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During an earnings call tonight, Elon Musk said Tesla will not introduce any new models in 2022, meaning the Cybertruck, Semi, and Roadster are yet again delayed.CEO Musk also revealed that the company is not currently working on the $25,000 EV he announced in 2020.Musk emphasized that the company’s focus is on its Full Self-Driving package and said he expects to “achieve Full Self-Driving safer than a human this year.”Tesla churned out nearly a million electric vehicles worldwide last year, but don’t hold your breath waiting for new models from the pioneering EV company. In an investor relations webcast today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that reservation holders for the Cybertruck, Roadster, and Semi—all of which have missed their scheduled production dates—will have to wait even longer before they can get their hands on the long-awaited vehicles.

“We’re not introducing any new models this year,” said Musk in the earnings call. “We will, however, do a lot of engineering and tooling to create those vehicles: Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, Optimus [which is actually a robot], and be ready to bring those to production hopefully next year.”

Tesla Semi won’t come out in 2022, but this image was part of the investor presentation on Jan. 26 anyway.
Tesla

It appears there is still a lot of work to be done on the Cybertruck, despite Musk tweeting yesterday that he has been driving a prototype around the Gigafactory site in Texas. “There’s a lot of new technology in the Cybertruck that will take some time to work through,” Musk explained. “There’s a question of what’s the average cost of a Cybertruck and to what degree is that affordable.”Speaking of affordability, Musk also shed light on the $25,000 car, rumored to be called Model 2, that was announced on Tesla’s Battery Day in 2020. “We are not currently working on the $25,000 car,” Musk revealed. “We have too much on our plate now, frankly, but at some point there will be [time].”It’s sort of the wrong question,” he continued. “The thing that overwhelmingly matters is, when is the car autonomous.” Throughout the call, Musk reinforced the idea that Tesla’s priorities lie in introducing self-driving technology rather than expanding the model lineup, and that Full Self-Driving will be the major profit driver for the company.”Everything pales in comparison to the value of robotaxi or full self-driving,” he summed up. “I would be shocked if we do not achieve full self-driving safer than a human this year.”
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Subaru will launch a WRX wagon in Australia soon with the same 271-hp engine as the sedan.Unfortunately it’s available only with a CVT automatic and not with a manual transmission.We don’t expect to see a WRX wagon like this in the U.S. anytime soon.Subaru hasn’t sold the WRX in wagon form on our shores for quite some time, but the bodystyle is making its return—at least in Australia. The new 2022 WRX will offer a Sportswagon model and is set to go on sale down under within the next few months. It’s based on the Levorg wagon sold elsewhere but swaps out that model’s less powerful turbo 1.8-liter flat-four for the same 271-hp 2.4-liter engine found in the WRX sedan, meaning it’s a true WRX. Interestingly, the wagon version also does without much the sedan’s black plastic cladding, making for a cleaner look.But there’s a catch.While the sedan offers a six-speed manual transmission as standard equipment, the Sportswagon will only be offered with a continuously variable automatic transmission. Subaru does say it has improved the CVT’s responsiveness with this new generation, but it definitely wouldn’t be our first transmission choice for this all-wheel-drive performance machine.

Subaru

We won’t pine after the Australia-market WRX too much for now, but we can still look back fondly on previous versions of the WRX wagon that did offer manual transmissions. There was even a wagon version of the higher-performance WRX STI at one point. But sadly we don’t expect Subaru to change its ways and offer a WRX wagon in the States anytime soon. Maybe if we ask nicely enough?
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Bentley follows through on previously announced plans to go electric by saying it will launch its first all-electric model in 2025.The statement today is in line with a commitment made in 2019 to build Bentley’s final internal-combustion engine in 2030.With five new models coming—one per year until 2030—we expect four will replace the existing Bentayga, Flying Spur, and Continental GT coupe and convertible, while the fifth will be an all-new model.Bentley affirmed its promise to go electric in a press conference today, but the plan to pivot to EVs is not brand-new. The British luxury brand first detailed its electrification plan in 2019 and said it would build its final combustion engine as soon as 2030. Now the company has moved forward on that schedule, saying it’s planning to launch a pure EV in 2025 and will then another electric model to the portofolio for each of the following four years.

Bentley

We will need to wait for further details on the new products, but Bentley head of engineering Matthias Rabe told an online press conference today that each will be “a complete new car, a complete new model.” Considering that the company currently only has four models—the Bentayga SUV, the Flying Spur sedan, and the Continental GT coupe and convertible—basic math suggests the entire family will effectively be replaced by full EVs sooner rather than later, and that an additional model will be added to the range.

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark described this new model as a “game changer” without a direct relationship to an existing model; our bet is a sub-Bentayga crossover. Existing models will then be replaced by EV models as they reach the end of their lives, the promised launch cadence (and age of the existing lineup) suggesting these will be a new Bentayga in 2026, a Continental coupe in 2027, a Continental convertible in 2028, and a new Flying Spur in 2029. Bentley’s place within Volkswagen Group means we can safely predict these new electric models will share core technology with other high-end models in the family; we believe that the next-generation Porsche Cayenne will have an EV variant, which would be an obvious basis for a Bentley sister. The pace of Lamborghini’s move toward electrification also seems to closely match Bentley’s, suggesting some other obvious synergies. But Bentley has also confirmed that all the new cars will be both engineered and built at the company’s existing factory in Crewe, England, with a $3.4 billion investment to both modernize and carbon-neutralize the plant. (Bentley also stated its intention to call the redone historic facility the “Dream Factory.”)

