So what makes this new car tick? Let’s start with the engine itself. It’s Mercedes-AMG’s M139 two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. At literally half the size of the old C63’s V8, it represents both a marked departure from tradition and a technological marvel. Good engines are built with good bones, so the M139 uses a closed-deck block that can take an immense amount of pressure. Then, Mercedes-AMG specified separate cooling systems for the head and crankcase to keep the bottom end warm and lubricated and the top end clear of any heat-based detonation....

Maserati 3200 GT: Thomas Hundal Is deciding to import an aged high-performance European coupe a good idea? Well, this one’s a Maserati, so the answer is both “lol, no” and “extremely.” For starters, the 3200 GT was the beginning of a new era for Maserati yet used an engine firmly from the old era. I’m talking about the 3.2-liter twin-turbocharged AM479 V8 from the 1990 Shamal, making the 3200 GT the last biturbo Maserati until the 2013 Quattroporte....

The Tesla Cybertruck has been a thing of wonder since it was unveiled just over three years ago. It’s an out-of-this-world pickup with stainless steel construction, sharp edges, a controversial style, and sometimes baffling proposed features. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pitched it as having bullet-resistant materials, amphibious capabilities, and most recently, the Tesla Semi‘s architecture. And along the way, the design has evolved from the initial concept. It’s still unclear what the Cybertruck will be like when it enters production–which is now slated for the end of 2023–but that hasn’t stopped startup companies from brewing up camper concepts for this truck and taking reservations for them....

Many of you were interested in the Airstream Rangeline RV but bristled at the price, which is reasonable compared to the competition but is certainly high for someone who can do any bit of work themselves. Enter VanLab. This is, essentially, a flat-pack-like DIY kit that is designed specifically for whatever van you’re using as a base (more on that in a minute). The interesting thing about this is that they’re also apparently reversible, so if you have a van you want to use for non-camper activities you can take everything out....

If the Cybertruck enters mass production in 2024—and that’s still a big if—signs point towards it being anything but a mass-market product. According to The Verge, Musk claimed last year that the Cybertruck will have different specs and a different price from when it first launched, which means that there likely won’t be a $40,000 Cybertruck at all. It’s the $35,000 Model 3 claim all over again. At a higher price point, the Cybertruck will compete with a whole raft of much less bizarre electric pickup trucks that are already on sale from the Ford F-150 Lightning to the Rivian R1T, plus newcomers like the Chevy and GMC EV trucks and whatever Ram has up its sleeve....

The Lincoln Motor Company was originally launched in 1917. Its founder, Henry M. Leland, was a machinist, engineer, and creator of Cadillac. Leland ended up selling Cadillac to General Motors and serving as an executive before calling it quits in 1917. His new company, Lincoln, was named after Abraham Lincoln, his hero and the first President that he ever voted for. Yes, if you’re counting, that means that Lincoln is actually 105 years old....

First off, a word about naming. Peugeot typically reserves three-digit names for cars and four-digit names for crossovers, except for with the 408, which is either a sedan or this crossover depending on market. While the 408 sedan is fine, it’s this crossover that we’re focusing on today. Also, this 408 isn’t a replacement for the old 407, because that was replaced by the 508. No, I don’t know why either....

On August 7, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. It comes after Senators spent the weekend voting on amendments to the monster 755-page legislation. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it’s expected to pass. Then it lands on President Joe Biden’s desk. A statement from President Biden indicates that he intends on signing it, and that could happen later this week. [Author’s Note: You can read the full legislation linked here or in mentions of the Act....

Today we talk about Ford’s first minivan, the Aerostar — The Blue Oval’s answer to Chrysler’s powerhouse minivans. Ford didn’t copy Chrysler, instead it built a futuristic rear-wheel-drive van that could carry lots of people while towing a camper behind it. And if you look hard enough, you can find one of these with a manual transmission. Last time, reader JamesRL sparked quite the discussion about the Dodge Spirit R/T....

What you see here is an original, non-recreation 1962 Peel P50. This little three-wheeler was designed by a British car company to serve as an efficient runabout. It’s cute and tiny, but not so tiny that it can’t fit a full-sized human person like Matt Farah. [Editor’s Note: I cant just let that brief description be all we say about the Peel P50! The P50 is the smallest production car ever, and while punishingly austere and minimal, it’s an extremely clever design....

U-What? The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was implemented in London in 2019 by Mayor Sadiq Khan after being floated for consideration by then Mayor Boris Johnson’s administration back in 2012. The intention is to discourage people from driving older, more polluting vehicles by charging them each day that they drive within the zone. Transport for London’s report to the Mayor describes things in a bit ore detail: Electric vehicles are obviously exempt, as are historic vehicles, which in the U....

Jason has written about this next thing before, often from a cost perspective, but now he’d like me to look at an alternate, improbably visual reality. Because of course he does. source: Gocars Let’s go back to what we are now calling part of the “Malaise Era,” the early 1980s. There were many issues that were bothering Americans from the Iran hostage crisis and poison Tylenol to absurd inflation and fifteen percent interest rates....

Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday. New Cars Stay Hot, Used Cars Cool It looks like we’ll be waiting a little bit longer for supply chain shortages to ease in the automotive industry. Automotive News reports that according to Cox Automotive, monthly national new car inventory has been stuck around 1....

One especially egregious example of heavily-“deferred” maintenance comes to us via Willie D. Jenkins, a mobile mechanic out of Eugene, Oregon. He recently had a customer reach out needing significant brake work on their 2007 Honda Civic; upon seeing the vehicle’s mechanical condition, Jenkins took an extreme step to keep the vehicle from being driven further and potentially endangering kids inside or the general public. Jenkins has seen a lot in his line of work....

It’s a tidy little cabover package, with you and a friend and a 1500cc inline-four all hanging out in the little cab up front, with a nice long and deep bed at the rear. I especially like the copy in this page of the brochure, as it avoids tedious talk about power or how much it can carry and instead focuses on what matters: “front sidelamps and flashers are combined in attractive streamlined units” and “stop lamps/tail lamps with flashers form a neat three-in-one unit....

So first we’ll finish up with our sports cars from yesterday, and then we’ll dive in… Well, I can’t disagree with that. A good Miata is pure bliss, and even a beat-up Miata is a hell of a lot of fun. Somebody go scoop that thing up before the seller comes to his senses. That takes care of the old business, now, on to the new. When you choose cars purely by name for a joke, you end up with some strange combinations....

And it’s the purple Western. Personally, I kinda dig that Yamaha, but I can see the appeal of the Western too. All right then. It’s getting too cold out for golf carts anyway. It’s time to start making indoor plans. Garages count as indoors, right? If your garage is looking a little empty, here we have a pair of cheap projects to keep you busy. Let’s see which one you prefer....

The dude seems to have noticed something far on the horizon – if there is, in fact, a horizon out there in the scarlet wastes, while the nice lady is perhaps tracking some sort of ground-hugging mammal running around out there. It’s hard to tell. One thing I can tell from this brochure is that GMC was as proud of their truck taillights as I feel they should be, since I wrote about them a couple weeks ago....

Last week, reader David R made the case for the Chevrolet Cruze Eco and Turbo Diesel. A car that you have almost certainly seen or driven without much thought, it was actually incredibly important for post-bankruptcy New GM. Many versions of the Cruze are just everyday cars, but Chevrolet did something interesting with two variants of the Cruze. The first was the Eco, which was marketed as the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid in America....

Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday. Bring Your Own World Champion Look, any excuse to post Honda e content is a good one. This wonderfully adorable electric city car is everything the next Mini should be – hip, gadget-filled, sustainable....