Motor News

Mass-market electric vehicles have been available in the U.S. for over a decade, but we’ve only seen small, incremental changes in sales for most of that time. In the first three months of 2022, though, EV registrations shot up an astonishing 60 percent even as the overall market was down 18 percent. With great EV sales comes great charging station responsibility, and figuring out how to offer public charging options to all of these new EV drivers is an ongoing concern.American car shoppers seem to have discovered the electric car. After a decade of slow but steady sales growth, electric vehicle registrations in the U.S. shot up 60 percent in the first quarter of 2022 even as overall new car registrations dropped 18 percent. It’s the latest indication that domestic EV acceptance may have turned some important but invisible corner recently.The sharp increase in electric-vehicle registrations at the start of this year meant that the EV share of the overall market hit a historic 4.6 percent. While places like Norway—where over 86 percent of all new vehicle sales were electric in March—may laugh at that number, EV advocates know that change happens slowly, then all at once, or something like that.

One big reason we’re seeing more EVs in people’s driveways is the explosion in exciting new models, from the Ford F-150 Lightning to the Kia EV6 to the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Experian calculated that there were 158,689 new EV registrations in the first three months of the year. The big winners were EVs from Tesla (up 59 percent to 113,882 new registrations), Kia (up more than eight-fold to 8,450) Ford (up 91 percent to 7,407) and Hyundai (up more than 300 percent, to 6,964), according to Automotive News. These plus other EV sales (the Nissan Leaf and the Volkswagen ID.4 were both in the top 10) meant the segment grew to that 4.6 percent record, which means that a total of 3.4 million new cars were registered last quarter.More EVs on the road might seem like good news, but some people see danger ahead, particularly when it comes to public charging. Despite the fact that most EV charging happens at home, this isn’t a solution for everyone, which means public charging needs to be readily available for some to keep raising the number of EVs sold. The age-old chicken vs. egg story remains alive and well in the EV charging infrastructure world, with a story in the Los Angeles Times last month saying that DC fast-charging station operators need eight to 10 charge sessions a day to turn a “decent return,” but if you also need to have enough fast-chargers available so that drivers don’t face too many waiting times. Finding the balance, especially with EV sales surging, could prove difficult.

Supply-chain problems plaguing the auto industry may have an impact on which cars are being sold, given that some automakers have to make production decisions about which models to build or not build based on the supply of semiconductor chips or other components in short supply. If you’ll allow a bit of speculation, the fact that EVs command more attention from the public and the higher starting prices for many EVs could be two potential reasons for automakers to prioritize EVs over internal combustion engine vehicles. Automotive News notes that it and Experian used registration data to get a clearer picture of EV sales in the U.S., since, for example, Tesla does not release sales figures. Other industry analysts have slightly different figures for EV sales at the start of 2022, but they all show major increases compared to last year. Cox Automotive’s estimate of the EV market share for the first quarter of 2022, for example, was 5.2 percent compared to 2.5 percent in 2021. Whatever the exact numbers, something’s certainly happening out there.
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• This one-owner, special edition 1993 Saab 900 is up for sale on the Bring a Trailer auction website right now.• Aside from its obvious charms, it’s important as one of the last few hundred coupes Saab built for the U.S. in the 900’s last model year. Having said that, the car was unchanged for more than a decade at that point.• The auction is set to end next Friday, May 20, but bidding is already up to $33,065 with a week to go. The Swedes had no sacrificial justification to build the same cars and fiercely resist change from the late 1970s all throughout the early 1990s. This wasn’t the immediate postwar era, for instance, when automakers had to stick with the limited parts they could get. No, Saab was just conservative, and cheap. And people loved them for it.

