#Jaguar E-Pace Is An Attractive Luxury Offering [Auto Styling News]

The 2018 Jaguar E-Pace is a lot of things. It's an attractive vehicle, a luxury car, a Mini-Ute, and a production car that resembles a Concept. But don't make the mistake of thinking it's an electric car.

Many people will make that mistake, unfortunately, but Jaguar is leaving that for it's I-Pace vehicle. This small, beautifully wrought Mini-Ute (a small SUV) is, however, a worthy effort. And it will likely be a success for the company. Though it's not without its flaws.

Coming in at just 173 inches (the I-Pace is 184 inches long) this cute little bundle of engineering is a true entry-level luxury offering, starting at just $38,000.

It's curves up front remind one easily of a Porsche, but the similarities end there. The curves are definitely attractive, especially on the side, which provide the high doors of an SUV and the rakish rear window seen in many others of its size (the Mercedes GLA and its cousin the Infiniti QX30 have similar roof shades in the rear. As does the Nissan Rogue, Subaru Impreza, and... the Honda Fit.)

The front air intakes are huge, and while some my compare them to the Porsche as well, they add a uniqueness to the front fascia that is undeniably attractive.

The rear side view is very "butch" and masculine, if one may still say that these days. The C-Pillars are a bit large and thick, and the back window seems too small, both of which may be problems for visibility, but this is a common complaint for all Mini-Utes. Great back-up cameras will alleviate this problem.

The tail lights are exceedingly attractive, and uniquely beautiful. One cannot mistake them for any other make of car, and that's something rare in today's styling choices. They are similar to other models in the Jag line-up, but that's totally fine. They distinguish the car immediately and give it credibility.

The interior is stunning, as one expects from a Jaguar. Fit and finish inside, not to mention a properly working drivetrain under the hood, will make or break this car among luxury enthusiasts.

But from the looks alone, there's no doubt that the car will be successful in the marketplace - even a crowded one, filled with Mini-Utes already. It will be a stunner on the road, and in driveways, and that's part of the draw for its target audience.

Photos: Jaguar USA

#VW Shows Off Sexy #Arteon At Geneva Auto Show [Auto Styling News]

The lackluster sales of the Passat/CC has led VW to replace it with a dramatically styled replacement that - lo, and behold - will actually go on sale later this year as a 2018 model! (*In Europe. Probably later in the USA.)

Shocking, perhaps, that a concept (itself based on the GTE Coupe Concept from 2015) will actually go on sale, unlike the numerous iterations of the 1960s VW Bug, the latest of which we won't dignify with a comment. What's even more shocking is that this is a really beautiful design.

Dr. Elmar-Marius Licharz, head of the mid- and full-size vehicle lines for Volkswagen, raves about its design.

"The car looks simply great – it both arouses emotions and creates desirability," he said. "Many of the details of the show car have made it into real production."

Yes, it does. The company is calling the car a "fastback," which technically means a car's roofline merges smoothly into its tail in one, smooth, seamless curve. Indeed  that's the case here, though if its meant to evoke the old VW Bug, that's not the case, but it's still beautifully wrought. (The Type 3 Fastback sedan of the late 1960s is a better analogy, as the company points out.)

The name Arteon is a portmanteau of "art" and "eon," the suffix that cleverly signifies all high-end luxury models within the Volkswagen brand worldwide. The Arteon’s integrated grille, LED headlamps and daytime running lights with chrome trim that connects all three elements presents the new “face” of the Volkswagen brand.

Compared to the outgoing CC, the Arteon is longer and wider, while its fastback profile allows for a true hatchback trunk. It’s also space efficient, with up to 55 cubic feet of cargo space when the rear seats are folded down.

LED taillights and 20-inch wheels combined with a SEXY shoulder line that runs the length of the body, highlighting the Arteon’s sporty nature.

THE AUDI PROBLEM
The car does have a problem, however, and it's a problem I call "the Audi Problem."

