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Nissan is rolling out three Frontier concept pickup trucks for the 2022 Chicago auto show today.The Project Hardbody concept, which pays homage to the late-1980s Nissan Hardbody, sports a set of wheels inspired by the Desert Runner pickup of similar vintage.The Project 72X recalls the Datsun 720 pickup with white wheels and 1970s-inspired body side graphics; the Project Adventure is the more modern of the three and is aimed at overlanding enthusiasts.Vintage-pickup-truck fans will immediately recognize the influence for two of the three Nissan Frontier concepts at this year’s Chicago auto show. The red Project Hardbody concept and gray Project 72X concept are both inspired by pickup-truck models that helped the Japanese brand establish itself in North America in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Project Hardbody truck draws inspiration from the Nissan pickup of the late 1980s and is probably most recognizable of the concepts. Its wheel design is custom and clearly inspired by the Desert Runner model of the old Hardbody pickup. Nissan also has outfitted the concept with a unique gloss-black grille surround, special 4×4 graphics, and a bed-mounted full-size spare tire.
Eagle-eyed readers will recognize the Project 72X’s inspiration as the Datsun 720 pickup from the late 1970s. This simpler concept features gray exterior paint with vintage-style custom side graphics. The Project 72X’s wheels are actually repurposed spare wheels from the regular 2022 Frontier pickup truck, just painted white.
If old-school pickup truck looks aren’t your thing, Nissan also is showing the Project Adventure concept, which is based on the PRO-4X trim of the 2022 Frontier and wears knobbier off-road tires, a custom carbon-fiber snorkel, and a host of camping accessories that are intended to showcase the Frontier’s overlanding capabilities.Besides the custom body wrap and the snorkel, the Project Adventure wears upgrades that are currently available either through aftermarket suppliers or through the Nissan accessory catalog. All three of the concepts here feature a lifted suspension, with the 72X getting 2.5-inches of lift, the Hardbody raised by 3 inches, and the Adventure by 5 inches compared with the standard Frontier. It’s unlikely that any of these three concepts will make it to series production as a special edition or limited trim level of the new Frontier. But given that the majority of modifications can be done aftermarket, consider these concepts as inspiration for your own special build.
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Since its founding in 2009, Singer Vehicle Design has made its legend primarily with “reimagined” versions of the long-hood 911 made by Porsche from 1964 to 1973. Now, it’s presenting its reinterpretation of another Porsche classic: the original 911 Turbo, the 930. Typical of Singer’s restorations, its Turbo is based on a 964 chassis—the 911 built from 1989–1994—but gets custom wide carbon-fiber bodywork. The engine is an air-cooled twin-turbo 3.8-liter flat-six with electric wastegates and water-to-air intercoolers mounted in the intake plenums. It makes 450 horsepower as standard, though customers can specify more, and there’s a choice between rear- and all-wheel drive. The 930’s iconic “shark fin” on the rear fender has been repurposed as an intake to feed cool air into the engine bay. Naturally, a six-speed manual is standard.”I think certainly for folks of my generation, the 930 Turbo was the pinup Porsche 911 of the era, it was the mythological icon, wasn’t it?” Singer founder Rob Dickinson said in an interview with Road & Track. “It was certainly on my bedroom wall as an impressionable youth in the Seventies, and obviously on millions of others as well.”

Singer Vehicle Design

Singer is positioning its reimagined 930 as a GT car, just like the original. “Porsche launched the Turbo as their grand tourer, as their intercontinental, high speed, luxury, top-of-the-range supercar and that’s very much how we have reimagined it ourselves,” Dickinson said. “And with the idea of presenting a car which takes the very essence of the 930 Turbo and takes it to its logical conclusion really.”

Singer Vehicle Design

To that end, the car comes standard on a “touring” suspension, though a stiffer “sport” suspension is available as an option. The car also gets a luxurious interior with leather everywhere, wood trim, air conditioning, and heated power seats. Despite the luxuries, Dickinson said the car shouldn’t weigh more than 2800 pounds, and optional carbon-ceramic brakes can help save even more weight. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ses measuring 245/35R18 in the front and massive 295/30R18s at the back. Traction control and ABS are also standard to help keep things in control.There are all sorts of details that reference the original 911 Turbo beyond the repurposed shark fins on the rear fenders. The front bumper has three slats that ape the iconic 5-mph impact bumpers of 1974-1989 911s, while the seats are made to look like late-Seventies 911 sport seats.
So far, 70 customers have put down deposits for a Singer-reimaged 911 Turbo, and while prices haven’t been announced, expect it to cost well over $500,000.”This is a big thing for us after 12 years of doing what it is that we do,” Dickinson said. “It’s an important moment for us to present a new idea like this, which is from the well of what we do, in trying to both understand the car that we’re celebrating and take it to a logical level, which will be respected by our peers and all the other 911 fans on planet Earth. ‘Can we get this right? Can you update the 930 Turbo and make it a little bit more applicable for the 21st century?’ A fascinating opportunity.”

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The 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 shown here has a current bid of $25,000 on the Bring a Trailer auction website.The car shows just 1300 miles on its odometer.Bidding ends Tuesday, February 15. Corvette fans are a nostalgic lot, and today’s Auction Find of the Day on the Bring a Trailer auction site—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—surely will bring back memories: a 1990 Chevy Corvette ZR-1 with a mere 1300 miles on its odometer. While we await our turn to slip behind the wheel of the latest super Vette, the 2023 C8 Z06, we can’t help reminiscing about the hot-rodded fourth-generation model that vaulted America’s sports car into the modern high-performance realm.

