Jay Leno drives the original Bullitt Mustang in his latest ‘Garage’ video

At the Detroit auto show, Ford debuted the long-awaited and heavily speculated 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt alongside the car it’s emulating — the 1968 Ford Mustang fastback from the movie “Bullitt.” While one of the film’s Mustangs was found in Mexico early in 2017, the actual car that the legendary Steve McQueen drove during the film’s seminal chase scene was tucked away in a barn in Tennessee, having been bought out of the back of Road & Track in 1974 and used as a family car until it was put to rest in the barn.

Because of the car’s value, the owners didn’t seem to be interested in letting the world know about this special Mustang, but the new Bullitt edition car created a perfect excuse to bring the original back into the public eye.

In the video, Leno drives both the 2019 and the 1968 Mustang, speaking with Mark Schaller from Ford about the way the new car drives and its features. After his time in the new car, he gets a chance to drive McQueen’s Mustang and talk with the car’s current owner Sean Kiernan about the car’s history. 

Want to see the 1968 Ford Mustang from Bullitt run around a racetrack? Of course you do: Check out the video above.

Infiniti will go mostly electric by 2021

Nissan Motor Co.’s premium Infiniti brand will almost entirely comprise electrified vehicles after 2021, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said.

All new Infiniti models launched after 2021 will either be all-electric vehicles or will rely on the parent company’s new range-extending electric motor-powered technology called ePower, Saikawa told an audience at the Automotive News World Congress on Tuesday afternoon.

EPower is an unusual type of electrified-vehicle system. It is not a plug-in technology. And unlike Toyota’s Prius, it uses its gasoline motor to recharge the battery, but not for propulsion.

The plan Saikawa outlined represents a rapid catchup for Infiniti. Its global luxury market competitors, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Jaguar already have unveiled similarly aggressively electrification plans.

Saikawa predicted that half of Infiniti’s sales by 2025 will be EVs or ePower vehicles.

The brand sold 153,415 vehicles in 2017, an increase of 11 percent.

Infiniti was one of the first luxury brands to propose an EV. In 2012, the company unveiled the Infiniti LE concept at the New York auto show — a model that would have been an upgraded variation of the Nissan Leaf. But that plan was canceled as Infiniti reconsidered its global product portfolio.

Saikawa said that the electrification strategy probably will have one exception — the company’s full-size body-on-frame QX80 SUV.

The announcement comes in the same week that Infiniti presented its latest design concept at the Detroit auto show, the Q inspiration. That concept suggests the look of the next Infiniti Q70, due in 2019 or 2020.

However, the Q Inspiration was described as running on Infiniti’s advanced new four-cylinder variable-compression engine, the VC Turbo.

Infiniti executives emphasized Monday that the VC Turbo engine is envisioned as a bridge technology to electrification, which they said was in the works.

Saikawa did not address what will happen to the new VC Turbo after 2021, when all new vehicles will be electrified.

One company source said it is possible that the four-cylinder VC Turbo might power the big QX80 after that time.

The QX80 currently is powered by a 5.6-liter V-8.

A company spokesman declined to comment on future plans for the QX80.

Nissan introduced ePower in Japan in late 2016 as an alternative powertrain in its Note, a hatchback version of the subcompact Versa. The technology uses a battery-powered electric motor to drive the car’s wheels, and a gasoline engine to charge the battery.

Nissan officials have said ePower is an alternative to a pure battery-powered electric vehicle.

Ferrari EV on the horizon: Marchionne plans an electric supercar

Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne announced at the Detroit auto show that the company will build an electric supercar to expand Ferrari’s current portfolio, add sports car credibility to electric platforms and fight with Tesla for the EV limelight. While talking to reporters. Marchionne said, “If there is an electric supercar to be built, then Ferrari will be the first.”

Ferrari’s hybrid powertrain technology, developed for hypercars like the LaFerrari, might make building a full battery-powered supercar easier, but it will still have to make up ground fast to be the industry’s first all-electric supercar. Tesla is dangling its ultra-high performance Tesla Roadster in the faces of EV fans, and Croatian automaker Rimac already has the world’s first battery-electric supercar with the Concept One. Of course, its small run and the odd name might make Ferrari’s claims viable if an electric supercar comes quickly.

Where’s Chevy’s mid-engine Corvette?

One of the most talked-about cars leading up to press days at the North American International Auto Show this week isn’t even at the show. In fact, it has not even been confirmed by its …

Bloomberg notes that Ferrari is edging closer to stricter fuel economy rules with its expansion, which makes electrification more appealing for the company. Ferrari also plans to debut a high-performance SUV late in 2019 or early 2020 that will be the “world’s fastest,” according to Marchionne. It likely won’t be electric.

Marchionne didn’t mention a direct timeline for when he plans for Ferrari to introduce a full EV but noted that he thinks over half the cars sold in 2025 will use alternative powertrains. That might be a good indicator that Ferrari is planning this electric supercar for sooner rather than later.

Opinion: Detroit auto show proves trucks are just as important as autonomous electric pods

The 2018 North American International Auto Show’s press days are behind us, and the show can be summed up in one word: Trucks. Well, maybe two words: Trucks and SUVs. We saw the new Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 diesel, BMW X2, Ford Ranger, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and Jeep Cherokee. That’s just the production stuff. Indeed, the U.K.’s Car Magazine said Detroit could become “a very interesting commercial-vehicle show.” Don’t know if I’d go that far, but I see where they’re coming from.

