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Honda and Chrysler EV news, and talking with GM's charging ecosystem boss | Autoblog Podcast #781

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They're excited about the news of the possibility of an electric sports car being revealed for Honda's 75th anniversary, as well as the completely revamped — redesigned and renamed — Chrysler Airflow. They've been driving the Bentley Bentayga EWB, Range Rover, Toyota GR Corolla and the refreshed Buick Encore GX. We listen to a interview Greg conducted with GM's EV charging boss, Hoss Hassani. Finally, a reader is looking to help his in-laws choose an SUV, possibly a hybrid or EV, to replace a BMX X3. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast # 781 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Honda electric sports car could be unveiled this year Chrysler Airflow being redesigned and renamed for production Cars we're driving 2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB Azure First Edition 2023 Land Rover Range Rover SE LWB 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Morizo 2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir Interview with Hoss Hassani, General Motors Vice President and EV Charging Ecosystem Spend my Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts Bentley Buick Chrysler GM Honda Land Rover Toyota Green Automakers Crossover Hatchback SUV Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Performance Sedan

2017 Buick LaCrosse First Drive

The 2017 Buick LaCrosse seems destined to never get the credit it deserves. It's bound to be dismissed as just another full-size sedan relic, ignored by those who habitually visit their Lexus dealer every few years for a new ES. This new LaCrosse will inevitably be overshadowed in the Buick showroom by SUVs and never fully appreciated by the majority of its buyers who simply want a big, comfy, and quiet car. That destiny would be a shame. The completely redesigned LaCrosse is now a legitimate luxury car, not because advertisements say it is, but for the way it drives, the way it looks, and the way it cossets you inside. The former is really the most impressive, since it's also the most surprising. During the LaCrosse press launch in Portland, Oregon, Buick boasted how comfortable and exceedingly quiet the car is, and indeed, it isolates road imperfections and allows for a pair of low talkers to converse in subdued tones. The big Buick sedan's low-effort steering will also satisfy the nice-and-easy tastes of most drivers. The best way to describe driving the LaCrosse is "unwaveringly pleasant." Yet, during that pleasant drive, road dips and mid-corner undulations don't make the comfort-tuned suspension bob and bound like its competitors might. Its body control and generally planted nature encourage speeds and confidence to creep ever so higher through successive sweeping corners on Oregon's densely forested Mist-Clatskanie Highway. Even that low-effort steering demonstrates precision, linearity, and just enough feedback to further spur on such a pace. This unexpected capability is best observed on cars equipped with the optional 20-inch wheels, which supplant the standard 18s and, more importantly, bring with them Continuous Damping Control (CDC) and GM's HiPer Strut front suspension, which is designed to quell torque steer and further improve cornering grip. You don't even have to engage CDC's firmer Sport mode to appreciate the LaCrosse's surprisingly sharp road manners. "We unleashed the engineers," chief engineer Jeffrey Yanssens said after our test drive. "I told them, 'I don't care how much it costs. I want you to know your system and I want your system to be the best it can be. What do you have to do to make that happen and what can I do to enable you to make that happen?'" Yanssens is honest and clearly proud of his team's work.

Buick's new logo ditches the ring, levels the shields

Buick's logo is about to receive a relatively major update. The new-look emblem appeared in a trademark filing in March 2022, and a leaked image posted on social media has given us a better look at the design that should appear on production cars in the not-too-distant future. Published on Instagram by an account called Buick_Saudi_Arabia, the photo shows what seems to be Buick's new logo on the middle of a steering wheel. The changes made aren't groundbreaking, but they're certainly noticeable. The ring is gone, and the red, white, and blue shields are separated from each other and positioned on the same level. As of writing, the shields are staggered and surrounded by a ring.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Buick Saudi Arabia (@buick_saudi_arabia) One question that comes to mind is: why now? Buick has used its current logo for decades without significantly updating it, so what prompted the company to give the design a makeover? Several factors undoubtedly influenced this decision, but one that's worth shining light on is that the brand is no longer twinned with Germany-based Opel. For many years, some Opel-designed models made their way to the United States with Buick emblems on both ends. No one in Europe has heard of a Buick Regal; folks there know the sedan as the Opel Insignia. And, since the visual differences between these cars were often minor, using a Buick logo whose basic silhouette was similar to Opel's logo simplified the design process. Neatly integrating, say, Chevrolet's bowtie-shaped emblem into the Insignia's grille would have been harder, though more improbable acts of badge-engineering have been committed (the Ford Maverick was once a Nissan). General Motors sold Opel to PSA Peugeot-Citroen in 2017, and both carmakers are now part of Stellantis, so Buick's trans-Atlantic design ties have been cut. Losing the Opel connection gives Buick's design team more leeway to experiment with new ideas, like a revamped logo. Keep in mind that nothing is official yet. Full details and an explanation of what the new logo means should emerge soon. Why the shields? Buick isn't rooted in sword-fighting, so why have shields appeared on its cars for over 60 years? The answer, according to Buick, is relatively vague. What's certain is that the tri-shield logo didn't appear on Buick's early cars.