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Ford is launching an off-road school for Bronco and Bronco Sport owners this year, and registration goes live today at the first of four planned locations.They’re free for some Bronco Sport owners and those with pre-orders for the Bronco, but anyone can sign up.Since Bronco buyers still don’t have their Broncos, this gives order holders the chance to drive one ahead of the day when they finally get their own.The absolute best off-roading adventures, at present and for the past 40-odd years, are hosted by Land Rover and Jeep. These two brands have created epic trips that we can’t stop talking about. Now Ford wants to be known for the same thing. All Bronco and Bronco Sport owners are eligible for a free class at Ford’s Bronco Off-Roadeo, a 4×4 school opening this month in a wild bronco zone of Texas. It works like the Land Rover Experience in Vermont and North Carolina or the newly founded Jeep Adventure Academy in more than a dozen locales: You show up, get fed, learn valuable driving skills, make friends, get scared, and bash up a truck that’s not your own. Ford has run a Raptor Assault program for F-150 Raptor owners, but the Bronco schools are different animals.

Unfortunately, Bronco buyers don’t have their Broncos yet. Chip shortages and resulting factory shutdowns are the reasons why Ford can’t deliver any. The first school opens June 28, in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. This one is just for those who own the Bronco Sport Badlands or First Edition models, or for people with an as yet unfilled order for a two- or four-door Bronco. The first Broncos won’t arrive until “summer,” which at this point, could mean August or September. To alleviate the headache, Ford is placating these patient Bronco pre-orderers with a $250 certificate to use on branded gear or for additional costs (such as inviting a guest). The Texas school will stock the first real and running Broncos, as will three other schools scheduled to open by the fall (in Moab, Utah; Mount Potosi, Nevada; and an as yet undisclosed location in the Northeast).

Ford

The group trail drives run for two or four hours, with additional instruction on the vehicle’s off-road features, and end with a campfire. Hotel and travel aren’t covered, and neither are the post-drive activities, which include kayaking, fly fishing, and mountain biking. But anyone with a Bronco pre-order, or an actual owner of a Bronco Sport Badlands or First Edition, can join at no cost. Anyone else who’s curious will have to pay. Prices aren’t out yet.

Legendary off-roader Bob Burns, who just left Jaguar Land Rover after more than 25 years, is part of Ford’s planning committee for the Off-Roadeo programs. We love off-road schools, and Ford can be expected to make the most of the opportunity to showcase its Bronco SUVs where they were designed to perform, so take it from us: Go.
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Both of BMW’s new EVs are arriving in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022.The i4 is a four-door hatchback starting at $56,395 that comes in 335-hp eDrive40 and 536-hp M50 versions. The iX is a crossover starting at $84,195 that comes in a 516-hp xDrive50 version and will eventually be available as a more powerful 600-plus-hp M60 model.Both of BMW’s latest electric vehicles will be arriving in America at the start of next year, and we now have a lot more details about their prices, powertrains, and features. The i4 is similar in size and shape to the 4-series Gran Coupe, while the iX is a mid-size SUV with polarizing styling.2022 BMW i4
The BMW i4 will come standard in a rear-wheel-drive configuration called eDrive40, starting at $56,395—that’s right around the starting price for a six-cylinder M340i, for reference. It has a 335-hp electric motor at the rear and an 81.5-kWh battery pack that will provide an estimated EPA driving range of 300 miles. It’s claimed to accelerate to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds. The i4 has 18-inch wheels as standard, with 19-inch wheels optional.

There’s an M-badged version of the i4 with more power called the M50, which starts at $66,895—a few thousand dollars less than the gas-powered M3. It adds a front electric motor for all-wheel drive and has a total of 536 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque. This should make it considerably quicker than the RWD car, with BMW claiming it gets to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Its battery pack is the same as the 40 model, and BMW estimates it will offer less range, with a preliminary estimate of 240 miles. It includes adaptive dampers, variable-ratio steering, and 19-inch wheels as standard, with 20-inchers an option.2022 BMW iX

2022 BMW iX xDrive50.
uwe Fischer/BMW

Initially, there will only be one version of the BMW iX offered in the U.S. It’ll be called the xDrive50, and it comes standard with all-wheel drive and a total output of 516 horsepower from two electric motors, one in the front and one in the rear. Its battery pack is considerably larger than the base i4’s, at 105.2-kW, but its range estimate of 300 miles is the same. BMW claims it’ll get to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.

