The outrageous indifference, mixed with distate enthusiasm shown by TTACers for our Chicago Auto Show Video led us to think that it would be a good idea to do one for the New York Auto Show. Unfortunately, Vodka McBigbra’s dental emergency forced me to bounce out of the show halfway through. The video crew was left with an absolute mishmash of first-take cynicism and random Asians wandering through the shots.

In his autobiography, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash notes that Steven Adler’s drumming in the sessions for “Rocket Queen” was so coked-up and arrhythmic that producer Mike Clink had to sit down and splice together the whole track from random sections. LeftLane’s producer Matt Sargent found himself in about the same situation here. Is this video as good as “Rocket Queen”? Of course not.

Therefore, please accept my apologies for even suggesting that you watch it. And I’d like to apologize to GM, as well, particularly to the fellow who asked me to “stop touching the Enclave” during the “wave rider” segment about halfway through. Thanks!

Video courtesy LeftLaneNews

The Hyundai Veracruz is no more. Hyundai’s oft-ignored big crossover will depart from the marketplace later this year, with the addition of a three-row 2013 Santa Fe. A three-row version of the previous Santa Fe was offered for a short time, but the third row compromised cargo space and offered minimal space for its occupants. The previous Santa Fe had a long life, perhaps too long. The new car should rectify the fact that the current model lagged far behind the level of overall quality and engineering that exists in current Hyundais.

A mid-cycle refresh for the 2013 Ram 1500 brings about some interesting changes. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 is now available, paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission (dubbed the TorqueFlite8). But wait, there’s more.

Also available is a new air suspension, a first for a 1500 pickup. Ride height can be adjusted for easy access, improved fuel economy and to facilitate off-roading. Electric grille shutters, a UConnect infotainment system, electric power steering and an engine start-stop system are also included.

The success of Ford’s V6 F-150 trucks has proved that there is a market for a V6 pickup, so long as it’s a good one. The Ecoboost and Ford’s 3.7L V6 are fine engines in their own right, and the Pentastar has been getting a lot of love lately, with TTAC hoping on the bandwagon as well. A 5.7L Hemi V8 will also be available, but it may not be the automatic choice anymore. Perhaps a V6 truck shoot-out is in order. Over to you, Mr. Dykes.

Volkswagen purists rejoice; here’s a European Passat wagon with a 2.0L diesel, a DSG gearbox, all-wheel drive and the prestige of not being an American-built VW.

The AllTrack is officially a concept for our purposes, but VW will sell you one if you live in the Schengen Zone. Look for an American version to have a gasoline option as well as the 140 horsepower TDI motor. The AllTrack would conceivably be a strong rival to the Subaru Outback while also helping VW out with the big gaping crossover hole in their lineup. I wonder if they’ll offer it with a manual?

The biggest sticking point here seems to be that the AllTrack is ostensibly built in Europe, off of a car that isn’t sold here. Will it be imported or will Chattanooga somehow be retrofitted to build a unique model?

Thanks to AutoGuide.com for the photos

The closest I’ve ever come to dying in a car was at the wheel of a Toyota Avalon, and I credit the nice, long wheelbase, stable handling and strong V6 engine for helping me avoid a major catastrophe. The new 2013 model, with its swoopy styling, looks like something that just might get you into trouble rather than keeping you out of it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The pictures tell the whole story of the revamped Avalon, with a totally different look both inside and out. Power numbers for the 3.5L V6 weren’t disclosed, but it should be at a minimum equal to the 268 horsepower in the Camry V6. A Sport mode button will be featured, as well as a whole suite of active safety features, including 10 airbags, blind spot monitoring with cross-traffic detection and a pre-collision system. Personally, I think the sloping roofline is the most interesting feature. Is it a concession to aesthetics while compromising rear headroom (ala the Mercedes-Benz CLS) or has Toyota avoided that problem? Previous complaints from more mature buyers (i.e. the Avalons target market) about this trend has me wondering.

