Autoblog

The 2008 SEMA Show ended last week, but for some inexplicable reason, Toyota forget to mention this little diddy that was supposedly tucked away in a corner of the Las Vegas Convention Center. It is exactly what it's name implies: a Scion xB that's been transformed into a taco truck of all things. Normally SEMA project cars are tuned for superfluous high performance and look like rejects from the Paul Walker Sport Compact Hall of Fame, but the xB Taco Truck can at least do something, i.e. serve that staple of the Mexican diet to legions of hungry lunch goers. From what we can tell, the vehicle uses the xB's platform, keeps the front end and dash and ditches the rest to make room for a stainless steel mobile kitchen. The truck was reportedly built from scratch by Louie Contreras with hand-painted graphics applied by Kenton Parker. Good job guys, it's... um... interesting, and probably the most fuel-efficient taco truck ever made. While it may be good on fuel, the Scion xB Taco Truck will likely be responsible for an entirely different kind of gas if it ever gets pressed into service.


[Source: Toyota, Carscoop]

"Truth-enhanced" car dealer advertising is nothing new. After all, how many times have you seen a newspaper ad for a special on, say, a base model, when the accompanying image shows a fully-optioned, range-topping version of the car instead? It's your job to read the fine print and stay informed so that you're not disappointed by the crank-window special the salesman presents when you get there.

To that end, we'd like to offer a helping hand to potential customers of Lynnfield, MA's Kelly Jeep. If you visit their website and click on "New Vehicle Specials" (under New Vehicles), you'll find a listing for an '08 Chrysler Town & Country. Okay, fine -- but the image that's paired with the listing is the one above. It's the Photoshop love child of the Euro-spec 300C Touring and a Town & Country. In fact, it doesn't look half bad with the 300's front end, big wheels, and flared fenders. One might even be tempted to ask, "Damn, that thing got a Hemi?" Whatever the case, it's more appealing than the blandtacular actual Chrysler Town & Country, which is what the nice man at the dealership will be happy to show you. We understand that the car in the photo above is hidden away in a barn where the owner also keeps a stable of unicorns. Thanks to Koko for the tip (and the laugh).



[Source: Kelly Jeep]

Nissan unveiled the NV2500 Concept today, which will debut in the metal at this year's 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January. No, it's not a high-performance sports car, but rather a multipurpose utility vehicle, a.k.a. panel van, that' previews what the Japanese automaker will soon bring to the commercial vehicle market here in the U.S. You may recall Nissan announced back in April that it was developing three new commercial vehicles for U.S. customers, and the NV2500 hints at the first one. It looks like a bit bigger than a Ford Transit Connect and much smaller than a Dodge Sprinter, which may be "just right" for many companies shopping in the segment. Nissan has already told us this first commercial vehicle is a clean-sheet design developed just for the U.S., and that it will be built at its Canton, Mississippi facility.

[Source: Nissan]

Looming assimilation by the GM Borg or not, Chrysler's not waiting around for something to happen. The automaker hosted a hootenanny at the Windsor, Ontario plant where its minivans are assembled, and 25th anniversary editions of Chrysler's family haulers were trotted out carrying upgraded interiors intended to thrill consumers into purchasing. The new outfitting comprises two different color combinations - dark slate and medium slate gray, with perforated leather french-stitched onto the seats. The most exciting historical homage, however, is the return of faux wood. The original vans had timberesque hunks of resin plastered around its innards, and it's heartwarming to see Chrysler embracing the 1980s by bringing back this accent and its corresponding "fresh sense of detail." Chrysler wants its employees to give people noogies until they relent and pony up for a new Grand Caravan, and it's still hard to argue with the efficiency with which a Chrysler minivan will haul all of your who knows what.


[Source: Chrysler]

Thousands of soccer moms would probably argue that Honda's Odyssey is the greatest vehicle ever built. Well, the rest of us know that the Toyota Sienna is an equal, but both are still relatively boring.

Mugen has been making pedestrian Hondas more exciting for 35 years and its most recent project is the new JDM Honda Odyssey, which is a different vehicle entirely than the Odyssey sold in the U.S. Nevertheless, it could possibly be the most exciting-looking minivan ever created, "looking" being the key word there. For the JDM Odyssey, Mugen leaves its 203-hp four-cylinder alone and focuses mostly on the minivan's appearance. A new grille, new front and rear fascias, sporty-looking rear wing, side ground effects a line of custom wheels make up the Mugenized Odyssey. A sport exhaust and brake kit with slotted rotors are as close to performance upgrades as you're going to get. Nevertheless, it's still cooler than any minivan we have over here. Including the Odyssey and Sienna.


