Best Shots: December 2020

Thursday, December 31, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 31, 2020

Dec 31, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

These cars won't return for 2021

As 2020 ticks to a close, we're doing our final inventory of the automotive marketplace, which will be short a couple dozen models when the dust is settled and the 2021s are stocked up. This year was yet another rough one for enthusiast cars, but the…

Ford Fusion crossover prototype photos leak via Instagram

A prototype for what appears to be a Ford Fusion crossover wagon has leaked via Instagram. While the Fusion was sold in the States exclusively as a sedan, it has been offered in other variants overseas, where it is known as the Mondeo. Rumors have su…

Jim Glickenhaus challenges Elon Musk to a Cybertruck showdown in the Baja 1000

Jim Glickenhaus has challenged Elon Musk to race in the 2023 edition of the Baja 1000. Posted on social media, the duel invitation aims to prove the merits of hydrogen-electric technology. "You have said that hydrogen technology is 'mind-bogglingly …

Ford F-250 SuperCrew Six-Passenger Driveway Test | Send in the clones!

We rigorously tested the revised 2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty back in January or, if you prefer, "the before times." We towed a 12,000-pound trailer up a mountain in Arizona with an F-350 equipped with the new 6.7-liter PowerStroke diesel V8 and its 1,…

Toyota previews modified Supra, GR Yaris, Mirai ahead of 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon

Toyota has unveiled part of its 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon lineup. The aftermarket extravaganza has been canceled due to a spike in COVID-19, but the cars are ready and waiting. A bright yellow GR Supra headlines this first batch, showing off some new pe…

The Aspark Owl, dubbed the fastest accelerating car in the world, is now on sale

The Aspark Owl, a 1985-horsepower electric hypercar that has been dubbed the fastest accelerating car in the world, has gone on sale. A showroom opened in Aspark's hometown of Osaka, Japan, yesterday, and the company is taking orders from Europe and …

Ford touts pandemic aid as it asks USA to #FinishStrong against coronavirus

As we pass the final hours of 2020, Ford is asking Americans to #FinishStrong in a new campaign to encourage people to maintain safe behaviors and look out for one another as the country approaches what is expected to be a major turning point in the …

Magni honors its founder with the retro-styled Italia 01/01 motorcycle

Italian motorcycle manufacturer Magni introduced a model named Italia 01/01 designed as a tribute to its founder, Arturo Magni, who died in 2015. It blends a retro-styled design with a state-of-the-art engine from MV Agusta. Magni founded the compan…

Alfa Romeo goes hatchback-free after axing the Giulietta

Alfa Romeo exited the hatchback segment by ending production of the Giulietta, a Volkswagen Golf-sized model introduced in 2010. It's planning on filling the void in its range with a city-friendly crossover in the coming years. Honored with a herita…

Fan of country music and motorcycles? This giveaway is for you

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. Enter to win this giveaway or a…

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 30, 2020

Dec 30, 2020

Monday, December 28, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 28, 2020

Dec 28, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 BMW M2 CS First Drive | A BMW for the true believer

In the high-performance smorgasbord known as BMW Test Fest, held this year at New York's Monticello Motor Club, there were richer, meatier dishes than the 2020 M2 CS. Among them: a 612-horsepower, $142,000 Alpina XB7, which plopped 5,900 surprisingly…

Autoblog's 2020 Editors' Picks: The good, the bad and the surprising

2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class spied dressed in blue and very little camouflage

Last we checked in on the next-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class , it was still wearing a full suit of camouflage. Today, we see more blue paint and body than we do coverings. Mercedes can't be too far away from fully revealing the car at this stage in…

Jeep preparing to open in-house customization facility near Toledo factory

Jeep will deal a serious blow to the aftermarket by opening a customization facility near its factory in Toledo, Ohio. It's investing $23 million into the site, and it hopes selling turn-key modified 4x4s will create over 300 jobs. Instead of starti…

2020 Polaris Slingshot Review | Why ask why?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Trying to figure out why the Polaris Slingshot exists is a pointless endeavor. Why did you climb that mountain? Because it was there. Why did you go for two? Because I couldn't go for three. Why did Polaris build the Slingshot? Becau…

