Let’s not get our hopes up too high over a rumor. Still, it’s hard not to sit up and take notice of a report claiming Ford might build a small, unibody pickup that could make its way to the North American market.
According to Automobile, sources with knowledge of Ford’s production plans say the automaker wants a new, Focus-based pickup to replace its ancient Fiesta-based Courier in foreign markets. The model might find a home on domestic soil, too. Read More >
In an earlier analysis of Ford’s lackluster share price, we noted that Europe and China posed a significant problem for the automaker’s bottom line. Europe, which was previously pretty good to the brand, has gradually lost its share of the market since 1994. While Ford still moves a lot of metal in the region, something’s definitely wrong.
On Wednesday, Ford announced that its European operations had endured a $73 million second-quarter loss. It’s anticipating a full-year loss in the region after earning $234 million last year. “We’re extremely dissatisfied with our performance in Europe,” said CEO Jim Hackett.
Something has to be done to avoid further setbacks. According to Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global markets, the clear remedy is concentrating on vans and crossovers because that’s where the money is. It’s a similar strategy to what’s being done in the United States, where Ford eventually aims to cull the lineup to a point where the Mustang is the only vehicle that qualifies as a traditional car. But is it the correct one, considering how we’ve arrived at this point? Read More >
Long regarded as the pinnacle of worry-free premium transport, the Lexus ES throws off its dowdy clothes for 2019 in favor of a new, sportier look. It’s a makeover shared with its platform-mate, the Toyota Avalon, and the two large sedans both call dibs on the same V6 engine, four-cylinder hybrid powertrain, and eight-speed and continuously variable automatics.
The mission of this ES is not just to compel existing owners to return to the dealer for another go-around. It wants fresh blood — hence the new sheetmetal and addition of an F Sport model. To help keep both sets of buyers in its good books, Lexus hasn’t gone wild with the pricing. One version actually sees a price decrease for 2019. Read More >
The F-150 Limited – which is, naturally, limited only to the number they can sell – currently sits atop the truck’s totem pole, usurping the King Ranch and Platinum as the most expensive half-ton F-Series pickup. This will last until the boffins at Ford dream up a new super-lux trim called the Rhodium Precious Bullion Edition.
Recognizing that folks who have the means to lay out nearly a hundred grand on a pickup want the most powerful engine available, the Blue Oval has decided to plug the Raptor’s powertrain between the Limited’s fenders. This means that 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque are now at the disposal of drivers who prefer sumptuous leather seats instead of desert-busting suspensions.
Listen up, Millennials. Don’t believe this small crossover stuff you’re hearing from the diverse and sexy members of your social circle. Mercedes-Benz says you don’t need one to feel fulfilled. That’s right, Mercedes-Benz — the brand that seems unattainable yet offers a small, $33,100 (minus destination) sedan it calls a coupe that kinda looks too cab-forward.
Maybe you’re interested in a small M-B sedan that actually looks the part? Oh hey, look what we have here! Why don’t you put down that acoustic guitar, get down from those stone front steps, and take it for a spin? Watch your knit cap getting in the door. Read More >
It might be just Land Rover looking to keep prospective or like-sounding names in the corporate fold, but a moniker rumored to herald a new Land Rover model line has shown up in a trademark application.
Spotted by Autocar, the “Road Rover” trademark is the best sign yet that the British utility vehicle maker is planning a range of vehicles that aren’t quite as ballsy and rugged as its other famous offerings. Previously, the name showed up only in internal communications. Read More >
As you might have heard, Buick’s Avenir luxury sub-brand is off to a good start. Playing the same tune written by GMC’s Denali line, “Avenir” debuted on the second-generation Enclave crossover for 2018, then bestowed its luxurious trappings on the LaCrosse sedan.
According to Automotive News, Enclave sales are up 15 percent over the first half of 2018, with the Avenir trim counting for 25 percent of all units sold. That’s money in Buick’s pocket, as the Avenir badge adds roughly $14k to the model’s base MSRP. Average Enclave transaction prices are up $5,000 from a year prior.
Buick boss Duncan Aldred said last winter that the case for Avenir would be made on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, adding that we should expect to see more models add the new trim (and price point) in the future. It now looks like the redesigned Regal will be the third Avenir model. Read More >
When you think about Porsche, you’re probably thinking of the 911. However, you really should be thinking about the Macan. It may have started out as a supplementary model for families interested in the Cayenne SUV but who found it beyond their means, but it’s quickly become the company’s best-selling vehicle. You now see them in every neighborhood where status is the deciding factor in automobile purchases.
