Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !
We're redlining in an American masterpiece, Callaway's 35th Anniversary Corvette... Then, it's a different kind of seat time in this week's "Your Drive."
We'll reduce and reuse with remanufactured parts... Ending with extended luxury in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer...
So, come drive with us, next!
Closed Captioning provided by Maryland Public Television.
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Forty years later, we're not slowing down.
JOHN: For 35 years, Callaway and the Chevrolet Corvette have been a match made in performance car heaven.
And we've been along for the ride for all of those years.
So, we couldn't wait to sample, yet, another piece of heaven on track with this very special "B2K 35th Anniversary Edition" Callaway Corvette.
♪ ♪ What started out as a way for amateur racer and driving instructor Reeves Callaway to get a little more power out of BMW 320i's in the 1970s, eventually grew into Callaway Cars, Old Lyme, Connecticut's purveyor of Powerfully Engineered Automobiles.
But it was when they began focusing their efforts on Chevrolet Corvettes in the 1980s that they truly arrived on the map, and their new 35th Anniversary Callaway Corvette Package celebrates that partnership.
Starting with a Z51 Stingray, Callaway adds an aero package with front splitter, rocker extensions, rear spoiler, and diffuser all made of carbon fiber.
Plus, 35th Anniversary logos on wider lightweight forged wheels and an exhaust system with center-mounted Double-D tips.
And, while these upgrades were meant as more of a celebration than total performance overhaul, we couldn't resist hitting the turns of Roebling Road Raceway to see how it all comes together.
With the shift in engine placement from front to rear midship, the C8 Corvette, which debuted for 2020, underwent the biggest transformation in its 70 year history.
And it is certainly a joy to drive on a road course.
Steering is so light and turn in so quick, you have to really be careful with inputs until you get a feel for just how immediate this car responds to every one of them.
Its fast, handles like crazy, and remains incredibly stable as speeds climb.
The Callaway aero treatments and wider wheels work together to provide even more downforce and grip.
The results are subtle, but they allow you to squeeze the throttle just a little bit more coming out of the corners and down the front stretch.
One thing instantly more obvious is how incredible this thing sounds going by.
The C8 chassis is amazingly capable and seems to be begging for much more power than what it's currently working with, which brings us to the "stay tuned" part of our road test.
This 35th Anniversary Callaway is currently packing the stock Stingray's Z51's 495 horsepower 6.2 liter V8 with 470 pound-feet of torque, and no doubt the freer flowing exhaust frees up a few more ponies.
But nothing like what they've got planned, as right after this car gets back into Callaway's hands, they'll be pulling the engine to give it an overhaul, including an all-new supercharger they're currently developing.
As for now, sprints to 60 on Roebling's front straight took just 3.0 seconds flat; with the 8-speed automatic transmission firing away with shifts that are lightning quick, but amazingly not as harsh as most.
quarter-mile completed in 11.3 seconds at 122 miles per hour.
To round out the list of anniversary goodies, for the inside of the cabin, you get billet pedals, engraved sill plates, lots of logos, and a numbered build plate.
All-in-all, nothing overt, but well executed.
And, since we're in nostalgia mode here, it's fitting we celebrate our own history with Callaway, which began back in 1989 with a road test of their Twin-Turbo C4 Corvette at Pocono Raceway.
Since then, we've not only tested a multitude of their 'vettes, but Camaros, SUVs, pickup trucks, and even a Corvette wagon.
But it was 1995s SuperNatural LM that truly sticks out as a highlight.
In fact, we were so enamored with it, we made it a permanent part of the show.
If you stick around through all the credits, it's the SuperNatural that you'll hear burning out as a final goodbye to our viewers.
Back to reality and the Government Fuel Economy Ratings of this 35th Anniversary Edition, which are unchanged from the standard Stingray at 16-City, 24-Highway, and 19-Combined.
Fittingly, this 35th Anniversary Edition adds just under $35,000 onto the price of a Stingray, bringing the total to $107,200 to start.
You can spend a lot more for a car with a lot less performance as well as unique appeal.
The latest C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is one of the best ways we can think of to burn through a tank of gas at a road course.
It turns good drivers into great ones and is the perfect platform for enabling great drivers to do some incredible things.
It's also the perfect canvas for Callaway to continue painting masterpieces of Corvette performance as they have for 35 years.
This B2K 35th Anniversary Edition is built to celebrate that.
