Mercedes-Benz has now built 500,000 G-wagens in 44 years, and it celebrates the occasion with a retro-themed one-off.The one-of-a-kind G-class features a vintage look inspired by the 1986 280GE model.Along with Agave Green paint, the boxy SUV has amber turn signals, enlarged badges, a roof rack, and throwback interior details.Forty-four years after the first Mercedes-Benz G-class rolled off the assembly line in Graz, Austria, the 500,000th example does the same in memorable fashion. To commemorate hitting the half-million mark, Mercedes has transformed the milestone model into a one-of-a-kind G-wagen with a vintage look.The German automaker obviously has a long history of Geländewagens it could have used for the inspiration behind this retro-themed one-off. In the end, the company selected the 1986 280GE. While it’s unclear why exactly Mercedes chose that model, the 280GE featured the top gas-burning powertrain during the W460 generation (1980—1991). Its modern counterpart also wears Agave Green paint (one of the first colors available on early versions) and sees its clear turn signals on top of the fenders revert back to their classic amber color.Mercedes-BenzAlong with the throwback paint job, the half-millionth G-class has a black front fascia with guards protecting its round headlights. The black treatment extends to its fender flares and traces the lower body molding to the rear bumper. Out back, there’s a spare-tire carrier with an enlarged version of the brand’s three-point star logo. There’s also a rear-mounted ladder to provide easier access to the roof rack. A set of silver five-spoke wheels round out the one-off’s most notable details.Mercedes didn’t provide any interior images of the special G, but the company says the seat inserts feature fabric with a checkered pattern reminiscent of past models. There’s also said to be Agave Green lettering on the passenger-side grab handle that reads “No. 500,000.”A refreshed version of the Mercedes-Benz G-class sounds like it’s in the works for the 2024 model year. Of course, there’s also an all-electric variant coming. We’ve only seen the EQG concept, but Mercedes has said the production version won’t be dramatically different. Either way, if the company ever makes it to 1 million G-wagens, the majority of the next 500,000 models will likely be electric.G-Wagen: Past, Present, and FutureThis 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.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

Jeep has announced pricing for the 2022 Grand Cherokee’s 4xe plug-in-hybrid model.It starts at $59,495 and ranges up to $76,095 for the loaded Summit Reserve trim.Jeep says that 4xe models will start arriving at dealerships this spring.Jeep’s second 4xe hybrid SUV is based on the new two-row Grand Cherokee, and this plug-in hybrid will be the most expensive model in the lineup. It starts at $59,495 and offers five trim levels ranging up to $76,095 for the top Summit Reserve, making for a premium of between $8250 and $9980 compared with the nonhybrid Grand Cherokee.

All Grand Cherokee 4xe models have the same powertrain that consists of a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four gasoline engine and two electric motors. It produces a total of 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque and is said to provide an electric driving range of 25 miles on a full charge. That’s notably more power than even the Grand Cherokee’s optional 357-hp 5.7-liter V-8, and considerably more than the base 3.6-liter V-6’s 293 horsepower. But the hybrid will also likely weigh more than the nonhybrid model owing to its battery pack and other extra hardware.The 4xe’s trim lineup largely mirrors the standard Grand Cherokee’s. All hybrids come standard with four-wheel drive, and the base 4xe appears to be roughly equivalent to the Limited 4×4. It’s also available in the off-road-oriented Trailhawk trim ($64,280) and the more luxurious Overland ($67,555), Summit ($71,515), and Summit Reserve ($76,095) configurations.While the standard 2022 Grand Cherokee is on sale now, there will be a bit more of a wait for the 4xe, as Jeep says it won’t start arriving at dealerships until sometime this spring.
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GMC began production of the Hummer SUV EV on Monday, and customers should begin receiving deliveries by the end of the first quarter, the brand confirmed today.Like the Hummer SUT before it, the Hummer SUV will begin production with the Edition 1, which is already sold out in advance. The SUV will be built alongside the pickup version at GM’s Factory Zero production facility in the Detroit-Hamtramck area. Reservation holder rejoice! Duncan Aldred, GM’s global vice-president of Buick and GMC, has confirmed that the electric Hummer SUV officially entered production Monday. GM first brought back the Hummer nameplate with the 2022 Hummer EV SUT pickup. That behemoth’s slightly smaller SUV shaped sibling, the 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV, is a reimagining of one of the most iconic American off-roaders of the past century. GM received more than 90,000 reservations for the Hummer pickup and SUV combined, with numbers split mostly evenly, according to Aldred. Car and DriverProduction began with the sold-out Edition 1, which had a starting price of $105,595 when reservations went live in 2021. It will be built alongside the pickup version of the Hummer at GM’s Factory Zero production facility in the Detroit-Hamtramck area. The SUV version will be powered by two or three electric motors. The EV2 and EV2X with the dual-motor setup generate an estimated 625 horsepower. The EV3X and the Edition 1 have a trio of motors (one in front and two in back) with a claimed 830 horsepower. Torque numbers are more complicated, with GMC claiming 7400 and 11,500 pound-feet respectively, though the real figures likely fall between 1000 and 1100 pound-feet. Range in the Edition 1 is estimated to be more than 300 miles. Last summer, we managed 290 miles in our 75-mph highway range test of the pickup version.Just as with the pickup, color options are limited for the SUV. Edition 1 SUVs will all be painted in Moonshot Green Matte, with a slightly expanded list as production of standard models ramps up in the latter half of the year. GMC expects that production rates for the Hummer lineup will be considerably higher than last year, though it plans to ramp it up incrementally. Production will begin similarly slowly in the first half of the year, with increased production in the second half of the year, according to Aldred. Deliveries of the Edition 1 SUV are expected by the end of the first quarter.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. More