The company's website says, "while the Arteon offers a premium appearance, it will not carry a huge price tag." Lichartz is quoted as saying it's "the perfect car for people who appreciate great style and great value for money. That is how we are challenging premium car makers without becoming one ourselves." While Volkswagen assuredly is NOT a luxury car company, it's sure approaching one when it puts out such a high-end vehicle as this, and one like the much-maligned CC.

And the problem with all that is that Volkswagen HAS a luxury brand: Audi. And it undercuts sales of new and even used Audis when it puts out a "near-luxury" luxury car such as this.

Audi has long struggled to get itself back on top after a decade or two of floundering sales with cars that looked like, well, flounders. This car, admittedly beautiful and luxurious, is part of Volkswagen's "Audi Problem," because it most assuredly cuts into sales of its A3 entry-level car - which strangely resembles, and perhaps, the Arteon even RIVALS with its gorgeous sheetmetal curves

As KIA is learning with its poorly selling upscale K900 model, a non-luxury car company is NOT a luxury car company, nor can it be. Leave that to the upscale version of your brand (or in the case of KIA, *build* a luxury brand) and then don't try to compete with it.

#Audi Shocks With Gorgeous 2018 Q8 Concept [Auto Styling News]

Audi has revealed the near-production model of the 2018 Audi Q8 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. And it's a beast.

Elegant, angular, and large,  the Q8 concept has emotional and handsome sight lines that make it a bit of a break from Audi's "upside down bathtub" designs of the past. This new corporate look is angular and fierce.

Audi crows, legitimately, that this is a shrewd combination of a spacious SUV with the emotional lines of a coupe. It will come with a powerful, yet highly efficient plug-in hybrid with 330 kW of system output and 516.3 lb-ft of torque. The concept car is the basis for a production model that Audi will launch on the market in 2018, Audi assures. If so, Audi is in for a bit of a renaissance.

Despite the sloping, coupe-like roof line, even the rear-seat passengers enjoy ample head and shoulder room. The front view of the 6.7 ft wide Q8 concept is already impressive, on first glance. The massive and impressive octagonal grill has a honeycomb insert that's significantly wider than in today's Audi production models.

The flat, wedge-shaped headlights of the Audi Q8 concept are integrated progressively into the exterior and connected from a design perspective to the surrounding air inlets. The individual lighting units have glass covers, but the headlights as a whole are open. The lights are a very welcome change from previous models, which gave Audis a rounded and bulbous appearance.

The side view is equally dynamic. The doors here have window frames, thus contributing to the flat roofline. The Audi Q8 concept is 5.6 ft. tall. All lines on the body climb upward dynamically toward the rear – the bottom edge of the side window, the shoulders, the dynamic line and the sill lines.

The surfaces of the fenders, doors and side panels are athletically curved. The lower section of the doors form a deep fillet. Other design features are the Quattro logo milled below the rear doors and also the exterior mirrors with their multifaceted edges. The doors are opened via touch sensors. As soon as the door detects hand contact, it opens easily and swings to a defined opening angle.

The extremely flat and very wide C-pillar is reminiscent of the Audi Quattros of the 1980s, as are the strongly flared shoulders over the wheels. This places the concept car in a logical line with the show cars of the Audi Prologue series.

A long roof edge spoiler shades the extremely flat rear window of the Audi concept. A double spoiler lip below the window forms a distinctive contour on the power luggage compartment hatch.

The strip of lights extends over the entire width of the rear end. And if there's a quibble with the design, it's that this thin rear light structure *may* too closely resemble that of a modern Lincoln. If you love Lincolns, that's great. If you view Lincolns as tarted-up Fords, it's not.

The license plate of the Audi Q8 concept is located on a black trim strip between the lights – a historic feature of the Audi Quattro. Clearly, they're hearkening back to their heritage here, and if they keep this design in relatively the same format to the production model, they will revive the brand and boost sales to the stratosphere in the US and Europe.

Photos: Audi Media Center

#Infiniti Set To Unveil #QX50 Concept At Detroit Auto Show [Auto Styling News]

Infiniti is set to debut its QX50 concept at this month's 2017 Detroit Motor Show, an evolution of the QX Inspiration Concept it teased in Beijing in 2016.