Yes, pickup trucks are still where the sales are and thus the profits, and sales are supposed to go up yet again this year if you believe the analyst types. The good news for Ford, GM and FCA is the new entries look good. I loved the new Ram’s styling and was especially impressed with the interior –- it embarrasses more than a few luxury cars. The Silverado’s big news is it adopts the complex mixed-material construction system launched a couple years ago underneath Cadillac’s CT6. Chevy said the new beast is 450 pounds lighter even though it’s a bit bigger. Another cool Silverado trick is its new fuel cutoff system, firing on only the cylinders needed, so a V8 could potentially run on just two cylinders at a steady speed.

As for the Ranger, no doubt Ford has been watching the midsize truck class come on strong in just the last four or so years and thought “we better get in on that.” With a Ranger in some form on sale everywhere except here anyway, this was an easy launch.

How much longer can trucks continue to rule? Bets are being hedged for sure: Autonomous cars and EVs were a red-hot topic, too. Automakers fell all over themselves telling us about our glorious, non-driving electric future. The message? If a car company doesn’t already have EV and autonomous strategies in place, it will in the next 11 minutes or so. We media types were inundated with announcements about hardware, software and new investments.

Ford, for example, said it is doubling its EV investment to $11 billion, adding it is planning 24 plug-in hybrids and 16 full EVs in just four years. GM said it is going to spend around $1 billion on autonomy — not long term, this year. And let’s not forget late last year FCA said it is teaming with BMW and Intel to develop its own, turnkey autonomous driving system.

Just you watch: Next year someone is going to show an electric pickup that drives itself, can adjust your home’s thermostat before you get there and has dinner waiting on the dining room table.

Book it.

Wes Raynal – Wes Raynal joined Crain Communications’ circulation department while still in college. When he graduated in 1986, he became a reporter for Autoweek sister publication Automotive News. He has worked as Autoweek’s associate editor, news editor, motorsports editor and executive editor before being named editor in 2009.
See more by this author»

2019 Ram 1500 pickup deep dive: Here’s the engineering behind Ram’s newest pickup truck

The 2019 Ram 1500 is a big deal. It’s only the fifth generation of Chrysler pickup trucks since it went from being the Dodge D-Series to the Dodge Ram pickup. And it was only in 2011, remember, when Ram Trucks became its own brand. As we heard this week, the new Ram will be smarter, tougher and more efficient than the outgoing model, just in time to compete with the new Chevy Silverado and perennial sales leader Ford F-150. But what exactly do those claims mean? Let’s take a look:

The 2019 Ram 1500 frame includes the same impact countermeasures across all configurations, and is made from 98 percent high-strength steel.

Chassis

The 2019 Ram chassis will be tough. Ram says it’s the strongest frame ever produced for the 1500, made from 98 percent high-strength steel. That improves torsional stiffness, which is just a fancy way of saying it’s less prone to twisting. The chassis lost 120 pounds, 100 of that from the frame, and the truck overall lost 100 pounds more from the body structure. Ram also uses “front splayed frame rail” technology, which it says is highly efficient for absorbing all crash impact modes, including front offset, one of the more difficult to engineer for. Basically it means there are frame-mounted, high-strength steel tire blockers that force the wheels outward in the event of a crash.

Space

The new Ram will have the most spacious cab in the segment, says the company, with three longer frame lengths: a 144.5-inch wheelbase on the Crew Cab short bed, a 153.5-inch wheelbase on the Crew Cab long bed — both 4 inches longer than their predecessors — and a 140.5-inch wheelbase on the Quad Cab long bed model. That’s good for 40.9 inches of headroom and legroom in front, 66 inches of shoulder room and 63.4 inches of hip room. Its interior volume is 117.2 cubic feet for the Quad Cab and 132.4 for the Crew Cab. That’s bigger, by a few cubes, than the F-150’s Super Cab and Super Crew, respectively.

Frequency Response Damping (FRD) shocks have benefited on- and off-road race cars for many years.

Suspension

The Ram already has our favorite suspension setup of the full-size pickup trucks, but for 2019 engineers made improvements anyway. The new front independent suspension includes composite upper control arms, aluminum lowers, and a retuned geometry for more responsiveness. Ram saved weight with hollow sway bars front and rear, at the same time improving roll stiffness by 20 percent. In back, buyers still get a multilink coil spring setup vs. the leaf springs of Chevy and Ford, and the whole shebang is good for 2,300 pounds of payload and a 12,700-pound tow rating when properly equipped.

Frequency Response Damping shocks are new — they have valves that automatically adjust damping force depending on wheel input. When there’s a slower input, like during cornering and braking, the bypass valve closes for more stability. During hard impacts, like when you drop it in a pothole or drive up a curb, the valve opens to soften the blow. When combined with the air suspension option, ground clearance can range from 8.1 inches at speed on the freeway to 10.1 inches in “off road 2” mode. That’s also good for a 27.3-degree departure angle and a 23-degree breakover angle, just in case you feel like playing at the off-road park.

No vehicles, not even the pickup truck, escape the wind tunnel.

Aero

The 2019 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4×2 coefficient of drag — an industry measure of how aerodynamic a vehicle is — is 0.357. That’s not low for a car, but it’s certainly low for a pickup. When the truck approaches 35 mph, says Ram, a front active air dam lowers 2.5 inches. Before you fret, the piece includes a clutch-release system that allows it to retract if it hits anything in the road. It also gets an active grille shutter system, which closes the airflow through the grille when cooling needs are met. It also speeds warm-up time, a godsend when getting up and out in the morning in the Snow Belt states.

To reduce wind drag even more, the bed rails are raised 1.5 inches and a new tailgate spoiler is installed. That, combined with a smoother bed-to-cab connection and tubular side step, allows air to pass around the truck more smoothly, which is good for a 0.5 percent increase in fuel efficiency. Every little bit counts.

