute, or adjust the Quiet Ride speed, I’m stabbing away at six buttons hoping I get the correct one. Some other competitive models have controls placed on the front face.

The ideal placement blocks my view a bit.

Secondly, despite K40’s K-band filter theoretically rejecting alerts from collision-avoidance and radar-based cruise systems, I got a bunch of strong K-band alerts in rural areas of eastern Indiana and western Ohio. After a few of these hits, I made note of the cars around me — none were new enough to have these features. I had to mute the unit several times in these areas. After talking with K40, it seems I’ve been alerted by traffic flow sensors, which they haven’t been able to filter out just yet. They tell me that their next generation of revised products should have this filter.

If I were to add a killer feature, I’d love to see the GPS better integrated into more features. I’d especially love to see the RLS2 switch over from highway to city filtering as I approach an urban area, rather than needing to do so manually. I’d often switch, then forget to switch back to highway after passing through.

My time with the RLS2 has been quite educational, and I’m certain I’ll keep popping it up on the windshield as a backup on long trips, but the Spousal Alert System is permanently installed, as she has features no electronics company can replicate.

Minnesotan Tesla Owners Offer Test Drives To Potential Customers In Iowa

Iowa may be one of the few states where Tesla itself can’t directly sell its vehicles to the public, but it doesn’t mean owners can’t at least promote the California automaker to potential customers.

KCCI-TV in Des Moinesreports a group of Minnesotan Tesla owners drove to a local supermarket in Urbandale last weekend to give Iowans the opportunity to see the Model S first-hand.

One owner stated that the group aren’t fighting against the ban, but are about “sharing new technology” up-close with those who might otherwise view the vehicles from afar.

The group also gave test drives to would-be owners, something that the state’s government has also prohibited Tesla from conducting on its own.

SRT Boss Ralph Gilles Appointed To FCA Head Of Design, Executive Council

It’s official: FCA North American Design Office senior vice president and SRT CEO Ralph Gilles is now FCA’s Head of Design.

Taking over from retiring design boss Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Gilles is now also a part of the automaker’s FCA Group Executive Council, led by CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Gilles, of course, was in charge of Dodge between 2009 and 2011, and served as SRT’s boss while helming FCA’s racing efforts, as well. He also styled the 2005 Chrysler 300, and led the design team behind the 2014 Dodge Viper SRT.

Sixty-One GM Victim Compensation Claims Approved For Payout

As of last Friday, 30 fatality and 31 injury claims have been approved for payout from the General Motors victim compensation fund created in the wake of the February 2014 ignition recall, and helmed by the staff of appointed attorney Kenneth Feinberg.

The Detroit News reports a total of 1,580 were filed between August 1 and last week, consisting of 193 fatality claims, 102 serious injury claims, and 1,286 claims for less-serious injuries.

Regarding eligibility for payout, around 90 to 100 claims were declared ineligible, while the vast majority were still under review.

On the settlement front, offers were made to 31 victims and their families, 21 of whom accepted the terms with the remaining offers expected to be accepted. Deputy fund administrator Camile Biros added that the first checks are almost ready for issuing.

The window for filing closes on December 31, while verifications will continue into the new year.

Capsule Review: 2015 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited

In the very recent past, six-cylinder midsize sedans were often the cars consumers acquired because the basic four-cylinder powerplants were insufficient devices.

In the very recent past, six-cylinder midsize sedans were often the cars consumers acquired because the basic four-cylinder powerplants were insufficient devices. As fuel efficiency became more of a concern, as economic concerns prompted families to consider less costly purchases, and as larger four-cylinder engines became more refined and powerful, the six-cylinder option gradually became less necessary.

In 2014, upgrading from the four to the six means an increase from sufficient power to over-the-top acceleration.

Usually.

Rewind to 2002. The V6-powered Honda Accord, a 3.0L car with 200 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, was tasked with motivating 3274 pounds. The latest four-cylinder in Honda’s Accord is a 2.4L tasked with propelling only two fewer pounds (in Sport trim) with only 11 fewer ponies than in that 2002 V6. The newer Accord – which just recorded record-high monthly U.S. sales– is two inches longer, its cabin is only slightly larger, and its trunk is 12% more capacious. It’s absolutely fine , completely capable, and as quick as the old V6, if not quicker. Or, if you want to accelerate like an 80s (or 90s?) supercar, you buy the V6.

There’s much more to the new Subaru Legacy than an engine. It’s the only car in the class that comes equipped exclusively with all-wheel-drive. Its cabin is truly vast. The trunk, while shallow, is deep and wide and squared off. Interior quality is a couple of generations ahead of the last car. Road and wind noise has been kept to a minimum, and ride quality is really rather impressive. 576 watts and 12 speakers of Harman Kardon audio provides a positive acoustic experience. The steering and handling lack the edge of third and fourth-generation Legacy 2.5 GTs, body roll being the biggest complaint, but the steering is more natural and weightier than what you’ll find in many intermediate cars, and there’s no secondary jostling of occupants as the car recovers from severe road imperfections.

Driver comfort is enhanced by terrific visibility, and while my lanky frame never felt low enough in the car, there is a sensation of abundant up-front space that’s in keeping with contemporary “mid”-size cars, which easy fill a garage. The extensive list of active safety features (ADC, PCB, PCTM, VLDSW, BSD, LCA, RCTA) on this top-trim Legacy Limited work unobtrusively, unlike the Jeep Cherokee which brings you harshly to an unnecessary halt when reversing, for example.

But in an era which supplies us with perfectly conventional family sedans that tempt consumers to switch out the capable four-cylinder engine for a high-performance V6  – America’s three favourite midsize sedans still offer remarkably quick V6 powerplants – the Legacy’s 3.6L horizontally-opposed six-cylinder reeks of insignificant extravagance. Subaru USA only offers the 3.6L on full bore Limited models and asks for an extra $3100 to take the plunge.

And what a plunge it is, as average fuel economy takes a nosedive from 30 mpg in the 2.5L to 23. The boxer six’s city rating is 20 mpg. In a mix of city and highway driving, we averaged 19.6 mpg over the course of a week. The six-cylinder’s fuel economy ratings are better than the all-wheel-drive V6-engined Chrysler 200’s; not as good as the 2.0L EcoBoost AWD Ford Fusion’s. Granted, in that Fusion, we saw 18.4 mpg. An Accord V6, lacking all-wheel-drive of course, is rated at 21/34/26 city/highway/combined.

The Subaru’s six-cylinder fuel economy is a highlighted issue because it’s yet another penalty you pay, in addition to the higher transaction price, for an insufficient amount of heavy throttle fun. By modern standards, the Legacy 3.6R doesn’t feel like a genuinely quick car, because it’s not a genuinely quick car. Four-cylinder power in a Mazda 6, for instance, will get you away from stoplights more quickly. Indeed, the last Legacy 3.6 accelerates more rapidly. The Subaru is heavier than it used to be, and that’s an undeniable part of the problem, but that weight pays dividends in a structure that feels very solid and a cabin that’s nicely hushed. Indeed, the 3.6L isn’t overwhelming even on paper: with just 256 horsepower, it does not rank among the elite. No, the bigger issue isn’t the Legacy’s overall heft and dearth of impressive specs but rather the connecting element between the engine and the wheels: this is the kind of CVT that gives CVTs a bad name.

