Autos

BMW has confirmed that it will be removing the touchscreens from some of its car models due to the global chip shortage that some estimate might last until 2023. BMW confirmed to both Edmunds and Autoblog that several models will be shipped without touchscreen functionality, including the BMW 3 Series, BMW 4 Series Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe (excluding the i4), BMW X5, BMW X6, BMW X7 and BMW Z4. “As you know, the global chip shortage is ongoing and impacting automakers worldwide,” a BMW spokesperson told Autoblog. “We are actively managing the situation and are in close contact with our suppliers.” BMW confirmed to Autoblog that customers who accept delivery of a car without a touchscreen will be given a $500 USD credit. The global shortage of computer chips ...

With crate motors gaining more popularity within the automotive industry, Ford is now showing off its flexibility yet again over at the SEMA Show by crafting an F-100 electric restomod. After teaming up with MLe Racecars for the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400, Ford has now reunited with MLe Racecars for the latest project, essentially stripping the 1978 F-100 pickup almost entirely. Powering the vintage truck is now the American automaker’s Mach-E GT Performance Edition front and rear motors, creating an all-wheel-drive that can deliver a staggering 480 horsepower and 634 pound-feet of torque, although no details have been revealed about what kind of battery it runs on. Sheer power aside, the F-100 also received a range of other bespoke enhancements and upgrades. The chassis was custom-built...

After rolling out in several cities including San Francisco, Google‘s Waymo brings its self-driving vehicles to the bustling New York City streets. As the most densely populated city in the United States with “unusual road geometrics, complex intersections, and constantly evolving layouts,” the Waymo Driver arrives in New York City to build on its learnings and map the city for the first time. Driving through ice and snow conditions in the city this coming winter will allow Waymo Driver to apply new insights across its entire fleet. The vehicles will be manually driven with two people riding inside, and no more than five cars on the street at a time to start. New Yorkers can catch these uniquely fitted cars driving primarily south of Central Park, in the Financial Distric...

Best known for its premium Land Rover Defender restomods, U.K.-based custom workshop Arkonik has now tapped former Bugatti design chief Etienne Salomé for a special open-top build. Dubbed the Beach Cruiser, the new creation is based on a 1989 Defender 90. With the roof completely removed, Salomé has turned the robust off-roader into a minimalist convertible, rebuilding almost all of its sleek gray body panels to create a boxed, distraction-free aesthetic. Even the door handles are hidden, with the iconic round headlights now tucked neatly in the grille. The minimalist design extends into the interior as well, with simple instrument panels and controls to retain the car’s vintage heritage. Its seats are covered in black denim to match the hardware, complete with a retro steering wheel...

After reworking the Rolls-Royce Cullinan for Drake and going wild on the Bentley Bentayga, the tuning house Mansory has got its hands on yet another luxury British SUV: the Aston Martin DBX. Taking its twin-turbo V8 that produces 550 HP and 700 Nm of torque, Mansory introduces a completely new engine management system, as well as larger turbochargers, a sports air filter, and a high-performance sports exhaust system that ups power to 800 HP and 1,000 Nm. As a result, 0-62 MPH is achieved in 3.8 seconds, considerably quicker than the stock 4.5-second sprint, and the top speed has been increased to 202 MPH. In short, the DBX is now a formidable opponent to Aston Martin‘s own line of performance cars, and perhaps a handful of entry-level supercars too. A wide-body kit has been fitted to...

Toyota‘s contribution to SEMA 2021 came in the form of the “Tacozilla” Tacoma Camper. Celebrating the recent popularity of overlanding, this camper looks to the past for a ’70s and ’80s-inspired overlander. This “micro-house” on wheels is not only full of TRD performance parts but also features a list of custom modifications to the truck for outdoor living. Putting in over hundreds of hours of work, the Toyota Motorsports Garage has reinforced the frame, created a pass-through opening between the Tacoma’s cabin and the camper structure, added a large pop-up Lexan skylight for ambient light and natural air circulation, separated the fuel tank filler from the camper, installed a second battery in the engine bay, and gave the Tacozilla a retro-inspire...

Ahead of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dodge gave its engineers free rein over one of its 2020 Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody 50th-Anniversary editions, in which they came up with the humorously named “Holy Guacamole” concept. The designers injected the special-edition version of the beloved muscle car with retro ’70s flair, opting for a delightful “Rotten Avocado” paint job, a “Gold School” Shaker hood, 50th-anniversary side stripes, Forgeline wheels, and a lowered Mopar suspension kit. The interiors continue the theme with green tartan and wood finishing throughout the cockpit. Beneath the Shaker hood is a Mopar cold air intake, filter and airbox which is optimized for the powerful 6.4-liter HEMI ...

Tesla is finally preparing to launch its Cloud service for driver profiles. According to Tesla Software Updates, a new “Cloud Profiles” feature has been included in the automaker’s latest version 2021.40 update for its vehicles and allows drivers to “Enable Vehicle Sync” for their own individual profiles. Just like other Cloud platforms, the program will allow you to save and upload your preferred driver settings onto the Internet and then sync those to any other Tesla cars you own or might drive in the future through the Tesla app. You’ll be able to save your preferences ranging from the car’s stop mode, the display’s brightness and interior temperature to what distance units to use or whether you want auto high beams. While the feature itse...

Tesla has officially issued a recall of nearly 12,000 EVs due to a glitch in its Full Self-Driving software that has caused cars to stop without reason. The electric vehicles company has faced many difficulties recently regarding updating the software. The automatic driving feature has caused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to launch a formal investigation on the company. U.S. regulators are continuously voicing their concern over the software. In response to the stoppage of some of Tesla’s vehicles for no reason due to a technology malfunction, the company has pinpointed that the problem with automatic emergency braking is that it runs the risks of other cars running into Teslas from behind. The recall is set to cover Tesla Models S, X, 3 and Y. The phantom brakin...

Back in 2013, a 1967 Toyota 2000GT sold for a record-high of $1.2M USD, and in 2015 another sold for $880,000 USD, so the sale of this 1968 iteration for $850,000 USD seems like a relative bargain, no? It sold through the auction site Bring a Trailer, where a no reserve style of bidding meant that one lucky buyer got the 1968 Toyota 2000GT for under the general market value. However, it goes to show that much like other classic Japanese cars, there’s much demand for rare models and prices are only set to skyrocket over time — the same has been seen with Nissan’s older generation Skyline GT-Rs, for example. The car in question is one of 351 examples produced in the three years that the 2000GT was made, and only one of the 109 export models that came in left-hand drive. It ...

Last week, Hertz and Tesla entered into a deal that was cited as the “biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles” by the BBC, however Elon Musk took to Twitter to denounce the deal saying that there has yet to be a contract that has been signed. The CEO tweeted, “I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet. Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.” In response to the tweet, a spokeswoman told BBC, “Deliveries of the Teslas already have started. As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure a...

On top of Chevrolet releasing a beast of an off-roader at SEMA, Ford had some tricks up its sleeve as well with the introduction of the Ford Bronco DR — Desert Racer. The culmination of years of Bronco development and race-tested technology, the 2022 Bronco DR takes the four-door frame and readies it for the Baja 1000 with high-speed desert racing upgrades — the ultimate turnkey off-road racing SUV. The Bronco DR features a 400 horsepower Coyote 5.0-liter V8 engine, Multimatic Positional Selective DSSV Dampers, a safety cage, a High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (H.O.S.S.) system, Multimatic-designed billet aluminum lower control arms, over 55% more suspension travel than the Badlands series Bronco, 37-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 all-season tires, race seats...