Drew Dowdell

Yes, but I wish we could go back to names

The other day we shared a story about the final edition of the SLC Roadster, but buried in a press release for the Mercedes Benz GLC Shooting Brake being released in Geneva is an ominous line for lovers of big cylinder count engines. We can't say we weren't warned. Mercedes-Benz told us last year that the V12 would be gradually phased out... a process that has already started in the G and SL class. So with this announcement of a final edition for the S65 sedan, it is likely only a matter of time before the coupe and convertible follow. AMG has said they will keep building the V12 for other sub-brands. In this case, that likely means Maybach. This comes on the heels of the announcement that the next generation BMW 7-series could drop not only the V12, but the V8 as well. Mercedes has not yet released pictures or information on the S65 AMG Final Edition. 2018 Mercedes S65 shown above. View full article

Right.. it's the old Chrysler K-Car idea. They built a full range of sedans, coupes, convertibles, trucklets, and mini-vans off the same component set. MQB goes all the way up to Atlas and Passat. It's not about size, it's about engine orientation.

Volvo introduced the mildest of mild refreshes today on the XC90 while simultaneously announcing refreshes on their T8 and T6 Twin Engine lines. The new powertrain is said to offer up to 15% fuel saving and emissions reduction in real-world driving. The new system offers brake-by-wire energy recovery to recover kinetic energy while driving. The T8 Plug-in hybrid comes with up to 420 horsepower and a 15% increase in range. The T6 gets a similar 15% range boost. In addition to the T8 and T6, Volvo will be introducing a range of mild-hybrid engines, now indicated with a new B5 badge. The B-badged cars are expected to become Volvo's new standard powertrain over time as part of the company's goal to have all of its vehicles electrified by 2025. The mile hybrid will be available on gasoline vehicles in the US and on both gasoline and diesel vehicles in other markets. Gasoline B5 vehicles will be available with all-wheel drive. Volvo further announced that the XC40 crossover will gain a T5 Twin Engine Plug-In hybrid option as well as a T4 Twin Engine Plug-In hybrid option to follow later. XC90 Mild Refresh The XC90 gets a mild refresh for 2020 with an updated grille, new wheels, new colors, and an attractive new wool blend upholstery. While Apple Car Play has been offered for a few years, the 2020 XC90 will now also offer Android Auto. Safety technology has been updated to where the XC90 can now help with steering tied in both with the City Safety and Blind Spot Information system. XC90 now also ads Oncoming Lane Mitigation and Cross Traffic Alert works with autobrake. The 2020 XC90 starts production in Torslanda, Sweden in May of this year. Volvo Press Releases on Page 2 and 3 Volvo Cars takes major step towards its electrified future with a range of new hybrid powertrains Volvo Cars has today taken a significant step towards its electrification goals with the release of upgraded and newly-developed electrified powertrain options, to be made available across its entire model range going forward. The company has upgraded its existing T8 and T6 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid powertrains, while at the same time confirming that plug-in options will now be available on every model it produces. Moreover, Volvo Cars will introduce a range of mild hybrids in the coming months, starting with diesel and petrol versions on the XC90 and XC60 SUV models. These mild hybrids for the first time offer customers Volvo’s advanced kinetic energy recovery braking system, which is coupled with its existing internal combustion engines to create a new integrated electrified powertrain, under its new ‘B’ badge. This new powertrain, electrified via brake-by-wire energy recovery, offers drivers up to 15 per cent fuel savings and emission reductions in real world driving. The new brake-by-wire system interacts with the energy recovery system and reduces fuel consumption and emissions by recovering kinetic energy under braking. In line with our strategy and supported by extremely strong demand, Volvo Cars has upgraded its production capacity so that up to 25 per cent of total production can be Twin Engine plug-in hybrid cars. In addition, it expects its new ‘B’ badged powertrains to gradually become the new standard, moving it closer to its goal that by the middle of the next decade all of its cars will be electrified. There will be new and upgraded powertrains introduced on Volvo’s larger Scalable Product Architecture (SPA)-based cars. The upgraded T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid with up to 420 horsepower features a new battery and