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Waymo orders 1,000s of Pacificas for driverless taxis
Posted by hpayne on January 31, 2018
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles announced Tuesday that Waymo has ordered thousands of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans for delivery by the end of this year as Google’s self-driving subsidiary expands its driverless ride-hailing service to multiple cities.
The Pacifica hybrid will be Waymo’s primary workhorse when its service debuts in Phoenix sometime this year. Other cities have not been announced.
The sleek minivans will be equipped with steering wheels, but will not have drivers in the front seats. Waymo, which had previously ordered 600 Pacificas, is expected to launch the world’s first driverless service offered to the public. General Motors has petitioned the federal government to allow its Chevy Bolt autonomous vehicles — the first robotic cars without steering wheels — on the road by 2019.
“With the world’s first fleet of fully self-driving vehicles on the road, we’ve moved from research and development, to operations and deployment,” Waymo boss John Krafcik said in a statement. “The Pacifica Hybrid minivans offer a versatile interior and a comfortable ride experience, and these additional vehicles will help us scale.”
The three-row minivans are produced in Windsor and then shipped to a facility in Metro Detroit where they are outfitted with self-driving hardware and software by a team of Waymo and Chrysler engineers.
The hybrid’s electric powertrain makes an ideal vehicle to accommodate Waymo’s self-driving technology, which includes high-powered computers and lidar, which uses lasers to “see” what’s around the car.
“In order to move quickly and efficiently in autonomy, it is essential to partner with like-minded technology leaders,” said FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne. “Our partnership with Waymo continues to grow and strengthen; this represents the latest sign of our commitment to this technology.”
Without drivers, Waymo achieved a milestone as the first so-called “Level 4” autonomous vehicles, which can operate without drivers within limited geographic areas. Waymo and Chrysler are in a race with other Fortune 500 automotive and technology manufacturers — including heavyweights like GM, Toyota, Ford, Volvo, Intel, Apple, Nvidia, Intel and Uber — to produce the first successful autonomous ride-sharing services.
Waymo has tested its technology in 25 cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, San Francisco and Detroit. GM has been testing its Volt AV fleet in San Francisco in conjunction with Cruise Automation, and Uber and Volvo have been running public tests in Pittsburgh.
Chrysler began its collaboration with Waymo in late 2016 with the delivery of 100 Pacifica hybrids. An additional 500 were delivered in 2017.
Payne: Goin’ rogue in Nissan Rogue Sport
Posted by hpayne on January 25, 2018
Nissan has once again joined forces with “Star Wars” and I have to admit it’s having an effect.
From those catchy ads of a Nissan Rogue negotiating a daunting landscape of enemy First Order craft to the Los Angeles debut of seven Nissan vehicles dressed up as “Star Wars”-themed vehicles (alas, they didn’t make it to the Detroit Show), the legendary sci-fi franchise is rubbing off on the mainstream Japanese brand. Maybe it’s Nissan’s funky styling. Maybe it’s that Nissan grilles look like Kylo Ren’s helmet. Or maybe the latest “Last Jedi” sequel is just so dang enjoyable it makes everything it’s associated with look good.
Whatever, the black Nissan Rogue Sport (with Stormtrooper-esque pepper-and-salt interior) that arrived at my garage door in December begged for adventure. I wanted to take it for a spin. I’m not the only one.
After Nissan’s debut partnership with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (showcasing Nissan’s Rogue SUV, get it?) last year, brand sales soared 24 percent. The Rogue itself did 400,000 in sales, second only to the best-selling RAV-4 ute. With “Last Jedi” accelerating off the line with glowing reviews and 30 percent faster ticket sales than “Rogue One,” the force is sure to be with Nissan again in 2018.
Despite those wild-looking concept vehicles — behold the Nissan Rogue X-wing! — the Nissan tie-up does not emphasize performance but safety. The ad campaign preaches not horsepower and high-g maneuverability, but omniscient “Intelligent Mobility” features like lane-keep assist and automatic braking.
Yoda: Brake before you see a road hazard, it will.
Power, it has not. Nissan’s compact utes run on four-banger engines and plodding, continually variable-transmissions (CVT for short). I nailed the throttle on the 141-horsepower (11 less than a Subaru Crosstrek, for goodness sake) 2-liter four-cylinder, and it sounded like 141 gerbils grunting in a hamster wheel. Zero-60 doesn’t come in Lightspeed — it comes in Molassespeed.
The Sport’s strengths lie elsewhere.
Nissan has a well-earned reputation for making taut chassis — Maxima, 370ZX, Altima — and the subcompact Rogue Sport’s wheelbase is nearly a foot shorter than Rogue with which it shares a platform. Throw on all-wheel drive and the Sport is well-suited for Detroit’s annual deep freeze.
Winter is miserable for my rear-wheel drive sports cars, so I put them in hibernation. But when December dumped a half-foot of snow on the ground, my high-riding, four-pawed Nissan was scratching at the garage door to go out.
There are “Star Wars” nerds and there are car nerds. I’m the latter. In summer I’ll make the 60-minute trek to Hell, Michigan’s writhing roads for sports-car testing. This winter I needed only take the Sport as far as the neighborhood school parking lot, abandoned for the holiday break and covered in snow. Safety first: Make sure lots are empty of other cars and pedestrians (local fuzz frown on unsafe lot antics). The lots can be wonderful test grounds for 16-year-old drivers and all-wheel drive vehicles alike.
One of my favorite local haunts sports a small-diameter, curbed island I use for a sort of Gymkhana course — think Ken Block doing doughnuts around a barrel buried in snow. Turn the traction-control off and let the all-wheel drive do the rest. Around and around we went. Keeping the rear end hung out under moderate throttle, I could easily control the Sport’s short wheelbase with minimal steering input. It builds confidence in the car — not to mention your own Jedi abilities — for the inevitable moments when you’ll have to fight weather on, say, the way to Chicago when Lake Michigan lake effect makes I-94 an Olympic bobsled course.
Skywalker: Breathe. Just breathe. Now reach out and … feel yourself connected to all four wheels.
Enough with the car nerd stuff, you say. How’s the Sport to live with? I’m happy to report its short wheelbase does not compromise interior room, the Sport’s other big asset. Think of the Rogue Sport as a chopped Rogue.
The brand’s popular compact ute packs considerably more cargo space than subcompact Sport, yet the latter’s passenger cabin is about the same size, making it much roomier than Nissan’s quirky, discontinued Juke. The Juke is part of a near bygone era when subcompacts looked like characters from a “Star Wars” cantina screaming for attention. Think the Soul, or long-gone Nissan Cube, or frog-eyed Juke.
The Rogue Sport is recognition — along with competitors Honda HR-V and Chevy Trax and Jeep Renegade — that the subcompact SUV segment is the new mainstream and offers a big sales opportunity with first-time buyers. The Sport (like HR-V and Trax) can easily fit a Wookie behind the wheel — and his furry friends besides.
