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The EPA has announced that the 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer is rated at 15 mpg combined, less than the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. It’s powered by a 6.4-liter V-8 and comes standard with four-wheel drive. The Grand Wagoneer will be on sale this summer starting at $88,995.The Jeep Grand Wagoneer is returning this summer as a massive three-row SUV, and the EPA is estimating that it is good for 15 mpg combined. There’s also a cheaper and less luxurious Wagoneer, but its fuel economy estimates have not yet been announced. The Grand Wagoneer’s EPA estimated fuel economy makes the big Jeep less efficient than other American luxury SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.
All Grand Wagoneers use a naturally aspirated 6.4-liter V-8 engine that produces 471 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque, and four-wheel drive is standard. The V-8 has cylinder deactivation and is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The EPA estimates that the Grand Wagoneer will get 13 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway. The Wagoneer will likely be more efficient, as it’s powered by a 5.7-liter V-8 with a 48-volt belt-driven motor/generator system called eTorque. The Ram 1500 with eTorque is rated 2 mpg higher than the model without the hybrid system.

Cadillac Escalades with four-wheel drive and the standard 6.2-liter V-8 engine are rated at 16 mpg combined, 13 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway. The Lincoln Navigator, which uses a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, is rated at 17 mpg combined, 16 mpg city, and 20 mpg highway. German luxury SUVs such as the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS-class are EPA-rated at 21 mpg combined with their respective turbocharged six-cylinder engines. Jeep says that both a hybrid model and hands-free driving will be available eventually. The 2022 Grand Wagoneer will arrive this summer starting at $88,995.
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WFLA News Channel 8 via YouTube

Snap, Inc., introduced a speed filter in 2013 as a way for users to document how fast they were driving when a particular video was taken.In the following years, numerous fatal crashes involved the speed filter in some way, leading to a gamification of driving by some young Snapchat users.In May, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that parents of young men who died in a crash where a speed filter was used right before impact could sue Snap, Inc. This month, the feature was removed.In what feels like the origin story for a fair number of lawsuits, the company behind the popular Snapchat app finally removed the “speed filter” feature from its app this week, which would display the speed at which a person was moving when a Snap video was taken. NPR was the first to report the removal of the feature, which was introduced in 2013. A representative from Snap, Inc., told NPR this week that the speed filter “is barely used by Snapchatters . . . And in light of that, we are removing it altogether.” But there is another, legal reason the tech company may have decided that now was the right time to take away something that’s been around for eight years.
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Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Snapchat for the Speed Filter feature over the years, and news reports about people, including many teens, who’ve died or been injured in crashes that in some way involved the filter are not hard to find. To cite just a few examples: a woman died in a Mini Cooper going 106 miles per hour in March 2018. Three young women died in a fire after a Camaro crashed after going over 70 mph in February 2016. A man driving a Volkswagen Golf killed himself and four others after going at least 115.6 mph in October 2016.

In all of these cases—and many, many more—Snapchat’s speed filter is thought to have played a role in the speed the drivers were going before crashing. Until the vehicles crashed, some people using the speed filter to record high speed levels seemed to treat it like a game to drive beyond their own abilities. In describing the Snapchat video of the Golf, a Tampa Bay Times story said, “A woman is heard giggling during the 10-second clip, apparently filmed from the passenger seat.”Snapchat’s response to incidents like these in the past has been to say the company doesn’t approve of irresponsible driving and making the app display a “don’t snap and drive” warning when using the speed filter. This isn’t helpful when a passenger is the one filming, and, more recently, Snapchat reduced the maximum speed the app would display to 35 mph.

CBS via YouTube

Things changed in May, when a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the parents of three young men who died in a crash in Wisconsin while using speed filter to record speeds of up to 123 mph have a right to sue Snapchat. NPR called this a “surprise decision” as it did not allow Snapchat to hide behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which tech companies often rely on to not be held accountable for what users post on their sites. The Ninth Circuit judges said since the speed filter was a feature of the app and not user content, Section 230 did not protect Snapchat. The problem, the Ninth Circuit said, is the inherent design of the app, which rewards users with “trophies, streaks, and social recognitions” based on the snaps they send, the court wrote. The problem is that the app doesn’t precisely tell users how to earn these achievements. “Many of Snapchat’s users suspect, if not actually ‘believe,’ that Snapchat will reward them for “recording a 100-mph or faster [s]nap” using the Speed Filter. According to plaintiffs, ‘[t]his is a game for Snap and many of its users’ with the goal being to reach 100 mph, take a photo or video with the Speed Filter, ‘and then share the 100-mph-Snap on Snapchat.'”The court said last month that, at the very least, Snapchat should have known that a reward system like this incentivized young drivers to drive at speeds that were dangerous for them, but it did not take action to remove this incentive from the app. After leaving the feature in place for eight years, it took just a month for Snap to remove the feature once the court’s decision was made.
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Bureau of Customs PH / Facebook

