Best Non Exotic Exhaust Notes

You are walking down the street and all of a sudden someone turns the corner and gives it some gas and you hear a glorious sound that makes you turn around to see if you can guess correctly what it is. Every so often you turn around and see an exotic that surprises you but more often than not it's something a little more ordinary. Below are some of the best exhaust notes from cars that you can spot on a regular basis.

Mercedes-Benz C63

The AMG 6.2 liter V8 that powers 63 series AMG models is on its last legs as it is replaced by smaller turbocharged V8 engines. Lauded for its excellent power the naturally aspirated V8 is one of the best sounding engines this side of super cars and exotics. The AMG V8 has the perfect balance between a low rumble of an American V8 and that of a higher revving European V8 which makes it a hard combination to beat.




Mustang V8

The Mustang has always had a fantastic V8 sound even when the 4.6 liter V8 was barely stronger than some V6s at the time. Nevertheless, Mustang V8s almost always deliver a fantastic rumble that while not as high revving as the AMG V8 does rev a little higher than your traditional American V8 giving you more glorious sound through the rev range. While the latest 5.0 cammer sounds fantastic one of my favorites is the 2003-2004 SVT Cobra that is always one of the louder street legal cars that you will spot as most are usually modified.




Audi V8

The now nearly retired Audi 4.2 V8 is another fantastic sounding V8. Most often found in the last generation S4 and the pre face lift S5 the 4.2 also has some additional revs to play with as well for a throaty sound across the entire rev range. The 4.2 also sounds pretty good in the Q7 but is far too quite in the A6 and A8 versions. Much like the AMG V8 the naturally aspirated V8 is being replaced in all but its high power version by the smaller supercharged V6 that delivers more power but lacks the sound.




To balance out all of the amazing exhaust notes one can hear on a daily basis there is always one sound that drives me insane, the various versions of the Infiniti 3.7 V6. The VQ's pitch just doesn't sound right to me especially at lower RPM and the worst offender is the FX version that always produces a loud drone even when accelerating at an extremely pedestrian pace.

Is BMW about to abandon its I6?

With the next M3 around the corner, engine rumors are heating up and those with inside sources are saying that BMW will use a V6 , the rest of us have You Tube videos to analyze. There are three reasons why BMW would want to switch to a V6 from its traditional inline six cylinder layout: two improve performance, for marketing reasons, and to make Audi fans say I told you so (as in Audi used a turbo V6 in its RS4 many years ago). Clearly the first two reasons are significantly more likely to be true. The new V6 which would likely place the turbos between the cylinder banks could allow for better turbo response and the V6 configuration could make for a shorter engine. Using the V6 instead of an upgraded inline six seen in the 335i also gives the marketing folks the ability to differentiate the M3 from its lesser 3 series siblings. Words such as groundbreaking, bespoke and unique can be used to justify the M3's pricing premium. A different engine removes the 135i (with chip tuning) vs. 1M debate and dilemma and allows for a significantly bigger price cushion between a 335i and an M3. Not as strong of an argument as a high RPM V8 on the current M3 but the next best solution keeping while keeping the fuel economy in mind.

In reality both reasons probably play a role if the next M3 does come with a V6 and not a familiar I6 but only BMW knows what the ratio of importance between marketing and performance is.

Will the next M3 feature a smaller version of the M5's V8

Or an updated version of the tried and true I6?

Plymouth Prowler Retrospective: Could Have Used a V8

There are some things in life that go so well together that they are famous for being together; peanut butter and jelly, mac & cheese, burgers and fries and so on. Hot Rods and V8s go together just as well, ever seen a Hot rod without one? As a modern take on the Hot rod the Plymouth (and later Chrysler) Prowler certainly had the styling to look like one, but lacked the horsepower and the requisite V8 to truly be one. For these and other reasons some saw the Prowler as a disappointment, Time magazine even rated it as one of its 50 worst cars of all time. With that in mind let's take a look at the Prowler's legacy and see what this unique vehicle was all about. We'll compare the Prowler to its contemporary competition in areas of styling, performance and value to see if it really deserves to be called one of the worst of all time.

