Motor News

Cadillac has released more revealing images of the Celestiq EV.The rear view shows a low-slung fastback silhouette, while the interior has a four-seat layout with a sumptuous rear cabin.The Celestiq is rumored to start at around $300,000 and will be built at GM’s tech center in Michigan.Cadillac is continuing to parse out information about its upcoming EV flagship, the Celestiq, and the latest images give us our best look yet at the car’s exterior and interior. With a low-slung fastback shape, exquisite detailing, and a hedonistic rear seat, the Celestiq—seen here in “Show Car” form—will attempt to take Cadillac into a higher echelon of the luxury market. Reports suggest that the Celestiq will not only carry a six-figure price tag, but that it could start at around $300,000, also known as Bentley and Rolls-Royce territory.

Cadillac

The Celestiq’s rear end suggests it will be a hatchback similar in shape to the Porsche Panamera or Mercedes-Benz EQS. The front view shows seven-spoke wheels with an intricate pattern that are wrapped in tires with a “Michelin Pilot Sport EV” designation.

Inside, we can see a clear view of four seats trimmed in red leather, and the rear seats appear to have their own entertainment screens, control knob, and seat-adjustment controls. Myriad screens dot the cabin, with a large widescreen setup on the dashboard, a screen between the front seats, a screen between the rear seats, and the aforementioned entertainment screens on the backs of the front seats.We don’t know how much the Celestiq concept car will change as it reaches production, but given that this model will be hand-built, the version you can buy may end up being fairly close to what you see here. We’ll learn more about the Celestiq soon, as the show car will finally make its debut soon.
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The most powerful Italian car in history is finally in official production mode. The Pininfarina Battista, whose electric motors drive 1900 horsepower and 1725 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels, famously shares roots with the Rimac Nevera. But almost a year following our first drive, a series of tweaks and refinements have since put a finer point on the $1.99 million hypercar, which the Mahindra-owned manufacturer says will reach U.S. garages later this year.”We’ve improved the performance aspects and gained consistency with reliability and durability,” chief product and engineering officer Paolo Dellachà told Car and Driver. “During the last 11 months we’ve also been fine tuning the e-powertrain, chassis calibration, ESC, and torque vectoring,” he adds. “I can tell you it is more refined and way faster than when you drove it [11 months ago].”

Pininfarina

That last bit is a gobsmacking claim. On paper, Pininfarina reports a zero-to-60-mph time of 1.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 217 mph, both of which remain unchanged. Incidentally, Battista feels even quicker by the seat of the pants than the figures suggest. Dellachà says the car is now faster around a racetrack due to improvements at corner exit and power delivery. However, we’re inclined to believe the average Battista buyer might not be hot to trot the multimillion-dollar EV with hot laps at their local circuit.

Pininfarina’s first nameplate since the Azzurra in the mid-1980s claims incremental distinctions over the Nevera, including a signature sound and a literal hum, which vibrates at 54 hertz. Just-released homologation details reveal the Battista is EPA rated at 300 miles of combined range (290 city/309 highway), edging out the Nevera’s 287 combined figure. Pininfarina also boosted its official torque figure by 29 pound-feet, while the Nevera takes the power crown with 1914 hp. Dellachà says that DC quick-charging has also been upped from 180 kW to 250 kW, and the five drive modes are now individually customizable.Battista honors its design house roots by bringing a bit of Italianate flair its Croatian counterpart’s straight-laced treatment. It’s a tipping point that likely serves as a strong draw for buyers like serial supercar collector and first customer Luciano Colosio, who told Financial Times that he has at one time owned a McLaren F1, a Bugatti Veyron, two Aston Martin One-77s, and numerous Ferraris. The publication says Colosio once had a strict V-12–only policy but has since shifted his viewpoint on electron-powered supercars—a cleverly leveraged preference that bolsters the argument for ultra-high-performance battery electric vehicles. Exterior designer Dave Amantea, who is working individually with each buyer to spec their Battistas, says the exterior can be configured in up to 13.9 quintillion configurations. Only 150 units will be produced in total, which helps explain why the boutique builder estimates 10 weeks to build each Battista at their Cambiano, Italy, facility. The hand-painted Anniversario spec extends that time frame to 18 weeks.Pininfarina also released details on three after-sales packages. Eccellenza offers five or 10 years of maintenance for “providing optimum performance and safeguarding its warranty and value,” at $72,000 or $145,000 respectively; Futura extends the battery and powertrain warranty an additional seven years (for a total of 10 years) for $150,000; and the Eterna package includes a set of replacement body parts in the unfortunate event that they’re needed. Pricing for the extra bodywork depends on the ordered vehicle’s specs.Watch this space for updates when we take a closer look at Pininfarina Battista at Monterey Car Week in August and get behind the wheel for a drive of the final production-spec car.

