Autos

Volkswagen has been making sporty-looking versions of its Transporter vans for a while now, but the latest version looks significantly more badass than the last one. The addition of the little “.1” appended to the T6 name indicates quite a bit has changed. The Sportline has always been a top-tier trim, but the T6.1 gets a serious injection of Golf GTI hot-hatch attitude—especially in the special Black Edition you’re seeing here. See all 2 photos All T6.1 Sportlines get a number of enhancements over the regular T6. The GTI-inspired touches are the most obvious: the red strip in the grille, a sporty front bumper skin, and the rear spoiler. The van is dropped an inch; the Black Edition additionally uses Eibach coilovers. Regular Sportlines can be had in grey, red, blue, or b...

If you weren’t aware that catalytic converter theft is A Thing, well, it is—and the problem is getting worse. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the pandemic has seen a rapid rise in catalytic converter theft. In 2019, an average of 282 catalytic converters were stolen every month; in 2020 the average had risen to 1,203—and that’s just an average. In December alone, 2,347 catalytic converters were stolen. See all 4 photos What’s the deal here? Catalytic converters contain precious metals which are rapidly increasing in value, including platinum (currently worth about $1,100 per ounce), palladium ($2,400 per ounce), and rhodium ($24,000 per ounce). A contributing factor could also be that many cars have been sitting quite a lot during the pandemic, what with...

Turn 14 Distribution, the performance warehouse giant which supplies aftermarket goods globally and prides itself on stocking its partners’ complete product lines, announced it will be the title sponsor for Evasive Motorsports’ Tesla Model 3 Performance campaign at the 2021 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Turn 14’s Director of Marketing, Daryl Sampson states, “Turn 14 Distribution’s goal to be an industry leader is consistent with our involvement in this project. We love the sound and emotion of internal combustion engines but recognize and support the increasing growth of the EV and hybrid market by the OE’s. Evasive Motorsports sees this, too, and we are happy to partner with them on this effort.” Piloting the Model 3 is Turn 14-sponsored at...

Hey, you? Is this 1996 Ferrari F50 yours? If so, the U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to speak with you. No, it’s not about that parking ticket … they want to give the F50 back to you. Remember how it was stolen 18 years ago? In Italy? The government thinks this is it. But before you raise your hand, know that this is headed to court … there’s another party who thinks they have rightful ownership. Let’s back up and explain. As The Buffalo News reports, back in 2003, a Ferrari F50 was stolen in Italy soon after it was purchased. Fast forward a bunch of years, and a Ferrari F50 is intercepted at the Canadian border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They notice something a little fishy about the VIN plate, and after investigating further—and contacting Ferrari—CB...

We can’t imagine you’ll often hear the word “no” echoing down the cool, polished hallways of Pagani’s HQ over in San Cesario sul Panaro, Italy. Well, you might get some sort of “no” if you ask the reps there if you can take one of their carbon fiber hypercars out for a spin, or if you could swap your rental Fiat parked out front as a deposit, but it’s not a word usually told to legitimate customers. See all 9 photos “No” is the killer of dreams and establishes boundaries—two things Pagani isn’t in the business to do. If you have a Scrooge McDuck bank balance and a fistful of neat ideas, we’re reasonably sure few requests are rejected. All this within the confines of the law, of course. Even Pagani can’t cheat eve...

Alfa Romeos—particularly those produced prior to the 2000s—are tools for the experiential. Enthusiasts who mainline spec sheets need not apply; each Alfa is a perfect example of cars that are far more than the sum of its parts—and occasionally the Motor Trend Car of the Year. To drive an Alfa is to relish the process, to recognize that the path up is usually just as important as the summit. See all 31 photos Or, maybe not. Aether Apparel’s new Safari-ized 1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6 is proof that—with clever engineering and a metric ton of creativity—even the finest Milanese metal can handle a two-track fire road. The clothier turned to the avant-garde Oil Stain Lab design collective to bring this creation to life. Never one to adhere to traditional automotive mores, Oil Stain has a tr...

Just a few weeks after the last Volkswagen Golf MkVII rolled out of the Puebla, Mexico plant—and we found out the new MkVIII model wouldn’t be coming Stateside—the fourth-generation Seat León has arrived in the Latin-American country. The Seat León and Volkswagen Golf have long shared their architecture, powertrains and interior design, and this sophisticated-looking new generation is no exception. It is based on the new eighth-generation Golf that America won’t be getting (sigh), making the León the closest we’ll get to the beloved regular-grade German hatchback—both literally and figuratively. Make no mistake, we’re happy we’re getting the MkVIII-based Golf R and GTI on our shores, but in Mexico, where VW has all not confirmed the arrival of the Golf VIII, t...

Look, we get it, valets are people, too. Most probably go about their business schlepping your car from a convenient waypoint near an entrance to a venue or restaurant to a faraway parking space with the utmost care and caution. But you’ve seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, haven’t you? If not—how?—there’s an iconic sequence involving a Ferrari 250 GT California, a pair of speed-hungry valets, and a joyride that would make any car owner go out of their way to park their ride themselves. Mercedes-Benz has tapped into that protective instinct with a new commercial for the 2021 S-Class sedan titled, appropriately, “Valet Guys.” You can, and probably just did, watch the commercial via the YouTube clip above. So, we’ll spare you the explanation about the se...

The United States Postal Service’s Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV) may have been built by the same company that built the sleek F-14 Tomcat but it’s hardly a looker. Somehow, its replacement, the new Oshkosh Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) is even more homely looking. Especially when compared to Amazon’s Rivian Prime or FedEx’s BrightDrop EV600 vans. Government program gone wrong? Actually, there’s a very good reason as to why the NGDV looks the way it does. See all 5 photos Simply put, it’s because the postal service asked for it to look this way. The proposal by the USPS for its NGDV program included more than six separate documents with over 76 pages of requirements and testing procedures for automakers interested in building the NGDV. As...

What’s seldom discussed is that 10 years prior, the industry had gone through a similar, albeit more protracted die-off. The 1990s would be littered obituaries for automakers that simply couldn’t cut it during what turned out to be a transformative period for car companies facing shifting customer tastes and economic trends. While not as acute as a global financial collapse, the decade’s slower-motion impact nonetheless was vast. During the ’90s the hodge-podge of companies that had accumulated after the gung-ho initiatives of the ’80s collided head-on with the realities of the era. Some of these brands were formulated from the ashes of past acquisitions, while others snuck onto the market in disguise to hoodwink a new set of customers. Then there were the fli...