Chicago Auto Show

The 2021 Chicago Auto Show is underway right now. It is being held between July 15-19 at McCormick Place south of Downtown, Chicago. Pretty much all of the mainstream auto manufacturers will be present at the venue. Considering how the EV trend has really taken off, there will also be a slew of electric vehicles on display, from legacy and EV manufacturers alike. The Chicago Auto Show is the first major auto show to return since the pandemic began, and these are the cars to watch out for!

It won’t be wrong to say that the Jeep Wrangler is a cult of sorts when it comes to customizing a vehicle. The Wrangler is one of the most customizable vehicles not just with aftermarket accessories, but also thanks to the rich directory of the in-house guide, Mopar.

The Wrangler comes with so many optional accessories and packages that it might leave you scratching your head. To help you with this conundrum, Jeep decided to customize the Wrangler in-house with accessories and call it the 2020 Jeep Wrangler JPP 20. It was showcased at the Chicago Auto Show and it did grab a fair bit of attention. Looks pretty sweet, doesn’t it?

Although it was unveiled with big fanfare at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E all-electric crossover made an appearance in Chicago as well. There, journos had the chance of taking it for a quick spin as well as get up close and personal with the EV. Mind you, the car was nothing more than a pre-production prototype.

Either way, those present for the test drive got to see just how quick the Mach-E is from a standstill, and by the looks of it, it’s pretty zippy, even if the conditions weren’t ideal. And by conditions we mean the rolling surface.

Mercedes-Benz’s first pop-top camper for the U.S. market just took a bow at the 2020 Chicago Motor Show. Five can sit in it with sleeping room for four and there’s a plethora of camping-specific features to take you through your outdoors-y weekend in full comfort.

Mercedes says its pop-up camper was developed jointly with Driverge Vehicle Innovations and that it appeals a wide range of potential customers, from "adventure seeking millennials to hip retirees." To support that claim, the Metris Weekender comes fitted as standard with an elevating roof with a sleeping area for two, a 2-inch-thick memory foam mattress, three windows, and USB ports for charging and lighting purposes.

In addition to those, the camper also offers the likes of:

a multipurpose rear bench that can be transformed into a bed for two or into a seat swiveling front seats that rotate 180 degrees a second battery to power electronic devices

In addition to those, customers can pick from a handful of optional features. These include integrated solar panels, upgraded audio and navigation systems, and 3M exterior wraps in any of the 200 colors available.

Camping wise, the list of amenities comprises:

an 8-inch awning for rain and sun protection mosquito and bug screens for the rear hatch and sliding doors a tent that can be mounted on the rear liftgate roof racks (useful when hauling snowboards, surfboards, or extra luggage) a pullout kitchen that extends from the rear of the vehicle

There’s no word on what will power the camper, but we know that Mercedes-Benz fits its Sprinter van with a turbocharged gasoline engine good for 188 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque available in the 2,500-3,500 rpm band. The unit is twinned to a smooth-shifting 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic gearbox.

The current-generation Honda Civic Type R has been around since 2017. It caused a ruckus when it first arrived, but like all things hyped, the frenzy surrounding the Civic Type R died down. Expectations among fans and customers were satisfied and it wouldn’t be until Honda gave the Civic Type R a mid-cycle refresh that the hype once again started to rise to a crescendo.

Well, that time has come. Honda unveiled the updated Civic Type R at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show with a few notable upgrades on its bodywork and its mechanical components.

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator has proven its mettle since its launch and it’s not a bad off-roader by any means. However, Jeep decided to up the ante and make it even more suitable to desert terrain.

Called the Gladiator Mojave, this is the first Desert-Rated vehicle to come out of Jeep’s factory. Ever. Jeep has improved focus on the Gladiator’s suspension on this rugged pickup truck’s desert-ready version. Jeep also launched the High Altitude Edition that’s got to do more with extra features and luxury than ruggedness itself. This trim will be available on the Wrangler as well.

