First Race of the Miller Cup Championship Complete

The first of eight Ford Racing Mustang Challenge race was held at Road Atlanta on May 3rd, 2008. Washington state native, Andrew Caddell, walked away with the win and is now in the lead for the series grand prize, the Miller Cup.

The race lasted for a blistering 45 minutes which saw 21 Mustangs going at it (when the caution flags weren’t slowing things down).

Caddell’s TC Motorsports Ford Mustang FR500S held the pole position for almost the entire race and dominated the charts in every practice and qualifying session prior to taking home the win. Caddell was chased to the finish line by Rehagan Racing’s Jamie Slone who took second followed by Pratt Cole who earned third place.

Ford Racing Executive Director, Dan Davis said this about Caddell’s win: “He ran a really clean race and did a fantastic job.” Slone also agreed that Caddell ran a very clean race.

The second-race of this eight-race championship will go down on Sunday, June 15 at Canada’s Mosport International Raceway.

Red-Liners’ Take

It’s great to see auto makers like Ford supporting their own brand at events like this. I suspect that if the Big-3 did more of this, at the very least their brand-awareness would increase. Hats off to Caddell for the clean win.

[Source: Miller Cup’s Website]

A Saleen Challenger?

Saleen, a name synonymous with mustangs is turning it’s attention to Dodge’s upcoming 2009 Challenger R/T.

SMS (aka. Steve Mark Saleen - Saleen’s new company), has announced that it will produce the SMS 570 and SMS 570X Challenger. Both models will be based on the 2009 Challenger R/T. In stock trim, the Challenger R/T will come with the 5.7L Hemi, not to be confused with the Challenger SRT8 which will pack the massive 6.1L Hemi.

Part of the “Saleen treatment” will include a supercharger and an assortment of other unannounced goodies. According to Edmunds Insideline, SMS expects the supercharger to boost the Challenger’s horsepower numbers considerably, “…[between] 500 to over 700 horsepower.” Not bad at all considering this is Saleen’s first experiment with the modern Mopars. Look for prices in the range of $55,000 to $80,000.

Red-Liners’ Take

Since their release in 2005, the LX/LY platform cars (Charger, 300, Magnum, and Challenger) have been getting the cold shoulder from the likes of big-name aftermarket companies. Mopar owners (like me), have had to settle for lesser-known brands that are largely untested and somewhat unreliable.

It seems that the aftermarket tide is finally turning though. Dare I say that the modern Mopars have finally drawn enough attention to tempt a large aftermarket brand? Well I said it - here’s hoping that this trend continues. I have just one question though…where’s the love for the 6.1L (SRT) Hemis? Saleen, Roush…anyone?

[Source: Edmunds Insideline]

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Sets Record

Driven by GM Performance Division’s John Heinricy, a track prepped 2009 Cadillac CTS-V flew around the 12.9 mile Nurbugring in Germany in just 7:59.32, which is thought to be the fastest time any sedan has ever lapped the ‘Ring.

The 6.2-liter LSA V8 is rated at an estimated 550 horsepower and 550 lb-ft of torque making this CTS-V the most powerful caddy yet. The record setting run was most likely done with the optional manual six-speed transmission. Expect the 550 horsepower V to absolutely dominate the sedan market once it hits showrooms.

Red-Liners’ Take

I am glad to see that the American car companies are starting to produce cars that absolutely dominate European and especially, Japanese brands. Granted, there’s still a long way to go but this new CTS-V is a step in the right direction.

Want More?

If you want to learn more about this record setting run, check out the video of the CTS-V’s blistering run.

Source: [Edmund’s InsideLine]

The Blue Oval Goes Green

In early May this year, Ford became the first automaker to voluntarily join The Climate Registry (TCR), a non-profit organization that reports and measures greenhouse gas emissions.

In a press release published 5/1/2008 Ford claims that by joining TCR, the automaker can “…build upon [Ford’s continued] leadership in facility greenhouse gas (GHG) initiatives globally. Ford supports the global harmonization of GHG monitoring and reporting practices. TCR represents a significant step toward that goal.”

Read the full press-release here.

Red-Liners’ Take

This is only one of a few recent steps in the “green” direction for Ford and on the surface it shows that the company has the intention to be more environmentally conscious. Whether the follow-through is there, time will only tell. Maybe the awkward Ford Fusion wasn’t a one hit wonder after all.

I figured I’d go the opposite way this time and post a list of the World’s Worst Gas Guzzling Cars according to Forbes.

Here’s the list: World’s Worst Gas Guzzling Cars

Red-Liners’ Take

If this list was designed to somehow bash these cars, then Forbes needs to get rid of the writer. This trendy “green” movement is not only ridiculous but it is also sickening how many brain dead people blindly accept Al Gore’s false belief in Global Warming and take his deceptive movie (an Inconvenient Truth), as fact. In any case, enjoy the list and drive what you want - not what some ignoramus says will save the freaking planet.