ON THE TABLE - AUGUST 28, 2013

 Cadillac. Editor-in-Chief's Note: GM's luxury division is calling its upcoming "Vsport" version of its XTS a sub-brand that will account for 10-15 percent of XTS sales. The AE Question of the Week? At what point does the "Vsport" nomenclature diminish the impact of the full-on "V" series Cadillacs? How does right out of the gate sound? The Vsport will be confusing to the public - at best - because it's not a true "V" car, which means it will be immediately slotted in the "sort of" sporty category. This is Cadillac marketers flailing around and talking to themselves, pure and simple. Parsing the division's offerings at this juncture isn't a smart move, instead it smacks of throwing stuff up against the wall and seeing what sticks. Which is a giant bowl of Not Good.- PMD

Nissan. The Japanese automaker says it will have "multiple" self-driving cars in-market by 2020 as part of its "we got it goin' on" technology push by the company. We don't care.

(Infiniti)
Infiniti is previewing the Q30 Concept, which will have its world premiere at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. "The Infiniti Q30 Concept signals the contemporary design vision for a compact Infiniti vehicle which will target a new generation of premium customers," according to Infiniti PR. "It is designed for younger customers seeking an alternative to traditional premium compact vehicles and open to convention-challenging approaches," Infiniti's PR release droned on. You could plug those words into every new car release in the world at this very moment. Oh well.

(Photo for Chevrolet by Steven Noreyko)
The Chevrolet Silverado has become the Official Truck of the Texas Longhorns, the Texas Exes, and the Official Truck of Bevo, the Texas Longhorns' live mascot. It is a multi-year sponsorship agreement between Chevrolet, the University of Texas Athletics program, IMG College and the Ex-Students’ Association of the University of Texas (the Texas Exes). Texas is the single biggest market in the country for pickup trucks, in case you were wondering why Chevrolet marketers would... oh never mind.

(Ford)
With the Mustang having already set sales records following its launch in 1964, Ford design chief Gene Bordinat and the Special Vehicles Group decided to try rearranging the pieces for this 1967 Mach 2 concept. The 289 Hi-Po V8 was shifted from the front to behind the two seats to evaluate the layout as a possible successor to the Shelby Cobra. Yes, a mid-engine Mustang concept! Despite its mid-engine layout, the Mach 2 retained the long-hood, short-deck proportions of a Mustang. Unfortunately, the Mach 2 never went much beyond the auto show circuit. Ford has launched Mustang Countdown, an online video series that focuses on the iconic American car and the culture that has formed around it all across the globe, and to continue the celebration leading up to the 50th birthday of Mustang on April 17, 2014. Check out this compelling video about the development of the Mustang I concept here.

(Images courtesy of Volvo)
The new Volvo Concept Coupé is the first of a series of three concept cars that "reveal the design possibilities created by the company’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA)," according to Volvo PR minions. The first design by the new Senior Vice President of Design, Thomas Ingenlath, the Volvo Concept Coupé showcases how design builds emotion into the Volvo brand and points toward the next generation of Volvo models, starting with the forthcoming XC90 in 2014.  “The Volvo Concept Coupé is no futuristic dream car. It is designed to demonstrate the capability of our new architecture: the confident stance, the proportions and the most prominent design signatures. Even though the all-new XC90 is an entirely different type of car, you will recognize the connection instantly when it is revealed next year,” said Ingenlath.

(KIA)
Kia will introduce a new European concept - the Niro - at the 65th Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA) in Frankfurt on September 10th. Kia says that the Niro hints at a possible future B-segment contender and will also preview an innovative new powertrain. The car was designed at Kia’s Frankfurt design studio – less than a kilometer away from the IAA – under the direction of Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Europe.

(KIA)

(Goodguys Rod & Custom Association)
Harold & Tracy Chapman's "Pretty Penny" 1933 Ford roadster from Andice, Texas - a coach-built, copper-colored full-fendered masterpiece - has won the Goodguys 2013 Flowmaster "America's Most Beautiful Street Rod" award. The Chapman’s accepted the prestigious award in front of a packed house during the Goodguys 27th annual Flowmaster West Coast Nationals in Pleasanton, California - the largest gathering of rods & customs in the West. It also received “Best Rod” at the Detroit AutoRama and was a top five finalist for numerous other major awards this season, including America's Most Beautiful Roadster, Goodguys Street Rod d'Elegance and Goodguys Street Rod of the Year among others before breaking through for the big win last weekend. The roadster's heavily modified top was moved back an inch and a half. Countless hours went into finessing the fit and finish before the PPG Pretty Penny paint was applied. Over 100 parts and pieces were custom-machined for the project. The underside of the car is a work of art with a boxed and dimpled frame, a one-off aluminum hairpin and dropped axle assembly, and a full custom four-link rear with a Currie rear end. Brakes are Wilwood rear discs and modified So-Cal Faux Brakes up front. Evod Industries machined the dished, bronze-coated wheels designed by Jimmy Smith. A Roush 427 Ford is featured under the hood with a custom-scooped TWN injection system and AFR heads. The transmission is a TKO-600 with a modified ’36 Ford shifter and one-off bezel.

