Official Autoweek Editorial Policy: The Dodge Demon is good

In light of a recent editorial that appeared on our beloved, respected, award-winning sister publication, Automotive News, Autoweek wishes to issue the following statement:

It is Autoweek’s official editorial policy that the Dodge Demon is good, and we’re glad FCA is building it. Our careful review of the Demon’s specifications and our experience with the Challenger Hellcat have led us to believe that the Demon will be plenty safe when used responsibly. 

We also believe that the fender flares look cool. 

Any attempt, by any regulatory body, to ban or otherwise impede the registration of the Dodge Demon will be met with a lot of complaining from Autoweek. 

Signed, 

The Editors of Autoweek

The Queen’s English car show: Best of the Brits mark spring each year

Everything from Land Rovers to Lotii came out of the LA woodwork and parked on the lawn at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California, Sunday — over 350 cars, trucks and motorcycles from Jolly Old.

“God Save Her Majesty,” we said to whomever would listen as we strolled about the show. “The sun never sets on the British Empire!”

It sets on Lucas electrics, of course, and we heard from at least one friend whose Lotus made it to within a mile of the park before, as they say, dying. It went home on a flatbed without ever making the show. How many sad stories were there Sunday morning? We shant know. Of that particular Lotus, Shakespeare may have forseen when he wrote, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage …”

The Rat-E Jaguar E-Type may have been our favorite

But let’s not dampen the spirits of this cheery annual gathering, and it was cheery. The onsite DJ blasted tunes from The British Invasion all day and there was tea available at one of the food carts. All that was missing was a visit from royalty. The Queen of the Queen’s English is Tina Van Curen, who, along with husband Chuck Forward and a British regiment of volunteers, puts on this show every year. This is the same group that puts on The Best of France and Italy in the same location every fall.

The cars at both shows are not necessarily concours quality, which is what makes this show so special. Drive whatever you think will make it to Van Nuys. There are no awards here and no judging, just bring what you could swing and do your thing, as they might have said in London in the swinging ’60s. Which allows cars as fantastically beat up as the Rat-E, an Jaguar E-Type convertible that made it to the show under its own power despite rust, dissolved paint and plastic trash bags for seat upholstery. It was magnificent.

There was a Reliant Robin, too, a Lotus 11, Sunbeam Tigers, Rollers, Rovers and MGAs galore. Jay Leno even brought a Bentley. This year, thanks to the drought-interrupting rain all winter, there was even green grass on the ground. The last several years have seen the cars of England parked not on a “hallowed plot” but on drought-induced dirt. But think not upon these trifles, a good car show is to be savored and cherished. As the Bard said, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

Cheerio chaps! Until next spring …

Is David Lee’s 275 GTB/4 the ultimate Ferrari?

All the paperwork was arranged in folders by decade, the red paint on the exterior was 27 years old, the interior was original and everything else had been restored, from the frame out. The judges loved it and the crowd pretty much agreed. David Lee’s 1967 275 GTB/4 won Best of Show at the Concorso Ferrari in Pasadena’s Old Town Sunday, and it was clearly the class of the field.

The field was pretty good, mind you — 150 cars representing the finest and the favorites from members of the Ferrari Club of America’s Southwest Region. The group has put on the show every year for the past 11 years, and it has always been free to the public. This year there were four F40s, two LaFerraris and a host of beautiful modern classics from Maranello all lined up along three blocks of Old Town that had been closed to all but foot traffic.

One of the classics rolls off the grid at the end of the day.

There was a lot to like along Colorado Boulevard Sunday, but at the end of the day it was the 275 GTB/4 that won the hearts and clipboards of the judges.

“I feel honored to win this award,” Lee said, ever humble. “It makes all the passion, all the crazy attention to detail during the restoration worth it.”

The car was on “Jay Leno’s Garage” last year — you can see the video here. In that show, Leno called this car “the ultimate Ferrari.” This example of the 300 or so that were made is a remarkable survivor. It had been owned by the same two guys in San Francisco for 47 years. They drove it all the time but kept meticulous receipts for all the maintenance that was done. It was restored once to original specs, Lee said.

