The last mile. This crucial leg of any delivered product is the make-or-break mile. The USPS, UPS, FedEx, and others long had a lock on the last-mile business and have pretty much been able to dictate the cost of that mile on their own terms. In order to wrest control of that costly mile away from these companies, mega-seller Amazon has rolled out a fleet of its own vans. Now, in a bid to further reduce costs, retain drivers, and reduce the company’s carbon footprint, Amazon has contracted Rivian to produce 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2030, with the first 10,000 hitting the road by the end of 2022. Here are a dozen interesting factoids about the giant, smiling blue whales that have already started rolling out and will become increasingly ubiquitous starting later this year, getting a slight jump on the Ford E-Transit, Bollinger Deliver-E van, and GM’s recently announced Ultium-powered BrightDrop delivery van.
[...]An adorable retro-inspired electric vehicle got a lot of attention a few weeks ago. The Alpha Motor Ace, an electric coupe with an aesthetic that can only be described as mid-century modern European, seemed to capture the full potential of EVs to break out of contemporary car styling and explore unusual and interesting forms. With fewer constraints from packaging hardpoints, EVs—and in particular, skateboard-chassis ones—are ripe for this sort of thing. The Ace’s cartoonish (in a good way) proportions communicate fun in a way no Nissan Leaf can. Carrying that to its next logical extreme, there’s the Jax, an off-road inspired variant (that still only exists in digital form), and a sleeker Ace Performance Edition.
Lexus says “a new era of F Sport performance vehicles is coming.” We’d elaborate, but that’s all the automaker has said while at the same time releasing the image above of an F Sport badge on what looks like some sort of carbon-fiber panel. In short—as short as Lexus’s statement—this could be anything.
Rather than speculate, let’s recap what F Sport is. To the Lexus brand, it is a sport-themed trim level that on most models adds more aggressive styling bits and a host of “F Sport” badging. You can find F Sport variants of the Lexus UX, NX, and RX crossovers [...]
Gripe as we may about the death of sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons, crossovers have undeniably become more enjoyable to drive as manufacturers have scrambled to meet the market’s demands for SUVs that still drive with the agility of cars. For the buyer who wants all of that and a little more, Zuffenhausen offers the potent and agile 2021 Porsche Macan GTS.
This high-performance compact crossover comes equipped with a 375-hp turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6 engine that sends 383 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Porsche offered us a Miami Blue example, the rare paint job worth the eye-watering $3,120 premium. The color may be expensive, but it earned us plenty of compliments during our week in the driver’s seat. Its good looks were further accented with 20-inch wheels painted black. Overall, it seemed universally appealing to onlookers.
Slick Powertrain
Not only does [...]
It looks like everyone’s feeling the environmental squeeze these days. Even outboard motor super-maven Mercury Marine is looking for more fuel-efficient methods of blowing your hat off when you pin the hand-throttle out on your local lake. So, in the pursuit of sipping fuel at a rate less like cheap light beer and more like fine whiskey, the 82-year-old manufacturer just launched its first-ever V-12 outboard motor.
Wait … what?
Alright, while we’re joshing around a bit, Mercury Marine does claim that strapping two of these 600-hp V-12s to the back of your craft will provide the same 1,200 combined horsepower but cut down on fuel consumption by an impressive 20-percent when compared to a triple-stack of Yamaha V-8s. So, not exactly a waterbound Toyota Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive, but the dividends should become more apparent the larger the craft.
Whereas automotive V-12s have enjoyed a long lifespan [...]
