Motor News

Rivian is pushing back production of its R1T and R1S with the biggest Max battery pack to 2023.Models equipped with the Explore package also won’t see production until 2023.All 2022 Rivian trucks and SUVs out in the coming year will be equipped with the Large battery pack and the Adventure package.Rivian is pushing back production of its electric R1T and R1S trucks and SUVs equipped with the optional 180.0-kWh Max battery pack or Explore package to 2023. The news was revealed in an email sent to customers by the company’s founder and chief executive officer, RJ Scaringe. The email was subsequently posted to Reddit, and a Rivian spokesperson confirmed its authenticity to Car and Driver. In it, Scaringe says the automaker will prioritize the production of R1T and R1S models fitted with the 135.0-kWh Large battery pack and the Adventure package. The Large battery pack offers up to 314 miles of EPA-rated driving range in the R1T and 316 miles in the R1S. Those figures fall a good deal short of the 400-plus miles of range the Rivian claims the $10,000 Max battery pack will provide for either Rivian vehicle.

Opting for the Explore package slashes $5500 from the price of the R1T and R1S. Whereas the Adventure package includes niceties such as a Meridian premium audio system, wood interior trim, heated and ventilated seats, and a power-operated tonneau cover for the R1T, the Explore package features a lesser audio setup, matte black interior decor, heated but not ventilated seats, and a manually operated tonneau cover for the R1T.

Rivian

Despite the additional range of the Max battery pack and the cost savings associated with the Explore package, Scaringe notes in his email that the “large majority” of Rivian buyers are opting for R1T and R1S trucks and SUVs with the Large battery pack and the Adventure package anyway, adding that R1T and R1S trucks and SUVs optioned with the Max battery pack make up “approximately 20 [percent] of preorders.” The Rivian CEO goes on to acknowledge the “challenging” aspects of the company’s shifting production schedule for its customers by writing that representatives are planning to reach out to those with preorders for R1T and R1S vehicles with either the Max pack or Explore package. The company wants to “gauge [their] interest in reconfiguring to an Adventure Package with Large pack battery so that [they] can take delivery in 2022,” he wrote.
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

Here are a few of the highlights that will be on display next month at the Tokyo Auto Salon, which can be reasonably compared to the U.S. SEMA show because of its friendliness to those ready to full-on enjoy some of the wilder aspects of car culture.Tuner VeilSide will bring a modification kit for the Toyota A90 Supra, and Subaru is going to present a vision of electrified racing with the STI E-RA concept.Kei cars—Japan’s famous regulatory-driven small cars—will be present in force, including a tiny overland camper from Daihatsu and an all-electric concept from Mitsubishi.Omicron or not, the Tokyo Auto Salon is gearing up to take place in mid-January. It was virtual in 2021, but for 2022 there’s a live event again, with a slew of modified, tiny kei cars, gussied-up hybrids, and sports cars that have been put through a tuner’s wringer all gearing up for their turns on the show’s stages. Alongside the already announced debut of the Honda Civic Type R, here are some of the highlights.

Subaru STI E-RA concept.
Subaru

Let’s start with Subaru, which is combining the Salon’s traditional tuner culture with all-electric power in the STI E-RA concept. This performance concept shows one way to engage with carbon-neutral motorsports, as the E stands for electrification and the RA stands for “record attempt” and is used for track-destined vehicles. Subaru will also showcase new Levorg STI and WRX S4 STI concepts to highlight new performance parts created for these models as well as possibly previewing production-bound special editions for Japan.

Daihatsu

Daihatsu will bring two tricked-out kei cars: the Atrai Deck Camper with its tiny rooftop tent, perfect for overlanding where parking is tight, and the Atrai Premium van, which takes the wheel-to-grille size ratio to a place most automotive designers fear to tread. Daihatsu will also bring standard-size cars to the show with two versions of the Rocky e-Smart Hybrid subcompact SUV. One is a luxury version called the Premium while the other is called Crossfield, a fitting name for the light off-roading this thing looks capable of.
This content is imported from Facebook. 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 tuner company VeilSide Toyota Supra will be on hand with a kit for the A90 Supra and has already posted video via social media showing off some of the changes. Action movie fans outside Japan are might know VeilSide’s work from the Fast & Furious franchise, and that association also gives us a hint at what founder Hironao Yokomaku is working on for the show. The kit’s modifications include plenty of front-end work, from the front lip spoiler to the new nose cone. A new hood, modified rear spoiler, and VeilSide-branded wheels are also part of the package.

