Matt M. Myftiu
Matt Myftiu has been a journalist for two decades with a focus on technology, NASCAR and autos.
BMW Group sees growth in second quarter, looks to future
After a strong performance in the first half of 2017, the BMW Group is now focusing on expanding electric mobility and automated driving. The BMW iNEXT will set new standards in both of these fields and will act as a technological spearhead. It will be manufactured at Plant Dingolfing from 2021, underlining the significance of Germany for future technologies and as a centre of competence for electric mobility. Germany will also serve as a key location for the development of autonomous driving. As part of the co-operation arrangements established with Intel and Mobileye, the first engineers from all three companies will move to the new development campus in Unterschleißheim near Munich in the course of the current year. Moreover, one year since the co-operation began, a number of other prestigious partners including Delphi and Continental have also joined the project.
“Huge changes lie ahead in the world of mobility and it is vital that our company is in top shape to tackle them. Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT sharpens our innovative edge and strengthens our core business,” commented Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “We are advancing rapidly in the field of electric mobility, today and into the future. No established competitor has been able to put as many electrified vehicles onto the roads as we have. In the future, our flexible architecture will enable us to decide quickly which and how many models to build with combustion, plug-in hybrid or all-electric drive systems. This flexibility in our product range is our key to success in times of volatility and uncertain forecasts.”
2017 Lexus GS 200t stands out in competitive luxury sedan segment
Flair.
Personality.
Chutzpah.
Whatever you want to name it, any vehicle you put out in a luxury segment has to have it, if it’s going to put up a good fight.
With so much strong competition, even a company with as respected as name as Lexus has to always come with its A game and offer something different. That’s just reality when you’re battling Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and others for every point of the luxury market share.
The segment at hand is the midsize luxury vehicles -- in which Lexus has offered the GS sedan to compete against heavyweights like the Audi A6, BMW 5-series and more.
And how do they do it? By being different of course. I tested out a 2017 Lexus GS 200t recently and here’s a full report on how it measures up.
2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in: Does the math work out for you?
So you’re the Toyota Prius, the most well-known and successful hybrid car ever made and you want to take it to that next step.
What do you do? Like Bob Dylan in the 60s, you go electric and announce the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime.
Now to be fair, there was already a plug-in Prius, but this new version doubles the battery size and allows for a longer electric-only ride. How much longer? Stay tuned. As that’s the key to whether this will be a vehicle people want to pick up.
2017 Kia Forte is an affordable, user-friendly compact car
If you read the news on automobiles these days, you would think compact cars are on the way out. It’s true that many small car models are disappearing, but at the same time the segment is not going away anytime soon.
There will also be a certain number of people (even in the bigger-is-better U.S.A.) who aren’t going to succumb to SUV mania like all the rest of us have (over 60 percent of 2016 auto sales were trucks or SUVs).
For this smaller-is-better crowd, there is still plenty of variety in the segment to choose from -- including the 2017 Kia Forte -- which i recently had the chance to test to see how it ranks against its many compact car rivals (think Civic, Corolla, Focus, Mazda3, Cruze, Jetta, Impreza).
Ryan Blaney to Team Penske; Paul Menard to Wood Brothers; and an opening at Childress
All the big news in NASCAR this week has centered around the Ford camp, first with the announcement that Brad Keselowski was staying with Team Penske, then a double-whammy with the news that Ryan Blaney would make the somewhat expected move over to a third Team Penske car (leaving the Wood Brothers), and that Paul Menard would come over to the Woods along with some some Menard's sponsor money to help solidify their funding (thus opening up another ride at Childress -- perhaps for Matt Kenseth?).
Dave Pericak, global director of Ford Performance, weighed in on Blaney's move to the 12 car, where he will be a teammate to Keselowski and Joey Logano.
"Ryan has certainly earned this opportunity with Team Penske. We knew all along that his time with the Wood Brothers was dependent on adding another car at Team Penske, but what he has accomplished with the Wood Brothers is impressive and he has played a key role in returning the 21 car to victory lane. Right now, we're all committed to getting the Wood Brothers their 100th win and a season championship this year," Pericak said.
