The News for March 31st, 2023

Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. This week: Lamborghini unveils a new generation of bull, Hyundai dramatically reworks the Sonata’s design, we should see the new Toyota Tacoma next Tuesday, Ford is killing the Transit Connect, plus your news for the week.

Lamborghini Revuelto

While researching this story, I found something that I thought was important to share with you before we continue. Lamborghinis are famously named after fighting bulls. So I dug into the name “Revuelto” to see if that was the same case here. It is indeed the name shared with an infamous fighting bull from the 19th century, but that’s not all. Revuelto translated into Spanish effectively means “mixed”, “agitated”, or “restless”.

It can also mean “scrambled eggs”. I just thought you needed to know that.

Lamborghini ran out of ways to sell you another rebodied Aventador, so they’ve finally unveiled its replacement. Lamborghini’s new flagship supercar is the Revuelto; and while its V12 has been spared from tightening fuel efficiency regulations, it’s joined by three electric motors and a battery pack. They’ve coined the term “High Performance Electrified Vehicle (HPEV)” – a term no one else uses – and called it the world’s “first super sports V12 hybrid plug-in HPEV”. I mean, if you say so.

Marketing antics aside, the Lamborghini Scrambled Eggs is exactly what’s advertised – a supercar with a V12 and electrification to deliver the sort of driving and noise-making experience you’d expect from a Lamborghini while also adapting it for the modern world. This is far more than just a “throw on some batteries to please the politicians” hybrid conversion. Lamborghini has dramatically reworked the naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 to be even more potent. On its own it produces 813 horsepower at 9,250 RPM (it redlines at a ridiculous 9,500 RPM) and 535 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,750 RPM. It’s the most powerful V12 Lamborghini has ever put into a road car.

Accompanying that Italian power are three electric motors – two oil-cooled axial flux 110kW units at the front axle and another electric motor positioned above the eight-speed double-clutch gearbox which powers the rear wheels. Like most Lamborghinis, the Revuelto is AWD. It can also be AWD on full battery power alone until its 3.8 kWh battery is depleted. They say each front motor produces 258 lb.-ft. of torque on its own, but haven’t commented on exactly how much torque the entire powertrain makes when it’s all working together. We do know its total system power figure though – 1,000 horsepower on the nose.

With that much power and torque on tap, plus AWD and an eight-speed DCT (finally), 0-62 mph takes just 2.5 seconds. That might be a conservative estimate. Its top speed is expected to be above 217 mph. Additionally, it’s achieved the best weight-to-power ratio of any production Lamborghini as it manages to stay just below the 4k mark at 3,906 lbs dry.

Other highlights include a new “monofuselage” (a monocoque chassis for Italians) that’s stronger and lighter than the Aventador’s chassis, all-carbon bodywork with lots of Ys, 13 different driving modes, electric torque-vectoring, an excellent source of protein and vitamins and minerals, and 440 paint options.

It goes fast, looks ridiculous, and is named after a fearsome bull or a delicious breakfast. It’s a true Lamborghini, batteries or not.

[Source: Lamborghini]

2024 Hyundai Sonata

Moving on to something more sensible and not named after a breakfast item, the Hyundai Sonata. It’s being shown off at the Seoul Mobility Show in Korea with a dramatic new design that once again proves Hyundai is one of the few brands taking a chance with car design and doing it well (cough BMW). It’s technically a facelift with some new powertrain updates to back up the new looks, but it’s about as big of a design change as you can get without starting from scratch.

The new Sonata boasts a “dynamic, progressive design with low-slung, elegant proportions and more aggressive coupe-like styling”. It’s of course not a coupe at all, but I’ll let that slide. The new front design means the praying mantis look is gone in favor of horizontal lighting elements, their “Seamless Horizon Lamp” (wide-set hidden headlamps), and a wide grille and air intakes. The rear features new H-lights that they say emphasizes its wide stance and high-tech character.

There are some interior updates as well that they say “conveys a future mobility design sensibility with high tech details that support modern lifestyles”. All they did was throw in one of those obnoxious “floating” screens that spans all the way from the gauge cluster to the center console. I guess that’s the trend these days…

Regardless of how dumb the infotainment screen is now, the new Sonata looks a bit less awkward and more upscale now. As with most Hyundais, it rolls out in South Korea first and will reach global markets in the second half of the year.

[Source: Hyundai]

New Toyota Tacoma debuts next week

Toyota has made a cheeky Instagram post that should mean we see the next-generation Tacoma next Tuesday. I stitched the two images together as best as I could but the message is still pretty clear. As a current-gen Tacoma peaks over the hill, a blurred truck sits waiting on the other side. Certainly looks like a new Tacoma based on some recent leaks we’ve seen from none other than the Brazilian Patent Office, the building it’s supposedly parked under. And with a reveal date of 04/04/23 insinuated by the license plate, the day before the media preview of the New York International Auto Show begins, it all comes together.

There’s nothing else I can say about it till next week. I don’t have any insider info and it’s not worth speculating when we’re just days away from getting more info on it. But with it being the second new midsize truck to come out this year (and probably not the last one to do so either), it’s worth getting excited about.

[Source: Instagram]

Ford to discontinue Transit Connect

According to a Ford statement released to Automotive News (sub required), the Ford Transit Connect is dead in North America after the 2023 model year. Sales numbers have dwindled year over year, but Ford’s justification also references their desire to “reduce global manufacturing cost and complexity”. In the pursuit of cutting costs, dropping a vehicle segment that’s just not as popular anymore is the easy choice. This announcement does not impact the other bigger Transits, nor does it impact the Transit Connect in other markets.

