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The Fisker Ocean SUV will be revealed at the Los Angeles auto show in November, ahead of the start of production in 2022.The battery-electric SUV will start at $37,499, promising a range of 300 miles in addition to features like a solar roof.Fisker plans to open brand experience centers in a number of major cities in 2022, ahead of the start of production.Henrik Fisker’s EV startup will bring a production version of the battery-electric Ocean SUV to the Los Angeles auto show this fall, following its first appearance at nearly two years ago at the CES technology show. Promised to come with a 300-mile range and a $37,499 starting price,prior to any incentives, the Ocean is slated to be produced by Austria’s Magna Steyr starting next fall, using Magna’s own EV architecture.

The SUV is due to enter production in the fourth quarter of 2022, a timeline from which Fisker has not backed away from since the deal with Magna was announced, with the Los Angeles auto show later this year serving as its big debut. Testing of production prototypes is set to start later this year, with the company stating that it has 17,300 paid reservations for the SUV so far in addition to 62,000 hand-raisers, as well as fleet orders from companies including Onto, Viggo, and Credit Agricole Consumer Finance.”Our reservation and order process was designed from the outset to be transparent, to prioritize quality over quantity and to ensure our stakeholders have confidence in the commitment of our reservation holders,” said Fisker chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker. “As we get closer to launch, we will be working with our prospective owners to transition their reservations into contracted orders. We have many loyal supporters of the company waiting for their Ocean, and the reservation system is purposely designed to be fair to those who reserve with the intention to ultimately take delivery.”

Fisker

The company also plans to open six Fisker Brand Experience Centers. The first such locations will open their doors in early 2022 in Los Angeles and Munich, with the rest (likely New York, Copenhagen, Miami, and London) scheduled to open in the second half of 2022. The centers are expected to serve as analogues to various company-owned stores launched by a number of other automakers, an approach popularized by Tesla, where customers can experience the Fisker models, talk to vehicle experts, and place orders.
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Fisker the company has been on the periphery of EV startups the past few years, after briefly offering its Fisker Karma range-extended electric sedan early last decade, starting in 2011. That was a year before the Tesla Model S debuted, and for a brief time the two looked they had about equal chances of success in the marketplace. But just under 2500 examples of the Karma ended up being produced, with the effort stalling after its battery supplier entered bankruptcy. Since that time, the remains of the Karma project had been bought up by a Chinese industrial giant and rebranded as Karma Automotive, while Henrik Fisker has been plotting a return to the EV game under his own name, which has been imminent for quite some time.That return began to seem more likely almost a year ago when the company announced that it had reached a deal with Austria’s Magna International to produce the Fisker Ocean SUV.The Ocean will also arrive in a markedly different EV landscape than that of just a few years ago, as the list of competitors by late 2022 will be quite extensive. Just how Fisker will be able to distinguish itself and grab a slice of the EV pie given all the other players that will be in the game by then remains to be seen.”With less than 500 days to run before we start on-time production of the Fisker Ocean, we are simultaneously focused on crafting our customer journey,” Fisker added. “Our brand experience centers will be the primary physical touchpoint for the majority of our prospective customers. Our global rollout plans are focused on the largest metropolitan areas for electric vehicle adoption—and where we can meet the greatest number of our reservation holders.”

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The Ford Transit, were you unaware, just so happens to be America’s bestselling van. It has an all-wheel drive version, which also means it’s more capable—and Alabama-based camper-van builder Storyteller Overland, builder of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter–based Beast Mode, is taking advantage of that. The company is now offering a Transit-based version of its entry-level Mode van, called the Mode LT.

The Mode LT uses a Transit with a 148.0-inch wheelbase and Ford’s 3.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost V-6, which puts out 310 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Storyteller Overland describes the Mode LT as a capable enough off-roader; the AWD Transit, they say, is not for “rock crawling or hyper-aggressive off-roading.” Still, it is capable enough for “leading you up to Tahoe for a weekend ski getaway or carrying you and your crew down a backcountry gravel road for a night of boondocking under the stars.”