But the story doesn't end here; we'll be back in a few months to get a glimpse at what the next 35 years of Callaway performance will look like.
♪ ♪ Recycling auto parts is a great way to reduce the automobile's environmental footprint.
But which recycled parts do you choose?
Salvaged, rebuilt, or remanufactured?
When available, a remanufactured part is the preferable choice-- just like new, both in form and function.
Stephanie Hart shows us how one company makes it happen.
♪ ♪ STEPHANIE HART: I'm here at CRP Industries in Conway, South Carolina, where we're going behind the scenes to see exactly what goes on here at the plant.
CRP Industries remanufactures electric power steering racks and pumps.
The process is friendly to the planet and gives the parts a second life, keeping them out of our scrap yards.
But a lot of work goes into remanufacturing parts to as new condition.
And it all starts with disassembly.
SCOTT SHEA: Once, the tie rod and boot is removed the part will come through a pre-wash station to get-- to do the initial cleaning.
You can see a lot of the dirt and grime that was on the part before has now been removed.
STEPHANIE: From here, the part goes through a sandblaster.
SCOTT: These units have already been sandblasted, so you can see the nice new finish that you get from this process.
STEPHANIE: Yeah, it looks great.
It really does.
SCOTT: Now, that the rack has been cleaned and sanded we go through the disassembly process.
So, we tear the part down completely.
The parts stay together in a-- in a basket that travels down throughout the production line.
STEPHANIE: Next, everything starts to get reassembled just like a new part.
SCOTT: In this station, we're doing additional assembly component replacement.
Seal kits are being replaced.
The belt, if it's a unit that's driven by a belt, the belt gets replaced.
The belt gets tensioned to original specifications.
STEPHANIE: Parts like this do fall off the production line due to mechanical problems.
...then they're taken over here where techs use their expertise to repair them so they can be put back into production.
For even more complex electronic power steering racks, the unit is disassembled and restored from A to Z.
The final step is fully testing the part.
SCOTT: We actually simulate the can-bus of the vehicle and, and simulate the driving of the vehicle.
As we test the part.
STEPHANIE: That's cool.
Yeah, that's pretty neat.
PT MULDOON: Remanufacturing-- the raw material changes every day, so it requires a lot of engineering and a lot of technology to understand what those changes mean.
It also, gives us a really nice glimpse into the quality of engineering that's done by the OEMs.
So, we get to see the product all-- through all the stages of its life cycle and then we can feed that back and understand how to recreate it in a better state.
STEPHANIE: But, why are you lowering the chances of repeating the repair with a remanufactured part as compared to a rebuilt part?
SCOTT: A rebuilt can be all over the spectrum in terms of the quality of the repair.
So, you might get anything from a repair that simply fixes the minimum to make the part usable, to a more extensive repair.
STEPHANIE: Remanufactured components typically cost about half as much as the same new parts.
There's also significant energy savings.
SCOTT: A remanufactured part uses 80-90 percent of the energy that would be required to make the part new.
And in fact, in this plant, we save enough energy over the course of the year to power over 100 homes for a full year.
STEPHANIE: That's pretty amazing.
Wow!
Plus, where possible, all of the microchips that are in the damaged part are reused; a huge benefit given the ongoing chip shortage.
With the emergence of electric and autonomous vehicles, remanufacturing is more important than ever before.
PT: What we don't want to see is new technology comes in and it's hard to get a service part.
This is the back stop.
We are-- we are part of the emergence of this technology as an industry.
STEPHANIE: It's an exciting time for the remanufacturing industry.
It's demonstrated its commitment to preserving our planet for future generations, while keeping our vehicles up and running safely.
And if we can save some money in the process even better!
♪ ♪ JOHN: So, you've been hearing and seeing all the hype about electric cars; but, they all seem so expensive, and you're not really sure what all would be involved with owning one.
Well, don't rely on the Internet or the dealer for advice.
Find out exactly what you need to know from an expert.
Long-time automotive journalist Matt DeLorenzo in his "Must Read," "How to Buy and Affordable Electric Car: A Tightwad's Guide to EV Ownership."
He'll not only walk you through the process of determining which EV is right for you and how to make sure it's compatible with your lifestyle, but how to spend as little money as possible to become a successful citizen of EV nation.
Seats.
They can make or break a long haul.
Wear them out and even short commutes can be unbearable.
So, let's join Dan Maffett in the garage for some seat of the pants advice in this week's "Your Drive."
