Autos
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Tesla Is Ditching Radar in Transition to Camera-Only Autopilot System
When the Model S was the only car Tesla made, it relied solely on cameras for its suite of driver aid systems. However, Tesla wasn’t marketing Autopilot or Full Self Driving almost a decade ago when the Model S made its debut. This major hardware change comes hot on the heels of recent scrutiny of Tesla’s Autopilot system after a fatal crash that involved a Model S in Texas. See all 62 photos Not only that, but Tesla just debuted its new 4D Radar tech in October of last year, so the move away from radar is a surprising one, even if Elon Musk’s longstanding antipathy to lidar perhaps hinted that the company would go all-in on camera tech eventually. We reached out to Tesla to ask why the company is making the move away from the radar tech it recently lauded. The ...
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro: This Electric Truck Is Built to Work
We also have a better idea of how Ford is able to offer the Ford F-150 Lightning lineup of electric pickup trucks at a surprisingly low price: starting at $41,669 (with destination) for the standard battery and $51,669 with the extended range. The sheer volume of F-Series sales—about 900,000 a year—provides huge savings by leveraging economies of scale. Ford kept the dimensions of the SuperCrew cab and 5.5-foot bed of the Lightning and Lightning Pro the same as their gasoline counterparts so that there is a giant shared parts bin to pull from. The other key: Ford has a number of services it will offer customers, and while many will appeal to retail customers, it is the commercial fleet owner or business truck operator who stands to benefit the most from data and software-based services des...
2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet First Test: Open Air Artillery
Porsche 911 Full Overview Welcome, everyone, to the quickest cabriolet we’ve ever tested. That’s right—as far as soft-tops are concerned, the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet sits at the tippy-top of our testing data heap. We’d love to say this is the quickest aire libre rocket sled we’ve shot down the strip, but alas, Porsche’s own 918 Spyder matches the new Turbo S Cab from 0-60 mph with a disc-slipping, 2.4-second scramble. Wowza. As the 918’s roof is of the classical targa variety with a rigid, manually removable center section that must be physically stowed, we’ll crown the Turbo S Cab as the king of the soft-tops. The Turbo S Cab yanks that title away from the 2017 Porsche Turbo Cabriolet, a deliciously fitting coup—or is it cab?—we predict...
Toyota Teases Pair of Mysterious Tacoma Pickups
It is now an annual expectation that Toyota updates the TRD Pro versions of its Tacoma, Tundra, 4Runner, and Sequoia off-road trucks and SUVs. Typically, these changes are minor (a new paint color here, a new snorkel intake there), so we’re not going to read too much into Toyota’s release of two photos depicting what appear to be the front wheels of two separate Tacoma pickups. Or should we? See all 49 photos Given the TRD wheel cap visible in one photo, we predict this image previews the latest Tacoma TRD Pro. Nothing special, right? Well … the body is painted a searing shade of highlighter-esque neon yellow—that’d be new to the Tacoma range. Perhaps this will be the 2022 Tacoma TRD Pro’s signature color—replacing or augmenting the 2021 model’s Lunar Ro...
Isn’t It Ioniq: Here are the U.S.-Bound 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Specs
After the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5‘s tremendously exciting world debut earlier this year, we’re finally privy to some detailed specs on the U.S.-bound EV crossover SUV. Thankfully, strong power, good range, and fast charging makes the retrofuturistic Ioniq 5 much more than just a pretty electric face when it lands on dealer lots later this year. At launch, American buyers have the choice of just one battery pack and two motor configurations. All U.S.-market Ioniq 5s will carry the same 77.4-kWh battery unit that feeds either a single rear-mounted motor or the hotter dual-motor AWD layout. With just the single rear motor, power is a reasonable 225 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, enough for a 0-60 mph run somewhere in the low 7.0-second area and a targeted range of 300 miles. See...
The Genesis GV70’s Price Undercuts German Luxury SUV Rivals
It’s a Compact Luxury SUV-Eat-Compact Luxury SUV World The entry-level GV70 will start at $42,045, making it much cheaper than the equivalent BMW X3, whose starting price is $43,995. While undercutting BMW, the GV70 comes with a 2.5-liter turbocharged I-4 that makes 300 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque—more horsepower than the four-cylinder X3 has—along with a massive 14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment display, Genesis’ suite of driver aids (which included lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross traffic alert), and all-wheel drive. Speaking of, the BMW comes standard with rear-wheel drive; to step up to the X3’s available xDrive all-wheel drive, you’ll have to fork over another $2,000, bringing the price to $45,995. For those who are curious, a base A...
