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Showing posts with label New York Auto Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Auto Show. Show all posts

Infiniti reveals 2016 QX50 luxury crossover at New York International Auto Show

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 0 comments

Infiniti revealed two crossovers today at the New York International Auto Show – the updated 2016 QX50 luxury compact crossover and QX30 Concept. Both vehicles were presented by Infiniti Design Director Alfonso Albaisa.

The 2016 Infiniti QX50, which was one of the first luxury compact crossovers and continues to be one of the most powerful, features new exterior styling, an extended wheelbase and more than eight cubic feet of additional interior room. It is scheduled to go on sale in North America in fall 2015.



The QX50's new front end brings its appearance more in line with the design language that first appeared in the Infiniti Q50 and Q70 – including its new LED Daytime Running Lights and LED fog lights. There's also a new side sill design, a new rear fascia, LED side mirror turn signals and a new 19-inch wheel design. The QX50 wheelbase has been extended by 3.2 inches, with most of the gain – 4.3 inches of additional legroom – felt by rear seat passengers. Overall, interior volume has been increased by 8.3 cubic feet, including an additional 2.7 cubic feet of cargo space.
"The QX50 was one of the first luxury compact crossovers, foreshadowing one of the hottest segments in the auto industry right now. It was the first vehicle to offer our innovative Around View Monitor. And it remains one of the most powerful and versatile personal crossovers you can buy. The enhancements for 2016 keep it fresh and competitive," said Albaisa.

As in previous years, the 2016 QX50 is equipped with a standard 325-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 engine and a 7-speed automatic transmission. It is offered two models – QX50 and QX50 AWD with Intelligent All-Wheel Drive – and with several optional equipment packages that have also been revised for 2016.

The Infiniti QX30 Concept, Infiniti's design vision that will inspire a new premium compact crossover, cements Infiniti's ambitions to expand into the this segment which is forecast for significant growth with the entry of younger, affluent customers.

Combining the sleek lines of the coupe with the command seating position and all-wheel drive of a crossover, the QX30 Concept is designed to be an urban explorer – one that stands apart in style and substance and in the sophistication of its proportions and form.

"The QX30 Concept's sleek, exterior shape is composed of bold sections, each marked by deep, upward cuts – intersections that create Infiniti's hallmark 'dual wave' effect," said Albaisa. "The athletic silhouette is sleek and sinuous, and the aerodynamic design provides a showcase for QX30 Concept's confident attitude." 

Inside the futuristic exterior, the warm, authentic and inviting interior is designed to engage emotionally with the vehicle's occupants. All four seats have been streamlined, to convey a "suspended" look, evoking the feeling of taut and toned athleticism.

"By keeping the seats slim, we've enhanced the impression of shared space within the cabin. Because we have narrowed the typical expanse that exists between driver and passengers, the interior becomes a place for occupants to connect with one another. And, with its rich, brown leathers and soothing blue accents, the darker interior environment dovetails nicely with the sturdy, outdoors appearance of the exterior," added Albaisa.
A production version of the Infiniti QX30 Concept has been announced as launching in calendar year 2016.

Introducing the Lincoln Continental Concept

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 0 comments


On March 30th Lincoln introduced the Continental Concept, signaling an all-new full-size sedan coming next year and the future of quiet luxury. 

Elegant, effortlessly powerful and serene, the Continental Concept blends meticulous craftsmanship and technologies designed to create better drivers and provide passengers with a more relaxing and entertaining environment inspired by first-class travel.

“Luxury at its best is about simplifying and quietly exceeding expectations, rather than being the loudest statement on the road,” said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company president and CEO. “The Continental Concept showcases the promise of quiet luxury from Lincoln going forward. It also is a strong indication of what’s to come next year as we introduce our new Lincoln Continental full-size luxury sedan.”With a sleek silhouette and a new centered chrome grille, the Continental Concept signals the arrival of a new face for Lincoln. A raised Lincoln badge is surrounded by a span of repeating polished aluminum Lincoln Star emblems.
 
E-Latch door handles tuck discreetly in the clean vehicle beltline. The door handle technology also provides for elegant entry. The doors open effortlessly with the touch of a button positioned on the underside of the door handle wings and close quietly.