♪ ♪ DAN MAFFETT: If you have a work truck or a work SUV or a van, something that requires you to step up in or out of the vehicle, you've probably noticed that your seats are starting to get some wear.
The first thing that goes is going to be your seat cover, followed by the cushion inside.
And once those start going, there's only one way to fix it, and that's replacing it.
It used to be you had to find an upholstery shop and they would re-do the entire seat for you, and you're talking thousands of dollars.
But we've found you can order seat skins and even replace the foam inside your seat, and it's a simple DIY procedure that you can do in your own garage, in your driveway... and a seat like this that's basic with no electronic options is a breeze.
If you have something that has a little more electronics in it, like adjustability, and the lumbar or anything, you're going to have to remove those electronics first to get to the frame, but it's a great DIY option.
The first step is you want to take apart all these clips that are holding the skin on.
So, you just want to go through, break these loose... ...just like this.
Just like that, you've got your clips off... flip it back over, and your seat cover comes off just like that.
The foam comes with it, you take this, you don't need that anymore.
Take our new foam, line it up on your seat frame.
Give the seat foam a good press, make sure that it's seated into the frame, take your seat cover, line that up, and there is a Velcro strip right through here.
You want to make sure those are as lined up as you can possibly get them before you start stretching the seat... Just like that.
Give them a good tug, all the way around the edges... Alright, now it's a nice, plump, filled with the new foam, so you want to flip it over... You're going to need a lot of leverage to compress this foam to get these clips to go back in.
So now, we've got all of our clips back on, flip it back over, if you see any wrinkles or anything, you can just give them a good press or if you have a big wrinkle, you just give it a slap.
(slapping the seat) You want to press right here where that Velcro is, make sure it's nice and seated in there.
And once your wrinkles are all out, you've got yourself a brand-new seat.
Any questions or comments, hit us up right here at MotorWeek .
JOHN: It's time for another QuickSpin, and we've saved a front seat just for you!
♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: Now entering its third generation, this 2024 Subaru Crosstrek is eager for the trails-- and that is exactly where we ended up during our First Drive experience in Palm Springs, California.
The all-new Crosstrek is available in four trims: Base, Premium, Sport, and Limited.
As per usual, all come with Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, and only a Lineartronic CVT automatic.
Differences start with two available powertrains; the Base and Premium come with a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder BOXER engine, rated at 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque.
Stepping up to the Sport and Limited grants a larger 2.5 liter BOXER, good for 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque.
Aiding in trail traversal is a 10 percent stiffer chassis, 8.7 inches of ground clearance, and a new steering system borrowed from Subaru's very-own WRX... KYLE SCANLON: So, they've also installed a new Dual Pinion System into the steering, which makes the steering extremely responsive; but, also extremely light.
And you could really feel that when we were in the off-road section.
You turned on the X-Drive, X-MODE drive mode, and what that does it send power to the wheels that are getting grip and takes it off the wheels that aren't getting grip.
Which you could really feel on the off-roading section when you're driving through some of the ruts that they had-- I'm pretty sure purposely dug, so that we could feel the X-Mode really working.
JESSICA: Despite the ground clearance, the Crosstrek has maintained its low step-in height.
So, after a day hiking you won't have to worry about hoofin' it into a tall cab.
And once inside, you'll enjoy some of the new amenities, like more supportive front seats and an available 11.6 inch STARLINK touchscreen, a Crosstrek-first.
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek starts just over 26-grand with delivery, with top-trims starting around 32-grand.
The Base and Premium will continue to be made in Japan, while the Sport and Limited will be produced in Lafayette, Indiana.
They'll be at dealers starting this spring, and we'll have more QuickSpins, soon!
♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: We've spent five months with our 2022 Kia EV6, and it handled the cold of a Mid-Atlantic winter quite well.
Even when left undisturbed in airport parking for a week, our EV6 held its charge without any noticeable loss.
Good for us, as we were eager to hit the road.
We've somehow managed to avoid measurable snow this winter, so we didn't get a feel for how the EV6's all-wheel-drive system handles in it.
Instead we continued to put the two-motor setup through its paces during spirited jaunts on dry pavement.
The power balance transfers to each axle seamlessly and even on low-rolling resistance tires, the grip's pretty good.
Another 1,000 miles brings our total to 7100 and our first service call, which included a free software update to fix a glitch with the remote start temperature units.
Though, we've also noticed some of our recent charging cycles have been interrupted.
