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Autoblog Podcast #408

Episode #408 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about the possibility of France banning diesel, Cadillac putting Porsche in its sights, and the lineup of high-performance Fords potentially coming to the Detroit Auto Show. 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 rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #408: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: France to ban diesel? Cadillac to go Porsche hunting Ford NAIAS lineup In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe 2015 Audi S3 Long-Term 2014 Jeep Cherokee Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:04:56 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 France Diesel Ban - 27:13 Cadillac vs. Porsche - 34:32 Ford Performance at NAIAS - 42:23 Q&A - 49:46 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 Podcasts Detroit Auto Show Audi Cadillac Ford Jeep

Yearly auto recall record demolished in 6 months

With nearly 40 million vehicles under repair campaigns and counting, 2014 will almost certainly go down as the year of the automotive recall. At just past the halfway mark, we are already at record levels, and there aren't any signs that the epidemic is slowing. General Motors' latest 8.4 million vehicle recall in the US puts the industry over the top for the title of the most cars with fixes pending from automakers ever. That's a prize no one ever wants to receive. According to TheDetroitBureau.com, the US recall total has hit 39.85-million vehicles to surpass the previous record of 33.01 million in 2004. Perhaps more surprising, with over 26 million repairs pending, it's still quite possibly that GM could recall more vehicles by the end of the year than the 27.96-million unit total of the entire US auto industry last year. With over 40 campaigns under its belt in 2014, the roughly one million cars it would take would hardly come as a surprise at this point, especially with increased government scrutiny into the Detroit automaker's processes. The pace of recalls started off relatively normal this year, with just a smattering of campaigns. The most surprising early on was Aston Martin calling in about 75 percent of its output since 2007 due to counterfeit plastic, but with just a few thousand cars, it was relatively tiny in pure numbers. GM really kicked things off soon after, but we didn't know it at the time. It issued its first bulletin for 778,000 Cobalt compacts in early February. Things only ballooned from there as more models were added to its growing ignition switch problem. The onslaught of announcements from every major automaker hasn't abated since then. Some industry executives are trying to put a positive spin on the situation. "With what's transpired (in recent months), there's a higher level of scrutiny," said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, to TheDetroitBureau.com. He believes that automakers are looking at data much more thoroughly than before, and it means better customer safety. Still, many consumers probably wish these problems had been found before their car went on sale.

2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility is ready to tackle Chicago's mean streets

As is the way of things, when a civilian vehicle gets a significant update, it's only a matter of time before its police counterpart gets similar upgrades. In the case of the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, it's debuting with the same visual updates as the Explorer on which it's based, at this week's 2015 Chicago Auto Show. Like the civilian-market Explorer, the PI Utility is available with a standard 3.7-liter V6 that pumps out 304 horsepower and 279 pound-feet of torque. The higher-caliber option is the tried and true 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, complete with 365 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. The standard Explorer's optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, meanwhile, won't be offered to the boys in blue. Regardless of engine, the Utility enjoys standard all-wheel-drive, as well as a six-speed automatic transmission. The tranny's default setting is primarily for fuel sipping, although if it detects more aggressive inputs – based on brake line pressure, deceleration and lateral acceleration rates – it switches over to Pursuit Mode, offering officers snappier upshifts and more aggressive downshifts. The PI Utility's other cool, new system is called Surveillance Mode. To protect officers from sneak attacks, Surveillance Mode warns them when someone approaches the rear the car, raising all four windows and locking the doors. While Ford says the system has "intermittent fault filter technology" to prevent "erroneous changes in sensor signals," we're betting it won't be long before veteran officers uncover some way to prank rookies with the tech. Beyond these new systems, this is the same Utility that officers know and love, only with a significant facelift reminiscent of what's found on the civilian model, which debuted at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The new grille has a positive impact on cooling performance, Ford claims, while a new headlight setup accommodates the high-beam-based "wig-wag" lights. The new look has also allowed Ford to offer police departments additional customized lighting options, for that special touch. Inside, a new steering wheel and center console should make officers' lives easier, as will the new (and requested) liftgate release button, found in the overhead console. Check out the first images of the new Police Interceptor Utility (and, sporty drivers, memorize that headlight pattern) up above. Be sure to check back for additional live images once we check out Ford's latest cop car, at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show.