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Monday, December 23, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 23, 2019

Dec 23, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid starts at $34,235

Doing what it does best, CarsDirect happened on a dealer guide for the 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid. Pricing begins at $32,040, plus a $1,195 destination charge, for a total of $34,235 for the entry-level SE trim before any tax credits. That's $4,945 more…

Why an independent rear suspension for GM's new, full-sized SUVs wasn't easy

A Motor Trend report last month laid out how Cadillac's 4.2-lier twin-turbo Blackwing V8 could be an orphan due to cost concerns in the GM empire. Last-minute chassis changes to Cadillac's new sedans and XT6 crossover led to engine bays that couldn't…

2020 Nissan Versa Review & Buying Guide | Same value, more style

Like a once-ugly caterpillar emerging from its cocoon, the completely redesigned 2020 Nissan Versa adopts a modern and far more attractive design that should attract buyers for reasons other than a rock-bottom price tag and abundant room. Now only av…

825-hp Shelby Super Snake Bold Edition is a colorful tribute to the past

The mighty, Ford Mustang -based Shelby Super Snake is entering the 2020 model year with a limited-edition appearance package inspired by its illustrious past. The Bold Edition model blends eye-catching design cues and paint combinations with one of th…

2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid Drivers' Notes | A plug-in performer

The 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid is a sneaky performance crossover disguised as a plug-in hybrid. Porsche places it below the Cayenne S in its price and performance hierarchy, but the E-Hybrid is arguably more fun and enjoyable to drive than the S. …

Junkyard Gem: 1992 Pontiac Sunbird convertible, with extremely rad W25 Appearance Package

Radwood has sparked a revival in the appreciation of goofy 1980s and 1980s automotive fashions, from neon-colored tape stripes to excessive TURBO badging to ads featuring horrifying Nagel-style women with radio faceplates instead of eyes . I see a lot…

Some 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrids may not accept a full tank of fuel

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid could have a fuel tank issue that prevents owners from completely filling it up, according to a report from Automotive News . Toyota has issued a statement to confirm it is "investigating a fuel tank shape issue on certain …

[VIDEO] Sherp The Ark is the dream we weren't brave enough to have

Sometimes what hurts most is realizing your dreams weren't big enough. Here we've been lusting after #VanLife, when we should have been imagining the possibilities for an overlanding Sherp. The Ukrainian go-anywhere 4x4 began trundling over and throu…

What went wrong with the Ford Bronco R prototype at the Baja 1000

There were two entries in Class 2 for the 2019 Baja 1000 – which was actually 800.5 miles long – the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus Boot and the Ford Bronco R Prototype. Only the former crossed the line, the second-to-last vehicle of the 145 finishers,…

McLaren Speedtail hits 250 mph over 30 times at Kennedy Space Center

The McLaren Speedtail was billed as having a 250-mile-per-hour top speed when it was revealed over a year ago, and now McLaren is proving it. High-speed testing at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds at Kennedy Space Center in Florida saw a Speedtail p…

Friday, December 20, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 20, 2019

Dec 20, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

Here are all the vehicles sold by the 12 brands of the Fiat Chrysler PSA merger

Whether or not the formal merger between Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and European conglomerate PSA Group means the return of Peugeot to the U.S., one thing's for certain: The combined company will have a truckload of different brands. S…

250-hp Toyota Yaris GR looks like one of 2020's wildest cars

One of the most exciting cars due out in 2020 is a Toyota Yaris. It's not a run-of-the-mill econobox , though. It's a full-blown, street-legal rally machine that channels the Celica GT-Four's spirit. Named Yaris GR, Toyota's newest pocket rocket shar…

Russell Built Fabrications off-road Porsche 911 is epic in these photos

Just before the SEMA show we heard about ex-Singer fabricator TJ Russell whipping up his first solo creation, a safari-type Porsche 911 based on the 964 series . We got photos of the jacked-up jumper on the SEMA show floor, but those images couldn't s…

Last 991-gen Porsche 911 rolls off the assembly line

The sun has set on the seventh generation of Porsche's iconic 911 sports car, as the final 991-generation model has rolled off the assembly line. The final tally for the seventh-generation 911 is 233,540 examples, the last of which is a silver Speeds…

2020 Toyota Highlander vs other 3-row crossovers: There can only be one!

We've done quite a few spec comparison posts involving three-row family crossovers , and when included, the Toyota Highlander has always been the runt of the group. While the rest increasingly seemed to be benchmarking each other toward greater girth,…

A conversation with Robert Bollinger of Bollinger Motors | Autoblog Podcast #608

In this week's Autoblog Podcast , Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder visit Bollinger Motors to speak with the startup's CEO and founder Robert Bollinger. We talk about the B1 and B2 electric trucks , and Bollinger…

[VIDEO] Watch this GMC pickup crash through a wall into a Florida airport terminal

A man in Florida has been accused of driving his pickup truck through airport grounds and through a wall into the airport's baggage area. It is unclear whether or not the incident was on purpose or an accident, but the shocking scene was captured by …

2020 Audi Q3 Review & Buying Guide | Relative value

There are plenty of non-luxury compact SUVs that when fully loaded are priced right around where the 2020 Audi Q3 begins. This, despite it being smaller and less equipped than the range-topping Mazda CX-5's and Honda CR-V's of the world. To some, tha…

Mercedes-AMGs could be hard to come by under 2020 EU emission rules

Automakers that sell cars in Europe are facing what the Financial Times called the "carbon crunch" next year. In 2020, carmakers will pay fines to European regulators if their fleetwide CO2 emissions exceed a certain number. The number is different f…

You can own this motorcycle-engined road 'rocket'

