Cars

The Model Y has become somehwat of a regular sight on the road around Tesla these days. This only meant one thing – the compact SUV is close to its launch. However, it looks like the Model Y is arriving to the party much earlier than expected. Tesla will reportedly start delivering the crossover, in Performance trim, in February 2020, and the other trims will follow soon.

Initially, Tesla was going to start delivering the Model Y in the fall of 2020, but that was later moved up to a summer launch. Now, it will be reaching us even sooner. It’s definitely good news for customers who have pre-ordered the Model Y, it seems.

What you’re looking at here isn’t only allegedly Al Capone’s very own Cadillac, but it may also be one of the world’s very first armored cars. While there’s no for-sure way to know if Al Capone really owned this baby, a Milwaikee Sentinel story from 1921 did trace the car’s license plates to Mae Capone, Al’s wife. History of the car is known from 1933 onward, however, so there’s nearly a century worth of known history to go with it. If you’re really like to own it, though, the asking price is a steep $1 million, so you might want to run that past your wife first.

Kia is always an active participant during the Super Bowl, and this year is no different. The Korean automaker has launched a 30-second teaser of its new commercial earmarked for Super Bowl LIV on February 2, 2020. Just like its previous Super Bowl commercials, Kia is taking a serious approach with this year’s ad, establishing a theme of “overcoming adversity to achieve the impossible dream.” The all-new Kia Stelvos is the star of the commercial, though the 30-second teaser made no mention of the new crossover. All shall be revealed, though, when the 60-second commercial airs sometime in the third quarter of the title game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

The 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost is the second-generation model of the company’s full-size four-door sedan. An upcoming vehicle that’s still in the testing phase, the 2022 Ghost will replace a first-generation model that’s 11 years old as of 2020.

Just like its predecessor, the 2022 Ghost will slot under the Phantom sedan and above the Wraith grand tourer. The second-generation Ghost will be heavily based on the current Phantom, which was introduced in 2017 with extensive updates. The sedan will retain the boxy silhouette of its predecessor and will feature a detuned version of the Phantom’s 6.75-liter V-12. Find out what we already know about the 2022 Ghost in the review below.

The whole new DeLorean Motor Company situation has been happening for a while. Production of “New” DMC-12s was supposed to start way back in 2017 but due to a delay in the Low Volume Manufacturers Act – an act that allows companies to build up to 325 examples of cars at least 25 years old – all of that has had to go on hold. Now, the act has finally be pushed through and the new DeLorean DMC-12 can finally go into production.

Drag racing trucks is “the thing” these days. We have seen trucks of all sizes go up against their similarly-sized competitors. But, how would a drag race between two trucks that are at the opposite end of the spectrum fare? The folks at TFL decided to check it out by bringing in two vastly different pickup trucks from the same stable. One is the Ford Ranger with the turbocharged EcoBoost engine, and the other one is the huge F-250 Tremor. The F-250 comes with a massive V-8 engine and a four-digit torque figure, but it is also a super heavy truck and weighs a lot more than the Ranger. Does it have enough to beat the much lighter and peppier Ranger?

One automaker after another is facing a new reality: Most people prefer SUVs to cars. That’s nothing new to Subaru, whose cars have played second fiddle to its crossovers ever since it turned the midsize Legacy station wagon into the Outback in 1995.

A crossover before the term “crossover” existed — before even “car-based SUVs” had really emerged on the scene — the Outback was a Legacy with some butcher detailing and, soon after its launch, a higher ground clearance. Since then, the Legacy has dwindled from Subaru’s flagship to a minor part of the company’s lineup, while the Outback has become its No. 1 product. Last year, the company sold five times as many Outbacks as Legacys.

Other companies’ buyers stuck with sedans longer. That’s probably because Subarus’ famously standard all-wheel-drive system already attracted the type of buyer who wanted more utility than a sedan. But now, nearly across the board, sedan sales are falling as crossover sales rise.

Some automakers have responded by discontinuing their sedans. Many of the survivors are focusing on what makes sedans stand out from SUVs: low, sleek proportions and a sporty driving experience. The latest iterations of the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, and Toyota Camry have all dialed up their style and their performance chops. The idea is that if someone still wants a car today, they really want a car — something beautiful, something fun, something interesting.

The redesigned 2020 Subaru Legacy, meanwhile, isn’t really any of those things. It sticks firmly to the old-school midsize sedan rules: a smooth ride, a big back seat, a fuel-efficient powertrain, and easy outward visibility. And, just like it has for decades, it comes standard with the same all-wheel-drive system that you’d find in a Subaru crossover. There’s little pizzazz to the design, which is nearly indistinguishable visually from the previous-generation 2015-2019 Legacy. The driving experience isn’t zesty like an Accord or like some past Legacy generations. This is a sedan that blends into the background, and Subaru doesn’t use discounted pricing to lure the remaining sedan shoppers. Even the Legacy’s storied all-wheel-drive advantage is dwindling; the Nissan Altima recently introduced an optional AWD system, and the Toyota Camry is following suit this year.

