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Friday, September 11, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for September 11, 2020

Sep 11, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Mil-Spec Ford F-150 First Drive | When a Raptor isn't big enough

Over the past few years, automakers have discovered that people love high-performance off-road pickup trucks. The Ford F-150 Raptor really kick-started the trend, with the Chevy Colorado ZR2 , and now the Ram 1500 TRX following. Off-road-oriented trim…

2020 Chevrolet Corvette Luggage Test | What can't the C8 do?

Luggage testing a mid-engine sports car or supercar can be a worthless endeavor. In many cases, the trunk is just too small for a proper suitcase. But the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette isn't your average mid-engine sports car. Corvette owners have had a s…

Mercedes-Benz EQS spy photos reveal more of its S-Class-inspired interior

We've known for a little while now that the upcoming all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS would take some inspiration from the company's newly unveiled flagship S-Class . That's understandable considering the EQS borrows a letter from the distinguished seda…

You can now campaign the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R on iRacing

The mid-engine 2020 Chevrolet Corvette may still be rare in the wild, but race sim fans can take the C8.R race car for a spin in iRacing starting this week. Dedicated racers can purchase and campaign GM's latest world-class GT Le Mans racer in the iR…

BMW M4 spied with wild stacked center exhaust, could be a GTS

The standard (and still yet-to-be-revealed) BMW M4 has a relatively normal quad-tipped exhaust with twin pipes on each side of the bumper. The prototype we're looking at here is totally different, as it features a stacked, center-exit quad exhaust de…

Lucid Air's modular powertrain opens up serious performance possibilities

The Lucid Air sedan is an impressive, high-end luxury electric car with an astounding 1,080 horsepower between 465 and 503 miles of range in its top Dream Edition spec, but thanks to the company's trick powertrain engineering, that figure may just be…

Audi Q4 Sportback E-Tron caught in fresh spy photos

Audi's new Q4 Sportback E-Tron has been spied in the wild. This slick-back coupe-style electric crossover is the sawed-off version of the standard Q4 E-Tron model, and they represent expansion of Audi's electric nameplate downward from the standard E…

Cadillac CT4 and CT5 get meaningful updates for 2021

It's common for vehicles to get an update here or there in between full redesigns every five or six years, but the changes being made for the 2021 Cadillac CT4 and CT5, each just introduced last year, represent more than just a little nip and tuck. F…

2021 Honda Passport adds standard Apple CarPlay, Android Auto

The Honda Passport enters its third year as the brand's midsize two-row SUV entrant. For 2021, the Passport sees prices climb by a few hundred dollars, but the base trim at least has additional content for the extra money. Prices rise by $625 for th…

Sailing makes a comeback in wind-powered car carrier

STOCKHOLM — A Swedish consortium aims to launch commercially by 2025 a wind-driven car carrier that will emit 90% less carbon dioxide than a conventional roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargo ship, it said on Thursday. The 200-meter-long carrier will have a…

Thursday, September 10, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for September 10, 2020

Sep 10, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Lucid Air production electric luxury sedan is a dream revealed

The slow drip of Lucid Air sedan teasers culminated Wednesday with the world debut of the production version of the startup's electric car with a range of up to 517 miles . Starting below $80,000 and available in four initial variants, the first examp…

Mid-engined, 621-horsepower MC20 inaugurates a new era for Maserati

No longer embedded in the gap separating Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, Maserati is preparing to give its range of models an overhaul that's so comprehensive it merits its own chapter in the firm's history. The first car in this installment isn't a volume-g…

Nissan Z Proto manual transmission confirmed, and here's how the engine sounds

Nissan is marching on with its teaser campaign for the Z Proto that will be fully revealed on September 15. Today, Nissan has confirmed in a YouTube video that it will feature a manual transmission. The video pans sideways to a manual gear lever, th…

Short-seller accuses Nikola of fraud after its $2 billion GM deal

If you read the account earlier this week of GM's $2 billion investment in Nikola , saw that GM was doing all of the manufacturing, and wondered what the startup was bringing to the table, you weren't the only one. Shares of Nikola Corp fell 8% on T…

Ford Maverick test mule exposed by spy photos of rear window

A fresh round of spy photos has outed the new Ford Maverick — a new pint-sized pickup based on the Ford Escape and Bronco Sport platform — thanks to a photo that clearly shows the little utility vehicle's sliding rear cab window. The mystery prototy…

'Top Gear' shows off its socially distant live setup, and everybody's car gets to go

Fresh episodes of "Top Gear" are right around the corner. For the long-running British motoring show's 27th season, the coronavirus pandemic has the crew switching up the format, and while we'll have to wait and see how well it works, our initial rea…

2020 Volvo XC90 Inscription Interior Driveway Test | A lesson in minimalist luxury

We tend to love Volvo interiors. They're beautiful, simple, inviting and a relaxing place to spend time in. Designers needed to get it right, too, because Volvo has applied the same styling and design language to every vehicle in its lineup. We're f…

Maserati Grecale announced as new compact crossover set to debut next year

Maserati is on a roll right now , and the Italian brand has just teased another new model: Grecale. Judging by the silhouette (and the information Maserati provided), it's a smaller SUV than the Levante . Think Porsche Macan or BMW X3 size. Its stubby …

