The Cadillac XLR – A Combination of Luxury and Performance
The Cadillac XLR hit the market for the first time in the year 2004. The vehicle falls under the category of luxury-style roadsters. It is produced by the General Motor’s luxury branch, Cadillac. The XLR has its assembly plant situated at Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States.
The Cadillac XLR is produced in 2-door coupe convertible body structure. The vehicle is available in two types of engines namely the 4.6 liter Northstar V8 and the 4.4 liter Northstar SC V8 models. The Cadillac XLR allows the 6-speed automatic transmission providing the wheel base of 2685 mm. The length, width and the height of the vehicle are 4514 mm, 1836 and 1280 mm respectively. The curb weight of the vehicle is 1740 kilo grams and is related to the model Chevrolet Corvette.
The retractable hardtop XLR convertible is marketed by the Cadillac, a division of General Motors. The vehicle is built based on the Y-body platform that is used in the Chevrolet Corvette. Along with its own interior, styling, power aluminum hardtop, and suspension, the vehicle uses its own Northstar engine rather using GM LS2 in the Corvette. The Cadillac displayed the XLR vehicle at Detroit Motor Show in the year 2003 for the first time as the 2004 model year vehicle.
The features in the XLR include wood interior, cooled and heated leather seats, remote keyless access, side air bags, 18 inch alloy wheels as well as DVD system with 7 inch dash board screen and navigation audio system. The retractable hardtop is made up of aluminum of about 10 inches vertical clearance and is produced by a joint venture supplier between Porsche and Mercedes Benz. The engine in the vehicle produces 238.6 kilo watts of power.
The XLR hardtop is the second roadster vehicle from Cadillac, next to the Allante manufactured during the period 1987 to 1993. The XLR was nominated for the award of North American Car of the Year in the year 2004.
With the same name of XLR, the Cadillac group released the XLR-V model in the year 2005 that uses the same super charged Northstar V8 engine in the vehicle. The engine in the XLR-V is certified by the SAE to generate 330 kilo watts of power and torque of 414 lb ft. According to the Car and Driver’s test, the XLR-V can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 4.7 seconds and can cover the distance of a quarter mile in just 13 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »
Imagineering the C6 Corvette
Posted by in Corvette on June 23, 2011
Is there more juice left in the C6 Corvette? Absolutely! What follows is purely my personal speculation on this question: What could be done to the C6 to keep it fresh and interesting without costing billions in development? Here are ten ideas to ponder…
1. A new steering wheel: PLEASE! I’m tired of reading reports where the writer grumps about the steering wheel. Okay, it’s not all that “great,” but it’s not as if it’s out of a Vega, like the ’76 Vettes.
2. New interior options: Offer two trim packages; one with enhanced leather and metal trim, and the other with racer-like trim, such as a roll bar, extra gauges, fire bottle, and carbon fiber trim.
3. More wheel options. The ’09 Corvettes had 10 wheel designs to choose from. Several combos were the same design but with different finishes. More wheels could be made available through outside sources.
4. More rear spoilers. I love the Z06 and ZR1, but from a visual perspective, the spoilers look a little small. A variety of spoiler designs could be outsourced, like the wheels.
5. Side skirts and front air-splitters / spoilers. Lets get creative here, this a no-brainer!
6. Modified front and rear bumper covers. This is more involved but not impossible. The C4 went through two fascia styles and 3 front fender vent designs.
7. ZR1 to the extreme. The low volume ZR1 could receive a new front and rear fascia, hood, side vents, side skirts, and rear spoiler. And let me dream a little, I want to see some side-pipes. One version could look like the GT-2 cars and another could run the full length of the sides, replacing the side skirts. Then the current ZR1 body parts could replace the current Z06. The Z06 body parts could then make up the new base Corvette. The Grand Sport can stay as it is, with its unique fender vents and performance package.
8. The Z06 and the ZR1 get married. The baby looks like Mom (the Z06) and has Dad’s chassis and suspension. When the Z06 came out in ’06, it didn’t take long for customers to realize that they had purchased a Bengal tiger! A Z06 built on the ZR1 frame with the ZR1 suspension would be awesome. Read the rest of this entry »