Subaru Promises WRX TR Will Be ‘Enthusiast-Focused’

Fans of the Exploding Galaxy will be interested to learn the company is bringing back a TR variant of its WRX. When last seen about 15 years ago, the TR stood for ‘tuner ready’ – essentially a base WRX with a few deleted features and lower price tag.

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2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series Review – The Fun of Wretched Excess

No one, but no one, needs a 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series.

Sure, some folks can make a reasonable argument for needing a large SUV for towing or hauling people and stuff. Far fewer people who drive these things need them rather than want them, but there is a use case.

Not for the V.

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2023 Polestar 2 Dual Motor Review – Silent Luxury

What if I told you there exists a small luxury sedan with Swedish roots and an uncanny ability to go about its business with unfussy silence?

Well, there’s at least one of those on the market – the 2023 Polestar 2 Dual Motor. If your idea of luxury is no fuss, no muss, no noise, you’ve found your huckleberry.

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2024 Hyundai Kona Review – Ready For New Challenges?

The 2024 Hyundai Kona is launching now – dealers should be receiving units as you read this – and Hyundai has some challenges to overcome as it gets the new Kona to market.

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QOTD: What Feature Do You Want the Most?

We reported yesterday that research/analysis firm AutoPacific found that the most wanted new-car feature among consumers is fog lamps.

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Report: LED Fog Lights Are the Most-Wanted Feature in New Vehicles

New cars come packed with all sorts of advanced tech and safety features, but buyers have gravitated toward certain amenities over others. AutoPacific recently released its 2023 Future Attribute Demand Study (FADS), which rates the 10 most-wanted vehicle features, according to buyers.

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2023 Cadillac CT4 V-Series Blackwing Review – Here to Play

At first, I didn’t like the 2023 Cadillac CT4 V-Series Blackwing. I found it a little too stiff riding and I wasn’t sure the chassis was as well sorted as it should be.

Then I found the space to open it up. Whoo boy.

My initial take faded away as I realized that this is a car that needs to be allowed to play.

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2023 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium MT Review – For Extra Fun, Add Third Pedal

In a bit of serendipitous timing, we saw earlier this week that a lot of 2023 Toyota Supra buyers are opting for the manual.

Having tested one earlier this year, I can see why.

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The 2025 Ford Mustang GTD Is a Horse of a Different Feather

The Ford Mustang has always been known for affordable -- or affordable-ish -- performance. The newest vehicle in the pony-car lineup will be priced not to compete with Camaros and Chargers but single-family homes. Meet the $300,000 Mustang -- the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD.

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2023 Cadillac CT4 Review – The Cure for the Common Bimmer?

Last week I wrote about a BMW 3-Series that reminded me of Bimmers of the past, at least in terms of being fun to drive. I also pointed out that it was a relative bargain.

The 2023 Cadillac CT4 heard that and said “hold my beer.”

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QOTD: Going Blocky

Yesterday we brought you the details on the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The Santa Fe's new duds are quite blocky, just like those of the Land Rover Defender (Hyundai claims this is a coincidence. Other blocky SUVs on the market include the Ford Bronco. Other Land Rover/Range Rover models are squared off, too. Kia, which is a corporate sibling to Hyundai, has been selling the blocky Telluride for a while now.

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2023 Volkswagen Jetta Review – Getting the Basics Right

We love to salivate over sports cars around here. But sometimes, an automobile is truly unpretentious and does the basics well without any fluff.

That can be a very good thing – just ask us about the 2023 Volkswagen Jetta.

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2024 Hyundai Santa Fe – Heading in a New Direction

The reveal of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe took us a bit by surprise a few weeks ago.

Apparently, details leaked onto the Internet so the company rushed up a press release that we dutifully covered.

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2023 BMW 330i M Sport Sedan Review – Keeping the Flame Burning

As a general rule, my biggest recent beef with BMW sedans has been that they feel a bit heavy and porky. A tad ponderous. Not so much that I’d eliminate them from my shopping list (in the fantasy world where an automotive journalist actually can afford a car in this class), but enough to notice.

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2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Rubicon Review – Charged-Up Jeep

The first thing you should know about the 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Rubicon is that aside from the powertrain, the experience is pretty much the same as it would be with any other Wrangler.

In other words, if for some reason the idea of a PHEV Wrangler bothers you, relax.