Nissan is flooding the ute segment with choices. Just as Jeep offers the subcompact Renegade, compact Cherokee and subcompact Compass tweener, Nissan shoe-horns the $22,380 base price Sport between the $25,000 Rogue and the forthcoming, $19,000 subcompact Kicks ute. To justify its place above Kicks, the Rogue Sport gets nifty standard features like satellite radio as well as the aforementioned cabin roominess that other subcompacts lack.
But in the ruthless, survival-of-the-fittest SUV battlescape, the Sport lags cheaper, similarly sized competitors like the HR-V and Trax — both of which offer standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity. In a car priced to appeal to millennials this is no minor oversight, especially as the Nissan’s in-house voice recognition/navigation systems are light years behind today’s sci-fi smartphones.
The challengers keep coming like a wave of TIE fighters. There’s the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek — its attractive, all-new design offering all-wheel drive for $1,000 less. That bargain price used to come with a bargain-basement interior but the Subaru is much improved, boasts smartphone-app connectivity and is as reliable as Tom Brady in the two-minute drill.
Tough crowd. So Nissan brings “Star Wars” to the fight.
Unlike “The Last Jedi,” the new Rogue Sport doesn’t quite live up to the hype. But with its sharp looks, roomy cabin and all-wheel drive it’ll get you to the movie theater through a Michigan blizzard in style.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne. Catch “Car Radio with Henry Payne” from noon-1 p.m. Saturdays on 910 AM Superstation.
2018 Nissan
Rogue Sport
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $23,745 ($31,245 as tested)
Power plant: 2.0-liter, inline 4-cylinder
Power: 141 horsepower, 147 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 10.0 seconds (Car & Driver)
Weight: 3,424 pounds (AWD as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 24 mpg city/30 mpg highway/27 mpg combined (AWD as tested)
Report card
Highs: Roomy; AWD loves snow days
Lows: Molasses-slow; more connectivity, please
Overall:★★★
Ford GT destroys Lightning Lap record
Posted by hpayne on January 25, 2018
In its racing debut at France’s legendary 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race in 2016, the Ford GT race car scored first place.
Now it’s the production car’s turn for glory.
In its first go at Car and Driver magazine’s hallowed Lightning Lap competition at America’s Virginia International Raceway, the street-legal Ford GT has broken the lap record. The GT’s breathtaking 2-minute and 43-second lap beat by a one-tenth second the record by the $875,175 Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid supercar that has stood for four years.
Since 2006, Car and Driver has taken the world’s fastest production cars to the 4.1-mile track for a head-to-head, single-lap competition to determine performance bragging rights.
“The GT at VIR is, in one word, fastest. As in, fastest-lap-we’ve-ever-recorded fastest,” wrote Car and Driver staffer and hot shoe K.C. Colwell on the feat. The GT’s lap included “163.6 mph down the front straight (second-highest all-time speed to the 170.6-mph Porsche 918 Spyder); barreling into the Climbing Esses at 148.0 mph (a new record); and a neck workout at 1.17 g’s in Turn 1.”
The 887-horsepower Porsche’s record has been under assault in recent years from other Detroit makers, with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 posting a 2.44.6 second lap in 2015 and a Dodge Viper ACR hammering out a 2.44.2 in 2016.
The Chevy and Dodge efforts were notable given that their under-$150,000 price tags are a fraction of the Porsche’s sticker, but it took the $494,750 ($525,750 as tested) GT to get the job done.
“This record is another great way to showcase the GT’s role to help us pioneer new technologies, push out engineering skills, and create novel processes with the goal of improving all our vehicles in the future,” said GT Chief Engineer Jamal Hameedi of the lap record set by Ford’s 647-horsepower halo car.
After the GT race car’s auspicious debut at LeMans in 2016 — 50 years after Ford first won the race in a GT40 in 1966 — the production GT began customer deliveries last year. Don’t expect Ford’s Detroit competition to let the record stand. Chevy introduced an even more powerful, 755-horsepower Corvette ZR1 this winter — a beast that will surely take aim at the GT’s mark.
With its record lap the GT took back a Lightning Lap crown worn by the last production GT made back in 2006.
Car and Driver holds its Lightning Lap late in the year over a three-day period, but in 2017 the rare Ford GT was unavailable for testing. The magazine scheduled a separate test for the GT — but as a result only had one day with the car. No matter. It still set the record.
Two-door sports car remain popular
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
There seemed to be more news about sports-car companies making SUVs in 2017 than their core, two-door performance products. But they were out there. Ford started delivering the street-legal, $450,000 version of the LeMans-winning GT race car to a lucky few customers. At the other end of the income spectrum, Mazda rolled out its sexiest Miata yet, the RF hardtop. Corvette introduced the most fearsome, front-engine ZR1 ever before it transitions to a new-generation mid-engine design next year. Speaking of front-engines, the incredible Dodge Viper was put out to pasture. We’ll miss you, Snake.
Ford Mustang Bullitt
What it is:Putting an exclamation point on Mustang’s latest mid-cycle upgrade, the Bullitt is the third ’Stang to honor Steve McQueen’s movie original (the others were produced in 2001 and 2008). Highland Green is the featured color, just like the movie car, and a Shadow Black will also be offered. The Bullitt is trimmed in GT premium-spec with performance package, 6-pot front Brembo brakes and a 15-horsepower upgrade over the V-8’s usual 460 ponies.
Payne’s take:Your steed for high-speed chases through San Francisco (or Detroit) streets. The Bullitt bears all the signature cues of McQueen’s original (see the 1968 car right next to the ’19 on the show floor), right down to the white cue ball on the manual shifter. But this is also a thoroughly modern, electronic beast as the Ford GT-inspired 12-inch digital instrument display attests.
BMW i8 Coupe
What it is: An upgraded 2019 i8 coupe gets its world debut in Detroit alongside its new brother the i8 Roadster (first seen in LA in November). Upgrades to the e-mobile are minor, with the hybrid electric three-cylinder gas powertrain gaining 12 horsepower for a total of 369. The Roadster keeps the Coupe’s dramatic scissor doors while adding a retractable cloth top that disappears in 16 seconds at up to 31 mph.
Payne’s take: The jaw-dropping high-tech i8 is something right out of a Disney sci-fi “Tron” movie. With electric-motor torque, it explodes off the line. With a carbon-fiber chassis, it’s a well-balanced sports car. Only the skinny eco-tires and three-cylinder gas engine keep it from the supercar ranks. Gorgeously green, it’s a unique entry in the market.
Hyundai Veloster
What it is: The Korean automaker’s hatchback retains its unique three-door architecture — but everything else is new. The aging chassis has been replaced, sharing the same skeleton as the compact Elantra sedan. Exterior design maintains the Veloster’s bold, punky style, but the lines have been sharpened. The roomier interior gains Hyundai goodies like smartphone-app connectivity. The drivetrain gains, too — with the standard 2.0-liter up nine horsepower.
Payne’s take: Like VW’s Jetta and Golf stablemates, the Veloster is Hyundai’s hatchback alternative to the Elantra sedan. It comes loaded with personality — and spunk. Where the Elantra GT Sport is no slouch in the handling department, the Veloster Turbo upgrades its rear suspension to multi-link from the Elantra’s torsion beam. The turbo has been downsized to 1.6 liters, but maintains its predecessor’s 201 horsepower, while improving mpg.
