Drew Dowdell

Passat production ended in summer 2021.

Well have I got the article for you. Honda and Toyota will frequently claim "all-new" for their vehicle, but that's a pretty squishy subject for both. They will frequently evolve their platforms enough that it gets to be called all-new. Honda is claiming "all-new" for this CR-V, but it's probably going to have the same engine and transmission, maybe slightly tweaked in some way.

With yesterday's report that the Hyundai Sonata and Kia K5/Optima may not be replaced at the end of their cycle, it has become clear that the mid-size family sedan in the U.S. has become an endangered species. The current Sonata and K5 are expected to last until at least 2025, but if they do in fact end, the number of mid-size sedans offered in the market will dwindle to 4. For perspective, that is the same number of mini-van models currently on offer. (Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager, Kia Carnival). The remaining sedans are Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, stalwarts in this niche, the Nissan Altima, and the Subaru Legacy. The Chevrolet Malibu, while still listed on the Chevy website has a questionable future as GM stopped taking orders for the Malibu back in February, and while there has been no official announcement, with sales in the mid-30k unit range and mostly going to fleets, we can't expect GM to keep it going for long. For now, the Camry seems safe as Toyota is able to continue to keep sales rates above the 300k unit mark, but sales of the Accord have dropped by 52% from 2014. The Nissan Altima is off by more than 1/3 from volumes just 5 years ago while the Legacy sedan has fallen the most, dropping by 62% since 2016. The first big selling mid-size sedan to get the ax was the Dodge Avenger. Since then the Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda 6, and Buick Regal have all joined the list of dead mid-size sedan lines. The large family sedan class has fared even worse with only the aging Nissan Maxima, Chrysler 300, and Dodge Charger remaining once the Toyota Avalon stops production in August and joins the Chevy Impala, Buick Lacrosse, and Ford Taurus in that great junkyard in the sky. Stellantis has indicated no clear plans to replace their aging sedans and seems to continue producing them mostly out of inertia. The 300 is expect to soldier on for another year with no replacement while the Charger might be replaced in 2024. Once the most common silhouette in the American automotive landscape, the 3-box sedan is rapidly becoming a niche market as buyers flock to crossovers. View full article

The CR-V took over from the Civic as Honda's best selling model in 2014 as crossover sales exploded. The current CR-V went on sale a few years later in 2016 and further extended that growth, keeping sales over 370,000 units most years since. In the CR-V's best year of 2019, the crossover eclipsed the Civic by about 60,000 units. When you've got sales like that, you generally don't mess with success. But even with numbers like those, the CR-V comes in second in sales to the Toyota RAV-4. The RAV-4 took on a more rugged look for 2019 and Toyota's biggest problem has been keeping them in stock. So with an eye on that success, Honda decided to pull on a pair of hiking shoes when redesigning the 2023 CR-V. While we don't have full details yet, the teaser shots show the new CR-V will adopt the butch looks of its big brother the Honda Passport. We expect a carryover of the existing 1.5 liter turbo producing 190 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 179 lb-ft of torque between 2,000 and 5,000 rpm routed through a CVT. The CR-V currently offers a hybrid option with 212 horsepower and a combined 232 lb-ft of torque. Honda says that the hybrid system will be getting some enhancements for "a sportier driving experience and more capability". View full article

Automotive News is reporting that internal sources have indicated that Hyundai will not develop a new generation of the Sonata once the current model run has complete. Similar reports regarding the fate of the Kia K5, the replacement for the Kia Optima, seem to confirm this as both vehicle share a common platform. The current Sonata went on sale in 2019 as a 2020 model while the K5 started production in 2019 in overseas markets and went on sale in the U.S. as a 2021 model. Sales of both sedans has dropped dramatically with the Sonata reaching a peak of around 230,000 U.S, sales in 2012 and the K5/Optima reaching almost 160,000 U.S. sales in 2015. Sales were around 93,000 of each model in 2021, rebounding slightly after the 2020 pandemic. Meanwhile, in its home market the Sonata has fallen from the best selling vehicle to the sixth. Both Hyundai and Kia have issued denials of the impending cancelation stating that both vehicles remain important parts of their respective lineups. Hyundai and Kia are said to be preparing a mild facelift for 2025, however it remains to be seen if the Sonata and K5 make it that far. Hyundai and Kia are busy making room to build more EVs at their plants. Kia, for their part, is building a $5.5 billion EV and battery plant in Georgia starting in 2023 that is expected to have the capacity to produce 300,000 units a year. View full article

Yeah, I can definitely see that.

Love to have you back Cort.

Is it that far away from you that it counts as a road trip?

Welcome back! Post them both or go out for a visit!

Given the condition of Pittsburgh (and NJ/NYC for that matter) roads, true off-road tires would be the most appropriate. ? But yea, if I had the R nineT Original I'd have gone with a typical street tire. I've just really liked the Scrambler style from any manufacturer. While I'll never take this true off-roading because it's too heavy for that, I like that I can take it down some dirt/gravel trails that are well compacted.

Matches the look and intent of the Scrambler style. These are very much "for the looks" rather than being true adventure tires. I'm quite happy with them. The rear tire of the original set was very much gone and I had a couple of scares on it.

When did you all move into your nursing homes? Can't sit down in a car now? Too hard to stand up? Do you all need artificial knees? Oh look... your apple sauce is here for dinner.

Top Picture: Hoboken, NJ across the river from Manhattan - taken a week ago today Bottom Picture: Key Largo, FL at Gilbert's Resort - taken over the winter holidays Below, got some new shoes.

GV60 went on sale (as “available to order”) yesterday. It’s likely very few if any dealer have them.

With regards to the size, while it is similar exterior dimensions to the ICEs, the interior is likely to feel substantially larger, potentially like a low-roof Tahoe in size. Yesterday I drove the Genesis GV60, my review will be coming, but this externally pretty small crossover felt very roomy inside... and @David, you'd probably fit in the back seat.

Linux is far more reliable than windows, faster too.

Gonna disagree with you, but only on the Sonic/Sonic Hatch. The Spark was abysmal to drive, but the Sonic in RS form was very fun for no significant money over a regular Sonic LT/LTZ. They put a shorter final drive ratio in it so the 1.4T + Manual was really in its prime. It was no Fiesta ST, but it was a good $3k - $4k less and more roomy to boot. You know my penchant for large vehicles, but there was a time when the RS was new that I had seriously considered one.

I can't buy a vehicle with enough of a lower curb weight that still does what I need it to do. But the AFM in my Avalanche doesn't bother me at all. Never even notice it. It is most effective on a highway cruise from 55 - 65 mph. I can be in 4-cylinder mode and get into the upper mid-20s. Not too bad for something Suburban sized.

That’s mostly important in high rpm engines. In 5 or 6 liter V8s there’s no real benefit on that part.

Why bother with the camo when I can wander to nearly any Chevy dealer in the US to see what it looks like? There may be a new vent or filler door here or there, but it largely looks the same. Still exciting though.

We're talking SUVs.

He'd be right on Benz. Not on BMW or Audi. The GLS has a really old-school transmission hump in the 2nd row.