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2020 AUDI S6 STARTS AT $74,895 The  2020 Audi S6 has been updated , with the biggest change being its mild hybrid technology. Now,  Audi  has announced the performance-oriented midsize sedan will start at $74,895, making it $2,020 more expensive than the previous iteration. The  Audi S6  undercuts the 2020  BMW  M550i, which starts at $77,645. But that car features 523 hp instead of the Audi's 444 hp. The S6 packs a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine and an electric compressor powered by a 48-volt mild hybrid system. The new setup increases torque to 443 lb-ft, and is intended to prevent turbo lag. Power is routed to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. For the price, the S6 offers a host of standard features, including a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster, dual infotainment screen setup with navigation, and 20-inch wheels with summer performance tires. A black exterior kit is available, as is a sport suspension with adaptive dampers and an S

2019 VOLVO XC40 T4 MOMENTUM FIRST TEST: PHILOSOPHIZING FASHION Fashion is peculiar. It exists to improve perception, value, and interest. A slick outfit helps you feel good and better enjoy whatever you're doing. But it's also immaterial. Under that fabric façade are the same abilities and shortcomings you have in your birthday suit. This conundrum describes driving the great-looking  Volvo XC40  T4. We dig the XC40 T5, which is powered by a 248-hp, 258-lb-ft 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. In sporty R-Design guise it  won a comparison against other millennial-bait compact luxury crossovers; it also earned a finalist spot in our  2019 SUV of the Year showdown . The entry-level XC40 T4 shares awesome looks, engine configuration, and gear count with the T5 but has 187 hp and 221 lb-ft, and it drives the front wheels only. We spent a few days with a $43,545 T4 in Momentum trim to find out how it differs from its h

2020 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 DIESEL GETS 33 MPG HWY Chevrolet  has released EPA fuel economy numbers for the new  diesel-powered Silverado 1500 , and they're impressive. The  2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500  with the 3.0-liter Duramax engine delivers up to 23/33 mpg city/highway. This number puts it ahead of the  2019 Ford F-150  diesel, the most economical  Ford  truck at 22/30 mpg. When opting for four-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive, fuel economy on the Silverado diesel drops to 23/29 mpg, but it's still ahead of a comparable F-150 diesel at 21/28 mpg. The current  Ram 1500  Classic diesel nets 20/27 mpg, but these numbers are practically irrelevant given that the automaker is coming out with a brand new 2020 EcoDiesel. Fuel economy has not yet been announced for the  new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel , so we don't know if  Chevy  will be able to hold its claim to best-in-category fuel economy. But we do know  Ram  also plans to get ahead of Ford. Cargo capacities f

THESE PHOTOS SHOW WHY THE UNIMOG AND G-WAGEN ARE THE MIGHTIEST MERCEDES Rolling up to any event in  Mercedes-Benz G-class —whether it's shiny or covered in mud—is always impressive, but if you really want to make a statement, a monster Unimog in golden yellow with a crew cab would be damn hard to beat. Sure, you can't really park it on most streets and its four-cylinder engine only makes 231 horsepower (the original 1949 Unimog had just 25 horses, though), but it looks totally bad-ass. To celebrate milestone anniversaries for the two vehicles,  Mercedes-Benz gathered these icons for a photo shoot in what the marque calls a "summit of the off-road giants." The G-wagen is celebrating its 40-year anniversary in 2019, while the  short-nose Unimog  is marking its 70th year in production after initial designs started in 1946. Fun fact: Unimog is short for "Universal-Motorgerät," or "Universal Motor Machine," and was initially conceived as a multipu

HONDA CIVIC SI VS. HYUNDAI ELANTRA SPORT: BARGAIN SPORT COMPACT COMPARISON Let's clear this up right away: If you're looking for the ultimate performance  Honda  or  Hyundai , the 2019 Civic Si and 2019 Elantra Sport aren't your bag. Save your pennies for a  Civic Type R  or  Veloster N , two of the best-driving sport compacts to hit the streets, since, well, ever. They're the A-team, if you will: lots of horsepower, lots of performance, not much coin. For those who can't make the price leap, don't like hatchbacks, or hate higher insurance premiums, both Honda and Hyundai offer slightly less thrilling but more efficient options. They're less expensive, too. The Civic Si and Elantra Sport are the B-team in the two automakers' sport compact lineups. On some level, I feel for the engineers responsible for the Civic Si and Elantra Sport. With the 306-hp Type R and 275-hp Veloster N sitting at the top of the ladder, starting at around $30,000 and the

SURVIVING DEATH VALLEY IN A VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS CROSS SPORT PROTOTYPE "Water with ice, or whiskey. I don't recommend beer." Thomas Drees, senior vice president of engineering for  Volkswagen 's North American Region, is explaining his field-expedient method for testing temperature sensors. Prototypes like the 2020  Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport  parked outside can have more than 400 of them attached, and even one reading wrong can ruin a test. Ice water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Out there where the prototypes are parked, it's 103 and rising. After all, it's only 8 a.m. in California's Death Valley, and it's July. It'll be 118 this afternoon. Automakers from around the world come here around this time to perform hot weather testing.  Mercedes-Benz ,  Hyundai , and  Genesis  prototypes were all seen in the vicinity. It's not just the consistent heat but also the topography. Death Valley is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet belo