Low gas prices and big spaces draw Americans to trucks
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
Trucks are Detroit’s secret weapon. With low gas prices and big spaces, Americans bought nearly 3 million large and mid-size trucks last year. King F-series, with upper trims pushing $80,000, led the way with nearly 900,000 in sales. Cover the rear box and call ’em Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators, and the pickup foundations pull in even more money as mega-utes. Toyota’s Tacoma had the midsize market all to itself until Honda (Ridgeline), Chevy (Colorado) and GMC (Canyon) rediscovered it. Now here comes Ford with a reinvented, mid-size Ranger. Keep on truckin’, America.
Chevy Silverado
What it is: Chevy’s long-awaited response to rival Ford’s turbo-V-6, all-aluminum F-150 is bigger, V-8-driven … and made of steel. Well, the bed and chassis, anyway. Doors, hood and tailgate are aluminum — part of mixed-metals approach that puts the Chevy on a 450-pound diet, tipping the scales as lightest in class. The Silverado gets a more-sculpted exterior, bigger interior, three more trims (eight total) and a 3.0-liter, diesel V-6 for its six-engine lineup.
Payne’s take: Expect more anti-aluminum bed TV commercials! Speculation ran rampant after F-150’s revolutionary conversion to aluminum skin that others would follow suit to meet federal mpg standards. Nope. Silverado doubles down on roll-formed, high-strength steel for its biggest-in-class bed. Silverado also out-geeks the F-150 with a segment-first remote-controlled, auto-drop tailgate. One thing the two titans do share — a co-developed, 10-speed transmission.
Ram 1500
What it is: The last visage of Dodge is scrubbed away as the Ram’s grille ditches the signature cross-hair grille. In its place is a more SUV-like grille that integrates the air intake and headlights. Remade from the ground up, the 1500 light-duty retains Ram’s smooth-riding coil-spring rear suspension and side-bed storage bins — but adds a mild-hybrid, 48-volt battery-system to assist its V-6 and V-8 engine options for better torque (read towing) and fuel efficiency. Inside, RAM augments its best-in-class Uconnect infotainment system with a Tesla-like 12-inch touchscreen.
Payne’s take: Ram has been a style leader in pickups, and the new 1500 forgoes the giant grilles of its competitors for a sleeker look aimed at more efficient aerodynamics. That efficiency runs throughout the truck as the Ram loses 225 pounds (like Silverado, it keeps its steel bed) and adds battery-assist for its engines — a development also seen on Ram’s corporate cousin, the Jeep Wrangler. Love the big touchscreen — alas, it’s only an option on the upscale trims.
Ford F-150 diesel
What it is: An oil-burner will be under the F-150’s hood for the first time (Power Stroke diesels have long been a staple of the heavy-duty F-series trucks). The 3.0-liter V-6 comes out of the box with a bigger torque number than the rival Ram diesel (440 pound-feet vs. 420) and will also try and best its rival’s 27-mpg fuel-economy number. Available only in top trims — Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum — the diesel will come with at least a $3,000 upcharge.
Payne’s take: The diesel’s grunt and fuel efficiency are worth the engine’s price premium if towing is your thing — and Ford has long boasted best-in-class towing stats. With Chevy also introducing a diesel into its 2019 Silverado, the Big Three pickups will go head-to-head for stump-pulling supremacy. Ford’s engine is shared with Land Rover and made in England.
Ford Ranger
What it is: The Ranger will return to the market as a 2019 model after an eight-year hiatus. The pickup continued to be a top-seller internationally, but the Ranger platform had to be significantly upgraded to meet U.S. crash standards and customer expectations. Such as? A class-exclusive, frame-mounted bumper and 10-speed transmission (mated to same 2.3-liter turbo-4 found in the Mustang). More toughness is available in the FX-4 trim with steel bash-plates and electronic locking differential for serious off-roading.
Payne’s take: Ford comes late to the mid-size market after it bet big on the all-aluminum F-150 to satisfy U.S. fuel economy rules. Ford must play catch-up in the red hot mid-size pickup segment to rivals Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon and will bring tech touches like blind-spot alert system with trailer coverage. Ford’s betting plenty of urban dwellers want a smaller pickup for weekend getaways and the F-150 Jr. should get their attention.
Stylish designs help transform luxury SUVs
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
The luxury segment has been transformed by SUVs. Long-hooded sedans with flowing, coupe-like roofs are out. Five-door hatchbacks are in. The monotony of designs has forced manufacturers to make SUVs with more coupe-like roofs, sacrificing the rear head and cargo room that drew customers to utes in the first place. But the elevated seating position rules. Even sports-car manufacturers have taken the plunge, with Porsche, Jaguar, Maserati and Lamborghini utes making big profits. Buick, once an also-ran sedan brand, has been transformed by an SUV lineup of Encores, Envisions and Enclaves. Look for a Ferrari SUV soon. I am not making this up.
Acura RDX
What it is: Acura calls its RDX ute a prototype, but in truth this is the near-production version of the most important Acura debut in some time. Adopting the design cues of the Acura NSX supercar and Precision concept, the RDX gets racier lines, a “diamond pentagon” grille, turbo-4 and standard features galore, including a huge panoramic sunroof and adaptive cruise control.
Payne’s take: With talented designer and race-car fan John Ikeda at the helm, the RDX signals a return to Acura’s sporty roots. The RDX promises nimble handling and brings back the A-Spec and Type-S performance trims. For all the exterior flash, the interior is more important with an industry-first touch-pad positioned within easy reach that projects onto a 10.2-inch display in the driver’s line-of-sight.
BMW X2
Payne’s take: In a development that will cause BMW purists to lose sleep, the X2 marks the second Bimmer with a front-wheel drive based platform and longitudinally mounted engine. Shared with a Mini, for heaven’s sake! The all-wheel-drive X2 makes the best of these heresies with BMW’s typically taut engine setup and three drive modes. The design tweaks are cool, too, from the new kidneys to the BMW logo on the c-pillar.
Lamborghini Urus
What it is: Lambo joins other exotic sports carmakers like Porsche, Jaguar and Maserati with an SUV. And what an SUV. With a longitudinally mounted, 645-horsepower twin-turbo V-8 under the hood, the Urus will sprint past most sports sedans while comfortably carrying four adults and their luggage.
Payne’s take: Where are the scissor doors? Urus means ancestor of domestic cattle, and this SUV proves that a crossover design will domesticate a Lambo. The Aventador-like design cures are unmistakably there: the front jet-fighter scoops, the sharp, chiseled body lines. But the upright five-door utility has inevitably compromised sex appeal. Buyers, however, will rejoice at the more domesticated, ergonomically friendly interior.
