Aurelia Butler

Whether you’re using Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Craigslist, there are benefits and risks to buying or selling a car. Scams and privacy concerns are high on the list of things to watch out for.Facebook, for example, has a billion people using Marketplace, and it relies on automated anti-fraud software as well as around 400 contract workers to police those transactions, according to a new ProPublica report.eBay offers an escrow service and can provide refunds, and Craigslist now requires car sellers to pay for their listing, which has reduced fraud. But it still helps to educate yourself.It’s not easy to keep a billion people following the rules. That’s the problem with Facebook Marketplace, which now has that many people on the site buying and selling goods. But success is no excuse for endangering users, which brings us to ProPublica’s recent research on the social media giant and how Facebook allowed thousands of Marketplace listings that break the company’s own rules, risking users’ safety.

Obviously, thousands of people have safely sold their car or truck using sites like Marketplace or eBay or Craigslist. And thousands more will. But not everyone, as a 2015 story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows. There, robbers used Craigslist to offer deals on vehicles including a 2011 Honda Accord and a 2007 Dodge Caliber but requested the buyers show up with cash. Then, when they did, the “sellers” instead robbed the interested buyers. Stories like these are not hard to find, and may help encourage sellers and buyers to learn what safety measures are in place—and which actions it makes sense to take on their own—when car dealing online.

Facebook Marketplace

ProPublica notes that Facebook uses a few different methods to keep Marketplace safe and reliable. First, there is anti-fraud software to detect scams, but since this isn’t the most accurate tech, Facebook also uses around 400 Accenture employees to “respond to user complaints and to review listings flagged by the software,” ProPublica said. One of the problems here is that these employees were given access to Facebook Messenger inboxes, which led to them spying on people. A Facebook spokesperson told ProPublica this access has been changed. Another issue is that these 400 workers each need to deal with around 600 complaints or help requests a day, giving them less than a minute to deal with each one. ProPublica published its own guide giving tips to “avoid being scammed” on the Marketplace that’s worth a look. Craigslist and eBay, which have been in the classified sales game longer than Facebook, seem to have better security measures in place. eBay offers an escrow service and will offer refunds if the sale ends up being fraudulent. Craigslist now also charges people to list a car for sale, and that has lowered the amount of fraud happening on the site, experts told ProPublica.We put together a list of 10 tips to successfully buy a car on Craigslist six years ago, and the safety components we mentioned, like meeting in a public place, if possible, and creating a paper trail in case anything goes wrong, remain valuable. When it comes to buying a car or truck on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook itself says that shoppers should “take some extra time and care” to better understand the deal and that keeping personal information and yourself safe should be a “top priority.” There are similar bits of advice on third-party sites. Home security company ADT recommends seven steps to stay safe when selling items on Craigslist (but most of them would work well on other sites as well), including using a proxy email address, trusting your instincts when it comes to meeting potential buyers and making sure the transaction is worth your time. Given the prices of used cars these days, that last one is likely to be a resounding yes, but it’s still important to keep in mind.
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Jeep revealed the 2022 Grand Cherokee two-row model, and it adds a new 4xe plug-in hybrid that promises 57 MPGe and up to 6000 pounds of towing capabilities. It uses a similar powertrain as the Wrangler 4xe: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with two electric motors and a roughly 14.0-kWh battery that makes a combined 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. The Grand Cherokee 4xe will be on sale early next year in Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, and Summit trims. Jeep says that the Wrangler 4xe, which went on sale earlier this year, is the best selling plug-in hybrid in the U.S. It’s adding to the 4xe lineup (pronounced “four by E”) with the new Grand Cherokee 4xe that uses a similar powertrain, comes standard with four-wheel drive, and will be on sale early next year. On top of that, Jeep says it will offer an electric SUV in every segment by 2025.
The Grand Cherokee 4xe uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with two electric motors, one at the front connected through the accessory belt and the other in place of the transmission’s torque converter, feeding off a roughly 14.0-kWh lithium ion battery pack. Working in harmony, the powertrain produces 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque, the same as the Wrangler PHEV. Jeep says the Grand Cherokee 4xe will achieve 57 MPGe, travel up to 25 miles on the battery alone, and tow up to 6000 pounds.