Fuel mileage with the Hemi V8 is 15/22, city/highway. We don’t have numbers for the eTorque electric-assist models yet, but they should be a few mpg better. The 2019 Ram 1500 goes on sale this quarter, which means we should see it in dealerships within a month or two.

Where’s Chevy’s mid-engine Corvette?

One of the most talked-about cars leading up to press days at the North American International Auto Show this week isn’t even at the show. In fact, it has not even been confirmed by its manufacturer, General Motors.

We’re talking about the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette, widely expected to have its engine placed behind the seats for the first time in its 65-year history. Enthusiast car magazines and websites have been breathlessly reporting that the eighth-generation Corvette would make its long-awaited debut this week in Detroit.

Turns out it was premature speculation.

Although the car has been caught testing numerous times by spy photographers, and appears nearly fully baked, apparently no one outside GM knows when it will debut. The next major global auto show happens in early March in Geneva and nearly all the world’s supercar manufacturers are on this year’s list of exhibitors. GM and Chevrolet are not scheduled to attend — but that may be a ruse to tamp down speculation.

If you are going to launch a bona fide American supercar, why not take it to the Europeans and introduce it in their backyard? Also, even though GM no longer owns Opel and Vauxhall, Chevrolet maintains a small presence in Europe, offering Camaro and Corvette in several countries. So a European launch for the Corvette is plausible.

Last week, I thought there was a decent chance Chevrolet would roll out the next-gen Corvette at the Detroit show. The redesigned Silverado pickup had its coming-out party at a weekend press event, clearing the way, I thought, for the next-gen Corvette to suck the oxygen out of Cobo Center just like the Ford GT did in 2015.

It didn’t happen.

Several people I know who claim to have good sources in GM say the car will be shown next year at the Detroit show. I hope not. With more and better spy shots coming almost weekly, there won’t be much mystery left to the new car.

“Where’s Chevy’s midengine Corvette?” originally appeared in Automotive News on 1/16/2018

2018 Detroit auto show: Everything we saw

Detroit auto show media days are winding down as the international journalists escape to warmer climes, like Sweden and Canada, and this means that public days are approaching. We’ve seen just about all that Detroit’s Cobo Center had to offer this year including the world debuts of the all-new Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram 1500. We also saw “trucks” like the all-new Mercedes-Benz G-Class that looks a lot like the old G-Class, and may require a minute or two to tell apart.

Were there vehicles smaller than the Ford Ranger in Detroit this year? You bet, and that includes the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, 2019 Kia Forte, 2019 Honda Insight, which is now a sedan, and the 2019 Toyota Avalon, which was a sedan all along. We also saw the North American debuts of the BMW X2, as well as the 2019 Mini Cooper hardtop and convertible.

Oh, and the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt made an appearance, as had been rumored in weeks prior, but it wasn’t chasing a Dodge Charger inside Cobo Center. At least not this time.

Here’s everything we saw at the Detroit Auto Show this year. If you’re in the Motor City, stop by beginning Saturday, January 20 to see it all for yourself. Just watch out for meteors.
 

Here’s how Nissan sees its future SUVs

Nissan took the wraps off the Xmotion — say “cross motion” — concept at the Detroit auto show on Monday, using the sharply-styled compact crossover to showcase Japanese heritage and …

The Bugatti Chiron’s 1,479-hp engine is a perfect art installation

Replacing the Bugatti Veyron couldn’t have been an easy task — the 1,200-hp 8.0-liter W16 is a tough act for anyone to follow. So, for Bugatti’s Chiron, the company kept the foundation laid by the Veyron and made it better. For those who haven’t followed the Chiron’s’s development, the 10 or so of you out there, Bugatti squeezes nearly 1,500 hp out of its latest 8.0-liter engine.

Reddit user u/SoeppoeS spotted a Chiron’s engine outside of the car at the Brussels auto show, according to the Reddit thread. The engine, without the car, looks massive. It also looks like a packaging nightmare for the folks at Bugatti. Between the big engine block and cylinder heads, the turbocharger ducting alone probably cost an engineer his hair.

As one Redditor noted, the Chiron’s engine looks like it could have served time powering a WWII warbird. We’re thinking it’d look better in a tank.

Regardless, check out the massive mechanical marvel above.

Universal aerokit unveiling kicks off ‘future’ of Verizon IndyCar Series

For IndyCar, The Future Starts Now — and it began today with the official unveiling of the highly anticipated car that will rule the roads, streets and ovals in the Verizon IndyCar Series for 2018 and beyond.

A panel of dignitaries from within the sport and the automotive industry gathered at the North American International Auto Show to talk about the newly developed universal aerodynamic bodywork kit that will be affixed to the Dallara IR-12 chassis and used by all competitors in the 17-race season that begins in seven weeks.

The universal kit is the result of more than two years of discussion, design, simulation and testing. Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, the parent of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, told media attending today’s presentation that reception to this point has been emphatically positive.

“This may be the public premiere,” Miles said, “but there’s been a lot of talk, and we’re having trouble finding a critic. It looks great and … we believe that the changes that have been made will provide for great racing, more passing, more exciting racing. So we expect that to be great news for the ongoing growth of the series, and we’re looking forward to seeing this beautiful car in action.”

Josef Newgarden won the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship driving a Team Penske Chevrolet in the last of three years of aero kit competition between Chevy and Honda. Those kits constantly sought ways to add downforce for higher cornering speeds — much of it generated by winglets and other aero attachments to the top of the race car. Going forward, the universal kit produces less downforce overall and most of it from the underwing on the bottom of the car.

