Calling the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS a Tesla slayer this early in the game seems like a stretch–or maybe it’s not. Inspired by the EQS concept from the 2019 Frankfurt show, the production EQS is set to arrive on our shores in 2021 riding on an EV-specific platform with room for a battery pack large enough […]
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Hummer is back, albeit as a sub-brand of GMC, not a standalone brand within General Motors. Don’t call it a gas guzzler, either, because the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup truck will soon welcome an SUV companion that also trades the internal combustion engine of Hummers past for a battery-electric powertrain.
With production set for GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the GMC Hummer EV SUV likely won’t arrive until sometime in 2022 as a 2023 model. While GM isn’t saying much about the SUV’s technical details, the company did announce the Hummer EV truck will have 1,000 horsepower and accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 3.0 seconds. Figure the same will apply to the SUV.
Additionally, the SUV will sport the same classic Hummer design cues as its truck kin (evidenced by a recent leak of the EV SUV during a GM investor call). This includes a relatively upright windshield, a wide maw, short overhangs, and a spare tire mounted to its rear. LED headlights that span the width of the vehicle, however, clearly mark this as a different breed of Hummer. Those within the Hummer SUV’s cabin have the ability to experience a fully immersive experience with the outside world, too. Thank the truck’s set of Jeep-like removable roof panels that are sure to find their way to the SUV. All this style will surely come at a cost, though, and the SUV may even break the six-figure barrier when optioned out.
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GM retired the Hummer line of vehicles nearly a decade ago after expanding the brand’s lineup to include the H2 and H3 SUVs and trucks. While the new Hummer enters the market as a GMC, there’s always the possibility that GM will once again break the brand out on its own. After all, stranger things have happened. More
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But what if the Griswold’s road trip took place a decade later? Would the family still hit the road in a station wagon? Maybe. Then again, Clark might have decided to join the hoards of families embracing truck-based SUVs such as the still rather new Ford Explorer. For better or worse, such a vision of this alternate timeline exists and is pictured here. The rather unfortunate vehicle bears the name Cherokee Truckster.
Presumably a tie-in between the fictional Wagon Queen brand and Ford, the 1994 Ford Explorer Cherokee Truckster proudly wears its Blue Oval and Explorer badges. However, the Cherokee Truckster kit adds an unmistakably Family Truckster-inspired style to Ford’s family SUV. Green paint? Check. (This is reportedly one of just three Explorers to leave the factory in this hue.) Tacky faux wood paneling? Yep. Loads of luggage tied to the roof racks? You know it.
This special Explorer also features a host of era-specific additions, too, such as oversized running boards, large mud flaps, and tacky chrome bits surrounding the wheel wells and lower door panels. Look past the exterior bits, though, and this looks like any run-of-the-mill XLT-grade 1994 Explorer, from its gray cloth interior to its 4.0-liter V-6 engine.
Then again, would you expect Clark Griswold, of all people, to pay extra for a vehicle with meaningful comfort and convenience or performance upgrades? Of course not. Clark’s the sort of sucker to get upsold on an extra such as the Cherokee Truckster package—one that adds little substance, but reeks of terrible taste.
Not that we’d ever say such things about the individual or family that ultimately signs the title of this Cherokee Truckster (at least not to their faces), which is set to hit the block at Mecum’s upcoming Kissimmee, Florida auction. Credit our colleagues at Motor1.com for making us aware of this piece of vehicular fan fiction. More
Subaru’s BRZ sports car skips the 2021 model year as it gears up for a redesign. Before you go out and snap up one of the remaining 2020 models left on dealer lots, take a look with us at its upcoming replacement. Marking the model’s second generation, the 2022 BRZ will build on the bones of its predecessor by welcoming significant dynamic and styling improvements. In other words, the 2022 Subaru BRZ promises to fix the foibles of its forebear while continuing to affordably deliver rear-drive sports car athleticism.
2022 Subaru BRZ: Turbo Power?
Despite sharing its basic rear-drive architecture with the prior BRZ, the new model ought to benefit from a number of dynamic alterations, including additional chassis bracing and reworked suspension pieces. Nevertheless, we expect the 2022 BRZ to remain just as playful as the first-gen model.
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In fact, it may even offer more enjoyment from the driver’s seat. Credit the arrival of a new 2.4-liter flat-four engine. Like the smaller 2.0-liter unit it replaces, the new BRZ powerplant once again forgoes forced induction. That said, the bigger four-cylinder ought to improve upon the 2.0-liter’s 205-hp peak output figure while also—hopefully—leaving behind the outgoing engine’s more agricultural qualities.
The 2022 BRZ will surely continue to offer buyers the option to row their own gears courtesy of a standard six-speed manual gearbox. An automatic transmission with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters will almost certainly find its way to the options menu. Similarly, we expect Subaru to bring back the BRZ’s optional Performance package, which adds items such as stickier rubber, better brakes, and suspension upgrades to the 2020 BRZ.
2022 Subaru BRZ: 2 + 2 = Fun
Unlike its closest competitor, the two-seat Mazda MX-5 Miata, the 2022 BRZ will return with seating for four courtesy of a small rear bench seat with room for two. We expect it will retain the ability to swallow four sets of wheels (with tires mounted) inside the trunk and cabin with the rear seats folded, as can today’s BRZ; the unusual feature allows owners to drive to the track with a separate, harder-core set of wheels of tires and swap them on for lapping so as to avoid wearing out their street rubber.
Although its interior space will remain largely the same as before, the BRZ’s insides should look and feel more welcoming. Credit a new dashboard design that uses higher-end materials and brings Subaru’s latest infotainment setup into the small sports car’s cabin. Look for an available touchscreen infotainment system that’s notably larger than the outgoing car’s 7.0-inch unit.
2022 Subaru BRZ: Rear-Drive Style
Images of 2022 BRZ test vehicles reveal an evolutionary design that appears to carry over the same essential greenhouse and proportions (including a relatively long hood and stubby rear end) from the previous model. Look closely at the details, though, and you’ll spot a number of noteworthy changes, such as a more pronounced trunk lip and larger taillights that appear to blend with the trunk’s cutlines.
Larger and vertically oriented—and seemingly functional—side vents now reside aft of the front wheels, as opposed to the slim, horizontal units that lived fore of the old car’s windshield base. Likewise, expect the new BRZ to feature a front end with a wider grille and more upright headlights—likely featuring standard LED illumination.
2022 Subaru BRZ: Price and On-Sale Date
Look for Subaru to reveal the 2022 BRZ before the end of the year with sales kicking off before the middle of 2021. Pricing ought to remain close to that of the 2020 model, which starts at $29,745. More
