Autos
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2020 Porsche Taycan Pros and Cons Review: Digital Bloodlines
Pros Weak-in-the-knees looks Phenomenal performance Drives like a Porsche should Cons Inefficient in a market that demands efficiency Insufficient range Very pricey The CliffsNotes summary of the electric Porsche Taycan is this: a staggeringly impressive vehicle that struggled against some of our Car of the Year criteria. View Other 2021 Car Of The Year Contenders And Finalists Here Remember, we employ six key criteria when evaluating cars during COTY, which is how the $26,000 Nissan Sentra is able to be in the same competition with a $146,000 electric Porsche. The Taycan knocked several of those criteria out of the park. But let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. “You are looking at the least efficient fully electric vehicle currently produced today, period,” Zach Gale said. “How d...
You Know Mercedes + AMG, But What About Mitsubishi + AMG?
The Mitsubishi Debonair V 3000 Royal AMG is a real AMG—a really different AMG, too. A global blend of Teutonic tuning and Japanese luxury, it may have been the perfect expression of its moment in time. And the epitome of what Japan aspired to be—a builder of world-class luxury automobiles to rival the European elite. And what better way to do that than wrap one of your top offerings in the mystique of a celebrated German tuner? In 1987, when this AMG-ified Mitsubishi debuted, Japan was thriving. The Bubble Economy, as it’s known, meant automakers were absolutely flush with cash and happy to spend it developing moonshot cars like the Eunos (Mazda) Cosmo, the Acura NSX, the sequential-turbocharged monsters like the Toyota Supra and Mazda RX-7. A generation beyond the devastation of WWII and ...
GM Issues Recall Over Chevrolet Bolt EV Battery Fires, Guidance For Prevention During Fix
In the wake of five vehicle fires involving 2016–2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs, General Motors has issued a global recall and is asking owners to have their software updated to prevent further incidents. The first fire occurred in summer 2019 and there have been five to date. The one common element: All were at, or near, a full state of charge when the fire started, says Jesse Ortega, executive chief engineer for the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The only injuries have been reports of smoke inhalation, and both GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating the fires. <!– –> The recall affects 68,667 2016–2019 Bolt EVs globally, with 50,925 of them in the U.S. All have battery cells manufactured by LG Chem in Korea from May 2016 to May 2019. The 2020 C...
The Buick GL6 Is an Uber Black-Ready Luxury Minivan
SUVs overtook minivans as the people-mover of choice a long time ago, but there are still plenty of posh minivan options out there. Unfortunately, not all of them are available on our shores. This Buick minivan could give high-end versions of the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, and Chrysler Pacifica a run for their money if it were offered in the United States, though. Buick calls its refreshed GL6 a multi-purpose vehicle, a more palatable term for minivan. Whatever you want to call it, this Buick features plenty of tech goodies. It comes with two connected widescreen displays—kind of like what Mercedes offers in its luxury vehicles. The Buick’s instrument cluster is fully digital, while the touchscreen infotainment system offers a split display setup so you can handle functions such as medi...
If Porsche’s 919 Le Mans Racer Had a Successor, It’d Be This Vision 920
For four years, the Porsche 919 Hybrid competed in the LMP1 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche, however, pulled the plug on the three-time Le Mans-winning racer following the 2017 season and instead focused its racing efforts elsewhere (such as Formula E). The 919 Evo, free of racing restrictions, set some records and made some headlines, but that wasn’t the end of Porsche design’s ambitions for the 919. Not only did Porsche designers work on a street iteration of the 919, but the team also envisioned an informal replacement for it—a preview, perhaps, of a future racer. Dubbed the Vision 920, this low-slung Porsche explored a concept for an exotic supercar for the streets, or a racing vehicle for privateers. In other words, you’re looking at Porsche’s thinking about wha...
2022 Honda Civic Teaser Photos and Video! It’s Your Civic Duty to Look
We’re eagerly awaiting the debut of the 2022 Honda Civic in late spring of next year. Until the calendar rolls over from 2020 to 2021, Honda is whetting our appetites with a Civic prototype being fully unveiled next week, making this a tease of a preview of the real car. Lest you think it’s too far removed from the Civic you can buy next year, keep in mind that Honda regularly unveils “concepts” and show cars that are thinly veiled looks at the eventual production model. In the video below, Honda reveals glimpses of the Civic prototype, including its new headlights and redesigned black grille that pairs smartly with black wheels. We get some our biggest hints in the rear of the car, with the video confirming Honda has ditched the current Civic’s exaggerated C-shaped...