The iX’s starting price of $84,195 puts it between the six-cylinder and V-8 versions of the three-row X7 gas SUV, but the iX is sized more like the smaller X5. It only has two rows of seats that provide five-passenger seating capacity.BMW says that a sportier and more powerful iX M60 is on its way but isn’t providing details for that model quite yet. All we know is that it will have over 600 horsepower, and it’s likely to look a bit different and feature chassis upgrades as well. We also think its price will trend into six-figure territory.
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Toyota is adding a TRD Sport model to the 2022 4Runner SUV’s lineup. It’s available with either rear- or four-wheel drive and rides on 20-inch wheels, has a hood scoop, and Toyota’s hydraulically linked adaptive dampers. They’ll be on sale at the end of this summer. The 2022 Toyota 4Runner is adding a street-focused TRD (Toyota Racing Development) Sport model to its lineup, which has been available on the Tacoma mid-size pickup, but it’s not really all that sporty. It will be available by the end of the summer, but those who want more off-road-capable 4Runners can still select either the TRD Off Road or TRD Pro models.
The 4Runner TRD Sport looks a lot like the more luxurious Limited model, and it rides on the same 20-inch wheels but with dark gray accents. It’ll slot in just over the SR5 base model in the 4Runner’s lineup, and it’s available with either rear- or four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case just like the Limited. TRD Sports add a TRD hood scoop, front spoiler, body-color trim, and black roof rails. And TRD Sport badges are placed on the C-pillars.

The new 4Runner variant will have synthetic leather seats instead of cloth (Limited models get leather seats), and the headrests have embroidered TRD logos. The front seats are heated, and there’s a TRD shifter and TRD Sport floor mats. Every 4Runner comes with an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa capability. All 4Runners are powered by a 4.0-liter V-6 engine that makes 270 horsepower and 278 pound-feet of torque. The body-on-frame SUVs have a coil-spring rear suspension, but TRD Sport models get Toyota’s X-REAS adaptive dampers (also standard on the Limited) that are hydraulically linked at opposing corners to reduce pitch and roll. The 4Runner can tow 5000 pounds.
We expect that the 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Sport’s starting price will fall between the rear-wheel-drive SR5 model’s $37,940 and the Limited’s $46,845 starting price. There should be plenty of color choices available, too, since the Tacoma TRD Sport is available in nine colors including Voodoo Blue and Army Green.
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Kia has released three teaser images of the upcoming redesigned Sportage.The new model will debut in July and should reach the U.S. market in 2022 for the 2023 model year.We expect it to offer a hybrid powertrain for the first time.We’ve already gotten an idea of what the next Kia Sportage will look like, and now Kia has shared some teaser images showing the exterior and interior of the new version of its compact SUV. The company also confirmed that the Sportage will make its global debut in July, meaning it should reach the U.S. market early in 2022 as a 2023 model.

Kia

The front end looks to have an interesting lighting setup, while the rear end is shapely and has taillights that look similar to the new EV6 electric car’s. Kia’s new logo is, of course, prominently displayed up front. The interior features a huge screen setup that appears to span nearly the entire width of the dashboard; we think it’s likely that there will be separate digital gauge cluster and infotainment screens connected by a single piece of glass.

Kia

Kia has not yet shared any info about the Sportage’s powertrains, but we expect them to mirror the related 2022 Hyundai Tucson’s offerings. That means a 2.5-liter inline-four as the base engine and a hybrid drivetrain with a turbo 1.6-liter inline-four as an option. The Kia may offer a more powerful turbo-four as well, in keeping with the current SX model.Look for more info to come soon on the new global version of the Sportage, and U.S. specs to be shared later on this year.
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For the next episode of Inside Track, Road & Track’s virtual Q&A series, Editor-in-Chief Mike Guy is sitting down with screenwriter, comedian, and podcast host Spike Feresten to chat about his hugely popular Spike’s Car Radio podcast and his experiences writing for comedy icons—and car lovers—David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld.It’s all happening on Wednesday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT), and we’d love for you to join us!Register Here In this episode, Mike will chat with Spike about what it’s like hosting a podcast alongside industry leaders and Hollywood’s biggest gearheads. We’ll also learn what it’s like working as a screenwriter for some of TV’s biggest hits including Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live, and Late Show with David Letterman (to name a few). If you want to see it all go down, head over to our sign-up page here. Inside Track is one of the many offerings of the newly revamped Road & Track magazine. We’re hosting live events, virtual experiences, and adventures around the globe. We’ll also be hosting driving rallies at race tracks and on the most epic roads, holding discussions and debates on cool topics with some of the most influential people in the car world, and giving you the white-glove treatment at concours and auto show events.Register Here If you want to get in on the fun, become a member of The Track Club. You’ll get every issue of the magazine, plus a whole lot more. Find more details on the membership tiers and exclusive discounts at roadandtrack.com/join, and check out our experiences lineup at experiences.roadandtrack.com.This content was provided by the Road & Track marketing team.

