Drew Dowdell

The Volkswagen Arteon is the vehicle that effectively replaces the Volkswagen CC in VW’s lineup, however, it comes at the segment with a noticeably different approach. The Arteon is much more interesting looking than the old CC and comes as a hatchback rather than a sedan. I would hesitate to use the word “bold” about the Arteon’s looks, as feels rather conservative to me, but it still has a gravitas that lets passers-by know that this is not an ordinary Volkswagen. The front end has a lot of detailing with multiple creases in the hood and a deep, wide grille. Thick wheel arches give the car a muscular look. Around back, the hatch area fits between a set of thick thighs and a set of tail lights that almost look Benz-like. Down below there is a chrome strip that runs around the entire perimeter of the car. As handsome as the exterior is, the interior is a bit of a letdown. In the SEL version I drove, the interior materials were not up to snuff for a car with a $42,795 sticker price and the design is fairly sterile. There is a wide strip that traverses the dash and mimics the look of the grille and below that, another wood (plood?) strip runs parallel. The center stack is neatly organized with all knobs and buttons within easy reach. If you are a bit of a neat freak like me about your car, keep a microfiber duster in the glovebox to wipe down the piano black surfaces. The seats are flat and firm but without much lateral support. As a hatchback, rear passengers get cut out of a bit of headroom, but there is plenty of legroom back there for them to stretch out. Cargo room for this size of a car can only be described as cavernous. The hatch lifts up high and out of the way giving you easy access to anything you can rear. Fold the rear seats down and you may even say “Crossover, what?”, there is 55 cubic feet of cargo room back there. The Arteon comes with an 8-inch touch screen display that includes Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Android Auto is easy to set up and I stayed in that mode during my entire drive. Driving the Arteon is probably the best part about it. My tester came equipped with 4motion, Volkswagen’s all-wheel-drive system. It works well and the car feels glued to the road during the twisties. No matter which level of Arteon you buy, you have a single choice of engine. Standard is a 2.0 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder with 268 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft of torque connected to an 8-speed automatic transmission. It is this engine that delayed the Arteon’s entry into the U.S. due to a backlog of certification testing. This setup is merely adequate. It neither thrills you nor lets you down. I do wish a V6 were available, but small-displacement turbo-4s are where the market is going these days. Unfortunately, even with the small displacement 4-cylinder, you still get V6-like fuel economy. The Arteon is rated for 20 city / 27 highway / 23 combined. For reference, that’s about the same as an AWD Buick Lacrosse with a big V6 and 310 horsepower, in fact, the Buick does a little better on the highway and so do most other V6 sedans. In normal mode the transmission is a bit lazy, upshifting early and reluctant to downshift. In sport mode, it wakes up a little but there is still a lag when downshifting. The ride and drive of the Arteon is definitely dialed towards comfort over sport. It comes equipped with a DCC adaptive ride system, but I notice almost no difference between the Sport and Comfort modes. Cruising along in the Arteon is serene with very little noise from the outside entering the cabin. It is certainly a car that can get you into trouble with the leasing company for mileage. Is the Arteon a car I can recommend? Yes and no. If you’re a die-hard VW fan, then the Arteon is an easy choice to make. Otherwise, there are more powerful and more upscale options out there for the price, but you wouldn’t be wrong to choose this one. Year: 2019 Make: Volkswagen Model: Arteon Trim: SEL w/4Motion Engine: 2.0L DOHC Turbocharged Direct Injected 4-cylinder Driveline: 8-Speed automatic with all-wheel-drive Horsepower: 268 Torque @ RPM: 258 @ 0 - 3,600 Curb Weight: 3,655 lbs Location of Manufacture: Emden, Germany Base Price: $35,845 As Tested Price: $42,790 (Includes $995.00 Destination Charge) View full article

Definitely.... with the engine lines that just came out, they'll have 10 to 15 years of ICE. And if they need to, they can just keep increasing the amount of power that comes from electric and decreasing the ICE size (instead of an I6 lite hybrid, an I4 hybrid with a stronger EV component)

Well look how long the Buick 3.8 liter ran.... they just kept making updates to it without changing the engine family. I'd wager that's what Benz is going to be doing.

I really like the steering wheel. Some interesting ones from a recent car cruise.

Saudi Arabia has been lying about their production for years... so I have no reason to assume they're telling the truth now.

Trucks like the Tundra are a North American only type of vehicle. Cars like the Pruis and Corolla are more important because they can be sold globally... most importantly, in China. Trucks in the US are like Kei cars in Japan. Very market specific.

In a surprise announcement, Daimler has said that they are stopping further development of internal combustion engines to focus solely on electric vehicle development. In a statement to Auto Motor und Sport, Daimler says they have no plans to develop a next generation of their IC engines. The current generation, just recently released, may be their last. Daimler did go on to explain that while the engine families may not be replaced, there still would be work on certain components to improve performance in the future. Engine families have fairly long timelines, usually around a decade long, so this announcement still gives Daimler some breathing room for the immediate future. Daimler is currently facing up to a €1 Billion For Diesel Cheating. View full article

It's about 33,000 vans a year. The plant can handle a lot more than that. It use to build Eclipse, Galant, Sebring Coupe, and others. At it's height it was producing 222k vehicles a year. So they should be good there with two production lines running at 33k a year. Workhorse made like 8 cents last quarter... they were never going to be able to buy Lordstown. Lordstown would just be a battery plant. Detroit-Hamtramck would be where the EVs were built.

