is updating its best-seller for the 2013 model year, with the crossover getting several technology enhancements, including CUE, the luxury brand’s new infotainment system.
The acronym stands for Cadillac User Experience, which uses a capacitive touchscreen for control of numerous functions, including interfacing with a driver’s smartphone. While other systems like CUE already exist, none offer proximity sensing and haptic feedback such that the display changes as a driver’s hand nears it and gives feedback to his selection. We’ve already posted a deep dive with CUE .
The other big upgrade is the availability of new safety technology in conjunction with Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat, which we wrote about . Two packages will be offered, one called “Driver Awareness” and the other “Driver Assist.” The former is focused on crash prevention by way of providing driver alerts, while the latter will also include vehicle intervention.
Cadillac has also added active noise cancellation to the SRX for 2013, along with redesigning the steering wheel and shifter and updating the instrument cluster to accommodate CUE. Some new USB and SD card ports, minor rear-seat entertainment upgrades, standard HD radio, and new interior color combinations round out the changes.
The is right around the corner, so let the embargo-break-a-palooza begin. Ahead of its official unveiling later this week, a few images of the have leaked onto the web, and if you’re familiar with Merc’s new design language, the updates to the big GL will come as no surprise.
Up front, the new headlamp design seen on the and has translated to the GL, complete with LED running lamps flanking each side above large air intakes. The design almost looks AMG-like, and while we never truly warmed to the design of the current GL, we like the looks of this 2013 model. The interior design hasn’t changed too much, though we’re sure that nicer materials and more up-to-date tech are on tap.
As of this writing, no official powertrain details have been released, though we don’t expect them to change a great deal from the current model. We’ll likely see a GL350 Bluetec model fitted with the delicious 3.0-liter diesel V6, as well as a GL550 with Merc’s new twin-turbocharged 4.6-liter V8 underhood. Seven-speed automatics will surely be offered with either engine, and all of the power will be sent to the ground via 4Matic all-wheel drive.
We’ll have the full suite of official details and images later this week, as well as live impressions direct from the New York show. Stay tuned.
We had a feeling this was coming. The otherworldly curvy sheetmetal of the has always seemed so far off the map as to appear more French than Japanese. After all, Gallic designers have a long history of creating bold and polarizing forms. So it comes as little surprise that AutoExpress is reporting that will let its corporate siblings at Renault borrow the fun-to-drive Juke crossover for a model of their own.
At least in the UK, the unnamed model will replace the slow-selling Koleos CUV. AutoExpress has worked up some renderings, and notably, they swap out the Juke’s unusual front lighting for something a bit more traditional and more along the lines of the 2011 Captur showcar.
had the Captur coming to market riding atop Renault’s Clio architecture, but if this new report is accurate, Renault probably won’t have to invest as much to bring the vehicle to market. Check out the full renderings at the link below, and sit tight, because AE doesn’t expect the subcompact ute to arrive until sometime next year.
will be showing the all-new 2013 SRT at the on Wednesday, in what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest reveals of the show. While we’ve already seen , , , , and from the forthcoming Viper, this new teaser is our best official look yet.
Too bad then, that it’s not so good – just a blurry, poorly lit image that seems like it’s more Photoshop than photo. So we went ahead and tried to enhance the image we plucked off of SRT’s page ourselves. If there’s one thing we can see for certain from these pixels, it’s that the new hood design – with two front-mounted, rear-facing scoops – is confirmed.
While we eagerly await the rest of the picture, the good news is that there’s just two more days to go.
Check out all four official teasers of the new Viper in our .
The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR currently holds the unofficial production car record for a Nürburgring lap with . The is the first four-door to show up on the list of lap times with a 7:52.00. The Audi RS6 Avant is the quickest wagon with a time of 8:09.00, and the first thing resembling a sport utility vehicle is the at 8:24.00. That right there would be the target for a were someone to bring one to Germany for a ‘Ring run. Last September, somebody did.
Piloted by the eminently qualified Sabine Schmitz, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 did the deed in 8:49.00. Ouch. That’s 25 seconds behind the X6 M and slower than even the front-wheel-drive Chevrolet HHR SS (8:43.52). Still, you can’t be taken seriously as a performance machine these days until you pay tribute at the Green Hell. And watching something attempt a high-speed ‘Ring run that was originally designed to rock crawl is always fun. to watch the official lap vid from SRT.