“It’s been beautifully maintained,” Leno said in his video, where he got to drive it around Southern California with Lee in the passenger seat. “Redline is 7,500 rpm, which was unbelievable back in the day. I know it’s only got 300 hp, but it’s a different 300 hp. This is so turbine-smooth. 1966, ’67 was the last year(s) of pure design, by ’68 and up, all the government regulations came in, you had to have bumper heights, you had to have headlight heights, whereas with (something like) this you could just design something.” 

Concorso Ferrari intersection

After Lee bought the Ferrari about two years ago, he had it restored, leaving the paint and the interior untouched.

Lee, whose first car was a 1978 Datsun pickup truck, also brought a 1967 330 GTS, a 2014 LaFerrari and a yellow 250 Lusso Competizione with its own matching F12 Tour de France. He has other cars but couldn’t bring them all. You can follow him on Instagram: @ferraricollector_davidlee. He has 721,000 followers. Well, 721,001 now that we signed on. You might see him at Concorso Italiano this summer; last year he brought five Ferrari supercars, starting with a GTO. He loves Ferraris and is happy to share them with others, which to us makes him a great guy and a deserving winner.

Autoweek in review: Everything you missed April 17-21

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Autoweek in review is where we bring you the biggest stories in the car world that you might have missed this week. Whether you were actually getting some work done or you stepped away from your computer for a moment, here’s your chance to catch up and have something cool to talk about over the weekend.

‘Grand Theft Auto’ is training self-driving cars

Scientists and engineers have joined high school kids in simulating the world through the lens of the popular “Grand Theft Auto” video game. Unlike the fun that caffeine-fueled youths …

Here’s how you drive a $40 million Ferrari GTO

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How to hold a track day, the Brady Walker way

Brady Walker likes motorcycles. His friends like motorcycles. They wanted to do a track day, but all the track days were packed with 200-hp hyperbikes. Nothing wrong with 200-hp hyperbikes, but Walker …

By Autoweek Staff

Volvo will build its first electric car in China

Volvo announced this week that it will build its first electric car in China and that it will offer the vehicle globally. The Geely-owned automaker made the announcement during the Shanghai auto show. Volvo’s new EV will be based on the Volvo CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform earmarked for smaller vehicles and is expected to be available starting in 2019.

The plan is a part of Volvo’s commitment to sell 1 million electrified (though not electric-only) vehicles globally by 2025; with China being the world’s largest market for pure-electrics and hybrids, the Shanghai auto show announcement makes sense. Of course, there is also the fact that Volvo is owned by a Chinese manufacturer and has been slowly shifting production plans of future models closer to its parent company. Volvo currently has three manufacturing facilities in China producing the 90-series and 60-series cars, with one plant set set aside for the production of future 40-series models.

Volvo recently previewed a number of small vehicles that could be based on the CMA platform, garnering positive responses: The automaker unveiled the 40.1 Concept previewing the new XC40 last May and also debuted the 40.2 Concept, which previewed a future small sedan that could be badged S40.

Geely-owned Lynk & Co.’s Shanghai auto show 03 Concept this week also previewed a small sedan, which complemented the 01 Crossover Concept scheduled to enter production later this year. The 01 Concept is powered by a gas-electric powertrain coupling an electric motor with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine.

The model announced by Volvo this week, however, will be fully electric and will be sold under the Volvo badge. But this EV may be followed up by gasoline-electric hybrids down the road. The new model will be built alongside the new XC40 and the production version of the Lynk 01 compact crossover.

“Volvo Cars fully supports the Chinese government’s call for cleaner air as outlined in the latest five-year plan,” said Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars. “It is fully in-line with our own core values of environmental care, quality and safety. We believe that electrification is the answer to sustainable mobility.”

Beyond the CMA-based electric car, Volvo also indicated it is working on larger pure-electric vehicles that will be based on the larger SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform, which underpins the current XC90 and the upcoming, redesigned XC60.

Shanghai surprise: BMW M4 CS wedges itself between M4 Comp and GTS

The gorgeous BMW M4 CS adorned the Shanghai auto show this week in a shade of deep metallic blue; the new CS will slot between the M4 Competition and the hardcore M4 GTS.

