After originally debuting on the 2016 XC90, Volvo’s Sensus interface found its way into every new vehicle from the Swedish automaker. Instead of a combination of dials, buttons, and a touchscreen, Volvo consolidated nearly every function into one display. This makes the system distinctive but also, sometimes, harder to use.
Now that I’ve spent some time with our long-term XC60, I’m used to the portrait-style display and find it intuitive. Compared to earlier iterations, this version reacts quickly to inputs, allowing you to scan through menus quickly. The trick to learning Sensus is to use it exactly like you would a tablet. Swipe, pinch to zoom, and touch are the only inputs you need to learn, minimizing complication. On the home menu, shortcuts to navigation and media allow for easy access of the most used functions. Using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, however, requires one more step because [...]
The G-Wagen isn’t a logical vehicle. It’s the kind of car you buy because you want it and because you can. It may have started life as a utilitarian off-roader, but for the last several decades, it’s been luxed up to the point that many owners won’t hit the trails in one.
Thanks to an iconic design, though, the G-Wagen has remained popular with owners who could easily have bought a luxury SUV that didn’t drive like a farm truck. We can’t blame them, either. If you want a G-Wagen, even a Range Rover won’t do.
But the fact that a G-Wagen is an irrational purchase for most people doesn’t mean we shouldn’t run the new one through our regular series of performance tests. How else are we supposed to know how much better the redesigned version is?
What makes things even more interesting is that even though [...]
Koenigsegg builds some of the fastest, rarest cars in the world. They’re also mechanical marvels that feature innovations such as the gearless hybrid powertrain found in the Regera. As you can imagine, they’re also incredibly expensive. But if you happen to be wealthy enough that a regular Regera isn’t rare or expensive enough for you, Koenigsegg may have a solution: naked carbon fiber.
Today, Koenigsegg announced that it has built the first car ever finished in its version of naked carbon fiber. Creatively called Koenigsegg Naked Carbon, or KNC, it uses no lacquer or varnish to protect the carbon surface. Even the thin layer of epoxy that typically stands between the carbon fibers and the outside world has been removed by hand, leaving behind only pure carbon.
The result is a car that’s absolutely gorgeous. The Koenigsegg Regera is already a good-looking car, but the KNC treatment takes [...]
We already knew that Volkswagen is partnering with Ford on commercial vehicles. We also found out there’s a chance VW will make cars for Ford in Europe and Ford will make a Ranger-based pickup for VW. Now, the CEO of VW says his company may use Ford’s factories in the U.S. to build cars.
“We are building an alliance with Ford which will strengthen Ford’s position in Europe because we will share platforms,” VW CEO Herbert Diess told reporters in Washington, D.C. “We might use Ford capacity here in the U.S. to build cars for us.”
VW could also build a second car plant, Diess said. According to the CEO, the German automaker is in “quite advanced negotiations in Tennessee but there might be other options as well.”
Expect more news on the alliance in January. Whatever the automakers cook up, it will not involve VW taking an equity stake in Ford, Diess confirmed.
Diess [...]
I’ll bet you my last paycheck that you didn’t come to MotorTrend.com today to read about campers, and yet here you are. I didn’t expect to sit down with Bob Wheeler, CEO of the iconic silver-bulleted Airstream camper and RV company at the Los Angeles auto show, either, but I’m glad I did as the executive has big plans to capture the hearts and minds of adventure-seeking millennial buyers.
If I had a dollar every time I read a think piece about how millennials hate cars, I’d be a rich man—but going with that wrongheaded narrative for a moment, what is Airstream doing to make its products more approachable to younger buyers who maybe haven’t towed before?
Bob Wheeler: Well, part of it is technology. About 50 percent of our buyers are first time RVers and they go through this process. It’s like buying a boat. You’re all excited and you get there and you’re [...]
