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Embracing a legacy of unibody pickups is the new Hyundai Santa Cruz, which will be available this summer.A turbocharged 2.5-liter four will be available offering more than 275 horsepower.The Santa Cruz shares much of its engineering and production plant, as well as its looks, with the new Tucson crossover. CORRECTION: This story originally said that the University of California at Santa Cruz does not give letter grades. Because the policy has changed, we updated the story to reflect that.Hyundai prefers the term “Sport Adventure Vehicle” over “truck” to describe the new Santa Cruz. Okay, whatever. But it sure looks truck-ish, if not strictly a truck. At its core, the Santa Cruz is—to oversimplify—the new 2022 Tucson shorn of its roof aft of the second-row seat. And that’s an idea that goes back at least to the 1957 Ford Ranchero and the 1959 Chevrolet El Camino. Maybe the idea goes even further back than that, to the first owner who cobbled together cargo bodies for their Model T. Point is, the Santa Cruz is new, but the notions behind it aren’t.
Designed primarily in Hyundai’s California studios, the Santa Cruz has an angular ruggedness that’s missing from the Tucson. It’s not merely another pickup, but it’s not strictly a traditional truck, either in looks or capability. A distinctive design element is the daytime running lights that emerge from behind the grille to make a sort of segmented cascade down each side of Santa Cruz’s face. It’s attractive, even if it’s not shy.The Santa Cruz’s 118.3-inch wheelbase is 9.8 inches longer than that of the new Tucson, and the 195.7-inch overall length is up 12.4 inches. That wheelbase is also 14.0 inches longer than that of the 2002–2006 Subaru Baja to which the Santa Cruz seems a spiritual successor. However, the old Subaru’s 193.3-inch overall length is only 2.4 inches shorter than the new Hyundai’s. If the Subaru Baja’s rear overhang has been haunting your dreams, here’s an escape from the nightmares.

But while it’s longer, much of the Santa Cruz’s unibody structure is directly connected to the Tucson. The inner steel stampings—most of the floorpan, nose architecture, door structures and windshield surround—are common. The actual windshield glass will swap between the two vehicles. Inside the Santa Cruz, the relationship between the two is even more obvious as the open-bed machine shares almost all its innards with the crossover. That includes the flat-panel instrumentation forward of the driver and the center stack with its display. The one immediately apparent interior difference between the two is that the Tucson uses a push-button transmission selector between the front seats, while the Santa Cruz uses a more traditional shift lever.
Suspension design is also in common with the Tucson. Confirming expectations, the front end is held up by a pair of MacPherson struts, while the tail rides on a multilink system. In the things-with-open-beds category, the Santa Cruz joins the Honda Ridgeline in the independent-rear-suspension club. And, like the Honda, the Santa Cruz offers a trunk behind the wheels that can be used as an ice chest.Wheels will range between 18 and 20 inches, and the tires will mostly be all-season rated and on-road-oriented.Where the Santa Cruz may have a clear advantage is in its powertrain. The standard powerplant will be the 2.5-liter four that Hyundai drops into plenty of products including the Sonata sedan and the Tucson. Hyundai promises it will be rated at 190-plus horsepower. The only transmission with this engine is a conventional eight-speed automatic that feeds either the front wheels or an all-wheel-drive system. More promising is a turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter engine that Hyundai promises will deliver 275-plus horsepower. The turbo engine will come attached to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive. If Hyundai has kept the curb weight reasonable, the Santa Cruz may turn out to be pretty quick.Hyundai also plans to rate the 2.5 turbo all-wheel-drive model to tow up to 5000 pounds, which is about 1500 pounds greater than the lug rating for the naturally aspirated version. While the Tucson shares the standard 2.5-liter four with the Santa Cruz, it’s available also as a hybrid model. Hyundai hasn’t announced a hybridized version of the Santa Cruz, and the 2.5 turbo engine won’t be available on the Tucson.
Now about that bed: Hyundai has it stretching out between 48.4 and 52.1 inches, depending on how it’s configured. That’s about a foot shorter than in vehicles such as the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and Honda Ridgeline. And unlike conceptually similar (though not in scale) vehicles like the old Chevrolet Avalanche, there’s no way to extend the bed into the cab by folding down the second-row seat and bulkhead. The truckish nature of the Santa Cruz will only go so far.The city of Santa Cruz is one of the odder ones in California. Located along the north central coast, it’s one of the largest in the state that’s not connected by interstate highway or major artery like the 101 freeway. It’s also home to the eccentric University of California, Santa Cruz, which at one time didn’t issue grades and which has the Banana Slug as its sports mascot. Santa Cruz is proudly weird. And maybe the Hyundai Santa Cruz is just weird enough for the town.Hyundai pushes the California heritage a bit by stamping the words “Designed in California” into the taillamps. You know, like Apple does with its China-assembled iPhones. But shouldn’t Alabama get some credit for building the thing, too? So, clearly, the left taillight should have “Designed in California” embossed into it while the right should proudly carry “Built in Alabama.” As for pricing, the 2022 Santa Cruz should start short of $30,000 and range up toward $40,000 with a full load of frippery. Final pricing should be available closer to the Santa Cruz’s on-sale date this summer.
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F1 2021 launches July 16 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.Compete against your favorite drivers on this year’s hottest circuits for the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship.Start Career mode as a Formula 2 driver with friends online, and build a team that can dominate the series.There’s a new game coming this summer. You’ll be able to jump into the hot seat of your favorite virtual Formula 1 team this summer when F1 2021 launches on July 16. The game follows the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship and adds three new circuits: Portimão, Imola, and Jeddah.A new story mode makes its debut, too, called Braking Point. Players will start off as a Formula 2 driver and compete to earn a spot with the big dogs in Formula 1. Real rivalries take place, and players will get a taste of the drama on and off the track.

