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Honda confirmed that the new hot hatch will have a manual, and it’s likely to use an upgraded 2.0-liter turbo four. More

The configurator tool for the new 2021 BMW M3 and M4 is now live.
There are some wacky exterior and interior colors available for the high-performance sedan and coupe.
The M3 starts at $70,895 and the M4 at $72,795.
The new elongated kidney grilles are the most controversial element of the new 2021 BMW M3 and M4. But the color combos available for these new high-performance models are equally likely to turn heads. We’ve been playing around with the build-your-own website for these new BMW M cars, and there are plenty of interesting exterior and interior hues to choose from.

BMW

BMW

The no-cost Sao Paolo metallic and $550 Isle of Man Green metallic are the most eye-catching of the exterior color options, but there are also some intense red and blue options. Interior upholstery choices include a Yas Marina Blue leather with yellow accents, a Halloween-y Kayalami Orange and black combo, and more tame silver and black leathers, and there don’t appear to be any restrictions for pairing strange (read: clashing) exterior and interior hues together.

BMW M3 and M4 Revealed with up to 503 HP

View Photos of 2021 BMW M3 and M4

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Both the 2021 M3 and M4 are available in 473-hp base forms with a standard six-speed manual transmission or 503-hp Competition forms. The latter necessitates a switch to an eight-speed automatic transmission but also includes other performance-enhancing features. The Competition cars cost $2900 extra, and the M4 coupe ($72,795) is more expensive than the M3 sedan ($70,895) to start.

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The Honda Certified website is getting some not-quite-certified additions starting on December 7, with an influx of used vehicles up to 10 years old.
Used vehicles from both Honda and Acura will now be available on the sales site, each in their own section.
The goal is to lower the bar for car buyers to get into the Honda and Acura brands when they’re young, and (the automaker hopes) become brand loyal for life.
There are a few rules used vehicles have to follow to be officially called “Certified Pre-Owned,” or CPO for short. For Honda, those rules include being less than five years old, having no more than 80,000 miles on the odometer, and passing a comprehensive mechanical and visual inspection. You can see the thousands of vehicles that met these requirements on the Honda Certified website. And starting today, you will also find used cars that don’t quite hit those levels.

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That’s because Honda is now the first mass-market brand to sell non-CPO vehicles on its own website. The reasons for this change are pretty easy to figure out, Dan Rodriguez, manager of auto remarketing at American Honda, told Car and Driver.
“There’s a big opportunity in that six-to-eight-year-old range, and when you look at the overall used-car market, it’s close to 40 million cars a year,” he said, noting that the U.S. new-car market in a good year is around 17 million vehicles. “In a utopic world, we’re bringing in this young, first-time buyer into our brand through a used car, where the car’s been checked by our dealer network that knows the car the best and has technicians who have been trained on it . . . so the experience is a good one. Our goal is to bring them into our family and then keep them for a lifetime.”
Used Acuras, Too
Another new addition to the Honda Certified website will be used Acura models, segmented off in their own section. Between the two brands, just over three million used cars were sold on the general market in 2019, Rodriguez said, but only about a million were sold through Honda or Acura dealers. “We think that we can to do better than that, and we really want to have more of the sales go through our dealer network,” he said.
Those dealers will be the ones pricing the non–Certified Pre-Owned vehicles that are added to the site, Rodriguez said. Mechanics working at Honda dealerships will also take a look at the less-than-certified-but-still-checked-out vehicles that will be listed and sold through the site. While the non-CPO cars on the Honda site will not, obviously, be asked to pass the standard CPO tests, Rodriguez said each used vehicle on the site will have any outstanding recalls taken care of and there will be no problems with the titles. The non-CPO models will also have less than 100,000 miles and will be no older than 10 years.

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Over the next year, Honda will determine other ways to give shoppers peace of mind with these used vehicles, perhaps by adding some sort of warranty, Rodriguez said. Currently, each CPO vehicle listed on the site has a digital checklist to let the shopper know what was done to that particular vehicle. The non-certified vehicles will also have one of these lists; it just won’t be as comprehensive as the current offerings.
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Predictably, since Haynes has been acquired by a company called InfoPro Digital, future Haynes manuals will be available only as downloads, not as printed books.
The good news is that if there’s a paper manual for a vehicle available now, you’ll still be able to buy one in the future, as these titles will remain in print.
Haynes says it’s working on a “new automotive maintenance and repair product” that will cover more makes and models than the current catalog can offer.
If you’re a regular user of Haynes printed vehicle repair manuals, 2021 will mark the end of an era. Starting next year, all new Haynes manuals will be available in digital format only. Don’t freak out just yet, though, since the company’s current catalog of printed titles will remain available.