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Lotus Advanced Performance is a new division that will create several limited-edition bespoke models.The division is hoping to have both a new car and customer event by the end of the year.Simon Lane, the director of Lotus Advanced Performance, previously lead the similar Aston Martin Q division. Although Lotus just had its best sales year in a decade, selling 1710 units worldwide in 2021, that’s still a small batch of vehicles. But that isn’t stopping the company from getting even more exclusive. Lotus has now created a new division called Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP) aimed at creating bespoke cars and experiences for its customers.We sat down for a chat with Simon Lane, the new director of Lotus Advanced Performance and visionary for the group. Lane comes to Lotus fresh from heading up Aston Martin’s similar Q division.

When Lotus announced the new division in February, it released an enticing photo displaying what looks like the rear end of an open-wheel race car with a large wing. Notably, two exhaust pipes can be seen sticking out the back of the teaser car. We think it looks a bit like the Lotus 72, or perhaps the Type 49, but all Lane would give was “It’s clearly a very significant car for Lotus.” Excitingly, Lane also told us that, as the rest of Lotus moves toward full electrification, this division is retaining the right to “play” with internal combustion engines, albeit in very low volumes. LAP isn’t waiting around to get the ball rolling on production. Lane described the division as having four main “product streams,” with motorsport being one. Earlier this spring, it launched its first car, the Emira GT4 as a dedicated track machine based on the Emira mid-engine sports car. Lane told us that talks have started on what the team wants its next motorsport-focused car to look like, but there are no concrete decisions yet. He did explain that the proposed Electric GT series from the FIA is something his team is looking at, though offered no additional clues on that particular front.

Lotus Cars

The second “product stream” or “model line” would develop cars built on existing platforms. That means something on the Emira platform other than the aforementioned GT4, something on the Evija platform, or perhaps a performance version of the upcoming Eletre to compete with other performance SUVs. Bespoke options like unique paint jobs or liveries would also fall into this category. Modern Take on the PastHere’s where things get exciting. The third stream for LAP is set to consist of historic vehicles, both period-correct continuation cars and restomod-style cars with old designs and newer mechanical components.“I’ve discovered that there are a number of original drawings for cars that were completed in the Colin Chapman era, that never made it off the drawing board,” said Lane. “That’s really exciting, there were some amazing cars that were designed back then. And I think using a blend of original beautiful designs for cars that were designed by Colin, and modern technology offer us the opportunity to develop some really cool cars.”

Lotus Cars

Looking ahead, Lane also told us that LAP is hoping to launch its second car by the end of the year. “I would like to think that you will see something from us by the end of the year,” said Lane. The target for the first bespoke vehicle in the restomod line is later in 2023.It’s important to note that these will all be incredibly limited in number. We were told that most cars from Lotus Advanced Performance would have less than 100 made, and some would be as low as single digits. The fourth stream for LAP is in the experiential world with things like track days or tours of the company’s factory at Hethel. This page shows a great example of the sort of experience Lane put on with Aston Martin and works as a marker for what customers can expect Lotus to put on in the coming months and years.
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EV startup Canoo has made an agreement with Walmart to provide 4500 of its electric commercial vehicles for use in last-mile delivery. Walmart will be the first to receive a special model called the Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV), which has been specifically modified for short-range delivery purposes.The announcement saw Canoo’s stock open Tuesday at nearly double the value it closed at on Monday. Walmart will row its boat for the final leg of online-order deliveries with 4500 Canoos. As part of its initiative to achieve zero emissions by 2040, the superstore chain said today that it has signed a “definitive agreement” with Canoo, an U.S. EV startup, to purchase 4500 of its electric vehicles for use in last-mile delivery. It will also have the option to purchase up to 10,000 more later.

