Autos
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Texas Man, Like Florida Man Before Him, Uses PPP Loan Money on Lamborghini
No offense to the state of Florida, but it’s typically a good idea to avoid following in its male citizens’ footsteps. Or, at least, to never appear in a sentence like the title of this story. That’s because it can be assumed that any news item that begins “Florida Man…” involves some kind of brazen, insane, or otherwise non-model behavior. Take one Florida Man from last month, who used fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan money intended for coronavirus business relief to purchase himself a Lamborghini Huracán. Well, one Lamborghini-lovin’ Texas Man just couldn’t help himself. While it’d be funny to write that the Texas Man at the center of a new Justice Department criminal complaint said something like “ho...
Even Watching a Street Race in Atlanta Could Net You a Huge Fine
Street racing is nothing new, but it may have found an opening of late. As we’ve reported previously, while the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has kept most people inside and cars off the roads, and according to some local news outlets, speeders and street racers have been taking advantage of those extra-empty streets—Atlantans included. They’ve been holding street races and road takeovers with hundreds of spectators, sometimes multiple nights in a row. Authorities are summoning a response. In an effort to crack down on street racing—and, more specifically, the massive crowds these events tend to attract—the Atlanta City Council recently approved legislation that punishes bystanders, in addition to racing participants. We all know you can be sent to jail and have your license suspen...
This 36K-Mile 1976 AMC Hornet Sportabout Is Preserved Malaise-Era “Luxury”
Sometimes you’re looking for a time capsule, not a track time. If you’re longing to spend some time in a bygone era, there’s not a lot that encapsulates the mid-1970s quite like an AMC product. And this Hornet Sportabout is basically a leisure suit dripping with disco sweat, sporting a Jimmy Carter campaign button and ready to dig into an open-face meatloaf and mashed-potato sandwich. Unlike many trends from an oft-mocked decade, however, this AMC (being offered up over at Hemmings Auctions) looks like it’ll endure. There are just 36,000 miles on the clock, and that’s barely broken in for the 258-cubic-inch inline-six, as it’s an engine with a legendary reputation for longevity if not outright power. The “deluxe” interior is described as like-new and looks it, although its vast plast...
Surprise! The Mazda MX-30 Will Launch As a Hybrid, Not an EV
Mazda has fallen behind in the race to bring electric vehicles to market, but last year at the Tokyo Motor Show the Japanese automaker finally revealed its first-ever EV, the MX-30. Production of the sleek electric crossover was said to begin in 2020, but it looks like that timing might have been pushed back. Instead, the MX-30 is launching with a hybrid variant in Japan this fall. Described as a mild hybrid, the Mazda MX-30 e-Skyactiv-G utilizes a direct-injected 2.0-liter gas engine paired with an “M Hybrid” electric motor that assists the four-cylinder when needed. Mazda says the MX-30 hybrid is part of a strategy to offer optimum powertrain options to serve a given region’s wants and needs. As we previously reported, the Mazda MX-30 EV will launch in Europe first to m...
Dodge Durango vs. Chevy Suburban: Roadkill’s Cheap 4×4 Challenge
The pandemic is still raging, and Roadkill isn’t taking a break. But what are David Freiburger and guest host Steve Dulcich to do when they have to social distance, can’t stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, or even drive in the same car? Go camping, of course! Since they have to be in separate vehicles anyway, why not have a shootout to up the fun and adventure quotient while they’re at it? Welcome to the Roadkill $2,500 4×4 shootout! Will Freiburger’s go-anywhere ’94 Suburban triumph over Dulcich’s beloved ’99 Durango? Related: Sign up to the MotorTrend App today for $2 to stream 100+ episodes of Roadkill, Roadkill Garage, Roadkill’s Junkyard Gold, Engine Masters and Faster With Finnegan. Plus, enjoy 8,000+ episodes of more hit car shows! Freiburger and Dulcich trekked out to the Ce...
Will Ram Build an Electric Pickup Truck to Battle the Ford F-150 EV?
Ford, General Motors, Rivian, and Tesla, have all revealed plans for electric pickup trucks, but so far, Ram has remained quiet on the topic. Until now, that is. A report from The Detroit News suggests the brand is indeed eyeing an electric truck for when the proper market conditions arise. In a recent earnings call, Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley talked about the Ram EV’s potential: “The reason we haven’t spoken much about electric pickup trucks is not because we view that market as nonexistent. But we’ve always had a slightly different view of timing and adoption rates, particularly in North America in terms of full electrification.” He added that the company is “very committed” to its electrification strategy. “We haven’t revealed everything,” Manley continued. “But obviousl...
