Autos
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2021 Kia K5 First Drive—Making Some Buzz
Kia is on a roll. It was just last year the automaker launched the all-new Telluride and a new Soul. This year, the all-new Seltos arrived in February, and now the K5 is landing in America. But these are not just any launches; the superior design, quality, and attention to detail in these new Kias stand out. The Telluride became the first Korean crossover to win MotorTrend‘s SUV of the Year, and the charming Soul went pretty far in our Car of the Year evaluations, getting a respectable third place behind the Chevrolet Corvette and Tesla Model 3. The 2021 Kia K5 is hoping to get the same kind of attention, and with its aggressive styling, two powertrain offerings, and the latest technology, it’s making some buzz. The K5 replaces the Optima as Kia’s midsize sedan. Executive...
Cadillac’s Push for New Naming System May Be an “-IQ” Test for Buyers
While General Motors has yet to announce what other “-iq” names it has in store for Cadillac, the company recently registered the Optiq and Symboliq (as well as Cadillac Optiq and Cadillac Symboliq) marks with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. Admittedly, it’s possible General Motors merely applied for these trademarks to ensure no other company did, and the American automaker has no actual plans to apply the names to future Cadillac models. See all 35 photos Given Cadillac’s claimed commitment to its new naming structure, though, it’s far more likely the Optiq and Symboliq marks will adorn forthcoming vehicles from the brand. If the Lyriq and Celestiq are any indication of what’s to come from Cadillac, then the Optiq and Symboliq may...
BMW X5 Hydrogen on Track for 2022
Back in March, BMW said it would present a small number of X5 models powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology in 2022. That plan is still on track, according to a new report from Bloomberg, and BMW CEO Oliver Zipse says hydrogen tech “could have the potential to become another pillar in the portfolio of BMW.” Dubbed the BMW i Hydrogen Next, the midsize SUV will feature a 170-hp fuel cell system as well as the eDrive unit from the BMW iX3. Total system output is expected at 374 hp, according to early powertrain details released in March. As a hydrogen vehicle, the SUV will emit nothing but water vapor, and refueling should take around three to four minutes. Locating a convenient hydrogen fueling station, however, may remain a challenge. Germany recently presented a plan to bolst...
Awesome Range Rover Coupe Restomod Is a Perfect Classic 4×4
The original two-door Land Rover Range Rover’s shape is a timeless and charming one, and this lovely restored SUV shows it off in all its glory. And it’s especially timeless because, in addition to the other modifications, it’s been back-dated to resemble an early 1970s model—including the body-colored C-pillar and early style silver bumpers. But the star of the show has to be the Tuscan Blue paint, available on early Range Rovers (and recently, on the Range Rover Fifty limited edition models). See all 17 photos The two-door Range Rovers look especially exotic and appealing to American eyes because they were never officially sold here. Later, four-door Range Rovers appeared, first through the grey market and later officially, but these two-doors remain a rare sight in Ame...
100+ Junkyard Photos! Steve Magnante’s Decades-Long Quest for Hidden Treasure
If you watch Roadkill’s Junkyard Gold, the Barrett-Jackson live auctions, or have been to any of Dodge’s SRT clinics at Mopar events across the country, you may recognize Steve Magnante as the on-camera expert on all things muscle cars and performance. Magnante eats, breathes, and sleeps everything related to muscle cars, and if you ask him, he’ll tell you he’s never met a muscle car he didn’t like! He has been poking around junkyards all his life, but what you may not know about “Magneto”—as his friends call him—is that long before he stepped in front of a camera, he spent decades behind one. For a solid two decades, Magnante crawled through junkyards from coast to coast with a camera, documenting what he has found for many magazines over the year...
2021 Mitsubishi Mirage First Look: The Subcompact Lives
Once again sold in hatchback and sedan forms (the latter of which dons the G4 mark), the 2021 Mirage welcomes a fresh face that incorporates the latest Mitsubishi styling cues. While the Japanese automaker’s United States arm is mum on details about the updated car, Mitsubishi’s Canadian division notes the reworked Mirage includes items such as LED headlamps and taillamps (likely restricted to higher-end models), a 7.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility (0.5 inch larger than the current Mirage’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible unit), and additional safety kit, including newly available features such as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, a lane-departure warning system, and automatic high-beam headlamps....
