Autos
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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...
Is the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4Matic a Good Road Trip Car?
Mercedes-Benz dropped off the long-term GLE 450 4Matic in early April, right as the shutdown from the global pandemic was getting underway. There was nowhere to go, and as such by the end of May, the poor, underused Mercedes family hauler had only 1,984 miles on it. An ominous mileage total if there ever was one, as well as one that’s way lower than I’d like to see on the odometer. Solution? Grab a startlingly inexpensive Airbnb just outside of Colorado City, Arizona, (Warren Jeffs country!) just south of the Utah border. Then toss the wife and 3-year-old in the Benz and hit the road for a 2,000-mile road trip, hitting the following breathtaking locales: Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. How’d the GLE 45...
Subaru BRZ Apparently Dead for 2021, Will Rise Again Like a Phoenix
Speculation has always been regular part of the auto-journo gig, and today we’re armchair-quarterbacking the current Subaru BRZ‘s future. If you happen to check out Subaru’s Japanese website at this link, translate the page from Japanese to English (unless you’re fluent in the language, in which case, good for you), and scroll down to the ominous message blared in big red letters: “We have closed the build-to-order manufacturing order for the models listed.” <!– –> Even though that translation is a little wonky, it looks like Subaru of Japan won’t be taking orders for BRZs anymore, a signal that the company has officially hit the brakes on BRZ production. When we reached out for comment, a Subaru spokesperson simply said they, ...
Garage Find Lamborghini Miura S Spent 45 Years in Back of a Body Shop
Jeff Meier’s latest acquisition of the all-time great Lamborghini Miura–by way of a stunning garage find–is a heck of a story, filled with fortunate good luck. But his fascination with Lamborghini’s original supercar runs much deeper. Meier was born and raised in Cleveland, where he grew up in a large family. His father owned an automotive repair shop, so there were always different cars parked in the driveway. As early as the age of five, Meier developed a curiosity for cars that flourished into a hobby of identifying them when he’d see them driving on the road. The same kid that would shout out “Volkswagen,” “Chevy,” and “Ford” from the backseat when his father pointed at a car would one day become a full-fledged car expert and collector in his own right. The Lamborghini Miura Bug Bites ...