Canoo announced the agreement Tuesday, which involves the brand’s specialty Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs), which Walmart will become the first entity to receive. The LDV is a modified version of Canoo’s pod-shaped Lifestyle Vehicle (LV), an all-electric consumer utility vehicle with up to seven seats in a unique limousine-esque U-shape. The Delivery version, however, forgoes rear seats for cargo space and boasts 250 miles of range via an 80.0-kWh battery. Canoo also claims a 1464-pound payload capacity.

Lineup of Canoo LV models.
Canoo

Walmart will use the LDVs for last-mile delivery, which is the final step in an online-order package’s delivery. Basically, the Canoos will take your package from a local transportation hub to your front door. In the release, Canoo claims that the vehicles should hit the road for Walmart in 2023, but that LDVs will begin limited use in the coming weeks around the Dallas/Fort Worth area so Walmart can fine-tune the vehicle’s configuration. Car and Driver recently reported financial troubles for the up-and-coming EV startup, but Tuesday’s announcement saw Canoo’s stock open at $4.65 a share, nearly double its Monday closing value of $2.37. The company went public in December 2020, opening at $22.75 a share, but it has since steadily declined, though it’s important to note that other EV startups to have recently gone public—Rivian, Lightning eMotors, and others—have been following the same trajectory.
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The Walmart deal comes after another big Canoo announcement regarding fleet-use of the LV. The spunky pods were recently commissioned by NASA for use as transport vehicles in the upcoming Artemis moon-landing missions. All in all, things may be looking up for Canoo.
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Lynk & Co is an EV brand from Chinese automaker Geely Group that was once a strong contender to cross into the U.S. market.Its first model was the 01 crossover (pictured above), which went on sale in China in late 2017.At the time, we were told sales in the U.S. would start in 2020.When we last checked in with Lynk & Co, the Chinese carmaker—part of Geely Group’s automotive empire—was planning to expand its operations from China and Europe into America with the intention of opening an outpost in San Francisco by 2020. That was a couple of years ago, and it obviously has not happened—but that’s not because the company has lost interest.

CEO Alain Visser remains focused on bringing his EVs here. “My ambition, without a concrete plan, is to go to the U.S.,” he told Car and Driver, speaking with us at Lynk & Co headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. “I’m convinced there’s a market for our offering. Not everywhere, but in California, New York, and some other places.”Lynk’s structure is unusual. For a flat fee of around $500 per month, users acquire the use of a car, including all insurance and maintenance fees. There’s no commitment, so they can keep the car for one month or any other number of months. If they keep it for a year, it gets replaced with a new model. And with the touch of a button on their infotainment screen, users can offer up their car to share with anyone who is a member of the Lynk & Co app, for any duration—hour, day, week, month—at whatever price the market will bear. So, it’s like Airbnb for cars, but Lynk doesn’t even take a cut.Currently, Lynk & Co. operates in seven countries in Europe with 120,000 users on the app there and more than 17,000 cars on the road. In China, the company claims to be selling 150,000 cars per year.Plan B: Texas, Not California In keeping with the company’s offbeat nature, Visser now hopes to open the first Lynk USA brand experience center—”club,” in Lynk parlance—not on the coasts, but in Texas. “If I could do it now, I would open a club in Austin, without a car,” Visser said, though he admits he’s never visited the city. “I would just build the brand, the experience, talk about what it is we stand for, build the activities that we do in the clubs here in Europe. And then a year later, maybe add a car.”So what has prevented the company from doing just that? Well, the brand’s unique selling proposition wasn’t operational in 2020. “The sharing functionality wasn’t ready then,” he said. “We would have had just the concept of you use a car for a month, you pay the flat fee. And we wanted to wait because we think that the sharing is really what makes the business model sustainable.”

