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Ford is adding a luxurious King Ranch trim level to the 2021 Explorer SUV, and it’ll be available in the spring.
The King Ranch has been available on the F-series trucks for 20 years, and on the Explorer it adds features including 20-inch wheels, a Mahogany leather interior, and King Ranch emblems.
The Explorer King Ranch will be available with either rear- or all-wheel drive Explorers, priced starting at $53,595.
The 2021 Ford Explorer is adding a King Ranch model to its lineup. The luxurious package, named for an actual ranch in Texas, has been offered on Ford’s F-series trucks for 20 years as well as on the Expedition full-size SUV. The Explorer could see an off-road-focused model called Timberline soon as well. The Explorer King Ranch will sit just under the Explorer Platinum 4WD as the second most expensive model in the Explorer’s lineup when it goes on sale in the spring starting at $53,595. The 2021 Explorers recently received price cuts and now start at $33,470.

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King Ranch Explorers get a gray grille insert, four chrome exhaust tips, King Ranch badging, and 20-inch wheels with the King Ranch “Running W” logo, which is said to represent either a rattlesnake or the Santa Gertrudis Creek near the actual King Ranch. Both rear- and four-wheel drive models are available, powered by Ford’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter EcoBoost V-6 that makes 365 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. This is the first time rear-wheel drive has been teamed with Ford’s 3.0-liter EcoBoost, the automaker said. A 10-speed automatic transmission sends power to the wheels, and King Ranches can tow up to 5600 pounds.

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The King Ranch’s seats and center console are wrapped in Mahogany leather with the Running W logos, and the dash is trimmed with sapele wood. The steering wheel is also wrapped in leather with a wood insert and a King Ranch logo. Ford’s premium technology package is available, adding massaging front seats, a 10.1-inch vertically oriented touchscreen (an 8.0-inch screen is standard), and a Bang & Olufsen sound system.

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The 2021 Ford Explorer King Ranch starts at $53,595 for rear-wheel-drive models, while selecting four-wheel drive increases the price to $55,595. It will arrive in showrooms in the spring.
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The U.S. Postal Service has awarded Oshkosh Defense the contract to replace the aging Grumman LLV trucks that are currently delivering mail across the country.
The contract includes an initial $482 million investment from the USPS to finalize the design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
The new vehicles will include both battery-electric vehicles and those with low-emission internal-combustion engines. They are expected to be delivering mail by 2023.

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The United States Postal Service, after over five years of searching, has awarded Oshkosh Defense of Wisconsin with the contract to replace its aging fleet of mail-delivery trucks. The contract includes an initial $482 million investment from the USPS in Oshkosh to finalize the design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) and to begin the tooling of an assembly plant.

USPS

The NGDVs will replace the Grumman LLVs which currently serve as the USPS’s mail-delivery trucks. The trucks currently in service were manufactured between 1987 and 1994 and were intended to only have 24-year life spans; all have passed that age. The trucks built by Oshkosh are estimated to be delivering mail by 2023.

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The NGDVs that Oshkosh will build will include both battery-electric vehicles and low-emission internal-combustion-engine vehicles, both of which will be able to be retrofitted to keep up with the latest EV tech. They will also have air conditioning and airbags—both of which the current trucks lack—as well as heat, a 360-degree camera, a front and rear collision avoidance system, and automated emergency braking.
Oshkosh agreed to what is called an indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, meaning that the USPS will be able to order more of the vehicles throughout the 10-year contract. During that time, the contract stipulates that the USPS will order anywhere between 50,000 and 165,000 of the vehicles.
Oshkosh Defense is known for the vehicles it manufactures for the military and was selected over Karsan and Workhorse.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained on Twitter that the Standard Range Model Y was dropped from the automaker’s online configurator because it doesn’t meet the company’s “standard of excellence.”
The vehicle appeared on the Tesla online configurator in January, and late last week its price was cut by $2000.
Currently, the Standard Range Model Y is available for order only over the phone or in person at Tesla showrooms.
The Tesla Standard Range Model Y has been on a price and availability roller coaster over the past week. First, the automaker dropped the price of the 244-mile Standard Range Model Y by $2000, to $41,190. Then, just days later, the vehicle completely disappeared from the online configurator. The remaining two versions of the Model Y are the Long Range (with 326 miles of range) at $50,190 and the Performance (with 303 miles) at $62,190. Tesla did not explain where the Standard Range car had gone on its website, but today CEO Elon Musk explained the reason for the model’s disappearance via Twitter.
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Responding to a tweet inquiring about the vehicle’s disappearance, the Tesla CEO wrote, “It is still available off menu, but I don’t think the range, in many drive conditions, yet meets the Tesla standard of excellence.” That standard of excellence can be assumed to mean the Model Y’s sub-250-mile range.