Bring a Trailer

As with just about any 30-year-old sports car, the fourth-gen ZR-1 was limited by the technology of its day. Its aluminum-construction, 32-valve 5.7-liter LT5 V-8—co-developed with Lotus and built by Mercury Marine in Oklahoma—produced only 375 horsepower at first (later versions received a bump to 405). Mated to a six-speed manual transmission, the car’s resulting 4.5-second run to 60 mph would see the ZR-1 get smoked by some of today’s pickup trucks in a drag race.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

Despite the handling precision brought in part by its FX3 suspension setup and adaptive dampers, the grip from its 17-inch Goodyears amounted to only 0.89 g and made for a 170-foot stop from 70 mph—hardly worldbeating by modern standards. But those were heady stats back in the ZR-1’s era, and they were accompanied by an impressive degree of sophistication on the road. A base price of less than $60,000 in 1990 also made it massively cheaper to own than a Porsche 911 Turbo, which the ZR-1 managed to beat in our 1991 comparison test. As of this writing, bids have reached $25,000 with six days left in the auction.

Although it takes a keen eye to spot the C4 ZR-1’s discreet badges, widened rear fenders, and big 315-section-width rear tires, the C4 Corvette’s smooth, long-hood proportions have aged surprisingly well. The finishes inside the cabin didn’t impress even back in the ’90s, but comfort is good and the huge side sills and digital dash make it an effective time capsule. And don’t forget the pop-up headlights.

Bring a Trailer

This particular Bright Red example with tan leather was originally sold in California and has an accident-free Carfax report and a clean Arizona title. Bring a Trailer’s bidding page indicates that a recent service included fluid changes plus the replacement of the alternator, thermostat, water pump, fuel sending unit, fuel pumps, and spark plugs. It also includes the video clip below.
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“The ZR-1 makes every previous Corvette seem antediluvian,” we wrote in our 1990 road test. “Driving the ZR-1 reminds you that it is possible to create a car that is bewilderingly fast but that maintains an air of civilization about it.” We can say much the same about every hot-rod Corvette since, including two subsequent ZR1 iterations that built on the C4 model’s legacy.

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94.9 FM is a nice place on the radio dial if you’re in Seattle; it’s where the National Public Radio station KUOW can be found.But owners of 2016 model Mazdas have been complaining for a couple of weeks that they can’t get their infotainment systems to access anything but that station, and nobody knows why.”We didn’t mean to ruin your Mazda’s stereo,” the station’s website reports, apparently only partly kidding.Radio station KUOW-FM in Seattle has acknowledged a problem they’ve been hearing about for a few weeks: listeners who drive 2016 model Mazdas can’t get their radios to stop playing the NPR station.”Permanently stuck” is how the station describes the problem, saying it has heard from “Mazda owners from around the Puget Sound region.” The station cited one Scott Smith, whose 2016 Mazda CX-5 has an infotainment screen that freezes on to the station and won’t let him use Bluetooth, navigation, or any other station. Yes, he tried rebooting it.On the bright side, Smith says he is able to adjust the volume. “Luckily,” says the Seattle resident, “I am an NPR listener so that’s fine,” he said. (What were the chances?)

2016 Mazda 6.
Mazda

There’s a lively discussion thread on Reddit in which others describe the issue in detail. The radio station’s technical director said on the thread that the station has shut off its data for the HD Radio service. KUOW issued an official statement as well saying the company has given “complete access to our transmitters” to Xperi, the company that developed HD Radio technology, to look into the problem. Another possibility mentioned by the radio station is that a recent switch to a 5G signal may have caused the older infotainment system to be glitchy. Mazda dealers acknowledged hearing about the problem from owners but don’t have a fix to suggest yet. One of the owners was Smith, who says he’s far down on a waiting list to have the issue looked at.In the meantime, “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” is very entertaining.

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Ford has shown off the 2022 GT Alan Mann Heritage Edition, which celebrates two lightweight GT40 prototypes created by Alan Mann Racing.The special model is paint in a red with white and gold accents and the prototype’s racing number emblazoned on the bodywork. The Alan Mann Heritage Edition also features red and gold trim inside, as well as black and red Brembo brakes.The Ford GT is in its final year of production, and as the company bids adieu to its brilliant supercar, it has revealed another special Heritage Edition. The 2022 Ford GT Alan Mann Heritage Edition pays tribute to two lightweight prototype versions of the original 1966 GT40 Mk I created by Alan Mann Racing. Although neither prototype was victorious in a major race, their lightweight philosophy helped inspire the GT Mk II that famously dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
The Alan Mann Heritage Edition recalls the original AM GT-1 prototype with red exterior paint accentuated by twin gold racing stripes running the length of the car. There are also white accents adorning the hood, front fender, and rear wing, and gold “Ford” badging on a white background just ahead of the rear wheels. The AM GT-1’s racing number, 16, is found on the hood, doors, and rear wing.

The special edition GT also features exposed carbon fiber inside and out, including on the 20-inch wheels. The Brembo brake calipers are black with red accents, and the Alcantara-wrapped carbon fiber seats have red and gold stitching. Gold trim is littered throughout the interior while the paddle shifters match the red color of the exterior. The Alan Mann Heritage Edition is the latest in a line of commemorative GTs. Ford did not say how many examples will be built or how much they will cost, but a healthy increase over the standard GT’s $500,000 price is likely.
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