Editor-in-Chief's's Note: Our "Quick Take" this week has us in the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 4WD LTZ Crew. This is The Franchise for General Motors, a relentless profit machine that shelters the company in tough times and makes money hand over fist in the boom times. It's safe to say that the new Silverado is reimagined, tweaked, massaged, and refined to the nth degree. Non-truck people may quibble about the exterior design, which is evolutionary, at best, but it will do just fine in the market with some of the most loyal buyers in the business (this side of Ford F-150 buyers, anyway). This truck is about the detailing. Every last interior surface has been thought out and nuanced, and it is comfortable and usable in every respect. The Silverado drives impressively too - even though these new full-size trucks are massive - and it exudes the confidence of years and years of engineering know-how, but unless you really, really need one I can't imagine using one to just commute with. But I do see the attraction in owning one and until the F-150 comes out the Silverado will enjoy a good run, especially with the first-on-the-block loyalists who just gotta have one. We thought our tester was handsome in its Blue Granite Metallic paint too - it's a cool-looking truck. - PMD
 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 4WD LTZ Crew: $49,590 ($43,165 Base Price; Blue Granite Metallic; Cocoa/Dune Interior; 5.3-liter Ecotec3 V8 with VVT, Direct fuel-injection, Active Fuel Management with 355HP and 383 lbs-ft of torque; Hydramatic 6L80 6-speed automatic; four-wheel drive; 3.08 rear axle ratio; 7,200 LBS GVW rating, 18" bright machined aluminum wheels; Full feature leather appointed bucket seats, front, $325; Heated and cooled driver and front passenger seats, $650; Tilt & telescoping steering column, Leather-wrap steering wheel; Driver alert package - front and rear park assist, Lane departure warning, Forward collision alert, Safety alert seats - $845; LTZ Plus Package - Power adjustable pedals, Bose audio system, Heated steering wheel - $770; Power sunroof, $995; Chevrolet MyLink audio system with 8" diagonal color touch & navigation, $795; 6" chrome assist steps, $700; Trailer brake controller - $230; Movable upper tie downs (4), $60; LED lighting, cargo box, $60; Destination Charge, $995)

Adherence to Brand Image: As I said about the Tahoe previously reviewed, Chevrolet makes big trucks and SUVs. And they sell a lot of 'em. The new Silverado marketing campaign - using the music "Strong" by Nashville artist Will Hoge - is a complete rethink of the classic "Like A Rock" campaign (featuring the Bob Seger song) for Chevy trucks in the 90s. Visually, the campaigns are almost interchangeable, with the imagery being consistent in both campaigns. This consistency is exactly what Chevrolet marketers need to do with "The Franchise" and it works well. The new evolutionary Silverado nails the Chevy Truck brand image to a "T." - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's's Note: Our "Quick Take" this week has us in the 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. Readers may know by now that I have a long history with Porsche, specifically the 911. It's the car that turned me on to driving, really driving. Sure, I had the opportunity to ride and drive in plenty of the greatest cars ever built in the 60s and 70s, including wheeling a spectacular '69 L-88 Corvette, in period. But for me the 911 was special. Let's face it, it's my soul car. The old-era air-cooled 911s were wonderfully cantankerous machines. You didn't phone it in with them. You didn't engage myriad electronic devices to balance the car, make the exhaust pipes louder or make up for ham-fisted driving. No, the 911s of the golden era demanded you pay attention to driving all the time. Because if you didn't, it would bite you in the ass, hard. To me the charm of the older 911s was that they forced you to be on your game, especially if you liked to go fast. And believe me, I did. I put many, many miles on 911s and learned all of its tail-happy idiosyncrasies firsthand, including one memorable day when I flat lost the first one I owned - a beautiful (used) 1975 Chocolate Brown 911S - going 115 mph in a sweeping fast bend that unbeknownst to me had just had the shoulder graded, leaving dirt in the middle of the corner. I instantly found myself going backwards in a long, lurid slide - complete with tire smoke - and when I finally stopped, my rear tires ended up on the edge of an embankment. Awesomeness. It was one of those life-altering experiences that was worth every ass-pinching second. From then on the 911 and I bonded, and I went on to having many high-speed experiences with the car (s) that I treasure to this day. So, what about the new 911? When I first drove the new car in Santa Barbara a couple of years ago I praised it as being a true 911, updated. And I still feel that way, sort of. But the 911 has dramatically grown in size, and as fast and fun as it is there's no denying that it has become more of a GT car, pure and simple. (That's why for many Porsche True Believers, the Cayman S is now The Shit.) Don't get me wrong, the Carrera 4S with its 400HP and the ability to crank up the suspension tight and dial-up the exhaust note at will is intoxicating. When you engage all the go-fast stuff plus the sport exhaust and stand on it, well, you can pretend that you're exiting the pits at Le Mans in your GT racing machine, it's that good. And it's damn fast too. Yes, I know, times change. But I just came back from the Monterey auto celebration, and to see the compact and perfectly-rendered older 911s parked hard up against the new car, it is still jarring for me. I love the new 911 and all it can do for you, but I gravitate to the older, wonderfully taut and elegantly compact air-cooled cars every time. Call me entrenched in the past, but it's the High-Octane Truth as I see it. - PMD

