The CarGurus Blog

Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

The Detroit Auto Show will display the CTS and the CTS-V Coupes in May, and I’ll bet they will sell. They need to sell, as Cadillac is hurting. The cars establish the look of the Converj, Cadillac’s upscale Volt coupe, which has drawn praise, even from me. There are good photos of the 2008 concept car here, and the production version should not be much different.

Herr Lutz, GM marketing chief, promised that the Sport Wagon (right), also using the 556 hp Corvette ZR-1 engine that will power the CTS-V Coupe, will be available somewhat later on. These could be exciting cars for GM boosters, most of whom have been starving for a little zing from the company. What the new cars need to do is focus on what consumers want and produce real quality for a change. GM has been negligent for years in this regard, despite its claims to the contrary.

It’s really difficult for the company to claim quality superiority (or even parity) when a publication as widely-read as Consumer Reports is showing so many black marks (literally) on many GM products, [including] the Cadillac CTS and STS… .

The new GM board seems to have made a long-overdue commitment to quality and reliability, and there is evidence that the new Caddys are improving in this regard. That improvement would seem a prerequisite to the success of the new coupes.

The Volt team has also been stressing quality in a recent media update. Some of the highlights of Chief Engineer Andrew Farah’s presentation:

• The Volt is meeting energy power requirements and is now balancing issues such as safety, regulations and customer satisfaction with other issues such as performance, durability, packaging and vehicle design.
• The team has completed the pre-production build process and is in the process of testing the vehicles. Some are being tested around the clock 24/7.
• The team has built all 300 packs for the Volt and the results have been excellent.
• There have been more than 250,000 miles of testing on the pre-production and mule vehicles. Some of the highlights of this testing include hot weather testing in Death Valley, mountain testing at Pikes Peak and a 65% calibration drive.

There, don’t you feel better about buying one? Now if we could all learn to grow flowers on top of our battery packs.

Tell us about your recent good or bad experience with GM quality. Are they on the right track?

—jgoods

Car Industry News, Car Minded, Cars Coming Soon, Domestic Cars, General Chat, Hybrid Cars

For years we’ve been hoping for a resurgence from Jaguar. Now it may be happening with the XKR (right), a gorgeous, hot-performing car that brings back memories of Jag’s glory days. Power comes from a 5-liter supercharged V8 that is good for 510 hp and 0-60 mph in 4 seconds. It pulls .92 g on the skidpad and runs the quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds. The cost is roughly $100,000 which, for a car like this, seems a bargain.

Says Car and Driver:

In a lot of ways, the XKR is a better car than the [BMW] M6, which is a techno-overload on wheels. The Jag rides better, we prefer its styling, and it is actually quicker. It lacks the cachet of the Mercedes SL63, but is cheaper, more stylish, and less ubiquitous. We don’t think it’s as gorgeous as the Aston Martin DB9, either inside or out, but is more practical, faster, handles better, and is about 60 percent of the price.

They took it to the track as well as Ann Arbor’s streets. On the track it was “well balanced, predictable, and immensely satisfying.” There are a few minor quibbles—too-small rear seats and a weird throttle pedal—but the car could bring Jaguar back to what it was years ago. I want one; please send money.

A nice touch: acknowledging the fact that many drivers of high-powered cars just can’t cut it, Jaguar is offering free of charge to XKR and XFR buyers the “R Performance Academy,” a day at one of five U.S. tracks where they will be taught basic hard-driving skills.

Lotus, too, is trying for a renaissance and is reportedly going to bring back the Esprit (right). A new seven-year plan for the company posits that the Esprit will reappear (maybe under a new name) in 2012 as both coupe and convertible. CEO Dany Bahar wants to go head to head with Ferrari and other supercar makers.

Well, that’s a tall order, especially if you consider what the Esprit once was: a fussy, expensive, hard-to-repair tag-along to the Ferraris and Astons of the ‘80s and ‘90s. I drove a friend’s Esprit in the mid-‘80s, and it was a blast. The guy wanted to sell it to me—a dubious proposition even if I could have afforded it. But, God, it was fun to drive.

Word has it that the car will be built on the Evora platform and use an engine from BMW or Lexus. If it does use the 552-hp V10 that will power the 2011 Lexus LFA, maybe Ferrari should get out of the way.

Do you see high-performance British cars making a comeback in the next two years?

