2023 Cadillac SUVs: The All-Electric Lyriq Contrasts Savage Escalade V

It's been a busy recall time for the Blue Oval in the past couple of months. In May, 2020-21 Ford Expeditions were recalled and owners were told to park them outside due to fire risk; Mustang Mach Es were welding their contactors; and Bronco 2.7-liter engines were put under NHTSA investigation. While Ford is correcting the Expedition fire issue, a new fire risk recall is hitting the popular Ford Maverick hybrid just as the lineup is about to expand with an AWD hybrid version. Here's a recap of what's going on with the affected Fords:2020-2021 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator Fire SourceAs mentioned, the 2020-2021 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator are under recall for a fire risk and, because the SUVs could go up in flames even while parked with the engine off, it was strongly recommended that owners park those vehicles outside, away from garages or structures, until a fix could be performed. Ford has found the cause and it's a common theme of 2021 that continues into the middle of 2022: a supply chain issue. In this case, it's not the lack of a part but because a part was made by a different manufacturer to alleviate the supply issues.According to Ford, it looks to be related to the cooling fan ground wire, relay, and the battery junction box, and the fix mostly depends on what wattage the fan system uses. First, as part of the recall, where there is evidence of melting at the battery junction box, the box is replaced. For the 800-watt cooling fan system, the grounding wire for the cooling fans that leads into the battery junction box is removed. The relay is redundant on the system, so removing the ground wire doesn't render the cooling fans non-operational. The 700-watt cooling fan system is the same except it needs a relay to work, which is why the repair for it uses an auxiliary relay box with a jumper wire to connect to the system.The cause is related to the circuit board of the battery junction box, which was susceptible to a "high-current short" and made by the facility Ford used to offset issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Ford, "Printed circuit boards produced at this facility are uniquely susceptible to a high-current short and were supplied to Ford and installed in Expedition and Navigator SUVs produced during the recall window." The parts required for the 700-watt cooling fan system that are part of this recall are supposed to be in dealer hands by "early" September, according to Ford, but the 800-watt system shouldn't require any additional time. Regardless, Ford continues to advise owners of those Expeditions and Navigators to keep these vehicles parked outside until the repair is made.2022 Ford Maverick, 2020-2022 Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair PHEVs and HybridsOn the heels of that fix for the Expedition and Navigator comes word of potential fires in 2020-2022 Ford Escape, Lincoln Corsair, and 2022 Ford Maverick models equipped with the 2.5-liter I-4 hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains.According to Ford, via Reuters, in the event of an engine failure, there might be enough oil and fuel vapor accumulated to cause a fire near ignition sources. Unlike the Expedition and Navigator, there isn't a risk while the vehicle is parked and there also is a repair available. The fix uses an "under engine shield" and active grille shutter that dealers will install to prevent this flare up. While this will affect 100,000 vehicles, Ford isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or deaths related to this fire issue.

WHAT IT IS: A sibling to the Ford F-150 Lightning full-size electric pickup truck, expanding the Ford F-Series family with a new electric Ranger pickup.WHY IT MATTERS: Demand for the Ford F-150 Lightning has exceeded the automaker's wildest dreams, with demand far outstripping supply. Not surprisingly, Ford CEO Jim Farley said there is another electric truck planned. When you strike gold, it makes sense to mine a similar vein. High-volume vehicles are key to Ford's aspirations to become the leader in EVs and scale will also help to reduce cost.PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: Farley and his team are not sharing details of the EV addition to the F-Series family, but Farley ruled out an electric F-250, F-350, or F-450 for now, and has also said it the truck is different from the next-gen Lightning. Which means Ford is most likely going smaller.Recent trademark filings for Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning may reveal Ford's hand. A Ford Ranger Lightning is the most logical next move, and would give the company a fresh EV in a segment that continues to gain popularity. Ford has said the new, next-gen, electric pickup will be made at the new Blue Oval City plant in Stanton, Tennessee, which will also make next-gen Lightnings, starting in 2025.We can't rule out a performance F-150: an electric Raptor, on the new, dedicated EV platform for the next-generation Lightning, which would mean more than the 580 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque already available on the current Lightning. But that will probably come down the road, after the smaller trucks.As the trademark filing and previous speculation indicate, at some point there will also be an electric version of the Ford Maverick, the car-based small lifestyle pickup that is currently available with a hybrid powertrain. But we think this is further out, given its role as an affordable, entry-level vehicle for the brand that no longer has entry-level cars. The Maverick has the least in common with the body-on-frame full-size F-Series family; the car-based truck uses the same platform as the Ford Escape. While Ford is protecting the trademark now, that's not necessarily an indication that it's imminent.ESTIMATED PRICE: $35,000EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: 2025