BMW i, the sub-brand within with its eye towards the future of mobility, has unveiled its third concept, the i8 Spyder. Based on the that debuted last year alongside the i3 city car, the i8 Spyder is at once an obvious followup, but also appears to be a couple of steps closer to the production models that will eventually go on sale to the public.
Like the coupe, the i8 Spyder is a plug-in through-the-road hybrid with a 96 kW (131 horsepower) electric motor up front powering the front axle and a mid-mounted turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine (presumably with a displacement of 1.5 liters like the coupe) producing 223 hp that powers the rear. A pack of lithium-ion batteries are located in a center tunnel between the two power sources, which together can produce a total system output of 354 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque. On electricity alone, the i8 Spyder can travel about 19 miles before the gas engine turns on to recharge the batteries. BMW says the system is good for 94 miles per gallon on the Imperial cycle, which converts to upwards of 78 miles per gallon on our own EPA cycle.
The beauty of the i8 Spyder’s drivetrain is the car can be front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive depending on whether efficiency, performance or all-weather traction is called for. Like the coupe, the i8 Spyder also features a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, and BMW claims to have completely cancelled out the extra weight of the hybrid drivetrain through extensive use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber and aluminum. Performance is also impressive, with 0-62 mph happening in five seconds and a top speed governed at 155 mph.
Not everything between the coupe and spyder is the same, though. The i8 Spyder has a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length. Its upward-swiveling, windowless doors are also different. The car’s developers have also whimsically included a pair of electric scooters underneath a glass panel in the rear. Aside from a few more exterior tweaks to accommodate the open air design, which can be closed again with a two-section folding roof, the rest of the i8 Spyder is identical to the coupe, including the interior that features a slightly warmer choice of colors.
Scroll down for the official specs and info from BMW, and stay tuned while we hunt down the i8 Spyder for some in-person impressions. Though BMW makes no mention of its appearance at next week’s , the timing of this debut suggests it will be there.
What started as only a cute little hatchback, the will now be growing into a full range of models. The new and versions have already launched here in the United States, and we just got our first glimpse at the larger (pictured above) during the . But now, Automotive News reports that an even larger 500 crossover, dubbed 500X, will be heading into production next year.
Like the 500L, the 500X will use a widened version of Fiat’s small car architecture that currently underpins the in other markets. The new crossover will be built at the company’s Mirafiori, Turin plant, and will replace the current Sedici (a rebadged version of the crossover).
As of this writing, it’s unclear whether or not the 500X will be offered in the United States. But that doesn’t mean we’ll miss out on some small CUV goodness. Automotive News also reports that the 500X will be built alongside a new crossover, currently codenamed B-CUV, which is set to launch in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2014. It will be smaller than both the current and , and reportedly be offered with a Trail Rated designation here in the States.
For The Enthusiast Who Isn’t Ready To Embrace The Future
The 328i is better than the 335i.
We are not the only ones claiming that the entry-level , fitted with a clamorous lightweight turbocharged four-cylinder engine, is more agile and tossable than its turbocharged six-cylinder sibling – it appears to many that the segment leader has been displaced by its weaker brother.
Well, maybe.
That big ‘maybe,’ and a whole bunch of its little ‘maybe’ associates, are what convinced us to grab the keys to a brand-new six-cylinder and take it home for a week. Our objective was to determine why the muscular 335i, long the performance benchmark of compact sport sedans, was getting its tailpipes handed to it by its four-banger kin.
To solve the riddle, we put more than 1,500 miles on a brand-new 335i Sport configured with a six-speed manual transmission. Of course, we liked much of what we experienced, as the redesign fits the 3 Series very well. But we also exposed a few holes in its once-impenetrable armor – some big enough to let two fewer cylinders slip by. Has the quickest and highest-performing of the non-M 3 Series models really lost its top spot on the palace throne? If so, why would someone still want a 335i?
Instead of letting everyone else and of the , SRT has gone insider trading and released its own teaser shot of the upcoming snake’s interior. What we can see of the overall layout appears familiar from the second-generation car, but the materials look to have been significantly upgraded: ornately bezeled vents, soft-touch trim, cross-stitching and aggressive two-tone accents.