Under the hood, the trademark inline 3.0-liter turbocharged six makes 460 hp — 14 more than the M4 Comp — along with 442 lb-ft of torque sent through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to the rear wheels. There’s no manual option, which is only semi-surprising. If you want the fastest lap, you have to go DCT, and that’s what this CS (coupe sport) is about. The sprint to 60 mph takes 3.9 seconds, and top speed is 174 mph. BMW claims a Nurburgring time of 7 minutes, 38 seconds, which puts it on par with the bonkers Lexus LFA, a high compliment.

The chassis is mostly the same as the M4 Comp version with an aluminum double-joint, spring-strut suspension in front and a five-link in the rear. BMW says that front setup has ball joints and elastomeric bearings with zero play laterally and longitudinally, “resulting in an extremely responsive chassis and excellent driving dynamics.” After driving the M4 Competition last year, we have no reason not to believe them.

BMW’s Active M Differential, Adaptive M Suspension and M Dynamic Mode are all included. Like the rest of the family, the M4 CS will have different drive modes: comfort, sport and sport-plus. That last mode gets rid of most electronic nannies, but the traction control will still intervene if you get too far out of whack. It will allow you to drift a little bit, though, says BMW.

The interior is purposefully sporty with lightweight seats, leather and Alcantara trim, pull loops for door handles (love that) and carbon-fiber accents. Premium audio and navigation are included, so we wouldn’t quite consider this a stripper track car.

The sheetmetal is set off with twin LED headlights, a large three-section intake and a new splitter up front. The rear features a carbon-fiber diffuser and Gurney lip spoiler, also in carbon.

We will see the CS here some time in 2018. Euro pricing was announced: 116,900, which converts to about $125,000, but that won’t be the exact pricing. The M4 Comp is about $90K — we’re thinking this will probably be just north of $100K.

China gets its Chevy Volt in a Buick wrapper

Buick rolled out its version of the Chevrolet Volt for the Chinese market this week, with the upscale hybrid dubbed Velite 5 in the Middle Kingdom. The Buick brand offers far more models in China than it does in the U.S., and analysts predicted a Buick version of the Volt to be offered there before the second-generation model even debuted.

Just like the Volt, the Buick Velite 5 will be powered by two electric motors drawing juice from a lithium-ion battery and a 1.5-liter inline-four range extender. In contrast with the 53-mile pure-electric rating in the U.S., the Velite 5 has been rated at 72 miles for the Chinese market, reflecting a different testing methodology.

“Equipped with GM’s latest intelligent electric drive system, the Velite 5 offers up to 768 kilometers of range in extended-range mode,” Buick says. “Its prioritized pure electric driving mode provides 116 kilometers of range, fulfilling consumers’ demand to commute with zero petroleum consumption and zero emissions.”

768 kilometers is 477 miles — significantly higher than the 420-mile rating of the Volt, but n terms of engineering, the powertrains are nearly identical.

The Buick version will offer a slightly revised interior, along with an upgraded cabin air filter.

Aside from a mildly restyled exterior, the Velite 5 will offer a more upscale interior along with an upgraded air-filtration system geared for high-smog cities — placed where cars sometimes need a weekly cabin filter replacement.

How big of a premium will buyers in China pay for the Buick badge? Not a whole lot, it turns out. The Velite 5 GL trim level will be offered starting at the equivalent of $33,300, while the upscale GS model will start at around $37,700. That’s before the application of a $5,233 New Energy Vehicle government subsidy, which will bring the starting price down to the high-$20,000 range. The price points are nearly identical to the LT and Premier trim levels of the 2017 Chevrolet Volt, before any federal and state rebates.

The Velite 5 will be the second Chinese-market vehicle to get the Buick Blue badging — an effort to distinguish “new energy vehicles,” as hybrids and electrics are referred to in China. The first Buick hybrid offered in China was the LaCrosse.

For now, GM does not plan to offer a Buick version of the Volt in the U.S., still smarting from the fallout from the pricey Cadillac ELR, which finally exited production in the U.S. in 2016 after tepid sales and massive price cuts. A Buick version of the Volt makes far more sense in China, where Buick continues to enjoy wild success still not replicated by any other American marque, Cadillac included.

