Car FYI

Photo Credit: Genesis Motors North America Product Lineup: Electrified G80, Electrified GV70, G70, G80, G90, GV60, GV70, GV80 Overall Brand Impression:  In August of 2023, Hyundai’s spun-off luxury brand Genesis produced their one-millionth vehicle. The eight-year-old premium marque had rapidly established a niche in the prestigious motoring sector with sedans, crossovers and electric vehicles. For 2024, Genesis continues to foster a reputation for constructing prestigious, well-equipped automobiles.  What’s New for 2024: The entry-level premium sedan in Genesis’ 2024 product lineup, the G70 receives a number of updates. Touting a presence of a new Genesis emblem, enhanced interior and standard Brembo brakes, the 2024 G70 sedan boasts new base power from a 300-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. For the second half of 2024, Genesis dealerships will receive a new GV80. In addition to the extensively refined but familiar Genesis GV80 SUV, the 2025 model yea...

Photo Credit: Acura Created for a premium-minded clientele, sport sedans continue to be a fruitful market for auto companies even as other vehicles prove popular with the larger population. The initial formula of marrying solid handling and strong engine power combining with a well-appointed interior is not immediately complex. Though the creation of a sport sedan may sound easy, the major challenge for car makers is selling the sizzle as much as the steak. A successful sport sedan manages to win over drivers with a well-tuned, well-balanced character-fueled experience behind the wheel.  As a relatively younger luxury car brand compared to leading German and American brands, Acura had immediately garnered attention for its modern take on premium motoring. With their TLX sedan, the Honda-derived luxury marque’s combination of contemporary refinements and energizing performance in an accessible four-door style. For 2021, the Acura TLX is completely revised for battle in the sport sed...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Since the merger of Fiat Group Automobiles and Chrysler Corporation was announced, the framework for installing a greater dose of Italian content from the former company in the United States and Canada was laid. With Dodge, Chrysler and the Ram brand all heavily driven by Fiat's European influence heading into the 2017 model year, the door had also opened to a pair of brands that returned following meager presence on Canadian roads for years. The Fiat 500 that arrived in late 2010 brought one of the world's oldest running automobile brands back and has been reinforced by added models including the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. In 2014, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gave Alfa Romeo a new chance to shine again in upper part of North America (the brand had already been present in Mexico in recent years). Following the arrival of the 4C sports car and the 4C Spider that came in 2015, the Alfa Romeo name is prepared to adorn a new sedan for 2017. A new vehicle on...

Photo Credit: Karma Automotive At the turn of the decade, the prospect for automobiles moving with literally a revised kind of energy was becoming not only a means to reduce gasoline consumption but a future fashion icon. In the late 2000s, inflated fuel prices eventually hurt everyone in the pocketbook as both the working class as well as the wealthier elite. In fact buyers who could afford high-end luxury vehicles, there was a humanizing reality when poor fuel mileage of their heavyweight premium cruisers combined with potentially lower income as a result of a massive global economic recession of 2008. While markets rebounded, fresh memories has led to creative visions of a new luxury car genre attempting to exploit electrified powertrains for an uncompromising road-going performance. In 2007, a start-up auto company seeing an entry position in a premium electrified vehicle category conceiving a plug-in hybrid sedan. Co-founded by Bernhard Koehler Henrik Fisker, an automotive ...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy On March 27th 1986, premium motoring received a major shake-up in North America. During a time when luxury was still seen as a big, heavily vehicle with an eight-cylinder engine, the gaining momentum of import vehicles would impact the way upscale automobiles you be viewed in the United States and Canada. The first of three Japanese auto brands who have successfully launched a luxury car brand, Honda introduced Acura to the world 30 years ago. Originally classified as "Channel II" by Honda in initial planning during 1984,   In creating the Acura brand, Honda reacted to a projection of growth in the luxury car market. The dedicated luxury car marque presented the ideal opportunity to promote even more aggressive vehicles and technologies in North America. Launching with roughly 60 dealers, Acura's model line-up consisted by the 3-door and 5-door Integra as well as a V-6 powered sedan called the Legend. Both promoting a blend of performance...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy The electrified auto sector has moved at a rapid pace in the past five years. Back then, Tesla Motors only attracted attention through the production of the odd all-electric roadster while the Nissan Leaf all-electric car and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt were only entering the marketplace. Another car garnering attention during the infancy of the electric vehicle renaissance was prepared by a Californian based company Fisker Automotive. A premium vehicle designed by the same person behind the Aston Martin DB9, the Fisker Karma was a plug-in hybrid luxury car was heavily plagued during its short production run. Production itself was delayed by two years with the first sale examples of the Karma arriving in 2011. When the remnants of Hurricane Sandy hit the upper-part of the United States in November 2012, a large quantity of Fisker Karmas was ultimately written-off when they were caught in the massive flood. The vehicle itself was also affected by an...