—jgoods

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We are not going to nitpick Buick here for rebadging and remarketing its award-winning Opel Insignia as the Regal. Some have gone out of their way to make fun of the international provenance of this car, which is like being critical of good imported cheese. We all know that cars are now mostly made for international markets, and one as good as the Insignia deserves to be replicated.

The car is really better than imported cheese—at least in looks (though the rear end seems out of proportion, and that chrome badge bar is a cheap afterthought). The proportions are right for a midsize sporty sedan, and the styling beats all the other Buick offerings. Carscoop notes that the Regal

shares the same Epsilon 2 platform with the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse, the Regal is 7-inches shorter than the latter measuring 190-in. (4,830mm) in length meaning that when it goes on sale in the U.S. sometime towards the end of 2010 or early 2011, it will fit right under the LaCrosse in Buick’s car range both size- and price-wise.

The LaCrosse starts around $28,000, so that is good news. The Regal will be initially available with a 2.4-liter, 182-hp four-cylinder with six-speed automatic. Buick says it will add a 2.0-liter turbo with 220 hp late next summer. Mileage for both will be in the 29-30 (highway) mpg range. Performance, especially with the turbo, should be adequate. Something called Interactive Drive Control (IDC) will permit you to select suspension, steering, and transmission settings. The problem is you’ll be hauling 3,600 pounds of car around, so I wonder about its sporting pretensions.

Buick sold 64,000 Regals in China this year. How many do you think it will sell in the U.S.? Is GM on the right track with this car?

—jgoods

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2010 Volvo S60

What’s Volvo’s place in the world?

Ask consumers and they might say “Volvo makes safe, semi-luxurious family haulers.”

Ask Volvo and you’ll hear something about emotional appeal, sporty design and dynamic driving properties. It seems like all carmakers who call themselves luxury these days want to capitalize on the whole “dynamic driving properties” thing. The thing is, BMW pretty much owns that place. And if Volvo gets sold to a Chinese company as planned, well, let’s just say China isn’t a country known for developing world class driving dynamics.

Regardless, Volvo’s new S60 sedan is set for its big unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show next March, with production starting in summer 2010 in Belgium.

Volvo CEO Stephen Odell says,

The all-new Volvo S60 is sculpted to move you. It looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car’s technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel.

Volvo’s marketing department would be proud, as phrases like “sculpted to move you” sound good in press releases but are otherwise meaningless. The car does look better than previous generation Volvos, but we’ll wait and see about those driving dynamics.

Speaking of questionable driving dynamics, GM is starting up Hummer production again in Louisiana.  Since the deal closed to sell Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., General Motors can begin producing 2010 versions of the H3 and H3T. The only changes to the ‘10 models will be E85 capability across the line and some new color choices. No word on when production of the H2 will start again, but expect the new H3 to hit dealers in December.

In news from the auto spying field, Leftlane has spy photos of the 2011 Chevy Aveo (or possibly Viva), which could see production by the end of 2010, and the 2011 Toyota Sienna, which will debut at the LA Auto Show next month.

Finally, and this would fall under the category of  ”Cars Going Soon,” my much loved Pontiac G8 GXP is just about extinct. GM reports via Twitter that only 16 are left on dealer lots, so if you want one, better act fast before these are strictly sold at collector car auctions.

Lots to look forward to in the coming months and years! Will you be test driving anything listed here?

-tgriffith

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Finally, something from Chrysler-Fiat that makes sense: importing the Fiat 500 to the U.S. Contrary to what some skeptics are saying, this move will help struggling Chrysler regain needed positive press and, perhaps, finally establish a niche market for its new products.

The 500 is a great car: well-designed, well-built, with an Italian flair that cannot be duplicated. A year ago, it was voted Best Compact Car in Japan by some 80,000 people polled. The MINI Cooper and the New Beetle have been named as competition. I think that’s wrong, as each car will appeal to rather distinct market segments: The Fiat is more of a city car, though I recently saw one on the Oaxaca-Mexico City autopista, and it was moving along smartly. The car will be built in Mexico—at Toluca, I think.

Three versions will come to the U.S. First, the basic 1.4-liter will arrive in late 2010 in “metro areas at select dealers that house all Chrysler Group LLC brands and will include a dedicated salon inside the dealership.” This will be followed in 2011 by the 500 convertible, with rollback top (above), and in 2012 by an Abarth 500 with turbocharger and, we assume, some suspension mods. Go to Carscoop for a slew of photos.

