Author Archives: Vincent Nguyen

Even before the arrival of Mercedes-Benz’s all-new compact 2020 GLB SUV, the German automaker has a full eight sport utility vehicles for the US market. The GLB takes it to nine SUVs in total, which is more than what I was expecting before I double-checked to compensate for my aging memory. That's a whole lot of options if you want a luxury truck, and a very broad range when it comes to size and abilities: the GLB happens to be the seventh car to utilize Mercedes’ new compact car platform, the same architecture as found under the A-Class and CLA coupe.

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The 2020 BMW X6 excels in the very niche it created more than ten years ago. Back then, the first-gen X6 was polarizing, to say the least. But it found its way into garages of people who embraced the concept of a sportier type of SUV: in fact, the X6 has been one of BMW’s best sellers for the past decade or so, and hence the introduction of an all-new third-generation X6 to carry that torch.

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There are electric cars, and there’s the Porsche Taycan. Make no mistake, the Taycan is a very big deal for Porsche and every other performance electric car released in the future. For the sake of simplicity, what started out as the Mission E concept around five years ago has morphed into what is really an electrified and elongated version of the Porsche 911, and that's all for the better. In the process, though, you can't miss the chatter around how the Taycan is around $50,000 more than a Tesla Model S Performance model, a car which goes faster to 60 mph, can accommodate five grown adults comfortably, and theoretically has a longer range.

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The 2020 Audi RS Q8 is the new flagship in the German carmaker’s growing portfolio, and only the second Q-model to receive the RS badge. It's a badge that sets some seriously high standards, too: we've not long driven the magnificent RS7 Sportback and RS6 Avant, and each sets a tall bar for their bigger sibling to meet. If the RS Q8 is to hold its own, it needs to be a super-SUV.

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For those of you old enough to remember, the Audi R8 was the first production car to feature LED headlights. Back then, automotive LED lighting technology was in its infancy: the R8 was at the dawn of an age of newer, more modern, and hi-tech looking cars. At the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, Audi shed some light on something even bigger than the new Audi e-tron Sportback, and it all has to do with the car’s digital matrix LED headlights. This, I said to myself, is the future of automotive lighting.

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Lamborghini is on a roll. The Italian supercar maker known for creating beautiful poster cars is hitting new sales records, notably from selling mind-bending supercars rather than anything so mundane as pickup trucks or SUVs. Not least among that range is the Huracan, and the latest 2020 Huracan Evo Spyder is intended to drive the growth even further.

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The Infiniti brand was formed with a singular mission: to create an automobile that one would want to take on an endless drive. Now, the automaker is facing its biggest change in its thirty-year history, a wholehearted embrace of electrification. While parent company Nissan is at the helm, the heritage of past, present, and future Infiniti vehicles can be traced directly to the Prince Motor Company, acquired by Nissan in 1966, and particularly the Prince Skyline Sport with a familiar double-arch grille and crescent cut rear window. They're styling elements that are still present in the modern-day Infiniti. What's under the hood, though, will be very different.

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Nobody was surprised that the 2020 Land Rover Defender returning the classic nameplate stateside drew praises. Realists were overjoyed by how the new Defender managed to pay homage to its original styling without ruining the boxy, go-anywhere attitude of the original. On the other hand, there are of course the purists who prefer simple mechanicals, crude yet dependable suspension and drivetrain components, and an earthquake-proof body-on-frame chassis, the latter of which is also generally responsible for a bone-shaking and teeth-chattering ride.

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Station wagons aren't meant to be cool these days, but nobody passed Audi Sport the memo. Then again, the 2020 Audi RS6 Avant is about as far away from the old family woodie as you can get: the German automaker may insist on branding its wagons "Avant" but that's only the smallest of the differences between the new RS6 Avant and the unfashionable cars of old. Audi fans in North America have long watched their European counterparts enjoying several generations of a model the automaker insisted just wouldn't sell on US shores. Now, though, Audi has relented.

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Audi is adding a new RS model to its portfolio with the 2020 RS Q8: not only the sportiest and fastest Q model, but probably the most practical as well. Here in the US, Audi’s RS models are coming in droves. Less than three months ago, the automotive world felt a seismic shift when the German carmaker announced the 2020 RS6 Avant, a fast and sporty station wagon with a turbocharged V8 motor, would be finally coming to North American shores.

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The 2020 Aston Martin DBX is a long time coming. After all, this is Aston’s first attempt at building an entirely new product, its first SUV, and it needs to be better than good. There’s a lot riding on the new DBX: the British automaker is projecting an annual production of 4,000 vehicles by 2023, with the DBX leading the way. The first concept was shown back in 2015, and even back then it was clear that Aston's entry into the luxury SUV space was shaping up to something special.

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I’ve always been a huge fan of the Audi R8, particularly the V10 model. Sure, I too mourned the demise of the V8 in the second-generation Type 4S R8, and back when the R8 first launched in 2007, it was unlike anything I’ve seen before. The Audi Rosemeyer Concept from early 2000 and Audi Le Mans Quattro concept both surged into my mind as I watched six-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx drive the R8 for the first time. The R8 was Audi’s first-ever supercar, and boy was it revolutionary in terms of design. Whether Porsche was ready to accept it or not, it was time for the 911 to have some proper competition, and the Audi R8 was the answer.

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