Yes, that is a McLaren 620R being crushed by a backhoe.This display of destruction is the latest in an oddly long lineage of spectacular public crushing of illegally imported cars. In this case, the Bureau of Customs in the Philippines crushed a total of $1.2 million in cars over two separate incidents. One featured 14 Mitsubishi Jeeps, while the other starred seven cars headlined by the McLaren.

This particular crushing is part of a lasting campaign to crack down on illegal car importation, an issue apparently very close to the heart of Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. He ordered a similar crushing in 2018, an event that involved a tractor driving over a startling $8 million of cars in a monster-truck-like exhibition of punishment. This particular crushing is less destructive, but there is something particularly cruel about smashing the roof of each car individually for the sole purpose of destroying something.

Bureau of Customs PH / Facebook

That is the point, of course. All the smashing is meant to discourage importation by showing that the end result for anyone who tries is a car crushed in front of them for the whole world to see.
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The Philippines Bureau of Customs notes that the crushing also involved the destruction of a Lotus, a Bentley, a 911, an SLK, a Genesis coupe, and, somehow, a Solara convertible. But the track-focused 620R is by far the most rare thing crushed. Just 350 were produced, and the loss of this one means that number is down even further.

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If you thought the seven-year search for new U.S. Postal Service mail trucks was over, think again. There were three companies bidding for the massive contract, and one of them, Workhorse, now says a court should look into whether the deal was conducted fairly and whether the government didn’t seriously consider its all-electric options including the Workhorse prototype pictured above.The public details remain a bit vague, given the secrecy of the contract bids and other non-disclosure agreements.In February, the U.S. Postal Service awarded a deal for up to 165,000 new mail trucks worth up to $6 billion to defense contractor Oshkosh. The search for new delivery vehicles took the USPS around seven years, and once the Internet learned what the quirky new van would look like, much merriment ensued. Not everyone was happy, though. Workhorse, formerly known as Amp Electric Vehicles, was one of two other contractors bidding for the USPS contract (the other was Karsan). This week, Workhorse sued the postal service over the terms of the deal, especially whether or not the mail carrier ever seriously considered Workhorse’s electric vehicles as suitable replacements for the Grumman “Long Life Vehicles” that are commonly seen delivering mail today.

Workhorse’s lawsuit—the version that the public can see, anyway—is vague, as the company said the revealing all of the contract information would release details about its bid for the contract and the company’s EVs that would be helpful to competitors. Alongside the court filing, Workhorse issued a media statement that said Workhorse representatives met with the USPS in early March to “discuss the award and further specifics of the USPS selection process,” but that the details of the meeting “cannot be disclosed at this time.”Nonetheless, we can get a feel for what the issue is based on anonymous sources who have spoken to the Washington Post, and it seems to all come down to the level of electrification the USPS is actually interested in. The February announcement included language about EVs but also made clear that gas-powered mail trucks would still be part of the USPS. Workhorse insiders told the Post that they believe the USPS didn’t seriously consider Workhorse’s bid, in part because it leaned so heavily on electric vehicles. Embattled USPS postmaster general Louis DeJoy said after the Oshkosh announcement that only around 10 percent of the trucks the postal service will buy will be electrified. Workhorse is asking the court for a preliminary injunction to halt the procurement process for Oshkosh’s mail trucks until the decision is reviewed. It also reportedly claims that the USPS did not fully evaluate an all-electric prototype from Oshkosh.