I honestly don’t see how Chrysler can survive with its present products. The company needs a dramatic and meaningful renaissance with new cars and a new thrust. The 500 could provide the beginning of that if, and it’s a big “if,” it is marketed to the buyers who will respond. The idea of putting it in select dealerships in metro areas makes good sense.

What is nonsense is the proposed merging of Lancia and Chrysler to create, in the words of one blogger, a “Frankenstein’s Monster.” This would be the ultimate rebadging folly, as both companies have become losers, though Lancia still survives by making small numbers of quality cars. Putting a Chrysler badge on the Lancia Delta 1.8 Di (above) which some think likely, would immediately transform a good car into an also-ran, in my opinion. Kind of like putting a Saturn label on an Alfa.

Give us your opinion on whether the Fiat 500 can carve out a niche for itself in the U.S. market.

—jgoods

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BMW has created an M3 for the track, a car for club racing like Porsche’s 911 GT3 Clubsport, either of which would inspire dark lust in any Car Guru in his right mind. But it’s also homologated, says Autoweek, for the street if you register it as such. This car has all the goodies you would expect for $150-170,000—carbon-fiber roof, stripped interior, roll cage, etc. It weighs in at 3,285 pounds, 419 less than the regular M3.

And it has a revised M3 suspension, 7-speed dual-clutch tranny with paddles, electronic differential, new brakes, and much more. The M3’s V8 power is up 30 hp to 450, which should move things along nicely. The first cars will come to Germany next May, to other countries by summer of 2010. Eat your hearts out, clubsporters.

If your tastes run to less raucous open-air motoring, consider the new Boxster Spyder, which will be on view for the first time at the Los Angeles Auto Show in early December. Another lightweight at just 2,811 pounds, the Boxster Spyder (press release here) is a throwback to the 550 Spyder of the 1950s, a welcome return to the agile sportscars many of us drove and loved.

Porsche tweaked the Boxster S’s 3.4-liter engine to produce 320 hp. Choose the dual-clutch (PDK) transmission, and you will get to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. An all-new sport suspension lowers the car and promises even better handling than the Boxster S. Drive it away for $61,200 any time after February 2010, when it goes on sale in the U.S.

Okay, fans, which one do you want—and why? Lay a comment on us.

—jgoods

Auto Racing, Car Industry News, Car Minded, Cars Coming Soon, Foreign Cars, General Chat

Fiat 500 Abarth: the most exciting car from Chrysler coming in the next two years

My memories of Chrysler are not good.

When I was a kid, my parents had a Chrysler Le Baron. It trapped my younger brother in a seat belt that refused to unclick. Not long after, the engine blew up. Thankfully, my brother was already released from the Le Baron’s ugly grasp.

I’ve been resentful of Chrysler ever since, and I have to admit I even felt a little bit of glee as I watched the company’s quality and sales numbers sink.

Today, I think it’s time to give up my long-standing ill will towards Chrysler and look toward a very different future for the company and its cars. Why now? Because yesterday was new Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s marathon (seven-hour) press conference unveiling his five-year plan for Chrysler. It’s mostly good, though it doesn’t inspire much confidence within the next two years. The hope, and the major change, begins when the Fiat platforms start entering the market around 2012.

Autoblog ran a great minute-by-minute recap of the entire conference. Here are some highlights, divided by brand, of what vehicles we can expect in the coming years from Chrysler, and which ones will (finally) go away:

Dodge

First, have a look at the new logo. The traditional ram-face logo is gone, replaced by bold Dodge lettering. Simple, but cool.

Dodge cars that we can expect to stick around through at least 2014 are: Charger, Challenger, Journey, Avenger, and Grand Caravan. Avenger and Journey will be refreshed for 2010 with a new interior, new engine, refreshed exterior, and a healthy dose of comfort, convenience, performance, and fuel economy. Expect a 2010 refresh of Grand Caravan, too, with some interior and exterior mods, a new engine, a complete suspension retune, and improved fuel economy. Avenger will get a Fiat platform in 2013.

Also, expect a new full-size CUV in 2010, a Fiat-based compact sedan in 2012, and another small car in 2013.

The Dodge Viper will go away in 2010, followed by the Nitro in 2011 and the Caliber in 2012. Viper fans rest easy, though, because it could come back in 2012 with some Italian influence (Fiat owns Ferrari too, remember!).

