JUNE 16, 2021

Editor-In-Chief's Note: Let the implosion begin. According to Reuters, the CEO (Steve Burns) and CFO (Julio Rodriguez) of Lordstown Motors Corp. resigned on Monday (6/14). This development comes days after the electric truck maker warned that it had "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern in the next year. Lordstown Motors announced that its lead independent director, Angela Strand, has been appointed executive chairwoman and would oversee the firm's transition until a permanent CEO is identified, and that Becky Roof will become interim CFO. I will shortcut this grandiose mess for our readers: Lordstown Motors is toast and the whole project will end up being a forgotten junk pile festering at the side of the road. It won't even merit a footnote in the history of the automobile business. Designing, engineering and building automobiles is one of the most complicated endeavors on earth, and if you're not prepared, or financed properly, the cash burn is soul-sucking. In fact, it's the quickest way to go broke that I can think of. -PMD

(VW)
Enthusiasts - at least the ones who know - are eagerly awaiting the eighth-generation of the VW GTI. The company has just released some new details: In developing the chassis, the engineers focused on improving stability, precision and cornering grip for better driving dynamics, while maintaining the everyday comfort of the GTI. “The Golf GTI has always been synonymous with pure driving dynamics,” says Karsten Schebsdat, Volkswagen’s Head of Driving Dynamics, Steering and Control Systems. “Few other vehicles in this category offer a similarly finely tuned balance between sportiness and comfort. Thanks to the combination of new running gear setup plus torque-sensing limited-slip differential (VAQ) and Vehicle Dynamics Manager we were able to elevate the outstanding overall performance of the GTI to an even higher level.” Running gear mods include: The strut-type front suspension has reconfigured wishbone bearings and revised damping hydraulics. The springs and buffer stops are reconfigured as well, to give a front axle spring rate five percent higher than the Mk7 GTI. The eighth-gen car also features a new aluminum subframe—optimized for maximum rigidity—that is nearly 7 pounds lighter than that of its predecessor. The multilink rear axle features similar modifications, including a new wheel mount, wishbone bearing and spring setup, as well as reconfigured auxiliary springs. The spring rate at the rear axle increases by 15 percent compared with the Mk7. The damping bearings are new, as are the damping hydraulics. Volkswagen’s Vehicle Dynamics Manager—a new driving dynamics control system—closely integrates the electronic stability control (ESC) with the electronic differential locks (XDS®) and the optional DCC® adaptive damping system. By adapting the individual wheel damping 200 times a second, it can deliver particularly agile and accurate handling. More? The new GTI now comes standard with an electronically controlled torque sensing limited-slip differential. Compared with fully mechanically operated differentials, the system in the GTI offers a variable degree of intervention depending on the actual driving situation and ESC, EDS and XDS+ functions. This makes it possible to avoid steering corruption, as is the case with mechanical differentials. Thanks to a multi-plate clutch, the VAQ differential optimizes grip and handling in fast corners, thus enhancing the performance and helping to decrease understeer, a traditional weakness of front-drive cars. The GTI can handle corners in a neutral stance and also accelerates without any loss of traction. This is due in part to the fact that the locking torque of the VAQ differential can be significantly increased in Sport mode. On the racetrack, it is possible to adapt the ESC intervention in two stages. In ESC Sport mode, the ESC thresholds and ASR slip thresholds are increased to reduce the intensity of interventions. In ESC Off mode, ambitious drivers can deactivate ESC altogether. And still more: Available adaptive chassis control (DCC) continuously reacts to the road surface and driving situation. For the first time, the DCC running gear’s lateral dynamic components in the new GTI are coordinated and then further optimized by the Vehicle Dynamics Manager. Via the Driving Mode Selection settings, the driver can influence the reduction in body motion as desired. The required damping is calculated for each wheel and adjusted at the four dampers within fractions of a second. This ensures that DCC can provide the highest level of driving comfort and ideal driving dynamics in conjunction with the Vehicle Dynamics Manager. There's more, but that should cover it for now. 

(Porsche images)

The seventh edition of the Porsche 911 GT3 can now be ordered with the no-cost equipment package that was first introduced with its predecessor. The 911 GT3 with Touring Package is delivered with a seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) transmission as standard for the U.S. market, and a six-speed GT Sport manual transmission as a no-cost option in selected states. (The seven-speed PDK gearbox will be the only transmission offered in California with the 911 GT3. For those who prefer three pedals and are located outside of California, a six-speed manual gearbox will continue to be available at no extra cost.) This marks the first time that the Touring Package is available with the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission. As on the predecessor, engine, transmission, suspension, wheels and tires on vehicles with the Touring Package are adopted from the regular 911 GT3. The most obvious difference with the Touring Package is the omission of the fixed rear wing. Instead, an automatically extending rear spoiler generates downforce at high speeds. A bespoke grille unique to the package compliments the understated appearance. Silver trim strips made of high-gloss anodized aluminum on the side windows are another distinguishing feature. The front fascia is painted completely in the exterior color as compared to the black lower section of the standard GT3. Continuing the subtle theme, a subtle logo "GT3 touring" is located on the rear grille, while trim strips of the side windows and the tailpipes of the sport exhaust system are colored in silver. 

