Motor News

The 2023 Nissan Z is the new hotness on the sports-car scene. What else do you expect when such an iconic nameplate gets a substantial redesign? Still, that spotlight comes with scrutiny, and opinions are mixed on where the new Z car stands among its peers. We’ve tested it (twice) and put it up against natural rivals like the Toyota Supra 3.0 as well as unnatural ones like the Ford Mustang Mach 1. While the Nissan fell short in both face-offs, it doesn’t mean it’s undesirable. To identify our ideal versions, we set three of our editors loose on the Z’s online configurator. Somehow, without any planning (pinky promise), each person picked one of the three distinct trims to spec. These are what they chose:Eric Stafford’s $43,110 Nissan Z Sport

Nissan

Nissan

Is the Nissan Z without the limited-slip diff, upgraded brakes, and stickier tires as good as the Performance model that has all that equipment? Probably not. But I have a different way of looking at it. The Performance model wasn’t as good as the BMW M240i, Ford Mustang Mach 1, or Toyota Supra 3.0 in our comparison test. That tells me I’d be better off saving the $10K and sticking with the base-level Z Sport trim. After all, it has the same 400-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 as the pricier version. Plus, I’d have extra money to purchase better summer tires than the Bridgestone Potenza S007s found on the Performance. The Z’s price isn’t affected whether I choose the nine-speed automatic or the six-speed manual, but I’d pick the latter because, Duh. My Sport model would also have the no-cost Black Diamond Pearl paint, but I’d dress up its appearance with the dealer-installed chin spoiler ($170) and rear spoiler ($63o). Unfortunately, I’m stuck with a boring black cloth interior, as there are no other color options or materials choices on the base model. I’d still enhance the space with the $400 illuminated sill plates and the $445 ambient interior lighting to make it feel a little ritzier after dark. All told, my ’23 Z Sport totals $43,110. —Eric StaffordJack Fitzgerald’s $54,470 Nissan Z Performance

Nissan

Nissan

The whole point of the Z is having fun without breaking the bank, right? Every new Z gets the same amount of power, but splurge a little and Nissan will add a few performance features. That’s why I chose the Z Performance model, which upgrades the brakes, tightens the suspension, and provides a limited-slip differential. I went for the two-tone paint with Passion Red and Super Black on the roof. The paint ran me $1700, but heck, it’s a sports car. Why go boring on the color? I added the clear hood protector for another $170. Rather than spend on exterior options—truthfully, there aren’t many—why not save some money for a body kit? My interior options ran another $1600, with the virtual key and dual-camera recording system dealing the brunt of the damage. I also splurged on illuminated door panels to remind myself what I bought each time I get in and out of the car. The total out the door on my mostly economical, performance-oriented Z comes to $54,470. —Jack FitzgeraldAustin Irwin’s $55,310 Nissan Z Proto Spec

Nissan

Nissan

Z cars love a swanky special edition, don’t they? Remember the 280Z with the Zap appearance package? It was sold coated in Sunburst Yellow paint, with lovely 1970s striping and rear window louvers that definitely got ruined by a walnut tree later in life. It would eventually be outdone by the 1988 300ZX’s Super Shiro edition with bright white metallic paint, Recaro bucket seats, and arguably the best coil springs from the many Z31 iterations of that generation’s five-year run. Of course, a NISMO 350Z would follow, and then the 370Z would show up in 2009 to commemorate not only a 40th Anniversary Edition but also a 50th Anniversary Edition a decade later. And as a fellow Z31 owner myself, special might as well be my middle name. I’d spring for the most precious of the current Zs, the top Proto Spec. Only 240 will be sold in the U.S., and according to Nissan’s website, four of them are within 50 miles of my cubicle. Actually, after refreshing the website, that number curiously grew to 47. However, a more serious investigation revealed they were all spoken for long ago. So it looks like I’m not getting another Z after all. Oh well. When one eventually shows up on Bring a Trailer, which—like Car and Driver—is part of Hearst Autos, it will wear the Proto Spec’s two-tone Ikazuchi Yellow paint with a Super Black roof. It will also have a set of exclusive bronze 19-inch Rays Engineering forged wheels, yellow Akebono brake calipers, and various bits and pieces of yellow interior trim. I’d of course prefer the six-speed manual with automatic rev matching versus the nine-speed automatic. As a purist, it’s my responsibility, despite the personal sacrifice, to purchase the weird editions with paint options as strange as fishing lures. Sure, you can get the Ikazuchi Yellow on any of the Z trims, but nobody likes a pretender. Later, when (I hope) Nissan gives its newest sports car the NISMO treatment, I’ll be quicker with the build-and-price tool. Although, if the special launch model’s $55,310 pricing is any indication, I might need to sell a few project cars before adding a future collectible to my cart. —Austin IrwinDave Beard’s $45,895 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE . . . Wait, What?I would drive right past the Nissan dealer and buy a Mustang or Camaro. A ’22 Camaro SS with the 1LE Track Performance package starts at $45,895—only $4880 more than an unoptioned Z Sport manual. —David Beard