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  • Oberkanone How long do I have to stay in this job before I get a golden parachute?I'd lower the price of the V-Series models. Improve the quality of interiors across the entire line. I'd add a sedan larger then CT5. I'd require a financial review of Celestiq. If it's not a profit center it's gone. Styling updates in the vision of the XLR to existing models. 2+2 sports coupe woutd be added. Performance in the class of AMG GT and Porsche 911 at a price just under $100k. EV models would NOT be subsidized by ICE revenue.
  • NJRide Let Cadillac be Cadillac, but in the context of 2024. As a new XT5 owner (the Emerald Green got me to buy an old design) I would have happy preferred a Lyriq hybrid. Some who really like the Lyriq's package but don't want an EV will buy another model. Most will go elsewhere. I love the V6 and good but easy to use infotainment. But I know my next car will probably be more electrified w more tech.I don't think anyone is confusing my car for a Blazer but i agree the XT6 is too derivative. Frankly the Enclave looks more prestigious. The Escalade still has got it, though I would love to see the ESV make a comeback. I still think GM missed the boat by not making a Colorado based mini-Blazer and Escalade. I don't get the 2 sedans. I feel a slightly larger and more distinctly Cadillac sedan would sell better. They also need to advertise beyond the Lyriq. I don't feel other luxury players are exactly hitting it out of the park right now so a strengthened Cadillac could regain share.
  • CM Korecko Cadillacs traditionally have been opulent, brash and leaders in the field; the "Standard of the World".That said, here's how to fix the brand:[list=1][*]Forget German luxury cars ever existed.[/*][*]Get rid of the astromech droid names and bring back Seville, Deville, Eldorado, Fleetwood and Brougham.[/*][*]End the electric crap altogether and make huge, gas guzzling land yachts for the significant portion of the population that would fight for a chance to buy one.[/*][*]Stop making sports cars and make true luxury cars for those of us who don't give a damn about the environment and are willing to swim upstream to get what we really want.[/*][*]Stop messing around with technology and make well-made and luxurious interiors.[/*][*]Watch sales skyrocket as a truly different product distinguishes itself to the delight of the target market and the damnation of the Sierra Club. Hell, there is no such thing as bad publicity and the "bad guy" image would actually have a lot of appeal.[/*][/list=1]
  • FreedMike Not surprisingly, I have some ideas. What Cadillac needs, I think, is a statement. They don’t really have an identity. They’re trying a statement car with the Celestiq, and while that’s the right idea, it has the wrong styling and a really wrong price tag. So, here’s a first step: instead of a sedan, do a huge, fast, capable and ridiculously smooth and quiet electric touring coupe. If you want an example of what I’m thinking of, check out the magnificent Rolls-Royce Spectre. But this Cadillac coupe would be uniquely American, it’d be named “Eldorado,” and it’d be a lot cheaper than the $450,000 Spectre – call it a buck twenty-five, with a range of bespoke options for prospective buyers that would make each one somewhat unique. Make it 220 inches long, on the same platform as the Celestiq, give it retro ‘60s styling (or you could do a ‘50s or ‘70s throwback, I suppose), and at least 700 horsepower, standard. Why electric? It’s the ultimate throwback to ‘60s powertrains: effortlessly fast, smooth, and quiet, but with a ton more horsepower. It’s the perfect drivetrain for a dignified touring coupe. In fact, I’d skip any mention of environmental responsibility in this car’s marketing – sell it on how it drives, period.  How many would they sell? Not many. But the point of the exercise is to do something that will turn heads and show people what this brand can do.  Second step: give the lineup a mix of electric and gas models, and make Cadillac gas engines bespoke to the brand. If they need to use generic GM engine designs, fine – take those engines and massage them thoroughly into something special to Cadillac, with specific tuning and output. No Cadillac should leave the factory with an engine straight out of a Malibu or a four-banger Silverado. Third step: a complete line-wide interior redo. Stop the cheapness that’s all over the current sedans and crossovers. Just stop it. Use the Lyriq as a blueprint – it’s a big improvement over the current crop and a good first step. I’d also say Cadillac has a good blend of screen-controlled and switch-controlled user interfaces; don’t give into the haptic-touch and wall-to-wall screen thing. (On the subject of Caddy interiors – as much as I bag on the Celestiq, check out the interior on that thing. Wow.)Fourth step: Blackwing All The Things – some gas, others electric. And keep the electric/gas mix so buyers have a choice.Fifth step: be patient. That’s not easy, but if they’re doing a brand reset, it’ll take time. 
  • NJRide So if GM was serious about selling this why no updates for so long? Or make something truly unique instead of something that looked like a downmarket Altima?