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Cartoon: Soros Funds Protests
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 8, 2024
Cartoon: Ivy League Education Value
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 8, 2024
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Cartoon: Whitmer Knocks Noem Book
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 6, 2024
Payne: Reborn Chevy Traverse offers a multiverse of goodness
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 6, 2024
Atlanta — It’s time for another edition of Design Your Perfect Car. Today’s feature: Chevrolet. OK. The perfect Chevy would be:
1) A bargain like a Chevy Trax.
2) Engaging performance like a Corvette.
3) Off-road capable like a Colorado Z71/Trail Boss/ZR2.
4) Tough like a Silverado pickup, dude.
5) Capable of seating six comfortably like a Tahoe.
6) Stuffed with cool self-driving tech like a Bolt.
Your wish is granted. Say hello to the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71.
Whaaaaat? The Traverse?!!! The vanilla Soccer Mom SUV that’s been more miserly on standard features than Scrooge and had the face of … wait, what did it look like again? Yes, that Traverse.
For its third generation, the remade Traverse has gotten its act together. Call it the Multiverse. The big ute has always clocked in for work with the biggest interior in class, but it had fallen behind competitors in value (love ya’, Kia Telluride), style (oooh, that Ford Explorer is hot), interior design (Telluride again), and off-road chops (Explorer Timberline, Telluride X-Pro, Honda Pilot Trailsport, etc.).
The off-road oversight was particularly galling for a brand that produces some of the best trucks on the planet. Buy a Chevy pickup Z71, Trail Boss or ZR2 off-road model and you’ll want to take a detour to Holly Oaks ORV Park sandbox every day on your home from work to play.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 comes standard with adaptive cruse control, blind-spot assist, even all-terrain tires. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So Traverse went to the gym and emerged with a toned, ZR1 off-road bod. Dude.
Performance-verse. In the wilds of northwest Georgia, I selected OFF-ROAD mode, turned off traction control and drifted the big ute through some grassy turns. Out on the flat, I buried the throttle and the buttery-smooth, eight-speed transmission swapped the right cogs to get into the meat of the best-in-class, 328-horse turbo-4 — yet another torque monster from the same blacksmiths that gave you gems like the 2.7-liter Silverado turbo-4 and the flat-plane crank Corvette V-8.
Alas, Chevy hasn’t complemented this grunt with a throaty exhaust growl. Pity. A good growl would also reinforce Traverse’s tough truck bod, complete with Silverado-like, get-outta-my-way grille and muscled shoulders. Good riddance to the ol’, vanilla, Malibu-inspired wardrobe.
Truck-verse. GM makes some of the best-engineered chassis in autodom and Traverse is no exception. Whether Camaro, Caddy sedan or Silverado, the General’s models have always been fun to drive. Through rural Atlanta’s twisties, the XL Traverse felt a size smaller. Now, Chevy ups the fun factor with a proper Z71 off-road package taken from its trucks: 32-inch Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires, underbody skid plates, red tow hooks, 1.2-inch lift, twin-clutch rear differential.
The bold, upright front end of the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The latter is a nifty tech that Michiganians will also appreciate in winter snow drifts. One tire stuck? The clutch packs will throw 100% torque to the other wheel to power you out.
Bang! I smacked the front skid plate over a mogul and the big ute shrugged it off. Don’t ford a stream with it (get yourself a Colorado ZR2 with a snorkel for that kind of hooliganism), but Z71 would be happy towing your family side-by-side to a trail head.
Value-verse. Family road trips are also a breeze with the Traverse’s laundry list of standard features. Forget the mid-range Z71 trim (my favorite if you haven’t already guessed), the base $40K LS trim Traverse is loaded with blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, forward collision alert, rear cross-traffic braking, auto high beams, side bicyclist alert, 29 inches of digital screens, wireless charge pad, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Oculus VR headset (kidding about that last one). Walk up with key in pocket and arms full of groceries and the rear hatch will even automatically open for you.
The roomy interior of the 2024 Chevy Traverse also has the biggest screens in class. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
What a contrast from a generation ago when popular features weren’t even available on the volume LT trim. Said then-Auto Pacific analyst Dave Sullivan: “It’s a very strange decision not to include these features. Offering a family vehicle … without that equipment is a miss.”