The luxury brand says the QX50 Concept could be adapted for production. What's clear is that it will show the company's design direction for the future. And it's a pretty sweet direction!

A preliminary review of the earlier concept, which again, will likely be replicated in the soon-to-be-revealed "real" concept:

The bold front grille on the "teaser" concept is the place to start - with a large badge that really works for the vehicle and gives it the proper "heft." The LED headlamps are thin, as is the current trend, and they wrap around the side of the hood, standing atop mighty air scoops, which may or may not be functional. Attractive creases continue down the sides, with an indention that do clearly help with drag coefficient. The roof bars are classy and add distinction.

The "reverse Hofmeister kink" in the rear pillar is carried over from other models, and is distinctive. The rear features another large logo and beautiful tail lamps.

The QX50 Concept will feature what Infiniti calls the "first production-ready incarnation" of its semi-autonomous ProPilot system, which can handle stop and go traffic for the driver, keep the car inside a lane, and maintain distance to a vehicle in front.

China-Backed #LucidMotors Unveils 2018 Air Luxury Sedan [Auto Styling News]

Chinese-backed American car brand Lucid Motors has unveiled a car that will sell for over $100,000 and will put Tesla on notice by offering better range and a more powerful battery than Elon Musk's vehicle line-up. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company is headed by Chief Technology Officer Peter Rawlinson, who is the former Tesla Model S chief engineer.

The Lucid Air, scheduled to go into production in 2017 and hit showrooms in late 2018, will put out 1,000 horsepower and have a range of 400 miles, claims the company. It will come out of a new Casa Grande Arizona assembly plant with about a 100 kWh battery, but an optional battery back of 130 kWh will give it that 400+ mile range. The company has a deal with Samsung SDI to supply its batteries.

That range, along with the stunning shape and gorgeous interior of the teaser/concept model unveiled on Dec 14, will make it not only a competitor with Tesla, but also the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes S-Class line of cars.

From the side, the large wheelbase tends to set it apart from other luxury cars, though the shape can be compared somewhat to the Porsche Panamera in the rear, and the side's radical indention at the lower doors is similar to the Jaguar F-Pace.

But it's perhaps being too critical to see hints of other designs here, especially since, unlike many early models from Korean or Japanese auto companies, there's nothing that's obviously derivative in the Air. It does quite different in almost every way from all other cars on the road. It's lower, for starters (which is likely necessary to achieve amazing drag coefficients) and it's wheels are huge (seemingly 20" rims.) The roof is a solid pane of glass, which, again, is standard on luxury vehicles and sport- and mini-Utes alike these days, but this is rather elegant here nonetheless.

The headlamps are thin LEDs and are extremely attractive. The rear is quite handsome, with a solid bar across the entire back end, with "LUCID" clearly delineated in the center. That name placement is important for name recognition, and it's telling that they didn't make the mistake (IMO) that Jaguar made when they failed to place their name on the earlier versions of their most recent line-up, which barely looked like Jags.

The joy of a new car company is that there's no "heritage" to look up to, or to deter it from going in radical new directions, but also there's nothing on which to build. Lucid is going to have to start from scratch - not only in design, but also by building a new assembly plant and hiring and training new employees. It's a huge commitment, and we'll see if they're up to the task. Other electric car start-ups like Fisker Automotive have found 

Interestingly, the Chinese company backing Lucid, LeEco, is also behind two other electric car ventures: its own LeSee, which we've profiled here, and the Faraday Future.

Photos: Lucid Motors.

#Jaguar I-PACE Concept Set For Production In 2018 [Auto Styling News]

Jaguar has been known for over 80 years as a maker of sports cars, but they're hoping that with the introduction of the 2018 I-PACE, they will be taking a big, bold step into the future as an electric vehicle manufacturer.

The I-PACE Concept is a technologically advanced, five-seater sports car. And it's actually slated for production for the 2018 model year. It’s as daringly designed and innovative as the cars that put Jaguar on the map, with technology that enhances our customers’ lives. It sets a template for others to follow, just as we have always done.

