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(BMW images)

The 2024 BMW X2 will make its world debut at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo (formerly the Tokyo Motor Show) on October 26, 2023. The new X2 is longer, wider and higher. It is 7.6 inches longer than its predecessor and its wheelbase is now 106.0 inches (+ 0.9 inches). The new X2's width has grown 0.8 inches to 72.6, and its overall height is now 62.6 inches, up 2.5 inches compared with the previous generation. Inside, the new BMW X2 has seating for five adults. Both the driver and front passenger and those in the rear seats benefit from noticeable increases in shoulder and elbow room. Kneeroom in the second row of seats has been expanded by a full inch. The rear seat backrests can be folded in a 40:20:40 split. With all the seats in use, the new BMW X2 can accommodate 25.3 cubic feet of cargo. A maximum of 51.7 cubic feet of storage is available with the rear seats folded. The 2.0-liter TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder engine at work in the X2 xDrive28i (shown in red) has been extensively revised. The new engine incorporates a Miller combustion cycle, as well as a new dual (direct and port) injection system and a revised combustion chamber geometry. The engine now makes 241HP between 4,500-6,500 rpm, and torque has increased to 295 lb-ft between 1,500-4,000 rpm – resulting in a 0-60 mph time of 6.2 seconds. The all-new BMW X2 M35i xDrive (shown in blue) is more potent. Among the 2.0-liter unit’s M-specific highlights are a new, stronger crankshaft, an optimized oil supply system for the pistons with cooling channels, and main bearing shells and caps carried over from the latest-generation 6-cylinder engines. It is also equipped with VANOS variable camshaft timing with optimized oil supply for the actuator and VALVETRONIC fully variable valve timing. The result of these enhancements is 312HP between 5,750 and 6,500 rpm, and peak torque of 295 lb-ft from 2,000 to 4,500 rpm. The new BMW X2 M35i xDrive sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. The new BMW X2 will be produced at BMW Group Plant Regensburg for worldwide distribution. The US market launch of the new X2 will begin in March 2024.

(Toyota images)

CALTY Design Research, the American outpost of Toyota’s global design network, is celebrating five decades of groundbreaking design and innovation. The first major automotive design studio on the west coast, CALTY created everything from the 1978 Toyota Celica to the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, and countless concepts and production vehicles in between. CALTY's latest is this Toyota Baby Lunar Cruiser (BLC) concept. "Built to conquer rugged terrain on Earth and beyond, BLC embodies a unique mix of adaptive technology and heritage design cues from the original FJ40 Land Cruiser," according to Toyota PR minions.

(Honda)

Your mowing future? Honda thinks so. The company introduced the all-electric prototype Honda Autonomous Work Mower (AWM), the company's first battery-powered electric zero-turn riding (ZTR) mower aimed at boosting worksite efficiencies through autonomous solutions. The Honda AWM will be featured at the upcoming Equip Exposition, Oct. 17-20, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Watch a demonstration of the Honda AWM at https://honda.us/AutonomousWorkMower. Yes, it's a slow Monday, kids.

(Honda images)

Honda has freshened its 2024 Passport, saying it is "even more adventurous with improved off-road performance, updated styling and a more versatile interior," according to Honda PR minions. The enhanced Passport TrailSport is the most rugged, off-road capable Passport ever with a new off-road tuned suspension and trail-ready all-terrain tires. At the top of the Passport lineup, a new Black Edition (photos) features a more aggressive design, inside and out, and even more premium comfort features than the extremely well-equipped Elite trim it replaces. The new Black Edition trim features exclusive exterior and interior styling enhancements that distinguish it from the rest of the Passport family. Available in Crystal Black Pearl, the new top-of-the-line trim is also available in Sonic Gray, Platinum White and Radiant Red. Every Passport Black Edition includes black-painted 20-inch alloy wheels, blackout treatments for the grille, headlight trim, side trim, door handles, window trim and fog light accents and Black Edition badges on the grille and tailgate. Inside, the Black Edition's upscale look and feel continues with exclusive features and styling enhancements, including ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and red-accented perforated leather seating. The Black Edition is the only Passport trim with red contrast stitching on the steering wheel, seats and door panels, and red accent lighting illuminating the dash, doors and center console. The Black Edition logo is embossed on the front seats and floor mats. All 2024 Passports benefit from a new wider center console with a large, newly-integrated armrest and expanded storage. The center-console storage bin can now swallow a full-size tablet, and an improved storage tray ahead of the shifter is large enough to accommodate two large smartphones, side by side.

The AE Song of the Week:

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it 'til my fingers bled
Was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit, Jody got married
I should've known we'd never get far

Oh, when I look back now
The summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

(Hey)

Ain't no use in complainin'
When you've got a job to do
Spent my evenings down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you, yeah

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me that you'd wait forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Oh, yeah
Back in the summer of '69, oh

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' can last forever, forever, no

Yeah

And now the times are changin'
Look at everything that's come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
Think about you, wonder what went wrong

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me that it'd last forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Oh, yeah
Back in the summer of '69, oh
It was the summer of '69, oh, yeah
Me and my baby in '69, oh, oh

It was the summer
The summer, the summer of '69
Yeah

"Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams, from the album "Reckless" (1984).* Written by Bryan Adams and James Douglas Vallance. Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch a live performance Live at Wembly in 1996 here.

*In the Summer of '69, Adams was 9-years old. He explained in a Songfacts interview: "It's a very simple song about looking back on the summertime and making love. For me, the '69 was a metaphor for making love, not about the year. I had someone in Spain ask me once why I wrote the first line 'I had my first real sex dream'... I had to laugh."Adams wrote this with the songwriter Jim Vallance, who wrote several Aerosmith songs and often collaborated with Adams. On his website, Vallance explains that the song went through a number of changes, and it was originally called "Best Days Of My Life," with the line "Summer Of '69" appearing just once in the lyrics. Vallance feels that the Jackson Browne song "Running On Empty," which contains the lyrics, "In '69 I was 21," was a subconscious influence on their writing, and that Adams may have been influenced by the movie Summer Of '42. Adams had a few hits before this was released, his biggest being "Straight From The Heart," but this song and the rest of the Reckless album made him a star. Vallance reflects: "Looking back, I think 'Summer Of '69' was Bryan and I at our best. We hadn't had any real 'success' yet... that would come when Reckless went to #1 on the charts and sold 12 million copies... but that was a year away. In January 1984 Bryan and I were still writing songs for all the right reasons, for the pure love and joy of it. We had nothing to prove, and even less to lose. We wrote songs to please ourselves. Everything started to unravel after Reckless." According to Vallance, many of the lyrics were inspired by other songs: "I got my first real six string" - from Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero" and the line, "I bought a beat up six-string in a second-hand store." "Standin' on your mama's porch, you told me that you'd wait forever" - Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and the line, "The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves. Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays." "When you held my hand, I knew that it was now or never" - The Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand." Both Adams and Vallance had bands in high school, which provided fodder for the lyrics about the band that broke up. In the line, "Jimmy quit, Jody got married," Jody was Jody Perpik, who was Adams' sound man. He got married around the time this song was coming together, and he appeared in the video with his wife - in a car with a "Just Married" sign. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG