(Here at TTAC, we occasionally bring you a piece from a sister publication after determining it hits the right note for our readers. Given that these Off-Road.com spy shots contain a 2019 Ram 1500, and the author is none other than Mr. Matthew Guy, how could we pass it up?)

This year, we’ve seen a few spy shots of the upcoming 2019 Ram 1500. Shutterbugs have now captured what seems to be a test mule of the brand’s fancy-pants Limited trim roaming the salty streets of Michigan.

It’s clearer than ever that the new Ram is going to lose its signature mini-Freightliner look in favor of a more streamlined appearance. A trapezoidal grille is framed by a sleek set of headlamps, with the traditional gunsight ditched in favour of a R A M billboard with chrome whiskers.

Viewed directly from the side, this crew cab looks big. Really big. This could be a result of some visual chicanery thanks to the thick vinyl camouflage, but it sure seems like the upcoming Ram 1500 crew cab will offer its biggest rear passenger compartment to date. It’s not quite in Mega Cab territory but it’s certainly approaching that level. Read More >

Volkswagen’s Arteon is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the outgoing CC — even if the brand doesn’t like framing it that way. With improved dynamics, technology, and on-road presence on offer, there is a lot to like about the brand’s “five-seat GT car.” However, while the America-bound 2.0-liter TSI four-cylinder should offer serviceable acceleration, we wouldn’t have hated seeing VW offer something with a little more oomph.

Turns out we may be in luck. Volkswagen has a 3.0-liter turbocharged VR6 in development for use on the Chinese-market variant of the Atlas, and someone in the company had the good sense to cram it inside a prototype Arteon. Read More >

Nothing lasts forever. Seasons change, fashions go out of style, and our fleshy bodies wither like a banana left on a radiator. It’s an inevitability. Likewise, automakers have to change their lineups to suit consumer demand — resulting in the annual discontinuation of a handful of unfortunate automobiles.

Still, for every model an automaker has birthed into existence there is someone out there who loved it, even if it it happened to be a rolling pile of garbage. There are car clubs and forums devoted entirely to historically unpopular models like the Cadillac Catera and Pontiac Aztek. Someone cared for those cars and probably hurt when they learned they wouldn’t be on the market anymore. With that in mind, we’d like to take time to honor the vehicles that won’t be returning for 2018.  Read More >

It certainly feels like BMW is taking its sweet time getting the full-size, three-row X7 to market, but the automaker assures us it’s almost here. Announced yesterday, pre-production models are now rolling off BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, assembly line — a major step in a product timeline that began in 2014.

Offering up an all-important third row and front end styling that’s sure to spark debate (this year’s X7 iPerformance concept set a high bar for controversy and grille size), the production model should be ready for a late 2018 debut. In the meantime, certification drudgery and copious amounts of hot and cold weather testing awaits.

As the sole member of the Big German Three without a three-row SUV (SAV in BMW parlance), the X7 is a much-needed vehicle, and not just because the automaker wants more high-margin vehicles to fund its electrification efforts. True, the new car market is contracting, but big premium utility vehicles sell. Read More >

To some, the only thing that beats electric vehicles for soullessness is those pesky autonomous vehicle people who can’t drive adore so much. Morgan, the quirky British automaker best known for giving wood construction and wire-spoke wheels an automotive toehold in the 21st century, doesn’t do soulless.

Surely the company’s EV3, now confirmed for production next year, warrants a look. This isn’t your average Leaf, Bolt, or Model S. Read More >

Sitting at the summit of the Honda vehicle range is the Acura NSX — a complex, advanced hybrid two-seater that goes like stink but can’t seem to find many takers. At the bottom, at least until 2014 models dried up sometime in 2015, was the Insight.

Ah, the Insight. The model best remembered as the teardrop-shaped two-seater that gave North America its first taste of hybrid motoring in December 1999 was soon eclipsed in sales by the Toyota Prius. Its main rival never looked back.

After a four-year gap, a second-generation Insight powered back onto the hybrid scene for the 2010 model year. Boasting room for five passengers and a significantly lower fuel economy rating, the follow-up Insight didn’t sent Honda’s sales charts aflame. Volume in 2010 was one-seventh that of the Prius, dropping quickly thereafter.

