General Motors’ Chevrolet division has found itself at the center of a brewing controversy following a remark made by Kid Rock in regard to the Confederate flag. Chevy currently sponsor’s Kid Rock’s summer concert tour and also uses the rockstar’s music in some of its ads.
The hubbub started last week after a Fox News interview with Rock. Following a segment about Kid Rock and the Confederate flag, show host Megyn Kelly quoted the singer as saying, “Please tell the people protesting that they can kiss my ….”

Rock’s publicist, Nick Stern, said the snippet was from a conversation with Kelly and was not intended as an official statement.

Regardless of intent, the National Action Network, which was founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, is calling for Chevy to cut all ties with Rock. The organization says the Confederate flag, which was removed from the South Carolina state house last week, represents racism and hatred.

“It’s obvious to us that, by supporting (Rock), while he’s making inflammatory statements, General Motors becomes an accomplice if they allow him their support to stand behind his statements,” Rev. Charles Williams II, who leads the Detroit chapter of the NAN, told The Detroit Free Press.

Chevrolet says it has no plans to yank its sponsorship of the rockstar.

“We are committed to our sponsorship of Kid Rock’s summer tour and are confident that he will provide his fans, many of whom are proud Chevrolet owners, with a spectacular concert experience that celebrates American Freedom,” Chevy said in a statement.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said Monday that production of smaller vehicles will remain in the United States for the time being.
Several of GM’s smaller cars are built in the Midwest, including the Buick Verano and Chevrolet’s Cruze and Sonic. “We have no plans to change that,” Barra told a group of union representatives and journalists representing various outlets, including Automotive News.

Barra’s statement comes just a week after Ford announced that it expects to relocate the assembly lines where at least two of its compact models are built. “We will move production of the next-generation Ford Focus and C-Max, which currently are built at Michigan Assembly Plant, beginning in 2018,” Ford said in a statement last week.

Their future production location, however, remains up in the air. Mexico is rumored to be the leading candidate.

“No decision has been made as of yet,” Ford said in an emailed statement to Leftlane News. “The company is currently reviewing several possible options and will share details once studies are complete.”

Toyota has revealed another special-edition GT86 (Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ) for customers in Japan.
Appropriately titled the “Yellow Limited,” the new package is available exclusively with a vibrant sunrise-yellow exterior paint. The interior is dominated by black, but with yellow contrast stitching on the leather and Alcantara seats, steering wheel, door trim and shift boot.

Buyers can opt for an upgraded aero package featuring the same color scheme and a few extra tweaks to better distinguish the limited-edition model from the basic GT86. Unique elements include an angular front spoiler, a large rear wing and restyled side skirts.

Aside from the customized bodywork, the aero kit also features 18-inch BBS aluminum wheels, high-performance brake pads, Bridgestone Potenza tires and upgraded Sachs shocks.

Rumors of a turbocharged engine or all-wheel-drive variant have yet to come to fruition. Amid sluggish sales for the sports coupe across all three brands, a separate rumor suggests Toyota is seriously considering Mazda’s MX-5 Miata platform to underpin the next-generation GT86 variants.

In the meantime, US buyers get two new colors — Ablaze red and Oceanic blue — and modest interior enhancements for the 2016 Scion FR-S.

Dodge has announced that it is adding more than 88,000 Challengers from the 2008-2010 model years to its ever-growing Takata airbag recall.
The recall covers Dodge Challenger models produced between September 19, 2007 and October 29, 2010. A total of 88,346 units are covered by the recall.

As with the 4 million vehicles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recalled in May, the latest safety campaign is due to faulty two-stage front airbags that could potentially send metal fragments flying toward the driver or other occupants in the event of an accident. FCA warns the airbag issue could result in serious injury or even death.

Chrysler will remedy the defect by installing new airbag inflators in all vehicles covered by the recall. However, the automaker says no fix is yet available. It remains unknown when FCA will have the necessary replacement parts to complete the safety campaign.

Since the deadly airbag flaw was discovered, nearly 40 million vehicles equipped with Takata airbags have been recalled worldwide.

Audi has created a more advanced self-driving RS 7 prototype, known as “Robby,” to highlight the company’s progress in autonomous technology.
The new build serves as a progeny of “Bobby,” the RS 7 that set a record of 149 mph as it rocketed around Germany’s Hockenheim race course without a driver behind the wheel. Focusing on the performance feat, Audi did not mention how much weight Bobby gained when adding the necessary sensor and computer suites.

Engineers have since focused on making the package a bit leaner. Robby is a full 882 pounds lighter than its predecessor, bringing the autonomous prototype much closer to the production RS 7′s curb weight. Engine output remains unchanged at 560 horsepower, giving the second-generation car a better power-to-weight ratio.

“In Sonoma we brought the Audi RS 7 piloted Driving Concept lap after lap to the physical limit, and in constant precision,” said Audi’s driver-assistance development head, Thomas Müller. “The car reached lap times that were better than those of some experienced sport riders.”

Buyers will get the first taste of Audi’s autonomous technology when the next-generation A8 arrives on the market. The sedan will not be fully self-driving, but its Traffic Jam Pilot System will take care of steering, throttle and braking at speeds of up to 37 mph. An array of radar and sonar sensors, lasers and video cameras will help keep the system on track.

The redesigned A8 is expected to be introduced next year before landing in showrooms by 2017.

Toyota has released a new hybrid minivan for its home market. The latest Japan-market Sienta (not to be confused with the US-market Sienna) is available in both hybrid-electric and petrol versions.

