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America was the unexpected theme at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show thanks to Trump

President-elect Donald Trump was not in attendance at this year's Detroit Auto Show, but it sure seemed like he was the target audience for many of the press conferences and announcements surrounding the event. Several manufacturers chose to play up existing and future commitments to the US in general and American jobs specifically in their presentations to the press, and we're pretty sure that has everything to do with Trump's recent targeting of automakers on Twitter. To us, it seemed automakers were going on the offensive to try and preempt any future tweet-shaming for investing in auto manufacturing anywhere but the US. The pro-America sentiment started the week prior to the auto show, with Ford announcing that it would build several future electrified vehicles at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan and also cancel a $1.6 billion factory planned for Mexico. Ford announced the two items on the same day, but the reality is that they likely have no relation to each other; the Mexican plant is being skipped because the company doesn't need the extra capacity to build the Ford Focus right now. Trump was still happy to share the news on Twitter. Then, on Sunday, FCA announced it would invest $1 billion in manufacturing plants in Ohio and Michigan to produce the new Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, and Wrangler-based pickup. It's not as though those potential new jobs were on their way out of the US, necessarily, but FCA took the opportunity to mention that plant upgrades at the Warren Truck Plant would allow the company to build Ram heavy duty trucks, which are currently assembled in Mexico, there. CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed that Trump and his proposed tariffs had nothing to do with the decision. We certainly believe that, but we also have to believe that the timing of the release, positive outcome for America, and zero gain for Mexico were all orchestrated. Again, Trump sent out a victory tweet as if this had been his doing. Ford then used its press conference at the show on Monday to reiterate the plans for Flat Rock and also confirm that the Ford Bronco and Ranger nameplates will be returning to the US market, and that both will be built at a plant in Michigan. Announcements of manufacturing locations are usually aimed at the UAW, which certainly has a stake in these things, but again this one was broadcast to the auto show crowd in general.

2020 Kia Cadenza shows its new face in mid-cycle refresh

When we drove the all-new 2017 Kia Cadenza a few years back, our main takeaway was that "it's fine." There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, but it's a solid sedan. With the facelifted and refreshed 2020 Cadenza just revealed today, Kia looks like it's reaching a bit more, in an attempt to move beyond general goodness. The 2020 Kia Cadenza, teased last week, takes a stab at bold design. A concave V-shaped grille is the main styling element up front, as our eyes constantly drift to that funky chrome every time we examine the car. It looks like Kia was just riffing off the old grille, and decided to make it bigger while adding in a crease. Those headlights are new, too. They're much narrower and smaller than the old units, and we think they help the face of the new car tremendously. Kia attacked the rear of the Cadenza in a similar fashion. The taillights now stretch across the entire rear of the sedan, connected by an interesting dashed line coming in from both sides and meeting in the middle. It's just another example of Hyundai/Kia designing taillights with a sense of style. We're reminded of the new Hyundai Sonata that went in a bold new path itself at the NY Auto Show. Changes to the interior are relatively significant for just a mid-cycle refresh. There's a new, widescreen 12.3-inch touchscreen that forced a new air vent layout. Along with the rethought center stack, the center console gets changed up with a new gear shift lever and button/storage layout below that. It all comes off as a much more premium design than before. Adding further to that motif is a digital gauge cluster seen on this model. The Cadenza is supposed to be a luxurious sedan, and Kia is certainly answering the call with added tech on the interior. Unfortunately, we're still in the dark from a powertrain perspective. The Cadenza is currently offered in the U.S. exclusively paired to a 3.3-liter V6 and eight-speed automatic transmission. This reveal today was for the Korean-spec K7, (same as our Cadenza), so U.S. powertrain options remain unspoken. We'll expect details on the U.S. spec car to drop before the end of the year, and for this model to go on sale later in 2019 or sometime in 2020.

Driving a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle, and the 2021 Kia K5 arrives | Autoblog Podcast #634

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They start with what they've been driving this week, including the 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 diesel, 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. They move on to the news, covering the 2021 Kia K5, Geneva Motor Show (canceled again), Maserati's new engine and a new extended reality experience here at Autoblog. Finally, the guys spend some money for a listener who just had twins. Autoblog Podcast #634 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 diesel 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 1964 Volkswagen Beetle 2021 Kia K5 Geneva Motor Show cancelled Maserati engine Extended Reality with the Mustang Mach-E Spend your money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: