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Dream Cruise Eve: Woodward Avenue comes alive
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 18, 2023
Pontiac — Farms have roosters, the Dream Cruise has V-8s.
WAAAUUGGGHHH! A sinister black Pontiac GTO lit up the asphalt at the Woodward and Long Lake stoplight as cruisers woke up with the sun for Dream Cruise Friday. From Pontiac to Bloomfield Hills, cruisers mixed with commuter traffic as clubs set up tents, Corvette celebrated its 70th anniversary at M1 Concourse, and diehards claimed their desired parking spots.
Tom Paletti, 70, of Macomb Township arrived at Woodward and Square Lake at 6 a.m. in his 421-cubic inch, V8-powered 1966 Pontiac Ventura monster to secure his spot in front of Kerby’s Koney Island. He sat in a lawn chair watching the passing parade with his buddy Terry King, 72, of Chesterfield Township and his bright yellow 1973 Camaro Z28.
More:Here’s your guide to the 2023 Woodward Dream Cruise
“We used to get up at 4 a.m. to get a spot at the Dodge display at 13 and Woodward, but then Beaumont bought that property and the cops won’t let you park there anymore,” said Paletti, sitting in his lawn chair watching the passing parade of cars. “Kerby’s doesn’t mind. We hang out here all week — we like talking with car people.”
At the corner of Woodward and Whitemore in downtown Pontiac, a lone, bright orange 1955 Chevy 210 sat in the lush lawn like a four-wheel safety cone.
Behind the wheel (and the 350-cube V-8) sat Bruce Larkin, 63. “I took the day off, had breakfast, now I’m just hanging out before I put up my tents,” said the Waterford Township resident and member of the North Oakland Bowtie Club that sets up at this corner each year.
“The Pit Stop food truck over there will open up from 5-8 p.m. for dinner and we’ll get about 20 cars today,” he said. “On Saturday this whole lot will be packed with probably 100 cars.”
Further south in Pontiac, M1 Concourse was alive with activity as the car club’s annual Woodward Dream Show celebrates the 70th birthday of Corvette this year. The parking lot next to the property’s event center was full of Corvettes staging for a midday photo shoot.
“We have a Corvette from every year that Corvette has been made, from 1953 on,” said M1 CEO Tim McGrane. “We even have a 1983 Corvette — one of the rarest Corvettes in existence.”
That’s because 1983 was the only year in its history that Corvette didn’t go into production. Just 43 ‘Vettes were made before Chevy pulled the plug on production, with General Motors choosing to wait until 1984 to introduce its all-new 4th generation car. All but one of the 1983 Corvettes was crushed — save for No. 23, which was preserved and now calls the Corvette Museum in Kentucky home.
M1 managed to get it to the Dream Cruise — the first time the rare car has ever left Bowling Green. For $25, the public can come by the Dream Show from noon-8 p.m. Friday and all day Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. The 65th anniversary of the Ram Charger is also being celebrated.
Werner Meier, 72, worked for GM from 1969-2002 and was instrumental in pulling the Corvette celebration together. “For our photo shoot with all the cars here, we have eight white Corvettes representing each generation of Corvette. They will be in the front of the photo.” One of the eight will be Meier’s 1953 Corvette, one of only about 300 made.
The Dream Cruise and charity also go hand in hand. The D-Man Foundation is set up at the corner of Woodward and Long Lake to give hot rides to underprivileged kids and adults.
Mary Anne Pacheco, 67, of Canton Township was out early Friday prepping the parking lot — including the tent under which paraplegics and others with serious diseases are lifted into convertibles and other high-horsepower cruisers brought by volunteers for a thrilling ride down Woodward.
“This is our 11th year,” said Pacheco in front of a ferocious, 2024, Plum Crazy purple, 807-horsepower, supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Demon Jailbreak. “Saturday just gets too crowded out on Woodward so we are here on Friday from 1-4 p.m. for every Dream Cruise. We run rides like clockwork.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Wild horse: 800-hp, $300k Mustang GTD track beast takes aim at Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 18, 2023
Mustang is saddling up to take on Europe’s elite sports cars.
Ford Motor Co. took the wraps off Thursday of a track-focused, 800-plus horsepower, estimated-$300,000 supercar version of the seventh-generation Mustang at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Badged the Mustang GTD, it will compete with European track weapons like the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Mercedes AMG GT Black and Aston Martin Vulcan.
The carbon-fiber-skinned pony was developed by Ford racing partner Multimatic and contains many of the elements of Ford’s GT3 race car that will debut at IMSA’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona next January — including a huge rear swan wing and rear-mounted transmission. The GTD badge is a reference to IMSA’s GTD race class that the race car will compete in.
Like the 2019 Multimatic-developed, mid-engine Ford GT Mk II, the 2025 GTD will be available as a limited-edition model late in 2024.
“This is something that’s been in my head for five decades,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley, who moonlights as an amateur race driver. “The GTD takes on the best sports cars in the world.”
Such track-focused weapons have typically come out of the stables of exotic makers. The winged McLaren Senna, for example, cost $1.1 million and the Aston Martin Vulcan — of which just 24 copies were made — cost $2.3 million. The Mustang sets its sights on the Porsche GT3 RS, a similarly-priced beast that set the Nürburgring track record earlier this year.
The Mustang’s sophisticated aerodynamics, suspension and engine are optimized to clock similar, eye-watering, sub-7 minute Nürburgring times.
The GTD sports a similar-displacement, supercharged, 5.2-liter engine as Ford’s last-generation, 760-horsepower Shelby Mustang GT500, but the engine is otherwise bespoke to GTD. To attain its 800-plus horsepower (the most by a production ‘Stang ever) the beast is fed with dual air inlets with a 7,500 RPM redline, houses a carbon-fiber driveshaft, and is outfitted with a dry-sump oil system to keep the engine lubricated during sustained high-g-load cornering. Available is a titanium active valve exhaust system for maximum ear-splitting terror.
That beastly powerplant is mated to a dual-clutch, 8-speed transmission mounted in the rear of the car for 50-50 weight balance. The rear transaxle transmission is a first for Mustang.
Ford draws on the racing experience of Canada’s Multimatic, which builds the Mustang GT3 and GT4 race cars for competition. Multimatic also built the $500,000 mid-engine Ford GT beginning in 2016 and provides the chassis for race teams like Porsche-Penske’s 963 IMSA porotype.
“We did some radical things with the GTD,” said Larry Holt, Multimatic executive vice president for special vehicle operations. “Inboard front suspension, titanium exhaust, magnesium wheels and the gearbox in the rear of the car. The Mustang GTD sets a new benchmark for roadgoing racers.”
The GTD will start life at the Ford Flat Rock Assembly Plant and then be transported to Multimatic facilities in Markham, Canada, where the auto supplier’s elves will work their magic.
Engineered for the street and track, the GTD is outfitted with two suspension settings. In track mode, the Mustang can be lowered by over 1.5 inches to maximize aerodynamic efficiency.
For maximum stick through corners, the Mustang boasts Michelin Cup 2 tires. They measure 12.8 inches in the front (the width of the Ford GT’s rear tires) and 13.6 inches in the rear. Unlike the GT3 racer’s wheels, which are limited to 18-inch rims, the GTD’s rubber will be wrapped around 20-inch forged aluminum wheels or available forged magnesium wheels. Special, spool-valve Multimatic shocks at all four corners will help the car read the road.
Such engineering sophistication is clearly aimed at the $240k Porsche’ GT3 RS, long considered the segment’s banchmark. The Porsche features similar dry-sump engine and aerodynamic tweaks — though mere 12-inch rear and 10.8-inch front Michelin Cup 2 tires and 518 horsepower.
The GT3 RS, in the hands of legendary racer Jorg Bergmeister, conquered the 14-mile Nürburgring course in 6 minutes, 49 seconds last spring — a record for normally-aspirated cars. With another 300 horses thanks to its supercharger, the GTD may well eclipse the Porsche.
Aerodynamic tricks include center-mounted front springs to aid front downforce, and active front splitter — the latter illegal in IMSA racing. Also illegal in IMSA racing are the car’s carbon ceramic brakes.
For all its racing design, the cockpit is finished in premium materials including Miko suede, leather and carbon fiber. Displays are all-digital and front passengers sit in form-fitting Recaro seats. Only plan on bringing one passenger to the track, though. The GTR will delete its rear seat to save weight.
“This is our company, we’re throwing down the gauntlet and saying, ‘Come and get it,’” said Farley. “We’re comfortable putting everybody else on notice. I’ll take track time in a Mustang GTD against any other auto boss in their best road car.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
American sports cars rule the Dream Cruise, but they’re an endangered species
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 18, 2023
Birmingham — The Woodward Dream Cruise is a celebration of the automobile. Classic, tail-finned Cadillacs, chopped hot rods, cute VW Bugs, jacked pickup trucks, elegant convertibles. They all swim down Woodward in a colorful, diverse school.
But the undisputed alpha predators of the Cruise are American sports cars. They dominate the strip with their reptilian roars. They explode out of stoplights, and wow with alluring colors, hood scoops and designs ranging from sleek to sinister.
And they are an endangered species.
This year marks the end of production for the iconic Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger muscle cars. Pontiac, which produced Dream Cruise regulars like the Firebird, Solstice and Fiero — was long ago put out to pasture. The Dodge Viper? History. Only the Ford Mustang and Corvette supercar will be left after 2023.
There are foreign-brand sports cars to be sure. Unattainable, six-figure European exotics from McLaren, Porsche, and Ferrari attract the big money crowd while sub-$100k coupes like the Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman and BMW 2-series sell well. More affordable Japanese hellions like the Toyota GR 86, Subaru BRZ, Mazda MX5 Miata, Toyota Supra, and Nissan Z march on. Nissan even showed the Z NISMO to media at this week’s Cruise.
“It’s sad, it’s not right,” said Waterford Township’s Donna Carrel, 60, next to the V8-powered 2014 Camaro SS that she and her husband own. “Detroit sports cars might come back later after electric vehicles are all in the graveyard.”
The electric age has forced hard decisions on automakers as they gird for a future in which governments mandate the powertrains they sell. Selling small-volume, low-MPG sports cars is risky. Dodge has already been docked over $700 billion by the U.S. government for selling gas-guzzling V-8s, and its popular Challenger coupe and Charger sedan models have been thrown to the wolves.
“The death of American performance cars reflects American car companies overreacting to the latest trends,” said veteran auto analyst and sports car collector Karl Brauer of iSeeCars. “Automakers are often driven by government regulation — yet another organization that chases fads. The Challenger is a good example. It has been well-received by its growing fan base since launching in 2008, but Dodge is still canceling it due to government fines levied on each one sold.”
Veteran Cruisers have seen this movie before. In the 1970s, federal fuel economy laws, high gas prices and clean air regulations conspired to cripple American muscle cars. Engines in the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger, for example, shrank to 4 cylinders, while Charger disappeared entirely — not to be seen again until the early 2000s. Camaro hung on through 2002, then disappeared until being revived for the 2010 model year. Only Mustang has been continuously produced since its 1965 birth.
“Government regulators have done this before,” said John Pertolone, 71, of Sterling Heights, waxing philosophically in front of his silver-and-black-striped 2009 Dodge Challenger. “The manufacturers will electrify them and bring them back.”
His buddy and 1968 Camaro owner Paul Zimmerman, 65, wasn’t buying that vision. “If they are stupid enough to go EV with these cars, then it’s not going to be worth it.”
Mustang is the exception to the U.S. sports car trend, as Ford introduced an all-new Mustang this year complete with V8-powered GT and performance model Dark Horse. The Blue Oval has been savvy about selling electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs and F-150 Lightning pickups to satisfy government sales targets in order to maintain production of its precious pony car.
In Birmingham, Raj Cho, 25, ogled a smoldering, Blue Ember Dark Horse — the first 500-horse version of the ‘Stang’s legendary Coyote V-8. Cho had brought his own 2019 Mustang GT to cruise Woodward. He loves his gas-fed pony, but looks forward to an EV future of electric muscle.
“EVs are so much better to drive,” smiled the native Detroiter. “I won’t get one right now, but maybe in 20 years. The Dream Cruise will always be alive. There will be a point where everyone will want EVs, but gas-powered classics won’t die out here on the street.”
Darren Roberts, 49, of Lincoln Park sees the demise of gas-fired American muscle as inevitable given government regulatory pressures. “But there are just a many environmental negatives for batteries as there are for internal combustion engines,” he said, standing next to his impeccable 2011 Camaro SS on Woodward.
That said, he hopes that U.S. automakers will make a serious effort to make electric sports cars for enthusiasts like him. “If they bring a Camaro back as an EV, then it has to look like a sports car. It has to look that part.”
But while American sports cars may be in flux, there is no dearth of sports cars on the market. And not just unattainable, $200,000-plus exotics like the odd McLaren 720S or Lamborghini Aventador that swagger down Woodward.
Sub-$100,000, petrol-fueled Japanese coupes are plentiful in the auto market, including all-new offerings this model year from Toyota and Nissan. Indeed, Nissan showed off the Z’s NISMO performance variant for media Monday night. With 420 horsepower from a twin-turbo V-6, fat tires and long hoods, a pair of Z NISMOS attracted plenty of attention in front of Crispelli’s in Royal Oak.
“For us the sports car is a heritage play,” said Nissan Performance Development Manager Christian Spencer. “It’s a halo car for the brand that pushes the limits of performance and technology. It’s not a volume vehicle like the Rogue (SUV), but we have it for brand recognition.”
Starting at $42,085, the Z occupies a similar space as Mustang — midway between entry-level sports cars like the $29k MX-5 Miata (Mazda’s brand halo) and Toyota GR 86, and luxury mid-engine sharks like the $65k Corvette and Porsche Cayman. Pontiac’s one-generation-and-done Fiero (celebrating its 40th anniversary next year) and Solstice played in the entry segment.
American sports car models priced under $100k still dwarf foreign marques with 164,788 units sold in 2022 versus 46,341 for foreign makes. When Challenger and Camaro’s collective 79,712 in sales disappear next year, analysts will watch which brands benefit.
