Volkswagen has three major products to show at the New York Auto show. First is the Passat CC (which doesn't mean coupe-convertible as in Europe, but just indicates a four-door low-profile sedan like the Mercedes CLS). It's great looking in person and beats the heck out of the dowdy regular Passat sedan. But it's Audi A4 money (high twenties into the forties in price), and anyone over 5'8" is going to have a heavy metal head-banging time in the back seat. Lovely car, but how does this fit with VW's mainstream image? I dunno. The Tiguan crossover is also on display, and it's coming to dealers in May. It's poorly packaged – despite loads of headroom, I'd reckon it has comparable cargo space to a 5-door Grabbit (Golf/Rabbit). Finally, I cornered VW PR Manager Keith Price and fired off questions about diesels. The plans are to have the 2.0 liter, 50-state diesel (no urea to refill) Jetta sedan and wagon in dealers during the summer. Mileage will be over 40 city, over 50 highway. The engine thumps up an impressive 236 lb ft of torque and will be available with this writer's all-time favorite transmission, the DSG. No plans for a diesel Rabbit in America, which I think is a mistake. VW of America wants to put the 2.0 liter diesel in the Tiguan as well, but the European market's demands are taking all the capacity for it, and the US is not as high a priority for oil burners. In spite of that, the Touareg gets a 3.0 liter diesel V6 next year.
Category: New York Auto Show
For rich, impatient people that think $40 grand is a fair price for a Dodge (regardless of the 425 horses under the hood), the Challenger SRT8 does the job. For the rest of us, there are "regular" Hemi and V6 versions of the uber-retro pony car. They look quite good – better than the SRT8, I'd wager – and they pack a triplet of drivetrain options. The base engine is the 3.5 liter V6 with 250 horses and a, gulp, 4 speed auto. Next up is the 5.7 liter Hemi we all know and mostly like, with a 5-speed auto and 370 horses (an increase over the 340-350 in the Charger, and 9 more than GM's G8 GT natch). Finally, if you get a 6-speed "pistol grip" manual transmission, the most phallic gear lever in a universe of phallic gear levers, you can have 375 horses, and the privilege of filling up with premium gas. Prices aren't out yet, and the interior still is an unfortunate retro joke.
The best and worst aspects of Pontiac's Solstice roadster are that it's a convertible and that it's a convertible (yes, I said this before). With the embargo expiring at 12:01 AM on Wednesday, the first press day of the NY Auto Show, the bloggers with pictures (not us, we would have just posted them when we got them) have revealed to the world the new Solstice Targa. It's a hardtop, it's a convertible, it's a targa. The center roof panel, in either solid material or fabric lifts out for a more convertible-resembling experience. If you think of it as a convertible, it totally sucks. However, if you think of it as a coupe that happens to have a nice large sunroof (a la the Corvette), then it makes a lot more sense. I just hope that the hardtop fits in the trunk and allows space for a packet of gum or other luggage. Somehow I doubt it. Everything else remains unchanged, and we'll have live shots throughout the day.
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