{also piping hot}
Genesis, Chapter 2:
The current-generation Genesis luxury sedan has been on the road for barely a year and Hyundai is well into developing a major refresh for release in 2017 for the 2018 model year. Along with the usual revised nose and trim bits for this most exceptional sedan, The Sleuth is led to believe that a twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter V6 producing something on the order of 390 horsepower will either be added to the powertrain roster, or might even replace the existing 420-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 option. Apparently the twin-turbo is also being considered for duty in the even more luxurious Equus sedan as well as the next-generation Genesis coupe.
A more sporting Sportage:
Details are already being leaked to Your Obedient Sneakster regarding Kia’s next-generation compact wagon. From his brief glimpse, it’s obvious that the Sportage’s design displays more upscale-ness and now more closely resembles the larger Sorento tall wagon, especially from the front. There’s also no doubt that the Sportage will run with the same 164-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder and optional turbocharged 175-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines. The latter will be hooked to a seven-speed automated manual transmission that’s also used in the related Hyundai Tucson. The interior is even more Sorento-like, which is to say it’s more luxurious and classier than before. Look for the new Sportage to launch in the first quarter of 2016 as a 2017 model. Years of shooting itself in the foot means that the Taurus might be a goner:
The Sleuth reports that Ford is on the horns of a dilemma regarding its plans for the Taurus in North America. On one hand, the next-generation full-size sedan, which was revealed in China (where sales are strong) last April and goes on sale there this fall. On the other, it might not make it to North America where the mid-size Ford Fusion outsells the Taurus by a factor of better than six to one. Even then, 20 percent of Taurus production (about 9,000 cars a year) ends up going to police departments. Whatever the outcome, it seems clear that the 2016 Taurus will likely be a carryover and not an all-new model, which will undoubtedly buy Ford some time as it ponders whether to introduce a new version here or simply allow the brand to fade away. How did Ford take a fantastic brand and end up like this? A decade of missteps including the Ford Five Hundred and, the Sleuth surmises, slack marketing and pricing itself out of the market. Will the next BMW X1 come in both two- and three-row seating?
The Trenchcoated One believes that’s the case after hearing that an extended-length X1 has been spotted in highly camouflaged livery. His belief is that the shorter five-seat version, which is expected to arrive here in late 2015, will be followed a few months later by a stretched (by about six inches) seven-passenger model. The X1 will use the same front- and all-wheel-drive platform that will also support the 2016 Mini Clubman and the next-generation Mini Countryman. The BMW will also get the current Mini’s available turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 189 horsepower. Whether the three-row X1 will be given a power boost in support of its greater load capacity is unknown as of this writing.
Tesla’s high test ranking:
Consumer Reports is so over the moon after testing the high-performance all-electric Tesla Model S P85D sedan that its evaluators actually gave the car a score of 103 points . . . on a 100point scale. That’s four points more than they gave a less-powerful Model S back in 2013. The rearwheel-drive P85D, which sells for close to $130,000, is the quickest car that Consumer Reports has ever tested, with a zero-60-mph time of 3.5 seconds.
Changes to the 2016 Smart:
According to reports, impressing North American buyers was a major consideration for the designers of the third-generation Fortwo micro car. Along with increasing the size — in particular the width — and improving overall performance by installing a new engine, the Smart’s more substantial shape was also made with American and Canadian audiences in mind. The original For Two was conceived and designed for the European market and migrated to North America.