New York Auto Show 2018: the latest news and the fastest cars – The Verge

The grilles (both real and faux) of the 2018 New York Auto Show

2018-04-01T15:00:01-04:00

Whether a jagged maw of grinning shark teeth, or a perpetually surprised oval, the automobile grille serves a very important function: it allows air to flow in, cooling the radiator and generally keeping the engine from overheating and going kaput. It serves a more psychological function as well, playing an important role in attracting buyers. After all, who wouldn't want to get behind the wheel of a car that looks like it could chew them up and spit them out?

The grille also could be an endangered species. Cars without dirty internal combustion engines, like battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles, don't necessarily need a grille. But auto …

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One minute in the Jaguar I-Pace was enough to learn it’s quick, but not much else

2018-03-30T11:16:48-04:00

The new Jaguar I-Pace is quick from a stop. It's quiet as a mouse. The ride is comfortable throughout, from the cushy seat, to the air suspension, to the smooth, low resistance in the wheel. The I-Pace is also shorter than you probably think it is; up close, it looks like an SUV that's been (carefully) stepped on.

Other than that, there's not much more I can tell you about what the I-Pace is really like, since I only had about one minute to drive it.

That drive took place on the eve of the New York International Auto Show in a parking lot behind Jaguar Land Rover's new Mahwah, New Jersey headquarters. The stark, sharp building is surrounde …

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Where’s Super Cruise in Cadillac’s two new cars?

2018-03-29T13:12:52-04:00

2019 Cadillac XT4

Finally, Cadillac has an SUV to rival popular small luxury rivals such as the BMW X1 and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. Based on the fact that SUVs are about the only Cadillacs anyone is buying these days, the 2019 XT4 should help get more foot traffic in showrooms. There's just one thing: you can't get the XT4 with Cadillac's excellent Super Cruise driver assistance system.

Super Cruise debuted last year on the flagship CT6 and we found it set Cadillac apart from every other brand marketing a semi-autonomous driving system. It uses cameras, sensors, and mapping data to allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel for a time, but has an …

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The Kai concept holds Mazda’s internal combustion future

2018-03-29T12:26:51-04:00

Mazda Kai Concept | The Verge / Amelia Holowaty Krales

Mazda's process of teasing its interesting and striking future continued at the 2018 New York Auto Show where they showed the Kai Concept. Already revealed last fall in Tokyo, the Kai has even more significance. First, it's likely a preview of the next Mazda 3 hatchback due next year, and second, that car holds Mazda's gamble that the internal combustion engine can be cleaned up to satisfy ever-stringent global emissions standards.

We got a turn in a prototype equipped with the SkyActiv-X engine in January, the company's bet that it can make gasoline engines that are as efficient as diesels without the emissions problems that have given the …

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Automakers team up with states to get Americans to buy more electric cars

2018-03-29T12:15:57-04:00

In 2017, nearly 200,000 electric cars were sold in the US. That may seem like a lot, but that's less than 2 percent of the 17 million total vehicles sold over the course of the year. But while EV sales are definitely growing, the electrified market is still decidedly niche. This has spurred a new marketing campaign to persuade the American public to give batteries a chance.

Sixteen major automakers are teaming up with seven Northeastern states to support a new advertising venture with the aim of getting Americans to buy more electric cars. The goal isn't to make everyone a Tesla owner. Organizers will place a heavy focus on hybrid vehicles, …

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Genesis’ Essentia is an electric GT with an awesomely retro-futuristic ‘bubble’ roof

2018-03-28T19:10:53-04:00

Anyone who grew up on dog-eared copies of Popular Science probably assumed we'd be riding around in self-driving cars while viewing the passing scenery through glass or plastic bubble roofs. The self-driving car part is playing out right now, but the glass or plastic bubble part seems to have been left in the recycling bin. Now, here's the Genesis Essentia, an all-electric performance concept with a transparent hood and a fully retro-futuristic bubble roof.

The Essentia, which made its global debut at the New York International Auto Show Wednesday, is stunning and sexy. And it has all the fanciful hallmarks of a concept befitting the luxury …

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Subaru will use facial recognition technology to detect driver fatigue

2018-03-28T15:53:52-04:00

The new Subaru Forester, one of the brand's best-sellers in the US, made its debut at the New York International Auto Show today. With it comes EyeSight, Subaru's driver-assist technology, and an interesting new safety feature that is totally new to the automaker's lineup: facial recognition.

Dubbed DriverFocus, Subaru describes it as a "driver monitoring system that uses facial recognition software to identify signs of driver fatigue or driver distraction." The feature, which the automaker claims is the first in the segment, can recognize up to five drivers and can remember their pre-set preferences for seat position, climate, and infotain …

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Here’s what to expect at the 2018 New York Auto Show

2018-03-28T12:35:19-04:00

The 2018 New York Auto Show may have been overshadowed by the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, but a number of the cars from that show have now landed in NYC, in case you couldn't make it all the way to Switzerland.

The Verge is at the Javits Center covering the show as well as premieres of cars that haven't been shown at all yet. It's as if automakers robbed this year's Detroit Auto Show of some excitement to save it for New York. Here's what's happening at the New York Auto Show.

Geneva, Part 2

A number of the new cars we swooned over at Geneva have made their way to New York, along with more details about their US specifications. Th …

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VW’s Cross Sport concept will hypnotize you with its glowing LED grille

2018-03-28T12:31:51-04:00

Coming off its dizzy vision of the future in Geneva, Volkswagen brought things back to reality at the New York International Auto Show with new SUV and pickup truck concepts. But just because these are the kind of cars that Americans have been known to buy doesn't make them any less flamboyant. Both the Atlas Tanoak truck and its SUV cousin the Cross Sport have LED badges, headlights, and running lights that flow across the grille crossbars. The effect is like something out of Blade Runner.

Don't let the glowing faces distract you from important specs like the powertrain. The Cross Sport is powered by the same 276-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 a …

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Nissan’s new Altima offers highly automated driving without the sticker shock

2018-03-28T09:45:02-04:00

The Nissan Altima has always sold well, despite being a mostly utilitarian sedan. But the latest redesign includes an unexpected and welcome treat: ProPilot Assist, the Japanese automaker's semi-autonomous driver assist system.

Previously, Nissan had included ProPilot Assist in the 2018 Leaf electric car and top-selling Rogue SUV. With the addition of the Altima, Nissan has established itself as a leader, offering highly automated driving in its mass-market vehicles.

Nissan has established itself as a leader

ProPilot Assist is a Level 2 self-driving system, which allows the vehicle to control speed, distance from other cars, and keeping the …

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