Ram

Remember Ram is becoming its own brand, separate from the Dodge brand. Dealers will get the above logo for their stores. There’s not much to report here, except:

The Dakota will be killed in 2011, possibly replaced by a unibody pickup (think Honda Ridgeline). Fiat will add some commercial vans to the lineup in 2012, while the Ram light duty and heavy duty pickups continue with a refresh in 2012.

Jeep

The Jeep brand will see a few changes. A new Grand Cherokee will arrive in 2010, along with major refreshes for Patriot, Compass, and Wrangler. Patriot and Compass get new interiors, while Wrangler gets a new engine. And check this out: Wrangler will get a diesel option, though it may not be offered in the U.S.

The Patriot and Compass will go away in 2013, replaced with a Fiat-based model. There will also be a new small SUV in 2013. Liberty will get a Fiat platform in 2013, too.

The Wrangler will get another refresh in 2011 to commemorate the Jeep brand’s 70th anniversary.

Chrysler

It’s hard to get excited about much here, aside from that Aston-esque new logo (even though the leaked version, above, looks more like clip art). There is a huge gap of anything new between now and 2012. The Sebring will get refreshed in 2010 and survive until 2013, when it’ll be replaced by a Fiat platform. Chrysler will get a new Fiat-based small car, compact sedan, and crossover in 2013, with a new Town & Country minivan in 2014. PT Cruiser will die at the end of 2010, while the 300 gets a 2010 refresh to last it through 2014.

Finally… the American-ized Fiat 500 will begin arriving in select Chrysler dealerships in 2010. We’ll even get an Abarth!

So there you go, fellow Car Gurus. I’m excited for some Fiat-based Chryslers in the next few years. Are you?

-tgriffith

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Can you guess what this is?

One of the greatest parts about having kids is getting to raid their candy at Halloween. That way, I get the treats without the work of going door to door.

If you don’t have kids, or are just too ethical to steal candy from them, no worries. Cars Coming Soon has some treats for you, too. You can’t eat them, but they’re sure to raise your excitement level and give you something to look forward to in the coming months and years.

So let’s get to it!

Euro-spec Honda Accord Tourer

First, Honda isn’t known for products that create a ton of excitement. But when any company announces that a much-loved European model will surface in the States, folks tend to go a little berserk. Even if said model is a Honda station wagon. (Proof that Americans go gaga over anything we perceive as being Euro-cool.)

Expect the Honda Accord Tourer to show up in America as an Acura TSX sport wagon. Don’t confuse this with the much ballyhooed Honda Accord Crosstour that is also on the way. The TSX sport wagon, according to the good folks at Autoblog,

will be based on the TSX sedan, which is itself basically a Euro Accord. It is unclear which powertrains we’ll get, or if styling will be tweaked from its European counterpart, but it is expected to arrive next fall. Color us excited.

Ford Kuga

In other Euro news, production of the Ford Kuga SUV will move to America by 2011. Car and Driver suspects that move could lead to the Kuga replacing the aging Ford Escape. Let’s hope that’s true, because the Kuga is sleek and refined, while the Escape is bulky and well…ugly. Feel free to make your own “Kuga on the prowl” joke while gazing at the loveliness of European SUV design.

Reports have been floating around that Volkswagen is working on a U.S.-built sedan that would replace the Passat in 2011. The new midsize sedan, dubbed the NMS (shown on top!) should start at around $20K, making it much more affordable than the $27K Passat. Sketches are emerging, and it appears that Volkswagen is taking a page out of Chevy’s book. Anyone else see the Camaro resemblance here? Regardless, it looks like the NMS will be much sexier than the current Passat.

What other European models do you hope make it to the United States?

-tgriffith

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The future of Honda minivans?

The Tokyo Motor Show is under way right now.

Normally when a major international car show is happening, I’m overwhelmed with news of what hot new cars might make it to the U.S. soon. This time, the news is a bit… underwhelming.

First, Honda is showing a concept called the Skydeck. While there are no production plans whatsoever on this design exercise, it could be a peek into what future Honda minivans will look like. This concept has scissor Lambo-style front doors and wooden seats inside. Exciting, huh?

Tokyo is at least bringing some sexy to the party, with the super hot Lexus LF-A (which we brought to you yesterday) and the FT-86 Concept, but other than that, we’re not getting a lot of drool-worthy material. There are lots of “green” cars and electric concepts, which my fellow blogger jgoods will cover soon, but not much that offers real driving excitement and horsepower.

For that we need to look elsewhere, and we’ll start in Italy.

