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In just its second public coming-out after an unveiling at last month’s Detroit auto show, the 2013 Cadillac ATS still was under scrutiny at the Chicago auto show this week – that’s Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik sneaking a peek in this underexposed snap – and we picked up a few interesting new details from global Vehicle Line Executive Dave Leone.
We just put the new 2012 BMW 328i on our Rotary Lift the other day to see what it looks like underneath all that shiny red metal. It's quite tidy as you might expect. We'll have a full suspension walkaround for you later, but for now just enjoy this look at the latest in German engineering.
Let's get this out of the way: The six-speed manual transmission is only available with the 201-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4, and the 2.4-liter is only available with the six-speed manual. The good news here is that Acura is hoping to price the ILX with the real transmission very close to the base model car, which comes with a 150-hp 2.0-liter I4 and six-speed automatic. Acura says potential ILX buyers want a mix of fuel economy and performance, and the way they've gone about performance is to keep the weight to about 3,000 pounds and make the car nimble and responsive, "the way all Acuras will be again."
The ILX is Acura's new entry-level car to lure Gen-Y buyers into luxury cars. "They like luxury and feel they deserve luxury," Acura said. But "they're beginning to realize that they may not be as affluent as their parents. They're living the recession." In that vein, Acura is hoping to pack a lot of content and a luxury ride into a car that starts "well under $30,000."
But it's not just a luxury ride Gen Y wants. They want to stay connected and have the coolest features. That's where Premium and Technology packages come in. The Tech pack has Acura's ELS surround-sound system, navigation, real-time traffic and hard-disk drive. Fully loaded, the ILX will run about $30,000. It will be made in Greensburg, Indiana, and go on sale in the spring. Acura's hoping for sales of 40,000 units per year once production/marketing is fully up to speed.
Can't blame Buick for giving it a try. It launched the Buick GS with a six-speed manual transmission only, a move seen as equally cool or stupid depending on who you asked.
For 2013, the 270-hp GS will offer a six-speed automatic transmission as a no-cost option. Buick says it's still good for a 0-60 mph time of 6.7 seconds and will return 27 mpg on the highway.
If that's not enough efficient for you, Buick also announced that its eAssist system will now come standard with the base 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine. The mild hybrid system pushed the Regal's EPA highway number up to 36 mpg on the highway.
Perhaps there is hope for car culture after all. Citing consumer demand (and not just internet bickering), Ford will be offering a five-speed manual transmission option for the 2012 Ford Focus Titanium. "Buyers migrating from higher-priced import brands frequently prefer manual transmission," Ford said in a statement. Nearly 40 percent of trade-ins on Focus are imports.
Previously the manual transmission was only available in the S and SE version of the Focus with a six-speed automated manual being the only option on the top-trim Focus Titanium. Too bad, too, because the Titanium is the one that goes best with a manual. It gets 18-inch alloy wheels and a sport-tuned suspension. The only thing missing was a transmission that reacted as well as the chassis did.
Ford says that this decision was based on a manual take rate of 7 percent. That figure is 50% higher than Ford expected and surely has something to do with the complaints Ford is getting about the automated manual. You'll remember that Consumer Reports downgraded Ford's reliability rating due to complaints revolving around the automated manual transmission and MyFord Touch.
Related: 2012 Ford Focus Titanium vs. 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited
When we first drove the 2012 BMW 328i we honestly weren't expecting to be as impressed by this new 2.0-liter turbocharged motor as we ultimately were. "It has tremendous strength at low revs for such a small capacity engine, with 225 pound-feet of torque arriving at 1,250 rpm and staying flag until 4,800 rpm," we wrote. "The odd thing is, it doesn't feel like a torque monster in normal driving...The 2012 BMW 328i offers a drive that starts strongly and just gets stronger."
Strength and torque, though, weren't the driving force of the switch from a straight-six to a turbocharged four. No, the reason was, like so many other things today, fuel economy. drove the change. And it appears to have worked.
It seems like only yesterday that we had four guys sitting on the doors of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class "proving" the superiority of German Engineering and now we've got spy photos of the next-generation, 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
This new C-Class -- codename W205 -- is set to be built at Mercedes' Alabama manufacturing facility which just got a $2 Billion investment. The plant will also handle the GL and the M-Class.
Visually, Mercedes-Benz looks to be taking a step back with this C-Class. The hood is longer, the grille is smaller and the headlights are smaller and more aerodynamic. The whole thing is almost Acura-like. We can't tell what sort of detailing Mercedes will use on the side of this new C-Class, but intricate and bold cut lines and fenders have been their thing lately.
Powertrains are still a mystery, of course, but expect a four-cylinder (250) with an eight-speed automatic to be the volume model.
We're still very early out on this one, don't expect any final details for at least a year.
Featuring a hand-painted gold dragon on each side, custom dragon embroidery and hand-stitched rear pillows, the 2012 Rolls-Royce Phantom Year of the Dragon Edition is big in China. How big? Despite a $1.2m price tag, the special edition is already sold out. Rolls-Royce did not reveal how many they had actually built.
