JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you are in the market for a new car, truck or SUV, 2020 will be a great year to add a new vehicle to your garage. This year’s auto lineup, many of which you can see this weekend at the Jacksonville International Auto Show, could be largely grouped under all new, second-generation, resurrected and reunited.
I got a chance to preview many of the shiny new models from some of the world’s best manufacturers for segments for The Local Channel’s prime-time preview of the auto show to air at 8 p.m. Thursday on Channel 4. Lauren Verno will also have a first look at some automotive tech that may or may not be on display in Jacksonville this weekend.
In the all-new category, GM is bringing the Cadillac CT5 (pictured above). Caddy will take aim at some European rivals wit the CT5 based on the Alpha 2 platform which gives the CT5 a performance stance and a beefier build. The standard engine will be a 237-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder.
A 335-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 will also be offered with a performance-oriented CT5-V packing 360-hp with a twin-turbo V-6 with adaptive dampers and electronically controlled limited-slip differential also available. For those looking for something like last year’s track star the CTS-V, a track-ready V-series model is also in the works, but stats have not been released.
All new from Hyundai is the Palisade. The Hyundai Palisade offers luxury, a third row of seats and extra cargo room, something the outgoing Sante Fe XL fell short on.
If early reviews are a sign, this could be Hyundai’s biggest and best yet.
Reunited and it looks and feels so good. Land Rover and Jaguar are back together again. These two British marques first joined forces as part of British Leyland in the late 60s. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation, following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings.
Together they continue the go-anywhere attitude for Range Rover and while putting the roar back in Jaguar.
A blast from the past comes from Lincoln. It has been a while since Lincoln’s three-row SUV has gone by the name Aviator. A name that marked the shortest production run for the brand is back after more than a decade.
Following the introduction of a fully redesigned Ford Explorer, Lincoln saw an opportunity to resurrect the name and thankfully, the all-new version has little in common with the short-lived Aviator of the early 2000s.
Also from Lincoln in the all-new category is the Corsair. The Corsair may be based on the Ford Escape, but the looks are all Lincoln and those looks are getting noticed. The similarly designed Navigator won Edmund’s 2019 Editors’ Choice Award for Luxury SUV.
Maybe those accolades are in the future for the Corsair with its sleek-look, cushy ride and a whisper-silent interior.
Luxury, driver aids and ergonomics are some of the keywords from all brands. GMC tries to check all boxes with their top trim level Denali. Since Denali is a Koyukon word for tall, high and great one, it stands to reason that GMC models delivering the highest luxury, share the name for the highest peak in North America. It sounds cooler than Mount McKinley, too.
These are just a few of the cars, trucks and SUVs that we had a chance to drive and review. Many more badges and brands will be on display at the Jacksonville International Auto Show this Friday through Sunday at the Prime Osborn Center. Also, what could be the hottest sports car of 2020 will make an appearance at the show. I’ll give you a hint: the motor has been moved to the middle, where it should be.