Jan 14 (Reuters) - Automakers from the United States, Europe and Asia are rolling out new and redesigned production and concept vehicles at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. PRODUCTION Acura RDX: Honda Motor Co Ltd will unveil the redesigned Acura RDX crossover vehicle, hoping to stand out in a crowded field of compact, luxury SUVs. BMW i8 Coupe: An updated edition of BMW's electrified sports car marries a three-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor for a combined 374 horsepower. BMW X2: A sporty companion to BMW's X1 and X3 compact crossovers, the new X2 arrives in U.S. Chevrolet Silverado: General Motors Co's best-selling pickup gets a full redesign for model year 2019. Its companion, the redesigned GMC Sierra, will be unveiled later this year. Hyundai Veloster: Hyundai Motor Co's sporty Veloster gets a new silhouette, while maintaining its trademark three-doors-plus-hatchback configuration. Mercedes G-Class: The long-running Gelandewagen gets "the biggest makeover in its history," according to Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, but keeps its rugged boxy shape. Ram 1500: Fiat Chrysler's popular full-size pickup gets a top-to-bottom overhaul and goes on sale later this year as a 2019 model. Toyota Avalon: Toyota Motor Corp's range-topping Avalon sedan gets a full redesign for 2019, but faces dwindling demand from U.S. GAC GS8 crossover: Chinese automaker GAC Motor returns to the Detroit show with a new flagship crossover model, the GS8. GAC GA8 sedan: GAC describes its GA8 as a "signature sedan," one that may be aimed at the redesigned Toyota Avalon. Infiniti Q Inspiration: Nissan Motor Co Ltd's premium Infiniti brand teases a possible successor to its Q70 sedan. Lexus LF1 Limitless: Toyota's premium Lexus brand provides a sneak preview of a future top-of-the-line crossover model.
PUEBLA, Mexico 鈥?We're approaching the end of an era once more. Volkswagen is discontinuing the Beetle. It's strange, and a bit sad, to imagine the company without the model 鈥?again 鈥?that made it famous. This time it's going out with a bit of pomp and circumstance in Mexico, where Volkswagen brought us to experience the hatchback's Final Edition trim during Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Any discussion of the last Beetle does merit a review of the cars that got us here: the original air-cooled Bug and the follow-up New Beetle. The original hardly needs introduction, transforming from strange European curiosity to economy car phenomenon through the 1960s. But toward the end of its life, it was a victim of its unchanging design. The competition became more efficient, more comfortable, faster and safer. And of course, there was less reason to buy a new model when there were oodles of previous models on the used market that weren't that different from what was on the showroom floor.
After the classic Beetle's departure, there was a long hiatus until VW revealed the Concept 1 in the mid-1990s, a bubbly contemporary take on the iconic design. That brings us to this generation of Beetle, which launched for the 2012 model year. It was completely redesigned with all-new underpinnings. It featured more aggressive styling, as well as fresh engines, even a punchy 200-horsepower engine like that in the GTI. The 2019 Final Edition we're driving marks the seventh year for the hatchback, and besides discovering whether this vehicle is still good, we also seem to have discovered why it's leaving us again. The Final Edition Beetle's uniqueness boils down to a flashier interior and exterior 鈥?that's it. Inside, this car's full up on every shiny chrome bit VW offers, coated with a candy shell of two exclusive colors: Stonewashed Blue (first seen on the Beetle Denim), and Safari Uni beige. The two colors reflect the blue and beige hues available on the 2003 VW Beetle Ultima Edition, the last of the air-cooled classic Beetles. If the nostalgia is lost on you, white, black, and silver are also available.
The Beetle SE rolls on 17-inch multi-spoke wheels, and the SEL gets 18-inch retro-style chrome disk wheel covers. Inside, both SE and SEL trims get diamond-stitched upholstery, with the SE getting cloth and leatherette, and the SEL getting real leather. That's where the differences between the Final Edition Beetles and their normal counterparts end. Everything that's mechanical stays the same. The mechanical stagnation reflects Volkswagen's decision a few years back to stop investing in the Beetle, which initially launched with a five-cylinder naturally aspirated engine and a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with at least 200 horsepower. The current model has just one powertrain option. It's a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 174 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque coupled to a conventional torque-converter-equipped six-speed automatic. No manual, no base engine, less power than the old 2.0T 鈥?although it's at least on par with the Golf. Together, the powertrain is impressively quiet and smooth, emitting just occasional turbo whistles and a bit of hum at high rpm. On paper, the output looks competitive, putting it in contention with the turbo Honda Civic and 2.5-liter Mazda3, but it doesn't feel very fast.