An all-new three-row design, said to have been inspired by a trekking sneaker, the Sienta is geared towards outdoorsy families that enjoy camping and road trips to whatever the Japanese equivalent of the Grand Canyon is. The interior features “stadium seating” in which each successive row sits slightly higher, so kids can look out the windows when not glued to their electronic devices.

Rather than the staid silvers and champagnes of typical minivans, the Sienta is offered in a palette of “fun” colors such as yellow, electric blue, and bright green. Some versions get blue or bronze highlights around the grille and blue side mirrors. A splash of orange indicates the presence of a glove box, otherwise well-hidden in a nicely sculpted dash.

The Sienta boasts an ultra-low floor, over 2 inches lower than the previous model, for ease of entry and loading. The overall size is smaller than that of a typical US minivan; think something closer to the Mazda5 or a typical European MPV.

Power comes from two choices: A new version of Toyota’s 1.5L hybrid system, good for 73/60 hp gasoline engine/electric motor output (significantly higher than the 60/26 of the Prius c that uses an older version of the same powertrain) and 64 mpg in the Japanese testing cycle. The pure petrol 1.5L version makes 79 hp, gets 48 mpg, and is available with front- or all-wheel-drive.

Toyota’s new Safety Sense C suite of electronic helpers, including a pre-collision alert and braking system, lane departures, and automatic high-beams, is optional on all trim levels. The Sienta went on sale across Japan on Friday.

Yesterday at Mitsubishi Motors unveiled a close-to-production prototype of the Lancer Evolution Final Edition, the last of the automaker’s rally-inspired sports sedans.

The company took the opportunity of the annual Mitsubishi Owners’ Day event held at corporate headquarters in Cypress, California to show off the Final Edition. With thousands of Mitsubishi fans in attendance, arriving in Lancer Evolutions, Eclipses, 3000GTs Galant VR-4s, and even lifted Monteros, the bittersweet news was announced.

According to a Mitsubishi spokesperson at the event, there will be a “slight bump” in horsepower, but the actual figure was not disclosed. The 2.0L turbo mill will see the addition of sodium-filled exhaust valves, which Mitsubishi says will improve output at medium and high engine speeds. The suspension has been upgraded with Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs and Brembo two-piece ventilated front brakes discs, all rolling on high-performance Yokohama Advan tires.

Visually, the Final Editon will feature a dark chrome front grille with a gloss black bumper bar and hood vent surrounds, color coordinated with 18-inch BBS wheels. The roof panel will be offered in two colors, white or black, which can be matched with one of five body colors — red, white, gray, black and blue. Cabin-wise, the Recaro bucket seats, steering wheel, shift knob, parking brake handle and console lid will all be black leather with red-stitching.

Mitsubishi began taking orders for the Final Edition in Japan back in April. There, only 1,000 examples will be sold. The example shown in California was still pre-production, number “0000.” It was so new that the “Final Edition” emblem hadn’t arrived in time to be affixed to the rear yet. North America will receive 1,600 Final Edition Lancer Evolutions.

An Italian company named JollyCar has introduced a modern interpretation of the Ghia-built Fiat 500 Jolly that was sold from 1957 to 1974.
Like its 20th century counterpart, the new Jolly stands out from the pre-facelift Fiat 500 on which it’s based thanks to much higher door sills accented by wood trim and a chopped-off roof panel. A thin, tent-like canvas top can be installed when it rains, but the best option is undoubtedly to leave the Jolly in the garage.

JollyCar has not revealed what structural reinforcements it has made to the 500. However, the interior boasts a set of custom-designed wicker seats that can be fitted with canvas covers at an extra cost.

Mechanically, the JollyCar is standard 500 fare, meaning buyers can order it with either a naturally-aspirated 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 100 horsepower or a turbocharged version of the four-banger that makes 135 ponies. Euro-spec cars are also available with a 0.9-liter two-cylinder and a 1.3-liter turbodiesel, but so far there’s no word on an Abarth-powered hot-rodded model.

Offered as a limited-edition model, the JollyCar will be sold in a number of global markets including the United States, Europe and a handful of countries in Asia. Surprisingly, in the U.S. it stickers for $89,000 before taxes, delivery and options are factored in, a sum that makes it roughly $72,000 more expensive than a base-model 500. To put that figure into perspective, a new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 coupe costs $79,995 and a base Porsche 911 starts at $84,300.

PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s recently-emancipated DS brand will introduce a range-topping sedan in 2018, a new report finds.
Called DS 8 internally, the car will take the form of a premium sedan that will be roughly the same size as a BMW 5 Series. Visually, it will borrow a few styling cues from the original Citroën DS that was introduced in 1955 but its design will be noticeably inspired by recent DS concept cars like the Numero 9 that bowed in Beijing three years ago and the Divine (pictured) that was shown in Paris last fall.

Although official technical details are few and far between, French magazine Auto-Moto reports the 8 will ride on PSA’s modular EMP2 platform. Low-spec models will ship with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and more upscale models will be available with a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain. The 8 will eschew Citroën’s hydraulic suspension system and instead opt for a new electronic system that will be less costly to develop.

The DS 8 will make its public debut at a major auto show in China in 2017 and it will go on sale across the nation the following year. European sales are expected to kick off by 2020, and the 8 will likely join the brand’s lineup in North America if DS manages to keep its promise of setting up shop on our side of the Atlantic.

Sources close to PSA have told Leftlane that the DS 8 – a name that might not make the jump to production – will also replace the C6 that Citroën axed in 2012. In other words, Citroën will not build another flagship sedan in the near future.