Eco Coaching pages displayed on the 10.1-inch digital gauge cluster show the plug-in-hybrid powertrain’s power flow, regenerative braking, and scheduled charging. When we tested a Wrangler 4xe, which is EPA-estimated at 49 MPGe, we found the transition between electric driving and hybrid power to be rough. Like the Wrangler, the Grand Cherokee 4xe has buttons on the left of the steering wheel that control hybrid, electric, and eSave, which prioritizes the gas engine to save battery, modes.
The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is available in Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, and Summit trims with the new Trailhawk model adding a front sway bar disconnect, electronically controlled rear locking differential, Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires, and blue accents exclusive to the 4xe model. It will be on sale in the U.S. early next year starting at around $50,000.
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Jeep has revealed the two-row version of the new Grand Cherokee.The 2022 Grand Cherokee will offer a plug-in-hybrid model called 4xe.There’s also a Trailhawk off-road trim level that can be combined with the hybrid powertrain.The Jeep Grand Cherokee has classically been a mid-size SUV with two rows of seats. But Jeep flipped the script with the latest generation, introducing the fifth-generation SUV’s redesign first with a new three-row L model. The company is now getting around to launching the standard-wheelbase version of the new model, and the 2022 Grand Cherokee will arrive in the U.S. later this year to replace the outgoing 2021 two-row model that’s currently being sold alongside the new Grand Cherokee L.The two-row Grand Cherokee has a five-inch shorter wheelbase than the three-row model, and it’s nearly a foot shorter in overall length. But the styling is similar to the Grand Cherokee L’s aside from some trim differences and unique wheel designs. The rear end looks a bit sleeker and features a floating pillar design.Inside, the biggest difference is the seating setup. A three-place second-row bench makes for five-passenger capacity, and neither a third row nor second-row captain’s chairs are available like you’ll find in the L. The dashboard is otherwise similar and offers a digital gauge cluster as standard along with central infotainment screens ranging from 8.4 to 10.1 inches depending on trim level. There’s even an optional screen available for the front passenger that can display functions including audio and navigation.
The two-row model also differentiates itself with a broader lineup that includes an off-road Trailhawk model and a 4xe plug-in-hybrid variant. These two configurations can even be combined into a single Grand Cherokee that offers the opportunity for electric driving in off-road settings. We’ve detailed the 4xe powertrain separately, but the basics are the same as in the Wrangler 4xe: a total of 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet from a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four gasoline engine plus two electric motors. Jeep claims an electric driving range estimate of 25 miles on a full charge.

The nonhybrid powertrains are the same for the two-row and three-row models. A 3.6-liter V-6 with 293 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque is standard, while a 5.7-liter V-8 with 357 hp and 390 pound-feet of torque is optional. Rear-wheel drive is standard with the V-6 and a choice of several different four-wheel-drive systems are optional, while the V-8 comes only with four-wheel drive. An eight-speed automatic is standard across the board.The trim levels comprise Laredo, Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, and Summit, with the V-8 optional on the latter three models. The 4xe hybrid setup is available on all but the base Laredo. There’s a wide range of equipment levels contained within the broad lineup, with the Laredo making do with cloth seats, 17-inch wheels, and black plastic exterior trim and the Summit loading up with tons of chrome, 20-inch wheels, fancy leather upholstery, and a McIntosh audio system.Many driver-assistance features are standard equipment, with the notable optional systems including a 360-degree camera system, drowsy driver detection, and a night-vision camera. A trailer-towing package is also optional; the V-6 can tow up to 6200 pounds, the V-8 up to 7200 pounds, and the 4xe up to 6000 pounds.
The only versions of the Grand Cherokee that earn Jeep’s “Trail Rated” badge are the Overland with an optional off-road package and the Trailhawk. The Trailhawk features Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires, an air suspension with increased ground clearance, and the most sophisticated four-wheel-drive system called Quadra-Drive II that has a transfer case and an electronic limited-slip rear differential. It also has skid plates, red tow hooks (blue if you opt for the 4xe), and a hood decal.Jeep has yet to announce prices for the 2022 Grand Cherokee lineup, but we expect it to start a few thousand dollars lower than the Grand Cherokee L, which ranges from $40,570 for the base Laredo up to $64,194 for a Summit Reserve. Nonhybrid models will go on sale first, in the fourth quarter of 2021, while the Grand Cherokee 4xe will arrive in the U.S. in early 2022.
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Rolls-Royce has announced that its latest product, the Spectre, will be a two-door coupe that is fully electric. The Spectre sits on the same Rolls Architecture of Luxury as the existing range. The automaker says it will be on sale by end of 2023—and that all Rolls-Royce vehicles will be electric by decade’s end.Rolls-Royce has long seemed to be a brand waiting for electrification, something the company has been dropping increasingly broad hints about for more than a decade. It showed an EV concept based on the previous-generation Phantom—named the 102EX—at the Geneva auto show in 2011, and a much more radical, spat-wearing 103EX five years later. More recently, it said its entire portfolio will be fully electric by 2030.

