Feel The Sting: Kia Stinger Charts New Course for Korean Brand

The four door sedan is a dying species. I already noted that in my article on cars that will be discontinued for 2018, but it bears repetition as sales figures for 2017 finally trickle in. Crossovers outsold small cars and midsize cars by a margin of almost two to one. Those who continue to offer sedans need to get creative in order to maintain whatever percentage of market share is still available.

The Kia Stinger enters the marketplace for the 2018 model year with a broad skill set. Singlehandedly, it wants to be a sports sedan, a near-luxury car, and a utilitarian hatchback. Stylistically, it reinterprets Peter Schreyer's design language for Kia into what is considered an ideal gran turismo. A high waist, low roof, long hood, and short tail are all there. A fastback roofline adds a measure of practicality to the vehicle. The rear hatch can be raised higher than a traditional sedan trunklid. Cargo space is a generous 23.3 cubic feet. That figure rises to 40.9 with the rear seats folded. It also helps give the car a strong, hunkered-down look when viewed from the side.

"This car is all about the stance, proportion, and balance," says Schreyer. "We sought out elegance and athleticism rather than aggression and brutality."

That isn't to say the Stinger lacks in terms of menace. It carries over Kia's corporate tiger nose grille design flanked by optional full LED headlights. A large lower intake and vertical side intakes work with dark chrome finished fender vents to manage air in and around the car. Quad exhaust pipes and a rear diffuser hint at the animal contained within.

That animal is either a 255 horsepower 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a 365 horsepower twin-turbo 3.3 liter V-6. Power is sent to either the rear wheels or all four. Both engines are connected to an eight speed automatic transmission, and the V-6 version should sprint from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

All Stingers come with leather trim as standard with ultrasoft Nappa leather reserved for the V-6 powered GT models. Buttons for climate control and multimedia management are greatly appreciated as more and more car makers migrate those controls to fiddly touchscreens. Naturally, the Stinger has a touchscreen too to handle navigation, phone, and sound system settings. A 7-inch information display set between the speedometer and the rev counter lets you scroll through driver oriented settings such as acceleration and cornering information measured through a g-force meter. An optional head-up display shows crucial information in the driver's line of sight so he or she can stay focused on the road ahead.

Base four-cylinder models should start under $33,000 and rear drive GT trims will start around $40,000. All wheel drive adds $2200 to each version. Advanced safety features and other convenience packages can drive prices of the GT into the low $50,000s. Hefty money for a Kia, but those willing to forgo a little bit of luxury should be able to find themselves a good deal.

Chief rivals for the Stinger at that price include the Audi S5 Sportback and the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. If you think the Kia is expensive, consider that the Audi starts about $15,000 higher than the Stinger, while opening bids for the BMW start at an even $50,000. Once you start ticking option boxes, prices can quickly extend into the $60,000 range.

The Kia is also roomier than the Audi in terms of passenger and cargo volume, and is more powerful. Its V-6 even makes more horsepower than the one used in Porsche's rear wheel drive Panamera; and don't even ask how much that car costs.

Dollar for dollar, I think the Kia Stinger's greatest competition will come from the soon to be released Buick Regal Sportback and hotted up Regal Sportback GS. It too will be offered with a turbo four-cylinder and a V-6, albeit naturally aspirated. With a horsepower rating of 310, the Regal GS loses a lot to the Stinger. However, prices for the GS should not rise much higher than $40,000 with all the options checked. These two should definitely be cross shopped as prospective buyers search for the right balance of power, practicality, and luxury for their needs.

Right now, the Stinger is an anomaly in Hyundai and Kia's range. It has no platform mate anywhere in either brand's lineup, although the basic structure is planned to migrate to a midsize Genesis sedan in the near future. My biggest fear with the Stinger is that it will be a one-off with no eventual successor. I hope that platform sharing with Genesis will provide the necessary economies of scale to keep the Stinger in production for several years to come. I'm sure it can find a place as the sporty entry-level luxury car into the Korean conglomerate's portfolio, with owners likely migrating upward to a Genesis car later.

FINAL VERDICT: The Stinger comes across as a very likeable car. Priced right, it can be an excellent value play compared to the luxury sports sedan establishment.

A Heartfelt Thanks From Me to You

It makes me so happy to have reached 10,000 page views on my blog. I appreciate all of you taking the time to read my thoughts on the things I am passionate about.

If I could make one wish moving forward, I would like more of you to engage with my posts. Please tell me your thoughts on what I'm writing about, whether you agree or disagree, or have any other information or perspective to add.

The whole point of this blog is to share the love of cars, trading cards, and cartoons with the world. We all need to do our part in spreading the word to keep people's passions burning.

I am immensely pleased with the growth this blog has experienced in the past year. Thank you again for making it all possible!

Death Parade Review

I've decided that every year around Halloween I am going to do a review on something eerie. Last year I looked at Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. This year I will take an in-depth look at the 2015 anime series Death Parade. Death Parade is among a select group of anime that is not based on a preexisting manga. The series spawned from a short film titled Death Billiards, which was originally produced by Madhouse for the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013.

So what's Death Parade about? Well, whenever a person dies, they are sent to one of many bars run by bartenders serving as arbiters. Decim, the series's main character, runs a bar called the Quindecim where he is responsible for judging couples who died together. It's a formulaic process. The humans arrive at Quindecim with no memory of how they got there or of the events leading up to their deaths. Decim on the other hand receives a handful of his guests' memories from the information bureau so that he has a rough idea of who each of his guests are. Then he explains to the guests that they cannot leave the bar until they have played a game. One caveat is that the players will be putting their lives on the line, and Decim shows them a sinister collection of human dummies behind the wall of his bar to drive the point home. Frightened and with no other choice, the humans play the game while Decim decides who will be reincarnated and who will be sent into the void.