2021 Volvo XC60 Recharge T8 First Test: Hybrid Hype
Volvo XC60 Full Overview “I’ve loved being in this thing,” we heard over our shoulder as we made the trek down Highway 1 after a short weekend getaway. That comment came from our high school friend, Luke, who was riding in the back seat of the 2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge. Our little trip was planned to mark a couple of occasions. One, our friend was getting married. Two, with the coronavirus pandemic finally starting to release its stranglehold on, well, everything, it was high time to take a vacation. As sedans and sports cars fade ever further out of view, and SUVs and electric vehicles lurk ever closer, the XC60 Recharge T8 serves as a happy medium between the “right now” and the “eventually.” Its mix of gasoline-electric hybrid power and unders...
2022 Aston Martin V12 Speedster First Drive: Utterly Pointless, and We Love It
The 2022 Aston Martin V12 Speedster costs the equivalent of a million bucks and doesn’t come with a roof. Or even a windshield, for that matter. It’s expensive and impractical and breaks no new ground in terms of its layout, technology, or design. It’s a rich person’s toy, a 12-cylinder, twin-turbo plaything for people with money to burn—a pointless automotive frivolity. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Let’s be real, though: With a handful of exceptions like the Ford Model T, Volkswagen Beetle, Citroën 2CV, and the original Mini, among others, the automobile has rarely been simply about rational transport. If it was, we would all drive sensible hatchbacks or multi-function minivans rather than lusting after snarling 600-horsepower perform...
2022 Kia Carnival First Test: Is this All-New MPV an MVP?
Kia Carnival Full Overview If you read our First Look review, you already know the all-new 2022 Kia Carnival is quite the looker, chock full of style and technology. You would also know that Kia considers the Carnival an MPV, not a minivan, despite its front-wheel-drive powertrain, dual sliding doors, and spacious, kid-friendly seating arrangements. Whatever you want to call it, we can confirm the Carnival is cart-stoppingly handsome; on our weekly grocery shopping trip, a young man in charge of collecting the shopping carts and a customer driving away both stopped their respective four-wheelers to ask, “Wow, what is that? Who makes it?” Sophisticated, Standout Styling The attraction? Kia’s mystifying new logo on the nose and the Carnival’s sophisticated, standout s...
2021 Buick Encore GX 1.3T FWD First Drive: Reasonable Doubt
Buick Encore Full Overview If Jay-Z was seeking a Buick when he asked for an “encore” in his 2003 song of the same name, then the legendary Brooklyn-born rapper is in luck, because the American brand now sells two Encores: the subcompact Encore and the larger, but not quite compact, Encore GX. Yet despite the SUVs’ shared monikers, the Encore GX is neither a trim nor a mechanical relative of the Encore. Instead, the 2021 Buick Encore GX forgoes its smaller sibling’s aging underpinnings and four-cylinder engine for a newer General Motors platform and a pair of available three-cylinder engines. (Chevrolet also employs these mechanical pieces in its Trailblazer SUV.) A 137-hp turbocharged 1.2-liter I-3 comes standard across the board, but a more powerful 155-hp turboch...
What’s the Best 2021 Honda CR-V Trim? Here’s Our Guide
If you’re considering a 2021 Honda CR-V, you’re in good company. The fifth-generation CR-V was crowned MotorTrend’s 2018 SUV of the Year for its roomy, well-built interior, solid driving dynamics, and great feature-per-dollar value. A midcycle refresh for 2020 simplified trim levels and introduced a hybrid version. If you’ve decided on the CR-V but need to know which one is ideal for your needs, have a look at our trim guide below. The most notable change Honda made on the 2020 CR-V was standardizing the 1.5-liter turbocharged I-4 across every trim level. This means you get 190 hp and 179 lb-ft of torque even in the base LX trim. FWD is standard on the base model starting at around $26,500; AWD is available for an additional $1,500. Every CR-V also includes the Hond...
Ford Takes in More Than 44,500 F-150 Lightning Orders in 48 Hours
As soon as Ford debuted the all-new, all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup, it offered interested customers a place in line for a refundable $100 deposit. The number of reservations that pile up early has become something of a bragging-rights measuring stick among highly anticipated new electric vehicles—think of the Tesla Model 3 or the GMC Hummer EV. Well, two days have passed since the Lightning struck, and Ford’s President and CEO Jim Farley has announced that the automaker has drummed up more than 44,500 reservations. For those who haven’t already busted out their calculators, with pre-orders requiring $100 deposits, that puts Ford’s 48-hour reservation haul at … $4,450,000. Not bad for two days of letting the world get excited over your new electric full-size pi...