There’s also a bigger and better Career mode that will make navigating the 2021 Formula One season more fun this year. Play with a friend as a team working together, or you can play out your own Red Bull Racing versus Mercedes AMG Petronas conflict. Every player will control their own team’s assets and can begin at any point of the Formula 1 season with real-time driver and constructor standings.Two-player split-screen play is also back, and Codemasters and EA Sports say loading times have been improved, leaving even more time for wheel-to-wheel racing. F1 2021 can be preordered on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for an exclusive Braking Point Content Pack. The preorder bonus gives you 5000 PitCoins and more exclusive in-game items. A digital F1 2021 Deluxe edition includes the Braking Point Content Pack as well as access three days early and 18,000 PitCoins.If you’re still waiting to jump on the next-gen console wagon, fear not; F1 2021 supports upgrading from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X or S for free. No need to buy the game twice.
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Mercedes is hinting at the return of the V-12-powered Maybach S-class, in a teaser photo to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Maybach.The 2020 Mercedes-Maybach S-class offered a twin-turbo V-12 engine, but Mercedes hasn’t said yet whether the upcoming model will get the same treatment.Of the two vehicles Maybach currently offers, neither is motivated by a V-12 engine. Maybach is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and to commemorate it Mercedes is hinting at the return of a V-12–powered S-class. A teaser photo shows the side view of the Maybach S-class, and just in front of the front door is a “V12” badge, suggesting 12 cylinders could again find their way under the hood of the S-class.

Currently, Maybach only has two vehicles on the market: the 2021 GLS600 and the 2021 S580. Both of those vehicles are motivated by twin-turbo V-8s—the former is just a bit more powerful than the latter—and are assisted by 48-volt hybrid systems. Prior to this teaser, Mercedes hadn’t made any mention of the 2021 Maybach S-class getting a V-12. The 2020 Maybach S650 had a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12 with 621 horsepower.Despite dropping the teaser image, Mercedes has not confirmed any plans for a new S650. Rather, in the release with the teaser, the automaker says: “The 100-year anniversary of the first Maybach automobile in 2021 will see multiple initiatives that celebrate this spirit come to life.”
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Matchbox is moving to use either recycled or recyclable materials in its toys and packaging by 2030.Matchbox will also increase its EV presence in the company’s lineup and include EV chargers in fuel-station play sets. Matchbox’s Tesla Roadster will launch in 2022.With the spotlight pointed directly at sustainability, more and more companies have started taking alternative approaches to becoming more environmentally friendly. Car manufacturers are taking steps to make their machines easier on the environment, so it only makes sense for their scaled-down counterparts to follow their lead—like the announcement by Matchbox to move to almost exclusively recycled materials and bio-based plastics by 2030.