Mitsubishi kei-car EVconcept.
Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors will bring out two new concept vehicles, including an all-electric kei car and a new Ralliart concept. The Tokyo Auto Salon is unsurprisingly focused on the Japan market; the last Mitsubishi to wear the Ralliart name in the U.S. was the turbocharged Ralliart version of the Lancer, which was available here from 2009 to 2014. But the Ralliart performance subbrand name was revived this past May, and whatever this new concept turns out to be, it certainly hints at something worth getting excited about. Mitsu offers two somethings if you add in the all-electric kei car concept, as we do, since small and electrified sit dead center in this writer’s enthusiasm wheelhouse.The 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon is scheduled to take place from January 14 to 16 at the Makuhari Messe.
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

General Motors filed to trademark “Buick Electra” with the United States Trademark and Patent Office.The Electra name recently appeared on an electric concept SUV.Buick ditched the Electra nameplate after the 1990 model year. The Electra name might return to Buick’s model line after sitting dormant for more than three decades. Well, that’s if a recent trademark filing by General Motors is anything to go by. The automaker filed to apply for the “Buick Electra” mark with the United States Trademark and Patent Office on December 20, 2021.

Buick

GM’s decision to dust off the Electra nameplate is of little surprise given the company’s pivot to electric vehicles. In fact, Buick revealed an Electra electric SUV concept car at the 2020 Beijing auto show (no doubt, the fact “Electra” and “electric” share the same prefix had something to do with Buick’s choice of name for the concept).

As such, we wager Buick will christen its upcoming EV the Electra. Like the Electra concept, expect the production Buick Electra to use GM’s latest electric vehicle hardware, which goes by the name Ultium. In other words, the new Electra could share its battery pack options, electric motors, and basic platform with other GM EVs, such as the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq.That said, we doubt GM plans to simply swap the Lyriq’s Cadillac crest for Buick’s tri-shield badge. If the Electra concept from Shanghai is anything to go by, then the potential production Electra ought to wear distinct, brand-specific sheet metal. While we suspect the concept’s scissor-hinged doors will fail to find their way to the production vehicle, it is possible the saleable Electra EV trades the traditional two-box body style typical of most SUVs for the concept’s coupe-like shape.

Buick

Of course, there’s always the chance Buick deviates from the basic look of the Electra concept and pins the name to an entirely different sort of vehicle—possibly one with an internal combustion engine. Likewise, there’s always the chance GM simply filed to trademark “Buick Electra” for no other reason other than it could. Still, we think it’s no coincidence GM is trademarking a name it recently pinned to a concept vehicle designed to show off the future of the Buick brand.
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

Honda filed to trademark ADX with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.The ADX nameplate may appear on Acura’s upcoming GM-built electric SUV. Honda announced its GM-built electric SUV will wear the Prologue moniker.Acura’s upcoming electric SUV may bear the name ADX, as evidenced by a recent trademark filing for the moniker by Honda, Acura’s parent company, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Admittedly, it’s entirely possible the ADX mark finds its way to a gas-powered Acura SUV, possibly one based on the next-generation HR-V that Honda’s developing for the North American market. Likewise, there’s always the chance Honda’s filed to trademark the ADX nameplate simply to prevent another automaker from using it.