If you were to find yourself beneath a new 2023 Acura Integra—or the mechanically related Honda Civic Si—we sure hope it's not because you were just run over. In that case, you might have more pressing things to worry about than the odd routing of the dual exhausts under the back bumper. But, hey, pretend you're on the ground, under an Acura or a Honda, wondering why there are pipes aft of the exhaust outlets shapes like curly fries. We were similarly curious (having put ourselves on the ground, under an Acura Integra, on purpose) and did some digging with Acura for answers.What Does a Normal Exhaust Look Like?Normally, exhaust piping follows relatively straightforward routes from the engine to wherever the gases are intended to exit—usually the car's rear end. This typically manifests as straight-as-possible piping leading from the headers, which collect gases from each of the engine's cylinders in individual pipes and merge them into one or two outlets that flow into a catalytic converter, to a series of resonators (for shaping or quieting the noise) and mufflers and, finally, the tailpipes.There are a few bends here and there, mostly so the piping can clear things like the rear suspension, the fuel tank, or other obstacles, but conventional wisdom holds that they don't double back on themselves or otherwise make any unnecessary trips side-to-side.How the Acura Integra's Exhaust LooksThe Integra's post-cat piping (aft of the catalytic converters) is a bit different. As we mentioned previously, this setup is nearly identical on the Honda Civic Si, which shares a platform, engine, transmission, and general layout with the new Integra. While the piping follows a relatively traditional central pathway rearward, toward the back of the Integra, via a small tunnel, upon reaching the rear axle area, it splits into a T-shape, with one pipe turning to the right and another to the left.These two pipes bend slightly rearward and lead to small resonators, one per side, before taking a 120-ish-degree bend toward the vehicle centerline, followed by another (by which point the pipes are now flowing toward the front of the car), followed by another bend that points the piping back to the side of the car, and finally a gentler 60-ish-degree bend that spits the exhaust straight back, out from beneath the Integra's rear bumper. Why?According to Honda, those squiggles in each exhaust outlet are, in fact, silencers. They serve essentially the same function as a muffler—Honda calls them "coiled-type silencers"—and their curious shape is highly intentional. While, like everything on a modern vehicle, their shape is somewhat influenced by the allowable space within the bumper and underbody area behind the rear axle, the specific pathway that piping takes plays a crucial role in the surprisingly guttural low-rpm sound the Integra and Civic Si make.By snaking the exhaust piping into that circular route, Honda is lengthening the exhaust pathway, lowering the resonance frequency without using a traditional muffler . Honda engineers tell us that the design as first installed in the Si also emphasizes the 300Hz to 600Hz frequencies "to deliver a more aggressive sound." Skipping the muffler, Honda also was able to achieve that sound with a 27-percent increase in exhaust flow.Good Vibes, Different VolumesThe old Honda Civic Si, you'll recall, featured a central-exit exhaust that spit gases from two tailpipes clustered at the center of the bumper. Compared to the new Si and its Integra sibling, it used two large mufflers in a somewhat unusual configuration: The same central post-cat piping flowed into a T-split, with each pipe flowing into the end of a transversely arranged muffler, one on each side of the car. Gases exited those mufflers about an inch from the inlets, reforming into a T before the piping exited the back of the car.Doing some visual measurements—okay, by the seat of our pants here—the new, muffler-less exhaust setup has more piping. I.e., it's longer, mostly by replacing the old car's length of muffler with pipe, and then spinning that around into loops at each rear corner of the car. It's cool to see the progression of this concept by the engineers, as the new and old setups are clearly somewhat related, only the new version sounds much better, particularly at idle and lower engine speeds. And that's all things being equal, literally. The new and old Si, and by extension, the Integra, utilize the same turbocharged 1.5-liter I-4 engine, and the 11th-generation Civic's platform—again, shared with the Integra—is a modified version of the 10th-gen setup. We didn't note any untoward booming, either, despite the exhaust note being audible in both the Honda and Acura at highway speeds.For higher-rpm duty, Honda and Acura lean on Active Sound Control—in essence, augmented engine noises and, in the Acura, some active sound cancellation via the audio speakers—to amplify good noises and tamp down on less desirable ones. The tuning of these setups are different in each car; the Honda notably amplifies the engine note, more so in its Sport drive mode. In the Acura, we're told that augmentation was turned way down, with the focus pivoted from outright sporty volume to shaping the noises already in play for a more refined effect.Of course, the sounds made by the 2023 Integra or the Honda Civic Si are only small parts of both compact cars' appeal. The Si is clearly sportier than the Integra, with a firmer ride and louder augmented noises and no available automatic transmission (you'll get the best-shifting six-speed manual available this side of a Porsche and like it), while the Integra delivers most of the Si's athleticism with greater overall comfort, refinement, and richer features. Both are fun to drive, attractive small cars. And owners of either one can blow plenty of hot gas about how weird their exhausts are.