The whole idea of the games is to create severe tension which will bring out the darkest parts of each player's nature. After all, fear and self preservation are the most primal human emotions. This in theory is the last piece of the puzzle in showing the arbiter who these people really are. While they are playing, the humans slowly regain their memories of what happened to them and ultimately realize that they are dead.

It's an intriguing premise, one that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of The Twilight Zone. But whereas a Twilight Zone version of this would only end with the realization that the guests are already dead, Death Parade goes a step further and analyzes the entire system used to judge people's souls.

Enter Chiyuki: a woman who wakes up in this strange reality with no memory of her past life and is brought to the Quindecim by the supervisor Nona to be Decim's assistant. Almost immediately, Chiyuki begins to notice flaws in Decim's judgments, claiming that there may be more driving each guest's actions than pure negative emotions. She is also horrified to learn that sometimes Decim rigs the games when it appears that some people need a little push to release their inner darkness. Throughout the course of the series, Decim becomes less sure of himself as an arbiter due to Chiyuki's influence. Is he actually creating the darkness in people's souls rather than simply bringing it out?

This leads to the revelation that Decim is an arbiter who has been infused with human emotions, even though he doesn't quite understand them.  Nona accepts that there is something ironic and unfair about the arbitration process. The arbiters are incapable of feeling emotions or knowing what it's like to die, yet they are the ones who are tasked with passing judgment on those that do. Therefore, Decim is her experiment in improving the system, and Chiyuki has been unknowingly tasked with helping Decim understand what it means to be human.

This anime is one of my all time favorites. It raises great topics of conversation about living a fulfilling life, what it means to die, and the morality of judging people based on incomplete information. That being said, I would caution viewers about some disturbing content. Characters violently attack each other, blood is shed, and murder, rape, and suicide are discussed and shown.

If there is anything I can criticize, it would be the show's lack of closure. I want to learn more about how this afterlife works. Several minor characters give us tiny glimpses of what goes on behind the scenes. There's Castra, who sits on a throne of flesh and bones and determines which bar each deceased person will visit. Her words of wisdom are "All righteousness is in competition with itself; I'm surprised it doesn't lose interest." We also meet another arbiter named Ginti. Whereas Decim is outwardly polite, Ginti is a belligerent, ill-tempered jerk who riles his guests as much as they rile him. Then there's Quin, a member of the information bureau who is Decim's predecessor. Managing people's memories is so stressful, that she turns to drinking to put her mind at ease. And finally we have Oculus, a childish old man who is the self-professed god of this whole operation. He spends the majority of his time playing pool while Nona runs the arbitration business.

Not many of these characters are given a lot of screentime. But when they do have your attention, they drop little snippets that beg for further elaboration. Oculus mentions in Episode 5 that God has been gone for a long time. What does that mean? Is God dead? High School DxD presented a world where God perished in a battle between angels and devils. What happened in Death Parade's world that caused God to go away?

In Episode 7, Quin states that the increased number of deaths is making it difficult for her to do her work condensing people's memories. Could this be why the arbiters' judgments are incomplete? When deaths were less frequent, were the arbiters given more complete information on their human guests? There is so much more to this universe as hinted at sporadically by the various side characters. I just wish more time was spent on them and their stories in addition to Decim and Chiyuki. Twelve episodes is really insufficient to gain a complete picture of this world. I think that a 26 episode season would have allowed the supporting characters and side plots to really shine. At the very least, a second season would be appreciated to answer some of my questions.

Well, I think that covers just about everything. Overall Death Parade is an extremely thought provoking series with two excellent main characters who help each other learn and grow. It should not be missed by anime fans, or people looking to explore the pros and cons that go with making impartial, emotionless judgement calls versus those informed by the heart and soul.

Everything Wrong with Pokemon Evolutions

Every day I look at PokeBeach to see the latest news in the world of Pokémon. In particular, I pay attention to new trading card game products to see which ones I will consider parting with my hard earned money for. One of the first things I look at with these new promotional tins and collection boxes is the pack selection. After all, a product's value is determined by the quality of its contents.

I've been disappointed with several products lately due to their inclusion of the XY Evolutions expansion set. It has to be one of the worst sets of the XY series, and perhaps one of the worst sets period. Many forum users and popular Youtubers have expressed their displeasure for the set for multiple reasons. Evolutions represents a huge missed opportunity to end what was arguably one of the best eras of the entire Pokémon Trading Card Game.

XY Evolutions was meant to be a remake of the original Base Set which was released in Japan on October 20, 1996 and in the United States on January 9, 1999. Vintage artwork is used for the cards, while the attacks and effects have been modified to fit within the current format.

The main complaint against Evolutions centers on the cards themselves not being very competitive. A few cards have some potential to work in existing deck archetypes, but none of them brought any game changing mechanics to the table. According to Andrew Wamboldt of the Charizard Lounge, this was due to Pokémon themselves not wanting to shake things up too much just prior to the release of the next generation Sun & Moon base set, which would introduce powerful Pokémon-GX to the meta game. Evolutions' main purpose was to satisfy collectors who remember opening Base Set packs two decades ago - which brings me to the next point.