[Source: Nihon Car]

We reported last month that General Motors could move the next Cadillac Escalade to its Lambda platform that's currently used by the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Chevy Traverse, and now GM Inside News is reporting via an inside source that the Suburban/Yukon XL may also get the unibody treatment. With replacements for the smaller Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Escalade reportedly cancelled, we think all signs are pointing to each GMT900-based SUV moving over to the Lambda platform with some of the current slow-selling Lambda-based models being cut altogether.

But the craziness doesn't end there. GM Inside News also reports an even more surprising vehicle could get moved to the crossover platform: the Dodge Caravan, assuming of course that the General follows through on talks to purchase Chrysler from Cerberus. You may recall that GM abandoned the minivan market earlier this year in favor of its Lambda-based crossovers.

The Lambda platform must be extremely modular if it can be stretched enough to accommodate the size of the Suburban along with the people- and cargo-carrying capacity of a Dodge minivan. Also on the rumormill menu is a possible Chevrolet version of the minivan. These changes are supposedly set to take place by 2014, and plenty of things can and will change by then. In other words, talk this all with a grain of salt.

[Source: GM Inside News]

Honda's JDM Odyssey – not to be confused with the U.S.-market people mover that shares the same name – has been hailed as one of the best handling minivans in Japan. For 2009, Honda has taken everything good about the outgoing third-generation model and made it better, beginning with a sleeker exterior that pulls a few cues from the Honda FCX Clarity.

Underneath the new, slightly stretched sheet metal lies a reworked chassis sporting double wishbones at all four corners, optional all-wheel-drive and a 2.4-liter four-cylinder i-VTEC powerplant putting out 171 hp in standard guise and 203 hp in the range-topping Absolute model.

The interior is adorned with all the techy tidbits that made previous generations a hit with family-toting geeks, including a sci-fi inspired dash and a new multi-positioned camera system that allows drivers to get a bird's eye view of the vehicle. Similar to the Fit sold in the States, the seating can be arranged in a multitude of ways, including folding flat to create something resembling a bed. We'd like to scam one out of Honda during our next trip to Japan so we can post on the move and don't have to worry about heading back to our hotel – which is traditionally only slightly smaller than the new Odyssey.

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Volkswagen Routan

The Volkswagen Routan's "German Engineering" ad campaign has provided plenty of irony-laced comedic fodder for the Autoblog water-cooler, and VW's own press release doesn't help, heralding the Routan as "a stylish alternative to the minivan." An alternative to what?

In a perfect world, VW would have revolutionized the moribund minivan segment with a production version of the 2001 Microbus concept, thereby capitalizing on V-Dub's cheeky heritage in the same way the new Beetle did in the late '90s, and perpetuated by other vehicles like the MINI Cooper and Fiat 500 today.

Thankfully, all is not lost. According to VW's Product Planning Manager, Bret Scott, "We would never say 'no' to the possibility of a Microbus revival." But in the meantime, we have to make due with this: the 2009 Volkswagen Routan, a reworked Chrysler Town & Country that VW execs call (with a straight face) "The Beetle of minivans."


Photos Copyright ©2008 Damon Lavrinc / Weblogs, Inc.

Toyota builds many of its U.S. market vehicles right here in America. Among them are the Toyota Tacoma, Sienna minivan and Sequoia SUV, which is built alongside its Tundra full-size truck sibling. For the most part, they are all meant to be sold in the States, their primary market. It's no secret that sales of these big SUVs and trucks are way down, and Toyota doesn't want to idle its plants if it can help it. Therefore, the Japanese automaker is rumored to be in the midst of sending these light trucks out of the country. The Tacoma, for instance, could be sent to Mexico from Toyota's plant in Baja, California. To keep the plant in Princeton, Indiana running, the Sienna could be exported to Latin America and the gas-guzzling Sequoia to the Middle East, a place where oil supplies are obviously not in danger of dwindling.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Just a few days ago, we got to see Chevy unveil the Orlando concept at the Paris Motor Show. We surmised at the time that this seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle seems like the logical next step for the idea that General Motors started with the Chevy HHR. Perhaps it won't be. Motor Authority is claiming that the production version of the Orlando won't be assembled in the U.S. and we may get passed over entirely due to the expected cost of the vehicle, which is based on the same Delta platform as the upcoming Cruze compact car and Volt series hybrid. Additionally, GM has stated that it has no plans to end production of the HHR anytime soon. But this is all speculation for now. As for whether it's much ado about nothing, we'll see.


[Source: Motor Authority]