There’s been some bother about the evolutionary exterior design of the 2013 Viper, but for a car that had just two generations in 20 years, it can still stand up to anything from Italy for badass presence. What it really needed was an interior and chassis that could deliver on its looks, and it appears the new 2013 model will be getting just that.
We’ll continue to wait on its official appearance at the next week to judge, but based on this shot, we like the look of where things are headed. Click on the photo above for a and stay tuned for the full debut live from New York next week.
Who wants to wait until the of the Nina plug-in hybrid next week when we can see spy shots right this second? Neither do we.
So, what do the shots reveal? For starters, we can see that the Nina is indeed shorter than its big brother. This is expected, but the impression we have is that the Karma’s design language translates quite well into a vehicle about the size of a . The front end, too, sports a moustache-like grille that’s similar to the one on the Karma. On the back side, the “EVer” badge is still proudly in place, but the diamond-shaped exhaust outlets are missing. The four-door sedan’s rear doors have the handles hidden smoothly between the window and the C-pillar. Then there are the wheels. It’s hard to miss those. If you want to compare the Nina with the Karma directly, open the gallery above as well as in another tab and click away.
The problem with these images is that they still don’t tell us much about the car itself. We’ve heard the cost for the Nina, which is supposed to be , will be about the same as a top-of-the-line . That implies something north of $45,000, despite what Vice President Joe Biden : “It looks like a four-door Ferrari, I can’t believe it’s only going to be $40,000.” We’ll hopefully know more when we get to the next week.
After all the problems Fisker has had with the Karma launch and the DOE loan, it’s important to remember that it’s the vehicle you see above that the DOE has been helping with all along. Do you like where your tax dollars have gone?
Just as mysteriously as it , has removed the production hold it had placed on the . For those keeping track, the delay has lasted roughly three weeks, and we still don’t know what the “quality assessment issue” was.
According to Motor Authority, a letter has been sent to those who have placed orders on Chevy’s hottest muscle car, letting them know when they can expect their machines to arrive at the dealership.
Cars that had already been produced and had been held back from the waiting garages of buyers will begin trickling to owners in two to three weeks, while orders placed but not yet built will take a little longer. That said, Camaro ZL1 models built in the foreseeable future will very likely before the Oshawa plant switches production to the 2013 cars. Just how many 2012 ZL1s will be built remains to b seen.
We also can’t help but mention the , which gets some of the track-ready features of the ZL1 with a 426-horsepower V8 in place of the killer 580-horse supercharged engine, along with what’s sure to be a much lighter price tag. With choices like these, we’d say it’s a good time to be shopping for a .
has released the fifth and final teaser of its all-new sedan ahead of the car’s official debut at the 2012 . It’s a good thing this is the last one, because Nissan has seen fit to show off almost the entire car, albeit very quickly and never stationary.
It’s plain to see that this new Altima will be much swoopier than before, with a highly stylized front fascia and a steep D-pillar arc. We also note a rising body line that starts below the side mirrors before heading over the rear haunches to the taillamps. At the rear, there appears to be a bulging rump on the trunk lid that reminds us of the infamous Bangle Butt made popular by past models.
It seems Nissan is most interested in promoting its latest interior technology, pointing out that the 2013 Altima will feature a “new Advanced Drive-Assist Display” in the instrument cluster that “is designed to keep the driver focused on the road.” Available will be lane departure warning, rear moving object detection and blind spot warning. We’re pretty sure we see steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, too.
Feel free to peruse the press release , but not before watching the video. Enjoy, and come back next week for the Altima’s full reveal.
It’s been two years since the , and now the first fruits of that labor are about to be unveiled. The joint venture will sell a line of electric vehicles under the Denza brand name, starting with the E6 built on the platform from the first-generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class, a preview of which is shown above in a .
is said to be handling design and chassis duties, while BYD is developing the lithium-ion phosphate cells and driveline that will occupy the sandwich floor. Prototypes have been , at least 40 of which have racked up nearly two million miles as taxis. Range is said to be up to 186 miles, and we should get a first look at the real thing at next month’s .
