Best Shots

Thursday, August 20, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for August 20, 2020

Aug 20, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Rolls-Royce Cullinan Road Test | HMS Cullinan

A tenet of good writing says you can't modify a superlative. "Very best" gilds the lily, and "one of the best" is a hedge. Best is all you need say. That's the spirit of the phrase "the Rolls-Royce of …," which gets applied to any kind of thing, say …

2021 Subaru Forester gets small price bump, more standard features

Information for the 2021 Subaru Forester is out, and the crossover hasn't changed a whole lot for the new year. This will be the third year of this generation of Forester, and it's also the third year in a row without a turbocharged engine option in …

2021 Toyota Tacoma gets two special editions and some updates

The bestselling midsize pickup for the past 15 years has been the Toyota Tacoma. After receiving a spritz for the 2020 model year, the third-generation Tacoma gets some sprinkles and another cherry to keep it interesting going into 2021. Two special …

Volvo leads and Mini fails in JD Power's Tech Experience Index

New cars are basically rolling computers. Everything from the engine to the infotainment runs on a series of ones and zeros, and a lot of that technology requires input from the driver. So it's no surprise that JD Power has a study designed specifica…

2021 Lexus ES adds AWD and Black Line Special Edition to lineup

Toyota engineered a Camry with all-wheel drive , so transferring it over to the Lexus only makes sense. The 2021 Lexus ES 250 AWD debuts today, adding all-wheel power to the ES for the first time. Lexus teased the possibility of an all-wheel-drive mod…

Subaru Levorg, also known as the WRX's wagon cousin, revealed in production form

Last year, Subaru gave us our first look at the new Levorg station wagon in "prototype" form , which over the past few years has shared most of its body and interior with the Subaru WRX. Now we finally get to see the production version, and it looks b…

VW Golf R Wagon looks intriguing and unattainable in new spy photos

Spies in Germany captured the 8th-generation Golf R Wagon (or Variant, as it's known overseas) in public. Disguised as an Alltrack, this prototype's true identity is revealed by its large wheels, low-profile tires and big, blue brakes. Even under cam…

Spy photos reveal updated Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup

It may seem like only yesterday that the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ushered in a new generation of GM pickup trucks, but with increased heat from the Ram pickup line and the pressure of the forthcoming launch of the redesigned Ford F-150 , GM can't…

BMW X1 vs X2 vs Mini Countyman | Which should you buy?

We often mention how crossovers are displacing sedans and hatchbacks as the daily driving vehicle of choice for the majority of Americans. The BMW lineup exemplifies this shift perhaps better than any other premium automaker. The brand's entry point …

Jeep will reportedly add three trim levels to the Renegade range for 2021

Motorists in the market for a Jeep Renegade will have three additional variants to choose from during the 2021 model year, according to a recent report. Two of the new trim levels are familiar-sounding hand-me-downs from the Wrangler, while the third…

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for August 19, 2020

Aug 19, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Polestar 2 First Drive | No gas, no bull, all beauty and speed

YPSILANTI, Mich. — For some of us, it's easy to get excited about new EVs, even if they're nothing too fancy, fast or mold-breaking. We can easily forgive a Bolt its hum-drum interior, the Kona Electric its oddness or the Model 3 its panel gaps. So w…

[VIDEO] Listen to the Mercedes-AMG Project One romp around Mercedes' proving grounds

It's been over three years since we saw the reveal of the Mercedes-AMG Project One , and we're still waiting on a final production car. Mercedes isn't keeping us entirely in the dark on what's going on behind closed doors, though. Today, Mercedes has…

Jeep's latest Grand Wagoneer teaser plays the heritage card

Jeep is about to resurrect the Grand Wagoneer after a long hiatus, and it released a preview video to announce the third-generation model will be much more high-tech than its predecessors. It's tentatively due out for 2022. Posted on the firm's offi…

2021 Mazda CX-9 gets new tech, Carbon Edition

Mazda announced early Tuesday that the 2021 CX-9 is getting a nip-and-tuck styling update along with some updated tech, including a new 10.25-inch infotainment system powered by the latest version of Mazda Connect. Mazda may have oversold things a …

Historic French brand Delage returns with the D12

We've seen several ways so far of resurrecting a dormant car brand. There's been the continuation build, like at Alvis , with period vehicles created from new-old-stock or parts created from original blueprints. We've seen brands wrap modern technolog…

Lucid details Air's fastest-yet high-speed and home charging

With the final unveiling of the Lucid Air around the corner on September 9 , the trickle of details about the all-electric luxury sedan is speeding up. In recent months, we've seen the car drive 400 miles on a charge , only to best itself with an estim…

2021 Porsche Taycan gets a number of updates in second model year

The 2021 Porsche Taycan is rolling into its second model year with a few updates. It's largely the same car as it was for 2020 , but there are some tech enhancements we'll go over below. Before the tech, let's talk acceleration. Porsche has revised i…

2021 Ram 1500 TRX | How we'd build our Hellcat-powered pickup

That didn't take long. The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX was only revealed yesterday, but the configurator is already up and running. Here's the link . We surveyed the room to see how all of us would spec out their supercharged pickup. For a truck that starts ab…

Maserati MC20 spy photos show supercar in broad daylight

The upcoming Maserati MC20 mid-engine supercar has been teased a number of times , but thanks to new spy photos, we finally get a clear look at the prototype. Our spy photographer caught the MC20 in broad daylight from nearly every angle, and it was w…

