Hankook Debuts Tweel-Like Airless I-Flex Tire

land-rover defender Full OverviewI don't know what it is about adulthood, but I've noticed that the older I get, the more weekends become a time for chores and projects and less about actually resting and recuperating for the upcoming week. It, to be frank, sucks. But every once in a while, the calendar is miraculously free and clear, and vehicles like MotorTrend's long-term 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 really help me make the most of those rare days. Faced with a free Saturday a few weeks back, my wife and I decided to load the pups up in the Defender and make a beach day out of it.Located smack dab in the middle of the Central California coast about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, Oceano Dunes is one of the few beaches in the state you can drive on without being in law enforcement or the military. Rex, our 8-year-old beagle dachshund mix, is a regular road warrior, but this four-hour stint would be the longest drive Rosie, our 11-month-old German shepherd mutt, had had since we scooped her up from a rescue in San Diego. All of four months old at the time and still traumatized from her stint living in a dumpster on the other side of the border, Rosie's first ride with us was marked by her utter refusal to get into the car in the first place and her attempt to bail out on the way back to Los Angeles near the Orange County line.Despite that rocky start, Rosie quickly made herself at home in the back of the Land Rover. With a massive greenhouse and spacious back seat, she spent the first hour of the trip window surfing before settling into a nap, while all 25 pounds of Rex made himself comfortable sleeping on top of the Defender's jump seat. Up front, my wife and I cranked up the stereo and took advantage of the now-wireless Apple CarPlay capability; the Defender's cabin, already noisy due to the gear carrier and expedition roof rack, had only gotten louder since we fit the roof ladder and onboard air compressor. Looking cool has its costs.We arrived at the beach just past sunrise and slotted ourselves into the long line of pickups, Jeeps, Subarus, and the odd minivan or two. Thinking back to when I beached a Rivian R1T at the tail end of our Trans-America Trail expedition a year back, I made sure to ask about the conditions out on the beach. "You'll be fine," the park ranger said while looking over our Defender's snorkel and all-terrains. "Not so sure about them, though," as she gestured toward the Toyota Sienna in line behind me.Reassured, I pulled past the gate into the parking lot to air the Defender's tires down while my wife attempted to keep the increasingly impatient pups focused on treats instead of the exciting ocean smell, distant crashing waves, and legions of beachgoers in 4x4s around us. I normally avoid airing down unless it's absolutely necessary (I'm lazy; sue me), but the Land Rover's relatively high 47/50 psi front/rear recommended air pressure coupled with how easy the Defender's new onboard air compressor is to operate was motivation enough. I quickly connected the air compressor to each wheel, twisted the dial to drop the pressure to 35 psi, and let it painlessly deflate each tire. After quick confirmation of dropped pressures on the digital dash, we lowered the rear windows to allow the dogs to take their waist gunner positions and hit the sand.One of the things I love most about driving the Defender is how seamlessly the "Auto" Terrain Response 2 mode and full-time four-wheel-drive system transitions between different surfaces, and that proved to be the case here on the beach. The sand at Oceano Dunes varies greatly—it's soft, silty, and almost desertlike up near the dunes, gets harder, firmer, and rutted toward the middle of the beach, and it's soft and wet (duh) down by the waterline. No matter where we were on the beach as we explored looking for a good spot, the Defender was faultless. In the few soft sections where the Land Rover started to sink, all it needed was a little extra throttle while four-wheel drive and terrain response sorted things out. It's quite literally off-roading for dummies.After exploring for a bit and putting the Defender through its paces, we finally found a secluded spot and made it our base camp for the day. Rosie had never been to the beach before, and she initially looked unsure of the sand between her toes and the loud ocean waves. But after watching Rex howl into the wind, dig after sand crabs, and chase the receding waves, she quickly got the hang of the beach, running up and down the dunes, helping dig, and splashing after seagulls in the ocean. Meanwhile, my wife and I made ourselves at home picnicking out of the Defender's cargo area and reading on the front bench.After a few hours hanging out and playing with the pups, we made our way back to the park entrance, aired up, and pointed the Defender's nose back south toward home. While Sunday would no doubt be filled with all the responsibilities we shirked, we were thankful for that one brief respite—all made possible by our Defender's baked in capability.Looks good! More details?For more on our Land Rover Defender:Our 2021 SUV of the Year joins us for a yearlong testBetter than any pickup truckSo, about that break-in period…A rooftop tent just looks so right on the Defender 110Accessorizing our Land Rover Defender

Can a full-size pickup have too much luxury? If that's the case, we haven't crossed that threshold yet. The combination of high profit potential and flush buyers looking to park a big wad of cash in a do-everything, leather-lined truck means that the freshly redesigned-for-2022 Tundra already has three premium trim levels: Limited, Platinum, and 1794—and that doesn't count the add-on TRD packages for a little extra something something. But the range-topper is all-new, just announced today: Capstone.The 2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone trim will offer a lot of additional amenities if you can stomach a limited menu of configurations. It is only available with the i-Force MAX twin-turbo V-6 hybrid powertrain, with 437 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque, and only in the CrewMax bodystyle with the 5.5-foot bed. A limited menu of colors includes Wind Chill Pearl, Magnetic Gray, Celestial Silver, Midnight Black, Supersonic Red, and Blueprint. Flashy 22-inch wheels are standard—the largest fitted to a Tundra ever, at least by the factory.The Capstone distinguishes itself from lesser Tundras with a unique grille treatment with a body-colored grille frame. Chrome mirror caps echo the chrome treatment of the grille, and those 22-inch wheels have a striking multi-spoke design.Inside, the semi-analine leather seat coverings feature a two-tone black-and-white scheme unique to this trim. Dark walnut open-pore trim is contrasted by the ambient lighting and light-up "CAPSTONE" emblem inside. A panoramic moonroof lets in natural ambient light during the day. Unlike other Tundras, the front door glass has sound-deadening properties for a quieter cabin experience. The cab rides on the hydraulic mounts to reduce cabin NVH, too.Since the 22-inch wheels likely won't help any with ride quality, Toyota offers the optional Adaptive Variable Suspension with rear load-leveling air suspension, which should help in towing and hauling scenarios. Speaking of which, towing capacity doesn't suffer much from the extra glut of equipment; the Capstone can haul 10,340 pounds, which is about midpack in the Tundra i-Force MAX lineup. Payload is 1,485 pounds, which is the lowest rating for any Tundra hybrid, which seems to be the most significant trade-off for selecting the Capstone trim and its many baubles.Like the Tundra TRD Pro, which is also limited to the hybrid drivetrain arrangement, the Capstone is a late-availability trim. It'll show up this Spring. Pricing will be revealed closer to launch, but expect it to keep up with the Ford F-150 Platinum, Ram 1500 Limited, and Chevy Silverado High Country Joneses when it is.

Koenigsegg is celebrating 20 years of making the wildest (and most Scandinavian) supercars in the world with a hell of a birthday present to itself: the CC850, essentially a remaster of its first car, albeit with a wildly clever manual/automatic transmission. That first car would be the CC8S, which founder Christian von Koenigsegg spent nearly a decade creating, starting with a very rough prototype and progressing, finally, to the company's first production model. The road from there to here has been fast and wild—it's hard to believe it's been two decades, in fact, a testament to how fresh and how bold the company's cars were when new. Read on for a guided tour through the marque's 20-year history, a quick way to understand how Koenigsegg became the inventive outfit it is today.