Lowering the charging rate seems to have fixed it, but we're hoping another update will solve it for good.
Regardless, our 2022 Kia EV6 is still impressing.
So much so that one of our drivers wrote: "I just love this car."
And we'll be checking in with another fun daily driver, our 2023 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, on the next MotorWeek Long Term Update!
JOHN: Jeep has been going big lately, whether you're talking about adding a 3rd row to the Grand Cherokee or reviving the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer as highly capable full-size 3-row utilities.
Well, that obviously wasn't enough.
Now, they're going even bigger with this Grand Wagoneer L. So, let's see how it stacks up America's suburban lifestyle.
♪ ♪ The Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer burst onto the scene last year, giving Jeep owners with growing families a whole new 3-row option to grow into.
Now, Jeep delivers a stretched alternative, the 2023 Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L. Wagoneer is of course, the reintroduced premium extension of the Jeep brand, and the Grand Wagoneer takes it to extremes with standard air suspension, cargo management rail system, full LED lighting, running boards, black accent roof; plus, unique hood, front fascia, grille, and fender flares.
Not to mention a whole suite of interior niceties; a unique dash design, walnut and aluminum trim, leather aplenty, and even massaging seats.
But both Wagoneer Ls share an elongated 130 inch wheelbase, seven more than the standard Wagoneer, and an overall length that's a foot more.
Designed to haul up to eight people, plus, plenty of gear as comfortably as possible; both 2nd and 3rd row legroom stay the same.
The benefit comes strictly in cargo space behind the 3rd row, which here in the Grand Wagoneer L grows from 28.4 cubic-feet to 44.2.
That climbs to 88.8 with the 3rd row folded, and to a max of 112.9.
The Wagoneer Ls less bulky seats allow for an even greater max total of 130.9 cubic-feet.
Towing capacity stays the same at 10,000 pounds.
But doing the pulling is an all-new 3.0 liter twin-turbo inline-6 engine; designed to deliver more power, more torque, and better efficiency than the standard Wagoneer's V8.
Dubbed "Hurricane," two versions are available.
The Wagoneer Ls with 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque; while this Grand Wagoneer L gets a high output version with 510 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque.
Depending on which trim is selected, you'll get either Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II, or Quadra-Drive II 4-wheel-drive.
For our Series II tester, that means Quadra-Drive II along with Quadra-Lift Air Suspension and 22 inch polished aluminum wheels which we steered towards Mason Dixon Dragway... ...where it was clear, this engine delivers an impressive amount of torque, considering how easily it dealt with the well over 3-tons of weight here.
The Grand Wagoneer L launches hard, hitting 60 in just 4.9 seconds.
The interior is just as amazing as the regular Grand Wagoneer; with up to 75 inches of screen space and a McIntosh reference audio system pumping 1,375 watts of sound through 23 speakers.
If all this space and luxury sound too good to be true; well, we can assure it's real, but it will cost you, as the Grand Wagoneer L starts at a whopping $93,495.
But, if you just need the space, and can get by with a lot less luxury and without 4-wheel-drive, you can get into a Wagoneer L for as little as $64,495.
In a few short years, Jeep has gone from having no 3-row offerings at all in their lineup, to having a multitude to choose from.
The 2023 Grand Wagoneer L is an impressive luxurious beast of an SUV that takes the brand to even loftier heights.
Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.
Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.
And I hope you'll join us next time... We'll go cruising for a refresher course on the three-row Kia Telluride, then plug into an all-new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Until next time, I'm John Davis.
We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !
ANNOUNCER: To learn more about MotorWeek ... Television's original automotive magazine, visit... To order a DVD of this program, call... MotorWeek has been brought to you by... ANNOUNCER: For more than 30 years Lucas Oil products has helped people tackle mechanical problems in the automotive, marine, and industrial fields.
From our original four core products... Lucas Oil has developed over 400 custom products to help both professionals and do it yourselfers.
To learn more visit Lucasoil.com.
Lucas oil, keep that engine alive!
MotorWeek is proudly sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper To Bumper, featuring major brand auto and truck parts, and service from coast to coast.
Learn more at AutoValue.com and BumperToBumper.com.
TireRack.Com is proud to support MotorWeek .
First, there was the wheel.
Then, the tire.
"We'll call it Tire Rack."
Forty years later, we're not slowing down.
♪ ♪ This program was produced by Maryland Public Television, which is solely responsible for its content.
(car engine revving) ♪ ♪ You're watching PBS.
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