GMC

Nevertheless, if we were the gambling type, we wager Acura pins the ADX name to its forthcoming electric SUV that’s due to be built by General Motors. Despite it likely sharing a platform, powertrain, and battery pack(s) with other GM EVs that use the company’s Ultium battery-electric vehicle bits, the electric Acura SUV still ought to wear distinct exterior and interior decor that reflects the luxury brand’s current design language.Likewise, we believe Acura’s electric SUV will share few—if any—body panels with its Honda-badged kin that GM is also set to build for the Japanese automaker. Whereas Acura’s yet to formally reveal the name of its GM-built electric SUV, Honda confirmed its variant will sport the Prologue designation. We’re sure Acura will reveal the name of its battery-electric SUV in the coming weeks or months. Until the brand tells us otherwise, though, our money’s on Acura pinning the ADX nomenclature to the latest addition in its SUV lineup.
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

Heritage Customs Valiance convertible brings a soft top to the Land Rover Defender.The Valiance convertible starts at a little more than $155,000 at current exchange rates, including the donor vehicle.The Valiance convertible is based on the two-door Defender 90.With its retro looks, off-road hardware, and a notable heritage, the current Land Rover Defender is a worthy foe to the likes of the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco in just about every way save for one notable exception: its fixed roof. That’s right: whereas Jeep and Ford let Wrangler and Bronco buyers drop (or remove) their SUVs’ tops, Land Rover forces Defender buyers to make do with little more than an available power-operated glass sunroof or folding fabric roof. Although both bring some sunlight into the cabin, neither offers the wind-in-your-hair experience of removing (or folding) the roof back entirely. Presumably, Heritage Customs viewed Land Rover’s omission of a bona fide Defender convertible as a business opportunity, as the custom coachbuilder plans to lop the top off of five Defender 90s in 2022. The result is a two-door Land Rover Defender that bottles the open-air energy of its Jeep and Ford competition. Dubbed the Valiance convertible, Heritage Customs’ soft-topped Defender starts at a smidge more than $155,000 (at current exchange rates). This sum includes the cost of the approximately $74,000 Defender 90 donor vehicle.Yet, Heritage Customs doesn’t simply saw the top off Land Rover’s two-door Defender and call it a day, as it also adds a dollop of extra opulence by way of the Valiance’s three available trims: Côte d’Azur, Solihull Sand, and Kokkini Paralia.

Heritage Customs

Côte d’Azur leans less on the Defender’s innate ability to rove all sorts of ranges and instead focuses on the cloth-topped Valiance’s inevitable life as a beach cruiser for the well-off (hence the trim’s name). It certainly looks the part of a way for the wealthy to take in some ultraviolet rays while cruising the Mediterranean coastal roads of the Côte d’Azur, or South Beach, or Manhattan Beach, or . . . well, you get the idea.Credit the SUV’s big 22-inch wheels wrapped in whitewall tires. Heritage Customs complements the trim’s throwback wheel and tire design with a coat of blue paint about the vehicle’s body, a rich brown soft top, and copper exterior and interior trim pieces.

Heritage Customs

Those who find the ritzy style of the Valiance’s Côte d’Azur trim a bit much may prefer the more classic decor of the SUV’s Solihull Sand trim. Inspired by the first production Land Rover from 1948, the Solihull Sand kit brings a set of old-school-looking 20-inch wheels to the Valiance, as well as a green exterior hue, gunmetal trim pieces, and a tan top. Finally, Heritage Customs offers the Valiance in Kokkini Paralia trim. Whereas the Côte d’Azur and Solihull Sand trims seem to crib their aesthetics from the past, the Kokkini Paralia embraces the present. Modern-looking 22-inch wheels accompany the likes of a coat of red paint, a black soft top, and gunmetal exterior bits.

Heritage Customs

No doubt, the Heritage Customs Valiance convertible is a rare and attractive machine. Whether it’s worth north of $150,000, however, is another question. Arguably, the Wrangler and Bronco offer the same basic convertible vibe of the Valiance at a much more affordable price point. Then again, neither is particularly rare, nor do the Jeep or Ford badges offer the clout associated with the Land Rover one. Unless Land Rover formally produces a Defender convertible of its own, the Heritage Customs Valiance is arguably one of the best options for those with the means and desire to own a Defender without a roof. The rest of us in search of an open-topped off-road SUV will just have to settle on a Wrangler or Bronco. Either that, or we start writing letters to Land Rover begging it to mass-produce a sub-six-figure drop-top Defender.
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

As time goes on, the Lexus LFA becomes more and more desirable to collectors. More than a decade after its release, people are finally starting to realize just how special a car it really is. Widely touted as the best-sounding production car ever built, just 500 were made through two years of production. And just 50 of those cars came with the high-performance Nürburgring package. Now, one of those cars is for sale.