The entire year of 2016 was marked with promotional products to celebrate the twentieth year of the Pokémon franchise. A TV spot was shown during the Super Bowl, various legendary Pokémon were distributed to video game players throughout the year, and collection boxes containing trading cards from a special set called Generations were released each month.

Generations contained reprinted cards from XY era expansions with the stipulation that all the Pokémon featured had to be from the first generation. Exceptions to this rule were Meowstic-EX, and cards from the Radiant Collection subset. So when Evolutions came out in November 2016, it felt like we had already seen it before.  Not only that, cards included in Generations were actually playable in several different decks, and pull rates for ultra rare cards were usually pretty good.

Hopefully, with the release of the fourth Sun & Moon set, the number of Evolutions packs included in products will decrease. It simply had no business being a mainline set. Making Evolutions a mini set would have been a much better choice for both collectors and players. That way, those who aren't caught up in Base Set nostalgia can purchase the products they want without having this otherwise useless set shoved down their throats. There also should have been some differentiation between Evolutions and Generations. It's rather hypocritical for a set called Generations to focus only on one particular generation of Pokémon.

I just hope that Pokémon comes up with a better way to end Sun & Moon when the time comes. Usually, each series concludes with a greatest hits collection featuring new artwork for popular cards. That was the case for Call of Legends and Legendary Treasures at the end of Gen 4 and Gen 5 respectively. Evolutions was a rare misstep for a franchise that otherwise had every reason to celebrate 20 successful years, and several more to follow.

5 Automotive Obituaries for 2017

Good cars come, and good cars go. Here is a list of five automotive names we lost in 2017. To make this list, a model must be discontinued from an automaker's lineup with no immediate or eventual replacement in sight. For example, although the Volkswagen CC has been dropped for 2018, its spirit lives on in the brand new Arteon.

Buick Verano
To be fair, the Verano was effectively discontinued after the 2016 model year, with only a handful of 2017 models produced before its assembly line shut down for good. Back in 2012, the idea of a small, affordable, fuel-efficient car from Buick made perfect sense. However, persistently low gas prices and lack of interest in sedans of all sizes killed the argument to continue investing in the Verano model. With the death of the Verano and uncertainty regarding the LaCrosse, the Regal is the only sedan with any solid future over at Buick.

Chevrolet SS
A bitter loss no matter how you look at it, the Chevrolet SS was the ideal American sedan - rear wheel drive, manual transmission, and a massive V8 straight from the Corvette. For those who were heartbroken over the untimely loss of the Pontiac G8, General Motors gave them another chance by bringing the next generation Holden Commodore to the United States as the Chevy SS. Yes, we knew it wasn't the most practical car, so it was only going to sell in limited numbers, and, yes, its fate was sealed once GM bailed on its Australian manufacturing facilities.

But that sells short the SS's astonishing abilities. It handily outperformed comparable Dodge Chargers in all objective measurements, and came with a healthy dose of standard equipment. Hurting the SS's cause though was styling which was a bit too generic, a $45,000 base price, and a name that lacked any real cachet. If you still want an SS, unfortunately you're too late. The last day to order one was back in February. Check out any remaining dealer stock if you missed your chance to buy this amazing car the first time around.

Honda Accord Coupe and V6
Here is an interesting addition to this list. The Honda Accord sedan carries on for its tenth generation (if they ever do drop the Accord, prepare for the apocalypse). However, the coupe model is no more as is its V6 engine option. Let's go over the engine first. The V6 has been replaced in favor or two turbocharged inline-fours. Base cars will be powered by a 1.5 liter unit and a 2.0 liter will be optional. Blame fuel economy regulations for this.

The death of the coupe is more tragic as it signals the end of what I like to call the personal coupe. Toyota Solara, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Nissan Altima Coupe, Ford Thunderbird, Pontiac G6; they're all gone. Now if anyone wants a coupe, they will need to get something from a luxury brand which will run them thousands of dollars more. Apparently, the coupe accounted for only a tiny fraction of Accord sales, but I still see quite a few around. For those who consider the Civic a bit too juvenile, and can't find anything sporty enough in an Acura showroom, the Accord Coupe mated with a V6 and a manual transmission hit the well-heeled enthusiast sweet spot. Not anymore.

Hyundai Azera
Large sedans are not doing well. What once was a popular niche for aging drivers is losing market share at an alarming rate to higher riding crossovers. The Azera's place in Hyundai's product history is not to be underestimated. As a semi-premium offering from a decidedly non-premium brand, it was the first step on a journey for Korean manufacturer which resulted in the launch of the Genesis luxury brand. The Azera will continue to be sold in its home market as well as some other select regions around the world. Meanwhile, executives have hinted that a flagship Hyundai sedan tailored to US tastes may return to the lineup. After all, they can't let Genesis have all the good stuff.

Nissan Juke
Hopefully, this obituary is premature as there has been no official word on whether or not the Nissan Juke is going to be axed. However, it appears from sources familiar with Nissan's product planners that the Juke's remaining time among us will be short. Heck, it may have been replaced already. Nissan has quietly imported its European-bred Qashqai to the US as the Rogue Sport. With more conventional styling and better practicality, the Rouge Sport will undoubtedly cannibalize whatever sales potential the Juke has left.

The Juke was one of the first compact crossovers to be sold in America and earned equal praise and scorn for its wild bodywork. With turn signals located at eye level on the hood and the general appearance of a hunchbacked frog, there is no arguing that the Juke was striking to look at. Despite a torquey turbocharged engine and available NISMO performance model, sales of the Juke never took off in numbers comparable to the Kia Soul which came before it, or the Jeep Renegade and Buick Encore which came after it.