Mercedes G-class
What it is: The icon of the Mercedes SUV lineup, the G-class’s rugged exterior changes little (the front fender-mounted turn signals, for example, now retract in a collision to protect pedestrians) in this comprehensive remake – but the interior gets a major facelift. The dash and console conform to other Mercedes, with instruments and infotainment screen encased under a single pane of glass – the latter operated by Benz’s signature touch-pad. The big turbo V-8 and three locking-differentials carry over.
Payne’s take: As Wrangler is to Jeep’s SUV lineup, so is the tough “Gelandewagen” to Merc. The difference is the G-class must conquer Austria’s Schokl mountain (not the Jeep’s Rubicon). It stickers for $120,000 and doesn’t (ahem) come with detachable sway bars. The G-class is coveted by celebrities and comes with quilted leather seats and fashionable flat-black paint to look the part.
Lincoln Nautilus
What it is: Formerly known as the MKX. The Nautilus is the latest Lincoln ute, following the Truck of the Year Navigator, to shed its alphanumeric badge for a more approachable, organic name. Nautilus also gets a new face, adopting the handsome Bentley-like grille first seen on the flagship Continental sedan. Two turbo engines (4- and 6-cylinder) mated to an 8-speed transmission are offered — as are smartphone-app compatibility and an active-safety system to automatically steer you out of harm’s way.
Payne’s take: Lincoln eradicates the polarizing split-wing face with major plastic surgery. That should allow suitors to focus on the interior ergonomics, which are some of the industry’s best. Console storage is everywhere, thanks to a space-saving, button-operated digital shifter. Navigator and Nautilus suggest an aquatic theme. May I suggest the compact MKC be called Nemo?
Europeans double down on new sedans
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
Sedans are oh-so 15 minutes ago. As SUVs have taken over dealer lots like dandelions in a country field, even King Camry has been humbled. After 15 years as the best-selling non-pickup in autodom, the Camry last year trailed the Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Rogue SUVs. Detroit automakers have taken a scalpel to their sedan lineups, with Chrysler eliminating all production except for its large 300 sedan. Expect more Detroit retirements, even as Japanese and European manufacturers double down on new sedans. All-new Honda Accords, Nissan Altimas, Camrys and VW Jettas will hit the market this year.
VW Jetta
What it is: VW’s best-selling sedan is all new, with bigger dimensions and a sleeker, more coupe-like exterior. Built on the brand’s excellent front-wheel-drive MQB architecture, it’s powered by the Jetta’s carryover turbo-4. The big story is the interior — the Jetta follows the Golf and crossover Tiguan with an array of digital goodies and plenty of storage.
Payne’s take: The Jetta joins a revamped U.S. lineup as the German brand builds momentum in a market it has long misunderstood. America has a thirst for SUVs, and VW has, at last, made its Yankee-fied Tiguan and Atlas crossovers competitive. But from the Jetta sedan to the hot-hatch Golf GTI to the AWD Golf Alltrack wagon, VW has one of the most capable compact lineups in the market.
Honda Insight
Payne’s take: You’ve come a long way, baby. The original 1999 Insight was a wee soap-bar that only a green geek could love. The 2019 model is a complete remake that trades covered wheel wells for a bigger, more upscale wardrobe. And with the Civic’s sturdy bones, this greenie should be fun to drive as well as eco-conscious.
Smart ForTwo
Payne’s take: Ubiquitous in Europe, where it can squeeze into cramped parking spaces, the ForTwo never hit its stride in the U.S. Cute as it was, the expensive gas-powered Smart’s underwhelming 40 mpg made it a tough sell. Now marketed as a pure EV, its mere 58-mile range will also limit its appeal in an age of 200-mile range EVs.
Toyota Avalon
Payne’s take:Chairman Akia Toyoda’s directive to sex-up the Toyota/Lexus continues with the Avalon. The sedan’s Darth Vader-like grille rivals Lexus products for most-intimidating face, and engineers promise more growl from the pipes. The highlight for me, however, is the interior, which gets character — and finally brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity to the Toyota lineup.
Kia Forte
Payne’s take: This is what trickle-down looks like. The sexy Sportback Stinger sedan is the new halo for Kia’s lineup — it’s everywhere on the show stand — and its vibe is already being felt on down-market cars like the Forte. The new Forte is more aggressive-looking with its bold “tiger nose” grille (grrr!) and LED taillights.
VW Passat GT
Payne’s take: The GT sprung from the brains of VW’s American team in Santa Monica and Chattanooga (where the Passat is manufactured) as the German brand focuses on more value for U.S. buyers. The GT’s looks echo the popular Golf GTI, but does not yet get the updated MQB chassis that the Golf (and new Jetta) sit on. Patience, V-dub fans.
Concepts show where future vehicles are headed
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
Concepts once ruled auto shows. Flights of fancy looking into the far-off automotive future. Hydrogen-powered cars. Hybrid-electric supercars. Self-driving cars. You know, sci-fi stuff. Well, the future has arrived with production vehicles offering the future today — the Honda Clarity fuel-cell car, the Acura NSX supercar, the autonomous Chevy Bolt. Who needs concepts? Well, designers do — and so they continue to proliferate on the floor to give you a look at where their brands are headed.
Infiniti Q Inspiration concept
What it is: “The concept is meant to demonstrate future technologies and will not be available for sale,” reads Infiniti’s press release. But its technology is not far off. This is a mid-size sportback sedan with dramatic new design language for Nissan’s luxury brand. The efficient variable-compression, turbo engine technology has already been introduced in the QX50 Infiniti SUV. The semi-autonomous ProPilot assist driving system is already in the 2018 Nissan Rogue SUV.
Payne’s take: From the sleek, sportback exterior to its minimalist interior and wrap-around digital instrument display, the gorgeous Q concept shows the dramatic effect Tesla has had on luxury makers. With one exception. The Infiniti is not an electric vehicle, but a cutting-edge demonstration of how a variable-compression combustion engine can provide better torque and less fuel consumption — without the compromises of a battery-powered vehicle.
Lexus LF-1 Limitless
What it is:In 1989, Toyota’s new luxury division debuted its flagship LS 400 sedan at the Detroit auto show. Nearly 30 years later comes the LF-1 Limitless as a concept previewing an SUV flagship, as the market has shifted to high-riding crossovers. The LF-1 offers an intriguing hint on where the polarizing spindle grille is headed. Inside, the controls are (encouragingly) steering-wheel focused, with paddles for controlling speed and buttons for shifting.
Payne’s take: From its slavish Mercedes-like design on its 1989 LS original, Lexus has definitely created its own unique design direction for the 21st century. The car also hints at the brand’s “Chauffeur” autonomous driving capabilities. Limitless apparently refers to the drivetrains offered — Lexus says anything from gas to hydrogen to electric.
Nissan Xmotion concept
Payne’s take: The Xmotion’s exterior — Xterior? — is a design preview, but the interior is good ol’ fantasy. Festooned with seven video screens, the X imagines bringing all the technologies we love on our smartphones and laptops into the car: fingerprint ID to start the engine, gesture controls, even a digital assistant in the form of a Japanese koi fish.