“A car company has to commit to making great performance cars and making them for an extended period to establish a following,” said iSeeCars’ Brauer. “With the exception of the Corvette and Mustang — two models that have narrowly escaped cancellation more than once — American car companies don’t appear to have the financial or engineering commitment necessary to build a performance car following.”
Camaro sales plummeted to under 25,000 in 2022 as part of consistent downward trajectory from the brand’s 21st-century peak of 91,314 in 2012. Enthusiasts cooled to ‘Maro after a controversial, sixth-generation 2016 redesign.
“I have better headroom in my ’68 Camaro,” said Zimmerman. “I never warmed to the current car.”
Camaro convertible owner James Martin, 62, of Detroit is an industry consultant as well as a passionate driver. “When the Camaro comes back, it will be as an EV,” he said while watching a pair of V-8 muscle cars swim past. “But if coming electric sports cars just pipe in artificial sound, it’s not going to work with this crowd. It will be interesting to see who gets it right first.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Class of 1997: The new Cruise classics
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 18, 2023
The Woodward Dream Cruise auto reunion is in full swing, and this year we honor the great Class of 1997.
In their 26th year, 1997 model cars are now eligible for Michigan antique plates (don’t ask us why the Mitten State considers 26 years old antique). The honor means you just have to pay $30 every 10 years for a vehicle’s registration, not to mention the insurance savings. The catch? Your classic can’t be used as a daily driver, but only for special events like Cruises, cars ‘n’ coffee events, and so on. Which is pretty much all of August in our car-crazed state.
With the 20th century winding down, 1997 was a memorable year beyond auto assembly lines. Artificial intelligence scored a big win when IBM Deep Blue downed chess GOAT Gary Kasparov, “The Lion King” roared on Broadway, J.K. Rowling published the first of her Harry Potter books, NASA’s Pathfinder landed on Mars, Tiger Woods became the youngest Masters winner at 21, Steve Jobs returned to Apple, and Princess Di met a tragic end in a car crash.
Here are the 1997 auto classics that left a mark.
Plymouth Prowler
Chrysler President Bob Lutz and design chief Tom Gale were determined to shake up the industry in the 1990s, and the aluminum Prowler followed the Dodge Viper as one of the decade’s most outrageous models. The retro-futuristic Prowler harkened back to 1950s hot rods but was equipped with the latest interior amenities. When the Plymouth brand died in 2001, the Prowler was rebadged as a Chrysler for 2001-02. “We wanted to change people’s perception of Chrysler as a boring company that built boring front-wheel-drive sedans,” said Lutz. Mission accomplished.
GM EV1
Facing looming California mandates to sell EVs, General Motors went all-in on an all-new EV — rather than re-purposing an existing gas-powered chassis with batteries. The result was the distinctive, jelly-bean shaped EV1, of which a little over 1,000 were built. With 74 miles of range from its lead-acid batteries, the two-seater gave a glimpse at electric innovations that are commonplace on today’s EVs, including low-rolling resistance tires and regenerative braking. Don’t expect to see any EV1s on Woodward, however — GM only leased the EV1 to customers in California, Arizona and Georgia, then crushed all but 40. Hemmings estimates there are six in private hands today.
The Jeep Wrangler TJ
The all-new ’97 dirt-kicker was immediately recognizable by its round headlights — ditching the previous gen’s rectangular peepers. But the big change was under the skin, where the TJ ditched leaf springs for smoother-riding coil-overs and upgraded interior (complete with twin air bags). The changes were hardly cosmetic, however. The new suspension meant seven more inches of wheel articulation, while the stiffer chassis added confidence in the wild.
Porsche Boxster/Cayman
An instant classic, the mid-engine Boxster became the brand’s entry-level sports car after two decades of front-engine starter models, including the 924, 944 and 968. Though the pricier 911 remained as Porsche’s premier sports car, the whip-quick Boxster harkened back to the mid-engine 550 Spyder made famous in the United States by James Dean. Powered by a howling 2.5-liter flat-6 engine, Boxster sold out quickly in its inaugural year and was ultimately joined by a Cayman coupe sibling in 2005. Expect another Porsche shift when the all-electric Boxster arrives for 2025.
Chevrolet Corvette C5
Longer, leaner and wider than its predecessor, the fifth-generation ‘Vette received raves from enthusiasts for its roomier interior, simpler gauges and better handling. For the first time, the gearbox was moved to the rear of the car. The upgrades — and addition of a convertible to the lineup in ’98 — returned Corvette to Car and Driver’s Top Ten list for the first time in 10 years. In a show of the industry’s relentless progress, the 5.7-liter V-8’s 345 horsepower matched the output of the 1967 7.0-liter ‘Vette. On the other hand, that’s 75 horsepower less than a 2023 Chevy Suburban.
Ford Expedition
Though hardly a jaw-dropping Cruiser, Expedition created a stir in ‘97 as an alternative to the popular Chevy Suburban. The mega-ute wars were born (the Toyota Sequoia, Nissan Armada and Jeep Wagoneer would follow). Based on the Ford F-150 pickup frame, the three-row Expedition was a foot and a half shorter than the Suburban to better fit in your garage. Ford’s big boy was available with two V-8 engines with a max towing capability of 8,000 pounds, so you could tow, say, your Jaguar XK8 to the Cruise.
Jaguar XK8
The first all-new Jaguar in over a decade, the sleek XK boasted distinctive looks and a voluptuous wood and leather interior. Available as a coupe or convertible, the Jag rocked the brand’s first V-8 engine, a tradition that continues in the current F-Type sports car. Though not as sporty as the Corvette, the $70k XK won raves for its improved handling over the departed XJ (and if you wanted more grunt, the XKR became available in 1999).
Mercedes SLK
The two-seater Merc was meant to re-create the brand’s legendary 1950s 190SL. Though enthusiasts dinged it for a lack of manual transmission option, it packed plenty of punch from its supercharged 4-cylinder engine and quick handling. Its convertible hardtop was beautifully designed to convert the car into a coupe — with trunk space left over. The SLK ended its run in 2020.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: 5 cool things about the electric Escalade IQ
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 11, 2023
Warren — The all-electric Cadillac IQ is here. It’s large, it’s sleek, just don’t call it the “Ick.”
Escalade has always been a sub-brand in the Caddy lineup, an outsized, truck-sized, halo SUV with a personality all its own. The darling of celebrities when it debuted in 1999, it has survived two Cadillac alphanumeric naming convention changes (the CTS/SRX era from 2000-2019 and the CT5/XT5 era from 2020-present). For its all-electric-by-2030 era, Cadillac is returning to proper name badges — though all must end in “-iq” (pronounced “ick” as in Lyriq and Celestiq). Thus, the Escalade IQ.
IQ expands Cadillac’s mega-SUV’s lineup beyond the standard, gas-powered Escalade and its 700-horsepower, supercharged, V8-stuffed, performance Escalade-V model.
But IQ is a different animal entirely, sharing little with its Escalade siblings. The E-scalade sits — not on GM’s ladder-frame truck architecture — but on the same Ultium battery platform that undergirds the Lyriq, Celestiq, Hummer EV, Chevy Equinox EV, Blazer EV and all other future GM electric models.
Here are five things of note about the 2025 Escalade IQ:
1) 450-mile range. While the 800-volt, 200-plus kWh battery pack in the IQ is the same size as the one in the GMC Hummer SUV EV, Cadillac estimates IQ will go a whopping 136 miles (that’s 43%) further than its GMC cousin. Credit the IQ’s slipperier design (look at that raked windshield) compared to the brick-shaped Hummer. While Caddy hasn’t detailed a drag-coefficient number yet, expect it to be significantly less than the GMC’s 0.5 Cd (a Tesla Model S is a slippery 0.21 Cd).
2) 55-inch display. This is what you’ve been waiting for: Escalade’s first pillar-to-pillar screen. Chinese-brand Byton promised it would bring a similar 48-inch design to market in 2019 on its M-Byte model — but we haven’t heard from Byton since. The IQ’s Snapdragon Qualcomm jumbotron (similar to the Celestiq sedan) dwarfs the gas Escalade’s 38-inch unit and will contain three displays in all — an instrument display, console infotainment display, and passenger display. Oh, yes, and there is another 11-inch Command Center screen below it to control climate.
3) Auto gizmos galore. To afford the IQ requires a career of hard work and $130k in the bank, so the vehicle is determined make its owners do as little work as possible behind the wheel. Approach the Caddy with key fob in pocket, and the driver’s door will open automatically. Now that’s good manners. Slide into the driver’s seat, press the brake pedal, and the door will automatically swing shut behind you. Want to exit? Push a button in the Command Center screen and the door opens automatically. Indeed, you can program the other doors to open by themselves to let your passengers out too. Once on the interstate, IQ will go into SuperCruise mode so you can drive hands-free. It’ll even change lanes automatically for you.
4) 40, 24, 5.0, 126. IQ loves numbers. Opt for the audio package, and you’ll get a whopping 40 speakers for the AKG stereo system — including two in the headrests for each ear. The 24-inch rims are a first for the Escalade, though they don’t look out of proportion on this huge canvas. Stick IQ in Velocity Max mode (Hummer calls it Watts to Freedom) and its 780-pound feet of torque will vault it to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds. The E-scalade has a dizzying 126 different interior LED color combinations so you can light up the interior like a Christmas tree.
5) e-Bling. The IQ’s design is simple and sleek to achieve the aforementioned low drag co-efficient necessary for extended range. But that doesn’t mean it’s not loaded with bling in the Escalade tradition. Walk up to it and a white LED show will dance across the front end like the Fox Theatre entrance. Behind the grille is — not an engine — but a huge frunk (front truck) that can store, for example, two golf bags. Crowning every Escalade IQ is a roof-length, panoramic, tinted glass roof so you can stargaze at night.
The earth-shaking, 682-horse, supercharged V-8 Escalade-V may beat the Escalade IQ to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. But you’ll never hear the 750-horse IQ coming.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Revealed: Escalade IQ mega-ute electrifies Caddy icon with 450-mile range, 55-inch screen
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 11, 2023
Cadillac introduced its Escalade IQ Wednesday in New York, unveiling the luxury brand’s third Ultium battery-based model as the brand marches towards an all-electric lineup in 2030.
The IQ marries the proportions of the iconic gas-powered Escalade with the Ultium platform first introduced on the Cadillac Lyriq SUV and Celestiq sedans. The result is a bling-tastic mega-ute featuring 24-inch wheels and pillar-to-pillar, 55-inch-wide dash screen powered by a 750-horsepower, 200-plus kilowatt hour battery pack with a range of 450 miles on a charge.
“Escalade IQ raises the standard just as the original Escalade redefined luxury a quarter-century ago,” Global Cadillac Vice President John Roth said. “This reimagining of an icon marks the next step in Cadillac’s all-electric future.”
The $130,000 icon will be made in Detroit at GM’s Factory Zero Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Center starting next summer. The Escalade IQ is more expensive than its ICE counterpart, but still below the level of the $300,000 2024 Celestiq, a hand-built electric sedan that will be the halo model of GM’s luxury brand.
The Escalade IQ name aims to preserve Cadillac’s most iconic badge while also conforming to the brand’s new “-iq” suffix naming convention featured on the Celestiq and Lyriq. It’s not the only EV GM is showing this year. The luxury brand is planning two more global EV debuts by the end of 2023.
“All of this growth and innovation is a direct result of a strategic plan that was laid out by Cadillac just about five years ago,” Roth said.
Since its 1999 arrival, the Escalade has been a central figure in pop culture with its appearances in music videos, TV shows and movies.
“When it was introduced a quarter century ago, Escalade kicked off a new era in innovation, style, technology and of course performance in a full-size SUV,” Roth said. “It was an immediate hit and embraced by pop culture. It became an instant icon, and really a trendsetter and it continues to be the standard that everyone’s chasing.”
Escalade “at one point revived the brand and it enabled it to connect with a much broader audience than it had been,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director for S&P Global Mobility.
Since it first hit showrooms, more than 1 million Escalades have been sold globally.
“Today, Escalade is the best-selling vehicle in the segment, and it’s held that spot consistently over the past two decades,” Roth said. “And really, it’s showing no signs of slowing down. This year, Escalade had its best first half since 2007, and one out of every three vehicles sold in the segment is an Escalade.”
With the electrified version, Cadillac designers and engineers had to bring their A-game to ensure that a storied and important nameplate in the brand’s history continues setting itself apart from the crowd.
“It has to deliver on Cadillac style and it has to deliver on on Cadillac’s level of luxury and craftsmanship and it has to raise all that a little bit just because the landscape is more difficult,” Brinley said.
“Almost every brand at every price point has talked about improving interior materials, improving the quality and the craftsmanship and the feel of their vehicles. So the landscape is a little bit different. When everyone around has raised their game, you have to raise yours as well.”
Escalade IQ’s numbers
IQ joins the Escalade family alongside the gas-powered Escalade and V8-powered Escalade-V. The electric ute’s horsepower and 780-torque numbers best the 682 horses of the V, which had been the most powerful Cadillac built. Squatting low on its air suspension and 24-inch wheels propelled by Caddy’s eAWD system, IQ can hit 60 mph in under 5 seconds using “velocity max” mode.
IQ’s low center of gravity should offer better handling than its gas-powered peers, and four-wheel steer enables a 6.5-foot tighter turning diameter (to 39.4 feet). Like the Hummer’s famed crab walk, four-wheel steer is key to the IQ’s so-called “arrival mode” for pulling into and out of tight spaces.
The IQ shares the gas-powered Escalade’s Y-trim strategy offering sport and luxury models. It will not have its ICE sibling’s wheelbase, however, as the Ultium chassis allows a longer wheelbase. That wheelbase helps open more cabin room as well as a ginormous e-Trunk up front with 12 cubic feet of storage to complement rear cargo room.
“Escalade IQ delivers on a promise of innovative design supported by spirited performance and cutting-edge technologies,” IQ Chief Engineer Jamie Brewer said.
