Prime Cush: Why 1970s American Luxury Cars Were Bursting With Velour

EdisonFuture, a California-based startup, is looking to cash in on the e-pickup craze by launching an F-150-sized light-duty full-size electric truck of its own, powered by a range of battery and motor options that includes a 450-mile battery pack and a three-motor configuration good for a reported 700 combined horsepower. Should the legacy and better-established newcomers to this space be worried?What the Heck Is EdisonFuture?This subsidiary of SPI Energy used to be aligned with another spinoff called Phoenix Motorcars. That group made a business of retrofitting Ford medium-duty trucks to electric power.But don't let this fact—and the resemblance of its steel wheels to those of a Ford F-150 XL work truck—lead you to presume this is another modified Ford. EdisonFuture VP of product management Edmund Shen assures us the EF1-T pickup and its van counterpart, the EF1-V are both engineered from scratch by Livermore, California-based EdisonFuture.Ford F-150-Sized, Not F-150-BasedEdisonFuture sees the heart of the e-pickup market as the traditional half-ton size and capacity. So the EF1-T's dimensions and mission don't stray far from the perennial best-selling F-150 and its Lightning electric variant, though it's proportioned more like the forthcoming 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV—that is, with a shorter "dash to axle" in front, a roomy four-door crew cab, and a 6.5- or 8-foot bed. (Exact body dimensions have yet to be released.)In person, the flat nose and primary headlamp details are more reminiscent of Chevy's electric pickup, while the continuation of the LED lights to form a C-clamp look resembles an F-series Super Duty. Remember, though—it's not a Ford!Three Drive Configurations, Multiple BatteriesEdisonFuture plans to cover the market much like Chevrolet and Hummer EV, with offerings ranging from rear-wheel-drive, single-motor to dual- and tri-motor all-wheel-drive setups. Likewise, there will be a choice of battery pack sizes available to suit various budgets and expectations. To date we only know that the single motor version will accelerate to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. The two-motor version will produce about 600 hp and be good for 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. The three-motor version will produce 700 hp and drop the 60-mph time to 3.9 seconds. EF1-V van models will only offer rear or two-motor all-wheel drive, each of which is rated to hit 60 mph in 6.5 seconds.These will be permanent-magnet motors, and we're told one or more may be clutched, allowing them to idle when not needed during cruising. There's no word yet on battery sizes, but the base truck is said to be good for 300 miles, the two-motor one will go 380 miles, and the top model can cover 450 miles on a charge. A DC fast charge will bring the battery from 0 to 80 percent charge in 25 minutes.Aero Sleek, With an Optional Solar RoofThe "SPI" in the parent company's name stands for Solar Power Innovations, so it should come as no surprise that EdisonFuture will offer a solar roof option on both the truck and van leveraging SPI Energy's latest photovoltaic solar cells. Each will have a similar solar-collecting surface area, and in southern California sunshine we're told it should be capable of adding 15-25 miles of range on a sunny day.The pickup features a three-piece nesting fastback cover that shelters the cargo area, adds to the total solar-cell surface area, and greatly improves aerodynamic drag when fully closed. Rear visibility is provided by camera mirrors, as the cargo cover obscures rear visibility.Three-Seat Front Bench, Two- or Three-Row Van SeatingBoth models displayed at CES 2022—a high-spec pickup and low-spec van—featured a roomy three-seat bench in front. The EF1-V van on display was built for cargo-schlepping fleet duty, showing the lowest of three roof heights. This one is more consumer focused and hence designed to fit comfortably in residential garages, but we're told the highest roof will allow a person to stand in the back (given the height of the floor, that'll be a tall van).Passenger-oriented versions with windows will feature a choice of two or three rows of seating. The van can be configured to carry 260 to 400 cubic feet of cargo and features sliding doors on either side with "barn doors" in the rear.Pickup Cab and Box FeaturesA 17.5-inch floating touchscreen controls all the infotainment features, the long dash surface provides extra solar cells, when so equipped, and the doors can be equipped with removable toolboxes. Side view mirror images are supplied via camera and displayed on dedicated screens located near the A-pillars. A full set of tie-down points is provided in the box, along with what looks like provision for a gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailer hitch.Towing CapacityThe EF1-T Standard model with a single rear motor is rated to tow 7,500 pounds, the EF1-TP premium two-motor variant can do 9,000, and the top EF1-TS Super tri-motor range topper is good for 11,000 pounds. For the EF1-V van, rear-drive models can tow 7,500 pounds, two-motor AWD long-range models are rated for 8,000 pounds.So Should the Others Worry?Competition is competition—unless or until it isn't. Funding could run out, investors may lose their nerve, the executive suite might get raided, or any of a million other potential pitfalls could darken EdisonFuture's, future. But the truck looks intriguing and the initial specs are promising, so we wish the new venture luck.

