Auto Shows
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Most of the major auto shows, like the Los Angeles auto show, have always had two components: news-making and car-selling. And it’s the second part—the public days—that thrives today. People are attending traditional, consumer-focused auto shows in record numbers. Counterintuitively—in this day when much of new-car research happens on phones and tablets—they’ve become a more important place for shoppers to peruse vehicles on “neutral ground,” It’s also what pays the bills, giving leads to dealerships, connecting brands with shoppers, or...
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Buick to launch new electric, plug-in hybrid models in China; what about US?
For 15 years now, Buick has been a far more important brand in China than it is in North America: four out of five Buicks sold globally are purchased by Chinese buyers. The brand has a wider range and variety of vehicles in that country, along with numerous models U.S. buyers never lay eyes on. So...
John Voelcker -
5 things about the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric we learned at the NY auto show
After a Detroit auto show that was about little except pickup trucks and a new Jeep, followed by a tepid Chicago show, New York proved to be relatively rich in interesting new green cars. The standout was clearly the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric, the 250-mile battery-electric small hatchback that...
John Voelcker -
Classic Mini converted to electric previews 2019 Mini E to come
With a new, all-electric Mini E set to arrive in dealerships in a year or less, BMW wants to highlight the idea of a Mini Cooper powered by batteries. That's what led it to display an "old Mini" converted to electric power at a reception before last week's New York auto show. Sadly, the car wasn't...
John Voelcker -
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe launched with diesel; hybrid, plug-in hybrid for US or not?
Along with the 250-mile 2019 Kona Electric hatchback it launched Wednesday at the New York Auto Show, Hyundai unveiled an entirely redesigned version of a much higher-volume vehicle. That's the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe mid-size crossover utility vehicle, which gains size, features, and considerably...
John Voelcker -
2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback returns at NY Auto Show
The Toyota Corolla is the world's highest-selling nameplate, having surpassed the Ford Model T and Volkswagen Beetle years ago. It exists in many different models and varieties all over the world, but the U.S. hasn't always been offered the hatchback version. In fact, the Corolla lineup only...
John Voelcker -
The biggest question around the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric has now been answered: it will have a rated range estimated at 250 miles on the U.S. test cycle. Hyundai debuted the U.S. version of the small all-electric hatchback on Wednesday at the New York auto show media days. While the company refers to the all-electric Kona as a "crossover" utility vehicle, it doesn't offer all-wheel drive—although its gasoline counterpart does. DON'T MISS: Hyundai Kona Electric debuts before Geneva show with two battery sizes First unveiled at the Geneva auto show two weeks ago, the battery-electric...
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Jaguar I-Pace electric car to join Waymo's self-driving car fleet
British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo said Tuesday the carmaker would sell Google's autonomous-car technology arm up to 20,000 of its new all-electric Jaguar I-Pace SUV to be used in self-driving service by 2020. While last week's news focused entirely on the fatal crash of a Volvo converted...
John Voelcker -
Redesigned 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid debuts at New York auto show
With buyers showing no signs of letup in their enthusiasm for crossovers of all sizes and shapes, the redesigned 2019 Toyota RAV4 couldn't be coming at a better time. The Toyota RAV4 small SUV became the company's single best-selling model in the U.S. last year, surging past its long-time champion...
John Voelcker -
2019 Lincoln Aviator crossover to include plug-in hybrid version
Ford's premium brand, Lincoln, has started to take on a new confidence, with far more luxurious vehicles and high-end trim levels and vehicles that are more than just restyled mass-market products. On Wednesday, it will draw back the veil from one of the several new SUVs that it hopes will power...
John Voelcker -
2020 VW Atlas Cross Sport concept shows plug-in hybrid possible in future
In Europe these days, it's all but de rigeur to fit auto-show concept vehicles with plug-in hybrid powertrains. Most of the Volkswagen SUV concepts that previewed what is now the Volkswagen Atlas seven-seat crossover, on sale today, sported plugs—though no such version emerged into...
John Voelcker -
Porsche execs on 2020 Mission E, more electric cars to follow
Auto journalists often relish interviews and roundtable sessions with German executives and engineers. They usually haven't been beaten into submission and forced to stick to scripted talking points, as have too many of their U.S. counterparts. Most German auto executives also speak excellent...