Newgarden is all for that.

“We’ve tried to check the boxes on everything you need to with this car to make sure it’s going to function well and give us what we were looking for from a design standpoint,” said Newgarden, the 27-year-old from suburban Nashville, Tennessee. “IndyCar is really looking to deliver on big promises. As you can see, it’s bolder, it’s more daring and really, we believe it has improved aerodynamics that are going to help the racing product tremendously, so I’m looking forward to that probably the most.

“We believe it’s going to be faster, we believe it’s going to be safer, it’s going to provide better racing like we’ve talked about.”

The universal kit was reverse-designed to start with an aesthetically pleasing look — sleek, bold and reminiscent of fan favorites from the 1980s and ’90s. From there, the aerodynamic and safety objectives were achieved without sacrificing the appealing appearance.

Walking around the car on stage, Newgarden outlined the changes. He pointed out the smaller front and rear wings with fewer pieces that could create more debris in on-track incidents. He mentioned the redesigned undertray that will improve airflow underneath the car while helping diminish the wake of turbulent air behind the car, thus making it easier for cars to approach and attempt to pass a car in front.

Newgarden also highlighted the sleek lower engine cover, leaner rear tire ramps and improved safety with reinforced sidepods and moving the radiators farther forward to absorb side impacts. He added that removal of the rear wheel guards and other parts from the previous kit shifted the weight balance slightly forward, which will improve handling.

“The design has really been clear on what we’re looking for,” Newgarden said. “We want it to be an incredible-looking Indy car. We want people to come back to the IndyCar Series and love what we’re producing from an aesthetic standpoint, but the message that we really want to push is that our racing product is going to be the best on the planet.

“Speaking as a driver, I don’t think you’re going to get a better race car out there to drive as far as an open-wheel car goes. You’re really going to have a great racing product.”

Newgarden’s boss, Team Penske owner Roger Penske, also participated in the presentation and agreed with his star driver. Indy cars owned by Penske have won 15 season championships, 16 Indianapolis 500s and 197 total races since 1968.

“I think Josef gave you a good update on the vehicle,” Penske said, “but the opportunity to showcase the drivers (with the universal kit) because the downforce was so high on the existing cars in ’17 and before, this will give us a great opportunity. I know all the drivers that have tested it, both on the Honda side and the Chevy side, are giving us great reviews, so from a cost perspective, a competitive perspective and I think the look of the car, it’s going to be a home run.”

Mario Andretti, whose 52 wins rank second on the all-time IndyCar chart, has been around the sport for more than five decades. The four-time champion applauded IndyCar for developing the universal kit and what it means for the series.

“Our audiences today are more sophisticated than ever, and they want more and more from us as far as the product, as far as action on the track, overtaking and so forth,” the legendary driver said. “We have to give it to them because that’s what we like to do, ultimately. I think this is the best way to achieve it.

“Like I said, this thing is beautiful as it is. It’s just going back to what the pure open-wheel, single-seater should be.”

5 things you need to know about the 2019 Lamborghini Urus

We know the new Lamborghini Urus SUV will be fast on the track — it has a 641-hp turbocharged V8 up front with a “hot-V” setup, which means the exhaust ports and turbochargers are in the V8’s valley. We know it’ll be expensive too: It starts at about $200,000 and goes up to about $250,000. And we’re guessing it’ll sell well. Lamborghini expects to double its current yearly output with the Urus, and if the Porsche Cayenne has anything to say about it, it might do more than that. At a swanky event after the first press day of the 2018 Detroit auto show, the SUV made its North American debut, and we learned a few more interesting facts.

If you want to go off road in the 2019 Urus, we suggest the Pirelli Scorpion tire choice.

Off-road ability

The Urus should have real off-road chops. Its air suspension can range from 6.2 inches of ground clearance to 9.8 inches. That’s more than the Wrangler Sport, a tad less than the Wrangler Sahara and only an inch less than the world-conquering Rubicon. You’ll be able to order this car with 23-inch low-profile Pirelli Corsa summer tires, obviously, but also with taller Pirelli Scorpions, which seem to be the choice for high-performance off-roading. Add all of that to the rear active torque vectoring, which can send up to 75 percent of power to one side, and we should have a potent performer in the dirt.

It looks more like one of those bank cylinders that fly through the tubes, laying on its side.

The Tamburo

Tamburo means “drum” in Italian (we double-checked), and it’s what Lamborghini calls its central drive mode controller, which is probably now the coolest on the market. It looks more like a thermos lying on its side to us. The left side features the drive modes — strada for street, sport, corsa for race, sabbia for sand, terra for gravel and neve for snow. The middle portion includes the start button, protected by a fighter-jet-like red cover, along with the parking brake and manual-mode button as well as reverse when you pull back on the handgrip. When not going in reverse, it doubles as a wrist rest when you’re fiddling with the new touchscreen. The right side is where you’ll find the “ego” customizable drive mode and the steering, suspension and chassis-adjustment buttons. It’s a trick piece; the only problem we see is trying to keep your passenger from touching it while you’re driving. It has a good action too, with pulls that feel and sound like you’re clicking gears on a quality mountain bike.

The 2019 Lamborghini Urus can angle the wheels in either direction to make slow- and high-speed turns quicker.

Rear-steering system

The Lamborghini Urus, like the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi A8 and Ferrari GT4Lusso, has rear-wheel steering. That means at slower speeds, the rear wheels turn 3 degrees in the opposite direction of the fronts, and at higher speeds, they turn in the same direction. What that does, Lamborghini chief engineer Maurizio Reggiani tells us, is virtually shorten or lengthen the wheelbase — shorter for when the driver needs to maneuver around tight spaces, longer when the driver wants to quickly change lanes with more stability at high speeds.