Certain that added power cures all CVT ills, I was pleased to discover that the CVT in the latest Outback 2.5i we tested a few weeks agowas mostly inoffensive. Yes, sometimes it made unpleasant sounds. (This 3.6 makes a great noise but its orchestral talents are thrown out of tune by the conductor, the CVT.) But the 2.5’s delivery of power was not hindered by its gearlessness. Knowing this, I assumed that an additional 81 horsepower would only smooth out the CVTness .

Perhaps Subaru made similar assumptions and therefore did not take the time to properly calibrate the pairing, as the dearth of initial acceleration from rest is a miserable disappointment. The paddle shifters offer real assistance, but the frustration of being in a six-cylinder midsize car that simply doesn’t feel like a substantial upgrade over the four is not going to be alleviated by operating the paddles on a constant basis. (A six-speed manual is not available with either of the Legacy’s two engines in the United States; Canadian buyers can select a three-pedal layout with the 2.5L engine.)

Fortunately, these disappointing realizations serve to highlight the gains made by more basic Legacys in the Subaru’s latest revamp. The new infotainment interface is quick and uncomplicated; only a long reach to the tuning knob and excessive glare on the screen itself let down an otherwise straightforward centre stack. The outgoing Legacy I drove around last winter was hugely uncompetitive. With all-wheel-drive included in the price and inoffensive styling, perhaps even a handsome front end, the new 2015 Legacy is just as staunchly Subaru as it’s always been, if less athletic, but it now feels as well-built as the category’s top sellers.

North America’s new vehicle market has developed a large appetite for cars and crossovers with four driven wheels. Yet the major midsize players from Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and Volkswagen have either never entered the all-wheel-drive fray or have forsaken the notion. Massive leaps in refinement have created an opportunity for the 2015 Subaru Legacy to capitalize on its unconventional layout.

The fact that the underperforming CVT-laden six-cylinder option is a terrible value is truly of little consequence on that front. A dollar-minded sedan buyer with a yearning for all-wheel-drive, decent fuel efficiency, and space for four already knows he’s better served by the base engine. Alas, historically speaking, not many of those buyers have actually existed.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net , which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. The Legacy was provided for review by Subaru Canada.

Ford Posts Record Q2 Profits, Up Almost 19%, Surpasses Expectations, All Regions Profitable Except Europe

For the 16th consecutive quarter, Ford Motor Co.

‘Good job, Al’, ‘Thanks Bill’

For the 16th consecutive quarter, Ford Motor Co. profits have risen, with the Dearborn automaker reporting a 2nd quarter 2013 profit of $1.23 billion, up 18.6% from 2012, working out to 45¢ per share, exceeding analysts’ projections of 37 cents a share. Pretax profit for the quarter was up 40% to $2.56 billion. The company said that it set records for pre-tax profits in both the 2nd quarter and 1st half of 2013, making $4.8 billion in the first six months of the year.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally attributed the company’s success to his One Ford plan. “Our strong second quarter results in every region around the world is another proof point that our One Ford plan is continuing to deliver and is building momentum.”

After losing over $30 billion from 2006 to 2008 as the American car industry melted down, Ford will have its fifth profitable year in a row.

Revenue was also up, 14.4% to $38.1 billion. The good quarterly results caused Ford to raise predictions for the full year. FoMoCo expects now to make more than the $8 billion it made last year and anticipates that the U.S. car and light truck market will surpass 15.5 million units, perhaps even reaching 16 million. Sales were also good in the 2nd quarter, up 15%, gaining Ford nearly 1% additional market share in the U.S. Average transaction prices were also up, ~$1,400 a vehicle, and Ford’s profit margin in the North American market of 10.4% leads all major manufacturers. The only negative part of Ford’s report was that incentives were up by $500 a vehicle, more than the industry average.

North America still remains the engine driving Ford’s profits, with the company reporting a $2.3 billion profit in that region. Europe, where car sales are the lowest they’ve been in two decades, dragged down global profits, but Ford CFO Bob Shanks said that the region is improving earlier than expected. Ford lost $348 million in Europe during the 2nd quarter, an improvement of over $50 million, and it also revised its 2013 projections for Europe, expecting loses to match last year’s $1.8 billion of red ink, instead of the $2 billion previously projected. Ford is restructuring its European operations and reducing overcapacity with three plants slated to close by early 2014.

News was better from the combined Asia Pacific Africa operations which reported record quarterly profits for the region of $177 million, a turnaround from a $66 million loss last year. South America also did well for Ford, posting $151 million in profits.

Junkyard Find: 1957 Nash Metropolitan

When we had a 1960 Nash Metropolitan Junkyard Find a couple months back, you may have thought “Well, that was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion!” As it turns out, finding examples of the little Austin-built proto-AMC commuter in cheap self-service wrecking yards isn’t difficult at all— here’s another one, discovered at a yard in Denver.

This one is much rougher than the ’60 in California; it’s not very rusty, but its paint has been well-nuked by many decades in the Colorado sun.
You can smell the decaying horsehair through the glass of your computer monitor.
The BMC B engine, a larger-displacement version of which went into the MGB, looks intact.
Worth restoring? No way. Still, some good parts await pulling by owners of nicer Metropolitans. In fact, the trunk contained some NOS Pleasurizers.

Lincoln MKZ Supply Issue Resolved, But What About Hermosillo’s Quality?

This is a post that I’d rather not write.

This is a post that I’d rather not write. As a Detroiter, in an ideal world I’d rather that the domestic auto manufactures made tons of money selling great cars. I’m willing to take an unvarnished look at them, after all, those of us who live here are more likely to have some kind of personal interaction with the auto industry than most folks who live elsewhere, but I don’t feel the need to gratuitously slam GM, Ford and Chrysler the way some people do. I just want to be fair. In addition, it grates on me when people accuse TTAC of having a bias against those three Detroit based car companies. Sure, we’re not cheerleaders, but the writers and editors at TTAC don’t have conference calls or Skype sessions where we choose which of the domestic automakers we’ll slam that day. So it’s with some reluctance that I have to note what I considered to be a couple of quality control issues with the all new Lincoln MKZ, now finally arriving in dealerships after a botched launch.

It was FoMoCo itself that raised the issue of quality control concerning the new MKZ. In explaining why dealers didn’t have cars that were heavily promoted with Super Bowl level marketing, Ford said that their Hermosillo, Mexico plant, which  assembles the MKZ and the Ford Fusion, couldn’t keep up with a quality control procedure that was originally intended to prevent some of the quality stumbles that have plagued Ford launches of late. Every single MKZ was supposed to be rigorously inspected. The issue was compounded by supplier issues and missing parts. When Hermosillo couldn’t keep up, uninspected cars were shipped to the Flat Rock, Michigan facility for those inspections, end-of-line repairs and installation of those parts. A while back Ford announced that all of those issues were resolved, that the Hermosillo plant was now up to speed and that the pipeline was full and that dealers had normal inventory levels.

The inventory announcement seemed to be accurate, at least as far as it looked at Dearborn’s Jack Demmer Lincoln, the closest Lincoln store to FoMoCo’s headquarters. I have to drive my mom to regular appointments at her ophthalmologist and I drive by the Demmer shop going and coming. Since I hate sitting in doctor’s waiting rooms, I usually hang out at the nearby Automotive Hall of Fame or the Henry Ford Museum, but I’d been to both of those recently so I decided to check out the Lincoln dealership.