This Tesla Roadster will make its way to consumers in 2022.
Mattel

That’s right, all corners of the Matchbox world are going to become more environmentally friendly, from the packaging to the toys themselves. This transition to more sustainable materials won’t happen overnight, however. It’s a timed plan that will roll out in stages. The first important step will be to eliminate plastic from the company’s packaging. The folks at Matchbox have already started with its latest edition of the “Power Grabs” line. Matchbox went so far as to opt for Forest Stewardship Council certified paper and wood pulp for the line’s packaging. The company is opting for water-based paints, too.

Why Matchbox? Why now? Well, Mattel’s Roberto Stanichi explains, “Matchbox has always been about realism. It’s a reflection of the world and the vehicles kids see driving on the road every day. As we were thinking about our brands, and thinking about where to begin, we thought, ‘Well, if this world is evolving, so should Matchbox.’ “Stanichi expands, “It’s not just about materials, and it’s not just about materials usage, but it’s also about the way that we bring different themes and play themes to kids that are also focusing on greener behaviors. So we felt that Matchbox was perfectly positioned to be the leading brand on the commitment to use 100 percent recycled, recyclable, or bio-based plastics in all of our toys and packaging.”The team at Matchbox is also looking at revamping its scale car manufacturing holistically, from revamping its die-casting process to expanding the green car representation in its lineup, including simple things like electric vehicle chargers in its play sets. Not only does that mean the sets will be more environmentally conscious, but they’ll also better reflect the changing vehicle landscape.According to Stanichi, this transition to using more sustainable materials has not been easy. “Preparing our business and preparing our operations to meet this sustainability commitment is something that we’ve been doing for a year and a half,” he says. “That includes a shift in operating the model and a shift in design thinking and mentality.”

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Going further, Stanichi says: “One of the challenges that we have, we’re perfecting the heating process. Making sure that we have the right temperature going in, then also that the pressure that we could use when we were molding because the materials fold differently and have different properties. And then the cooling process. Sometimes the material would get too hot and warp. It would not hold the shape the way we wanted. So, we went through a number of iterations in order to get the die-cast molding to come out to what is our standard of quality and really make sure that we were delivering the quality that our customers have come to expect out of the Mattel die-cast cars. To make sure that this lasts for a lifetime and it’s as durable as the products we’ve been offering before.”That means Matchbox assures these more sustainable toys will be as durable as their traditionally manufactured counterparts. This should come as reassuring news for Matchbox devotees and die-cast collectors as a whole, especially those who might be interested in a more sustainable product but also with continued collectibility. After all, the best way to reduce waste is to keep the toys in circulation.To that end, Matchbox is kicking off its more eco-friendly future with a special Tesla Roadster. This is the first Matchbox car made from 99 percent recycled materials. This scaled-down Tesla Roadster is made from 62 percent recycled zinc and 37 percent recycled plastic. Add those numbers up and you’ll find the 99 percent recycled construction. The final 1 percent is stainless steel.While this Tesla Roadster is a good looking toy—and a well-known piece of popular culture—Stanichi notes that the toy is more than just its materials. He says, “We love this casting of the Matchbox Tesla roadster because it represents two things. It’s not just about the materials and usage of the materials that are more sustainable, but it’s also about the themes that encourage environmental consciousness and really help kids experience greener behaviors in their play.”