Storyteller Overland

Storyteller does not have pictures of the Mode LT interior yet. However, the company says it will sleep three passengers. Features like the Groove Lounge and the hidden interior Halo Shower system will carry over from the Mercedes version; the Mode LT will also offer a portable cassette toilet, a microwave, a refrigerator/freezer, and a portable induction cooktop. Exterior amenities include a roof rack, a side-mount ladder, a powered awning with dimmable LEDs, and 90 watts of solar panels (which can be expanded to 600 watts).Pricing for the Storyteller Overland Mode LT starts at $153,748, making it about $4000 cheaper than their Classic Mode 4×4 with a Sprinter. Another advantage is that because the Mode LT is a Ford Transit, it has access to Ford’s massive dealer network for servicing. Buyers can place orders at a Storyteller Overland dealer. The company says Mode LT vans will begin shipping in late 2021.

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Buying a car with a salvage title can lead to a lot heartaches. But there are a number of reasons from crashes to vandalism that can brand a car with the DMV equivalent of caution tape. Investing in a car with a checkered past can also allow you to lead a champagne lifestyle on a Coors Light budget by scoring an incredible deal. The hard part is finding the right car, but that’s the kind of hard work that the Window Shop crew likes to do.Not convinced that buying a salvage car is a good idea, deputy testing director K.C. Colwell decides to minimize his outlay by buying a Chevrolet Caprice that led a former life as a police car. According to the listing, a front-end collision caused the tainted title, but the repair appears good in photos.Contributor Jonathon Ramsey isn’t fazed by spending more to get more, so he presents an E60-gen BMW M5, a car that once wore a near-$100,000 window sticker. The crew points out the many problems that plague that generation M5, but Ramsey is unmoved. A second BMW follow’s Ramsey’s. Senior editor Joey Capparella selects the rare and controversial Z3 coupe. Ones with clean titles trade for over $25,000, so Capparella’s seems like a relative deal. R&T editor John Pearley Huffman goes for a salvage-title 1965 Chevy that he thinks would make a great project. And deputy editor Tony Quiroga presents his ridiculous Maserati Biturbo with an electric drivetrain that no one can get behind. As usual, there are plenty of laughs. You might even learn something, but we make no guarantees.

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Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, a mansion currently listed for sale sits on 4.8 acres of land, providing room for five guest houses, stables, a spa, and a pool and pool house.The property has expansive garages that can house 100 vehicles, proportioned to accommodate RV or boat storage, and there are several lifts, a paint booth, a detailing room, and a dedicated washing station.The house is listed at $6.3 million by Keller Williams Realty and has been on the market for more than half a year.If you happen to have 100 cars sitting around with nowhere to store them and a few truckloads of spare cash, you should check out this 8,735-square-foot mansion in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sitting on a 4.8-acre lot, the expansive compound features a main home with four bedrooms and five bathrooms and several additional structures including garage space for 100 vehicles, making it the ideal pad for any gearhead who has trouble parting with their beloved cars.

ARMLS via Zillow

Located at 11350 East Arabian Park Drive in Scottsdale, the colossal compound is situated on a private street and was built in 2006, according to the listing on Zillow listing. The extensive terracotta and wood detailing gives the mansion a certain rustic, desert charm, and the property also includes five guest houses, a separate pool house and kitchen to complement the heated pool and spa, and facilities for keeping horses, all situated around an wide, open courtyard. But the real attraction is the massive amount of automotive storage space. The garage buildings include multiple lifts if you want to get your hands greasy, as well as a paint booth and detailing room so you can prep your vehicles for the next concours d’elegance event. There is also a charging port, a wash station with water-ionizing capability, and space to store bulkier vehicles like an RV or boat. Between all of the garages combined there are 18 single doors and 13 double doors.

ARMLS via Zillow

The photos provided with the listing show the garages being put to good use. There is an interesting mix of cars—some photos depict chrome-tipped 1950s Americana, including a C1 Corvette, in front of the garages, while others show row upon row of classic Mercedes-Benzes and several old-school Ford hot rods. The seller also provides an image of two MGs parked near the lifts and a photo showing an early 2000s Ford Thunderbird and an Aston Martin DB9 parked in one of the garages reveals just how spacious they are.