“Some brands talk about ‘the machine,’ ” said Kumar Galhotra, Lincoln president. “Lincoln is different. For us, it is about more than the machine. It is about what our vehicles do for our clients.”New technology is a hallmark of the vehicle. It starts with the vehicle sensing your approach and lighting up to greet you inside and out.
Outside, signature full-width tail lamps feature advanced light-through-chrome technology. Powerful LED matrix head lamps with laser-assist high beams reduce glare and improve visibility.
 
Rhapsody Blue metallic paint calls back Lincoln Continental’s signature color.Inside are the brand’s most sensual materials ever, including Venetian leather seat and door panels, Alcantara® seat inserts and armrests, satin headliner and shearling wool carpet. Rose Gold trim around the instrument cluster provides warmth. Bright chrome trim on the instrument panel adds contrast.Ambient lighting enhances the interior, creating a serene environment. Soft-gold LED lights glow from the center console and from the halo light overhead.Patented 30-way Lincoln-designed seats use a new-to-market design that conforms to passengers’ sizes and shapes. The passenger-side rear seat can fully recline by moving the front passenger seat forward with the touch of a button.
 
From a panel mounted on the through-center console, rear passengers also can control climate settings and the Revel Ultima audio system, which allows passengers to select from three surround-sound modes: Stereo, Audience and On-Stage.
 
Rear-seat comfort is further highlighted by an SPD SmartGlass® tinting sunroof, which allows passengers to control heat from direct sunlight. With the touch of a button, the glass can cool the vehicle interior by as much as 18 degrees Fahrenheit, while blocking 99 percent of UV rays.
 
Rear-seat passengers also enjoy the convenience of a tablet-supporting lap tray that deploys from the through-center console. It also features a champagne storage compartment. Detachable, hand-crafted Venetian leather travel cases are mounted to the backside of the front seats.
 
Under the skin, the Continental Concept is powered by a Lincoln-exclusive 3.0-liter V6 EcoBoost® engine. It also features Lincoln Drive Control ride-enhancing technologies and Adaptive Steering. The car rides on polished-aluminum, painted-pocket 21-inch wheels.
Driver assist technologies include Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection, Enhanced Park Assist and a 360-degree camera that displays on the MyLincoln Touch™ screen.

“The Lincoln Continental name is associated with iconic beauty and elegance,” said David Woodhouse, Lincoln design director. “Capturing those qualities and building upon them drove us as we crafted this thoroughly modern sedan concept.”

World's First BMW's i3 Test Drive: I Get The Honor!

Sunday, March 31, 2013 0 comments
It may not be the color I'd choose, but I can say I'm the first person outside of BMW to drive an i3!

It had to be somebody. There can only be one person who gets to be the first person to do something. BMW's first production electric vehicle, the highly anticipated 2014 i3 has had a couple of journalist "ride alongs" where they were passengers in test mule cars, but nobody outside of BMW had been given the keys to a pre-production i3 and been allowed to drive it. Until yesterday.

BMW's North American Headquarters
I spent most of last week at the NY Auto Show and a good deal of the time there at the BMW display. I had the opportunity to speak with many of the top BMW executives as well as many of the BMW i program managers. It's no secret that BMW's US headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ has had half a dozen pre-production i3's for a few months now. In fact, BMW recently announced they have made a few hundred pre-production i3's rfor final validation. While at the show, I had been asking every person I spoke to one question: "So when do I get to drive an i3?" I think I must have asked that 20 times. My persistence paid off big time. On Thursday Jacob Harb the Head of Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy for BMW of North America came up and and asked me, "What are you doing Sunday?" "Sunday? Sunday's Easter so I'll be at my parents' house with the rest of my family, but...aaa... what do you have in mind?" I replied. He then went on to tell me if I wanted to drive a pre-production i3, I could. The only thing is I had to do it 8:00am Sunday morning. The entire BMW campus in Woodcliff Lake would be closed and no employees would be there so they could control the whole event. I would have one half hour to drive the car all over the campus (which is very large with huge empty parking lots) and could drive the car as spirited as I wanted to. Needless to say, I accepted!

My security badge
My parents live in Fairfield, NJ which is only about 25 minutes from the Woodcliff Lake Campus so this was easy to arrange and really didn't impact any family plans because it was so early. The rules were I would be allowed to take one picture of me with the car and it couldn't show any of the interior which was completely production-ready. I was given a one day security badge to allow my access to the campus and there would be one employee there to ride along with me. I had to sign some documents that would restrict me from revealing very specific functions and details, but other than that I was free to write or say whatever I wanted to. The Woodcliff Lake Campus is really perfect for this as it's in a rural area surrounded by trees and security booths at all the entrances. Nobody could see what we were doing or take pictures of us.