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

• The original CTS-V helped change Cadillac’s image, and a 2005 model is currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer.• The CTS-V up for sale is black with a light-colored interior, and it’s modified with a badass-sounding cat-back exhaust.• With the current bidding at $12,525, the no-reserve auction ends in four days on Monday, August 15.It’s the car that took GM’s famous luxury brand from stodgy to sporty and helped transform Cadillac’s image. It was also Caddy’s first ever V model, tuned on the Nürburgring to take on BMW’s M cars, and it set the stage for some of the best high-performance sedans the world has ever seen. It’s none other than the original CTS-V. And a beautiful black, lightly modified 2005 model is currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer, which—like Car and Driver—is part of Hearst Autos.

Compared with the modern-day Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing—you know, the one with 668 horsepower—the first-generation CTS-V featured only 400 ponies. That and its 395 pound-feet of torque fed the rear wheels via a naturally aspirated 5.7-liter LS6 V-8. The only way to shift gears was through a six-speed manual. We tested an ’05 CTS-V back in the day. It took 4.8 ticks to go from zero to 60 mph and 13.2 seconds at 109 mph to run the quarter-mile. It also placed second in a comparison test with the Audi S4 (first) and Mercedes-Benz C55 (third).

Bring a Trailer

Sure, the OG Cadillac CTS-V wasn’t perfect. In that comparo alone we experienced some rear-wheel hop during all-out launches, issues with fuel starvation at the racetrack, and griped about its driver comfort and NVH levels, among other things. But that was then and this is now. While I’ve personally never driven a CTS-V of this vintage, I can’t help but be drawn to it. That’s mostly because 400-hp, V-8-powered, rear-drive, manual-equipped sedans that I can actually afford aren’t thick on the ground.
This content is imported from YouTube. 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.

The one that’s currently up for auction on BaT even has modifications that I’d want to make myself, namely the aftermarket cat-back exhaust system. As heard in the cold-start video above, it gives the Caddy’s pushrod engine an unmistakable baritone. Other add-ons include a cold-air intake and a skip-shift kit. The only thing I’m not in love with about this car is the light color of its leather seats, headliner, and carpeting. I just think it creates a weird contrast with the black dashboard and door panels. Plus, it doesn’t hide dirt very well.

Bring a Trailer

With that said, I’ve been a big fan of the CTS-V since it debuted back in 2004. I think the design, which is admittedly polarizing, remains distinctive. I’m particularly fond of the V’s billet grille, smoked headlights, and seven-spoke 18-inch wheels. The one on the BaT website currently has a bid of $12,525. There’s no reserve, and the auction is set to end on Monday, August 15.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

The 2023 Nissan Titan’s starting price rises by just $890 to $41,495, and the rest of the lineup sees similarly small price hikes.Starting at $49,135 (up $960), the 2023 Nissan Titan XD is also only slightly more expensive than last year.Nissan now makes wireless Apple CarPlay standard on the Pro-4X and Platinum Reserve trims.Price hikes are common when vehicles enter a new model year, but lately, they’ve been a lot higher than normal due to myriad economic factors. While Ford and Chevy have raised the prices of their latest half-ton pickup trucks by thousands of dollars, Nissan is taking a different approach, raising the starting price of the 2023 Titan by just $890 to $41,495. Likewise, no other model costs $1230 more than last year.That $41,495 is for the entry-level S trim with the extended King Cab body style and rear-wheel drive. Configured with the crew cab and all-wheel drive, the ’23 Titan S starts at $46,475 (up $940). Similarly small price hikes can be seen across the rest of the lineup as well as with the heavy-duty-ish Titan XD.

The regular Titan’s mid-level SV and off-road-oriented Pro-4X trim levels now start at $46,875 and $54,605, respectively. The latter is still only offered with a crew cab and four-wheel drive, but neither model’s price is more than $1110 higher than before. The same goes for the top-tier Platinum Reserve which now starts at $60,465 (up $1170). When it comes to the Titan XD lineup, all models come standard with all-wheel drive and the crew-cab body style. For 2023, the base S trim starts at $49,135 (up $960), the SV is up $1000 to $52,955, the Pro-4X starts at $58,915 (up $1150), and the Platinum Reserve’s starting price rises the most by $1230 to $66,865.