WHAT IT IS: After initially doubling down on hydrogen and hybrids, Toyota appears to be pivoting slowly toward battery electric vehicles. One of the models that'll anchor this directional change is the new 2024 Toyota Compact Cruiser. A follow-up of sorts to the beloved FJ Cruiser (which left our market in 2014 but still soldiers on in the Middle East), the Compact Cruiser is a pint-sized electric off-roader built in the same vein as early '90s classics such as the Suzuki Samurai. This small electric off-roader sports four doors, plenty of ground clearance, tucked-away bumpers, all-terrain tires, and beefy-looking skidplates, all of which ought to make it a hoot off-road.WHY IT MATTERS: Toyota is finally coming on strong in the EV space, promising 10 new "lines" of EVs by 2025, and the Compact Cruiser will be part of that salvo. While models like the 2023 Toyota bZ4X cover Toyota's more conservative audience, the Compact Cruiser, previewed here with images of the Toyota Compact Cruiser Concept from earlier this year, aims to satisfy legions of Toyota's hardcore off-road enthusiasts by offering more traditional Land Cruiser styling cues in an efficient, modern package.PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: We don't know a ton about what's underneath the Compact Cruiser's sheetmetal, but we think it's a safe assumption we'll find Toyota's new e-TNGA platform, also found underpinning the bZ4x and Subaru Solterra. We expect the Compact Cruiser to offer dual-motor all-wheel drive and somewhere in the realm of 250 hp or so. If that's the case, don't expect it to be a range or charging champ—the more aerodynamic all-wheel-drive bZ4X nets 222 miles of range in its least efficient form and is among the slowest-charging EVs on the market.ESTIMATED PRICE: $45,000EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: Fall 2023

You've got a Tesla orbiting the sun, you've got Rivian-investing Jeff Bezos blasting into the upper atmosphere in an incongruous cowboy hat, and now there are Space Bentleys? Thankfully, not quite. No one's strapping a Bentayga super luxury SUV to a Delta Heavy anytime soon, given our back-of-napkin orbital payload cost calculations (using the common rough estimate of $10,000 to get a pound of anything into low Earth orbit). Instead, you've got a very earthbound Bentayga worked over by Mulliner that is inspired by space. This one is destined for Florida's Space Coast, which puts its theme in a whole new light. The vehicle was commissioned by Bentley Orlando for a customer whose enthusiasm for space is equalled by pockets deep enough to have Mulliner work over a Bentayga Speed with their favorite frontier in mind. Cheap compared to spaceflight, surely, but not chump change by any standards.Mulliner started off with a coat of Cypress green accented with Blackline Specification blacked-out brightwork and Orange Flame accents. Inside, custom sill plates provide a slice of the Solar System, while the rest of the interior is done up in Beluga and Porpoise—colors, thankfully, not exotic leather made out of highly intelligent cetaceans. Orange accents brighten up what is otherwise a dusky cabin.This is just one of many commissions Mulliner has taken on lately. In 2022 alone, Mulliner has done 100 of these one-offs, and last year the division marked its 1,000th bespoke creation in its seven years of operation. With this sort of income, perhaps in a few years Mulliner will be able to do a custom New Glenn interior for some grossly wealthy Blue Origin customer willing to front $28 million just to experience microgravity for a few minutes.