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UP FOR DISCUSSION:
- Was Ross Perot Right? More Move to Mexico
- China & India Go After Western Automakers: Is This the Beginning of the End?

SPECIAL GUEST: Larry Nitz, GM Powertrain Executive Director, Global Transmission & Electrification

All that and much more with Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production, Stephanie Brinley, IHS Automotive and Gary Witzenburg, AutoMedia.com.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Hyundai

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Thanks to our partners and friends AutoFieldGuide.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Chip Drake
Manufacturer: Volkswagen
Make: Volkswagen
Model: CC Executive
Type: Mid-Size Sports Sedan
Competitors: Acura TSX, Buick Regal, Hyundai Azera, Infiniti G37, Nissan Maxima
Price: As tested – $38,260
Made in: Emden, Germany
Drivetrain: 2.0L turbocharged inline four-cylinder with direct injection mated to a six-speed dual clutch automatic transmission
EPA Ratings: 22 MPG city/ 31 MPG highway/ 25 MPG combined

Final Impression:

As we know, the design of Volkswagens are fairly pedestrian save for the iconic Beetle. The Passat, Jetta, Tiquan, for example, all bare a striking resemblance to a lamb cake mold but less fluffy. So to say the VW CC – in this case the Executive — is the most beautifully designed Volkswagen seems a tad empty if not wholly accurate. The car’s slopey shoulders give it the look of one of its far more expensive Teutonic cousins while its two-toned milk chocolate interior is as luscious as that first summer milkshake on a hot day.

On the inside the car has the tech it’s supposed to have though most of it seems B-list. The RNS 510 Navigation system with its 6.5-inch screen along with the Fender sound system all could stand to be punched up a bit.

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Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: John McElroy
Manufacturer: Daimler AG
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: S550 4Matic
Type: Full-size, 4-door sedan
Competitors: BMW Alpina B7, Audi A8 L W12, Lexus LS 600h L
Price: As tested $121,345
Made in: Sindelfingen, Germany
Drivetrain: 4.6 L twin turbo V-8, 7-speed automatic
EPA Ratings: 16 city/26 highway/19 mpg combined

Final Impression:

If you are ever going to fully appreciate all the technologically packed into this Mercedes, you’d better be ready to earn a PhD in owner’s manual studies. This has got to be the most complicated machine to ever roll off an automotive assembly line. The good news is that you can just jump in this car and go, because the basics of everyday driving are simple enough for anyone to figure out the first time they sit behind the wheel. But if you want to get your money’s worth out of all the controls and functions, get ready to hit the books for some serious study sessions. And even at that you’ll probably need some refresher courses.

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SPECIAL GUEST: Jamie Dennis, Audi Quality & Technical Service Director
- Audi has new technology that transmits its expert technicians into any service center. How and why are they doing this?

All that and much more with John McElroy, Autoline.tv and Gary Vasilash, Automotive Design & Production.

Thanks to our sponsors who make Autoline After Hours possible: Bridgestone and Hyundai

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

Thanks to our partners and friends AutoFieldGuide.com and WardsAuto.com for embedding AAH!

Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: John McElroy
Manufacturer: Toyota
Make: Lexus
Model: IS 250 F-Sport
Type: 2-door convertible
Competitors: BMW 4-series convertible, Mercedes SLK, Audi A5 convertible
Price: $51,065
Made in: Tahara, Japan
Drivetrain: 2.5 L V-6, 6-speed automatic
EPA Ratings: 21 city, 30 highway, 24 mpg combined

Final Impression:

If you enjoy going out on a nice sunny day and motoring down a pleasant country road in a car with the top down, stop reading this review right now and go out to your local Lexus dealer. This car is ideal for open-top motoring at leisurely speeds.

The hard-top roof opens and closes easily at the touch of a button, with no latches, covers or snaps to deal with. And all the other controls seem to be located where ever you intuitively reach for them, making this car a breeze to drive. OK, there. Now I’ve said everything nice that I have to say about this car.

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Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Seamus McElroy
Manufacturer: Toyota
Make: Lexus
Model: NX
Type: Small Crossover
Competitors: Mercedes-Benz GLK, BMW X3, Audi Q5
Price: Not Available
Made in: Kyushu, Japan
Drivetrain: 2.0L four-cylinder turbo w/ six-speed automatic. 2.5L four-cylinder hybrid w/ CVT.
EPA Ratings: All MPG numbers are estimated. 2.0L (FWD) – 22 city/ 28 highway/ 24 combined. 2.0L (AWD) – 21 city/ 28 highway/ 24 combined. 2.5L (FWD) – 35 city/ 31 highway/ 33 combined. 2.5L (AWD) – 33 city/ 30 highway/ 32 combined.

