News

VW has released U.S. details for the 2023 Golf R’s 20th Anniversary Edition model.Unlike the Europe-market version, it doesn’t get a power bump.The $650 upgrade includes visual changes including black wheels, special badging, and other trim add-ons.Volkswagen is celebrating the 20th birthday of R-badged Golf hot hatchbacks, but the special-edition model we’re getting in the U.S. isn’t quite as cool as the version sold in Europe. While the Golf R 20 Years overseas gets a 14-horsepower bump for its turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, Americans will instead get the 2023 Golf R 20th Anniversary Edition with the same 315 horsepower as other versions of the Golf R.

Volkswagen

To be fair, the anniversary model only costs $650 more than the standard model, starting at $46,035 with the six-speed manual and $46,835 with the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. (It’s also worth noting that the Europe-market 20 Years car doesn’t offer a manual at all.) For that small sum, you get a whole host of visual changes, including 20th anniversary badging for the B-pillars, blue “R” logos inside and out, and special puddle lights that project a “20R” graphic on the ground. The interior receives carbon-fiber trim, and black 19-inch wheels are standard.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen

The 20th Anniversary model is available in blue, black, or white. If you choose white or black, the mirror caps are finished in blue. If you choose blue, the mirrors are black. The panoramic sunroof that’s standard on the Golf R is deleted for the special-edition car, which VW says saves weight.Around 1800 units of the 20th Anniversary Edition will be offered in the U.S., and they’ll arrive at dealerships later this fall.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Ford has announced it will recall 163,253 Ford Expedition and 35,229 Lincoln Navigator SUVs from the 2015 through 2017 model years over a fire risk.The problem is believed to be a defect in the front blower motor.To date, Ford has received 25 complaints of fires believed to be caused by the problem.Ford Motor Company will recall 198,482 2015–2017 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs because of the danger of an interior fire. The automaker believes the problem is a defect in the blower motor located behind the glovebox. Although the company has been unable to pinpoint a cause of the motor failure, there have been 25 reports of fires in these vehicles, of which 13 were localized to the area of the blower and 12 caused more extensive damage, including one report of injuries to a person’s hand. In every case, vehicles were running at the time the fires started. Some owners have also reported “an inoperative fan, burning smell and/or smoke from the instrument panel vents while the vehicle is on” as symptoms of the problem.Interior of 2015 Lincoln Navigator.MICHAEL SIMARI|Car and DriverA report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says this same design of blower motor has been installed in Expedition and Navigator SUVs from the 2009 through 2017 model years, but only the three most recent model years are being recalled. The later model years “[coincide] with a reduction in blower motor production volumes from the supplier,” according to the chronology filed with NHTSA, although it doesn’t explain what, if anything, changed about the blower motors. The report also says that data shows this current problem does not seem to exist in vehicles from the earlier model years.In May, Ford recalled 66,221 of its 2021 Expedition and Navigator SUVs for a separate, unrelated problem that caused reports of underhood fires. In that case, Ford advised owners to park them outside away from buildings or other vehicles until they could be seen by dealers to replace a defective battery junction box.Owners will receive notifications starting on September 12. Dealers will replace the front blower motor assembly, and in the meantime, owners can check the NHTSA recalls website for updates or to determine whether their vehicle is affected.This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Ford is reportedly pulling the Transit Connect from its lineup, and Ram will end production of the ProMaster City for the U.S.Mercedes-Benz also recently announced it’s dropping the Metris and Nissan had already ended production of the NV200.This means the compact cargo van segment is disappearing in the U.S. entirely—at least for now.As recently as 2018, there were five brands selling compact vans in the U.S.: Chevrolet, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Ram. Soon, with both the Ford Transit Connect and the Ram ProMaster City set to end production by 2023, there will be none left.Ford has scrapped plans for a new generation of the Transit Connect that was set to be built in Mexico, according to Automotive News. The report states that the current model, which is built in Spain, will exit the U.S. market in 2023, and no direct successor is planned. A Ford spokesperson told C/D, “we do not comment on speculation.” Meanwhile, Ram will also stop importing the Ram ProMaster City to the U.S. by the end of this year, a Ram spokesperson confirmed to C/D. Like the Ford, the Ram is built in Europe, and it is based on the Europe-market Fiat Doblo.These cancelations follow in the footsteps of Mercedes-Benz’s decision to drop the Metris from its U.S. lineup after the 2023 model year. Though it’s slightly larger and based on a rear-wheel-drive platform, there was some overlap between the Metris and the smaller, front-wheel-drive Transit Connect and ProMaster City in terms of price.Nissan was the first to exit this segment when it dropped the NV200 after the 2021 model year. Chevrolet had also sold a rebadged version of the NV200, called the City Express, from 2015 to 2018.

Mercedes-Benz Metris

Nissan NV200
Nissan

The trend started in 2010 when Ford brought over its Europe-market Transit Connect cargo van to the U.S. for the first time. It was meant to offer small-business owners and urban delivery services a cheaper, more maneuverable, and more fuel-efficient alternative to Ford’s massive truck-based E-series vans. Ford also offered a passenger version of the Transit Connect with rear seats and windows. Nissan joined in for the 2013 model year with the NV200, which it sold as a cargo van. There was also a taxi version of the NV200, although Nissan was ultimately unsuccessful in signing a contract to be the exclusive provider of New York City’s taxi fleet. Even still, many NV200s and Transit Connects are in use today as taxis. Ram started selling the ProMaster City for 2015, and Mercedes first brought over the Metris, sold in Europe as the Vito and V-class, for 2016.

What’s causing these automakers to abandon small vans now? For one thing, sales have been declining for the past few years. The Transit Connect sold 41,598 units in the U.S. 2019 but managed to move just 26,112 in 2021; both of these figures pale in comparison to the full-size Transit, which racked up over 130,000 sales in both 2019 and 2020. The story is similar over at Ram, where the larger ProMaster regularly outsells its smaller City sibling by a factor of five to one.The commercial van segment is also evolving to include electric models, which requires a big investment in new platforms and battery packs. Ford has already begun selling the e-Transit, while GM has created a new division called BrightDrop that plans to sell electric cargo vans to commercial clients. Mercedes, too, has announced an electric version of its full-size Sprinter van, the eSprinter, that’s slated to begin production in 2023. Of course, it’s also possible that the scalability of electric vehicle platforms could spell a return of compact vans at some point in the near future. Startup automaker Canoo has already shown its idea of what a small EV van could look like. Although we’re not sure if that vehicle will become a reality, American small-van enthusiasts probably shouldn’t lose hope quite yet.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More