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This isn’t the first time the Standard Range Model Y has been pulled from the online configurator for that reason. In July 2020, Musk tweeted that the vehicle would not go into production because of its “unacceptably low ( More

Kia has released U.S. details for the 2022 Carnival minivan, which replaces the Sedona.
It has a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, offers seating for seven or eight passengers, and comes in LX, EX, and SX trim levels.
The Carnival will arrive at U.S. dealerships in the second quarter of 2021.
The latest generation of Kia’s minivan is finally set to land in the U.S., and it’ll wear a new name and a new logo when it does. Say hello to the 2022 Kia Carnival, which replaces the Sedona and will be the first new Kia on our shores to wear the company’s new emblem. Compared with its predecessor, the Carnival also offers a more stylish look, more power, additional cargo space, and new features.

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The U.S. version of the Carnival doesn’t look much different than the global model we saw several months ago. Its longer hood and chunky C-pillar attempt to give it more SUV-like proportions, but we simply see it as a good-looking van. Inside, the boxier body contributes to a few extra cubic feet of cargo space with the third row of seats folded and the second-row seats removed.

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An eight-passenger setup is standard, with a second-row bench that has a configurable middle seat that can slide closer to the front seats or fold to become a table. Second-row captain’s chairs are optional, and the top SX-Prestige trim level has a special setup with power-adjustable recliner-style captain’s chairs with an ottoman and special headrests. Unlike the standard setup, though, these so-called VIP Lounge seats are not removable.

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The sole powertrain is a 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 290 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Unlike competitors such as the Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica, the Carnival is front-wheel drive and offers neither all-wheel drive nor a hybrid variant. Kia says the van can tow up to 3500 pounds, matching the Sienna.
The Carnival’s interior looks far more upscale than the outgoing Sedona’s, and the pictured model has a interesting shade of brown leather upholstery. An 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment screen is standard, with both a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen and a digital gauge cluster screen optional. There are also available dual entertainment screens for rear passengers that have smartphone-mirroring capabilities. Standard and optional family-friendly features include an intercom system, power sliding doors and a power tailgate, a camera that offers a view of the rear passengers, and various rear-seat USB ports and power outlets.

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Kia hasn’t yet detailed what equipment is available on which trim level, but the lineup starts off with the Carnival LX and also includes EX, SX, and SX-Prestige models. Many driver-assistance features are standard equipment, with more advanced systems including blind-spot cameras, adaptive cruise control, and a 360-degree camera available as options.
Pricing will likely start slightly higher than the current 2021 Sedona, which starts at $31,575. Kia will release more info in the coming months, as the 2022 Carnival is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2021.
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EVs are the future, but vehicles with internal-combustion engines are not going to disappear any time soon, which is why synthetic fuels could provide a greener option for the vast majority of the cars on the road today.
The eFuels that Porsche is testing use CO2 and hydrogen ingredients and are made using renewable energy, which significantly lowers the greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-based fuels.
Porsche is far from first to dip into synthetic-fuel research. Audi, Bosch, and McLaren have all been talking about and working on the technology for years.
In the race for greener mobility, nearly every automaker is now focused on electric vehicles. But buying an EV doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority of cars being sold today are powered by gasoline, and they’re going to remain on the road for a long time. As a way to make driving existing vehicles more sustainable, Porsche has been working on synthetic fuels it calls eFuels that the company says can make an internal-combustion engine as clean as an EV.

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Porsche’s eFuels are made out of CO2 and hydrogen and are produced using renewable energy. The final result is a liquid that an engine will burn the same as if it was gasoline made from crude oil, but an eFuel can be produced in a climate-neutral manner, at least in theory. Speaking at the recent launch of the new 911 GT3, Porsche vice president of Motorsport and GT cars Frank Walliser said the company will have its first small test batch—just 130,000 liters, or 34,340 gallons—of eFuel ready by 2022.
“Synthetic fuel is cleaner and there is no byproduct ,and when we start full production we expect a CO2 reduction of 85 percent,” Walliser told the U.K. publication Evo. “From a ‘well to wheel’ perspective—and you have to consider the well-to-wheel impact of all vehicles—this will be the same level of CO2 produced in the manufacture and use of an electric vehicle.”
One of eFuel’s big benefits is that you can pump it into a standard gasoline-powered vehicle without needing to make any adjustments to the engine. Porsche’s eFuel is not meant just for roadgoing vehicles, either. The newest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car can run on synthetic fuels, which Porsche said “significantly lowers CO2 emissions under racing conditions.”
“This technology is particularly important because the combustion engine will continue to dominate the automotive world for many years to come,” said Michael Steiner, a member of Porche’s executive board for R&D, said in a statement in September. “If you want to operate the existing fleet in a sustainable manner, eFuels are a fundamental component.”
Porsche is not the first automaker to investigate cleaner petroleum-substitute fuels, by any means. Audi produced its first batch of e-diesel in 2015, for example, and Bentley, Mazda, and McLaren have all said positive things about synthetic fuels. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz has taken an opposing stance, with R&D chief Markus Schäfer having told the U.K. publication Autocar in 2020 that e-fuel is not a viable option and that the automaker is focusing solely on electrification.
In a similar vein, E85, a non-carbon neutral gasoline substitute made from 85 percent corn-based ethanol, has been promoted in the U.S. since the 1990s, with more than 100 E85-compatible models sold here since then, from the Mercedes-Benz CLA250 to the Chrysler 300, from the Chevrolet Impala to the Ram 1500.
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