With a third-generation 2019 model on the way, Honda seems determined to mimic The Little Engine That Could. It’s a bigger and better Insight, the company claims, but will the third time be a charm? Read More >

Hot on the heels of a vehicle reveal most of us thought would occur in Detroit next month, another hot seller has officially broken cover before the January show.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has given the Jeep Cherokee a snazzy new set of duds just in time for the new year. Previously styled with an alarming mix of narrowed lights and Hannibal Lecter grille, the restyled 2019 Cherokee adopts the corporate look that first appeared on the Grandest of Cherokees before migrating to the Compass last year.

Read More >

Toyota, one of the original purveyors of hybrids, has recognized the need to juice its EV profile. Chevrolet, Nissan, and a bevy of other automakers already have an answer for customers looking to totally shun gas stations. Toyota does not.

The plan, unveiled Monday in Japan, calls for “more than ten” all-electric Toyota cars to be available worldwide by the early 2020s. This is quite a jump for a company that’s experienced in hybrids and PHEVs, but doesn’t currently offer a single example of EV technology here in America.

Read More >

GMC has its Denali sub-brand, and Buick now has its Avenir, but German premium marques aren’t in need of added luxury. Extra horsepower and speed earns that inflated sticker price.

Mercedes-Benz’s AMG sub-brand isn’t the small stable of tuned performance cars it once was. The automaker’s made it painfully clear it wants to AMG all the things, with the brand’s large crop of SUVs (and SUV “coupes”) serving as the latest canvas for AMG’s brushstrokes. A lineup that began the current year with 34 models will likely celebrate New Year’s Eve with 42.

The folks at Mercedes-Benz USA are already reaping the reward. Read More >

When you desperately want a status-defining automobile from Mercedes-Benz, but haven’t budgeted for it, you have a few of options. You could purchase either the GLA or CLA250 for around $33,000 — or take the nontraditional route, save yourself a bundle, and buy a Metris van. But, since the CLA is technically a “four-door coupe,” there’s nothing out there for sedan shoppers who can’t afford the pricier C-Class.

Benz is planning on changing that by bringing the updated A-Class to the United States next fall, thereby making it the brand’s new entry-level model for the region.  Read More >

The Toyota 86 and its Subaru BRZ twin don’t get a lot of respect in a world where Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge offer horsepower levels nearing infinity, but we’ll probably miss them when they’re gone. Rear-drive two-doors on the low end of the price scale are a very rare breed these days.

After last year’s Special Edition 86, Toyota’s uncharacteristically youthful sporting model undergoes further changes for 2018, this time offering up a GT variant that sounds fearful, but is actually anything but. Read More >

After a year of good news (McDonald’s all-day breakfast came to Canada), it seems only fitting that 2017 will end in tears.

The Chevrolet Cruze, one of a shrinking number of models in which one can easily find a manual transmission, appears set to lose that option after the 2018 model year. As the owner of a manual-shift Cruze, no words can ease the pain. Read More >

After a relative lull in product introductions, Cadillac has a pipeline of new vehicles ready to boost the brand’s fortunes. Or so the General Motors division hopes.

In early 2016 Cadillac launched the XT5 crossover and CT6 sedan, following it up with a refreshed XTS in late 2017. Next year brings bigger news in the form of the XT4 compact crossover, with at least one other crossover waiting to plug another hole in the brand’s utility lineup.

But what about Cadillac’s older sedan lineup — the one that’s not bringing in anywhere near the passenger car volume the brand once enjoyed? There’s a long-range plan to deal with that, but first the company has some careful surgery planned. Read More >

Just like Ram’s revamped 1500, there’s an all-new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra pickup lying in wait for the 2019 model year. And, also like the Ram, General Motors plans to keep an old version of its full-size truck kicking around for buyers not interested in something new.

The news comes by way of GM’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) decoder document, recently submitted for 2019 model year vehicles. In the GM truck stable, it isn’t just the Silverado line that’s getting a new addition. GMC wants some of the same old-truck action Chevy’s having. Read More >

Lordy, PR-speak can be offputting. Nevertheless, the newly single Polestar — cast off from Volvo Cars to become its own electrified performance brand under the Geely corporate umbrella — is heading straight to the United States.

The U.S., not surprisingly, was chosen as an initial launch market for the brand, along with China (every electric car maker’s dream market), Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. What form will the rollout take? Let’s just say there’s going to be a lot of interaction. Physical interaction. Read More >