Among those technologies is available automatic opening — and closing — doors. The front door will auto-open when sensing the driver’s key fob, then automatically close behind the driver after they’ve slipped into the front seat and pressed the brake pedal. Occupants can also automatically open all four doors from the inside using a button in the front “command center” screen.
IQ comes standard with a 55-inch, A pillar-to-A pillar screen like that in the Celestiq. The screen houses three displays: instrument panel, infotainment and passenger.
Ultium’s 800-volt architecture can charge the over-200 kWh battery to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes. The e-Escalade will be able to charge using the Combined Charging System and Tesla Inc.’s North American Charging Standard. Ultium’s Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) bidirectional charging technology enables the SUV to power a properly-equipped home. IQ can also recharge other EVs, and boasts up to 8,000 pounds of towing capability.
Super Cruise is standard on IQ enabling hands-free driving on more than 400,000 miles of U.S. and Canadian roads. The big Caddy also builds on familiar safety tools. Those include blind zone steering assist, which will help drivers avoid an intersection collision with a stray, oncoming vehicle. High-definition surround vision offers digital camera views of the surrounding area. And enhanced automatic parking assist automatically steers IQ into parallel or perpendicular parking spaces.
‘A true renaissance’ for design
To achieve a 15% lower low drag coefficient, the Escalade IQ’s windshield is raked compared to gas-powered Escalades. While boasting the footprint of an Escalade, the exterior design has evolved to include Lyriq’s design signature like a lit fascia and bustle rear end.
While the interior is dominated by the 55-inch screen, there are even more screens, including the front, 11-inch command center that controls climate. A similar 8-inch rear command center screen and twin seatback 12.6-inch screens are part of an available “executive” second-row seating package that includes stowable tray tables, dual wireless phone charging pads, massaging seats and headrest speakers.
Third-row passengers don’t get screens, but they’ll lounge in comfortable legroom under a standard panoramic roof giving light to all three rows.
“We haven’t seen an interior design shift like this in 100 years,” IQ Interior Design Manager Craig Sass said. “It’s a true renaissance.”
The infotainment display is powered by Google built-in, which provides an interface familiar to Google Maps users. Cadillac says the system can chart a trip using available, third-party fast chargers similar to Tesla’s proprietary navigate-on-autopilot system.
The standard AKG audio system for luxury and sport models bolts in 19 speakers, and a 40-speaker AKG system is on offer with the Executive Second Row package.
“We pushed for more expressive colors and more artistic trim finishes, creating fully-designed ‘themes’ the customer can choose,” Sass said. “As with the exterior, the dramatic interior lighting includes customizable ambient lighting with 126 color choices, allowing the owner to curate a more personal experience.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Twitter: @bykaleahall
Payne: X-ploring the envelope in the GMC Sierra AT4X
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 10, 2023
Flint — The GMC Sierra AT4X AEV Edition is the truck brand’s summit. X for X-treme.
On a weekend road trip up north, the pickup moved furniture, took the family to the movies and mixed it up off-road with ATVs. Next time, I’ll be sure to ford Lake Huron. What makes the AT4X AEV special is the extraordinary performance capabilities that make it a contender in the V8-powered supertruck wars alongside the Ford F-150 Raptor R, Chevy Silverado ZR2 and Ram Rebel.
I love GM’s other eight-piston performance vehicles — the Chevy Corvette and Camaro ZL1 — but try renting a race track on the way home for exercise. On my way back from Charlevoix, I took a detour off I-75 for fun at The Mounds ORV Park. I paid my $15 Genesee County Parks & Recreation fee. Aired the 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain tires down to 21 PSI (from 42).
Released the Kraken.
ROOOOWWWRRR! The beast roared as it gulped real estate across The Mounds’ sandy trails like a “Dune” movie sandworm. SPLOOOOSSHHHHH! It emerged from a pool of muddy water left by weekend downpours. WHOMP! Its nose plowed into a sea of sandy moguls.
Moguls, of course, are meant for nimble dirt bikes, not 18-foot-long pickups. Happily, the AT4X AEV was armed to the teeth with five Boron steel skid plates that absorbed the brutality of the impact from my overzealous driving. Modulating the throttle, I negotiated the remaining moguls thanks to quick-reacting triple-spool-valve shocks — tools developed by IMSA race shop Multimatic, for goodness sake.
After a half-hour of this nonstop violence, I stood back to admire my beast of burden. For all its ruggedness, it’s hardly a spiked, post-Apocalyptic warthog from “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Standing 11.2 inches off the ground in a black-and-blood-red suit — its handsome mug framed by a steel jaw and C-clamp LED running lights — Sierra AT4X AEV commands respect. Like Shaq walking through your dinner party, the truck turned heads all weekend in Charlevoix, a pickup-choked county with no shortage of head-turning rigs.
GMC’s partnership with AEV (American Expedition Vehicles) adds serious details to the AT4X’s already formidable toolbox, as well as $6,895 to its bottom line. X for X-pensive. They include twin locking differentials, steel bumpers (with optional front winch out front) and a front approach angle of 32.8 inches. But it’s the underbelly Boron plates that are truly impressive. They look as if they could survive a cruise missile hit.
None of this weaponry detracts from the GMC’s interior luxury. I performed my off-road stunts with my luggage intact — computer bag, suitcase, tennis bag secured behind the front seats. There’s more storage in the rear seat backs.
I love a good V-8, and, when I picked up the GMC, my ears were still ringing from the supercharged, 710-horse 5.0-liter Revology Shelby Mustang GT500 V-8 I’d flogged a few days before in Ann Arbor (my apologies to residents for their shattered windows). A throwback to the Dream Cruise glory days, the Mustang retro-mod’s engine fills the cabin with unfiltered sound.
AT4X’s V-8 has even more displacement (6.2 liters), yet is a velvet hammer by comparison. Reflecting GMC pickups’ status as a new breed of 21st century luxury, the V-8 is muffled by layers of sound-deadening that make the cabin a sanctuary over long road trips.
My driveway is a rotating buffet of meaty test vehicles, and my road trip choices were the four-wheel-drive Sierra AT4X or an electric AWD Toyota bZ4X Limited. With furniture moving on my Charlevoix agenda, the pickup got the nod — but it also proved more convenient.
With a family dinner to make up north, the 355-mile range Kraken made the trip in 4.05 hours (including a 10-minute pit stop for gas), while the 228-mile range Toyota would have required 4.5 hours due to an anticipated 55-minute stop at a fast charger (assuming no waits at the Shell charger in West Branch, which has but two ports). Credit the EV as cheaper to fuel over the 250-mile journey at $30 in charging fees versus $73 for the thirsty, 14-mpg pickup.
Encased in the Sierra’s inner sanctum, I enjoyed an easy journey despite stormy weather. Rain and wind battered the truck, which stayed the course like a four-wheeled ocean liner. Twin digital screens are state-of-the-art — as are the head-up display and wireless Android Auto that guided my journey.
As a GM product, the GMC also benefits from industry-leading ergonomics. All the controls I needed were at my fingertips on the steering wheel. Volume control and radio station controls? On the back of the wheel at 3 and 6 o’clock. Adaptive Cruise Control buttons? Use the scroll button in the left quadrant. Vehicle information like tire pressures? Scroll-wheel in the right quadrant was at the ready. These ergonomics are shared across other GM brands, and all benefit.
Absent was GM’s SuperCruise self-driving feature, which would have made the interstate drive even easier, but Sierra did have GMC’s Swiss-Army-knife-like MultiPro tailgate ($1,200 addition).
The gate has six configurations depending on your tailgating needs — and we used its step feature to walk into the tailgate and load the pieces of a bed. The AT4X model is available only in Crew Cab/short box configuration.
As the sun set, we set off for the movies in Petoskey with plenty of room for four. My wee wife and daughter-in-law, it should be said, struggled a bit with the beast’s height — kinda’ like trying to climb on Shaq’s shoulders. The AT4X eschews the running boards of other expensive trucks to maximize off-road ground clearance, and Mrs. Payne practically had to pole-vault into the front seat.
Once inside, the cooled GMC’s thrones were cozy on a warm June summer’s night. And GM has adopted Mazda-style, single-action vents for easy HVAC.
For all of its off-road macho, the AT4X AEV was a gentle giant to ride on-road thanks to its talented shocks and chassis. In keeping with its Camaro and Corvette performance brethren, GMC and Chevy trucks sport highly-engineered chassis dynamics that allow for spirited driving on country roads.
Assuming you have the permission of the other passengers.
And when you’re the only one aboard the Sandworm, well, don’t be shy about taking a detour to an off-road park. Maybe I’ll explore Silver Lake dunes next time.
Next week: Class of 1997 – the New Dream Cruise Classics
2023 GMC Sierra AT4X
Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive four-door pickup
Price: $83,595, including $1,895 destination charge ($91,085 AEV as tested)
Powerplant: 6.2-liter V-8
Power: 420 horsepower, 460 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.1 seconds (Motor Trend); towing, 8,900 pounds; 1,420-pound payload
Weight: 5,974 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 14 mpg city/17 highway/15 combined
Report card
Highs: Formidable off-road; easy interior ergonomics (once you’ve climbed a ladder to get in)
Lows: Big footprint in the city; big price tag
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: How Ford racing has become an integral part of Ford production
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 5, 2023
Concord, North Carolina — In the lobby of the state-of-the-art Ford Performance Tech Center here, visitors are greeted by a grainy black-and-white picture of Henry Ford at the wheel of his Sweepstakes race car on a dirt horse track in Grosse Pointe. In large type above it, the caption reads:
“In 1901, Henry Ford designed and built the race car called ‘Sweepstakes.’ On October 10 of that year, he drove Sweepstakes against Alexander Winton, a famous racer and builder. Against all odds Ford won. That was the beginning — ‘the race that changed the world’ — and it continues today as the spirit of Henry Ford lives with us every day through our motorsports efforts around the world.”
Racing is in Ford Motor Co.’s DNA, and 122 years after that picture was taken, motorsports is more integrated into the company than ever before.
Behind the lobby wall, Ford has invested millions of dollars in three racing simulators used — not just to service the NASCAR, sportscar and rally teams that race Fords — but to test current production performance beasts like the Ford Raptor and Mustang Dark Horse, whose racing-inspired capabilities would awe Henry Ford if he were alive today.
“We opened the Ford Performance Tech Center in 2014 in the center of NASCAR valley … with a vision of supporting all of our global racing efforts, and we’ve done that,” said Ford Performance chief Mark Rushbrook from his office here. “Then we’ve learned from that how to transfer knowledge (from) our race cars to our road cars. So our mainstream engineers use this facility and its tools developed for motorsport to make our cars better for customers that put them in their driveway and garage.”
The 33,000-square-foot facility here north of Charlotte is the hub of the Blue Oval’s sprawling global performance footprint that also includes Allen Park’s Ford Vehicle Performance and Electrification Center (housing the world’s first 200-mph, automobile aerodynamic wind tunnel) and an engineering facility in Milton Keynes, England, as part of Ford’s partnership with Red Bull’s Formula One team.
“Formula One is in a similar valley north of London,” Rushbrook said. “We had a building put in at Milton Keynes, and that is where the 2026 power unit for Formula One is being developed. We’re working at a frantic pace — 2026 sounds like a long way off, but it is tomorrow in terms of racing development.”
Since its founding, Ford’s racing exploits have played a key marketing role. That marketing profile reached the summit of motorsport in 1966 at Le Mans, France, when a squadron of Ford GT40s dethroned mighty Ferrari at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans — an accomplishment dramatized in the hit 2019 movie “Ford v Ferrari.”
“Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” goes the mantra. Racing has further been used in a feedback loop so that lessons learned on track can be fed back into production car technologies. In turn, competition helps attract world-class engineers to the company.
“Everything about racing benefits the production side,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director for S&P Global Mobility. “And as Ford goes all-electric, specialized engineering teams helps them be efficient with capital resources in developing their remaining gas performance vehicles. The simulators also help save in development time rather than doing road-test miles.”
The Ford Performance Tech Center wraps the racing/production DNA strands even more tightly. At its core are three racing simulators.
“When we opened the facility, we put in a simulator that we used successfully in motorsports,” said Rushbrook. “Then we introduced it to the mainstream teams … and they started to fly engineers from Michigan on a regular basis to use the simulator. It was being used so much we added a second simulator, and we were still at capacity. A third simulator actually went to Dearborn, so it was closer to the mainstream engineers to use, and even with that, we now have a third simulator here.”
Concord’s first simulator — the $3 million MS1 — was used to develop the mid-engine Ford GT racer that would win the 2016 Le Mans GT class — 50 years after the GT40 accomplished its historic feat. Fast forward to 2023, and simulators MS1, MS2 and MS3 here were key to developing the new seventh-generation, 500-horsepower Mustang Dark Horse.
“The Dark Horse was developed at our simulators right here in Charlotte,” said Tim Scott, vehicle engineering supervisor for the first performance variant of the seventh-generation Mustang.
MS3 is the third — and most advanced — simulator in the Tech Center’s belly. It cost about $5 billion to build with Ansible, a simulator supplier from England. Simulators are used to test everything from NASCARs to Rally Cross Fiestas to Dark Horses to Bronco Raptors.
“The sim helps drivers test for the next race, but it also helps get production cars to market more quickly,” said Dave Ragan, an ex-NASCAR Cup driver who now does sim testing for Ford.
Ragan gave a demonstration of the MS1 simulator’s capabilities to media inside a NASCAR sim “buck” — the full cockpit of a Ford Mustang NASCAR mounted atop sophisticated hydraulic legs. With a 180-degree screen in front of him, Ragan drove a simulation of Charlotte Motor Speedway at full chat, the buck pitching and yawing as it would on a real race track under braking, side-g-loads, acceleration.
Pro drivers will spend four hours at a time in the simulator, testing various race setups ahead of a race weekend. Then production engineers will use the same sim to test attributes of, say, a Bronco Raptor.
“You should see this buck pitch go up and down when they are simulating the Bronco off-road,” smiled Daniel Tiley, NASCAR vehicle dynamic simulation engineer.
Ford’s Performance division is growing into off-road as well as on-road racing with its Baja-focused Bronco DR — but its sportscars are where the company sees the biggest potential to make money by producing race cars for customers in IMSA’s GT3, GT4 and Mustang World Challenge series.