Nissan

Along with the Titan and Titan XD’s slighter higher prices for the 2023 model year comes a desirable new feature. The Pro-4X and Platinum Reserve now include wireless Apple CarPlay as standard. Unfortunately, a wired connection is still required on all other models. Nissan also re-introduces the Midnight Edition package, but it’s only offered on SV models with the crew cab. As advertised, it includes black 20-inch wheels as well as copious amounts of other black exterior and interior bits. Every Nissan Titan and Titan XD continue to be powered by a 400-hp 5.5-liter V-8 hooked up to a nine-speed automatic transmission. The 2023 models are on sale now.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

The 2023 GMC Canyon adds a sibling to the off-roading ZR2 Colorado in the form of the AT4X. GMC’s mid-size truck has been redesigned with a wider track and strong proportions.Along with the beefed-up exterior, the new Canyon also features a redesigned interior with an 11.3-inch touchscreen. Two weeks after Chevy unveiled the new Colorado, GMC has pulled the sheet back on the 2023 Canyon, revealing newly squared-off styling for the mid-size GMC truck. From the look of things, GMC has been force-feeding the Canyon scoops of pre-workout and creatine for the last year in a bulking effort. It worked. The 2023 Canyon is entering its third generation alongside its GM sibling, the Chevy Colorado. GMC is eager to stay on the more luxurious end of the mid-size-truck market, hitting the Canyon with a spritz of luxury. Each trim line comes with a color scheme unique to that trim. The Canyon sits on a new, wider track than previous years and comes with a 2.0-inch lift on Elevation, AT4, and Denali trims, with a 3.0-inch lift reserved for the AT4X.The new AT4X will come at a $64,000-plus price, nearly $20,000 higher than the 2022 ZR2’s MSRP. That price launches it past competitors including the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and Ford Ranger Raptor, landing it in the ballpark closer to off-roading monsters like the Bronco Raptor. According to GMC, the price of the Elevation will also be going up, starting at an estimated $41,495. The AT4, which GMC told us was the most popular Canyon sold in the last generation, is priced at a more reasonable $42,495.
All New EverythingMuch like with the Colorado, GMC is paring down the options this year. Each Canyon will come in a four-door crew-cab configuration. Unlike with the Colorado, each new Canyon will come equipped with the same 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. No official fuel economy numbers have been published yet, and none were supplied by the manufacturer, though the engines are equipped with active fuel management and stop/start technology. Equipped with the trailer package, the new Canyon will be able to tow up to 7700 pounds. That figure drops to 6000 pounds in the AT4X model, and a further 500 pounds for the AT4Xs equipped with the Edition 1 package.

The Canyon improves its approach angle this year to 36.9 degrees. Slightly worse than the 38.3-degree approach of the Chevy ZR2 but better than the 35.0-degree approach on the Tacoma TRD Pro. The improved approach angle comes with the front air dam being removed, and the front axle moving farther forward. The 17-inch wheels found on the AT4X are wrapped in 285/70R-17 Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires to provide optimal traction in suboptimal conditions. Elevation and AT4 trims will come ride on 18-inch wheels, with Denali trims riding high on 20s.
Dynamic suspension spool valve (DSSV) dampers move outboard to aid off-road performance through an improved 9.6-inches of ground clearance (10.7 for AT4X). Standard for the AT4X though available on lower trims, the Canyon features electronic locking front and rear differentials, and there are seven cameras placed around and under the truck, give drivers access to 10 available camera angles, complete with underbody angles to help in dicey off-roading situations. Tough MudderAfter launching the AT4 in 2021 as an altogether capable but admittedly less rugged version of the ZR2 Colorado, the AT4X is here to play. Following after its more rugged big brother, the Sierra 1500 AT4X, the AT4X-ified Canyon is intended to be “the ultimate expression of GMC’s commitment to delivering serious off-road capability,” according to GMC. On top of the four standard drive modes offered for the Canyon, the AT4X receives an exclusive Baja mode intended for high-speed off-road driving situations. The AT4X will be the only Canyon available in the Edition 1 package, which includes a front bash bar, a 30-inch grille-mounted light bar, 17-inch beadlock wheels, a winch, and unique badging, among other goodies.
Much like the Colorado, the Canyon features an integrated 45-inch watertight storage compartment in the tailgate. Lending a hand to practicality, the tailgate also features a midgate height for longer items. Customers sweating over a lack of lashing points can breathe a sigh of relief. GMC was happy to tell us that in response to customer comments, they doubled the tie-down points in the bed of the truck to eight. Luxury Interior . . . Sort OfThe new Canyon gets a lot right about the interior. Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, while physical climate controls are a welcome sight, huddled over a line of auxiliary switches. The AT4X and Denali both get a head-up display as standard, though it is not available on other trims. The dash features an 11.3-inch infotainment system. The higher trims get an 11-inch digital gauge cluster while the lower are stuck with a smaller 8.0-inch version. Opt for the Denali, and you get open-pore wood on the dash featuring a laser-etched design. Quilted leather covers the seats and rides across both the dash and door panels.

