Editor-In-Chief's Note: General Motors and Honda have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) toward establishing a strategic alliance for North America. The highlights: GM and Honda plan to explore vehicle platform-sharing possibilities in more than four core segments, along with propulsion systems, infotainment and connectivity services, advanced driver-assist features, V2X technology and other R&D innovations. Vehicle co-development planning discussions are to begin right away, with engineering work starting in early 2021. Joint purchasing activities will be explored as a part of the alliance. Since both of the companies' supply chains are interconnected at various levels, collaboration to unlock synergies by leveraging both companies scale, best practices, insights and efficiencies will be pursued throughout the value chain. Purchasing collaboration would be focused on joint sourcing of materials, logistics and localization strategies. The short story? This marks a significant development for both companies. It will improve their competitive footprint and accelerate new technologies to market. In other words, it's a BIG FRICKIN' DEAL. -PMD
Editor-In-Chief's Note: There has been much hand-wringing about the fate of auto shows, and in fact, their very survival is in question. Now, as first reported in Automotive News, the announcement that the 2021 L.A. Auto Show is moving from its usual November slot to next May 21-31 is a giant bowl of Not Good. Why? It causes a mash-up of events next year that could serve to kill auto shows once and for all. The 2021 New York Auto Show takes place in early April, and the reimagined 2021 Detroit Auto Show is scheduled to begin June 19th. Having three major auto shows within eight weeks is a recipe for disaster, forcing the world's auto manufacturers - which have already become skeptical of the value of big auto shows to begin with - to choose which of these three auto shows they will participate in. I couldn't imagine a worse scenario for the health of auto shows in general. What a mess. -PMD
(Cyan Racing)
Cyan Racing, the reigning triple World Touring Car Champions, has revealed the Volvo P1800 Cyan, an interpretation of the iconic Volvo sports car from the sixties. The car is engineered by the team behind the first world title-winning Volvo race car and the Volvo C30 Polestar Concept Prototype. Its standout features? High-strength steel and carbon fiber body; Bespoke and independent fully adjustable chassis; 420HP and a weight of 990kg. ”Our company was founded in 1996 to race Volvo cars in Sweden and the Volvo P1800 Cyan is closing the circle for us,” said Christian Dahl, CEO and founder of Cyan Racing. "We claimed our first world title with Volvo in 2017 and have since then won two further world titles with two other manufacturers. The first world title was a milestone for us, and we felt it was a good time to reconnect with the past and to those before us racing Volvos. The first Volvo P1800 Cyan carries our blue and yellow racing colors to mark our heritage.” The original Volvo P1800 was unveiled in 1960, a year before the Jaguar E-Type, two years before the Ferrari 250 GTO and three years before the Porsche 911. "The Jaguar, the Ferrari and the Porsche are all cars with a continuation,” said Dahl. “That left us with inspiration to create what could have been if we as a race team had been there during the sixties, racing the P1800, and got to design a road version of our race car. The Volvo P1800 Cyan is our interpretation of what could have been.” In the age of autonomous driving, electrification and connectivity, Cyan Racing decided it was time to capture what has been and to make it timeless."Obviously we could have built an electric Volvo P1800 filled with all the latest technology, comfort and luxury. But that was not what we wanted," Dahl continued. "Amid this paradigm shift we decided to slow down time and freeze a part of it in our own time capsule. To take the best from the golden sixties and combine it with our capabilities of today, keeping a pure yet refined driving experience." While creating the Volvo P1800 Cyan, the team behind it decided to treat the design and engineering of the sixties with care, moving it forward in a delicate way. "We decided to apply our expertise in engine, aero and chassis design for a car that delivers on the Cyan engineering philosophy in terms of predictability and intuitive driver control, yet keeping the light-weight, analogue driving experience of the sixties," said Mattias Evensson, Project Manager and Head of Engineering at Cyan Racing. There are no driver aids to distort the driving experience, meaning no stability control, ABS or brake booster. The P1800 Cyan is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine based on the same engine as used in the world title-winning Volvo S60 TC1 race car, producing 420HP and 455Nm of torque, with a redline at 7700 rpm. "The Volvo P1800 Cyan is about clearing away anything disturbing the direct connection between driver, tires and the road. Our objective has been to keep that undisturbed sensation whilst refining it with the best technology of today," said Mattias Evensson. The company will build more of these P1800 hot rods, but no prices have been discussed. Needless to say, plan on bringing piles of ca$h-ola.