“It’s a big step in customer support,” said Rushbrook. “When we did the (2016) Ford GT, we built only six cars. We weren’t able to sell that car to customers to race. Now with the new GT3 rules, we can race as a factory — which we will do with Multimatic (out of Canada) — but we can also sell the exact same car to customers so they can race in IMSA, Le Mans SRO.”
Sportscars will run under the Dark Horse badge. For the first time, Mustang will run its own World Challenge race series — just as Porsche and Ferrari have done for years.
Some 40 Mustang Dark Horse Rs — race versions of the Dark Horse production car gutted to fit rollbars and outfitted with slick ties — will be entered. Developed on Concord sims, the R will be powered by the same 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 as in the production car.
“Production-based Mustang vehicles have raced from the very beginning, all the way back to winning the 1964 Tour de France,” Rushbrook said. “Dark Horse R offers our passionate customers not just an attainable, factory-built race car, but also a racing series to compete with other Mustang enthusiasts.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: On track in the sinister Mustang Dark Horse
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 3, 2023
Charlotte, North Carolina — Heaven is riding a Ford Mustang Dark Horse at 7,500 RPM.
Coming off the 24-degree Turn One banking at Charlotte Motor Speedway, I banged the manual Tremec shifter from 4th to 5th gear at redline, all 500 ponies roaring in front of me. Down the back straight we thundered until a tight 180-degree hairpin interrupted our reverie.
But for all of the V-8’s glorious aria, the infield course on Charlotte’s 2.3-mile “roval” (road oval, combining Charlotte’s oval track with a tight infield course) is where the Dark Horse really shows its stuff.
Building on the seventh-generation Mustang I recently tested in the canyons of Angeles Crest Highway north of Los Angeles, Dark Horse is the new-gen Mustang’s first performance variant.
It’s no GT350 – the screaming, 526-horse, 8,000 RPM, V8-powered Shelby variant that Ford introduced with its 2015 sixth-gen coupe – but it’ll do. Credit Mustang’s entry into IMSA’s new GT3 and Mustang Challenge series with a pair of snorting, earth-pawing race cars – both flying the Dark Horse banner. Win on Sunday, sell Dark Horses on Monday.
Dark Horse is one mean-lookin’ filly.
You’ll know it by the black mask enveloping the grille and headlights. Black stripes flow up the hood (there are graphics options, typical of Mustang customization) like striping on a stallion’s nose. Get Dark Horse in red or Grabber Blue to highlight the black trim.
The visual allows for instant differentiation from the yellow GT that I flogged in California. And the Dark Horse picks up where the loaded $60K GT lets off: performance package with upgraded P-Zero summer tires, sway-bars, brakes and spoiler out back.
Decelerating into Charlotte Motor Speedway’s hairpin, these elements combine to bring the two-door missile back to earth, just as they teamed up in the GT to conquer California Route 2 with precise handling and instant toque. Indeed, Dark Horse destroyed the rolling North Carolina country roads leading into the Motor Speedway of Charlotte.
But the track is Dark Horse’s natural habitat. I encourage owners to spend time there to explore its envelope. Here the engine, brakes, tires and transmission are pushed to the limit of heat and grip. It’s why Ford upgraded Mustang’s manual transmission from a Getrag unit in the GT to the Dark Horse’s Tremec — the latter equipped with two coolers to withstand sizzling temps.
It’s why you’ll want to upgrade to the $4,995 Dark Horse Handling Package and its sticky P-Zero Trofeo RS rubber (or buy a new set of rims and take slick tires to the track). The Handling Pack comes with goodies like an adjustable rear wing and front splitter — but it’s the tires that are the secret sauce.
Hard on the brakes into the hairpin, the Pirelli gumballs gripped the pavement with confidence compared to the slipperier summer P-Zeros. Rev-matching with the manual shifter help make for smooth corner entry — BRAP! BRAP! BRAP! — as I shifted from fifth to second for the tight left-hander.
Sticky as they are, the Trofeos couldn’t contain the 5.0-liter Coyote V-8’s 415 pound-feet of torque, and the rear end briefly stepped out as I stomped the throttle up into Infield Turn 3. Sliding across the 90-degree Turn 3 apex, Dark Horse was remarkably balanced for a 3,900-pound land shark that has swallowed a V-8 boat anchor — but uphill Turn 4 would be a bigger challenge.
A long 180-degree left-hander, Turn 4 is essentially half a skid pad — an opportunity to get to the sports car’s true character. And Mustang likes to, um, understeer.
Ford’s chief muscle car competitor, Camaro, has shown up the Ford pony in such exercises given the Chevy’s neutral handling (credit a chassis shared with the corner-carving Cadillac CT4-V). Sure enough, Dark Horse — like a pack horse distracted by some delicious grass on the side of a trail — was stubborn about turning into Turn 4, its nose plowing straight ahead.
Patience, Payne. I back off the throttle and rotate the big coupe into the apex. Once it sniffed the apex, Dark Horse responded, the Trofoes absorbing power. I get back on throttle again — only to face yet another 180-degree Turn 5. And another for Turn 7. And again in Turns 8 and 9.
The inherent push is always there, but I learned to coordinate V-8 torque and sticky rubber to hit my marks. It’s what makes track days so much fun, and why eight-holers like Mustang are track favorites. The Coyote’s wail echoed off CMS’s walls as I pounded around lap after lap.
Dark Horse options leather Recaro seats, which were both supportive and comfortable — unlike the back-crippling carbon-fiber seats I recently experienced in the BMW M3.
With its gorgeous 19-inch display screens housing digital instrument and infotainment displays, seventh-gen V-8 Mustangs can now be credibly considered peers of the Bimmer, which boasts a similar display. In past generations, interiors weren’t Mustang’s strength, but that has changed and you’ll enjoy customizing Dark Horse’s track modes — augmented by Unreal Engine gaming graphics that are BMW’s match.
One thing Mustang could learn from Bimmer is to put its horizontal RPM tachometer (TRACK mode) in a head-up display for maximum driver visibility. Especially since the Dark Horse tops out at a nose-bleed $72K. That’s $15K shy of a loaded, 500-horse M4 Competition, but still a lot of coin considering that the Corvette C8 and Porsche Cayman start in the mid-$60,000 range.
But add a proper, howling V-6 to the Cayman and price soars to $93K. The Corvette is stiffer competition. Add a Z51 performance package and the Chevy is competitively priced with the Ford while providing its own 495-horse V-8 and high-tech interior. Especially if you equip the Mustang with the $1,595 10-speed automatic, which rivals the ‘Vette for smooth motoring. The ‘Vette doesn’t offer a manual, however.
Rotating out of the last 180-degree Turn 9 back up onto CMS’s banking, I grabbed the blue shifter knob and shoved it into third gear at redline. Then 4th gear, the cannon-sized quad pipes out back exhaling with a snort. Coyote howling toward redline.
I grabbed for 5th. Heaven.
Next week: 2023 GMC Sierra AT4X
2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, four-passenger sports car
Price: $60,865 base, including $1,595 destination ($67,510 manual and $72,800 automatic as tested)
Power plant: 5.0-liter V-8
Power: 500 horsepower, 418 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Six-speed manual; 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.8-4.3 seconds (Car and Driver est.); top speed: 165 mph
Weight: 3,949 pounds (manual); 3,993 (automatic)
Fuel economy: EPA 14 mpg city/22 mpg highway/17 mpg combined (manual)
Report card
Highs: Looks wicked; Trofeo RS tires grip like glue
Lows: Understeer at the limit; Mustang GT with slicks gets you to the same place for less coin
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
Payne: Living auto legend Bob Lutz celebrated at Willow Run
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 2, 2023
Ypsilanti — The auto industry has produced many luminaries, but few have had the sustained impact of Bob Lutz.
Industry dignitaries and colleagues gathered last weekend in the Yankee Air Museum Hangar at Willow Run Airport to celebrate the living legend’s 60-year career, which spanned significant stints at BMW, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. Whether siring some of the industry’s iconic vehicles, speaking his mind on public policy, or pursuing his hobbies 30,000 feet in the air, Lutz left an indelible mark on the industry.
Amidst some 200 cars assembled for the occasion, presenters wove a tale of a man whose outsize personality and influence earned him the nickname “Maximum Bob.”
“Your having the guts to fight the bean counters drives us to this day,” Stellantis North America design chief Ralph Gilles told Lutz, echoing the guest of honor’s 2011 best-selling book, “Car Guys vs. Bean Counters.”
“You were the anti-commodity executive,” Giles added. “Your legend is still with us.”
Born in Switzerland in 1932, Lutz was fascinated by cars at an early age, but he would be a late-comer to the auto industry. Struggling between European and U.S. schools, he joined the Marines in Parris Island, South Carolina — eventually earning his naval aviator wings. Upon completing his military commission in 1959, he picked up production management and business degrees from the University of California-Berkeley while selling vacuum cleaners and flying in the Marine Corps Reserve.
(Lutz is a trustee of the Marine Corps University Foundation and the Marine Military Academy, and the event honoring him raised $22,146 for the U.S. Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.)
His first job out of college in 1963 was with GM in New York, and in ‘65 the General shipped him to Opel in Europe, where he would champion vehicle performance. He took those performance learnings to BMW in 1971 as vice president for sales. There, in three short years, he established the German marque’s clay-modeling studio and model names.
“You did a lot in three years,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW’s M Performance Brand Division from the Willow Run stage, flanked by two of Lutz’s most famous cars, the ferocious BMW CSL racer and the elegant Cadillac Sixteen concept car. “You were instrumental in BMW’s naming convention, and you developed the phrase: ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine.’”
Van Meel also recounted how Lutz brought the American ethic of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” to BMW. The CSL would go to war against Ford’s Capri in Europe for GT racing supremacy, and open the way to BMW’s revered M Division.
Lutz moved to Ford Europe in 1974, beginning a 12-year stint that would ultimately bring him back to the United States as executive vice president of Ford International Operations. He would lead the development of the Escort III, Sierra and — most significantly — the Blue Oval’s first mainstream SUV, the Explorer.
The development of SUVs — now the best-selling, non-pickup segment — really flowered at Chrysler, where he took up residence in 1986. Though federal mpg rules had essentially outlawed station wagons, Lutz understood customers still craved large hatchbacks. Truck-based SUVs allowed automakers to comply with federal rules and give customers what they wanted, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee born.
In as spectacular a way as possible.
With Lutz at the wheel and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young riding shotgun, the Grand Cherokee crashed Cobo Center’s front glass to open the 1992 North American International Auto Show. It was a display of derring-do that would be synonymous with Lutz’s career. When he wasn’t developing supercars like the V10-powered Dodge Viper, Lutz was satisfying his need for speed with airplanes — including a Czech-made fighter jet that was part of his personal plane and car collection.
“Being the public relations chief for Bob Lutz was an adventure,” recounted Bud Liebler, former Chrysler vice president of marketing and public relations. “One day I got a call from a reporter who’d heard that Bob had crashed his plane.”
A call to Lutz confirmed the rumor to be true. “What am I supposed to tell the press?” an exasperated Liebler asked Lutz at the time.
“Tell them I forgot to put the landing gear down,” replied Lutz.
Steve Pasteiner, president of Advanced Automotive Technologies and founder of Pasteiner’s auto hobby shop on Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, was for years a fellow judge with Lutz of the Meadow Brook Concourse d’Elegance. Pasteiner recalled giving Lutz and GM design boss Wayne Cherry a lift back to their vehicles after the judging — except Lutz pointed to a field at the edge of the property instead of the parking lot. There sat a military-grade helicopter belonging to Lutz.
Maximum Bob hopped out of Pasteiner’s car, lit up the chopper and flew home.
“My God, the man is like James Bond,” said Cherry to Pasteiner as they watched the helo disappear.
“No, James Bond in a fictional character,” said Pasteiner. “This guy is the real deal.”
Chrysler, remembered executives at the event, was the real deal in the late 1990s — its product lineup transformed by the Dream Team of Lutz, designer Tom Gale and engineer François Castaing. Standout products from that era included the cab-forward LH sedans, jellybean-shaped minivans and the aforementioned Jeep Grand Cherokee. “We could do no wrong from 1990 to 1998,” said Paul Wilbur, who then led Jeep and Dodge product planning.
Passed over for Chrysler CEO in 1998, Lutz accepted the CEO’s position at battery-maker Exide Technologies. He published “Guts: the 7 Laws of Business that Made Chrysler the World’s Hottest Car Company.”
But another big automaker would soon come knocking. Determined to shake up GM’s stale product lineup — a wag said it “had the appeal of hospital food” — CEO Rick Wagoner hired Lutz, then 69, in 2001 as vice chairman for product development.
“Thinking back to your many contributions during our time together at GM, I think your biggest accomplishment was to re-focus and re-energize the entire organization on the importance of great design,” wrote Wagoner (who could not attend in person) to Lutz in a letter presented at Willow Run. “Your pushing of the organization to focus on delighting customers, especially with beautiful designs, motivated not just the designers and engineers, but really the entire company, which paid huge dividends in the marketplace.”
In an echo of his past successes, Lutz challenged design to produce a pair of sexy sports cars— the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. A torrent of product, followed including the 1,000-horsepower Cadillac Sixteen Concept, Cadillac CTS, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac GTO and Chevrolet Volt ,while Lutz also approved the first mid-engine Chevy Corvette.
All were on display at the hangar, but the most significant might be the Volt — the first electrified Chevy and the precursor to GM’s strategy to go all-electric by 2035.
Taking the stage at the event’s conclusion, Maximum Bob walks with a slower gait than years past — at 91, he prefers a golf cart to fighter jets — but his wit and insights remain as sharp and candid as ever.
“I think electric cars will eventually take over, but right now they don’t make much sense,” he said before some 400 invited attendees. “And as far as carbon dioxide emissions go, cars burn fossil fuels whether at the tailpipe or when plugged in. The fact is that 90% of the world’s electricity comes from fossil fuels.”
