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Rivian

Rivian’s configurator is currently only live for reservation holders, but we were able to gain access to the system to build the electric pickups (and one SUV) that would be at home in the driveways of four Car and Driver editors.

Rivian R1T Electric Pickup Starts at $75,000

Rivian Pickups Embark on 13,000 Mile TV Adventure

Rivian’s R1T Goes Off-Road Testing

With funding from Ford and Amazon, Rivian is one of those EV startups that looks like it’s going to actually make it. The 100,000 delivery van orders from Amazon will certainly help it stay in business for a few years. But we’re here to talk about its consumer vehicles, the 2021 R1T pickup and 2021 R1S SUV. Here’s how we’d spec our Rivians, and it turns out we’re happy to wait the extra six months to get exactly what we want. You’ll be able to spec your own soon. If you’re not already on the reservation list for one of these future Rivians, you’ll just have to wait until November 23 for it to go live on Rivian’s website.
Eric Tingwall’s $72,800 Utilitarian Rivian R1T Explore

Rivian

Rivian

A Rivian R1T is all about getting outside, right? So I’m skipping the luxe interior of the higher trims in favor of a cheaper R1T that is every bit as capable. To build that truck, I started with the entry $67,500 Explore spec and ruggedized it with the $1800 20-inch wheels with all-terrain tires and the $2000 Off-Road Upgrade, which adds underbody armoring, front tow hooks, and an air compressor. Those two options make the Explore model as capable as any Adventure or Launch Edition R1T you can build while saving at least $3700. By choosing the base model, I’m losing out on ventilated seats, passenger lumbar adjustment, the premium audio, the powered tonneau cover, and upgraded interior materials. That’s fine by me; I’d rather spend the money on gear for the next adventure.
Rivian offers some superb paint colors, but I believe that the more extroverted hues like Rivian Blue and Compass Yellow work best on the R1S SUV. My colleagues claimed dibs on Forest Green first, and you don’t need two pictures of the same color, so I’m choosing Limestone, another $1500 upgrade. I like the subtle hint of green that adds dimension to Limestone’s gray base. Interior options are limited to black or white seats in the Explore trim. I’m choosing the former, because this truck is going to get dirty. The only downside to ordering your Rivian R1T like mine? You’ll have to wait until January 2022 at the earliest to take delivery.
Colin Beresford’s $97,000 Long-Range R1T Adventure

Rivian

Rivian

After all of this waiting, it’s exciting to be able to build out one of Rivian’s trucks in a configurator—it makes it feel just a little bit more real. The R1T starts at $67,500, and that’s assuming you can wait beyond the Launch Edition, which is available beginning in June 2021. I wanted to go full send on my R1T build, so I decided I could wait for one with the Adventure package, which starts at $75,000, and the 400-plus-mile range (according to Rivian) battery, a $10,000 option. The Adventure package gives me a skid plate, an air compressor, and tow hooks to help me off-road, and then, to keep me comfortable, it gives me a leather interior, heated and cooled seats, and an upgraded audio system. Because I’ll be going far off-road, I’m splurging for the $5000 kitchen, which slides out from the side of the truck and looks cool as hell. Beyond that, I couldn’t resist the appeal of a color named El Cap Granite, perhaps a nod to Rivian’s partnership with climber Alex Honnold, who’s famous for his ropeless climb up El Cap, and the $3500 20-inch all-terrain dark wheels. I finished it off with a $2000 Forest Edge interior for a final price of $97,000. A full send price for a full send truck.
Roberto Baldwin’s $77,800 Kitchen-Enabled R1T Explore

Rivian

Rivian

Trucks are for hauling, camping, and doing wicked burnouts in the snow or dirt. An electric pickup should be no different. With that in mind, I built an R1T with the Explore package, starting at $67,500. Sure I could get the more expensive Launch Edition with most of the same options plus some fancy perks like additional interior colors, but I decided I’d wait the extra six months for the Explore package so I could use my money on something more important than special badging: an induction cooktop with an integrated sink that slides out the side of the R1T. I went with a Forest Green truck that’s outfitted with a 300-mile battery pack, the $1800 20-inch all-terrain tires, and the $2000 off-road package with a reinforced underbody, tow hooks, and an air compressor. I’m saving some cash by waiting and not opting for the pricier Adventure and Launch Editions. I don’t need a powered tonneau cover, but being able to pull a portable kitchen out of the side of a truck and cook up a steak in the great outdoors sounds like reason enough to go electric while camping.
Drew Dorian Goes against the Grain with His $81,000 R1S SUV Launch Edition

