Innehållsförteckning för July 2014 från MotorTrend

Toyota Motor Sales USA announced it will move its headquarters from Southern California to Texas after 57 years in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Construction will begin this year and is expected to finish by late 2016 or early 2017. The move will take place over the next three years and will affect about 4000 marketing, management, and communications jobs. Expected to move to Toyota’s new campus in Plano, Texas, right outside of Dallas, are approximately 2000 employees from Torrance, California; 1000 employees from Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America in Erlanger, Kentucky; and a number of employees located in New York City. An additional 1000 employees from Toyota Financial Services in Torrance will also relocate, but not until 2017. Unaffected Toyota operations include its current distribution centers, some…

On the heels of President Obama’s plea for more efficient big trucks, Walmart has revealed a new truck prototype previewing what the retail giant has in store for its truck fleets. Called the Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience (WAVE), the concept truck is said to be 20 percent more aerodynamic than Walmart’s current trucks, and is powered by a turbine engine. The WAVE, built in collaboration with suppliers Peterbilt, Great Dane Trailers, and Capstone Turbine, is just beginning formal testing and might never be put into service in this form. But its aero-optimized tractor trailer design, microturbine hybrid powertrain, advanced control systems, and lightweight trailer might. The WAVE’s primary motivator is its turbine engine, which can run on petroleum-derived diesel, biodiesel, natural gas, and potentially other fuels in the future. The…

General Motors hopes to reduce the amount of legal action it must take from the ignition recall by blocking lawsuits that are based only on alleged economic losses. The automaker has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to essentially block the growing number of class-action and individual lawsuits. GM points out that the motion does not block lawsuits involving accidents, death, or injuries. “This motion to enforce involves only litigation in which the plaintiffs seek economic losses against New GM relating to an Old GM vehicle or part, including, for example, for the claimed diminution in the vehicle’s value, and for loss of use, alternative transportation, child care, or lost wages for time spent in seeking prior repairs,” according to the filing obtained by The Detroit News. “Those…

This industry is always looking forward. We’re always talking about what’s next, whether it’s the car coming tomorrow, next year, or sometime in the next decade. No car company can afford to let a product stagnate, even if it means just adding a few new paint options every year to change things up. With so much unrelenting change flowing across showroom floors every year, it’s easy for some cars to get lost in the crowd. Over the next several pages, we’ll catch you up on all the latest metal hitting the road later this year and take a look at some future machines we know are on the way, even if they aren’t official products yet. FORD MUSTANG GT350 With the incredible marketing and sales power behind the Shelby brand,…

Time flies. Not since 2010 have we had a midsize sedan roundup this large, and by now most of those cars have been succeeded by a new generation or have a replacement waiting in the wings. Midsize sedans continue to rock the U.S. sales board, with the Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, and Honda Accord taking the fourth through sixth spots in the first quarter of 2014, right behind Detroit’s pickup trucks. Add the Ford Fusion, another two spots down, and that’s four midsize sedans in the top-10 best-selling vehicles of the year through March. But let’s get down to business: Who’s up to bat and who’s warming the bench? In this comparison, we have the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu and 2014 Kia Optima, both recently refreshed, along with the all-new 2015…

“Torque, range, and cargo space: The 328d is the kind of do-anything, go-anywhere car that makes you want to cover long distances.” @carloslago EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 31/43/35 MPG BASE PRICE $43,875 PRICE AS TESTED $59,200 “A GROCERY-GETTER?” My dad wasn’t impressed. “No,” I said. “Well, technically, yes.” But he still wasn’t getting it. I repeated, more slowly, “Diesel…wagon… sport package.” The silence that followed illustrated that the notion of a diesel-powered wagon that’s also desirable remains alien to some people. Not to me. Or to other, jealous people in the office. This new 328d long-termer is a very attractive car around these parts. Why? In numbers, the turbo 2.0-liter I-4 makes 280 lb-ft of torque and returns 43 mpg freeway, while the range estimator reads north of 520…

“It’s a sweetheart when tooling around town, but spool up the turbos and the Vsport morphs into a menacing super-sedan.” @MT_Floyd Service life / 3 mo/5576 mi Avg CO2 / 0.97 lb/mi Energy cons / 169 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $0 Normal-wear cost / $0 Base price / $59,995 As tested / $60,990 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 16/24/18 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 20.0 MPG The miles are flying by in the Cadillac CTS Vsport, and that’s not much of a surprise given how quickly the twin-turbo-powered Car of the Year moves out when the going gets fast. At a shade under 4000 pounds (3938 to be exact), the Vsport isn’t exactly a lightweight, but its 420 horses have proved to be more than enough…

