Autos

Toyota‘s contribution to SEMA 2021 came in the form of the “Tacozilla” Tacoma Camper. Celebrating the recent popularity of overlanding, this camper looks to the past for a ’70s and ’80s-inspired overlander. This “micro-house” on wheels is not only full of TRD performance parts but also features a list of custom modifications to the truck for outdoor living. Putting in over hundreds of hours of work, the Toyota Motorsports Garage has reinforced the frame, created a pass-through opening between the Tacoma’s cabin and the camper structure, added a large pop-up Lexan skylight for ambient light and natural air circulation, separated the fuel tank filler from the camper, installed a second battery in the engine bay, and gave the Tacozilla a retro-inspire...

Ahead of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dodge gave its engineers free rein over one of its 2020 Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody 50th-Anniversary editions, in which they came up with the humorously named “Holy Guacamole” concept. The designers injected the special-edition version of the beloved muscle car with retro ’70s flair, opting for a delightful “Rotten Avocado” paint job, a “Gold School” Shaker hood, 50th-anniversary side stripes, Forgeline wheels, and a lowered Mopar suspension kit. The interiors continue the theme with green tartan and wood finishing throughout the cockpit. Beneath the Shaker hood is a Mopar cold air intake, filter and airbox which is optimized for the powerful 6.4-liter HEMI ...

Tesla is finally preparing to launch its Cloud service for driver profiles. According to Tesla Software Updates, a new “Cloud Profiles” feature has been included in the automaker’s latest version 2021.40 update for its vehicles and allows drivers to “Enable Vehicle Sync” for their own individual profiles. Just like other Cloud platforms, the program will allow you to save and upload your preferred driver settings onto the Internet and then sync those to any other Tesla cars you own or might drive in the future through the Tesla app. You’ll be able to save your preferences ranging from the car’s stop mode, the display’s brightness and interior temperature to what distance units to use or whether you want auto high beams. While the feature itse...

Tesla has officially issued a recall of nearly 12,000 EVs due to a glitch in its Full Self-Driving software that has caused cars to stop without reason. The electric vehicles company has faced many difficulties recently regarding updating the software. The automatic driving feature has caused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to launch a formal investigation on the company. U.S. regulators are continuously voicing their concern over the software. In response to the stoppage of some of Tesla’s vehicles for no reason due to a technology malfunction, the company has pinpointed that the problem with automatic emergency braking is that it runs the risks of other cars running into Teslas from behind. The recall is set to cover Tesla Models S, X, 3 and Y. The phantom brakin...

Back in 2013, a 1967 Toyota 2000GT sold for a record-high of $1.2M USD, and in 2015 another sold for $880,000 USD, so the sale of this 1968 iteration for $850,000 USD seems like a relative bargain, no? It sold through the auction site Bring a Trailer, where a no reserve style of bidding meant that one lucky buyer got the 1968 Toyota 2000GT for under the general market value. However, it goes to show that much like other classic Japanese cars, there’s much demand for rare models and prices are only set to skyrocket over time — the same has been seen with Nissan’s older generation Skyline GT-Rs, for example. The car in question is one of 351 examples produced in the three years that the 2000GT was made, and only one of the 109 export models that came in left-hand drive. It ...

Last week, Hertz and Tesla entered into a deal that was cited as the “biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles” by the BBC, however Elon Musk took to Twitter to denounce the deal saying that there has yet to be a contract that has been signed. The CEO tweeted, “I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet. Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.” In response to the tweet, a spokeswoman told BBC, “Deliveries of the Teslas already have started. As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure a...

On top of Chevrolet releasing a beast of an off-roader at SEMA, Ford had some tricks up its sleeve as well with the introduction of the Ford Bronco DR — Desert Racer. The culmination of years of Bronco development and race-tested technology, the 2022 Bronco DR takes the four-door frame and readies it for the Baja 1000 with high-speed desert racing upgrades — the ultimate turnkey off-road racing SUV. The Bronco DR features a 400 horsepower Coyote 5.0-liter V8 engine, Multimatic Positional Selective DSSV Dampers, a safety cage, a High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (H.O.S.S.) system, Multimatic-designed billet aluminum lower control arms, over 55% more suspension travel than the Badlands series Bronco, 37-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 all-season tires, race seats...

DRIVERS is a series highlighting influential individuals in the HYPEBEAST sphere and their passion towards all things automotive. The approach is simple: what is car culture to you, and why do you have a passion for it? Each contributor is given a chance to shine light on their personal vehicle or vehicles, and asked to remark on how they are driving culture forward, both metaphorically and literally. It’s not often that cars cross over into other lifestyle realms: fashion, music, and art seem like the easier categories to match with automotive. But how about grooming and skin care? That’s the case with Patricks, and its founder Patrick Kidd. Patrick and his eponymous brand are on a mission to bring luxury skin care and grooming products into the world for men to slow down thei...

The North American car show SEMA has kicked off, and staying true to itself, it is already playing host to a number of wild concept cars — including Ford‘s latest offering, the Shelby Mustang Mach-E GT concept. “Inspired by Carroll Shelby’s own dream for electric performance,” this concept car draws from some of the most important Shelby cars such as the Mustang GT350 and GT500 as well as the marque’s history, evident in the car’s signature off-white and blue livery that’s complete with stripes and Shelby branding. The aesthetics are absolutely on-point for a “could be” Shelby-tuned Mach-E, with the car sitting on 20″ one-piece forged Monoblock wheels that are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires before being subjected to a su...

Chevrolet made a big statement in its off-roading department at this year’s SEMA automotive industry show with the unveiling of “The Chevy Beast.” Built on a modified Silverado truck chassis, “The Chevy Beast” concept off-road SUV is a desert racing machine that was put together with off-the-shelf performance parts. Packing a Chevrolet LT4 650-horsepower 6.2L V-8 supercharged crate engine, the off-roader features a shortened frame, a 4130 Chromoly tubular safety structure, a 91-inch track, a long-travel off-road suspension system, five-link rear suspension, 37-inch off-road tires, 20-inch beadlock wheels, a Brembo Big Brake Upgrade System, and Baja Designs off-road lighting. “The Chevy Beast concept takes the popularity of high-performance off-road truck...

Toyota‘s Gazoo Racing (TGR) division is responsible for some of its most notable cars such as the new GR Yaris and the A90 Supra, but it also heads up the GR Heritage Parts Project which produces spare parts for vintage cars. Following on from its line of parts for the A70 and A80 Supra, the Toyota 2000GT, and the 40 Series Land Cruiser, TGR has announced that it’ll start producing parts for the AE86. The AE86 designation actually refers to an engine, specifically the 1.6-liter DOHC 16-valve (4A-GEU) engine that was found in the Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno. “Levin” and “Trueno” are the words Toyota used to distinguish the sports iteration of the Corolla and Sprinter, and are held to high esteem in the JDM car community — let alone within the ...

Audi has unveiled the all-new A8 in a multitude of guises, but what underpins each is the next-level technology that’s sure to filter into the rest of the German marque’s line-up in 2022 and beyond. Available as a three-liter V6-powered A8 55 TFSI Quattro, as well as a four-liter V8 version that comes in the A8 60 TSFI Quattro and the A8 L 60 TFSI Quattro — with these latter two both hitting 62 MPH in just 4.4 seconds regardless of their size differences — Audi offers an A8 for almost anyone looking for their next luxury sedan. The V8 is also capable of utilizing just four of its eight cylinders to reduce fuel consumption when required, and for those that are more concerned about economical driving, a diesel engine and a plug-in hybrid iteration are set to come soon...