The Lamborghini’s turbocharged V8 is connected to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

641-hp turbo V8

The turbocharged V8 isn’t sacrilege. It’s one of the most powerful SUVs on the market for the moment — who knows what Ferrari, Jeep or Mercedes might do next — and in addition to that power, the Urus comes with 627 lb-ft of torque, all of which is available at a low 2,250 rpm. That’s important, Reggiani says, because in sand, if you don’t have the torque down low where you need it, what’s the point? The Urus made it up the Moreeb dune in the United Arab Emirates, which has a height of about 1,000 feet and an angle of 50(!) degrees.

The 2019 Lamborghini Urus comes standard with carbon ceramic brakes.

The brakes!

This is a monster machine, at least for Lamborghini. It weighs a bit less than 4,850 pounds, or about 2.5 tons. For reference, the 2017 Huracan comes in at 3,399 pounds — Hence, it needs giant clampers. Up front, the carbon-ceramic discs measure 17.5 inches and have 10, count ‘em 10, pistons. In the back, they measure 14.5 inches and the calipers have six pistons. Those carbon-ceramics are standard, by the way. Its 60-0 stopping distance is about 110 feet. That’s just 10 feet longer than the Aventador LP700-4.

The Urus goes on sale in the U.S. in September, and Lamborghini says about one-third of production will come here, but we expect to drive it much sooner, hopefully in the dirt and sabbia, as well as on the racetrack. Stay tuned.

That Mercedes-Benz GLS not luxe enough? Try a Grand Edition

Instead of showing a next-generation mobility solution concept or a new pickup truck, Mercedes-Benz ripped the sheets off its current-generation GLS-Class SUV at the Detroit auto show, hiding a new Grand Edition trim package. The new package adds quilted leather seats and open-pore ash wood trim, plus a leather-trimmed dash. Your color palette is limited on this Grand Edition GLS — only white and brown on the inside, or “porcelain and espresso,” as ‘Benz calls them.

The outside of the GLS Grand Edition is essentially the same as the standard GLS, except for the 20-inch 10-spoke wheels for the GLS450 or 21-inch rolling stock for the GLS550 and an array of special badging. The new package will hit GLS option sheets in the middle of this year. If you’re interested in adding some extra luxe to your massive Mercedes three-row, it’ll set you back $6,000 if you want to add it to a GLS450 or $3,200 on the GLS550.  

2019 Toyota Avalon debuts: Making the case for the near-luxury sedan in the age of crossovers

Toyota took the wraps off the all-new 2019 Avalon sedan at the Detroit auto show this week, one year after rolling out an all-new Camry. The sedan segment is still important to the Japanese automaker, despite the ever-growing competition from luxury crossovers and SUVs vying for the same consumer dollars.

Toyota’s largest sedan is now even larger, having gained nearly 2.0 inches in wheelbase length and 0.7 inch overall. It is also wider, lower and longer than the outgoing model, riding on the Toyota New Global Architecture platform and offering a choice of two powerplants: a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-four hybrid system that uses a 460-volt electric motor and a 3.5-liter V6. The hybrid is paired with a continuously variable transmission, while the V6 gets an eight-speed automatic. Power output ratings for the two engines have not been announced yet, but it’s worth noting that in the 2018 Camry the hybrid produces 208 hp while the V6 generates 301 hp and 267 lb-ft of torque. The outgoing V6 Avalon produced 268 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque, for comparison.

The exterior design has evolved in approximately the same direction as Lexus, as the four Avalon trim versions now wear larger fascias. The XLE and Limited trims feature a front fascia (absolutely) dominated by horizontal lines, while the XSE and Touring trims have a different front fascia, (absolutely) dominated by a black plastic honeycomb pattern. Out back, the taillights have now been joined together by a single strip running across the trunk lid in keeping with the fashion of the day, while characters lines have been added to the previously slabby sides to give the surface some features. The new look is bolder than before, and the redesigned front fascias seemingly invite associations with Lexus models, which may be Toyota’s goal.
 

“Material differentiation between grades is minimal; engineered wood trim is found on XLE, while Limited features real wood trim,” Toyota says. “Aluminum pieces adorn Touring’s and XSE’s cabins. A mix of Perforated Ultrasuede wraps all seating in Touring and XSE; Softex seats within XLE receive artistic vertical stitching. Limited goes beyond this creative approach by adding a quilt pattern, special perforation and two-color stitches –- all unique to Toyota.”

The more useful changes for consumers are inside the cabin; the new interior offers more luxury touches including real wood trim courtesy of Yamaha, as well as aluminum accents. The new vertical infotainment screen now flows down into the center console, in the manner of a ski slope, offering a large tablet-like surface at the same level as the instrument cluster. The design is quite clever and permits the gear shifter and cup holders to live within the sloping surfaces that transition down to the center console.

When it comes to safety, the new Avalon features the Toyota Safety Sense P suite of driver-assist and safety systems including full-speed radar cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist and pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, as well as a blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert and a backup guide monitor. The Avalon also offers a panoramic view monitor as an option and a rear cross traffic braking system.
 

“Avalon will also feature Toyota’s first integration of smartwatch or Amazon Alexa-enabled device connectivity, as part of Toyota Remote Connect,” the automaker says. “This innovative connection allows drivers to lock/unlock their doors, start their engine or check their fuel level, all from the convenience of their smartwatch or Amazon Alexa-enabled device. It’s voice controllable, too, and compatible with select Android or Apple devices. Toyota is among the first automakers to feature Amazon-enabled device connectivity capable of executing home-to-car and car-to-home interactions.”