In addition to the flashy BBS magnesium wheels and fixed wing out back, Nürburgring package cars got a retuned suspension, stickier tires, a big front splitter, dive planes, and a recalibrated six-speed single-clutch automatic transaxle for even faster shift times. Combine those with a naturally aspirated 4.8-liter V-10 engine making 562 horsepower—10 more over the standard car—and you have one of the best vehicles Japan has ever come up with. In a successful attempt to live up to its name, a Lexus LFA equipped with the Nürburgring package was able to set a Nordschleife lap of 7:14.64 back in 2011—a record at the time.

This particular car was originally sold in Canada before being exported to the United Kingdom in 2014. It currently shows just under 12,000 miles on the odometer and wears a beautiful green wrap around its original white-painted body. Prior to its listing, the car received a major service with new spark plug, as well as a brake service 3000 miles ago. This LFA is currently listed for sale on Pistonheads.com in the U.K. with an asking price of £849,950 (roughly $1.13 million at current exchange rates). Because the car was originally built for the Canada market, you shouldn’t have much of a problem importing and registering it here in the U.S., which is a plus.

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

Ford has announced the recall of nearly 185,000 F-150 trucks from 2021 and 2022 model years over a problem with the driveshaft.In a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall report, Ford said underbody insulators could become loose and contact the driveshaft, which could then become damaged and even drag on the ground, causing loss of control or loss of power while driving.Ford will begin notifying owners of the recalled pickups at the end of January and will inspect and repair the vehicles at no charge.Ford will recall 184,698 of its 2021 and 2022 model F-150 pickups to address a problem with two underbody acoustic/thermal insulators. These could loosen and come into contact with the truck’s aluminum driveshaft and damage or even fracture it, Ford said. The problem affects 4×4 SuperCrew models with the 145-inch wheelbase and the optional sound insulation package, and Ford estimates only 10 percent of the recalled trucks will have the defect. No accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of the issue, which Ford started investigating in July.Owners can look for signs of trouble including a loose insulator under the vehicle or a “rattling, clicking, or clunking noise” that indicates an insulator touching the driveshaft. Ford stopped making trucks with the offending insulator by mid-November, according to the recall report filed with NHTSA.Ford has started notifying dealers and will send letters to owners of the recalled trucks beginning January 31. In the meantime, owners can check with the NHTSA recalls website to see if their vehicle is affected.

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

Lotus said an official farewell to its Exige, Elise, and Evora sports cars in a grand photo op at the specialty automaker’s Hethel, England, factory.The three cars were responsible for almost half of all Lotuses ever sold.But the future looks bright, with new sports cars, sedans, and SUVs coming.Lotus rolled out the final three examples of a trio of cars that represent almost half the company’s total production ever: the Elise, Exige, and Evora. Together they made up 51,738 sales and kept the company going through good times and bad. But the three will be no more, Lotus says, as the company plunges ahead into an electric future.

