While not mentioned explicitly, this is Suzuki’s SX4 replacement – the Dodge Caliber S-Cross Concept – which is all but ready for dealer showrooms for 2013.
Economies of scale are the driving force behind everything happening in the industry right now; it’s why Alfa and Mazda are collaborating on an MX-5 and why Volkswagen is building nearly everything on one platform. Does that lead to increased homogeneity on the product side? Absolutely. But it also makes cars like the CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake possible. Mercedes has all the components needed to make this car, and it barely costs them anything to produce it. The halo effect alone makes it worthwhile. Cadillac needed to sell just 5 CTS-V wagons to break even on the car, and it’s likely no different for Mercedes. Look for a brown one to show up in press fleets at some point.
Yesterday’s coverage was fairly snarky, for the simple reason that none of the product was particularly compelling or exciting. But I love the look of the new VW GTI, especially in this blue hue. In my senior year of high school, my father bought a 2006 Jetta 2.0T with the DSG gearbox; it might be one of the all-time great sleepers, with just enough power to be fun in the city, but not enough to get you in serious trouble. Even on mundane all-season tires, it was one of the better FWD platforms I’ve ever driven. I can’t imagine how much fun the new GTI will be with more power and 200 fewer lbs.
I’m not one who identifies as a “wrong-wheel drive” Nazi like most people with zero performance driving experience online car enthusiasts are, but to me, this is not a BMW. I’m sure it will be a great car, with a very cool three-cylinder powertrain and a nice interior. It would probably make a lot of sense for someone like myself, given that it’s a plug-in car. But to me, this is BMW. Not a hybrid city car.
The Paris Auto Show is about to kick off tomorrow, and some of the product set to debut has me cursing myself for not maxing out my Visa on a flight and a room at the lovely hotel that’s walking distance from the Porte de Versailles, where the pretty girl with crooked teeth sits patiently at the front desk. And how could I forget the wizened gran-mere hovering over the table at breakfast, replenishing your plate with cheeses and baked goods that one could never hope to find at Publix?
Alas, I am not part of the A-List club that gets driven from the Georges V to the Expo Hall in an S-Class, and so rather than sucking down a Gauloises or getting a glimpse of Carla Bruni (I was blessed with such a privilege in 2010) I’m stuck in North America, having to use my brain rather than just repeating back what my PR minders told me over a glass of Cotes-de-Rhone.
Jack thinks Porsche may have ripped off the Ford Taurus X with their new Panamera Sport Turismo concept. I say the taillights are a rip-off of the 1993 Mazda RX-7.
The Audi S3 promises 300 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque from its 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Err, wait a second. That’s not the hot hatch you are looking for. The real pictures are below. You can tell it’s the real thing because of the LED headlights. That’s what makes it premium, dontchaknow?

























































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