Utah could soon become the seventh state where it is illegal for dogs to ride in the beds of pickup trucks. A viral video of a four-legged Utahn riding unrestrained on an open-sided truck bed inspired the bill, which is supported by the Utah Humane Society. No word if the bill was also inspired by the long-ago antics of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.
This Week in Sheetmetal

Volvo

Volvo unveiled the electric C40 Recharge fastback crossover, which it estimates will have 210 miles of range. The C40’s electric powertrain will make 402 horsepower and should manage a 4.7-second zero-to-60-mph time. Also this week, Volvo announced its plan to stop selling cars with internal-combustion engines by 2030.
Porsche showed the electric Taycan’s wagon variant, the Taycan Cross Turismo. Intended to compete with Mercedes-Benz’s E-class wagon and Audi’s A6 wagon, the Taycan wagon will come in four strengths. The top-dog Turbo S will give you 750 horsepower and an estimated 2.7-second sprint to 60 mph, if you can afford it. Here’s how we’d spec it.
Not to be outdone, Mercedes-AMG confirmed this week that it will build an ultra-high-performance version of the four-door GT. The GT 73 will be a hybrid and could make more than 800 horsepower, but the powertrain will still be based on a twin-turbo V-8, so don’t expect to save money on gas.

Mercedes-AMG

Butterfly Effect
You’ve heard about the semiconductor shortage, but what about the foam padding shortage? The winter storms that hit Texas late last month shut down oil refineries, which make the chemicals necessary for the production of the polyurethane foam that’s used in automotive seat cushions. One anonymous auto executive told Automotive News that the problem is “bigger and closer” than the aforementioned chip shortage, while another called foam-related production shutdowns “a threat, not a given.” We’ll find out who was right in a few weeks, and in the meantime let this serve as a reminder of how far away we really are from a zero-emissions auto industry.

Biden Launches Plan to Review Semiconductor Supply

Semiconductor Shortage Is Halting Car Production

A Microchip Shortage Is Disrupting Production

Infrastructure Week
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. infrastructure a C- in a report published this week and said the government will need to spend $2.6 trillion on infrastructure repairs in the next decade. That’s actually the best grade the group has given our infrastructure in 20 years; the last report in 2017 rated the country’s infrastructure at a D+. The report may have served as fodder at an Oval Office meeting led by President Biden and attended by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. On the campaign trail, Biden promised to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail and electric-vehicle infrastructure, but Republican congressman Sam Graves said after the meeting that members of his party would reject a “multi-trillion-dollar catchall bill.”

Honda

I, Honda
Honda leapfrogged Tesla to become the first automaker to sell (well, lease) a production car with Level 3 autonomous capability when it made 100 copies of its Legend sedan equipped with a Honda Sensing Elite package available to customers in Japan. The package allows the cars to accelerate, steer, and stop without input or constant monitoring from the driver. Honda even goes so far as to suggest that drivers could watch TV on the car’s infotainment screen when the system is engaged. So far, the system’s use is limited to traffic jams or similar low-speed, high congestion scenarios, and there are no plans to bring the Legend or its self-driving capabilities to the United States. But progress is progress, right?
Further Reading
Read in the New York Times about a German town that is pursuing zero emissions in part by encouraging its residents to give up their cars, particularly the ones that run on gas or diesel.
Also in the Times, a suggestion that the United States use currency manipulation to hold on to manufacturing jobs.
If you’re looking for a dose of schadenfreude, take in the extradition to Japan of two men who helped former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn flee justice after being charged with various financial crimes.
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Ever since it first made its debut back in 1992, the Gran Turismo series has been a favorite title among automotive enthusiasts and gamers alike. With the seventh main title entry in the series well underway, fans of the Sony-exclusive racing game have just been treated to another showcase trailer. Not only does this highlight some of the vehicles that players will have a chance to race, but it confirms a number of the locations and features coming to Gran Turismo 7.
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The trailer begins with a cinematic closeup of a headlight belonging to the Porsche 917 Living Legend concept from 2019. As the camera pulls away, we can see that the concept racer is flanked by several historic models from Stuttgart, including a proper 917, a 962, and what appears to be a 911 GT2 RS. Those machines alone should be enough to excite any virtual racer, but the goodness doesn’t stop there. As “Moon over the Castle” plays in the background, the trailer moves through a bunch of seriously exciting automobiles of all varieties. JDM icons like the A80 and A90 Toyota Supra, GR Yaris, and several different Nissan GT-Rs make a notable appearance, while entries like the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, Ferrari FXX-K, and Bugatti Bolide provide an entirely different level of performance.

Players will also have the ability to customize their ride with an extensive catalog of parts and visual enhancements once again. Whether this be in the form of installing a turbocharger or a designing a new livery, Gran Turismo 7 will allow players to shape their cars however they see fit. That level of adjustability will be crucial for players hunting lap times around the game’s many tracks. Gran Turismo 7 features a ton of locations long-time players will be familiar with, such as Dragon Trail, High Speed Ring, Trial Mountain, and Tokyo Expressway. More famous locales like the Nordschleife and Circuit de la Sarthe are of course present as well. Gran Turismo 7 is slated to arrive on March 4, 2022, for both the PS4 and PS5 consoles.

