Drew Dowdell

Early this morning, pictures of the upcoming Audi Q7 leaked out ahead of its scheduled reveal. A few hours later, the official release came from Audi. The big new for the Q7 is a 716 lb reduction in weight. Starting at 4,398 lbs, Audi's biggest crossover takes the title of lightest in its class. The Q7 achieves this with a multi-material body composed of both aluminum and ultra high strength steel components. Overall, the exterior size is smaller in both length and width, cabin space is larger. Powertrains for the US will include a 2.0 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder producing 252 hp / 272 lb-ft, a 3.0 liter turbocharged gasoline V6 producing 333 hp and 324 lb-ft, and a 3.0 liter V6 turbo-diesel producing 272 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. Later, a second detuned version of the 3.0 TDI will be released with a turn towards high mpg efficiency. All engines will be mated to a brand new 8-speed automatic sending power through a revised Quattro all-wheel drive system. Inside, the Q7 gains a host of new technologies, including optional 10.1" Android tablets built into the car as rear seat monitors. These tablets connect to the MMI navigation system and available on-board LTE Wifi. The tablets have a full HD camera, 32gb of storage, bluetooth and NFC. The entertainment system features a new smartphone interface. If either an iOS or Android device is connected to the car via USB, the respective system is opened in in the Audi Smartphone interface. (minimum device OS versions are required) The voice control system now uses natural speech control so drivers are no longer limited to specific commands. If a customer orders the Tour package, an optional addition to the adaptive cruise control is traffic jam assistant. In this mode, the Q7 will take care of all of the driving at speeds below 37mph and while in heavy congestion. Q7 sales have been increasing steadily over the last few years with sales up 21% verse this period last year after a 41% increase in 2013, but Audi still has a way to go before catching up to segment leader Mercedes. You can follow all of the Detroit Auto Show goings on and browse previous years' shows by following our Detroit Auto Show page Source: Audi Q7 Press Release View full article

The Regal is a different kind of Buick, that's its problem. It doesn't sell to the Lexus ES crowd because it's got all this sportiness and handling all over the place. It doesn't sell to the younger crowd because it is a Buick. I will say though that most of the time the Regal drivers I observe are younger than you would expect, so the message is getting through to some.

Nope

What do the Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Camaro, Infiniti Q50, Mercedes Benz CLS63 AMG, Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe, and Toyota Yaris all have in common? When you get that one, you'll get the answer to this one also.. What do the Aston Martin DB9 and Scion iQ have in common? Ready for a 3rd? What do the Chevrolet Sonic, Buick Regal, Lexus LS460, and Bentely Mulsanne have in common? Assume 2015 models for all of the above.

The X6 peaked at 7k units a year the year after introduction and has fallen to 4k units this year. What thirst are you seeing there SMK? and the ZDX is already canceled.

uhm... Volkswagen... in case you didn't know. You do make this already. Starting price - $32,685 Sometimes I wonder if the right front wheel doesn't know what the left rear wheel is doing over at VW.

So what you're saying is that AMG is continuing to water down their name?

Well you can't save everyone...

XJ-Hatchback

and yet he loved it if I remember... didn't he used to go junkyard hopping for it?

Me either, but usually it's parked behind the dumpster of a Chinese Takeaway shop with the windows steamed up.

We are a little more than a month away from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but much like the Christmas music in stores the day after Halloween, companies like to tease us for a month or two ahead of time. One of the earliest teasers (that wasn't a full reveal like the Mercedes GLE) is the next generation Toyota Tacoma. So far, all we get to see is the tailgate of the 2016 Toyota Tacoma that will be revealed in about a month. We're expecting styling to borrow heavily from its big brother, the Toyota Tundra. The Tacoma has been the best selling small truck for a number of years now as the Detroit three ceded the segment to the Japanese. However, Toyota is going to be facing stiff competition in the next couple of years. GM is back with a vengeance with their new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the former of which won MotorTrend's Truck of the Year award for 2015, Nissan's Frontier will be updated soon, Honda is returning with the Ridgeline, and rumors suggest Ford's Ranger is due to return as well. Toyota sold 159,485 Tacoma Trucks in 2013 and 140,757 Tacomas of November 2014. With such strong competition coming, Toyota is going to have to make sure they leave no tailgate unlatched to keep up the sales pace. View full article

I think part of the reason of the lighter weight cars was due to manufacturers chasing fuel economy. But even then, airbags were first deployed on the 1974 Oldsmobile Toronado and you don't get much bigger and more solid than a '74 Toronado. Mercedes caught up 6 years later with the S-Class in 1980, again, a car known for being big and solid. So the idea that manufacturers put airbags in cars in order to counteract the reductions in weight kinda puts the order of the way things happened the wrong way 'round. Smaller cars didn't start getting airbags until the very late '80s. and the airbag in my Honda doesn't give me a sense of security at all... it hasn't been recalled yet, so there is still a chance of getting shrapnel in the face if I were in an accident.

So wait, the new AMG engine has a 58 horsepower and 51 lb-ft deficit compared to the Cadillac V-Sport engine?