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Specialty Vehicle Engineering

Don Yenko’s hot-rod Chevrolets were legendary in the ’60s and ’70s, and Specialty Vehicle Engineering has carried the Yenko torch more recently. Specialty just announced its latest creation, the new-for-2021 Yenko Silverado Off Road Truck.
It’s powered by a supercharged LT1-based V-8 cranking out 800 horsepower. You read that right, and the horsepower makes this the most powerful limited-production 2021 full-size GM truck you can get, as you probably could have guessed.
The four-wheel-drive trucks will be offered in any factory-available color, and customers can choose crew-cab and double-cab Custom models.

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Engine modifications include a forged twisted steel crank, forged steel rods and forged aluminum pistons, ported LT1 cylinder heads, upgraded fuel system and injectors, and a high-output centrifugal supercharger. The engine is mated to a heavy-duty six-speed automatic transmission with a performance upgrade. There are also ginormous six-piston Brembos, the company’s BDS lift kit that raises the truck four inches, and higher-rated front and rear Fox performance shocks.

Specialty Vehicle Engineering

The exterior is differentiated from standard Silverados with Yenko quarter-panel graphics, a composite hood insert, matte-finished 12-spoke aluminum wheels, and Nitto Ridge Grappler LT295/60R-20 off-road performance tires. There’s also a composite tailgate panel overlay with embossed Yenko/SC logo in gloss-finish body color and a front grille bar with the Yenko/SC logo stamped in.

Specialty Vehicle Engineering

The trucks will carry a three-year/36,000-mile limited warranty on engine and supercharger assembly, transmission upgrade, and non-powertrain components. Specialty is only going to build 50 of these monsters, and they’re being sold at Chevy dealerships starting now.
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The 2021 Lincoln Nautilus has gained a revamped interior, including a 13.2-inch infotainment screen equipped with Ford’s new Sync 4 technology.
The dashboard is redesigned with a multi-level look, with luxurious materials running horizontally across the front of the interior.
The Nautilus is slated to reach dealers early next year.
Don’t judge the new Lincoln Nautilus by its exterior; inside, the 2021 Nautilus sports a new and upgraded look which it draws from Lincoln’s other SUVs, including the Aviator and Corsair. Giving the interior this improved and more luxurious look is the standard 13.2-inch infotainment screen surrounded by more refined materials.

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The new infotainment screen—the largest among Lincoln’s lineup—is powered by Ford’s new Sync 4, a system which is making its way across Ford’s lineup, luxury or otherwise. Sync 4 supports over-the-air updates and cordless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and in the Nautilus, it allows drivers to use their phones as keys.
Lincoln has dropped the old dashboard in the Nautilus in favor of a multi-level one with luxurious materials, giving the SUV’s interior a stronger sense of refinement. The space below the infotainment screen sees the biggest change, as that cluster of buttons has been cleaned up and the plastic has gained a more polished look that matches the rest of the changes to the dashboard. The gearshifter has also been moved from its vertical position to just below the infotainment screen and now takes the piano-key form that Lincoln has introduced across its lineup.

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Lincoln

The exterior does get a small update—albeit one not indicative of what’s inside—including dropping the left and right front lower air intakes. The engine options remain the same for 2021, which include the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 250 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque and the available 2.7-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine with 335 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque.
The 2021 Nautilus will go on sale early next year and we expect to get pricing information closer to when it reaches dealers.
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GM placed a previously unseen electric pickup behind chief EV officer Travis Hester during an investor video conference today.
The Chevy-badged electric truck is likely to be one of the four new EVs from the automaker that GM says have had their development moved up.
A four-door EV truck was expected to go into production in 2025, and although we know that timeline has been changed, we’re not sure exactly how soon this pickup will see the light of day.
During a video conference meant to highlight GM’s new, faster approach to EV development, the automaker gave us all a peek at future vehicles. Among them, the Hummer SUV, which we hadn’t seen before, and this mysterious Chevy electric truck that we’ve only heard about and were originally told would go into production in 2025. Now it seems that timetable has been moved up (although we don’t know by how much), and this pickup is likely to be joining GM’s lineup sooner than expected.

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The truck was positioned behind chief EV officer Travis Hester. From what we can see, the vehicle has a bit of Corvette DNA in the headlights with a little bit of Vette seen in the front fascia. The angled cutline from the cab to the bed reminds us of what we’ve seen on the new Hummer EV and of course, it was previously seen on the now discontinued Chevy Avalanche.