Canoo to go public at $2.4 billion valuation and deliver vehicles in 2022

DETROIT — Canoo, a U.S. electric vehicle startup already working with South Korea's Hyundai, will go public later this year at a value of $2.4 billion and aims to start delivering vehicles by the second quarter of 2022. It has joined forces with a s…

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for August 18, 2020

Aug 18, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport First Ride | Jeeps beware

It will be a while yet before we get unrestricted access to the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport, but as part of the company's "Bronco Day" celebrations the second week of August, Ford invited media out for a sneak peek and ride-along in both the ne…

2021 Ram 1500 TRX vs. 2020 Ford F-150 Raptor | How they compare on paper

Now that the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has debuted , it's time to pit the off-road truck against its only true competitor: the Ford F-150 Raptor . Ford has left us in a weird spot with the Raptor, though. It's currently in-between models, as the regular 2021 F…

Ford Ranger Tremor reportedly coming with several off-road modifications

American enthusiasts have asked Ford to bring them the Ranger Raptor since the truck made its debut in 2018. We're still not getting it, but we'll allegedly see a more capable Ranger named Tremor as a consolation prize. If the name sounds familiar, …

2021 Kia Sedona minivan won't look much like a minivan

In June, Kia first teased the exterior of the fourth-generation 2021 Carnival minivan for South Korea that we know as the Sedona, then it teased the interior . Today, the Asian automaker combines the photo sets with explanations about what Kia calls t…

2021 Mazda CX-9 gets new tech, Carbon Edition

All-electric Genesis eG80 caught in new spy photos

Spies have caught what appears to be an electrified variant of the new Genesis G80 luxury sedan testing at the Nürburgring. Hyundai's luxury subsidiary has been hard at work re-inventing itself, and it appears a midsize EV dubbed "eG80" is the brand'…

[VIDEO] Remembering 6 trailblazing women in the Automotive Hall of Fame

In honor of the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification, granting women the right to vote, we're showcasing six legendary women in the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Chevrolet Silverado reportedly getting the GMC Sierra's MultiPro tailgate

GMC reinvented the pickup tailgate when it added a six-way option named MultiPro to the current-generation Sierra it introduced in 2019. It kept this clever feature to itself as a way to differentiate the Sierra from the Chevrolet Silverado, but a re…

Maserati MC20 spy photos show supercar in broad daylight

Trademark application points to evolution of new Hummer EV logo

A trademark application has revealed yet another evolution of the logo expected to adorn GMC's new Hummer EV pickup truck, bringing back the big "H" badge utilized on the H2 and H3 model lines of the expanded SUV lineup's heyday. The image included…

Monday, August 17, 2020

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

Aug 17, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2021 Ram 1500 TRX debuts as a Hellcat-powered, desert-running Raptor killer

The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX is here, and Ford's free ride is over with the F-150 Raptor . Ford has had it good for a long time without any significant competition. Neither GM nor FCA entered the off-road full-size truck market with an offering like the Rapt…

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA First Drive | It's a bigger jelly bean now

The Mercedes-Benz GLA has straddled the line between hatchback and crossover since it debuted . It was a stubby, squat and lifted question mark that only got weirder after the AMG division laid hands on it. Despite the confusion, the vehicle's purpose…

Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn could become Limited Longhorn for 2021

Residents of Laramie, Wyoming, will soon lose one of their claims to fame, according to a recent report. Ram's upmarket 1500 Laramie Longhorn will allegedly become the Limited Longhorn for the 2021 model year. Without citing sources, enthusiast webs…

An Andretti wins family's first Indy 500 pole position in 33 years

Scott Dixon, left, congratulates Marco Andretti after Andretti bumped him from the pole for the Indianapolis 500. (AP) INDIANAPOLIS — Marco Andretti was 2 months old the last time his venerable racing family led the field …

[VIDEO] Rossi and Vinales narrowly avoid Morbidelli's crashed MotoGP bike

Motorcycle racing, especially at the speeds MotoGP bikes regularly hit, is inherently dangerous. This fact was once again proven over the weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria as Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales narrowly avoided hitting the run…

General Motors CFO Dhivya Suryadevara poached by tech startup Stripe

One of the U.S. auto industry's youngest and highest-ranking executives, General Motors Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara, jumped ship on Tuesday for Silicon Valley and the technology sector, where she was named CFO of Stripe, the online pay…

[VIDEO] Dust storm shuts down Arizona highway in video

Eyewitnesses capture video from inside of a car and on a dairy farm during a dust storm that hit Arizona on Sunday. Graham Matthews, who was driving home to Phoenix with his wife and two children on Interstate 10 after vacationing in Tombstone…

There's a 'Knight Rider' movie in development

James Wan, who has directed films from the first "Saw" to "Aquaman," with "Furious 7" in between, and produced even more projects, is producing a new Knight Rider movie according to a report in Deadline . Just in case there's a reader who doesn't know…

Cadillac Super Cruise needs subscription after free trial period

Not long ago, Motor Trend broke the news that Cadillac's Super Cruise is only free for the first three years, after which the Level 2 autonomy system moves to subscription pricing. MT's report came on the eve of 2018-model-year Cadillac CT6 buyers be…

2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition celebrates 1966 Daytona victory

Ford pulled the covers off the 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition this weekend, inspired by the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona-winning GT40 Mk. II driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby. Even casual motorsports fans likely remember that Ford's GT program defeated t…