GTO OMG! Audi RS 6 GTO Concept Is a Rad Nod to an ’80s Classic
The acronym GTO, or Gran Turismo Omologato, is commonly associated with Ferrari and Pontiac. However, the GTO moniker has been affixed to other cars, too. The Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO is one such example, and today it’s been reimagined as the Audi RS 6 GTO. A group of Audi design students, led by the brand’s head of design, were tasked with reimagining the 90 Quattro IMSA GTO to celebrate 40 years of Quattro. What they came up with is a modern-day homage to the iconic race car. Details from the original car, such as the white center-lock wheels and huge side-exit exhausts, are featured on the new concept. The RS 6’s body is also widened, which gives the wagon a little extra menace—something it hardly needed. Additionally, the front bumper cover features a larger grille, t...
2022 Ford E-Transit Van First Look: Stealthy Delivery Van
The second installment in Ford’s $11.5 billion investment in electrification is scheduled to hit the road in late 2021. The 2022 Ford Electric Transit, or E-Transit will follow this fall’s Mach-E and precede the electric F-150, which is scheduled for mid-2022. The Transit has been a global best seller for much of its 55-year life with over 10 million sold, and the new fully electric variant will ensure that it can continue to deliver goods and services as dense metropolitan areas transition to emissions-free zones. And Ford’s unique selling proposition in a burgeoning electric cargo van market that will soon be joined by the Rivian Amazon Prime Van and Bollinger Deliver-E van is its Sync 4-based Connected Fleet Management Tools and decades in the commercial vehicle space. Electric Powertra...
2021 MotorTrend Car of the Year: The Contenders, Day 4!
Despite the SUV craze, millions of people buy traditional passenger cars every year. If you’re one of those folks, the 2021 MotorTrend Car of the Year competition is made for you. With 18 nameplates and 30 variants submitted for testing and evaluation, this year’s field was one of our most competitive ever, ranging from powerful convertibles and snazzy luxury coupes to practical minivans and honest family sedans. Scroll on to see the first batch of contenders for the most prestigious award in the industry, and then be sure to check back often—we’ll be revealing more cars every day this week before unveiling the finalists on Friday, November 13. Finally, visit MotorTrend on Monday, November 16 to find out which new car scored our prestigious Golden Calipers as the 2021 MotorTrend Car of the...
2021 Acura NSX Resurrects Another Classic Paint Color: Long Beach Blue
Acura has a habit of naming the colors for its NSX after famous racetracks. It’s a tradition that started with the first-generation NSX, and over the last few years, some of the best hues on the Acura sports car include a nod to a racing circuit, such as last year’s Indy Yellow Pearl. Prior examples include Spa Yellow Pearl, Imola Orange Pearl, and Silverstone Metallic. For 2021, Acura adds Long Beach Blue Pearl to the NSX’s color palette as a $1,000 option. The new hue updates the original Long Beach Blue that Acura offered on the NSX from 2002 to 2005. It’s one of the rarest colors on the original car, with just 88 NSXs painted as such. Thermal Orange and Indy Yellow Pearl are still on the menu for 2021, too. As are Valencia Red Pearl, Nouvelle Blue Pearl, Casino...
Rivian R1S SUV and R1T Truck Arrive in 2021, Start Under $80,000
Rivian’s R1T truck and R1S SUV seemingly just got one step closer to reality, as the electric automaker announced pricing and delivery timelines for the two models. Well, at least some variants of the vehicles. While Rivian eventually plans to offer three battery pack options in the R1T and R1S, the brand will only sell one at the outset: the mid-level unit that promises more than 300 miles of driving range. Those looking for the cheaper pack that reportedly delivers more than 250 miles of range or the pricier setup that supposedly tops 400 miles on a full charge will have to keep waiting. <!– –> The first batch of R1T and R1S trucks and SUVs arrive in June and August of 2021, respectively. Deemed “Launch Edition” models, the earliest Rivians wear sticker prices of less t...
2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid Gets Better MPG Than Gas-Fed Chevy, Ram
We already knew that the 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid has more power and torque than its segment rivals, save for the 702-hp Ram 1500 TRX, which is hardly an apples-to-apples light-duty competitor. Now, according to the EPA’s website, we’re learning the gas-electric PowerBoost hybrid truck will boast pretty impressive fuel economy numbers, too. The EPA also has revealed efficiency figures for most of the rest of the 2021 F-150 family. <!– –> 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid MPG The hybridized Ford F-150 delivers an estimated 24 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and—predictably—24 mpg combined on the EPA test cycle. It achieves this high rating while managing to put out 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque. As expected, the hybrid performs better than most other models in the F-150 lineup, w...