Composite image from the two photos above.
GM

GM

The screen grab of this pickup shows an aggressive stance with flared fenders and sharp lines along the side of the vehicle. Of course, some or all of these design elements could change by the time this EV pickup is officially unveiled sometime in the future. What we do know, is that GM says a Chevy EV truck is coming, and today we saw what could be that vehicle.
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GM provided this sneak peek at the 2023 GMC Hummer EV SUV during an investor video conference Thursday where it laid out its electrification plans.
The Hummer EV will eventually be offered as either a pickup truck or SUV with a two- or three-motor setup.
Expect the SUV version to arrive in 2023 starting at around $75,000.
The 2023 GMC Hummer EV, which debuted in pickup truck form as an ultra-loaded Edition 1 model that costs $112,595, will eventually have cheaper models available as well as an SUV version. Today, during a GM investor video conference laying out the company’s electric plans, we got our first look at the upcoming SUV variant, which will arrive in 2023.

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GMC hasn’t given much information on the new electric SUV yet—a spokesperson contacted by Car and Driver after the conference declined comment—but its lineup should align with the pickup’s. This means it could also have a highly equipped Edition 1 model as well as a three-motor EV3X and two-motor EV2X, which both come equipped with an air suspension and four-wheel steering, as well as a base EV2 model, which will have the two-motor setup but none of the aforementioned goodies. Like the pickup, expect them to come standard with GM’s Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system, removable roof panels, and 35-inch tires.
The Hummer EV SUV will have the same imposing presence as the pickup version just without the bed. It’ll have the a modernized grille and headlights with “Hummer” pasted across then, skid plates, tall ride height, and massive tires and fender flares. The similarities should carry on to the interior as well, keeping the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, 13.4-inch touchscreen, and it could even have a third row of seats.
So far, we don’t have images of it other than this screen grab from the conference, also featuring Doug Parks, GM’s global product development executive VP. And we won’t see the SUV version on the road until 2023, and it should be a bit cheaper than the pickup starting at around $75,000.
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General Motors has upped its commitment to electrification, announcing today that it is investing another $7 billion to electric and autonomous tech.
GM also announced that it will have 30 electric vehicles on the market by 2025; two-thirds of those will be available in North America.
GM said that the flexibility of its Ultium platform allows it to adapt the propulsion system to the needs of various vehicles quickly.
General Motors is leaving no room for doubt as to whether or not it’s dedicated to electrification: the Detroit-based automaker announced today at a conference hosted by British bank Barclays that it is increasing its investment in electric and autonomous technology by $7 billion and will have 30 EVs on the market by 2025. That brings GM’s total EV and autonomous tech investment through 2025 to $27 billion as the automaker moves toward a full-electric lineup.

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This increase in planned electric vehicles—up from the 20 slated to hit the market by 2023—GM said, is made possible by the flexible Ultium platform which can be adapted to a variety of different vehicles. That platform can also now give vehicles a range of up to 450 miles, up from the 400 miles which GM claimed at an “EV Day” back in March.
Alongside the scaling of EV production, GM expects that the cost of its Ultium batteries will drop by 60 percent by the middle of this decade, bringing the batteries “closer to cost parity with gas-powered engines.” GM also said that its second-generation Ultium batteries will be ready by that time, which will have twice the energy density of the current batteries.
“Climate change is real, and we want to be part of the solution by putting everyone in an electric vehicle,” General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a press release. “We are transitioning to an all-electric portfolio from a position of strength and we’re focused on growth.”

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Of those 30 electric vehicles expected to reach the market by 2025, 20 will reach the North American market. Earlier this year, GM’s 2019 Sustainability Report gave a glimpse at many of these models, but today’s presentation gave another look at the expanding EV lineup. Cadillac will launch multiple electric crossovers and “low roof entries” in addition to the already announced Lyriq, Celestiq, and full-size SUV. At GMC, beyond the 2022 Hummer pickup EV and SUV EV, there is also a full-size pickup in the works. At Chevrolet, which already offers the Bolt and has a Bolt EUV coming, a pickup and a crossover model are planned along with “low roof entries.” And at Buick, more than one electric crossover is expected.
The flexible Ultium platform is what brought the development timeline of the Hummer down to 26 months, as opposed to the standard 50 months, GM said. That reduction in development time will affect other vehicles’ launches as well; in the case of the Cadillac Lyriq, it will arrive by the first quarter of t 2022 instead of arriving late that year.
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Nissan has announced that the 2021 Sentra sedan, now in the second year of its attractive redesign, will start at $20,335.
It comes standard with Nissan Safety Shield 360 and now makes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability standard, too.
The 2021 Nissan Sentra is on sale in the U.S. now.
In its second year since its redesign, the 2021 Nissan Sentra is adding standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a new two-tone paint job for the loaded SR model. Its price only rises $100 across all three trim levels, with a base price of $20,335, undercutting popular choices such as the Honda Civic and the Mazda 3.

