Autos
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Adorable Alpha Motor EV Spawns Jax Off-Roader, Ace Performance Edition
An adorable retro-inspired electric vehicle got a lot of attention a few weeks ago. The Alpha Motor Ace, an electric coupe with an aesthetic that can only be described as mid-century modern European, seemed to capture the full potential of EVs to break out of contemporary car styling and explore unusual and interesting forms. With fewer constraints from packaging hardpoints, EVs—and in particular, skateboard-chassis ones—are ripe for this sort of thing. The Ace’s cartoonish (in a good way) proportions communicate fun in a way no Nissan Leaf can. Carrying that to its next logical extreme, there’s the Jax, an off-road inspired variant (that still only exists in digital form), and a sleeker Ace Performance Edition. See all 34 photosfalse It must be said that we were hoping the nex...
This Is the New Nissan Xterra That Nissan Isn’t Building—But Should
Off-road SUVs are having something of a moment. Put another way, the Jeep Wrangler is getting some direct competition for the first time in years from the upcoming Ford Bronco, and automakers are rushing to add capability to crossovers and SUVs of all sizes and prices. Even so, there are some holes in the playing field: Toyota long ago killed off its retro-flavored FJ Cruiser, as did Nissan its burly Xterra 4×4. And as of now, neither Japanese SUV is due for a comeback, even though Nissan just unveiled a thoroughly modernized Frontier pickup—the same pickup that shared components with the old Xterra. That got us thinking … If Nissan were about to reveal a new Xterra today, what might it look like? We turned to our speculative artist wizard, Abimilec Arellano, for a rendering of ...
Wet Hot American Outboard: Mercury Marine’s New 600-HP V-12
It looks like everyone’s feeling the environmental squeeze these days. Even outboard motor super-maven Mercury Marine is looking for more fuel-efficient methods of blowing your hat off when you pin the hand-throttle out on your local lake. So, in the pursuit of sipping fuel at a rate less like cheap light beer and more like fine whiskey, the 82-year-old manufacturer just launched its first-ever V-12 outboard motor. Wait … what? Alright, while we’re joshing around a bit, Mercury Marine does claim that strapping two of these 600-hp V-12s to the back of your craft will provide the same 1,200 combined horsepower but cut down on fuel consumption by an impressive 20-percent when compared to a triple-stack of Yamaha V-8s. So, not exactly a waterbound Toyota Prius Hybrid Synergy D...
Chevrolet Chevette: Awful Car or Unappreciated Revolutionary?
Thirty-five years after it was mercifully euthanized, the Chevrolet Chevette remains synonymous with crappy motoring. The Chevette may have been humble and horrible, but it was also one of the most significant cars in General Motors history. It marked a major turning point in GM’s fortunes, the company’s first acknowledgement that the world was changing in ways it didn’t yet understand. Chevrolet Chevette: Cure for a Corporate Emergency Like the rest of Detroit, GM had steadfastly avoided making subcompact cars—”Mini-cars, mini-profits,” as Henry Ford II so eloquently put it—but the 1973-74 energy crisis changed all that. GM’s corporate average fuel economy was 12 mpg, worst in the industry. Big car sales dried up instantly and General Motors’ mark...
2021 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet First Drive: Money Moves
Porsche 911 Full Overview In the summer of 2012, for reasons still unknown, a family friend and father to one of my old schoolmates threw me the keys to his then-new 997.2 2012 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. He took delivery of this GT Silver over red streak just a few days before he jetted out of town for business, so naturally, he thought the best course of action was to entrust his fresh 493-hp super-toy to a college-aged ultra-dweeb for a few days. That week of sublimating on-ramps and hosting high-speed joyrides with friends and family left this nascent enthusiast dazed and confused, like some sort of weird vehicular DMT bender. That wasn’t entirely because of the 911 Turbo’s wild performance. The sharpest memory of that weeklong blur occurred while charging around my friend...
Maserati’s New Nettuno V-6 Engine Has Clever Tricks Up Its (Cylinder) Sleeves
The Maserati MC20 has been developed without any input from long-time benefactor and engine supplier Ferrari, and its first all-new engine—the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 Nettuno—is quite impressive. Its Formula 1-inspired pre-combustion chamber got all the headlines during the car’s launch last year, but we just had a chance to (virtually) tour the Maserati Engine Lab where MC20 engines will be assembled (on the site where engines were built when the Orsi brothers first moved Maserati from Bologna to Modena) and learned some interesting clarifications and new facts about this historic new engine. Pros and Cons of That 90-Degree Bank Angle Pros of the engine’s 90-degree bank angle cited by chief engineer Matteo Valentini: It provides a good compromise in overall engine w...
