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Wednesday, April 14, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 14, 2021

Apr 14, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

2022 Honda Civic Sedan photo previews more elegant design

Honda is preparing to release a new version of the Civic, its second-best-selling car in the United States. It revealed some of the visual changes it made to the model by publishing a single photo of it a few weeks before its unveiling. Unsurprising…

2022 Kia Carnival First Drive Review | The stylish one

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When we write about minivans, it's easy to focus on the Toyota Sienna , Honda Odyssey and Chrysler Pacifica , while mostly ignoring the other option out there: the Kia Sedona. It's older than the other three, each of which has recent…

It's time for Jeep to build a legitimate electric Wrangler

There's hardly a vehicle in the world that can match the iconic status of the Jeep Wrangler. The off-roader is famous all around the world for its undeniable prowess at crossing hill, dale, mud pit or rock outcropping. So it's with good reason that t…

Ford to roll out 'BlueCruise' hands-free driving system in 2021

Ford's new hands-free self-driving suite has a shiny new name and a release date, the company announced Friday. BlueCruise will be made available on the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover and F-150 later in 2021 to compete with GM's Super Cruise and T…

2022 Mazda MX-30 EV launches here in fall, rotary coming for 2023 model year

The 2022 Mazda MX-30 EV is officially on its way to the U.S. as Mazda North America announced the car's formal introduction today. It will initially be sold exclusively in California this fall before reaching additional markets at a later date. We a…

Nissan GT-R Nismo Special Edition adds limited-run model to top-dog GT-R

The GT-R ain't dead yet , and here's a 2022 Nissan GT-R Nismo Special Edition to prove it. This latest limited-run version of the GT-R is an appearance package for the top-dog Nismo version of the car . It's still rocking the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo …

Lordstown Motors Endurance race truck hits the dirt in reveal video

A couple of months ago, Lordstown Motors gave us a glimpse at the racing version of the Endurance pickup truck with a rendering . Now we get to see the real thing in a reveal video. Not only that, it's shown roaming in the desert. That's a good thing,…

Maserati driver leads police on a chase — and winds up here

CHP OAKLAND, Calif. — Authorities say a man fleeing the California Highway Patrol totaled his girlfriend's Maserati SUV after he careened up an embankment and slammed into the underside of an overpass, wedging the car under a freeway. A CHP…

Dodge extends Durango SRT Hellcat production by popular demand

Dodge had no trouble finding a home for the 2,000 units of the 710-horsepower Durango SRT Hellcat it plans to build; the model was sold out in approximately three months. Demand far exceeded supply, so the company will manufacture additional examples…

Harley-Davidson Sportster recalled for headlight failures

While it's not as critical as tires or brakes, headlights are a pretty important component of any motorized vehicle. Harley-Davidson would agree, as the motorcycle manufacturer has recalled 31,346 Sportster motorcycles covering the 2019 to 2021 model…

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 13, 2021

Apr 13, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

Yamaha develops 496-horsepower motor for electric hypercars

Yamaha has just announced an electric motor engineered specifically for electric hypercar applications. The compact 800-volt unit is said to be capable of generating 496 horsepower. It was developed with the intent of having multiple units powering t…

Hundreds of top business leaders urge Biden to set ambitious climate goal

WASHINGTON — More than 300 businesses and investors, including such giants as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Coca-Cola, are calling on the Biden administration to set an ambitious climate change goal that would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at l…

2022 Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible puts 208 mph of wind in your hair

The Bentley Continental GT is once again merging the higher-performance capabilities of its Speed trim level with the open-top convertible body style in the new 2022 Bentley Continental GT Speed convertible. The GT Speed convertible's upgrades large…

2006-2015 Mazda Miata | Used Vehicle Spotlight

There are a lot of reasons that Mazda Miata owners and fans often say, "Miata is always the answer." It's affordable, fun, reliable, and just practical enough to be more than a car for the weekend. But the model has now been in production for 30 year…

2021 Mini Cooper S Road Test | No, I'm not going to write all its extra names

"Show me the bridge of the Enterprise you chatterin' piece of ..." Scotty demands of the holodeck computer in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Relics." "There have been five Federation ships with that name, please specify by registry nu…

2021 Acura TLX A-Spec Long-Term Update | Infotainment system hits a pothole

The first few thousand miles of motoring in our 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec long-term test car were problem-free, but that changed after we took it on a spirited drive through the winding hills of southern Indiana. You can read about how it handled a full …

Toyota Land Cruiser 300-series trims and options leaked

A Japanese forum has obtained details about the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser from a dealer. We won't be getting the so-called 300-series Cruiser when it debuts in the rest of the world this summer, but its unattainability only makes it more in…

Hyundai Staria specs revealed, but the stunning van isn't coming here

The Hyundai Staria van was revealed less than a month ago , but details were limited then. We got to see tons of photos both inside and outside Hyundai's new van, but specs and U.S. availability remained massive question marks. Today, we can answer bo…

1975 Hyundai Pony gets an electric overhaul to celebrate new design studio

Hyundai is celebrating the launch of its new Busan, Korea, studio with a little walk down memory lane in the form of an exhibition showcasing the company's design heritage. This all-electric restomod 1975 Pony, which was shared on Instagram by its de…

Citroen keeps it weird with segment-defying C5 X flagship model

Paris-based Citroën unveiled a flagship model named C5 X that's positioned at the intersection of sedans, station wagons and crossovers. Developed with comfort in mind, it illustrates how carmakers can move away from traditional sedans without exitin…

