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Tuesday, March 30, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for March 30, 2021

Mar 30, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness literally takes the wagon to new heights

MALIBU, Calif. — About half a century ago, a power company fleet manager wandered into a Subaru dealership in northern Japan. Searching for a vehicle for servicing electrical lines across the region's mountainous and snowy terrain, the manager eventu…

Kia EV6 GT will do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, plus new pics and other specs revealed

The parade of new electric vehicles continues with the 2022 Kia EV6, a crossover-ish vehicle with surprisingly aggressive performance numbers. Although we have previously seen the EV6 , today we get new pictures and key specs, including a maximum rang…

Lexus LF-Z Electrified previews future Lexus hybrids and EVs

While the company has yet to release a fully electric car or even plug-in hybrid in the U.S., the company is adamant that it's ramping up electric plans. One way it's doing this is with concept cars, and the latest is the Lexus LF-Z Electrified, just…

VW of America's 'Voltswagen' rebrand — it's official

After the chaos of Monday's accidental leak, which many (Autoblog included ) initially interpreted as an April Fool's misfire, VW of America hurriedly outlined its intent to rebrand in support of its long-term electrification plans. Starting in May, V…

Ford Bronco joins the Easter Safari fun with new custom builds

Ford is getting in on the Easter Safari (Yes, that Easter Safari ) action this year with some custom 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport builds to be shown at Moab's annual off-road gathering. This year, Ford is partnered with RTR Vehicles (known primarily…

Mini Electric Pacesetter will lead Formula E, hints at future JCW cars

Just a few days ago, Mini teased a wild electric hatchback with pace car-style lights. And just as we expected, it's the new safety car for Formula E. It's called the Mini Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW, which is a mighty long name for such a li…

Falcon Motorsports is selling an F7 supercar and everything you'd need to build more

Michigan-based Falcon Motorsports built seven examples of the F7, and one was reportedly destroyed, so finding a used example takes a great deal of searching. While it's too late to order a new one, you can buy the entire product line (including the …

Auto industry urges Biden to back 'comprehensive' EV plan

WASHINGTON — Major automakers, parts companies and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union urged U.S. President Joe Biden to support a "comprehensive plan" on electric vehicles and called for hefty government tax credits and numerous other financial ince…

SK Innovation threatens to pull its battery operations out of the U.S.

SEOUL — South Korea's SK Innovation Co Ltd said on Tuesday it is considering all options including pulling its battery business out of the United States if President Joe Biden does not overturn a trade panel's decision against it by April 11. "The c…

Escape city life with this 2021 Subaru Outback giveaway

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. From the mountains of Colorado to…

Monday, March 29, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for March 29, 2021

Mar 29, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

2021 Toyota Sienna vs 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid | Full comparison test

Shopping for a new car or SUV can be difficult due to the sheer number of choices. Which brand do you start with, which do you skip and are you missing something worthwhile? Thankfully, the minivan segment is much simpler. There are effectively only …

Mercedes-Benz EQS Interior Deep Dive | Screens, sounds and scents galore

Mercedes-Benz is giving us part of the EQS picture today by revealing the interior design and dropping a few intriguing details on the exterior. The headline is what you're looking at above. That dash, termed the "Hyperscreen" by Mercedes, is the key…

2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS shows its standard interior without the giant Hyperscreen

Mercedes-Benz only showed us photos of the Hyperscreen interior when it revealed the inside of the EQS to us over the weekend . However, today there are photos of the standard interior available on the company's website (h/t Motor1 ). You'll see a gal…

2022 GMC Hummer EV No. 001 at Barrett-Jackson brings $2.5 million

This year's Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., played host to a bunch of the first examples of hot new cars: VIN No. 001 of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV , 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing and CT4-V Blackwing , 2021 Ford Bronco , 2021 Ford Mustang Mach…

Hyundai, Kia, Genesis Highway Driving Assist Review | Smooth as it gets

There are scads of driving assistants and semi-autonomous systems available on cars these days. Some of them are excellent, while others can be downright irritating. You can assess them by a range of qualities, but one of the best ways of judging a d…

Driving the Toyota Tacoma, BMW 430i and Chevy Corvette Convertible | Autoblog Podcast #671

In this week's Autoblog Podcast , Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer . First, they talk about driving the Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road (equipped with a TRD Lift Kit), Mini Cooper S H…

Genesis again hints that it is working on an EV sports coupe

Hyundai-owned Genesis released a short video to preview a concept car that looks like a followup to the gorgeous Essentia introduced in New York in 2017. It's an electric coupe that might reach production in the near future. Although the teaser leav…

This stick-shift '94 BMW 7 Series is an absolute trip

It's obviously quite common for smaller, cheaper cars to be done up in the fancier equipment and interior trappings of bigger, more expensive cars. However, you really don't expect to see the opposite. And for car enthusiasts of a certain age, who ha…

Lotus hops into Extreme E with Jenson Button ahead of first race weekend

The Extreme E racing series is filling out with a host of interesting names, and Lotus is the latest manufacturer to join the fray. Lotus is hopping in as technical partner to the Jenson Button Extreme E team, making it quite the British powerhouse. …

Junkyard Gem: 2009 Pontiac G3

Things weren't looking so rosy for Pontiac Division in late 2008, as The General had troubles of its own that culminated in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June of 2009. Meanwhile, the Solstice and G8 had failed to revive Pontiac's youthful "excitement" ima…

Friday, March 26, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for March 26, 2021