After leaving GM in 2010 in the midst of industry turmoil, Lutz continued as a consultant, dabbled in auto startups, and published two more books: “Car Guys vs. Bean Counters” and “Icons and Idiots.” This summer, his friend Jon Block saw the opportunity for a proper retirement party.
“I am a closet car designer,” smiled Lutz, who constructs exquisite, 1:36 scale paper models as a hobby. “But when I was a young man, my father looked at my design portfolio and forecast a life of hardship. So I got an MBA, then spent 60 years practicing design without a license.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
2024 vehicle of the year candidates announced: EVs, SUVs and trucks, trucks, trucks
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 28, 2023
Detroit — And they are off! A total of 52 competitors took the green flag Thursday as the 30th annual North American Car, Truck, and Vehicle of the Year announced its list of eligible vehicles.
The diverse field included 17 new nameplates, 14 entries from Detroit Three brands, two from startup automakers, 16 electric vehicles and seven hybrids. Consistent with Americans’ lust for all things ute, SUVs boast the most nominees with 29, but all eyes will be on the seven truck entries.
The top dogs in the red-hot midsize segment — Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, Ford Ranger and sales-leader Toyota Tacoma — have all-new trucks for the 2024 model year and the competition will be fierce. Tesla’s long-awaited, radically-designed Cybertruck is also on the list, but — if history is any guide — jurors won’t have a chance to evaluate it since Tesla rarely offers test vehicles.
NACTOY is the industry’s most prestigious, independent award and was launched at the 1994 North American International Auto Show. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class won for best car and the Dodge Ram took home the best truck trophy (the SUV category wasn’t added until 2017 as the industry transformed to high-riding hatchbacks).
“These awards are special because they represent a cross section of views from 50 top automotive journalists, each of whom look at vehicles from their own personal perspective,” said NACTOY president Jeff Gilbert, who announced eligible vehicles at a Detroit auto show kick-off event downtown. “We leverage our own unique processes to come to a consensus that honors the best all new or totally redesigned vehicles in a model year.”
Car sales have been on the wane in the last decade — SUV sales are now over 70% of the non-truck market — but they remain key to foreign automaker market strategies, and there are 16 competitors for ‘24.
The Chevy Corvette E-Ray — the first electrified offering from the storied badge — will be one of the favorites. Expect it to face stiff competition from its fellow muscle car, the seventh-generation Ford Mustang, the ugly duckling-turned-swan Toyota Prius and the Honda Accord, manufactured three hours south of Detroit in Ohio.
In a sign of how brands are realigning, Toyota — once maker of vanilla appliances — will have as many performance entries as Porsche. The Japanese automaker will offer up performance versions of its GR Corolla, GR Supra and GR86 (GR is short for Gazoo Racing), while Porsche will field the 911 GT3 RS, 718 and 911 Dakar.
Toyota’s SUV field is more conventional and includes the Grand Highlander (a three-row version of the top-selling Highlander), Sequoia and Land Cruiser. The Motor City is well-represented in the SUV category, which is where Detroit-based automakers have concentrated their business along with trucks.
Expect the jury to give long looks to the affordable, roomy, high-tech Chevy Trax, Buick Envista and Dodge Hornet, which are bucking the trend away from sub-$35,000 models. Alfa Romeo is rebooting with the Tonale — its first electrified entry in the subcompact SUV segment. Leading the EV field, Chevrolet has high hopes for its tandem of mainstream entries: the Blazer EV and Equinox EV. Startups Fisker (the Ocean) and Vietnam’s’ Vinfast (the VF8 and VF9) also hope to make a splash.
In addition to utility, the SUV segment includes hip entries like the Jeep Wrangler, remade for 2024; Kia’s first battery-only three-row SUV, the EV9; and the sports car of three-row SUVs, the Mazda CX-90.
The last decade has seen an explosion of truck challengers to the Toyota Tacoma, the perennial sales king of midsizers. This year, Tacoma finally responded with an all-new pickup that includes muscular styling and powerful hybrid model — the segment’s first.
The Taco arrived just in time because the competition is upping its game as well with fresh, high-tech entries from Chevy, GMC and Ford. The three Detroit brands are buttressing their claim to the truck award with high-performance mud-kickers like the Colorado ZR2, Canyon AT4X and Ranger Raptor.
NACTOY jurors test, poke and evaluate vehicles all year and will announce their “Best of 2024” nominees (aka the semifinalists) Sept. 13 at the Detroit auto show. The field will be winnowed to a finalist list at the Nov. 16 Los Angeles Auto Show, and the winners will be crowned at Pontiac’s M1 Concourse on Jan. 4, 2024. For more information, visit http://northamericancaroftheyear.org.
NACTOY, in partnership with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, also marked its 30th year with a $40,000 donation distributed to four charities: Tunnels to Towers Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Pope Francis Center to care for the homeless, and Metro Detroit animal shelter Friends for Animals
NACTOY eligible vehicles
Car of the Year
BMW 5 Series
BMW i5
Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
Ford Mustang
Honda Accord
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Maserati GranTurismo Coupe
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Porsche 911 Dakar
Porsche Unnamed 718
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Crown
Toyota Prius/Prius Prime
Toyota GR Corolla
Toyota GR Supra
Toyota GR86
Truck of the Year
Chevrolet Silverado EV
Ford Ranger
Ford Super Duty
GMC Canyon
Chevrolet Colorado
Tesla Cybertruck
Toyota Tacoma
Utility of the Year
Alfa Romeo Tonale
Audi Q8 E-Tron
Buick Envista
Cadillac XT4
Chevrolet Trax
Chevrolet Blazer EV
Chevrolet Equinox EV
Dodge Hornet
Fisker Ocean
Genesis Electrified GV70
GMC Hummer EV SUV
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Kona
Kia EV9
Jeep Wrangler
Lexus RZ
Lexus TX
Maserati Grecale
Mazda CX90
Mazda CX70
Mercedes EQE SUV
Mercedes GLC
Subaru Crosstrek
Toyota Grand Highlander
Toyota Sequoia
Toyota Land Cruiser
Vinfast VF8
Vinfast VF9
Volvo EX30
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: That’s a Prius? Toyota hybrid goes from nerd to knockout
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 27, 2023
Holly Oaks — The hybrid Toyota Prius — Pious to its detractors — has always been designed to stand out. To be a statement. For its fifth generation, it’s chosen beauty.
Like the goth nerd who blossomed into the prom queen, the 2023 Prius has ditched its polarizing design to become one of the market’s best-looking compact hatchbacks. Green is chic, and Prius now dresses in fashionable, simple wardrobe like a Tesla or a Mercedes EQ sedan.
Pious? Call it Precious.
The beauty is hardly skin deep. The Toyota sits on a much firmer TNGA platform — light years from its original noodle-soft frame — for better handling. Its interior is more mature, too, adopting conventional tablet console screen and ditching the bathroom sink-white console trim.
Signature design cues like the dash-mounted shifter and split rear window are gone. Yes, there’s an instrument display at the base of the windshield, but this is more familiar to the electric bZ4X than to the old middle-mounted display. All this mainstreaming is a recognition that Prius is no longer a freak — it’s been joined by numerous other hybrids, including the Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic and the Corolla and Corolla Cross Hybrid cousins.
With hatchback and sedan sales out of vogue, Prius takes its battery act upscale where the customers are. This Prius is a big step up on looks, handling and tech while not forgetting its calling card: efficiency.
The base Prius boasts an impressive 52 mpg — but it also comes with a more powerful plug-in option that claims 48 mpg and 44 miles of battery-only driving. My Prius Prime tester’s duality as a hybrid and EV was impressive.
As I eased it out of my driveway on a Saturday morning, the fully charged Prime defaulted to EV mode.
Like a Tesla, my Prius Prime quietly glided around town on electrons. Unlike my big battery, 80 kWh Tesla Model 3, however, the Prime’s 10.9 kWh battery has limited torque. You won’t be out-dragging Bimmers from stoplights.
If it’s acceleration you want, though, the Prime is a big upgrade over the pokey, Pokemon-lookalike model from 2022. Change the EV model selector to HYBRID, and the electric motor and 2.0-liter gas engine combine for an impressive 220 horsepower (100 more than last gen). It will scoot to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds — a serious improvement over the old model’s 10.3 seconds.
But I digress. I was determined to do my urban chores in full-EV mode. Prius accomplished this task with a faint whir of its front-wheel-drive electric motor and no regenerative breaking like most EVs. I eventually drained the battery to just four miles after a morning of errands.
I toggled the EV mode switch to RECHARGE. This mode effectively swapped electric power for gas engine power to recharge the nearly depleted battery — on the fly. So, rather than stop at a charger, I replenished the battery by continuing to drive to my next appointment. Slick.
I barked an order at Android Auto to take me to Holy Oaks, 43 miles up I-75 in north Oakland County (curiously, for such a high-tech tool, the Prius stull requires a wire to hook up Android Auto).
After the liquid-smooth experience of battery power, the Prius’s 2.0-liter gas engine sounded coarse, buzzing away at 80 mpg up I-75. But it did its job, adding 20 miles of battery charge during my 86-mile round trip. Had I continued north in hybrid mode, the Prius would have returned a whopping 550 miles of range. Try that in an EV at 80 mpg on a 50-degree day.
On the journey to Holly, I engaged adaptive cruise control — standard on the loaded Prime along with blind-spot assist, auto high-beams and a toaster oven (kidding about that last one) — which proved an excellent driver assist. While the system confidently navigated the interstate’s long curves, I was able to scarf down a few tenders from Uncle Joe’s Chicken for lunch.
At Holly, I met some Ford Bronco friends who were getting dirty at Bronco Fest. With its low profile 19-inch wheels (remember the days when the Prius had small, geeky 15-inchers for optimum mileage?) off-roading is not Prius’s forte. So it remained in the paddock and looked nice while mud-caked Broncos with 11-inch suspension lifts came and went.
Had I added any passengers for my trip back south, they would have noticed Precious’s compromised headroom thanks to its new, sleek design. The A-pillar is so raked it’s practically an extension of the hood line — meaning my 6’5” noggin was inches from the sunroof. Rear-seats passengers are similarly confined by the coupe-like roofline — though legroom is comfy for a compact.
All that battery and tech mean that the Prius is significantly more expensive than the previous generation, with the base model starting at $33K (a $4K increase) — with my XSE tester topping out at $38,299. That compares favorable to an equally stylish all-wheel-drive, loaded-with-standard-safety-features Mazda3 Turbo with 210 horsepower and a $39K sticker price — except the Toyota is FWD only.
As improved as its new chassis is, the Prius still can’t hold a candle to the Mazda’s nimble handling. Competition includes Toyota’s own RAV4 hybrid plug-in, which clocks in at $42K with similar drivetrain efficiencies plus the SUV utility folks crave these days.
But if it’s an attractive hatchback you want, Prius Prime is a looker.
The new recessed instrument panel essentially acts as a head-up display so you never have to take your eyes from the road. It required a lower steering wheel position, but I got comfortable with the arrangement over time. Other ergonomic details are less friendly.
My top-trim Prime XSE came equipped with a vertical phone charger slot that could not accommodate my oversized Samsung phone, wasting console space. Other manufacturers use the more flexible, horizontal flat space at the fore of the console for phone chargers. And the Prius’s steering wheel controls lacked raised surfaces like, say, Chevrolet’s clever controls, so I often had to take my eyes off the road to adjust adaptive cruise control.
Still, it’s a testimony to the new Prius’s handling that you want to keep your eyes on the road. Exiting Holly Oaks, I toggled SPORT mode — accessing all 220 horses hybrid horses — and launched into a 180-degree clover leaf.
Exiting on power, I merged with authority into traffic ahead of a Jeep Wrangler and BMW 3-series. Precious.
Next week: 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
2023 Toyota Prius Prime
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger hybrid hatchback
Price: $33,445 base, including $1,095 destination ($38,299 XSE as tested)
Power plant: 2.0-liter, inline-4 mated to electric motor and 13.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack
Power: 220 horsepower
Transmission: Continuously variable
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.5 seconds (Car and Driver est.); top speed, 112 mph
Weight: 3,516 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 50 mpg city/47 mpg highway/48 mpg combined; 39-44 miles pure-battery range
Report card
Highs: Stylish exterior; regenerated battery range on the fly
Lows: No wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay; clumsy switchgear
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Detroit auto show to include product reveals from GM, Ford, Stellantis
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 25, 2023
The Detroit auto show circus is back this September for its second annual fall exhibit under Huntington Place’s big tent, and Detroit automakers say they will be bringing big acts.
Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV confirmed this week they will each unveil new vehicles for a total of six reveals during the show’s Media and Technology Days Sept. 13-14 — to be followed by public viewing days through Sept. 24.
“We are thrilled by the tremendous support of our hometown Detroit Three in bringing these exciting reveals and their products and vehicle activations to the show,” said North American International Auto Show Chair Thad Szott, who runs Szott Auto Group. “We expect the momentum created by these unveilings to generate outstanding media and consumer attendance and interest.”
The reveals will join a floor-full of activations as the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association, which runs the show, showcases the latest tech and electric vehicle innovations. There will be an indoor track for EVs (dubbed the Powering Michigan EV Experience), indoor rides to experience Jeep, Fords, GMCs and other beasts, and outdoor street rides as well.
Auto shows have taken a hit in recent years as a changing media landscape allowed automakers to reveal new products at a variety of backdrops — rather than competing for media attention on a crowded auto show floor. New York, Chicago, Frankfurt and other auto shows have suffered — and Detroit is not alone. The pandemic didn’t help, pushing off NAIAS’s planned transition from a January show downtown to one later on the calendar from 2020 to 2022.
As a result, Detroit brands are key to the show as it becomes more regional in content. Ford’s reveal of the seventh-generation Mustang at last year’s show, for example, was a highlight as a “Stampede” of some 1,000 Mustangs drove in from Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn to Hart Plaza.
German brands (like BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Porsche) and Japanese automakers (Honda, Subaru, Mazda) have quit the show to find other venues to sell their wares in a state where buyers are heavily biased toward the Detroit Three both for employment reasons and for financial incentives to buy a car (think friend and family discounts).