The 2019 Avalon will go on sale this spring, with pricing expected to be announced closer to the start of sales.

Can the Ford Ranger crash Chevy’s small truck party?

If General Motors struck gold by reviving the Colorado and Canyon midsize pickups four years ago, then Ford had better hope that mine isn’t tapped out by the time the Ranger reaches dealerships early next year.

The segment exploded in popularity this decade — it has surged 78 percent since 2014 — but that growth appears to be running out of steam. Last year’s U.S. sales of 452,335 midsize pickups were less than 1 percent more than the year prior, and IHS Markit doesn’t expect the segment to top 480,000 sales through 2025.

“Ford is late to the party,” Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for Autotrader, said in an interview. “The question is: Is there room for yet another entry, or has the growth in that segment peaked? It’s quite possible that it has.”

Still, Ford believes next year is the right time to resurrect the Ranger nameplate, which was discontinued for U.S. buyers in 2011 while remaining in many global markets. Officials are positioning the pickup as a lifestyle vehicle that appeals to younger, active buyers who may not want the herculean hauling capabilities — and higher price tag — of a full-size F-150.

“It’s really just not about growth and the segment size itself; it’s about some of the dynamics that are happening within full-size,” Todd Eckert, Ford’s truck marketing manager, told reporters this month. “As transaction prices continue to grow, we see more of an opportunity than we did, say, five years ago, to bring in a midsize pickup … and really get to that entry-level buyer, who’s a very different customer.”

The Ranger, which Ford planned to unveil Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Detroit auto show, will differ significantly from the F-150.

It has a mostly steel body, eschewing the aluminum diet the F series, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator have undergone.

Instead of the multitude of powertrain options on the F-150, the Ranger will come with one: a 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

It includes rugged front and rear differentials from Dana Inc., which also supplies the Jeep Wrangler. An available electronic-locking rear differential should give the vehicle better off-road maneuverability than its bigger brother.

“These buyers have a work/play lifestyle that requires something of a different scale,” Eckert said.

Architecturally, the Ranger will differ little from the version sold outside the U.S., but it will be built in Michigan with parts sourced in North America.

Interior and exterior designs have been changed to give the truck a more rugged look for U.S. buyers.

“This is not about bringing the global Ranger here to the U.S. and selling it in our dealerships,” Eckert said. “This is about designing and engineering specifically for the North American customer and the conditions the trucks will be put in here.”

It will have lots of new technology, such as a standard 4G connected Wi-Fi hotspot, FordPass and precollision assist, as well as other optional driver-assist features.

It will come in three trim levels: XL, XLT and Lariat. Ford will sell two-door SuperCab and four-door SuperCrew configurations.

An off-road FX4 package will be offered across all trims. That will give drivers the terrain-management system first offered on the F-150 Raptor that includes four drive modes: normal, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, and sand. The package also includes a new “trail control,” which acts as an off-road cruise control by accelerating or braking to maintain a set speed while traversing gravel or mountain trails. It’s an extension of the automaker’s hill-descent control, which controls braking on steep grades. The FX4 package will also come with standard automatic emergency braking.

The Ranger also will have a blind-spot information system with sensors that can extend their line of sight to the back of a trailer up to 33 feet long. The system will be standard on the XLT and Lariat trims.

The interior includes an 8-inch touch screen, as well as two liquid crystal display screens in the instrument cluster. The rear seats offer waterproof underseat storage.

Ford said it expects the Ranger to have best-in-class payload capacity but declined to give details on power, fuel economy, dimensions or weight.

The company hopes to recapture some of the midsize pickup buyers it abandoned when it closed the St. Paul, Minn., plant that built the previous-generation Ranger. It also aims to conquest from other brands, woo some F-150 buyers — though not too many, and only if they otherwise would have defected to a rival brand — and even snatch sales from small crossover and sedan buyers.

It wants the Ranger to add to its strong overall pickup sales; its full-size F series has been the nation’s best-selling pickup for 41 straight years.

“We see an opportunity,” Eckert said. “It’s one thing to get on top, but it’s also about staying on top.”

“Can Ranger crash GM’s midsize pickup party?” originally appeared in Automotive News on 1/15/2018

2019 Acura RDX concept: New look, new turbo engine at Detroit auto show

Acura put a major redesign on its RDX crossover for the Detroit auto show. The 2019 Acura RDX, “presaged by this RDX Prototype,” was designed and developed in the U.S. and will be manufactured here as well. And it’s the first Acura SUV that will receive the tarted-up A-Spec treatment, which will include more sporty cues inside and out.

The third-generation RDX comes on a new “Acura exclusive” platform that’s both lighter and stiffer, and with a new 2.0-liter turbocharged engine connected to a 10-speed automatic transmission. It will come in front- or super-handling all-wheel-drive formats.

The VTEC four will deliver 40 percent more low-end torque than the outgoing model, though Acura has yet to reveal the actual output. Available adaptive dampers will work with the RDX’s four drive modes, comfort, sport, sport plus and snow.

The sheetmetal takes cues from the company’s Acura Precision Concept we saw in Detroit two years ago. The new RDX will have a wider track by 1.2 inches, longer wheelbase by 2.5 inches and shortened front overhangs. And to be honest, it looks great. The new pentagon grille is miles ahead of the old one, and we’re continuing fans of the Jewel (Bug)Eye LED headlights.

The 2019 RDX’s infotainment setup revolves around Acura’s new True Touchpad Interface, an Android-based operating system.

