New Taurus gets luxury billing for China
Ford recently unveiled the next-generation 2016 Taurus at the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show. Although the car will be marketed as a full-on luxury sedan in China, including power-reclining rear seats with massage and rear-seat climate and communications controls, the North American version is expected to continue to compete directly with the Chevrolet Impala, Dodge Charger/ Chrysler 300 duo and the Toyota Avalon in content and price. Rear-seat passenger space should benefit from an eight-centimetre gain in distance between the front and rear wheels, although overall length will shrink by about 15 centimetres. Also expected is a twin-turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder base engine plus twin-turbo 2.7- and 3.5-litre V-6s, the latter installed in the high-output Taurus SHO.
Is the Westfalia returning to the campground?: According to The Sleuth’s source at Volkswagen, the answer is probably a yes. The automaker’s outdoorsy edition was dropped following the 2003 model year, but it appears it will return in a couple of years’ time alongside the regular seven- or eight-passenger VW passenger van. However the really hot rumour concerns the Westfalia’s propulsion system, which will consist of an electric motor powering the front wheels. Left unsaid is whether the camper version would be 100 per cent electric or if it would also use a gasoline engine, which would make it a plug-in hybrid model. As for the van’s appearance, the Europe-only 2016 Volkswagen Transporter T6 just might form the basis for VW’s North American van revival, including a Westfalia offshoot.
A Chinese automobile invasion could be at hand: Well, for the moment call it an expeditionary force. The Spy Guy’s intel gatherers claim that Guangzhou Auto of China is actively seeking dealership partners in the United States that would begin selling its products starting in 2017. Initially just a single model, the GS4 sport utility vehicle would be sold here with other products following. Guangzhou is also report- edly readying a North-American-spec GS4 for the necessary safety and emissions approvals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As much as The Sleuth trusts his sources, he’s skeptical that Guangzhou can deliver the GS4 or any of its other vehicles on our shores anytime soon. His disbelief stems from too many empty claims by this and other China-based automakers in the past decade regarding their impending arrivals here.
Ford prepares to take it to the next lightweight level: Word had reached The Sleuth that the Ford Motor Company is exploring the use carbon-fibre body panels on its future vehicles as a way of reducing weight while improving fuel efficiency. To that end, the company is working with dowaksa, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, to make high-volume carbon fibre more cheaply to the point where the material becomes cost-efficient in relation to other materials. If the shift to carbon fibre does catch on, it could ultimately affect both steel and possibly aluminum producers that count on the auto sector for generating a large share of their business. Interestingly, Ford’s limited-production 2017 GT sports car will be built by an outside manufacturing partner using carbon fibre for the body.
New names and models at Mercedes-Benz: Not to obfuscate its loyal customers, the Stuttgart, Germany-headquartered automaker is nonetheless renaming a number of its product lines plus adding some offshoot models. For example, the 2016 GLE becomes a face lifted version of the familiar M-Class sport ute, while a new GLC replaces the GLK tall wagon. Previously announced was a four-door GLE hatchback “coupe” that’s similar in size and shape to the BMW X6. Now The Trenchcoated One hears that a similar coupe version of the GLC has also been confirmed for production sometime in 2016. The GLC, which is similar in size to BMW’s X4, will come with all-wheel-drive and it will employ a 367-horsepower twin-turbo V-6 coupled to a nine-speed automatic transmission.
In brief:
• Bespoke Rolls Royce models: Very-well-heeled fans of BMW’s luxury brand will soon be able to order their preferred display of ostentatious wealth in the same manner they would a custom-fitted suit. Rolls Royce’s “Phantom Limelight Collection” offers buyers custom-fitted rear seats with footrests, door panels, floor consoles and other accessories, all finished in the finest of wood veneers and leathers. Only 25 Phantom Limelight models will be produced with prices starting at a mere $650,000 US each.
Piëch out at VW: The grandson of VW founder Ferdinand Porsche has resigned from Volkswagen following a simmering public dispute with the automaker’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn, related to the direction of the company. Also resigning is Piëch’s wife, Ursula, who was a member of VW’s supervisory board.