Author Archive
2021 Hyundai Veloster N
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2020 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine. The Veloster N continues unchanged for the 2022 model year, but other Veloster trim levels have been dropped.
In a market that’s more and more dominated by small sport utilities, enthusiasts can still find some reasonably practical hot hatchbacks. One of the raciest of the latest crop is the Hyundai Veloster N. It’s the first American-market model from Hyundai’s new high-performance N brand, which sounds like fertile ground for future collectibility.
1994 Buick Regal GS
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2020 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Some of the hottest cars out of Detroit in 1987 were Buick Regals. The Grand National and limited-production GNX were seriously fast and commanded respect on the street and at the strip. It was also the end of an era, because a new front-wheel-drive Regal was being readied for 1988 and turbocharged muscle was not part of its equation. The sportiest new Regal was the Gran Sport coupe, and its 1992-96 iteration can make for some fun cheap wheels.
First Spin: 2022 Subaru WRX
2022 Subaru WRX Limited
Among hot-rod compact cars, the all-new, redesigned-for-2022 Subaru WRX doesn’t really have any direct competitors. This rally-racing-bred, all-wheel-drive sport compact’s closest historical rival, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, has already been gone for seven years–it was discontinued after the 2015 model year. At the moment, the WRX’s nearest competitor from an engineering standpoint is the redesigned-for-2022 Volkswagen Golf R, though that German-built AWD hatchback is significantly pricier to start and not rally-terrain focused like the WRX. Subaru identifies two equally new front-drive-only performance compacts as the WRX’s main competition: the 200-horsepower Honda Civic Si and the 241-horsepower Volkswagen GTI hatchback, both of which are also redesigned for ’22. Likewise in the ballpark (and also front-drive-only) are the 276-hp Hyundai Elantra N and Veloster N hatchback, and the Honda Civic Type R (we don’t know yet how powerful the soon-to-be-revealed new-generation Type R will be, but the previous-gen car made 306 hp).
First Look: 2023 Toyota bZ4x
2023 Toyota bZ4x
Today, Toyota officially unveiled the U.S.-market production version of its all-new-for-2023 pure-electric SUV at a press event in Encinitas, California, just ahead of the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show. The bZ4x is a compact 5-passenger crossover SUV that kicks off a new sub-brand of Toyota pure-electric vehicles. The “bZ” portion of the name stands for “beyond zero”—in reference to zero emissions—and bZ4X is the first of seven bZ-branded vehicles Toyota plans to introduce globally by 2025. Eight other battery-electric vehicles are planned as well, and counting traditional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Toyota says they will offer about 70 electrified vehicles in various global markets by 2025.
First Spin: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
Earlier this year, the Jeep Grand Cherokee kicked off its fifth generation with the all-new 2021 Grand Cherokee L—the first Grand Cherokee to offer three rows of seats. Meanwhile, the 2021 two-row Grand Cherokee soldiered on for one more season with the previous, fourth-gen design. Now, for the 2022 model year, a redesigned two-row five-passenger Grand Cherokee is being introduced. The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is built on a shorter version of the L’s all-new unibody platform, and it’s scheduled to go on sale by the end of the 2021 calendar year. Shortly after the new year, Jeep will add 4xe plug-in-hybrid electrified variants of the two-row Grand Cherokee.
2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness
Here’s a factoid for you: Nearly 1 out of every 5 Subarus ever sold has been a Forester, and since its debut as a 1998 model, Subaru has sold more than 2.3 million of its popular compact crossover SUV. For the last several years, the Forester’s annual sales have been running in the neighborhood of 170,000-180,000 units in the US, and Subaru says those totals have been limited by production capacity rather than consumer demand. The current-generation Forester debuted for 2019, and for 2022 it gets a mild freshening, along with the addition of an outdoor-adventure-focused Wilderness model with improved off-road capabilities.
2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody
Note: The following story was excerpted from the October 2020 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Nearly five years ago we took our first look at the Dodge Charger Hellcat. Now for 2020, Dodge has tweaked the car into the new “Widebody” variant. It’s different enough that we think it’s time for a Future Collectibles second look.
First Spin: 2022 Toyota Tundra
2022 Toyota Tundra Limited
The full-size pickup market in the U.S. remains dominated by Ford, Ram, Chevrolet, and GMC (in that sales order), with sales of Toyota’s Tundra typically running less than half the fourth-place GMC Sierra’s tally. Significantly, Tundra hasn’t received a ground-up redesign since way back in 2007—consider that since that second-generation Tundra debuted, Ford redesigned its F-150 in 2009, then again in 2015, and for a third time in 2021. Now, for 2022, Toyota is finally introducing a clean-sheet, third-generation Tundra. It features new twin-turbocharged and gas-electric hybrid turbo V6 engines, and it rides on a redesigned steel frame with fresh front and rear suspension designs. All-new styling and the introduction of the Toyota Audio Multimedia system are further highlights.
First Spin: 2022 Lexus NX
2022 Lexus NX 350 F Sport
The Lexus NX has been one of the country’s top-selling compact luxury SUVs, and it’s the second best-selling Lexus, trailing only the RX midsize SUV. For 2022, Lexus kicks off the NX’s second generation with a redesigned, slightly larger model that boasts fresh styling inside and out, an all-new infotainment system with much-upgraded connectivity features, and an expanded powertrain lineup—including Lexus’s first plug-in-hybrid model.
1990 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
Note: The following story was excerpted from the October 2020 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
The word “cheap” usually isn’t associated with the Mercedes-Benz SL. But we think the unexpected can make great cheap wheels, so let’s take a look at the 1990-1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SL and 1994-1998 SL500—all of which are unexpectedly affordable these days, even in very good condition.