I counted at least 40 MKZs in the main lot. A salesman told me they had about 100 in stock and were expecting another 100 in the next week or so. There appeared to be a nice mix of powertrains and prices ranging from 2.0 L Ecoboost FWD models in the mid to upper 30s and fully loaded 3.7 L V6 AWD models in the low 50s. I think it’s a great looking car, though I think the interior of the competing Cadillac ATS is better executed. For some reason the MKZ’s interior designers gave it downward sloping arm rests, which made reaching the window and mirror controls a stretch. Concerning the exterior at first I thought the stylish rear end would mean less than ideal accessibility to the trunk, but when the deck lid is up the opening is surprisingly large.

It was when I was checking out the trunk that I noticed the first disquieting thing regarding QC. I lifted up the carpeted panel to check out the spare tire and I was struck by the sloppy application of seam sealer. Not only was it sloppy, it appeared to be overabundant. It was particularly noticeable because its brown color contrasted sharply with the car’s silver paint. In recent years we’ve gotten used to small QC details being attended to, little things like avoiding overspray or preventing adhesives from oozing out of joints. The seam sealer on the MKZ reminded me of how things were 40 years ago in the U.S. car industry. Actually, the only other recent cars that I’ve noticed with such sloppy body sealer were the one’s from China that BYD had on display a while back at the NAIAS.

Overgenerous application of body sealer underneath a cover in the trunk is one thing, the other quality issue was literally right in front of my eyes as the cars sat on the showroom floor. There were a handful of MKZs in the showroom, but none had  the model’s distinguishing optional retractable glass roof. I’m not very tall, just 5’6″, so the roofline is not that far from eye level for me. When I was checking out the cars to see if they had glass roofs, looking at the steel roofs from the back of the car I noticed that at the tail end of the roof panel where the sheet metal is bent 90 degrees to create the well into which the back glass sits, at the corner where the roof panel meets the side rail the finish on the metalwork is not very neatly done. I don’t know if it’s too much body filler or poorly ground welds, but it was noticeable on every single MKZ without a glass roof. Some were worse than others, and the problem seemed to be more on the passenger side than on the driver’s side but it was hard not to miss. When I realized it was on every steel roof MKZ, I took a few pics with my cell phone. Even without high resolution photos, you can see what I’m talking about.

It’s not like the glass roofed cars are perfect. The gaps between the glass panels are much wider than we’ve become used to with bodywork, at least a half inch or more and those gaps are filled with rubber that’s dark grey but still contrasts a bit with the deeply tinted glass. Maybe I’m being picky but neither that rubber trim on the glass roofed cars, nor the metal finishing on the others look like they belong on $50,000+ cars.

Since the sloppy metalwork appeared to be on all the MKZs that I saw that had metal roofs, if it really is a problem, and not me just being picky, then it’s a problem with process or design.

A reader once took issue with how I characterized a piece of loose wood trim on the car as a “glaring” issue in my review of the Chrysler 300 . I used that word because in an otherwise nearly flawless car, when wood starts falling off the dashboard, right in front of your face, the issue is indeed glaring. Other than the two issues that I’ve mentioned here, the fit and finish of the MKZs were fine, and for the reasons mentioned at the head of this post, I want to like the MKZ, but it’s hard to ignore a problem when it’s looking at you right in the eye.

Disclaimer: I haven’t checked the metalwork on all of the competing cars in the MKZ’s class. Maybe they have flaws too. I didn’t notice anything glaring on the ATS in the Cadillac showroom next door.

Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth , a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can dig deeper at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don’t worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks – RJS

Junkyard Find: 1973 Mercedes-Benz 280C

There’s a lot of talk going around about how every restorable example of the Mercedes-Benz W114 coupe is worth plenty these days.

coupe is worth plenty these days. Five grand? Ten grand? The junkyard tells me that the real-world prices for these cars in non-perfect condition is still quite low, because I see them regularly. Here’s a solid, fairly complete ’73 without a speck of rust that I saw in a Northern California junkyard a few weeks ago, and this car comes on the heels of this ’71 250C, this ’73 280CE, this ’74 280C, and a bunch of W114 sedans that I haven’t even bothered to photograph. I’m sure that the cost to restore one of these things is just breathtaking , which is why those in the know rarely take on such projects.
In their time, these cars made just about every conceivable competitor look like a shoddily-built, frivolous rattletrap, built for idiots who didn’t understand the value of a Deutsche Mark.
How’s this for dignified air-conditioning controls?
This car listed at $11,530 new, which was about 61 grand in 2015 bucks. Meanwhile, the much bigger, cushier, more powerful 1973 Lincoln Mark IV cost just $8,694 (just for fun, how about a brand-new Citroën SM— about the least sensible car you could buy in 1973, yet also the most beautiful— for $13,350?), while the Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado— with five hundred cubic inches under the hood, no less— could be purchased for $7,360.

Uber Overtakes Traditional Taxis In NYC

Though it looks like there are cabs galore in New York, there are more Uber drivers traversing Madison Avenue than taxi drivers these days.

The New York Post reports the Taxi and Limousine Commission found that Uber had 14,088 black and premium vehicles in its roster, compared to 13,587 medallion cabs under the TLC.

The transportation network company has served the city’s five boroughs since May 2011, but its competitive rates and higher wages are the main drivers that have led it to overtake the traditional livery service.

On the other hand, taxis make 10 times more trips than Uber drivers, and some veteran drivers aren’t likely to make the jump, even if Uber drivers can make double the average salary of a medallion driver.

Meanwhile, critics have accused the TNC of taking tax revenue that could go into public transit and taxi services, as well as increasing congestion issues in Manhattan, where most Uber trips occur.

NHTSA Investigating Gear Selector in Jeep Grand Cherokee, Possibly Other Models

Owners have detailed several complaints to NHTSA who said their Grand Cherokees rolled away while parked, including one person in Michigan who said a child was injured exiting the rollaway vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating complaints that gear selector handles on Jeep Grand Cherokees may slip out of park and cause the car to roll away, Automotive News is reporting.

A similar transmission selector was used in the 2014 Chrysler 300. An owner complained of a similar problem in that car, where it rolled away and crashed into two other vehicles.

Chrysler changed the transmission selector in 2015 in both cars, but it’s unclear if the investigation or owner complaints prompted the switch. Many people ( including yours truly ) thought the handle was slightly confusing to use, and several NHTSA complaints echo that sentiment.

According to the agency, roughly 408,000 cars could be impacted by a potential recall.

As part of its settlement with the government, an independent monitor will review Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s handling of recalls for two years.

We reached out to FCA for comment on the investigation, but haven’t heard back.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the safety administration that is investigating the complaints. It is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Â

Digestible Collectible: 1999 Honda Civic Si

I can’t think of another small car that has been so consistently good, and occasionally great, as the Honda Civic.

I can’t think of another small car that has been so consistently good, and occasionally great, as the Honda Civic. The Corolla matches it on the good column, but there really hasn’t been a “great” Corolla for enthusiasts since the FX16 GTS. Each generation of Civic, at least since the second generation’s “S” model, has offered a higher-performance trim level that caters to gearheads.

Elsewhere on these virtual pages today, we look at the most recent iterations of the Civic, but since I’m the guy here with grease under his nails and rust in his eyes, I’m looking back a few years at an iconic Honda.

