Motor News

After production of the R1T begins at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois, late this summer, Rivian will break ground on a new facility, according to company documents obtained by Reuters.The proposal calls for an initial investment of $5 billion and a 10,000-acre plot that would dwarf most factories, such as BMW’s 1200-acre Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant.Rivian is currently considering building on land to the east of Mesa, Arizona, and CEO R.J. Scaringe has already held talks with the governor of Arizona, according to Reuters.Earlier this month, we reported that deliveries of the Rivian R1T electric pickup would be delayed until September after originally being scheduled to start in July. Rivian has said that the R1T, as well as the related R1S electric SUV, will be built in Rivian’s factory in Normal, Illinois, when sales finally get underway. According to a report from Reuters, the Amazon-backed startup is already planning a second vehicle assembly plant, with a company document revealing that Rivian will invest $5 billion in the new facility. Rivian is also building electric commercial vans for Amazon.Although an early document obtained by Reuters did not directly identify Rivian and said the plant would sit on a 2000-acre plot, the revised proposal divulges plans for a plant on a vast 10,000-acre property, which Rivian calls Project Tera, Reuters said. Officials allegedly said that finding a plot of land that big would be a tricky endeavor, and if the factory was built to that size it would be more than eight times larger than BMW’s 1200-acre plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the German automaker built more than 400,000 SUVs in 2019.

The document also said that Rivian aims to break ground on the factory in the fall of this year, with production beginning at the plant in the second quarter of 2023. Unsurprisingly, Reuters cited sources with knowledge of the proposal as saying the plans are likely pushed back by up to six months due to the pandemic. The factory location has yet to be confirmed, but Reuters’ sources mentioned land near Gold Canyon, east of Mesa, Arizona, and said that Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe has discussed the proposal with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. The company already has a presence in the area, with a small engineering and test center in Wittmann, just north of Phoenix and about an hour’s drive from Mesa.
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

There’s a new full-length trailer for the forthcoming Ghostbusters movie, and it features a reborn Ecto-1.The movie, called Ghostbusters: Afterlife, features a multigenerational cast of phantom fighters and will include appearances from original cast members Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver. The movie’s release was originally scheduled for summer 2020 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is now scheduled for a November 11, 2021, release.

IMDB

In a perfect world, the third installment in the Ghostbusters franchise (or fourth, if you count the Leslie Jones–Melissa McCarthy–Kate McKinnon–Kristen Wiig movie from 2016—Sony appears not to) would have come out in July 2020. But we do not live in a perfect world. So instead of being on our third rewatch of the newest Ghostbusters movie, we’re only now watching the second official trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which features a cast of proton-pack-wielding kids and cameos from beloved members of the original cast.
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.

A new full-length trailer for the film was released yesterday, and there’s a lot for fans of the original movies to love. The best news for us is that it appears the Ecto-1 will feature heavily in Afterlife. If you’re not up on Ghostbusters lore, that’s the 1959 Cadillac Futura Duplex with an ambulance/hearse conversion that helped the original Ghostbusters save New York (and the world), but which did not make an appearance in the 2016 film.

The trailer casts the Ecto-1 as a barn find. The barn is on the Oklahoma homestead of now deceased Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters crew. The finder is Spengler’s teenage grandson, Trevor, played by Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame. In the trailer, Trevor is shown whipping a revived Ecto-1 around a wheat field, and when the story takes its inevitable paranormal turn, the car swerves through the streets of the plains-state ghost town where the movie takes place, proton streams blasting. The Ecto-1 is revealed to have a pop-out jump seat ideal for hunting ghosts on the fly. There’s also a shot of what looks like an RC car dropping out of the floor of the Ecto-1, perhaps for a paranormal reconnaissance mission or to serve as a capture drone. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 11.
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

Jeep is adding Gecko as a paint option for the Gladiator, with the color available for special order until early October for an additional $245.The color was initially offered on the Wrangler starting in the spring, with the order books for Gecko Wranglers closing in August.Jeep is also adding a Gorilla Glass windshield across the Wrangler and Gladiator ranges, with the more durable windshield costing an extra $95.The Jeep Wrangler is one of the best-selling vehicles in the United States—nearly 120,000 units found homes during the first half of 2021, along with almost 50,000 examples of the Wrangler-based Gladiator pickup. So new Wrangler and Gladiator owners might want to make their 4x4s stand out from the herd even more, and Jeep is now extending the special-run Gecko paint color from the Wrangler lineup to the Gladiator pickup.Gecko, a vibrant shade of green, has been available on the Wrangler since the spring of this year, with the order books for Gecko-painted Wranglers closing in August. Now the paint option can be had on the Gladiator as well, with customers able to order the special hue on the pickup truck until early October. The paint costs an additional $245 and joins other special-run colors like Chief Blue and Nacho for the 2021 model year.