That brings us to this a one-owner 1993 Saab 900 selling on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). As the Commemorative Edition, the car’s owner explains, this 900 is one of the last 325 hatchbacks built for the U.S. in its final model year. Another 500 cars ended the convertible’s run for 1994. Esoteric discussions over headlights, grilles, and carbureted versus fuel-injected engines could go on forever. We’ll keep it simple: This was the same damn car Saab had been selling since 1978.While an all-new 900 dropped in 1994 and later renamed itself the 9-3, General Motors helped develop those cars (it purchased half of Saab in 1990). Among the Saab faithful, the 900,000 900 models built during the first generation were the purest, most iconic expression of the brand before GM butted in. Its devoted owners were furious when GM killed the company in 2011, as they should have been.

Bring a Trailer

When it was new, a 900 was the smart look among compact luxury cars. It was upscale without the glam, overengineered to a charming fault, and, with a double-wishbone front suspension and turbo engine, surprisingly quick and agile. Of course Saab built very safe cars. But where Volvo avoided speed and risky styling, Saab made Swedish cars desirable. The graceful notchback slant of the huge tailgate, long overhangs, and expansive rear windows seem at total odds with the shorter hood and narrow wheelbase. That’s how your mind first processes a 900. Saab played with a cab-rearward layout like a sports car but kept the footprint of a front-wheel-drive family sedan. Yet the 900 doesn’t feel like one. These proportions, plus the curved windshield, rear fender vents, high-mounted spoiler, and three-spoke dish wheels, were a genuine nod to Saab’s jet fighter division. Then or now, it’s never an ordinary car.

Bring a Trailer

The CE came only as a coupe in black over tan leather and featured a five-speed manual paired to Saab’s most powerful turbo-four. With 185 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 201 pound-feet of torque at a low 2800 rpm, the 2.0-liter engine was a true pioneer for turbocharged output and response (Saab had a regulator that could modify boost based on temperature and fuel octane, a big deal back then). This 900 CE appears to have all the correct parts, including the requisite headlight wipers and gray 15-inch wheels. There’s even an accessory louvered window cover. While the shift knob is worn out and the carpets have some strange cutlines along the transmission tunnel, the leather trimming the seats and door pockets is nearly crack-free. The back seat looks like no one ever sat there. The burl walnut trim is practically dripping.

Bring a Trailer

The current owner spent $1800 to make repairs, which is entirely normal for an old Swedish car. It’s now selling for a third of its $33,065 sticker price (and can you believe Saab offered a six-year/80,000-mile warranty?). The Saab parts community is very strong, so all the second owner must do is gaze upon this beauty, twist the ignition key between the seats, and send the turbo gauge to the red zone. That’s good enough reason to build the same car for 16 years.

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Pininfarina has announced it’s selling five non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, related to the 1970 Modulo concept.The RM Sotheby’s auction house is handling the transaction in an event that happens later this month.Could there be a worse week than this week to announce it, with the way the metaverse is trending? Well, we can’t be sure.The late Norm MacDonald had a routine about giving lottery tickets as gifts. It went something like, “Here’s what I got you: nothing!” Speaking of which, let’s talk about NFTs! Can we presume you’re up on NFTs? If not, here’s the idea: you own a digital file and it’s all yours—a photo, a video, whatever. For a while there, NFTs were going strong, with Bored Ape Yacht Club (pictures of sleazy humanoid monkeys) leading the way. But somehow, it seems that public sentiment is turning, and now maybe some people are reconsidering the idea that a JPG of a monkey, or of anything, should be worth more than a house.

So, just in time for the NFT market bloodbath, Pininfarina has announced a new NFT collection devoted to its 1970 Modulo concept car, with the five NFTs to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s later this month. Right about now Pininfarina is probably wishing that last sentence was past tense and read “last month,” before Tether untethered and Luna crashed and Coinbase stock dropped 75 percent. Okay, let’s talk about cars. Sort of.