4 Reasons Why the C8 Corvette Will Let the Camaro Thrive Have you heard the rumor?  Chevrolet  is killing the Camaro. Apparently, the current sixth-generation car will soldier on 'till the early 2020s, then cruise into the sunset. Chevrolet is said to have commenced development of a seventh-generation Camaro, but after some soul searching (and a look at the numbers), decided to cancel the program and stretch the lifespan of today's car. After that, the Camaro will die. Nonsense. Thanks to the C8  2020 Chevrolet Corvette , the Camaro isn't going anywhere. Here's why. Front-engine fun At the C8 launch, Chevrolet acknowledged that the  move to mid-engine  was because the front-engine layout had reached its zenith. Chevrolet's own Camaro seems to contradict that. Even with its base turbo I-4 engine, the Camaro  shines on track  with the 1LE package. We called  our long-term  V-8, six-speed-equipped SS "A revelation," concluding that

KIA STINGER GT420 IS A ONE-OFF TRACK CAR WITH 422 HP A sad truth of prototype vehicles is that once they've fulfilled their purpose, they're most often sent to the crusher. Because pre-production prototypes cannot be sold to the public or registered, automakers often choose to destroy them rather than keep them in storage. Such was the intended fate of  Kia  Motors UK's very first  Stinger  prototype. However, an "unfortunate and mysterious delay" prevented the car from being picked up for its date with oblivion. That gave the Kia U.K. product and PR teams time to hatch a plan to save the special car, which was used for final testing and tuning for the U.K. market and appeared on  Top Gear  and on the covers of several car magazines. The 422-hp Stinger GT420 track car is the result of that plan. Once the teams got approval, the  Hyundai  Motor Europe Technical Center in Rüsselsheim, Germany, got involved. The powertrain specialists from HMETC added HKS spa

Review: The 2020 Subaru Outback is Ready for Adventure In its sixth generation, the Outback becomes more impressive off pavement than on I had no choice. I couldn't reverse; behind me was a line of 2020  Subaru  Outbacks like mine, ready to proceed. Ahead, the steep trail vanished over a crest. I exhaled, pulled the shifter into drive, and released the brake. The Outback has been a runaway success for Subaru, tallying over 1.8 million sales from the  launch of the first generation  in 1995 to the model now on its way out. Although Subaru North America would have liked more revolution than evolution in design, decision makers in Japan chose to  stay the course . Still, parties on each side of the planet are proud of the completely re-engineered underpinnings, which are stiffer and allow for crumple zones designed around future NHTSA crash tests. In idyllic Mendocino, California, along the Pacific coast, Highway 1's sweepers, hairpins, and rolling elevation de

Nissan to Cut at Least 10 Percent of Global Lineup Through 2022 Along with cutting 12,500 jobs,  Nissan  plans to trim at least 10 percent of its global lineup, the automaker announced last week. The product cuts will happen through March 2022 and will focus mainly on small vehicles,  Automotive News  reports. Nissan isn't the only one affected by the product cuts; its  Infiniti  luxury division and the Datsun brand in emerging markets are also included. In the U.S. market, Nissan could axe cars and focus more on crossovers. The new Versa, however, appears to be spared because of its appeal to price-sensitive buyers, according to AutoPacific analyst Ed Kim who spoke with  Automotive News . On the other end of the spectrum, sports coupes may end up getting dropped because of low demand.  Nissan's 370Z , which is more than a decade old, and the  Infiniti Q60  have seen sales plummet 35.8 percent and 48.8 percent, respectively, year to date. SUVs and crossover

AUDI RS Q8 LAUNCHES THIS YEAR, MORE RS SUVS TO COME We've seen  prototypes of the Audi RS Q8  running around, but apparently, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to high-performance SUVs from the automaker. Speaking with  Autocar ,  Audi Sport managing director Oliver Hoffmann said there will be RS variants of almost every Audi SUV. "We have to stretch our portfolio and the SUV segment is the segment with the most growth," Hoffmann said. "There is high demand from our customers for high-performance SUVs," adding that the RS Q8 launches this year. This will be the first in a wave of RS-badged SUVs from Audi. Although we don't know what will be under the sheetmetal, it's possible the RS Q8 will inherit a version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 found in the  Lamborghini Urus , where it makes 641 hp. While saying "nothing is official at this stage," the report from  Autocar  claims Audi Sport is said to be developing RS ver

2020 Audi S7 With Mild Hybrid Tech Starts at $84,895 Audi  has announced the  updated S7 Sportback  will start at $84,895. Although it shares a powertrain with the S6, the  2020 Audi S7  is quite a bit more expensive than that  $74,895 sedan . Still, the S7 is less expensive than the  2019 Lexus GS  F sedan, which starts at $85,595. And if you want to look at it this way, it's a bargain compared to the  similarly potent Porsche Panamera GTS  that's priced from $129,550. Audi  has announced the  updated S7 Sportback  will start at $84,895. Although it shares a powertrain with the S6, the  2020 Audi S7  is quite a bit more expensive than that  $74,895 sedan . Still, the S7 is less expensive than the  2019 Lexus GS  F sedan, which starts at $85,595. And if you want to look at it this way, it's a bargain compared to the  similarly potent Porsche Panamera GTS  that's priced from $129,550.