Along with the Gecko paint, Jeep is expanding another recent option across the Wrangler and Gladiator lineups. Both models can now be ordered with a factory-installed windshield made of Corning Gorilla Glass, which utilizes the same technology as cellphone screens with a special inner layer chemically treated to increase its surface density over typical laminates. This makes the glass, according to Jeep, more lightweight while also being up to three times more resistant to chips, cracks, and fractures that might occur when taking a Jeep into its natural, off-road environment. Gorilla Glass windshields have been available for previous-generation Wrangler JK models since 2018, and can now be added to the current Wrangler JL and Gladiator JT for $95 extra.
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

Tesla redesigned its Model S with a yoke-style steering wheel, and we’re not the only ones wondering: Is it safe for the average driver?We reached out to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and learned that they don’t “approve” design changes like this—it’s up to the automaker to make sure its products meet safety standards before they release them.The steering yoke has both fans and detractors but Elon Musk says it is here to stay.It just wouldn’t be a conversation about Tesla without some sort of controversy about the screen or the styling or the promises of performance. Everyone’s favorite new Tesla topic is the steering wheel, or rather, the steering yoke, in the Model S. The redesigned Model S comes with a rectangular “wheel” with no top bar. It looks like an upside-down Formula 1 wheel, or, as many people have pointed out, like the controls in Knight Rider’s K.I.T.T. Neat. The scuttlebutt about the yoke is not whether it looks cool, but if it will be comfortable, or even safe, on the road.
This content is imported from Twitter. 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.

Many fans and detractors have assumed that Tesla will eventually offer the Model S with a traditional wheel, but Musk recently put the kibosh on that with a terse tweet to an online query. “No,” he said in a thread discussing possible alternate steering styles.
This content is imported from Twitter. 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.

When it was first announced in January 2021, there were even questions about whether it was legal, with quotes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) appearing in multiple articles saying it was “reaching out” to Tesla for more information. Whatever that conversation was, it must have satisfied the NHTSA investigators, because when Car and Driver approached them for an update about the safety of the yoke, the rep responded with a sigh that was audible through email—ours must not have been the first query on the subject.

“NHTSA does not ‘approve’ or test vehicles prior to their introduction,” she told us. “Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their vehicles meet all NHTSA safety standards and must certify the compliance of their vehicles. NHTSA’s standards do not prohibit non-circular steering controls, but manufacturers must ensure the steering control meets all requirements for occupant impact protection.” So, basically, if the steering control won’t impale the occupants or leave the vehicle and impale pedestrians, NHTSA doesn’t care what shape it is. Good news for Tesla, bad news if you were hoping to sell a spiked dog-collar version. Just because something is legal, though, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea in a car. Or maybe, more accurately, just because something is a good idea in an airplane or race car doesn’t mean it’s a good idea in a street car. Yoke-style steering controls are not new; they’ve been on dragsters since the beginning of nitro racing, in airplanes, and in the earlier mentioned F1 cars, but one rarely has to parallel park an open-wheel Ferrari, and if you’re doing a three-point turn in a Top Fuel rail you’ve got more problems than just an uncomfortable steering ratio. From watching videos of people driving the Model S, it looks like parking is the most complicated change for people used to a round steering wheel. Some of this has to do with Tesla’s decision not to adjust the steering ratio to go along with the new yoke—it would be better with a quicker ratio where the yoke wouldn’t have to be turned as far—and we have to imagine this will be addressed in the future. Tesla seems to have no problem with developing products on the go. Some videos make the yoke look impossible, but anyone who has ever gotten out of a manual and into an automatic and had to spend a day pressing on an invisible clutch before the muscle memory faded should have some idea of how quickly we can learn a new automotive layout. We did notice that racer Randy Pobst didn’t seem to want to risk that learning curve on the curves of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Pobst can be seen hustling a Model S Plaid up the mountain to a class win and 10thoverall finish with a traditional round wheel in the car.
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.