2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S: $145,305 ($105, 630 Base Price; Guards Red; Black/Platinum Gray Leather Interior, $4120; 3.8-liter horizontally opposed, double overhead cam 6-cylinder with Direct Fuel-Injection, 4 valves per cylinder and integrated dry sump lubrication with 400HP and 325 lbs-ft of torque; 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) transmission, $4080; all-wheel drive; 13.4" disc brakes with vented rotors with 6 piston calipers, front; 13" disc brakes with vented rotors with 4 piston calipers, rear; 8.5x20" alloy wheels with 245/35ZR20 tires, front; 11x20" alloy wheels with 305/30ZR20 tires, rear; Adaptive Sport Seats Plus, $3465; Premium Package Plus with 18-way seats, $2330; Burmester Audio Package, $5010; Sport Exhaust System, $2950; Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, $3160; Rear windshield wiper, $360; Adaptive cruise control, $2490; ParkAssist, front and rear, $990; Sport Chrono Package, $2370; Sunroof in glass, $1990; Power Steering Plus, $270; Electric folding exterior mirrors, $320; SportDesign steering wheel, $490; Exclusive Options - Painted vehicle key, $335; Wheels painted black, $1635; Wheel spacers, 5mm, $490; Sport Seats plus black leather, $1870, Destination Charge, $950)

Adherence to Brand Image:  This 911 is the essence of the enthusiast side of Porsche, the car for the True Believers who still covet Porsche and what the company stands for more than any other car. But there's the rub. Porsche is two companies now and the dichotomy is laid bare for all to see. The days of being purveyors of wonderfully edgy hair-trigger sports cars have long since faded into the history books. Porsche, the company, is big business now. As a matter of fact, Porsche, along with Audi, are the profit centers that drive the VW Group conglomerate. And what does Porsche sell most of these days to deliver those profits? The Cayenne SUV, followed by the Panamera sedan. So the powers that be at Porsche constantly find themselves walking a fine line, as in "how do we keep our enthusiast customer base happy while churning out more and more of the big-time profit generators like the Cayenne and the Panamera?" As I've said previously, at some point the people who only know Porsche for sedans and SUVs will outnumber the enthusiasts who remember what Porsche stood for way back when. And at that point Porsche will be in deep trouble. But in fairness to Porsche leaders, they believe that as long as they keep accelerating profits from SUVs and sedans, it will allow them to fund the development of designing, engineering and building wonderful sporting machines like the 918, 911, Boxster, Cayman and the endless variants of those cars that seem to come like clockwork. In the meantime and in an effort to calm the faithful, Porsche feels that its burgeoning Le Mans racing program, which will debut next year, will firmly refocus the brand and fuel the enthusiast True Believers who have long supported it. I agree, at least up to a point. But what are the two most important vehicle launches of the next year for Porsche? The freshened Panamera, and the all-new Macan, a smaller crossover/SUV that will slot below the Cayenne. Uh, yeah, there's that. As far as adherence to brand image, the 911 Carrera 4S that we had the pleasure of driving basically has a foot in both Porsche camps. On the one hand, as a go-fast machine it is positively intoxicating and it adheres to the Porsche mission convincingly. It's all 911 through and through, at least what defines the new 911. But on the other hand, one look at its usurious option list and you can see how the "other" Porsche - the one that makes money hand over fist for the VW Group - currently holds sway.  And so it goes. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Jeremy Clarkson's heartfelt driving impression of the Aston Martin Vantage and his commentary on the twilight of the high-performance automobile is simply one of the most powerful pieces of its kind ever created. Brilliantly written and graced with absolutely stunning visuals, it will resonate for years and years to come. As he says,"What it makes me feel though, is sad. I just can't help thinking that, thanks to all sorts of things... the environment, the economy, problems in the Middle East, the relentless war on speed, cars like this will soon be consigned to the history books. I just have this horrible, dreadful feeling that what I'm driving here... is an ending." Amen. Watch it here. - PMD