Autos
Wazupnaija – Naija Entertainment blogs & Forums – Lifestyle – Autos
Hyunda-iCar? Apple and Hyundai May Partner on Autonomous EV
The idea of a self-driving, electric Apple Car is tantalizing and news reports suggest Hyundai is the latest automaker to want a piece of the action. The buzz started with a report in the Korea Economic Daily in which a Hyundai Motors executive said the automaker was one of a number of global carmakers in early talks with Apple about a possible partnership. The story said Apple approached Hyundai about producing the electric car and supplying batteries—Korea is a global leader in lithium-ion battery cells. Apple is a notoriously secretive company, so we were not surprised to read a subsequent statement from Hyundai that specifically does not mention Apple: “We’ve been receiving requests of potential cooperation from diverse companies regarding development of autonomous driving ...
2021 Volkswagen Arteon First Test: Pajama Shorts Antidote
Volkswagen Arteon Full Overview I don’t know about you, but I haven’t left home as much as I’d like to over the past few months. The business-casual attire I used to don before reporting to MotorTrend HQ goes largely unworn. Instead, my casual-casual clothing—pajama shorts, soft tees, cozy hoodies, and the like—is on constant rotation. Part of me enjoys the lazy functionality of this new uniform, but another misses having reasons to get dressed up, to not sit inside looking like a schlub. Try on the Volkswagen Arteon, and you’ll find yourself in a peculiar balance between these modalities. The brand’s flagship sort-of-sedan makes you a point of fashionable focus while not asking for—or providing—any more involvement than pajama shorts or fuzzy slippers. Can th...
No Surprise: The Most Satisfying, Involving, and Purest 2020 Porsche 911 Is the One with Three Pedals
Porsche 911 Full Overview If you want a real sports car that you can comfortably drive every day that’s also a luggage-capable weekender and even a track day adrenaline supplier, then you pick a 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera. If you want the most satisfying, involving, and purest form of that 911, then you pick the one with three pedals. It won’t be the quickest version, but it gives you goose bumps while manually conducting the entire symphony. If You Know, You Know: Why the Porsche 911 Is Special Driving a Porsche 911 is a unique experience. Aside from the rear-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive, it’s also unlike others in the segment. It hardly gets noticed. We drive hundreds of cars a year and hear, “Is that the new Corvette?! Is that a McLaren, a Lamborghini, etc.?...
No, Not That EV1: Saab’s EV-1 Wasn’t Electric But It Was Awesome
Half a decade before the GM EV1 electric car burst onto the scene, beginning a saga that would last until the controversial end of the lease program in the 2000s, Saab had its own EV-1. The acronym held a different meaning, and the two cars couldn’t be different in concept or execution. But the EV1 is still remembered, and the EV-1 is as obscure as they come. We think the Saab EV-1 deserves its day in the sun, too. See all 4 photos The 1985 Experimental Vehicle 1 wasn’t driven by electricity, although interestingly enough it featured roof-mounted solar panels that powered a cabin cooling fan—take a look at its solar-oven-like greenhouse and you’ll understand why that was a necessity. Mechanically, it was heavily based on the 900 Turbo, with a turbocharged inline-four powe...
General Motors Redesigns Its Iconic “GM” Logo for the EV Era
For the first time in decades, General Motors is redesigning its corporate logo. Gone is the blue background and underlined uppercase “GM” initials. In its place comes a blue box surrounding the GM initials. Only this time around, the letters are lowercase, and the underline is comparatively shorter and lives only under the “m. “ GM plans to launch a total of 30 different EV models globally by 2025. Similarly, the automaker’s set a goal of selling more than one million EVs per year in North America and China by the middle of the decade. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn reward...
Seeing Red: Pair of Mid-Century Jaguar Racing Legends Up For Grabs at Auction
Crack open that swear jar and take a hammer to the piggy bank—another Jaguar D-Type is crossing the auction block. The Jag is one of the featured lots at RM Sotheby’s upcoming Arizona sale, and while the majority of existing D-Types wear demure shades of green, blue, silver, or white, this finned wonder presents in a fantastic shade of Ferrari red, giving one moneyed enthusiast a chance to stand out at the next Goodwood Members Meeting or Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Surprisingly, the Jag left the factory in this stunning red-over-red configuration, a scheme marque experts believe was applied to only two or three other D-Types. After the original dealer failed to find a buyer, none other than former Formula 1 head honcho Bernie Ecclestone held the car for a period and helped move al...
