This years New York Auto Show marks the end of car show season – we won’t be treated to another one until the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Like the Geneva show that preceded it, this one will be crossover and hybrid heavy, with a sprinkling of American muscle thrown in for good measure.
Acura MDX – Acura’s venerable Japanese alternative to the BMW X5 and Audi Q7 gets a new look, a slightly revamped V6 engine and the same SH-AWD system as the previous generation. An FWD only model will be added as a concession to Sunbelt states, but it’s hard to think of a real reason to buy one over the rest of the competition. Perhaps our own CJinSD can help us out.
Audi A3 Sedan – A massively important product for Audi, the A3 sedan will replace the beloved but slow selling hatchback, and provide Audi with a rival to the Mercedes-Benz CLA and BMW 320i. Ironically, it will be about the same size as the B5 A4 that captured the hearts of Americans over a decade ago.
Buick LaCrosse/Regal – Buick’s two core sedans get cosmetic refreshes and some minor changes under the skin. Not much else is known.
Cadillac CTS – They ATS may have been ready to take on the world according to Cadillac’s ad campaign, but the CTS is going to be an important car for Cadillac in China. The toned-down styling, which doesn’t sit well with Chinese consumers, is the best example of how the car was tailored to local tastes. The big news over here is the twin-turbo V6, making 420 horsepower.
Chevrolet Camaro – A refresh for Chevrolet’s muscle car is due, while rumors of some performance upgrades continue to swirl.
Dodge Durango – Dodge’s big SUV gets an 8-speed automatic and some styling tweaks, to match its sibling, the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Honda Odyssey – A refresh for Honda’s minivan, including a long awaited 6-speed automatic transmission.
Infiniti QX60 Hybrid – The JX35 is no more. Instead, we have the QX60, along with a new hybrid model using a 2.5L 4-cylinder supercharged engine to eeke out a few more miles per gallon from Infiniti’s three-row crossover.
Jeep Cherokee – The most controversial debut of the show will be the all-new, car-based Jeep Cherokee. A 3.2L V6, a 9-speed automatic and some new variants will be shown in the flesh.
Kia Soul – Kia’s popular compact hatchback will get its first redesign, and the new car will be a tough act to follow, given the success of the current Soul. No word on powertrains or styling, but this one is expected to continue using the Rio platform.
Range Rover Sport – The 3/4 size Range Rover makes its debut, with styling and powertrains cribbed from its big brother – expect the 3.0L supercharged V6 and 5.0L V8 to be offered.
Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG – Remember that sweet Mercedes A45 AMG hatchback that debuted in Geneva? Our hostility to hatchbacks means that we’re getting a sedan version of that same car. Essentially it is the A45’s running gear with a CLA body on top.
Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid – The QX60 Hybrid, in some dressed-down duds.
Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid – Subaru hasn’t released any details on their first hybrid, save for a photo of a green XV Crosstrek.
Toyota Highlander – ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
What in god’s name did they do to that poor Jeep!
That my dear sir is the future.
Love the Kia-inspired lower grille!
“That my dear sir is the future.”
To quote Ike Turner:
“All I want is a painless death.”
For god sake can you people stop posting this atrocity as the main picture for all of these pages, I mean seriously.
Ignore the styling. I’m sure they built it to be simple, reliable, and easy to repair, just like the XJ Cherokee.
I couldn’t keep a straight face for that long. It will be an overly complex pile of fail prone electronics that will be towed to the scrap yard the day it is no longer covered by a 100,000 mile CPO warranty.
The Mustang II of Jeeps.
Don’t laugh. They sold a million or more of those.
On another website, someone described it as looking like a row of urinals.
A paved mountain, symbol of the new Jeep.
May you acquire a persistent social disease, Sergio.
+1 got a good chuckle
“Toyota Highlander – ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”
Dude dont sleep on the Highlander. Its never been for me but it is constantly achieving better MPG’s, G’s and 0-60’s than most in its segment. It wallows a bit much and is one size too small for me. Ok it ugly too.
Boring isn’t bad, but not to us enthusiasts :-)
I wouldn’t characterize the CTS design “toned-down”, but “evolved”. The teaser shots recently released show a nicely restrained aggression, with a couple fresh art/science details. The rear end is not that exciting, but it’s still undoubtedly Cadillac, and if it ain’t broke…
I was thinking the front end looked more aggressive, not “toned down”. I guess i’ll wait until i see the whole thing
I agree N8iveVA. They may have thrown some DTS tail lights on the rear, but that front look is over the top. Which I think is going to be nice.
The CTS wagon’s current twisting tail lamps are works of art. Hope they (and the wagon) stay as wonderful.
Up front, the CTS is more aggressive/sleeker than on the smaller ATS; it’s at the rear where Cadillac designers inexplicably really toned down the CTS.
