Drew Dowdell

"For 2027, if customers would like battery electric, we have the Highlander, and if they prefer gas, hybrid or hybrid Max, we have the Grand Highlander," a Toyota spokesperson confirmed at an event in Ojai, California, on Tuesday.

The Heated Rivalry series has buried deep into my brain. The music causes feelings because I associate it with scenes in the show. This playlist has been on repeat for basically 2 months.

My understanding is the Grand will continue for a while as the gas powered option. That said, I kinda like this based on pics, but it depends on the interior quality which has been lacking in Toyotas lately. It's got the range required.

www.NotGonnaHappen.com Maybe eventually but certainly not in 18 months. I’m seeing a lot of resistance to AI due to the costs involved. Plus, corporate data is so messy. Feeding messy data to AI is just asking for bad results. It will take years to clean up the data and maybe AI can help with that, but unless you’re starting a company today and building it with AI from the start and actually have AI super experts running things, it’s likely your data is too messy to use in AI right now. One of my clients is in a conversion away from paper and struggling with it. They’re not going to AI anytime soon. We won’t even be done the paper conversion until early 2028.

You're talking about homogalation:

I don't think you'll be getting them this year as nice as the option sounds. It takes time to set up a distribution channel and dealership network even if they're manufacturer owned stores. Genesis has been building a new dealership near me for nearly a year, at the moment they live in an old VW dealer.

Isn't it sad? You now have as many mid-size family sedan choices as you have minivan choices (not counting EV sedans). Camry - Accord - Sonata - K5 Sienna - Odyssey - Pacifica - Carnival

I feel like they've finally fixed their design language with this, though its almost a new round of neo-retro like we had in the early 2000s with the PT Cruiser, Neu Beetle, HHR, etc.

Thank you! At least it was the right brand.

Hey guys, see if you can figure this one out. Cannonically this is supposed to be to be a Range Rover in the story. It’s clearly not a Range Rover. I looked at Pathfinder, Armada, some Fords and can’t figure out what it is. Should be something circa 2015 or earlier. The hazard button is in an odd place right under the screen and it looks like it has a speaker above the screen. There’s also clearly a CD player.

What’s up? Need help?

It's also an old money / new money thing. New money goes for bling. Old money is fine with an older Benz e-class wagon, or a Toyota Land Cruiser. But even celebrities often have blend-in cars, basic old Prius or something to go out in under cover.

It looks like they're scraper bots. They don't seem to be doing anything except crawling the whole site.

This is really annoying. I noticed yesterday that traffic on the site was exponentially high. Turns out we were getting crawled by apparently all of China. I had to use Cloudfare to block the entire country because there was no pattern of repeats in the IP addresses. You can see where I installed the rule. That's 80k hits in about 18 hours. Before discovering this, we were getting 500k hits per day, super high for this site. There are still some getting through from Hong Kong, but not nearly the same volume. Def something going on as the other countries surrounding China are also hitting.

It's probably a bit late, but there is a $0.99 plug-in on the Windows Store from Microsoft that lets your computer read HEIC files and do any conversions locally on your computer. I bought it a few years back to avoid that kind of hassle. Once you have that, I have used Irfanview for 25 years to do batch photo conversions and with the Windows plug-in, should be able to convert HEIC files to jpeg for you.

Sure has been a while. We're about to head into our 25th year!

