Automotive

Genesis Showcasing 2018 G80 Sport in Detroit

The new Sport trim of the Genesis G80 will be on display at the upcoming 2017 North American International Auto show in Detroit, Michigan. The Sport variant is marked by its distinctive copper styling elements to separate it from the rest of the G80 fleet.

Special 19-inch wheels, leather sport seats, unique steering wheel, and carbon fiber interior treatments are among the other design features.

Performance & Powertrain

The 2018 Genesis G80 Sport runs with a 3.3-liter direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6, creating 356 horsepower. The engine is paired to a sport-tuned, performance enhancing eight-speed automatic transmission. Matching the power under the hood is an upgraded and specifically designed suspension, meant to deliver a superior ride and dynamic maneuverability.

Overall, Genesis engineers focused on a refined, robust powertrain, smooth ride, and agile handling.

Rear-wheel or all-wheel drive is available, depending on a driver’s preferences.

Safety & Security

The 2018 Genesis G80 Sport is standard with a host of advanced safety features: Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Driver Attention Alert, and a multi-view camera are just a few. The vehicle also keeps the drivers and passengers connected to the world with things like Destination Search powered by Google. Other connectivity features, like Enhanced Roadside Assistance and Stolen Vehicle Recovery, will provide extra safety and security for owners.

Pricing & Availability

Additional details, including full specifications and pricing, will be available closer to when the vehicle goes on sale.

The 2018 Genesis G80 will join the brand’s flagship machine in Detroit, the G90, a finalist for the North American Car of the Year. The new G80 will go on sale this spring, although the 2017 Genesis G90 is available now. The North American International Auto Show begins Sunday, January 8th with media and industry specific events. The show officially opens to the public on January 14th.

Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.

2018 Genesis G80 Gallery

Photos & Source: Genesis Motor America.

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Letter From The UK: The Neutering of Our Car Culture

Letter From The UK: The Neutering of Our Car Culture From once mighty horsepower machines to the four-door people haulers of today . . .
When looking at our current car culture, does it seem as if something is missing?
Geoff Maxted of DriveWrite Automotive Magazine examines in this Letter From The UK.
Anyone who has ever undergone the procedure will remember their first vasectomy as if it were yesterday, because: 1. It was their first vasectomy and 2. They are reminded to never, ever do anything like that again.
At The Clinic
On the fateful day, the subject enters what appears to be a perfectly normal medical building. As this writer recalls, although it’s a bit of a blur, the patient enters via a door marked ‘Lions’. Just inside the door is a cardboard box into which the subject is obliged to place all of his bravado; the time for joking is over.
Consciously carried on the conveyor belt of fear, the subject, fully awake, eventually encounters the surgeon who appears to be using for surgery the ACME Home Boy Scout Kit, comprising of a multi-tool penknife (the one with the thing to get stones out of horses’ hooves) and a soldering iron.
Time passes in recovery, during which the subject suspects his testes have been craftily replaced by two Cantaloupe melons, and now finds that he walks very much in the manner of John Wayne. When it is time to go he exits through a door marked ‘Lambs’ and enters a quiet space with plants, a tinkling waterfall, and birdsong.
The Plymouth Superbird, inspired by the Road Runner and developed for NASCAR, emerged from the company’s Lynch Road plant near Detroit during the height of the muscle car era. With its 426, 7.0-liter Hemi engine and a pair of four barrel Carter AFB carburetors, the Superbird cranked out 425 horsepower and hit 60 in 5.5 seconds. The car would become synonymous with racing legend Richard Petty.
The Science of Disappointment
Why the reference to vasectomies? Well, in a sense, it is about neutering – and this is what has happened to our car culture. A vasectomy takes half a day; the neutering of our beloved autos has taken several decades until finally we arrive at the cars of today. They are all vanilla-flavored, fallen victims to the science of automotive disappointment.
Take the Plymouth Superbird. Now there’s an automobile, the product of the great days of Detroit. Long, sleek with a massive wing on the back and, originally, a 426 Hemi V8 under the hood. Real poster material for gearheads. At least in terms of modern aerodynamics, the wing probably offered not much more downforce than my butt, but that wasn’t the point to the casual onlooker. That it was there was enough.
Compare and contrast if you will, the image of the new Škoda Karoq. This is another car you cannot have in the USA. It is in many ways an excellent vehicle; reasonably priced, very well-built, comfortable, economic and efficient but, dang, is it boring. Frankly, many of the cars built for the mainstream market today are like this. In fact, under the skin, the Karoq is also the SEAT Ateca, the Volkswagen Tiguan, and the Audi Q3. This is what modular platforms have done to the car industry.
Further, there’s no more excitement in design. Think of the Road Runner or the Shelby Cobra; real excitement right there on the drawing board; today’s bland offerings don’t come close to raising the pulse of a car enthusiast. And do you know what is the worst thing? We’ve fallen for it. And don’t even get me started on today’s crossovers and SUVs.
Before these were $300,000 cars, some people didn’t think twice about naming their GT350s. And painting said name on the side was common, as the “Asphalt Angel” so clearly demonstrates. Photo: SAAC Archives. From the book, Shelby Mustang Fifty Years by Colin Comer, published by Motorbooks.
What We’ve Lost
Here in the UK we get to see a TV show from the USA called American Pickers. Just recently this writer watched an episode from 2017 where yet another massive vehicle barn find was located. How do you keep doing it? How many remote barns filled with automotive beauty can there be? The collector in this case was deceased. As a matter of course it seems during his life he purchased ordinary, regular cars that nobody wanted for token sums. Studebaker’s seemed to be a particular favourite.
What They Had
He would make them live again and use them. Photographs were shown of the collector as a young man, spanner in hand, under the hood with his friends, just enjoying the simple pleasure of car mechanics. Make them go and perhaps make them go more quickly and maybe race them a bit. He even built rat rods before the concept had become a thing. To a lesser extent we used to do this sort of home car fettling here in England, but those days are long gone.
Sure, we collect unique cars and treasure them but now we show and shine the very best of the best. We have lost the love of fettling an ordinary $100 car just for the heck of it. Making the inevitable allowance for the environment (I have to mention that. It’s the Law), the car industry is to blame and we are culpable for going along with it. That’s a crying shame.
Škoda Karoq. Photo: Škoda Auto.
Spoiler Alert
Next time, I will be taking the aforementioned Škoda Karoq way back, back in time to Merrie Tudor England, to visit the former home of Queen Katherine Parr, widow of King Henry VIII. We shall walk in the footsteps of kings in a fortnight from now. While I am looking forward to the drive in the Karoq, I would be more content if I were behind the wheel of a proper and powerful V8.
Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