For people not doing their test drives cliffside, there are plenty of positive yoke reviews on YouTube too, much of it seems to be about how much the driver wants to like the yoke.
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.

“I’m a big believer in Tesla and what they’re doing, but I’d call it out if it wasn’t good,” said YouTuber and electric-car enthusiast TeslaRaj when we asked him about his yoke test drive. “I can’t say the yoke will drastically improve the driving experience or safety, but I can say you get used to it quickly and it doesn’t feel unsafe. If I had any complaint about the yoke it would be that the turn signals are hard to use, not the steering.” Raj went on to say that he did notice, and enjoy, the clear field of vision allowed by the truncated wheel, and that he thinks any minor learning curve is worth it for the style it brings to the cabin. “If I’m paying X amount for an electric car, it should feel like I’m in the future, and this feels like the future.”Another review, the one that prompted Musk’s recent tweet, seemed to agree with Raj that it wasn’t the steering that was hard to use but the touch-sensitive controls—and this is hardly a Tesla-only problem. Mercedes, we’re looking at your tiny steering-wheel buttons.
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.

It’s fun to throw a fit every time an automaker tries something new, but crows and octopi can use tools, so we, most adaptable of monkeys, are going to be able to figure out how to drive using the new Tesla Model S yoke even if it isn’t the most sensible solution to steering. Is the Lamborghini Huracán paddle-shift-into-gear sensible? Is the Porsche left-hand key? Is anything about the Ram TRX? If sensible was the only rule to automotive design, everything would look like the inside of a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. The yokes are coming, and if they start crashing at an unreasonable rate, we’ll check back with our friends at NHTSA.

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 Mulliner division worked with carbon experts Bucci Composites over five years to create 22-inch carbon-fiber wheels for the Bentayga.The wheels shed about 53 pounds off the Bentayga’s 5400-pound curb weight and were tested around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany.Bentley also says the lightweight, rigid material makes the Bentayga more nimble, reduces tire wear, and prevents rapid tire deflation in the event of a severe impact to the wheels.Both lightweight and rigid, carbon fiber has become prolific in modern supercars and sports cars, helping automakers shave that extra tenth off the car’s lap time by removing extra mass. But carbon fiber’s popularity among performance vehicles has also meant that it is in vogue for vehicles that are not exactly suited for the track, such as the 5400-pound Bentley Bentayga. Bentley has revealed a set of 22-inch carbon-fiber wheels for the Bentayga, developed by Bentley’s in-house coachbuilder Mulliner in collaboration with carbon specialist Bucci Composites.

Bentley

The wheels took five years to engineer, and Bentley claims that this is the largest carbon-fiber wheel in the world. Each wheel saves about 13 pounds for nearly 53 pounds of total weight savings. Bentley tested the wheels at the Nürburgring Nordschleife to boost their performance credentials.

Although the weight savings aren’t going to make such a colossal vehicle noticeably quicker around the Green Hell, Bentley also touts safety improvements brought by carbon fiber’s rigidity. With an aluminum wheel, Bentley said, a severe impact could cause the wheel to crack or shatter, in turn causing the tire to burst, but Bentley says that the carbon-fiber weave would tend to come apart more gradually in the event of an impact, producing less-extreme tire deflation.The British marque also argues that the reduced weight and increased stiffness of the wheels boosts steering agility and grip, as well as leading to more responsive braking. We found this to be the case when we compared the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R’s carbon-fiber wheels with the aluminum units on the GT350 in 2016, crediting the 58-pound-lighter wheels on the R for its quicker acceleration and better grip.Finally, Bentley says that the stiffness of carbon fiber means less flexing of the wheel and a more consistent contact patch between the tire and the ground, reducing tire wear. The new 22-inch wheels will become available to order through Mulliner later this year, although there is no word yet on how much extra the carbon-fiber rims will cost.
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