“IS 350 AWD adds much-needed power with only a slight drop in fuel economy. Totally worth it, I say.” @MT_Evans Service life / 3 mo/3424 mi Avg CO2 / 1.02 lb/mi Energy cons / 176 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $0 Normal-wear cost / $0 Base price / $42,610 As tested / $50,220 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 19/26/21 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 19.1 MPG As you might recall, this long-term test is different. Lexus wanted us to cover almost the entire IS model line rather than just one car, so it sent us an IS 250 rear-drive model to start and recently swapped it for an IS 350 all-weather drive (in Lexus-speak) model. This one will swap out for a rear-drive IS 350 F Sport…

People’s different reactions to the Rio have been most interesting. “Kia built just 459 of the 2013 SX hatchbacks with manuals, painted either red or blue. If you find ours one day, sorry about the smell.” Service Life 18 mo / 39,212 mi Base Price $18,650 Options Carpeted floor mats ($115), iPod adapter cable ($29) Price as Tested $18,794 Avg Econ/CO2 34.1 mpg / 0.57 lb/mi Problem Areas Peeling steering wheel Maintenance Cost $215.55 (4-oil change, inspection; 3-tire rotation; 2-cabin-air filter; 1-engine-air filter) Normal-Wear Cost $577.40 (4 Goodyear Eagle Sport tires; mounting and balancing) 3-Year Residual Value* $9773 Recalls None *Automotive Lease Guide EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 29/37/32 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 34.1 MPG Long ago—and by “long,” I mean 10 years ago—you might have been teased for having a…

You couldn’t have missed our exclusive reveal of the stunning Toyota FT-1 supercar concept on the cover of the March issue of Motor Trend. The car has been getting a lot of attention ever since—so much attention that Toyota is beginning to seriously consider what was initially only a design concept. Word on the street is that Toyota has commissioned another full-scale model of the FT-1 concept, this time in a different color, and is rumored to be working on a hotter, widebody race-car version, possibly as a tie-up with a certain video game franchise (Gran Turismo) and touring car series (Super GT). This all stands to reason and suggests that a production FT-could be in the offing. Why? First, Toyota spokespeople have confirmed that the response to FT-1 at…

A special-edition 2015 Ford Mustang will celebrate the ponycar’s 50th birthday, and Ford didn’t have to think too hard about how many it would build. When the 50th Anniversary Edition hits showrooms this fall, it will be limited to a production run of 1964 units, signifying the year the Mustang first entered the world. So what do those lucky 1964 customers get? The 2015 Mustang 50th Anniversary Edition starts life as a top-spec Ford Mustang GT coupe with the performance pack. Notable design cues include Kona Blue or Wimbledon White paint, the same shade used for the very first Mustang sold in April 1964. The colors are exclusive to the Anniversary Edition, as are the louvered rear-quarter windows specially constructed from layered sheets of glass. Subtle chrome touches frame the…

Apple’s CarPlay system will make using an iPhone in a vehicle easier and safer than it is now. The electronics giant revealed we’ll start seeing the system as early as this year, with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo being the first to introduce it in their cars. CarPlay works by integrating several iPhones directly onto a vehicle’s built-in infotainment display. Apple Maps will be shown on the vehicle’s screen and will offer navigation capabilities with turn-by-turn directions and 3-D maps. Apple says the Maps function will also “anticipate destinations based on recent trips via contacts, emails, or texts, and provided routing instructions, traffic conditions, and ETA.” Full integration for phone calls, music, and reading and responding to text messages with voice inputs are also all part of CarPlay. Just push the…

It can now be revealed: Carolla loves Lusso. Writer, author, comedian, TV host, prolific podcaster, and well-known car guy Adam Carolla was recently among a number of automotive celebrities asked to choose one of “The World’s Greatest Sports Coupes” for an exhibit of the same name at Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum. We interrupted his cocktail hour to ask him about his pick. How did you get involved in this exhibit? They just came up to me and they said, “You wanna pick a car?” And I said, “Yeah, OK, I’ll pick a car.” What happens if someone else picks the same one? You know, they didn’t tell me. At that point, I think they just go right to IMDB and see who’s got more credits. I didn’t think people…

SPORTS/GT CARS DODGE CHALLENGER What’s New: The front, rear, and hood are restyled with heavy influence from the 1971 Challenger. An eight-speed automatic replaces the slow-shifting five-speed, and electric power steering takes over from hydraulic. The interior is all-new and now includes Chrysler’s latest UConnect touch-screen infotainment system. What’s Not: Engines are still a 305-hp, 3.6-liter V-6; 372-hp, 5.7-liter V-8; and 485-hp, “392” 6.4-liter V-8. Six-speed manual remains. Most mechanical components are carried over with some minor improvements. The rumored supercharged model has not yet been announced. When: Fall 2014 How Much: $27,000-$41,000 (est) DODGE CHARGER What’s New: Exterior styling gets more aggressive and incorporates some family design cues from the Dart. An eight-speed automatic transmission and electric power steering are new. A backup camera is now standard, and new…

