On Wednesday last week we looked back on the recently ended decade, seeking the best design found on the sort of cars people can actually afford. Today, we’ll flip the question and go in search of the design failures.

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It’s no secret the Atlas is a massive sales and revenue driver for Volkswagen of America, yet time marches on. The model entered production in Chattanooga in 2017 after a debut at the 2016 LA Auto Show, meaning the midsize crossover is ripe for a mild makeover. With the model’s two-row Cross Sport sibling arriving this spring, Volkswagen desired a freshened Atlas line for 2021.

It’s a game of “spot the changes.” (Read More…)

Maybe Corey’s grandmother should have waited. As the Chicago Auto Show kicks off in the Windy City, General Motors unveiled a mid-cycle refresh of one of the most popular compact crossovers on the market.

For 2021, Chevrolet’s Equinox cosies up a little closer to its big brother, the Blazer, adopting a meaner-looking face and offering, for the first time, a sport-oriented RS variant. A CUV that’s lacked attitude since its inception now wears a snarl. (Read More…)

As we’ve entered a new decade, I thought it might be time to take a look back at the 2010s and see if, among the largely nondescript egg-shaped crossovers, there were some design gems. The sort of cars that’ll be looked back upon fondly down the road.

Got one in mind?

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Alright, stop yer squawking. Different people see different things in a vehicle’s styling and it all amounts to a pile of nothing, but it’s hard to look at these leaked shots of the 2021 Kia Sorento and not think about the folks in Dearborn. (Read More…)

This may come as less than exciting news, given that we’ve already seen properly leaked 2021 Cadillac Escalade images already. “Properly” meaning someone sneaked their phone out and fired off a couple of bad pics in a secure area.

That said, the next-generation Escalade has shown its face in an official image ahead of next week’s big reveal. By all accounts, it will be a star-studded affair. The amount of cosmetic surgery bestowed upon the range-topping SUV will surely put attendees at ease. (Read More…)

While we’re on the subject of American (or somewhat American) automakers looking to beat the Chinese at their own EV game, Tesla has announced a new direction in that massive electric vehicle market.

With Model 3s now rolling into buyers’ hands from its just-opened Shanghai assembly plant, the automaker has turned its eye to the lower end of the market. (Read More…)

Buyers of the revamped-for-2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid seem pleased with their vehicle’s upgraded fuel economy, but ask them about range, and you’re liable to get an earful.

In an unusual development not often associated with non-EVs, RAV4 Hybrid owners have begun complaining about lackluster driving distance — an issue that stems from the model’s redesigned gas tank. (Read More…)

Today’s Rare Ride is part Belgian, part Italian, and almost unheard of. It’s an OSI-Ford 20M TS sports coupe from 1967.

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No, it doesn’t take on water, though we won’t really know for sure until a thorough on- and off-road evaluation puts that assertion to the test. Rather, the headline refers to images of the upcoming Cadillac range-topper that appeared on Instagram Wednesday.

Borrowing a colossal grille inspired by the Escala concept (now firmly in place as the brand’s corporate face), the revamped full-size SUV’s unplanned reveal comes on the heels of the public debut of its Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban platform mates. (Read More…)

A longtime design presence in the Volkswagen family will take on a new title in the new year. The automaker has announced that Klaus Bischoff (seen above, to the left of North American CEO Scott Keogh), currently head of design for the Volkswagen brand, will oversee design work for the entire VW Group range.

Replacing him in his current role will be Jozef Kaban, a man whose last position involved designing some of the most expensive cars on earth. Not that he hasn’t already done that at VW, though. (Read More…)

If you’re keeping track, the Vision T Plug-in Hybrid SUV Concept is the seventh design study to roll out of Hyundai’s styling studio in recent memory. Appearing Wednesday at the L.A. Auto Show, the plug-in utility vehicle has the bad timing of debuting at the same moment Toyota unveiled a plug-in crossover you’ll soon be able to buy and drive home.

Unfortunate timing aside, the concept does give us a glimpse of Hyundai’s future. (Read More…)

Apologies for another Ford Mustang Mach-E post. Clearly, Dearborn got its wish when it set out to get people talking.

While the brand’s new Mustang-inspired (and now Mustang-badged) crossover has generated both acrimony and praise, often split along generational and ideological lines, the story of what could have been is now leaking out. There’s a possibility of another Mustang family member, too, but let’s stick with the Mach-E’s genesis for a bit. (Read More…)

A decade — isn’t that hard to believe? — after the debut of the radically styled third-generation Kia Optima, the automaker has another salvo waiting to launch against midsize boredom. Trailing its equally daring 2020 Hyundai Sonata sibling by a model year, the revamped 2021 Optima ditches the downgraded clothes that appeared in its closet for 2016.

Like Hyundai, Kia feels that style is its best bet to capture attention — and buyers — as the midsize sedan market contracts. (Read More…)

We’re a pretty non-judgemental bunch here at TTAC, and that goes double for our readers. And yet it’s sometimes hard to keep those opinions bottled up deep inside, where unexpressed feelings can wreak havoc on health and marriages.

This is why the most talked-out vehicle vehicle in autodom right now, one that sees its public debut on Nov. 17, is worthy of your scrutiny. It’s the Mach E, or something like that — Ford’s upcoming electric crossover.

How much Mustang do you see? (Read More…)