Will Kandi Crush Our Expectations With Its $19,999 EV?
Tiger King introduced us to characters such as Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin, as well as the weird world of big cat collectors and rescuers. It also reminded us about the existence of the $10,599 Kandi Coco, which briefly appears in scenes of the series filmed at Exotic’s Oklahoma zoo. Nearly a decade ago, the Chinese brand’s small, Smart-like electric vehicle was available to Oklahomans for as little as $865 thanks to then-available federal and state tax credits. Now, Kandi is back with two new EVs it plans to sell in the United States: the Model K27 and Model K23. Curiously, the numerically higher Model K27 is the cheaper, lower-performance version of the two. That said, it’s also the better looking of this pair. Mind you, looks are subjective and the K27 is anything but pretty. 2021 Ka...
Self-Parking Cars Explained: How Does Automatic Park Assist Work?
I’d love to know how many wheels are curbed and bumpers are tapped each year in attempts to parallel park. There’s a whole industry of rubber bumper guards built around how difficult parking alongside a curb can be; crowded cities like New York are full of them. You might catch yourself thinking, “If cars can sort of drive themselves, why can’t they sort of park themselves?” They can. How Does Self-Parking Work? Most cars with self-parking capability can’t actually do it all themselves. These systems can locate a parallel (and in some cases a perpendicular or diagonal) parking spot upon activation by utilizing proximity sensors on the front, side, and rear of the vehicle; often, the tech requires activating a turn signal to indicate what side of the road it should look for a space. Once th...
Recycling Combustion: Creating Fuel From Carbon Dioxide
I admit that writing about this month’s subject makes me feel a bit like Charlie Brown running toward Lucy and her football. This particular football, as a general concept, is just so alluring: Take a problem (excessive atmospheric CO2) and turn it directly into a solution that lets us keep driving the vehicles we love—via carbon-neutral gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. This latest scheme solves many of the problems that have yanked the ball on my previous runs, giving me the courage to barrel toward it one more time. My three prior columns explaining ways of converting atmospheric CO2 into liquid fuels ran in July 2008, June 2012, and Oct 2018. The early ideas started by scrubbing CO2 from the air with an absorbent compound such as sodium hydroxide in water, isolating the CO2, cracking it ...
Leaked: The Jeep Gladiator Adds a Retro Willys Trim for 2021
The 2020 Jeep Gladiator is a well-packaged truck that’s extremely capable off the beaten path. It was a welcome addition to the Jeep lineup, and according to JeepGladitorForum.com, a few new trim levels are coming to the Gladiator for the 2021 model year. One forum poster claims to have obtained a leaked dealer bulletin that confirms the truck will get a Willys package and an 80th Anniversary Edition model for the new model year. <!– –> Much like the Willys trim level that’s already available on the Wrangler, the Gladiator’s Willys package will come in two levels: the Willys Sport and the Willys (the Willys Sport being the cheaper of the two). All Willys-trimmed Gladiators will get black 17-inch wheels with mud-terrain tires, rock rails from the Rubicon ...
Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition Interior Review
Behold, the only American car you can factory order and pick up at a dealership that features body assembly completed by an independent coachbuilder, just as luxury automobiles like Duesenbergs—and Lincolns—often were in the classic era: the Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition. Anyone can plainly see the extensive modifications the coachbuilders made in stretching the bodywork and reengineering those Rolls-Royce-aping rear-hinged—don’t-call-‘em-suicide—rear doors. But how did they do on the inside? Is this the Rolls-Royce Ghost of American luxury-car interiors? Let’s start off by noting that nothing much changes forward of the B-Pillar, so we’ll focus on the rear-seat experience here and refer you to our 2017 Lincoln Continental Black Label Interior Review for details on the cockpit, i...
Fast and Furious 9: Behind the Scenes of the ‘One Shot’ Music Video
We’re standing in an alley just east of Downtown L.A. between run-down warehouses. A black helicopter is sitting in the parking lot behind a chain-link fence, engine running. Over the roar of the chopper comes shouting: “Three, two, one, action!” A bright orange Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody comes screaming down the alley, turns, and nails the throttle—drifting through an open gate and coming to a stop just short of the helo. And …“Cut!” It’s not the set of Fast 9, the latest movie in the Fast and The Furious mega franchise, but it feels like it, and that’s the point. We’re actually on the set of the SixTwentySix’s music video production for “One Shot” by YoungBoy Never Broke Again featuring Lil Baby—the breakout hit from the official “Road to Fast 9” mixtape. With the song inspired by th...
