Best Shots

Friday, April 17, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 17, 2020

Apr 17, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

How we'd build our Ferrari Roma

The Ferrari Roma configurator is live, so we decided to devote a few minutes to provide important consumer advice to those considering this sexy automobile. As a refresher, the Roma is Ferrari's sexy new grand tourer packing a 3.9-liter twin-turbo…

2021 Nissan Rogue allegedly shown unadorned in leaked images

Nissan has already re-affirmed its commitment to launching an all-new version of its venerable Rogue crossover this fall, and new images purporting to be that vehicle have surfaced on a French web forum, giving us our best look yet at the automaker's…

Piper private plane neatly lands in middle lane of Quebec highway

Quebec law prohibits motorists from passing on the right. There's nothing in the rule book about overtaking from above, especially if you're aboard a small plane experiencing engine trouble and you need a place to land. It's in these circumstances th…

2020 Mini Countryman Review & Buying Guide | The big Mini is still fun

The 2020 Mini Countryman manages to keep most of the fun character of the regular Mini Hardtop, but with the practicality and style of a small crossover. How small, though? It's definitely among what we'd classify as subcompact models, but given its …

Lego's first Ducati kit is a Panigale V4 R with a functional gearbox

Ducati is no longer absent from the list of vehicles you can build using Lego bricks. Denmark's toy giant teamed up with the Bologna-based motorcycle builder to add a Panigale V4 R to its advanced Technic line. The first brick reproduction of a Duca…

The BMW M340i xDrive does 0-60 in 4.1 seconds. Here's what it sounds like

The 2020 BMW M340i features some staggering numbers. Its turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six produces 382 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and when graced with the added traction of xDrive all-wheel drive, it'll go from zero to 60 mph in a stag…

Mini bootleg Dodge Tomahawk is the coolest pocket bike of them all

Through Chinese retail website Alibaba , a company called Trumki is selling a knockoff version of the uber-cool Dodge Tomahawk motorcycle concept that shocked crowds at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show. It's marketed as the "2019 New Electric Dodge Tomahawk…

McLaren hybrid sports series prototype spied, possible 570S successor

McLaren has repeatedly said it plans to go hybrid with all of its vehicles in the future. The latest rumors out of Britain point at plans to reveal the first of this new hybrid lineup sometime this year. This heavily camouflaged prototype could be th…

2020 BMW 3 Series Luggage Test | The ultimate packing machine?

It has been well documented that the 2020 BMW 3 Series has grown considerably, approaching the dimensions of the 5 Series from 20 years ago. While there has been much kvetching about the ramifications of that from a performance and driving dynamics s…

Junkyard Gem: 1995 Ford F-150 graffiti truck

I've documented quite a few doomed art cars, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area, as I've prowled junkyards for interesting bits of automotive history . First I captured the Groovalicious Purple Princess of Peace Ford Taurus wagon, and since that tim…

Thursday, April 16, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 16, 2020

Apr 16, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Porsche Cayenne Coupe Second Drive | A little perspective

Most mini refrigerators, you know for like a dorm room, measure 4.5 cubic feet. According to the kitchen experts at Good Housekeeping, the most stylish is Daewoo's Retro Compact model. "You can pick from five different colors and even get a matching …

Thousands in cars and out protest Michigan governor's coronavirus social distance order

LANSING, Mich. — Thousands of flag-waving, honking protesters drove past the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday to show their displeasure with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders to keep people at home and businesses locked during the coronavirus outbreak. As…

2021 Cadillac Escalade price increases take starting MSRP to $76,195 MSRP

As the 2021 Cadillac Escalade prepares behind-the-scenes for duty in front of real-life red carpets, more information on the brand new fifth-generation SUV bubbles to the surface. GM Authority got its hands on some MSRP figures, as has at least one o…

Lexus LQ flagship crossover due around 2022, so what of the LX?

When Lexus debuted the LF-1 Limitless crossover concept at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, Lexus' U.S. general manager waited roughly six minutes to tell the world, as a way of hinting to HQ in Japan, "We have to build this vehicle." Car and Driver says …

VW waives six months of loan payments for buyers who lose their jobs

Volkswagen has announced that it will pick up the tab for up to six months' worth of new-car payments for buyers who get thrown out of work. The offer joins a growing list from automakers who are working to reassure jittery new-car buyers as the coro…

Ford Focus RS is apparently dead due to EU emissions laws

Earlier this month, on the sidelines of a Q&A French outlet Caradisiac had with Ford of Europe executives, the outlet got bad news about the Mk4 Focus RS. Spotted by Motor1 , the French site's report opened with, "Ford has confirmed to Caradisiac …

2021 Toyota Supra fuel economy takes small hit with extra power

Toyota surprised us all with its 2021 Supra announcement a few months ago. After only one model year, the turbocharged inline-six is revised for more horsepower, and the whole chassis has been re-tuned for sharper handling. Output went from 335 horse…

Porsche: 'We do not consider Tesla to be a direct rival'

Porsche's first mass-produced electric car, the Taycan, is a direct shot at the Tesla Model S. These sedans overlap in several areas , but the German firm said it doesn't see the Elon Musk-led company as a direct rival. "Although people like to play …

[VIDEO] Watch a Fox-body Ford Mustang make a meager 64 horsepower on the dyno

Ford Mustangs are nearly synonymous with power, but there was a time when the pony car had as much strength as a Twizzler sitting in the sun. The third-generation was produced from 1978 through 1993, and like every other car that suffered from strict…