A sort-of Juke wannabe called the Kicks is being built in Mexico for the South American market. Slightly larger than the Juke, but carrying on its youthful vibe, there has been no indication since its 2016 launch that it will migrate to the United States.

3 Trends in the Sun & Moon TCG Era

We are now three sets into the Sun & Moon era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. I think this is a great time to look at some of the trends so far and guess where the metagame will be headed in the next couple of years.

Decidueye-GX leads a powerful

group of Grass Pokémon into battle.

1. Grass is the type to beat
It all started with the Sun & Moon base set. Decidueye-GX was clearly the best of the starter Stage 2 cards. Its Feather Arrow ability allows you to put two damage counters on one of your opponent's Pokémon before you attack, while its Razor Leaf attack deals out a respectable 90 damage for only three energy. Even the non-GX Decidueye was the focus of the best theme deck of the set. Strong supporting Pokémon such as Shiinotic allowed you to search your deck for more grass Pokémon while good attackers such as Pinsir and Spinda could hold their own while you got more powerful Pokémon set up.

For added power, you could include Lurantis-GX into grass decks which can do a whopping 120 damage for three energy while also healing 30 from Lurantis. You can also retrieve two grass energy from your discard pile with Flower Supply and still deal 40 damage for only one energy. And that's just from the first set. Guardians Rising introduced a grass type Trevenant which deals damage in multiples of 30 depending on how many Item cards are in your opponent's hand. Golisopod automatically takes 30 less damage from attacks while dealing a potential 150 damage to your opponent's Pokémon-EX or Pokémon-GX. And let's not forget the Lurantis promo card included in the Guardians Rising blister packs which can increase the damage done by your grass and fire Pokémon with its Sunny Day ability. Grass-types are weak to fire, and the recently released Burning Shadows expansion introduced strong fire-type Pokémon and Trainer cards to help control Grass's power, but it remains to be seen if they can be combined into competitive decks.

Bewear is a running gag in the anime.

The crafty people at the Pokémon

Company think it's good marketing

to include a Bewear in every set.

2. Reprints already?
You'd think that with over 800 Pokémon to choose from, coming up with new cards would be incredibly easy. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. Nearly all seventh generation Pokémon with the exception of a few Legendaries have received a print by the third set. In some cases, the new Pokémon have already been reprinted. The Mudsdale and Araquanid lines have already appeared in two sets. The Pokémon Company has fallen head over heels for Bewear seeing as it has been given a card in all three sets so far and has received a promo GX card.

On the other hand, Pokémon who have been given competitive cards in the XY era are back for more in Sun & Moon. Darkrai and Gardevoir from Burning Shadows are looking to exert their predecessors' dominance once again. Mewtwo will come back this November, and it's safe to say we can expect other Legendaries from previous generations to return as GX cards.

3. New rotation, time to rethink strategy
Take a look at this list from PokeBeach's June 2017 TCG Cup. In particular, pay close attention to the names and quantities of Supporter cards that are used. Not a lot of variety is there? What's the point of Pokémon printing 20 or so new Supporter cards in every set if competitive players always use the same one? As of July 2017, all sets going backward from Breakthrough and XY Black Star promos below XY67 will not be legal in standard. Notable losses include VS Seeker, Hex Maniac, Double Dragon Energy, Forest of Giant Plants, and Sky Field. N is unfortunately still around; it's been reprinted regularly since Black & White. I was hoping it would go away as there are other draw cards available which I think are more useful than N.

There is a good YouTube video linked here which offers more details on prominent cards that have been rotated out. I highly recommend you check out the other videos on the channel which are helpful in identifying strategies to use with new cards as they are released.

Verdict
Overall, I'm enjoying the Sun & Moon era of the TCG. The new cards are fun to play with and I find myself eagerly looking forward to the release of each new set.

Chevy May Kill the Volt

Slumping US car sales have prompted the United Auto Workers union to initiate talks with General Motors about possibly discontinuing select models and replacing them with more popular crossovers. Among the models under review is the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, once touted as a game changer for the industry.

It is no secret that car sales have been decreasing steadily for a while as consumers flock to SUVs and trucks. Sales of GM passenger cars dropped 17 percent in the first half of 2017 and 36 percent in June. As sale volume decreases, inventories rise. On July 1, GM car inventories skyrocketed to 126 days from 96 days one month ago. That equates to as much as six months of supply on hand. The plants that build these cars have cancelled several shifts putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Senior Vice President of LMC Automotive Jeff Schuster sees room for consolidation among GM's array of passenger cars. "GM doesn't need all the sedans it has today. They should look at reducing the number of sedan offerings and replacing some with SUVs or crossovers." The models singled out include the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Sonic, and Chevrolet Volt.

Commentators are putting pressure on GM to create innovative new products, which was exactly what the Volt was when it debuted in 2010. Plug-in hybrid technology allowed for electric driving without worrying about depleting the batteries' power. The first generation model featured an electric driving range of 38 miles while the second generation could go up to 53 miles before the gas engine turned on. It received awards from multiple organizations including Green Car Journal, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Consumer Reports, and a number of automotive publications.

I believe factors hurting Volt sales include cheap gasoline and a nonexistent marketing campaign. Obviously, no one is going to purchase a hybrid vehicle if the payback period for the increased fuel efficiency is too long. That is where marketing comes in. GM and Chevrolet need to position the Volt as a smart investment which is a better buy over the long run. Can you recall the last time you saw an advertisement on TV for the Volt? The only Chevrolet ads I see are for the Silverado and the Equinox with an occasional Malibu thrown in. People buy what they see, and not having a vibrant campaign for the Volt almost certainly dooms it to failure.