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We don’t know all of the details of the battery-powered Electrified GV70 just yet, but Genesis has now announced pricing details for the brand’s third EV.There will be two trim levels, with the $66,975 Advanced being a well-equipped base model (lots of safety tech, sunroof, fingerprint ID technology) and the Prestige adding a better sound system, a head-up display and much more for another $6800.The Electrified GV70 will be not only Genesis’s first model assembled in the U.S. but the first one built outside South Korea.Genesis has put a price tag on its third electric model, the Electrified GV70 SUV. The electrified luxury EV will start at $66,975 and come in two trim levels.The 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 Advanced AWD is the base model, but that price level means we’re not surprised that it comes well equipped with a standard panoramic sunroof, a fingerprint authentication system, and vehicle-to-load charging. Every safety and advanced driver assistance that Genesis uses on its vehicles is standard in the Electrified GV70’s Advanced model including forward collision avoidance assist, lane-keeping and lane-following assist, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, highway driving assist, and smart cruise control with stop-and-go capability.All the Rest of the SpecsFor comfort and convenience, the Electrified GV70 Advanced AWD comes with powered, heated, and ventilated front seats; a 14.5-inch infotainment screen with navigation; and a powered smart liftgate. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Genesis Digital Key technology, and a wireless phone charger are all also part of the package.Going for the PrestigeThe 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 Prestige AWD is the higher trim and starts at $73,775. The extra $6800 is worth it if you’re looking for a head-up display, a Lexicon premium audio system, active noise control and heated 2nd-row seats. The extra money also gets you a heated steering wheel, nappa leather seating surfaces and a leatherette-wrapped upper instrument panel.The powertrain is the same in both trims, with a 77.4-kWh battery and dual 160-kW motors. Genesis previously said this system would produce up to 429 horsepower under most conditions, but there will be a Performance boost mode that can produce up to 483 horsepower for up to 10 seconds. Other details, including efficiency and range ratings, will be announced closer to launch later this year. Genesis has said that the electric SUV will be able to charge at up to 350 kW, enough to charge the battery from 10 to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes at an appropriate DC fast-charging station. All versions of the GV70 also use an electronically controlled suspension with road preview, which uses the front-facing camera to automatically adjust the suspension for upcoming potholes or other noticeable surface conditions.The non-electric 2023 Genesis GV70 starts at $44,275. Genesis sells two other EVs: the GV60 SUV, which starts at $60,415, and the Electrified G80 sedan ($80,950). The company has announced a plan for full electrification by 2030 and has said that all new models will be powered only by all-electric powertrains starting in 2025. By 2035, Genesis wants to be a carbon-neutral company. The GV70 will be built at Hyundai’s manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Alabama, the company’s first EV to be built in the U.S. In fact, the Electrified GV70 is the first Genesis model assembled outside of South Korea.play iconThe triangle icon that indicates to play More

Toyota pulled back the veil on a new generation of the C-HR, ushering in a new era for the small crossover in Europe.It features three hybrid powertrain choices including a new plug-in-hybrid option. Unfortunately for American fans of the C-HR, the new version won’t make it stateside, as Toyota killed off the C-HR in the U.S. after the 2022 model year. The Toyota C-HR subcompact crossover is entering a new generation, and it has been redesigned from tip to tail. The new car shows up looking like a dead ringer for Toyota’s Prologue concept from December. The production vehicle sports 20-inch wheels and more reasonable-looking taillights than the concept, but many of the playful style choices—such as available two-tone paint—remain. Unfortunately for U.S. buyers the C-HR was discontinued for America after the 2022 model year, and this new one is only destined for Europe.ToyotaThe new C-HR will come with three powertrain options, and all are hybrids. A front-wheel-drive-only hybrid with a 1.8-liter gas engine will sit at the bottom of the lineup, with a more powerful 2.0-liter hybrid setup offering either front- or all-wheel drive. A new plug-in-hybrid configuration, also with the 2.0-liter gas engine, sits at the top. These powertrains appear to be lifted directly from the Prius, which should imbue the new C-HR with quite a bit more power than before, especially the 2.0-liter options. For reference, the U.S.-spec Prius hybrid’s standard 2.0-liter setup produces 194 horsepower and the plug-in-hybrid Prius Prime has 220 hp. We’d expect the C-HR PHEV’s electric-only range to be similar to the Prius Prime’s, too, which is rated at 39 miles.Related StoriesThe interior of the new generation is just as overhauled as the exterior. A new 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster sits behind the steering wheel. An 8.0-, or 12.3-inch center infotainment touchscreen sit beside the gauge cluster. The new infotainment system adds a virtual assistant and wireless connections for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Additionally, the new system can provide EV range information and local charging locations. ToyotaToyota is ushering in the new car with a set of special edition models, headlined by a GR Sport edition. The GR adds a G-mesh pattern for the grille, 20-inch alloy wheels, with GR badging on the exterior, and embossed to the headrests. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Ford officially announced that the Mustang Mach 1 will make its return for the 2021 model year. It’ll have a more powerful version of the 5.0-liter V-8 that’s found in the 460-hp GT models. Ford will debut the Mach 1 this spring, and pricing is expected to start at around $50,000. Ford took a gamble […] More