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This isn’t exactly a sad surprise. As modern vehicles add more and more electronics, shade-tree mechanics are not able to apply all of the lessons they learned working on a 1980 Ford Bronco to a 2021 model. Also, Haynes was acquired by InfoPro Digital back in April and said at the time that the goal was “to create a leading global information services provider in the automotive industry.” Considering it’s owned by a company with digital in its name, we had an inkling things would head in this direction. Finally, Haynes already offers a plethora of online manuals available piecemeal or included in an All Access subscription for $399 a year (or $34.99 a month) for the Cars, Trucks, and SUVs section.
Haynes is eagerly making clear that it’s not totally exiting the paper-products game. “It’s not the end of the road for Haynes—we are embarking on an exciting new journey,” the company said on Twitter. “Contrary to reports, Haynes is not stopping printing Manuals. Whilst we will no longer publish new print Workshop Manuals, we will continue to print and publish our huge back catalogue.”
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Work isn’t stopping on new products, either, even if they end up being digital instead of print. “Embracing John Haynes’s philosophy, we are currently in the process of creating a new automotive maintenance and repair product that covers around 95 percent of car makes and models—an increase of around 40 percent over our current Workshop Manual coverage,” the company said. “Far from being the end of the road, we are ensuring that Haynes will continue well into the 21st century.”

Haynes Explains – Christmas (Haynes Manuals)
Haynes Publishing UK amazon.com
$9.99

The company’s FAQ needs a bit of updating, though. There, Haynes still says it will continue to “aggressively” market updated and new printed titles. Then there’s this: “Many customers are choosing the best of both formats and purchasing a print and online manual together!” Not anymore they’re not, but if you need one last book for the year, Haynes has made it easy to decide which one to get: Haynes Explains Christmas. First published in 2017, this book is described as a “lighthearted and entertaining take on the classic workshop manual” and it “takes the reader through all areas of Christmas, giving all the hints and tips needed to make the entire festive period run smoothly.”
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If you’ve spent more time than normal looking at the things in your house this year, imagine what it’d be like if you had the rarest Hot Wheels model of all time and your own personal museum to keep it in.
That’s the life of Bruce Pascal, who owns a 7000-piece Hot Wheels collection in Maryland that includes the valuable Pink, Rear-Loading Beach Bomb.
Hot Wheels will release more than 40 new VW models this year. None are expected to be worth $150,000-plus in 50 years.

Hot Wheels Volkswagen Team Transport Baja Bug Wide Open Series #23, 2020
Hot Wheels amazon.com
$24.99
$20.99 (16% off)

There’s one Volkswagen made in 1969 that has more than held its value. The famous Pink, Rear-Loading Beach Bomb Hot Wheels car is still the most valuable Hot Wheels ever produced, and it keeps going up in value because so few of them exist (two, to be exact).
These days, Hot Wheels remain a subject of endless amusement to kids of all ages, but there’s only one King of Hot Wheels, and that’s Bruce Pascal. In 2016, Pascal said the Pink Beach Bomb was worth $150,000. Today it’s probably closer to $175,000.

Pascal with his ultrarare Volkswagen Beach Bomb Hot Wheels prototype.
VW

The Pink Beach Bomb was Mattel’s first attempt at designing a Volkswagen Microbus. The problem, for the toy maker, was that by putting the surfboards into the bus through the rear window, the weight balance didn’t work out, so Mattel redesigned the VW van with thicker, heavier sides and put the surfboards on the side as well. After all, the whole point of these toys was for kids to “vroom” them around, and if they fell over all the time, kids wouldn’t approve.

World’s Most Valuable Hot Wheels Collection

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Pascal has been featured here on Car and Driver multiple times, given that he owns around 4000 Hot Wheels toys and has another 3000 pieces of Hot Wheels memorabilia. In 2016, Pascal’s collection was worth around $1 million, and in 2018, NBC News said it was worth $1.8 million. Now, VW is highlighting the pink Beach Bomb as a way to let the world know that, even in 2020, over 40 VW Hot Wheels models were or are being released.
When Pascal got serious about collecting Hot Wheels many years ago, he made it his mission to find those pink Beach Bombs.
“I already had heard about [the Beach Bomb] in purple, green, red, light blue, and gold. I even had heard about an unpainted model,” Pascal said in a statement. “But pink was extremely hard to find. Most Hot Wheels models were marketed to young boys, who the brand assumed didn’t want to play with pink. They created just a few pink [Beach Bomb] models to market to their female audience.”

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So, the pink color is the one to get. If you ever could, of course, but you can’t, since Pascal has one and he used to own the other one, but has since sold it to a friend. The one he kept for his personal museum in Maryland is stored in a dark plexiglass case to keep it protected from light and dust. Sometimes he loans it out to other museums or to event organizers for display.
“I want other people to experience the Beach Bomb,” he said. “I’ve found so much joy in learning about classic cars and Hot Wheels, and I hope I can spark some of that in other people. It’s a treasure to find these rare models.”