Rivian

Rivian

While everyone is focused on the R1T pickup truck, my interest has been on the R1S SUV. Not only do I prefer its squareback styling over the pickup’s, the SUV fits my lifestyle better. As a renter, I don’t have weekend home-improvement tasks on my to-do list so I’d rather have the third row of seats and the enclosed cargo area. The Launch Edition model starts at $77,500—or $2000 more than the R1T—and comes with the large battery pack and the Off-Road Upgrade package (skid plates, tow hooks, and an onboard air compressor). Rivian will include 20-, 21-, or 22-inch wheels—call me vain, but I’d happily sacrifice ride comfort for the look of the big rollers. I’m a big fan of green cars, but Launch Green is a little too camo-esque for me, so I’d pick the deeper Forest Green and add a matching Forest Edge interior theme, which includes a rich-looking dark wood trim. In total, my loaded-up R1S wears an estimated price tag of $81,000. If that seems expensive, I’ll remind you that the Tesla Model X—the R1S’s chief rival—has a base price of $81,190 and goes up from there.

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Lincoln will reveal an updated version of the Nautilus on November 20.
The 2021 Nautilus is likely to have interior upgrades, possibly including a larger touchscreen.
Expect the 2021 Lincoln Nautilus to go on sale either late this year or early next year.
Lincoln’s mid-size Nautilus crossover is poised to get some updates for the 2021 model year. A short teaser video confirms that the 2021 Nautilus will be revealed on November 20, and we think the improvements will largely be focused on the interior.
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2021 Ford Edge Adds a Huge Touchscreen

2019 Lincoln Nautilus Improves on the Former MKX

Like its downmarket cousin, the Ford Edge, the Nautilus is likely to gain a larger touchscreen infotainment system. The 2021 Edge has a new 12.0-inch vertically oriented screen, but a leaked photo of the 2021 Nautilus’s interior on FordAuthority shows a different screen setup. It also shows a completely different dashboard layout compared to the current Nautilus. The new cabin’s air vents and HVAC controls look similar to the newer Aviator and Corsair’s.
Lincoln may also revise the 2021 Nautilus’s exterior, but we expect smaller changes in that regard. The Nautilus nameplate was introduced for the 2019 model year, but it was essentially a rebadged and restyled version of the previous MKX crossover that arrived for 2016.
More details will be available later this week about the 2021 Lincoln Nautilus, which should reach dealerships within the next few months.
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Honda will hold the live-streamed debut of the 2022 Honda Civic on its Head2Head Twitch channel on Tuesday, November 17, at 8 p.m. ET.
This will be the 11th-generation Honda Civic, although the vehicle being shown off is officially being called a prototype.
The 2022 Honda Civic will go on sale in late 2021.
Instead of the usual live stream on YouTube or Facebook, Honda has decided to unveil the prototype of the 2022 Honda Civic via the video streaming platform Twitch. The service is known more for streaming footage of people playing video games than unveiling new cars. But if you’re an automaker and your car happens to skew to a younger audience as the Civic does, Twitch is the place to be.
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The digitally streamed festivities will begin on Tuesday, November 17, at 8 p.m. ET on Honda’s Head2Head streaming channel. The actual reveal won’t take place until 9:45 p.m. The event will be hosted by Twitch personalities Rachel Seltzer and MonsterDface, and there will be a live performance by Grammy-nominated artist Cordae.

2022 Civic Will Have the Looks, Debuts Nov 17

2022 Civic Type R Gives Preview of 11th-Gen Model

2022 Honda Civic Hatchback Leaked in Patent Images

If you’re not sure how Twitch works, not to worry, we’ve embedded the live-stream player above.
Details about the new 2022 Civic are sparse, but Honda says it will “raise the bar for style, performance, safety, and advanced technology in the compact-car market.” We also know that there will be sedan, hatchback, Si, and Type R models, and a manual transmission will be offered. Honda dropped a teaser video of the Civic prototype on November 12, and you can check it out below while waiting for the Civic to debut on Twitch.
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To simulate intense crashes with modern cars, Volvo decided a standard laboratory test was not powerful enough. The solution? Gravity.
Volvo thus dropped 10 new cars (sad!) from a crane over an impact site that was ready with video cameras and a bunch of Swedish first responders, who then tried to access the passenger cabins with the Jaws of Life.
Lessons learned will be made available to first responders around the world.