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While the full EVs are likely to win most of the attention, Bentley has also dropped hints that we could see more powerful plug-in hybrids before it gives up on combustion altogether. We know that a hybridized version of the Continental is approaching, but Rabe also promised “much more powerful” PHEVs in the medium term. Given that Bentley’s two plug-ins use V-6 power from elsewhere in the group, this suggests a possible addition of the brawnier V-8 system from the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, an engine Lamborghini insiders have told us will be used in the next Urus.
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BMW has given the 8-series and M8 a refresh for 2023, with an updated grille that now comes illuminated as standard.New colors are available across the lineup, and all 8-series and M8 models have a 12.3-inch center screen, up from 10.3 inches.The M8 can now be optioned with M Carbon bucket seats and adds a new interior color scheme of black and Sakhir Orange.After laying dormant since the 1999, BMW revived the 8-series nameplate in 2019 for a dashing coupe, convertible, and four-door “Gran Coupe” to sit atop the lineup. Now BMW has revealed a minor refresh for the 2023 8-series, with design updates to the front end, new colors, a few interior upgrades.
The major change to the 8-series’ exterior is a standard illuminated grille, which also features wider slats. Two new 20-inch wheel designs are available and five new colors are offered: Skyscraper Grey, San Remo Green, Portimao Blue, BMW Individual Frozen Tanzanite Blue, and Frozen Pure Grey.The M850i xDrive models gain the aerodynamic sideview mirrors from the M8 and now sports an M badge in the grille. A new optional M Sport Package Professional for the coupe adds dark M Shadowline trim to the grille and headlights, as well as black brake calipers and a black rear spoiler.
On the M8, which is now available only in 617-hp Competition form, those M Shadowline accents in the headlights come as standard. The M8 is also available with five new colors, but instead of Portimao Blue and San Remo Green it adds Brooklyn Grey and Isle of Man Green. Inside, the M8 can be specced with M Carbon bucket seats (first seen on the M3 and M4), which are heated and electronically adjustable, with a light-up M8 badge in the headrest and a memory function for the driver’s chair. The Merino leather and Alcanatara interior can also be had in a new black and Sakhir Orange color combo.

All 8-series models, including the M8, get a new center infotainment display that grows from 10.25 to 12.3 inches. The M850i xDrive and M8 can also be had with the old-school BMW Motorsport logo in place of the standard BMW badge to honor the 50th anniversary of BMW M. BMW has also announced a special 8 X Jeff Koons edition, which will feature a vivid paint scheme consisting of eleven colors crafted by the American artist. It will be revealed February 17.The base price for the 840i is unchanged for 2023, but BMW has yet to reveal pricing for the rest of the lineup. Production of the 2023 8-series and M8 begins in March.
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Toyota revealed the hardcore TRD Desert Racer Tundra at the SEMA show in November 2021.We are wondering, could the concept truck be Toyota’s plan to take on the Ford F-150 Raptor?Then again, the TRD Desert Racer may simply be a concept designed to inspire Tundra buyers and aftermarket suppliers.It seems just about every automotive brand with a full-size truck in its lineup wants a piece of the Ford F-150 Raptor’s pie. Ram has the mighty 1500 TRX, Chevy’s expanding its off-road-oriented ZR2 trim to the Silverado 1500 for 2022, and GMC is adding an even harder-core AT4X trim to the 2022 Sierra 1500 model line. Only the Nissan Titan and the Toyota Tundra remain unrepresented in this segment. This may change soon, however, as Toyota’s TRD Desert Racer Tundra concept from last year’s SEMA show potentially points to the fact the Japanese brand plans to take on its American competition with an all-terrain truck of its own.

If Toyota ultimately decides to enter the Baja-truck-inspired rat race, then the brand is likely to use the TRD Desert Racer concept as a template, according to a report from The Drive. We wager this includes the likes of the show truck’s TRD-sourced suspension upgrades, widebody kit, and 37-inch all-terrain tires. Whether the TRD Desert Racer concept’s General Tire Grabber X3 rubber and Method Race Wheels–supplied 18-inch wheels get the green light is a different story. Nevertheless, we’re sure Toyota plans to put proper tires and a special set of wheels on any potential TRD Desert Racer–inspired Tundra it produces.
While we doubt Toyota plans to fit such a Tundra with a powertrain that pumps out anywhere close to what the TRX’s 702-hp supercharged V-8 makes, we think it’s likely the automaker will manage to squeeze a few extra ponies from the Tundra’s available 437-hp gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain called iForce MAX. Whether this occurs by way of tweaks to the setup’s electric motor, twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 engine, or some combination of both is anyone’s guess. We certainly won’t be surprised if such a Tundra model makes an even 450 horsepower, a figure that matches the output of the Ford F-150 Raptor’s forced-induction V-6.Likewise, expect such a Tundra model to maintain the TRD Desert Racer’s grille-mounted amber lights that the government requires for vehicles of a certain width (this also means that the future Tundra would sport a similar set of red lights on its rear end). The plethora of driving lights fitted to the TRD Desert Racer, however, likely would fall to the cutting room floor. Still, we hope Toyota offers the show truck’s light bar with power-raising driving lights as an option throughout the Tundra line, and not just as one for its possible hardcore off-road model.Toyota continues to keep quiet on the production prospects of the TRD Desert Racer concept truck, and only time will tell if this SEMA vehicle ultimately serves as a template for an upcoming F-150 Raptor–fighting Tundra model. It could just turn out to be little more than a cool custom truck designed to stoke a fire in consumers and aftermarket suppliers. After all, they’ll always be looking to build upon stock versions of Toyota’s redesigned full-size pickup truck.
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