While showgoers won’t be dazzled by the multimillion-dollar displays that lit up the floor at the event’s height a decade ago, Huntington Place is still an opportunity for Detroit dealers to hook customers shopping for a new car.
“It’s the Detroit show, which makes it especially exciting to offer consumers the opportunity to go for a ride in our Jeep and Ram vehicles on our specialized test tracks, as well as check out all the latest offerings from the rest of our North American brands,” said Rick Deneau, head of product and brand communications for Stellantis.
No word yet on whether the circus will include the 60-foot tall rubber duck — in honor of Jeep enthusiasts’ “ducking” tradition — that made an appearance last year.
Expect new reveals to go heavy on electrification as the industry has promised a wave of EVs in the next two years to comply with government rules. General Motors has a number of battery-powered models in the pipeline, including the Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs. Notably absent, however, will be domestic electric startups like Rivian Automotive and Fisker Inc. and EV market leader Tesla Inc.
“The Detroit Auto Show is a longstanding tradition that brings the community, consumers, car enthusiasts and our employees together,” said Mark Truby, Ford chief communications officer. “We’re excited to return this September and look forward to making a splash with some of our most iconic and important new vehicles.”
With all the attention on EVs, however, the Detroit Three aren’t taking their foot off the gas pedal when it comes to internal combustion engines that are fueling their EV investments.
In an indication of the industry’s new venue opportunities, there will also be Jeep, Ford Bronco and Chevy truck displays at Detroit 4fest off-road event in Holly Oaks — just 50 miles up I-75 from Huntington Place — the weekend before NAIAS media days.
In addition to media reveals, the Detroit show will host a two-day Mobility Global Forum to spotlight leading mobility voices from industry and government. AutoMobili-D, the show’s technology showcase presented by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, will feature startup high-tech companies and leading universities.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: At full gallop in the high-tech, high-performance 2024 Mustang
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 25, 2023
Los Angeles — Angeles Crest Highway north of LA is hardly angelic. This is California’s version of Michigan’s Hell.
Like the writhing byways of Hell north of Ann Arbor, Angeles Crest Highway — aka State Route 2 — is where Southern Cal motorheads escape to put their sports cars to the test. Diabolical switchbacks. Diving turns. A ribbon of road wrapped around sheer canyons. Push the limits and you’ll quickly learn your steed’s envelope. Once upon a time, this was harrowing territory in a Ford Mustang with its boat-anchor V-8 up front and inflexible, solid rear axle out back. No more.
WAAAUUUUURRGGHH! I stomped on the accelerator of the new 2024 Mustang GT at the apex of a blind left-hand turn. Nicely balanced, the coupe tracked out to the edge of the road as I set up for yet another lefthander rushing into view. Hands never leaving the wheel, I toggled TRACK mode with my left thumb for more stiffening from the magnetic shocks. Computer-game quality graphics projected a horizontal, race-style tachometer so I could more precisely shift the steering paddles. WAAAUUUUURRGGHH! Back on the gas.
I drive a lot of new cars every year and few generate lust. Ford’s pony is an exception. The seventh-generation Mustang is a must-have.
Viscerally appealing, wildly capable, high-tech, and (relatively) affordable, the 2024 is a home run — the culmination of 60 years of customer marketing wrapped in state-of-the-art engineering. It didn’t have to be. Ford could have just mailed it in.
In this era of off-road SUV-mania and stifling emissions regulations, the V8-powered muscle car segment is endangered. After the 2024 model year, only Mustang will be left standing, its primary Dodge Challenger/Charger and Chevy Camaro competitors retired to pasture for terrorizing too many polar bears.
But like the “Top Gun: Maverick” sequel, Mustang is a blockbuster with enough action to satisfy multiple demographics: young, old, female, male, motorhead, rent-a-car tourist.
Start with the interior — yes, I’m talking about the interior of a Mustang first. This used to be the last place ‘Stang would invest its budget with its slab dash, uncomfortable seats, hard plastics, and good ol’, retro, double instrument display. The heck with that.
Designer Chris Walter throws around the word “transformative,” and for good reason. This interior is more BMW than old-school Mustang. A 25.6-inch, driver-centric, hoodless screen dominates the cabin and houses twin digital displays. Sure, there are budget constraints — the screen doesn’t get the reflective coating of the $80,000 Bimmers I’ve recently wheeled. But even BMW enthusiasts will drool over the Unreal Engine graphical interface — yes, the same 3D Unreal Engine software that runs Epic Games’ titles like Rocket League and Fortnite — games my sons grew up with. The next-generation Mustang customer has been served.
Sports cars are big toys and Unreal Engine brings a new play set to the cabin to customize drive modes and instrument displays. Or you can just ogle 360-degree graphics of your car. Interior design complements the tech with simple lines, buttons, and wireless charger port for Android Auto/Apple CarPlay.
My favorite interior toy used to be the stick shift, and I’m thrilled the GT still comes standard with a six-speed (#SaveTheManual!), but the liquid-smooth, 10-speed automatic transmission comes with a growing list of benefits that make it the driver’s choice at $1,595. Chief among these is it pairs with the V-8, like Astaire and Rogers, for dancing through the twisties.
Then add launch control, paddle shifters, drifting and remote revving. The latter toys will wow your friends. Join a local drift club and learn the ropes. Remote-start the Mustang, then use the key fob to rev the engine. Dude.
The interior customization mirrors the exterior customization that Mustang customers have long enjoyed. Hmmm, shall I get Atlas Blue with white Shelby stripes or Oxford White with black stripes? The seventh-gen adds more goodies like 12 wheel options, colorful Brembo brake calipers and blacked-out roof.
All that bling would be wasted if the Mustang didn’t have curb appeal, and the ’24 delivers. This is Tom Cruise in a muscle shirt.
I liked the last-gen Mustang that expanded to 120-plus countries with a more European design. But the faithful (like my friend and ‘Stang GT350 owner Chris) protested it as the “Mustang Fusion.” The new-gen is edgier, more muscular with a wide mouth, brooding headlights and a rear fascia inspired by the ‘67 Fastback. Chris likes it.
Dress it in yellow, blue and red Skittle colors to show off the GT’s multiple tattoos: badging and multiple ducts to feed the beast within. The trusty, 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 has been redesigned with menacing, dual throttle bodies that will encourage open hoods at the Dream Cruise.
The hood itself is interrupted by a functional hood scoop that aids cooling and downforce. Developed in Ford’s state-of-the-art Dearborn wind tunnel, the added front downforce is part of a comprehensive effort to make ‘Stang more sports car than muscle car.
Once a Woodward dragster, the ‘15 Mustang’s independent rear suspension opened new horizons. This is now a true sports car and the ‘24 builds on that potential. Steering, shocks, aerodynamics — the parts have all been systematically upgraded to benefit the whole.
The result is a whole lot of joy in corners as well as in a straight line. My co-driver and fellow scribe Robin Warner — a former race driver and Mustang engineer — roared with delight every time he let loose the Coyote’s howl. But it’s the ability to stay in the throttle through the twisties that really thrills.
My yellow V-8 pony was easy to drive fast.
All these upgrades don’t come free, and Mustang gets a significant $3,500 price increase over the sixth-gen model. That means the 480-horsepower GT now stickers for well above $40,000 at a $43,090 starting price. That’s still $20K south of the 453-horse BMW M2 I just tested.
Ford expects the GT to soak up 55% of the sales volume. Coyote is addictive. But for those shopping on a sub-$40K budget, the entry-level, $32,515, 4-cylinder Mustang Ecoboost (ugh, that name) is no ordinary 4-banger.
This is a similar 2.3-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder used in Europe’s Focus RS hot hatch — and it has been thoroughly upgraded for 2024. “Base turbo-four engine fails to excite,” lamented our friends at Car and Driver about the last gen. Problem solved.
Other sports cars’ turbo-4s — the Porsche 718 comes to mind — have disappointed as they strive to satisfy mpg nannies. Mustang’s turbo-4 is Son of Coyote with its playful growl, 350-pound feet of torque (just 65 shy of big brother), and a lighter front end for better handling.
Go topless and that handling confidence goes away. Absent the roof, the ‘Stang is uncertain in fast switchbacks. But that’s not why you buy the convertible. You buy it to cruise the Woodward Dream Cruise, soak up sun, or enjoy a lake breeze in Traverse City.
Mustang has its demerits. You have to take your legs off to sit in the back seat (can we get a Mustang sedan to replace the Dodge Charger, please?), and a head-up display option would be nice. But with the 2024 model, Mustang has matured for a new era.
As the scion of a sub-brand that now includes the Mach-E SUV, ‘Stang is fun, high tech — and, like Tom Cruise, still hot.
2024 Ford Mustang
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, four-passenger sports car
Price: $32,515 base, including $1,595 destination ($53,635 Ecoboost Convertible and $60,840 GT as tested)
Power plant: 2.3-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder; 5.0-liter V-8
Power: 315 horsepower, 350 pound-feet of torque (Turbo-4); 480 horsepower, 415 pound-feet of torque (V-8)
Transmission: Six-speed manual (GT only); 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.9 seconds (Motor Trend est.)
Weight: 4,012 pounds (GT as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 22 mpg city/33 mpg highway/26 mpg combined (turbo-4): 14 mpg city/23 mpg highway/17 mpg combined (V-8)
Report card
Highs: Good engine lineup; transformed, high-tech interior
Lows: Cramped back seat; gets pricey with options
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
Payne: Flat out in the bonkers Toyota GR Corolla
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 21, 2023
Pontiac — You want a diverse, full-line model lineup?
This June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, the 986-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Toyota GR (for Gazoo Racing) Hypercar battled the Ferrari 499F Hypercar tooth and nail for first place in the world’s most prestigious endurance race. The same week, I lapped the 300-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Toyota GR Corolla around M1 Concourse, Metro Detroit’s premier race track.
Yes, Toyota has gone bonkers.
Led by racing fanatic and Chairman Akio Toyoda, Toyota has emerged in recent years as one of the most dynamic brands in the industry as its lineup is now augmented by two sports cars — the Supra and 86 — and a raft of Gazoo Racing (GR) models inspired by the hypercar that won five Le Mans in a row and just missed out on No. 6 last month against competitors like Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac.
Maybe the craziest experiment in the lab is the GR Corolla, which has transformed Toyota’s entry-level sedan appliance into a fire-breathing, steroid-fed hot hatch boasting 187 horsepower per liter from a turbocharged, 1.6-liter 3-cylinder engine blown out of its mind.
The GR-eatest of the batch is the limited-edition, track-focused Morizo model that I began my Monday with.
“I think that’s the fastest a Corolla has ever gone around this track,” smiled general manager Keith Bonn, after I cranked off laps quicker than the GR 86 sports cars that M1 has in its track fleet.
“It may be the only Corolla that’s ever gone around this track,” I replied.
The Morizo manages such track feats thanks to a boost in torque to 295 (from the standard GR Corolla’s healthy 275), light-weighted body, Brembo brakes and sticky Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tires. Mostly it’s the Cup 2 tires. These marvelous meatballs are the summit of production performance tires and are normally found on supercars like the Chevy Corvette Z06 or Porsche GT3.
They are on the Morizo because, according to Toyota, that’s how Akio Toyoda would outfit this pitbull if he were to take it on track. I’m not making this up. In addition to the tires and torque, the Morizo gets extra chassis stiffening like a fat steel bar that bisects the cargo area. And there’s no back seat. What the —-?
That’s right, to save weight (and open up room for Akio to throw in four spare tires for the track) the GR Corolla Morizo has four doors — but only two front seats. More weight savings comes from a carbon fiber roof and forged wheels. For all this muscle (and inconvenience in the case of no rear seats), you can have this one-of-200-imported-to-the-U.S. Morizo special editions for a stiff $50,000.
And that’s not the only special-edition model. The Circuit Edition — also exclusive to the 2023 launch year — boasts similar power numbers and body tattoos like GR-Four stamped side rockers, flat underfloor and rear lip spoiler.
That’s how determined Toyota is to change its image as a maker of vanilla cars — and to make its mark in a hot hatch market segment stuffed with outstanding athletes: Honda Civic Type R, Mazda3 Turbo, Subaru WRX, Golf GTI, Golf R.
Collectibles aside, you’ll be fine with the standard GR Corolla like the $38,600 blood-red demon I terrorized Washtenaw County with last year. It features the same 12.3-inch digital instrument display as the Morizo and Circuit Editions. Same tablet infotainment display. Same wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 system surrounding you with useful safety tools like blind-spot assist. Just add the Performance Package so you get limited-slip differentials for maximum Rottweiler grip.
Don’t expect much legroom even with the rear seats intact — the GR’s biggest demerit when compared with roomier competitors like the Type R or WRX.
Unlike Subaru’s hellion, GR Corolla does not come by its all-wheel-drive character naturally. The Corolla was born a front-wheel driver. But like its hatch brethren, the GR Corolla is totally transformed from the base car into an exhilarating grocery cart that can also double as a track car on weekends.
I recently raced at Canadian Motorsports Park in Ontario in my Lola race car. Our weekend shared track time with production models like Mustangs, Camaros, Porsche Caymans — and hot hatches like the Fiat 500 Abarth and Honda Type R. The GR Corolla would have fit right in.
The 1.6-liter three is a remarkable piece of technology, and it has a stick shift (also not available in a base Corolla) to match. Notchy and easy to shift, it’s the perfect companion on track (or on country roads) with engine peak torque kicking in above 4,000 RPM. Pedal placement is excellent, too, for heel-and-toe downshifts — especially since the GR Corolla doesn’t offer rev-matching like some of its peers.
It’s nice to see Toyota in the pocket rocket game with GR. It’s the answer to the question no one was expecting: what would happen if the Le Mans GR Hypercar and a Corolla had a baby?