Nissan

That’s for the base S model, which gets 16-inch steel wheels with covers, keyless entry, and now Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability are all standard. A step up is the mid-grade SV model, starting at $21,395, which has 16-inch aluminum wheels, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, a six-speaker audio system, and adaptive cruise control. The top-of-the-line SR model gets the best looks with 18-inch wheels, a dark chrome grille, LED headlights, a rear spoiler, and sport cloth interior with orange stitching. It starts at $22,675.

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Nissan’s Safety Shield 360, which includes automated emergency braking, high-beam assist, lane-departure and blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear automated braking, is standard on all 2021 Sentras. They’re powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 149 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque sent to the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).
The 2021 Nissan Sentra is on sale now in the U.S. starting at $20,335 for the base S model and reaching $22,675 for the Sentra SR, which gets a new two-tone Electric Blue with a black roof exterior paint job.
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The 2021 Mercedes-Maybach S580, the highest-end member of the S-class family, made its debut today.
It’s powered by Mercedes’s turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 making 496 horsepower and supplemented by a 48-volt hybrid system.
The Mercedes-Maybach S580 is expected out in the summer of 2021, priced starting in the $200,000 range.
Maybach is a state of mind. It’s a belief that a regular Mercedes-Benz S-class just doesn’t adequately tell the world you’re successful, with the conviction that your time is so valuable you can’t afford the distraction of driving yourself. It emerges from a root-level faith that what you do to guide the universe is more important than what others do just to keep it well oiled. You matter. And now Mercedes has shown its latest Maybach sedan, instantly relegating all the previous Maybachs to has-been status.
This, formally, is the 2021 Mercedes-Maybach S580 4Matic sedan. And formal is the only way it will come.
The new Maybach made its debut in person, at an unveiling event in Southern California at which no drives were allowed. It sat there behind a home overlooking Malibu as if it might hover up on a cloud of cash and join the LAX landing pattern. It’s not a startling thing to behold, but it looks like money.

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Mercedes-Benz

Just as a reminder, Maybach is no longer a stand-alone brand with its own products. That 15-year experiment died back in December 2012 when the last pure Maybach was produced. Now it is Mercedes-Maybach, which exists as an ultraluxury parallel to the performance oriented Mercedes-AMG brand. Mercedes-Benz is, meanwhile, the mainstream brand that ranges from the almost populist A-class all the way up to cars like the sybaritic SL roadster and all those FedEx vans.

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The basic formula for creating a Maybach S-class doesn’t differ forward of the B-pillar it shares with the “mere” S-class sedan, while what’s behind the B-pillar has been stretched. The wheelbase has been extended 9.1 inches from the standard S-class, from 124.6 inches to 133.7 inches, while overall length rises from 206.9 to 215.3 inches (up 8.4 inches). That means the rear quarters, rear doors, and roof are all Maybach specific. The rear decklid is reportedly shared with the regular S-class.
In the previous Maybach, the stretch in the floorpan was accomplished by adding a supplemental stamped plug to the regular S-class floor. So far, no one at Mercedes has responded to Car and Driver about how it’s done this time. Whatever the method, the Maybach models will be constructed on the same assembly line in Sindelfingen, Germany.
The basic suspension design and mechanical substance of the Maybach is the same as other members of the W223-generation S-class vehicles. That’s the generation that went into production and on sale this year.
The “base” Mercedes-Maybach is the S580 with 4Matic all-wheel drive. The engine is Mercedes’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 making 496 horsepower and supplemented by a 48-volt hybrid system providing up to an additional 21 horsepower of oomph. Mercedes claims that the additional battery support smooths out the torque delivery to provide luxury-liner linear acceleration. And it’s likely the shifts in the nine-speed automatic transmission will only be detected by the most sensitive of plutocratic hind ends.
A version powered by the Mercedes’s twin-turbo V-12 is inevitable. And it’s likely to be the first time that the V-12 will be lashed to the all-wheel-drive system.