Well, electric except for the mid-engine Emira, which is based on a modified version of the same platform and will be powered by a familiar Toyota-based 3.5-liter gasoline engine or an AMG 2.0-liter four. That comes out next spring, followed by the all-electric Evija hypercar. More on those at a later date. Right now we come not to bury the Es, but to praise them.The Elise, Exige, and Evora were built over the course of 26 years in Hethel, U.K. The Elise and Exige shared the same “small car platform” that carried the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 and the very first Tesla Roadsters, of which 2005 were built between 2007 and 2012. So it was a big day in Hethel. The Evora was on the Big Car Platform.As with any photo op, every executive in the building came out and made a speech. Here are a few excerpts.”First of all, I would like to thank the Lotus team who have worked on the Elise, Exige, and Evora over the years and who are now transferring to Emira and Evija manufacturing,” said Managing Director of Lotus Cars Matt Windle. “I would also like to convey enormous gratitude to all the customers of the Elise, Exige, and Evora over the last 26 years for their passion, enthusiasm, and support.”That would be you, dear customer, because only Lotus loyalists would be reading this article past the first executive quote. He continued:”These customers have given our ‘three Es’ true cult status—usually reserved for long-out-of-production classics.”Russell Carr, design director at Lotus Cars, added a personal note, saying: “These iconic cars have not only played a huge role in Lotus’s 73-year history but have also been ever-present in my daily life. Together with the Lotus design team, I have lived and breathed these cars for over 26 years. We will miss them, but a bit like Christmas, once it’s over, the excitement for the next one starts to build—and that’s what’s happening now at Lotus with the Evija, Emira, and forthcoming Type 132. 2022 is going to be a great year as a new Lotus generation swings into action.”The Type 132 that Carr mentioned is a new electric SUV from Lotus scheduled for a world premiere this spring.

The Lotus Elise was revolutionary in its day with its use of extruded and bonded aluminum.
Lotus

The three Es were important not just because they were fun to drive but for their technological advancements over the years, including an early industry use of extruded and bonded aluminum, parts that were squeezed out and glued together. “The impact of these three cars has been spectacular over the years, technically, structurally, and dynamically,” said Richard Rackham, head of vehicle concepts, who was vehicle architect on the Lotus Elise and part of the team that pioneered the new tech. “But all technologies and innovations move on and, if you had asked me of my proudest moment four years ago, I would have, without hesitation, said the Elise chassis. However, this has been usurped by our new Project LEVA architecture [Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture] for our new range of electric sports cars, starting with the Type 135 in a few years’ time. This is now the zenith of Lotus architectures as it has moved the technology game so much further. There is a lot to look forward to.”The Type 135 he refers to is the closest successor to these three now-retired cars. It is due in 2026 and will ride on Lotus’s new E-Sports architecture that will be shared by all future Lotus sports cars. That architecture will be based around a lightweight rear subframe holding both batteries and motor(s). The structure itself is more than a third lighter than that used for the gasoline-powered Emira. Lightness is essential, given the current weight of battery packs. The one in the coming Evija electric hypercar will tip the scales at more than 1500 pounds. Batteries in coming Lotus EVs can either be piled up vertically, as they will likely be in the sports cars, or laid out under the floor in the longer-wheelbase vehicles. So let’s get our Lotus product plans straight here, in roughly calendar order: Emira mid-engine gasoline-powered sports car, Evija electric hypercar, Type 132 SUV, Type 133 four-door coupe, Type 134 crossover, and Type 135 electric sports car. Maybe. We’ve been promised Lotuses before (cough—Dany Bahar—cough).But we are here to praise the Es: Elise, Exige and Evora.

Here are the three without the supporting cast: Exige, Elise and Evora, left to right.
Lotus

“From 1996 to 2000, the first-generation Elise and Exige sports cars were built in a small assembly hall at Hethel alongside the Lotus Esprit,” Lotus noted. “Those assembly lines, which were installed in 2000, will be dismantled and replaced with all-new state-of-the-art facilities in support of the all-new Emira factory. Full Emira production begins in the spring, after the prototype and test phases currently underway are completed, taking Lotus sports car production into an exciting, high-tech and semi-automated era, and increasing capacity up to 5000 units per year on a single shift pattern.”And those last three Lotuses you see parked above? “The last examples of the Elise, Exige, and Evora models are reserved for Lotus’s growing heritage collection,” Lotus said, adding specifics about the three in the photos. “Joining the collection will be the last Elise, a Sport 240 Final Edition finished in Yellow and the last of 35,124 cars; the last Exige, a Cup 430 Final Edition in Heritage Racing Green—number 10,497; and the last Evora—a GT430 Sport finished in Dark Metallic Grey—the last of a production run of 6117.”Farewell, Es, we hardly knew ye. Actually, we knew ye pretty well, and enjoyed each and every mile we put on ye, even though our kidneys and other internal organs may disagree.

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