Miss no more. The now-loaded Traverse is in the segment sweet spot. Spec it against its Trailsport, X-Pro, Timberline peers with a pano roof, and it’s the best value in the stable at $49,295. The Trax, Chevy’s terrific, affordable $21K starter SUV, would be proud. Need more? Opt for the leather-wrapped, fully-accessorized Traverse RS.
Third-gen Traverse has even corrected “very strange” misses like no STOP-START off button. Traverse customers can now nix engine stall — the most despised, government emissions-inspired feature in autodom — with the tap of a button. High five.
With extra cash in their pockets, Traverse customers might even drop $3,280 to outfit Traverse with Super Cruise.
Super-verse. Whaaaat?!!! Yes, Super Cruise, the industry-leading, hands-free driver-assist feature, is now available on the family truckster. I know, I know, hands-free driving freaks you out, but this is a heckuva system. The latest version even self-drives on secondary roads — though I’d recommend using it primarily on interstates so you can safely eat a burger, chat with your spouse and check text messages.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse offers hands-free Super Cruise on the LT, Z71, and RS trims. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I told you vanilla Traverse is now the Chocolate Chunky Monkey Banana Split Traverse.
Multiverse. For all its improvements, Traverse still hasn’t forgotten its core mission: moving people. At 6’5”, I comfortably sat behind myself sitting behind myself with plenty of headroom in row three. The last row is hardly a dungeon despite its porthole window. With cup-and-French fry holders, backseat carve-outs for your shoes and pano roof overhead, it ain’t a bad place to spend a trip. And with best-in-class cargo room, there’s still space in back for luggage.
Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne can sit in the third row of the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 sitting behind himself sitting behind himself. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Space in the front of the bus is typically well-designed. Best-in-class 17.7-inch dash screen, and Traverse opens up the console by moving the electronic shifter to the steering column (right behind the clever steering wheel, complete with radio station and volume controls on the backside).
That means more real estate for charging phones, purse storage underneath and tall drinks to sip while Super Cruising.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse RS is loaded with every Traverse feature and bears a hefty, $56k price tag with it. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cars are extraordinary things these days with turbocharged engines putting up power numbers V-8s once dreamed of, sophisticated tire/shock combos and dash jumbotrons. The ‘24 Traverse manages to integrate all that hardware and then imbue it with personality.
Vanilla no more, the Multiverse — er, Traverse — will be the envy of your kids’ friends in the school pick-up line. Load ‘em up and drive home hands free.
Next week: 2024 Acura ZDX
2024 Chevrolet Traverse
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV
Powerplant: 2.5-liter turbocharged, inline-4 cylinder
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: $39,995 base, including $1,395 destination fee ($49,295 as tested)
Power: 328 horsepower, 326 pound-feet torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, NA;; towing capacity: 5,000 pounds
Weight: 4,504 pounds (FWD); 4,793 pounds (AWD Traverse as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 19 city/24 highway/21 combined (AWD Traverse as tested)
Report card
Highs: Bold styling; big screens, room, personality
Lows: Coarse engine sound; no head-up display
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cartoon: Cat buys Noem Dog Book
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 1, 2024
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Payne: The Genesis G90 is cool just sitting in your driveway
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 25, 2024
Oakland County — Luxury cars are becoming Brookstone gadget stores on wheels. Who needs to drive them? They’re just fun to play with.
Take the 2024 Genesis G90 sitting in my driveway.
With the key in my pocket, I walked up to the Genesis and it rolled out the red carpet. Make that lit carpet. A Genesis logo splashed on the ground in front of the door and the handles moved outward to my waiting hand. Coldwell Banker, do your house tours do this?
I slid into the posh seats, pushed the brake pedal and the door softly closed next to me. Push the door button and it swings back open (sensing the distance to the car next to you, of course). Step out, lightly tap the door handle button and the door swings closed. Show it off to your friends; you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.
Show-and-tell luxury accessories have been coming fast and furious in recent years. There’s the Tesla Model 3/Y that will follow you like a dog, the Genesis G60 SUV that you can remote parallel park, the GMC Sierra’s Multi-Pro six-way tailgate including a stairway-into-the-bed, the Ram 1500’s mega-screen, the Lincoln Nautilus’s 48-inch pillar-to-pillar display.