The name "Touring Package" goes back to an equipment variant of the 1973 911 Carrera RS. Porsche revived the idea again in 2017, and for the first time again offered a Touring Package for the previous generation of the 911 GT3, the Type 991. 
In the 911 GT3 with Touring Package, the steering wheel rim, gear/selector lever, center console lid, door panel armrests and door handles are upholstered in black leather. Meanwhile, the seat centers are upholstered with fabric seat center panels, and head restraints bear embossed Porsche Crests. The door sill guards and trim elements on the dashboard and center console are made of brushed black aluminum. 
Porsche also offers almost all the optional equipment for the 911 GT3 in combination with the Touring Package. This includes all exterior and wheel colors, LED headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System and Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus, various driver's assistance systems, Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB), a Smart Front Axle Lift system, the same seat types that are available on the standard 911 GT3, the Chrono package and an optional BOSE® Surround Sound System. The 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 with Touring Package will arrive in early 2022. How much? A starting MSRP of $161,100 excluding $1,350 for delivery, processing and handling.

(Honda images)
The all-new 2022 Honda Civic Sedan hits dealerships today (6/16). In typical Honda fashion, the 2022 Civic Sedan has been heavily revised, with a new exterior look, a classic Honda-esque interior emphasizing clean functionality, enhanced dynamics, advanced technologies, improved safety performance and overall value. "As America’s best-selling compact car since 1973, Civic has long set the standard for its class and this new Civic raises the bar in every conceivable way – design, performance, safety and technology,” said Dave Gardner, executive vice president of National Operations at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Best of all, this is the most fun-to-drive Civic sedan we’ve ever made.” The 2022 Civic Sedan is the first in a series of new 11th-generation Civic variants that will include a Hatchback and high-performance Si and Type-R models. At $28,300, the 2022 Civic Touring (shown) sits atop the lineup featuring leather seats, power front seats, Sirius XM radio, satellite-based navigation system and more. Even though pricing remains the same as last year, Touring receives a host of new or revised features, including a new, larger 9-inch color touchscreen display with wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ integration, a Civic-first Bose premium sound system, a new 10.2-inch all-digital and customizable instrument display, front and rear parking sensors, Sport driving mode, wireless smartphone charging and LED fog lights. Touring also adds Civic’s first implementation of low-speed braking control.

The AE Song of the Week:

Sitting in a park in Paris, France
Reading the news and it sure looks bad
They won't give peace a chance
That was just a dream some of us had
Still a lot of land to see
But I wouldn't stay here
It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here.

Oh, but California
California, I'm coming home
I'm going to see the folks I dig
I'll even kiss a sunset pig
California, I'm coming home.

I met a redneck on a Grecian isle
Who did the goat dance very well
He gave me back my smile
But he kept my camera to sell
Oh the rogue, the red red rogue
He cooked good omelets and stews
And I might have stayed on with him there
But my heart cried out for you, California
Oh California, I'm coming home
Oh make me feel good rock'n roll band
I'm your biggest fan
California, I'm coming home

Oh it gets so lonely
When you're walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
Just gives you the blues
Just gives you the blues

So I bought me a ticket
I got on a plane to Spain
Went to a party down a red dirt road
There were lots of pretty people there
Reading Rolling Stone, reading Vogue
They said, How long can you hang around?
I said a week, maybe two
Just until my skin turns brown
Then I'm going home to California
California, I'm coming home
Oh will you take me as I am
Strung out on another man
California, I'm coming home

Oh it gets so lonely
When you're walking
And the streets are full of strangers
All the news of home you read
More about the war
And the bloody changes
Oh will you take me as I am?
Will you take me as I am?
Will you?
Will you take me as I am?
Take me as I am

"California" by Joni Mitchell from the album "Blue" (1971)*; Watch it here as recorded live in a BBC Studio in London, on October 9, 1970. 

*In "California" Mitchell sings of going home to her beloved California. She sings as though she's been on a long journey - and indeed, she has. After a tough breakup with her longtime boyfriend Graham Nash, Mitchell hoofed her way across Europe. It was during that journey when Mitchell penned many of the songs on her Blue album. This song, and many of the songs on this album, were inspired by the jazz style of the great Miles Davis. Canadian-born Mitchell is a longtime resident of Southern California, inhabiting digs in Laurel Canyon, among other locations in and around Los Angeles, for most of her professional life.Blue is admittedly Mitchell's most searingly personal album, considering her situation and lifestyle choices at the time. She's always been an artist who allows her audience to live her life vicariously through her music, and in no case is that more evident than on "Blue". Winning Mitchell the highest placement ever for a female artist on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked this album #30. The album itself has won many distinctions, as has Ms. Mitchell. This song, however, was not singled out for any special award. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are huge Joni Mitchell fans. The Led Zeppelin song "Going To California" is influenced by this track. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)