If nothing else, Volvo knows how to get our attention when it comes to safety issues. The latest example is a series of crash tests involving 10 new Volvo vehicles. But, unlike controlled laboratory tests with high-speed cameras and dummies, these tests involved a crane—and cameras, because who doesn’t want to see what happens when cars are dropped from 30 meters (98 feet) in the air?

Volvo Is Sharing 50 Years of Accident Analysis

Volvo to Put In-Car Cameras in All Models

Volvo didn’t just drop these vehicles to rack up millions of video views. Instead, the tests were done in partnership with first responders in Sweden to learn better how to extract people from a totally damaged vehicle in the shortest possible time. Volvo said dropping the vehicles allowed the engineers to re-create the “most extreme crashes, beyond what can be simulated with ordinary crash testing.”

Volvo

Despite the vertical aspect, Volvo said the drops are a good way to understand how vehicles crumble in “single-car accidents at very high speed, accidents whereby a car hits a truck at high speed, or accidents whereby a car takes a severe hit from the side.”
Volvo smashed up modern cars because, it said, first responders who test their tools on cars in junkyards might not be learning best practices. Even though in the U.S. the average age of a car on the road is 12 years, old models aren’t totally representative of the vehicles that may be involved in today’s crashes. In other words, first responders need to understand the difference between how a 2005 Honda Civic, say, and a 2020 Volvo XC40 respond to the jaw of life.
In the extreme situations the falling tests were meant to simulate, vehicle occupants are likely to be in pretty rough shape, and not wasting any time on figuring out how to best open the deformed metal can provide more minutes in the “golden hour,” that short window of time first responders know they have to get people from an accident site to the hospital.

Volvo

But back to the cars falling 100 feet through the air. Volvo says everything it has learned from these crashes and the tests the on-site first responders did with their tools will be put into a report that will be made free to access for other rescue workers, removing the need for others to drop cars from a crane. Until they come up with their own reasoning to do so, anyway.
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Joe Biden’s progressive campaign promises prove he’s bullish on the power of EVs to make a difference in the fight against climate change, but having the right attitude won’t make them just happen.
Giving the president-elect tailwinds are a slew of new electric vehicles (among them the GMC Hummer EV, above) due to go on sale during his first term, including a lot of pickup trucks that can shift the public image of EVs and a lot of EV production that is or will soon be happening in red states.
As usual, cheap gas and a Senate potentially still controlled by Republicans means any plans Biden has will be tempered to some degree.
The upcoming Biden Administration elicits unequal parts worry and excitement when it comes to electric vehicles and the future of the automobile industry. The excitement is there, in spades and with good reason, but there are worries from many corners as well.

The EVs Are Coming

Future EVs: Every Electric Vehicle Coming Soon

Every Electric Pickup Truck on the Horizon

Excitement over electric vehicles flows from the president-elect himself, who promoted two distinct EV policies in his campaign climate plan. First, his Day One “unprecedented executive actions” include moving the federal government procurement system toward 100 percent “clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles” as well as making sure U.S. fuel-economy standards are set so they get “100 percent of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles [to] be electrified” alongside annual improvements for heavy-duty vehicles.
Second, Biden’s “Year One Legislative Agenda” is to include accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles by working with governors and mayors to deploy over 500,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2030. The plan also calls for restoring the federal government’s electric-vehicle tax credit and targeting it toward middle-class consumers while prioritizing electric vehicles made in America when possible.

2021 Rivian R1T.
Rivian

That’s what the president-elect has said himself. Industry sources who spoke to Car and Driver on background said once Biden is inaugurated, he could use the presidential bully pulpit to signal to Americans that the future belongs to EVs. He could also stop the fight with California over fuel-economy standards and get back to promoting one national standard.

