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Depending on where you are in the country, spring might be in bloom, or it might be in hiding. We expect Earth’s fickle climate will have to set Persephone and her sunny bounty free at some point, hence this week’s challenge: convertibles for under $30,000.Our Window Shop panelists almost never make the obvious choice, and this week’s challenge resulted in the expected tossed salad of picks. Road & Track senior editor John Pearley Huffman reached back to 1985 for a maximally expensive, minimally sporty, not-quite-factory droptop. The cohort thought he might have channeled Hall & Oates’ biggest hit of that same year: “Out of Touch.”There’s nothing obvious about deputy editor Carlos Lago’s ragtop choice. He admits to skipping right over the the Mazda Miata because it would be too easy and instead wanders deep into Chrysler’s left field. His find meets the challenge, but while everyone wanted to talk about its unique design and engineering, no one wanted to drive or own it. Not even Lago. Kentucky resident and contributor Jonathon Ramsey selected a two-seat convertible made in the Bluegrass State, but it’s not the fiberglass Chevy you’re thinking of. The last time Ramsey drove a car like the Cadillac he chose, a bartender who surveyed declared it hot enough to shed undergarments for. The crew points out that each taillight costs $3000, but the real takeaway here is getting to hear Pearley say “Drop trou” twice.Deputy testing director K.C. Colwell preferred the springtime sun in southern Germany in his also-not-exactly-factory ragtop. He landed on derExplosionsfußpunkt, which is German Ground Zero for one of the 1990’s best convertibles for a mid-life crisis. Finally, editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga went to England for drophead that comes with a sweet engine, horrible infotainment, gorgeous lines, and free a colonoscopy. Insert joke about sunshine and where the sun don’t shine.Voting is compulsory in Window Shop, so someone had to win. Like all but one of the choices, victory wasn’t pretty, but this episode was all about the bad takes and the surprise tangents we made along the way.

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Mercedes-Benz has launched the new T-class van for Europe. It’s a passenger version of its compact Citan cargo van.The most powerful engine option is a turbocharged gas inline-four with 129 horsepower, and there are also two diesels available.The interior features faux leather, LED lighting, a 7.0-inch touchscreen, and smartphone integration.American consumers in search of a van with a prestigious badge can shell out for the full-size Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or the mid-size Mercedes-Benz Metris. In Europe, van shoppers also have a smaller offering, the Citan, which received a redesign in August of 2021. Based on the bones of the Renault Kangoo, the second-generation Citan has now morphed into a family-oriented passenger van bearing the T-class moniker, which Mercedes says is “bringing comfort into the private small van segment.”

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Measuring 177.1 inches long and 71.3 inches tall, the T-class has room for five passengers, although Mercedes says a long-wheelbase version with seven seats is on its way. Power comes from a range of inline-four engines, with two 1.5-liter diesel offerings and two turbocharged 1.3-liter gas options. The most powerful gas engine puts out just 129 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, while the two diesels and more powerful gas engine can be had with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Inside, every T-class comes fitted with a 7.0-inch touchscreen, smartphone integration, keyless start, a 5.5-inch digital display in the instrument cluster, and LED interior lightning. Much of the cabin is decked out in faux leathers, while the dashboard is decked out in gloss black trim. The rear bench seat can fold flat to allow for more luggage space, and Mercedes touts the wide sliding door openings and low rear sill for added practicality. Buyers can opt for the Style or Progressive Line packages for even fancier interior and exterior trim. The T-class will start just under 30,000 euros, about $31,500 at current exchange rates—but we don’t anticipate Mercedes will bring this vehicle Stateside anytime soon.
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Formula E has revealed its Gen3 car, which is smaller and lighter while being capable of a 200 mph top speed, up 16 mph from the previous car.The car now features a front-mounted motor used exclusively for regeneration, and ditches rear brakes since the regenerative capability is so high.Formula E also says it made the car more sustainable, recycling carbon fiber from the Gen2 cars for the body panels and sourcing more sustainable tires that will also be recycled after the races. Formula E has been racing electric single-seaters around some of the world’s most iconic cities since 2014, and now the series has unveiled its third-generation race car. The Gen3 car brings myriad technical changes that will push the boundaries of electric-car performance, hopefully result in even closer, more nail-biting racing. We could possibly see some of these new technologies trickle down into electric road cars eventually.

Formula E

The Gen3 car, at 197.5-inches long and 66.9-inches wide, is about seven inches shorter and just under four inches narrower than its predecessor. The car’s height also shrinks by about 1.5 inches. The minimum weight, including the driver, has also decreased by about 132 pounds, to just 1852 pounds. Performance is significantly increased. The Gen2 car had a 335-horsepower electric motor on the rear axle, but Gen3 ups that to 469 horsepower. Formula E predicts a top speed over 200 mph, a sizable increase over the previous car’s 174 mph top speed. The Gen3 car also adds a second 335-hp motor to the front axle that’s used exclusively for regeneration. The new powertrain will be vastly more efficient, with Formula E expecting more than 40 percent of the energy used within the race coming from regenerative braking. The Gen3 car also becomes the first open-wheel formula car without rear hydraulic brakes; it still has hydraulic brakes in the front, but relies heavily on regen from the front and rear motors to slow the car down.

