Autos

Polestar is working through a few kinks with its 2 sedan lately, and this recall for faulty inverters represents the second large recall for the new Swedish electric vehicle in as many months. Last time, a software bug could cause the vehicle to lose power and stop driving. This time, the faulty inverters could cause the same issue, but for a different reason. There’s also a “service campaign” involving the cabin (and battery) heater. The inverter is a critical component in EVs, transforming the direct current stored in the 78-kWh battery pack into alternating current that’s utilized by the car’s two electric motors, which are good for a total system output of 408 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque. Polestar states 4,586 vehicles with this issue have been de...

Amateur racing is an expensive hobby. Fortunately, Mazda makes it relatively affordable by way of the MX-5 Cup.  We know, “relatively” is doing a lot of lifting in the prior sentence, because even though running in the MX-5 Cup costs a lot less to compete in than other racing series, it’s far from a cheap pastime. License and entry fees alone run into the thousands of dollars, and that’s before accounting for the price of hardware, such as the car itself, and consumables such as brake pads, tires, fuel, fluids, and other parts. Even so, the fact is the MX-5 Cup remains accessible, and it’s just announced a new agreement with IMSA for 2021 that sees the series expand to seven venues and 14 rounds for the 2021 season—the most in history, according...

The Land Rover Defender is hot. (Just ask our 2021 SUV of the Year Judges, including yours truly.) Looking around Los Angeles with our eyeballs on the anecdotal pulse, the British SUV will be the must-have vehicle this winter. And if L.A., which still defines car culture, is craving the things, soon your town will, too. That said, the global pandemic has slowed everything down, including supply chains, meaning Land Rover is scrambling to build enough to meet demand. As hot as the Defender may be, though, the excellent SUV is just getting started. There’s only one Defender you can buy in the States right now, the Defender 110 with a turbocharged inline-six engine. By late February or early March, Americans will be able to purchase a Defender 90 with the same engine or the gas-fir...

Ford Thailand is showing off its new Ford Thailand Racing (FTR) Ranger race truck, and it looks the business, with a bold blue livery, some intense aero aids, and . . . a 3.2-liter inline-five turbodiesel engine? This definitely isn’t the sort of race truck we’re used to here in the States, one built for track work rather than desert blasting, but it only takes a few minutes of watching some of the Thailand Super Series Super Pickup class competition to realize this truck series is a lot of fun. Remember, Ford has deep truck roots in Thailand, and manufactures the Ranger there. In fact, the Ranger Raptor made its global debut in Thailand back in 2018. But while this was once a regular production four-door Ranger, it’s not that anymore, although it is based on a real Range...

The Toyota Mirai hasn’t changed much since it arrived for the 2016 model year. That changes this December, when we will see the launch of the 2021 Toyota Mirai, a brand-new version of the previously styling-challenged hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. In the meantime, Toyota is showing off the new design on social media, and we’re impressed. The car looks more like a Lexus-ified Camry, and we mean that in the best way possible. Oh, and did we mention it’s rear-wheel-drive? Ditching the aggressive grille and ungainly proportions of the old generation, the new, more streamlined Mirai is far easier on the eyes. The design resembles what we saw on the Toyota Mirai concept last year. Five paint options have been announced: Hydro Blue, Oxygen White, Heavy Metal, Supersonic Red, and B...

Like Jeep’s recent concept, Odin’s most noticeable upgrade is its PCOR-sourced storage hold that replaces the Gladiator’s truck bed. But that’s only the tip of this pickup’s iceberg of upgrades. Key to Odin’s ability to travel off the beaten path for long periods of time is its 17-gallon auxiliary fuel tank that complements the factory-equipped 22-gallon unit. Meanwhile, chunky General Tire Grabber X3 tires mounted on 17-inch Icon-branded wheels work with a 2.5-inch lift kit, a rear air suspension system, and a snorkel air intake to keep Odin going through virtually any sort of terrain. A front-mounted winch affords this Gladiator the ability to extract itself from trouble, should a problem arise. A chainsaw, shovel, and recovery boards are also in tow t...

Even though we’d contend that a Volkswagen Golf GTI is enough car for anyone who loves driving, needs something practical, and wants to spend normal-car money, there is a subset of the enthusiast population for whom the just-right turbocharged GTI hatchback is just a little too tame. For those few who couldn’t possibly settle for one of the best cars on sale, Volkswagen has supplied the more powerful, more expensive, all-wheel-drive Golf R. Now, nipping at the all-new GTI’s heels (and fresh off a brief hiatus in the U.S. ) comes a new Golf R, and it better justifies its extra cost and weight with a new boast: It is the most powerful production Golf ever, edging out the new Golf GTI Clubsport. Wait, the New Golf R Has How Much Power?! As you might expect, the 2022 Gol...

Tesla has released its Full Self-Driving system in beta form, with a small group of real-world owners gaining access to the semi-autonomous driving assistance feature. As the system slowly advances toward its promise of fully autonomous driving, the prices Tesla is charging new customers for access to the feature sometime in the future, when it’s actually available, have increased. You see, buyers have been able to purchase the feature in advance of its official, usable rollout for quite some time. Before the beta test program launched, Full Self-Driving (or “FSD” in Tesla-speak) option ran $8,000 on any new Tesla Model 3 or Model S sedans or Model Y or X crossovers, but now the option’s price tag has jumped to $10,000. This isn’t...

If you don’t closely follow motorsports, you might not be familiar with BMW’s M4 GT4. In brief, it’s the German automaker’s turnkey race car built for amateur class racing—essentially, if you’re not paid to race but have a bunch of cash and want to go wheel to wheel in sanctioned competition, this is the BMW to do it in. Since its launch in 2017, the GT4 has proven to be a winner all over the globe, and it’s appeared in road races and endurance events like the 2017 24 Hours of Spa, where it came first in its class with Top Gear America host Jethro Bovingdon behind the wheel. And now BMW has seen fit to give it four new liveries celebrating both its overall success and its fourth year of racing. The quartet of fresh looks are winners from a...

We’ve already seen some of the SEMA360 vehicle reveals and teasers, so you might already have heard that the SEMA aftermarket industry parts and culture event has transformed into a virtual show for 2020. Jeep has already teased an overland-ready Gladiator loaded up with Mopar parts, and Chevrolet pulled the wraps off its resto-modded K5 Blazer-E powered by a Bolt EV crate powertrain. Toyota’s SEMA360 GR Supras trade truckish purposefulness for a focus on drift performance, and aesthetics. See all 45 photos Two of the Supras are drift builds, but first let’s discuss the Ornamental Conifer GR Supra. As you can see, despite the name it’s not a Christmas-tree-themed build. Ornamental Conifer is the alter ego of Nicolai Sclater, a British artist who is at the art direct...

Infiniti is fine-tuning its Q60 luxury coupe to offer more standard features and color options. Alongside those changes the automaker also has revealed pricing for the 2021 Infiniti Q60: The two-door will start from $42,675, making it more affordable than rivals. It may not offer quite the same brand cachet as some German competitors, but the Infiniti is much cheaper. Compared to the 2021 BMW 4 Series coupe ($46,595) and Audi’s 2021 A5 coupe ($45,045), the Q60 is much cheaper and closer in price to the 2021 Lexus RC, which starts at $43,145. See all 20 photos Grand Blue and Slate Gray are new paint colors for 2021. Infiniti has also made rain-sensing wipers standard on all models. One step above the base trim is the Luxe, priced from $51,225. It adds a host of new standard ...