Subaru Teases STI EV Concept for Tokyo Auto Salon

toyota tundra Full OverviewProsModern technologyStandard V-6 twin-turbo engineSpacious, comfortable cabin ConsMiddling material qualityBouncy ride with Bilstein shocksIt took Toyota 14 years to come up with a new Tundra full-size pickup truck, but the wait was worth it. The model has always been known for its value in the segment, and the new model builds on that. The 2022 Toyota Tundra rides on a new platform, boasts dramatic new styling, and has modern technology relevant to today's buyers.Available with new gas-only and hybrid powertrains—both of which are based on a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V-6—the Tundra finally feels like a contemporary truck. It seemingly has the brash looks, features, capability, and assembly quality modern trucks need, but can it hang with the big (three) boys? Is it comparable to an American truck? We drove a Limited model with the Crewmax cab and regular, non-hybrid V-6 to find out.On the RoadThe Tundra is based on the all-new TNGA GA-F platform that also supports the Land Cruiser overseas and the 2022 Lexus LX here in the States, allowing it to deliver a better ride while enhancing its off-road capability. To address the former, though, Toyota ditched the rear leaf springs for coil or air springs, depending on the configuration.Our model came equipped with the TRD Off-Road package, which adds Bilstein shocks to better handle what Mother Earth tosses in your path. On the road, Tundra's ride quality represents a night-and-day difference from before, and it feels more stable and planted overall, including while handling tighter turns. It doesn't feel as polished as a Ram 1500 (which also uses coil springs), but it feels more settled than before. The Bilstein shocks add a bit of a bouncy feel over imperfections, but we're quite impressed by the new Tundra's comportment. The steering isn't as precise as the best domestic American trucks', but it's nicely weighted and not sloppy, which makes highway drives a snap.Also impressive is that 3.4-liter twin-turbo V-6, which delivers 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, enough to scoot this big boy to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds in our testing. Crossing the quarter-mile mark took the Tundra 14.7 seconds, at which point it was going 95.3 mph, a decent showing considering its 5,820-pound curb weight.Compared to a 2021 Ford F-150 XLT with the 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 engine, the Tundra is slower: The F-150 got to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, and it completed the quarter-mile run in 13.9 seconds at 99.9 mph. The biggest difference between these two is the weight—the Ford's aluminum chassis cuts its weight down to 5,345 pounds, giving it an advantage at the track.The Tundra's transmission is programmed well, downshifting crisply when called upon, and upshifts are executed smoothly. While the engine feels well suited for the Tundra in terms of power and punchiness, it tends to deliver its force in gobs. On a couple of occasions, the rear wheels broke loose when accelerating from a stop even though the pedal was nowhere close to the floor; we wish the delivery was a bit more linear. But the power-to-weight ratio feels adequate for a big truck like this, and depending on which drive mode is activated, there's a growl almost as pleasing as the old V-8's.It was clear Toyota needed to modernize the Tundra to keep up with the segment, and the 2022 model is a big advancement. The Tundra feels more modern than before and puts up a good fight against the big three. It may not ride as well as the Ram (we aim to test a Toyota without the Bilsteins soon), but it's certainly relevant again, and worthy of cross-shopping if you're not beholden to a brand.Inside the Tundra's InteriorWhile the Limited trim sits at the middle of the lineup, it still feels richly appointed in terms of features. Enter the cabin, and you'll first notice the massive, 14.0-inch touchscreen that takes up virtually all the space in the middle of the dash. The screen comes standard with the Limited, and the new infotainment system has sharp graphics and the fast responses you're used to from your smartphone. We spent most of our time driving with Apple CarPlay active, and we applaud Toyota for allowing it to take over the entire screen, which makes Google Maps or Apple Maps really simple to read.The HVAC controls are laid out below the display as sort of piano keys—a nice detail that looks premium. While the cabin isn't as attractive to our eyes as, say, the Ram's, Toyota's designers did add characterful touches like the big, boxy air vents, and the center