As for the other models on the list, the older demographic who purchased cars like the LaCrosse and the Impala are instead turning to crossovers and the perceived safety that comes from a higher ride height and all wheel drive. Cadillac is finding that customers are not lining the streets to buy their line of rear wheel drive luxury cars including the CT6, CTS, and ATS, otherwise the XTS would have been discontinued long ago. The XTS continues to be popular among livery services due to its quiet and comfortable ride. If Chevrolet decides to cancel the Sonic, it does so at its own peril. We live in volatile times, and all car makers should be prepared for economic downturns or rising gas prices. Killing off the Sonic puts Chevy in a position without a cheap and efficient compact car to weather the storm.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years as these models come up for renewal. Some such as the Impala and the Sonic could be discontinued while others such as the Volt and the Cadillacs could be replaced with crossovers with similar missions.

Volvo Commits to Electrification

In a bold announcement this week, Volvo has declared that every car in its lineup will have at least one electric drivetrain motor by 2019. This puts the Swedish brand in a unique position as the first mainstream automaker to fully embrace electric power. Indeed, Volvo has committed itself to an electrified future from the moment it put together a plan to revamp its entire lineup.

Volvo's product plan moving forward is incredibly simple. The brand will focus on three key models in three different sizes. Each size range of vehicles will include a sedan, an SUV, and a wagon. So far only the large 90 series of vehicles has been brought to market. All 90 series cars, as well as the upcoming range of 60 series cars, ride on the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). Easing the transition to electric power and avoiding the packaging problems that come from adding extra motors and batteries, SPA was designed from the start to accommodate hybrid and electric powertrains. The same can be said of the smaller Compact Modular Architecture which will underpin a range of 40 series models.

Volvo's only hybrid vehicle at the moment is the plug-in XC90 T8. Dubbed "Twin-Engine," a rear mounted 87 hp electric motor powers the rear wheels while a smaller 46 horsepower motor provides power to the front wheels when needed. The electric motors combine with the four cylinder turbocharged and supercharged gasoline engine for a total system output of 400 hp and 472 lb-ft of torque. This October, the 2018 XC60 T8 will debut using the same setup as its bigger brother. 

High performance electric vehicles are also on the table, and will be sold under the Polestar brand. Polestar has origins in Volvo's motorsports program, making championship winning homologations for various European touring car series. Polestar was purchased by Volvo in 2015 and has assisted in the development of sporty versions of the S60 and V60, sort of like BMW's M division. As separate brands, the relationship between Volvo and Polestar will be similar to that of Hyundai and Genesis. Polestar and Volvo models will share chassis, electronics, and powertrains together. Regular Volvo models fettled by Polestar will carry the "Polestar Engineered" label.

Full details are scant at the moment, but Volvo has promised to provide more details sometime in the fall. Volvo boldly hopes to sell 1 million electric cars by 2025. That would require a substantial increase in market share since the brand only sold 534,000 cars in 2016. Nevertheless, plentiful money supplied by parent company Geely puts Volvo in a much better position to achieve its dreams.

Big Shakeup at BMW

BMW revealed images of the 8-series concept ahead of

its debut at Italy's Ville d'Este concours on Lake Como.

BMW is making a major change to its lineup with the return of the 8-series coupe. The announcement came after BMW ceased production of the current 6-series coupe for North America, leaving only the convertible and the Gran Coupe for the remainder of 2017.

Surprisingly, we have heard a similar story before. BMW replaced the E24 6-series with the original 8-series in 1989 as it sought to move beyond the E24's market with increased performance and a higher price tag. The 8-series remained in production until 1999, by which time around 30,000 units had been sold globally. BMW fans were left without a large coupe until the E63 6-series appeared in 2003.

Now, the 2018 8-series will surpass the current 6-series with heightened levels of luxury and performance. It will be built using 7-series architecture, allowing it to compete confidently with the Mercedes-Benz S-class coupe, the Lexus LC, and perhaps a couple of models from Bentley and Aston Martin. BMW insiders have divulged that the 8-Series will share the 7-series' partial carbon fiber construction to reduce weight and improve handling.

Connectivity is just as important as driving dynamics nowadays, and the 8-series debuts BMW's next generation iDrive architecture. Information is grouped in distinct clusters which promise to be easy to navigate. In the concept, the iDrive rotary controller is made from Swarovski glass with a smoked quartz finish.

A turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six is expected to power base versions of the car. Above that, we can expect the twin turbo 4.4-liter V8 from the 750i. An eight speed automatic gearbox will be standard, and all wheel drive will be available as an option. A convertible and a four door Gran Coupe will appear later. Rounding out the new 8-series lineup will be a M8 and a M8 GTE to be raced at Le Mans. That car will debut at the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona. 

Meanwhile the 6-series badge will persist on the back of the replacement for the 5-series Gran Turismo. A prototype has been spotted testing on the streets of Germany and at the Nurburgring. The 5-series Gran Turismo was a Frankenstein-esque creation based on what market researchers determined people want in their perfect car. Apparently they wanted a car with the roominess of a 7-series, the headroom of a X5, the cargo carrying capacity of a station wagon, and the versatility of a MPV. The 5-series GT rode higher than the regular 5-series, but not as high as a X5 or a X6, and featured sliding rear seats. The trunk could be opened entirely, like a hatchback, or partially, like a sedan. Sales in the United States never took off, and the model's future was left uncertain following the redesign of the core 5-series family.