Thanks to AutoGuide.com for the photos

When the wraps came off what is still called an “LE Concept,” a stunningly styled sedan emerged. It has sexy curves similar to those of the Emerg-e range extender that was shown in Geneva. A car like this, backed by the production prowess of Japan’s second-largest automaker, should worry prospective producers of all-electric luxury sedans.

Nissan’s Leaf provides the electric Infiniti with the all-important economies of scale. However, Nissan’s “Division General Manager of Exploratory and Advanced Product,” Francois Bancon, denies hackneyed intimations that the LE will just be a rebodied Leaf:

“The LE Concept is designed from the ground up as an Infiniti, not a re-badged Nissan. There will potentially be some shared components, but they will be configured specifically for use in the Infiniti EV.”

Range and performance are still kept under wraps.  “It will drive, feel and perform like an Infiniti,” says a sibylline Andy Palmer, who just recently was put in charge of the Nissan’s Global Infiniti unit. Name, production details, price are likewise kept secret.

Good looking as it is, this is not a show car. They call it a ‘production intent’ concept, a car they actually want to produce. Folks at Infiniti are positive that the yet unnamed electric Infiniti will be launched in 2014. Palmer says it is a global car that first “will be available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.” He did not want to comment on China, understandable, given the in-flux state of Chinese production for Nissan’s luxury marque.

The LE will most likely be the first plug-in which you don’t have to plug in. In addition to a regular corded charger and a DC fast charge option, the LE can be charged without wires. Infiniti’s  U.S. VP Ben Poore explains:

“The LE Concept includes a built-in wireless charging system, we expect it to be the first home-based wireless charging system. All you have to do is park your vehicle over the charging pad with no need to connect cables.”

This is a truly exciting system: Through a coil in the garage floor, a magnetic field is created. This excites an electric current in a second coil in the LE, which then charges the batteries. Infiniti promises that the high-frequency charging is safe for children and pets, and can be installed easily in a home garage. The batteries will sit under the passenger compartment floor, delivering a low center of gravity, a lot of trunk space, and room for the high net-worth legs.

Subaru debuted their new compact crossover and their refreshed Legacy and Outback. As you’re probably already aware, the changes to Subaru’s mid size mainstays are more than superficial. However, they’re not very dramatic.

The new DOHC Boxer 4 is good for a 1mpg improvement on the highway. The biggest news from an enthusiast standpoint is that the 2.5GT model is making a quiet exit. Another manual transmission notes the dust.

The Subaru XV compact crossover slots in where the previous Impreza-based Outback Sport once fit. Boasting the same ground clearance of the Outback with a smaller footprint, the XV should suit the northeastern SAAB replacement buyer quite nicely.

 “We can achieve 8 percent global market share by 2016.”

After a pause, he continued: “Whenever I state this 8 percent goal, I get some skeptical looks.”

Whenever he says that, people do get that look. Then they answer, or think: “Nissan? You surely must be talking about Nissan and Renault, right?”

Wrong. He meant Nissan a year ago, and he was talking only about Nissan today. Nissan is well on its way. Currently Nissan is at 4.8 million vehicles worldwide, or 6.4 percent of the total global market. Ghosn plans to sell 200,000 units more in the U.S. alone with 5 new volume models.

Nissan will ”target  millions of people joining the middle classes around the world” by reviving Datsun for low cost cars.

“And before you ask – no, we do not currently plan to bring Datsun back to the U.S.”

The original Santa Fe used a 2.7-liter V-6 that was supposedly developed by Porsche — and the joke went that the Germans traded that engineering for the Santa Fe’s styling so they could “Design” the Cayenne.

That story no longer applies. The new Santa Fe has homegrown world-class engines and styling that beats the Porker six ways to Sunday.

