2019 Lamborghini Urus Awd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

These were our favorite cars of 2022

Favorite cars is different than best cars. The idea of "best" can speak to value and overall competitiveness in a given vehicle segment. There's lots of objectivity involved and to do a "best" list right, one really must be very thorough and as scientific as possible. This is not that list. This is about our favorites, so objectivity be damned. If we liked a Challenger Hellcat because it made loud noises or a Honda Odyssey because it made for a particularly special family vacation, fair game. These were the cars that most spoke to our collection of editors and the ones that stayed in our minds and hung in our hearts long after they left our driveway. — Senior Editor James Riswick 2022 GMC Hummer EV Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: I didn't particularly expect to like the new Hummer. I wasn't a fan of the Hummer H2 or H3, so I wasn't automatically enthusiastic about this electric reboot. Fast EVs aren't hard to come by — and, in fact, may be too easy to come by — so its performance specs weren't enough to win me over. Despite videos to the contrary, pickups aren't my favorite vehicular format. And its excessive size and weight turned me off ... until I finally got behind the wheel.  This thing is wildly entertaining to drive. Watts to Freedom launch control is a neat party trick, sure, but the novelty wears off quickly. The novelty of Crab Walk, however, has staying power. The rear-wheel steering makes this behemoth feel much smaller than it is — the maneuverability is incredible, and useful. The air suspension provides tons of clearance, including a ridiculously high-riding Extract mode. I can't wait for lesser versions of the Hummer to make their way to market. Give me less power (for less money), but keep the off-road tricks onboard, and I'll be a happy camper. Senior Editor, Consumer, Jeremy Korzeniewski: If I could afford to put one of these in my driveway, I would. Sadly, I can't, so I won't (What's that, Janet? I got the lyric wrong?). Still, I love the dumb thing. Thankfully, I have another choice down below. 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Associate Editor Byron Hurd: Yeah, duh, Porsches are good. But there's good, and then there's GT3. This is the feeling every performance-oriented RWD tuner is trying to replicate. This is hard, precise, surgical and immensely satisfying. To begin to explore this car on a public road is by itself an admission that you believe yourself to be above the rules as they apply to normal drivers.

Weekly Recap: Lamborghini to build SUV

Finally, Lamborghini will build a sport utility vehicle. The Italian supercar maker confirmed this week that it will launch a luxury SUV in 2018. It will be built at Lamborghini's soon-to-expand factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese in Italy, and will double the company's current sales volume. Lamborghini did not announce a name for the vehicle or other details, but noted a concept version, the Urus, was displayed at the Beijing motor show in 2012. It will be sold around the world, but it's expected to be a critical offering in the United States, China, and the Middle East. The automaker projects the SUV will sell about 3,000 units per year, and it will be the third product in Lamborghini's portfolio. It currently sells the Huracan and Aventador supercars. "The introduction of a third model line endorses the stable and sustainable growth of the company and signifies for us the beginning of a new era," Lamborghini chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said in a statement. The project is also a boon for Italy, which will get 500 new jobs in the Emilia Romagna region as Lamborghini's factory will nearly double in size. Ian Fletcher, principal analyst for IHS Automotive, said the SUV will position Lamborghini for future growth. "It could well also bring new customers to the brand [who] may find the dramatic styling of Lamborghini products appealing, but find its typical sports cars restrictive," he said. "If it is a success, the SUV could be a catalyst to Lamborghini broadening its portfolio further." OTHER NEWS & NOTES GM invests in Chevy Camaro factory General Motors is investing $175 million to upgrade its factory in Lansing, MI, to build the 2016 Chevy Camaro. The investment will pay for new tooling and equipment. The improvements include three new paint systems and two new robotic framers. GM will add a second shift at the factory to build the Camaro, resulting in 500 jobs. The automaker had dropped the plant to one shift last year amid slow sales for its products, the Cadillac ATS and CTS. GM is spending $5.4 billion over the next three years to upgrade its US facilities. Last week, GM announced plans to spend $439 million to build a new paint shop for the Chevy Corvette. While the Camaro and Corvette plant improvements are intriguing to enthusiasts, GM also confirmed this week that it is investing $1.2 billion in its Fort Wayne (IN) factory that builds trucks.

Lambo Urus to stay true to concept, but almost didn't happen

Lamborghini has been making noise about adding a third model line for years, and it's finally going to happen now that the Urus concept has been approved for production. It'll likely be a while yet before all the details are sorted out and revealed to the public, but while visiting the factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Autoblog was able to glean some intriguing details about the Italian automaker's forthcoming crossover and its path it is taking from concept to production. "It's good to have heritage, but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint." - Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann We first saw the Urus concept back in 2012, and Lamborghini has been lobbying its parent company Volkswagen ever since for the go-ahead to put it into production. Now three years later, it finally has the green light. A company representative told Autoblog the production version looks "very" close to the concept. (No ground-up redesign here, then, like sister-brand Bentley did with its inaugural crossover project.) Speaking with a small group of journalists in Sant'Agata, the company's chief executive Stephan Winkelmann confirmed that "the SUV could be the [company's] first car with a turbo, and it could be the first car with a plug-in, if we have the opportunity to have more than one engine." The Urus (or however it's ultimately labeled for production) will also be decidedly geared towards on-road performance – unlike the Rambo Lambo on display in the museum next door. "It's good to have heritage," said Winkelmann, "but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint" for the new model. As to the question of why it has taken three years to get approval, and why it will take another three to put it into production, Winkelmann was frank: "Basically if you look at our numbers, we are a company which is growing at a fast pace, but we are very small," said the affable executive. "We had to find a way to almost double our efforts, because it's not the exchange of a model line, with the Gallardo and Huracan, it's adding a model line. And not out of 20 to come to 21 models, but from two to three is a major effort, and you have to have a rock-solid business case." "Putting 500 more people inside a company which is now at 1,200, you can imagine what it means. Doubling almost the size of the area here where we are sitting today. Investing hundreds and hundreds of millions.