In related custom-Phantom news, RR claims that deliveries of customized Phantoms to the Middle East jumped from 75 percent in 2005 to a whopping 99 percent in 2011 while U.S. sales of custom phantoms were only 84 percent. Only 56% of all Ghosts are personalized. I would wait for a personalized Phantom, but for a fancy 7-series? Nah.
High-res images after the jump.
...not, as you'd likely think, the Porsche Panamera Hybrid, but rather the 2012 Infiniti M35h. At least, that's what the people at Infiniti, backed up by "AMCI Certified Testing" have to say. But we knew this. They teamed with CAR magazine back in September to get Guinness-certified numbers. Let's take a closer look anyway shall we?
The 2012 Porsche Panamera Hybrid has a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 and a 75 amp, 288-volt NiMiH battery. The Porsche makes 380 horsepower @ 5500 rpm, 428 pound-feet of torque at only 1,000 rpm and has an 8-speed automatic transmission. To save weight and increase awesome, it is rear-wheel drive, the last time we tested one it weighed in at 4,492 pounds. Pricing starts at $95K.
In the other corner is the Infiniti M35h. It starts at $53,700, makes 360 horsepower thanks to a 3.5-liter V6 and a 346 volt lithium-ion battery and has a seven-speed automatic. Like the Porsche, it's rear-wheel drive. Last time we had it on the scales a 2012 M35h recorded a weight of 4,199 pounds.
At the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Cadillac took the wraps off of the all-new ATS sport sedan. This car, says Cadillac, is a true rival to the BMW 3-Series. On paper it's a draw and in person, well, it's a good thing the 3er stepped up this year because the ATS is CLEAN. Driving the two back-to-back is sure to be a highlight of 2012.
But we won't have an answer to that for a bit now. As for the show itself, what did it take to make that reveal happen? Here's a look behind the stage from this year's show.
Eagle-eyed Inside Line readers will be able to spot cameos by Ed Hellwig and Alistair Weaver.
Even with its sophisticated traction control and supercomputer powers, the new BMW M5 isn't crash proof. Part of that probably has to do with the 560 horsepower twin-turbo V8.
Part of it also has to do with unfamiliarity. This car was crashed during a dealer demonstration in the Netherlands. This one looks salvageable and there's no damage to the passenger compartment so we're assuming everyone walked away from this one just fine.
More photos available at Bimmerpost.
The Super Bowl is an interesting experience. You watch it at home and you've got 50% of the people tuning in for the game and 50% tuning in to see what commercials they get to talk about at work the next day. In person it's even stranger, aside from the players, it seems only, oh, 10% off the people have actually heard of football.
Frequent Super Bowl commercial watchers will know that Lexus has avoided the uber-expensive ads until now. The star of the show is the all-new 2013 Lexus GS which hits dealers in February, but that's not all. "The spot also will convey that even more products are waiting in the wings and are anxious to hit the road." said Lexus in a statement.
With this announcement, Lexus joins Audi, Suzuki and Kia, all of whom have ads running at Super Bowl XLVI.
As a kid growing up in New England with a love for cars, I have spent my fair share of time sideways in a snowed out mall parking lot. I've also been escorted from them far more frequently than I'd like to admit.
These Lancer Evolution drivers have a different way of dealing with mall cops. Namely, they just do donuts around the helpless security guard as he calls for backup. Don't try this at home...or something like that.
Peter Rawlinson and Nick Sampson, prominent engineers on Tesla's 160-to-300 mile range electric sedan have left Tesla before seeing their baby to launch.
Rawlinson was Tesla's vice president and Chief Engineer while Sampson supervised the company's chassis engineering. The two left earlier this month. "Having completed conceptual and design engineering work on Model S, Peter has decided to step away to tend to personal matters in the U.K." said an emailed statement by Ricardo Reyes, Tesla spokesman. Sampson was noted as having already fully transitioned off of Model S when he left. Jerome Guillen (formerly of Daimler AG) and Eric Bach (formerly on VW small cars) have filled the open positions.
The market was not convinced by the words or actions of Tesla, shares in Tesla's stock fell 20 percent.
Is this just a case of businesses doing what they do? Or is the departure of two key executives in the final stretch of a huge launch indicative of things to come from the Model S?
This is the 2013 Acura ILX, a new entry-level sedan that will arrive this spring with a price "well under $30,000" according to Acura. The cynical among you will no doubt refer to the ILX as Acura's Civic, and to some degree you would be right.
Then again, it's more than just a rebadge job. Just looking at it will tell you that. There are enough new lines on this car to give it a look of its own, one that is decidedly better than the Civic. Acura didn't get specific when it came to drivetrains, at least not in terms of horsepower figures, but most of the engine displacements look familiar.
The base engine will be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, while the optional engine will displace 2.4 liters. There will also be a hybrid model with a 1.5-liter gas engine. So a step above the Civic, but nothing ground-breaking here.