The Santa Fe now “plays” in the seven-seater “space”, leaving the Tuscon to fill the compact five-seater role. Of the four Santa Fe trim levels, however, only one — the GLS — is a true seven-seat, three-row player. The rest are five-or-six-seaters. The interesting entry is the 2.0T, which slots the near-ubiquitous four-cylinder turbo into a five-seat sporting variant. Six-speed automatics are standard across the board. Hyundai’s SUV lineup was the weakest link in its American plans, and with this Santa Fe, thirty-three percent of this problem has likely been rectified.

The steamy erotica novel “50 Shades of Grey” is apparently inciting the passions of housewives across Manhattan. Good to know that Lexus has something for the good people of Boca Raton, Florida, in the form of the new Lexus ES.

The ES350, with its 6-speed automatic gearbox and 3.5L V6 is a restyled, lighter version of the usual ES. A car that gets dumped on by those whose ego outweighs their real-world experience. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it achieves its goals competently.

The big news this year is a new ES Hybrid, dubbed the ES300h. Using the 2.5L 4-cylinder and Hybrid Synergy Drive from the Camry Hybrid, the ES300H will supposedly hit 40 mpg combined – let’s see how the ES and the upcoming Lincoln MKZ Hybrid square off against one another. New Lexus family styling both inside and out means a GS-esque look for the exterior, and the slightly infuriating Lexus Remote Touch controller that will be a challenge for less tech-oriented members of the AARP – and believe me, there are many who appreciated the ES350 precisely because it didn’t have an iDrive or MMI stalk.

The scrum of journalists and wanna-bes around the Viper has been consistently packed for two hours now. We have some impressions from Byron Hurd and NASA instructor Jeff Stutler for your consumption; later on in the show I will wander over, sit in the thing, and try to correlate it with my experiences of the previous Vipers.

Byron sez:

“640hp. 600lb-ft. Reduced weight. An interior completely re-done with help from Ferrari’s low-volume suppliers.

Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

This is it folks. You can go outside now. Chrysler has stolen the show with the new SRT Viper. Pity Nissan for having to follow an act like this. New Altima? To hell with that. The line for Viper press kits is hundreds deep. Nobody’s coming.

Some notes: Despite rumors of a displacement bump, the new car retains the 8.4L V10 from the 2010, but gains 40hp and 40lb-ft. The clamshell hood is back, but carbon fiber replaces previous composite materials in the exterior panels. New features include mandated ESP, cruise and launch control and the Dart’s fancy gauge cluster.

And yes, The ALMS rumors are true. ”

Quoth Jeff:

“The reveal was great, and the surprise of the alms race car was even greater. The car itself looks fantastic on paper and in the flesh. With a “dry” power tow eight ratio greater than the lamborghini aventador it ought get plenty of people in a lot of trouble. Im not 100% sold on the carbon taillight surround yet but it will grow.

Head of srt says the car will do at least 206mph amd that the goal is not only to be fast but to handle as well, he says you fought with the old car but you plug yourself into this one. ‘its like a miata on steroids.’”

We all know that the new Acura RLX will have a V6 and a neat SH-AWD system using electric motors and such – but how about the budget model, that revives the long-dormant four-wheel steering system from the Prelude, once known as 4WS!

The all-new direct injection V6 displaces 3.5L and makes in excess of 370 horsepower. While one electric motor provides a hybrid system linked to the V6, two others, one at each rear wheel, act as an all-wheel drive system. Similar to the NSX, the system can add power to the wheels independently, helping the car rotate through turns by applying varying amounts of torque.

A standard model without the SH-AWD system can be had with 310 horsepower and the aforementioned 4WS system, now dubbed “Precision All-Wheel Steer”. This system electronically adjusts the toe angle of the rear wheels. Two screens will feature in the cabin, a 7-inch touch screen that controls vehicle functions, as well as an 8-inch display screen.

Forward Collision Warning,  Lane Departure Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System and lane-keeping assist all help on the gadget front, while an AcuraLink telematics system with stolen vehicle tracking will be standard.