The 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 Was the Warning Shot for Modern Hellcat Madness
See all 18 photos Big Engine, Old Grand Cherokee To appreciate how goofball the “5.9” was, you must first backtrack and revisit the original “ZJ” Grand Cherokee. In 1998, the Jeep was nearing the end of its first-generation, having been introduced for 1993. Despite its semi-modern window dressing, tidy dimensions, and comfortable interior, the Grand Cherokee was still an SUV in the traditional sense. Its narrow, boxy body teetered high atop a pair of solid axles, and four-wheel-drive models carried beefy low-range transfer cases engaged by a muscular lever between the front seats. The modern, independently sprung, wide-tired, lowered Grand Cherokee SRT this was not. Presaging modern-day Chrysler’s go-to move—shoving supercharged Hellcat V-8 engines into nearly...
2021 Mercedes-AMG E63 S vs. Audi RS6 Avant Comparison Test: A Tale of Two Super Wagons
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Full Overview Case in point: The Audi RS6 starts life at $110,045, and the E63 S Wagon begins at $113,500. Emphasis on begins, as by the time a few option boxes are ticked the total kitty for the Mercedes is $129,120. Not to be outdone, the Audi’s price swelled to $131,645 as tested. Not cheap, not even kinda cheap, though for some, well worth the scratch. We’ll get to why that’s so in a moment. Back to the similarities, both high-performance haulers are wagon variants of their respective brands’ brot und butter midsize sedans. The RS6 is underpinned by the (we suspect) quite fine A6 Avant, whereas the AMG is a hot-rodded version of the (no doubt) excellent E-Class Wagon. Why my uncertainty? For reasons too cynical to breathe air into, neither ...
Ford, VW EV Battery Supplier Forced From U.S. Market?
The battery supplier for Ford and Volkswagen, SK Innovation, will possibly exit the United States market after the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) issued a 10-year exclusion order that prohibits the company from importing its lithium-ion batteries. SK Innovation, however, can import “components for domestic production of lithium-ion batteries and other parts for Ford Motor Co’s EV F-150 program for four years, and for Volkswagen of America’s MEB electric vehicle line for the North America region for two years,” per Reuters. The decision came in response to LG Chem’s accusation that SK Innovation stole electric vehicle battery-related trade secrets from it. While SK Innovation could theoretically maintain a presence here, the company would need to r...
Special 2021 Ram 1500 Diesel Model Dominates F-150 for Top MPG, Ties Chevy
Ram’s attempts to eke out as much fuel efficiency from its full-size 1500 pickup (perhaps as penance for the not-efficient, 702-hp 1500 TRX) continue with the reveal of the rear-drive 1500 HFE EcoDiesel. With a starting price of $43,935, the HFE—or High Fuel Efficiency—Ram EcoDiesel costs $7,795 more than its gas-powered HFE counterpart. See all 17 photos Besides replacing the standard HFE model’s 3.6-liter V-6 engine that makes 305-hp and 269 lb-ft of torque with a turbo-diesel 3.0-liter V-6 that pumps out 260 horses and 480 lb-ft of twist, the HFE EcoDiesel also trades the gas model’s Quad Cab body and 76.3-inch-long bed for the roomier Crew Cab layout, albeit with a stubbier 67.4-inch bed. While the HFE EcoDiesel may not fit as much junk in its cargo box as ...
GM CEO Mary Barra Outlines EV Push, “Admires” Norway
General Motors is planning to spend $27 billion from 2020 to 2025 on electric and autonomous vehicles and technology. This includes launching 30 EVs globally, with two-thirds of these models set to be available in North America. During a call with investors to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 earnings, chief executive officer Mary Barra hammered the message home again that GM’s EV push is very real. See all 13 photos If You’re Not First, You’re Last Barra said GM’s success means taking the top spot in EV market share in North America—in other words, kicking Tesla’s butt. By mid-decade, GM aims to sell more than a million electric vehicles per year in North America and China. Success also means GM’s battery-powered vehicles will be as—or more—prof...
Oil-Burning, Not-Diesel Toyota Hilux Goes to 2.4 Hours of LeMullets
The diesel-powered Toyota Hilux is one of the most indestructible vehicles on the planet. This 1974 Hilux that David Newbern is loaning to Mike Finnegan and David Freiburger is not. But the Roadkill crew was invited to participate in Cleetus McFarland’s 2.4 Hours of LeMullets at the Freedom Factory, and they didn’t have a car to drive to Bradenton, Florida, so why not take this small-block-Chevy-swapped mini-truck? David Newbern picked up the brick-red Hilux from the $3k Hooptie Challenge, where it was a capable little truck. It had an LS bolted to a Turbo 350 going to a Ford 8.8 with 3.73s, a spool and slapper bars, but Finnegan and Newbern pulled that engine to put into Newbern’s Attempted Murder Nova for episode 111 when they Zoom-raced Tony Angelo. Since then, Newbern...