Pininfarina

What is Pininfarina auctioning, exactly? Well, not the Modulo, or course. But Pininfarina does have original design sketches of the Modulo—which it also is not auctioning. What they are selling is a sort of digital diorama of the Modulo set in each of the five decades since its unveiling, with soundtracks created by Sasha Sirota. Perhaps sensing that this project needs a little bit of an IRL hook, winning bidders also take home two physical prints of the design sketches, each signed by Pininfarina’s chairman, Paolo Pininfarina. Oh, and you get a private tour of the Pininfarina museum and a hang sesh with the design team. Back on the virtual side of things, this prize package also includes unique digital replicas of the Pininfarina Modulo that will give you serious imaginary-car-collector cred in the Metaverse. What’s your bid? The contestant who bids the nearest Ethereum value without going over wins the showcase!
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In its quest to rapaciously separate the dull rich from their money, we wish Pininfarina all the best. But the venerable design house may be overestimating the overlap between people who own NFT wallets and know who Sasha Sirota is, and people who care that Pininfarina is responsible for both the Cadillac Allanté and the Daewoo Lacetti. To us, Lamborghini seems more like the kind of company that would be in tune with the NFT crowd, a brand that would pump out some NFTs while the market was still fizzing. Oh, wait: they did, for a total of more than $600,000. Lamborghini even set up a secondary market page on its NFT site, so original owners can resell them. So far, it has no listings.
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The 2023 Lexus UX will be offered exclusively as a hybrid, with the base 169-horsepower inline-four powertrain no longer available.The UXh also gains a larger optional screen, a redesigned center console, and a new voice activated assistant. The 2023 UXh goes on sale this summer, but pricing has yet to be announced.Lexus is giving its smallest crossover, the UX, an update for the 2023 model year, and the biggest news is that the subcompact SUV will become exclusively a hybrid, with Lexus dropping the 169-horsepower 2.0-liter inline-four powertrain. Under the name UXh, it will now only be powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four and an electric motor powering the rear wheels, with a combined 181 horses.
Along with removing the gas-only model, Lexus made a few small changes to the UXh. Lexus says 20 spot welding points were added to the body to boost structural rigidity, while new Bridgestone 18-inch run-flat tires were designed to reduce noise and vibration. Inside, the optional larger screen grows two inches to 12.3-inches, and the center console has been reconfigured. There’s also a new voice activated assistant and other tech like a digital app-based key.

The 2023 UX 250h F Sport models also gain a Design and a Handling package. The former adds F Sport-specific wheels, grille, a black roof, painted wheel arches, and goodies like a moonroof, rain-sensing wipers, and automatic headlamp leveling. On top of that, the F Sport Handling gains performance dampers and Active Variable Suspension. There are also interior upgrades, with heated and ventilated F Sport seats, steering wheel, shift knob, and aluminum pedals. Lexus has yet to announce pricing for the 2023 UXh, but previously the cheapest UX hybrid trim, the UX 250h, started at $36,825, and we don’t expect the price to increase dramatically. The 2023 UXh goes on sale late this summer.
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Mix yourself the biggest Mai Tai and stick a flower behind your ear for this episode of Car and Driver’s Window Shop, the videocast that shows up somewhat weekly, depending on how many of us have managed to finish our real work. It appears that someone has vacation on their mind this week, as our challenge was tropical: Find a car for sale on any of the Hawaiian Islands. The budget was $15,000, with a $5000 bonus unlockable by wearing a Hawaiian shirt for the filming. Did anyone pay attention to these caveats? Is this your first time here?Our would-be vacationers included the surf-happy K.C. Colwell, friend of seat turtles Jonathon Ramsey, professional hula-dancer John Pearley Huffman, Pina-Colada-drunk Elana Scherr, and potential volcanic sacrifice Tony Quiroga. Things started off with a minty Volkswagen—that’s minty as in toothpaste-colored, not so much on the collector condition. “Is that a check engine light?” It might have been, but as Pearley pointed out, it only had to last through his vacation. Scherr chose small, but got big points for finding a car with graphics that suited island living, as well as making a map marking every racetrack on every island. Ramsey and Colwell made sensible choices, and at first it seems Ramsey has a slam dunk with a truck that has everyone oohing and ahhing—almost as much as they are over his on-theme wardrobe choice—he quickly loses ground for being both over budget and choosing a vehicle that isn’t actually in Hawaii. Colwell wins over Pearley by appealing to his deep brand loyalties. Quiroga comes in hot with a choice that horrifies most of the team, except Scherr, who is clearly angling for a raise. He has the last laugh though, as the only member of the group with actual tickets to actual Hawaii in the next month. Instead of voting, the gang argues about frog-licking and the exact conversion between “island time” and mainland time as it applies to zero-to-60 runs, and in the end we might have picked a winner or we might have just called it so Pearley could catch a flight. Not to Hawaii. Let us know what you’d choose for a Hawaiian road trip, and what beaches you think Quiroga should visit on his upcoming vacation.