Is the world ready for an electric MG?

MG, the former British automaker once known in the U.S. for its affordable sports cars, is not only alive and well, it’s reportedly about to introduce something far more advanced than the last car it’s remembered for in the States. The now-Chinese-owned marque is rolling out the MG E-Motion electric sports-car concept at the Shanghai auto show, previewing a possible halo model for the reborn brand.

Autocar reports the E-Motion concept has a claimed range of 310 miles (hitting the all-important 500-km mark for other markets), but can also sprint from 0-62 mph in less than 4 seconds. MG has not shared details about the battery or the motor, though the range and performance is plausible, given the car’s size.

The concept features butterfly doors, cameras instead of side mirrors and a fairly adventurous design, reminiscent of recent Mazda concepts. The details are a little wild, as you would expect on a concept vehicle, but MG is taking this technology demonstrator seriously.

MG promises a full-charge range of 310 miles, or 500 kilometers.

Just how likely is the E-Motion to make it into production? MG indicated to Autocar a decision will be made after its debut in Shanghai this week, suggesting that the tech is already there to make the electric powertrain happen on a production scale. But MG will also use the Shanghai show to unveil a slightly more grounded vehicle: the MG ZS compact SUV.

MG has stuck to more mass market-pleasing vehicles since rolling out its updated lineup in Europe, following its purchase by a Chinese conglomerate in 2006. Since that time, Rover has also come back as Roewe (due to trademark considerations), though in the U.K., MG is the one enjoying a mild resurgence.

We don’t expect to see MG return to the U.S. anytime soon, though in the context of a long-expected launch of Chinese vehicles, MG has a better chance of success than most other brands — it’s already a player in Europe, it’s building cars to EU standards, and there are still plenty of Americans who remember owning (with varying degrees of fondness) an MG sports car.
 

Upstart Lynk & CO promises lifetime warranties, free connectivity

China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group lifted the wraps on a new sedan concept for Lynk & CO ahead of the Shanghai auto show, saying the upstart tech-laden automotive brand will offer lifetime warranties and free connectivity as a standard feature.

Alain Visser, senior vice president of Lynk & CO, outlined the perks at a preview before this week’s Shanghai show. Lynk unveiled a design prototype of its 03 Concept compact sedan and displayed its 01 crossover.

Lynk will offer online sales and a home delivery service, as well as a subscription model patterned after those used with smartphone app services, Visser said in a Sunday press release. The release did not detail which markets those services would be offered.

“We will bring a unique offer of connected mobility, with the option to share your car, where everything is included. The key to everything we do is simplicity,” Visser said.

The 01 crossover is expected to go on sale in China in the fourth quarter this year, followed by Europe and the United States in the first quarter of 2019.

Originally, Lynk was to debut in Europe and the U.S. in 2018.

The 01 crossover, introduced as a concept in October in Berlin, will be a hybrid powered by a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor.

It will compete against global rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai, which will be sold as the Rogue Sport in the U.S.

Lynk models will feature cutting-edge features such as a dashboard button that will allow the motorist to rent the vehicle to other users.

“Lynk & CO promises lifetime warranties, free connectivity as sedan concept debuts” originally appeared on Automotive News on 4/17/17.

Spyker is still a thing, and it will return to the U.S. in 2018 with the C8 Preliator Spyder and coupe

The biggest news from Spyker at its New York auto show debut was, well, how important the U.S. market is for the boutique automaker.

“Spyker is delighted to be back at the New York International Automobile Show to unveil the new Spyker C8 Preliator Spyder in one of its most important markets, New York,” said Victor R. Muller, Spyker’s founder and CEO. “Historically, Spyker has sold half of its production to the United States of America, of which a very large number of cars were sold in this state through Spyker’s first dealer in the USA, Manhattan Motorcars.”

For the tenacious Spyker, no impassable roads

Spyker CEO Victor Muller was late. He was stuck in traffic, and while his car slowly wound its way up to Midtown we were at a hotel bar on 54th Street drinking tea and Peroni with John Walton, a …

Oh, AND it introduced its C8 Preliator Spyder to North America.