stack offers useful cubbies so you can stash stuff while leaving the cupholders free. A huge bin between the front seats can store large items like purses, laptops, and such. In general, storage space is plentiful.An area where we'd have liked to see additional improvement is in the quality of materials. The plastics on the door panels already feel dated, as they are hard and cheap. Some plastics have sharp edges, too. On the other hand, the leatherette on the seats feels nice enough for something carrying a $60,188 price tag.The rear accommodations are quite spacious, with the seatback reclined at an angle that should make long trips easier for passengers. Those seated back there also get two USB ports (one type A, one type C) and air vents, but we're a bit surprised to see a significant drivetrain bump in the floor. While it may not interfere with middle riders' feet because it's wide, it does make placing long items on the floor inconvenient. Should I Buy a New Tundra?The 2022 Toyota Tundra offers a better, up-to-date experience, and it does a lot of things well—well enough to, yes, deserve a seat at the big boy table. There are areas that can still be improved, but the thorough overhaul resulted in a much better truck. Plus, its long list of standard equipment—like the 3.4-liter V-6 twin-turbo engine and Toyota Safety Sense 2.5, which adds a bunch of safety technologies at no extra cost—gives it an advantage over the competition.It's unlikely to outsell any of the full-size half-ton trucks from Detroit, but the 2022 Tundra deserves a look.Looks good! More details?2022 Toyota Tundra Limited TRD Off-Road 4x4 Specifications BASE PRICE $56,680 PRICE AS TESTED $60,188 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door truck ENGINE 3.4L Twin-turbo port- and direct-injected DOHC 24-valve 60-degree V-6 POWER (SAE NET) 389 hp @ 5,200 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 479 lb-ft @ 2,400 rpm TRANSMISSION 10-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,820 lb (57/43%) WHEELBASE 145.7 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 233.6 x 80.2 x 78.0 in 0-60 MPH 6.2 sec QUARTER MILE 14.7 sec @ 95.3 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 135 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.72 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 28.5 sec @ 0.59 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 17/22/19 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 612 mi ON SALE Now Show All

WHAT THEY ARE: It's getting tough to keep track of which automaker has promised a flood of electric vehicles over the near term, how many EVs each one has pledged, and by exactly when. So, what's Nissan up to? The Japanese carmaker is spending nearly $20 billion to deliver 20 electrified vehicles in the next four years, and it aims for 15 fully electric models (among 23 all-new vehicles for Nissan and Infiniti) by 2030.The automaker recently previewed a smattering of concept vehicles representing potential EVs, including a pickup truck, an SUV-ish thing with van-like sliding doors, and even a two-seat roadster. Each of these carry ephemeral names such as Chill-Out, Hang-Out, and Max Out. We figure the production versions, if indeed these concepts directly preview electric cars and trucks coming in the next few years, will have normal designations—or they might even outright replace various existing Nissan nameplates.WHY THEY MATTER: Nissan's next-generation Leaf might be previewed by the Chill-Out, a small crossover EV that uses the same CMF-EV architecture as the 2023 Ariya SUV. Transitioning the Leaf into a taller, more appealing vehicle than the dumpy hatchback it is today makes so much sense, it'd be shocking if Nissan weren't thinking about it.Far and away the most consequential future Nissan—besides the next-generation Leaf—is the electric pickup truck almost certainly bound for production. It might not look exactly like the Surf-Out concept here, which is a virtually sales-proof two-door regular cab with digital panels front and rear including not only the headlights and taillights but also lots of display space for animations and such.The front panel is also translucent, offering a view from the cabin all the way out the nose. Perhaps the general shapes on this concept will carry over to a four-door, midsize-ish pickup to be sold alongside the Frontier. But no matter what form it takes, the truck is the concept we'd prioritize.PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: Other than their cool-vibes names, Nissan's EV concepts showed off novel packaging and fanciful solid-state batteries that, as of today, don't exist in a production vehicle. Nissan is working on the tech, which promises better energy density, lower cost, and quicker charging, but we figure that come 2025, the first round of the automaker's EVs is going to run on conventional lithium-ion tech, as found in the Ariya. That production SUV also is likely to donate its dual-motor drive system to a host of upcoming Nissan EVs.ESTIMATED PRICE: $30,000-$50,000EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: 2024-2030

