This week, we reported news about the Jeep Wrangler V8 price point, the new King Ranch edition of the Ford Explorer, and how Porsche will use synthetic fuels to make internal combustion engines cleaner and greener.
We also covered a new study's findings measuring car-buyer sentiment about electric vehicles and all of the new crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
If you're buying a new or a used car, we've published an explainer detailing how to negotiate car price online. We also provide all of the details about Mitsubishi Mi-Pilot Assist, a new safety technology offered in the redesigned 2022 Outlander SUV.
It was a big week for new car and SUV debuts. We covered all of the details of the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5, 2022 Land Rover Defender V8, 2022 Lexus IS 500, and 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.
If you're shopping for a new midsize crossover SUV, be sure to check out our 2021 Honda Pilot vs. 2021 Toyota Highlander comparison. We've also got new expert reviews of the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Sport and 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.
But, believe it or not, that's not everything that was happening in the automotive space.
Collectively, the nation held its breath this week when news trickled out that a sports superstar was involved in a colossal collision in the Los Angeles area. Tiger Woods was seriously injured, but thankfully, those injuries were not life-threatening.
All of the images of the crash site raised curiosity about what he was driving. It turns out that it was a 2021 Genesis GV80 with a starting price of $48,900. On loan to Woods as part of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament in which he participated, the GV80 is a new-for-2021 luxury SUV with seating for up to seven passengers.
The L.A. County Sheriff's Department is investigating the crash. A spokesperson remarked during a press conference that the safety structure of the GV80 and Woods' use of his seatbelt is probably what kept him alive.
Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the new GV80. Hyundai Motor Group, the parent company of Genesis, is known to create vehicles that perform well in testing.
The incident underscores for consumers that, generally speaking, newer vehicles with modern crash-safety engineering and safety systems protect occupants better in collisions.
Tesla. People seem to love the brand, or they don't. Its impressive decade-long rise from a tiny startup to a global electric vehicle leader makes it a target, especially as the entire automotive industry goes electric.
Karma Automotive is the latest EV maker to level its gaze at Tesla's young, affluent, educated demographic. Until now, Karma's only car was the Revero GT, priced at $130,000. Now, it has cut the Revero's price by $50,000 to create the GS-6 series, a Tesla Model S alternative.
Equipped with an electric or extended-range plug-in hybrid powertrain, the Karma GS-6 looks like a Revero and still seats only four people. But, this is just the first of several new vehicles the California-based automaker has planned. Next up, the Karma GX-1, an SUV based on a new platform and components that Karma says, will compete with Tesla and the other players in the space.
Jeep Wrangler owners love the ability to open the SUV's top and feel the fresh air. Even the doors are removable. And the windshield folds down. But not everybody wants that level of exposure.
Now, Jeep helps these lovers of the outdoors enhance the SUV's sensation of openness without full door removal. Enter the new Dual Door Group option, a factory-installed half-door alternative for the two-door or four-door Wrangler.
Wrangler owners will still need to swap the full door out for the half door, a relatively simple operation. The result is a lower beltline while retaining the use of the power mirrors, power door locks, and blind-spot warning system. You can even get an upper-window assembly upgrade for Wranglers equipped with the premium soft-top roof.
Jeep will charge $2,350 for the option on the two-door Wrangler and $3,995 for the four-door. Select the upper window upgrade, and those prices increase to $2,550 and $4,395, respectively.
2022 Infiniti QX60 Towing Capacity Beats Other Luxury Crossovers - Find the best Infiniti deals!
Typically, crossover SUVs aren't the best choice for towing. The typical maximum tow rating is 5,000 pounds in the midsize segment, though some models can exceed that amount.
Take the redesigned 2022 Infiniti QX60, for example. Based on the redesigned 2022 Nissan Pathfinder, this luxury three-row crossover can tow up to 6,000 pounds. That's a half-ton improvement over the previous-generation QX60 and is apparently enough to handle a gleaming 22-foot Airstream trailer.
Though every 2022 QX60 has a 295-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 with a 9-speed automatic transmission, Infiniti does plan to restrict this maximum capacity to specific versions of the SUV.
Nissan Rogue Crash Test Ratings Impress, and Fail to Impress - Find the best Nissan deals!
You win some, and you lose some. But that's not necessarily a bet you want to take when it comes to crash safety – just ask Mr. Woods. The redesigned 2021 Nissan Rogue compact crossover SUV finds itself in this camp this week.
According to the IIHS, the new Rogue is one of the safest vehicles in its class and earns a Top Safety Pick+ designation for the year. However, the folks over at NHTSA beg to differ, giving the Rogue a genuinely mediocre 3-star rating for frontal-impact crash protection. The SUV earned four stars for driver protection and two stars for front passenger protection. Unfortunately for Nissan, the NHTSA ratings are the ones that go on the Rogue's window sticker.
Such startling discrepancies are uncommon. Undoubtedly, Nissan will attempt to improve its NHTSA score in some way.
Consumers should note that the NHTSA hasn't updated its crash-safety standards in over a decade, while the IIHS updates its procedures and parameters regularly. Additionally, the NHTSA measures protection in a situation reflecting a head-on crash into a wall. The IIHS estimates protection in simulations drivers encounter in the real world, like hitting a tree on the vehicle's front corner.
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