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How long will the 'golden age' of performance last?

High-powered sports and luxury cars were everywhere at the New York Auto Show, prompting the obvious question for enthusiasts: How long will this golden age of performance last? Industry leaders have some time before regulations elevate the Corporate Average Fuel Economy level in 2025. Even then, they expect cars rippling with power to survive in some form. "Is it the end of an era," I don't think so," said Ola Kallenius, Daimler AG board member for Mercedes-Benz cars marketing and sales. "That performance element of individual mobility I don't think will ever go away." Kallenius, who oversaw the company's AMG division from 2010-2013, expects it to continue to grow. Last year, AMG sold a record 68,875 units around the world, an increase of 44.6 percent over 2014, with strong growth in the US, China, and Germany. Still, there's always the potential for gas to spike, and pending fuel economy regulations are looming. That could lead AMG to add electrification to its products, Kallenius said, pointing to the electric SLS as a test case. Chevy is also thinking ahead, said Al Oppenheiser, chief engineer of the Camaro. He wouldn't bite when asked about electrification for the Camaro (he did say "never say never"), but admitted in 2025 "it's going to be pretty tough to sell V8s." For now, things are rosy for muscle cars, and Chevy confidently showcased the 640-hp Camaro ZL1 in coupe and convertible form in New York. "I think that this is truly the golden age of performance," Oppenheiser said. It's hard to disagree. News & Analysis News: The 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF was a show-stopper in New York. Analysis: There was a palpable energy when this RF — for Retractable Fastback — was revealed the night before the show at a trendy off-site venue near the Hudson River. Even as a parade of SUVs and flashy luxury cars rolled out the rest of the week, the Miata remained a hot topic. The Retractable Fastback is really a clever targa top, with part of the roof stowing behind the seats, adding about 100 pounds compared to the standard convertible. It makes the car more practical and arguably more attractive. The RF continues Mazda's tradition of selling the Miata with a hardtop variant. The first and second generations offered a detachable one, and a power retractable hardtop (a $1,700 option) was available on third-gen models. Judging by its reception in New York, the RF could prove to be even more popular than its predecessors.

NHTSA closes 4-year GM investigation, issues common sense advisory [w/video]

Since January 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating a possible problem with corroding brake lines in General Motors' GMT800-platform models, like the Chevrolet Silverado and Suburban and GMC Sierra, in states with salt on their roads in the winter. However, as opposed to launching a full recall of millions of vehicles, the government is issuing a common-sense safety advisory to all drivers in snowy states to keep their vehicle's undercarriage clean. It even has a video explaining things. "Older-model vehicles, often driven in harsh conditions, are subject to corrosion over long periods of time, and we need owners to be vigilant about ensuring they, their passengers, and others on the roads are safe," said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind in the announcement of the end of the investigation. The agency was clear in its report that "brake line corrosion seen in the GM vehicles was not unique," and the government "has not identified a defect that would initiate a recall order." Instead NHTSA is advising drivers, especially those of vehicles from before 2007, to wash their vehicle's undercarriage in the winter and spring to remove salt or other de-icing chemicals. It also recommends regular checks by a mechanic to make sure everything is in proper order. According to the investigation documents, for just the GMT800 platform models, NHTSA found 3,645 complaints of brake line corrosion, which included allegations of 107 crashes and 40 injuries. The issue was found to be more common in vehicles over 10 years old. GM has released a statement (embedded below) that the company "supports the consumer advisory from NHTSA urging regular maintenance and care of brake lines on older vehicles." NHTSA Closes Investigation into Brake-Line Failures NHTSA 13-15 Thursday, April 9, 2015 Agency issues safety advisory on preventing undercarriage corrosion WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today issued a Safety Advisory and consumer video encouraging owners of model year 2007 and older trucks, SUVs and passenger cars to inspect brake lines and thoroughly wash the underside of their vehicles to remove corrosive salt after the long winter in order to prevent brake-line failures that increase the risk of a crash.

2018 Ford Expedition vs other big SUVs: How it compares on paper

With our Alex Kierstein rightly impressed in his first-drive review of the new 2018 Ford Expedition, we decided to dig a little deeper into the numbers, and we came up with the spreadsheet below to highlight how the new 2018 Expedition compares on paper to its main full-size SUV competitors: the 2018 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban (and therefore the 2018 GMC Yukon), 2018 Toyota Sequoia and 2018 Nissan Armada. We also threw in the new, even bigger 2018 Chevrolet Traverse since, as you'll see, its massive dimensions should put it on the radar for anyone who needs loads of passenger and cargo space but doesn't care as much about towing. A few notes about the chart above. First, the 6.2-liter V8 that's included with the new-for-2018 Tahoe RST trim level is the standard engine on the GMC Yukon Denali. You can apply most of the Tahoe's numbers to the entire Yukon and Yukon XL lineup. Second, though we highlighted categories where the Traverse led, we also highlighted the runner-up full-size SUV, since this was ultimately about that segment. Traverse numbers are broadly applicable to the new Buick Enclave. Related Video: Chevrolet Ford GMC Nissan Toyota SUV Comparison consumer ford expedition gmc yukon chevy traverse toyota sequoia nissan armada chevrolet tahoe ford expedition max