“The allegations are that basically that [the Postal Service] never planned to seriously consider Workhorse and they put their thumb on the scale to select against Workhorse,” a source told the Post. The USPS and Oshkosh are not commenting on the lawsuit, and Workhorse said it is “unable to provide any further information with respect to this matter currently but will provide updates when appropriate and as permitted under its non-disclosure agreement as part of the USPS [Next-Generation Delivery Vehicle] program.”Oskhosh has said in other instances that the ability to swap out the gas-powered powertrain in its new trucks for all-electric versions was a selling point to the USPS, even though it told the SEC last November that is basically an electric-powertrain amateur: “While we are continuing to explore options to offer more propulsion choices in our products, such as electric-powered vehicles or mobile equipment, with lower emissions, this may require us to spend additional funds on product research and development and implementation costs and subject us to the risk that our competitors may respond to these pressures in a manner that gives them a competitive advantage,” the company wrote at the time.Whatever trucks the USPS purchases to replace its current fleet, they will be a massive upgrade. The LLVs currently in use were all built between 1987 and 1994 and were supposed to be retired after, at most, 24 years. All of the trucks are older than that at this point, but mail carriers might need to drive them for a few more miles before new trucks arrive.
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Toyota has dropped the first full photo of the upcoming 2022 Tundra full-size pickup. This is an off-road-ready TRD Pro model with black 18-inch wheels wrapped in Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires. The new Tundra will be fully unveiled later this year and will go on sale shortly after. After photos of the 2022 Toyota Tundra leaked on the internet (and were published here at Car and Driver, among other places), Toyota has released a clear photo of the upcoming full-size pickup in TRD Pro form. The new Tundra will debut in the coming months and should arrive in the U.S. by the end of the year.
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We’re getting a clearer look at the truck’s imposing new front end, which features a black grille with three integrated LED light bars. “Toyota” script sits up top with a stamped “Tundra” badge in the lower front bumper, which has the same camo-like pattern as the fender flares. A new set of TRD Pro-specific wheels are mounted with 285/65 Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires. This example also has a red interior.

The new Tundra is expected to use a new twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, and Toyota released an image of the new truck’s engine cover this week. The photo showed an “iForce MAX” badge with blue lettering, suggesting a new hybrid powertrain, which surely could be an option. Another major change should be seen in the rear suspension setup, which is expected to replace the old truck’s leaf springs with coil springs, air springs, or possibly an independent rear suspension. Look for the official details and specs on the 2022 Toyota Tundra in the coming months. This TRD Pro model should cost just over $50,000, and the base truck’s starting price is expected to be around $36,000.
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Like every Window Shop episode, this one features used vehicles for sale online selected by the talking heads that make up this “show.” Unlike every other Window Shop episode, no shopper picked the car that he’s presenting. That task fell to his coworkers, who weren’t kind in their choices. Crowning the winner isn’t based on the best car, but rather how well the shopper-turned-salesman handles the surprise and hypes up the car he’s given. It’s easy to find obscure and esoteric things that we know nothing about, but the point here was to find something that the presenter would never choose, something that goes against everything he believes in. The harder the sell, the better. Oh, the budget was $30,000, if that’s important to you. Road & Track senior editor John Pearley Huffman is up first and faces deputy testing director K.C. Colwell’s find. Pearley rolls masterfully with the Rolls-inspired 1983 Cadillac Seville. This segues into senior editor Joey Capparella’s hilarious attempt to sell a Ford Econoline conversion van chosen for him by deputy editor Tony Quiroga. Known for his love of expensive, exotic, and beautiful machines, contributor Jonathon Ramsey is visibly shaken by the idea of extolling the virtues the Pontiac Torrent, a Capparella selection. At least the Torrent is the 263-hp GXP model.Ramsey tries to befuddle Colwell with a heavily modified car that started its life as a Nissan 370Z. Despite the car’s automatic transmission, cheap tires, and aftermarket everything, Colwell makes it through the presentation, pointing out all the best bits.Finally, Quiroga faces the wrath of Huffman, who picks a commercial Freightliner moving van that stops Quiroga in his tracks. Pearley does admit to not reading the challenge, but hilarity ensues. We couldn’t pick a winner, so we’re leaving this one up to you. In the comments section, please let us know who you think picked the best (worst) car and who did the best job with what he was given.

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In honor of Juneteenth, Car and Driver’s parent company Hearst Magazines is highlighting the stories of black elders as told to young black journalists. One of those stories comes from Joseph Anderson, a former executive at GM’s Pontiac division, a graduate of West Point, and now the CEO of TAG Holdings. Read his story, as told to De’Aundre Barnes, here. This Week in SheetmetalPorsche showed us the wingless Touring edition of its 911 GT3. The wing delete is the only change to the Touring model, which creates downforce using a power-operated automatic rear spoiler. Every GT3 will have 502 horsepower and a flat-six engine with a 9000-rpm redline, and you won’t be able to buy the manual version in California because it’ll be too loud. That’s our kind of car.

Polestar

Polestar gave us a teaser image for its 3 SUV, which should start production next year. The car is under a drape in the shot, but based on its silhouette we suspect it’ll take the form of an SUV coupe, and it looks like it may even sport a rear spoiler or wing. Honda will soon end production of its Clarity fuel cell and plug-in-hybrid models. The Clarity also initially had an EV variant, but that model was discontinued last year. The cars weren’t big sellers, so Honda says interested buyers will still be able to lease those versions of the Clarity through 2022. Ford has finally started production of the new Bronco, and the first customers should receive their off-roaders within the next few weeks. Ford first delayed the launch in December, saying then that the Bronco was scheduled to start production in early May. Broncos carrying the Sasquatch package still won’t be available until next year.