The G90 shows off its cutting-edge tech inside a stunning sedan. Remember those? Cadillac and Lincoln long ago exited the big sedan market, so the Genesis is left to compete with icons like the Audi A8, BMW 7-series and Mercedes S-class. In an SUV-mad world, these loooong land yachts remind just how elegant the sedan figure can be.
The imposing 2024 Genesis G90 is roomy, powerful and bears signature twin headlights. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The G90 debuted back in 2017 as an Audi knock-off and has since matured into its own style. The band’s signature dual lamps are on display — wrapped around the front end like racing stripes — and are both instantly recognizable as one of the most handsome designs in class. My G90 tester doesn’t come cheap at $100K, but that’s 5 grand south of the comparable BMW 7-series I tested last summer — and showcases classic lines compared to the German’s new techno-punk wardrobe.
Like the Bimmer, the Genesis sports those mesmerizing auto-shut doors — and lots more toys inside. No, our tour still hasn’t got out of the driveway yet.
Fall into the palatial backseat (just press the door button and it silently closes behind you) and slip your shoes off. Press a button on the door and your chair turns into a Barcalounger.
The posh interior of the 2024 Genesis G90 is knee-deep in technical controls. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The front passenger seat rolls forward to open up (even more) legroom while the backseat reclines. Out pops a thigh support so your legs can stretch out straight, my 6’5” drumsticks dangling in the air. Ahhhh.
Feeling sleepy? A center screen of controls is at your disposal so you can 1) close the rear sunroof (did I mention there are separate sunroofs for the front and rear passengers?), 2) cover the rear windows with blinds, 3) activate a massage, 4) heat/cool your seats, and 5) put on your favorite tunes (assuming the driver doesn’t mind).
Oh, yes, the driver.
The front thrones are not only beautifully designed (check out the concave steering wheel, flying buttresses bracketing the instrument display and butterfly console doors), but the cockpit can also be customized to your liking. Choose your graphic themes, font size, screen color, head-up display content. Three buttons on the steering wheel can be programmed with shortcuts to your most-used features — I performed mine for preset radio stations, audio mute and AM radio.
Hello. The door handles of the 2024 Genesis G90 pop out to greet you. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
While Genesis has come into it own on interior/exterior design, the brand seems determined to give you feature options you might find on other premium brands. The center console screen can be controlled by touch (like an Audi) or by remote rotary dial (like a Bimmer). Radio presets can be swiped though via a Mercedes-like steering-wheel touchpad. And volume and adaptive cruise speed controls are easily manipulated via raised toggles like a Cadillac or GMC.
Speaking of speed, you’ll eventually want to drive the Genesis after ogling its blizzard of features. The experience doesn’t disappoint.
Mash the pedal and the 409-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 responds with a mighty roar — thrusting you into traffic with impressive velocity (a 48-volt battery provides extra oomph) despite the yacht’s 5,156-pound curb weight. Sixty mph blows by just 5.1 seconds while the all-wheel-drive system provides welcome stability. A SPORT mode is on offer — tightening the seat bolsters around you — but this is no sportscar.
Backseat passengers get their own rotary controller to adjust things like massaging seats in the 2024 Genesis G90.Henry Payne, The Detroit News
More enjoyable is adaptive cruise control, which automatically changes lanes on interstates. Parent Hyundai has been at the forefront of usable ACC systems, and the Genesis is no exception with lane-keep assist that is excellent for long drives.
I especially appreciated that Genesis had located the rotary shifter to the left of the rotary infotainment controller in the center console. Other Genesis models stack them, which can bring confusion — I’ve been caught out shifting the sister GV80 SUV into neutral, for example, when I though I was rotating between radio stations. Ugh.
Other ergonomics still need tidying, however. For all its technical wizardry, G90 still requires a cable to operate Apple CarPlay and Android auto — cluttering the console. The dreaded STOP-START switch is in the nether regions of the left dash rather than right next to the ignition button as in BMW and Mercedes.
It’s hard to be mad, though, when you have so many goodies at your fingertips.
The 2024 Genesis G90 shows off sleek proportions and fancy 21-inch wheels. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I thrilled at the authoritative roar of the V-6 under my whip, but otherwise the cabin was whisper quiet during my week of cruising. Mrs. Payne and I conversed easily. In a sudden March blizzard, the all-wheel-drive system was unfazed and confident in the slippery conditions. Alas, that 48-volt battery cramps the cargo sub-space, meaning no spare tire should a tread come to grief.