Transportation will change more in the next decade than it has in the past 50 years, and the I-PACE proves that they're ready.

Based on the same architecture as the new F-Pace premium SUV, incorporates new technology to create an electric performance package that, according to Jaguar, accelerates to 60 mph in just 4 seconds with the power of a 90-kWh battery that has an estimated range of 220 miles (EPAe) before recharging, which can be done at public charging stations in less than two hours, claims the company.

Yes, it's a performance car, a family car and an all-wheel-drive SUV all in one. Its "groundbreaking design, true Jaguar performance and competitive range and charging times will make it the first real electric alternative to a traditional premium SUV," crows Jag.

The design of the sheet metal is just as stunning as the design of the electric motors. The vehicle occupies less road space than conventional mid-size SUVs yet offers more room for passengers and luggage than models in the segment above. And optimized aerodynamics deliver a low drag coefficient of just 0.29 and inspired new design features that embody the vehicle’s power and performance.

The exterior in some ways is similar to other SUVs, but in others, a radical departure. Like the "hard edge" direction of Cadillac and of recent Lexus models, there are a lot of angles to take in at first glance.

But the effect isn't jarring, but is rather stirring. The large front fender haunches, the flat rear and he lower door creases all have a unifying effect, despite their novelty. The large intake chutes and cats-eye headlamps could be from any luxury car, but the now-familiar Jaguar corporate grille assures us that this is, indeed, a Jag. The shortened hood itself is stunning, as well, and that, along with the stubby rear-end, give it a smart and aggressive look.

More branding occurs in the rear, with a leaping Jaguar and Jag-style lamps that assure us what brand this really is. But some may see the rear as too generic, resembling a Japanese car if one squints.

That said, it's hard to view this car from almost any angle and not see that it will be a success, even apart from the revolutionary tech that runs it, which will also give the Tesla cars runs for their money. And if this thing is even close to being reasonably priced, it could be a smash hit.

[Photos: Jaguar.com]

#Mercedes Stuns With Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Concept [Auto Styling News]

Every August classic car fans from around the world converge on Pebble Beach in California for a very special beauty contest. This gathering of magnificent classic cars was the perfect place to premiere the exclusive Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, a sensational luxury-class coupe.

The 2+2-seater, billed as a 2018 model year vehicle by Mercedes, pays homage to the glorious age of the aero coupes and consciously carries this tradition forward into the future with its design. The coupe reinterprets classic, emotional design principles in an extreme way, following the Mercedes design philosophy of "sensual purity."

The Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, which measures over 18.5-feet  in length, is designed as an electric car. The drive system has an output of 738 SAE hp. The shallow underfloor battery allows a range of over 200 miles.

With its sensual, emotional design ("hot") and intelligent details ("cool"), the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 represents the ultimate in luxury. The classic aesthetic proportions of the show car - an extremely long hood, low roof line and rearward positioning of the greenhouse - recall the aero coupes of the 1930s and 40s. But this is not retro design - this is a reinterpretation of classic, aesthetic principles.

It's amazingly rakish rear is unlike anything on the market today. This beast looks FAST even when standing still. It makes the heart pound, and excites the senses. All that a concept car should do, and all that a Mercedes, and a Maybach, MUST do.

Even without aids such as spoilers, the airflow hugs the contours of the vehicle body and breaks away very late at the tail end of the vehicle. Then there is the surprisingly sleek character of the narrow lights, partially transparent rims and split rear window.

The front features a daring grille - which of course it must have. But the hood's amazing length is the signature look of the car, even when a less daring design would be absolutely defined by that grille, which is truly massive.

Now, let's come down from the sugar high for a moment. It's almost 100% guaranteed that this concept car is a design study, rather than a production car slated for 2018. but if it comes anywhere near this concept's radical lines after the bean counters take charge of it, Mercedes is going to have a major hit on its hands, if it goes forward with something like this design.

Mercedes has done itself a wonderful favor putting the Maybach name into the Mercedes line-up.
Both young children and young professionals in their 20s who may never own one will still dream of them and will be making them their screensavers for the next decade.