Refreshing or Revolting: 2017 Porsche Panamera

Porsche has made some thoughtful changes to its second-generation Panamera. Not only does the sedan boast new engines and a lighter body, but it also adopts more traditional Porsche styling cues. Before we ask whether you think it’s refreshing or revolting, let’s review some of the biggest visual changes coming to the 2017 Porsche Panamera.

Up front, you’ll notice only subtle updates. The headlights no longer feature two circular lights per housing, but instead offer a more cohesive look that illuminates the corners similar to the 918 Spyder. Meanwhile, the lower grille adopts a trapezoidal shape, ditching the bowl-shaped look of the old model.

The Panamera has always featured a long, stretched out body, but you may notice it’s even bigger than before. That’s because Porsche increased the sedan’s overall length by 1.3 inches. Sleek new character lines running across the doors lend the Panamera a more wind-swept appearance.

Much bigger changes happen in the rear. The Panamera’s backside is noticeably more subdued, as it doesn’t jut out like it does on the old model. Slimmer taillights resemble the units found on other cars in the Porshce lineup. A massive rear spoiler on the Turbo model finishes off the look.

Inside the cabin, the Panamera looks like an entirely different vehicle. Instead of a hodgepodge of buttons, the new Panamera puts a heavy emphasis on touch controls. The large infotainment screen, which is no longer cluttered by surrounding air vents, is the focal point of the dashboard. On the center stack, look for touch-based media controls and a redesigned shifter. Overall, it’s a much, much cleaner look.

Do you think the 2017 Porsche Panamera is a big improvement over the old model? Let us know whether you think it’s refreshing or revolting in the comments below.

Last week, we asked for your thoughts on the 2017 Kia Sportage, and the responses were largely negative. A lot of people took issue with the car’s new front fascia.

“Looks like a 10 year old Nissan was given a ‘surprised chipmunk’ face,” opined boogtc25.

“The front end absolutely kills what is an otherwise inoffensive design,” noted a.mcgee9-3.

“REVOLTING. Kia took a look at the Nissan Juke and went YES let’s use that as inspiration for our new car,” said greg.

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All 25th Anniversary Dodge Viper Special Editions are Sold Out

After years of sluggish sales and playing host to an ancient powertrain architecture, Dodge is finally putting the proverbial axe to the neck of its most famous supercar, the Viper. Production will end next year, but that end won’t come until Dodge makes 215 special editions to commemorate the Viper’s demise. These special editions, announced last month, were set to let the Viper leave with a bang. Now, just one week later, Dodge has had an absolute coup and sold every single one, some in just a matter of minutes.

According to Dodge, the VooDoo II Edition ACR, the Snakeskin Edition GTC, the GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR, and a newly announced Snakeskin ACR Edition, all sold in just two days. All except for the 1:28 Edition ACR Viper, which sold out in just 40 minutes of its order books opening.

The 1:28 Edition ACR Viper “pays tribute to the current production car single lap record of 1:28.65 set by champion driver (and Motor Trend hot shoe) Randy Pobst in a 2016 Dodge Viper ACR at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, in October 2015.” The 1:28 Edition ACR features a black exterior, red ACR stripes, the Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, and a host of 1:28 Edition badges.

It’s incredible to think that Dodge has had such a hard time selling the V-10 powered supercar when almost 215 sold out in just a few days, although we admit that’s probably because collectors want the last cars before the order books close for good.

While we highly doubt that these strong sales will have Dodge see that the Viper is worth preserving, we do wish they would. The Viper is a special car, and a uniquely American beast. The automotive landscape will be a truly sadder place without its 8.4-liter V-10 engine growling at us or trying to put us backwards into a wall because we went too deep into the throttle.

The Viper is dead. Long live the Viper!

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TOTD: What’s Your Fourth of July Road Trip Destination?

Summer is officially here. And with the extended holiday weekend, many people are traveling to their Independence Day celebration. From heading to the beach to driving to see relatives, this weekend will be one of the biggest holiday travel weekends to date.

There are those that won’t be doing any traveling this Fourth of July weekend, and that’s probably a good idea, considering the amount of people that are going to be on the road. But sometimes, you need a good escape, whether that’s heading to be with family or just checking out for a quiet few days away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

According to a recent report from AAA, nearly 43 million people in the U.S. will be traveling this weekend, marking the busiest Fourth of July travel weekend on record. Of that number, 84 percent of those travelers will be driving to their destination, which makes us wonder, where are you headed this Independence Day weekend?

Many of us will be staying local to enjoy fireworks shows at the beach, backyard barbecues, etc., but there are thousands of great destinations to celebrate this holiday. Are you heading somewhere with the entire family for a short impromptu vacation? Visiting relatives a few states away? Staying at home and lounging by the pool? Let us know in the comments below.

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We Hear: Ferrari to Launch 350 Bespoke Cars for 70th Anniversary

The Cavallino Rampante has been with us for seven decades now, and as is customary for automakers celebrating such milestones, there is a cash-grab to be had. So, in the spirit of Ferrari’s 70^th anniversary, the Italian supercar peddler is set to unveil a fleet of special edition cars later on this year, according to a report from Autocar.

According to the report, rudimentary plans for the special editions were announced to the Ferrari faithful in attendance at the Ferrari Cavalcade event in Italy. “The whole team at Maranello went back through the 70-year history of the company and tried to identify the most iconic cars of the past in the history of the company, the most iconic exteriors, the most iconic interiors,” said marketing and commercial lead Enrico Galliera.