The new 6-series GT should be more aesthetically pleasing than the old one. Video footage of the car shows that the roofline has a more graceful curve and the rear appears less slab sided. Perhaps it will be like a Porsche Panamera that has been stretched heightwise. It will utilize the long wheelbase 5-series architecture currently only offered in China. The only model that has been confirmed so far for the US market is a 640xi with the turbocharged 3.0-liter six mentioned earlier and standard all wheel drive. It seems reasonable to expect a hybrid powertrain and a more powerful M Performance version to follow. The 640xi will go on sale in the US this September.

Classifying Boring

The 2018 Toyota Camry received plenty of attention at the Detroit Auto Show. I noticed that it follows the latest design trend of incorporating a floating roof. But this is just one of the differences between this version and the outgoing Camry. Efforts have been made to make the Camry look like a junior Lexus. The taillights borrow styling cues from the LC500 coupe and the fascia is reminiscent of what is seen across the Lexus lineup. Overall, it builds upon the styling of the current Camry by making every line edgier and more aggressive.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has made a vow to no longer produce "boring" cars. He points to the new Camry, the C-HR, and the 2017 Prius as examples of how he is trying to change his company's stodgy image around.

Toyota cars of the past have been generically styled for good reason. Increased design details require more specialized production methods, which in turn increases the risk of defects. However, new metal stamping innovations have made it possible to recreate designers' sharp creases and edges without splintering the sheetmetal in the factory.

Expressive styling is all well and good, but Toyoda seems to be missing the point in what makes a car less boring. After all, BMW cars are promoted as the ultimate driving machines, yet they have followed the same basic design style for more than 30 years. In a recent Car and Driver comparison test, the Toyota Prius Prime was soundly beaten by the Chevrolet Volt. The editors deducted points for the Toyota's styling which they thought was overwrought at best and offensive at worst. They joked that the car's excellent coefficient of drag is due to the air refusing to touch anything so ugly. Compared to the Volt, the Prius was measured at being slower and less efficient to run. If Toyota is serious about building exciting cars, they should start with the powertrains and then choose a design.

Toyota's signature technology remains its hybrid synergy drive. Toyota offers a hybrid options on four of its models in addition to four separate Prius models. Perhaps Toyota could reposition its hybrids as sporty options much like Porsche has done with the recently unveiled Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. That car builds upon technology first introduced in the 918 Spyder. It is able to deliver astonishing performance figures considering its hefty weight. Can you think of any other car which weighs 5200 lbs., yet can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds? Porsche is committed to hybrid technology development as a means to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. However, they are not leaving driving enthusiasts empty handed. The message that Porsche is preaching is if you want the fastest one, you need to get the hybrid.

Right now Toyota is painting itself into a no-win situation. It is creating edgy cars yet is not giving them the sporty performance such looks suggest. On the other hand, I'm afraid that those who appreciated Toyota's conservative styling approach will feel alienated by their new design direction. They will likely flock to Honda, Ford, or Chevrolet which offer tastefully elegant cars along with engaging driving dynamics. 

General Motors Sells Opel to PSA

Two days ago General Motors sold its Opel and Vauxhall brands to the PSA Group for 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion).  By combining Opel and Vauxhall with PSA’s range of  Peugeot, Citroen, and DS cars, the group is now the second largest auto manufacturer in Europe behind the Volkswagen Group.  GM executives stated that the sale of Opel is due to the increasing level of investment required to make their cars competitive in the European market.  They believe that money can be better used to grow sales in North America and China, as well as continue development on electric powertrains and autonomous driving.  For years Opel has been plagued with rising debt and decreasing market share on the European continent.  Both of which have hurt GM’s bottom line.

At one point in the 1970s, Opels were renowned for their reliability, and were held in the same esteem as Volkswagens.  Then GM appointed Jose Ignacio Lopez to improve the brand’s profitability.  Lopez went on a cost cutting spree which significantly reduced quality across Opel’s lineup.  Opel saw its market share in Germany drop from 17 percent in 1995 to 8.4 percent in 2008.  Meanwhile, the Great Recession caused all car sales to drop to 20 year lows, and Opel’s European workforce shrank from 50,000 to 35,000.  Uncertainty over the brand’s future as the economy limped along cost Opel even more sales with German volume dropping to 5.2 percent in 2012.  Although Opel has produced some good cars in recently, it has also recorded 17 straight years of financial losses.

It remains to be seen what will become of Opel as a brand.  Both PSA CEO Carlos Tavares and General Motors CEO Mary Barra appear to have faith that the brand will survive.  Opel vehicles are imported to the United States as Buicks, and have done much to improve Buick’s image.  During the annoucement, GM promised that Opel will continue to provide Buick with vehicles for the foreseeable future.  Tavares has reportedly stated that he hopes to take the Opel brand to markets where French cars are viewed unfavorably.  Current Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann is said to be working on a plan to turn Opel into an electric-only brand.  The potentially game-changing Ampera-e based on the Chevrolet Bolt has just entered production.  It offers a driving range of 500 kilometers, and beats a similar model from Volkswagen to market by three years.  By the time the Volkswagen appears, Opel will hopefully already have a strong grip on the electric car market.