The Seltos has been one of Kia's quieter success stories not flashy, not fast, and not the Kia Soul, but still reliably useful and consistently profitable. The second-generation 2027 Seltos arrives with the nameplate's first redesign since 2020: new K3 platform, larger footprint, and exterior styling that visually connects it to the Telluride and EV9 for the first time. Exterior The more upright, squared-off stance borrows directly from the Telluride's recent redesign, same star map lighting signature up front, vertical tail lamps extending across the tailgate out back, and flush door handles throughout. Diagonal character lines on the flanks and a floating roofline give it more visual presence than the outgoing model. Wheel options run from 16 to 19 inches. Two distinct appearance packages: X-Line with dark gunmetal accents and rugged lower cladding for those who want the outdoorsy look without leaving the suburbs, and GT-Line with body-color accents for a sportier aesthetic. New colors at launch include Iceberg Green, Gravity Gray, and matte Magma Red. More Room Where It Matters The new Seltos adds meaningful dimension. Length grows to 174.4 inches from 172.6, width to 72 inches from 70.9, and the wheelbase extends to 105.9 inches from 103.5. Kia moved the shifter to the steering column via a Shift-by-Wire system, freeing up the center console and opening up the cabin considerably. Second-row seats recline up to 24 degrees, 12 forward and 12 back, and cargo capacity comes in at 18.9 cubic feet, which Kia claims is class-leading. A foldable dual-level cargo board and the new AddGear modular accessory system add flexibility. Powertrain Three engines are offered globally. Kia has not announced which come to the U.S.: 1.6-liter T-GDI (High Output): 190 hp and 195 lb-ft, paired with an 8-speed automatic 1.6-liter T-GDI (Standard Output): 177 hp and 195 lb-ft, available with a 7-speed dual-clutch or 6-speed manual 2.0-liter naturally aspirated: 147 hp and 132 lb-ft AWD models get a multi-link rear suspension and Terrain Mode (Snow, Mud, Sand) alongside Drive Mode Select (Eco, Normal, Sport). FWD models use a torsion beam rear. A hybrid variant joins the lineup in 2026 with Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability and Kia's Smart Regenerative Braking System 3.0, which automatically adjusts regenerative braking intensity based on navigation data and traffic conditions, though V2L may not be offered in the U.S. The Seltos will be the only Kia utility vehicle without a hybrid or plug-in hybrid option at launch. Tech Inside A panoramic display panel combines dual 12.3-inch screens, instrument cluster and infotainment, with a dedicated climate control panel below. A 12-inch head-up display projects driving information onto the windshield. The AI assistant is powered by generative AI (ChatGPT under the hood) for voice interaction, and over-the-air updates keep the software current without a dealer visit. Optional premium audio comes from either Harman Kardon or Bose. The interior also gets 64-color ambient lighting, a wide panoramic sunroof, and Digital Key 2 for smartphone-based vehicle access and sharing. Highway Driving Assist 2, Lane Following Assist 2, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 2, Surround View Monitor, and a full complement of parking assistance systems are included. The Numbers Behind the Redesign The Seltos has been Kia's fourth-bestselling crossover in the U.S. since its 2020 launch, behind the Sportage, Telluride, and Sorento. Kia CEO Ho Sung Song put the first-generation global tally at over 2 million units; the target for the redesign is 430,000 globally per year, up from 400,000. In the U.S., Kia has been chasing 100,000 annual Seltos sales since launch without reaching it. Deliveries peaked at 60,053 in 2023, came in at 59,958 in 2024, and sat at 40,065 through September this year, toward the bottom half of the subcompact crossover segment behind the Chevrolet Trax, Subaru Crosstrek, and Honda HR-V. With the Soul winding down, the Seltos also becomes Kia's primary value entry point to the brand. The 2027 Telluride is launching in the first quarter as well, meaning Kia's largest and smallest crossovers will both be fresh at the same time. When and How Much U.S. deliveries begin in 2026 with no specific date confirmed. We expect to see the U.S. version released in Spring 2026 at the New York International Auto Show. The Seltos is assembled in South Korea, making it subject to U.S. import tariffs, currently 15 percent, down from 25 percent. The 2026 Seltos starts at $25,135 including shipping; 2027 pricing has not been announced. Global production begins in India in December 2025, followed by Korea, North America, Europe, and China throughout 2026. See all photos in the 2027 Kia Seltos photo gallery. View full article

They may be functional, but they still look silly. The ones on the one @G. David Felt posted look better.

I almost posted that first, but we only got the cross country here unless you special ordered one

yeah, but I could totally get into one of those as a wagon. (minus the silly wing and hood scoops)

Call me old fashioned, but as much as I like two-tone exteriors, I don't like all those colors and stripes. Looks like a basketball shoe.

OMG this! Everyone is doing it now. Tesla too. It's like 1986 Mercury Sable all over again.

By far, the sexiest wagon since the CTS-V Wagon.