Autos

More than a decade after Mazda pulled the plug on its Ford Ranger-based B-Series truck in the United States, the “Zoom-Zoom” brand is making us yearn for its return to the American pickup segment with the new BT-50. Marking the model’s second full redesign, per the company, the new BT-50 trades its predecessor’s Ford underpinnings for Isuzu-based mechanical bits. That’s right, just because Mazda stopped selling trucks in the U.S. doesn’t mean it stopped selling such models in other markets. Look past the Mazda’s pretty, CX-9-like face and you will find what amounts to a re-skinned Isuzu D-Max—a model that was never offered here, from a brand no longer imported to our shores. Fortunately, this is no new take on an old truck, as Isuzu recently r...

The current-generation Honda Pilot is getting on in years, but it is hardly showing its age. That’s because Honda makes frequent small updates to the roomy and practical three-row SUV, including a styling refresh the year before last. For 2021, the Pilot receives a special edition trim and comes standard with the nine-speed automatic transmission across the line (previously it reserved for upper trim levels, while lower-spec models used a six-speed). For its extra three forward speeds, the entry-level 2021 Honda Pilot LX sees a price increase of $725, to $33,370. It is more expensive, therefore, than the base Chevrolet Traverse (which also is much larger) but still less expensive than the more similarly sized Toyota Highlander. Prices on the mid-level EX and EX-L trims have swelled b...

Every year around this time, we’re guessing there’s a question that starts rattling around in your head: What in the heck am I going to get Dad this year for Father’s Day? Well, if he’s into cars at all, then do we ever have the answer for you! From now until the end of June, you can spring for our Special Deal for Dad and surprise him on Father’s Day with more than 3,200 hours of the most expansive and entertaining automotive content you’re going to find anywhere on earth. And even better, it’s not going to dent your wallet to get it for him. Whatever Dad’s into car-wise, you can be assured he’s going to find plenty of what revs him up on the MotorTrend App, everything from our smash hit shows Roadkill, Texas Metal, NASCAR ALL-IN: Batt...

Not uncomfortably hunched over the wheel, or awkwardly curled up in the back seat, as you might imagine. A “person familiar with the plans,” who decided to remain anonymous, told Reuters that the front passenger seat will fold back to lay flat, creating a bed described a bit like those found on the first-class cabin of passenger planes. Sounds comfy! Now, Ford’s not the first company to offer an interior that converts into a bed—there have been a lot of stuffy interiors and foggy windows over the years. When Nash was still around, many of their cars famously featured front benches that folded down to create a whole-interior bed. The perfect feature for penny-pinching families who didn’t want to pay motel rates, or lovestruck couples on the move. We’re not judg...

Tesla’s Model S electric sedan first went on sale in 2012 offering a then-eye-popping 265 miles of range per charge. In the interim, the sleek four-door EV has added battery capacity as well as many miles to its EPA-rated driving range figures. Now, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the Model S Long Range Plus variant has picked up an official EPA-rated 402-mile driving range. Musk claims that is a first among production EVs—a key win given the impending all-electric Rivian R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck, which are promised to have 400 miles of maximum range but have yet to receive public EPA certification. What happens in the EV driving-range wars now that Tesla has apparently beaten all comers to the magic 400-mile mark? Well, the debate moves to value—the 402-mile Tesla Model S Long...

“C’était un Rendez-vous” (which translates to “It Was a Date”) is probably one of the most famous least-well-known car films: An eight-or-so minute high-speed run through the nearly empty streets of Paris, the whole thing shot from a camera fitted to the bumper of what sounds like a Ferrari (it was actually a Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 with the engine noises from filmmaker Claude Lelouch’s 275GTB dubbed in). At the end of the run, a woman waits. You could question why any self-respecting Frenchman would schedule a date that begins at dawn, but still. (If you’re interested in watching it, some scoundrel posted the full movie to YouTube.) Today, Lelouch, who made the 1976 original and drove the camera car, released his pseudo remake, “Le Grand Re...

The Chrysler brand has used many of its nine lives to date, but the longtime American brand, which has had many adopted and foreign parents, is still alive. For now. The Chrysler brand is currently part of FCA US, which is owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. FCA is a dual-headquartered company with the Fiat side of the business based in Turin, Italy, and the former Chrysler Corp. operations based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chrysler dates back to 1925, founded by Walter Chrysler, and it is still referred to as part of the Big Three or Detroit Three, referring to General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Chrysler has teetered many times on the edge of a financial cliff. It was on the verge of bankruptcy in the late 1970s and was saved by government loan guarantees worth $1.5 billion that bought ti...