The Ford Maverick Tremor Is a No-Brainer, and We Think This Is It

You have the right to remain electric. Anything you put in the bed or rear seat can be used against your driving range. You have the right to a charger. If you cannot find one, one may be installed for you. Consider these the new Miranda rights for police forces across America, which soon will have access to Ford's new F-150 Lightning Pro SSV police truck. The new cop pickup is spun off the all-electric Lightning, and while that part is novel, the package is, for the most part, modeled after the regular F-150 Police Responder rig.One thing the Lightning Pro SSV is not is pursuit-rated. This is purely a patrol and response vehicle, even though the standard-range battery version's dual electric motors combine for 452 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque, and the big-battery, long-range model gets 580 hp and the same mighty torque figure. In that latter configuration, Ford claims the Pro SSV (that's Special Service Vehicle) can hit 60 mph in under four seconds, a claim largely backed up by our test figures for the new Lightning. In extended-range battery form, but without the range-topping Platinum trim's bigger wheels and extra equipment, an F-150 Lightning Lariat model scooched to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds.Okay, so "technically" the police Lightning won't be used for chases or other action. For those tamer missions, it's well equipped. Take the "Pro" part of its name. That's a reference to the entry-level Pro trim level on the civilian F-150 Lightning, which already is geared toward work duty with vinyl seats and flooring and a more basic interior layout. Ford swaps in cloth-wrapped front seats for the SSV, which also include steel "anti-intrusion" plates in the seatbacks and slimmer bolsters to make it easier for cops and their nifty tool belts to slide in and out.And then there is the frunk, which offers 14.1 cubic feet of space under the power-opening hood in the truck's nose for storing cop things. There also is a 220-amp DC-DC power source under there, which any number of upfitter attachments can be wired to. Oh, and the top of the dashboard is reinforced so it can withstand use as a mounting point for various add-ons.Ford also will install the requisite red-and-blue or white-and-amber roof lights for departments that request it. And beyond the lighting on the truck itself, Ford points out that the ProPower Onboard power sources in the frunk and bed can be used to power accident-scene lighting, emergency equipment, or mobile doughnut makers just as easily as the welders, fridges, and other stuff ProPower can handle for civilian Lightning customers.So far, the police Lightning's range figures are TBD. Regular Lightnings can travel between 230 and 320 miles on a charge, depending on which batteries they come with. We've found that that range can vary wildly depending on what the truck is being used for (i.e., just noodling around, or towing a heavy trailer). More details will arrive later this summer, both for the Pro SSV and, it seems, the 2023 model-year Lightning generally. That gives you a few more months of police vehicles that can't sneak up on you silently.

WHAT IT IS: The seventh generation of the icon that launched the pony-car genre will arrive in time for the Mustang brand's 60th anniversary. Expect it in coupe (as rendered here by our artist) and convertible forms with two powertrain offerings. Variants delivering greater performance and efficiency will follow in the years to come.  WHY IT MATTERS: The Mustang, along with the Bronco and F-150, is a pillar of the Ford brand that carries immense emotional appeal. It's Ford's sole North American car offering and also ranks as one of a shrinking number of affordable, fun-to-drive two-doors. Plus the droptops are all over rental fleets in tropical locations—what would we do if it disappeared? PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: The 2024 Mustang will get a new code name (S650), but we expect its D2C-derived architecture to largely carry over from its S550 predecessor. And based on numerous prototype spy photos and leaks, it will receive only mild evolutionary styling revisions, such as squintier three-element headlamps, a revised hexagonal grille, and new air intakes. New electrical architecture will enable new feature content at launch, like a fully digital instrument cluster and today's latest safety and driver assist features. It will also support over-the-air updates to an increasing number of software-enabled features, helping it stay as fresh as ever over its expected eight-year lifespan.Powertrain offerings will carry over at launch, including the 2.3-liter EcoBoost I-4 and 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 engines, as well as the six-speed manual and 10-speed automatic transmissions. Engine outputs may be adjusted—we hear base 2.3-liter power will increase from 310 to 320 hp, for example. And Ford officials have cautioned us that the six-speed could be phased out at some point during this model's lifetime.The 2021 Mustang Mach 1.One major powertrain addition expected in 2025 is conventional and/or plug-in hybridization. Leaked info suggests both engines will get an electric boost. This could be accomplished most easily by employing a version of Ford's Modular Hybrid Transmission (MHT) as found in the Explorer Hybrid, which should be adaptable to either engine.Among the electrification possibilities, enthusiasts will be most stoked by a unique V-8 hybrid powertrain revealed in patent drawings. It mounts a roughly alternator-sized electric motor on each side of the V-8, with their output shafts roughly aligned with the crankshaft centerline. It being patented makes sense, as we're not aware of any other vehicle employing such a setup. Plus, it's far simpler than trying to package a single electric motor somewhere and needing to run a shaft through the oil pan; that would likely require halfshaft angles that would overtax existing CV joints. Using dual motors also allows handling-enhancing torque-vectoring up front—might this system power the next Bullitt or Mach 1?The rumor mill has hinted at a plug-in version offering at least 10 or 20 miles of electric range, and this would undoubtedly boost efficiency and possibly contribute in some small way to achieving higher corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) ratings coming for 2026. But it would also add even more weight to a sports car that typically weighs more than 3,800 pounds today. So if there is to be an efficiency-focused Mustang hybrid, expect it to be an EcoBoost with rear drive. Of course, once there's a battery and an MHT to work with on this platform, it's not hard to imagine pairing them with the V-8 and front motors, juicing those Coyote V-8 and motor outputs, and creating a worthy Shelby GT500 successor with blistering torque-vectored AWD performance and respectable EPA numbers.Spy shots have also revealed a shift away from the retro-look dash with binnacles to a more streamlined interior dominated by big instrument and infotainment screens capable of displaying the latest Sync graphics in dazzlingly high resolution. It's unclear that the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger as we know them will survive into the next decade, but we expect Ford to assume they will—and to sharpen the Mustang's chassis dynamics sufficiently so it once again outhandles the Camaro.ESTIMATED PRICE: Expect a modest price bump to an even $30,000 for a base EcoBoost coupe or $40,000 for a GT, with the ragtop adding roughly $5,500 to either.EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: Could Ford possibly resist launching its 60th anniversary Mustang on Monday April 17, 2023—the 59th anniversary of its World's Fair debut?

