Next-gen WRX could be stunning
If the Sleuth has any issues with Subaru, it’s that the styling of some of the automaker’s vehicles seems to fall short of the competition’s. That could soon change when the next-generation WRX and its higher-performance STI offshoot arrive for the 2020 model year. The broad-shouldered Viziv concept car will reportedly form the basis for both Impreza-based versions. Still, Your Intrepid Gumshoe worries that Subaru will alter the final design in favour of more conservative sheetmetal, as it has done with previous concept-turned-production cars. One promise that apparently will be kept is that the WRX and STI will retain their base six-speed manual transmissions, with continuously variable automatics being optional. It looks like the only current Ford ‘cars’ to survive will be the Mustang and the Focus hatchback: A few weeks back, the Spy Guy reported the imminent demise of the Ford Taurus and he also mentioned that the futures of other models-with-trunks were “on the bubble.” Those bubbles have since burst with the announcement that the Fusion is going away after 2019 and that the next-generation 2019 Focus will only be available in hatchback form. These moves are a direct result of seismic shifts in buyer preferences toward tall wagons, leaving once-popular compact and midsize sedans gathering dust on dealer lots. Ford will soon join Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in abandoning both those categories entirely, while pack leaders Honda, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, Volkswagen and Nissan fight among themselves for their share of a shrinking pie. Only time will tell if the utility craze is temporary or a longer-term trend. Special delivery, to your vehicle: The Sleuth wonders how many owners of late-model General Motors and Volvo vehicles will sign on to the Amazon Key in-car parcel-delivery service. This program allows authorized delivery personnel to unlock your car’s hatch or trunk and place whatever you’ve ordered inside. Of course, Amazon Key includes a number of safeguards and smartphone monitoring to ensure nothing goes wrong. Still, just like the company’s Key in-home service, you’ll have to accept the fact that a perfect stranger will be invading your personal space while you’re not around. Amazon also has to realize that the first time something goes awry, such as a reported theft or damage to property by a delivery person, both traditional and social media outlets will explode … figuratively. Cadillac covers both ends of the utility spectrum: Up to now, Cadillac has been relying solely on the midsize XT5 for volume utility sales. The company will offer the XT4 compact utility model for the 2019 model year, but there’s even more coming. The Sleuth’s sources confirm that a much bigger tall-wagon test vehicle has been spotted wearing the usual camouflage. The XT6 will come with three rows of seats, but it will have a somewhat smaller profile (i.e. lower and shorter) than the larger truck-like Escalade. The platform will borrow from the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Both of Cadillac’s turbo and non-turbo V-6s are expected to be available, along with a full suite of dynamic-safety and semi-autonomous driving aids. Expect the XT6 for the 2020 model year. The mid-engine Corvette is not a rumour: One of the Sleuth’s non-traditional sources (a General Motors dealer, to be precise) has divulged some info about Chevrolet’s sports car. Although the news will likely result in traditional ’Vette-heads weeping in their prune juice, the car will definitely have its engine positioned behind the cockpit, just like most European exotics. Powertrain choices are expected to include both non-turbo and higherpowered turbocharged V-8s with the possibility of a twin-turbo V-8 (code name LT7) being available in a model that’s expected to list in the upper-$100,000 US range. It has been reported that Chevrolet was spending $700 million US to revamp the Corvette’s Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant. Now you know why. Honda’s how-to manual transmission video: The Japan-based automaker is doing its part to encourage drivers with an aversion to vehicles with three-pedals to conquer their fears. The fiveminute Youtube video entitled How to Drive a Manual Transmission 101 covers the basics in an informative but non-technical (and slightly humorous) way. Ford Mustang Boss and Mach 1 replicas: For those without the expertise to source and restore one of these classic models, Oklahomabased Classic Recreations (classicrecreations.com) will build you a new one, based on the 1969-’70 fastback body style. Both the Boss 302 and Boss 429 will come with their respective engines, while buyers choosing the Mach 1 tribute model can pick from current Ford turbo V-6 or non-turbo V-8 engines. Starting prices range from $170,000 US to $210,000, depending on model.