#SportPackage

Despite deep-sixing its Yaris hatch and sedan for the coming model year, Toyota hasn’t lost interest in all of its passenger car models (not that the Yaris was really as Toyota, but that’s beside the point). There’s been a fair bit of action on that front in recent years, and the automaker shows no signs of stopping.

New trims join the brand’s car entourage for 2021, though those looking to get into the barest-bones Camry will walk away from this article disappointed.

The sport package, long associated with entry-level vehicles boasting questionable rear spoilers and not much else, remains a puzzling fixture in the automotive landscape.

For low-end imports — rebadged or otherwise — this package historically meant a swoopy graphic plastered along the bodyside, supposedly meant to alert bystanders to the vehicle’s blistering, paint-peeling speed. For others, it simply meant nicer wheels and a spoiler. Ideally a large one, so those same bystanders could ponder the downforce needed to keep a midsize, front-wheel-drive sedan’s tail planted. Rarely was there an addition of a single extra horsepower, and most lucid people knew this.

Chevrolet is keeping this tradition alive, resurrecting the sport package for its 2017 Malibu. However, while the current generation Malibu bowed to positive press, several changes coming for 2017 contain hidden downsides.

Chrysler’s venerable 300 has seen its fair share of wardrobe changes since debuting for the 2005 model year, and it’s now come back from the closet with more.

Not wanting to be absent from all the action happening at the New York Auto Show, Chrysler dutifully showed up to display the interior and exterior Sport Appearance Packages that will come standard on the V8-powered 2017 300S.

Dressing up a model that’s already been refreshed once since its second generation bowed five years ago can be a challenge, but the 300 is the torchbearer for the brand’s scant lineup and needs to stay visible.