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2017 Frankfurt Motor Show | Observations on the Ferrari Portofino, Honda Urban EV and more

Related: We obsessively covered the Frankfurt Motor Show — here's our complete coverage The 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show kicked off the fall reveal season with an impressive array of powerful cars blended with forward-looking concepts. It's a seminal period for automakers, who find themselves at the intersection of disruption and opportunity. With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Frankfurt. The transformation of the curvy yet overbaked Ferrari California T into the Portofino is complete, and its coming-out party in Frankfurt served notice that Ferrari's entry-level sports car is much more formidable. There was nothing wrong with the California (and later the California T), but the Portofino features a cleaner look with stronger lines and an elegant resemblance to the rest of the Ferrari family. The California name is a good one. Used on a number of memorable cars in the 1950s and '60s, it's steeped in tradition, and certainly Ferrari will dust it off again. But switching to Portofino, the name of a scenic town in Italy, is a nice way to change the conversation and generate fresh interest in this part of the Ferrari portfolio. Man, people are stoked over the Honda Urban EV concept. Why? I assume it's the retro look that harks back to early Civics, and the lack of information about the concept itself. What people don't know, they're imagining. Honda hasn't even confirmed the range, the car is very small, and it likely won't be sold in the United States. With this dearth of facts, enthusiasts are filling in their own blanks. I guess that's OK. Count me among the intrigued. When I saw pictures of this thing early Tuesday morning, I was pretty excited, too. We do know Honda is expanding its electric strategy, and two-thirds of its new vehicles sold around the world will have some form of electrification by 2030. The Urban EV launches in Europe in 2019, and a hybrid CR-V rolls out in Europe next year. Unconfirmed for the U.S. market, it seems like a no-brainer to bring that version of the CR-V here. The electrification and autonomous tech parade of concepts continues. You gotta be there. It's the cost of doing business in the modern automotive landscape. This technology takes years to develop and launch, so the next best thing to remind the world you're trying to be cutting-edge is to show off lots of fancy concepts. Frankfurt had plenty. A couple standouts: The BMW I Vision Dynamics and Audi's Elaine and Aicon.

Next Mercedes-Benz GLK to get AMG variant? Not likely...

If you think Mercedes-Benz will slap an AMG badge on anything with wheels, think again. Word has it the German manufacturer will not offer buyers a performance version of the GLK, with Tobias Moers, director of AMG vehicle development, saying that he doesn't see a market for the car. That's not to say the picture won't change in the near future, however. According to CarAdvice.com, AMG is keeping a close eye on the arrival of the Porsche Macan.
"Maybe there will be a change in the market when the Porsche [Macan] comes up," Moers said, "but right now, no."
The real hitch in the giddy-up seems to be cost. Moers says developing the machine into something worthy of an AMG would represent "a huge investment." We can't exactly argue with that. Fortunately, AMG buyers have plenty of Mercedes-Benz models to choose from.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec gets 33 mpg, priced from $38,950*

It's been more than a year since we first saw the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec unveiled at the 2012 New York Auto Show, but it looks like the compact diesel crossover is finally starting to roll into dealerships. Those wanting to buy a diesel GLK will only have to pony up an extra $1,500 over a base, gas-powered GLK350, as the GLK250's starting price is listed at $38,590 (*not including $905 destination charge).
The turbocharged 2.1-liter four-cylinder diesel produces 200 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and Mercedes-Benz has also provided some fuel economy numbers for this model, with claimed EPA estimates of 24 miles per gallon city and 33 mpg highway. There is no listing for the GLK250 on the EPA's website yet, but the figures represent significant increase over the GLK350's lackluster 19 mpg city and 25 mpg highway figures, which are for the rear-wheel drive model. The GLK250 comes standard with the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system - a $2,000 option on GLK350 - meaning that if you want an all-wheel-drive version of the 2013 GLK, it's actually cheaper to opt for the diesel model. Head over to the Mercedes-Benz site for the full 2013 GLK-Class configurator.