I arrived at the campus at 7:45am and followed the directions to the technical center where the car was to be. When I arrived there was a familiar face waiting for me. It was Dave Mustac, the technical coordinator for the ActiveE and Electric Vehicle Aftersales Specialist. I kind of felt bad that he had to come here for this on Easter Sunday, but he said he lived close and really didn't mind. I hope that was the case. The car was inside so we had to go in and get it. When we got to the room where it was, I was stunned to see six i3's all gathered together in there. Three of them had the blue swirly camouflage that we've been seeing and three others were painted bright yellow. Not exactly the color I would choose, but for this I didn't care what color it was. I assumed I would be regulated to one of the camouflaged ones, but the first car in line was a yellow one and Dave walked over to it as I followed.  The bright yellow color kind of reminded me of a crash test car, but these obviously aren't being used for that.

It was a BEV i3 although there were three with the range extender option also. He handed me the keys and smiled saying, "I know you've waited for this for a while now," and he was right. I pulled out and the first thing I did was drive on the main road that circles the campus. There were long straight-aways and I could really see how much punch it had. It didn't disappoint! It's definitely much faster than the ActiveE, obviously the result of it having the same power while being nearly 1,300lbs lighter. After circling the campus I pulled off into one of the large parking lots which was completely empty and I did some autocross-like maneuvers. It has remarkable poise even with the thin tires on 20" non-production wheels. They held tight on even the tightest turns and barely even squealed as I pushed the car to the limit. 

After about 40 minutes Dave reminded me we did have to wrap things up. I noticed I used 30% of the charge but didn't look at the mileage when I started (I was too excited) so that's not much help with the expected range. The instruments - which I can't really talk about were very impressive and I think will be well received. Please ask questions below and I'll answer whatever I can but remember there are a lot of things I can't comment about. Special thanks to Dave for taking time out of his Easter Sunday to come and make sure I didn't leave the campus with it! I can't wait till I get the next opportunity to take one for a longer (and maybe unsupervised) drive!

UPDATE: For those that haven't figured it yet, this was an April Fools joke. Unfortunately I haven't had the privilege to test drive an i3...yet. Hopefully I'll get to be one of the first that does, but we'll have to wait to see... Special thanks to follower Chris Llana who did the photoshop work for the picture above. I know he spent a while on it and it definitely tricked a good amount of people. I even got emails from some people asking if I could tell them info on the car!

BMW i3: It's bigger on the inside!

Thursday, April 26, 2012 0 comments

Can the interior of a car be bigger then the exterior is? That seems to be the case when I talk to people that have seen and driven in the 2013 BMW i3. I'm not talking about the concept i3 that has been floating around for about 8 months now, I've had the opportunity to speak to people that have driven in a real one during testing.

Just a couple weeks ago I spoke to BMW board member Ian Robertson at the New York Auto Show. Ian was there to make a speech and introduce the new BMW lineup showcased at the show. Right before he was to go on stage for the speech, I just about bumped into him so I introduced myself and we spoke for a good ten minutes. After we spoke for a while he recognized me as the MINI-E pioneer that drove the most miles and he asked how I liked my ActiveE so far. He then told me he recently drove an i3 and promised I would not be disappointed. He sighted the life-drive architecture and floor mounted battery as being responsible for the great performance and the optimization of space in the passenger compartment, allowing the car to feel much larger than what it actually is. Ian isn't the only person I've heard that from either. Also, since the battery is mounted so low and is completely flat, the interior has no transmission tunnel at all and allows the floor to be flat straight across unlike any passenger car that I've ever seen. This, along with the 'bench style' front seats will allow the front passengers to enter or exit the car from either side with ease.

The i3 is also taller and wider than any other car in its class and will have a lot of glass(although not as much as the concept i3 that has glass doors and roof!) providing great outward vision in all directions. This also adds to the feeling of openness. So it seems smaller is bigger with the i3, I hope to get the opportunity to see first hand sometime soon!

Even though the i3 is only 8 inches longer than a MINI Cooper, the interior is much more spacious

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