Lordstown

SNAFU at LordstownDon’t let Elon Musk trick you into thinking that running an EV startup is easy. Lordstown Motors, an Ohio-based EV startup, has spent the past two weeks issuing increasingly dire communications about its viability, which have sent the stock tumbling and raised serious questions about the future of the company and its electric Endurance pickup. Early this week, Lordstown announced that its chief executive officer and chief financial officer had both resigned following an internal report. That report found there was some truth to the claims in a report from investment research firm Hindenburg that Lordstown had exaggerated the number of orders it had for the truck. On Thursday, the company had admitted in an SEC filing that it had no binding or firm purchase orders for the Endurance (the outgoing CEO previously said the company had 100,000 pre-orders, while a different executive said earlier this week that there were enough binding orders to account for two model years of production). Lordstown’s future is still uncertain, but we wouldn’t be surprised if F-150 Lightning owners have come up with their own version of the Jeep wave by the time the first Endurance rolls off the line.EV a Gogo

Chaos at Lordstown aside, it was another big week for EV announcements from major automakers. Lincoln, Ford’s often troubled luxury arm, will go all electric by 2030, starting with an EV SUV in 2022. The head of brand development at Volkswagen said the brand is preparing to realign its business towards EVs “in a massive way,” while VW’s luxury brand Audi says it will stop introducing new internal-combustion-engine vehicles by 2026. And General Motors is accelerating plans for two U.S. battery plants.Consulting firm AlixPartners thinks this may all be a bit too much too fast, though. The firm estimates in its annual report on the auto industry that EVs will make up 24 percent of all vehicle sales by 2030, but if every manufacturer that has made a promise about shifting to EV production actually does, demand for those cars will need to increase to 35 percent to match supply. Further Reading Ferrari had its first runway show this week, which featured models walking through the brand’s Maranello factory. The New York Times took an EV road trip through Colorado so you don’t have to.And if you’re a last-minute kind of gift giver, here’s our list of great books about cars for dads.

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Porsche’s sixth-generation infotainment system now supports Android Auto, along with increased integration of Apple CarPlay.The Track Precision app gets a makeover as well, with increased accuracy for lap times and data thanks to a re-optimized GPS.PCM 6.0 will debut in the 2022 Porsche 911, expected in late 2021 or early 2022, before reaching other models.Although Porsches are certainly still driver’s cars, the sports-car marque doesn’t skimp out on its infotainment technology. A new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) 6.0 aims to provide even more information to drivers while also integrating the infotainment system seamlessly into the driving experience.For starters, the overhauled PCM 6.0 interface features redesigned fonts, icons, and layouts and increased integration of Apple CarPlay. It also has Android Auto capability for the first time. Over-the-air updates will ensure that Porsche drivers always have the latest version of the software.

Porsche has also improved the voice assistant. Saying “Hey Porsche” activates the system (you can also use a button on the screen or on the steering wheel), which can understand an expanded list of words and phrases. The voice assistant can also now adjust functions such as massage seats, climate control, and ambient lighting, along with phone commands and navigation. The navigation system can now update routes more quickly and tell the driver how much traffic individual lanes are experiencing on certain roads to help reduce commute times.

Porsche

The increased integration of Apple Music allows drivers to access their music library even without their phone in the car, as long as they have signed in previously. A driver can also directly add a song they hear on the radio that they like to their Apple Music library without leaving the radio interface, or launch an Apple Music playlist based on a specific artist if someone on the radio catches their ear. Porsche has also enhanced the Track Precision app. The app can now run through Apple CarPlay and has a revised interface. The app can record lap times and track data for 300 tracks around the world, with the GPS upgraded for increased accuracy. The data can also be overlaid onto video if a driver connects a GoPro via Bluetooth. Although the app is free to download, the vehicle must be equipped with the Connect package (for wi-fi support) as well as the Sport Chrono package in order to work. Although it was originally only available on the 911 and 718 sports cars, the app will be expanded to the Cayenne, Taycan, and Panamera.PCM 6.0 will debut on the 2022 Porsche 911, before appearing on the Cayenne, Taycan, and Panamera. There are no plans to update the system on the 718 Cayman and Boxster, and we haven’t heard yet when it will make its way into the Macan. Expect Porsche models equipped with the new system to go on sale in late 2021 or early 2022.
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