2022 Ford Bronco Everglades First Look: Swampy In the Best Way

chevrolet corvette Full OverviewWith its engine moved behind the passenger compartment instead of in front, the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette gains extra storage space where the engine used to be. We find the front trunk, or "frunk" as it's often called, is very useful—at least it was until it stopped opening.There were no warning signs. Out of the blue, the electronic release mechanism just stopped releasing. Whether you pushed the button on the key fob, inside the cabin, or under the headlight, the turn signals would blink in acknowledgment but the hood wouldn't budge. Thankfully, none of our stuff was locked inside.We should note, this isn't the first issue Chevrolet has had with the C8 Corvette's front trunk lid, nor is it a repeat of those past issues. First, the company had an issue with front trunk lids not latching correctly and coming open while driving. Later, it was found the emergency release button inside the front trunk (in case a small person gets trapped inside) might stop working 10 minutes after the car was turned off. Both were corrected by a software recall issued months before our car was built. Ours just plain didn't want to open no matter what button you pushed or whether you were moving or parked.Luckily for us, it happened right around the time the car started asking for its first service appointment. With 8,817 miles on the Corvette's clock, we dropped it off at the local dealer, where we were informed it also had two outstanding recalls in need of correction. The first was a software update to correct an issue with the infotainment screen failing to come on in cold temperatures, an issue we'd only noticed once or twice because Los Angeles never gets that cold. Easy fix, covered under warranty.Neither the front trunk lid nor the other recall, for the fluid reservoir cap on the front lift system, could be fixed that day, unfortunately. The cap was on backorder (apparently, it leaks sometimes, though we never had this issue), and the latch actuator in the front trunk needed to be replaced. That, too, had to be ordered.On the plus side, we did get the first oil change and general service out of the way. Eight quarts of synthetic oil, a new filter, and a billable hour of the tech's time set us back $183.04. The dealer called us back 12 days later when the parts arrived and fixed both the front trunk and the reservoir cap under warranty.Separate from the service, we wore through our first set of tires with 11,589 miles on the clock. With staggered wheel sizes front and rear, the tires aren't all the same price, with the fronts going for $406.99 each and the rears $537.99 apiece. Altogether, a fresh set us back $1,889.96, plus $100 for mounting and balancing by ZipTire.Less than 12,000 miles is a very short life for a modern tire, but there are extenuating circumstances. Some of those miles were on a racetrack, which wore them down more quickly. Before it hit the track, we also put the car in its optional track alignment, which specifies a lot of negative camber, among other things. Greatly preferring how the car drives in track alignment, we elected to leave it that way knowing it would wear the tires out faster.Sure enough, we noticed cords showing on the inner shoulders of the rear tires at 11,589 miles even though there was plenty of tread left on the rest of the tires. Let that be a lesson to you: Check the entire tire for wear, not just the tread in the middle.Wear on the inside shoulders is the price of running negative camber, which tilts the tops of the wheels inward rather than positioning them straight up and down. It's great for grip in turns but bad for tire life. Fun fact: A Formula 1 car is limited to 3.25 degrees of negative camber on the front wheels. The C8's track alignment calls for 3.00 to 3.01 degrees of negative camber in the front. You can see the lean on these wheels. Read More About Our Long-Term 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Z51: The Corvette's ArrivalUpdate 1: The C8 Corvette's Launch Control Is InconsistentUpdate 2: How the Corvette Z51 Was Faster (Once) Around One Track Than a Porsche Cayman GT4Looks good! More details?