How a $700 Beater Became the 11-Second Roadkill Crop Duster
Here’s an intro to the old school for the young generation of Roadkillers. This is the Crop Duster—a 440-engine-swapped 1970 Plymouth Duster that runs in the 11s—which was built for what today would be considered cheap for a vintage muscle car. It’s also the story of the resurrection of an old car that spent years wallowing in farm soil laden with sundry vegetal and animal residue. “You’re still going to have 20 grand duplicating that car,” David Freiburger says in his trademark deadpan. “That’s the problem. That’s expensive.” But insofar that cubic dollars can be replaced by fanatic hoarding, ingenuity, and elbow grease, this is it. “The key to the whole thing—the reason why people think it’s cool—is the six pack scoop, Cra...
2021 Hyundai Kona Night Edition Desaturates Normally Colorful Subcompact SUV
The Hyundai Kona is a funky, sportyish entrant in the oftentimes bland and underpowered subcompact crossover SUV segment. Its headlights are seemingly in the wrong place, Hyundai offers fun paint colors for it, and it even offers a punchy turbo engine option. For the new model year, the subcompact Kona adds a sleek-looking special edition to its ranks: The 2021 Hyundai Kona Night Edition. As its name suggests, the Night Edition features a blacked-out exterior and other dark and brooding cosmetic upgrades, per a seeming unspoken industry playbook for blacked-out trim packages, which are beginning to feel pretty played out by now. Go ahead, name a mainstream automaker that doesn’t offer some variation on the “night,” “midnight,” “shadow,” and [insert...
2021 Audi E-Tron S: Audi Adds Some Hot Sauce to Its EV SUV Formula
The S, for those unaware, denotes the extra sportiness Audi baked into the model. That means bigger brakes, a sportier suspension, and more power. There are now three electric motors on board—two at the rear and one in front—instead of one at each axle, as in the normal E-Tron. Audi claims that the E-Tron S can make up to 718 lb-ft of torque in Boost mode. This is way up from the normal E-Tron’s 490 lb-ft (also produced in Boost mode). The E-Tron S uses the same 95-kWh battery pack available in the standard model, but the sportier model’s driving range takes a slight hit. The normal E-Tron goes an estimated 248 miles on a full charge on Europe’s optimistic WLTP test cycle, but the E-Tron S only manages approximately 223 miles on the same cycle. The Sportback model sees a ...
Not a Bronco: 2020 Suzuki Jimny 4×4 Tested in a Tiny Way
We’ve been pining for a new Suzuki Jimny to be sent to America for years, and our lust only intensified when the newest model arrived this year. Here is a small, lightweight, four-cylinder 4×4 that’s basic and cheap, exactly what Jeep’s Wrangler used to be before it swelled to fit ever-swelling American bodies and the comfort and convenience items they demand. What makes the Jimny’s absence from our market hurt all the more is that its ancestor was long ago sold here. Remember the Samurai? Anyway, we managed to get our hands on a Kinetic Suzuki Jimny for a little test—and we do mean “little.” Okay, if you’ve been looking at the photos here, you may have caught onto our gambit: The Jimny we tested isn’t exactly full-scale. It’s...
F1 2020 Video Game Review: Codemasters Outdoes Itself, Again
Let’s get this over with at the jump: Codemasters’ F1 2020 is the best F1 video game to ever hit home-gaming consoles, period, and you should buy it now if you haven’t already. That’s my visceral gut reaction after spending a good chunk of time with the title that released on July 10. It’s not a proclamation I make lightly. Racing gamers are a massively discerning lot, and hardcore Formula 1 fans might be even more demanding when it comes to how companies virtually depict their favorite form of motorsport. Throughout the past several decades, F1 games have been all over the map in terms of realism, playability, and pure fun. Take a spin through online forums devoted to racing games/simulators—any racing game—and you’ll find a seemingly never-ending strea...
2021 BMW X7 Dark Shadow Edition: Lights Out for Bimmer’s 523-HP SUV
BMW loves its special editions, and the company has rolled out some dark-themed schemes as of late, including the almost unseeable Vantablack X6 and the 8 Series Golden Thunder edition. But it seems the Munich-based automaker isn’t letting up, and it’s just taken the wraps off the BMW X7 Dark Shadow Edition. Essentially, the Dark Shadow Edition is an eight-cylinder X7 M50i with a lot of blacked-out bits to give it a stealthier vibe. The paint, however, isn’t black. Wait, what? No, really—this special X7 is coated in matte Frozen Arctic Grey Metallic. Even though the color is an option in BMW’s Individual catalog, the company says this is its first SUV to wear the hue. In photos, it at least appears very close to black. The mirror caps, window surround, roof rails, a...
