Land Rover to offer 16 models by 2020

 by: George Kennedy

The Range Rover Evoque was a bold new direction for Land Rover that proved successful, but if reports are to be believed, it is only the beginning of an onslaught of new products. According to a report from Autocar, the brand associated with both opulent motoring and rugged off-road capability is embarking on a massive lineup expansion, with the goal of producing 600,000 vehicles annually and 22 million vehicles by 2020.

In order to accomplish this, a flurry of new modes are planned, including the expansion of the Freelander (LR2) lineup and the unveiling of a new Defender family. The former will include five-seat and seven seat models, while the Defender will also roll out five-seat and seven-seat editions, but also a crew-cab pickup model. Consider our interest piqued.

The Evoque family will also grow, including an Evoque XL, Evoque convertible, and a "baby Range Rover" that would slot underneath the Range Rover Sport. This amonts to a goal of expanding the Land Rover lineup to 16 new vehicles.

Jaguar/Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth has claimed "40 new JLR product launches in the next five years," according to the report. To accomplish this, JLR is throwing 2 billion pounds a year behind this expansion. Roughly 1.8 billion pounds will go to a new Chinese production facility capable of producing 130,000 vehicles per year. The strategic location of the plant can feed the Chinese and Russian markets, which have voiced a demand for more specialized, limited edition models.

This all may seem ambitious, and perhaps even present an overlapping of models. However, if the automotive marketplace has taught us anything in the last decade, it is that there really is no such thing as too many CUVs.

Mazda brings trio of tricked-out CX-5s to Vegas

 by: Steven J. Ewing

We at Autoblog do love us some Mazda CX-5 – it is, without a doubt, the best-driving compact crossover in the segment. And since 2013 is the CX-5's first model year here in the States, it only makes sense that Mazda has used the 2012 SEMA Show to give us an idea of just how far its CX-5 can reach in terms of design and functionality.

First up is the CX-5 180, ready to hit the beach with its attached Rusty surfboard or take to the slopes with a Burton Cheetah snowboard. Its blue-and-black color scheme features a topographical map graphic of southern California hot spots like Big Bear Lake and Point Dume. Other upgrades include black chrome 20-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, and a new matte red finish along the grille adds a funky accent to the front fascia. Inside, aqua leather has been fitted to many of the CX-5's touchable surfaces, and there are contrasting bright white leather inserts on the door panels, seats and steering wheel.

Moving on to darker tones, the CX-5 Dempsey – named for Mazda racing driver and Dr. McDreamy Patrick Dempsey – shows the first application of the automaker's 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D diesel engine on a North American-spec CX-5, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. (Well-placed foreshadowing, we hope.) Like the 180, the Dempsey CX-5 rides on dark chrome 20-inch wheels, and its paint scheme is meant to mimic the high-performance, competitive architecture of the specialized bicycle racer – cycling is one of Dempsey's big interests, after all. To that end, there's a Thule T2 carrier holding an S-Works Tarmac SL4 Red bike that features a carbon fiber frame with red highlights.

Last, but certainly not least, is perhaps our favorite of the CX-5 concepts. In terms of design, anyway. The CX-5 Urban might simply look like it's painted in a matte finish, but upon closer inspection, you'll see the multi-dimensional shadows with triangular patterns woven into the paint finish. It's seriously cool, as are the extended wheel flares that house new 22-inch matte black wheels.

Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain twins hit 1M units

by: Jeffrey N. Ross

The GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox twins have been hot sellers since they went on sale in 2009, but even with strong sales, it's still somewhat surprising to hear that the millionth crossover underpinned by the latest Theta platform has already rolled off the assembly line. According to General Motors, a silver 2013 GMC Terrain has just become the milestone model at its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.

Both Chevrolet and GMC models are still selling well. Through September of this year, each line has seen double-digit percentage increases over 2011, and a new, more powerful V6 added to the lineup should help to sell a few more units each month. On their current pace, the Equinox is likely to sell just over 200,000 units in 2012 (compared to 149,979 units just two years ago) while the Terrain should have no problem topping 90,000 units for the year (up from 60,519 units in 2010).

Demand has been so high for the platform mates over the last several years that production capacity has been added in Oshawa, Ontario and more recently, Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Infiniti drops haute shots of FX Vettel Edition

 by: Zach Bowman

Infiniti has served up a rash of photos of its limited-run FX Vettel Edition. The $155,000 hyper crossover offers buyers a full 414 horsepower and a 5.6-second run to 60 mph. The grunt is also good enough to scoot the hunkered-down CUV to a top speed of 186 mph. As we've heard, Sebastian Vettel lent a hand in setting up the vehicle's suspension, and the Formula One racer's Red Bull team helped pen the carbon fiber body kit. Those bits include a new front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and rear wing.

If you want one – and happen to have more cash than sense – you better get on the horn with your local Infiniti dealer – provided you keep a residence in one of the car's markets. The manufacturer is only planning to build 150 examples, with 50 examples earmarked for the Middle East, Russia and Western Europe, respectively... if you want one in North America, you're going to have to get a bit creative.

Mazda teases SEMA-bound CX-5s

 by: Jeffrey N. Ross

Mazda is getting into the SEMA Show spirit by teasing us with a trio of concepts based on the 2013 CX-5, all of which were hatched at the automaker's design studio in Irvine, California. Looking at the renderings, there is nothing over-the-top about any of these crossovers, but what we do see here is our long-awaited first look at a diesel-powered CX-5.

The CX-5 Dempsey uses Mazda's new Skyactiv-D diesel engine paired with all-wheel drive. As for the show aspect of this concept, it is obviously named after actor Patrick Dempsey who not only races a Mazda RX-8 in Grand-Am, but apparently he is also an avid cyclist. Other than the contrasting black, red and grey paint scheme, this CX-5 is also equipped with a roof-top cargo carrier and a bike rack to carry a similar Specialized Bicycle S-Work Tarmac racing bicycle that helped Russian Olympian Alexander Vinokourov win the gold medal at the London Summer Olympics.

As far as paint jobs go, the CX-5 180 show car is probably the best of the bunch with a unique look consisting of what seem to be colors and designs that actually make up topographical maps of Big Bear Lake and Point Dume State Beach located in Southern California. Finally, the CX-5 Urban goes for more of the dark and sinister look that is made up various triangular shapes that end up looking like some sort of futuristic digital camouflage.

While we only have these renderings to go off of currently, we'll get a better look at all three Mazdas very soon as the 2012 SEMA Show kicks off later today.