Photo Credit: Hyundai Motor America It's only a human condition to judge ourselves in the company we keep. It is also natural for even comfortable individuals to seek a higher status. For automakers, having a foothold in the general automobile market is often not enough. After-all, why would Cadillac and Lincoln exist when a Chevrolet or Ford is well-suited to most drivers? Entering the luxury car market provides the chance to explore heightened vehicle refinement, greater technology and generally a higher profit margin per vehicle sold. In the late 1980s, Japanese auto companies that made gains as a producer of vehicles demanded by the general driving public entered the premium product genre. Honda created Acura, Nissan created Infiniti and Toyota founded the Lexus brand. Starting in December, Hyundai will become the latest entrant into the premium automobile industry. Hyundai will elevate the name of their Genesis rear-wheel drive sedan to the forefront described as a ...

With the all-new Volvo XC90, the Swedish auto company will introduce the option of the world's first seven-passenger plug-in hybrid later this year. The 2016 XC90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid (also called the Twin Engine by Volvo) can be driven up to 43 kilometers on an electrical battery charge. Once the 9.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack's charge is depleted, the 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid's 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged and supercharged engine provides a confident 320 horsepower. All models of the large premium crossovers are propelled through an all-wheel drive and equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission. For its introduction, the 2016 XC90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid crossover vehicle will come with a special standard technology making faster battery charging possible. The Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine is billed as the first plug-in hybrid to include a standard 240-volt charger with the portable TurboCord dual charger system. TurboCord featu...

Starting this Friday, the 2015 Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach will move a host of classic, custom and rare vehicles. While the Palm Beach is not as glitzy and record-setting as the sale in Scottsdale, Barrett-Jackson's second auction in their yearly calendar does feature a docket of automobiles enthusiasts would crave. 1930s street rods, extravagant machines from the 1950s, muscle cars of the 1960s and the amusingly sought-after Volkswagen 21-window bus is represented at the exciting car sale held within the South Florida Fairgrounds. As is customary with most Barrett-Jackson auctions, the Palm Beach event occurring between April 17th and the 19th will also feature a handful of purchasable items that will benefit more than the buyer and seller. Six charity listings will be part of the 2015 edition of the auction. Topping the charity auction list for Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach is the chance to purchase the first retail exampl...

Through much of Lincoln's history, Ford Motor Company's luxury brand best vehicles came when they were deliberately competing against General Motors' premium car make Cadillac. The 1950s and 1960s had Lincoln attempting to boldly define itself from its main rival creating memorable designs. Diagonally-stacked headlights and suicide doors were some eye-grabbing features used by Lincoln to present their idea of luxury. With Cadillac preparing  a super-luxury CT6 sedan for 2016 , it appears the time has returned for Lincoln to directly attempt to best their old American luxury foe. At the New York International Auto Show, the Continental Concept will debut as a production-ready vision of a new luxury flagship sedan. A strikingly modern, high-class four-door, the elegance on display with the Lincoln Continental Concept is crafted with great purpose. Years ago, the Continental name one of the cornerstones of luxury in Nor...