Now the company has released some more details about what will become the first fully electric Rolls-Royce production car. The Spectre will be on sale by the end of 2023, and although Rolls-Royce has only released these few images of a slogan-strewn prototype, this makes clear that the car in question is a coupe with what appears to be rear-hinged doors. The company says that road driving of prototype versions is about to begin, which will cover 1.5 million miles of testing around the world before the launch.

Rolls-Royce

Other details are lacking. We know that the Spectre will sit on the modular Architecture of Luxury aluminum platform that underpins the Phantom, Cullinan, and Ghost. No details have been released about the future car’s powertrain, but Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has previously confirmed to us that any electric Rolls would need to offer at least the same level as performance as that provided by the company’s existing V-12–powered models. These are famed for their refinement and wafty manners but are impressively potent when unleashed; the company claims a 4.3-second zero-to-60-mph time for the current Ghost. So we should consider that a baseline.

Rolls-Royce

The 102EX used a 71.0-kWh battery pack and a pair of electric motors that delivered a combined 389 horsepower to the rear axle, but we can safely expect the production Spectre to be considerably more potent, and also to substantially better the modest 124 miles of range that was claimed for that concept.

Rolls-Royce

While we have waited a long time for the first electric Rolls-Royce, the company is keen to point out that it could have arrived far sooner. Before jointly founding the semi-autonomous company Charles Rolls experienced an early electric car called the Columbia and is reported to have said: “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged. But for now I do not anticipate they will be very serviceable—at least for many years to come.”That delay looks set to be 123 years—but it’s better late than never. While Rolls-Royce says the Spectre name has been chosen to match the equally ethereal Ghost, Phantom, and Wraith, it has thrown up a strange PR coincidence: the announcement is being made on the same day the new James Bond movie No Time To Die officially opens in the U.K., with the car carrying the same name as 007’s last cinematic outing, 2015’s Spectre. Could the world’s most famous spy be set to switch his automotive loyalties in future iterations of the long-running franchise?
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Lucid Motors held a factory-commissioning ceremony in Casa Grande, Arizona, today to celebrate the start of production of the Lucid Air sedan.The first customer-quality cars were driven off the line, indicating the Lucid Air has received full EPA and FVMSS safety certification.Customer deliveries of the 2022 Lucid Air Dream Edition are set to begin in late October, with other variants to follow.An excited group of Lucid Air Dream reservation holders, Lucid dignitaries, and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey were on hand today to watch the first customer-quality 2022 Lucid Air cars roll off the assembly line today. Analysts, investors, and members of the media, including Car and Driver, were also present. The move signifies that the Lucid Air sedan has received full FPA and FMVSS safety certification, and it paves the way for the first 2022 Lucid Air Dream Edition customer deliveries in late October.Lucid’s facility, dubbed the Advanced Manufacturing Plant (AMP-1), not only builds the cars themselves, but an adjoining Lucid Powertrain Manufacturing (LPM-1) facility also assembles major powertrain components such as the electric motors, power electronics, and battery packs. A Lucid representative told C/D that complete control over both powertrain design and manufacturing is one reason why the Dream Edition can produce as much as 1111 horsepower and deliver up to an EPA-certified 520 miles of driving range.

Fueleconomy.gov

The limited production cap of the waitlisted Dream Edition is now set at 520 cars to celebrate that maximum range achievement, but the Casa Grande, Arizona, plant will also build the $139,000 Lucid Air Grand Touring. This model makes some 800 horsepower and has been certified to have a range of 516 miles when equipped with the standard 19-inch wheels and tires. Production of the lower-cost Touring and Pure models will follow after they receive their EPA certifications.

Lucid Motors

In 2023 the AMP-1 plant is set to begin production of an SUV that is known by the name Project Gravity. Little else has been made public, and a reservation portal for the SUV has not yet opened on the Lucid website. This delay seems like a strategic decision to allow the new AMP-1 plant to ramp up smoothly before a potentially higher-volume SUV is added to the production mix.

Currently, Lucid has some 13,000 reservation holders. It will be interesting to see how that changes now that the plant is up and running. It’s common practice for high-end models to be produced first, so it will be interesting to see what happens once production of the $77,400 Lucid Air Pure gets underway. Production is an important milestone, and Lucid should be congratulated for this achievement. But the realities of sustained sales, delivery, build quality, and after-sale service are still big unknowns. These have proven to be challenging for all-new car companies, so let’s hope the Lucid Air sedan’s impressive power and range specs are harbingers of how the customer experience will pan out.
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