Etc : Car News And Reviews

While concept cars are often thought of as futuristic objects of desire, oftentimes the designs are so “outside of the box” that they just end up being awful. These cars may have innovative features or design attributes, but they all have one thing in common – they’re so ugly that you’d need to tie a steak around their bumpers to get a dog to chase them.

Airstream, maker of the iconic “silver bullet” fleet of Airstream travel trailers and touring coaches has opened the impressive Airstream Heritage Center inside the company’s headquarters in Jackson Center, Ohio. The attraction celebrates Airstream’s rich history with a museum collection documenting 90+ years of innovation and a wish list of 15 awesome vintage Airstream models.

Dodge has revealed a new appearance package for its Durango R/T SUV. The package is called Durango R/T HEMI Orange, similar to the Orange package that debuted last year on the Dodge Challenger and Charger. The SUV’s orange details are inspired by the color of the original HEMI engine.

Hyundai has revealed a replacement for the Starex minivan it sells overseas. The futuristic-looking new model is called the Hyundai Staria, and it’s available in several versions. Two of the models shown are campers known as Camper 11 and Camper 4.

At SEMA 2021, Chevrolet revealed a new crate engine called the ZZ632/1000. It’s a massive 632 cubic-inch power plant that uses electronic fuel injection rated for 1004 horsepower and 876 lb-ft. of torque. Chevy says it’s the most powerful crate engine it’s ever produced using EFI technology.

A Ford Global Technologies patent was discovered by Muscle Cars & Trucks, showcasing a new kind of manual transmission system that could make its way into Ford vehicles like the Mustang. The patent, granted in November 2021, describes a transmission with a stick that the driver would move through shift gates manually, just as you would in a traditional manual transmission.

Italian design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina has contributed to the design of some truly awe-inspiring cars, from the original Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider to just about every Ferrari built since the 1950s. One of the stranger designs to emerge from Pininfarina has to be the Model X.

Nuro is a California-based vehicle tech company that makes autonomous delivery vehicles. Their new third-generation vehicle is fully-autonomous, runs on electricity, and Nuro says this design can be produced at scale. It was designed from the ground up to need no human behind the wheel and lacks any seating or controls for humans.

The NHTSA has kicked off an investigation into Tesla regarding distracted driving concerns stemming from the ability to play video games while the car is moving. The investigation began after an owner discovered the Tesla Passenger Play feature allowed the driver to play video games while the car was moving.

Anyone who’s had to purchase a new vehicle this year knows that not only are pickings slim, but dealers across the country are adding hundreds or thousands of dollars over the MSRP. While adding so-called market adjustments is common in the automotive industry, typically, it’s on vehicles like limited-edition sports cars.

One of the biggest industries in the world is fishing in the oceans. Commercial fishers often use plastic nets to catch fish in large quantities. Many of those nets are lost in the seas or discarded when torn, leading to significant amounts of pollution and the death of many marine animals caught in the nets.

Tesla has revealed its latest electric vehicle, and rather than a car, this is an all-terrain vehicle designed for kids. Tesla’s Cyberquad has design elements inspired by the Cybertruck and is intended for children eight years old and up.

The shortage of microprocessors has resulted in severe constraints for the automotive industry. Some car companies have been forced to cease production of specific models, while others continue to build those models but can’t ship them to dealerships because they lack critical components that require computer processors.

Hot Wheels are some of the most popular toys made by Mattel, and the small-scale cars have been available for decades. They are collected by young and old alike, and some are wild futuristic cars while others are cars you could buy off the showroom floor right now.

BMW has revealed a new painting process it developed in collaboration with a company called Durr. EcoPaintJet Pro is designed for waterborne base coats and 2K clearcoat. The primary feature of the process is that it allows for highly customized two-tone paint jobs to be created without needing to mask the car or use stencils.