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It was a different time, a time when you could just shove huge hunks of metal off the edge of your property and onto the Lake Michigan beach below.This is what residents in Saint Joseph, Michigan did in the 1960s, after trying other bulky items in the ’40s and ’50s, as they tried to stop the erosion wearing away their homes. The state put a stop to the practice, but the rusted cars are still there today. Desperate times call for loud, gravity-based measures. Saint Joseph, Michigan, in the late 1960s experienced just such a time, and the physical effects of local citizens’ desperate measures found a home on the Lake Michigan shoreline. There, when conditions are right, the rusted remains of hundreds of automobiles can be seen piled up on the beach even today, as this video from TV station WZZM shows:
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Now overgrown, this “car graveyard” has been common knowledge in the area for decades, but it’s not a popular tourist destination. It was created out of necessity, when homeowners on the bluff above started rolling old cars down the hill as a way to try to prevent the lake from eroding the land their homes sat on.

Water levels were high in 1967, the year the first cars were turned into a breakwall, according to local TV news station WZZM. Erosion under the homes became a thing after the city of Saint Joseph built piers along the city’s main channel and out into the lake. The piers redirected the lake’s natural current toward the 50-foot bluff, which then eroded over time. As the bluff kept disappearing into the water, larger and larger items were sent to their final resting place through the 1940s and 1950s. The problem, of course, is that these home-brewed efforts just kept redirecting the current, local historian Nathan Voytovick told WZZM.”All that did was push the problem to the neighbor next door,” Voytovick said. “The people began panicking. They began chucking debris, anything that they could find, over the bluff to stop the waves. Washing machines, dryers, beds and even cars were tossed over the edge.”Saint Joseph resident Carl Kuyat was the first to push a car over the edge, and Voytovick said more than 150 cars ended up on the shore. Other put the number at closer to 230 cars, but however many made the fall, they’re still there today.
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The video above, posted to YouTube by Ruin Road in 2017, gives some up-close views of the hunks of metal, plus other debris, like a child’s tricycle and concrete chunks, that were used to stop the erosion. It also shows how plants have now made their own homes in the pile. When water levels in Lake Michigan are low, the rusted frames and ruined tires look easy to access, but there are signs warning people not to attempt to climb down from above.

A 2020 video report by the South Bend Tribune (St. Joseph is near the Michigan-Indiana border) showed how recent erosion exposed the mess to the lake’s waters once again. The video says “it is unknown if fluids were drained from the cars,” but we have our guesses.
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The SSC Tuatara is one of the more extreme cars on sale right now. With a 1750-horsepower twin-turbo V-8 and a verified top speed of 282 mph, there isn’t much else out there that can compete. If you think those numbers just aren’t extreme enough, don’t fret. The company has just revealed two new variants of the car, each more extreme than the next. The first, dubbed the Tuatara Striker, gets a heaping of added downforce over the normal car thanks to a new fixed rear wing with an added active element, a vertical stabilizer, a large splitter, dive planes, vaned side rockers, and an augmented diffuser out back. SSC claims approximately 1100 pounds of downforce across the car at 160 mph—triple what the base car produces at the same speed. The weight is distributed 45.4 percent front and 54.6 percent rear, “ensuring optimized balance, predictability, and exceptional confidence in stability,” according to SSC. The 1750-hp drivetrain remains unchanged, suggesting top speed is down versus the standard car thanks to all the additional drag (SSC did not release performance figures for the Striker).

