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The Singer All-Terrain Competition Study, or ACS, started out as a 1990 Porsche 911 but has been completely overhauled for off-road purposes.
It’s powered by a 450-plus-hp air-cooled 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six that can be tuned for higher output, mated to a five-speed sequential transmission that can be shifted manually or via paddles.
As seen in the two examples shown here, it’s set up for rally competition, so there’s a roll cage, oversize fuel tank, and storage for spare wheels and tires.
Singer, a company that is definitely not in cahoots with Porsche and our lawyers advise us should never be remotely represented as such, is building a new model in the off-road idiom. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Porsche 959? Well, forget about it entirely. In fact, think about former Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs and his legendary appetite for chicken. (Jim Rice called him “chicken man,” because he ate so much chicken.) Did you know Boggs averaged .352 over a seven-year span? Guess that chicken really worked out!

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From 2017: Singer’s Detroit Auto Show 911s

Anyway, Singer is building a new off-road-oriented model that might remind you of a certain other famous German machine with a name that began with a “nine” and also ended with “nine.” But if it does remind you of that, that’s your problem.

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Singer Vehicle Design

The All-Terrain Competition Study (ACS) begins as a 1990 Porsche 911—the 964 model—before getting thoroughly modified and overhauled for high-speed off-road hijinks. Power comes from an air-cooled 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six that makes at least 450 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque but can be tuned for higher output. The five-speed sequential transmission can be shifted manually or via paddles, routing power through all-wheel-drive with triple limited-slip differentials. Long-travel suspension with two dampers per corner offers high ground clearance, and BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires reaffirm that this is not a GT3 RS—nor any car made by Porsche AG or any of its subsidiaries, except originally, back in 1990. Bodywork is carbon fiber, with the underlying body-in-white thoroughly gusseted and buttressed against future off-road abuse.

Longtime rally guru Richard Tuthill (who helped prepare the Rothmans 911 SC/RS race cars in the 1980s) was involved in the development of the ACS, which is also designed for competition. Standard features include a full roll cage, oversized fuel tank, and storage for two spare wheels and tires (in the front trunk and behind the seats). The first two cars, both of which were commissioned by the same individual who probably also has a swimming pool filled with gold coins, will be built at Tuthill’s facility in Oxfordshire, England. So will any other ones that get built, should anyone else take a shine to the concept. The white car will be set up for desert events, with the red one optimized for tarmac. Why do you need a jacked-up car for tarmac? Uh, because you like to party?

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Singer Vehicle Design

The price for the ACS will depend on how you outfit yours. It’ll be more than you’d pay for a 1990 Porsche 911 but maybe less than you’d pay for a 959, just to cite two examples of Porsche 911s—not that they’re necessarily germane to this discussion of a project from Singer Group, Inc., of Los Angeles, California. Porsche is very uncool about anyone mentioning its name in proximity to any other company’s name, in case you haven’t caught on.
But it did build some cool cars in, say, 1990. Ones that make an excellent foundation to create something even better. So who’s buying #3?

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The 2021 Ford Expedition is adding a new base model, as first reported by Ford Authority.
Called the XL STX, it ditches the previously standard third row of seats.
The Expedition XL STX starts at $51,690, $2815 less than the previous starting price.
Ford is dropping the starting price for the 2021 Expedition full-size SUV, which gains a new base trim level called the XL STX. It starts at $51,690, a drop of $2815 from the XLT which previously served as the cheapest Expedition. While all other Expeditions come standard with three rows of seats providing space for eight, the XL STX has a two-row setup that seats five.

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Standard equipment includes a touchscreen infotainment system and three-zone automatic climate control, but this model does without SiriusXM satellite radio and a few driver-assistance features that are standard on the XLT. It looks a bit different than the XLT, too, with dark 18-inch wheels and black grille trim rather than chrome. The XL STX is available only on the standard-length Expedition; the larger Expedition Max still starts off with the XLT trim and costs $56,505 to start.

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Ford

The XL STX has the same twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission as other Expeditions. Rear-wheel drive is standard with four-wheel drive as a $3050 option. 4WD models offer an electronic limited-slip differential as a $1100 extra, but there are no option packages available for the XL STX otherwise.
Despite the price cut, the Expedition’s base price is still higher than its chief rival’s. The 2021 Chevy Tahoe, which comes standard with three rows of seats, starts at $50,295 for its base LS trim level.
2021 Expedition XL STX models are buildable on Ford’s configurator now and should be arriving at dealerships soon.
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Boutique automaker Jim Glickenhaus wants to pit his Boot SUV against the Tesla truck. Another follower bet Musk $10,000 that Full Self-Driving won’t be ready in a year. More

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A 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition, once owned by six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, is for sale.
The SLR McLaren 722 Edition honors one of Stirling Moss’s wins in 1955 and has black wheels, a stiffer and lower suspension, added aero, carbon trim, and a more powerful supercharged V-8.
It’s listed for $695,750 by Crave Luxury Auto in Houston, Texas.
Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time (we won’t get into the MJ vs. LeBron debate), and the six-time NBA champion has owned some of the greatest cars as well. A handful of them were shown briefly in ESPN’s The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary about the final season of Jordan’s Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s. One of his cars, an SLR McLaren, which wasn’t shown in the series, is up for sale with just over 1000 miles.