Genesis competes with Bimmer and Merc with its 6-cylinder powertrain. The Germans up the ante to V-8s in their top-line models. Genesis is content to offer a 375-horse V-6 and the (48-bolt assisted) 409-horse mill in my tester.
After a haircut, my barber was keen to take a tour. She slipped into the driver’s seat, then beamed when the door closed at her press of the brake pedal.
I’m going to have to start charging for these tours.
Next week: 2024 Acura ZDX
2024 Genesis G90
Vehicle type: Gas-powered, all-wheel drive, five-passenger luxury sedan
Price: $90,450, including $1,195 destination charge ($100,695 e-Supercharged model as tested)
Powerplant: 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Weight: 5,156 pounds
Power: 375 horsepower, 391 oound-feet torque (base); 409 horsepower, 405 pound-feet torque (e-Supercharged)
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.1 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 132 mph
Fuel economy: EPA est. 17 city/24 highway/20 combined (as tested)
Report card
Highs: Tech-tastic; handsome design
Lows: Wireless Apple CarPlay, please; gets pricey
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
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Payne: Flat out in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N electric track rat
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 18, 2024
Laguna Seca, California — Out of slow, 90-degree Turn 11 onto the Laguna Seca Raceway’s pit straight, my 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N performance SUV instantly put down 545 pounds of torque and 601 horsepower to all four fat Pirelli P Zero performance tires. No downshift to second gear. No turbo lag. Just pure thrust. Zot! Seconds later, the EV crested the hill into Turn One at 120 mph.
Welcome to the electric track car.
The Ioniq 5 N hot hatch is the first track-focused EV from a major manufacturer, and it is a marvel. Despite its 4,900-pound girth — 60% more than a Volkswagen Golf R hot hatch — Hyundai pro test drivers here were recording 1 minute, 35 second laps. That is on par with a 640-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo S. That’s crazy.
That’s what instant torque, extensive body bracing and suspension stiffening will do for you. It’s what BMW does to make its M-badged cyborgs quicker than the average Bimmer sedan. Indeed, at the world’s greatest racetrack, the formidable 13.9-mile Nürburgring (Ioniq N’s namesake) in Germany, the Ioniq 5 N nearly matched the time of BMW’s premier driver’s car, the M2 CS, at 7 minutes, 45 seconds. Craaaazy.
Crazier still, we’re comparing a ute with a coupe thoroughbred. Like the M2, the 5 N has been screwed to the ground with chassis performance enhancements and sticky Pirelli P Zero tires. But it still exhibits the inherent high center of gravity of an SUV and its tall seating position. Over Laguna’s signature Corkscrew turn, I managed the throttle as the top-heavy ute navigated the turn’s extreme, downhill switchback. So how is it possible this shoebox’s lap times are on par with Porsche’s finest?
“It maximizes the tire,” deadpanned engineer Robin Shute, the accomplished Pike’s Peak and off-road rally ace who I chased around Laguna at obscene speeds. “The electric motors are feeding maximum torque all the time.”
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N shows off its Hyundai Racing blue and red-trimmed colors. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So whatever the shoebox loses to the Porsche in the corners, it makes up with Thor’s Hammer acceleration off every turn. I’ve experienced this shocking performance before — albeit from the passenger seat of Ford CEO Jim Farley’s Transit SuperVan 4.0 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, another e-Kong in a box. Imagine what these drivetrains could do in a proper, low-center-of-gravity sportscar.
I have tracked my Tesla Model 3 Performance and crave its instant, AWD torque. But the 3 Performance is not optimized for track use, and its Brembo brakes will cook after six laps around Pontiac’s 1.5-mile M1 Concourse. I hammered the 5 N for 26 miles around Laguna’s 2.2-mile rollercoaster (12 laps) with no brake fade. Indeed, Model 3s outfitted with properly tuned aftermarket brakes from Unplugged Performance have recorded similar track times to the 5 N despite giving up 100 pound-feet of torque and 150 horsepower. The future of electric performance is bright.
But … tracking an EV at hyper speeds comes with the same compromises of any EV: namely, range.
