Autos
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Watch: Widebody Lucid Air Tri-Motor Lays Down Blistering Laguna Seca Lap Time
“It’s all over,” I said to myself. I was in the passenger seat of Lucid Air car number 17. Why 17? Because it’s the last two digits of the car’s VIN. It’s an early enough build the steering wheel is from a Cadillac CTS because Lucid hadn’t started making steering wheels when car 17’s chassis was built. John Culliton, the senior mechanical engineer of chassis and vehicle dynamics who was giving me some hot laps around Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, had finally stopped simply telling me about how the Air is on the track and stomped the throttle. We were just before the apex of turn 5, and John’s foot unleashed all 1,080 horsepower in the Air. “This is the end,” I thought. Not of my life—John’s pretty handy behind the w...
2021 Acura TLX 2.0T Track Test: It’s Not a Numbers Car
Appreciate the 2021 Acura TLX for its many strengths, but don’t dwell too much on the numbers. Because after spending some time with Acura’s sporty-looking new premium sedan, we see its value, even if not much of it shows up on the track. The TLX makes a good first impression—it’s priced closer to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but its wheelbase and length put it much closer to the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class. That makes it a bit of a tweener in our book. Does it deliver on its message? Some of our test team found the TLX’s handling splendid, but others felt the racy sheet metal was writing checks that its chassis couldn’t cash. Cars competing in the compact luxury sport sedan price category are asked to meet a near-impossible challenge: del...
2021 Ford F-150 vs. Chevy Silverado 1500, Ram 1500: How the Big Three Compare
Every new truck debut ignites a war of numbers, with fans feverishly comparing horsepower, torque, hauling capability, and—who knows?—maybe cupholder counts. Ford released new information about the 2021 F-150 this week, and it promises to blow competitors out of the water when it comes to trucky metrics such as towing, horsepower, and more. That’s an ambitious claim, considering that since the last F-150 first went on sale, rivals haven’t been sitting still, instead pushing their trucks’ envelopes further and setting a higher bar. So, how will the 2021 Ford F-150 stack up against the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado? We’ve crunched the numbers so that you can gear up for truck debate class: See all 46 photos F-150 vs. Silverado vs. Ram 1500: Engines Ford was already...
2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Long-Term Test Verdict: Not the Year We Expected
The departure of our long-term 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon just a few weeks ago was bittersweet. A lot has changed in my life—all of our lives, really—since the firetruck-red, black-topped four-door Wrangler long-termer showed up at MotorTrend‘s offices in July of 2019. Like the long-term Ram Power Wagon before it, I had big plans for our Wrangler; aside from driving and living with it everyday, I was going to take our Wrangler on epic, Jeep-appropriate overland expeditions across the American Southwest, with my wife and our two dogs, Brooklyn and Rex, in tow. For many reasons that didn’t happen. An endless stream of test vehicles (the very definition of a first-world problem, I know) from summer through fall delayed plans to go exploring Death Valley, o...
2022 Genesis GV70 Looks Promising in New Teaser Photos
Genesis really needs a second SUV to compete in today’s crossover-obsessed world. Fortunately, that SUV appears to be right around the corner. Today, Genesis revealed the GV70 in camouflaged form. The SUV is expected to arrive here in the U.S. for the 2022 model year. Peering beneath the camo, we can tell the Genesis GV70 takes inspiration from the larger GV80‘s headlights and taillights. While the shape of the grille is familiar, the mug features a unique black mesh pattern, at least on this version. Starfish-like black wheels finish off the look. See all 21 photos Genesis has begun testing the camouflaged GV70 on public roads in Korea. For the next month, motorists can scan a QR code on the vehicle’s wrap to learn more about the unique camo. At this point, Genesis isn&#...
AWD, FWD, or RWD—Which Wheel Drive Is Best?
Forgive us for engaging in maieutics right off the bat—doing as Greek philosopher Socrates did by answering a question with further questions—but that’s how these things go. There is no single answer for everyone. Wisdom cannot be taught, only learned. So, if your pressing question has to do with vehicle drivelines and whether all-wheel drive (AWD), front-wheel drive (FWD), or rear-wheel drive (RWD) is best, we suggest you first look deep within and ask yourself a few more questions. First, are you simply seeking a transportation appliance that promises the greatest safety, economy, and practicality? Are you a driving enthusiast who finds joy in driving and is looking to form an emotional bond with their vehicle? How do you feel about off-roading, or acquiring and maintaining a ...