Fortunately, the Macan also drives better than any compact crossover has a right to — further helping its popularity. But, with more competition within the premium utility segment than ever before, Porsche can’t leave the model to rest on its laurels. The manufacturer has updated the model for 2019 with loads of changes, but spotting them is a little like tackling the Double Check in a Highlights magazine under the influence of a rather severe childhood learning disability. Read More >
It’s no secret that the hand-of-god 6.2-liter V8 is popular at TTAC. Those of us who command one with our right foot are outnumbered only by those who wish they had the 420-horsepower engine in their driveway.
General Motors sensibly started offering the larger V8 in trims other than ones named Denali a little while ago, finally debuting it in the Tahoe RST late last year. For 2019, buyers of the big kahuna Suburban can spec the hairy-chested 6.2L, as well.
Having already bastardized the Eclipse name by affixing it to a new crossover vehicle, there’s palpable fear within the automotive media that Mitsubishi might try the same with another iconic property. While FTO and 3000GT don’t have the right ring to them, we can imagine trendy performance SUV wearing an Evolution badge — to our chagrin.
In our fantasies, we imagine Mitsubishi bringing back a new, harder-hitting Lancer compact and a menacing mid-sized Galant. Maybe the Starion could even make an appearance. However, those models probably wouldn’t sell outside the Land of Make Believe even if they were stellar models. Sport utility vehicles and crossovers are where the money’s at right now, and cash is exactly what Mitsubishi is after.
Keeping that in mind, a new rumor claims the brand is working with Nissan to get its Alliance partner’s modular platform inside the Mirage, or whatever replaces it. The end result will be a small crossover with sporting pretensions, which doesn’t sound bad in the least. Read More >
For those wealthy enough to afford a Ford GT — and lucky enough to be chosen by Ford for the current model run — relax, things could be worse. But there’s no denying that waiting on a car, especially one as scarce and desirable as the GT, is a painful experience. It’s one made all the more painful by the fact that GT production didn’t exactly lift gracefully from the launch pad.
Of the 250 GTs Ford planned to build for the 2017 model year, only 138 carbon-fiber beasts left partner Multimatic’s Canadian facility. Read More >
We told you the other day how Ford’s Mustang reigns supreme in the domestic pony car crowd, at least in terms of volume, with Dodge’s Challenger serving as a delightfully archaic and stable-selling runner-up. That leaves Chevrolet to figure out how best to get buyers excited about its own entry.
Depending on trim, there’s a stable of new Camaro faces (fascias, to be exact) arriving for 2019, but order guides show that would-be customers stand to save money, too. Especially if they can live without a V6. Read More >
Agreements forged between automakers and suppliers aren’t etched in stone, and shaky financial ground has a way of altering how and when those suppliers are paid. Look back to the recession for prime examples of that.
However, a memo sent from Tesla to a supplier shows the electric automaker wants to recoup a portion of its previously spent cash — a request designed to help Tesla finally turn a profit. Read More >
PSA Group has a North American headquarters in Atlanta and it wants to use it. The French automaker also has a reentry plan that’s already underway. By the middle of the coming decade, we could all be behind the wheel of a French car (presumably after trading our Dodge Grand Caravans for the Citroën SpaceTourer Rip Curl).
Well, that might not happen — not if the U.S. imposes tariffs on the European Union, anyway. PSA North America Larry Dominique seems pretty worried that President Trump’s eagerness for tariffs could kibosh the company’s return, leaving mournful American francophiles gazing lustily over the Canadian border as PSA goes wild in Quebec. Read More >
If you went to bed last night worried that Dodge doesn’t field enough Challenger variants to satisfy your diverse driving whims, rest easy tonight. The Challenger, which harbors more personas than David Bowie, wants you to go to the dragstrip again.
For 2019, the Challenger R/T Scat Pack gives birth to a new offering that, while borrowing much of the defunct SRT Demon’s launch-assist hardware, rejects its hellish dragster predecessor’s supercharged 6.2-liter in favor of 6.4 liters of naturally aspirated grunt. Read More >
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