California electric luxury vehicle manufacturer Lucid is launching a new performance subbrand called Sapphire. This might seem like an odd, even unnecessary move from a company that currently sells the Air Grand Touring Performance, a 1,050-hp sedan that runs the quarter mile in 10 seconds flat. But here we are. The first vehicle to fall under the Sapphire umbrella has three motors and will be known as—big surprise—the Air Sapphire.Lucid is being tight-lipped about the actual numbers, and things will undoubtedly change before the first Sapphire is delivered about 10 months from now, but here's what's being claimed: more than 1,200 horsepower, 0-60 mph in less than 2 seconds, 0-100 mph in less than 4 seconds, a sub-9-second quarter mile, and a top speed in excess of 200 mph. You read all that right. Gulp.How much above 1,200 horsepower are we talking? Seeing as how Lucid's already sold customers the 1,111-hp Air Dream Edition P, and the Sapphire has an extra motor, we're thinking much more than 1,200 horsepower. As stated, Lucid wouldn't give an exact figure; when pressed, chief engineer Eric Bach said the limiting factor in terms of output is the battery. After all, we know a single Lucid motor can produce up to 670 hp, and 670 times 3 is 2,010. However, even though the Air Sapphire has an "evolved" version of the brand's battery management software, it still cannot supply that much peak power. Bach also pointed out it's likely the number will continue to rise before the Air Sapphire is locked for production. If we had to guess the final number, 1,350 has a nice ring to it and makes some sense in the context of the performance claims. Alas, it's just a guess. Time will tell.Big Power—With Big RangeTime will also reveal what the Air Sapphire's range is. Lucid says it will still be "more than 400 miles" but less than the 446-mile range delivered by the Air Grand Touring Performance. Knowing the Tesla Model S Long Range is rated for 405 miles on a single charge, and knowing Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson the way we do, we can all but guarantee the Air Sapphire will beat the best Tesla has to offer. If Lucid's Sapphire claims are true, this thing would beat the Plaid in a straight line, too. In this case, 425 miles feels like a safe bet for range.Also, and although they're probably not to everyone's liking, the Air Sapphire comes with easy-to-install aero discs. These are wheel coverings—quite like what you see on the front wheels of the McLaren Speedtail—and vice president of design Derek Jenkins says they "add tens of miles of range." The idea is that you install them at your home, drive to the track, remove them, and then go tear up some pavement. We don't know whether the aero discs will be factored into the EPA's range rating.Adding a third motor obviously increases weight, although not as much as it could seeing as how a single motor weighs 163 pounds. However, the sapphire-blue-colored Megawatt Drive Unit (as Lucid is calling the dual-motor assembly that fits between the rear half shafts) weighs less than two motors on their own. The car's larger tires also add weight, as does the girthier body—the Air Sapphire's track grows by nearly an inch up front and almost 2 inches at the rear. That said, the wheels and carbon-ceramic brake calipers do shed a little. We'd guess, all in, the Air Sapphire will be 200 pounds heavier than a standard Air.  (The Grand Touring Performance weighed 5,256 pounds on our scales.)Stopping PowerIf your head is still spinning from the claimed acceleration and top speed numbers, know that the brakes on the Air Sapphire are pretty special. Up front you'll find massive, 16.5-inch Lucid-branded and Akebono-developed carbon-ceramic rotors gripped by 10-piston calipers. The rears measure 15.4 inches in diameter and utilize four-piston calipers. Also, the brake rotors "use a woven continuous carbon fiber rather than the discontinuous [chopped] carbon fiber" featured on most carbon braked road cars. The major benefit of a continuous carbon-fiber weave is three times more heat conductivity. Which, for a 2.5-plus-ton car capable of cresting 200 mph, is critical.Lucid maintains that the Air Sapphire, as well as future Sapphire products, will be more than just  a straight-line juggernaut. Rather, Sapphire vehicles will be fully developed performance cars. First and foremost, as the two motors that make up the Megawatt Drive aren't mechanically linked, the car has the capability to spin one motor (on the outside wheel) forward, while the other (inside wheel) begins regenerative braking. That latter part means the wheel effectively tries to spin backward, i.e., torque vectoring. Also, this next part is a little tricky, but let's say each rear motor makes on the order of 400 horsepower (to be clear, that's just a random figure, not an actual specification). When one motor goes into regen, the energy it was using is now free to flow into the forward-spinning motor, creating as much as 670 hp. Nuts, huh? Lucid claims this sort of two-motor torque vectoring is both quicker and more effective than rear-wheel steering.Special Rubber, Special SuspensionThe Air Sapphire comes on special Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires stamped with LM1 to signify Lucid Motors. Bach claims the unique compound is a special mix of low-rolling-resistance rubber and Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. Sounds too good to be true, but here we are. The tires grow in width compared to those found on the GTP: 265/35-ZR20 front, and 295/30-ZR21 rear.The Air Sapphire's suspension is completely reworked, as well. Stiffer springs, stiffer bushings, new dampers, recalibrated anti-roll bars, reprogrammed stability and traction control, new power steering control, and new ABS logic are all part of the program. Sprint mode has been replaced with Sapphire mode, Lucid's equivalent of, say, Porsche's Sport Plus. Within Sapphire mode, there will be additional features such as a launch mode, a track mode, and maybe a time attack mode. The submodes are similar to how Rivian has different options within its Off-Road menu: All-Terrain, Rock Crawl, Drift, etc.Why Sapphire? Lucid explains that first and foremost it's a luxury brand. Sapphires are precious. Second, per international racing tradition, American cars are blue. (Think the Cobra Daytona Coupes at Le Mans in 1964.) Third, Lucid is a California car company, and the official state gem of California is … benitoite! Which would be a terrible name for anything. As it happens, people initially thought benitoite gems were sapphires because they are visually almost identical. So, Sapphire it is.As it happens, the Air Sapphire will only be available in Sapphire Blue. For now. We think. The car features a few more aerodynamic tricks than the standard Air, but it's hard to tell what they are from looking, especially as the Sapphire comes complete with Lucid's new Stealth treatment. The interior is basically the same, with added Sapphire Blue contrast stitching, as well as Alcantara-wrapped seats and steering wheel.How Much Is the Lucid Air Sapphire?How much is one of these? $249,000, says Lucid, about $70K more than an Air Grand Touring Performance. A small price to pay for the most powerful sedan in the world, no? Consider perhaps that a Bentley Flying Spur Mulliner W12 stickers for $309,000 and only makes a paltry 626 horsepower. When will you be able to purchase an Air Sapphire? Lucid says within days of reading this story and adds that deliveries are slated to start during the first half of 2023. When is MotorTrend going to test one? A little bit before that. Stay tuned. 

With back-to-back electric vehicle reveals last year, including the all-electric A6 E-Tron Concept, Audi just unveiled another close-to-production EV model. Underpinned by the same platform as the upcoming A6 EV sedan, the Audi A6 Avant E-Tron Concept is a peek at the monolithic electric station wagon version with an ultra-long wheelbase. Slated to join the four-ring brand next year, the battery-powered A6 Avant E-Tron will effectively be the first electric station wagon available in the U.S.Powertrain and RangeA Quick OverviewAudi equipped this concept car with advanced exterior lighting technology designed and developed in-house. Drivers can configure the LED headlights and OLED tail lamps with various custom light signatures. High-resolution projectors built into each side of the car illuminate the ground and function as greeting lights and warning signals for approaching bicyclists.And finally, while recharging the battery, occupants can play videos games on a virtual screen projected onto the wall in XXL format via the LED headlights. (The car must be parked and, of course, facing a wall.)Design AnalysisPricing and Availability