The Ioniq 5 N’s 84 kWh battery holds just 221 miles of range, and I sucked down nearly half of that over my 20-minute session around Laguna. Oof. That’s about four miles off the battery for every mile on the odometer (0.8 kW/per mile), which is at least better than my Tesla’s 6:1 ratio since the Model 3 hasn’t undergone the extensive aero-and-heat management intervention engineers administered to the Ioniq bot. Around two 14-mile laps (28 miles total) of the Nurburgring and its extended, full-throttle straightaways, Hyundai says I5N drank over half the battery.
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N sports Pirelli P Zero performance tires with nearly 11 inches of tire patch for better cornering. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Travel to Laguna from, say, Silicon Valley 80 miles to the north, you’ll need to plan multiple fast charger visits to get laps on a track day.
As California bans new gas car sales over the next few years (and likely makes it hard to use older, internal-combustion cars with increased taxes and geographical bans), will Laguna nix gas racing? Figuring out how to charge at racetracks will be a priority. Some tracks, Laguna included, have already installed Tesla Superchargers due to the volume of Tesla enthusiasts who track their steeds.
Our Hyundai track day was supported by a Mullen natural gas fast charger, which topped up the Hyundai between four media track sessions. Mullen’s charger (and similar generators) tend to be prohibitively expensive for non-corporate events.
My track day pals own Mustang and Corvette muscle cars — or Subaru WRX and Civic Type R pocket rockets — and don’t suffer charging inconvenience. Gas refueling takes minutes and you can bring gas to the track. If you live in Metro Detroit and commute to either rural Gingerman or Grattan racetracks, you’re looking at 350-mile round trips with limited fast charger support nearby.
In RACE mode, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N offers lots of track info. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Most buyers will simply use their I5N as a daily driver — its AWD and luxurious interior (twin 12-inch digital displays arching across the dashboard, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, roomy rear seats, hatchback cargo storage). Plying California’s Route 68 to Monterey, the IN5 was easy to drive while turning heads with its Hyundai Racing-inspired blue-and-red-trimmed exterior and Camaro-like front cowl.
Lean into the throttle, however, and the hot hatch is stupid quick. Zero-60 mph passes in a blink — 3.1 seconds (nearly on par with the Model 3 Performance despite weighing 800 pounds more) — and Hyundai has provided electronic toys to augment the experience. My favorite? Supersonic jet fighter audio that sounds like you’re breaking the sound barrier.
The sheer speed and novelty of IN5 are sure to attract track enthusiasts. Will it be the small-displacement, pocket-rocket crowd or big-block muscle car owners?
I’m guessing the latter, given the Ioniq’s colossal straight-line speed — and matching price. Where hot hatches tend to be $40K machines, the IN5 weighs in at $67, 475. That’s Corvette and Mustang GT350 money.
But the roots of Hyundai’s N brand are in 4-cylinder fun boxes like the terrific Elantra N and (defunct) Veloster N. To evoke those vehicles, Hyundai has equipped Ioniq 5 N with an IGNITION sound option that perfectly mimics the brand’s turbo-4 cylinder engines.
In RACE mode, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N turns off all the nannies for optimum driver control. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Muscle car enthusiasts may pass — waiting for the coming V8-simulation of Dodge’s Charger Banshee EV that, like the I5N, has a useful hatchback for hauling tires to the track. I found the I5N’s fake-ICE sound remarkably realistic on track laps — including the ability to shift through multiple gears (with rev matching) just like a gas car.
Unlike a petrol car, however, the so-called GRIN SHIFT option won’t make you faster. Single-speed, uninterrupted electric torque is the quick way ‘round. Want to go even quicker? Press the N-boost button for an extra 40 horsepower when you want it.
Zot! Crazy.Next week: 2024 Genesis G90
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Vehicle type: Electric, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger performance SUV
Price: $67,475, including $1,375 destination charge
Powerplant: 84-kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric motor drive
Transmission: Single-speed
Weight: 4,861 pounds
Power: 601 horsepower, 545 pound-feet of torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 162 mph
Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 221 miles, 78 MPGe
Report card
Highs: Instant torque everywhere; electronic performance toys
Lows: Porky; track laps suck battery
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cartoon: Tax Code Drop Ukraine
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Cartoon: Trump Court Pillory
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Cartoon: Goliath Iran Attacks David Israel
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 15, 2024
Cartoon: Biden Response Iran Attack
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 15, 2024
