Autos
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Tesla-Powered Range Rover Classic Beautifully Marries Old and New
East Coast Defenders (E.C.D.) Automotive Design prides itself in meticulously crafting six-figure, bespoke Defenders and Range Rover Classics fit to impress even the pickiest of connoisseurs. But the company’s recent creation out-whizzes its robust collection of re-worked British machinery with a surprise underhood. This Range Rover Classic may look like the others, but it hides a ‘lil secret that helps it cruise with a futuristic whirr rather than a guttural growl. It’s from the past but powered by the future. It’s electric, the first of its kind from E.C.D. See all 60 photos In addition to its Rover 4.0-liter V-8 or Chevy 6.2-liter V-8 engine options for restored Range Rover Classics, E.C.D. now offers an “Electric Defender” conversion, and has su...
2021 Subaru Legacy First Test: Honest and Decent
Subaru Legacy Full Overview We rattle on about cars that go fast, crush trails, and look like—or literally cost—a million bucks. Those vehicles stir our enthusiast souls, but even though we love to drive, we aren’t every driver. The 2021 Subaru Legacy doesn’t have the attributes that typically make MotorTrend editors salivate, yet it’s a solid vehicle with satisfying comfort, a user-friendly approach, and an easygoing demeanor. What’s more, some of the Legacy’s features aren’t just good for its segment—a few stand out regardless of size, category, or price. 2021 Subaru Legacy: Nice Price, Slow Going While style is subjective, Subaru often jokes that it doesn’t hire expensive designers and passes the savings to customers. We can believe it, as ...
Diablo in Disguise: Bid on an Ultra-Rare, Lambo-Based Vector M12
Fittingly, the corporate history of the ever-enigmatic Vector Motors is just as intriguing as the wild vaporwave twin-turbo doorstop supercars it produced. A condensed history of the company, including its pseudo-production Vector W8 and the subsequent stillborn Avtech WX-3, would be voluminous on the scale of War and Peace. So for now, we’re fast-forwarding to the mid-1990s, where the Vector story almost takes off in earnest just before burning up as it breaches the atmosphere—and it’s all centered around hostile corporate takeovers, a despot’s son, and a new supercar with a Lamborghini V-12—a supercar you can bid on at Barrett-Jackson’s upcoming Scottsdale sale. See all 9 photos Vector Motors (then Vector Aeromotive) struggled in the early 1990s. The late Ve...
2022 BMW iX’s Starting Price Puts It Squarely in Tesla Model X Territory
The 2022 BMW iX is on its way to a dealership near you. Admittedly, it isn’t the prettiest car in the world (its interior design, however, represents a significantly better design effort than that of its exterior), but the BMW electric SUV does signal a host of important changes for the German brand. There’s little doubt, as well, that BMW would like the iX to dethrone the Tesla Model X as consumers’ electric luxury SUV of choice. According to BMW, the iX will start around the mid-$80,000 range for the ix xDrive 50 when pre-orders for the SUV begin in the middle of the year. That sum gets a vehicle that supports charging at up to 200 kW, has a 0-60-mph time of under 5.0 seconds, and ought to manage nearly 300 miles of driving range on a full charge. While we’ll...
Tesla on “Autopilot” Slams Into Stationary Michigan Cop Car
Automotive News reports that a Tesla struck a Michigan State Police vehicle that was stationary on a freeway early on Wednesday. According to police, the “Autopilot” driver-assistance system was engaged, and neither the driver nor the system avoided the crash. A police Twitter account indicated there were no injuries. It’s not apparent if the Tesla or driver attempted to slow down to avoid the impact. The driver was also cited for driving with a suspended license, according to the tweet. The police car, a Dodge Charger, suffered serious damage to the rear driver’s corner. It’s unclear what damage the Tesla suffered, or which model of Tesla was involved, though it appears to be a Model 3 sedan. But this impact comes right on the heels of another troubling incid...
2022 BMW i4 EV Sedan First Look: Big Range, Big Power, Big Grille
The 2022 BMW i4 EV sedan premiered a bit earlier than expected, with the first few exterior photos and even fewer details released during the company’s annual conference in Munich today. It is the latest i model to be introduced under BMW’s electrified sub-brand, which has fielded stuff like the i3 EV hatchback and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. The production i4’s styling, it turns out, was accurately previewed by the Concept i4 last year. That said, the sedan’s visual were toned-down substantially, particularly in the headlights and wheels. While the concept looked like an aggressive sport sedan, we were told back then that wasn’t the goal for the production car. As such, the i4 you’ll be able to buy later this year looks like a less-aggressive vers...
Dirt Every Day Builds a Suzuki Samurai Rock Crawler Pickup!
