Automotive Trends

     It’s not often that our busy schedules align to allow all three editors to get together in one spot, but the 2011 Detroit Auto Show is an event we don’t miss. Which is why your humble commentators are holed up high above Detroit surrounded by half a Best Buy’s worth of electronics and burning through a small country’s allotment of bandwidth in anticipation of the deluge of auto news coming out of the Motor City over the next few days. We cleared a few minutes from our schedule to talk about what we’re anticipating most from tomorrow’s show and to go on record with who we think will walk away with North American Car and Truck of the Year honors. It’s all after the jump.

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      It’s the eve of the 2011 North American International Auto Show and the AT Editorial Team has descended on the Motor City to set up camp just blocks from Cobo Hall. Executive Editor Dye just pulled out the corporate credit card to let the staff feast on endless pizza and root beer. Yes, this is truly the good life! And in preparation for the big day we figured it would be fitting to provide our curious readers a taste of what’s to come. Click through for a preview gallery and then stop back later tonight for a special edition Automotive Trends PODCAST for our last minute thoughts and predictions before we hit the show floor tomorrow morning at 5:30AM! Was that root beer caffeine free?!

UPDATE: Since we posted this, Volkswagen has seen fit to break cover with a pair of photos of the 2012 Passat. We’ve included them in the gallery.  Read more…

More Than Just A Pretty Face

     The XJ hasn’t been a contender for years. Even when the last generation stepped forward with advanced aluminum intensive construction for the 2004 model year, a ho-hum base engine, tired styling and uninspired interior guaranteed it would never light up the radar of discriminating luxury sedan buyers. The XJ’s disastrous reception forced Jaguar management to sever its retro stranglehold and turn to maestro of design Ian Callum to develop a modern design language, which we first saw on the svelte, but still traditional, XF. For the flagship XJ Callum pushes the envelope even further and blesses the big cat with a distinctive presence that we think will finally draw curious consumers to Jaguar showrooms. After a week with a long-wheelbase XJ we’re confident they’re going to like what they find. Read more…

      The Automotive Trends staff would like to wish you and yours a Happy New Year! Have fun and be careful out there! We’ll see y’all in 2011!

Kia Delivers a Stress Free Way to Dash Through the Snow.

      It was a blustery cold and snowy afternoon when I took delivery of the latest Kia crossover, the Sportage. Beneath the snow this 5-door crossover looked far different from the Sportage Kia introduced to the US market in 1995. That vehicle was offered as a 5-door SUV or 3-door ½ roof convertible similar to a Suzuki Samarai/Sidekick or an Isuzu Amigo. The days of a genuine rock-crawling, wind in your hair, 4-cylinder SUV are all but gone; replaced by bulbous vehicles designed with an emphasis on handling and cargo carrying abilities while neglecting outward visibility or even tasteful styling. The 2011 Sportage is no exception to the trend. In fact, it takes the small crossover category farther from its SUV ancestry than any other competitor. The original Sportage was a two-box design with a long hood and short overhangs. For 2011, the Sportage has a relatively short hood and eliminates the side windows in the cargo area giving the impression of a VW Golf that has morphed from mild mannered Dr. Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk. Thankfully, for 2011 Kia has finally managed to develop a family resemblance amongst its entire line up – Sportage included – with the implementation of a barbell shaped opening in the grille complete with floating Kia badge. Read more…

      The Automotive Trends staff would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas! Let us remember the reason for the season and be glad in it!

      Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
      – Luke 2:11

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

Buick Injects a Bit of Sport Into Mainstream America

      When General Motors introduced the Opel Insignia in Europe a few years ago, American auto enthusiasts took notice because it appeared to be the replacement for the well received Saturn Aura. The Insignia-based model promised to be the sporty front-wheel-drive midsize sedan that GM had consistently failed to offer Americans. That promise was broken in 2009 when GM killed off the relatively short lived brand as part of its bankruptcy restructuring. The promise broken by Saturn would curiously be kept by up-market Buick. Read more…

Best If Used By 2007

      The little Versa washed up on our shores back in 2006 as an ‘07 model looking pretty much like the same car you see here. But dig into history a bit and you will find that the Versa first went on sale in Japan in 2004. The little Nissan has gone by the aliases Tiida, Tiida Latio, Latio, Versa and the Dodge Trazo. It has been sold in Japan, Latin American, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, a select smattering of European countries, and likely a few more places we just don’t have the space here to list. So to say this car is getting a bit long in the tooth is a bit of an understatement. Nevertheless, when the Versa showed up in the AT Garage we had a road trip assignment ready for it. Read more…

      Better grab a hot chocolate and your favorite Snuggie for this one! Not only is it darn cold and chilly in the Motor City, but in this paticular episode of the Automotive Trends PODCAST your humble editors got a bit long winded! Design Editor Gernand gives us a quick history on the Chrysler K-Car before we launch into our pre-auto show discussion. We debate what vehicles will make the finalist round for North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, then deliver a little bit of commentary on the BMW 1-Series M Coupe, Chevrolet’s newest small car name, Buick’s latest endeavor to deliver small car fuel mileage in the fullsize LaCrosse and we also mentioned the Ford Explorer and Volkswagen Golf R. To top it all off we discussed all four of the vehicles we’ve had in the fleet since we last sat behind the mics. Click through to have a listen and check out the impressive photo galleries. Read more…