Citroen Ami $7K plastic car's intended buyers: 14-year-old drivers

PARIS — France's Citroen has a new vehicle it hopes will reach a market most major carmakers have not tapped — drivers as young as 14. The French automaker's tiny two-seater Citroen Ami vehicle is powered by a modest 6 kilowatt electric motor, so un…

Sebastian Vettel signs with Racing Point for the 2021 F1 season

LONDON — Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel will drive for Racing Point starting next season. The team, which will be renamed Aston Martin, announced the move Thursday, a day after driver Sergio Perez said he was on his way out. The tea…

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for September 9, 2020

Sep 09, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Ford Bronco Raptor prototype spotted on public roads in spy photos

Ford has hit the ground running with its 2021 Bronco marketing machine, but if these spy photos are anything to go on, there's still plenty of development going on behind the scenes. Our spies claim this beefy prototype is the first development mule …

2021 Genesis G70 revealed with bodywork to match its brethren

After seeing it in spy photos for a few months , the 2021 Genesis G70 has officially been revealed. It bears the design cues of its bigger siblings, and we find it to be a major improvement. That's despite the fact that it's a relatively minor update,…

2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class prices set for refreshed range of mild-to-wild cars

Mercedes-Benz has released pricing information for the latest E-Class lineup, which ranges from the base E350 to the fire-breathing E63. Sedan, coupe and station wagon models will arrive for the 2021 model year. Pricing for the 2021 E350 sedan start…

GM will use a wireless system to manage its Ultium electric car batteries

It has been a busy few days at GM on the electric powertrain front, as the automaker announced separate deals with Honda and Nikola. On top of those EV alliances comes word that GM plans to become the first automaker to use a (nearly) wireless batter…

Here are the great-looking new VW Golf wagons you can't have

Volkswagen discontinued the Golf Sportwagen and Golf Alltrack last year in the U.S. It was sad. We mourned . The world moved on. But now there is more news in the Volkswagen wagon world (say that five times fast), and it doesn't apply to us. The eigh…

2021 Land Rover Defender PHEV and diesel six-cylinder announced, but not for America

The 2021 Land Rover Defender , while only the second model year for the off-road-oriented SUV, marks a number of important developments. The most significant of which won't be offered in the U.S., at least for the time being: a plug-in hybrid and a ne…

Ford's rumored long-wheelbase, three-row Escape comes into focus

Ford is still planning a longer Escape, a recent report claims, and we're not talking about the audacious kind Carlos Ghosn is known for . Insiders revealed the Blue Oval's popular crossover will spawn a long-wheelbase variant with seating for up to s…

Electric delivery vans in high demand after pandemic e-commerce surge

Delivery fleet operators face regulatory pressure in California and other states to buy electric vehicles, but a surge in package deliveries thanks to coronavirus lockdowns has major firms itching to switch to electric right now. And they want far m…

VW's new ID.3 electric car harshly criticized by Germany's leading test publication

FRANKFURT — Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Volkswagen's new electric car, the ID.3, had fallen short of the carmaker's usual standards of fit and finish, and had a limited operating range, in a review of a pre-production model ahead of the car's…

Diesel-powered 2020 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra get big price cuts

General Motors is reducing the price difference between its diesel-powered light-duty pickups and their gasoline-burning counterparts, according to a recent report. As of September 3, 2020, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500 benefit…

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for September 8, 2020

Sep 08, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

GM buys $2 billion stake in Nikola, will build Badger hydrogen-electric pickup

DETROIT — General Motors formed its second major electric vehicle partnership in less than a week, this time a $2 billion deal with startup Nikola. GM will take an 11% ownership stake in the Phoenix company and will engineer and build Nikola's Badge…

Honda Civic Hatchback gets slight price increase for 2021

After detailing the Type R Limited Edition, Honda has released pricing information for the 2021 Civic Hatchback. It's not making any major changes to the model, but it's slightly increasing prices across the board. The lineup consists of four trim l…

Porsche makes a strong case for pairing the 718's flat-six with an automatic

The high-performance variants of the 2021 Porsche 718 are fearlessly arguing that automatic transmissions and sports cars are not mutually exclusive. When ordered with two pedals, the GTS 4.0, GT4, and Spyder variants are quicker than their three-ped…

[VIDEO] Elon Musk takes the VW ID.3 for a spin: 'It's pretty good'

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen's Chief Executive Herbert Diess on Monday sought to quell speculation that the world's largest carmaker, which is on a mass production push for electric cars, has plans to develop deeper ties with startup rival Tesla. Diess me…

Production VW ID. Roomzz, likely to be ID.6, shown with thin disguise in spy photos

With the recent launch of the Volkswagen ID.3 and the imminent reveal of the ID.4 , VW's electric strategy is building momentum. That momentum will continue with the even bigger electric crossover shown in the spy photos above. It's the production ver…

This gorgeous 1950 Chevy Thriftmaster pickup is the latest Icon build

Icon is best known for its restored and re-engineered 4x4s, but the Chatsworth, California company is also heavily into vintage pickups. We were fortunate enough to drive a blue 1952 Chevrolet Thriftmaster not long ago, and now Icon has rolled out an…

Ineos Grenadier reveals scale and inspiration next to classic 4x4s

British chemical giant Ineos developed the Grenadier , its first car, as a no-nonsense off-roader that picks up where classic 4x4s left off. It proved its point by displaying a prototype next to some of the models that inspired it. Autoblog frantical…