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2020 Ford Explorer vs 3-row crossover rivals: How they compare on paper

The 2020 Ford Explorer has finally landed, and if history serves as an indicator, it should be bigger than sliced bread. And people sure love themselves some sliced bread. This new Explorer may look familiar on the outside, but beneath the skin is a radically new rear-drive platform related to the Ford Mustang (as opposed to a front-drive platform related to the Ford Taurus and a Volvo from the 1990s). Turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines now exclusively rest under its hood, which as you'll see below, both better anything its competitors offer. Ah, but if you're curious to know how the new 2020 Explorer compares to its various three-row family crossover rivals, take a look at the chart below where we stack it up against the 2019 Chevrolet Traverse, 2019 Honda Pilot, 2020 Hyundai Palisade, 2019 Subaru Ascent and 2019 Toyota Highlander. There are others of course (Mazda CX-9, Dodge Durango, GMC Acadia, VW Atlas), but we only had so much room on the chart, and these were the newest and/or most likely to be cross-shopped with the new Explorer. Engine specs and towing Although the Traverse's V6 just nips it on horsepower, the 2020 Explorer's base 2.3-liter "EcoBoost" turbocharged four-cylinder engine smokes it on torque. Therefore, "best-in-class" power seems like a fair claim from Ford. That there's also a 365-horsepower turbo V6 available, plus a hybrid and even-more powerful ST model on the way shows that Ford isn't kidding around under the hood. Curb weight also seems competitive for the segment. In terms of drivetrain, the Explorer is the only member of this particular group to come standard with rear-wheel drive (2.3-liter only). The Durango is the only other three-row, non-luxury crossover to do so. This is significant for two reasons: First, you could potentially do a power slide in an Explorer. Second, and more important, those in the Snowbelt will have to opt for all-wheel drive (it comes standard with the 3.0-liter). By contrast, a set of winter tires will probably do the job just fine if you want to save some money and gas by sticking with its rivals' standard front-wheel drive. Well, except for the Subaru Ascent — that's standard with AWD. In terms of towing, the Explorer takes the cake with as much as 5,300 pounds for the four-cylinder and 5,600 pounds for the V6. Everything else tops out at 5,000, though again, the Durango is capable of besting them all thanks to its Hemi V8 engine option.

GM invests $175 million in Chevy Camaro factory

General Motors just keeps rolling out portions of its $5.4-billion plan for factory upgrades over the next three years. In the latest announcement, the automotive giant is putting $175 million into the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant for improvements to build the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. The investment brings new equipment to the plant to build the pony car. An upgrade is needed to support Camaro-specific colors like Summit White, Bright Yellow, and Red Hot, and the factory is also getting two robotic framers. A second shift of 500 workers is resuming in Lansing later this summer to produce the model, as well. So far, GM has announced allocations for $2.8 billion of the $5.4 billion in upgrades. The investments include $1.2 billion to improve pickup production, $439 million for a paint shop for the Corvette, and more new equipment at other plants too. Lansing Grand River Plant Tools Up for 2016 Camaro $175 million investment enables production of lighter, more powerful model 2015-05-28 LANSING, Mich. – A $175 million investment for new tooling and equipment for the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro, and the return of hundreds of workers to build America's best-selling performance car for the last five years, was announced today. The facility improvements include three new paint systems for Camaro-specific colors: Summit White, Bright Yellow, and Red Hot. The investment also includes installation of two robotic framers, which allow better dimensional control to provide a more precise drive experience. The Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant will resume a second shift of 500 jobs in late summer. The all-new Chevrolet Camaro was introduced on Detroit's Belle Isle on May 16. The current generation Camaro has been America's favorite performance car for five consecutive years, attracting both long-term Camaro fans and new buyers to Chevrolet. To improve on that success, the sixth-generation Camaro elevates every aspect of Camaro with a suite of new technologies, even higher levels of performance and fuel economy, and a leaner, more athletic design. "I may be the luckiest mayor in America today," said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. "Gearing up for full-scale production of the legendary Chevy Camaro is a new high point in the more than two decades of extraordinary partnership between the City of Lansing, General Motors and the UAW.

Autoblog Minute: VW finds CO2 'irregularities', Takata dropped by automakers, SEMA recap

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle, US regulators hit Takata Corporation with a substantial fine, and we head to Las Vegas for a look at tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle. US regulators issue a significant fine to Takata Corporation. And we take a peek inside tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. The VW diesel emissions scandal, first brought to light in September, gets a new wrinkle, as an internal investigation by the German automaker revealed [00:00:30] irregularities in CO2 emissions that could affect approximately 800,000 vehicles. VW estimates the issue could pose a 2-billion euro economic risk. VW claims that most of the vehicles affected have diesel engines, but industry analysts say a 1.4-liter gas engine is also affected. VW says that fuel consumption figures were set too low during the CO2 certification process. During all of this, sales of some diesel-powered Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models [00:01:00] have been halted. Takata Corporation is back in the news in connection with its deadly airbag scandal. Federal regulators fined Takata $70 million. If the parts supplier does not comply, the fine could balloon to $200 million. Takata was also dropped this week by its biggest customer, Honda. And now, Toyota and Mazda will be following Honda's lead in dropping Takata. We're also hearing that Mitsubishi and Subaru are considering a switch in air-bag inflator suppliers. SEMA 2015 [00:01:30] came and went. We saw offerings from Mopar, like the AWD Challenger concept. Honda unveiled a Ridgeline that it will race at the Baja 1000, which gives us a hint at what future production model could look like. The celebrity presence was also felt in Vegas as it always is. Kid Rock brought a Duramax Diesel Chevy Silverado, and Acura restored and presented Ludacris with his now famous 1993 Acura Legend. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to come back on Saturday for my full recap, [00:02:00] where I'll have some added insight into Hyundai's foray into the luxury sector. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive.