All the Automotive News You Missed This Week That You Should Know About

This was a busy week here at the Gear Patrol motoring desk. We reviewed the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600, the Cadillac Escalade with Super Cruise and the Mazda 3 Turbo. We showed you Audi’s sexy new take on the Porsche Taycan, and Jeep’s most revolutionary Wrangler yet. And we looked at reports of a new Subaru hot hatch and apparent leaked photos of the new Toyota Land Cruiser.

We are, however, mere mortals. We couldn’t cover all the scintillating automotive news that happened this week. Here are some items we couldn’t quite get to between Monday and now.

Airstream is doing more to protect our air and streams

Airstream

Airstream is partnering with the National Forest Foundation on a Caravan to Carbon Neutral initiative for 2021. The company plans to offset all emissions from the manufacture and first year of use of its trailers by planting 118,405 trees.

Customers can also purchase tax-deductible “Carbon Reduction Kits,” with 100 percent of the donations going to the NFF.

A hotter BMW M4 could be on its way by 2022

BMW

The new, nostril-tastic BMW M3 and M4 are just now set to reach the streets, but it seems as though we might not have to wait long to see the spicier versions. A reputable poster on Bimmer Post is claIming that a stripped-down M4 CSL could hit production in Q3 of 2022, albeit in a limited production run. Now we have another reason to look forward to next year.

A new bill could make Teslas (and Chevy Bolts) cheaper

Tyler Duffy

The current federal tax credit on EV sales is $7,500, but that only applies to the first 200,000 vehicles an automaker sells. Tesla and GM have already exceeded that. But a new provision under the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act, which is currently before Congress, would provide an additional allotment of 400,000 vehicles, each of which would offer a $7,000 credit.

Jeep pulled its Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl ad

Handout

Mid-week this week, Jeep removed its Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl ad from its social media pages. It wasn’t because you got mad online about it; it was because the world learned the Boss got arrested for a DUI back in November. (How does an exceedingly famous person get arrested without anyone finding out about it for months? Be Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey, that’s how.)

Toyota think you don’t appreciate PHEVs enough, but they still have two EVs coming this year

Toyota

Toyota has held back from the pure electric vehicle fray, focusing on hybrids. When you’re winning the game — it sold 5 of the top 14 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. last year — why disrupt it?

That’s about to change, though, as Toyota announced this week that it has two new EVs are coming to America this year.

Land Rover is building some more old-style heritage Defenders, but they ain’t cheap

Nick Dimbleby

Land Rover Classic is building 25 old-style V8 Defenders as a tribute to the Camel Trophy — albeit without the old-school cigarette branding. They will be based on 2012–2016 model Defenders; there will be both 90 and 110 versions, all with a 400-hp 5.0-liter V8.

These old-style Defenders won’t come cheap. The starting price will be around $270,000.

The 16 Best Cars to Buy in 2021

Ford

Kelley Blue Book has released their best cars to buy awards for 2021. The results may surprise you.

Tesla is in hot water with Chinese regulators

VCG

Tesla made headlines buying $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin this week. One investor — the guy Christian Bale played in The Big Short, who saw the housing market bubble before anyone — believes that may have been an intentional distraction from Tesla being investigated by Chinese regulators for complaints about build quality with their Chinese-built vehicles.

Here’s the mintest of minty-fresh Honda S2000s…that may auction for six figures.

Bring a Trailer

Near-mint, low mileage Honda S2000 models are common. But this one up for auction on Bring a Trailer may have them all beat. It’s a 2009 model, the last production year. It’s a limited edition club racer version and it has only 985 miles on the odometer. Essentially, it’s as close to a new Honda S2000 as you can get.

BAT auctions normally heat up over the final day. But bidding is already up to $66,000 (as of this writing).

Don’t sell the Porsche Taycan 4S short

Courtesy

Edmunds published the results from its real-world electric car range testing this week. Every Tesla vehicle scored lower than its EPA range estimate in real-world testing, whereas nine of the 10 non-Teslas had improved scores. Most notably he estimated real-world range for the Porsche Taycan 4S was 323 miles versus the 203 miles achieved in EPA testing.

Chrysler (the brand) is safe, for now

Chrysler

The Chrysler brand was rumored to be a casualty of the Stellantis merger, but it appears safe for now. Stellantis CEO Carlos Taveras described it as the conglomerate’s third pillar, along with Fiat and Peugeot.

At present, Chrysler doesn’t have a defined identity like Jeep, Ram or Dodge. Though that could make it a more fitting home for bringing over passenger car platforms and EV tech from Europe.

The Best All-Terrain Tires You Can Buy

Courtesy

Because you should give your 4Runner or Gladiator the fancy rubber it deserves.

Sly goes over the top and buys a C8 Corvette

Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac of Murfreesboro

Sylvester Stallone is now a distinguished and affluent gentleman of 74 who wears flat caps in public. That’s pretty much the profile of the median ‘Vette owner. So, naturally, Sly bought himself a 2021 C8 Corvette. When not buying cars and violating COVID protocols for cheesy dealer photo ops, he’s been working on a director’s cut of Rocky IV.

This Porsche Design hookah exists

Porsche Design

When you buy a Porsche, it’s not just a car purchase. It’s a lifestyle decision. The company offers ample opportunities to bring its clean German design aesthetic and four-figure accessories culture into your everyday life. Here, for example, is a Porsche Design hookah, which you can buy for $1,950.

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