Autos

Update: Toyota has decided to fight fire with fire. After murky images of the new Tundra leaked out this morning, Toyota responded by posting a much higher quality picture of the white truck you see before you on Twitter—along with a coy tweet aimed at whoever spilled the beans earlier today.  The first photos of what appear to be the 2022 Toyota Tundra have surfaced online, allegedly leaked from a virtual reveal for dealers. Someone then posted the leaked photos of the new Tundra to the TundraCrew Facebook group, where they propagated to the wider internet via tundras.com. See all 37 photos The real surprises come at the rear—our first peek at the Tundra’s rump reveals interesting tri-bar taillights and, on this TRD Pro, another set of amber marker lights atop the tailgate...

Reservations are strong, Ford CEO Jim Farley said during the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference. Filling them all will take some time. A shortage of semiconductor chips means inventory is not expected to return to normal levels until 2022. See all 4 photos Ford Bronco Has Two Years of Sales Orders So far 190,000 customers have reserved a Bronco, the rugged SUV that has seen its launch delayed a number of times, and which has had to sort out an issue with the supplier of its hardtops. But production is underway to fill the 125,000 reservations that have been converted to orders, Farley says. The SUV is essentially sold out for two years. In April Ford warned that the chip shortage would force it to cut production in half during the quarter that ends this month. Farley says day su...

Elon Musk famously named the new tri-motor, high-performance variant of the 2022 Tesla Model S the “Plaid” because like the movie Spaceballs says, it’s the only step beyond “Ludicrous,” the previous top-dog in the Model S lineup. Well what if there is a step beyond Plaid and the cancelled Plaid+? According to a source at the company, there’s no reason why Tesla couldn’t make a quad-motor Model S if it wanted to. Why Would Tesla Want to Make a Quad-Motor Model S? Two reasons primarily: more power and more traction, which could potentially improve the Model S’ launch, and actually give it a sub-2.0-second 0-60 mph time without any gimmicks. According to the below cutaway, as the Model S Plaid is currently laid out it has two motors at the rear ...

If you dive into the Tesla Model S Plaid configurator, you’ll find lots of caveats—just like you would in our First Test. One of the biggest was regarding the Model S Plaid’s claimed 200 mph top speed. “The indicated Plaid top speed requires proper wheels and tires which will be available in Fall 2021.” According to Tesla, the wheels and tires necessary for 200 mph are available on the Plaid now, but what isn’t is a software update needed to hit said speeds. Two sets of wheels are available on the Model S Plaid. Standard are 19-inch “Tempest” wheels, while optional are 21-inch “Arachnid” wheels, which come standard with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires (like seen on our recent test Model S Plaid). It’s the latter set of wheels and ti...

Despite it appearing in images pulled from Tesla’s own website, as well as making cameos in a handful of the automaker’s test cars, a traditional round steering wheel is not in the cards for the refreshed Model S electric vehicle. Instead, the brand is committing to the funky yoke-style steering device that the updated luxury sedan debuted with, which looks much like a normal steering wheel sans the upper rim. For those with a knack for pop culture, think of the steering setup used by Knight Rider‘s K.I.T.T. Admittedly, we rather like the design of Tesla’s new tiller (admit it, it looks cool), however, we were left underwhelmed by its execution after a week of living with a so-equipped Model S Plaid. This was especially true when driving at lower speeds wh...

See all 17 photos For one, that new corporate logo adorns a slightly redesigned grille—however, it is still framed with two winged garnish bars and features a bold mesh-like pattern. “TELLURIDE” is still spelled out above the grille on the leading edge of the hood. The sharp Nightfall Edition, with blacked-out trim and so forth, returns for 2022 and joins other Nightfall Edition models in the lineup, like the smaller 2022 Seltos. There are no powertrain changes; the sole engine offering remains the 3.8-liter V-6 good for 291 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. The 2021 Kia Telluride started with the LX trim, at $33,415. For 2022, the price of said LX base trim goes up to $34,015—a $600 jump. For that extra scratch, 2022 Telluride buyers will get a few worthwhile standard amenit...

Equipped with Acura’s torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system (dubbed Super Handling All-Wheel Drive or SH-AWD by the Japanese brand) and a 10-speed automatic transmission, the sportiest iteration of the MDX promises to improve upon the standard model’s dynamics, an AWD version of which we clocked accelerating from 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds. To complement the more powerful engine of the MDX Type S, Acura fits the most potent variant of its mid-size SUV with Brembo-sourced front brakes and a trim-specific Sport+ drive mode. Despite its sporting pretensions, the MDX Type S maintains the less powerful MDX SH-AWD’s 5,000-pound maximum towing capacity. Acura intends to show off the SUV’s hauling abilities by having a 2022 MDX Type S tow one of its TLX Type S race cars from...