Then there’s the Tuatara Aggressor. It’s a track-only variant that takes many of the upgrades found on the Striker and adds a bunch of customer bespoke options not available on the street-legal version, allowing buyers to customize nearly every aspect of the car to their liking. Add-ons include things like five-point harnesses, racing buckets, and even a custom-tuned exhaust sound. The Aggressor can also be ordered with a power upgrade option that bumps output to 2200 horses.

SSC says production of the Tuatara and its newly announced variants is already underway. The company plans to build 100 examples of the base and Striker versions combined, and another 10 Aggressors. If you want one, we suggest getting your order in sooner rather than later. Just be prepared to lay down the $2 million plus for the opportunity.

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Yes, the venerable British automaker Morgan is still around and still making sports cars.Both the Plus Four and Plus Six now ride on a new bonded aluminum platform.Model year 2022 will see those cars get some very minor improvements.Morgan is still making cars over in Jolly Old and still selling them here in the U.S. In fact, it has just released the new 2022-model-year version of its Plus Four and Plus Six roadsters, with a small smattering of minor improvements throughout each model.But before we get into that, first maybe we’d better remind you of all that Morgan is and has been. The company was founded in 1909 when H.F.S. Morgan built his first car, a three-wheeled sporty thing called, appropriately, the Three Wheeler. Morgan still makes a Three Wheeler—two in front and one driven wheel in back—that is legal for all U.S. roads.

The company still has Morgan family members involved, too, with the fourth generation now of age. But the majority shareholder is a company called Investindustrial, with holdings in everything from water parks and chocolate to health care and . . . sports cars. Through it all, Morgan has managed to remain true to its roots promising products made of “ash, aluminum, and leather.” (Sounds like that bumper sticker you had on your custom van in the ’60s.)

The four-cylinder Morgan Plus Four.
Morgan Motor Company

In 2019, when Investindustrial took over, Morgan introduced a new bonded-aluminum platform called CX-Generation. The first model to get it was the Plus Four, so called because it has a four-cylinder engine. The following year the Plus Six got the CX-Generation platform. The Plus Six has, obvs, a six-cylinder powerplant. Both powertrains are from BMW, a power source for Morgan for the past two decades. The Plus Four gets a 2.0-liter TwinPower Turbo good for 255 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque between 1000 and 5000 revs. You can choose between a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission. Get the automatic, since it gets to 62 mph quickest, in 4.8 seconds.The Plus Six gets a BMW B58 TwinPower Turbo inline-six making 335 hp at 6500 rpm and 369 pound-feet, with 62 mph coming up in a brisk 4.2 seconds. Which leads us now to the updates for the 2022 model year. Okay, they’re not a lot of updates, but they’ll make for a more comfortable Morgan:A new hood keeps the water out of the engine compartment and eliminates the need for those hood rail fasteners”Vastly improved” seals around the windows and doors, again to keep the rain out, along with some noiseA new Morgan “wings” badge, the first new badge in 10 yearsActive sport exhaust lets you set the sound level of your four- or six-cylinderNew seats offer more comfort and better bolsteringLockable storage More lights insideUSB ports!

Morgan will make just nine of these Plus 8 GTRs, and you may or may not be able to import one to the U.S.
Morgan Motor Company

Morgan is also working on a special project involving several “found” Plus 8 GTRs.”The Plus 8 GTR gives Morgan designers and engineers the opportunity to reignite one of the marque’s heroic legacy models with a ‘gloves off’ special edition,” Morgan said in a release. The project will produce no more than nine examples, and it marks the first in a line of Morgan special projects set to commence this year.”The Plus 8 GTR has only been possible because of the recent availability of a number of Plus 8 rolling chassis, which have been reacquired from a third party following a discontinued project,” Morgan said. Does that sound like a certain Shelby Cobra project from decades ago? “These were all built by Morgan before 2018, and were never used for their intended purposes. All are to be recommissioned and will benefit from the upgrade of selected mechanical components.”Okay.Power for all nine Plus 8 GTRs will come from a 362-hp BMW N62 4.8-liter V-8 engine, mated to your choice of six-speed manual or ZF six-speed automatic gearbox. The catch may be in whether you can import one of these stateside. Morgan states that “the transformed special project will be available in certain worldwide markets, subject to local rules on the importation of European vehicles.” So who knows?
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There are 12 Morgan dealers in the U.S., as well as one in Mexico and another in Costa Rica. So get to one of those and buy one or two of these. You’ll be doing your part to keep a now-113-year tradition alive.
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