Final Impression:

Lexus is jumping into the small crossover segment later this year with the all-new NX. The company is aiming to sell around 3,000 a month in the U.S. or about 36,000 a year.

The NX is built on the same platform as the Toyota RAV-4 but 90% of the parts have been newly engineered for the luxury CUV. Lexus offers two powertrains for the NX. A 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder, the first gasoline turbo in the company’s line-up, which is mated to a six-speed automatic. The other engine is 2.5L four-cylinder hybrid that’s mated to a CVT. Each engine is offered in front and all-wheel drive. Fuel economy for the turbo ranges from the low twenties in the city to the high twenties on the highway. And the hybrid’s ratings range from the mid-thirties in the city to the low thirties on the highway. All fuel economy numbers are estimates.

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Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Chip Drake
Manufacturer: Nissan-Renault
Make: Nissan
Model: NV200 Cargo SV
Type: Minivan
Competitors: Ford Transit Connet; RAM Promaster City Cargo
Price: $21,280 (base); $23,645 (as tested)
Made in: Final Assembly: Civac Plant, Cuernavaca, Mexico
Drivetrain: 2.0-Liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder engine; Continously Variable Transmission
EPA Ratings: 24city, 25highway (24combined)

Final Impression:

If Batman’s nemesis The Riddler were writing this review, it might start like this: Riddle Me This, Caped Crusader, When is a Cargo Van like a Taxi? And of course the answer is when the manufacturer is Nissan. The maker of the “Taxi of Tomorrow” uses the same NV200 shell, which was chosen to cart customers in Yellow Cab form around America’s Gotham City. Yet the problem with that particular vehicle is it’s too expensive for the notoriously “thrifty” (read cheap) taxi owners.

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Get ready for a special webcast from the site of the biggest one-day automotive event in the world! Once again we’ll be back on the curb and ready to ogle the classics cruising up and down Michigan’s most famous avenue, Woodward. This year we’re welcoming a bevy of guests including Tricia Hecker, Director of Mopar Marketing; Jim Hall, automotive analyst; Richard Cox, Director of Dodge and SRT; Richard Rawlings, star of Discovery Channel’s “Fast N’ Loud”; Mark Phelan, critic for the Detroit Free Press; and Steve Pasteiner, classic car expert and former designer.

Seat Time is a chance for us to share our impressions of vehicles being tested in the Autoline Garage and at media previews from around the globe.

Reviewer: Chip Drake
Manufacturer: Daimler-Benz
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: ML350 BlueTEC 4MATIC
Type: 4-door Sport Utility
Competitors: Acura MDX, Audi Q7, BMW X5, Jeep Grand Cherokee
Price: $51,790 (base); $69,085.00 (as tested)
Made in: Final Assembly: Vance, Alabama; Engine & Transmission from Germany
Drivetrain: 3.0-Liter V-6 Turbo Diesel (240 Horsepower); 7-Speed Automatic Transmission with Shift Paddles
EPA Ratings: 20city, 28highway (23combined)

Final Impression:

To dredge up on old but appropriate axiom in this case, sometimes you do end up throwing the baby out with the bath water. And that’s the dilemma Mercedes-Benz finds itself in with the ML 350 BlueTec. By all accounts it’s an amazing vehicle. The 3 Liter V6 Turbo Diesel delivers power, torque, performance and we haven’t gotten to the clean diesel part yet which gave me consistent mpgs in the mid 20s throughout my week of driving. It is roomy & comfy enough for a family taking long trips or large enough to — gulp — move your mother-in-law into your home for her golden years. Yea, all that is good. The problem is when you go for the gusto and buy a Mercedes the company has done such a good job of selling its brand through the years you expect the ultimate in luxury, and as a target market customer like Prince Hamlet would say “Ay, there’s the rub.” For as nice as the ML is put together inside and out, for some reason it just doesn’t seem like a Mercedes. Maybe I’m expecting too much but having just gotten out of the E350 Sport Wagen and being blown away by everything including the luxury notes of the car, all that was clearly missing with the ML.

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Get ready for a special webcast THIS FRIDAY from the site of the biggest one-day automotive event in the world! Once again we’ll be back on the curb and ready to ogle the classics cruising up and down Michigan’s most famous avenue, Woodward. This year we’re welcoming a bevy of guests including Tricia Hecker, Director of Mopar Marketing; Jim Hall, automotive analyst; Richard Cox, Director of Dodge and SRT; Richard Rawlings, star of Discovery Channel’s “Fast N’ Loud”; and Steve Pasteiner, classic car expert and former designer.

Start sending your questions in now using Twitter! Just submit them with the hashtag #WoodwardLIVEDodgeMopar.