MARCH 9, 2022

(Acura Images)
The 2023 Integra returns to the Acura lineup, "delivering a premium, exhilarating driving experience and a sleek liftback design to a new generation of enthusiast drivers," according to Acura PR Minions. The new Integra features a coupe-like roofline and segment-exclusive liftback body style. The new Integra is powered by a VTEC®-enhanced DOHC 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine producing 200HP (SAE net @ 6,000 rpm) and 192 lb.-ft. of torque (SAE net @ 1,800 - 5,000 rpm), with a new coil type exhaust system adding a tuned exhaust sound. Integra's standard CVT automatic transmission is tuned specifically for the high-output turbocharged engine and responds quickly to throttle inputs, while Step Shift programming simulates gear changes when accelerating. For added driver control, steering wheel-mounted shifter paddles are standard. An available segment-exclusive short-throw, close-ratio 6-speed manual gearbox features automatic rev matching. To maximize available traction when accelerating out of corners, power is routed through a helical limited-slip differential (LSD) in manual transmission-equipped vehicles. Other stuff? Standard 10.2-inch Acura Precision Cockpit™ digital gauge cluster and available 16-speaker ELS STUDIO 3D® premium audio system. The 2023 Integra will start at around $30,000, with reservations starting today for delivery this spring. Watch a video featuring Pierre Gasly here.

(Volkswagen)
The VW ID. BUZZ will be officially unveiled on March 9th at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT. You can watch it live at YouTube.com/VW. And watch the teaser video here (complete with a misspelled word).

(VW Images)
And here it is: The all-electric, rear-wheel-drive, 2024 VW ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo. The first versions will come to the European market with 82 kWh battery powering a 201HP electric motor with maximum torque of 229 lb-ft. Both models in the ID. Buzz range "hark back to the iconic Microbus design and formula of maximum space on a small footprint," according to VW PR minions. Sustainability measures include replacing leather with non-animal material, incorporating recycled materials, and using organically-based paint. We were going to download a bunch of info here, but since European models go on sale this year, with a long-wheelbase passenger model to go on sale in the North American market in 2024, we will wait until the information for the U.S. version arrives. 

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Carlos Tavares - CEO of Stellantis - has a message for suppliers: Drop Dead. The CEO is expecting Stellantis suppliers to eat costs in order to help bring next-gen BEVs to market. Auto manufacturer treatment of their suppliers is legendary for its capriciousness. When things are going well, suppliers are called "partners" and everything is is all happy-dappy. But when things go wrong, suppliers are the first to get thrown under the bus. These two factions have had an acrimonious relationship almost since the industry began. Manufacturers believe that suppliers are something to be used - for ideas and whatever else they can bring to the table. Manufacturer thinking is also dominated by a strong True North of "Not Invented Here," which means that no matter how good a supplier's idea is, a manufacturer can do it better and cheaper. The reality for most manufacturers, of course, is that they can't. In fact, it usually costs twice as much and takes twice as long to get produced when they get their hands on it. From the opposite perspective, suppliers believe that they are constantly bringing breakthrough ideas to the manufacturers, ideas that are either ignored, or even worse, bid out to competitors to get a better deal. As you can imagine, this is infuriating and something that Chrysler - under Sergio's reign - did with impunity. So, to have Tavares insist that suppliers must help bear the cost of BEV development is rich. What it really means is something like this: "We will beat you down to the nubs on price and when we're finished doing that, you can take another 20 percent off the total because we can demand it. And after that, when all is said and done, you can eat any profit you might have squirreled away and give it back to us to help cut our BEV development costs." Far from a savior, as some auto-journos refer to him, Tavares is another in a long line of CEOs who believe it's their right to screw over suppliers. It is an ugly Shit Show from every angle, and a giant bowl of Not Good for suppliers.-PMD

The AE Song of the Week:

Oh, yeah
Mmm

Still don't know what I was waitin' for
And my time was runnin' wild
A million dead end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
How the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
There's gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

Mmm, yeah

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Where's your shame?
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time

Strange fascinations fascinate me 
Ah, changes are takin'
The pace I'm goin' through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Ooh, look out you rock 'n' rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you're gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

"Changes" by David Bowie, from the album "Hunky Dory" (1971)*. Written by David Bowie. Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch a live performance here.

*This is a reflective song about defying your critics and stepping out on your own. It also touches on Bowie's penchant for artistic reinvention. Bowie wrote this when he was going through a lot of personal change. Bowie's wife, Angela, was pregnant with the couple's first child, Duncan. Bowie got along very well with his father and was very excited to have a child of his own. This optimism shines through in "Changes." According to Bowie, this started out as a parody of a nightclub song - "kind of throwaway" - but people kept chanting for it at concerts and thus it became one of his most popular and enduring songs. Bowie had no idea it was going to become so successful, but the song connected with his young audience who could relate to lyrics like "These children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds, are immune to your consultations, they're quite aware of what they're going through." Bowie had just started using a keyboard to write songs, which opened up new possibilities for him in terms of melody and structure. This fresh approach resulted in "Changes." Bowie played the sax on this track, and his guitarist, Mick Ronson, arranged the strings. Rick Wakeman, who would later became a member of the rock band, Yes, played the piano parts at the beginning and end. Bowie gave Wakeman a lot of freedom, telling him to play the song like it was a piano piece. The piano Wakeman played was the famous 100-year old Bechstein at Trident Studios in London, where the album was recorded; the same piano used by Elton John, The Beatles and Genesis. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)