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Thursday, October 22, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for October 22, 2020

Oct 22, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

The Hummer EV Edition 1 is sold out and it'll be years before other trims arrive

When the 2022 GMC Hummer EV was revealed , GMC noted that there would be lower trims available. The company has since provided a few more details on those lower trims, which is helpful to know now that the only trim on sale next year, the Edition 1, w…

2022 GMC Hummer EV dimensions, clearances and off-road features explained

There are two things that almost everyone immediately thinks of when they hear the word "Hummer." And they are size and off-road capability. Looking at the numbers on the 2022 GMC Hummer EV , it seems the electric pickup has literal truck loads of eac…

2020 Polestar 1 Road Test | A humble suggestion

"Wow, what a stunner!" That was my first thought when I saw the Polestar 1 in my driveway. Its chunky grille, sleek proportions, big, glossy black wheels over gold brakes, and broody Midnight Blue paint evoke an automotive emotion adjacent to lust. …

2021 Toyota Corolla Apex First Drive | Not the pinnacle of cheap performance

Toyota has had something of a performance car revival over the past few years. It has released the Toyota 86 and Supra sports cars, and has even developed TRD versions of the Camry and Avalon . Things are even more exciting overseas with the wild, tur…

Mercedes-Benz SUVs recalled: Backlit grille logo can turn off the power steering

Mercedes-Benz is recalling 12,799 units of the GLE and the GLS equipped with a backlit star on the grille. It noticed a problem with one of the wiring loom's grounds can deactivate key functions, like the power steering. Sold as a $500 option, the i…

Ford Bronco Wildland Fire Rig Concept is a classy, functional tribute to Forest Service trucks

For decades, Ford has offered Broncos in emergency vehicle form for all variety of services. One of the more well-known ones has been the U.S. Forest Service with their distinct green SUVs. With that in mind the company, along with outdoor gear manuf…

Your Bentley interior can literally rock with stone trim

The ultra-luxury car market has been moving in the direction of ever more customization to provide buyers the most unique products possible. The latest move comes from Bentley and its Mulliner division, which has added some special interior trims to …

Torsus builds a monster-truck school bus even adults will want to ride in

Riding in a yellow school bus is part of growing up for many Americans, but it's an experience most of us are happy to leave behind the minute we get a driver's license. Czech Republic-based firm Torsus has unveiled a giant bus named Praetorian that …

De Tomaso claims it's moving to America so we can relearn how to design cars

De Tomaso is a truly international carmaker. It was founded by an Argentinian racing driver, it's ostensibly based in Italy, and it's owned by a Hong Kong-based group of investors. Now, it has announced the next leap in its geographical game of hopsc…

Here are 12 electric pickups in the works

With the unveiling of the GMC Hummer EV, the list of planned electric pickups is expanding. Legacy automakers like Ford and Chevy have theirs coming, as do startups like Tesla, Rivian and Bollinger, as well as some lesser known brands. Here are all t…

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for October 21, 2020

Oct 21, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

GMC Hummer EV revealed as a 1,000-hp, 350-mile, fast-charging beast

The 2022 GMC Hummer EV has finally been revealed, and it certainly looks the part. It has chunky, squared-off styling, big tires pushed to the edges, and a towering fascia. But it's not a case of form over function. On the contrary, the Hummer EV is …

3 Quick Takes on the new Hummer EV

The 2022 GMC Hummer EV truck debuted Tuesday with 1,000 horsepower and up to 350 miles of range. It marks the return of the Hummer name after a decade-long absence and is the most ambitious electric vehicle General Motors has attempted. Here are thre…

2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge priced at $54,985

The final piece of the puzzle for the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge is falling into place today, two weeks after official EPA range information became available . Volvo just announced pricing, and it's going to start at $54,985, including the $995 destinat…

Meet the man who owns the fastest car in the world

Dr. Larry Caplin is shown here with the SSC team. He's wearing the sport coat, at far left. Standing next to him is Jerod Shelby. Now that the SSC Tuatara has snagged the top speed record at 316 mph, it's time for other festivities. The owne…

Los Angeles-area driver being chased by police stops to get gas

Broadly speaking, drivers running away from the police ditch their getaway car and continue on foot when they run out of gas. Los Angeles-area residents witnessed a rare exception to this rule when a man wanted in a theft pulled into a Chevron statio…

Ranking full-size pickup trucks by the size of their discounts

Each and every month, full-size pickup trucks dominate the new-car sales reports in America. It's been that way for years — the Ford F-Series has been America's best-selling vehicle for 38 consecutive years — and it's not going to change any time soo…

2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Handling Package priced, now available with an automatic

While the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is an impressive performance car in base form, it becomes even more so with the goodies included in the optional Handling Package . And now we know the pricing, as well as the fact that it won't be restricted to the …

The 2021 Nissan Rogue has fake roof rails

I'm in the process of reviewing the new Yakima CBX Solar roof carrier. I've mounted it to a Subaru Outback and my own Audi Allroad , while a new Subaru Crosstrek Sport will be next. Alas, the 2021 Nissan Rogue SV currently in my driveway won't get the…

Tesla acknowledges issue where Model 3 bumpers fall off in rain

One of the Tesla Model 3's more prominent design flaws is a rear bumper cover that is prone to being stripped from the car when water is allowed to accumulate inside it, either from standing water or intense downpours. Owners of brand-new Model 3s ha…

Remember all these short-lived weirdo truck things from the 2000s?