Premium cars remains the standard in luxury
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
The thoroughbreds in the luxury class have been the definition of automotive elegance, but not even sedan icons are immune from the sport-utility tsunami. The Mercedes S-class, Lexus LS and Audi A8 all saw big sales declines in 2017, as luxury customers snapped up big SUVs. Even BMW is not immune, with a giant X7 crossover looming over the brand’s 7-series sedan (down 28 percent in sales) as its new flagship. But for style and handling, premium cars are still the standard — think the gorgeous Mercedes CLS Coupe or the hot-rod Cadillac ATS-V.
Audi A7
What it is: The second generation of Audi’s iconic fastback, perhaps the prettiest sedan on the market today. How to improve on perfection? The all-wheel drive A7 gets more-muscular wheel wells and a bigger grille to complement its bigger interior dimensions. The most significant changes are in the tech department, where twin haptic–touchscreens replace the rotary-controlled infotainment system of yore. Augmenting the familiar 340-horse turbo V-6 is a 48-volt lithium-ion battery, which promises better mpg and torque.
Payne’s take: In its short life, the A7 has already become a benchmark for the industry. The mainstream Kia Stinger and Buick Regal unashamedly borrow from their luxurious idol. The new touchscreens are a big change from the Euro-preferred rotary touch-dial, and longtime Audi fans may find the transition uncomfortable. My suggestion? Get the optional, configurable Virtual Cockpit instrument display with its controls on the wheel.
Mercedes AMG CLS53; E53 Coupe/Cabriolet
Payne’s take: The mild-hybrid powertrain will soon proliferate the Mercedes lineup, enabling better mpg and acceleration (for less cost than a full-hybrid powertrain). Now, if Mercedes would just simplify its alphabet soup model names …
SUV revolution has changed vehicle landscape
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
The SUV revolution has changed the American vehicle landscape. Sedan sales are cratering as consumers choose the better visibility and utility of elevated five-door hatchbacks. For the first time in the U.S. in 2017, an SUV — the Toyota RAV4 — became the best-selling non-pickup, with more than 400,000 sold. The ute transformation has also elevated an off-road niche brand, Jeep, into the biggest-volume brand in the Fiat Chrysler lineup, with nearly a million vehicles sold. Unlike their sedan counterparts, economy trims for SUVs come with all-wheel drive — making for better grip in the snow (even if that all-wheel drive sucks up more fuel).
Ford Edge
What it is:One of the original elegant crossovers — along with the Chrysler Pacifica (before it became a minivan) and the Nissan Murano — the high-tech Edge gets a mild refresh for 2019. The Edge gets more handsome with new front and rear fascias. The bold, truck-inspired grille that defined the early Edge has been nixed for a more subtle Focus-like face. More technology comes in the form of standard auto high-beams, blind-spot assist and post-collision braking (a first for a non-luxury vehicle). Drivetrain? Turbo-4 mated to a 10-speed tranny.
Payne’s take:The Edge is the first Ford sport-utility to get the performance ST badge. In a sign of the times, the Edge gets the ST badge before the Fusion sedan. ST gets all the goodies — 335-horse twin-turbo V-6, front winglets inspired by the Mustang GT350, stiff shocks, monogrammed leather seats. Gotta get the ST in the exclusive Ford Performance Blue.
Jeep Cherokee
Payne’s take: The 2014 Cherokee got attention for its radical styling, and it flew off shelves, tripling its Liberty predecessor’s sales. But the novelty has worn off and the Cherokee design has gone more mainstream. More important is its 200-pound diet, which will maximize efficiency from its new 4-banger while not compromising the off-road intentions of the rugged Trailhawk trim.
Big and bold dominate the Detroit auto show
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
Walk through the Hall A entrance to the Detroit auto show at the north end of Cobo and you’re standing on the gridiron. The automotive Super Bowl. You can almost smell the testosterone.
A long purple carpet marks the scrimmage line separating the Ford and Chevy teams.
These two arch-enemies face each other across the carpet with armies of firepower.
Up front are the fleet-of-foot athletes. At the fore of GM’s arsenal is its Pro Bowl superstar, the all-new 755-horsepower, supercharged V-8 Corvette ZR1 supercar — fire it up, and its flame-throwing exhaust and explosive roar will shame Tuesday’s meteor display.
Its opposite is another legend, the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt in a Highland Green jersey, just like the original ’68 that Steve McQueen rode into battle in the movie of that name. Indeed, the original car — recently restored — is lined up next to it. Flanking the ’Stangs is a ruby-red, carbon-fiber Ford GT — wearing a heritage 1966 LeMans livery.
Across the aisle, the ZR1 is backed up by a menacing red Corvette Grand Sport and orange “Hot Wheels” edition Camaro SS.
But the real might is farther back.
Detroit’s pickup titans have rolled out all-new models of the Chevy Silverado, Ford Ranger, and the first-ever diesel-powered F-150. An all-new Ram 1500 pickup looms nearby.
The Super Bowl of trucks is on! Are you ready to rrrrrrrumble?!
Truck wars
Four truck reveals in the same show are as rare as Halley’s Comet, so enjoy the moment.
In 2014, the lightweight all-aluminum Ford F-150 rocked the auto show and the trucking world braced for an aluminum future. Didn’t happen. What happened instead was a mid-size truck future.
Meanwhile, Chevy shows its first Silverado since the aluminum F-150 broke the sales barrier. The reveal Chevy makes its bed from good old-fashioned rolled steel — part of a mixed-metal strategy (aluminum doors, hood, tailgate) that tips the scales 450 pounds lighter than the last generation. The Silverado also begs to differ on engine strategy. Ignoring Ford’s move to turbo-6s, it boasts the small-block V-8 — and a new diesel.
Not to be outdone, Ford called an audible with its own 3.0-liter diesel, the first F-150 oil-burner. It looks out over the display like Simba on Pride Rock.
Ahem, says Ram, can I butt in here?
The innovative 1500 wowed truckers with its intimidating cross-hair grille and smooth ride in 2009. Now, as the Silverado and F-150 put on ever-fiercer masks, Ram detours to a more-subtle SUV-like grille. It’s part of a stylish package that includes a 12-inch console screen on premium trucks — call it the Tesla trim — and storage boxes for the bed. Which, by the way, is made of steel.
GM Product Chief Mark Reuss trash-talked at Silverado’s introduction last week: “The working end of every pickup is the bed. It’s like the head of a good hammer. I don’t think we’d get much work done with an aluminum hammer.”
Oh, it’s on.
Sportbacks
For all the heavy artillery at the Detroit displays, there is surprising elegance elsewhere.
While you could hear the hard-rockin’, strobe-lightin’ truck reveals a mile away, Audi quietly brought in its all-new, second-generation Audi A7 onto its show stand and just left it there for its first North American sighting.
The German beauty, with its long sportback and roomy rear hatch, is a luxury icon. But look close and its redesign has some unmistakable Yankee touches. Its muscled shoulders have been to the Camaro gym, while its horizontal rear-LED light mimics Lincoln. Inside, the Audi contradicts years of European design by moving from remote, dial-controlled infotainment systems to a Cadillac-like haptic-touch interface.