Design

Certainly the Prowler looked and still looks like nothing else on the road today. If you disagree, ask yourself when was the last time you saw Formula 1 style wheel and suspension combination? The Chip Foose inspired Prowler draws attention with classic Hot rod proportion, wider and higher at the rear than at the front. Looking sleek and wide the Prowler looked great with its 17 inch wheels upfront and 20 inch wheels at the rear at a time when no one else was even thinking of 20 inch wheels. The 20 inch wheels were not the only mechanical element ahead of its time; aluminum construction gave the Prowler a relatively light curb weight of around 2,800 pounds. Upfront inboard mounted shocks handled suspension duty. The Prowler also used a rear mounted transmission as seen on the Corvette. The 4 speed automatic transmission was connected to a 3.5 liter V6 upfront. Overall the Prowler certainly looked like a performance Hot Rod and had some trick technology to boot.

Powertrain

Before we begin this section it's important to consider that it's been over a decade now since the Prowler stopped production so the horsepower numbers of that time period will look tame all across the board. Chrysler's decision to adapt its LH sedan powertain components (of 300M/Dodge Intrepid fame) has certainly been questioned by many critics. The Prowler first used 3.5 liter V6 with 214 horsepower which was updated for the 1999 model year to 253 horsepower and 255 pound feet of torque. At the time the Chrysler V6 was around 30 horsepower more powerful than any other mainstream V6 from Acura, Lexus or even BMW's inline six in the 5 series. At the time the most powerful Porsche Boxster had a 250 horsepower 3.2 liter flat six while the non M BMW Z3 topped out at 230 horsepower. On the domestic front the C5 Chevrolet Corvette produced 345 horsepower from its then new LS1 V8. Chrysler on the other hand did not have a powerful V8 option to consider. Its most powerful V8 at the time, the 5.9 Magnum, produced 250 horsepower (torque was greater @ 345 lb-ft), essentially ruling it out as a performance improvement over the V6. The LS1 challenging Hemi would not go on sale until after the Prowler ceased production. Based on the lack of a powerful V8 available at the time Chrysler's decision to use a "parts bin" sedan V6 was reasonable and financially sound, but hindsight would indicate that something like a V8 version of the Viper V10 would have made the Prowler a true modern day hot rod.

Performance

While the Prowler lacked a V8 soundtrack (the V6 was quite loud though) and was limited by a four speed automatic gearbox its acceleration performance was not too bad for its day but slightly slower than its competitors. The Prowler accelerated to 60 in 6 seconds flat or about the same as the regular Boxster but around half a second slower than the BMW Z3. More expensive competition like the Corvette, BMW M Roadster, Mercedes SLK 320AMG all featured more power and were about a second and a half quicker to 60. Despite its light weight the Prowler was not known for great handling being more of a cruiser than a sports car.

Value

By using "parts bin" components for the powertrain and the interior Chrysler was able to keep Prowler's price to a competative level between 40-45,000 dollars throughout its life cycle. Closest convertible competition such as the Corvette convertible, BMW Z3 Mercedes SLK320 and the Porsche Boxster were priced in a similar price range, between 38-45,000. While the Prowler enjoyed a competitive sticker price dealer markup of 10,000 or more was abundant during the first few model years indicating the public's interest in the Prowler.

The final tally of 11,702 Prowlers produced tells much about it as a vehicle. Featuring styling that turned heads like nothing else except a few Italian exotics it was not for everyone. A V8 would have made it that much more desirable but it's certainly can not qualify as one of the 50 worst cars of all time under any circumstances. Click on the photo below to view more of the Prowler.

EcoBoost V6 F-150 To Tow More than Competitor V8s

Ford says that its 2011 F-150 equipped with the twin-turbo 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 will tow up to 11,300 pounds, giving it more towing capacity than even the V8 powered competition. Payload capacity likewise tops the competition with 3,060 pounds. Even though the EcoBoost V6 outshines the competition it is still only the second strongest engine in the 2011 F-150 lineup with 365 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. The top dog engine will be the 6.2 liter V8 that first debuted on the Raptor, it produces 411 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque. Also available on the 2011 F-150 is the Mustang sourced 5 liter V8 making 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque in this application, rounding out the engine lineup is a 3.7 liter V6 with 302 horsepower and 278 lb-ft of torque. Ford is promising the 2011 F-150s to deliver 20% better fuel economy than the 2010 versions. It will be interesting to find out how the different engines compare in fuel economy once the ratings become official.

The EcoBoost appears to be a very enticing proposition on paper, but only time will tell if pickup buyers will take a gamble on a high tech engine format previously not seen in their domain.