Monday, April 12, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 12, 2021

Apr 12, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

2021 Nissan Kicks Review | Dang it if it isn't a great value

Even with a successful restyle this year, it's hard to get too excited about the 2021 Nissan Kicks. It's a humble tall hatchback marketed as a crossover with 122-horsepower, a CVT and obligatory front-wheel drive. If it hits 60 mph in less than 10 se…

Toyota's first global EV shows its nose ahead of its Shanghai debut

Toyota, the industry's hybrid champion, will signal its intent to adopt fully electric powertrains by displaying a close-to-production concept at the upcoming Shanghai auto show. It released a dark teaser image to preview the model. We see just enou…

2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e PHEV First Drive Review | Better Bimmer with a bigger battery

Although full electric cars and internal-combustion engines with mild electric assist are becoming more common, plug-in hybrids, particularly with usable range, are still fairly uncommon. This is especially evident in the luxury market where the 2021…

2021 Jeep Gladiator Texas Trail attempts to win the heart of Texas

Ram isn't the only Stellantis brand that gets a Texas-themed truck anymore. Today, Jeep joins the fray with the Gladiator Texas Trail. It's a special edition Gladiator pickup with a specific set of equipment and an appearance package to match. Plus, …

Lexus ES nips-and-tucks previewed ahead of 2021 Shanghai show

Lexus will travel to the biennial Shanghai auto show to present a futuristic concept called LF-Z that previews how its range will evolve by the middle of the 2020s. It's not forgetting about the near-term future, though. It will also introduce an upd…

Man's truck seized for 2 years over 'munitions of war,' 5 forgotten bullets

WASHINGTON — Gerardo Serrano ticked off the border crossing agents by taking some photos on his phone. So they took his pickup truck and held onto it for more than two years. Only after Serrano filed a federal lawsuit did he get back his Ford F-250.…

Ford to help 100 dealers add Bronco-only showrooms

Ford dealers are seeing so much interest in the 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport that they've asked Ford for help branding dedicated showrooms. According to Automotive News (subscription required), approximately 100 dealers intend to open new Bronco-only…

Your next pizza from Domino's could be delivered by a robot

Domino's, the largest pizza chain in the world (based on global sales), and autonomous vehicle startup Nuro have partnered to launch a pilot program in Houston to delivery pizzas using self-driving robot cars. A limited number of customers ordering o…

Michelin looks to become more than a tire company

PARIS — France's Michelin plans to add about 14 billion euros ($17 billion) to its annual revenues by 2030, by recovering from a pandemic-induced slowdown and diversifying beyond its tire-making heritage into new activities including hydrogen power a…

Junkyard Gem: 2004 Ford Mustang

After more than a decade of the very successful Fox Mustang , the SN95 Mustang (based on a modified Fox chassis) first appeared for the 1994 model year. Production of the SN95 continued through 2004, which turned out to be the 40th anniversary of the …

Friday, April 9, 2021

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for April 9, 2021

Apr 09, 2021

Top Stories of the Day

Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup's design team: 'It's not a truck'

The Hyundai HCD-15 Santa Cruz was one of the biggest hits of the North American International Auto Show back in 2015. A year later, the company promised that a production version was a matter of when, not if. Well, it's been half a decade since then,…

The 2021 Toyota 4Runner Trail Special Edition boasts better colors and a cooler

The TRD Pro has been the top-dog 4Runner model for seven years now. It's the most hardcore in terms of capability and appearance, which perhaps has made it desirable enough to warrant the hefty price tag. There is another factor, however: There has b…

BMW motorcycles as big as a Smart car will tread on Harley-Davidson's turf

BMW's motorcycle-building division is thinking extra-big. It's preparing to unveil a pair of jumbo-sized motorcycles that will be based on the R18 cruiser and aimed at a segment dominated by Harley-Davidson's biggest models. Patent filings discovere…

Freightliner electric semi and commercial trucks available to order

Way back in 2018 , Freightliner revealed that it was working on electric commercial trucks and that it would put a small fleet into service to test them. Three years, 38 trucks and nearly 750,000 miles later, the company has announced that it will sta…

Big rig driver ends California chase by crashing into murder suspect's pickup

A good Samaritan in a semi truck put an end to a California car chase the hard way Tuesday by putting his big rig in the path of a fleeing murder suspect. While police officers hung back during the two-hour pursuit, Ahmed Shabaan decided to take matt…

Mil-Spec M1-R First Drive Review | The ultimate Hummer H1 gets better

In 2018, we got our first introduction to Mil-Spec , a company that sought to do to Hummer H1s what other resto-mod companies like Singer and Icon have done to other classic cars. Its initial run of hopped-up Hummers showed quite a bit of promise with…

UPDATE: MG reveals Cyberster, its electrifying return to the roadster segment

MG has released official photos of its Cyberster electric roadster concept, which will be shown in April at the Shanghai auto show.

Jurassic Park Ford Explorer-themed sneakers are a thing

In the nearly 20 years since its release, the 1993 film "Jurassic Park," from Hollywood legend Steven Speilberg, has become something of a cultural phenomenon. it has spawned four sequels — with a fifth, "Jurassic World, Dominion," due in 2022. And…

A pair of Mitsubishis, the Mazda CX-30 and electric incentives | Autoblog Podcast #673

This week's Autoblog Podcast features Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore and Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski as they debate the merits of the redesigned Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 coupes and whether or not they are distinctive and powerful enough to att…

Porsche issues stop-sale order, recall of 2021 718 Boxster, Cayman models

Porsche has issued a stop-sale on 718 Spyder, Boxster and Cayman models equipped with its adored 4.0-liter flat-6 due to a defective batch of engine connecting rods. Porsche says the defective rods may crack and loosen, which can lead to engine failu…