Autocar states 70 of the most recognizable and influential cars from Ferrari’s history were chosen. Each of these cars will inspire special editions of the five different models in the model range right now, including the Ferrari 488 GTB and Spider, F12, GTC4 Lusso, and the California T. “This means we are going to be producing and delivering 350 unique pieces. Every single car will be unique,” Galliera said. Each special Ferrari will be bespoke, designed through the Tailor-Made department.

Look for more information on Ferrari’s 70^th anniversary celebrations in October this year when some of the special edition plans are revealed at the Paris auto show.

Source: Autocar

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June 2016 Auto Sales: Honda, Nissan Up, Toyota Drops 5.6 Percent

With only six more selling months to go, Toyota has gained a strong lead over Honda and Nissan so far this year. But of the Japanese “Big Three,” Nissan saw the largest gains for the month of June.

Sales for the Nissan Group jumped 13 percent compared to last June, totaling 140,553 units. Nissan has performed well so far this year, as its sales have jumped 8.4 percent to 798,114 during the first six months of 2016.

American Honda amassed 138,715 sales in June, up 3.2 percent. Its Acura division, which dropped 27 percent, weighed those numbers down. Sales so far this year for Honda total 792,355 units.

Meanwhile, Toyota is down 5.6 percent in June, although the automaker still managed to sell a healthy 198,257 units. For the year, Toyota has sold almost 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S.

Check out the list below for June 2016 auto sales winners and losers among the three most prominent Japanese automakers:

 

Nissan

Winner: Infiniti QX50 (1,689 sales, +305 percent)

Nissan slashed prices on its small crossover for the 2016 model year. Now starting at just $35,445, the QX50 boasts much interior space than its predecessor. Nissan’s Frontier pickup also performed very well, up 84 percent from last June.

Loser: Nissan Leaf (1,096 sales, -47.2 percent)

Chevrolet Volt sales increased 58 percent last month, but the aging Nissan Leaf didn’t perform as well. Sales are down to 1,096 units from the 2,074 units sold the previous June. Along with the Leaf, Nissan’s GT-R and 370Z also dropped in sales by double digits.

 

Honda

Winner: Honda Pilot (10,830 sales, +19.1 percent)

Among the Honda brand’s core models, the CR-V, Pilot, and Civic saw gains last month. The Odyssey decreased only slightly, by 1 percent.

Loser:  Acura ILX (1,114 sales, -33 percent)

Acura is in the middle of a sales slump. Along with the ILX, the RLX, TLX, RDX, and MDX also faltered in June. For the year, Acura sales are down more than 9 percent.

 

Toyota

Winner: Lexus NX (4,069 sales, +11.7 percent)

Lexus crossovers performed well last month; the RX and LX also saw double-digit gains. On the Toyota side, the Land Cruiser increased 36.7 percent while the RAV4 jumped 10.2 percent. The Highlander dropped off slightly from last June.

Loser: Toyota Yaris (1,300 sales, -53.7 percent)

Once again, the aging Toyota Yaris has failed to gain momentum in terms of sales. Surprisingly, sales for the Camry and Prius were also down by double digits.

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Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: June 2016

Tesla Partner: Autopilot Not Designed For Circumstances of Model S Crash

After the fatal accident involving a Model S and its Autopilot feature, the system’s co-developer, Mobileye, told TechCrunch in a statement that the system wasn’t designed for such scenarios. The incident, which is now under investigation by government authorities, happened when a tractor trailer made a left turn at an intersection without any traffic lights right in front of the Model S. Tesla said that neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the tractor trailer, which caused the Model S to dive underneath it, resulting in the windshield hitting the bottom of the trailer.

The automatic emergency braking feature in the Model S was designed specifically to avoid rear-end collisions, and yesterday’s incident was one that it couldn’t prevent, according to the statement sent to TechCrunch by Mobileye’s chief communications officer, Dan Galves. He also said that the May 7 incident involved a vehicle crossing laterally, and that current automatic emergency braking systems aren’t designed to react to that kind of hazard. However, by 2018, Mobileye will include Lateral Turn Across Path detection capability in its automatic emergency braking systems, and the feature will also be included as part of the Euro NCAP safety ratings in 2020.

Tesla released a statement yesterday mourning the loss of the driver and reiterating that even with Autopilot active, the driver’s full attention is still required. The EV maker has also announced the launch of update 8.0, according to a report from Electrek. Like previous updates, 8.0 will be added over-the-air and add new features to the car, including additional functions for Autopilot. While we don’t know the true extent of this update yet, one of the features will allow the car to exit off a freeway when in Autopilot once the turn signal is activated. Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer have also been upgraded so that the car will operate in traffic more smoothly.

Electrek also notes that Tesla is referring to software 8.0 as the biggest update to its user interface since the Model S launched. Additional upgrades in the 8.0 update include improved voice commands that no longer require the driver to hold a button to use, and it now shows a transcript of what the system thinks you said on the dashboard. The media player was also updated, but U.S. owners miss out on Spotify, which is available on European-spec Teslas. The TuneIn app for podcasts will also receive an upgrade that now lets you search through artists, songs, and albums.

Currently, update 8.0 is still undergoing beta testing, and it’s unclear if all of its features will make it live. Electrek, however, says that the release may only be a few weeks away or a few months at most. It’s unclear if any of the Autopilot updates are in response to the fatal crash.

Source: TechCrunch, Electrek

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