Production of the limited-run vehicle — only 100 Preliators between the coupe and spyder — should begin by summer 2018, according to the Dutch supercar maker. Koenigsegg is manufacturing the engines — 5.0-liter V8 units producing 600 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque with a six-speed manual as the only transmission. Spyker announced the partnerships at last month’s Geneva motor show.

There are no pricing details, but if you have to ask …

Nissan Rogue Dogue concept offers pure canine luxury

Aside from metal partitions for station wagon interiors, booster seats and rubber floor mats, automakers seldom try to make their vehicles more dog-friendly. Nissan’s Rogue Dogue concept that debuted at the New York auto show this week aims to explore and showcase a few custom “dog luxury” features that a midsize SUV could offer to dog lovers who bring their pets with them on road trips long and short.

The Rogue Dogue comes with a custom dog bed for the rear cargo area in addition to a slide-away ramp for getting in and out of the high-sitting SUV. The Dogue also has air vents for the rear compartment, as well built-in dispensers for food and water.

Bowls with food and water deploy out of the wall.

This sounds like all a dog could possibly hope for in a vehicle (aside from the ability to control the food dispenser by pressing a button), but Nissan went well beyond these features: The Rogue Dogue also has a 360-degree dog shower with a 10-gallon water tank, as well as an integrated dog drying system with a compressed heated air dryer. After a bath that isn’t too messy, the owner’s pooch can also relax in the hammock located in the second row of the Rogue Dogue.

“More than 75 percent of dog owners in the survey said that having optional features specifically designed for their dog’s safety and comfort would impact their decision on which vehicle to purchase,” said Michael Bunce, vice president of product planning for Nissan North America. “So potentially, every dog might have its day — and their custom-equipped Nissan Rogue, too.”

A storage bin and a ladder roll out of the floor.

Just how feasible is this dog pack?

“Everything that we built into the Rogue Dogue project is actually very possible to add to a production Rogue, though you do compromise the available rear cargo area slightly for the ramp, storage compartments and the food and water dispensers,” said Dennis McCarthy, owner of Vehicle Effects of Sun Valley, California. “But really, next to your family, your dog is your most important cargo, so why not?”

We know more than a few dog owners who would love to order a dog-friendly vehicle straight from the dealer by just checking a box on the order form, and given the fact that the Rogue was recently revealed to be the best-selling non-pickup in America, the potential audience for such a dog package should be out there. It’s all up to Nissan now to decide if they want to make this happen.

Genesis GV80 concept shows Hyundai’s luxury brand is serious about presence

Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand is affirming its belief in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as a pillar of its zero-emission strategy with an early concept of the brand’s first crossover.

The vehicle, called the GV80 Concept, teases the first of two crossovers Genesis has promised by 2020. It debuted Wednesday at the New York auto show.

“There is a unique energy and diverse global culture to New York that is fitting for Genesis, and we are excited to unveil the GV80 Concept here,” said Manfred Fitzgerald, Genesis’ global brand boss. “This concept is an important milestone for the brand to share our vision of the future, introducing a further expansion of our product portfolio.”

The production version of the GV80 is expected to hit the market in 2018, on the heels of the upcoming G70 compact luxury sedan. It will be a midsize crossover aimed at the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLE series and the BMW X5.

The vehicle is initially expected to come with a traditional internal combustion engine; plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell variants would join the lineup later.

The fuel cell powertrain to be used in Genesis production models is likely to be similar to the one Hyundai plans to introduce in a new dedicated hydrogen-fueled crossover next year, as teased at the Geneva auto show with the FE Fuel Cell Concept.

Hyundai isn’t alone in spreading its considerable investment in fuel cell technology to its luxury offerings; Toyota has indicated that it plans a hydrogen fuel cell model of its redesigned Lexus LS sedan that would mostly share its powertrain with the next-generation Toyota Mirai.

The Genesis GV80 Concept is also a first look at the potential styling cues of Genesis’ first production crossover. The sleek four-door features a prominent chrome mesh grille flanked by a pair of thin horizontal headlights.