Lynk & Co

But now that that works—we saw on the Lynk App that there are hundreds of thousands of members throughout seven European countries looking to loan or borrow a car—what’s the holdup? Part of it is the U.S. insistence on an independent, franchise-based dealer network, which Lynk eschews—it does 99 percent of its business online. Visser, however, believes there might be a workaround. “We would almost be registered in the U.S. as a rental car company more than a car-selling enterprise,” he said. “We won’t have dealerships. But if Tesla had problems as an American company in the U.S., it would be definitely difficult for us.”If creating interest within the world’s second-largest automobile market for a completely unknown, garishly styled compact crossover made in China and sold with a wholly unfamiliar ownership model sounds like a challenge, Visser seems up for it.”We launched our first ever club in Amsterdam (pictured above), which is the most car-hating city in Europe,” he said. “And we said, let’s go there because it’s a clear signal that we go against the grain of the car industry. And I think I see Austin a bit like that. It’s in Texas, it’s the pickup state. So we start there.” We shall see.
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The Challenger is on its way out the door. After an incredible 15-year production run, Dodge finally plans to retire the retro muscle car we know and love in 2024. But if these latest rumors are to be believed, the Challenger is going out on a 909-hp high note. (Shown above, the Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock.)Mopar Insiders, citing an unnamed source close to the project, claims Dodge is planning a new Challenger SRT Hellcat model that’s able to run on E85 fuel. E85—sometimes called flex fuel—is a mixture of ethanol and gasoline with a higher concentration of ethanol versus your average gasoline mixture. It’s a popular fuel source for tuners looking to make more power, as it provides more thermal efficiency and, in some cases, improved fuel consumption.If Dodge wants to send the Challenger off on a high note, it likely wants to do so with as much power as possible. And since E85 is an easy way to make more power, the rumor makes sense. Mopar Insiders’ source claims this Challenger variant will make 909 hp—69 more horses than the Challenger SRT Demon makes running on race gas. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a high-powered production car that runs on E85 from the factory. The Koenigsegg Jesko uses E85, along with a set of other tricks, to help it pass emissions while making 1600 hp. This Challenger rumor is far from official news, of course, so take it with a grain of salt. We’ll likely know more by the end of the year.

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• This second-generation K5 Blazer was a wildly capable alternative to the Ford Bronco and Dodge Ramcharger of the 1970s and ’80s. • This K5 Blazer has been recently restored with new bits and pieces ranging from fresh door seals to a completely new 350-cubic-inch V-8 engine. • Bidding is currently at $8500, and the auction ends on July 15.Something circulating in my blood makes me attracted to old-school heavy Chevys. Maybe it’s a natural reaction to the typical blue fog of pushrod perfume that follows most small-block V-8s. It could also be getting things muddy is the nucleus of my love for four-wheel-drive things. Either way, it’s tough to look away from this Florida-owned 1978 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Cheyenne that’s currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos.

BRING A TRAILER

This example was originally purchased in Miami before it eventually ended up in Colombia and then later returned stateside where it underwent some serious restoration. Everything that’s been rotting since the 1970s has been renewed: brakes, power steering, exhaust, instrument cluster, door seals, window felts, and even a replacement carbureted 350-cubic-inch V-8. Its three-speed automatic transmission and dual-range transfer case are reported to be in working order. The steel frame has been blasted and repainted in gloss black, and the hubs have been fitted with black 15-inch steel wheels wrapped in 33-inch Nitto Trail Grappler mud-terrain tires.

More impressively, the restoration process hasn’t gone too far. This K5 Blazer appears to be using OE-style glass three-prong sealed-beam headlights up front and drum brakes at the rear. It’s free of obnoxious aftermarket fender flares or a dorky roof-mounted LED light bar. The most modern piece of tech is a RetroSound stereo intended to mimic the chrome-knobbed style of the K5 Blazer’s original radio.This specific example isn’t showroom perfect and is kept alive thanks to fresh paint, new floor panels, and a little welding. That makes it a great candidate for a buy-to-drive, rather than a win and park.