Jeep® fans will be thrilled, because the manufacturer of iconic 4X4 vehicles will unveil the new 2021 Wrangler 4xe model at 9 a.m. EDT on Thursday, September 3. The event will also mark the much-anticipated reveal of the new Wagoneer. The event will be streamed online and available for public viewing at www.youtube.com/Jeep.
The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye has the most powerful production V8 engine with 797HP, a quarter-mile elapsed time of 10.6 seconds and a top speed of 203 mph. So, how much? The U.S. MSRP starts at $78,595: Dealer ordering opens in September with initial deliveries to Dodge//SRT dealerships scheduled to begin in early 2021.
This is the Audi RS 6 Avant “RS Tribute edition.” As a tribute to the first high-performance wagon from Audi, the RS 6 Avant “RS Tribute edition” features unique design elements that harken back to the iconic RS2 Avant, including: Nogaro Blue pearl effect exterior paint color with black optic accents on the grille, side blades, rear diffuser and black roof rails. The side mirrors are body color; Standard 22-inch 5-V-spoke trapezoid design cast aluminum wheels in silver with summer tires; Red painted steel brake calipers; Carbon twill structure inlays in the interior and Denim blue contrast stitching on the Audi exclusive Valcona S Sport seats; Perforated steering wheel, RS floor mats and the leather elements along the upper and lower dashboard. The RS 6 Avant features a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine capable of 591HP and 590 lb-ft of torque. It goes from 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Take a good look at it here, because you'll probably never see one - just 25 units will be produced. Oh and by the way, the MSRP for the 2021 RS 6 Avant “RS Tribute edition” is $136,800.
This is the new 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It has so much technology that Mercedes PR minions set a new record for the lengthiest press release we've ever seen. They distilled the "new" stuff to the most important things about the vehicle, and we're going to take their word for it, because we just don't have the kind of time necessary to go through the volumes of information (nor do we care - WG). Here they are: The second generation of MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) debuts in the new S-Class, with up to five (!) screens on board, some with OLED technology. At the touch of a button, the new 3D driver display, for the first time, allows spatial perception of the surroundings with a real 3D effect thanks to eye-tracking. Another feature is the very large head-up display with augmented reality content. When navigating, for example, animated turn-off arrows ("fishbones") are virtually and precisely projected onto the road lane. The active ambient lighting with around 250 LEDs is now integrated into the driving assistance systems, and is able to reinforce warnings visually. In addition, feedback is possible when operating the climate control system or the 'Hey Mercedes' voice assistant, for instance. The latest generation of the Driving Assistance Package has new and numerous improved functions. One example is predictive compliance with speed limits. (Uh, WTF?) The new driver assistance display clearly shows the operating principle of the driving assistance systems as a full-screen view. During severe frontal collisions, the optional rear airbag can considerably reduce the impact on the head and neck area of the seat-belt-wearing occupants in the outer rear seats. The frontal airbag for the rear seat deploys particularly gently thanks to its innovative construction using a tubular structure. Thanks to rear-axle steering (optional), the S-Class is as maneuverable as a compact car in the city. The steering angle at the rear axle is up to ten degrees. Even for the S-Class with a long wheelbase and all-wheel drive, the turning circle is reduced by 6 feet to under 36 feet. More than 50 electronic components in the new S-Class can be updated with new software over-the-air (OTA). These include the entire MBUX infotainment system, the driver display and the driving assistance systems. This technology saves the customer time, as they no longer need to visit a dealership for these updates. Furthermore, the vehicle remains up to date throughout its lifecycle and is equipped to incorporate new features. The explicit consent of the user is always a precondition for OTA updates. And finally, when a side impact with another vehicle is impending, the vehicle body can be raised by the E-ACTIVE BODY CONTROL suspension (optionally available next year) within a few tenths of a second. This is a new function of PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side: It can reduce the impact on the occupants because it directs the impact forces toward particularly resistant structures in the lower area of the vehicle. See what we mean? It's like taking a delivery of a new aircraft, which isn't necessarily a good thing. (M-B is clearly so obsessed with the guts of this thing that they failed to notice that the design well and truly sucks. Oh, and by the way, nothing was mentioned in the press release about the driving. -WG)