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Kia Motors America is recalling 294,756 U.S.-market vehicles over the potential for an engine-compartment fire.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says in its recall report that the cause of the problem is “undetermined” but that dealers will look for fuel and/or engine oil leaks and may replace engines if necessary.
Vehicles included are the 2011–2013 Optima Hybrid, 2012 Sportage, 2012–2013 Sorento, 2012–2015 Forte and Forte Koup, and 2014–2015 Soul.
Kia Motors America and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced the recall of nearly 295,000 vehicles over a problem that could lead to engine-compartment fires. NHTSA’s recall report states that owners of potentially affected Kia models should be alert for “engine noise, illumination of check-engine light [or] low-oil light, fuel smell, burning smell, oil leaking, smoke.” However, NHTSA said, there has been no manufacturing or design defect identified yet, and Kia is recalling the vehicles as a “preventative measure to mitigate any unreasonable fire risk.”

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Vehicles listed in the NHTSA Safety Recall Report are the 2011–2013 Optima Hybrid, 2012 Sportage, 2012–2013 Sorento, and 2012–2013 Forte and Forte Koup with the 2.4-liter Theta II engine; and the 2014–2015 Forte, Forte Koup, and Soul with the 2.0-liter Nu engine.
Kia will notify owners starting on January 27, 2021. Dealers will inspect the engine compartments of affected vehicles, make repairs, and potentially replace engines. Kia also intends to carry out a software update to add a Knock Sensor Detection System as soon as possible, and the NHTSA report states that Kia will provide 15-year/150,000-mile warranty coverage for engine repairs needed “due to connecting-rod bearing damage.” Kia will also reimburse owners for any repair expenses already incurred related to the problem, NHTSA’s report says.
Owners of potentially affected Kia models can check the NHTSA recalls website or Kia’s owner website for more details.
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The details of the FIA investigation into Romain Grosjean’s fiery F1 crash in Bahrain show how racing miracles happen. More

Bad News FirstFord announced late Friday that the Bronco SUV will not launch next Spring, as promised, but will be delayed until Summer 2021 due to issues related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Sasquatch manual-transmission edition won’t be available until the 2022 model year. It’s not surprising that pandemic-related delays are slowing a vehicle launch, but this delay is particularly tough for Ford given the importance of the Bronco brand and the fact that the bungled launch of the 2019 Explorer is still fresh in our minds.

Ford

This Week in Sheetmetal
Ford gave us new details about the GT Performance Edition of the Ford Mach-E. The company confirmed that the sportiest Mach-E (so far) will have 480 horsepower, 21 more than they initially estimated, and will reach 60 mph in less than four seconds. Look for the Mach-E in dealerships next summer.
If that’s still not enough horsepower for you, perhaps Audi’s limited-run R8 Panther Edition (532 horsepower) or the 720-hp Nürburgring production car lap record holder Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series will suit.
Power, of course, is nothing without torque. For that, look to the new Ram 3500 with the 6.7-liter inline-six diesel engine. It has 1075 lb-ft of torque and can tow up to 37,100 pounds when properly outfitted.

Toyota

Toyota has been late to the EV game, choosing instead to goose its corporate average fuel economy ratings with a succession of hybrids. But now they’re playing along, sort of, with the 2021 Mirai fuel cell car, which will be 20 percent cheaper than the outgoing model and boasts 404 miles of range. All of which you’ll use up in your search for a hydrogen fuel station.
The Mazda CX-30 will have a new 250-hp 2.5-liter turbocharged engine for the 2021 model year, which you’ll be able to spec in place of the standard 186-hp naturally aspirated engine by the end of this year. Coincidentally, we introduced a 2021 CX-30 to our long-term fleet. We didn’t get the turbo.

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First Come, First Served
While we wait to see if and when a coronavirus vaccine will be approved, Uber is already making plans to get its hands on one. The company asked the Centers for Disease Control to designate its drivers as essential workers, arguing that they help health care workers get to and from jobs, and that their delivery work allows others to stay isolated at home. If this pitch works it could mend fences between the company and its drivers after a bruising and expensive fight over a successful ballot initiative that exempts ride-share companies from classifying its workers as employees.
Sales Report
The November car sales numbers are in, and they look pretty bad at first glance, with a 14.6 percent year-over-year decrease. J.D. Power says things aren’t quite as dire as they seem, because this November had three fewer selling days than last year. Adjusted to account for that, J.D. Power puts sales down just 3.5 percent.
We’ll be keeping an eye on F-150 sales, which were down 45.9 percent compared to last year. Ford says low inventory and the shift to selling the new generation is to blame, but it’s crucial for the company that it gets this rollout right, especially given news of the Bronco’s delay.

Further Reading
Mary Barra was the guest of honor on the Freakonomics podcast this week. Barra talks about the company’s electric future, about being a woman in leadership, and about her time on President Trump’s economic advisory council. We also learned once and for all: it’s Bar-uh, not Bear-uh.
If, in these dark times, you find that you need a reminder of the joys and misadventures of youth, spare some time for our own Rich Ceppos and this love (?) letter to his old hand-built Myers Manx dunebuggy.
And for the #oddlysatisfying crowd, we offer this 20-minute detailing of a neglected two-door manual XJ Jeep Cherokee. Watch it instead of doing your chores, you won’t regret it.
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