Answering the question no one seemed to ask, Ford decided that its revised Fusion needed a boosted six next year and a wide menu of trims and powertrains to kill ‘em with quantity. When it goes on sale later this year, the Ford Fusion will come in no fewer than five different powertrain options: a 2.5-liter four, a 1.5-liter turbo four, a 2-liter turbo four, a 2.7-liter turbo six and a 2-liter hybrid four paired to different sized batteries.

If you’re not lost yet, there’s a new trim-topping Platinum class with Cocoa wood, 19-inch wheels and only the finest Venetian leather from the uplands of Venetia. Or something.

The new Fusion V6 Sport will boast a 2.7-liter turbocharged mill that cranks 325 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque when it goes on sale in the summer — fully 85 more horsepower than the 2-liter turbo four. The V-6 sports sedan, which is available in all-wheel drive only, will almost certainly tempt 6 seconds in a 0-60 mph dash, because there are no trails of rubber long enough when you leave the office.

Is this the new SHO? (Read More…)

It looks like a savvy photographer has posted some photos on Autohome of the Lincoln Continental undisguised before its “secret” reveal tomorrow.

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When you consider the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class will spawn nearly a baker’s dozen variants in its time — coupes, performance models, wagons (please?) — the donor sedan can end up less thrilling than white bread. The remedy for this, like anything else in life, is to put a screen on it.

Fussy child? Screen. Long flight? Screen. Mid-size luxury sedan? You guessed it.

In addition to sporting the much hyped configurable screen setup from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the new 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class will sport two fewer cylinders (to start) and a longer list of semi-autonomous driving features that won’t be available in the U.S. to start.

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Buick, eager to shed its geriatric image, has at least pulled out a few stops preceding the 2016 North American International Auto Show.

It’s no Grand National, but it is a sporty coupe. Avista is its name, and it packs a 400 horsepower wallop under its hood thanks to the same 3-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 that’s tipped for duty in the 2017 LaCrosse.

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Engineers at Volkswagen have proposed fitting a catalytic converter to more than 400,000 cars in the U.S. to comply with emissions, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday (via Reuters).

The costly and lengthy fix could bring into compliance cars that Volkswagen admitted cheated diesel emissions test through an illegal “defeat device” that reduced nitrogen oxides by up to 40 times during test cycles.

Officials at Volkswagen didn’t comment on the report.

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If you were looking for at least one wild-ass auto show rumor to see you through the weekend, look no further: Bloomberg (via AutoGuide) is reporting that Buick may show “a sporty coupe concept” this weekend prior to the opening of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday.

The sports car, reported to be “about the size of the Chevrolet Camaro,” is expected to debut Sunday night. AutoGuide is now speculating that model will be called — drum roll, please — Grand National!

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This Saturday is the calm before the storm.

While the Los Angeles Auto Show is the opening act of the North American auto show season, Detroit is the main event. Here’s what to expect at the 2016 North American International Auto Show, which begins this Monday.

That, Herr Müller is planning on visiting Detroit and U.S. regulators, and the Infiniti QX30 name change was forced by dealers … after the break!

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My late father told me that few people are as passionate as converts who’ve become disaffected. Some of the most vocal critics of the Elio Motors startup are former supporters, people who put down money on reservations, only to be disappointed by repeated delays in starting production.

Paul Elio most recently said production is slated to begin sometime late this year — that is if they can get the money to do it.

However, those disaffected folks were abuzz this week over a post at Green Car Congress that said a proposed rule change by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would classify three-wheeled vehicles as automobiles. That would require Elio Motors’ three-wheeler to comply with all the same Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards of four-wheeled cars. (Read More…)

Kia announced Friday that its upcoming concept, to debut at the North American International Auto Show next week, will be named Telluride — continuing the long, illustrious history of vehicles being named after places in the state of Colorado.

If you buy vehicles based on solely their names and currently own a Chrysler Aspen, this is your next luxury SUV.

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The New York Times says U.S. states attorneys general are accusing Volkswagen from withholding critical documents from their investigations into the automaker’s admission that more than 500,000 cars and SUVs in the U.S. were illegally polluting.

The report says that Volkswagen is citing a notoriously strict German law that protects data and documents from investigations overseas, and that their own investigations have stalled — similar to what federal regulators said when they filed a lawsuit against the automaker on Monday seeking billions.

Volkswagen didn’t comment on the report. (Read More…)

Suppose you have a front-wheel-drive vehicle and you’re looking to fit a set of winter tires. Also, let’s assume that two of those tires have much more tread depth than the other two. On which end of the car do you install the better rubber?

According to the CBC, a woman in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada (that’s my town!) ran into just this problem, complete with conflicting advice from two repair shops: One said putting the fresher rubber up front is safer as the vehicle is front-wheel drive, while the other said giving the rear more grip is the best course of action to reduce the chance of a spin out.

Which one is correct?

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The big North American International Auto Show represents hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity. There are displays needed to be built, attractive product specialists to be hired, and Jumbotron screens to be rented. More than 5,000 media members from around the world are credentialed for the show. In the two days of the media preview, busy video and audio production teams work behind the scenes at the press conferences and caterers prepare food for the ravenous auto journos. Besides what goes on inside Cobo Hall, there is also spin-off business from those visiting journalists and others from out of town working the show needed lodging, food and entertainment.

Now a Detroit medical marijuana dispensary, The Clinic on Detroit’s famed Eight Mile Road, is trying to get a portion of that economic activity (and some free publicity too, I’m guessing) by running a special offer for people working at the show. (Read More…)

Is there a Santa Fe, Alabama? If not, there will be soon.

That, Volkswagen’s Tiguan + electron, who’s gonna buy all these electric cars, and you don’t really need a gas delivery service, people … after the break!

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Red Bull is known for plastering its brand on every extreme sport it can find — and Frozen Rush is no different. The first round of the off-road snow race series pits nine competitors against each other on the slopes of the Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine.

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To paraphrase Andy Williams (or Johnny Mathis, depending on your personal preference), it’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Next week, TTAC will be bringing you live coverage from the floor of the North American International Auto Show in glorious downtown Detroit, including the exciting reveal of the … umm … come on, Bark, think. I know something exciting will be revealed, right?

Just kidding. We’ll see the new BMW M2 coupe, and a bunch of incredibly exciting crossovers. Regardless, it will be hard for this year’s big show to match the excitement of last year’s event: there’s no Ford GT painted in an unobtainium shade of blue and no Shelby GT350R doing smoldering donuts around it. But it’s still NAIAS, and that still means something.

Or does it?

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