Introduced in 2017, the Volkswagen Atlas replaced the Touareg in the United States. Come 2020 and Volkswagen rolled out the first mid-cycle facelift for the midsize SUV, at the Chicago Auto Show. The seven seater boasts mild design changes on the outside, new technology on the inside, but it’s available with the same engines under the hood.

Chrysler is still taking care of the Pacifica minivan and the best way to show that affection is by flaunting a refreshed version at the Chicago Motor Show. New for 2021 is the Pinnacle trim, which comes to join the likes of Touring, Touring L, and Limited.

Visually, the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica nip-and-tuck revolves around the front end. Here, the minivan flaunts a redesigned grille, new headlights, and tweaked bumper. In the back, the only change sees the taillights spanning to the whole width of the car, which can now ride on 17- to 20-inch wheels.

On the mechanical front, the big news is the addition of an AWD setup - by the way, it’s the first such system to make its way into a Chrysler-badged minivan since 2004. The setup, which was tested over more than one million miles, mixes three sub-systems.

A power transfer unit splits torque coming through the nine-speed automatic gearbox and routes it to the rear drive module. The latter houses a wet clutch that fluctuates torque to the wheels and a one-speed transfer case. The power transfer unit and the rear drive module are connected by a three-piece drive shaft. A brake-lock differential is also part of the AWD setup, which can send torque exclusively to the rear wheels or to those wheels with the most traction.

On the road composure front, the Pacifica receives a rear sway bar and extra suspension tuning which sees the ride height go up by 0.78 inches.

Inside the cabin, passengers get to fiddle with the new Uconnect 5 multimedia setup which utilizes a 10.1-inch touchscreen (that’s 20 percent larger than the previous-generation). The new setup is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. Plus, it can host up to six driver profiles, including a valet mode. What’s more, you can connect two phones simultaneously via Bluetooth.

Powertrain-wise, the Pacifica can be had with either a 3.6-liter V-6 good for 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque or in plug-in-hybrid guise, where the V-6 shares the chores with an e-motor for a total system output of 260 horsepower.

Kia has brought the 2020 Cadenza on stage at the 2020 Chicago Motor Show and we’ve got to say, the aesthetic tweaks have worked wonders on the sedan, which goes on sale this year in two trims: Technology and Limited, as Premium has been discontinued.

Chevy has refreshed its second best-selling vehicle after the Silverado. The current-gen Equinox has been more or less the same since it was launched in 2017, but the 2021 model has gone through a mild facelift. The SUV now looks sharper, smarter, and a lot more aggressive. The company has added a host of driver assistance features and even introduced a new RS trim to the lineup. Chevy managed to sell over 346,000 examples of the Equinox in 2019, and the new RS trim should help boost sales even more.

We’ve seen the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid taking a bow at the 2019 Seoul Motor Show but it’s now time for the sedan to step on U.S. soil via the 2020 Chicago Motor Show.

Big news from FoMoCo on its supercar. It’s still powered by the same 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6, but for the 2020 model year, power goes up from 647 horsepower to 660 horsepower. Torque stays unchanged (550 pound-feet), but it’s now available within a broader band.

Toyota is bringing an armada of trucks and SUVs at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show, including the Highlander XSE that’s infused with enough sporty characteristics that make us wonder if Toyota’s deliberately trying to jolt some life into what otherwise is a family-oriented three-row crossover. To be clear, the Highlander XSE is not a special edition Highlander; it’s a new trim level that comes with significant visual and performance upgrades that you normally don’t see in a Highlander. If this is Toyota’s attempt to catch our attention with the 2021 Highlander, consider our attention’s caught. The Toyota Highlander XSE will go on sale in the fall of this year as a 2021 model. No pricing details have been revealed, but Toyota did say that the Highlander XSE will slot between the XLE and Limited trims. With the Highlander XLE starting at around $40,000 and the Highlander Limited starting at $44,000, expect the Highlander XSE to start at $42,000.