If you want your own compact van, you don’t have long. Speaking anecdotally for a moment, I personally know a few people who have asked me about the Transit Connect for their personal use but have been put off by a few factors, either being price (which starts just $1k less than a base model Explorer) or fuel economy (which gets roughly the same mileage as some F-150s). Those are both problems that were addressed masterfully by the Ford Maverick. Imagine if they did that sort of thing with the Transit Connect? Give it that 37+ mpg hybrid powertrain and only the bare essentials to keep the price low. It’s a shame it didn’t get that chance at greatness.

[Source: Automotive News]

What’s your news for the week?

hooniverse news whats your naws

So that’s all I’ve got for you this week, so now it’s your turn. If you saw anything, fixed something, broke everything, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments.

Have a good weekend.

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10 responses to “The News for March 31st, 2023”

  1. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    I was out of town the last couple weeks hence the radio silence. Spent a week in France and absolutely loved it. Such a beautiful country with generally good roads and drivers outside of Paris. Saw a shit load of weird little French cars which entertained me almost as much as anything. We were in Paris a few days (during the garbage strikes, which was interesting) and were in Normandy for the rest of the week. Our rental was a Ford Kuga hybrid (basically an Escape here), which still felt huge over there. But it was a generally very nice car that returned 6.1L/100k (Google says is 38 mpg) which was very much appreciated with French gas prices. I loved every minute out there even if I was really really confused most of the time.

  2. wunno sev Avatar
    wunno sev

    i dig the Volvo lights on the Lamborghini HPV! i always thought the Aventador was too tame, seems like they cranked it back up a notch.

    last news post i mentioned how i’d managed to sell my W124 to a billionaire and thus had money cued up to buy a comfortable reliable Acura. that lasted one week and three days, at which point i brought home a coworker’s 1989 Civic wagon at a price i couldn’t refuse.

    what started as a fix’n’flip became a fix’n’hopefully break even as the $300 windshield replacement required an $800 rust repair. highway robbery, but it was that or scrap the thing.

    now that i’ve got an old Honda, i completely get it. even as the basest of base models, the powertrain and handling have joy baked into them. the car is hilarious fun to rev out. it’s light because it has 0 safety equipment, but that can’t explain the engine and transmission. smooth revs, sporty noises, slick shifts. parts are literally cheaper than food and i could rebuild the thing in a weekend. what a great car.

    i think by the time it’s gone i’ll have lost a couple hundred on it. i still have to change the seat belt, probably fuel pump, and a few other things. but i don’t care. an 80s/90s Honda has been a bucket list car for years and i’m glad to check it off. certified classic.

    1. Salguod Avatar

      I think seat belts might be a life of the vehicle warranty item for Honda. I had one replaced under warranty at 10 years and almost 180K on my 1999 Odyssey. I’m not sure how Honda defines life of the vehicle, or if there are any oem parts for an ’89 Civic anymore, but it’s worth a call to the dealer.

      1. wunno sev Avatar
        wunno sev

        oh awesome! it’s worth a shot. this one was clearly damaged through abuse rather than defect, but i’ll give them a call anyway. thanks for the tip!

        1. Salguod Avatar

          I’m sure mine looked like abuse too, it got cut somehow and I have no idea how. Best I could figure was my kid chewed on it, but that seemed pretty ridiculous. They replaced it, no questions asked.

          1. wunno sev Avatar
            wunno sev

            update – dropping it off Friday! i’m not sure if they’ll agree to fix it but they had no problem booking the appointment, and said there actually is a recall on the seat belts.

            thanks for the heads up, i was about to spend a grip on a used replacement. might still end up needing to but this is definitely worth a try!

          2. salguod Avatar

            Great news, I hope they are able to fix it for you. Let us know how it goes.

  3. MattC Avatar
    MattC

    Just about 14k in mileage on my Ford Maverick Hybrid. I did one oil change ( easy except removing a bizillion T30 fasteners for the the under engine tray. I changed the oil at about 11k with still 16% oil life in it. I also replaced the air filter (barely dirty) and the cabin filter ( surprisingly dirty) as well.

    The truck has averaged over 40mpg lifetime (since August 2022) and has been reliable. Some quibbles are an yet unfixed airbag recall and an occasional braking issue at parking lot speeds. Both will be addressed whenever the parts come in for the airbags recall(the brake issues is supposedly remedied any a software update).

  4. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    I would like to see a comparo between the ’24 Tacoma and the ’24 Ranger, since they both have platform upgrades.

    My new ’23 Ford Ranger made it to California a lot sooner than Ford had estimated. Hooray!

    As I was getting myself to the dealership, the dealer prep revealed a missing door latch at the bottom of one SuperCab rear door*. Being a safety concern in a side-impact, they couldn’t let me drive it off the lot. Booo!

    But they did let me pass papers on it. After repeatedly refusing their enthusiastic offers of extended warranty and service packages, I managed to get it taxed, titled, destinated, and registrated for $32,9500. They said they can deliver it to me when the part gets installed, so that’s handy. It’s been a week and still no part has showed up, but the whole truck showed up early so I’m not too fussed.

    The Wanderlodge went to the Detroit Diesel Wizard. Not many people know how to work on these old 2-strokes, and most of them are marine diesel mechanics. He’s going to send fuel and oil samples off to be tested, and pick away at some maintenance and repair tasks over the next couple months. Hopefully it won’t delete my entire refurbishment budget, but I’m anticipating $2K – $3K. Tires are also a $2K – $3K expense, once the engine checks out.

    The Econoline ended up parked in the storage yard where the Wanderlodge used to be, since the insurance got transferred to the Ranger. Gotta sell that to buy bus tires. I guess that just leaves me with the Africa Twin until the Ranger gets delivered, and a bicycle.

  5. dino game Avatar

    It’s so modern, cool, and beautiful. I wish I can own one.