Audi’s influence on other floor models, however, is unmistakable. Across from the Ram display, the Kia Stinger GT is hard to miss. With A7-like specs for an A4 price, the Stinger redefines Kia as an upscale mainstream brand. And there’s Buick’s lovely Regal Sportback, appearing in Cobo for the first time, with a wardrobe that will force folks to look away from SUVs and consider a sedan again.
Utes, utes, utes
Speaking of the devil, SUVs dominate the show floor this year, just as they dominate the market. Everyone’s got something new but four stand out.
I wish you could see the wild 650-horsepower Lamborghini Urus, the “Super SUV” the Italian super-car maker unveiled in Midtown. But the Urus won’t be in Cobo. The $85,000 707-horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk will be — and it beats the $200,000 Lambo zero-60: 3.5 seconds to 3.6.
Acura is going back to its sporty roots with the sculpted RDX, which will grow A-Spec and Type-S performance badges, just like the good ol’ days. Speaking of badges, SUVs are so hot that Ford debuted its hot-rod ST trim on the Edge crossover before the Fusion sedan.
And China’s GAC will enter the U.S. market next year with an SUV, naturally. The three-row Trumpchi GS8 will cross the Pacific to take on the formidable Chevy Traverse and Ford Explorer. It will change the brand name — which means “legend” in Chinese — to something, um, more politically neutral.
Good things come in 3s … and 19s
The show features big reveals this year — but as always, there are delicious details. Like the three-door Hyundai Veloster — back for a second-gen with three new trims — and the three-wheel Slingshot roadster next to the equally eye-popping BMW i8 Roadster.
Want to see the fastest production car in the world? The 277-mph Koenigsegg Agera RS is on the Michelin stand.
Then drop by the Subaru stage and check out the new three-row Ascent SUV. See if you can find all 19 cupholders.
Stars come out for Indy race car Detroit reveal
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
What major reveal at the Detroit auto show brought in GM Product Chief Mark Reuss, Detroit mogul Roger Penske, racing legend Mario Andretti, and racing superstar Josef Newgarden?
If you answered the new Dallara IndyCar, you’re right.
With a captive audience of some 5,000 auto journalists at Cobo Center, racing organizations have become savvy in using Detroit to do reveals of their own vehicles.
Last year NASCAR unveiled its new Camry racer as part of the Toyota Camry production car debut and this year Acura is showing its new prototype racer (run by Penske’s race team) ahead of this month’s 24 Hours of Daytona.
IndyCar used its press conference to debut its landmark, all-new aerodynamics package — the wings ’n’ things that suck open-wheel race cars to the ground, especially on road courses like the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle. Italian manufacturer Dallara makes IndyCar’s chassis and aero kits.
But as the celebrities indicate, IndyCar’s high profile brings together a lot of interests, from Big Auto corporate marketing to Detroit’s Renaissance to the place of American racing in the sports marketplace. All those subjects came up on stage in a moderated, post-reveal discussion.
Begin with the new IndyCar introduced by the Hollywood-handsome Newgarden, who won the American open-wheel championship for Team Penske last year.
While most performance cars on the floor tout increased downforce — Chevy’s winged Corvette ZR1 monster boasts nearly 950 pounds, for example — for better cornering, the IndyCar series has experienced the issue of too much downforce. Festooned with aerofoils, last year’s design made a staggering 6,000 pounds of downforce — making the cars faster, but also making them difficult to follow closely so turbulent was their wake (the same reason Boeing 747s can’t follow each other closely on airport landings).
“We think it’s going to be great. It’s going to mean more passing,” said Newgarden, standing next to a red IndyCar which is more aesthetically appealing without garish winglets crowding the car’s sleek, coke-bottle shape. “It’s going to mean better battles between drivers, and you won’t get that anywhere else in the open-wheel racing world.”
Think ultra-high tech, ultra-high downforce Formula One, which has become a parade with little passing.
“Too much turbulence is what drivers complain about,” said Andretti, still looking racy at 77. “They can’t get close to each other. You have to keep in mind the show itself.”
Every great sporting organization has to put on a show. It’s how they attract crowds, sponsorships, and big bucks.
It’s those crowds that interest GM’s Reuss whose Chevy brand is major sponsor — and engine provider — for the series.
“It’s a great fan base to reach,” he said of the IndyCar series, which saw its TV audience grow 3 percent last year. The Detroit Grand Prix’s doubleheader (called the Dual in Detroit) alone attracted 100,000 spectators and another 1.8 million on ABC’s broadcasts of the weekend event.
Reuss said racing also hones GM technology — especially in competition with arch-rival Honda, which also supplies engines for the series. Henio Arcangeli, Jr., Honda North America’s chief, joined Reuss on stage to tout the importance of the IndyCar series to his company’s marketing and technical strategies. Reuss, a licensed track driver, said the twin-turbo V-6 used by IndyCar trickles down in to the turbo-4 engines found in Chevy production cars like the Camaro and Equinox.
Like any other auto debut, the new IndyCar has to make a business case, and Penske said the new aero package will make racing more affordable — which, in turn, may attract more manufacturers and more competition to the series.
“We could sell out old car chassis, for example, and then a new team would just have to buy the new standard aero kits to outfit them,” said Penske. “Before, it was costly to engineer the aero.” The Captain puts the cost of a new chassis at $500,000. The once-size-fits-all aero kits are another $150,000.
“From a customer, competition, and driver perspective, the new IndyCar is going to be a home run,” he added.
Andretti is the only driver to have ever won the Indianapolis 500 (IndyCar’s marquee event), NASCAR’s Daytona 500, and the Formula One championship. As the car debut wound down, he noticed all the beaming faces on stage.
“If there is a negative in all this, it’s that I don’t have an (IndyCar) ride yet,” he laughed.
Squeaky-clean Jeep Cherokee debuts
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
The compact Jeep Cherokee debuted in 2013 with a polarizing face, three stacks of lights and its license plate hanging below its, um, beltline. What, no piercings?
The second-generation 2019 ute debuted Tuesday at the Detroit auto show, and after those awkward youth years, the Cherokee has been cleaned up to look like a respectable member of the family. The seven-slot grille is more upright, the headlights and running lights properly consolidated under one lens cover, and the license relocated to the middle of the tailgate, just like big brother Grand Cherokee.
“We took the geekiness out of it,” said designer Mark Allen, a 30-year veteran of Jeep. “Now Cherokee is more closely aligned with the rest of the brand.”
For all its geekiness, though, the redesign did what it had to do, re-interpreting the iconic Cherokee name as a compact SUV in the hottest segment in autodom and tripling sales of its predecessor, the Liberty.
“Yes, the first Cherokee was very progressive,” said Jeep boss Mike Manley, “but we needed to do it to break through in the segment.
All told, the new ute’s wardrobe doesn’t change between the fenders, but gets a new front clip, taller front end, and composite liftgate that saves 17 pounds. That lighter touch hints at a mid-cycle product refresh that is more comprehensive than most.
Determined that Jeep’s reformation be more than skin deep, the Cherokee team has put the Cherokee on a 200-pound diet, introduced a premium 2.0-liter turbo-4 and expanded the rear cargo-hold.