Adding to the environmentally friendly nature of this Tesla toy, Matchbox is buying carbon offsets to make sure that the latest toy in their stable is carbon neutral. “One thing that we really love about that is, with carbon offsets, the credits go to preservation projects, and we have two as part of this Tesla Roadster project. One for preserving grasslands in Colorado and another one in Montana,” says Stanichi.If you’re wondering if this is stopping with Matchbox, it’s not. This push is one part of Mattel’s attempt at reaching its 2030 goal of using exclusively recycled, recyclable, or bio-based plastic materials. That means Hot Wheels and Barbie are eventually heading down the greener path, too.This whole pivot to more sustainable materials will require some patience from die-cast collectors—Matchbox isn’t releasing this carbon-neutral die-cast car until 2022. If this toy is a sample of what’s to come, you should have just as much confidence in the future of Matchbox as you have in its past.

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Ahead of the full reveal on April 15, Hyundai released teaser photos of the 2022 Santa Cruz pickup.The Santa Cruz looks much like the concept but gains two more doors—for a total of four—and gets a grille similar to the 2022 Tucson’s.The Santa Cruz will be assembled alongside the Santa Fe in Alabama, and we expect the Santa Cruz to offer the same engines as the Santa Fe.

Back in 2019, Hyundai said that its Santa Cruz pickup would go into production in 2021—and the company has now released teaser photos and confirmed that the pickup will reach dealerships this year. As shown in the photos, the Santa Cruz will have four doors and a small bed, along with a grille that looks similar to the one on the new 2022 Hyundai Tucson.
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The teaser photos show a pickup that looks sportier and more on-road-focused than many other pickup trucks. The C-pillar slants toward the bed, giving the cab a sleek appearance. Lest we forget that it’s a pickup and not just another crossover, the Santa Cruz name is prominently displayed across the tailgate.

Hyundai

Intended for adventure-oriented buyers, the Santa Cruz will be a unibody pickup and will slot into an increasingly popular segment of small pickups. It will be only one of just a few pickups on the market—the Honda Ridgeline and upcoming Ford Maverick being the others—that don’t ride on a body-on-frame chassis. We’d guess that Hyundai will emphasize the Santa Cruz’s ability to haul kayaks and bikes rather than its outright payload and towing capacity.

Hyundai

Hyundai hasn’t released many other details ahead of the Santa Cruz’s April 15 reveal, but the automaker is emphasizing off-road capability as well as on-road comfort. We think that the Santa Cruz will get the Santa Fe’s 2.5-liter and turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four engine options paired with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. The two vehicles will be assembled in the same Alabama factory.
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The 2022 Audi Q4 e-tron is a new electric SUV model that slots in between the gasoline-powered Q3 and Q5.It will be available in both standard and swoopier Sportback body styles.Audi says the rear-wheel-drive base model will start at around $45,000 and will go on sale in the U.S. by the end of 2021.Audi’s newest electric model is its most mainstream yet. The Q4 e-tron and its Sportback stablemate are smaller and more affordable than the e-tron SUV and e-tron GT sedan, being based on the same MEB platform as the VW ID.4 electric crossover. Audi says the Q4 e-tron will start at around $45,000 when it goes on sale in the U.S. by the end of 2021.

The Q4 designation suggests that this new EV will slot in between the Q3 and Q5 crossovers, and indeed, it’s 180.7 inches long, neatly fitting in between the two in terms of its exterior footprint. Audi says that the Q4’s long wheelbase and floor-mounted battery pack allows for a similar amount of rear-seat space inside as the Q5. The Q4 e-tron Sportback will compromise some cargo space for its more rakish silhouette, although it’s also more aerodynamic than the squareback version.

