Toyota Teases Next Sequoia

It’s one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets that a new Toyota Sequoia is on the way within twelve months or so, likely sharing much with the just-released Tundra pickup truck. The company has now shared a typically shadowy teaser image of the upcoming rig, one which may not be as slab-sided as its forebear.

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The Right Spec: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Our fancy-pants Managing Ed. is currently enjoying the sunny and rocky environs of Moab, sampling different variants of the new-for-’22 Jeep Grand Cherokee. His impressions will appear on these digital pages in due time but, until then, let’s examine what might just be The Right Spec of this popular SUV.

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2022 Kia Stinger Sees Power Increase, Pricing Changes

If you purchased a base Kia Stinger with the turbocharged 2.0-liter, many will argue you made the wrong decision. They’ll allege that you should have sprung for the more powerful twin-turbo V6. But it always seemed just a bit too steep of a price jump to make sense for every single person. If you were cross-shopping the Stinger against fancier — albeit indirect — rivals like the BMW 3-Series, that 2.0-liter was still completely adequate. However, we could say the same thing about the Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, and a cadre of other non-premium sedans.

Kia’s twin-turbo V6 seemed to be there to create some additional distance between its touring sedan and just about everything else on the market. With the 3.3-liter unit churning out 365 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque, the Stinger becomes much more exciting and suddenly capable of covering the quarter-mile in under 13 seconds. For the 2022 model year, the manufacturer has decided to split the difference by ditching the base 2.0-liter mill. Replacing it will be a 2.5-liter four-banger producing 300 horsepower and 311 lb-ft — representing an increase of 45 hp and 61 pound-feet of twist.

But it’s not going to be free.

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QOTD: Hybrid Versus Conventional Drivetrains

Which drivetrain would you prefer: The hybrid two-motor setup that Toyota has paired with their 2.5-liter DOHC four-cylinder that puts out 245 horsepower or Kia’s conventional V6 that produces 294 HP?

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Aston Martin Teases New Hybrid V6, Promises More Than 715 Horsepower

When you think about V6 engines, you’re probably reminded of mainstream family vehicles and manufacturers trying to find a way to package six cylinders in the most efficient manner. Inline sixes are great, but their length makes them difficult to install in the bulk of a manufacturer’s lineup. By splitting the cylinder count into two banks, the V6 avoids this problem — which is why you’ve seen it in everything from minivans to supercars over the last few decades.

Even Aston Martin has decided to tap the configuration for its next generation of vehicles. Developed in-house and intended for hybridization, the automaker promises its new V6 will not only live up to expectations but surpass them by outperforming the mightiest V12 in its stable. That 5.2-liter motor currently belongs to the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and makes 715 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque.

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Ace of Base: 2020 Chevy Impala LT

Large sedans have been and always will be a favourite around these parts. For those who are new to the audience, simply search for the ‘ Panther Love’ tag to see what I’m on about. I’m still recovering from my Lincoln Stockholm Syndrome, by the way.

This full-sized Chevy has so far been resistant to the Ace of Base award, given that it was offered with a miserable 2.5L EcoTec as its base engine. Now, with the model seemingly about to be broomed, the four banger is gone for the 2020 model year, leaving the venerable 3.6L V6 as the entry-level mill.

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Going Straight: 2020 Range Rover Swaps V6 for Inline Engine

After becoming the preferred choice for manufacturers delivering both mainstream autos and high-end performance vehicles, the V6 is starting to lose ground to its inline counterpart. Numerous automakers are replacing twin banks with one long one.

Despite the V6’s packaging advantages, mild hybridization and the standardization of modular engines has made the more-affordable straight six increasingly viable. Environmental regulations have also convinced many automakers to downsize, leaving large automobiles with V8-sized engine bays that can more easily accommodate a longer unit with fewer cylinders.

While Mercedes-Benz is probably the automaker best known for helping the I6’s resurgence, it’s not alone. Jaguar Land Rover is also abandoning the V6 for something straighter. Having already shown off its next-gen mill inside the Range Rover Sport HST, the brand now plans to install it in its flagship SUV for the 2020 model year.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: 2014 Midsize Luxury Sedan Shootout

Today’s edition of Buy/Drive/Burn was generated by a discussion over at the TTAC Slack room. The conversation turned to sporty midsize luxury sedans from 2014, and one staff member regarded one of these choices with a “meh.”

Let’s see how you feel about them.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: Large Luxury Sedans of Compromise in 2018

Three large and luxurious sedans compete for around $70,000 of your hard-earned and imaginary Internet dollars. Surely this is a segment where compromise will not be a concern, right?

Nope.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: 2018 Midsize Luxury Cars Nobody Buys

The Buy/Drive/Burn series has ventured into unpopular cars territory a time or two before. Most recently we discussed three large American sedans that are most unpopular indeed (two of those three are now on their way out). Today we pick a Buy amongst three lower-volume midsize offerings from second-tier luxury brands.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: Powerful and Unpopular 2018 Sub-super Coupes

Today’s Buy/Drive/Burn trio represent the high-dollar sports car that doesn’t quite make it into supercar territory. They’re very expensive, yet among other extra-fast vehicles in the six-figure segment, they’re considered relatively good value.

This makes them all oddballs; none ever burn up the sales charts. But that doesn’t mean they can’t catch fire.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: The Japanese Family Wagons of 1995

On the last installment of Buy/Drive/Burn, we chose from three family-friendly luxury wagons from the Malaise year of 1975. Several members of the B&B peanut gallery quickly retorted that all three options were awful, and that only wagons from the 1990s were worth pondering.

Bam. We’re back on wagons, 20 years later. It’s now 1995.

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With Changes Coming to the 2019 Volkswagen Passat, the Midsize Field Loses Another V6

If there was ever an engine type best associated with my youth, it was the V6. Most of my parents’ cars had ’em, the car I drove to high school (and bought not long after) had one, my friends’ cars had ’em. It was a V6-filled world — and one that now looks pretty distant in the rear-view.

Volkswagen has let slip details of its 2019 Passat, and the changes coming to the final model year of this generation means another V6 engine option drops from the automotive landscape. That leaves just two models in the non-premium midsize sedan space that still offer six cylinders beneath their hoods, and one of them is on its final pass around the sun.

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EPA Finally Rates the Full 2019 Ram 1500 Lineup

For the majority of this year, Ram fans have been limited to a single choice of powertrain in the new 2019 Ram 1500 pickup truck. The stalwart and sonorous 5.7-liter Hemi V8 was the sole available selection for ages, with the eTorque-assisted V6 and V8 motors scarce on the ground until recently.

The feds have at last doffed their cloak from over the eTorque V6 and officially stamped an EPA mileage rating on it. Buyers satisfied with a two-wheel-drive truck powered by six cylinders will find themselves in command of a pickup rated at 25 mpg.

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Buy/Drive/Burn: H-body Hotness in 1999 - the Final-year Showdown

As we were rustling up commentary in the last edition of Buy/Drive/Burn, conversation naturally turned to other front-drive sedans available that same year. The discussion sparked the idea for another General Motors same-body showdown, like we saw previously with the luxurious C-body.

Today we’re talking H-body 3800 fun from Oldsmobile, Buick, and Pontiac.

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  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.