Crave Luxury Auto

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was a joint venture between McLaren’s Formula 1 team and Mercedes and was produced between 2003 and 2010. Jordan’s example is a 722 Edition, a limited edition introduced in 2006 that honors the late Stirling Moss and his co-driver Denis Jenkinson’s victory in a 300 SLR with the starting number 722 at the Mille Miglia in 1955. It’s finished in Crystal Antimony Grey with black 19-inch wheels and has a stiffer suspension with a lower ride height plus larger front brakes and upgraded aero. There’s also red “722” badging and tinted head- and taillights, and the interior features carbon-fiber and Alcantara trim.

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A supercharged 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 is under the hood. In the 722 Edition, it spits out 641 horsepower and 605 pound-feet of torque, increases of 24 horsepower and 30 pound-feet over the standard SLR’s supercharged eight-cylinder engine. At launch, Mercedes touted a 3.6-second sprint to 60 mph in the more powerful 722 Edition, though in our testing, a standard SLR clocked in at the same time and raced through the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 125 mph.

Crave Luxury Auto

An eBay auction for the car ended on January 3 without meeting the reserve; however, the selling dealer told Car and Driver that it’s going live on eBay again on January 4. The asking price is currently $695,750.

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Kia revealed a new ultra-luxury version of its minivan for the Korean market.
Called the Carnival Hi Limousine, it has a plush interior with special features including curtains and an air purifier.
The Carnival should arrive in the U.S. as the 2022 Sedona, but it’s not likely to offer a special version like this.
With #vanlife trending more than ever and luxury automakers like Lexus getting into the van game, it’s no wonder that Kia is going all-out for a new version of the Carnival (a.k.a. Sedona) minivan. The new ultra-luxury spinoff of the Korea-market Carnival is called the Hi Limousine, and we’re intrigued by its lounge-like interior with everything but the kitchen sink.

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The Hi Limousine is based on the recently redesigned version of the van, and it has a high-roof setup and appears to have extra chrome trim on the outside. But the real treats are inside, as it features recliner-style second-row seats, privacy curtains for the rear windows, an air purifier, entertainment screens, and even an LED lamp on the ceiling that’s meant to mimic a skylight.

Kia

When the Carnival eventually makes its way to the States as the new-generation 2022 Kia Sedona, we probably won’t get most of these niceties. But the recliner-style captain’s chairs are possible, as the current-generation Sedona offered them as an option on the top trim level in the past (the lounge seats disappeared from the U.S.-market van after the 2018 model year).
Even if Kia did offer such a van in the U.S., we can’t imagine too many American van shoppers would splurge for the full Hi Limousine package, which starts at the equivalent of around $56,000 in Korea. But every now and then it’s fun to see a van that’s nicer than your living room.

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Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to drive better and keep those around us safe on the roads. More

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With The Weeknd’s “Bright Lights”—okay, a cover version—blaring, a guy selling his used 2010 Ford Focus puts the emphasis on how cool you are, not the car, in a clever homemade commercial.
The seller told Car and Driver that despite over 30,000 YouTube views and counting, the car’s still for sale. Well, the buyer pool in his town of Grand Forks, North Dakota, isn’t exactly deep.
Still, an obvious upside is that the seller has gotten offers to make more videos for other people’s used cars.
We’re come a long way from the days when a simple classified ad would sell your car. These days, people often share a full slate of glamour shots of the car they’re trying to offload, and clever descriptions and stories aren’t uncommon, either. But if you’ve got the time and a few friends, you can take things to the next level with a cinematic YouTube entry.
That’s the route taken by John Thomas Goerke, who lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and describes himself as an old-school Dodge Viper fan. Goerke is selling his 2010 Ford Focus SE with 120,000 miles on it for $5999. That’s roughly in line with the higher end of the Kelley Blue Book prices for other used Focus SE models of that era available online, but those old Focus models don’t come with this cool two-minute video that was first spotted by our friends at Motor1.

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With more than 30,000 views so far, Goerke’s video has unquestionably managed to attract outsize attention for an old Ford. According to the YouTube comments, people around the world, including Russia and Australia, have been pointed toward the video by their local news outlets, but all of this attention hasn’t helped actually make the sale. Goerke told Car and Driver he still has the car, but that doesn’t mean the time spent creating the commercial was wasted.
“More people have been interested in hiring me to make videos for them than in paying almost $6000 for a 10-year-old car,” he said. “I’m not too surprised. The car is listed on the upward edge of the Kelly Blue Book. And the actual number of people who could plausibly purchase it is pretty small, since I live in North Dakota.”

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The plot of the ad is a bit confusing, with the main character driving riskily thanks to (simulated) drug and alcohol intoxication before stumbling out on a dirt road, but everything looks cool and the choice of song is fitting. It’s a cover of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” and the video for the original song, which inspired Goerke’s ad, also featured a car driving around at night since it was basically an advertising extravaganza promoting the Mercedes-AMG GT roadster.
For Goerke’s purposes, his ad’s honest message is revealed in the one line of narration: “No matter what you think when you see it, remember that cool comes from what’s inside the car.” That, when you think about it, could really be the tagline for 90 percent of the used cars sold each year.
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