The 1999 Honda Civic Si quickly became a favorite of the street tuning/ Sport Compact Car scene of the early Aughts, mostly due to the powerful, highly-tuneable B-series engine fitted. In stock form, 160 horsepower was on tap, though few remain stock today. Most of these have had ill-advised engine, suspension, and bad-vinyl-sticker “enhancements” inspired by The Fast and the Furious franchise.

A good clean example, like this very-lightly modified carin Georgia, is a joy both in commuting and on track. I’ve heard of some cars seeing 35 mpg on the highway, despite the short final drive fitted to the Si. This one might have had lowering springs fitted, as there seems to be a minimal fender-tire gap to the rear, though nothing is mentioned by the seller. The muffler is a bit larger than normal, too, so you might annoy the neighbors, but both of these flaws can be easily corrected.

At under $6,000, this is a great buy. The car seems cosmetically perfect, and with little evidence of stupid modifications, the car will likely serve a new owner for a long time with easy maintenance. I’d love to get my hands on this Civic.

Nissan’s Next Z Vehicle Could Be a Death Star

The next-generation Z may appear in Frankfurt as a concept to gauge the new direction for the model, according to the report.

Nissan’s next Z could be a crossover because the world needs another crossover, Autocar is reporting.

The next-generation Z may appear in Frankfurt as a concept to gauge the new direction for the model, according to the report. The car could be a two- or four-door crossover, powered by a gasoline or hybrid powerplant — or it could be a sub-orbital military base with the power to destroy planets. (We just don’t know!)

A crossover Z could be a logical step for the company to appeal to more buyers, or it could cannibalize sales from the Juke. At least we know the next-generation Z won’t be the IDx.

According to Autocar, the crossover Z could be based on the future shared global CMF B platform and theoretically home a 1.6-liter turbocharged mill.

We may have to wait until the Frankfurt Auto Show next month to see what Nissan’s up to, but any concept would likely be a far first step in some kind of product planning.

Car rumors are fun.

Subaru Legacy and Mazda 6: Low Volume Midsize Cars Making A Small Difference

America’s 35th president, John F.

America’s 35th president, John F. Kennedy, said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”

Automobile manufacturing is not public policy. ( Actually it is, basically all the time.) But virtually every automaker tries to make a difference in the midsize car sector, yet are the differences each manufacturer makes worthy of a mention here?

2014, like most years, is a time of great change for the segment. We’ve been steadily approaching a premature refresh of the Camry, America’s best-selling car. Chrysler Group replaced its Sebring-based 200 and Dodge Avenger with an Italian-based (can we call it that?) 2015 200. Hyundai’s avant-garde sixth-generation Sonata was replaced by a more conservative 2015 model.

Also recently launched was the sixth-generation Subaru Legacy. Subaru USA reported their best-ever Legacy sales month in September, when 6198 were sold.

Crossing the 6K threshold is no mean feat for a car which averaged fewer than 3800 monthly sales in 2012 and 2013.

With real volume coming from the company’s midsize car (plus improvements from the Outback, XV Crosstrek, and Forester) Subaru yet again reported record brand-wide sales: September 2014 was Subaru’s best-ever September. Sales have increased in 34 consecutive months.

Meanwhile, Mazda reported the 6’s sixth consecutive year-over-year monthly improvement as September sales shot up to 4263 units. 6 sales have now topped 4000 units in five consecutive months after crested the 4K mark only seven times in the previous 28 months.

Measured by percentage gains, the 6 was America’s second-fastest-growing midsize nameplate in September, surging 35% as Legacy sales jumped 118%.

Perhaps neither car made a huge difference in the overall scheme of things – they accounted for just 0.8% of the new vehicles sold in the United States last month– but their impact on the midsize sector was notable. In September 2013, they generated just 3.5% of America’s midsize car volume; that figure rose to 5.9% in September 2014. With 10,461 sales between the pair, they combined to produce market share similar to the Chrysler 200 (10,995 September sales) and Kia Optima (10,908 September sales).

Nevertheless, the 31% year-over-year improvement from the Honda Accord, America’s best-selling car in both Augustand September, translated to 7780 extra sales compared with September 2013. In other words, Honda added more sales to an already high September 2013 Accord total than Subaru or Mazda’s midsize total. The Accord’s market share, on its own, increased by 3.7 percentage points to 18.5%.

America’s four best-selling midsize cars so far this year (Camry, Accord, Altima, Fusion) combine to sell 60% more often than the next eight-best-selling midsize cars (Sonata, Malibu, Optima, 200, Passat, Avenger, 6, Legacy).

This doesn’t translate to bad news for the two smaller Japanese automakers, not at all. Subaru will likely sell more than 50,000 Legacy sedans this year, a total not achieved by the Legacy nameplate since its sales figures were Outback-inclusive. Mazda has already sold more 6s through the first nine months of 2014 than in all of 2009, 2010, 2011, or 2012 and will likely produce the greatest year-end 6 volume since 2007, when 57,575 6s were sold.

Clearly, lower volume intermediate cars are having an impact as they utilize their unique strengths to attract attention in a stagnating segment. And yet even in September, a most difference-making of months, the Legacy and 6’s achievements pale in comparison to the Accord’s surge, like filibustering senators who aren’t blessed with veto pens in their desk drawers.

NHTSA Under The Gun Again Over Handling Of Takata Airbag Recall

Not long after undergoing scrutiny over its part of the February 2014 General Motors ignition switch recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration once again is under the gun, this time in its handling of the Takata airbag crisis.

Automotive News reports that the agency’s mostly hands-off approach, allowing automakers to use field actions to recall vehicles in a handful of states and territories where the possibility for catastrophic failure is greatest, is following the same track as the one that ultimately led GM to recall 2.6 million vehicles made in the early to mid-2000s, though on a greater scale.

Additionally, the NHTSA hasn’t ordered Takata itself to recall its defective airbags, mainly as it waits for more data to confirm the airbags are likely to act more like Claymores than safety devices under high humidity. In fact, the two parties entered into an agreement in June where affected automakers would conduct said field actions in only areas where those conditions are most prevalent — such as Florida and Puerto Rico, where six reports of failure were recorded. The airbags collected would then be tested, with the results sent to investigators.

As the recall widens its net further, the NHTSA is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, whose secretary, Anthony Foxx, received a letter from Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markley of Massachusetts — both heavy critics of the NHTSA’s handling of the GM recall — urging Foxx to order the agency to be more assertive:

NHTSA should immediately issue a nationwide safety recall on all the affected cars, regardless of where the car is registered. We have become increasingly troubled and alarmed by the confusing and conflicting advice being issued by NHTSA and the glacial pace of the agency’s response to this public safety threat.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, still investigating the GM recall, is now ordering an investigation into the Takata recall.

Piston Slap: Tyre Size Minus 1 or Minus 2?

Gavin writes:
Dear Sajeev:
I have a Gen 7 Toyota Camry V6 and I am getting close to replacement of the factory 225/45/18 low profile tyres.

I have a Gen 7 Toyota Camry V6 and I am getting close to replacement of the factory 225/45/18 low profile tyres. The selection of long wearing low profile all season tyres in 45 series is pretty slim. The four cylinder version of my Camry has 215/55/17 tyres on 7×17 inch rims and the selection of long wearing 55 series touring tyres is much better. My question is, since I am not really a ‘sport driving type’, would it be better for me to find a nice set of wrecking yard alloys and downgrade to the smaller rim/taller sidewall size tyres? Is the difference in performance between 45 series and 55 series noticeable or should I stay with the original low profile tyres.