There's a rather oddball car coming up for sale at the upcoming Mecum auction, and we genuinely can't decide if it's awesome or awful: a 1999 SEMA show car built by General Motors as the Oldsmobile Intrigue 442.For those unfamiliar, the 4-4-2 is, or at least was, an institution as Oldsmobile. First introduced in 1964 in response to Pontiac's GTO—this was at a time when GM brands were competing with each other—the Cutlass-based 4-4-2 offered a beefed-up chassis, bigger brakes, and a 330-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) V-8 souped up to 310 horsepower. The 4-4-2 designation indicated a four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, and dual exhausts. (The designation stuck even after Olds started selling 4-4-2s with two-speed automatics.) The 4-4-2 was a huge hit, and despite the collapse of the muscle car market and the onset of the Malaise Era, Olds delivered a 4-4-2 every year through 1980.Aside from a one-year revival in '85 (when Olds applied the name to the '83-84 Hurst Olds, itself a credible companion to Chevy's Monte Carlo SS and Buick's Grand National), there were no 4-4-2s in the '80s, but in 1990 the name reappeared in the most unlikely of places: Oldsmobile's aging Calais. The oft-forgotten (and now dehyphenated) Calais 442 version featured the high-output Quad 4 engine, GM's first serious attempt at a modern 16-valve DOHC I-4. Oldsmobile said the designation stood for four cylinders, four valves per cylinder and two camshafts, which was still pretty hot stuff at the time.Turns out the "2" also stood for how many years this model lasted. When the even more forgettable Achieva replaced the Calais for '92, Olds turned its back on yesterday, naming the equally unsuccessful performance version SCX. And that was it for the 442—until the 1999 SEMA Show, when this strange little gem appeared. Oldsmobile was trying to imbue its dull-as-paper Intrigue with some actual intrigue, so it stuffed a 550-hp Cadillac Northstar V-8 under the hood.Let us repeat that salient detail, lest it escape you. Olds, in the throes of General Motors' dullest days, right smack dab in the middle of creating some of the most forgettable cars in the corporation's then-90-year history, put a 550-hp Northstar V-8 in an Intrigue.That sentence is truly magnificent, at least until you get to the last word.That's why we can't decide of the Intrigue is awesome or awful. The Northstar's shine had begun to dull by the end of the '90s, but it was a good, smooth-running engine (the antithesis of the Quad 4!), and 550 hp is nothing to sneeze at, even if it was delivered through the front wheels. The Intrigue was a semi-credible sedan that Oldsmobile less credibly tried to sell as a luxury/performance car. In reality, our own testing found that it rivaled the Toyota Camry for both road manners and anonymity. There is a reason the Oldsmobile Intrigue is not the stuff of car shows.We can't decide if the Intrigue 442's details are cool or crud. There's the white-and-gold paint, a nod to the Hurst/Olds versions of the 4-4-2 that appeared sporadically throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s. But the application of the old trim—as a stripe bracketed between gold renditions of Oldsmobile's anonymous new logo—is clumsy. The twin-scoop hood is cool, but the gills on the front bumper look like room vents bought at Home Depot. (They are apparently actual grille inserts from a 1970 4-4-2, which just goes to show that real estate agents are right: Location is everything.) And those wheels—Hellooooo, Y2k!We can't imagine what this thing is like to drive; the torque steer must be epic. Nor will we know if GM ever planned to turn this one-off into a production car, because in December 2000, GM abruptly announced its plans to shutter the Oldsmobile brand. Development on new products stopped, the Intrigue was killed after 2002, and by the end of 2004, the historic brand was itself history.And that is what makes this strange muscle car so intriguing—the last factory-produced 4-4-2 is a genuine GM-built piece of what might have been. The auction page doesn't tell us a whole lot about this car, but it looks clean and largely original, and it's selling with no reserve. If you buy it—and by all means, you should buy it—will you take us for a ride? Please?