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This 2005 Ferrari F430 is equipped with the six-speed manual and shows 13,000 miles on the odometer. It’s powered by a 483-hp 4.3-liter V-8 that revs to 8500 rpm. Bids are up to $125,000 as of May 12, and the auction ends on Tuesday, May 17.Ferrari hasn’t sold a manual transmission in about a decade, so I often find myself daydreaming of ripping an Italian V-8 and rowing the gears myself. A convertible would be the icing on the cake, so that’s why I’m salivating over this 2005 Ferrari F430 Spider manual that’s up for bidding on the Bring a Trailer auction site—which, like Car and Driver, is owned by Hearst Autos.

Bring A Trailer

Bring A Trailer

After the F430 came the 458 Italia, which was the last of the high-revving naturally aspirated mid-engine V-8 Ferraris. But that car wasn’t offered with a manual transmission, just a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox since less than 1 percent of F430 buyers went for the stick. Shame. Good thing this F430 with the six-speed manual is up for grabs. Or you could go for this six-speed conversion, but we wouldn’t.

The F430 was powered by a 4.3-liter F136 V-8 that revved to 8500 rpm and produced 483 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque, sent to the rear wheels through the six-speed and electronically controlled limited-slip differential. In Car and Driver testing, an F430 Spider with the F1 automated manual gearbox reached 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. This is classic Ferrari spec. It’s finished in Rosso Corsa red with tan leather Daytona seats with the prancing horse embossed into the headrests. The silver wheels are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and there are optional red-painted brake calipers. Rounding out the quintessential Ferrari look are red-stitched F430 floor mats and aluminum pedals.

Bring A Trailer

Showing 13,000 miles, this F430 Spider has had three previous owners, and I wish that I could be the next. When new, this F430 cost $203,885. On the BaT website, bidding is currently at $125,000 and sure to go up before bidding ends on Tuesday, May 17.

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The Subaru Legacy has been refreshed for 2023 with a fresh grille, headlights, and front bumper.The Sport trim should get sportier, gaining the 260-hp 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four as standard instead of the 182-hp naturally aspirated unit.The 2023 Subaru Legacy will go on sale this fall, with pricing details still to come. After three years on sale, the Subaru Legacy is getting a refresh for the 2023 model year. The update brings revised styling, adds the latest driver-assistance technology, and sees the Sport trim gain the more powerful turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four as standard.
The most obvious changes are on the front fascia, where a new trim piece in the grille spans nearly the width of the car and links the more intricate LED headlights. The grille has also swelled in size, while the front bumper has redesigned fog-lamp housings. The rear of the Legacy remains unchanged.The Sport trim now comes standard with the 260-hp 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four, replacing the base engine, a 182-hp 2.5-liter flat-four. Hopefully this adds more sportiness to the Sport trim—the last Sport we tested took a glacial 8.0 seconds to hit 60 mph, while the pre-facelift turbocharged models were able to sprint to 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds. The Sport model is differentiated by a red accent in the grille, magnetite gray side mirrors and trunk spoiler, gray 18-inch wheels, and a black-and-gray two-tone cloth interior with red stitching. The Sport also includes what Subaru describes as a “sport tuned” suspension.
As before, the Legacy comes standard with Subaru’s EyeSight suite of driver-assistance technology, such as automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. Certain models will also add automatic emergency steering, designed to help prevent collisions with objects at speeds below 50 mph. The Touring XT model also gains a wide-angle camera that expands the field of view for the EyeSight system, working in conjunction with the pre-existing dual-camera setup.