These promising reports aside, I don’t see much future for the Opel brand, at least in Europe.  Currently, PSA has three main brands each covering a segment of the market.  Citroen serves as the group’s entry level brand offering inexpensive cars for buyers on tight budgets.  Peugeot is the middle brand with similar models as Citroen, but built with a few more features and upmarket styling cues.  The recently introduced DS brand hopes to lure BMW, Audi, and Mercedes buyers looking for something different.  There is not much room for Opel to fit in.  Most if not all of its cars compete directly with a corresponding PSA model.  Each brand’s lineup would have to be cut down to prevent too much overlap, and I’d be willing to bet that Tavares would be more reluctant to trim models from his flagship brands than he would from adopted Opel.  Moving Opel out of Europe could work, and it is possible that it can become PSA’s electric car brand.  We will have to wait and see what transpires in the coming years before an accurate picture can emerge.

Also Ran Anime

I tend to write about anime that I really enjoyed watching.  So, if you see a review on this blog, it usually means I have high praise for it.  Today I am going to share my brief thoughts on a couple series that I have watched in their entirety but would not give my top notch rating.  This isn't to say that these shows are absolutely terrible; you might actually enjoy watching them.  They simply didn't resonate with me the same way as others that you have already read about on this blog.

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun

School Rumble is one of my favorite if not my absolute favorite anime.  The mix of humor, romance, and action combined with interesting and compelling characters immediately hooked me into the series.  I was hoping that Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun would do the same.  The premise appeared similar enough: high school romance, a character who looks to real life for inspiration for his manga, comedy--everything is there. 

Consider me somewhat disappointed.  First, let's deal with the romance.  Sixteen year old Chiyo Sakura is hopelessly in love with Umetaro Nozaki.  One day when she finds the courage to confess her feelings to him, Nozaki interprets this as her desire to become his assistant.  Nozaki is a popular shojo manga artist outside of school, and brings Chiyo to his apartment to ink some of his stories.  Once with Nozaki, Chiyo makes numerous advances on him, but they end up completely going over his head.  It's not like Chiyo is being subtle either.  Nozaki has to be the densest guy on the face of the earth to not realize how badly Chiyo is crushing on him.  Or is he?  For one thing, the heroine of Nozaki's manga looks exactly like Chiyo.  In fact, the manga explains that her design is based on Nozaki's first meeting with Chiyo where she gave him one of the ribbons in her hair.  In the final episode of the anime, Chiyo and Nozaki almost recreate their first encounter, which nearly seems to make Nozaki finally understand Chiyo's feelings as well as his own.  Unfortunately a series of fireworks interrupts them before either can make a confession. 

The comedy is okay.  Most of it revolves around misunderstandings and failures of characters to confess their romantic feelings.  In this regard, it is quite similar to School Rumble, but whereas School Rumble's comedy feels natural, some of the characters' antics here seem just plain annoying at times.  Through Nozaki, Chiyo meets Mikoto Mikoshiba who draws artistic effects, and is unknowingly the inspiration behind Nozaki's heroine character.  She also gets to know Masayuki Hori who designs the backgrounds for Nozaki's stories in exchange for Nozaki writing him scripts to be used in his drama club.  Other characters include Chiyo's friend, Yuzuki Seo; Mikoshiba's friend, Yu Kashima; and Hirotaka Wakamatsu, who is a skilled basketball player and eventually helps Nozaki by doing screentones.  Most of the humor stems from Mikoshiba who despite being very flirtatious is actually painfully shy and insecure.  He immediately regrets any embarrassing things he says.  Kashima is considered to be the top prince of the school despite being a girl.  She is also incredibly dense and annoys Hori to the point where he physically beats her.  Seo is brash, and belligerent, and is incapable of reading situations.  Nozaki ends up observing her and Kashima for ideas for his stories. 

My favorite part of the series is how it shows, albeit in a roundabout way, the processes involved in creating a manga.  The audience follows Nozaki as he tries to come up with new story ideas.  Then we actually see him, Chiyo, and the others work on individual components of the piece.  We also see interaction between Nozaki and his editor which some writers may find relatable to some degree.

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun got a few chuckles out of me, but I'd give this show a higher rating if something noteworthy actually happened.  The short run of 12 episodes ends with little development among the main characters.  It's good for a quick laugh, and provides insight into the manga creation process aspiring authors may find useful, but nothing about it begs you to watch it again and again.   

Rosario + Vampire

Harem series are difficult to do well.  On one extreme, you can lose the audience in the romantic rivalry between the suitors and forget to tell an actual story.  On the other, you can tell a story, but fill it with such forgettable characters that viewers simply don't care.  Rosario + Vampire is not great, and that's a shame considering its premise.  Tsukune Aono is the averagest of average high school boys.  He accidentally gets enrolled in a school called Yokai Academy where all the other students and faculty are monsters.  Any human who is caught on the school grounds shall be immediately killed.  The only thing keeping Tsukune from going completely insane is a female classmate named Moka Akashiya.  Moka crashes into Tsukune on her bike as they both arrive at the school, and she reveals that she is a vampire.  At first, Tsukune is horrified, but warms to Moka's sweet personality. 

During an encounter with a bully, Tsukune removes the rosary around Moka's neck which releases her aloof and aggressive inner personality.  The series continues with Tsukune and Moka making new friends including the succubus, Kurumu; the snow fairy, Mizore; and the witch, Yukari.  All of the girls fall in love with Tsukune due to the kindness he shows them while helping them with their problems.  Despite their constant advances on him, Moka remains Tsukune's primary love interest.