2021 BMW 4 Series Convertible First Look: The Cloth Top Cometh
Luckily, there are some notable changes over this car’s predecessor that might make it more appealing—provided you can get past its mug. For 2021, the 4 Series ‘vert drops the heavy, power-folding hardtop of its forebear for a cloth unit. The new cloth drop-top is 40 percent lighter than the folding roof from the previous car. By switching to a soft top, BMW managed to rid the 4 Series convertible’s roof of any seams or kinks. The roof looks flat and perfectly taut when closed. 2021 BMW 4 Series Convertible: Safety First The new convertible is bigger in every dimension than the car it replaces. It sits on a 1.5-inch longer wheelbase and is four percent stiffer than the old car. Credit side skirts with more torsional rigidity, a more rigid floor plate, and a reinforce...
Have an HD Pickup? Wanna Camp In It? Try the EarthCruiser Terranova Camper
Watch out Toyota, because it turns out it’s not enough to “cruise” the “land”. Nope. Today’s adventurers want to cruise the earth, and they may need something beyond the mighty Land Cruiser SUV. EarthCruiser offers the camper kit to help those planet-roamers, including the upcoming Terranova. Due to arrive early 2021, the new Terranova is one of the ultimate ways to explore this planet from behind the wheel of a 2020-or-newer Chevrolet Silverado 3500, Ford F-350, GMC Sierra 3500, or Ram 3500 pickup truck. The latter model is shown in these illustrations provided by EarthCruiser of its upcoming camper. See all 19 photos Made of fiberglass and what EarthCruiser refers to as “high-density plastic” materials, the Terranova takes the place of...
2021 Toyota Corolla XSE Apex First Test: Not the Sport Sedan We Were Hoping For
Although it can’t keep pace with the best compact sedans, the new Toyota Corolla is a big improvement over its predecessor. Along with stronger handling, it benefits from a more potent engine option and a streamlined interior. The Corolla Hybrid we recently tested is a true standout delivering stellar fuel economy. Now, here to shake things up again is the 2021 Toyota Corolla Apex Edition, promising an affordable sport sedan experience. But, does it deliver? Well, not quite in the way we were hoping. The Apex Edition is more than just a style package. The sedan receives a unique track-tuned suspension. In addition to new springs that lower the car by 0.6 inch, the car features new shocks, bump stops, and more rigid anti-roll bars that are meant to improve its agility. Thanks to all t...
From the Archives: Detroit Mid-Engine Sports Cars Are Coming
Back in our December 1969 issue, we ran a story highlighting Ford and Chevrolet’s skunk works effort to develop new mid-engine supercars. With both automakers now finally offering mid-engine sports cars to the public, the Ford GT and the 2020 MotorTrend Car of The Year-winning 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, we thought it’d be fun to dive back into this old magazine story. Detroit’s in the grip of mid-engine mania. Again, there’s said to be a mid-engine Corvette in the works, for 1972 or perhaps ’73. Ford may force Chevy’s hand with a new mid-engine machine to compete head-on with the invincible ‘Vette and, even if Dearborn defers building its own, they recently signed a deal with Alessandro de Tomaso, maker of one of today’s finest mid-engine sport...
Nefarious-Sounding Hyundai Elantra N Sedan Blats Into View
Hyundai has revealed an all-new Elantra N TCR race car—and also previewed the Elantra N performance street car, to boot. The TCR (for Touring Car Racing) is the latest in a budding line of TCR customer race cars released by Hyundai, following the $155,000 Veloster N TCR and the Euro-market i30 TCR hatchbacks. (VW, Honda, and Mazda are among the automakers also offering TCR racers based on production cars.) You could spring for the winged, caged, and wild-lookin’ Elantra N TCR if you’re a racing team, but let’s get real: It’s highly likely the car it’s based on is of greater relevance to you, and the TCR reveals several key clues about the upcoming Elantra N. Chief among those juicy details? That the TCR race car is “front-wheel drive and is powered by a ...
2021 Ram 1500 TRX’s Know & Go App Teaches Owners With Augmented Reality
The Know & Go app offers augmented reality to overlay instructions and explanations on certain features, notifications of undiscovered features, overviews on functionalities, how-to videos, and bookmarked feature-specific owner’s manual pages. For the augmented reality portion, the app uses your phone’s camera to overlay a description of whatever the lens is pointed at on the TRX. As the winner of FCA’s Pitch Night program in June, where the company solicits new ideas from its employees, the Know & Go app went from concept to market-ready in less than three months. More than 500 ideas were submitted for Pitch Night, which were reduced to 50 through employee online voting and then further reduced to 14 by leadership. The finalists received further coaching before p...
