January 2018

Watching traffic in retirement



This post-WWII Chevrolet pickup from the late 1940s watches traffic by the side of a South Carolina road in an abandoned state of disrepair. Chevrolet began manufacturing its so-called "Advance Design" pickup truck in 1947.
(Photo by Ralph Gable)

Chevrolet will reveal all-new Silverado 4500HD at Work Truck Show

(January 8, 2018) DETROIT — Chevrolet confirmed today that it will reveal its all-new Silverado Class 4 and 5 chassis cab trucks at The Work Truck Show 2018, which takes place March 6-9 in Indianapolis. The Work Truck Show is North America’s largest work truck event and this year it is expected to draw more than 11,000 public and private truck fleet operators, dealers and equipment distributors to the Indiana Convention Center.

The all-new Silverado medium-duty trucks will be available in regular and crew cab models, with 2WD and 4WD capability and a wide range of GVWRs and wheelbases.

Ford says its first-ever F0150 diesel offers best in class EPA, towing

(January 8, 2018) DEARBORN, Mich. — Full-size diesel truck fans have reason to celebrate this year as Ford delivers the first-ever F-150 Power Stroke diesel with a targeted EPA-estimated 30 mpg highway rating, a best-in-class 11,400 pounds of towing capacity and 2,020 pounds of payload capacity, plus best-in-class diesel 250 horsepower and 440 lb.-ft. of torque.

“For every truck owner who wants strong fuel economy while they tow and haul, we offer a new 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6 engine that dreams are made of,” said Dave Filipe, vice president global powertrain engineering.

Mercedes-Benz number one in premium segment worldwide in 2017

(January 8, 2018) STUTTGART, Germany —  Mercedes-Benz achieved its most successful year of all time in 2017, increasing its unit sales by 9.9% to 2,289,344 vehicles. The car division’s growth last year was driven in particular by the new E-Class Saloon and Estate and the SUVs.

As a result of its success in all three core regions — Europe, Asia-Pacific and NAFTA — Mercedes-Benz was the best-selling premium brand in the automobile industry for the second consecutive year.

Volkswagen and NVIDIA to infuse artificial intelligence into lineup

(January 8, 2018) LAS VEGAS — Volkswagen and NVIDIA today shared their vision for how AI and deep learning will shape the development of a new generation of intelligent Volkswagen vehicles. At the kickoff of the 2018 International CES, Volkswagen CEO Dr. Herbert Diess and NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang discussed on stage how AI is transforming the auto industry and highlighted the new I.D. BUZZ, Volkswagen’s exciting new rebirth of the iconic Volkswagen MicroBus, reimagined in electric car form and infused with AI technology for the cockpit and self-driving.

Kia Cadenza: When near luxury exceeds expectations

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(January 8, 2018) I was listening to a friend describe the troubles he’s had with his Lincoln Continental, from a number of annoying electrical glitches to a driver’s seat bolster that came loose, and much more. He loves the way the car looks and feels, the fact that it tries to recapture some of the sophistication of previous generations that carried the name, and the way the dealer has treated him.

All-new Jeep to show off its apps at Consumer Electronics Show

(January 7, 2018) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler will make its way to the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week loaded with a host of cutting-edge technology features, including the fourth-generation Uconnect system with an 8.4-inch display, 4G LTE connected services, enhanced processing power, multi-touch gestures, vivid imagery, sharper graphics and the ability to support smartphone integrations of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In addition, an all-new Jeep Adventure Reality app will debut for the 2018 Wrangler.

Cadillac global sales rise 15.5 percent in 2017

(January 6, 2018) NEW YORK — Cadillac recorded its second-highest sales mark in the brand’s 115-year history, delivering 356,467 vehicles worldwide in 2017 and resulting in a 15.5 percent sales increase year over year.

China continued to be a strong market for the brand, with sales up 50.8 percent year over year. Cadillac also achieved significant sales growth in most international markets, with export sales growing over 10 percent during 2017.

Toyota quietly makes no changes to its flagship Avalon for 2018

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(January 6, 2018) I was somewhat surprised when looking at the window sticker for the Toyota Avalon Limited Hybrid to note that it was a 2018 model, not a 2017. The change in model years for the Avalon had slipped past unnoticed, with a new Avalon — based on the modular TNGA structure shared with the latest Prius and Camry — set to debut at the Detroit show in a week.