Remember the 100th episode special of Dirt Every Day? Neither did Fred Williams or Dave Chappelle; they kinda forgot where the count was and celebrated the milestone, officially, at 103. But, boy was it a big one! Going to the island of Java in Indonesia to wheel with Fred’s long-time friend, Widodo, and the ProRock Engineering crew in that awesome Daihatsu Taft pickup conversion—fun times. But this is season 10 and it’s time to go bigger and better! How? By building a Suzuki Samurai rock crawler pickup conversion thingy! Hey, the Samurai is marginally bigger than the Taft, so that counts. And Fred and Dave don’t have Widodo and his enormous workshop full of skilled fabricators to do most of the heavy lifting this time. Building Your Own Rock Crawler See all 14 phot...
Can a Ferrari 550 Maranello with a JDM Attitude Readjustment Satisfy?
The 550 Maranello was a Ferrari that wasn’t necessarily on everyone’s wish list. Successor to the Testarossa/512, many felt its shark-mouthed styling was too reserved. Others didn’t think a Ferrari V12 engine belonged ahead of the cabin (myself included). Despite not being mid-engined and having more of a grown-up, touring car appeal, it was still one of the best cars $200K could buy you in the mid-to-late ’90s. Highly praised by journalists, it was more of an elegant coupe you’d spot on a swanky road trip up to Monterey, not something you’d encounter at a testing day at Fuji Speedway, which is what makes this particular 1997 550 Maranello the absolute business. See all 27 photos All Business, Little Grand Touring I like my Ferraris aggressive, loud, eve...
2021 Chevrolet Blazer RS AWD Review: Set Blazer to Stun
Chevrolet Blazer Full Overview Think of the 2021 Chevrolet Blazer as Michael B. Jordan to the original Chevy Blazer’s Michael Jordan. Much as the actor and former NBA star share the same basic name but are gifted at different crafts, the new and old Blazers bear the same moniker but feature contrasting talents. Just as we know which Michael Jordan we want to watch perform on the silver screen and which we want to watch drop buckets, we know which Blazer we want to drive on twisting tarmac and which we want to take to the trails. Admittedly, the 2021 Blazer is no Camaro or Corvette. Still, the midsize SUV is arguably among the most entertaining options in its segment. Well, at least in Blazer RS guise. The $41,995 RS trim forgoes the four-cylinder engines that power its peers—a 193-hp...
Kevin Hart Is Coming to MotorTrend!
Kevin Hart has been a car enthusiast his whole life, and his closest friends and comedy crew-The Plastic Cup Boyz-are just as in love with cars. Namely, muscle cars. We’ve heard for years about Kevin’s impressive car collection, including a convertible Pontiac GTO and not one but two Mustangs—a 1965 Ford Mustang convertible and a restomod Mustang GT500E Super Snake making over 700 hp—along with a selection of Europe’s finest exotics. Now, The Plastic Cup Boyz want in on the action, and because everyone wants an awesome muscle car, they might as well start a car crew. Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew, Coming Exclusively to the MotorTrend App This Summer! A bunch of comedians starting a car crew? This is going to be hilarious. No, seriously, they want it to be funny. Car ...
2021 Ford F-150 Police Responder First Look: A Different Kind of 5-0
MOAR Power and Torque! For 2021, the Ford F-150 Police Responder’s standard 3.5-liter “EcoBoost” V-6 engine gets a boost in power and torque of 25 hp and 30 lb-ft and powertrain calibration custom tailored to police duty. That adds to 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, which out-muscles the V-8 competition by 4-45 hp and by 90-117 lb-ft of torque. Its standard 10-speed automatic trumps the Chevy by four ratios and the Ram by two. Four-wheel drive is standard on all of the police pickups. We expect the Ford to be at least 1.5 seconds quicker to 60 mph than the Chevy or Ram with a time of around 5.2 seconds. There’s also a new button that allows an officer to temporarily disable pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking to better facilitate a bump-n-spin or p...
Could the Alpha Wolf Bring Small Electric Trucks Back to the Future?
Times are changing, and the truck of the future very likely won’t resemble the truck of the past. Alpha Motor Corporation understands and embraces this notion of change. Alpha, an electric vehicle startup company headquartered in Irvine, California, has a cool truck-looking vehicle in the works called the Alpha Wolf utility truck, and by golly, its throwback, retro cues and futuristic powertrain are quite intriguing to truck enthusiasts open-minded enough to give it a chance (once, or if, it reaches production). The Alpha Wolf electric truck shares a platform with the company’s Alpha Jax four-seater CUV. Additionally, the EV startup also has an Ace Coupe, Ace Performance Coupe, and Icon in its lineup. Unlike the bizarre shape of, say, the Tesla Cybertruck, the Wolf looks s...