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Automoblog Book Garage: Amazing Barn Finds & Roadside Relics

This weekend, I have been running around like crazy, or so I feel like it. The North American International Auto Show here in Detroit is about to begin and for the entire automotive industry, it’s simply a busy time. Throughout the event, thousands of people will enter the doors of Cobo Center to view the displays, many of which will have shiny new cars and trucks.

There are auto shows and then there is NAIAS. Everything seems to be made of gold; the lights are spectacular, the cars are immaculate, and even the wonder of events like Charity Preview are something to behold.

Dusty Tales

Imagine then how my curiosity is aroused when this weekend in our Book Garage series we examine a far less glamorous world; one where there are no photographers capturing pristine metal and no handsome folks on stage to present the world’s next great automobile. Quite the opposite; these cars are collecting dust and left to rust. Their stories have already been told and their time on an auto show stage has long past.

Welcome to Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics: Musty Mustangs, Hidden Hudsons, Forgotten Fords, and other Lost Automotive Gems.

To many, these cars may look like a pile of junk, but to an automotive artist, they are a blank canvas. These cars merely need tender love and care and once they receive it, look as wonderful as when they first appeared at an auto show the magnitude of NAIAS.

Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics takes us on the hunt for the perfect restoration project. We ride shotgun with author Ryan Brutt in a journey of automotive archaeology that documents and preserves these otherwise lost treasures.

Author

Brutt is considered an “automotive archaeologist” and travels the United States documenting lost and abandoned automotive gems. He is a Contributing Editor for Hot Rod, Muscle Car Review, and Mopar Collectors Guide. Burtt also organizes the barn finds class for the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals. He lives in Skokie, Illinois.

Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics is available through Amazon and Motorbooks.

Like many automotive enthusiasts, I can appreciate the grandeur of an event like NAIAS. It’s just refreshing, every once in awhile, to move away from the shiny and new, to the often deeper, sometimes forgotten history of our favorite cars.

And this book is exactly that.

Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.

Amazing Barn Finds & Roadside Relics Gallery

Enjoy barn find adventures? Here is one of our other favorites from Motorbooks.

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2018 Subaru WRX & WRX STI: Trophy Please

For a long time, too long, the WRX was a domestic market only offering from Subaru. To a certain segment of the car buying public in America, that was a huge mistake. I am a member of that segment of the car buying public in America. Within months of the WRX finally hitting our shores, three fellows in my rally club owned them.

Subaru corrected that and never looked back. They’ve injected the WRX and the badder STI with a deliciously frightening consistency that has served people from horrid weather states and, most importantly, gearheads very well.

And so, here we are with the new for 2018 WRX and STI looming on the horizon. What do we get? What’s new? What’s better? What’s faster?