Finally, Discount Tire seems to really push their ‘tire certificates’, a road hazard protection plan for $20/tyre. Is Road Hazard really necessary on a vehicle equipped with TPMS?

Cheers,

Gavin

Sajeev

Oh yes, we’re talkin’ about the last good-looking Camry!  Come 2015, we’re really gonna love seeing yours on the road. Well maybe not love, as auto blog readin’ fanbois are committed to hate anything Camry, appreciating the subtle differences is strictly off-limits. But, once again, my intro digresses…

So anyway, you absolutely can switch to a minus 1 tire sizefor those benefits, plus a better ride with less NVHon bumpy roads.  Excuse me, “tyre size minus 1.” This is a great idea for more people than we’d like to admit. Also consider a -2 size to the 16″ rims offered on the 2007+ Camry LE and XLE. It’s doable as they all used the same front calipers and 11.65″ front rotors. (I think.) And tire choices for such conservative driving?  You are covered, for cheap.

 Would it be better for me to find a nice set of wrecking yard alloys and downgrade to the smaller rim/taller sidewall size tyres?

Yes, much better.  And don’t fear the 16″ alloy!  Hell, go right ahead and get universal 16″ steel wheels, chrome trim ringsand a chrome center cap for that cop car look!

Is the difference in performance between 45 series and 55 series noticeable or should I stay with the original low profile tyres?

Your admission of not bring a “sport driving type” means no, you won’t care. If anything you’ll love the better ride.  Also note how huge tires are on vintage race cars, and modern F1 machines: sidewalls are a GOOD thing.

Finally, Discount Tire seems to really push their ‘tire certificates’, a road hazard protection plan for $20/tyre. Is Road Hazard really necessary on a vehicle equipped with TPMS?

TPMSis great, but it’s not 100% effective against road-going hazards.  Consider debris like nails and bolts left in construction sites, or in trucks exiting those areas. The sensor can’t sense that shit going into the red zone between the tread and the sidewall . So should you get road hazard? Totally your call, depends on your comfort level.

Send your queries to [email protected] com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.Â

40 million people play Hearthstone

Back in May 2015, 30 million people played Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

Back in May 2015, 30 million people played Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. According to Activison’s latest Investor Day presentation, this number drastically increased: 40 million people are now playing Blizzard’s free-to-play game.

Hearthstone’s microtransations make approximately $20 million per month. This  monthly revenue had a considerable increase of 31 percent after the game’s launch on smartphones and the release of the Blackrock Mountain expansion. Doug Creutz, an industry analyst said :” The game’s recent performance is being buoyed by the release of the Blackrock Mountain expansion pack, which began rolling out content in early April. Additionally, we do not know to what extent the smartphone spending is incremental to or cannibalizing the existing PC/tablet base. Still, we view the performance as a very positive indicator for the trajectory of the game.”

Furthermore, a Call of  Duty movie and a Skylanders TV show have been announced at Activision’s Investor Day’s briefing.

The newest Hearthstone hero is unlocked by playing World of Warcraft

Not only has a new hero been announced for Hearthstone, but Blizzard has detailed the rather interesting criteria for unlocking her.

the rather interesting criteria for unlocking her. Lady Liadrin is a new Paladin hero, complete with new voice-over and portrait animations, and she can only be obtained by reaching level 20 in World of Warcraft.

Upon reaching level 20, players will receive the achievement “Fledgling Hero of Warcraft,” and the next time they log in to Hearthstone, Liadrin will be waiting in the collection. While the achievement is unfortunately not retroactive, meaning even if you have a dozen level 100 characters already, you’ll still have to run a new one to 20, doing so does not require a subscription. Even without an active account, players can simply log in to their WoW accounts and play with new characters and any below the level 20 mark. And for those that don’t have an account, the starter edition allows players to journey through the first 20 levels for free.

Currently, all other additional hero’s cost $9.99 each in the Heathstone store. Just last week, the game announced its next expansion, a set of new cards called Whispers of the Old Gods. Check out some of the first revealed cards here.

Sneak peek at Warcraft's Character Artwork

During San Diego Comic-con, Legendary Pictures released two new poster for their upcoming Warcraft film.

film. The posters depict two of the film’s protagonsists, Orc Chieftan Durotan and Lothar. Lothar is played by Travis Fimmel who is mostly known for his role in the TV series, Vikings . While Durotan is played by Tobby Kebbel, who recently was cast for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Given the somber tone in Lothar’s poster, we can expect that the alliance is in trouble. Lothar is holding ashes (perhaps an analogy for a crumbling empire), while his soldiers march away in the distance.

Then there is Durotan’s poster, which looks much different than expected. First off, Durotan looks much more dignified considering how Orcs are typically portrayed in games and movies. Also, I am glad they decided to stay away from full CGI for the character.

The film is expected to be released on June 10th, 2016.

Warcraft: Legion plot details

World of Warcraft: Legion has been announced as the next part of the saga of Warcraft, so what does that mean for the story?

World of Warcraft: Legion has been announced as the next part of the saga of Warcraft, so what does that mean for the story? Alex Afrasiabi was on stage at Gamescom to reveal some plot details for us.

The questing in Legion will take place on The Broken Isles which up until the effects of the Great Sundering 10,000 years ago was at the heart of Azeroth and a huge Night Elf civilisation but is now a long forgotten graveyard to it’s former inhabitants, the traces of the whom we will see in the landscape itself. It is in this land, at the Tomb of Sargeras, that Gul’dan has created a portal to hundreds of other Legion worlds and is preparing the largest demonic invasion that Azeroth has ever seen. It is on the Brokne Shore, at the Tomb of Sargeras that we’ll take part in a huge battle against Gul’dan and his Legion before the expansion even launches. From there, after the battle, the world will be on the brink of annihilation so players will have to establish class orders to take the fight to the Legion.

To fight back, the forces of Azeroth will have to enlist the help of the Demon Hunters, The Illidari, and the help of the Titans. To gain the favour of the Titans we will have to quest through the new zones to collect the Pillars of Creation, relics used to shape the world which we will have to use to seal the portal at the heart of the Tomb of Sargeras. Khadgar, now leading the Kirin Tor, will be moving Dalaran to the Broken Isles to be the hub city once again.

The zones will each have individual story lines that tie in to the main arc. Val’sharah, home of druid-ism, is where we’ll face Zavius and see what he’s doing with the Emerald Nightmare. Stormheim is where we will learn more about the history of the Valkir and the Kvaldir whilst fight the Vrykul God-King. Azsuna is where the bones of the ancient night elf empire are most obvious and where we will encounter Queen Azshara in a race to the Pillar in that location. The Taurens of Highmountain are the keepers of the relic of Kaz’goroth and while we’re here we’ll stumble onto the lair of Neltharion AKA Deathwing and Nessingwary will be around in this area to. A new race of elves resides in Suramar, they have become corrupted by years and years of exposure to there powerful magics and it’s here that we will encounter Gul’dan. And finally what about Alleria and Turalyon? Well after all these years we’re finally going to get to know what happened to them here.

So there is going to be plenty of lore to sink your teeth into in this expansion, plenty of old faces showing up as well as many new ones. What do you think so far? Enough to make you keep your subscription? Or renew it if you cancelled? Let me know below!