And yes, this concept is 100 percent accurate; imagine it with the rims from the current RL, and you’ll have the car that I saw back at Honda HQ in January.

“Imagine,” Ford’s marketing wunderkind Jim Farley suggested, “if your service advisor knew your name? If he knew your preferences? What you wanted?” Well, as a former owner of two Phaetons, I don’t need to imagine that. Everybody in VW service at my local dealer knew my name, my wife’s name, our weekend plans, and which one of the dealership’s loaners I liked best (“Blackie”, a Passat 2.0T). That’s what happens when you sell cars that require frequent servicing and have nobody on staff in the entire country who can perform said servicing in even a marginally competent fashion.

Farley, of course, wasn’t talking about 5400-pound German crapwagons. He was talking about treating Lincoln buyers to the finest dealership experience available.

The most radical concept Farley showed the crowd was the idea of a “personal shopper” who could be contacted online and who would help the buyer shop the competition as well as shop Lincoln. Don’t know which Lexus is right for you? Why not let someone from Lincoln tell you? While it sounds absolutely hare-brained, in the Keeping Up With The Kardashians era, the idea of access to personal shopping help may actually bring some intenders Lincoln’s way. Luxury for the middle class: it’s a time-honored winning formula.

The production-spec MKZ which wandered into the middle of Farley’s presentation is actually a pretty good example of that philosophy. It doesn’t look anything like the Fusion with which it shares its bones, and it has a very solid three-level powertrain selection that, frankly, just points up how crappy GM’s Impala lineup is. There’s a 237-horsepower EcoBoost four, the very popular hybrid drivetrain complete with long-distance electric-only capability, and the 3.7L Duratec putting out 300 horsepower. The Duratec is the fastest but least interesting of the three, of course.

Interior designer Soo Kang sat with our hairdresser-turned-journalist Julie Hyde for a moment to explain her ideas behind the interior. She arrived in the United States as a working concert harpist and continues to let music direct her endeavors. Her favorite part of the MKZ’s interior is the pushbutton shifter that permitted her to create an uninterrupted horizontal sweep line in the console. “Every corner of the car,” she stated, “should be spacious and serene.”

Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole presentation was the artist who created multiple “sand drawings” in time with a perfectly coordinated jazz-fusion sextet, complete with gorgeous violinist. The performance piece was clearly painstakingly conceived and thoroughly rehearsed. It went off without a hitch. Unfortunately for Jim Farley, what stands between him and his perfect performance — a nationwide array of disgruntled, financially strapped Lincoln dealers — may be too high a bar to clear.

8.4 liters. 10 cylinders. 640 horsepower. 600 lb-ft of torque. 3297 pounds. It’s still a Viper.

Here’s the long awaited 2013 SRT Viper. There is only one choice, a 6 speed manual transmission. Weight is down while power is up. Stability control and an 8.4 inch touch screen are concessions to comfort, but there will be a track version that loses another 57 pounds. Sounds like the right concept. Execution will be an entirely different matter.

My girlfriend is really excited for tonight’s debut of “The Real Housewives of Vancouver”, and I bet that the Real Housewives already hankering for a new ride before the 36-month lease on their current GL350 BlueTecs are up. Here’s more questionably-built ostentatiousness to satiate their vapid souls.

I do have an affinity for the Mercedes-Benz GL because it can be had with the BlueTec diesel engine – a good number of them (apparently as high as 50 percent in Canada) are sold with the oil burner. I imagine that isn’t the case in the United States. The BlueTec 3.0L V6 diesel now makes 240 horsepower and 455 lb-ft.

Two gasoline V8s will also be offered, both 4.6L twin-turbo V8s. The GL450 makes 362 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque while the GL550 will make 429 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, the better to get to hot yoga before that bitch in the Range Rover Sport steals your parking spot. A 7-speed automatic puts power to the ground. A radar-based collision avoidance system works at triple digit speeds, so you can yak on your phone without worrying about human life.