Ford announced that it will soon offer an electric version of the Explorer SUV, as part of a plan to make EVs 40 percent of the Ford lineup by 2030.At a financial presentation today, the automaker also said that it is currently developing new electric platforms that support rear- or all-wheel-drive vehicles. One of them is for “rugged SUVs,” and we think it’s for an electric Bronco. The Ford Explorer, the best-selling three-row SUV in America, is getting an electric model, Ford announced today. The Explorer will join the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover, the E-Transit electric van, and the recently revealed F-150 Lightning pickup truck in Ford’s growing electric lineup, which Ford says will account for 40 percent of its total offerings by 2030.
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Ford also announced that new rear- and all-wheel-drive flexible electric-vehicle platforms are in development for a new full-size pickup and other pickups, cargo vehicles, and rugged SUVs. With Ford dedicated to electrifying its iconic nameplates, the “rugged SUV” is almost certainly an electric version of the new Bronco off-road SUV. A hybrid version of the Bronco is coming, too, Ford previously said.

There aren’t currently any other new mid-size three-row electric SUVs on the horizon, although Tesla has offered a third-row option in its Model X and Model Y, but they’re extremely small. The Rivian R1S is expected sometime this year but isn’t out yet. The Explorer is currently available with a 300-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 making 365 or 400 horsepower, or a hybrid 3.3-liter V-6. Since the new F-150 Lightning electric pickup looks similar to the gasoline-powered trucks, we expect the electric Explorer to take a similar approach. The F-150 Lightning’s interior is similar to the gas version, too, but the higher trims have a larger 15.5-inch touchscreen powered by Ford’s Sync 4A infotainment system (also found in the Mustang Mach-E), which should make its way into these future electrics from Ford.Ford didn’t say when we’ll be seeing its upcoming electric vehicles, only that more details will be shared later. The F-150 Lightning’s base price is in line with the similarly equipped gas version, and we could expect the same for the forthcoming electric Explorer. The Ford Explorer currently starts at $33,920.
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San Francisco’s Academy of Art is auctioning off its vast collection of classic cars.Many of the cars are examples of prewar coachbuilding—beautiful, but perhaps not particularly relevant to modern car design.Not everything from the collection is priced out of reach, with over 100 lots meaning plenty of variety.The only constant in art is change. After all, style, design, and technique are constantly evolving, being destroyed, and rebuilt from basic elements. It’s the same thing in car design, where ideas and elements can be brought forward from the past and reimagined or break from tradition entirely. Thus, while no one would classify a 1933 Chrysler Custom Imperial Dual-Windshield Phaeton as anything other than a hand-built rolling piece of art, it’s perhaps not the best teaching tool for training car designers in 2025.Broad Arrow AuctionsThis Phaeton, along with over 1o0 other vintage cars, goes up for sale this weekend, part of the San Francisco Academy of Art collection being auctioned by Broad Arrow. There are plenty of significant cars going under the hammer, including a 1934 Packard Twelve said to have been owned by Cesar Romero, a V-16-powered 1932 Marmon convertible sedan, and a fabulous 1937 Squire Corsica Drophead coupe.Broad Arrow AuctionsMany of these cars are Pebble Beach Concours veterans, their hand-shaped bodies crafted the traditional way. But there are also plenty of more modern cars in the auction listing mix, including fare that doesn’t require deep pockets. Yes, you’ll probably have to pony up well over $1 million for the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing that’s on offer, but there’s also a perfectly restored MGB GT Special in a fetching shade of green or a ’67 Volvo 1800 S with just 10,000 miles on it. Neither is expected to fetch more than what a new CR-V would cost.The Academy of Art’s car collection was amassed by the late university president Richard A. Stephens, son of the academy’s founder. Together with his daughter Elisa Stephens and the current president, he built a large and varied collection that was open to the public. Elisa Stephens has said the auction’s intent is to rebuild the collection around more modern cars, those from 1960 and after.Broad Arrow AuctionsBroad Arrow AuctionsAll the classics you might expect are here, from a Jaguar E-type to a split-window Corvette Sting Ray. There are also some fun oddballs too, such as an aquatic Amphicar, a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller, and a very early ripple-bonnet Citroën 2CV. One of the coolest no-reserve cars is perhaps an unrestored 1963 Buck Riviera in Regal Black with the 340-hp 425-cubic-inch engine and hideaway headlamps. It’s a close match for the car driven by Leonard Nimoy when he was playing Spock in the original Star Trek series.Broad Arrow AuctionsAs for the cars that will take the place of these mostly early classics, the academy has only vaguely indicated that there will be more muscle-era cars and more Japanese cars. However, it’s easy to make an educated guess as to two museum-quality Mazdas that might be showing up.After all, the head of the Academy of Art’s auto design program is run by none other than Tom Matano, who had his hands on both the NA-chassis Miata and the third-generation RX-7 twin-turbo. Both those cars have stood the test of time long enough to go from mass-produced sports cars to works of art in their own right. And it can only be a good thing if tomorrow’s car designers find inspiration in the pop-up-headlamp-friendly face of a happy little Mazda.Related StoriesBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More