FCA has unveiled its Jeep Grand Wagoneer Concept. Calling it the "Ultimate Premium SUV Redefined," Jeep PR minions went on to say that the Wagoneer will become a portfolio of vehicles that redefines “American Premium” and delivers a unique customer experience. (Gee, we've only heard that about 1000 times before. -WG) Jeep's PR minions said lots of other grandiose things, but all you need to know is this: Production Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer vehicles will be built in metro Detroit beginning next year. Editor-In-Chief's Note: I'll wait to see it in the flesh, but for now the exterior design is tepid and the interior is not distinctive. A giant "we'll see" as we like to say. -PMD
You can go home again, apparently. Sixty years after Honda introduced customers to the joys of casual on- and off-road riding, the all-new 2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS (CT125) resurrects a revered brand by injecting a healthy dose of practical design and hassle-free technology to create a miniMOTO that — much like the Super Cub and Monkey — "pays tribute to the past while adapting easily to modern lifestyles." The new 2021 Honda Trail 125 expands upon the scope of the popular Super Cub C125 to include casual riding in rural settings, including two-track roads and trails. Honda strengthened the C125 chassis, increased suspension travel and improved fuel range. The engine is the same 125cc four-stroke, single-cylinder overhead-camshaft design operating two valves, but with a high-mounted air intake and up-swept exhaust to enhance low-end and mid-range power. As with the Super Cub, the Trail 125 has a four-speed semiautomatic transmission. The engine guard adds protection from obstacles like large rocks and tree stumps. “When American Honda was established in 1959 and began offering the Honda 50, Idaho dealer Herb Uhl started modifying it for off-road use, resulting in Honda producing the Trail 50,” said Lee Edmunds, Senior Manager of Powersports Marketing for American Honda. “That model became ubiquitous in American campgrounds and on motorhome bumpers in the ’60s and ’70s and led to a number of successors. For that reason, the CT brand has a special history with the U.S. market, and it’s great to see it return with the Trail 125 which, like the Super Cub and Monkey, harkens back to a golden era of American motorcycling but with modern technology and reliability.” The 2021 Honda Trail 125 is scheduled for release in November and will be available in Glowing Red. The MSRP is $3,899.
Volkswagen has revealed details of the interior for the all-new, fully-electric ID.4 prior to its world premiere later this month. “Freedom on the outside, free space on the inside. The ID.4 brings a new sense of space to its category thanks to the new MEB platform, our modular electric drive matrix,” said Klaus Zyciora, Head of Volkswagen Group Design. The ID.4 will feature ID. Light — a light strip below the windscreen to support drivers in a host of situations with intuitive lighting effects in different colors. For example, ID. Light signals to the driver that the vehicle’s drive system is active and that the car has been unlocked or locked. It accentuates information issued by the driver assist and navigation systems and signals braking prompts and incoming phone calls. The interior of the ID.4 is dominated by colors called Lunar Grey and Galaxy Black. The steering wheel, steering column, the housings of the display and control panels in the doors come in Piano Black or modern Electric White.
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's s time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
"For What It's Worth" By Buffalo Springfield from the album "Buffalo Springfield" (1966).* Listen to it here.
*Written by Buffalo Springfield guitarist Stephen Stills, this song was not about anti-war gatherings, but rather youth gatherings protesting anti-loitering laws, and the closing of the West Hollywood nightclub Pandora's Box. Stills was not there when they closed the club, but had heard about it from his band mates. In the book Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, Stephen Stills tells the story of this song's origin: "I had had something kicking around in my head. I wanted to write something about the kids that were on the line over in Southeast Asia that didn't have anything to do with the device of this mission, which was unraveling before our eyes. Then we came down to Sunset from my place on Topanga with a guy - I can't remember his name - and there's a funeral for a bar, one of the favorite spots for high school and UCLA kids to go and dance and listen to music. [Officials] decided to call out the official riot police because there's three thousand kids sort of standing out in the street; there's no looting, there's no nothing. It's everybody having a hang to close this bar. A whole company of black and white LAPD in full Macedonian battle array in shields and helmets and all that, and they're lined up across the street, and I just went 'Whoa! Why are they doing this?' There was no reason for it. I went back to Topanga, and that other song turned into 'For What It's Worth,' and it took as long to write as it took me to settle on the changes and write the lyrics down. It all came as a piece, and it took about fifteen minutes." Buffalo Springfield was the band's first album, and this song was not originally included on it. After "For What It's Worth" became a hit single, it replaced "Baby Don't Scold Me" on re-issues of the album. (Knowledge courtesy of songfacts.com.)