With the introduction of the 2022 Toyota Tundra, we began to wonder when we'd see the next Sequoia SUV come out. Considering the full-size three-row SUV is loosely based off of the full-size pickup, it'd make sense that a new Tundra might beget an updated Sequoia. Sure enough, it looks as though a new Sequoia is finally happening, as Toyota has begun to tease out the look of the next-gen large SUV. Even better? It looks like there might be a few stylistic references to early Sequoia models in the new one.What We Get To See, So FarFrom the looks of the teaser image above, the 2023 Sequoia's design is going to depart from the current, second-generation model, which has been around since 2007. The rear end shows just how much change to expect: Where rounded, doughy, early naughts bodylines once meandered there now live more muscular, straight edges. The tail lights also show a new "T" design fast growing familiar across the Toyota SUV lineup. They draw not only further forward and into the rear quarter panel, but also further across the liftgate.The teaser also shows that the C-pillar has adopted a piece of black trim (instead of a body-color treatment) and brings the rear quarter window closer—physically, as we can tell thanks to some exposure editing—to the back of the rear doors. Toyota also gives the rear quarter windows a new arrowhead shape with a gray, silver, or chromed piece of trim between it and the body. Also getting some potential chrome treatment on this teaser image are the door handles.The New Liftgate Design Is A First Gen Sequoia CallbackThe bumper has also changed from a straight body separation on the body to now an angular one from the lower portion of the tail light to the molded overfender, however this separation does not continue into it. With our enhanced exposure edit, we also get a look at how the rear gate blends into the quarter panels, seemingly like the piece on the first-generation XK30/XK40 Sequoia. Instead of being completely encased into the liftgate, the rear window now curves around the gate and into the body, just like the 2001-2007 models' did.Unfortunately, we can't see how the glass separates to form the liftgate as its separation is not evident in the edited image. It's possible that the last bit going into the body is just a piece of trim—either black plastic or darkly tinted glass bonded by adhesive—and the separation follows the line seen in the rear spoiler and taillight just as it did with the first generation Sequoia. Or it could be one whole piece that lifts up with the rest of the liftgate. Finally, we also get a quick tease of the wheel, which on the surely up-level trim highlighted here looks to be a black-painted aluminum wheel with a machined face.Anything Else Teased?For the moment, this is all Toyota is giving out. There is no news on available engines, drivetrains, suspension, TRD versions, or the like. We imagine that the new Sequoia will get the same engine and drive treatments as the newest Tundra short of the live axle rear. Despite the Tundra's change to coil springs, we just don't see the Sequoia backsliding from its multilink, independent rear suspension setup—recently adopted by segment heavyweights from General Motors, the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon, and long a staple of Ford's Expedition—to the Tundra's live axle, however improved it might be.Given how the Sequoia's teaser train has left the station, figure on the big SUV making its formal debut sometime soon.