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Mercedes-Benz

As far as the interior goes, this thing has everything. Plus everything else and some more beyond that. The front seats—for the chauffeur and the spare chauffeur—is pretty much familiar S-class. It’s gorgeous, high-tech, yet somehow still straightforward. What matters in this vehicle is the passenger compartment in back.

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Mercedes-Benz

Under a leather-lined ceiling, the two potentates in back sit on thrones that adjust from bolt upright to laid back for massage. Between the two seats is an optional champagne cooler with sterling silver champagne flutes. There are tabletops to work on, big screens on which to enjoy many types of media, controls to manipulate everything, and lots of details to make one feel as if they got their money’s worth.
There’s a certain ostentatiousness to the Maybach that must be appreciated as a strategic decision. From the available two-tone paint to the chrome spear down the hood and the massive front grille, the point isn’t just to announce prosperity but societal dominance. This isn’t a car built to blend in.
It will go on sale next year with a price likely to start up near or beyond $200,000. And to carry your luggage, you’ll need one of the new Mercedes-Maybach GLS SUVs to support your entourage.

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Honda and Subaru both unveiled vehicles this week that offer manual transmissions: the 2022 Civic prototype and the 2022 BRZ.
While sales numbers and availability of manual transmissions are shrinking, there remains an enthusiast market that is still hungry for three pedals.
Young drivers are also still buying vehicles with manual transmissions.
This week both the 11th-generation Honda Civic and 2022 Subaru BRZ were unveiled to the public. Both vehicles have a history of appealing to an enthusiast market that skews toward a younger age bracket. That’s likely why Honda decided to use Twitch, a live-streaming platform for video gamers, to host a debut featuring well-known Twitch personalities. But more important than where and how these two cars are unveiled is that they both come with manual transmissions—and Honda and Subaru have no plans to change that.

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“For us, it’s basically an enthusiast thing, and it has become such a big part of our DNA as a company over time. I think it’s fair to say that we have a reputation for having one of the best manuals out there,” Gary Robinson, Honda assistant vice president of automobile product planning, told Car and Driver about the decision to offer a manual transmission in the upcoming Civic.
Automakers can show us graphs with hard numbers that prove that automatic transmissions are quicker, more efficient, and less of a headache in gridlock. None of that changes the fact that many people enjoy the control and full-driving experience only allowed by depressing a clutch and shifting gears. It’s a tangible connection between the driver, the vehicle, and the road. But that hasn’t stopped the manual transmission from disappearing from both entry-level and high-end markets. The erosion is coming from both sides of the price spectrum. But vehicles like the BRZ and Civic come to the rescue.

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Outside of Porsche and the Aston Martin Vantage, finding a high-end vehicle with power coupled with a stick is nearly impossible. But if you come down in price, the options grow. Honda and Subaru’s offerings join a few others that are generally in the same price range, but also clearly marketed towars enthusiasts without have the cash to splurge on something like a Porsche 718 Cayman. Right now on the list of cars with stick-shift choices are such vehicles as the Ford Mustang, BMW 2-series, Subaru WRX, Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Fiat 124 Spider, Hyundai Veloster N, and Mazda 3. That’s a pretty great lineup of cars.
None of these cars will have the selling power of a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, but they do have their fans.

2022 Honda Civic prototype.
Honda

Vehicles like the BRZ and Civic appeal to a wide age range of enthusiast buyers, including age brackets that’s been derided for not knowing how to drive a manual: millennials and Gen Z. “It may be true that a lot fewer younger buyers like manual transmissions than maybe in the past, [but] there is no lack of young buyers who [do] like manual transmissions,” Robinson told C/D.
(If you’d care to geek out over the statistics and trends, we’ve got you covered.)

2022 Subaru BRZ.
Subaru

So, for stick-shift fans, this has been a good week: Two automakers solidified their dedication to manual transmissions by unveiling cars that celebrate three pedals. For the average car buyer, going automatic is a no-brainer, but if you’re not the average car buyer, you still have choices of vehicles that are more about the act of driving than getting from A to B—and are actually affordable. #SavetheManuals is alive and well, and in most cases, it’s a good value combined with fun.
Staff editor Connor Hoffman contributed to this report.
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