Inside, it has a curved 22-inch organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, screen mounted atop the dashboard. The screen is controlled by a touch-sensitive pad in the center console or by the four metal accents embedded in the console (each controls a function: navigation, phone, climate or entertainment).

The production GV80 will be followed by a smaller crossover this decade that would compete with the BMW X3 and that could become Genesis’ volume leader. A two-door coupe version of the G70 is expected after that.

The G70 sedan is expected to debut this year.

“Genesis readies first crossover with fuel cell concept” originally appeared on Automotive News on 4/12/17.

Infiniti QX80 Monograph concept is…well, it’s an improvement

The bulbous Infiniti QX80 has ridden along unchanged for a few years now, and to give an idea of where this full-size ‘ute might be going next, the Japanese luxury maker introduced the QX80 Monograph concept at the New York auto show Wednesday. According to Infiniti, the new sheetmetal “shows our concept of luxury and style on the road and is an exploration into how we could enhance our future Infiniti offering in the luxury SUV segment.”

The Monograph is big: more than 16 feet long, almost 6 feet tall and more than 6 feet wide.

Infiniti gets pretty flowery with the description of this copper-colored beast: “We sculpted our body pure, straight and horizontal, the muscularity both brute and sensual; part Rodin’s ‘Thinker,’ part Michelangelo.” We’re assuming Infiniti was channeling the outspoken Ninja Turtle, not the painter.

To us, it looks like the Easter Island statue from “Night at the Museum,” or maybe a skeptical beaver. Its eyes are narrow, like it just saw something it doesn’t believe, and it has a big nose. The lower grille almost looks like a mouth, with a bucktooth in the middle for gnawing at wood. It also has pudgy cheeks for food storage. At least the profile looks sort of cool.

The design of the current QX has been controversial, and the one before that was polarizing, too. The Monograph is very concept-y, with the wraparound windshield that bleeds into the side windows and those featureless rubber band tires. The black and gold rims are cool, though, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Check out the gallery with the new versus old pictures and let us know what you think. The Monograph doesn’t look that far off from a production car. In a few years when the QX gets redesigned, we expect to see a lot of these cues.

2017 New York auto show, day one: Everything you missed

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Compared to Chicago, the first day of the New York International Auto Show felt alive with new products. Lincoln revealed its all-new Navigator SUV. Dodge, after three months of teasers, finally released all the details on its Challenger SRT Demon — 840 hp and a quarter-mile in 9.65 seconds. Here’s a roundup of everything we saw today at the show.

By Autoweek Staff

Hyundai keeps the Sonata fresh with an 8-speed automatic and cascading grille

The 2018 Hyundai Sonata got a new look at the New York auto show on Wednesday. It’s not quite as cool as the swoopy 2009 redesign, which we loved, but it definitely goes back to wilder styling after the most recent redesign’s more restrained look.

The new Sonata gets LED daytime running lights and a new rear light treatment, while the large rear trunk panel now hides a release button in the Hyundai logo. The license plate frame moves to the bumper like with the Genesis cars, giving an overall cleaner and sportier look. A new cascading grille is surrounded by a more aggressive fascia. Sport and 2.0-liter turbo models get new front and rear diffusers and gloss black window trim.

Ride and handling should be improved, as well, with increased torsion bar stiffness, new steering calibration and an updated rear suspension with thicker trailing arms and new bushings. It’s more responsive, says Hyundai, and can handle heavier loads.

The most expensive models continue with a 245-hp turbo-four, but the eight-speed automatic transmission is new. The rest of the trims get a 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four making 185 hp. No word on an Eco model yet, but we see no reason why that won’t come eventually. Last year’s Eco got a 1.6-liter turbo-four delivering 178 hp.

The new Sonata will get a ton of tech, which is required in this class of car. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included, as is wireless charging. It also gets a second USB port, and the nav system has a bird’s-eye-view camera.

As for safety, we’re looking at brake assist, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert, in addition to stability control and the like. Those are all standard; lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist are optional.

The 2018 Sonata goes on sale later this year.