Briefly, you can summarize it like this:

Progressive Alterations

Subaru has revised the front styling for a more aggressive look (carrying on with that “I’m angry” trend you see everywhere these days). The suspension was optimized for better handling and ride comfort. There are new 19-inch wheels, upgraded Brembo brakes, and a revised Multi-Mode Driver Controlled Center Differential (DCCD) Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system. New available Recaro power seats? Check. Performance Package option for WRX models? Check.

And, finally, upgraded interior materials and a quieter cabin? Check.

That last one, is, believe it or not, a rather important point. Subbies have always suffered from, how shall I put this, going with the lowest price point on interior materials. I don’t really have a problem with that, but some people do. The first guy in that rally club I mentioned earlier to get a WRX put it this way:

Me: “Hey Kimball, heard you got a WRX.”

Kimball (half-crazy TVR owner and rally ace): “Yup.”

Me: “What’s it like?”

Kimball: “It’s like the fastest rental car you’ve ever driven.”

In other words: Plastic. Everywhere you looked, plastic plastic plastic plastic plastic plastic. Plastic sourced from lunch boxes. Plastic found from guitar picks. Plastic derived from 50s vintage countertops. Plastic.

Subaru opted for thicker door glass, new door sealing, and a foam-filled windshield header beam to reduce road noise. Photo: Subaru of America, Inc.

Performance Matters

Did I care? No. Did any of my rally buddies care? No. These things go like a gunshot and grip like a limpet. On gravel. In the rain. At night. But, like I said, I don’t really have a problem with interior finish, just some people do. The WRX is the lesser of the two performance models, but it only pales in comparison to the mighty STI. Up against most other cars, it lacks very little indeed.

The WRX has a 268 horsepower, 2.0-liter direct injected turbocharged Boxer flat four engine sitting up front. These things have an addictive low center of gravity. You combine that with what’s a couple of inches off the street with Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and Active Torque Vectoring, and the rally-bred WRX is a performance and value benchmark in the high-performance AWD sport-compact segment. Period.

The WRX comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission and offers an optional performance automatic transmission, the Sport Lineartronic CVT with manual mode. I have never driven the current CVT, but I’ve actually heard good things about it.

Subaru revised the front structure of the WRX and WRX STI to better withstand frontal collisions. Photo: Subaru of America, Inc.

Suspension Stylings

Suspension-wise, the WRX features new front and rear suspension tuning for improved steering stability and ride comfort. Subaru improved shifter feel for the 6-speed manual transmission, with a new synchro design and reduced friction, along with smoother clutch take-up. The electric power steering has been revised to provide an even smoother, more natural feel, while integrating the steering motor.

Furthermore, an electronic control unit reduces the car’s total weight.

But wait, there’s more. There’s a new optional Performance Package for the WRX Premium which features Recaro 8-way power seats (drop the power, and save me some weight please), red-painted brake calipers, and upgraded Jurid brake pads. The Performance Package deletes the moonroof to reduce weight (thank you) and includes standard 18-inch wheels.

But why stop there? If you’re going to go crazy, why not go clown-with-a-rocket-launcher-crazy?

Allow me to introduce you to the Subaru WRX STI.

All WRX models feature upgraded interior materials, rear seat armrest with cup holders, redesigned interior door grips, and faster remote trunk opening. Photo: Subaru of America, Inc.

Faster Everything

STI, Subaru Tecnica International, is the company’s internal sporting division. It is to Fuji Heavy Industries what AMG is to Mercdeces-Benz and the M Division is to BMW. It is the “get out of my way, I’ll show you what I mean by fast” detachment of the company.

The Subaru WRX STI gets a comprehensive handling enhancement for 2018. This includes the revised suspension tuning as featured on the WRX, upgraded brakes, the first-ever 19-inch wheels available on an STI, and a revised DCCD system. The DCCD system used a combination of mechanical and electronic center limited slip differential controls – before that is. It’s fully electronic now for a quicker and smoother feel when in the driver’s seat.

The yellow-painted brake calipers mean you’re running the Brembo Performance Brake System. It has stronger monoblock 6-piston calipers in front, monoblock 2-piston calipers in the rear, and larger, drilled rotors at all four corners for better heat dissipation. This design has greater surface area for improved braking and fade resistance.

The STI is motivated by a 305 horsepower, 2.5-liter turbocharged plant. All those ponies are judiciously applied to the road via the DCCD regulated Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system, Active Torque Vectoring, and Multi-Mode Vehicle Dynamics Control. In other words: Bang, go, brake, corner, bang, go, brake, corner, bang, go, brake, corner, trophy please.

They’re literally that faultless and easy. It almost feels like you’re cheating. But not really. Trophy please.

I’ll take my STI in World Rally Blue with gold wheels. Just like Petter Solberg.

Trophy please.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.

2018 Subaru WRX Gallery

2018 Subaru WRX STI Gallery

Photos & Source: Subaru of America, Inc.

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