Nissan has announced a date for the next version of the Nissan Titan. The refresh for the 2020 Model year will be unveiled on September 26th. It is said to include a new "hot" Nissan badge with lava red accents featured on the PRO-4X model. Not much to be seen from the teaser picture, but it shows a revised grille with new headlights which include a C-Shaped running light, new front bumper, fog lights, and more visible tow hooks. Also expect a new tail gate and a revised center stack and switchgear. One the powertrain front, gone will be the optional 5.0 liter Cummins V8 diesel. The only engine offered will be the 5.6 liter gasoline V8, but no word on if that has received any updates. Currently it produces 390 horsepower and 394 lb.-ft of torque. The 2020 Nissan Armada also recently leaked out and is expected to be debuted at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show. View full article

Back in February, Amazon helped Rivian by investing $700 million into the company. Now Amazon is helping further with one first big order. Amazon is ordering 100,000 vans to be delivered by 2024. The first deliveries should start in 2021 and prototypes will likely be seen next year. At that rate of production, Rivian would immediately start outselling the Nissan NV and NV200 combined. The van is exclusive to the Amazon partnership and Rivian says it will not delay any of the R1T or R1S deliveries as it is being built on a separate assembly line at the Normal IL. facility. Rivian used a skateboard chassis for their R1T and R1S, so building a van body (R1V?) over top of the skateboard shouldn't be too hard of a task. The R1T has a claimed range of up to 400 miles on a single charge and being capable of getting to an 80 percent charge inside of an hour. Amazon's use for the vans is clear. They have committed to reaching the goals of the United Nations Paris Agreement 10 years early with 80% of their energy use being renewable by 2024 and 100% by 2030. View full article

The Fusion hybrid was very nice, no compromise hybrid and felt more solid than the Camry or Prius.

Ah you got me there. Still, Ford's hybrids haven't stuck around very long. One wonders if they will this time.

The only hybrids/EVs at ford are: 1. Fusion Hybrid - Dead 2. Fusion Hybrid Energi - Dead 3. Lincoln MKZ Hybrid - still kicking for now. 4. C-Max Hybrid - dead 5. Ford Escape Hybrid - Dead 6. Ford Explorer Hybrid - Brand new 7. Lincoln Aviator GT - Brand New

1. is true, GM is going to have to change their pricing structure around in order to keep customers. CR-V has Sense standard, Toyota has their thing standard on the RAV4. 2. What hybrids at ford? The only hybrid that Ford is making these days is the Explorer. Fusion and CMAX are dead.

I put a new thing up as the first tab called Social Stream. It gives the site a more Facebook like feel to it and it also lets you see status updates of other people on the site. The News tab has an updated look as well. Try them out and let me know what you think.

You're preaching to the choir director there..... Tacoma sales haven't fallen since the Canyon, Colorado, and Ranger all came back on the market. The pie for mid-size trucks just got a whole lot bigger.

An estimated 40mpg if the 50% increase in fuel economy figure holds up. That would be great for you.

these are such fun cars. The power bump will be nice

Yeah, total redesign.

They didn't do much to the outside, but the hybrid sounds compelling.

Honda debuted the 2020 Honda CR-V today with a lightly refreshed exterior, but with a big announcement under the hood. This is the first time Honda will be offering the CR-V with a Hybrid Powertrain. There are some other powertrain changes as well. Starting with the Hybrid, the system is a two motor hybrid that combines electric power with gasoline propulsion from a 2.0 liter DOHC engine. This engine boasts a thermal efficiency over 40 percent, the highest of any mass-produced Honda engine. Peak total system horsepower for the Hybrid is now 212, up from 190 on the standard gasoline model. This is the same powertrain found in the Accord Hybrid. It is also the first time Honda has offered AWD on a hybrid vehicle. In times of low traction, a clutch can engage an electric motor to the rear wheels to help with grip. Hybrid models are equipped with Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, a small speaker on the front of the car that makes a noise for passers by while the vehicle is traveling in electric only mode. Previously, base model CR-V LXes got a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder. Now for 2020, all non-hybrid CR-Vs will come with the 190 hp 1.5-liter turbo unit. No matter which mode of power you choose, power flows to the wheels through a CVT. On the safety front, the CR-V now comes standard with Honda Sensing, a suite of sweet safety technologies that include Collision Mitigation Braking System, Road Departure Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Lane Keep Assist. Additionally, as an option, are blind spot information, rear cross traffic monitor, and auto high beam headlights. EPA figures will be released closer to launch, but Honda is forecasting a 50% increase in fuel economy over the non-hybrid models. Non-hybrid production begins this fall and hybrid production starts in early 2020. View full article