The light-weighting should benefit fuel efficiency in the Jeep’s carryover 3.2 liter V-6. But the real prize is the up-trim turbo-4 mated to a 9-speed transmission that puts out a stump-pulling 295 pound-feet of torque. That’s significantly more than the 235 pound-feet from the larger displacement V-6, which the turbo replaces as the Cherokee’s top-spec engine. The V-6 still beats the new block in towing ability with class-leading 4,500 pounds.
The turbo-4’s added grunt should thrill off-road buyers, who will get a typically fearsome-looking Trailhawk option with trail-rated capability (approach angle of 29.9 degrees; departure angle of 32.2) to ford streams and conquer rocky heights.
The base ute gets a 2.4-liter “Tigershark” 4-banger with 180 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque.
Payne: How my bets fared for vehicles of the year
Posted by hpayne on January 18, 2018
The 2018 North American Car, Truck, and SUV race has been run and my horses didn’t win the trifecta. Heck, I didn’t even win a two-fecta.
I’m one of 58 jurors for the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year Awards, and every year we separate the industry’s latest models into three neat classes, whittle the contenders to three over a year-long marathon, and then vote our picks. They’re announced Monday at the opening of the Detroit auto show.
The Honda Accord sedan beat my pick for Car of the Year, the Kia Stinger. The Volvo XC60 nipped my Alfa Romeo Stelvio thoroughbred for SUV. Even my only winning entry, the Lincoln Navigator, for truck, feels weird.
The stunning Navigator is an SUV, after all, but was classified as a truck because — in a product cycle anamoly — the only new pickup for the 2018 model year was the ZR2 trim of the Chevrolet Colorado; the truck was introduced way back in 2014. So the truck-based Navigator and Ford Expedition — both built on the F-150’s bones — got pushed into the truck race. Kind of like Clydesdales racing an ox, don’t you think?
I asked Lincoln boss Kumar Galhotra if he really wanted to market the Navi as Truck of the Year.
“It means recognition of the brand we’re building,” he grinned next to the gorgeous NACTOY trophy.
The race for best car was a classic. The favorites were the Accord and Toyota Camry. With nimble handling and sleek, coupe-like shapes, the ’18 models are the best Accord and Camry ever.
Toyota rolls out all-new Avalon in Detroit
Posted by hpayne on January 15, 2018
Toyota’s all-new Avalon sedan made its grand entrance into the world Monday at the Detroit auto show.
After a 32 percent sales dive in 2017, Toyota is hoping to jump-start sales of its flagship mid-size sedan in a ute-obsessed market.
The fifth-generation Avalon will be powered by either a 3.5-liter V6 or a Toyota’s hybrid system that features a 2.5-liter-four-cylinder- and 650-volt engine paired with a Continuously-Variable Transmission.
All Avalons are assembled in Georgetown, Ky., and have been since 1994.
The sleek Avalon is joined at the North American International Auto Show by the brand’s full vehicle lineup of cars, trucks and SUVs, including future mobility vehicles and NASCAR Camry designs in a 38,971-square-foot display.
On the heels of its coming-out party at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, the rugged FT-4X Concept also bowed in Detroit.
The Toyota FT-4X Concept — short for “Future Toyota” four-wheel-drive crossover — is a modern toolbox for today’s city driver. The vehicle was designed by Toyota’s Calty Design Research Inc. in Newport Beach, Calif., and inspired by Toyota’s iconic adventure vehicles.
Also on display in Cobo are a trio of future mobility vehicles that demonstrate Mobility for All — Concept-i RIDE, Concept-i WALK and Concept-i Experience.
Concept-i RIDE is Toyota’s ride-sharing solution for the city of tomorrow aimed at transforming mass transportation into a personable and wheelchair accessible experience.
For the last leg of a user’s commuter, the ultra-compact Concept-i WALK autonomously drives users home or to work using sidewalks.
With the Concept-i Experience, guests can step into Toyota’s vision for the future. The interactive display engages with drivers through a powerful AI system that learns with the driver to build a relationship that is both meaningful and human.
Several concepts unveiled at the 2017 Specialty Equipment Market Association — or SEMA — show will be on display, including the NASCAR driver designed Camrys. NASCAR Drivers Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Daniel Suarez each created a Camry to push its design and performance.
The championship Camry driven by No. 78 Truex Jr. also is on display.
VW Passat gets GT swagger
Posted by hpayne on January 15, 2018
After the new Jetta debuted Sunday night, Volkswagen’s best-selling model brought a hot date to the Detroit auto show floor Monday. Say hello to the sporty 2018 Passat GT.
Hinrich Woebcken, CEO of Volkswagen’s North American region, said the car is the first vehicle VW designed and engineered in the U.S. for the local market.
The production model, previewed as a concept at Automobility LA in 2016, was designed in Santa Monica, Calif., and engineered by VW’s North American team in Chattanooga, Tenn. The GT — available in four exterior colors — Pure White, Reflex Silver, Platinum Grey, and Deep Black — joins the Passat lineup for model year 2018 as a limited-run special model based off the R-Line trim.
Its black and red highlights echo the Golf hatchback GTI’s sporty look. But though the GT gets the Passat’s powerful 280-horsepower, 3.6-liter VR engine, it will not be built on the same, more athletic MQB chassis that the German-built Golf and Jetta share. The award-winning, front-wheel-drive MQB chassis is due for the Passat later this decade at VW’s Tennessee plant.
Desperate to get in good graces with its American customers after the Dieselgate fiasco, VW is offering an industry-leading, 6 year/72,000 mile, fully-transferable warranty on its cars. EPA fuel economy is 19 mpg city and 28 mpg highway.
The GT gets 20 design changes from the base Passat and is expected to arrive at U.S. Volkswagen dealers in the second quarter of 2018. Pricing for the Passat GT starts at $29,090.
Accord, XC60, Navigator named NACTOY winners
Posted by hpayne on January 15, 2018
The awards for 2018 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year kicked off press days at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday, and the Honda Accord won bragging rights for Car of the Year in a surprise squeaker over the Kia Stinger Sportback.
This was supposed to be the year of a showdown between the all-new Accord and the Toyota Camry – which have dominated the midsize segment for two decades – but the Camry faded in the end. In a close finish, the Stinger – the Korean brand’s athletic, performance sedan – nearly pipped the Accord, losing by just 31 points, 277-246. The Camry was a distant third with 77 points.
Honda was not so dominant in a wide-open race for SUV of the Year, its Odyssey minivan coming in second to the Volvo XC60. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio, the Italian luxury brand’s first entry in the SUV market, was third.
“The Accord’s win shows we’re still in a strong position to sell sedans in a SUV-dominated market,” said Henio Arcangeli, chief of American Honda. Indicative of the tectonic shift in the US market to SUVs, Honda’s perennially best-selling Accord and Civic sedans were outsold this year by the brand’s CR-V ute.
“We offer a well-balanced lineup,” said Arcangeli next to the Cobo Hall stage where the award was presented. “Both our SUVs and sedans can do well in this marketplace.”
For the first time in the NACTOY award’s history, no Detroit cars were eligible for sedan of the year. But Detroit brands dominated Truck of the Year nominees with the Lincoln Navigator SUV, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup and Ford Expedition SUV.
“Navigator is a very versatile that meets cusomers’ needs for space and capability,” said Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra. “Every single Navigator we build is flying off the lots.” The Navigator is key to a Lincoln brand redefining itself as “quiet luxury.”
The NACTOY awards are among the auto industry’s most prestigious. They are judged by an independent panel of 50-plus journalists hailing from across the US and Canada.
Acura RDX ute revs up the brand
Posted by hpayne on January 15, 2018
Acura jump-started its brand at the Detroit auto show Monday with an all-new RDX compact SUV. Aimed at luxury’s hottest segment, the RDX brings its trademark value — but wraps it in a more stylish package.
Bowing at the North American International Auto Show — and culminating a two-year design exercise that introduced a supercar, a design concept, and interior concept at auto shows from coast to coast — the RDX for the first time brings together Acura’s new design direction on an all-new platform.
The show car is labeled “RDX Prototype,” but a spokesperson said little will change to the production vehicle, set to launch this spring. The debut trim will be a sport-trimmed A-Spec model, showing Acura’s commitment to returning to its performance roots. All vehicles going forward will feature A-Spec and Type-S badges — the latter a racy high-horsepower model.
“Beginning today, RDX will fully implement Acura design inside and out,” said General Manager John Ikeda, with the RDX in stunning red behind him onstage. “The future for Acura starts here.”
Gone is the controversial Acura chrome beak — also derisively called the bottle opener — which came to symbolize Acura’s detour into passion-less vehicles that lacked visual separation from their Honda parent. Honda has come back from its own identity crisis with the critically acclaimed Civic and Accord — and with the RDX, Acura is poised to do the same.
Though the midsize, three-row MDX crossover and TLX sedan had previously received the “diamond pentagon” grille pioneered by Acura’s Precision Concept at the 2016 Detroit show, the RDX is the first vehicle to apply the concept’s new design language comprehensibly across a new skeleton.
The RDX ditches the Honda-like gills on the front and rear fascias for a more singular look derived from the hybrid NSX superccar. RDX engineer Steve Hansen says the dash-to-axle ratio has been increased, pushing the wheels to the corners of the chassis so that the dramatic fascia (complete with signature Acura “Jewel Eye” LED headlights) flows comfortably into the RDX’s sculpted flanks.
“Dragon’s tail” lights punctuate the Acura’s rear end underneath a tapered “floating” roof design.
Under the hood, a new, 2.0-liter VTEC turbo brings 40 percent more torque and is mated to a quick-shifting 10-speed transmission — a first for the segment. Acura’s advanced SH-AWD, torque-vectoring-all-wheel-drive system promises good traction in Michigan blizzards.
More dramatic than the exterior is the RDX’s class-leading interior space and totally redesigned “floating console” — echoing the Acura Precision Interior that debuted at the Los Angeles Show in 2016. The design is anchored by the distinctive trigger shifter seen in other Acura’s like the NSX supercar.
But most telling is Acura ditching its confusing two-screen infotainment system — replaced by a remote screen controlled from a touch pad. Acura says the pad maps the screen 1:1 — so-called “absolute positioning” — so your finger is always in the same place on the pad as the cursor is on the screen.
For all its changes, the RDX remains a bargain with a suite of standard options that have made it consistently competitive in class — and racked up seven straight years of sales increases.
Likely to start in the mid-$30,000 range, the RDX comes with standard driver-assist and safety systems like collision mitigation, lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control.
Also standard — a panoramic sunroof.
The 2019 model is the first RDX to developed in the U.S. by designers in LA and an engineering team in Raymond, Ohio. All RDX models for the North American market will continue to be built in the company’s East Liberty, Ohio, plant.
BMW X1 brother, X2, joins the litter
Posted by hpayne on January 15, 2018
Say hello to the rambunctious X2, the newest new member of BMW’s growing SUV family.
X2, introduced at the Detroit Auto Show Monday, shares the same bones as the German luxury maker’s entry-level X1 — but comes with a sportier, coupe-like wardrobe and new, Pentagon-shaped version of Bimmer’s signature kidney grille.
The X2 joins the X4 (coupe cousin of the X3 SUV) and X6 (X5’s coupe doppelganger) in BMW’s lineup. Another SUV relative due to make production soon is the BMW X7 iPerformance Concept, a hybrid, full-sized SUV that will instantly become the flagship of BMW’s SUV lineup. BMW surpassed Lexus in US SUV sales last year and is chasing Mercedes for top honors.
“2018 is the year of X,” BMW Group CFO Nicholas Peter said.
Also joining the X2 and X7 Concept on stage Monday was the world premiere of the updated, mid-engine i8 hybrid coupe — as well as the BMW M3 CS sedan and BMW M5 performance SUV.
The turbocharged, 4-cylinder X2 joins the X1 as the only Bimmer with a front-wheel-drive-based, transverse engine-mounted architecture. The rest of the performance brand’s sedan, sports car, and SUV lineup features RWD-based drivetrains with longitudinal engines. The X2 chassis is shared with BMW-stablemate Mini Cooper.
The X2, which was first seen as a concept at last year’s show, is outfitted to look more athletic than the X1. Though sharing the X2’s 2.0-liter engine and 8-speed automatic transmission, the X2 wears a narrower greenhouse and is 3.2 inches shorter and 2.8 inches lower than X1. The new grille also helps give the wee ute a wider-looking stance.
The dramatic i8, with its dramatic scissor doors, has been a crowd favorite at the Detroit Show since it was shown as a concept in 2012. Its updates are minor, with a small increase in battery-only range. The i8 is joined by a roadster first seen in Los Angeles last year.
Mercedes reveals sleek hybrid AMG 53 models
Posted by hpayne on January 15, 2018
After debuting its boxy, gas-guzzling, off-road G-class SUV to the world Sunday night, Mercedes changed gears at the Detroit auto show Monday to show off its sleeker, electrified, on-road side.
The German automaker unveiled new AMG 53 performance variants of its lovely E-Class models — the CLS, E-Class Coupe, E-Class Cabriolet – which are animated by powerful, mild-hybrid, inline-6 cylinder engines.
The “53” designation is part of the automaker’s dizzying, alphanumeric ladder of increasingly aggressive trims, with 63 being the most potent. Mercedes is reportedly reserving the 63 designation for a V-8-powered GT sedan. Still, the 53-series 3.0-liter turbos are significant as they continue to proliferate a Mercedes lineup that is marching to an electrified future.
Augmented by the same 48-volt lithium ion battery found in the base CLS (introduced at the LA Auto Show), the powertrain is both more fuel-efficient and more powerful. Output in the base CLS is 362 horsepower and 664 foot-pounds-of-torque –numbers that rise to 429 and 384 for the 53-series models. Zero-60 acceleration will fly by in 4.4 seconds.