Autos

The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe—and its longer counterpart, the 2021 Suburban—isn’t what we would call a performance SUV. Especially when you consider just how capable SUVs like the BMW X5 M and Porsche Cayenne Turbo are. Still, there’s nothing wrong with trying to make the big Tahoe and Suburban perform better. Cue a new catalog of performance parts for the full-size SUVs, straight from Chevy itself. Among these upgrades is a $625 performance air intake. The intake is available for the SUVs’ 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V-8 engines and, according to GM Authority, reduces air restriction by 13 percent and 17 percent for each engine, respectively. There’s no word on if that translates to more horsepower, but ensuring your engine can breathe a little easier is never a bad th...

It’s only a matter of time until owners of lower-end Ford Mustang and Mustang GT models try to turn their four-, six, or eight-cylinder pony cars into knockoff Shelby GT350s. How, then, do you convince future Mustang fans your GT350 is the real deal and not just some clone? Well, you can fork over $129.95 to the Blue Oval’s performance arm for a Certificate of Authenticity package for your 2015-2019 GT350 or GT350R.  See all 17 photos The kit nets an official certificate of authenticity with accompanying sleeve, a VIN decoder, a poster, a brochure, a production summary chart, a duplicate of the original window sticker, a cobra-logo keychain, and a kitschy business-card holder that looks like a brake disc and caliper. Yes, some of these things originally came with the GT350...

Way before the best-selling Ford F-150 pickup truck, there was the now classic F-1. The postwar pickup was in production from 1948 to 1952 and sported an egg-shaped cab with a toothy grille, plus a short but functional bed. In 1951, FoMoCo gave it a refresh: The gearshift was relocated from the floor to the steering column and the single-bar grille now featured three bigger teeth. It already looks pretty mean to us, but that’s where Dave Kindig’s vision for the truck starts on the “Thank You for Your Service” episode of Bitchin’ Rides. Our goateed designer and host plans to offset the front grille 3 inches, stretch and shave the cramped cab, and add an hourglass bed. Kindig wants to make every last line look like it’s going fast for the clients, Mark and...

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...