Autos
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What’s New On the 2020 Mazda CX-9?
The current-generation Mazda CX-9 has been around since 2016, and it represented a critical step forward for the automaker. Based on the SkyActiv platform, Mazda’s midsize crossover got a polished look thanks to the new Kodo design language, making it more premium inside and out. Like with all Mazdas, the CX-9 is one of the best-driving SUVs in its segment thanks to its punchy turbocharged engine and well-tuned transmission. For the 2020 model year, the CX-9 got a midcycle refresh, and that includes important updates to its interior, as well as an increase in torque. More Videos Need to Know: Mazda CX-9 Signature 2015 LA Auto Show Mazda CX-9 First Test: 2019 Mazda3 From the Pressroom: the 2019 Mazda CX-5 2019 Hot Wheels™ Legends Tour: Charlotte 5 Cool Things: the All-New 2020 ...
Wait, Kramer Drove an Experimental Chevrolet on “Seinfeld”?
It’s no secret that Jerry Seinfeld is a car enthusiast. In fact, his namesake television show includes numerous nods to his automotive interests: Jerry’s fridge features a Skip Barber Racing School magnet; posters of Porsches line the walls of his apartment; and Kramer, Jerry’s across-the-hall neighbor, drives an experimental 1973 Chevrolet Impala. Yes, Kramer’s green Impala—the car that famously dons the license plate “ASSMAN” in the Seinfeld episode “The Fusilli Jerry“—is no ordinary Chevy, but one of 1,000 1973 Impalas that General Motors furnished with an experimental front airbag system dubbed the Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS). How do we know? Well, take a look at the car’s interior in episodes such as “The Race” ...
Rolls-Royce Sells a Handbuilt Toy Cullinan SUV for $17,100 (Before Extras!)
Ever since long-term paramour Arbitrage Ken traded his plastic-fantastic Dreamvette for a bespoke Roll-Royce Phantom several years back, Bel-Air Barbie has found herself listless and indecisive when scanning her fleet of 1:8-scale conveyances. “Should I take the Trademark licensed Volkswagen New Beetle or Fiat 500? I clearly can’t be seen in one of those license-dodging quasi-brand cars, like the vaguely Jag F-Type ‘Convertible Vehicle’ or the almost-Wrangler ‘Off-Road Vehicle!'” And next to Ken’s car, that hoary pink plastic Corniche just won’t do. So, what about a Cullinan SUV? See all 9 photos Rolls-Royce making Bel Air Barbie’s dreams come true, with a 1:8-scale Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV built to the same exacting standards as Arbitr...
Ferrari SF90 Stradale to Star in Remake of Classic Outlaw Driving Film
You probably already know the film C’était un Rendez-Vous (“It Was a Date”), which has been passed around online forever—and via videotapes for years before that. There’s zero dialogue, the car is never shown, and the plot is nonexistent. But it’s a legend, shot illicitly in 1976 by Claude Lelouch on the open but uncrowded streets of Paris early in the morning at high speed in order to arrive on Monmartre while his girlfriend walks up the stairs for a hug. Allegedly, he drove his own Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9, but the soundtrack applied is quite obviously a different car—it’s actually a Ferrari 275GTB. Like Climb Dance, a film about Ari Vatanen’s blast up Pikes Peak in a Peugeot, or Faszination am Nürburgring, RUF’s iconic film about its ...
What Is a Targa? A Very Brief History of an Automotive Staple
In the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, the automotive landscape was awash with targa-top cars. Conventional convertibles required heavy mechanisms (or worse, motors or hydraulics) to work and got rid of a major structural component—ya know, the roof. That in turn sapped performance from sports cars by making them less rigid, heavier, and slower. There were also very real fears among automakers that the U.S. government would ban convertibles in the name of rollover safety in the late ’60s—even though that never happened, the automakers freaked. In fact, there were zero American convertibles built from 1976 to 1981. A solution for all of these problems was to ditch the folding fabric roof of a convertible altogether and replace it with a removable panel mounted to a sturdy roll hoop...
2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Price Commands a Premium
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is greatly improved from its predecessor. Not only does it boast a quiet ride and a tech-happy interior, but it’s also one of the most fuel-efficient sedans around. Hyundai has released prices ahead of the sedan’s release this June, and they’re pretty reasonable. The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Blue starts at $28,725. At this price, the base Sonata Hybrid is more expensive than the base Honda Accord Hybrid ($26,575), but less expensive than the base Toyota Camry Hybrid ($29,385). The Sonata Hybrid carries a $4,150 price premium over the base gas-only Sonata. See all 37 photos While SEL models are priced from $30,875, you’ll pay $36,275 for a top-tier Sonata Hybrid Limited. In our recent Sonata Hybrid interior review, we praised the Limi...