Honda Turns Cute Van Into a Cafe, Fit Into a Pseudo-Crossover for Tokyo Auto Salon
The Tokyo Auto Salon, a delightful auto show that generally shows off the best and funkiest Japan has to offer, is going virtual this year, just like SEMA and other recent shows that weren’t outright canceled due to the global pandemic. Honda’s come through with a couple of intriguing and adorable concepts that add some attitude to the tiny Fit and N-Van. The Fit you see here is the latest-generation car, now available as a hybrid (e:HEV) biased strongly towards pure electric drive modes. This one is called the 2022 Fit e:HEV Crosstar Custom, and it takes the Fit’s outdoorsy Crosstar trim level to a logical extreme. It builds on the main styling elements of the Crosstar—a blacked-out roof and pillars, roof rails, a smidge more ride height, and water-resistant seat ma...
How to Fix Up a Project Car on any Budget, From $50 and Up
It’s done. You’ve pulled the trigger on that project car and dragged it home. Project cars come in all shapes and sizes, so let’s assume you’ve found yourself one that runs, but just barely. Only your true die-hard hot-rod buddies get it. Everybody else thinks you’re crazy. You see what the non-believers can’t, not a rusty junkyard escapee but a soon-to-be cruiser that just needs a little tweaking to become a loyal daily driver. Building it is a moral imperative. There are a hundred things that it needs and a thousand cool parts you want, but you can’t afford them all—heck, you can’t afford any of ’em. You just laid down most of your cash for the right to put your name on the title. But you can still plan. And that’s what we desig...
2022 Ford Maverick: Here It Is, Looking Compact and Surprisingly Trucky
One key surprise? That the Ford Maverick looks … good. Not that we figured Ford would churn out something ugly, mind you, but given the truck’s carlike unibody construction and the low bar set by the only other similarly constructed truck sold in America, the heretofore lame-looking but now truckier Honda Ridgeline, we supposed the Ford might resemble a miniature Chevy El Camino or something. A Ford Focus with a pickup bed. Plot twist—it looks like an actual truck! See all 3 photos From only this front angle, the Maverick hides its car-based roots well. The bed is integral with the cab—a key giveaway that this little rig doesn’t have a separate body and frame—but otherwise the squared-off body is upright, and sits rather high off the ground. We like the sort of chubby-bab...
2021 Toyota Mirai: 8 Takeaways From the New Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Sedan
While some of the MotorTrend staffers were busy putting the hydrogen fuel cell-powered 2021 Toyota Mirai through its paces at the test track, we used a second Mirai XLE as our daily driver, commuting around town and taking a short (socially-distanced) road trip. In this lower-key time spent behind the Mirai’s wheel, we learned a lot about the all-new fuel-cell vehicle, some of it good, some of it not so great. These are our key findings: The 2021 Toyota Mirai could have been the Lexus Mirai The first thing that struck us is just how nice a car the Mirai is. Obviously, the exterior styling is a huge improvement over the 2016-2020 Mirai (and let’s face it, visually speaking there was nowhere to go but up), but we can’t help but notice the clear Lexus vibe, and not...
Cheaper Tesla Model Y Standard Range and a New Three-Row Seat Option Unveiled
Every now and then it’s good to check in on Tesla’s website because you never know what kind of news you’re going to stumble across. For example, the Tesla Model Y’s ordering page now boasts two notable updates: Pricing and details for a new more affordable rear-wheel-drive standard-range model and the electric SUV’s three-row seating option. Coincidentally or not, both changes come less than a month after official reviews of the Ford Mustang Mach-E—the Model Y’s latest EV challenger—started hitting the newswire. It appears that Tesla is trying to undercut the Mach-E’s price tag as a way of swaying buyers away from the shiny new pony. The “Standard Range” Model Y takes up service as the model’s base trim level and s...
The 2022 Mercedes EQS EV’s Dashboard Is Basically a Giant Screen
Mercedes-Benz finally showed off the massive multi-screen dashboard of the upcoming 2022 EQS flagship electric vehicle. Dubbed the Hyperscreen, the design appears to integrate three large screens under a single dashboard-mounted panel. The artificial intelligence that powers it, however, really looks like something to get excited about. The Hyperscreen encompasses both the instrument panel and center-stack displays and adds a third touch-screen for the front passenger. Mercedes-Benz’s illuminated, turbine-style fan vents are integrated into the panel, which is uniformly coated to give the appearance of an uninterrupted video wall. The passenger-mounted screen is fully functional. Well, as fully functional as local regulations allow. Near as we can tell, that means no movies...