It's a car, it's a plane, it's a motorcycle, it's street-legal, and it could be yours.This weird mashup is available now on eBay . Designed by aircraft engineer Jim Bede, the vehicle initially was known as the Litestar Autocycle, but the the name cha…

Thursday, December 19, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 19, 2019

Dec 19, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

As GM readies Alexa convenience for vehicles, we ponder its dark side

SEATTLE — On the 30th floor of Amazon's glass tower, in a room with a breathtaking view of downtown Seattle, there's a beautiful bed that nobody sleeps in. It's near a kitchen nobody cooks in, a living room couch that no one crashes on, a kitchen tab…

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Heritage Edition celebrates 55 years of fast Mustangs

The high-end racing efforts executed by the partnership between Ford and Carroll Shelby were recently highlighted in "Ford v Ferrari," but the Ford GT40 Le Mans winner and its progeny weren't the only cars born of that relationship. In 1965, famed …

California dealer asking $169,999 for 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

Ford Authority ran a piece on Koons Ford, a dealer in Sterling, Virginia, advertising a 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 for $145,890 . Based on listed options like the carbon fiber track package, technology package, and $10,000 painted stripes, FA play…

$40 million Jeep Experience museum opening in Toledo, Ohio

Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is helping a nonprofit organization open a Jeep museum in Toledo, Ohio. Called The Jeep Experience, the $40 million museum is expected to open its doors in 2022. Jeep has manufactured its off-roaders in Toledo since t…

[VIDEO] Apparently it's not too hard to make a knock-off Cybertruck

If copying is the highest form of flattery, the Tesla Cybertruck must be feeling pretty peachy at this moment in time. Regardless of all the hullabaloo about its design , the thing certainly has captured the world's attention. Not only did it garner a…

Tesla Model 3 owners can go quicker with a click

Is a half-second improvement in 0-60 time worth $2,000? Tesla reckons it is, and if you agree — and you happen to be the proud owner of a dual-motor Model 3 — then you're in luck. Tesla's updated companion app now offers dual-motor Model 3 owners t…

You can own this motorcycle-engined road 'rocket'

2020 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid First Drive Review | Mass appeal on wheels

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — What do you get when you try to please everyone? Generally something adequate and inoffensive. In the midsize crossover segment, that'd be something like the third-generation Toyota Highlander that's been around since 2013. Now, …

2020 Honda Passport Review & Buying Guide | Great success, minimal effort

Sometimes great success comes with minimal effort. Most cars and SUVs share their mechanical underpinnings with various other vehicles from within their brand, but they look so different that you'd have to be a car geek like us to know. The 2020 Hond…

Honda Civic Hatchback Luggage Test | A different kind of hatch

An indelible part of any hot hatch is its ability to be a practical daily driver as well as a fun plaything. The Honda Civic Type R definitely lives up to its practical end of the bargain as you're about to see, but its cargo area is shared with ever…

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 17, 2019

Dec 17, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

BMW insists its customers love the new enormous grilles

As BMW's grille grows, so does the number of people whose opinion it splits. Top officials previously defended the move to a polarizing design, and they again stressed they're sticking to it. Recent additions to the company's range, like the X7 and …

2020 Audi RS 5 Coupe and Sportback adopt the family look

Audi has loosed the 2020 RS 5 Coupe and RS 5 Sportback on European audiences. The 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 holds pat with 444 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, shifting through an eight-speed automatic toggled with larger aluminum shift paddles…

2019 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Second Drive Review | A thunderingly good performance cat

Jaguar entered the high-performance SUV game late with the F-Pace SVR, but hopping on the unstoppable freight train now is better than ignoring it completely. Just like its European competition, the Jaguar has a delightfully overpowered engine and lu…

2020 Toyota Avalon TRD Drivers' Notes | A delightful surprise

The 2020 Toyota Avalon TRD is a car we never thought we'd see outside of SEMA. Traditionally conservative Toyota took the largest sedan it sells in America and gave it the full-fat TRD treatment. Nobody was asking for this model, but we're not compla…

2021 Kia Optima getting two turbo engines, all-wheel drive option

Even before we've had a chance to drive it, the 2021 Kia Optima is proving to be an interesting sedan. For one thing, it might not even be called Optima anymore, with a switch to the Korean-market K5 name rumored . The styling is thoroughly aggressive…

2020 Audi RS Q8 First Drive Review | Dancing bear

TENERIFE, Canary Islands – After a few minutes rolling through town, the Audi RS Q8's navigation system directed us to turn onto a long motorway on-ramp. With 591 horses underfoot, we couldn't resist matting the accelerator. The RS Q8 thundered down …

2020 BMW 8 Series Review & Buying Guide | A grand tourer for everybody

The 2020 BMW 8 Series is the automaker's ultimate personal luxury machine. It's been a long time since there was an 8 Series in BMW's lineup, and we're glad to see it back. It takes the concept of executive motoring and puts it in far more body style…

Nissan doubles up on Skyline concepts for 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon

In Japan, our Infiniti Q50 is the hallowed and venerable Nissan Skyline. In a bit of tangentially related badge-swapping earlier this year Nissan borrowed the 400R moniker once applied to a now-legendary version of the R33 Skyline GT-R for a top-tier…

Cadillac CT4 and CT5 high-performance V cars spied

This summer, Cadillac teased much more impressive V-series models than the lukewarm CT4-V and CT5-V . Now we get a better look at both super sedans, each one boasting more aggressive, but subtle visual upgrades. Normally we would talk about the visua…

BMW issues stop-sale on M5, M8, X5 M and X6 M

BMW has issued a stop-sale on certain M models in its lineup due to a transmission wiring harness problem. These cars include the M5 , M8 (Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe), X5 M and X6 M . The issue was originally seen posted on Bimmerpost forums and…