GMC

Initial production is expected to start early 2023, with the AT4X having to wait a bit longer until spring 2023.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Acura has announced that it will reveal a new concept car during Monterey Car Week and is teasing it with an image ahead of time. Dubbed the Precision EV, the concept is said to embody “the future of Acura design, electrified.” Acura hasn’t provided many details on the concept just yet, but the teaser video reveals that the electric powertrain will be paired with a flashy design.The teaser shows the front end of the concept, which is painted in a vivid shade of blue. The styling is reminiscent of the design language currently seen on the MDX SUV and TLX sedan—striking, pointed headlights with a check-mark-shaped LED element run into a pentagonal grille. Instead of the quilted mesh seen on Acura’s gas-powered models, the concept’s grille appears to have a blanked-off design with a blue, rhombus-shaped pattern. The air intake carved into the bumper also has an assortment of illuminated rectangular styling cues.

This isn’t the first time Acura has revealed a concept bearing the name Precision. The first Precision concept, revealed back in 2016, debuted the current design language found across Acura’s lineup, with sharply angular lines, crystalline lighting elements, and the “Diamond Pentagon” grille. While that concept took the form of a sleek sedan, the Precision EV concept appears to be much larger with a more SUV-like roofline, and seems to continue in the same design themes as the original Precision concept. The Precision EV will be revealed in full on August 18.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Luxury RV brand Bowlus announced a new, all-electric addition to its lineup, the Volterra, which claims to be the world’s first production EV RV.With satellite internet, 480W solar panels, a 50-gallon fresh water tank, and a 17 kWh battery system, the Volterra is ready to take you on a lengthy, allegedly indefinite, journey.The Volterra, which sleeps four and is just over 27 feet long, starts at a whopping $310,000, making it Bowlus’s most expensive RV by a large margin. When the apocalypse comes, why shouldn’t you hunker down in the height of American-engineered, minimalist luxury? After a long day of fighting zombies and maniacal Guzzoline-obsessed warlords, you deserve to enjoy satellite internet from a memory foam king bed cloaked in sustainable linen after padding around on heated floors. Really, it’s the bare minimum you should ask for when society crumbles and you have to haul your travel trailer into the depths of the wilderness, never to return to the comforts of Suburbia again.

Bowlus

That’s why luxury RV company Bowlus designed their newest model: The Volterra. Bowlus claims the Volterra is the first production all-electric RV in the world, and with its solar panel–battery setup, Bowlus CEO Geneva Long says the Volterra lets you “live off-grid indefinitely.”

Now, that’s a bold claim, and it comes courtesy of two built-in 240W solar panels and two optional 240W solar panels, totaling 480W of AeroSolar power, along with an MPPT solar controller (the most efficient type of controller). This directly charges a 17-kWh battery, the largest in the Bowlus family. Using some quick math and a handful of assumptions, that means that the solar panels would take around 46 peak-sun hours to charge the battery from 0% to 100%.

Bowlus

While this doesn’t account for passive charging while in use, nighttime, or pesky acid rain clouds blowing in, it does give the sense that to live off-grid indefinitely, you would need to limit your power consumption—especially the A/C—which Bowlus concedes. A small price to pay for microwave privileges as the world ends. So maybe the Volterra isn’t quite up for the trials and tribulations of an apocalypse. I mean, who among us? However, the Volterra does offer the opportunity for the luxe off-grid living of many people’s vanlife fantasies and, at its core, a compelling zero-emissions adventure.

Bowlus

Bowlus

Though there is an optional propane backup, the Volterra is meant to be experienced electrically. Not only is the RV itself a contained ecosystem, but it can be recharged by an EV while you drive, and it can give your electric car up to 60 miles of emergency recharge using a 20A outlet.

It also takes advantage of Starlink, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s satellite internet venture, to give owners 250 mbps of remote download speeds anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, with an LTE SIM card available as a backup. Meanwhile, the Volterra’s kitchen features an induction cooktop, an electric stove that, in addition to being safer than normal stovetops, also creates significantly less ambient heat, reducing your need to crank the A/C in a tight space.

