Aurelia Butler

Mansory just unveiled what may be its worst design yet—or best, depending on your point of view. The design in question is Mansory’s “Elongation” Tesla Cybertruck, which plasters the EV truck with heaps of carbon fiber and a pair of roof floodlights. The interior is equally loud and features a mixture of gray, white, and yellow accents, and as much carbon fiber as the customer wants, of course. As the old idiom goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Oftentimes, art is as much about what we bring to the table as it is about what the artist has made. That said, Mansory’s latest creation might be the ugliest thing to ever come out of the German modification company’s doors.MansoryMansoryYou’re free to disagree, of course. Perhaps you like the look of the Mansory “Elongation.” Mansory is known for taking high-end and often beautiful cars and making them visually louder with the addition of copious amounts of carbon fiber, which—at least in this author’s humble opinion—ruins otherwise beautiful pieces of art. On the other hand, the Tesla Cybertruck started life as the gaudiest mobile refrigerator to ever grace Dwight D. Eisenhower’s interstate system. Sure, Mansory took an ugly thing and made it look worse, but at least it didn’t ruin an artistic masterpiece. MansoryThe Elongation Cybertruck swaps out the front and rear bumpers for a set of carbon-fiber replacements with illuminated badging. Carbon fender flares and side sills connect the two ends of the truck. The mirror caps are carbon fiber, as are the fake air vents and front hood. Mansory says the distinct winglets at the rear mark the Elongation as a “real” Mansory at first glance. The inside is just as over the top. Mansory says customers will have complete control over customization. The version pictured here shows a mix of gray, white, and yellow. Customers can order hard surfaces in even more carbon if they want to match the exterior. Inside and out, the Mansory Cybertruck is certainly going to turn heads wherever it goes. Plus, on second thought, Mansory should probably be tried by the International Court of Justice for what it did to the Ford GT.More Mansory CreationsJack 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

In an interview with ABC News, Mercedes design chief Gorden Wagener conceded that “screens are not luxury.” Wagener argued that true luxury is communicated to customers through “craftsmanship and sophistication.”Still, Mercedes won’t ditch its Hyperscreen, and Wagener said the company is developing better software and more content to make the massive screens worth having.While most modern cars have a large touchscreen on the dashboard, along with a digital gauge cluster behind the steering wheel, Mercedes-Benz took the trend to new extremes a few years ago with the electric EQS sedan’s Hyperscreen. The dash-spanning setup consists of three screens behind one continuous piece of glass that stretches the width of the car. Despite Mercedes’s screen innovation, its chief design officer Gorden Wagener recently said in an interview with ABC News that “screens are not luxury.” The main reason behind Wagener’s opinion is that big screens aren’t uncommon, especially for Mercedes’s wealthy clientele. “You have a better—and bigger—TV at home, right?” he stated. Plus, new cars, especially in the premium segments, tend to feature at least one screen measuring 10 inches or more. Bigger and bigger displays aren’t enough to differentiate Mercedes, especially as more cars start to feature dedicated screens for the front passenger, such as the Ferrari Purosangue, Ram 1500, and Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Mercedes-BenzThe Superscreen in the E-class sedan.”So, we have to create luxury beyond the screen,” Wagener explained. However, the design boss didn’t get specific about how Mercedes aims to create that feeling of luxury, simply stating that what denotes a true luxury vehicle is “craftsmanship and sophistication.”Despite Wagener’s comments, Mercedes isn’t about to ditch the gigantic displays. The S-class sedan, the company’s flagship car, is set for a substantial refresh for the 2026 model year, which will likely see the EQS’s Hyperscreen adorn the sedan’s dashboard. Plus, the latest E-class only arrived two model years ago with the Superscreen, a slightly more modest take on digital overload.While the screens will stick around, Mercedes plans to do more to make the displays worth having. The concession about the use of bigger and flashier screens to denote a high-end vehicle came after ABC News asked about the customer response to units such as the Hyperscreen found in the EQS electric sedan. Wagener noted that the hardware is “very good”—Mercedes’s displays look futuristic and feature crisp graphics—but he also said the software “hasn’t been that good.” The E-class’s infotainment system packs an array of applications such as TikTok, Angry Birds, and the ability to take Zoom video calls, but Mercedes is cooking up even more special content for its oversized displays. “Because when you have a big screen, you want to have great content on it,” Wagener told ABC News. “So we’re working on content that is more specific and more entertaining.” More Mercedes NewsCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More

Ford filed a new trademark with the USPTO that could point to a Mustang sedan being built in the near future. The company filed to trademark the name “Mach 4,” conjuring images of Ford’s iconic pony car stretched to accommodate a set of rear doors. The idea of a four-door Mustang isn’t totally new, the company has been selling an electric SUV called the Mustang Mach-E for four years, after all.Automotive subbrands are all the rage these days. Everyone’s got one. GMC spun off the Hummer into its own thing, Jeep revived the Wagoneer as its own brand, and Chevy is reportedly preparing to spin Corvette into a standalone brand. Thanks to the introduction of the Mustang Mach-E several years ago, Ford also knows how to transform a popular nameplate into something new. Mach 4 a Mustang Sedan?Now, a new report from Ford Authority revealed that Ford has applied for a new trademark with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) for the name “Mach 4.” The application was filed on February 25. According to the USPTO site, the trademark covers “Motor vehicles, namely gasoline and electric automobiles, pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles, and their structural parts.”Car and DriverRumors that Ford will build a Mustang sedan have been around for years, even going as far back as the Mustang’s first generation, according to Ford Authority. Fast forward to 2018, and Ford reportedly showed a concept model to dealers before the project was shelved. The outlet also reported that last May, Ford CEO Jim Farley said he “believes” the automaker could build a four-door Mustang as long as it has “all the performance and attitude of the original.”There’s also the possibility that this Mach 4 trademark somehow relates to the standalone Raptor supercar Ford has teased in the past. Nothing is known about that particular project, but in January, Farley told Top Gear, “We’re in the middle of creating something, so we don’t have all the answers yet, but the question is, should Ford make an off-road supercar? Not a version of a car, a standalone supercar.” FordGiven that Ford has already angered the feistiest of Mustang purists with the electric Mustang Mach-E, there’s a real possibility that the automaker could introduce a sedan. Then again, none of the previous Mustang sedan rumors have amounted to anything, so we’ll have to wait and see if this trademark also turns into a nothingburger. Related StoriesJack 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