I glance to my right at the guy driving the Volt and do a double take—why is he grinning and videoing the Porsche 918 with his iPhone like that? Ah, yes. Of course. The 918 I’m in is whispering along in its EV mode right now, which makes he and I sort of like EV buddies! I give him a big thumbs-up, a friendly gesture of geek communion, and then whoosh the Porsche ahead in traffic. A few minutes later, a café racer shrieks up on the other side and commences to pace me as his gleaming multicolored helmet abruptly tilts to study the Porsche’s undulating gray shape. Instantly, I switch the EV mode off, causing the 4.6-liter, flat-crank, racing-derived V-8 to explode into a frantic roar, fire-hosing its exhaust…

“The MDX is a surprisingly entertaining vehicle to drive aggressively, and putting on a good set of tires would make it even better.” Service life / 7 mo / 14,556 mi Avg CO2 / 0.99 lb/mi Energy cons / 172 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $97.03 (oil change, tire rotation, inspection) Normal-wear cost / $0 Base price / $57,400 As tested / $57,400 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 18/27/21 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 20.5 MPG I recently headed twice to Lake Arrowhead, a local mountain community, and I took the opportunity to sample the differences between the MDX’s Comfort and Sport IDS (Integrated Dynamics System) modes, as well as D and S transmission modes. In a lot of vehicles, pushing the S or Sport button means little…

“Having fun on canyon roads above Vegas. Occasionally wish the nav wouldn’t display the speed limit, which otherwise is a nifty touch.” Service life / 3 mo/3341 mi Avg CO2 / 1.08 lb/mi Energy cons / 187 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $0 Normal-wear cost / $0 Base price / $44,455 As tested / $53,020 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON:20/29/23 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 18.0 MPG I’ve been in the sport version of Infiniti’s newest sedan for almost 4000 miles—plenty of time for solid first impressions. I do want more folks to experience the Direct Adaptive Steering (aka steer-by-wire) before declaring consensus. My experience: You get used to it. Only when switching cars—for instance, after seat time in a Jaguar F-Type and a Honda Accord Sport—was it…

The Gran Coupe shines brightest when it’s out on the open highway, eating up miles at low rpm, but high speed. In its Comfort setting, the car is quiet, relaxed, and totally composed. “The 650i has spoiled me this year. Even James Bond wouldn’t turn down a year-long loaner.” @Rory Jurnecka Service Life / 14 mo/17,398 mi Base Price / $88,095 Options / Premium Sound Package ($4650: Bang & Olufsen sound system, satellite radio), M Sport Package ($4400: M bodywork, interior enhancements), Driver Assistance Package ($3800: lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring), Adaptive Drive w / Active Roll Stabilization ($2500), Active Cruise Control ($2400), Luxury Seating Package ($2400: active front seats, 4-zone climate control), LED headlights ($1900), 20-in wheels & summer tires ($1300), ceramic-finish controls ($650), front seat warmers ($500),…

Alan Mulally is retiring from his post as Ford’s CEO on July 1, after more than seven years of leading the Blue Oval’s impressive transformation from a company on the brink of bankruptcy to a formidable global automaker. Succeeding Mulally will be Ford COO Mark Fields, who has been with the automaker for 25 years. Mulally saved the automaker from bankruptcy at the start of the Great Recession, avoiding the federal loans and jarring restructuring needed to keep General Motors and Chrysler afloat. In addition to changing the company’s culture, he convinced shareholders to become smaller: Ford eventually sold off Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo, and shuttered Mercury. Just three years into his post, Ford posted a $2.7 billion profit. He earned the top spot in Motor Trend’s…

In response to the fires that occurred last year, Tesla has developed a fix for the Model S that makes the battery pack virtually impenetrable to road debris: a three-layer battery shield made of ballistic-grade aluminum and titanium. As you may recall, two Model S fires resulted from contact with road debris. (A third fire involved a high-speed impact.) In those two cases, both drivers were able to exit their cars unharmed after the onboard computer warned them to do so. The steel and ceramic firewall between the battery pack and passenger compartment contained the fire to the front end. A few months ago, Tesla sent out a software update that prevents lowering the car at highway speeds, reducing the risk of underbody damage. Now, the startup automaker is issuing…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just finalized rules that require rearview cameras in all passenger cars produced after mid-2018, but Tesla and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers want to take it one step further by replacing side mirrors with cameras. Both parties filed a petition with the NHTSA seeking to ditch those clunky side mirrors in favor of sideview cameras, arguing that a high-tech system could be just as effective, if not more. Side mirrors have long been required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111, but Tesla and the alliance claim they create drag and that smaller cameras mounted in place of mirrors can help improve a car’s aerodynamic performance and fuel efficiency. Although the NHTSA has been petitioned on the issue just recently, this idea…