The GL350 starts at $62,445, and goes up to $86,175 for the GL550.

Earlier today, Derek expressed his hope that we’d be seeing the Impala t the show in a color other than black. No such luck. Live shots from Julie Hyde and commentary from Byron Hurd below.

“Rental darling no longer, Chevy’s new Impala shows off the new, significantly improved Bowtie grille and elegant, throwback body lines that would (and do) look right at home on a Buick.

The new Impala also sheds its low-rent cabin for gorgeous two-tone offerings with contrast stitching and other nice visual touches. So what’s the catch?

Well, at no point during the presentation was rear-drive brought up, and from the sound of it, the V8-powered SS model will not return. Instead, you can choose from a 303-horsepower V6, a 30mpg 2.5-liter 4, or GM’s new 2.4 with assist, which they claim will return 36mpg on the highway.”

As with the Malibu before it, the Impala’s interior photographs better than it really looks or feels. The fact that Chevrolet debuted the car in black doesn’t bode well, either: it’s axiomatic in this business that black hides styling miscues the same way a black dress flatters a slightly chunky woman. We’ll have to wait until we can see the car in the muted palette of Beiges in which it will likely be sold to fleets.

Note: I finally got over to see the Impala for myself and noted that, yes, it is very very dark blue, not black. There is an ice-blue (not silver) model which was pulled onto the platform as well and we will have that in our video — JB

The ancient Chevrolet Impala will finally get a replacement, in the form of the 2014 Impala shown above. The newest GM full-size will get a V6 engine, setting it apart from the 2013 Malibu. An eAssist 4-cylinder will be the base engine.

The 2.4L Ecotec with eAssist will make 182 horsepower while returning 35 mpg on the highway. The all-new 2.5L Ecotec 4-cylinder making 195 horsepower will also be available, but the jewel of the lineup will be the 3.6L V6 making 303 horsepower – a powertrain that really shines even in the current Impala. All engines will be mated to a 6-speed automatic.

Sharing a platform with the Buick Lacrosse and Cadillac XTS, the Impala should be a huge step forward in refinement for the nameplate, with 4-cylinders featuring an active noise cancellation system to help keep noise down. GM has said that fleet sales will be cut for this generation of car. Our New York Auto Show coverage will begin today, and hopefully we can get pictures of the car in a shade that isn’t black!

This coming week is the week when all car manufacturers wish they would have a split personality.  The New York Auto Show and the Shanghai Auto Show will take place in the same week. Jack Baruth will take Manhattan. (Hey, Jack: The famous Headquarter’s “Steakhouse” is right next door to the Javit’s Center.  Scores is just a few blocks south.) I’ll take Shanghai and my camera. I’m sure Jack will come equipped. Maybe.

As a special service to the Best & Brightest,  YOU can put in requests for what we shall take pictures of – apart from the obvious.

We’ll try to fulfill all requests – to the best of our abilities.

If you like your appliance-style Toyota (there is statistical proof that you are not alone) then better run and buy it now. The Nikkei [sub] rattles its readers this morning with the news that Toyota “plans to build vehicles that are more eye-catching to counter criticism its cars are too bland,”

Jim Lentz, head of Toyota U.S., said that the new Camry, to be unveiled at the New York auto show in April, will already look more stylish. And that’s just the beginning. “In the years to come, you’ll see a much more emotive styling,” Lentz said.

Even Akio Toyoda conceded that “our cars need to be better looking”.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, executive vice-president for product management and research and development, promised that Toyota will be “allocating even greater resources to support the creativity of our designers.”

After a carmageddon-induced pause, Toyota will launch ten new models this year, including two Lexi, and one Scion. So again: If you like the understated Maytag look, buy your Toyota now.