Bowlus

Bowlus

Other features of the Volterra include a backup camera, over-air software updates, built-in pet features, and increased water capacity, amounting to 50 gallons of fresh water and 31 gallons of grey water. Otherwise, the rest of the Volterra is pure Bowlus. The aluminum monocoque body is nearly indistinguishable from the brand’s Endless Highways and Terra Firma models, and the interior follows the same floorplan, including a convertible king bed, a large bathroom, a galley, and generous seating. The Volterra, though, comes with a new, lush finish dubbed La Cumbre, which brings linen duvets (plus throw pillows, drapes, you name it), vegan upholstery, and a California sunset-inspired color palette to the table.

Bowlus

So how much will a pampered trip into the great outdoors cost you? Well, the Volterra starts at $310,000, making it the most expensive Bowlus by $25,000, and putting it on the pricer end of travel trailers as a whole. However, it represents the ways that RVing can be improved by EV technology and shows some of the innovations making off-grid life more comfortable, fun, and sustainable. While it will hopefully be a long time before we all retreat into the wilderness to escape evil robot overlords, in the meantime, as Bowlus’s CEO says, the Volterra is a great way to “preserve the great outdoors while you enjoy its splendor.”
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

The Lamborghini Urus has set the production-SUV record at Pikes Peak with a 10:32.064 time.That beats the previous record of 10:49.902 set by a 2018 Bentley Bentayga.The record-breaking Urus, disguised in camouflage, is a new model that Lamborghini will reveal on August 19.When it comes to production SUVs racing up Pikes Peak, there’s a new king of the mountain. It’s the supercar-bred Lamborghini Urus that recently posted a 10:32.064 time. That’s almost 18 seconds quicker than the 2018 Bentley Bentayga that previously held the production-SUV record with a time of 10:49.902. While the Lambo didn’t compete in the official event that was held at the end of June, its time was recorded by Pikes Peak’s official timekeepers.

As seen in the photos, the record-breaking Urus was wrapped in orange camouflage with the phrase “Keep Raising the Bar” on its flanks. It’s Lamborghini’s thinly veiled attempt to disguise the fact that it wasn’t just any old 641-hp Urus that broke the record. Rather, it’s a new model that will be revealed on August 19. Although major details about the upcoming Urus remain under wraps until then, Lamborghini does reveal a few things about the machine that conquered the storied hill-climb course.

Lamborghini

Apart from the required safety equipment, which primarily includes a roll cage and a racing seat with a six-point harness, the Urus is essentially what folks will get with the production version. That includes the standard twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 as well as Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, size 285/40R-22 front and 325/235R-22 rear. Lamborghini says it was involved in the development of that specific rubber, which is said to be the first time Pirelli has offered semi-slick tires designed for an SUV.

Lamborghini

The man responsible for the setting the Pikes Peak record in the Lambo is driver Simone Faggioli. Along with being a Pirelli test driver, he’s also a hill-climb champion who still holds the rear-wheel-drive record that he set during the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Bentley’s next bespoke show car, the Mulliner Batur, is set to debut at 2022’s Monterey Car Week in California later this month.The Batur follows 2020’s Bacalar Speedster, which was offered in a very limited production run of 12 cars.This time around, though, Bentley says the Batur’s styling is a hint at the brand’s design direction for future EV models.Ultra-luxury automaker Bentley will debut its latest coachbuilt creation, the Mulliner Batur, at this year’s Monterey Car Week event in Monterey, California. The Mulliner Batur is a follow-up to the gorgeous Bacalar Speedster, a limited-edition model based on the Continental GT convertible.We can see only a few details from the teaser image above, including red grille details and a more pronounced spear dividing the right and left sides of the car’s grille. It’s hard to say if the Batur will be based on an existing Bentley model or whether it will be rendered as a sedan, a coupe, or an SUV.

Handcrafted styling and a ritzy interior aren’t all that the Batur will share with the Bacalar: both are named for bodies of water located in far-flung locales. Lake Batur is an 88-meter deep crater lake located in the Kintamani district of Bali, Indonesia, while Laguna Bacalar is a pristine lake in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in the Yucatán Peninsula.Unlike the Bacalar, of which only 12 will be made, the Mulliner Batur can be interpreted as a preview of Bentley’s future styling as it moves into its EV era. As such, we expect the show car to be powered by an electric powertrain, probably with two motors and all-wheel drive. We’ll know more on August 20, when Bentley rolls out the Mulliner Batur to a crowd of onlookers one day ahead of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.If the Mulliner Batur is offered as a limited-production model, expect a price at least equal to the Bacalar’s $1.9 million. And if you want one, act fast, because they’re likely to sell out quickly.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. 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.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More