Formula E

Formula E claims up to 600 kilowatts of regenerative capacity and also 600 kilowatts of charging capability—significantly more than the charging capacity of today’s most advanced roadgoing EVs—although the series didn’t explain where it would procure such powerful chargers. The series has suggested that recharging during pitstops might happen in this new generation, but gave no specifics about how this would work.

The Gen3 car is also said to be more environmentally friendly than before. Formula E says the batteries use sustainably sourced minerals and that the cells will be reused and recycled at the end of their life. Meanwhile, the body of the car is built from linen and recycled carbon fiber from the old Gen2 cars, which Formula E says reduces the carbon footprint of producing the body panels by more than 10 percent. The Gen3 cars’ tires will also be made up of 26 percent natural rubber and recycled fibers, and all tires will be recycled after being used in the race. The Gen3 car will debut for Season 9, which will likely kick off in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia in early 2023. So far, seven car manufacturers have signed up to race the Gen3 car for Season 9: Jaguar, Maserati, Nissan, Porsche, Citroen’s luxury arm DS Automobiles, India automaker Mahindra, and Chinese EV startup Nio. Three privateer teams round out the field.
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Toyota updated the Supra sports car for 2023 with a new six-speed manual transmission for 3.0 models.There’s also a new color called Stratospheric Blue for all versions of the Supra.The 2023 Supra will arrive at U.S. dealerships later this year.Of all the updates in store for the 2023 Toyota Supra, we’re obviously most excited about the new six-speed manual transmission that’s joining the lineup. But there’s also a new color available, and Toyota’s consumer site now shows a photo of this Stratospheric Blue hue.

This nice new blue will be offered for both the standard Supra 2.0, which has a 255-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four combined with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and the 3.0, which has a 382-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six that now offers either an automatic or the new manual. The only version of the Supra that won’t be offered in Stratospheric Blue is the exclusive manual-only A91-MT special edition. Only 500 units of that model will be offered, and all will be either Matte White or CU Later Grey.

2023 Supra A91-MT
Toyota

Toyota has yet to announce pricing information for the 2023 Supra and its new manual transmission, but the 2022 model starts at $44,565 for the 2.0 and $52,915 for the 3.0.
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• This 1979 Chevy Camaro was painted as a California Highway Patrol car for a police chase scene in the 1982 film, The Junkman, directed by H.B. Halicki, who also wrote and directed the first Gone in 60 Seconds in 1974.• Unlike the 1979 Camaro Z/28 tested by the CHP for pursuit use, this one uses a 130-hp 305-cubic-inch V-8 and a three-speed automatic transmission.• This auction ends Tuesday, May 3, with the current bid sitting at $2100 as of Friday.This might be the first time we’ve seen a Bring a Trailer listing for a car with a gun mounted to the passenger footwell, and this 1979 Chevrolet Camaro only gets more unusual the closer we look. This California-Highway-Patrol-painted Camaro was used in the film The Junkman, a 1980s action movie written by H.B. Halicki, the same director responsible for the first Gone in 60 Seconds. The Camaro has definitely seen some action. The paint is faded, the dash is cracked, and the valve covers are rusty. Not to mention, it has the potential to be in a real police chase, given California’s strict rules against cars resembling law enforcement vehicles.

BRING A TRAILER

Even without deploying special weaponry, that chase would likely be over pretty quickly, as this Camaro uses Chevy’s LG3 V-8, a 130-hp, 305-cubic-inch engine with a two-barrel carburetor. And it’s bolted to a three-speed automatic transmission. Compare that to today’s 400-hp twin-turbo Ford Police Interceptor Utility, and it’d be like watching a mountain lion chase a Koala.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the department tested at least a dozen 1979 Camaros for police use, but they opted for the Z/28. They used bigger brakes and were given a CARB exemption that allowed an increased top speed for triple-digit criminal chases. During this Special Purpose Vehicle Study program, most of the modified CHP Z/28 Camaros experienced engine failure, and the department ultimately decided the Ford Mustang was a better choice for pursuit work.

BRING A TRAILER

This listing only looks the part. Some of the equipment on this pretend CHP is ordinary. Its black 15-inch wheels are wrapped in Nexen all-season tires up front and Goodyear Radial T/As in the rear. In the trunk, among the road flares and radio wiring harness, sits a fresh full-size spare. The odometer reads 26,000 miles, but the vehicle’s true mileage is unknown. We don’t care, we just want to play with the spotlights and the siren.It’s far from pristine, but it was in a freaking H.B. Halicki film! And movie cars provide a lot of entertainment despite their many imperfections. They’re often disguised, sliced, taped, and rattle-canned before being catapulted through a brick wall or driven into a lake. This Junkman Camaro is no Batmobile, but it’s still pretty rad. And among the other almost 600 auctions on Bring a Trailer, it stands out as a car that runs and drives for under $2500.
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