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McLaren is working on a successor to the 720S, a car that will presumably sit above the recently launched 671-hp Artura plug-in hybrid. The successor is coming soon and is expected to be a major update of the 720S rather than a ground-up redesign, similar to how the earlier 650S was a major update of its MP4 12C predecessor. Ferrari makes its return to top-level endurance racing this year with an entry in the premier Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship. The Prancing Horse will contest the series with its new 499P LMH race car and a driver lineup…
Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Toyota and Nissan were locked in a ferocious battle to sell Americans large-ish luxury sedans full of futuristic electronics and powered by meaty six-cylinder engines. Toyota had the Cressida (a close cousin of the Supra), while Nissan had the Datsun 810 (a close cousin of the Z-Car). As the 1980s progressed, the Datsun 810 became the Nissan Maxima, while the Cressida became more sensible (i.e., less fun) with each passing year. Here’s a late second-generation Maxima, found in a Colorado self-service yard recently. The Maxima name started out as a trim level…
Glickenhaus will contest its third consecutive season of the World Endurance Championship in 2023 with its 007 LMH race car, competing in the series’ premier Hypercar class. Glickenhaus made the confirmation via a Twitter post on Tuesday, ending speculation the American team will be absent this season. Glickenhaus said it will field a single 007 for the entire season, and its dealer partner HK Motorcars will field a second 007 exclusively in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Glickenhaus confirms entry in 2023 World Endurance Championship Glickenhaus first entered the World Endurance Championship in 2021, the first season for the…
Mazda confirmed Tuesday that the 2023 MX-30 EV will arrive in California dealerships this spring. Prices for the 2023 MX-30 EV are up somewhat, to $35,385 for the base model and $38,395 with the Premium Plus package. At the base level, that’s $740 higher than the 2022 Mazda MX-30 price. Earlier this week, Mazda confirmed that a rotary-engine range-extended version of the MX-30, called the MX-30 R-EV, will be detailed this Friday, Jan. 13. It hasn’t yet teased any other details, however it revealed a clever new logo for the variant that incorporates the shape of a Wankel-engine rotor. It…
The stress of tight parallel parking or making a U-turn could become a thing of the past if technology like the e-Corner from Hyundai Mobis becomes mainstream. First announced in 2018, the e-Corner is a single unit that combines suspension, steering, driving, and braking functions, and is small enough to fit in the wheel hub of a conventional vehicle. Because the e-Corner relies on an in-wheel motor for drive power, as opposed to a driven axle, the wheel can be turned up to 90 degrees, resulting in impressive maneuverability. Hyundai Mobis, the parts and accessories arm of Hyundai, recently demonstrated…
Tesla is planning major upgrades for its plant in Austin, Texas, according to filings made with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration in January. First reported on Tuesday by the Austin Business Journal, the filings indicate Tesla plans to invest $717 million in the site to add around 1.4 million square feet of space. Four new buildings were mentioned in the plans, including for battery cell development and production, cathode and drive unit production, and a die shop. The plant is where Tesla builds the Model Y for the eastern part of the U.S., and the recently launched Semi…
Many analyses have shown that EV battery costs stopped decreasing in 2022, putting off affordability goals. But the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a reality check. Based on 2022-constant dollars, battery costs actually continued falling last year at the pack level, despite accelerated inflation, according to DOE estimates. The agency estimated the average cost of an EV lithium-ion battery pack at $153/kwh on a usable-energy basis for production at scale of at least 100,000 units annually. U.S.DOE estimated EV battery pack cost, 2008-2022 That represents an 89% decrease from 2008, when a comparable figure was $1,355/kwh, according to the…
McLaren’s 720S bowed out of production at the end of 2022 without a successor in the sight. With the new Artura offering similar performance and looks to the 720S, some might think the plug-in hybrid newcomer is actually the 720S successor, but they would be wrong. In an interview with Automotive DriftBreath (subscription required) published on Monday, Nicolas Brown, McLaren’s president of the Americas region, said a 720S successor is planned, and that it is already sold out through much of 2024. Dealers have been taking deposits from some prospective 720S buyers after they learned the older car is no…
From the January 2023 issue of Car and Driver.I’ve been accused of altering the world to suit myself. A fair assessment of the evidence: disabling a Glade PlugIn stinking up my building’s mailroom, traveling with tools to remove flow restrictors from hotel showers, asking for a TV-B-Gone for Christmas, and adjusting the steering column and display on my beloved’s Ford Escape whenever I drive it. I’m not alone. In fact, carmakers tap into our innately human desire to customize things.A typical ’23 model has a dizzying number of settings. My basic pre-flight checklist goes something like this: Pair the phone…
Fast Facts 2021 Honda Ridgeline AWD Sport HPD Fast Facts 3.5-liter V6 (280 horsepower @ 6,000 RPM, 262 lb-ft @ 4,700 RPM) Nine-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive 18 city / 24 highway / 21 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) 12.8 city / 9.9 highway / 11.5 combined. (NRCan Rating, L/100km) Base Price $36,490 (U.S) / $49,440 (Canada) As Tested $40,860 (U.S.) / $51,821 (Canada) Prices include $1,175 destination charge in the United States and $2,050 for freight, PDI, and A/C tax in Canada and, because of cross-border equipment differences, can’t be directly compared. One of the things this author has always…