Director of Warcraft movie responds to leak

As you may have already seen, a leak of the Warcraft movie has been released in the form of a shaky camera, grainy photography, and watermarks.

movie has been released in the form of a shaky camera, grainy photography, and watermarks. You can view the video here. Duncan Jones, director of the film, has taken to Twitter to respond to the leak.

Jones tweeted, “I just wish we could show the real thing. :)” Later, in response to criticism regarding the quality of the leak, he remarked, “You don’t like it at low res and covered in user ids?!”

The film is set to release in June of 2016. In a previous statement, Jones described the work as a combination of “ Avatar and Lord of the Rings .” If this is accurate, expect the film to be the summer blockbuster of the century.

Warcraft trailer made even better

The Warcraft movie has been talked about and put into development for years now.

The Warcraft movie has been talked about and put into development for years now. When the first feature trailer was finally released, fans rejoiced to see characters they’ve grown to love over many games come alive on the big screen. Something was missing, however, but one person may have just found the solution.

A YouTuber named Robert Mermethas taken the beloved sounds from the classic PC game, Warcraft 2, and placed them into the new trailer. From the eagle sounds, to ‘zug zug’, to the classic gaming music, the newly enhanced trailer will either have you in stitches or make you want to see the film even more than you did before. Most likely both.

You can see the trailer for yourself below. Warcraft will be in theaters on June 10th.

Overwatch's "Recall" animated short features Winston

The first animated short for Blizzard’s Overwatch has been released, “Recall”.

The first animated short for Blizzard’s Overwatch has been released, “Recall”. The short features Winston.

Winston is a genetically engineered Gorilla, who was raised for scientific discovery. Formerly part of the Horizon Lunar Colony, Winston took part in the renewed exploration of space led by humanity.

Taken under the wings of one of the scientists, Winston managed to escape when the other gorilla’s caused an uprising. He went to earth, where he joined Overwatch.

Cut off once again from a world he has come to know, the short gives us more of an insight into Winston’s past.

Blizzard’s animation is once again extraordinary, giving the stylistic choices an ageless appearance. This is the first of hopefully many shorts regarding the game, including a world building aspect to an otherwise typical FPS.

Legendary Gems in Diablo 3 are seeing some major changes

In Diablo 3, one of the most consistent ways to improve and specialize your character in the endgame is though choosing and leveling up Legendary Gems.

In Diablo 3, one of the most consistent ways to improve and specialize your character in the endgame is though choosing and leveling up Legendary Gems. Reanalyzing the entire system however, Blizzard has decided to bring some changes to how a number of the Legendary Gems in Diablo 3 work.

Explaining the changes, Blizzard details that each gem is meant to fall into, or across, a specific set of categories. While some might have broadly defined roles, like buffing your defenses, others are meant to fill and push a particular playstyle niche, enhance specific gameplay activities, like leveling and gold farming, or serve as utility buffs to characters, providing multiple types of benefits at lower overall levels. Looking at the system as a whole, the team realized some gems weren’t fitting in those categories, or even might just not be fitting as well as they could.

“While we aren’t updating every Legendary Gem that might need a little help (and it’s possible we’ll re-examine other gems in the future), there are quite a few that stuck out to us as either needing more clearly defined roles or just that layer of new polish to keep them up to date in a Sanctuary that’s evolved over time,” Blizzard says.

Hoping to shed light on the thought process behind the changes, the developer has detailed a few gems in particular that are being changed.

First off is Enforcer, a gem originally made to increase the damage of your pets by 15%, while decreasing the damaged they take by 25%. Increasing that damage reduction, Blizzard states, “In addition to giving a bump in power to pet builds, we wanted to add more survivability to pets overall. This gem should be the obvious choice to players who run a pet build, but the benefit wasn’t always worth the socket. This should be a much clearer choice now.”

In the case of Gogok of Swiftness, a gem that has a 50% chance to give the player Swiftness, an effect that adds 1% attack speed for 4 seconds and can stack up to 15 times, now each attack gives Swiftness. And each stack of Swiftness adds a bonus chance to Dodge.

“Gogok of Swiftness provides very specific buffs and serves as a utility gem. However, it was lacking multi-purpose functionality, so we’ve added a Toughness component in the form of a Dodge bonus. This should make Gogok a more competitive choice for players who are either looking specifically to stack Attack Speed or Cooldown Reduction (or both!) while providing extra Toughness in the process.”

For more on the changes, check out the full detailsand the 2.4.1 patch notes.

“These aren’t the only changes coming, so if you haven’t already, be sure to log into the PTR, try out some (or all) of these changes, and let us know your thoughts. It’s important to us that the community has a chance to get their hands on these shiny baubles and give them a go. Your feedback is some of the most valuable loot we could hope to have drop, and we look forward to hearing what you have to say!”

Now live in the game’s Public Test Realm (PTR), look for these changes to be making their way to Diablo 3 proper in the near future.

In other Blizzard news, Overwatch is fast approaching. Be sure to check out our rundown of everything you need to know.

Blizzard will balance each Overwatch platform seperately, dev says

Blizzard, the developer behind the upcoming multiplayer focused first-person shooter Overwatch, will handle balance issues for the console and PC versions seperately.

Blizzard, the developer behind the upcoming multiplayer focused first-person shooter Overwatch, will handle balance issues for the console and PC versions seperately. In a Q&A session with streamer Th3Jez, game director Jeff Kaplan said that it will give gamers comfort that the game will be optimized for their platform of choice.

“We don’t want to do anything that would harm PCs because of console tuning,” Kaplan said. “And there’s been a lot of unease about, ‘I play on this platform, which means the other one is going to ruin it for us,’ and we wouldn’t do that.”

Kaplan goes on to talk more about Weekly Brawls which will feature more rewards and the posibility of including future PvE support. The full interview can be found below.

Overwatch launches May 24, 2016 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Source: VG24/7via EGMNOW

Overwatch beta update adds new features, including Weekly Brawl

A new update for the ongoing Overwatch beta has been released, and it brings with it a few new features.

The update will introduce a new game mode called Weekly Brawl. According to Blizzard, Weekly Brawls are “a fun, alternative way to play Overwatch.” Like the feature in Hearthstone, a different Weekly Brawl featuring a unique set of rules in the Custom Game system will be available each week. For example: in one Weekly Brawl, a hero will be randomly chosen for you every time you respawn, or you will be restricted to support heroes only.

Changes to the Play of the Game feature have also been made. From now on the Play of the Game will be chosen from four different categories: High Score, Lifesaver, Sharpshooter, and Shutdown. The High Score category will feature large multikills and quick killstreaks, while Lifesaver will feature situations where one player is able to save another player (or players) from imminent death. The Sharpshooter category is intended for difficult or skillful kills, and the Shutdown category will feature moments when one player kills another player (or players) right as they were about to do something impactful.

Also featured in the new update is a new Escort map entitled Route 66, as well as a highlight feature that saves a players’ last five highlights for the current game session automatically. Other aspects of the update include changes to player progression, joining and leaving games, group improvements, and more. You can check out the full patch notes here.

Overwatch will release on May 24th. The game will release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. An open beta test is set to begin on May 3rd.

Second Overwatch animated short stars Widowmaker

A second animated short for Blizzard’s upcoming shooter, Overwatch, has been released.