2020 Honda Civic Type R First Drive Review: Now Even Sharper
Since its 2017 debut, 13,000 individually numbered Honda Civic Type Rs have found their way into enthusiasts’ embraces. We lived with a 2018 “CTR” for a year and didn’t want to give it back. A mild update occurred in 2019, but for 2020, substantive changes make our favorite hot hatch even better. To answer your first question: “Does the 2020 Civic Type R get a boost in power?” No, the 2.0-liter turbo-four makes the same 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft, which is plenty. Yet the no-options singular-trim CTR gets a modest $695 price increase over last year, but that nets a host of hard- and software upgrades and an additional, exclusive Boost Blue paint job. Magic Carpet: the 2020 Civic Type R’s adaptive dampers See all 89 photos Honda reports that the s...
Michigan Flooding Destroys Local Fiero Repair Shop
It hurts to see something like this. From all reports, Fieros Forever was a work of love by a man named Tim Evans, and his specialty shop worked on, preserved, and displayed Pontiac’s sporty little mid-engined runabout. The shop, located in Midland, Michigan, was struck by floodwaters that were released when the Edenville Dam failed during immense rainfall this month. The floodwaters then crested the Sanford Dam, upstream on the Tittabawassee River from Midland, where Fieros Forever is located. As you can see, the result is heartbreaking. Of course, these are cars, which can—given time and money—be repaired. The human cost of the flooding will be harder to fix than a handful of Pontiacs. But what happened to this Fiero shop is just a slice of the unfolding tragedy in the Tittabawasse...
Watch Big 1970s Cars Decimate Their Smaller Siblings in Vintage Crash Test Footage
You might remember that a while back, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crashed a few modern cars into their vintage counterparts to show, in part, how far crash safety had progressed. But what stuck in our minds wasn’t how intact the passenger cells of the modern cars remained, but rather how mangled the old cars were. We’re thinking in particular of the ’59 Bel Air slamming into a 2009 Malibu, and the Nissan Tsuru (an early 1990s Sentra sold in Mexico until 2017) crashing into a modern Sentra. Yowzers. How about two 1970s-vintage cars crashing into each other? And make one of them full-sized in the 1970s sense of the term—aircraft carriers, basically—and the other the relevant company’s compact. We’re talking about the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega, an...
Molto Bello: A Visual History of Alfa Romeo’s Iconic Triangular “Trefoil” Grille
You probably know that quadrifoglio means four-leaf clover, and that when said good-luck charm appears on the flanks of an Alfa Romeo, it recalls the brand’s motorsports heritage and portends dynamic brilliance. But did you know Alfa refers to its trademark three-element grille design as a “trefoil,” which essentially means three-leaf clover? Let’s take a historic look back at what is probably the next most iconic grille after BMW‘s twin kidneys. See all 10 photos 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Freccia D’Oro The classic trefoil design featuring the central three-sided shield as we know it today first appeared on the newly designed postwar 6C 2500 cars that integrated the front fenders with the grille surround. Cars like the Freccia D’Oro (“golden ar...
Will the 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe Win Us Over in a Year?
What is it? Who’s going to buy this thing? Why does it exist? Those are just some of the questions people asked (from a safe distance) about the 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe. With the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class as its only competitor, the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is a niche model. For that reason alone, we don’t blame consumers for asking so many questions about this oddball luxury sedan or for not knowing BMW even offers such a model. Slotting below the legendary 3 Series, the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is the smallest sedan in the German automaker’s lineup. As BMW’s newest entry-level car, the 2 Series Gran Coupe has been tasked with luring new consumers—particularly younger ones—into the brand. That means the 2 Series Gran Coupe must compete with other luxu...
2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup: What We Know
Hummer is back, albeit as a sub-brand of GMC, not a standalone brand within General Motors. Don’t call it a gas guzzler, either, because the 2022 GMC Hummer is a zero-emissions electric pickup truck. With production set for GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the GMC Hummer EV likely arrives in dealers in mid-to-late 2021. While GM isn’t saying much about the model’s technical details, the company did announce the EV will have 1,000 horsepower and hit 60 miles per hour in 3.0 seconds. More Videos 2022 GMC Hummer EV Electric Truck: Removable Roof Panels Teaser Teaser: Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 Electric Dragster Prototype Toyota Yaris Cross 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup Truck – Teaser April 2020 Petrolhead Planet Preview: Epic Drives in Epic Cars Need to Know: 202...
