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Autoblog Podcast #392

Episode #392 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Chris Paukert talk about recent confessions by Autoblog Editors, the unconfirmed rumors that the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat will show up at the Woodward Dream Cruise, and the release of the North American Car and Truck of the Year long list. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #392: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Autoblog editors come clean Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to debut at Woodward Dream Cruise NACTOY long list released In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe 2015 Subaru Legacy Limited 2015 Audi S8 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Chris Paukert Runtime: 01:48:05 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Editor Confessions - 34:48 Hellcat Charger Unveil - 59:56 NACTOY Long List - 01:09:51 Q&A - 01:25:43 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes

Autoblog Podcast #317

Mitsubishi Mirage, Toyota thinks of beefing up US production, Marchionne on Alfa, Dart and minivans, Ford Atlas concept, Honda Gear concept
Episode #317 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Jeff Ross and Michael Harley bookend the other podcast topics with a pair from the Montreal Auto Show, the Mitsubishi Mirage and Honda Gear concept, and in between we talk about Toyota building all its US-market cars stateside, Hyundai building a Nurburgring test facility, Sergio Marchionne's latest words about Alfa Romeo, Dodge Dart powertrains and the future of Chrysler vans. Some chatter about the Ford Atlas concept finishes up the meat of the 'cast and then we wrap with your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #317:

Alfa Romeo's Giulia Quadrifoglio gets the GTA treatment

Alfa Romeo will celebrate 110 years of building some of the world's most emotional driving machines with a brand-new Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA. GTA, which stands for "Gran Turismo Alleggerita," is a throwback to the 1965 Giulia Sprint GT, which first got the treatment. The new GTA and GTAm will elevate the Giulia's already driver-friendly formula to a whole new level.  If the plain-Jane Giulia Quadrifoglio is a BMW M3 or Mercedes-AMG C63 competitor, the GTA is your Competition or "S" variant, respectively. It boasts more power, less weight, enhanced aero, a revised suspension, and a reworked chassis and interior designed to keep the driver in place and focused on one task and one task alone: driving fast.  The wick on the GTA's 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 has been turned up a bit, resulting in a new peak rating of 540 horsepower (up 30 from the base car). To reduce weight, Alfa replaced a host of exterior panels with carbon fiber equivalents. The carbon treatment extends to some other components, such as a the drive shaft. Alfa says the net reduction works out to 220 pounds.  Outside, the aero has been completely revised with technical know-how provided by Sauber Engineering (of F1 renown). It also boasts 20-inch center-locking wheels and a titanium exhaust system. Alfa replaced many of the suspension bushings, the shocks and the springs with performance-friendly hardware. The GTAm pushes the formula even farther. We hesitate to compare a sport sedan to a GT Coupe, but the relationship between GTA and GTAm is quite similar to that between the Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 RS. Both are fundamentally the same car, but the latter compromises a great deal more of its daily drivability for the sake of improving its on-track feel and performance.  With the GTAm, this included a set of carbon-backed front bucket seats with six-point harnesses, Lexan window inserts for the side and rear windows, and a rear seat delete. In place of the rear bench, you get a harness bar attached to a structural roll hoop, plus a handy little cubby for storing your custom Bell helmet in Alfa's GTA livery (which comes with the car, as well as an Alpinestars race suit, gloves and shoes, and a personalized Goodwool car cover). Checking in at just 3,350 pounds, the GTAm boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 6.2 pounds per horsepower, which Alfa says is the best in the class, enabling a 0-60 run in just 3.6 seconds.