A second animated short for Blizzard’s upcoming shooter, Overwatch, has been released. And this time, it features the cold-blooded assassin Widowmaker.

The animated short, entitled “Alive,” was released on PlayStation’s YouTube channel. In the short, Widowmaker faces off against Tracer while trying to assassinate the Omnic-equality leader, Tekhartha Mondatta. The short also shows the catalyst for the Second Omnic Crisis. You can check out the video below.

Alive follows the first Overwatch animated short, Recall. These videos balance storytelling while making references to in-game mechanics. Alive shows off the abilities of both Widowmaker and Tracer.

Overwatch will release on May 24th. The game will release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game’s open beta will be held May 5th-9th, and will be available on all three platforms. All of the maps and heroes will be playable during the beta, but progress made will not carry over to the main game.

Artanis not allowed at Blizzcon tournament

The road to Blizzcon started months ago, featuring top teams from their regions heading for the biggest tournament for any Blizzard game.

The road to Blizzcon started months ago, featuring top teams from their regions heading for the biggest tournament for any Blizzard game. In the end, only the top 2 teams from each region will be featured in Blizzcon.

For those playing in the Heroes of the Storm competition this year, Artanis won’t be available for play. Artanis joins the Nexus on October 27th for everyone, October 20th for those who have pre-ordered Legacy of the Void.

Dustin Browder confirmed on Twitter that Artanis wouldn’t be available as the pros need more time to practice. Blizzcon is on November 6th & 7th, only 1 1/2 weeks after Artanis’s launch.

@Keyofd @eSportsHeroesNo. Too close to tournament. Pros need more time to practice.

— Dustin Browder (@DustinBrowder) October 14, 2015

Following a recent warrior focused patch, several of the lower ranked warriors in Master League have seen a rise to the top. E.T.C, who was originally a top tier character, is sitting in the top 8 win rate. Diablo, who was recently couldn’t even break the bottom 5, is now #6 according to Hotslogs. This has led to a Reddit post by user Ralathar44, entitled “ How to Deal with Diablo“. Diablo players everywhere hate you now, Ralathar44.

It’ll be interesting to see how the new and improved warriors play out at Blizzcon, if they see any play at all.

BlizzCon 2016 dates announced, tickets will be on sale soon

BlizzCon 2016 will be held Friday November 4th and Saturday November 5th at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Blizzard, the developer behind popular games like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Heroes of the Storm, and the upcoming Overwatch, has announcedthe dates for its annual convention.

BlizzCon 2016 will be held Friday November 4th and Saturday November 5th at the Anaheim Convention Center. Ticket will cost $199 and will be sold in two batches. The first batch will go live on April 20th at 7pm PT and the second batch will go live on April 23rd at 7pm PT.

“We’re also planning a special pre-BlizzCon Benefit Dinner the evening of Thursday, November 3 in support of Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), where guests will have a chance to raise a glass and geek out with developers, artists, community team representatives, and other members of the Blizzard family,” Blizzard said in the announcement.

Tickets for the dinner will be on sale April 27th at 7pm PT and will cost $750 each.

Pro Smash Bros. player gives emotional interview after massive tourney win

The Super Smash Bros.

The Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament at Dreamhack in Jönköping Sweden concluded in a historic win for American Smasher and Team Liquid member Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma.

The final set took place between Hungrybox and Adam “Armada” Lindgren. Armada, a native Swede and often considered the best player in the game, had been coming off a string of major tournament wins . The set concluded in a 3-1 victory for Hungrybox.

In an interview after the match by Smash personality D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, Hungrybox spoke about his biological father recently passing away and the impact that his father had on his mentality. You can check it out below.

With this victory Hungrybox, who is often criticized as a chronic 2nd placer, is the first American to win a major European tournament.

Hearthstone reaches $20 million per month

In the latest report from research group, SuperData, Blizzard’s card game Hearthstone now earns $20 million every month.

now earns $20 million every month. Those are impressive numbers for a free-to-play video game.

But how does a free-to-play game manage to earn so much?

Rather than building up a card collection using in-game gold, players have to option to purchase card packs using real money. Each card pack comes with five cards, including at least one rare card. Building a deck using only in-game gold can be incredibly time consuming since most players can only earn one deck a day. So purchasing card packs speeds up the collection process.

Another reason Hearthstone is drawing in so much revenue is because of the game’s expansions. Blizzard has released three expansions so far. The Naxxramas and Blackrock Mountain expansions offer solo adventures where players unlock exclusive cards for each wing completed. Then there is Goblins vs Gnomes, which added over 120 new cards to the game. Players who want the latest releases have more incentives to purchase the expansions and new card packs because as stated earlier, grinding in-game gold can take a long time.

In addition, Blizzard is selling hero skins for certain classes. Skins include a new hero portrait, custom emotes, hero power animations, and a themed cardback. Currently, there are three skins available for the hunter, mage, and warrior. Skins can be purchased for $10.00 at the store.

With the upcoming release of their next expansion, Grand Tournament, we can expect to see even bigger earnings. In fact, players can already pre-order the Grand Tournament bundle. The bundle includes 50 card packs for $50.00.

SK Telecom T1 first two time world champions

Joining the League of Legends circuit in only 2013, SK Telecom T1 is the first team to ever win the World Championships twice.

League of Legends competed for close to four weeks in Europe, dropping only one game in the finals against the KOO Tigers. SK Telecom T1 was originally composed of rookie players, and there original season back in 2013 exceeded expectations from everyone watching.

SK Telecom T1 won the Season 3 World Championships back in 2013, their debut year. Only 2 years later they managed to take a second title for the team. SK Telecom T1 has the potential to be one of the greatest League of Legends teams for the eSport, if the momentum continues to hold for them.

The World Championships took place from October 1st – 31st.

Last set of Hearthstone cards revealed

Even more cards from Hearthstone’s upcoming expansion ‘The Grand Tournament’ were revealed yesterday.

Even more cards from Hearthstone’s upcoming expansion ‘The Grand Tournament’ were revealed yesterday. 54 cards were debuted from the set via the Hearthstone Facebookpage. This brings the total number of cards released to 132/132.

We recently reported on the last bunch of cards that was released. You can view these here.

Here are the last of the cards from the upcoming expansion:

This is another example of power creeping in Hearthstone that players have complained about. Ice Rager is blatantly better than Magma Rager by having +1 HP. Evil Heckler is also better than Booty Bay Bodyguard by having the exact same stats but 1 less mana cost. Benjamin Brode, senior game designer for Hearthstone, justified this by saying, “Making a better version of a card that nobody plays is not [power creeping].”

What do you think about the upcoming expansion? Do you think power creeping is an issue in Hearthstone? Let us know in the comments below!

New Hearthstone ranked rewards

It seems that Blizzard has been listening to its fan-base.

It seems that Blizzard has been listening to its fan-base. On August 5 they announced that there would be a a change in the way rewards are distributed in Hearthstone. Now, you will receive rewards at the end of the season based on your highest rank achieved.

When you open your quest log, you will see something similar to the picture below. This will show the highest rank you have achieved over the season.

The rewards from the chest are given at the end and are based on your maximum rank. However, the cap for rewards is at rank 5. This means the only incentive to push above rank 5 is for the card back you receive.

The rewards from a rank 5 can look something like this:

These rewards begin this season, but will not appear in your quest log until around the launch of The Grand Tournament. The highest rank you have achieved will be retrospective,  meaning it will include the rank you have reached before it is visible. You know what that means: it is time to begin the climb. Good luck on your laddering!