Ford Ranger gets extra power from Ford Performance engine tune

While we wouldn't call either the 2020 Ford Ranger or Ford Mustang GT lacking in power, we certainly don't complain when we can get more. And Ford Performance is offering more power for both vehicles with new ECU tunes from its ProCal range. The Ran…

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 15, 2020

Apr 15, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Jaguar I-Pace Suspension Deep Dive | All kinds of weird and wonderful

I've driven the Jaguar I-Pace a handful of times, and it always proves to be an enjoyable experience. In case you're not up to speed, this is Jaguar's dual-motor all-wheel drive all-electric SUV. It's quick, it looks cool in a running shoe sort of wa…

R-mageddon: VW hits the Nurburgring in undisguised Golf R, Tiguan R and Arteon R

The next-gen Volkswagen Golf R hasn't done a great job of hiding its secrets so far. That continues today with new spy shots of an uncamouflaged Golf R running around the Nürburgring. Last we saw the Mk 8 Golf R, it was being put through its paces i…

Speeders hit the gas as coronavirus empties the streets

NEW YORK — Empty roads in the United States and Europe are tempting drivers to go out and shift into high gear. From Los Angeles to New York, London and Berlin, coronavirus lockdowns have drained traffic from normally crowded roads. That has opened …

2021 Cadillac Escalade price increases take starting MSRP to $76,195 MSRP

Mercedes-Benz EQE electric sedan caught on video

Mercedes has made it very clear that it has a high-end electric luxury sedan coming by the name of EQS. Not only have we seen the production car in spy shots a few times , we've even gone for a spin in the concept car . Less publicized has been its lit…

How an 18-cylinder engine and the Porsche 917 shaped the Bugatti Veyron

On the surface, Volkswagen's resurrection of Bugatti looks like one of the many chess-like moves made in its bold quest to expand its portfolio of brands during the late 1990s. In a way, it was; branching out into new segments motivated executives to…

Ford wants to trademark the term 'G.O.A.T. Modes'

Goats enjoy rich metaphorical lives. In English, for instance, one can eat like a goat, get beat like a goat, have their goat gotten, get sucked into a goat rodeo, own a Pontiac GTO, and climb like a goat — and those are merely some of the safe-for-w…

We found the current deals on tires so you don't have to

Like most of you, since I'm currently stuck inside for the time being, watching snowfall out my window well into spring, I've been daydreaming about past trips. A few years back I was on a dream outing. Former Autoblogger Alex Kierstein had just purc…

Cherry 1996 Chevy Impala SS with only 2,173 miles is big American sedan heaven

Here's a nice slice of history from GM: a 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS for sale on Bring a Trailer . This particular example only has a mere 2,173 miles on it, and up until February 2019, lived in the same owner's garage its entire life. These cars were r…

Wildfire-scorched Norman Timbs Special getting a second chance

The Woolsey Fire that ravaged California in 2018 was one of the most destructive natural disasters Los Angeles has ever dealt with. According to the L.A. Times , the wildfire claimed three lives, 97,000 acres, and 1,600 structures. Within the wreckage…

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 14, 2020

Apr 14, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Next-gen Mazda6 reportedly getting RWD, straight-six it shares with Toyota

Last June, Japan's Best Car magazine laid out what we considered a whopper series of rumors about future Mazda developments. The mag said it had been speaking to a Toyota source on an unrelated matter, and found out that Mazda's work on a straight-si…

Somebody is selling a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 for $160,000

A tag on the Cars.com for-sale listing of a particular white-over-red 2020 Chevrolet Corvette deems the price a "fair deal," but in reality, that would only be true on opposite day. Dozens of dealerships and owners are looking to make a quick buck an…

[VIDEO] C8 Chevy Corvette convertible could skip the 2020 model year

Having commenced production at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant at the beginning of February, the 2020 C8 Chevrolet Corvette was only going to get seven months of production out of its first year before the plant switched to the 2021 model. And then …

1986 BMW 325iX — never registered, with 315 miles — for sale at Koenigsegg dealer

SuperVettura, England's official Koenigsegg dealer, offers a wide selection of used supercars including a 1989 Ferrari F40, a 2016 Aston Martin Vulcan, and a 2008 Lamborghini Reventon. There's even a Spyker in its inventory. And yet, the car rivaling…

The electric Mini SE crushes its EPA range estimate in our real-world test

The range meter of my fully charged 2020 Mini Cooper SE reads 110 miles as I fasten my seatbelt, which is hardly a surprise because that number matches the official EPA-certified range of this all-new electric car. But then I turn on the climate cont…

Consumer Federation: We're driving far less, insurance refunds should be much bigger

DETROIT — Interstates and city streets are empty and cars are quarantined in their owners' garages, so consumer advocates argue that it only makes sense for auto insurance rates to reflect that. In the states of Washington and New York, the number o…

[VIDEO] Watch a Suzuki Swift go straight when the road doesn't, fly 209 feet into a church

In rural Poland, an unidentified motorist celebrated Easter by launching a third-generation Suzuki Swift off a roundabout and into a building owned by a church. The jump was captured by a security camera. Polish news site Remiza published the 20-sec…

Cadillac confirms 'Blackwing' name, manual gearboxes for pumped-up CT4-V, CT5-V

Cadillac officially confirmed Tuesday that the high-output variants of its new CT4-V and CT5-V sedans will be dubbed "Blackwing," sharing a nameplate with GM's stillborn twin-turbocharged V8. As an added bonus, company representatives said for certai…

2020 BMW M760i Interior Driveway Test | It doesn't get much better

Few back seats in the automotive world measure up to the experience one can find in a fully optioned 2020 BMW M760i . It comes with the territory of being a luxury flagship car. Anybody who spends $181,975 on a vehicle should expect nothing but excell…