It’s been seven years since the last new Escalade, the third-generation GMT900 truck. Back in 2007, it was relatively easy to move 60,000 Escalades a year. Then the Great Recession hit and sales fell by two-thirds. But they remained steady enough—about 25K per year—and profitable enough for Cadillac to launch a fourth-generation model, the 2015 Escalade. Internally known as GMT K2XX, the new Escalade picks up exactly where the old rig left off. You can go on and take your cheap shots—the thing’s so big, you’ll hit it. In the negative column goes all the usual stuff: It’s too big, too thirsty, too expensive, too obnoxious, and it’s really just a Chevy Suburban playing dress-up. All true, to a point. But what such easily swung criticism misses is the fact…

@MT_TheGoods MOTOR TREND'S THE GOODS DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ $1300 • dji.com Take your video recording game up a notch with DJI’s user-friendly four-rotor helicopter, which is controllable via a nifty smartphone app. It’ll shoot 1080p HD footage or 14-megapixel stills on its camera for up to 25 minutes. Cherry Wood Troubadours $150 • lstnheadphones.com Not only do the Troubadours look cool with their handcrafted reclaimed wood casing, they also sound terrific. And as a bonus, for every pair sold, someone’s hearing is improved through a partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Pioneer NEX with Apple CarPlay $700-$1400 • pioneerelectronics.com With an NEX multimedia system and Apple’s CarPlay firmware update, you can safely access your iTunes music, write and respond to texts, make calls, and navigate town through your iPhone…

Tough Enough? Regarding the article “Unheavy Metal” (April 2014) lauding the merits of the new aluminum-bodied Ford F-150, the ability of this new alloy to resist dents and dings “better than steel” is certainly the question. I attended the last day of the Detroit auto show and found it interesting that this same question was obviously on the minds of a lot of attendees as well. Ford had on display an unpainted aluminum door to showcase this new development. This door was full of fist and knuckle dents where people had “tested” its resistance to dings. It looked so bad, I was surprised that Ford had not removed it from the display. It might typically be expected that trucks in their normal use (and, in particular, commercial use) are exposed…

SPORTS/GT CARS INFINITI EAU ROUGE CONCEPT What We Know: Infiniti finally gets serious about performance with what amounts to a four-door Nissan GT-R. A beefed-up version of the GT-R’s twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-6 now makes 560 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque and will be mated to Infiniti’s seven-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters. Power meets earth at all four wheels, with a permanent 50/50 front/rear torque split. That combination is good for a 0-60-mph spring in under 4 seconds, Infiniti says. What We Don’t: Will Infiniti be able to make it work? We understand there are three prototypes already running around, but engineers are having trouble tuning vibrations out of the new engine/transmission pairing. After all, it’s still a luxury car, and it’ll need to drive like one. When: Sources…

We recently spent some time on the track with the new BMW M235i. Motor Trend’s captive racer Randy Pobst commented, “This is the best BMW I’ve driven in 10 years.” I mention this because, after spending a day with the new i8, it could be the best BMW I’ve ever driven, full stop. If not, then it’s the best since the E39 M5. Sticking with the superlatives, I feel the Roundel brand’s new $136,625, three-cylinder, carbon-fiber plug-in hybrid sports car will go down in history as the most important BMW of all them. How’s that for overselling it? That’s right, only three cylinders displacing 1.5 liters and force-fed by a wee turbocharger help provide the wing-door car’s forward propulsion to the tune of 228 horsepower. There’s 8 hp of assist…

“The soft-touch dash adds to the perceived quality, and might be the best ever offered in a compact car.” @BrianNVance EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 28/38/32 MPG BASE PRICE $27,290 PRICE AS TESTED $30,285 WITH THE ROLLOUT of every new version of Mazda’s highly regarded ’3, staffers hold their breath, hoping the carmaker doesn’t meddle with success and continues its spot-on refinement of what is by most measures the best product it sells. So as Car of the Year testing commenced and we worked the new compact through our weeklong regimen of data collection and evaluation, we all breathed a sigh of relief as the ’3 quickly moved through the ranks to the shortlist of COTY finalists. Seems as if Mazda did it again. The maker redesigned the ’3 to…

“I’ve been using my phone paired with the Bluetooth streaming to handle entertainment and navigation and using the Outlander mostly for its AM radio. Progress!” @MT_Royer Service life / 8 mo/13,990 mi Avg CO2 / 0.76 lb/mi Energy cons / 132 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $191.15 (change oil, rotate tires, inspection) Normal-wear cost / $0 Base price / $26,620 As tested / $32,720 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 24/29/26 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 25.5 MPG The Outlander’s center entertainment and navigation console comes packed with options. But the star of the show is what could soon render obsolete the options already mentioned. The Bluetooth streaming capability takes the entertainment and nav nerve center out of the vehicle and moves it to your smartphone. I’ve recently…