Next time you hop in a New York City yellow taxicab, it might be more silent, luxurious, and a good bit quicker than the Ford Crown Victorias or Nissan NV200s you’re used to. Why? Because it could be a Tesla Model 3.
In another achievement for the California automaker, the Model 3 has been approved for taxi service in New York City. That happened after review by the city’s official Taxi & Limousine Commission, which deemed the car worthy and capable of shuttling passengers around the Big Apple.
Like all other approved vehicles, the Model 3 will be modified for service. Outside, it’ll get bright yellow paint, official decals, and an illuminated roof sign to signify its working role. Inside, a partition will be mounted to separate the first and second rows, and cameras installed to monitor driver and passenger safety; the standard exterior cameras will stay in place. Presumably a rate-calculating taximeter must also [...]
SEMA 2019 is just a few weeks away, and Ford has already teased the Ranger and SUV projects it’s bringing to the show. Now, the Blue Oval has announced it’s bringing five custom F-Series Super Duty rigs to the annual tuner symposium. The Super Duties will join around 50 other vehicles in total, including SUVs and a host of Mustangs, at Ford’s massive stand at the event. Check out the heavy-duty F-Series truck builds that will be on display in just a few weeks’ time.
LGE-CTS Motorsports Baja Forged Ford F-250 Super Duty Crew Cab XLT
Ford calls this Super Duty the “Swiss army knife for the modern adventurer—functioning as a mobile command center, campsite and workshop.” A utility bench area combined with an LGE-CTS Motorsports rear canopy replaces the standard pickup bed. The utilitarian Ford rides on a 4.5-inch Stage 7 Icon suspension lift kit and 18-inch [...]
If you think you know the new, second-generation Subaru Levorg just unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, you are either a Subaru savant, or you don’t really understand it. That’s because the car, sold in the Japanese Domestic Market since 2014, doesn’t quite fit anywhere into the North American Subaru lineup.
That’s nothing new for a niche car from a Japanese automaker. Since the Subaru Levorg, described as a “prototype,” was unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, we’ve come to have a better understanding of it. The Levorg has no practical chance of becoming a North American import, but it does offer some hints about the long-awaited next generation Subaru WRX and the STI. Let’s start with this:
The Subaru Levorg is a “tweener” carIt’s larger than an Impreza hatchback or Crosstrek CUV, but it’s not as large as an Outback wagon. It looks like a [...]
Van life was a big deal in the U.S. in the ’70s. Remember those port-hole windows, shag carpeted interior walls and ceilings, stripe jobs, and “If this van’s a rockin’…” stickers? There’s none of that extroverted nonsense in Japan, but mono-space one-box vehicles are everywhere around here, and some of them manage to exude a bit of personality. Here are some of our favorites we spotted around the show floor and grounds.
Nissan Elgrand & Toyota Granace
Remember the Nissan Quest minivan? It departed our market (or was it the other way around?) after 2017, but it lives on in Japan as the Elgrand. Right about now, you Quest owners may be wondering what it would take to graft this handsome face onto your family steed for a little JDM coolness, am I right? (Answer: probably more than your van is already worth). Meanwhile, Toyota rolled out its [...]
Carrera, GT3, RS, Turbo, GTS, Speedster—Porsche slaps some pretty nifty badges on its cars. A good number of them have more or less been in use since the 1970s, with the exception of newer ones like the “GT” family. Sadly, Porsche seems to have dropped the ultra-cool “Clubsport” badge from its roadgoing lineup, retaining the moniker only for specialized track-only packages offered on the 718 GT4 and 911 GT2 RS. That’s a shame, considering the badge has traditionally signified some of the hardest-core and focused cars in its stable.
Of course, the modern “RS” badge (and available Weissach package) has effectively replaced the old Clubsport badge. Bummer—Clubsport is much more evocative, especially when scrawled across the rear decklid of cars like the Porsche 968. Well, in the case of this Speed Yellow 1992 Porsche 968 Clubsport, the rear decklid simply reads “968 CS.” Catch a glimpse of the [...]