What the heck does ‘casualcore’ mean? We have no idea, but the Toyota FT-4X concept is still pretty cool

Let’s get this out of the way: The Toyota FT-4X concept, just unveiled at the New York auto show, is not the second coming of the FJ40 (sorry). Its stance and dimensions suggest that it’s a ruggedized, reskinned C-HR crossover at its core.

What sets it apart? Why, its Rugged Charm Persona™, which makes it perfectly suited for what Toyota sees as the emerging field of Casualcore Exploration™.

In other words, it’s Toyota’s take on the Jeep Compass — a unibody trucklet aimed squarely at the more adventurous edge of the burgeoning compact crossover field. It has just enough off-road attitude (and, presumably, an advanced all-wheel-drive system) to convince its urbanite owners that they can peel out of gridlock and get into the great outdoors at the drop of a hat.

The heater vents double as gear dryers! Those blue canisters in the upper corners of the photo are water bottles! The armrest is a sleeping bag!

You’ve got three basic types of concept cars: the ones that closely preview the production model (this seems to be Honda’s M.O.), vague “styling exercises” that have been built only to break our hearts (the Buick Avenir) and concepts that seem to be vehicles, so to speak, for as many goofy/cool ancillary features as possible.

The FT-4X fits in that last category. Here’s a look at some of the little details that came out of Toyota’s Calty design center:

– There’s plenty of clever storage, plus cargo hooks to tie down larger items!
– In-cabin vents can be rotated to point into dashboard coves, which lets you dry off wet gear!
– The door handles are removable water bottles, which doesn’t make much sense but is still sort of cool!
– In-cabin lighting can be popped out and used as flashlights!
– The dome light converts into some sort of emergency beacon in case you prosecute your adventure a little too aggressively!
– In a cross-branding exercise with higher-than-average functionality, the armrest is a North Face sleeping bag!
– The audio system pops right out of the car’s center console and can be used as a boom box!
– There are heated and cooled boxes for gear and/or snacks in the rear hatch!
– … and more!

Oh, there’s a GoPro camera mounted into one of the side mirrors — a cool way to capture your FT-4X-enabled tour of the wilderness, but perhaps not as easily accessible as the rearview-mirror GoPro mount already available on the Tacoma TRD Pro.

In any event, all of these features (plus the rough-and-tumble styling) add up to give the FT-4X  “Rugged Waku-Doki,” which Toyota translates as “a palpable heart-pounding sense of excitement.”

Sure.

The FT-4X is about the same size as a Toyota C-HR, but it comes equipped with way more “casualcore” options. Whatever that means.

Anyway, the FT-4X would (if built) be powered by a “small-displacement” inline-four and come equipped with a low-range-equipped four-wheel-drive system. So while it’s not exactly an FJ Cruiser, it might pack a little more capability than the average soft-roader. Toyota says the concept’s wheelbase is 103.9 inches, with a width of 71.7 inches and an overall length of 167.3 inches and a height of 63.9 inches. That first number is identical to the new C-HR compact crossover, suggesting that there’s a platform ready and willing to accommodate this thing.

But is it really necessary? Your author just went to Zion National Park in a rental-spec Kia Sorento, so the whole idea of needing an adventure-ready overlander (or some unibody approximation thereof) to actually have adventures is ridiculous. Then again, so is buying a Trail Rated Wrangler for grocery duty. If we’re facing down a future flush with crossovers, we’d prefer wacky, fun, emergency beacon-equipped crossovers to the soulless alternative.

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.
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Subaru Ascent SUV concept finally brings Subie back to the three-row SUV

Remember the Subaru Tribeca? It was Subaru’s three-row SUV foray way back in 2006. Sales started slow, then quickly fell, petering out in 2013 — the last full year of production, when dealerships sold only 1,598 units, leaving Subaru without an entry in the ultra-hot seven-passenger SUV market. That’s set to change later this year with the Ascent, previewed at the New York auto show as the Ascent SUV concept.

