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Monday, July 27, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for July 27, 2020

Jul 27, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Mazda 3 Sedan vs Hatchback Luggage Test | Which 3 reigns supreme?

A major reason for buying a hatchback is for added cargo space and versatility, right? Seems logical enough. It's certainly a reason I've been fond of them over the years. And since so many SUVs these days are just glorified hatchbacks, it certainly …

2020 BMW X3 xDrive30e First Drive | A plug only makes the X3 better

No BMW sells better in the United States than the X3 . The model has been around for a long time at this point (since 2003), straddling the line between sporty and utilitarian in a luxurious BMW package. From a longevity and popularity standpoint, it'…

2021 Ford F-150 Limited 4x2 SuperCrew starts at $72,520

The 2021 Ford F-150 stands as Exhibit A in the case explaining why pickup truck prices are climbing faster than kudzu, using evidence provided by early dealer order guides seen by CarsDirect (here is an order guide without prices ). When the automaker…

Rumored Genesis G70 wagon is real, caught for first time in spy shots

A few months ago, Genesis revealed it was looking at the possibility of offering a Genesis G70 wagon or shooting brake variant . It seems that possibility will become a reality, since one of our spy photographers caught just such a prototype out testi…

Volvo is testing what looks like an electrified, restomod P1800

Volvo's road testers haven't put P1800 prototypes through their paces since the early 1960s, so we're a little puzzled by the images sent to us by our spy photographers stationed in Sweden. Although they're blurry, the shots clearly show a completely…

BMW to introduce fully electric 5 Series, 7 Series and X1 in emissions push

FRANKFURT — BMW announced its intentions to offer a fully electric 5 Series , 7 Series and X1 as part of a sweeping product overhaul unveiled on Monday as the German carmaker seeks to lower vehicle emissions during production and on the road. All thr…

Mercedes-Benz putting seven models on the chopping block, dealers say

Mercedes-Benz will shift its model proliferation into reverse in the coming years, according to dealers familiar with the company's plans. At least seven nameplates are scheduled to retire without a direct successor. Speaking to industry trade journ…

Thai authorities investigating why charges were dropped in Red Bull heir's fatal crash

Police examine a damaged Ferrari at the home of the late Red Bull founder Chaleo Yoovidhaya in Bangkok in 2012. Police say then-27-year-old Vorayuth Yoovidhaya hit a police officer with his Ferrari, then dragged the body for several meters before…

Bugatti introduces the Baby II electric roadster priced at under $35,000

Bugatti returned to the electric-car segment after a decades-long hiatus by releasing a single-seater roadster that costs less than a new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The catch is that it's a limited-edition model known as the Baby II that's a smaller repl…

[VIDEO] This electric tricycle/camper/boat looks straight out of a Wes Anderson fever dream

Transcript: Bike + boat + camper combo. Z-Triton is an amphibious electric tricycle camper for the outdoor enthusiast. Created by Latvian start-up Zeltini, the unique vehicle provides people the ability to interact with nature on land or on water. In…

Friday, July 24, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for July 24, 2020

Jul 24, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Ford Bronco-based pickup could be coming to challenge Jeep Gladiator

Ford's burgeoning Bronco sub-brand will include a pickup aimed directly at the Jeep Gladiator, according to a recent report. Rumors outline an adventure-ready, off-road-capable truck that hauls more than the Bronco SUV . Citing sources familiar with …

2021 Mini John Cooper Works GP First Drive | Loud, harsh, expensive, hilariously fun

The Mini John Cooper Works GP has always represented the pinnacle of Mini performance. It's the most-powerful, lightest and most uncompromising in its pursuit of going fast. And it has never hidden that purpose, wearing bold bodywork to convey its se…

2022 GMC Sierra spotted with minimal camouflage

By all accounts, GM's current full-size truck twins, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra , are good trucks that are in many ways competitive with the sales-leading Ford F-150 and a fresh Ram 1500 that's regularly nipping at the Bowtied truck's tail…

As ADA turns 30, finding just-right mobility for the disabled is a challenge

Barbara Alink, left, and Canadian Paralympian Felicia Voss-Shafiq, an Alinker ambassador. We cover all kinds of mobility at Autoblog, not always just cars, and this weekend we're noting the 30th anniversary of one of the landmark laws of our…

The 2020 Bentley Flying Spur has 3-D wood now, and it looks spectacular

This is the coolest wood you're going to see today. We promise. Bentley is now manufacturing something it calls "Three-Dimensional Wood." And yes, all wood we come into contact with is 3-D, but this stuff pops out at you like people and items do in a…