Brad Keselowski weighs in on Team Penske contract extension
After much speculation about whether he would be involved in NASCAR's Silly Season this year, it was announced this week that Brad Keselowksi has renewed his contract with Team Penske for an undisclosed number of years. At Pocono this weekend, Keselowski talked about his decision to return to Team Penske and pursue more trophys to add to his collection, which includes the 2012 Cup championship.
Here is a full transcript of his media session:
YOU RE-SIGNED WITH TEAM PENSKE RACING. WALK US THROUGH THE PROCESS: “Yeah, it’s certainly a good thing. Those things are tough and they never go easily or smoothly as you want them to go. The most important thing is that it’s done. We look forward with a lot of stability. And that stability is important for a number of reasons. It’s important for me as a racecar driver that I have a place to work and drive and pursue my passion. More than that, there’s a place to work for the 100 or so that work specifically on my team or the 400 or so collectively that work at Team Penske to keep going and keep working. I’m happy for those guys. And to have the stability as well with respect sponsors and all those things to showcase them and hopefully be a place to keep the business model in a way that drives value for them and keeps us on the track in a competitive form. Those contracts are a big deal. I think sometimes to our fans they’re probably not a big deal and I understand that. To the livelihood of the sport and the livelihood everybody in the room, they certainly are. It’s nice have those done and to be able to worry about the true passion point we have which is the racing on the track.”
Sporty 2017 Mazda3 aimed at those who love driving
The little car company that could, amid a sea of bigger and more dominant competitors, Mazda always has an uphill battle when battling for market share.
But when I drive their vehicles, I often wonder why. The experience they offer is among the best I’ve found after testing vehicles from all continents and in all classes.
Among the company’s more enjoyable offerings is the compact Mazda3 sedan, which I recently got the chance to test, and I’m back with a full report of where it stands in the grand scheme of small cars (a busy group that includes the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus and Honda Civic).
2017 Chevy Suburban remains a leader among the largest SUVs
SUVs may be all the rage now, but Chevrolet was well ahead of its time more than 80 years ago, when it introduced the 1935 “Carryall Suburban” vehicle, which must have felt tremendously out of place among the vehicles of its day with its longer wheelbase.
The nameplate is still going strong (the longest one in the business in fact) and I recently spent some time in much more recent version of the mark -- the 2017 Chevy Suburban.
With a limited number of full-size truck-based SUV competitors (Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Sequoia and Nissan Armada), plus a few that fall within the GM lineup (GMC Yukon and Yukon XL; Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade), the Suburban does quite well in this segment.
But the real question with this type of vehicle is -- who really needs it? I’m here to answer that question.
2017 Dodge Durango’s power, styling separates it from competitors
The Dodge Durango hasn’t undergone a major change in design for several years. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
It knows what it is (a boldly designed and powerful family hauler) and what it wants to do (provide a unique offering in a sea of three-row SUVs that can at times seem very generic), so there’s little reason to reinvent the wheel at this juncture.
Related in platform to Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Durango is a good mix of a powerful ride and a comfortable one -- a three-row SUV that you can be proud of. I recently spent some time in a Durango and here is a full report.
2017 Range Rover Evoque features standout design
All automakers evolve, and the Range Rover Evoque is proof of that.
While the heritage of the Land Rover brand is the Range Rover -- a large and fully off-road capable vehicle -- the automaker was keen to expand their reach, so the smaller and more city-focused Evoque was born several years back. I recently tested the latest iteration of of the Evoque model, a 2017 Range Rover Evoque HSE, and I’m back with a full report.
LOOKS
Plain or boring are words that will never be used to describe the Range Rover Evoque (or any Land Rover vehicle in fact). No other vehicle looks quite like it, though some do try to copy in various ways.
The simplest way to put it is that the Evoque is one of the best-looking rides you’ll see on the roadways, especially when compared to other vehicles of a similar size. I heard more positive comments toward this vehicle’s design than I had heard in a long time about any vehicle. There’s something about it that just stands out.
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