A bit of the Converj or Ciel at the rear would have done wonders.
The A3 didn’t compare well to the Golf due to headroom and price for value. If the Sedan isn’t any different in those respects, it will also fail.
Personally, I prefer a hatch or wagon.
Audi value will always be worse than that of the equivalent VW. And the VW will be worse than the Skoda version.
It all depends on how far up the premium ladder the customer wants to climb.
Derek,
You stated about the CTS, “The toned-down styling, which doesn’t sit well with Chinese consumers…” Do you mean the styling didn’t sit too well before it was toned-down? Or have the Chinese suddenly become all Art-and-Sciencey?
Yeah, half the time Kriendler says the exact opposite of what, I presume, he means to say. I took this from the post above:
“Kia Soul – Kia’s popular compact hatchback will get its first redesign, and the new car will be a tough act to follow, given the success of the current Soul.”
The new car will be a tough act to follow? WTF.
Derek, you missed what in my opinion will be the most important reveal – the new WRX from Subaru. Buried in their hybrid press release is the tidbit of a new sports concept. A Subaru rep at the Detroit show in January all but told me the new WRX would be unvieled at New York – this “sports concept” is the next WRX.
*Acura MDX*–Puh-leeze don’t remind me about the Acura MDX. I love the muscular shape and stance of the outgoing model (so much so that it’s one of my favorite cars), and so I’m very pissed that it has become so ugly.
*Infiniti QX60 Hybrid*–Does this mean we’ll see a Murano Hybrid, since that car also utilizes the same basic Altima-derived platform as the Pathfinder and QX60? Hmm…If Nissan wanted to create the ultimate dog, they could do a Murano CrossCabriolet Hybrid. And I’m sure they’d sell all three of them. As for the QX60, at least Infiniti is nice enough not to change the model-numbers around for hybrid models. Then again, I guess their new nomenclature wouldn’t allow them to do that if they wanted to…
*Range Rover Sport*–The new Range Rover Sport looks absolutely silly with those plastic window triangles in place of the traditional tall windowlettes on the passenger doors. But I suppose they had to differentiate it from the larger Range Rover somehow…
*Acura MDX*–Puh-leeze don’t remind me about the Acura MDX. I love the muscular shape and stance of the outgoing model (so much so that it’s one of my favorite cars), and so I’m very pissed that it has become so ugly.
Really? Apart from the ugly headlights and revised grill…..I’m not seeing a whole lot of difference between them.
“Ironically, it will be about the same size as the B5 A4 that captured the hearts of Americans over a decade ago.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony#Verbal_irony :
Verbal irony is a disparity of expression and intention: when a speaker says one thing but means another, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect. An example of this is when someone says “Oh, that’s beautiful”, when what he means (probably conveyed by intonation) is he finds “that” quite ugly.
“The toned-down styling, which doesn’t sit well with Chinese consumers, is the best example of how the car was tailored to local tastes.”
The toned-down styling doesn’t sit well with Chinese consumers? Are you sure? Because everyone else says the exact opposite.
I’m glad to Buick is not letting the Regal get stale. They need to keep updating it to compete with it’s Rivals.
Since I’ve done some Derek style-bashing in the past…
Why is verbal irony applicable here? Isn’t Derek referring to situational irony? And does the new A3’s relation to the B5 not count as ironic?
That CTS sentence confused me as well. I think he means that the current styling does not sit well with the Chinese, and the new styling is targeted directly at that market. But the sentence doesn’t convey that, so maybe we’ll get some clarification.
It’s situational irony that a car Audi is hoping does well is similar to a previous car that did well?
I think he means “interestingly” or “correspondingly” but “ironically” sounds intelligent.
I guess not everyone sees the irony in German automakers’ current product planning.
The QX60 thing remains one of the most ridiculous situations in the car industry. After years of associating QX with the Armada-based huge thing, I now I have to associate it with something SMALLER, even though the number is larger.
Yeah, I completely agree. I’d love to hear how the marketing dept came up with this one. It’s one of the strangest moves I’ve ever seen from an OEM. The G has really good brand equity, why throw it away?
That’s the other thing! The G is very well regarded, now they’re ditching it. This would be like renaming your best-seller the Five Hundred!
You know Jeep and Lexus should be paying royalties to the studio that put out Predator way back in the 80s. Since they seem to have said “Yes, now that’s a good 2012+ automotive design cue.”
+1
“A massively important product for Audi, the A3 sedan will replace the beloved but slow selling hatchback, and provide Audi with a rival to the Mercedes-Benz CLA and BMW 320i.”
I’m sure it will also appeal to those who don’t want to wait for the next generation Jetta.
Still waiting for the new GM Full size SUV updates…. the Trucks got them, only stands to reason that the SUv’s get them at the same time….
Hoping for a diesel 3/4 suburban
SUVs usually lag about a year behind.