Not to be outdone today by Ford’s debut of a , has taken the wraps off its redesigned .
The big news is all up front, where the 2013 Traverse features what Chevy is calling the new face of its crossover utility vehicles. It includes a three-bar upper and two-bar lower grille design, as well as a “powerdome” hood, though no changes have been made to the direct-injected 3.6-liter V6 underneath. Though everything was redesigned ahead of the A-pillars, the rest of the body was left alone until you reach the D-pillars. Aft of those you’ll find a redesigned rear end with new taillights and liftgate and a relocated license plate pocket.
Chevy has tinkered with the interior too, but not much. The Traverse’s biggest selling point has always been its voluminous interior passenger and cargo space, and that hasn’t changed. The most noteworthy addition inside is that of MyLink, GM’s branded infotainment system that supports Bluetooth voice and audio, as well as apps like Pandora and Stitcher.
Minor suspension adjustments round out the rather short list of changes for this mid-cycle refresh. The segment’s current leader is the aforementioned , which sold around 135,000 units last year. The Traverse wasn’t too far behind with sales surpassing 107,000 units. Our guess is that these 2013 model year changes probably aren’t enough to unseat the Explorer, but should be enough to keep the Traverse selling well in this quickly growing segment.
has just revealed its to the assembled media in Dearborn ahead of its debut. And while the 350-horsepower, 350-pound-foot-of-torque crossover will be the performance capstone for the nameplate, Autoblog has learned that the Sport also previews a number of subtle performance updates that will roll out throughout the entire range for the new model year.
The Sport isn’t just an engine upgrade and appearance modifications – there are meaningful tweaks across the entire vehicle.
Among those changes is a new solid mount for its electric power steering rack, a move designed to take some of the slop out of the system and deliver more accurate direction changes (the Sport also receives its own unique boost tuning to add both quickness and heft). In addition, engineers have gone over the Explorer’s suspension and steering, fitting new ball- and steering joints, with the goal of increased stiffness so that shock and bushing tuning can be more finely adjusted. The result, say Ford officials, is a better controlled vehicle – one that allows for greater performance differentiation model to model (Sport versus XLT, say) through simple tuning of the vehicle’s compliant bits.
To be clear, the Explorer Sport stops well short of a full-on performance model like the – Ford itself suggests likely competitors include the and its . Even so, the Sport isn’t just an engine upgrade and appearance modifications – there are meaningful tweaks across the entire vehicle, including everything from a 3.16:1 final drive ratio to a water-cooled Power Take Off faceplate cooler that keeps the standard all-wheel-drive system at proper operating temps when it’s being worked harder by those 350 pound-feet.
Ford says the Sport knocks a full two seconds off the 0-60 time of other models.
Apparently Ford has learned its lesson based on feedback it received from (a vehicle that shares much of this CUV’s architecture and drivetrain). Like the , the Explorer Sport has received a brake upgrade, moving from 13.1-inch rotors to 13.8 inches. In addition, the discs themselves are thicker, leading to a 22-percent increase in stopping power. That’s good news, because Ford says the Sport knocks a full two seconds off the 0-60 time of other models, but it declined to cite a hard number.
Other Sport-specific hardware changes include a throatier dual exhaust with large polished tips, a reworked Terrain Management System to take advantage of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine’s extra torque in all conditions, as well as larger shock tower braces and a new cross tunnel brace for added rigidity.
Ford says it sold 135,000 Explorers last year, and fully 50 percent of those were conquest buyers. Of that percentage, 12 percent were luxury brand converts, so Ford is clearly betting that the 2013 Sport’s augmented performance and style can yield even more higher-end transaction prices.
has released this teaser image of the sedan, and – surprise, surprise – it shows off the spindle grille and LED running lamps found on each and every one of the automaker’s vehicles. More to the point, it looks exactly like what we saw in a that we posted last month, so really, there isn’t much left for us to speculate on in terms of design.
The -based Lexus mid-sizer will likely debut in ES 350 guise, powered by Toyota’s tried-and-true 3.5-liter V6. And while, historically, there’s only been one engine offered in the ES range, rumor has it that this sixth-generation model with a version of the Camry Hybrid’s gasoline-electric powertrain. Regardless, Lexus states that the new ES will feature “a new dynamic driving experience.” We’ll see about that.