John Voelcker -
Unveilings for several key new electric cars were expected during the media days for last week's Geneva auto show. The Jaguar I-Pace made its formal debut, and the Audi e-tron appeared in camouflage as a sort of full-size teaser display. But there had been word from Mercedes-Benz that it would introduce an EQ electric car as well. DON'T MISS: Camouflaged Audi e-tron electric SUV appears at Geneva show Could this be the production version of the Mercedes-Benz EQC, an all-electric crossover utility built on a dedicated plug-in platform that would be the company's first long-range vehicle? Well...
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2019 Toyota Corolla Hybrid hatchback debuts in Geneva for Europe
Remember hatchbacks? Actually, come to think of it ... remember passenger cars? You know, the sedans and wagons and hatchbacks that don't have all-wheel drive and aren't jacked up 6 to 9 inches off the ground? They used to roam this fair land of ours, but lately, they seem to have been routed by...
John Voelcker -
Audi e-tron electric SUV appears in camouflage at Geneva show, on city roads
The Geneva auto show was expected to offer the first head-to-head comparison between the first two all-electric SUVs models from European luxury brands, both starting deliveries later this year. It didn't quite work out that way. The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace did indeed debut last Friday, before media...
John Voelcker -
Mixed messages on future of diesel at Geneva auto show
You can smell the diesel exhaust in any city in Europe, sometimes even before you hear the clatter from under the hood of every other passing vehicle. The Volkswagen diesel scandal that broke in September 2015 brought a laser focus to the software used in all diesel engines, and their inability to...
John Voelcker -
Aston Martin Lagonda Vision Concept shows electric car future for luxury sedan
The storied British brand Lagonda has been owned for half a century by the tiny maker Aston Martin, best known globally for its connection to James Bond, Agent 007. It's had a number of iterations, including a startling low, sleek, square-edged sedan designed by William Towns in the 1970s and a...
John Voelcker -
Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo concept: second electric model previewed
A design study for the second version of the Porsche Mission E electric sport sedan broke cover Tuesday at the Geneva auto show. The closely guarded concept car is effectively a shooting brake version of the low-slung Mission E sedan that debuted at the 2015 Frankfurt show and will go on sale by...
John Voelcker -
What's known as Volkswagen Group Night is always a major event at European auto shows. One of the marquee attractions at Monday night's event, held before Geneva auto show media days start Tuesday, was the Volkswagen ID Vizzion concept for a large, all-electric sedan. It will be the largest car in the Volkswagen ID range of battery-electric models, VW says, and will go into production by 2022. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen ID Vizzion large all-electric sedan teased before Geneva debut It will join production versions of the Volkswagen ID compact hatchback, the ID Crozz compact crossover, and the ID...
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Lexus UX smaller crossover peeks out before Geneva auto show
The global new-vehicle market is moving toward crossover utility vehicles and SUVs, along with vehicles that look like them. Now the production version of another crossover, shown in concept form more than a year ago, will launch at the Geneva auto show—and Lexus has released one photo and a...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Kona Electric debuts before Geneva show; 292-mile range from top model
The lack of plug-in electric crossover utility vehicles with all-wheel drive is a growing and obvious gap in the market. And where there's a gap, aggressive South Korean carmaker Hyundai may try to fill it. The company has now released many of the details of the Hyundai Kona Electric small SUV that...
John Voelcker -
Volkswagen ID Vizzion large all-electric sedan teased before Geneva debut
Volkswagen's first dedicated battery-electric vehicle will roll off the production lines in 21 months, but we won't see the compact hatchback ID model in North America. Instead, the first dedicated VW plug-in electric vehicle will be the production version of the ID Cross compact crossover that's...
John Voelcker -
2019 BMW i8: larger battery, more range, plus new Roadster priced from $164,295
BMW is breathing some fresh air into its three-year-old alternative flagship to improve performance, increase range, and add some style. Revealed at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, the i8's update (known in the industry as a "mid-cycle refresh") increases its battery capacity from 7.1 to 11.7...
Mark Stevenson -
2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid released at Chicago auto show
What the auto industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh" can range from indistinguishable to very evident. The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid falls into the latter category, with new front and rear styling, changes to the interior and dashboard, and numerous added safety and connectivity features. The hybrid...
John Voelcker