Q4 e-tron Sportback
Audi

Like the ID.4, the standard configuration comes with a single 201-hp electric motor on the rear axle, which will be called the 40. A 77.0-kWh battery pack is standard, and Audi expects an EPA-estimated driving range of 250 miles for this lower-powered version, which it claims will get to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds. The more powerful Q4 e-tron 50 Quattro incorporates an all-wheel-drive setup with front and rear electric motors that provide a total output of 295 hp and 339 pound-feet of torque. It will likely have a lower range number than the 40, and Audi claims a zero to 62 mph time of 6.2 seconds.The Q4 e-tron will allow for fast-charging capability of up to 125 kilowatts, and Audi says it expects to offer some amount of free charging at the VW Group’s Electrify America charging stations. Paddles on the steering wheel will allow the driver to adjust the level of regenerative braking that kicks in when you let off the gas pedal.
A 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment display is standard, as is a 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster screen. There’s also an augmented-reality head-up display available that projects moving icons for navigation onto the windshield. A conventional round steering wheel is standard, and a more squared-off wheel with a flat top and bottom is optional.The Q4 e-tron is shaping up to be an appealing alternative to the ID.4, especially considering that the more downmarket VW’s starting price is only a few thousand dollars less. Expect the Sportback version to command a slight price premium, as is the case with the larger e-tron and e-tron Sportback.
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Honda has shared the first official photo of the 2022 Civic sedan.The production model looks similar to the prototype shown last year, albeit with smaller wheels and a tamer paint color.The 2022 Civic sedan will go on sale this summer in the U.S., with the hatchback coming a few months later.The long lead-up to the arrival of the 11th-gen Honda Civic continues with the first official photo of the sedan in its final production form. With essentially the same styling as the Civic prototype shown last year except for a few minor changes, the new model looks far better than its predecessor.

We still have yet to see what the 2022 Civic’s interior looks like, apart from a teaser sketch. Honda says that full specs and more photos will be shared on April 28. We expect the new model to feature carryover engines, meaning a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter inline-four as the base engine and a more powerful turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four as an option. A manual transmission isn’t likely to reappear in the standard Civic but will be offered in the higher-performance Si and Type R models.The 2022 Civic sedan will go on sale this summer, and the hatchback version of the Civic will follow the sedan’s arrival by a few months. We’ve spied prototypes of that body style testing as well. The Civic coupe won’t return for this new generation.When it starts arriving at U.S. dealerships a few months from now, the Civic will likely carry a starting price slightly higher than the 2021 model’s $22,245 base price. The familiar LX, EX, Sport, and Touring trim levels should remain.
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The 2022 Mazda MX-30 is a new electric vehicle that will go on sale in California this fall.It will be initially available only in battery-electric form, with a plug-in-hybrid model coming later.The MX-30’s small battery pack means it likely won’t offer much more than 100 miles of range on a single charge.Mazda’s first electric vehicle will finally arrive in the United States later this year, starting in California this fall. The 2022 MX-30 will initially be available only as a battery-powered EV, while a plug-in-hybrid version with a rotary gasoline engine will arrive later on, likely sometime next year.The fully electric version features a single electric motor powering the front wheels. Power output is 144 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque, making it significantly less powerful than many other affordable EVs.

A small lithium-ion battery pack provides just 35.5 kWh of total capacity—Mazda isn’t providing a usable-capacity number yet, but we’d estimate it at around 32.0 kWh. This means that the MX-30 isn’t likely to offer much more than 100 miles of range on a single charge on the EPA cycle. (Official ratings aren’t yet available, but the MX-30 is rated at 124 miles on the more optimistic WLTP cycle.) Mazda hasn’t released specs for the range-extender hybrid version, but its gasoline engine and fuel tank will likely provide significantly more driving range. DC fast-charging capability is standard, with Mazda claiming that the MX-30 can charge to 80 percent full in 36 minutes.
Within the current context of EV offerings, the MX-30 is more of a competitor to the Mini Electric, which has similar power and range numbers, than it is an alternative to longer-range affordable options such as the Chevrolet Bolt EV. And like the Mini, the MX-30 has distinctive styling inside and out, with RX-8–inspired rear half doors and interesting materials such as cork found on the dashboard.While pricing is not yet available, we think the MX-30 will need an appealingly low starting price to overcome its low range and power numbers. The Mini Electric starts at just over $30,000, so Mazda would do well to try to match or undercut that with the MX-30’s base price.
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