You guessed it, our favourite near-octogenarian car exec is back with another cracker. Business Week reports that ahead of the March sales figures (and his latest retirement), Bob Lutz was there to stick the boot into Toyota. “We are well ahead of plan and growingly so,” Lutz, 78, said today in an interview at the New York auto show. “Toyota’s God-like status will never be reclaimed.” Lutz also heaped praise on the Chevrolet Equinox “The Equinox is sold out and has a transaction price $5,000 higher than the old Equinox.” Hahaha! Speaking of money: “When we can demonstrate financial success, we will regain the momentum.” and by “momentum” he means “Government can start the IPO and end this investment”. He carried on kicking Toyota: “Toyota will obviously recover, but from now on they’ll just be another one of the guys,” Lutz said. “I don’t think they’ll ever reach the exalted status of the world’s best auto company.”

I wonder if a Toyota ran over his foot when he was younger? Lutz seems to have had it in for Toyota for a while. This is the man who quite happily blamed a Toyota owned supplier for GM’s recall of 1.3 million cars (but when Toyota tried to blame CTS, they were met with scorn). Need more proof? Check out his reason for the Volt. Someone should tell loose-lips-Lulz that there are people who think that GM’s largest stockholder is behind (or at least interested in) the Toyota troubles, and that it’s not the smartest thing to attract attention to it.

After several years of hype, Chevrolet is releasing images pictures of its US-market Cruze compact in advance of the New York International Auto Show. The Cruze has been on sale around the world for nearly a year now, though the US launch delay has actually been a blessing in disguise, thanks to early transmission problems and a recall for fuel supply pipes. Now that Chevy’s next small thing has had its teething pains, the Daewoo-developed compact is being shown in a dizzying array of trims and packages for the US market. Chevy hopes that the Eco trim level will bring some much-needed enviro-cred to the brand, by offering a 40 MPG (freeway) version powered by a turbocharged 1.4 liter engine. To match that long-established mileage goal, Chevy had to make a number of modifications to the Cruze, including

• A lower front grille air shutter that closes at higher speeds to improve aerodynamics and opens at lower speeds to optimize engine-cooling airflow
• The upper grille has more “closeouts” to improve aerodynamics
• A lower front air dam extension, extensive use of underbody panels and a rear spoiler enhance aerodynamics
• A lowered ride height improves aerodynamics
• Unique 17-inch lightweight aluminum wheels
• Ultra-low rolling resistance 17-inch Goodyear tires.

Not available until the fourth quarter of this year, the Cruze Eco will accelerate to 60 MPH in about ten seconds with a manual transmission and about 9 seconds with the automatic option. No word on the cost of the package.

Non-Eco-model Cruzes will be trimmed as LS, LT and LTZ models, which start with a base 1.8 liter NA engine (136 hp, 123 lb-ft), which Martin Schwoerer’s German-spec Cruze review calls “an old-school engine that has somehow found its way into a new car, and it ruins the experience.” LT and LTZ models join the Eco in being powered by the 1.4 Turbo engine, which offers a mere 2 hp upgrade from the 1.8, but includes a much-improved torque rating (138 hp, 148 lb.-ft).

There have been rumors of an SS-trimmed Cruze (possibly in coupe form), but as GM’s Mark Reuss has put it, The General is “not trying to peanut-butter SS for everything.” That’s what the RS package is for. The appearance package will be available on LT and LTZ models, and is described in GM’s presser thusly:

Complementing Cruze’s sporty proportions is an optional RS appearance package for the LT and LTZ trim levels, which bolsters the car’s styling with unique fascias, rocker moldings, rear spoiler and fog lamps. An uplevel instrument cluster is also part of the package and includes chrome accent rings in place of the standard silver finish, as well as opaque cluster bezels that allow the cluster’s ice blue backlighting to shine through – providing a sporty nighttime appearance.

“For customers who want even more personality and presence in their vehicle, the RS appearance package builds on the already bold face and coupe-like proportions of the Cruze,” said Michael Simcoe, executive director, North American Exterior Design.