McLaren revealed the 765LT Spider convertible, and it has a carbon fiber retractable hardtop that can be raised or lowered in 11 seconds. The 765LT Spider is powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 that produces 755 horsepower, and McLaren says it’ll do 60 mph in 2.7 seconds.Orders are open now starting at $388,000.The McLaren 765LT, the stripped-down, track-focused Longtail counterpart to the 720S, is the third-fastest car at our annual Lightning Lap test with a time of 2:38.4 around Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course. That’s not its only accomplishment at VIR. It also hit the fastest speed we’ve ever recorded—174.6 mph—on the front straight. Now there’s a Spider convertible model available to order, and like the coupe it’s limited to 765 units. Its one-piece carbon retractable hardtop can be raised and lowered in 11 seconds (quicker than the 675LT Spider) can operate at speeds up to 31 mph. McLaren says it provides more headroom than the Coupe, even with the top up. The Spider also has a power rear window that can be lowered even when the roof is up like the 720S Spider (or the Toyota 4Runner), and you’ll have to pay extra for air conditioning or a sound system. The 765LT Spider is 108 pounds heavier than the coupe, McLaren says.

The Spider is still powered by McLaren’s M840T twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 that makes 755 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. McLaren says the Spider will reach 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, the same as the coupe. In our test of the 720S Spider, we reached 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. The 765LT Spider is equipped with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires and features all the same weight-saving measures and aerodynamic elements as the coupe. McLaren will only build 765 units of the 765LT Spider, and it’s available to order now starting at $388,000.
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

Subaru has released another teaser for the 2022 WRX, which will debut August 19.It will be shown at the New York auto show next month.We expect the new WRX to go on sale in the U.S. later this year.The trickle of information continues about the new 2022 Subaru WRX with the latest teaser photo and a video clip that shows the new sport compact kicking up dust. We also now know that the new turbocharged, all-wheel-drive sedan will make its official debut in just a few short weeks, on August 19 at the New York auto show.

The teaser image shows the new WRX in red with a cloud of dust surrounding it. The video posted on Subaru’s website is a bit more revealing, showing a few quick views of the car’s details including black wheels, dual exhaust tips, and a rear diffuser. You can also hear the distinctive growl of a turbocharged flat-four engine in the clip and briefly see the tachometer.

Subaru

We expect the new WRX to have a turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four that should make more power than the current model’s 268-hp turbo 2.0-liter engine. The standard WRX could even approach 300 horsepower, if current rumors are any indication. An even more powerful WRX STI with a more extreme suspension setup and visual add-ons should follow soon after the standard model.Look for more information to come soon on the new WRX, which will likely go on sale in the U.S. by the end of the year with a starting price somewhere around $30,000.
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

Airstream and Pottery Barn have teamed up to make a special-edition travel trailer.The 28-foot trailer pairs Airstream’s iconic silver exterior with an interior full of Pottery Barn furniture, bedding, and kitchen items.Its price is steep at around $145,000, but comes nearly fully stocked and ready to glamp.Following the launch of a collaborative line of trailer decor and accessories earlier this year, Airstream and Pottery Barn have upped the ante with a special-edition travel trailer that’s fitted with homey wares and products. The interior has been designed by Pottery Barn stylists with a beachy, high-end theme inspired by the Pacific Coast Highway.

The Airstream x Pottery Barn trailer is based on the 28-foot International model and features either a queen bed or two twin beds as the main sleeping quarters, with additional space for two to sleep on the fold-down dinette. An under-bed storage system is included to maximize closet space. Linen bedding is provided by Pottery Barn, as are the rest of the interior fabrics, including the blackout curtains that wrap around the front and rear of the trailer’s panoramic windows.
The standard Airstream’s interior furniture has been swapped out for pieces including a solid-oak dinette table and a sectional sofa similar to Pottery Barn’s Aubrey furniture collection. Airstream has also changed out the trailer’s wall sconces and upper cabinetry doors with pieces that match the Pottery Barn interior design. Both the galley and bathroom faucets have a matte-black finish and the kitchen features a stainless steel flat-apron sink.
A fully-stocked galley includes a solid walnut cutting board, a 16-piece stone dinnerware set, silverware, a chef’s knife set and block, and a handy set of barware for cocktail hour. Speaking of cocktails, hosts will be able to serve guests via a table that attaches to the exterior of the trailer on the kitchen window sill.
You’ll be able to spot the Airstream x Pottery Barn trailer at campgrounds by looking for its striped awnings. All models also come with an outdoor folding table and armchair set and a special-edition doormat. The trailer is available at Airstream dealers now and carries a starting price of around $145,000.
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