Biden to Work toward More EVs, Stable Car Industry

What I’d Do Differently: Vice President Joe Biden

It’s also the case that some of the names being suggested as members of a Biden cabinet are strong proponents of EVs, among them Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer. The tea leaves are still too weak to read with precision, but it’s something to keep an eye on as Biden gets ready to be sworn in in January.
There Are Going to Be Limits
Of course, any worries that the Biden Administration is about to run roughshod over an automobile industry that’s had such success working with the oil industry for over a century are simply unfounded. Our sources pointed to two large roadblocks, including likely Republican control of the Senate, which will limit how far Biden can push his plans, and low gas prices. A $2 gallon of gas makes the economics of going electric less appealing than $4 gallons, but even in an era of relatively cheap gas, there might be some reasons for Republicans to work with Biden on EVs.
Those reasons can be counted in four letters: jobs. Plug In America’s policy director, Katherine Stainken, pointed out to C/D that there is a relatively under-the-radar EV production boom happening in red states, citing the Cadillac Lyriq being built in Tennessee (where Volkswagen is expanding EV operations and Nissan has been building the Leaf for years), Tesla opening a plant in Texas to build the Cybertruck, SK Innovation’s $2.6 billion battery plant potentially coming to Georgia, and the Lordstown Motors plant in Ohio, along with Lucid and Nikola in Arizona.
“There’s a lot of new manufacturing happening around the United States for electric vehicles, and we hope that will resonate with some of the Republican senators,” she said.

Tesla Model 3 Gets Design Changes, Increased Range

2019 Chevy Bolt EV vs. 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric

2022 BMW iX

Center for Automotive Research president and CEO Carla Bailo wrote that despite the excitement around EVs, she sees a downside for existing internal-combustion engine and transmission plants that will need to be managed during the transition. “We have several years before internal-combustion engines will be obsolete, and we should begin to prepare the workforce and plant management accordingly,” she wrote. With Biden, she said, “We will have someone in the White House committed to the resurrection of the Paris accords and improved air quality for the U.S. There will remain good checks and balances due to the situation in the House and Senate to move pragmatically.”
Another source said senators who realize Biden has the power to put executive orders into place might be encouraged to find middle ground on some EV proposals to stop the administration from going too far left. Or not, if Republican Senate leader (for now, anyway) Mitch McConnell continues his drive to be seen as the “grim reaper” of progressive legislation.

Ford E-Transit and Mustang Mach-E. 
Ford

Ford F-150 Electric prototype.

Electric Trucks Could Change the Landscape
There’s another factor that might override the political concerns. Government incentives alone can’t force people to buy EVs and small numbers of people buying EVs won’t have the climate impact Biden is talking about. Everything needs to work together, and it just might be time for everything to come together in the shape of America’s iconic pickup truck.

Ford F-150 EV Prototype Pulls a Million-Pound Load

Lordstown Endurance Beat F-150 in Video Tug of War

No all-electric trucks are available today from any major automakers, but there will be a fair number released during Biden’s first term. This new generation of trucks is likely to simply outperform a lot of the gas or diesel pickups available now. Most of them will have onboard power, allowing users to plug in tools at a worksite or offer electricity while remote camping. Rivian says its R1T pickup truck will go through three feet of standing water, for example, and Ford has hyped the towing capability of its upcoming electric F-150, famously pulling a million-plus-pound train in a promotional video. These sorts of features might be what it takes to give EVs the boost they need, politics be damned.
“There’s all this potential that we can’t even imagine right now when you’re driving a pickup in the middle of nowhere and you’re bringing power with you,” said Plug In America executive director Joel Levin. “Where will that lead? What kinds of creative things will people do?”
We’re about to find out.