Subaru is calling the Ascent a styling concept, with an overall appearance that doesn’t stray far from the automaker’s already established corporate design. The grille, headlights and body lines are all reminiscent of current Subaru models. We expect the interior to change the most before production; the touchscreen window and lock controls and instrument panel will likely be replaced with more traditional equipment.  

Both the concept and production Subaru Ascent ride on a modified version of the Subaru Global Platform, with power coming from an all-new turbocharged, direct-injected engine in Subaru’s favored horizontally opposed layout. Its dimensions — 198.8 inches long, 78.3 inches wide and 72.4 inches tall — put the Ascent directly in line with competitors like the Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Traverse and Mazda CX-9. 

We don’t expect complete details until the Los Angeles auto show late this year when we see Ascent in its final form. Until then, try to forget the Tribeca — there will soon be a new three-row SUV in Subaru’s stable.

2018 Buick Enclave gets slimmed and trimmed for New York

Remember the Buick Avenir sedan? The toothsome, quasi-bobtail rear-drive concept that recalled the Rivieras and Wildcats of yore, the one that brought down the house at the Detroit auto show two years ago? We had high hopes for a production version, and last fall, the company confirmed the Avenir badge would come to fruition — but not as a standalone model. Instead, it will represent a future luxury sub-brand, and it has arrived in the form of the 2018 Buick Enclave Avenir.

“The word ‘avenir’ is French for ‘future,’” Buick vice president Duncan Aldred told Autoweek at a special reveal event before the 2017 New York auto show. “This car reflects our promise to stay at the forefront in design, quality and the customer experience.”

Thus, the Avenir now signifies Buick’s highbrow (and high-profit) specification. Think of it as an analog to GMC’s Denali line. The Enclave is the first model to get this treatment in North America, but there will be “a range of Avenir models to come,” according to Aldred.

Here, it brings a host of luxury upgrades, including a unique mesh grille and fender badging, 20-inch wheels, LED lighting, and interior flourishes like contrast stitching and seat piping, embroidered headrests and special color option, along with a neat one-off dash trim that fades from wood to black lacquer. Standard Enclave Avenir features also include heated and vented front seats, a dual moonroof, onboard Wi-Fi and a rearview camera mirror. Engineers claim that last bit expands the field of vision a whopping 300 percent. 

This new model rides on solid bones, too: After nearly a decade languishing on the aged Lambda platform, the second-generation Enclave is all-new for 2018, sharing chassis architecture with the three-row Chevrolet Traverse, which debuted in January. The engine, a direct-injected, 3.6-liter V6, puts out 302 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. It’s attached to a new nine-speed automatic in either front- or all-wheel-drive configuration. Buick estimates the former will get 20 mpg combined, the latter just 1 mpg less while offering a stout 5,000-pound towing capacity.

Enclave assembly, including that of Avenir, will continue to take place at the Grand River Plant in Lansing, Michigan.

VW’s newest feature? A 6-year, 72,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty

Volkswagen’s new Atlas SUV and redesigned Tiguan crossover will hit dealerships later this year with an intriguing new feature: A transferable 6-year/72,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. In hopes of enticing customers who might be leery of the brand after its diesel-emissions scandal, the new warranty is designed to exceed that offered by VW competitors.

VW’s bumper-to-bumper coverage includes the engine, transmission and the optional 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, and it’s transferable to subsequent owners until the 6-year/72,000-mile limit (whichever comes first) is reached.

Most major competitors to the Atlas and Tiguan offer a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Hyundai and Kia, which offer a 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, do offer a powertrain warranty higher in time and mileage (10 years or 100,000 miles) than VW’s, but it is not transferable to a second owner after the basic warranty expires. Nissan, however, does cover its continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) for 10 years or 120,000 miles.

“We specifically designed and built the all-new Atlas and Tiguan for American customers,” says Hinrich J. Woebcken, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. “This warranty further addresses the needs of American buyers head-on. We’re confident in the reliability and workmanship of these SUVs, and we want our customers to be confident in their purchase.”

Unfortunately, if you’d prefer a Golf Alltrack, Jetta or other VW model , you’re stuck with the current 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty.

The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas is expected to be in dealerships this spring with a starting price of $31,425. The 2018 Tiguan will be available later this year.