Inside, the RDX comes with Acura’s new True Touchpad Interface, which is an Android-based operating system displayed on a 10.2-inch screen. It also gets a head-up display. The True Touch system combines the advantages of a conventional touchscreen and a remote-based setup. Acura says every spot on the RDX’s touchpad is “mapped precisely, one-to-one, with corresponding action on the center display.” Our only quibble with that statement is that the touchpad is only a few inches square, meaning big buttons on the display screen will translate to tiny ones on the touchpad. We’ll have to reserve judgment until we see it in action.

A 16-channel, 710-watt sound system will be optional while the AcuraWatch safety features — hill start assist, surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, rear cross traffic monitor and blind-spot information system — will be standard.

The 2019 Acura RDX will go on sale in the middle of 2018.

Acura calls this RDX a prototype, but we’d bet the production version won’t look much different.

Official: Chinese car company GAC will sell cars here in 2019

Chinese automaker GAC Motors, also known as Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (and Trumpchi, but not here), is entering the North American market late in 2019. The company made the announcement at this year’s Detroit auto show, alongside its ambitious Enverge all-electric concept. Trying to establish a dealer network, GAC’s president announced the company is attending the North American Auto Dealers show later this year.

Before you question the idea of buying a car from a Chinese car company, consider that Volvo is owned by the Chinese corporation Geely, and sales are better than they’ve been in years. Closer to home, Buick’s Envision crossover is built in and imported from China to the United States. It’s only the next logical step for a Chinese car company to start shipping its own products here.

We’ll be interested to see what cars GAC introduces to the States. GAC brass said the production version of the Enverge concept is targeted at the United States, so we assume that it’ll be part of the launch alongside its Volkswagen Atlas-like crossover. To know for certain, we’ll have to wait until late next year to see if GAC is still on target.

The 2019 Jeep Cherokee gets a family facelift for Detroit

While the focus has been on the latest trucks from Ford, Ram and Chevy at this year’s Detroit auto show, Jeep also unveiled a refreshed version of its Cherokee crossover that does away with the controversial squinty look of Jeep’s midsize utility. The 2019 Jeep Cherokee gets a new front fascia, a direct-injected 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 and a new hands-free power liftgate. That might not sound like much, but the small changes make it look significantly better.

Under the hood, you’ll find either a 3.2-liter Pentastar V6 that makes 271 hp and 239 lb-ft of torque, a 2.4-liter I4 that makes 180 hp, or the new 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 cranking out a stout 270 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque along with auto stop-start. All engines are mated to nine-speed automatics that feed either the front wheels or a four-wheel-drive system.

The interior shows some small changes, including a new center console, but it’s not a huge departure from the current Cherokee. Pricing isn’t currently available, but we imagine it’ll start in the same ballpark as the current models — so expect a base model to appear around $26K.

Confirmed: Mustang Shelby GT500 is on its way with 700-plus supercharged horsepower

Here’s something to look forward to at the 2019 Detroit auto show: The Mustang Shelby GT500, a car which Ford says will be its most powerful street-legal production vehicle to date.

Yep, after taking the wraps off the 2019 Bullitt, and rolling out one of the original cars from the Steve McQueen movie alongside it for good measure, Ford decided to go one step further and tease an even more extreme take on the Mustang. You know, for those of you who thought the GT350 wasn’t quite enough car.

This isn’t a total surprise — we’ve suspected the GT500 has been in the works for a while now. But now we know exactly when we’ll see it. You can check out a few bits and pieces of the car in the teaser video above; that’s all we’ve got for now. It’s about one minute of creepy CGI snake eyes, tight shots of a wing, vents and mega-low front aero, plus a guest appearance by a vintage GT500.

Being a teaser, it’s short on anything substantive…except for the promise of 700-plus horsepower courtesy of its supercharged V8. That’s enough to handily best the 647 hp of the Ford GT (then again, the last-gen GT500 already did that with 662 hp), and put it within venom-spitting distance of the Dodge Hellcats — not that horsepower alone is the sole measure of a performance car. But if the GT350 is anything to go by, it’ll go around a track beautifully and sound wonderful doing it.

Maybe this is how it’s going to be from here on out: For every electric SUV, we get a nutso modern twist on a classic V8 pony car. If this is Ford’s idea of maintaining balance in the universe, we’ll take it.

Graham Kozak – Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they’re doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
See more by this author»

Core of capability: The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado’s chief engineer on how the truck cuts through the full-size noise

AW: Talk to me about the capability of the frame and chassis. How does the increased rigidity contribute to the driving experience?

Herrick: The frame is stiffer both in torsion and in beaming. When you have a great foundation and frame structure, you are able to have a great cab and box structure too. How those two work together is really important. We were able to take the body mounts that join them (frame and body) and fine-tune them more accurately than before for isolation. And that provides great feedback for the customers. If you have a truck that doesn’t have a good foundation and cab structure it almost doesn’t matter what piece of rubber you put in between them. It won’t react properly. In the first few blocks, you drive this Silverado, you’ll notice that even though this is a huge truck, the handling makes it drive small. 

Herrick: It’s always about the customer. But did we have a customer voice in the distance saying “I want more tie-downs, and I want a bigger volume box?” No. But once we showed them the design in clinic, they were very excited. It actually started with one of our engineers, Dave Rock, who’s been the person responsible for our pickup boxes forever. In fact, we nicknamed it the “Rock Box”. And he came to us early in the program and pitched the idea of how to change the construction of the box for increased volume. We basically decoupled the side of the box from the depth of draw in the wheelhouse. So, we can draw the box deeper all the way to the bed wall. And that allowed us to have a separate stamping of steel that could support the 500-pound capacity tie-downs. We took this concept to clinic, and the response was unbelievable. The customers literally stood up on the table and cheered. That was one of the most dramatic clinic responses we’ve ever had.

