The Chicago Auto Show is underway, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell as news was few and far between. However, there were a handful of notable debuts including facelifted versions of the Ford Explorer, Kia K5, and Kia Carnival. Besides those three models, Nissan introduced a pricey, dealer-installed off-road package for the Frontier. Volkswagen, on the other hand, used the show to promote their Super Bowl commercial. That’s not much to get excited about, but the show featured a handful of notable classics. One of the coolest was a 1994 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Convertible, which wears a window ..read more

The market for pickups is opening up a bit these days. After years of American dominance, there seems to be a window opening up for smaller, foreign trucks, but VW won’t be sneaking in through that window. The German automaker has officially confirmed that any plans it ever had to introduce a pickup truck to the North American market have officially been canned. Sorry VW aficionados. The news came at the Chicago Auto Show, as Pablo di Si, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group of America, telling Motor Trend that a pickup is “not in the plans anymore.” Unfortunately, he did not provide any reasonin ..read more

Mildly refreshed for the new model year, the North American version of the Kia K5 is making its public debut at the Chicago Auto Show. The most important update comes under the hood. While the GT model will continue to be equipped with a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine with 290 hp (216 kW/294 PS) and 311 lb-ft (422 Nm) of torque, the standard model will get a new, naturally aspirated engine. Gone is the turbocharged 1.6-liter unit, and in its place, Kia has opted for a 2.5-liter inline-four. The new base engine for the 2025 Kia K5 offers a sensible 191 hp (142 kW/193 PS), 11 horsepower more th ..read more

The Chicago Auto Show kicks off on February 8 and Nissan will use the event to introduce the Frontier Forsberg Edition. The dealer-installed package costs a whopping $9,999 but it transforms the truck into a would-be desert racer. That isn’t a coincidence as the model draws inspiration from the Forsberg Racing Frontier, which recently won the NORRA 500. The Forsberg Edition package is available on Crew Cab pickups and it adds a NISMO Off-Road lift kit, forged upper control arms, and high-performance shocks. They’re joined by 17-inch Axis beadlock wheels that are wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar ..read more

BMW, Kia, and Volkswagen have dropped new teasers for their Super Bowl commercials. Going in alphabetical order, BMW has released a second spot promoting their ad with Christopher Walken. The latest teaser is known as “Singing” and it shows the iconic actor driving an i5 while Usher’s “Yeah!” plays on the radio. Yeah, that’s about it. Kia appears to be embracing a more serious tone as their teaser shows a “determined young figure skater” talking about the “power within us all.” She then skates away, revealing an EV9 and a tagline reading “electric like you’ve never seen.” advertisement scro ..read more

Stellantis brands Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and Ram won’t be participating in the 2024 Chicago Auto Show as the automaker is withdrawing from auto shows in both Canada and the United States. This decision is attributed to the ‘challenging automotive market in North America’. As a result, local dealers will decide whether the automaker’s vehicles will be featured at smaller regional events. With waning attendance rates and high costs, motor shows have been struggling for years, leading many automakers to completely opt out of large-scale events. Then, the pandemic cast serious doubt ..read more

Volkswagen has unveiled the updated 2024 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport at the Chicago Auto Show. Both models benefit from a redesigned face, an overhauled interior with more kit and improved materials, plus a livelier 2.0 TSI engine with increased power and torque figures, though they lose the V6 option. This is the second facelift for the seven-seater Atlas that was originally introduced in 2017 and was updated in 2020, but the first one for its five-seater Cross Sport sibling that entered the US market in 2020. Read: New 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Has 13 Cupholders, 7 USB Ports, And Up To 3 ..read more

Jeep is celebrating the Rubicon’s 20th birthday with a new 20th Anniversary Edition package for the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 4xe and 392 that was unveiled today at the Chicago Auto Show. The trim line will add more capability, a special interior, and a unique grille that is already courting controversy. “Twenty years ago, a small group of enthusiastic Jeep engineers affectionately known as the ‘Lunatic Fringe,’ with grit and determination and their personal credit cards, designed, engineered and developed the most capable Wrangler yet – the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon,” said Jim Morrison, the Jeep bra ..read more

Ford just made a big announcement for 2024 Mustang fans – the new Dark Horse will offer an optional upgrade to carbon fiber wheels. Not only do these lightweight rims bring improved performance, they also give Mustang owners extra bragging rights as we usually see this option on higher end sports cars. The new wheels were made in collaboration with Carbon Revolution. Before being approved for production, they went through over 200 tests for “structural and environmental validation” in order to prove their strength and rigidity. According to Ford, they are 37% lighter than the standard aluminu ..read more

Hyundai will give vehicle subscriptions a go with its newly announced Evolve+ service. Consumers will be offered the ability to drive either the Kona EV or the Ioniq 5 for one, all-inclusive monthly fee. For the Kona EV, the customers will have to pay $699 per month, while the Ioniq 5 will cost from $899 for the SE RWD model. The service will offer month-to-month subscribers insurance, 1,000 miles (1,609 km), maintenance, registration, and roadside assistance. Hyundai says that, unlike some other subscription service, subscribers only need to commit to a one-month term and cancel at any time ..read more