Which means you’ll have to wait for the SS version to get that famous red-stitched interior… or an engine that makes over 140 hp.

Will the Cruze reverse GM’s perennial compact-segment curse? It certainly looks to be a far better car than the Cobalt it replaces, and a 40 MPG Eco version could become GM’s first legitimately competitive green car (depending on its final price point). The open questions? Will the public appreciate the Cruze’s styling more than GM’s developers do? Will the base 1.8 engine perpetuate the impression that GM cheaps out on small cars (even when the better 1.4 has been federally subsidized)? Will Ed Whitacre’s volume obsession make a fleet queen out of the Cruze? Are those global launch-hurting defects all worked out? Will consumers willingly let go of their memories of Cobalts, Cavaliers and Vegas and look to Chevy for small cars? Anything’s possible, and if Chevrolet is going to pull itself out of its bankruptcy hole, it had better hope that it gets the answers to these questions right.

Audi’s has dropped their A5 and S5 drop-tops at the New York Auto Show. As the hardtop A5 3.2 Quattro is currently sitting on my driveway, I reckon this fresh air version will be, as The Sun newspaper would say, a stunna. In terms of dynamics and comfort, the new A4 platform is a vast improvement over ye old A4′s nose heavy underpinnings. But a question: isn’t 15 seconds a long time for a cloth convertible to lower its lid? And a word of review-foreshadowing warning for perspective A5 Cab buyers: careful with that spec sheet. A faux S5 is the worst of all possible models. Which doesn’t make it horrible. Just . . . inadvisable. And you see that shot with the four people in the A5 Cabriolet? I’d like to see that with the top up. Please.

]]> http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/04/new-audi-cabriolet-only-15-seconds-to-get-the-girl/feed/ 15 http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/04/mercedes-hybrid-s-class-four-minutes-to-save-the-world/ http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/04/mercedes-hybrid-s-class-four-minutes-to-save-the-world/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:56:09 +0000 Robert Farago http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=305211

For years, Motown and Motown-sympathetic carmudgeons tarred and feathered the Toyota Prius for its “hybrid premium.” Other than Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz, who never held a stance he couldn’t not defend with fact=based logic, critics of the “eco-weenie’s poseur mobile” trotted out chart after chart on the Prius’ miles per gallon, purchase price, the cost of gas and the cost of batteries; compared to, say, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. Meanwhile, consumers bought the Prius—to the point where the model outsells entire GM brands (something of a mean feat). Meanwhile, the LS600h L. As my review pointed out, flipping heck! The gas – electric luxury car has one of the world’s finest engines. Not to be outdone—provided you don’t think “first in” counts—Mercedes has unveiled its first gas – electric hybrid: the S400 HYBRID (all caps all theirs).

The Lexus LS600h L was designated a “600″ because Lexus reckoned the battery-enabled V8 engine performed like a 6.0-liter V12 (no argument here). Besides, the most expensive model/range topper should wear the highest number. So, will Mercedes’ gas – electric S400 HYBRID perform like a 4.0-liter V8? Ja, maybe. It’s equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 good for 275 hp married to an electric motor that generates 20 hp and “a starting torque of 118 lb·ft.” Put it all together and what do you get? Twenty-nine miles per gallon on the EPA’s highway cycle, presumably.

Well, that’s the headline anyway. In fact, Mercedes wants you to know that the S400 HYBRID ”dispels the myth that sustainable mobility is only possible with small cars.” There’ll be some sniggering in Japan tonight, folks. Anyway, Merc’s HYBRID is a bit like Time magazine’s cover: when a trend hits the front, it’s so mainstream its not worth bothering about anymore.

All of which means Toyota hybrid owners are free to go about their business without condescending MSM pricks and Detroit apologists (and condescending MSM Detroit apologists) telling them that they’re poseurs.