Auto Trends

If you have never heard of the Mallett LS2 V8 Solstice, it is the Shelby GT-500 of the Ford Mustang, The honey butter on fresh loaf of cracked bread, The whipped cream topping on an otherwise dry and lifeless gingerbread cake!

Back in 1997, two brothers by the name of Chuck and Lance Mallett, who had been in the racing scene for 26 years prior to, founded a performance shop dedicated to some of GM’s finest automobiles. In over 10 years Mallet has produced some pretty impressive vehicles, and today we pay tribute to that time honored tradition of making the fast, even more insanely fast.

Mallett V8 Pontiac Solstice (and Saturn Sky)

All Photos via: Mallet

Take your standard 2.4 liter (0-60 in 7 seconds) base Pontiac Solstice (Saturn Sky), slam it with a 400 horsepower Mallet (a.k.a. Corvette LS2 engine), and you instantly have a roadster that is poised to make minced meat out of just about every exotic roadster out there. Imagine the jaw drop of a Porsche 911 Carrera S driver as he realized he has just been bested by what would appear to be a base 2.4 liter Pontiac Solstice. If only he had looked around and noticed the Mallet badging (or the deep rumble of a V-8 might have been a hint), perhaps he would have saved himself from a heap of embarrassment.

The Mallet Solstice was built as a stealthy war monger, featuring a completely stock look (even comes with the stock single exhaust), that performs nothing like stock! All the goodies are packed inside. There are no giant wings, alien front end dams, triple chrome 24” dubs. It’s all about engine stuff, with none of the fluff! Packages are available up to 900 horsepower (turbocharged). Believe it or not this type of conversion is even backed by a respectable 2-year, 24,000 warranty, which judging by the type of characters looking to indulge in this type of power overload, I’d say that takes some courage on Mallet’s part. Only 100 of these stealth machines will ever be built according to their website.

Mallet Cadillac CTS-V

When was the last time you saw a Cadillac dust a Dodge Viper? Well, with a 471 horsepower Mallet, that just might be fathomable. The Cadillac CTS-V kit comes with a rebuilt LS6 (or LS2) engine, with all the trim, including suspension upgrades, billet shifter, body graphics and the same 2-year/24,000 warranty as the Solstice (Sky)

Mallet Cadillac Escalade

Cadillac Escalades are pretty common these days, but not many folks will have ever heard of a Mallet edition. The conversion involves the addition of a Rotrex supercharger, which pushes the Cadilac’s stock 400 horsepower from its 6.2-liter V8, up to 550 horsepower. Add some suspension, 22” dubs, Corsa exhaust, custom hood, grill, and body emblems, and you just became your neighbors new best friend!

Mallett Corvette C6 & Z06

Probably Mallet’s most famous conversions are their Corvette’s. They handle all C5’s, C6’s, and Z06’s. The C6 and Z06 get a little porting, matching, camshaft, springs, pushrods, exhaust, suspension upgrades, and a few other goodies, but probably their most exciting offerings, is a transplant of the LS7 (427 cubic inch) powerplant into your standard automatic LS2 C6.

With the Mallet C6 conversion package you get the drysump oil system, camshaft, and custom bodywork to turn your C6 into a 505 horsepower Mallett Z06. Of course, supercharging your Corvette is always an option too. Quite frankly your limitations when working with Mallet are only your imagination and the thickness of your wallet.

Okay, I talked myself into it. I’ll take one of each!!!

2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS, originally uploaded by JDPower.com Photography

It is that time of year for the results of this years APEAL studies (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout). “APEAL” is the shortened description for when J.D. Power and Associates rolls out their list of appealing automotive attributes, and ask buyers to rate how last years automotive offerings stacked up to their expectations.

It was undoubtedly a rough year for most automotive manufacturers in 2008. Consumers witnessed the initial proceedings of bankruptcy, job loss, stock loss, gas price increase, and a host of other ups and downs, so it would not be surprising to find them rather down on the automobile in general. This however did not appear to be the case.

The Bloody Consequences of Higher Gas Prices, originally uploaded by lorenzodom

The Automotive Market Maybe Down, But Certainly Not Out
The overall consumer opinion of 2008 models was fairly positive, except for performance/fuel economy and audio/entertainment. The dissatisfaction with fuel economy has already been attributed mostly to the high gas prices of 2008, while electronics still remains somewhat of a mystery why it was rated lower than usual.

Unlike most years, consumers appeared to prefer freshened, previous models, to the all-new, redesigned ones. A few examples of this was seen in the popular opinion of such previous models as the Ford Focus, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Chevrolet Malibu. We also saw a lot of familiar faces from last year’s poll reappear with some old consumer favorites, such as Porsche Cayenne, BMW 3-Series, and Jaguar XJ Series.

With this said, Buick was one of the few who actually did enjoy noteworthy success by introducing an all-new, stylish vehicle. We are of course speaking of the Enclave, which may have very well brought a whole new generation back in touch with the aging Buick brand.

Ford deserves some extra applause for being surveyed as having one of the most improved models of 2008, the Ford Focus. Of the more disappointing models according to consumers was the Honda CR-V, Saturn Aura, and Lincoln MKX.

A few other noteworthy vehicles exhibiting top scores according to consumer opinion was the Mini Cooper, Volkswagen GTI/CC/Tiguan, Hyundai Genesis, Smart Fortwo, Dodge Challenger, Ford Flex/F-150, Nissan Armada/Maxima, Honda Odyssey/Ridgeline, Mercedes-Benz SLK/S-Class, and Chevrolet Avalanche.

Source: J.D. Power & Associates

Tesla Roadster, originally uploaded by erdero

Appropriately, the words “slapped” is used in this title, as right now the electric car industry is very much under a microscope by the public’s eye. There are many non-believers that think an electric car has just as much possibility to make it over the long haul as a dog hanging out in the alleyway of a Chinese “all you can eat” buffet.

What is exactly is the recall for? Well, just a simple bolt on the steering seems to be the trouble for about 345 Tesla Roadster’s that have actually made it out of the factory so far. What did Tesla do to cover their rear end as any other corporation would have done? Why they blamed it on somebody else of course.

One of Tesla’s first public statements after the recall notice was that Lotus was at fault for improperly assembled steering mechanism. Lotus has gone public with their own recall for a number of Elise’s and Exige’s for a similar problem, so they certainly weren’t afraid to own up to a few improperly executed turns of the wrench.

There has been no word as to the actual danger level of the current steering situation, but Tesla has announced that they will personally be traveling to each and every one of the owners driveways to do the repair. I guess that’s the kind of service you should expect with a $100,000-plus vehicle.

One owner, whose name shall remain anonymous, was the originator of this recall after calling Tesla and complaining about their vehicles poor steering response during certain maneuvers. To rectify the situation, each of these owners who received a Tesla between the months of March 2008 and April 2009, can expect the repair, a complimentary inspection, and an upgrade to the Roadster’s software, all free of charge (well, of course).

Considering the few clientèle who have actually received one of these anomalies, folks such as George Clooney and Matt Damon. The technicians bestowed this honor could practically find themselves on a tour of the stars homes/garages or on an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

So is this going to hurt the little-electric-car-company-that-could at all? Heck no. These things happen, everybody knows that. What the future buyers of these vehicles are really waiting to see, is the longevity and cost of the battery systems over time. This is most likely the monkey on the electric car’s back that will either make or break it in the marketplace!

Source: Left Lane News