After several years of hype, Chevrolet is releasing images pictures of its US-market Cruze compact in advance of the New York International Auto Show. The Cruze has been on sale around the world for nearly a year now, though the US launch delay has actually been a blessing in disguise, thanks to early transmission problems and a recall for fuel supply pipes. Now that Chevy’s next small thing has had its teething pains, the Daewoo-developed compact is being shown in a dizzying array of trims and packages for the US market. Chevy hopes that the Eco trim level will bring some much-needed enviro-cred to the brand, by offering a 40 MPG (freeway) version powered by a turbocharged 1.4 liter engine. To match that long-established mileage goal, Chevy had to make a number of modifications to the Cruze, including Read More >

Audi’s has dropped their A5 and S5 drop-tops at the New York Auto Show. As the hardtop A5 3.2 Quattro is currently sitting on my driveway, I reckon this fresh air version will be, as The Sun newspaper would say, a stunna. In terms of dynamics and comfort, the new A4 platform is a vast improvement over ye old A4’s nose heavy underpinnings. But a question: isn’t 15 seconds a long time for a cloth convertible to lower its lid? And a word of review-foreshadowing warning for perspective A5 Cab buyers: careful with that spec sheet. A faux S5 is the worst of all possible models. Which doesn’t make it horrible. Just . . . inadvisable. And you see that shot with the four people in the A5 Cabriolet? I’d like to see that with the top up. Please.

For years, Motown and Motown-sympathetic carmudgeons tarred and feathered the Toyota Prius for its “hybrid premium.” Other than Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz, who never held a stance he couldn’t not defend with fact=based logic, critics of the “eco-weenie’s poseur mobile” trotted out chart after chart on the Prius’ miles per gallon, purchase price, the cost of gas and the cost of batteries; compared to, say, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. Meanwhile, consumers bought the Prius—to the point where the model outsells entire GM brands (something of a mean feat). Meanwhile, the LS600h L. As my review pointed out, flipping heck! The gas – electric luxury car has one of the world’s finest engines. Not to be outdone—provided you don’t think “first in” counts—Mercedes has unveiled its first gas – electric hybrid: the S400 HYBRID (all caps all theirs).

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Four days after the Indian-owned SUV maker secured a $400 million loan from the European Investment Bank to “invest in new greener technology to lower emissions during vehicle production and driving,” Land Rover journeys to New York City to reveal that it’s sticking a monster motor in its Range Rover Sport Supercharged. The new, Jag-sourced 5.0-liter force-fed lump stumps-up 510 hp and 461 lb·ft of torque, up from 390 hp and 410 lb·ft of twist. That’s enough shove to fling the 5670 lb beast from zero to sixty in a claimed 5.9 seconds. Let’s hope those big ass Brembo brakes are up to snuff (so to speak). The Range Rover and Range Rover Sport’s cabins receive a few upgrades here and there (no I can’t be any more vague), maintaining the SUVs hold on “the world’s most imperious driving position” title. Saying that, I’m not convinced two mouse warts on the steering wheel (in addition to the one between the seats) is such a great idea. We’ll have a review as soon as we get our audience with the Queen’s favorite mobile throne. Meanwhile, the best sign that Indian ownership may rescue Land Rover: their clean, functional and attractive website. But does Landie really have a “Muddy Buddy” event? How . . . Spongebob.

Being Bob Lutz has a fantastic job. He’s rich as sin (thank you, Daimler, for buying Chrysler), and he has Czar in his unofficial title with GM. He can say whatever he feels like, whether it’s about global warming (“a crock of shit,” in his words) or random price projections for meeting the next round of EPA standards. During Maximum Bob’s epic career, he’s “championed” some very interesting though chronically unsuccessful products. Some of these were on sale twenty years ago, others are on sale today. And still others will likely never see the light of day. While so many cars have been touched by Lutz’s magic hands, we present to you his big nine.

We reported earlier that Indian automaker Tata had entered an agreement to license compressed-air technology from French firm MDI. But we hadn't seen a prototype… until now. The MDI Air Car was discovered by Autoblog Green at the New York Auto Shows X-Prize display, confirming the goofiness of the concept. Think Manx dune buggy meets golf cart meets tree frog. No word yet as to how the vehicle (one hesitates to use the term "car" so loosely) will conform the 100mpg performance required for participation in the X-Prize. Although we typically embrace the use of revolutionary technologies, this one just seems way too far removed from reality… unless you want a carbon-neutral trip to the 19th hole.

One of TTAC's Best and Brightest asked the obvious question: "is Lawrence Ulrich working for you secretly?" Nope. It's just that love is breaking out all over for the new Pontiac G8 pickup ute sport truck thingie. More specifically, The New York Times car hack asks "Who exactly was clamoring for a two-seat, gas-guzzling pickup with the cheapest-looking interior this side of a Motel 6?" [NB: TTAC would have said "Who the Hell…"] The Wheels' description of the G8 without the rear seats is plenty pithy: "The 6-liter V-8 from the G8 sport sedan, good for 361 horsepower and a 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds. The 74-inch cargo bed can handle just under 1,100 pounds, and there’s a 3,500-pound towing capacity. Now, if it could only tow itself away." Ulrich describes the "we don't know what to call it so you do it" Aussie import as "Like Hell Camino: a pointless hodgepodge that’s worthy of an expletive-filled diss from 50 Cent himself." [thanks to Nicholas Weaver for the link]

In rounding out our coverage of Hyundai's offerings in NYC, we've got shots of the facelifted Sonata and Genesis Coupe. Both are much, much better in person than in pictures. The Sonata's biggest aesthetic improvement is the interior, which goes from zero to hero. Build quality and fit and finish are way better, and it no longer is ergonomically challenged. Hyundai's Mission: Bland sedan has, dare I say, some style. As for the Genesis coupe, while I thought the initial press shots showed a hideous Lexus IS knock-off in coupe form, in person it's more of an Infiniti G37 coupe knock-off. Very slick car, and with Kia's use of a 290 hp turbocharged four in the Koup concept, the turbo four that Hyundai announced for the Genesis coupe sounds promising. Although Hyundai didn't have any prices, you'll be glad to know that Hyundai's trademark olfactory character is unchanged in this RWD coupe: even the preproduction show car's interior smelled like a Hyundai interior, which I'd describe as musty crayon.

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But really, they say, it's not a concept. The Transit Connect compact van (already confirmed for the U.S.) will be a taxi, especially in the taxi capital of America, New York City. With the Crown Victoria going out of production, Ford needs a big car to take its place in the taxi lineup. So it's a hybrid, right? Wrong. Despite Mayor Mike Bloomberg's insistence that all NYC taxis must be hybrids by 2012, the Transit Connect taxi is internal combustion as usual. It'll have the same 4-cylinder gas engine, front wheel drive, and not-cutting-edge 4-speed automatic as the private sale versions of the TC. Still, it makes a fantastic taxi because it is so easy to get in and out of, and it's loaded with legroom. Sliding doors will be especially welcome on Manhattan's absurdly clogged streets, and it's one of the nicest things about the Toyota Sienna minivans already on the road. Ford's reps also confirm that the wheelbase of all American TCs will be stretched from the standard short wheelbase on sale in Europe. Pity it only seats 4 passengers but a third row was probably a bit of a stretch.

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This is the first anniversary of the Ford Flex [not being on sale]. Ford debuted a concept that looked production-ready at last year's NY Auto Show. This year, it's pretty much ready to go, in finished pre-production form, and off to dealers this summer. Ford's PR folks, who join Toyota in warming up to TTAC, gave me a 20 minute ride in the Flex. Without driving it, what I can say hit me the most is how it feels fully thought through, as opposed to previous cars in which someone started a good effort and then went out to lunch (the Mustang's missing interior, e.g.). The seats are extremely comfortable, and the prepro car was silent inside – which is a feature I hope stays on the actual production models. It's very heavy on creature comforts and goes as far as having a compressor-driven refrigerator as an option, so odds are that it'll be heavy in general. Fit and finish is a huge improvement over most other Ford products, and there's even some character – the cloth version's seats were described as having a tweed pattern. Huh? Engine will be the 3.5 liter V6 from the Flex and Taurus, although one of the marketing guys admitted he wishes Ford's 2.7 liter diesel from Europe would be available. In the future though, the EcoBoost version will be available with a turbocharged V6. Sadly, the packaging isn't what we hoped for, because while the seats totally fold flat, this still ain't rivaling a minivan or the Expedition for space. For example, the third row is still only for children and Napoleonic adults (like me). Looks slick in person, so much so I don't have any idea why Ford's going to sell it alongside the extremely similar Taurus X.

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It turns out we got it semi-wrong when we reported that FoMoCo's new tagline is "Ford. Drive One" (pearl two). Wandering around their auto show stand, it's clear The Blue Oval Boyz' marketing mavens are hedging their bets. They're rotating their taglines a la Nissan (Shift BLANK), Pontiac (is BLANK) and Mercedes (BLANK like no other). Three separate LCD's proclaim three separate reasons to drive a Ford product: "Drive Smart," "Drive Green," Drive Safe." (It hardly seems likely that Ford will stop at three taglines, so feel free to suggest further variations on the theme below.) The lack of a single sales message does not bode well for branding, but it certainly should satisfy the divisional mandarins within Ford's Byzantine bureaucracy (our turn!). Meanwhile, a word of warning to prospective Flex buyers: if you want to put adults in the way back, opt for the convex non-sunroof sunroof option. Otherwise, neck compression is a given.

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Suzuki, despite its 55 percent market share in India, is not the most exhilarating brand in the United States. Their best car in production, the Swift, isn't even sold here. So to entice all the journos to hit up their press conference, they gave out free lunch. At their new concept car unveiling, they showed us a new D-segment sedan concept (Accord/Malibu/etc competitor) that looks fantastic and a little like the Lexus LS460 from the side. What percent production ready is it? Hard to cut through the PR talk, which says it communicates a new design language, yada yada yada. It's front wheel drive, has a 3.6 liter V6 (sound like any General Motors cars you know?) and a six-speed automatic transmission. The concept car has AWD, though whether that comes through in a production model is questionable.

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