Next week: 2024 Ford Mustang
2023 Toyota GR Corolla
Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive four-passenger hot hatch
Price: $36,995 base, including $1,095 destination ($51,420 Morizo edition as tested)
Power plant: 1.6-liter, turbocharged 3-cylinder
Power: 300 horsepower, 295 pound-feet of torque (as tested)
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.9 seconds (Car and Driver)
Weight: 3,186 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 21 mpg city/28 mpg highway/24 mpg combined
Report card
Highs: All-wheel-drive grip; notchy stick shift
Lows: Cramped back seat; no rev-match
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne
Steppin’ out: 2024 Cadillac XT4 gets fancier duds, mammoth screen
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 21, 2023
It’s nice to have big sister hand-me-downs.
For 2024 Cadillac’s entry-level SUV, the XT4, adopts wardrobe upgrades made popular by more expensive siblings, Cadillac Escalade and Lyriq. The Caddy’s wee interior now features a huge, 33-inch wide screen that spans the dash — housing digital instrument and infotainment displays.
The premium look helps the Caddy keep up with blingtastic midsize competitors like the Mercedes GLB, Audi Q3 and BMW X1, which have also expanded their screen real estate. Outside, the Caddy updates its signature vertical light show with thinner, state-of-the-art LEDs. Cadillac’s fascia maintains its vertical “tear drop” running lights, but the headlights have been moved to the middle of the fascia in keeping with current fashion. LED “eyebrows” are at hood level.
The small Caddy’s siblings have a lot to thank XT4 for as well. After decades of entry-level sedans, the XT4 opened the door to a new generation of Cadillac SUVs that now include the XT5 and XT6, as well as the iconic Escalade
“The XT4 continues to be a top-selling vehicle in its class, year over year,” said Executive Vice President and President, GM North America Rory Harvey. “Now with enhancements including our 33-inch-diagonal display and new safety features, it will further demand a second look.”
The XT4 was the fourth best-selling vehicle in segment last year with 21,773 unit sales — trailing only the Lexus NX, Mercedes GLB and Audi Q3.
GM’s Buick brand was first to the subcompact SUV segment with the Encore in 2013, and the XT4 didn’t follow until 2018, catching up with German competitors. The Encore has been replaced by the Envision, and the Cadillac will likely start some $15,000 north of the Buick.
For that premium, Cadillac’s luxury brand brings all-wheel-drive married to a much more powerful drivetrain: A 235-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder compared to the Buick’s 137-horse, 1.2-liter turbo-3. Cadillac is determined to go cold turkey off internal combustion vehicles this decade, so the XT4 is not offered in a hybrid, gas-electric model like the Lexus NX. It does not yet offer an all-electric option like the Volvo XC40 Recharge.
The XT4 model walk feature a Y-lineup with a base, Luxury model that then splits into two choices: Sport and Premium Luxury, depending on your vibe. Sport offer a more aggressive, black-and-carbon-fiber-trimmed SUV while Premium Luxury is more buttoned-up with exclusive grille, wheels, fascia, roof rails, side body accents and wood accents inside.
“The 2024 XT4’s exterior styling — with signature vertical lighting cues and enhancement s— advances Cadillac’s design standard,” said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director of Global Cadillac.
All three models come with the same drivetrain. Acceleration is brisk in the XT4 with 258 pound-feet of torque. The XT4 also boasts 3,500-pound towing capacity. Without a trailer out back, the XT4 is nimble for an SUV with dual-rear clutches that can throw 100% of rear torque to either side to prevent one wheel from spinning helplessly — in a Michigan snowstorm, for example — and get you moving again.
Inside, the XT4 translates its long, 109-inch wheelbase into one of the roomiest back seats in class. Rear occupants can also enjoy an optional moonroof. Other premium options include a 13-speaker, AKG Studio Audio System.
In addition to its big screen — now powered by Google Built-in, just like your phone’s navigation — XT4 offers the lates, standard safety and driver assistance tech, including blind-spot assist, rear cross-traffic braking, 5G WiFi hotspot capability, and lane-keep assist. Though GM has been aggressive in offering its hands-free, semi-autonomous Super Cruise suite on multiple models, there is no word yet on whether the XT4 will option that feature.
A new lineup of 18-and 20-inch wheels is on tap and three new exterior colors: Emerald Lake Metallic, Midnight Sky Metallic and Deep Sea Metallic.
Assembled in Kansas at GM’s Fairfax Assembly facility, the 2024 XT4 goes on sale this summer.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: That’s a Buick? Envista’s entry-level luxury
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 21, 2023
Ann Arbor — The entry-level, subcompact Encore redefined the Buick brand. The Envista makes it a contender.
I mean, just look at the thing. A lot of folks did as I flogged my Ocean Blue Metallic tester across the winding roads of Livingston County. Taking design cues from the elegant Buick Wildcat concept, this SUV enters the highway with a bullet-train nose framed by stylish peepers — then leaves you with a fastback view that’ll have you pedaling to catch up so you can remember her name.
Elle? Electra? Ember? Envista.
OK, got it. Why Buick didn’t stick with Encore is surprising since rebuilding badge equity in a competitive market is a daunting task. But Buick marketing chief Sam Russell said that the Envista’s dramatic evolution from the Encore necessitated a new name. Hard to argue.
Not only does Envista’s design put it in league with premium subcompacts like the BMW X1, Mercedes GLA and Cadillac XT4, but it does so for a startling $15,000 less. Like the original Encore that invented the subcompact SUV segment, Envista has found its sweet spot with a $26K subcompact SUV.
There is no Acura in the segment. No Infiniti. No Lincoln. That leaves still formidable competition from upwardly-mobile models like the Mazda CX-30 and VW Taos, which will test the Buick’s premium aspirations — especially as they offer an all-wheel-drive option. But they can’t match the Buick’s style and interior room.
Rather than equip Envista with AWD, Buick has paired the front-wheel-drive Envista with the all-wheel-drive Encore GX that also sports Buick’s new face. The Encore and Encore GX were similarly paired in the last generation. Curiously, though, Encore GX remains on the old cramped 102-inch wheelbase while Envista gets the new 106-inch wheelbase shared with the Chevy Trax, which has become a mainstream class contender in its own right.
Think of the Buick siblings the way BMW pairs its X1 and X2 coupe designs. But save for the AWD option, Envista is superior in every way to its more expensive stablemate. Despite its coupe-like roof, Envista still managed to fit my giraffe neck comfortably in the rear seat.
Rear legroom is palatial — nearly three inches more than GX and just half-an-inch less than the compact-class Buick Envision that starts — ahem — at $15,000 more than Envista. Maybe they should have called Envista the Envalue.
In due course for Buick, Envista comes with an upscale leather-bound Avenir model starting at $29,695, and a mid-level ST version at $25,195. I’d recommend the base Preferred model.
All trims come standard with state-of-the-art, eight-inch instrument and 11-inch infotainment displays sharing a lovely 19-inch curved dash screen. It’s paired with wireless Android Auto (and Apple CarPlay) that I used to navigate across the winding, hilly roads of southeast Michigan.
But the part I appreciated most was that my jumbo Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone — sheathed in a ZeroLemon battery case — fit easily onto the console’s fore charging cubby. Subcompact ute consoles are inherently compact, but Buick engineers have taken the time to make sure that any phone could fit the space so that it wouldn’t run out of charge while navigating. Take a bow, engineers.
This ergonomic attention to detail is impressive — and expected as the Buick uses the same parts bin as Cadillacs, GMC Sierras and other GM products.
That means my hands didn’t need to leave the wheel during my day’s drive. I managed adaptive cruise control with my left thumb (dancing across a pad of keys on the left steering wheel). I adjusted radio volume with my right forefingers (using twin pads on the right backside of the steering wheel). And for my favorite radio stations? I used my left forefingers to toggle the UP/DOWN tabs on the steering wheel’s left backside.
Envista sits confidently on the same chassis that undergirds the new Trax. In addition to the expanded wheelbase, the Envista grows in length by 14 inches over Encore and adds two cubic feet of cargo space. That package comes with the Envista’s greatest limitation: the drivetrain.
The Bimmers, Audi and Merc are more expensive in part because they provide substantially more power than Envista. A BMW X1 packs 241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque from its perky, 2.0-liter turbo-four while the Buick uses the same 1.2-liter turbo-3 cylinder as the Chevy for, um, just 137 horses and 162 torque. Even the Mazda CX-30 buries the Buick with 186 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque from its 2.5-liter 4-banger. Upgrade to the Mazda’s 250-horse, 320-torque Turbo model and it’ll leave a Bimmer in its tracks with 5.4 second 0-60 run and nimble handling.
Buick figures its customers care more about fuel economy (30 mpg compared to the BMW’s 24) and a handsome dashboard than a 60-mph dash. “Quiet tuning” is the brand’s new mantra.
But with its compact size, Envista is hardly a wet noodle in the twisties. As I pushed hard across Livingston County, Envista proved tidy and its low-end torque adequate for jumping off corners — or merging into traffic on I-94. Where the three-banger gets winded is in the higher-rev ranges and its pokey, 8.8-second 0-60 mph time.
I’ve touted the $36K Mazda CX-30 Turbo as the best all-around SUV in the subcompact class for its combination of affordability, style and performance. But if the latter is not a priority, then my Envista Preferred weighs in at $26,295 — 10 grand below the Mazda while sporting comfortable power cloth/leatherette seats and all of Mrs. Payne’s must-have goodies: heated seats, heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, wireless smartphone.
And all-wheel drive, hon. It’s gotta have all-wheel drive for Michigan winters.
Oh, right. In that case, the smaller, $29,350 Encore GX would be your choice for northern climates. My guess is that the Encore GX will adopt the Envista’s longer wheelbase in a couple of years, offering a more complete package. And who knows, maybe Buick will get a performance engine option — that 2.7-liter turbo-four in the GMC Canyon looks tempting — to rival the Bimmer and Mazda.
If Buick can be remade as an SUV brand, a performance model isn’t too much to ask, is it?
Next week: 2023 Toyota GR Corolla
2024 Buick Envista
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $23,495 base, including $1,095 destination ($26,295 Preferred as tested)
Power plant: 1.2-liter turbocharged inline-3 cylinder
Power: 137 horsepower and 162 lb.-ft. of torque
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.8 seconds (est.)
Weight: 3,030 pounds (Preferred) as tested
Fuel economy: est. 28 mpg city/32 mpg highway/30 mpg combined
Report card
Highs: Saks Fifth Avenue looks, Target price; superb interior ergonomics
Lows: Engine doesn’t match its looks; no AWD option
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Ambitious, SUV-focused Buick is not your grandma’s doddering sedan brand anymore
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 12, 2023
Ann Arbor — As the poster child for General Motors Co.’s radical transition to an all-electric vehicle manufacturer by 2035, Cadillac will be all-EV by 2030. To that end, Caddy has redesigned its logo, updated its design language, unveiled the sport-utility Lyriq EV, and introduced a halo, custom-built, $300,000 Celestiq electric sedan to compete with Rolls Royce. Whew.
But another GM premium brand is undergoing a transformation that is just as ambitious.
While Cadillac still churns out sedans in an SUV-obsessed marketplace, Buick has remade itself as an all-SUV brand, one of the first premium marques to do so. On top of that, Buick has also reskinned its logo and design language in anticipation of going all-electric by 2030. But wait, there’s more.
With the stylish 2024 Envista, Buick is positioning itself as a value brand, conquesting entry-level buyers with a subcompact SUV that begins at just $23,495 — a staggering $18,000 below an entry-level BMW X1.
“Back in 2019, just under 50% of the market was vehicles priced under $30,000. Fast forward to 2022 and that number was 15%,” said Buick marketing chief Sam Russell at the Envista’s media test drive here. “In our estimation, you’ve left an enormous amount of orphans in the marketplace looking for great product. (Envista) not only meets their technology, styling, and quality demands, but also at a price point they can afford.”
The strategy gives Buick a white space opportunity as industry pricing has accelerated out of reach of many buyers. The industry has flooded the market with pricey EVs (including the $60k Lyriq) to meet government regulations — and expensive trucks and SUVs to pay for them.
“Buick is in a good price position right now as pricing becomes more of an issue in a slowing economy,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director for S&P Global Mobility.
That’s a lot to put on the plate of a Buick brand that was gasping for air just 15 years ago as GM slipped under the waves of bankruptcy. The brand was saved — not by its domestic offerings — by the Chinese market, where Buick was a Top 5 seller in the 2000s. Buick’s U.S. push comes as its Chinese sales were off 18.2% last year to 677,938 units (though in a sign of Chinese taste for SUVs, Envision SUV sales topped 100,000). The brand’s U.S. sales, by comparison, slid 42.4% to 103,519.
On the positive side, Buick sales surged 48% in the second quarter of this year.
To meet its ambitions, Buick brought over Cadillac designer Bob Boniface and went back to a mid-20th century playbook when it was a cutting-edge brand.
“Buick was the first GM brand to build a concept car when Harley Earl introduced the 1938 Y-Job Concept. That was followed by a series of Wildcat concepts starting in 1953,” said Boniface. “For this new generation of Buick, we designed another Wildcat, which takes design cutes from the original Wildcat concept: low grille, high lamps, tusk-like accents. The Envista is the first full expression of the modern Wildcat.”
Boniface circled the Envista, his head sweeping over the attractive, coupe-like hatchback. Simple but elegant, the roofline, said the designer, was a signature of the 2022 Wildcat concept. Including the 19-inch screen that stretches across the interior dash, the sum total is a Buick that is instantly different from its predecessors, yet as affordable as a Subaru Crosstrek.
Russell acknowledged that Envista could have been an opportunity to introduce Buick customers to an affordable, $20,000-something EV in a market where the average electric vehicle retails for three times that. But with so much on the brand’s plate, he said it’s important that the brand set priorities.
“You will find people who only think we build sedans. That transformation (to SUVs) is already hard to follow,” he said. “We’re making sure we’re introducing the brand to people at all pricing levels, and right now an EV would not have been something we would have been able to accomplish.”
There are only two EVs sold under $30k in today’s market — the Nissan Leaf and retiring Chevy Bolt — and neither is from a premium brand. Defying industry predictions that lithium-ion prices would plummet, the average battery pack increased by 7% this year — to $151/kwh.
With internal combustion engine premium subcompacts priced at about $40k (the best-selling German subcompact, Audi Q3, is $37,995), Russell’s team saw the opportunity for a $23k Envista.