11350 East Arabian Park Drive is listed for $6.3 million and has been on sale for over half a year. The price dropped by $200,000 in May, and although it still costs a ton of money, the property seems like a relative steal compared to some of the other mansions we’ve featured before, such as this $62 million house in Los Angeles that we covered last year.
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Audi is withdrawing from Formula E and DTM to focus on Le Mans and Dakar, with the RS Q e-tron set to enter the 2022 Dakar Rally early next year.The RS Q e-tron borrows two electric motors from Audi’s Formula E program with one on each axle, good for a combined 671 horsepower.The 50.0-kWh battery will be charged by a range-extender gasoline engine, the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four found in Audi’s DTM racer from the 2020 season.Audi was a dominant force in Group B rally in the mid-1980s, earning two manufacturers’ championships with the revolutionary all-wheel-drive Quattro before switching its attention to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000, winning 13 times in the next 15 years and becoming the first winner with a hybrid powertrain. Audi aims to check another item off of its motorsports bucket list by conquering the grueling Dakar Rally with this hybridized off-road beast called the RS Q e-tron.

Audi

The RS Q e-tron, which will compete in the 2022 Dakar Rally in January, uses a range-extender setup that borrows bits and pieces from Audi’s other motorsports programs. If you own an EV in the U.S., you’ll know that it can be pretty hard to find chargers, and unsurprisingly it’s even trickier to spot one in the middle of the desert. As a result, the vehicle’s 50.0-kWh battery is charged instead by a gasoline engine that acts as a generator. But it’s not just any gas engine, it’s the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four from the Audi RS5 Turbo DTM, Audi’s last entry into DTM before exiting the series after the 2020 season.

Audi

Power from the battery is then sent to two electric motors, with one on each axle, taken from Audi’s Formula E program. Only minor changes differentiate the motors from the units in Audi’s e-tron FE07 car, which propelled Lucas di Grassi to a Formula E win in Puebla, Mexico earlier this year. According to Audi, the total system output is 671 horsepower, although that could end up being restricted by regulations.

The RS Q e-tron is a key part of Audi’s new motorsports direction, announced last year, which sees it leave Formula E after seven seasons to concentrate on returning to Le Mans and contesting the Dakar Rally. Three RS Q e-trons will compete in the demanding event in January, and Audi has enlisted drivers including Stéphane Peterhansel, the most successful Dakar driver ever with 14 victories, Carlos Sainz, two-time rally champ and three-time Dakar winner, and Mattias Ekström, who holds two DTM titles and one World Rallycross championship. The Dakar Rally will last two weeks, with daily stages that can be nearly 500 miles long, and will serve as a major test of the durability of Audi’s electrified drivetrain.
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GM is rolling out a new version of Super Cruise that supports towing a trailer.It also has a new feature called automatic lane change that can overtake a slower vehicle without any input from the driver.This new Super Cruise will be available on several GMC, Chevy, and Cadillac models later this year as 2022 models arrive.GM is installing its Super Cruise hands-free highway driving technology in several new models for 2022, and the system will be upgraded to support several new features. The biggest upgrade, which will matter most for GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado customers, is that this new version of Super Cruise can now operate with a trailer attached.