brake-by-wire advanced battery charging. The range of the T8 powertrain has increased by around 15 per cent and this powertrain is available on all 90 and 60 Series cars. An upgraded version of the smaller capacity T6 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid is also combined with the new battery and brake-by wire-technology. This powertrain also offers an approximate 15 per cent range increase and is available on the V60 estate and S60 sedan. The XC90 will be available with a B5-badged mild hybrid petrol or diesel variant, as well as a B6-badged petrol mild hybrid. On the XC60, customers will be able to choose between a B5 mild hybrid petrol or diesel variant, a B4 diesel mild hybrid as well as a B6 petrol mild hybrid. The B5 petrol will be available with front wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The company’s smaller Compact Modular Architecture-based XC40 SUV will also receive a new electrified option, in the form of a T5 Twin Engine petrol-plug-in hybrid. A second, T4 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid option will follow later. Volvo Cars introduces refreshed Volvo XC90 SUV Volvo Cars has today unveiled a refreshed version of its best-selling XC90 large SUV, the company’s top-of-the-line flagship, adding a newly-developed fuel-saving engine option that marks the next step in the company’s ambitious electrification strategy. The refreshed XC90 for the first time offers customers Volvo’s advanced kinetic energy recovery braking system, which is coupled with its existing internal combustion engines to create a new integrated electrified powertrain, under its new ‘B’ badge. This new electrified powertrain offers drivers up to 15 per cent fuel savings and emission reductions in real world driving. The new brake-by-wire system interacts with the energy recovery system and reduces fuel consumption and emissions by recovering kinetic energy under braking. The introduction of the new XC90 ‘B’-badged cars represents a major step for Volvo Cars towards its electrification ambitions. The new ‘B’-badged cars complement Volvo’s existing T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid electrified option on the new XC90. On the outside, the refreshed XC90 offers subtle upgrades to the original award-winning exterior design, such as new wheels, exterior colours and a modern new grill, among other details. On the inside, the superlative and award-winning interior design remains in place, but perhaps the most noticeable addition is the fact that it can be ordered with a range of different seating configurations. From the four-seat Excellence variant and the seven-seat family SUV to the brand new six-seat configuration, the XC90 is available with any number of seats that best fits people’s preferences and lifestyles. New interior materials including a wool blend offer further options for personalisation. Based on Volvo’s own, in-house developed platform, powertrain and safety technology, the 2015 XC90 marked the start of Volvo Cars’ transformation. It introduced the new face of the Volvo brand characterised by the Thor’s Hammer headlights, while introducing its new Scalable Product Architecture. The world-first technologies and innovations that were launched on Volvo’s other 90 and 60 Series models between 2015 and 2019 have also found their way into the XC90 over the intervening years. As a result, Volvo’s top-of-the-line SUV has become more advanced since its introduction, clocking up over 320,000 units sold worldwide - and counting. In terms of active safety technology, the XC90 now offers drivers help with steering on both the City Safety and the Blind Spot Information System. City Safety with Autobrake is still the only system on the market to recognise pedestrians, cyclists and large animals. The Oncoming Lane Mitigation system first introduced on the XC60 is now also available on XC90, while the Cross Traffic Alert technology now also offers autobrake. All this, together with the safety cage that forms the core of the passive safety technology, makes the XC90 one of the safest cars on the road and underlines Volvo Cars’ unwavering commitment to developing the safest cars possible. While the XC90 was the first Volvo to offer Apple Carplay integration, it is now also compatible with Android Auto. The Sensus infotainment system has gone through multiple updates in recent years, all of which have been adopted into the XC90. Where available, the Spotify music streaming service is integrated in the XC90. The model year 2020 version of the XC90 will go in production in May at the Torslanda plant in Sweden and is now available to order in all Volvo markets around the globe. View full article

To be honest, I don't know. I would guess probably not. They'll probably both be on the last iteration of Alpha.