Mar 26, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

Ford Bronco roof woes will delay some deliveries until 2022

For the new Ford Bronco , the painted modular hardtop is the high-end roof option of the several that are offered. It was initially supposed to be available late in the 2021 model year, but Bronco buyers who want that specific top are now going to hav…

2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 First Drive Review | Making a scene at the ends of the Earth

Even in the face of fading four-door relevance, a new luxury sedan still turns heads, and that goes double when it's sporting the Flying B. The 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 marks the return of the "entry-level" variant of Bentley's storied touring sed…

2021 Honda Accord Interior Review | The family sedan lives up to its name

The 2021 Honda Accord is our top-recommended midsize sedan, and of its handful of variants, the Accord Hybrid you see here would be our pick of the litter. Its superior fuel economy and agreeable drivability without significant compromise comes at a …

Nissan Z will just be Z, not 400Z, source says, sharing other details

There's a reason we have a "Rumormill" logo: A guy-who-knows-a-guy wrote a post at the 400Z Club forum pertaining to Nissan's upcoming rework of the Z, and if it's correct, the forum's going to have to figure out a new name for itself. The car, in th…

Toyota is taking the rally-inspired GR Yaris rallying after all

Toyota's celebrated GR Yaris became a homologation special without a series in 2020, so the firm's Australian division seized an opportunity to work with a local team to give the hatchback its 15 minutes of fame on gravel. It transformed the rally-in…

Volkswagen's retro-inspired ID.Buzz EV will arrive in America in 2023

Volkswagen's heritage-soaked ID.Buzz concept is well on its way to production. Presented at the 2017 Detroit show, the EV is being developed with our market in mind, and a new report sheds light on what the lineup will look like. Citing comments mad…

Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha to make swappable motorcycle batteries

Just as electric cars are becoming ever more common, the alternative propulsion system is starting to make headway in the motorcycle sphere. Companies such as Harley-Davidson and Zero already have electric models on sale, but other established brands…

Lexus F label to become even more performance oriented

Lexus has plans to take its F performance label to even greater heights, according to officials. That's one of the key reasons the IS 500 F Sport Performance wasn't a full-blown IS F, Lexus executives said. Speaking before a gathering of Lexus enthu…

Ford F-150 production in Michigan idled through Sunday by chip shortage

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it will idle production of its highly profitable F-150 pickup truck at a plant in Michigan through Sunday due to the global semiconductor chip shortage. Ford and other automakers have stressed they are trying…

Elon Musk tweet violated federal labor law, NLRB orders it deleted

DETROIT — Tesla CEO Elon Musk has tweeted his way into trouble with another federal agency, this time the National Labor Relations Board. The board on Thursday found that a May 20, 2018, Musk tweet unlawfully threatened employees with loss of stock …

Thursday, March 25, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for March 25, 2021

Mar 25, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

Ford's long-lost turbine semi truck 'Big Red' found, in good shape

Back in the 1960s, turbine power was quite the fascination for car companies. Obviously there was the Chrysler Turbine car, but Ford was in the game, too. The difference was that they were considering turbine power for commercial trucks. While a wide…

2021 Toyota Sienna XSE Road Test Review | It's the 'sporty' one

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The 2021 Toyota Sienna isn't what you'd think of as fun or sporty. It's a minivan. Also, it's a hybrid. Sure, hybrid isn't as correlated with slow as it used to be, but Toyota plus hybrid together conjures images of Priuses driving…

Volvo XC90 Coasting Transmission Deep Dive | Best coast

In our recent 2021 Volvo XC90 Recharge review, its turbocharged-supercharged-hybridized powertrain delivered impressive horsepower and fuel economy. But Volvo has one additional trick up its sleeve, propelling a car with power that's simpler, cheaper…

'Why isn't he stopping?' Mini driver describes being pushed sideways by dump truck

Yesterday, a video out of Toronto made the rounds on social media. It was scary to watch, as a dump truck pushed a Mini sideways a half-kilometer (third of a mile). But there were no details about why this accident happened or who was involved. Today…

Dodge Challenger, Charger get new anti-theft trick: going super slow

People who buy Dodge Challengers and Chargers with the big V8s get them because they're powerful and can go fast. But that becomes a bad thing if some ne'er-do-well steals it for a joy ride. That's where Dodge's latest feature, Security Mode, comes i…

Ford discovers $100,000 worth of leather and will donate it to Detroit businesses

When was the last time you found over $100,000 worth of things that you forgot you owned? Oh, never? Same here. However, Ford cannot relate, as the company just unearthed over $100,000 worth of unused leather hides (that's a lot of leather) as it was…

Women now hold the majority of seats on GM's board of directors

General Motors on Thursday said it is expanding its board of directors to 13 persons, with women holding seven of the seats. GM named two new directors, Meg Whitman and Mark Tatum. Whitman, 64, is a longtime tech executive and former Republican can…

Volkswagen Amarok midsize pickup previewed in design sketch

There's a new teaser for the upcoming Volkswagen Amarok pickup out today. It's intriguing to see the truck be previewed, because this is the first pickup that will be born of the Ford-Volkswagen technology sharing partnership . The new Amarok will be …

2022 BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupe has M8-rivaling power

BMW usually is careful to ensure its M-badged models are the most potent of any one line. But it frequently lets BMW tuner Alpina build them a car that rivals its M models for all-out grunt, and that's the case with the 2022 BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupe.…

Daymak says it's making the world's fastest three-wheeled EV

If you're in the market to buy a three-wheeled car that can go from 0-60 mph in 1.8 seconds, then, goodness, does Daymak have the electric vehicle for you. The company is crowdfunding the Spiritus, a two-seater EV that apparently "rides like a go-kar…