When you’re pulling a trailer, Super Cruise adjusts its tuning to compensate for the estimate gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the truck and the trailer combined. It otherwise works exactly the same as normal Super Cruise, with the vehicle operating the steering and speed of the vehicle and allowing the driver to keep their hands off the wheel so long as the vehicle verifies that you continue to keep your eyes on the road via an eye-tracking system.This new Super Cruise can also now execute lane changes on its own. While it previously offered on-demand lane changes if you pressed the turn signal, the system can now make those decisions without driver input. If the vehicle senses that you’re approaching a slower car, it checks if there’s enough room to pass—either in the lane to the right or the lane to the left—and overtakes. The only caveat is that auto lane change isn’t active with a trailer attached.GM says the new Super Cruise will be offered on 2022 GMC Sierra, Chevy Silverado, GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac CT4, and Cadillac CT5 models later this year. We expect to hear more about the other updates in store for the 2022 Sierra and Silverado within the next few months.
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Inspired by the launch of the Golf R, VW took the Golf R’s EA288 turbo-four and put it in the Atlas Cross Sport to create the GT concept.The Cross Sport GT routes more than 300 horsepower through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox to all four wheels, which should lower the standard car’s 7.5-second 60-mph sprint time.The concept also rides on a custom suspension and 22-inch ABT Sport wheels, and it features a revised interior with four Recaro performance seats.The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport ditches the third row of seats found in the standard Atlas in favor of a more rakish, coupe-like roofline. However, it uses the same 235-hp four-cylinder and optional 276-hp V-6, so the coupe-ified Atlas isn’t much more athletic than the three-row model. That changes with the new Atlas Cross Sport GT concept, unveiled today by Volkswagen. Inspired by the launch of the Golf R, the GT concept receives a host of upgrades to create a crossover “that could appeal to our performance enthusiast base,” as explained by VW Group of America CEO Scott Keogh.

Volkswagen

The concept is the handiwork of Jamie Orr, a VW enthusiast and brand ambassador, who took a 2021 Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line off the assembly line and infused it with some of the performance goodies from the Golf R. Most notably, this meant an engine swap—the GT concept features a version of the EA888 turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four found in the Golf R. VW says the engine makes over 300 horsepower, routed through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission instead of the standard eight-speed auto. The GT concept is equipped with all-wheel drive, and while VW didn’t provide performance figures, it’s safe to assume the extra power allows for a quicker 60-mph sprint than the 7.5 seconds posted by the normal V-6 model.The Cross Sport GT was hand painted at the Chattanooga factory in Eisvogelblau, or Kingfisher Blue, which is also available on certain European VW products. Orr gave the GT concept a sportier stance by installing 22-inch ABT Sport HR Aerowheels with blue accents shod in Yokohama Advan Sport V105 285/35R-22 rubber. The suspension is lowered as well, featuring custom ST Suspension XTA Plus 3 coil-overs with blue, GT Concept–branded springs. The front brakes have been upgraded to Tarox eight-piston calipers.

Volkswagen

Along with the stunning blue paint job, the exterior features unique GT badging and gloss-black trim pieces in place of chrome. Eisvogelblau is also found throughout the interior, adorning the special Recaro Sportster CS seats, custom gearshift, steering wheel, door panels, floor mats, and seatbelts. The rear bench has been removed, with two Recaros taking its place to make this a four-passenger car, and the GT gains a center console in the second row which mimics the design of the one found up front. VW points out that none of the modified interior pieces use animal-based materials.

Although the Cross Sport GT concept seems more like a project cooked up by VW employees in their spare time, it shows that the company is exploring how to make its SUV lineup attractive to the enthusiasts who snap up GTIs and Golf Rs. Maybe with strong enough feedback, VW might consider building a sportier Atlas R, since it already sells R models of the T-Roc, Tiguan, and Touareg crossovers for the Europe market.
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Subaru has announced pricing for the 2022 BRZ, which starts at $28,955.The standard model is the Premium trim level, and the Limited starts at $31,455.The new BRZ will arrive at dealerships in the fall, and the related Toyota GR 86 will follow later.The new 2022 Subaru BRZ, which retains its rear-wheel-drive layout and boxer-four engine but features more horsepower and a nicer interior, will cost $28,955 to start. That starting price is actually cheaper than the 2020 model, which was only available starting with the Limited trim level that cost $29,745.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard equipment, and a six-speed automatic is $1600 extra—though we don’t know why you’d pay extra for a slushbox in a sporty coupe like this. The Premium trim level has an 8.0-inch infotainment screen, a limited-slip differential, and 17-inch wheels. The Limited starts at $31,455 and adds summer tires and 18-inch matte-grey wheels, along with blind-spot monitoring. The automatic version of the BRZ Limited has a few additional driver-assistance features compared with the manual.We’re curious to see how the BRZ’s twin, the 2022 Toyota GR 86, stacks up in terms of pricing and equipment, but that car will go on sale later than the BRZ in the U.S. The Subaru is scheduled to arrive at dealerships starting in the fall.
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