Tesla update turns horn sounds into farts, bleating goats and anything else you can think of

Your Tesla can now fart at other drivers and pedestrians on the road/sidewalk as its horn with a new "Boombox" feature. It can also make sounds like a baaing goat, applause, "La Cucaracha" and a number of others. The list is rather endless, because i…

Toyota reveals two-seater urban EV for the Japanese market

Toyota entered a new segment of the Japanese market by launching an electric two-seater named C+pod that makes kei cars look bloated. It developed the tiny hatchback exclusively for crowded urban centers. Announced only for Japan, the C+pod stretche…

Junkyard Gem: 1975 Plymouth Fury Sedan

The Plymouth Fury was once among the most commonplace vehicles on American roads, with the 1970s being the most Furious decade of all. If you've watched a lot of Malaise Era cop shows, you've seen endless examples of the 1975-1978 B-Body Fury sedan; …

Volkswagen celebrates the 75th anniversary of Beetle production

Volkswagen is celebrating the 75th anniversary of one of the most important dates in its history. Against all odds, it launched series production of the Type 1 — which we know as the Beetle — on December 27, 1945. Prior to that date, the factory in …

Win a DeBerti custom Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and $20,000 cash

Thursday, December 24, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 24, 2020

Dec 24, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2021 Ford F-150 early builds reportedly sidelined for fixes

The 2021 F-150 appears to be yet another victim of quality control issues at Ford, as the company has reportedly filled Detroit-area parking lots with early-production models in need of further inspections, repairs and components, the Detroit Free Pr…

Toyota announces the current-generation Land Cruiser is dead after 2021

Toyota confirmed a rumor we first caught wind of earlier in 2020 by announcing that the current-generation Land Cruiser will retire after the 2021 model year. The next-generation model will be introduced in the coming months, but we're receiving mixe…

Guilty as charged: Electrify America site delivers a slow flow to a Ford Mustang Mach-E

As Ford touts its electric Mustang Mach-E, the company is also promoting its owners' access to an existing public-charging network built by ChargePoint and Electrify America. Ford calls the network, with some 13,500 stations and 35,000 total plugs, t…

Baby Bugatti II First Drive | Classic car hijinks at three-quarter scale

The Bugatti Type 35 is one of the most unmistakable race cars in history. Powered by a screaming straight-eight engine that was often fitted with a supercharger, the open-wheel single-seater earned more than 1,000 victories back in the day, making it…

Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid pricing announced

Jeep has posted pricing for its first plug-in-hybrid model, the Wrangler 4xe . At launch, the PHEV Wrangler is being offered first in Sahara and Rubicon trim and is four-door only. Pricing for those two versions has now been announced: For the Wrangle…

U.S. regulator drops ban, allows Mahindra Roxor sales over Jeep's objections

DETROIT — A U.S. regulator ruled on Wednesday that Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd's new design for its Roxor off-road utility vehicle did not infringe the intellectual property rights of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Jeep brand, six months after barring the …

UK and EU reach a post-Brexit trade deal in the nick of time

BRUSSELS — After months of talks and at almost the last minute, Britain and the European Union struck a provisional free-trade agreement Thursday that should avert New Year chaos for cross-border traders and bring a measure of certainty for businesse…

2021 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe gets a more affordable front-wheel-drive version

BMW branched out into a new segment when it released the 2 Series Gran Coupe for the 2020 model year. It expanded a little more downmarket by launching a cheaper front-wheel-drive variant of the sedan for 2021. Called simply 228i, the new entry poin…

SSC Tuatara tries for top speed record again, but runs into heat issues

A number of months have gone by since the SSC Tuatara controversy broke, and ever since Jerod Shelby announced a second attempt , we haven't heard much of anything out of SSC. We still haven't heard anything from SSC directly, but they've been busy. …

C7 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to get enhanced warranty owing to overheating issues

We reported about the C7 Chevrolet Corvette Z06's overheating problems way back in 2016 . Chevy said it had a solution for owners with a new hood design that featured larger vents and a new supercharger cover. Even then, Tadge Juechter said there was …