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General Motors has announced a recall of 50,932 2017 through 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs in the U.S.
The problem is the chance of a fire in the high-voltage battery pack, which could occur even when the vehicle is stopped, parked, and not plugged in to charge.
GM said owners should park the vehicles outside and away from houses until repairs can take place and, in the video below, explains what else owners can do.
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Chevrolet is recalling more than 50,000 of its Bolt EVs in the U.S. equipped with batteries manufactured by LG Chem in South Korea. There is a risk that these high-voltage batteries, located under the rear passenger seats, could catch fire. The Bolt EV has a 60.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Executive chief engineer Jesse Ortega, in the GM video above, details the problem and explains what owners can do while waiting for a fix.
Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and GM are investigating complaints from owners and have confirmed five instances of fires related to the problem. NHTSA’s investigation report indicates that the agency is also investigating 2020 model year Bolt EVs and gives a total of vehicles potentially affected of 77,842. However, Chevrolet said, “The 2020 Bolt EV uses a different battery-cell design than the vehicles affected by this recall.”
NHTSA’s report on its investigation of three vehicles that caught fire—one each from 2017, 2018, and 2019 model years—said “fire damage appeared to be concentrated in the EV battery compartment area with penetration into the passenger compartment from under the rear seat. The root cause of these fires is unknown. One of these incidents . . . reported smoke inhalation injuries.” In a consumer alert this afternoon, NHTSA said it has confirmed five fires and two injuries. In one case, the fire spread from the vehicle and “ignited a home.” Therefore, the agency says Bolt EV owners should park them away from houses and outdoors.
At the time of each of the reported incidents, Ortega said, the batteries were at full or nearly full charge.
What Owners Should Do Now
GM will give dealers a software update beginning on November 17 while it continues to investigate the cause of the incidents and look for a fix. This software update will automatically limit the battery’s charge to 90 percent, the automaker said. Owners are asked to contact dealers and set up appointments on or after November 17 to get the software update.
Meanwhile, Ortega said, owners of 2017 and 2018 Bolt EV vehicles should change their charge setting to the Hilltop Reserve option. Owners of 2019 Bolt EVs should change the vehicle charge setting to enable “target charge level at 90 percent.” Watch the video above for detailed instructions.
Owners of potentially affected Bolt EV vehicles can check GM’s dedicated Bolt Recall website. Details of the NHTSA investigation are on its website.

Battery pack is located under the rear seats of the Bolt EV. Pictured: 2017 model.
Chevrolet

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For this week’s episode, we challenged the Window Shop crew to find the best British cars out there. If you’re thinking, “Well, that’s easy: McLaren F1,” we also set a budget of $10,000, which, far from getting you an F1, probably wouldn’t cover the ’90s Compaq laptop computer you’d need to service that car. We kept the criteria for this challenge purposely vague, wanting our shoppers to define what makes their Limey the best. As you might expect to hear in a conversation about cars built on Old Blighty, reliability—or the lack thereof—is an important factor.Among the many things you might learn from this episode—including how to turn on the map light in a Rover P6 and how to pronounce the word “turbine”—is that contributor John Pearley Huffman doesn’t like British cars, but he puts aside his feelings and chooses the iconic MG B roadster. We also find out that only one of the crew has ever owned English car.The team presents a Jaguar with a spectacular 6.0-liter V-12 as well as a gorgeous Jaguar XJ6 Series III, and deputy testing director K.C. Colwell makes a strong case for the 2006 Land Rover Range Rover. But it’s the last pick that intrigues us most. It’s a real dark horse. Grace Kelly died in a similar model, but it offers British innovation and engineering and is the last car that the Rover brand developed before being swallowed up by British Leyland. It’s not British Racing Green, but it’s a clear winner.
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Ford is highlighting a small but significant added option on the 2021 Bronco four-door: a slide-out tailgate.
The tailgate is claimed to add enough length for two people to sleep comfortably inside the Bronco, or one person to enjoy an eight-foot-nine-inch space to stretch out diagonally.
The optional tailgate will be available starting in late 2021.

Ford

One of the best things about the 2021 Ford Bronco is that you can fit it with all kinds of goodies and options. To the list of washable floor mats, grab handles, LED light bars, side rock rails, and brush guards, add this space-extending slide-out tailgate. Specially for the four-door Bronco, it arrives in late 2021 and adds about 14 inches of legroom.

How We’d Spec It: 2021 Ford Bronco

2021 Ford Bronco Looks Best Fully Kitted Out

Bronco with Sasquatch Package to Offer Stick Shift

With the front seats forward, there’s a total of seven feet, six inches of diagonal space for one camper to stretch out, or six feet, six inches of length for two people to sleep with the tailgate closed. If that doesn’t feel like enough, with the slide-out tailgate option, you get more than a foot more length, so that one person stretched out diagonally can enjoy eight feet, nine inches of space or two people can have seven feet, nine inches. The Bronco’s removable top completes the picture with a sleep-under-the-stars experience.

Ford

Ford marketing manager Mark Grueber told Car and Driver earlier this fall that the automaker will be adding more goodies to the Bronco’s spec list, saying that “everything from colors and options to special editions” will be announced during the runup to the new vehicle’s arrival. So this is surely not the last such add-on that will be highlighted to further entice Bronco buyers—as if they needed any more encouragement to want one.
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