We didn't get a chance to see the interior, but given that Acura calls this car a concept, it probably doesn't have anything resembling the final setup. To say that it will be nicer than the Civic isn't exactly a stretch, however, so use your imagination. With sales slated to begin this spring, it won't be long before we find out for sure.
This is the future of Lincoln, or at least part of it. Revealed for the first time this morning in Detroit, the Lincoln MKZ concept is the latest in a long line of "revival" vehicles designed to bring the luxury car company back from the dead.
Based on the same platform that underpins the new 2013 Ford Fusion shown yesterday, the MKZ concept will arrive in production form later this year with only minor changes. Lincoln officials didn't say much about the specifications of the new sedan; instead they talked about where they hope to take the brand.
As expected, the Mercedes press conference here in Detroit was dominated by two things: the all-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL, and Mercedes' exceptional (but slightly worse than BMW) sales figures in 2011. Hiding in the shadows of the SL, though, was the new E400 Hybrid.
With an adjusted (window sticker) fuel economy estimate of 27 mpg combined, the E400 is the cornerstone of Mercedes' "hybrid offensive." Powering the E400 is a 302-horsepower direct-injection V6 supplemented by a 27 hp/184 pound-feet electric motor.
The E400 Hybrid's estimated fuel economy of 24/31/27 is only marginally higher than the 2012 E350, which returns 20/30/23. The E350 is powered by a 302-hp 3.5-liter V6 and has a base price of $49,800. Pricing has not been released on the E400.
The E400 goes on sale here in late summer and will debut in China and Japan shortly thereafter. Markets not getting the E400 will get the diesel/hybrid E300.
Back in June we were lucky enough to stumble across this 2013 BMW M5 mule testing with a manual transmission. Today, BMW has finally confirmed what we've long known: The 2013 BMW M5 will come with a manual transmission.
The row-your-own transmission will be a no-cost option instead of the seven-speed M-DCT and will feature gearing optimized for acceleration and fuel economy. The manual-transmission car retains the same final drive (3.150) and M Active differential as the seven-speeder. As you'd expect from BMW, the shift knob is black leather.
The manual will only be available in the North American model, which goes on sale in late summer this year.
We made a long walk through loading bays and feebly heated tent walkways to the Ford press conference at Joe Louis Arena. Usually, this press conference is in Cobo Arena -- now closed for repairs/rehab. Joe Louis turned out to be a far nicer place for a press conference, as Ford constructed an elaborate stage high above the ice where the Red Wings play.
Here we saw the reveal of the 2013 Ford Fusion (red, white cars), the Fusion Hybrid (bright blue car) and the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid (ice-blue car). There's video after the jump.
The regular Fusions and the hybrid go on sale this fall, and we're told you'll be able to get all the drivetrain options at launch. Our favorite is likely to be the 237-hp 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, but the 1.6-liter EcoBoost could be interesting as well, with its projected 26/37 EPA rating -- we rarely meet a turbo we don't like. We (as in, I) briefly sampled both of these engines in the current-generation Mondeo a few months ago at Ford's Lommel proving grounds. It wasn't enough time to form a substantive opinion, but both engines felt strong and smooth.
The plug-in Fusion Energi will show up at dealers right at the end of 2012. Like the regular Fusion Hybrid, it uses an Atkinson-cycle version of a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Total horsepower will be around 185.
The Fusion will be built in both Hermosillo, Mexico, and Flat Rock, Michigan. The hybrid and Energi models will be assembled in Mexico only.
Today in Detroit, Volkswagen will be showing the 2013 Jetta Hybrid. The Jetta Hybrid will be the first hybrid to make use of a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. VW claims this transmission, at 163 pounds, weighs less than a traditional automatic while operating more efficiently. The DSG will drive the front wheels.
Making that power will be a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 20kW electric motor. Peak power is 170 horsepower.
Volkswagen claims that the entire hybridization process of the Jetta only added 221 pounds to the car, which has a curb weight of 3,310 pounds. Zero to 60 takes about 9 seconds.
Unlike some other hybrids, the Jetta can run in zero-emissions electric-only mode for a distance of up to 1.2 miles (with a top speed of 44 mph in E mode). Also unlike other hybrids, the Jetta Hybrid only uses the brakes for electrical regeneration. When the driver slows down, the engine disengages from the rest of the drivetrain and the brakes do all of the slowing. This engine decoupling happens without braking, too. When the driver releases the gas pedal at speeds of up to 84 mph, the engine simply disconnects itself and the car starts to coast. Those of us who like to use engine braking to maintain speed will have an adjustment period.
Visually the Jetta Hybrid is easy to spot thanks to the new front airdam, rear diffuser and integrated rear spoiler. These adjustments were made in the name of aerodynamics and it seems to have paid off, as it has a Cd 10 percent lower than the traditional Jetta. The hybrid version also rolls on 15s with all-season, low-rolling-resistance tires. VW did make one visual change just for the sake of change: The VW logo is on a blue background here.
The Jetta Hybrid will hit dealers in late 2012 and has a projected fuel economy rating of 45 mpg.
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