The Legacy is a safe, comfortable, no-nonsense midsize sedan. The new generation is roomier than before, it gets better gas mileage (especially if you opt for the optional new turbocharged four-cylinder, which replaces last year’s thirsty six-cylinder), and it has a bigger infotainment screen on most models. If you think excitement is overrated, you don’t have to count out this Subaru — though we’re going to go over its shortcomings as well. Prices start at $23,645, including the mandatory $900 destination charge.

We don’t have a lot to tell you or show you yet, but Gintani Motor Works has created one hell of a beast out of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The company does offer an ECU tuning kit GT3 and GT3 RS, but it’s limited to a 25-horsepower and 15 pound-feet increase in power output, but this is an entirely different animal. The tuning company has managed to do what nobody thought would ever be done – it’s created the world’s first twin-turbo Porsche 911 GT3 RS! Right now, we only have a couple of short videos to go by, but based on the sound of the car alone, this thing is out of this world.

If you’re about tired of hearing news about the 2020 Chevy C8 Corvette, well, this is only the beginning. We still have, at the very least, the C8 Corvette ZR1 and the C8 Corvette Z06, the latter of which is set to make its debut next and was just spotted sitting next to a 991-gen Porsche 911 GT2 RS – the proverbial best of the best on the track. What does this mean for the Corvette Z06?

There’s been a lot of talk regarding what the top-dog Cadillac CT5-V will hide under the hood, with the likely candidate being Caddy’s new Blackwing 4.2-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine. A recent report, however, suggests that the CT5-V range-topper will indeed get a V-8 engine, but it won’t be Blackwing-badged. It’s safe to say we didn’t expect that, but for now, we’re also taking this with a pinch of salt until official word comes from Cadillac to confirm or deny the rumors.

Do you know how fashion is a cyclic affair? What was trendy some decades ago comes back to the highest peaks of popularity? Well, in the car industry, this sort of thing sometimes happens for old reports.

Take the one claiming that BMW is looking to build a rival for the Porsche 911. It was floated on the Internet back in 2016, together with the info that the 6 Series will be phased out to make room for the new 8 Series. So far, only the 6 Series-8 Series swap found fruition, but we’re getting some signals that a BMW-badged rival for the 911 isn’t something Munich will vote against.

A new rumor has surfaced that Alfa Romeo is looking to celebrate its 110th anniversary by introducing a new, limited trim level of the Giulia – namely the Giulia GTA. Reports hint that it will be a track-inspired, road-going beast with as much as 620 horsepower and a considerable increase in torque output compared to the 443 pound-feet delivered by the standard, Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter V-6 in the Giulia Guadrifoglio. It was even said that this model would debut in June of 2020. Unfortunately, this latest rumor doesn’t seem to hold water.

These days, tuners will slap a wide body kit on pretty much everything that has four wheels, and while some cars are suited for such a treatment, other are not.

The Lexus LC500 falls in the first category, but fitting it with wider wheel arches and beefier bumpers might not be for everyone. I mean, should you ask for our two cents, we’d tell you that the LC500 is design perfection in stock guise. However, we’re glad that there are voices who beg to differ.

Although Ram has been around the block for almost four decades, it was not until recently that the brand became a household name and a serious contender to the undisputed king of the industry, the Ford F-Series. Ram is essentially a by-product of Dodge and is a fully-owned subsidiary of the FCA since 2014. The name might be new, but the company has been building trucks since the 1970s under the name ’Fargo Trucks’ which was sold outside the United States.

The marque has essentially gone through a paradigm shift over the last decade and is consistently rising up the sales chart. In 2019, Ram sold over 630,000 examples; almost 60,000 more than the Chevy Silverado, to occupy the runner-up position. A lot of it can be credited to the fantastic engines in the lineup, and Ram’s constant effort to infuse luxury into its cargo-haulers. Not to mention, it has been paying a lot attention to safety as well. To top it all off, these trucks became an overnight sensation when Ram announced a 1,000 pound-feet of torque figure for the 3500 series. The Ram 2500 doesn’t boast of that, but it still has a lot going in its favor to be deemed as a potent threat to the Blue Oval and the Bowtie.

The model that arrived at the TopSpeed HQ was a black Ram 2500 HD Laramie. This is a mid-level trim that may not come with the best features that Ram has to offer, but it is one of the most practical trims to buy that covers all the basic essentials you would need on a daily basis. The truck came with a Cummins engine under the hood, a large touchscreen system on the inside, and a fairly wide, intimidating footprint that would shoo away all the smaller vehicles on the road with ease. But, when you pit it against the like-for-like trims of Ford and Chevy products on paper, it feels a little weak.

With that said, the Ram 2500 HD Laramie is still a strong contender and worthy of being shortlisted in your book if you’re in the market for a heavy-duty truck priced at around $50,000.