BRING A TRAILER

It’s easy to imagine bouncing down a forest trail road en route to an area that’s Wi-Fi- and ad-free. Even Car and Driver’s own legendary David E. Davis, Jr. called the K5 Blazer a “steel and fiberglass Paul Bunyan” back in 1979. Today, a K5 is now the nomenclature given to Kia’s family sedan, and the current Blazer is more Paul Mitchell than ax wielder.Bidding is currently at $8500 with four days left in the auction. The K5 Blazer David E. drove had similar options including an electric tailgate window, a rear roll bar, and a $39 “heavy-duty Freedom battery,” for $10,478.70. Adjusted for inflation, that’s slightly more than $42,000, or roughly the price of a four-door Ford Bronco Outer Banks. Last year a similar K5 Blazer sold for $61,111 on Bring a Trailer but was in arguably better condition with the larger V-8 engine. There was also a 1976 K5 Blazer Cheyenne painted in beautiful Grecian Bronze and white two-tone that sold for $67,000 in January. Bidding on this one ends on Friday, July 15.

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It’s a sign of the times we live in: A crowdsourced website called Markups.org invites users to report upcharges they’ve spotted on specific vehicles at specific dealerships, as first reported by Jalopnik.In addition to listing markups, the site also shows some dealerships that are selling new cars for list price with no markup.Currently, the highest markup is $200,000 on a GMC Hummer EV Edition 1.The auto industry has had more than its share of trouble because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so has anyone who wants to buy a new vehicle right now. Factory shutdowns and chip shortages have led to another unpleasant situation, that of dealers marking up prices on new vehicles. It’s not surprising, then, that there is now a crowdsourced website for that. The site, Markups.org, catalogs the upcharges to keep the buying populace informed.

Here are some of our favorites as of this writing, in order from smallest to biggest markup. However, these are not the highest or lowest markups you can find on Markups.org right now. We chose them because, although they aren’t necessarily the most sought-after in the market right now, they’re still seeing serious price bumps. It goes without saying that things change quickly in sales, so they don’t reflect what you might find on the website tomorrow or next month.2022 Kia Sorento SXAsking Price $51,965 (MSRP $41,965, Markup $10,000)

Kia Sorento from O’Brien Kia Norwood’s website.
O’Brien Kia

This Sorento is listed at Dan O’Brien Kia Norwood in Massachusetts. The markup is shown directly on the listing as a “Market Adjustment.”2022 Toyota Sienna XLE AWDAsking Price $63,060 (MSRP $43,065, Markup $19,995)This Sienna is for sale at Roseville Toyota in California. The markup is shown on the listing as “Dealer Added Mark Up.”2022 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro SAsking Price $72,580 (MSRP $52,585, Markup $19,995)

VW ID.4 from Ourisman VW’s website.
Ourisman Volkswagen

This ID.4 is for sale at Ourisman Volkswagen of Rockville in Maryland. The markup on this car is shown on the listing as “Adjusted Dealer Markup.”Used 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid with 2000 milesAsking Price $47,987 (MSRP $27,295, Markup $20,692)This Maverick (pictured at top) is available at Newberg Ford in Oregon.2022 Ford F-150 LightningAsking Price $142,895 (MSRP $69,554, Markup $73,341)

Ford F-150 Lightning on the Stearns Ford website.
Stearns Ford

This Ford electric pickup is being sold by Stearns Ford in North Carolina. To help you recover a bit from the shock of these prices, we should point out that the website also lists some dealerships that are forgoing markups. Santa Cruz Subaru in California is one, and they proudly display that message at the top of their website. Ron Anderson Chevrolet in Florida is another, and a dealership employee confirmed to Car and Driver that they are not putting markups on any new vehicles. Finally, remember that any dealer’s asking price is just that: an ask. You can always offer less.
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