AW: The Trailboss appears to be the most capable full-size 4WD truck you’ve ever done. Did that come from customers that had Z71 trucks and wanted something more? 

Herrick: There are a lot of aftermarket companies that offer lifted suspensions. We saw that and decided we should lift our truck right from the factory and warranty it. Because we wanted it to be fully capable, dependable and durable. Our engineers delivered but it took developing some unique components. Half-shaft angles are very important — you don’t want those to wear out prematurely. And they wear more at aggressive angles (from a lift). So, we baked that into the program right at the very beginning. In fact, we designed it (the stock suspension) so that if you (didn’t buy a Trailboss) got home and wanted the lift, you could go back to the dealership and bolt the pieces on. We’re working on making that 2-inch lift available right from the dealership.

AW: Luxury trucks are big business these days. What features stand out on the new Silverado that those customers will appreciate?

Herrick: There’s more content in this High Country than we’ve ever done before. The power movable side steps stand out because they allow you look up into the box or, at the push of a button, step into the cab. The power tailgate that raises and lowers is another example. You can open and close it from the key fob, from inside the truck and at the tailgate. There’s a button to lower it on the tailgate. To raise it, you lift up on the tailgate, and once it senses you want to lift it, it will power it closed.

AW: How does the Dynamic Fuel Management differ from current cylinder deactivation systems and how does that impact the acoustics in the cab? 

Herrick: Today, we have four cylinders of the V8 turn off to save fuel. But with Dynamic Fuel Management, we’re able to deactivate any number of cylinders and combinations at will. It can understand how loaded the vehicle is and what the road load horsepower needs to be, versus what you’re asking of the engine — and give you the right number of cylinders firing. Downhill with the wind at your back, there are conditions where it will run on two cylinders. The system saves fuel and can give you that iconic V8 power and efficiency. In terms of engine noise, when you have different orders of cylinders firing, it’s really hard to engineer around that. Each situation can have its own harmonics and disturbances. And each one has its own way of reaching the cabin. So, we engineered around those disturbances with acoustic packages and special materials so you don’t hear it.

AW: What improvement do those air curtains on the fenders contribute to the aerodynamics of the truck?

Herrick: They give us 11 counts of aero. One count is a Cd of .001 — one thousandth. And one count is a big deal. We will fuss in the wind tunnel for hours to get three or four counts. Eleven counts is a huge deal for us. But it wasn’t an afterthought; those fenders were part of the design of the truck. 

AW: What stands out most to you about this new truck? What’s going to really impress the full-size truck customer?

Herrick: You know, I get excited when I see these trucks. I worked on the 1988 GMT 400 trucks, and those were a huge departure in styling. I think the styling of this new truck is just as much of a departure — and just as impactful. 

Here’s how Nissan sees its future SUVs

Nissan took the wraps off the Xmotion — say “cross motion” — concept at the Detroit auto show on Monday, using the sharply-styled compact crossover to showcase Japanese heritage and aesthetics, and demonstrate how contrasting design attributes can coexist in a single vehicle. The design team took inspiration from architecture, landscapes and traditional crafts in designing the Xmotion to offer a window into Nissan’s next generation of crossovers and SUVs.

Note that the Xmotion concept isn’t meant as a preview of an impending production model, even though the Xterra has been notably absent from the lineup for a few years. Rather, the concept attempts to chart a new direction in Nissan SUV design, while anticipating a future dominated by autonomous driving tech.

“The Xmotion concept is a study in how seemingly disparate elements can gain power and strength through coexistence,” said Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of global design at Nissan. “It draws inspiration from the Japanese aesthetics and techniques that have been passed down through generation after generation. At the same time, it achieves the modern purposefulness required for drivers in the near-future era of connected, autonomous crossover vehicles.”

The interior features a wooden console that runs the length of the cabin.

The concept still features Nissan’s familiar V-motion grille, but just about all other parts of the front fascia have been sculpted in a new way, emphasizing a high window sill line and vertical side treatment. Inside, the sparsely-detailed cabin anticipates autonomous technologies of the future with a series of wide screens positioned just below the windshield. The interior is bisected by a single, light-colored console; this is one of the elements inspired by traditional crafts, in this case Japanese wood joinery techniques. Nissan says that this technique uses neither glue nor a single nail, and that it is known for its durability and strength.

“Careful attention was especially paid to the grain direction, texture and even the aroma of genuine wood to look and feel as if the whole instrument panel and console were cut out of a single Japanese cedar tree,” Nissan says. “Out of respect for resource efficiency, the solid wood look was achieved by using genuine wood overlays, which were sliced out of a single tree that was selected from the woods in Yamagata Prefecture in northern Japan.”

The concept also takes into account the rapidly approaching autonomous driving future.

The wood theme extends to the underside of the dash itself, which is illuminated by soft red light. The concept’s seats make use of wooden elements as well, and the concave shapes of the seats are meant to be ergonomic. The lack of a B-pillar and the clamshell doors give the Xmotion an airy feel — these types of doors are great for concepts since they allow viewers to see the entire interior, without needless interruptions — and they help with ingress and egress.

“The Xmotion concept’s exterior is very dynamic, very wedged. The strong fenders are fluid and emotional, yet somehow very graceful,” Albaisa added. “That’s a difference between this design and conventional SUVs with Western influence. The Xmotion concept embodies quiet dynamism and a purity that gives it a very unique presence.”

We wouldn’t bet on the next Rogue looking exactly like this, but the Xmotion concept should still be useful in charting the design direction of upcoming Nissan SUVs and crossovers.