Something is going to happen tonight that most of us who cover the automotive industry would've thought impossible. Or insane. Just in time for Halloween, the Hummer is rising from the grave. While it will be making its return in a way that's certain…

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

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

Oct 20, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

With fastest-car bragging rights secured, SSC turns to expanding its lineup

Washington-based SSC snagged the top-speed record from Bugatti , but it's not planning to rest on its laurels. It confirmed it will expand its lineup with a supercar that's cheaper and less powerful than the Tuatara. Speaking to Motor Authority , comp…

2020 BMW X6 M Competition Road Test | Not everything makes sense

The 2020 BMW X6 M Competition in this purple Ametrin Metallic paint is a flex . It's arrogant, nonsensical, ostentatious and oh-so-fun to drive. I was in a constant battle with my senses the whole week this car sat in the driveway. On top of being le…

2022 Genesis G70 comes into clearer view, adds a 'drift mode'

More information on the 2022 Genesis G70 is trickling out today. Genesis detailed the car in Korea, offering up more photos of the redesigned sedan, along with engine and feature updates. We'll note that Genesis still puts an asterisk at the end of t…

2021 Hyundai Palisade Review | Well-rounded excellence

The 2021 Hyundai Palisade is such a well-rounded and well-executed three-row crossover that the only thing preventing it from being declared a runaway best-in-class choice is that the mechanically related Kia Telluride manages to check off the exact …

2021 Ford Bronco Sport wins its class in the 2020 Rebelle Rally

Ford's new 2021 Bronco Sport proved its mettle off the beaten path before tackling the trials and tribulations of suburban commuting. Although it's not in showrooms yet, it won first place in its category in the 2020 Rebelle Rally. Organizers split …

Bugatti's next new model looks part spaceship, part hypercar

2020 has been a busy year for Bugatti. It unveiled the Pur Sport variant of the Chiron, it began building the Divo , and it dusted off some of the fascinating prototypes it canceled in the 2010s . It has at least one more surprise up its sleeve, and it…

Tesla just slashed its warranty for used vehicles

The prospect of buying a used vehicle from Tesla just became a less appealing option. The electric car manufacturer quietly updated its website with new warranty terms for used Model S sedans and Model X crossovers, and the updates do not fall in the…

Maybach-branded GLS becomes Mercedes-Benz's most expensive SUV

Mercedes-Maybach's first series-produced entry into the SUV segment lives up to the emblem on its grille in terms of content and, as it turns out, in terms of pricing. When it arrives in showrooms later in 2020, the GLS 600 will stand proud as Merced…

More 2021 Porsche Panamera variants are updated, including top dog Turbo S E-Hybrid

More updated 2021 Porsche Panamera variants are here to add to the already long list of available models. We highlighted the initial lineup of 2021 models in our original reveal post here . We've been behind the wheel of the new Turbo S trim already, …

2021 New York International Auto Show moved to August

The 2021 New York International Auto Show will be held in August, rather than April, organizers announced Tuesday, adding yet another move to the seemingly endless leapfrogging of American auto shows in 2020 and 2021. Next year's American show seas…

Monday, October 19, 2020

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

Oct 19, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

SSC Tuatara smashes top speed record, goes way over 300 mph in Nevada desert

There's a new "fastest production vehicle" in the world, and it's produced by an American hypercar company. On October 10, the SSC Tuatara annihilated the previous record set by the Koenigsegg Agera RS . Over two runs, the Tuatara averaged 316.11 mph,…

SSC took the production car top speed record, but not without a scare

Two gusts of wind cut across the Nevada desert, sending Oliver Webb and the SSC Tuatara across two lanes and onto the roadside rumble strips. That's what happens when an unexpected cross-breeze comes by, and the speedometer's needle is north of 300 m…

2021 Cadillac Escalade First Drive | Opulence at a cost

The Cadillac Escalade is one of the most recognizable cars in America, both on the road and in the minds of consumers. It is equal parts profit machine and pop culture icon, and it sits atop GM's heavy-hitting hierarchy of body-on-frame SUVs. Sure, …

2021 Genesis GV80 First Drive | In the (second) beginning ...

If Genesis had it to do over again, it's safe to say that its first three models would not have been a trio of sedans. The Genesis G80 , G90 , and G70 certainly have their merits, but when so many luxury-car intenders are shopping SUVs exclusively, the…

B.A.T. Alfa Trinity, some of the world's most famous concept cars, are up for auction

Of the cars that never saw production, there are a handful that nevertheless have had an outsized influence. Among the most famous are the wild Berlinetta Aerodynamica Technica (B.A.T.) concepts commissioned by Alfa Romeo in the mid-1950s. Three B.A.…

Porsche Macan EV shows off Taycan-inspired design in spy photos

Roughly a year and a half ago, Porsche made the announcement that the next-generation Porsche Macan crossover would go all-electric ; a big deal, considering that it's the company's best-seller. Now we get our first look at the new Macan, thanks to on…

2021 Hyundai Veloster N base price goes way up, is still a bargain

Pricing for the 2021 Hyundai Veloster N is out, and the base price is far higher than it was last year. The 2020 Veloster N started at $28,595, whereas the 2021 Veloster N begins at $33,245, a $4,650 price increase. CarsDirect initially reported the …

Junkyard Gem: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 300SD with nearly 600k miles

I'm always on the lookout for cars and trucks with ridiculously high final odometer readings when I'm scouring the car graveyards for interesting bits of automotive history . Making this task difficult is the five-digit odometers used by just about al…

'Driving While Black' examines how cars have helped and hindered Black Americans

The car is unquestionably one of the most influential inventions of the past nearly 150 years. Broadly speaking, it changed not just how, when and where we traveled, but also had major impacts on how our cities look and the condition of our environme…

Firefighters dissect Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

For a firefighter, the task of cutting into a modern automobile, complete with airbags, wiring and super-hard metals, is more difficult than it sounds. For an automotive enthusiast, seeing the damage caused to a 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 after i…