MSN reports that the Alfa Romeo 159 Sedan, Brera Coupe, and Spider will make it to the U.S. for 2010. Frankly, I have my doubts that is true. I’d bet that any Alfa making it to these shores will be at least two years away and then come to us wearing Dodge clothes, courtesy of Chrysler’s new Italian overlords at Fiat. But maybe MSN’s Bill Gates and Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne had dinner and made some arrangements. Who knows?

Okay, now lets get to some serious business, in the form of 487 horsepower. Mercedes-Benz has revised its C63 AMG with a new package called the Performance Package Plus (PPP). The PPP increases pony output over a “standard” C63 AMG by 30 to the aforementioned 487 and reaches 62 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds. MB hasn’t said whether or not this animal will come to the States, but as long the company isn’t saying no, we’ll latch onto the possibility that there’s still a chance.

If you need to race across a desert anytime in the near future, or just impress the heck out of your friends and neighbors, take a look at the newly available Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. The word “beast” is often used to describe a truck, but this one earns the label. What other truck comes direct from the factory with racing shocks, massive 35-inch tires, and a 320-horsepower, 5.4-liter V8?  This ain’t your neighbor’s F-150. This is the truck he wants his F-150 to be. And at under $40,000, it’s actually a pretty good deal.

For $40,000, would you be more likely to buy a Ford F-150 Raptor or an Alfa Romeo 159?

-tgriffith

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Where to begin this week? I think I’ll do what I do best: Start with the most exciting stuff and work my way down.

So… get ready for the all-new, same-as-before 2010 Land Rover Range Rover Sport! How can it be both all new and the same? The ‘10 RR Sport is really just a refresh from the 2009 model year, and the exterior changes are minimal. That’s a good thing, because the Range Rover Sport is probably the most aggressive looking SUV on the market right now. The real changes come where they are needed most: the interior and under the hood.

Leftlane says,

The base model Range Rover Sport now comes equipped with a 5.0-liter direct-injection V8 hooked to a revised six-speed automatic transmission. Rated at 375 horsepower and 375 lb-ft. of torque, the 2010 Range Rover Sport is actually just as fast as the previous-generation Range Rover Sport Supercharged was, with a 0-60 time of just over 7 seconds. That extra power is easily felt through a seat-of-your-pants test, with the 5.0-liter model providing enough oomph for all but the most power-crazed buyers.

But if you want 510 horses and 0-60 in 5.9 seconds, you’ll want the Supercharged version. That extra 1.1 seconds will only cost you an extra $14K, so why not?

Moving down the horsepower ladder a few rungs, Europe’s Lancia Delta could show up on American shores wearing a Chrysler badge, according to the guys at Autoblog. This is exciting, because the Delta is a top-notch sexy hatch that could serve Chrysler well. And it’s way hotter than a Sebring.

Whether or not this next car is exciting is a debate that belongs in the same league as debating whether or not Porsche should be building four-door sedans. Or convertible four-door sedans that are actually more like oversize two-door roadsters. And there you have the rumors of a Porsche Panamera convertible. If you ask me, and so far Porsche hasn’t, this is not a good idea. It is not hotter than a Sebring. In fact it sort of looks like one, at least in this picture:

Anyone out there in CarGurus land interested in a brand-new Ford Explorer? Well, Ford is making one for 2011. Expect a choice between a 2.0-liter four-cylinder Ecoboost and the 3.5-liter twin turbo V6 Ecoboost. Other than that, not too much is known except that it will join the ranks of the Ford Flex and drop its body-on-frame design. But is an Explorer that rides on a unibody platform really an Explorer at all? We’ll hold further judgment until the 2011 Explorer officially debuts, likely at an auto show coming soon.

Finally, in news that no one probably cares about that I’ll mention anyway, the Buick Regal is coming back. The new Regal will slot beneath the Lacrosse, have a 2.4-liter engine, and be based on the Opel Insignia. Forgive me for not oozing excitement over this, but the Regal will join GM’s Malibu, Impala, Lacrosse, and CTS in an already crowded mid-to-full-size sedan market. Again, final judgments will wait until I can drive one.

So that’s Cars Coming Soon. And here’s a little bonus – an inside tip on a deal that could bring an exotic car to you: Lamborghini is offering zero percent financing on its $400,000 Murciélago LP640! Jump on the offer now, and your monthly payment could be only $5,300, instead of about $6,200.

Further proof that I’m always looking out for you. You’re welcome.

Any of these Cars Coming Soon excite you?

-tgriffith

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