Gadgetory

Mercedes launched their g le coupe which for all the world looks like a baby BMW x6 they'll go all the way up to a 577 horsepower twin-turbo v8 AMG version but for most people maybe the 350d diesel makes a little more sense and around April or so we'll get a more conventional non coupe version of this same vehicle without the rakish roofline but in either case gles now replace the old ml and they'll be hitting the streets summer of 2015 board was all about performance at Detroit this year the shelby gt350 r elevates the new Mustang to its most track sharp level it's got a 5.2 liter v8 but no turbos no superchargers still gets around 500 horse on about 400 pound feet of torque and uses something called a flat plane crank shaft real performance tech that along with very exotic carbon fiber wheels and no air conditioning or radio unless you insist make this a very rarefied beast and the new Ford GT stole the show in many ways it's the latest version of Ford's classic 1960s race car and its really got some serious power 600 horsepower from just a 3.5 liter EcoBoost engine in the middle is a carbon fibre tub with aluminum subframes around it an active pushrod suspension it's basically a race car you can register the new Chevy Volt revises the look of that car for the first time and it's substantially cleaner and more subtle it's now up to 50 miles of range in pure EV mode and volt buyers really pay attention to that that's a gain of around a dozen miles before it kicks into a hybrid mode and it can seat five finally thanks to the fact that the battery hump in the back seat is now submerged and just to make for some phonetic fun Chevy also showed the new concept called the bolt it's their pure electric car project with 200 miles of range and a look and color than a rather reminiscent of a BMW i3 they say you'll be able to get one for about thirty thousand dollars after government credits but the bigger cloud over its horizon is the specter of continued really cheap gas this Buick a venir concept was vying for what may be the best-looking shape on the floor this year now it's all styling exercise but you can see they've really pulled in a Buick classic that line across the top side of the body it's a Buick spear if you will I don't know if this is going to come to market in any shape remotely like this but I can hope and Buick hasn't sold a convertible since the riata went away in 1991 but that's about to change here is a reworked version of a European GM car that's going to be called the cascada here convertibles tend to do well in rising economic times and this one's tidy and trim so should be relatively economical on both purchase and operation but a quick look at the rear seat and trunk space may make it a bit of a tough sell or at least a second car and the acura nsx wasn't literally new at detroit but to see it in final production trim was this is it still mid-engine like the original but now with three electric motors tossed in one between the engine and the transaxle in the back and another pair detailed to run the front wheels for wickedly fast and intuitive all-wheel drive they say custom orders will start in the summer around 150,000 dollars and you may be lucky enough to see one pull up to you next to a stoplight by fall of 2015