Inside, expect a host of updates similar to what we’ve seen on the sedan, including a larger infotainment display screen and mouse-like controller, as well as the addition of . We’ll have the full details next week live from New York, so stay tuned. For now, for the automaker’s brief press blast.
The last time we remember talking about a high-performance was 2007 when a rare . For the 2013 model year, however, will start producing high performance Explorers right at the factory. Dubbed the Explorer Sport, this new addition to the Explorer lineup sports the same twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 found in the , , and and . It produces the least amount of power in this application – 350 horsepower – and while Ford doesn’t mention torque figures in the press release below, we can assume somewhere around 350 lb-ft.
Ford is projecting fuel economy numbers in the neighborhood of 16 miles per gallon in the city and 22 mpg highway, and says the Explorer Sport can also tow up to 5,000 pounds. Other tweaks to get this three-row crossover dancing include reinforcements to the chassis, a faster ratio for its electric steering system, a unique 3.16:1 final drive ratio and larger brakes. There are also paddles to shift the six-speed automatic transmission and special settings for the Explorer’s Terrain Management System.
When treating the Explorer Sport to a few exterior changes, Ford designers went with a dark theme, blacking out the lighting elements, roof rails and sideview mirrors, as well as the grille, lower front fascia and wheel faces. Inside the Explorer Sport gets Charcoal Black leather seating, with or without contrasting inserts, and special stitching on the seats and steering wheel.
No pricing was given, but the new Sport model will sit atop the Explorer line, which means a base price north of the Explorer Limited’s at $38,180. Ford is showing the Explorer Sport at a media event near its headquarters in Dearborn as we speak, so stay tuned for the first live images of the Explorer Sport as we get them.
Like , is keen to welcome visitors at its headquarters in Munich, and you don’t even have to buy a car to see it.
The Bavarian automaker’s principal visitors center is BMW Welt, a dynamic attraction that has welcomed some two million visitors every year since opening in 2007. BMW Welt (from the German for “world”) includes a delivery center where as many as 100 new customers pick up their new cars every day, as well as interactive exhibits showcasing the company’s operations in R&D, design and production, as well as concert venues and conference rooms and even a Junior Campus for younger guests.
Visitors to BMW Welt can also stop by the neighboring BMW Museum to check out the 120 original exhibits covering 90 years of BMW history laid out on a virtual roadway across 25 exhibition areas that some 400,000 visitors see each year. Finally, visitors can also tour the company’s main plant in Munich where BMW produces the sedan and wagon as well as the bulk of its engines.
Planning a trip to Germany sometime soon? to read more in the full press release and scope out the enormous gallery of high-res images for an idea of what to expect.
has announced that it will set up a new research facility in Palo Alto, California. While the manufacturer has similar labs in locations from Germany to China and Israel, the new location will be the first on the West Coast. Specifically, engineers and designers will focus on independent technology projects as well as finding new research directions and potential partners. While Ford is currently recruiting some staff locally, others are expected to be pulled from the company’s global workforce. Something tells us the company will have no trouble finding volunteers to move from Dearborn to Palo Alto.
TJ Giuli is one of those volunteers. The Ford researcher is a Stanford alumnus who’s going back to California to help lead the lab’s establishment. According to Giuli, the research community in the area is excited to have Ford in the neighborhood. for the quick press release.
If you haven’t had a chance to sit down and watch the full 13-minute CBS “60 Minutes” segment on that , we have yet another reason for you to do so. The good people at Allpar.com seem to have spotted something interesting lurking in the background of an interview with Ralph Gilles, head of design for Chrysler. Look closely, and there’s a red sports coupe hanging out just over the executive’s shoulder. Allpar.com seems to think this is a glimpse at the rumored Barracuda resurrection. After all, Chrysler made sure to trademark the ‘Cuda name earlier this year.
Automotive News took the time to ask Chrysler about the vehicle in the video, and the company very tactfully replied that the vehicle is “just one of the many concepts and projects in our studios. That is one student model.”
A student model that may hint to the design of the Barracuda? Possibly. See the complete video if you missed it the first time ’round.