Last year in New York, BMW teased a concept of their X5 sport activity vehicle operating on a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Combining the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine using BMW TwinPower Turbo technology combined with an electric motor, the X5 eDrive Concept was one of many interesting ways to envision BMW's top crossover vehicle. Recently, a diesel-powered version of the BMW X5 was imported into North America allowing owners to explore greater distances between fuel stops. Less than a year since the X5 eDrive Concept debuted, the vehicle has been granted the production green light as the 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e. Employing a similar powertrain layout displayed on the concept, the 2016 model year X5 xDrive40e operates primarily on an electric power before relying on a gasoline engine for longer range driving. From concept to production, the BMW plug-in hybrid vehicle has undergone some gains as well as some loses. The one gain made with the showroom-ready version of the ele...

Realizing the automobile was originally created as a toy for the rich, it took a short time until some of the financially well-off individuals grew tired of driving themselves. For those wanting to be chauffeured, a pocket of super-luxury car companies emerged. Through the 1930s, American high society had  Duesenberg, tea-drinking aristocrats in the United Kingdom had Rolls-Royce and the well-connected in Germany had Maybach. After a brief recent hiatus from the ultra-luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz will give rear-seat riders the self-reward of an exclusive sedan wearing the Maybach name. Similar to the way Mercedes-AMG functions as a high-performance brand, peak-luxury wearing Germany's famous three-pointed star will be addressed as a Mercedes-Maybach. Operating as a sub-brand, the Mercedes-Maybach name is being used to accentuate existing Mercedes-Benz products. Inaugurating the Mercedes-Mayb...

It has become self-evident by recent news that Cadillac is seeking to magnify their presence as a distinct luxury brand. One of the measure announced this week will consist of physically separating itself from the General Motors mothership. Intent on being recognized as a more cosmopolitan American marque, Cadillac's head offices will be moving from Detroit to New York City for 2015 becoming a separate business unit in the process. This arrangement will likely resemble Tata Motors’ ownership of the Jaguar Land Rover. Before Cadillac's relocation and restructuring news, the luxury carmaker created buzz last week as General Motors confirmed there is an additional product in the pipeline. A rear-wheel drive ultra-luxury sedan to be built with its own unique platform was announced for production for late 2015. Left nameless during the product’s official announcement, Cadillac has now given their future flagship its model name. On Wednesday, Cadillac declared their ne...

For years, it was rumoured that Cadillac wanted to build a super luxury sedan. A car built to feature the very peak of Cadillac's American-derived pursuit for lavish motoring, the proposed vehicle would likely be found with a six-figure price tag and face rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW head-on in the top-tier four-door market. More than a decade ago, the Cadillac Sixteen concept car teased the world for what a car from the General Motors premium brand may look like. Despite the intrigue to the idea, the plan has been nothing but a fairy tale story; that is until this week when General Motors delivered a major announcement regarding future vehicle production. On Friday, General Motors formally declared that a new high-end Cadillac will become an addition to the luxury vehicle line-up for the near future. A rear-wheel drive sedan to be built on unique vehicle architecture, the new car promises to involve "custom-designed materials". Without delivering an...

With governments and even consumers requesting automakers to explore green technology, luxury cars offer the most viable place to create electrified powertrains. Luxury vehicles are typically sold at a high profit margin allowing the incorporation of new, exotic technologies to be performed without the limitations or sticker shock associated with electric cars trying to appeal to a growing market. That has been the key of success for Tesla Motors and the BMW i line is launching with the anticipation they can find a similar premium market for electrified cars. Taking their first step into the plug-in hybrid vehicle marketplace, Mercedes-Benz is all charged up with the newest variant of their flagship S-Class sedan . Set to be one of the largest plug-in hybrid cars on the market, the Mercedes-Benz S550 Plug-in Hybrid will also be perhaps the most lavish vehicle to be chauffeured through zero emissions motoring. For up to 20 miles, the S550 Plug-in Hybrid will exclusively run ...