The whole ghoul school gimmick is nothing new.  However, there are several directions that idea can run, which, if handled correctly, can produce solid results.  You could have something like the X-Men, where young monsters go to school to master their abilities.  Yokai Academy takes a different route.  Rather than encourage monsters to show their true nature, the school teaches peaceful coexistence with humans and wants its students to act as human as possible.  Nevertheless, prejudices toward humans remain, making the idea of coexistence difficult.  The overall storyline of the first season sees Tsukune try to keep his human nature secret, even from his friends.  Moka is the only one who knows Tsukune is a human.  Each episode deals with an antagonistic student or teacher who Tsukune and his friends have to defeat.  It's fairly repetitive, but gives some quick facts about monsters from different cultures. 
 
The season cumulates in an intense showdown with the Yokai Academy Security Committee who put Tsukune on trial for being a human.  His friends learn the truth about Tsukune's identity, yet put aside their prejudices to save him from being burned alive.     

The more I think about it, the first season is pretty decent.  It's the second season where everything falls apart.  It offers literally nothing new to the universe.  The story threads are stupid and lead nowhere.  That being said, the manga of Rosario + Vampire is much better, and I encourage people who have seen the first season of the anime to give the manga a look.  You'll find some interesting stories and genuine story arcs with rewarding outcomes.

There are a couple other anime that I could add to this list.  But I thought I would include these two since they have some redeeming qualities.  Look for other reviews in the future.  I have a few in the pipeline that I think you will like.

Detroit 2017 is the year of the Floating Roof

Of all of the new cars unveiled at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, I think that most will agree that this is the year that the floating roof entered the mainstream.  Automakers are increasing looking for ways to be expressive in their designs as regulations push them closer to homogeneity.  One of the ways automakers have been able to do that is with a floating roof.

The idea of a floating roof is less complex than it sounds.  It involves the C pillar being painted in black to blend in with the rear side windows.  Nissan was an early adopter of this design trend, utilizing a floating roof on the Maxima and the Murano.  Toyota followed next by including floating roofs on the latest Prius and the Lexus RX.  Now it seems like a floating roof is the latest design trend to make a car look more futuristic after LED lights and digital display screens.  No less than three all new cars debuted at Detroit with either a standard or optional floating roof.  All of these cars compete in hotly contested segments, and come equipped with other features to help them stand out from the crowd.  

2018 Toyota Camry
It seems like just yesterday that the Toyota Camry was redesigned for 2014.  As part of CEO Akio Toyoda's quest to inject more passion into his cars, the Camry has been treated to yet another update.  Four trim levels are offered: LE, XLE, SE, and XSE.  A hybrid model returns, too.  Surprisingly, as many automakers move to smaller turbocharged engines for their performance models, a V-6 engine is still available in the SE and XSE.  Styling across the lineup is more aggressive with sharp lines designed to mimic those of sister brand, Lexus.  The rear vents underneath the taillights appear taken directly from the Lexus LC500.  It is unclear which trim levels will receive the floating roof.  At least the XSE will get it, but it might be a bit extreme for the hybrid models.

2018 GMC Terrain
I know that the Terrain has been around for a long time.  It debuted for 2010 shortly after GM's bankruptcy to fill the void left by the departed Pontiac Torrent as a platform partner for the Chevy Equinox.  While the Equinox was a popular seller, the Terrain never really generated comparable numbers.  GM has fixed a lot of those problems for 2018.  The new Terrain is much lighter, having lost 465 pounds.  It's also 3.2 inches shorter and 0.4 inches narrower.  The floating roof design element gives the car an air of lightness lacking in the original car.  Unlike the Camry mentioned above, the Terrain is turbo-only.  No six cylinder engines are offered.  Perhaps the strangest change to the Terrain is the deletion of a conventional shift lever.  In its place is a horizontal arrangement of buttons and levers to select gears.  Park, neutral, and low are selected by pushing buttons.  Reverse and drive are activated by pulling up on switches that resemble window controls.  It seems like a case of reinventing the wheel, but GMC claims that removing the gear lever frees up space for storage, something that people buying crossovers look for.  Now there is a place for passengers to put their phone or music player within convenient reach of two USB ports.

 

2018 Honda Odyssey
Honda is keeping the minivan segment alive with the completely new Odyssey.  Following the template set by the Chrysler Pacifica, Honda made a great effort to make the Odyssey more aesthetically pleasing.  It utilizes Honda's current corporate face, and has character lines along the side panels similar to the old Mazda 5.  The floating roof works well here given the vast size of the C pillar.  Gimmicky features include CabinTalk which allows the driver to speak to passengers through the audio system.  Toyota already has something like this.  Hard to believe someone can be so engrossed in whatever they are listening to that they can't notice someone talking to them from ten feet away.  Another feature is called CabinWatch which displays a live feed from the middle row of seats on the infotainment screen, because it is clearly so difficult to turn your head to see what's going on behind you.  Honestly, technology for the sake of technology makes me sick.  I remember when my mom drove my family around in her minivan.  There was no advanced driver aids.  If we wanted entertainment, we listened to CD players--the car's cassette player never worked--or we read books.  Being a car enthusiast, I mostly just stared out the window and identified passing cars.  If my sister and I really needed something to distract us on long road trips, we folded the middle row down, strapped a small TV on top of it, and watched VHS tapes.  It was powered by the van's cigarette lighter.  Minivans today might as well be top of the line RVs compared to when I was a kid.

Wow, that got unexpectedly heated.  Anyway, floating roofs are now in vogue and we should expect them to appear on numerous cars in the next few years.