Honda trademarks 'Trailsport' nameplate, presumably for future off-roader

Honda does not have a body-on-frame off-roader to take on the Jeep Wrangler or the new Ford Bronco , but the Japanese automaker evidently is not ready to cede that market entirely to its rivals. As Carbuzz discovered, Honda recently applied to tradema…

Jeep Grand Cherokee's current generation is returning for 2021 after all

Jeep is busily putting the final touches on the fifth-generation Grand Cherokee, but the SUV isn't ready yet, so the current-generation model will allegedly return for one final model year. Although it won't receive major changes, a recent report cla…

2021 BMW X7 Dark Shadow Edition is a $120,000 limited-run X7 M50i

The BMW X7 is getting a special edition called the Dark Shadow Edition. It looks … like a shadow, so the name works. BMW has used the M50i model as a base, which means it's the fastest and best-handling X7 of the small bunch. This M Sport model come…

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Luggage Test | Time for an Italian vacation

When it comes to handling and being fun to drive, the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia is right at the top. From its engaging and tossable Ti trim, to the totally bonkers Quadrifoglio , Alfa Romeo has some excellent options for those who love to drive. However,…

Where have we seen the United States Space Force logo before?

The official United States Space Force logo has been unveiled , and we love it. The delta-shaped insignia "signifies defense and protection from all adversaries" and incorporates an internal star at its heart, "which symbolizes how the core values gui…

Thursday, July 23, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for July 23, 2020

Jul 23, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Tesla Model Y First Drive | One of a kind

The Tesla Model 3 isn't just the planet's best-selling EV. It's a world dominator of Marvel proportions, whose 300,000 global sales in 2019 were nearly three times as many as China's BAIC EU-Series sedan, and more than four times as many as the Nissa…

This 1988 E30 BMW M3 just sold for $250,000 on Bring a Trailer

Where is the line between love and madness? We may have just crossed it. An 8,000-mile 1988 E30 BMW M3 sold today at Bring a Trailer for $250,000. That's right, a quarter of a million dollars, to the penny. Now yes, it's a nice-looking car, done up …

2021 Toyota Venza First Drive | It's back!

The Venza is back. The lifted, wagon-esque crossover that disappeared five years ago was weird, but in a good way, forging its own path by walking a fine line between car and crossover. Yet it also never caught on and was discontinued without being r…

Toyota hybrid crossover comparison | How the Venza, RAV4 Hybrid and Highlander compare on paper

Now that the 2021 Toyota Venza is here, Toyota has nearly as many hybrid crossovers as it does cars. Not only that, but all three hybrid crossovers — Venza, RAV4 Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid — are shockingly similar to each other. To sort out the dif…

Next Subaru WRX STI could get 400-hp from a 2.4-liter boxer

Yet another report puts Subaru's FA24 2.4-liter boxer four-cylinder in the next-generation WRX and WRX STI. Not only that, the story in Japan's Car Sensor magazine (translated ) seconds a Forbes report from February of this year that the hardest-core …

2020 Ford Shelby GT500 Suspension Deep Dive

This is not my first encounter with a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 . I was once fortunate enough to lay hands on a spanking new 2103 Shelby GT500 for the express purpose of unleashing it on a cross-country road trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles . That car …

2020 GMC Sierra 1500 Interior Driveway Test | Still lagging behind

GM has caught nothing but grief for the interiors of its full-size pickups since they were redesigned. Some of it is about perspective. Ram blew everybody away with the new 1500's interior, but it's not like the Ford F-150 is embarrassed by it. Chevy…

Porsche and Dodge lead JD Power's 2020 APEAL Study

This may sound obvious, but we'll say it anyway: if an automaker delivers exactly the ownership experience that buyers are looking for and have come to expect, they are going to score well in studies designed to measure a vehicle's appeal. That's why…

Here's your chance to own a 7.0-liter V8-powered, stick-shifted Cadillac Catera

Cadillac never stuffed a V8 engine into the Catera, the entry-level model it sold in the United States from 1997 to 2001, so American tuner Lingenfelter stepped in and offered to perform the conversion. One of the few cars it dropped an eight-cylinde…

Tesla sues rival Rivian, claims it poached employees, stole trade secrets

Tesla Inc. has accused Rivian Automotive in a lawsuit of an "alarming pattern" of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets. The world's leading electric-vehicle maker alleged that four of its former workers took highly sensitive proprietary…

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

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

Jul 22, 2020