Inside, the Sport and Touring XT trims gained a standard 360-degree heated steering wheel, and the Touring XT now features Slate Black nappa leather with silver stitching and other trim enhancements. Models equipped with the 11.6-inch touchscreen also now come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability as standard. Subaru says the infotainment display has revised controls for audio, climate control, and other settings. The 2023 Subaru Legacy will reach dealerships this fall, and pricing details will be revealed closer to the on-sale date.
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The revised 2023 Rolls-Royce Phantom gets an illuminated grille and an option for darker trim. There’s also available split material for the cabin that installs leather up front and fabric in the back.The twin-turbo V-12 powertrain is unchanged.Lesser automakers might give their cars facelifts, but Rolls-Royce clearly feels itself above such gimmicky marketing. So although the eighth-generation Phantom sedan has been given a subtle set of revisions after five years on sale, there is no mention of anything redolent of cosmetic surgery in the official announcement. Rather the Phantom has been given “a new expression.”Based on the images that have been released, the new car’s physiognomy is very similar to that of the outgoing version, but there are some subtle differences. The revised Phantom’s front end now gets a horizontal line above the strakes of its Parthenon-inspired grille, this intended to give “a new and assertive modernity, reflecting [the car’s] driver-focused character.” The grille itself is now illuminated, the headlights have star-light detailing, and the winged Spirit of Ecstasy mascot is slightly more prominent.

Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce has also responded to customer demand for darkened finishes, with the ability to specify a blackened trim for the grille bezel, windshield surround and side glass finishers. The result is hardly murdered out, but it is certainly less chintzy than the more traditional chrome accessories. It will also be possible to order two new wheels, one having a milled stainless steel finish, the other a disc wheel inspired by the company’s 1920s era.The interior design is barely changed. Rolls cites a slightly thicker steering wheel rim as the most significant difference, and the company has broadened its range of trim offerings with the arrival of what it calls Phantom Platino. This combines leather seats up front for the chauffeur and softer fabric trim in the rear that’s made from a combination of bamboo and cotton. The Phantom’s dashboard clock is now surrounded with a new 3D-printed ceramic finish.

Rolls-Royce

There are no mechanical changes for the revised car. But nor, to be honest, did there really need to be. The 563-hp twin-turbo V-12 has the manners of an attentive valet and the Phantom’s cabin refinement is probably the best in the world.No official Rolls-Royce announcement can seemingly be made without the brand’s enjoyably verbose official style, what we like to think of as a periphrastic prolixity of pleonasm, and the Phantom II’s release is no exception. The revised car is aimed at pretty much anybody with the considerable funds to afford one. Or, as Rolls-Royce puts it: “Self-evidently, there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Phantom client. Spanning the ‘poles of luxury’, they may be ever-younger or older, modern or traditional, self-made or from long-established wealth. Their commissions reflect a full spectrum of interests and influences. At one extreme, Phantom takes on a subversive, almost rebellious character–youthful, dynamic and daring. At the other, Phantom transforms into an ode to luxury grandeur and timelessness.”This ability to indicate a preference for subversive rebellion will continue to come with serious pricing, of course, as the Phantom sits at the pinnacle of the Rolls-Royce range. We don’t have any official confirmation on pricing yet, but can safely predict this subtly revised Phantom will be at least as expensive as the model it replaces.

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