Upcoming neutral cards for Hearthstone's Grand Tournament

Hearthstone’s upcoming expansion, Grand Tournament, will feature 50 neutral cards.

Hearthstone’s upcoming expansion, Grand Tournament, will feature 50 neutral cards. Grand tournament is all about knights so you can expect jousting weapons, charging cavalry, and plenty of armored minions for your decks.

However, players can expect more than just new cards; Grand tournament introduces a new game mechanic as well, Inspire. Inspire is a new minion ability that’s activated by using hero powers. Many of the new neutral card get direct heath and attack buffs from inspire, but some cards can give players even stronger buffs like minion or spell draws. Inspire will finally add strategy to using hero powers.

In addition, Blizzard is introducing a number of neutral cards that gain buffs when comparing card draws. The mechanic works by having both players draw a card. If the player’s card beats his oppenent’s card, then he gets a bonus. For example, Armored Warhorse gains charge if you draw a card that costs more than your opponents.

For a preview of the new cards, feel free to visit here.

Grand Tournament will be released on August 24th, 2015. However, players can test out some of the new card in this week’s tavern brawl, which features exclusive Mage and Hunter decks.

Hearthstone Grand Tournament: hero class cards revealed

If you read our article earlier this week, Upcoming Grand Tournament neutral cards , then you’ll know that Grand Tournament is adding a massive amount of new cards to the Hearthstone.

, then you’ll know that Grand Tournament is adding a massive amount of new cards to the Hearthstone. However, a majority of the new cards are class cards.

The Warrior, Druid, Paladin, Priest, Mage, Shaman, Warlock, and Rouge are getting nine new class-exclusive cards, while the Hunter is getting ten. The cards are divided between common, rare, and epic, as well as one legendary for each class. The only exception is the Hunter, who is getting two legendary cards.

Head over to this Hearthpwn threadfor the complete class-card list.

As expected, many of the new class cards use the two new game mechanics, Inspire and Battlecry Joust. This will encourage new layers to try out the mechanics in their decks.

Grand Tournament will be released on August 24th, 2015. The new cards can be obtained by either crafting, or by purchasing Grand Tournament card packs from the store.

Check out this new card for the magic Battle for Zendikar expansion

While the focus of PAX Prime may be on handheld & console games normally, sometimes we get an announcement that is quite different.

There are tons of announcements that cover the whole gaming spectrum at a community-driven show like PAX Prime. And one of the biggest names in the CCG (Collectible Card Game) world, Magic: The Gathering, had some news for us.

The picture below shows a preview of a new card that the CCG giant shared with us that will be available once the new expansion, Battle for Zendikar, hits the shelves. The Felidar Cub is a White Creature with the power to quickly get rid of an enemy enchantment.

Last night a Magic: The Gathering live stream occurred where the new expansion was shown off to everyone, including new cards and other content you can expect to get your hands on when the expansion becomes available. I don’t normally play physical CCG’s anymore but I must admit even I’m a tiny bit excited for this expansion, maybe it’ll be enough to pull me back in.

Playstation Messages app coming to iOS and Android

Playstation Network users are about to be more connected than ever with the recent release of the Playstation Messages app on iOS and Android devices.

Playstation Network users are about to be more connected than ever with the recent release of the Playstation Messages app on iOS and Android devices. Sending messages to your friends on PSN via a mobile device is now much more streamlined with the use of a dedicated interface.

The already existing Playstation App was used mostly for its messaging capabilities, though the system was rather clunky for users. Sony responded to this by creating a standalone messaging application that makes the task of communicating with friends and party members much quicker and easier.

The new app features your entire friend list, categorized how you wish and allows you to send text and voice messages. There’s also a plethora of emotes and stickers themed after various Playstation characters.

Ben Brode talks Hearthstone changes

Blizzard’s games all have a late game, or capped content, in its own unique way.

Blizzard’s games all have a late game, or capped content, in its own unique way. Raiding and PvP in World of Warcraft, Rank 1 in Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone’s own card collecting concept.

Hearhtstone is a Card Collecting Game (CCG) run by lead designer Ben Brode. The game was launched after the Warcraft card game was discontinued, and has proven to be a competitor for the online card community.

Because Hearthstone is not a Trading Card Game(TCG), Blizzard has to be careful with some of the ways that they control and balance the game. The inability to trade around extra Legendry’s for something you don’t already have, or even something you want more, can be hindering to the deck building process.

With the constant stream of new cards being added to the game, Hearthstone has come to an issue known as Power Creeping. Hearthstone doesn’t have a rotation date on their cards, and because of this, they cannot properly adjust and control the meta in a way that Magic the Gathering does. Introducing a set of more powerful cost 5 card will make most of the other cost 5 cards inviable.

Hearthstone’s lead developer has come out in a video to re-assure the players of Hearthstone that as the game becomes more unapproachable by new players(having to have a more expansive library of cards before you can secure a decent deck), Blizzard is working even faster to fix the issue.

The full video is a great explanation for those of you more curious as to whats going on behinds the scenes, and how they are making it more accessible to your friends. This quote from Ben Brodes will sum up everything you need to know from the video, with all that being said. “In order to do that, we have to make exciting powerful cards. Part of the fun of a new expansion releasing is looking at your collection and trying to figure out what cool new decks you can make, and shaking up the meta.”

Blizzard nerfs Hearthstone's Warsong Commander

Blizzard is changing the Patron Warrior’s flagship card, the Warsong Commander.

Blizzard is changing the card to try to counter the ever-dominant Patron Warrior deck tech, which has it hit the board full of patrons and frothing berserkers and has the potential to deal over 30 damage in a turn.

Likely the most substantial card change since leaving beta last March (or the nerfing of the Starving Buzzard to combat overdraw for Hunters way back when), the Warsong Commander card will now read “Your Charge minions have +1 attack,” rather than her unique ability to boost any >3 attack minion with Charge.

This change completely undermines the Patron Warrior, who would use Warrior-exclusive cards such as Whirlwind or the Death’s Bite Deathrattle to damage the Patron cards to build up a small army then hit the board with a Warsong Commander and have potentially 6 3/3 minions all attacking at once.

The deck was further strengthened by interplay with the Frothing Berserker, who gained 1 attack each time a minion took damage (which naturally synergized well with Whirlwind and gained Charge from a Warsong Commander if played before the damage took place).

This change is naturally being welcomed with open arms from the Hearthstone community, as the ranked play ladder has been littered with Grim Patron Warriors ever since the combo was discovered following the card’s arrival in April’s Blackrock Mountain expansion.

Although Frothing Berserker, Whirlwind or Death’s Bite and Grim Patron still work well together, the loss of Warsong Commander’s ability means the deck has lost all of the aggressive burst damage that made it so effective and the one turn KO that led to it becoming the “wombo combo” it is known as today.

Zeriyah, a Blizzard community manager, explained on the forums that they only choose to nerf cards “when they are completely necessary,” and that they felt this change to Warsong Commander necessary to “expand both future design space and to stand by our overarching game philosophy that battles between minions and fighting for board control is what makes Hearthstone fun and compelling.”

Warsong Commander’s ability will be changed in a small upcoming patch for Hearthstone, so get to playing with it while she still has the Charge attack. At last we will see a decent shift in the meta.