An Automotive Engineer's Point of View – News and Reviews
It’s not terribly difficult to misplace the Chicago Auto Show on the calendar.
Slotted in-between Detroit and the Geneva Show, where the European brands like to make their debuts, was there much newsworthy coming from this year’s Chicago show?
Well, yes in fact, Toyota announced details on its second-generation of TRD Pro models, and Hyundai revels its hybrid and plug-in versions of the Sonata.
Continue reading “Week #5 – A couple of Splashes from the Chicago Show”
What a month January was for new truck news. Ford kicked off the party with an updated F-150 that now offers a fourth engine choice – a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 – and has shown a production-ready version of the all-new mid-size Ranger. Chevrolet has introduced its all-new Silverado featuring a new era of styling and a host of improvements. But piquing my interest is in the most number of ways is the 2019 Ram 1500.
Taking a refinement pen to its current design, the exterior looks much more modern and sophisticated. All around are thoughtful details and segment-first equipment while each trim gets additional unique styling touches. There is no doubt that the Ram team asked a lot of “why not?” and “how about this?” during this redesign.
Continue reading “2019 Ram 1500 – A Segment Leader in Design, Efficiency, Tech”
As the brands pour all of their attention on the upcoming Super Bowl commercials, there are few significant news reports (aka distractions).
One bit of news that normally wouldn’t be covered here, especially since the model’s debut is still several months away, comes from Land Rover.
The Detroit Auto Show featured many major new vehicle debuts like the Acura RDX and Chevrolet Silverado, however, there was still plenty of other special bits of news.
Continue reading “News for the Week (#3) – What wasn’t a Detroit Debut”
This newest generation of GM’s best selling vehicle takes on a new styling direction while making efficient and smart improvements on existing technology and material application.
The RDX hits the reset button and the stars are beginning to align for Acura. 
Continue reading “2019 Acura RDX – Detroit Debut”
News For the Week (#2)
Tech News from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas
Over the past several years, the CES in Las Vegas has become a venue to announce new connectivity platforms and big developments in autonomous tech. This year’s CES was no different and, as our world becomes more connected, the announcements are much less of a view of a far-off ideal as they are about what is actually happening and coming in the next decade or sooner.
News For the Week (#51) – News and Detroit Previews
Another relatively low key week for car news, however, there were a few notable bits.
Speaking of hybrids, Hyundai has added its third model to the Ioniq line-up.
When the EX35 debuted in 2008, it was focused on the sports-end of the emerging segment. Its strong V6, relatively low center of gravity, and rear wheel drive layout (AWD optional) won the hearts of those who strongly felt that a crossover didn’t have to be a dull handling vehicle.
The first generation QX50 came from a simple name change in 2014 – from the EX37 – while the actual car received hardly an update. Because of this, many still refer to the 2018 model as the EX35 or EX37 and Infiniti’s crossover fell behind the leaders of the pack. That is all about to be forgotten as the new QX50 is entirely new.
Continue reading “2019 Infiniti QX50 – A Completely Re-invented SUV”
After the frenzy of the LA Auto Show, which included several significant new vehicle launches, the automakers are now fully focused on Detroit’s auto show in January.
Still there were a few interesting bits of news that came across the wire this week.
McLaren Senna – Simple mission: Be the best road-legal track car
Porsche Brake Tech – Cleaner and More Efficient