At work they keep replacing the IE and Edge icons on my taskbar even though I've deleted them. GO AWAY! Sadly, I'm not allowed to use Opera at work, but I just bring my personal laptop and use that for a lot of stuff.

At the risk of inviting the wrath of @balthazar , I do wish there were a Lincoln model between MKC/Corsair and Nautilus.

The problem in MIA is that even the TSA pre lines are super long because they give TSA Pre to all the senior citizens. There needs to be a TSA Pre+ for seasoned flyers... people who have gone through Pre-Check more than 4 times in the last 12 months and thus know the drill.

I don't think these will 5th wheel tow. They're rated for 10,000lbs max.

There's that, but there's also the VSS platform coming for the next generation CT6. VSS is supposed to be capable of a much wider range of vehicles than Alpha and Omega are. as mentioned above, there is also a new platform coming. Maybe this buys them time until that gets released.

I use both pretty interchangeably. This new BMW/MB app only seems to be in Seattle and Portland in the US so far.

They already own the 5 apps. They developed them.

But 5 apps? They couldn't consolidate it down to one or two?

The Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Volt have entered that great used car lot in the sky as of February 15th according to a GM announcement. The Cadillac CT6 and Chevrolet Impala were originally scheduled to end production in June of 2019 but have now had their production schedules extended until January 2020. GM states that the reason for the extension is to allow for continued availability of the CT6-V, Blackwing Twin-Turbo V8, and Super Cruise. The Cadillac CT6 is also built in Jinqiao, China. GM had announced the closure of 5 plants back in November, including Hamtramck. Lordstown Ohio will be the first plant to be unallocated with production stopping March 1st. GM has stated that this restructuring would boost company cash flow by $6B by the end of 2020. View full article

I already get accused of biases in my writing by certain folks. I've always found it best to not complicate matters more than needed.

Oh, that's airline issues. My issues have been with check-in and security lines being beyond ridiculous.

MIA is such an absolute cluster these days. I don't know what their problem is.

The totally redesigned vehicles (Navigator, Continental, Aviator) have done a fantastic job with that. The ones that are merely makeovers (Nautilus, MKZ, MKC) aren't there yet. I hope they refresh the Nautilus interior rather quickly.

I like Key West, but that's really getting down there. I need to get back, I need a break from this cold and dark we've been having in Pittsburgh the last few weeks... I'm really feeling it.

The Rivian R1T and Rivian R1S were both shown at the LA Auto Show in November, both claiming a top of the line range of 400 miles. The folks over at Rivian Forums have uncovered a patent filing for an extended battery for the Rivian R1T. The drawing shows a bed mounted battery with connections for coolant and electrical flow. In addition to providing more energy, the R1T would detect when the auxiliary battery was installed and adjust braking, suspension, and steering to compensate for the extra weight. Rivian uses a skateboard style architecture which places the entire powertrain and battery system in a platform below the vehicle and then builds the body on top of it. This allows Rivian to have nearly a free hand in designing the body and interior above the powertrain. Rivian will offer 3 standard battery packs for the R1T: 105-kWh: 402 horsepower, and 413 lb-ft of torque, range of 230+ miles 135-kWh: 754 horsepower, and 826 lb-ft of torque, range of 300+ miles 180-kWh: 700 horsepower, and 826 lb-ft of torque, range of 400+ miles Rivian claims the R1T will get 80 percent charge in just 15 minutes when using a DC fast charger and a full charge in eight hours using a Level 2 charger. Rivian says the R1T will begin at $61,500 after Federal Tax credit - likely putting the base at just under $70,000. Production is expected to begin in late 2020 at a plant in Normal, Illinois. The company recently landed $700M in investment commitments, lead by a significant investment by Amazon. Related: RIVIAN R1S SUV PROMISES TO GO ANYWHERE ON ELECTRICITY RIVIAN R1T PICKUP HAS A 400 MILE RANGE AND TOWS UP TO 11,000 POUNDS RIVIAN LANDS $700M IN INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS View full article

I just hope they keep this look longer than they kept the Winged grille look. Not that the winged grille was great... just keep some consistency.