It continues Buick’s trend as a segment-buster.
In 2013, Buick introduced the Encore, a tiny SUV so adorable and affordable it maintained a Top 3 sales position even as mainstream brands like Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet entered the segment. Combined with the Enclave in the large three-row segment, the Encore remade the octogenarian sedan brand as an SUV maker. The subcompact Encore GX — similarly-sized to Envista but with all-wheel-drive for northern climates — and compact Envision SUVs filled out the revamped lineup as Buick sedan staples like the Regal were put out to pasture.
The strategy has borne fruit with GM’s Global Brand Tracking Study, which showed just 7% of consumers in 2014 were considering Buick for their next vehicle. That figure improved to 11% in 2022.
“It has been a journey for the brand beginning in 2013 with Encore,” said Russell. “We saw the transition going on in the industry, and we were ahead of the curve” in going all-SUV.
We’ve become the first exclusive premium SUV brand in the market since 2021.”
Getting that message across to shoppers (trading in, say, a Regal sedan) is key in a landscape transformed — not just by SUVs — but by technology like big screens and electronics.
“The Envista is super attractive,” said auto analyst Brinley. “Its objective is to sell to SUV buyers and sedan buyers coming back into the market. It’s a blend of sedan and SUV.”
Built on the same chassis as the Chevy Trax — also remade for ‘24 with striking design — the vehicles share interior switchgear and drivetrains. But while Chevy kept the Trax name, Buick decided to give its entry-level ute a new name, Envista.
“This vehicle is such as departure from what the Encore was, that ultimately it deserved a new name,” Russell said. “A lot of equity of the Encore (badge) translates to Encore GX — naming (the Envista) the Encore would have undervalued its uniqueness. We much preferred that the customer would come in with a blank slate.”
Transitioning to an all-EV brand in just six years will bring more challenges.
General Motors, like other automakers, faces hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if it doesn’t hit government sales targets for EVs. Yet, Buick clearly sees the Envista’s market as ICE, and changing it to battery power in just six years would be a massive marketing and logistical undertaking.
“Consumers aren’t ready for the market to go all-electric,” said Brinley, noting that EV sales have stalled this year at about 7% market share, while EV inventories have stacked up on dealer lots. “Driving an EV requires a level of flexibly from customers, including having a house in which to charge. That’s why premium brands are going EV first because their customers are better able to absorb the cost.”
Buick customers, however, have an eye for luxury — but at an affordable price. Brinley said that means Envista and three-row Enclave buyers need the dexterity of gas-powered vehicles.
Buick’s first electric vehicle, the Electra — due for the 2025 model year — is an aspirational vehicle likely to be priced over $50,000. For now, Buick wants to fill showrooms with SUV buyers who may one day buy an EV.
“The Envista shows what we can offer at 23 grand and will keep customers in the brand as they go through different life stages,” said Russell. “So you can move up to an all-wheel-drive GX, larger Envision, or maybe your family got real big overnight and you need an Enclave.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Bronco vs. Wrangler: Mud wrestlers replace road racers in the car wars
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 12, 2023
The sun is setting on Detroit’s Camaro vs. Challenger vs. Mustang muscle-car war. Say hello to the new enthusiast battleground: Bronco vs. Wrangler.
Following Ford Motor Co.’s challenge to America’s perennial off-road king with the 2021 Bronco, Stellantis NV’s iconic off-road brand Jeep has responded for the 2024 model year with an array of updated Wranglers. Bigger screen, available winch, expansion of its class-exclusive plug-in hybrid model. Game on. The two brands are hard at it with Wrangler still dominant, but Bronco already selling a healthy 100,000-plus units a year.
In features and mission, the dueling gladiators are similar: soft-top roofs, massive all-terrain tires, removable doors and top-trim models so capable they might climb the face of Mt. Rushmore. But their differences — and brand loyalty — inspire a passion from their tribes that is expanding the segment.
“I definitely wanted a Wrangler,” said Sam Taylor, 34, of Sterling Heights who bought her first Jeep in April, a pre-owned 2018 Sport model with big, 33-inch, all-terrain tires. “The Bronco is trying too much to be like Wrangler. I think Jeeps are more fun, more reliable — and the community is a great group of people.”
Andrea Dunn, on the other hand, saw the Bronco as the more reliable choice after owning a Ford F-150 Raptor performance pickup. “I never owned a Wrangler, but the Bronco is more capable and has a better suspension,” she said of her new Bronco Raptor. “The Ford is more capable of high-speed off-roading.”
The epic showdown between the industry’s two most capable, ladder-frame mid-size SUVs (General Motors Co. does not have a horse in the race) comes as America’s pony-car conflict shrivels — a victim of declining sales and green government rules that punish low mpg, V8-powered cars. After taking a hit of $711 million in federal fines, Dodge is leaving the segment after the 2024 model year and Chevy’s Camaro is following suit as GM focuses on an electric future. With an all-new, seventh-generation model for 2024, Ford’s Mustang is the last pony standing.
Brian Salkowski once coveted muscle cars; now he wants Broncos.
“Go back to our high school days and everyone dreamed about two-door sports cars,” said the 51-year-old Birmingham resident. “Now the Bronco is cool like a sports car, but it’s way more practical.”
Veteran auto analyst and muscle-car-owner Karl Brauer of iSeeCars concurs. “You were the cool kid in high school if you drove up in a Mustang GT — probably subsidized by your parents,” he said. “Today a Wrangler or Bronco with (big tires) is the cool car to have.”
Salkowski previously owned a Jaguar XF sports sedan and Ford Explorer ST (the high horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 version of the three-row SUV) before he bought his Bronco Badlands model complete with macho, 35-inch-tire Sasquatch package.
“I just love the look,” smiled Salkowski. “When I saw it, I had to have it.”
Lots of customers have had to have the Bronco. Despite initial quality issues, the Ford SUV’s sales have been red hot — reaching 117,057 units in 2022, its first full year of production. That is nearly on par with the rugged Toyota 4Runner (a third, less-capable competitor in the midsize, off-road SUV segment) though well-shy of King Wrangler’s 181,409 sales.
While Bronco has pirated sales from its competitors — Wrangler was down 11% in 2022 from the year before, and 4-Runner was down 16% to 121,023 units — analysts say the net effect is that Bronco is growing the segment by satisfying customer demand. Year-over-year, the segment of three grew from 384,329 units in 2021 to 419,489 in 2022.
Andrea and Dan Dunn of Flushing fit the description of class newcomers. Loyal Ford owners with a taste for dirt, they weren’t interested in purchasing a Jeep. But when Ford introduced the similar Bronco, they pounced.
“I was raised on Fords. I used to own a Ford F-150 Raptor, and the Raptor has proven capabilities,” said Andrea of the couple’s Bronco Raptor — the ute’s most muscular trim with 418-horsepower from a twin-turbo V-6. “The Bronco has better comfort, better suspension — and it’s much more capable at high speed.”
She and husband Dan, both 51, travel the country in their Bronco Raptor — just as they did in the F-150 Raptor — to extreme environments like the Baja Peninsula, where they provide drone support for off-road racing teams.
“Jeeps are more for low-speed rock crawling, but we need the Bronco Raptor for high speed, too. Its Fox shocks are capable for everything,” said Dan Dunn. Closer to home, they work with Midwest Off-Road Expeditions to take groups of enthusiasts on Michigan trail tours such as “Coast to Coast” from Oscoda to Silver Lake. Participants include owners of Broncos, Wranglers and trail-focused pickups.
This overlanding phenomenon — turbocharged by the COVID pandemic — helped boost the popularity of off-road vehicles. A cottage industry has blossomed around overlanding, including Midwest Off-Road Expedition tours, popular Overland International off-road personality Scott Brady, and new publications like OVR magazine.
Sterling Heights’ Taylor is a member of the Michigan chapter of Jeep Babes — 4,000-strong in-state with 20,000 members nationally — that meets regularly. She previously owned a Chevrolet Trax, and the Wrangler has opened her to a whole new world. She’s enjoyed events like Jeep-the-Mac (a Jeep parade that drives across the Mackinac Bridge to Drummond Island in the Upper Peninsula) and The Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Club Invasion in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“Jeep Babes is a strong group of independent women who work on our own Jeeps,” said the mother of three, who modified her Wrangler with a 1.5-inch suspension lift. She’s taken off-road classes at Holly Oaks ORV Park, where her 13-year-old daughter and two 7-year old boys like to ride shotgun.
Conspicuously missing from the segment are General Motors’ Chevy and GMC brands. Though the SUV/truck brands don’t have legacy badges to match Jeep (with roots in World War II) or Bronco (debuted in 1966), GM has a capable, mid-size ladder frame platform used by the rugged Chevy Colorado ZR2 and GMC Canyon AT4X pickups.
“The Trailblazer was a missed opportunity,” said analyst Brauer of the subcompact, unibody-based SUV that Chevy debuted in 2021. “They should have put that on the Colorado truck chassis, and it probably would be selling in big numbers by now.”
Brauer said GM’s obsession with an all-electric future is consuming most of its capital.
“If ever there was a time to jump into the off-road segment, now would be the time,” said the iSeeCars analyst, noting that the mid-size, off-road SUV segment is a profit machine with Jeep, for example, spanning Wrangler trims from the $34,000 Sport to the $96,000 Rubicon 392. “The public appetite for off-roading has been revealed with the success of Wrangler and Bronco — even 4Runner does well despite … its aging, 2009 chassis. Chevy could have drawn from its own massive base of enthusiasts.”
Ex-Chevy Trax owner Taylor’s enthusiasm has been so infectious that her husband, Ryan Wheater, also bought a Wrangler. His old wheels? You guessed it, a muscle car.
“He’s transformed into a Jeep fan too,” said Taylor. “So he sold his Mustang and bought a 2009 Wrangler 2-door with 35s.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Muscle Truck Wars: GMC Canyon AT4X AEV is latest entry as performance pickups displace muscle cars
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 6, 2023
The golden age of the muscle car may be ending, but the golden age of the performance pickup is just gaining steam.
GMC introduced the 2024 Canyon AT4X AEV Edition Thursday, adding more muscle to the midsize truck class that includes the Ford Ranger Raptor, Jeep Gladiator Mojave/Rubicon, Toyota Tacoma TRD, and sister Chevrolet Colorado ZR2.
Like the waning muscle car segment (Camaro and Challenger are headed out the door at the end of this year), these midsize trucks inject $30,000 vehicles with legal steroids to create performance beasts pushing $60,000. While the price of the premium GMC brand’s AEV Edition won’t be released until later this year, expect a sticker in the $70,000 neighborhood. That’s a spread on par with the Camaro ZL1’s $75,000 price tag but with much greater sales volumes as GMC expects AT4-variation trucks to reach 40% of sales.
“We expect the majority of Canyon sales to be AT4 and AT4X sales as we push further into the performance segment,” said GMC Trucks Senior Marketing Manager Patrick Finnegan at the AEV Edition’s media reveal. “And the AEV is the most capable Canyon we’ve ever produced from the factory.”
Th off-road weapon is armed to the teeth with state-of-the-art features.
Following in the footsteps of its similarly-equipped big brothers, AT4X AEV Sierra and Sierra HD, the Canyon AEV wears a suit of Boron steel body armor with five plates protecting its underbelly from the elements. The 10-millimeter-thick, heat-treated, hot-stamped steel plates protect the front nose, steering arms, transfer case, fuel tank, and rear differential from off-road obstacles.
In addition, the front and rear bumpers are steel to protect against severe impacts—and to allow for increased 38.2-degree approach and 26.9-degree departure angles. The front bumper is winch capable, a feature that can be ordered straight from the factory. The rear bumper features heavy-duty-capable tow hooks and removable corners for easy removal before hitting the trails.
More elevation is provided by huge, 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires (wrapped around AEV beadlock-capable Salta wheels) that give the Canyon best-in-class, 12.2 inches of ground clearance (a 1.5-inch increase over the already capable AT4X that was first introduced for the 2023 model year) and 26-degree breakover angle.
Paired with locking front/rear differentials, Multimatic shocks, and the Canyon’s 310 horsepower/430 pound-feet of torque turbo-4 mill and the AT4X AEV is primed to make performance shoppers forget about muscle cars.
Indeed, there is evidence that muscle car owners are opting for muscle trucks. Both segments are dominated by American icons, both tend to be discretionary buys. That is, customers don’t need the vehicles for daily utility, they want them.
“The pony cars… a lot of them got traded in (for Jeeps). Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and even our Dodge Challenger,” Jeep marketing guru Scott Tallon told Muscle Cars & Trucks.
The muscle-car-for-muscle-truck/SUV has also played out in SUVs like the 707-horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. “You saw other performance cars come into play… early on the Nissan GT-R popped really high on the list for competitive trades,” Tallon told the publication.
As if to drive home the point, 2024 AT4X models boast launch control just like a muscle car. Flatten the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time, release the brake pedal, and all four wheels will launch out of a Woodward stoplight.
The macho AEV editions—now available on all GMC truck offerings—have come quickly to a brand previously know for its posh Denali sub-brand.
“The GMC Canyon AT4X is an incredibly formidable platform when it comes to on- and off-road performance and capability,” said AEV CEO and founder Dave Harriton. “This truck checks a lot of boxes for any discerning overland enthusiast looking for luxury, technology and capability.”
In addition to the added muscle, the AEV Edition gains a new fascia, AEV branding on the seats and all-weather floor liners, and GM’s latest, so-called Ultifi software platform.
AEV marketing chief Matt Felderman said the GMC/EV partnership makes a powerful team that will be a formidable competitor against other mid-size trucks.
“The Canyon AT4X AEV is designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts,” he said of his off-road-focused company. “The upgrades here are essential for a technical off-road truck. Details like the 35-inch tire — which are a big deal for a factory truck — have been integrated into the drive experience to offer quiet as well as trail capability.”
The Canyon is assembled at GM’s Wentzville, Missouri plant, and the AT4X AEV Edition is expected to be available for customer orders later this year. The Camaro may be headed out the back door, but the General’s midsize trucks are kicking in the front door.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne