Will they, or won’t they? That’s the question nagging the minds of Ford Ranger and Bronco fans as they patiently await an official announcement from the automaker on the models’ return.

The Blue Oval will only confirm that two new products will take the place of the soon-to-depart Focus and C-Max at the Michigan Assembly Plant. However, in response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent comments about Ford, the plant’s UAW chairman identified those products to the Detroit Free Press. Read More >

Buick’s stunning Avenir Concept from the 2015 North American International Auto Show will not reach production, but the concept’s Avenir nameplate will be used as a Buick sub-brand.

In the same vein as GMC’s upmarket Denali sub-brand, Avenir will become the high-end trim level “on three [Buick] models around the globe in the next 18 months,” Buick spokesperson Stuart Fowle told TTAC.

Befitting Buick’s Chinese focus, expect Avenir upgrades to first appear on the GL8 minivan, which isn’t sold in North America. Read More >

After the awkward auto show apologies of the past year, Volkswagen executives are looking forward to a rosy time in the near future after the brand stabilizes itself.

Those “good times” will return, according to global brand chief Herbert Diess, but not before three to four years of rough slogging. In a Bloomberg TV interview from the Paris Auto Show, Diess mulled adding new models to its U.S. lineup. Read More >

Throughout its life, the Mustang GT has been called many things, from sexy, to speedy, to downright stupid — but never has it been called a fuel sipper. Ford UK doesn’t seem to care.

For the UK’s annual fuel economy challenge, one of Ford’s entries will be the 410-horse Mustang GT convertible, which is rated for an optimistic 20 miles per gallon in Great Britain. Read More >

It looks like the media attention heaped on Ford’s newly improved 2017 F-150 Raptor has made Fiat Chrysler Automobiles a little jealous.

The automaker unveiled a brash off-road truck concept at the Texas State Fair today, testing the waters for a possible production version. Think of the Ram Rebel TRX as a Hellcat 1500. Read More >

Ford Motor Company has issued specifications for its 2017 F-150 Raptor off-road performance pickup, and you can thank the company’s engineers for the attractive numbers.

The next-generation Raptor makes serious gains not just in horsepower and torque, but also in fuel economy. The mileage boost should make those dirt-flinging romps through the countryside just a little bit greener. Read More >

It looks like BMW isn’t interested in slotting a slightly larger crossover above the X1 that resembles both it and the larger X3.

The automaker’s Concept X2, unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, is a departure from the brand’s existing utility lineup, with styling designed to appeal to a sportier buying demographic.  Read More >

Toyota first showed off its funky C-HR small crossover at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, but it waited until Paris to reveal the model’s powertrain lineup.

Unlike its Nissan Juke competitor, don’t expect a high-performance C-HR when the model bows in 2017. At least, not just yet. Read More >

Honda has provided a glimpse of the U.S.-bound Civic Type R at the Paris Auto Show, albeit in concept form (though the automaker prefers the near-production term “prototype”).

This Type R — designed in Japan, built in the UK, and destined (at last) for America — uses the Civic Hatchback as a canvas, then adds every visual performance indicator the automaker could get its hands on. Reportedly, it will have the power to back up its looks. Read More >

Remaining relatively faithful to the Sway Concept from last year’s Geneva Motor Show, Nissan unveiled the fifth-generation Micra at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, more than six years after the fourth-generation Micra arrived.

Directed at the European market, which Nissan says is the world’s largest market for hatchbacks, the Micra is not at all intended for sale in the United States. But what about Canada, where Nissan has racked up 27,000 Micra sales in 29 months and the Micra is the brand’s second-best-selling passenger car?

“We don’t have current plans to announce for Micra in Canada for now,” Nissan Canada’s director of corporate communications, Didier Marsaud, told TTAC in an email today. “But Micra remains an important product in our portfolio in the Canadian market.”

So he’s saying there’s a chance. Read More >

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled an all-electric SUV concept at the Paris Auto Show, strongly hinting at what we can expect from its recently announced EQ sub-brand.

The Generation EQ concept offers impressive range and up to 400 horsepower, which the automaker needs to compete with the likes of Tesla and rival BMW’s “i” sub-brand. Read More >

Okay, maybe I won’t defend your right to the death.

But I promise, at the least, to defend on an internet web blog site your right to drive what you want.

I don’t drink coffee, I don’t like onions, I avoid footwear whenever possible, and I can’t generate any personal interest in any football game other than the Super Bowl.

But I’m glad you visit Starbucks every morning, I’m happy there’s gum to be chewed after you eat a burger laden with onions, I’m thankful there are socks to cover up your ghastly hooves, and I think it’s great that you found something to do on autumn Sunday afternoons.

Likewise, I believe the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, Mitsubishi Mirage, and Fiat 500L are heinous transportation devices. But if you want a GLC Coupe, Mirage, or 500L, I’m glad — for your sake and mine — that Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, and Fiat have made those vehicles available.

Choice is wonderful. Homogeneity is horrible. Read More >

Land Rover pulled the wraps off the next-generation Discovery today at the Paris Auto Show, revealing a host of changes to the brand’s storied nameplate.

Not wanting anyone to mistake it for another SUV, the automaker kept some exterior styling cues from the outgoing LR4, but moved the overall shape in the direction of the Discovery Sport. However, the biggest changes hide beneath the Disco’s skin. Read More >

General Motors quickly deleted the power figures for its new 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel V8 after they were posted to the GM Powertrain website, but we now have confirmation of the heavy-duty engine’s output.

TTAC’s Matthew Guy has just sent us the figures from the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, where GM is debuting its 2017 heavy duty pickups. Read More >

Toyota invested plenty of time, money and effort into making its plug-in Prius Prime stand out from its lesser hybrids, and the result may have convinced the company to change its future plans.

According to Autoblog, the automaker now has doubts about keeping the regular Prius as a standalone, hybrid-only model beneath the plug-in version. With conventional hybrid sales faltering, and the Prius Prime looming over the model line, attempting to improve the technology could be pointless. Read More >