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After all the forum fights and magazine banter, what do you think when you imagine the Subaru BRZ? Tearing up back roads and race tracks? Hype beast influencers in overpriced streetwear posted outside the boba joint? What about the hotheaded kid thinking they’re Ken Gushi slamming into a wall and ruining insurance rates for prospective buyers? The Subaru BRZ and its Toyota twin mean many things to many people and have amassed a vivid reputation as an affordable driver’s car. But forget the endless stereotypes behind every Toyobaru and ponder this.

Sports cars were always a bone thrown our way whenever business was booming or when companies needed a four-wheeled hype person for the brand. Now more than ever, they’re an endangered species, constantly coming and going and inflaming our anxiety over a future without any real driver’s cars left. Thankfully, the Subaru BRZ is here, brandishing its pure intentions in the least offensive way possible in an age where cars are gradually getting more… Beige. And I don’t mean color. The current BRZ is not merely a good sports car for the modern era. It’s driving excellence and all the sports car you’ll ever need.

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• Specs
• Design
• Price
• Interior and tech
• The tiniest GT
• Driving excellence

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Price and specs

Note that we’re looking at our loaner from the perspective of the recently updated 2024 model, as pricing will be adjusted to reflect the most recent updates. A goodie bag of added standard safety equipment inflated pricing out of being a sub-$30,000 car. But let’s face it. Destination, taxes, and annoying markup meant these were never sub-$30,000 cars, anyway. Thankfully, all BRZs across all trims and model years are pretty much mechanically identical, so that should make your window shopping a little easier.

Subaru BRZ: learn more at CarGurus

Base price (2024):	$31,315
As-tested price (2024):	$33,815
Engine:	2.4-liter flat-four
Transmission:	6-speed manual
Drivetrain:	rear-wheel drive
Power:	228 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm
Torque:	184 pound-feet @ 3,700 rpm
Redline:	7,400 rpm
Weight:	2,815 pounds
Zero-to-60 mph:	5.4 seconds
¼-mile:	13.9 seconds @ 101 mph
MPG:	20 city, 27 highway, 22 combined
Observed MPG:	28.7
Fuel Capacity:	13.2 gallons

(Author’s Note: Performance numbers reflected in Car and Driver’s review from January 2022. Our press loaner is a straggler from 2022, but pricing has been adjusted to reflect the equivalent 2024 car.)

BRZ exterior design

This second generation of Subaru BRZ wowed its fanbase with a premium and aggressive redesign, conjuring visions of cars that cost tens of thousands of dollars more. Everything from the steeply swept-back headlights to the fender vents screams honest-to-goodness sports car, while the profile stays true to the long-nose, short-deck formula that makes legendary sports car designs of old so iconic. 

If you find this overall design unattractive, you should be condemned to a lifetime behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Mirage (uh, duh, I’m still going to link that). Count your blessings we even have cars that look like this in such a price range. 

Any foibles with the BRZ stem from Subaru’s tweaks to differentiate it from its Toyota counterpart and better suit the Subaru design language. The lack of a decklid spoiler that this car desperately needs and the quirky hexagonal smile are apparently what makes a Subaru a Subaru. However, shoutout to the World Rally Blue Pearl paint, a redeeming quality that’s never done justice in photos or press material. This is an upscale color that anyone with functioning eyeballs would enjoy, even against the dark, hazy fog of an autumn evening in Monterey.

What’s hot?

– A refreshing palette cleanser for what good driver inputs are – Potent engine drastically improves speed and acceleration – Lightning fast on even the tightest of roads – Shocking comfort and compliance over the worst pavement – Easily beats its EPA mileage figures – More than practical enough for everyday use

BRZ pricing breakdown

Fascinating! The cheap budget sports car is priced cheap for buyers on a budget. Pricing on 2024 models reportedly begins at $31,315 for the base Premium, which includes a $1,050 destination charge. Shoot for a Limited like ours, and the price jumps to $33,815, which gifts your less-than-frugal spending with suede interior accents, heated seats, larger 18-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer tires, an upgraded audio system, and cornering headlights.

The recent price increase does afford Subaru’s EyeSight safety systems as standard on all models, including manual transmission-equipped cars. Now wannabe tofu delivery drivers can enjoy the extra watchful eyes of adaptive cruise control, collision prevention, lane departure warning, and lead car start warning. A new high-performance tS model also enters the lineup at $36,465 rocking a blue-accented interior, Brembo brakes, and retuned dampers by Hitachi.

As for options, there aren’t many. At least not in the way of performance or amenity-altering packages. What you see on any trim of BRZ is what you get, with the only main option being your choice of an automatic transmission on Limited cars for $950. Prior model years offered automatics on both Premium and Limited trims.

BRZ interior and tech

As expected for the price range the Subaru BRZ is pretty sparse compared to today’s crop of sport compacts and sports cars. It’s almost like a Lotus Elise to their Bentley Continental. But in all seriousness, there’s everything you need and little of what you don’t. The interior is a modernized evolution of the previous car, with a flat dashboard that’s great for resting stuff (or mounting aftermarket gauge pods) on road trips. The lower portion of the passenger side just above the glove box could’ve been a neat shelf, but oh well. 

The digital cluster that switches between a circular and bar-style tach in Track mode is a fantastic touch and can display heaps of performance and trip info. But the real star is the 8-inch touchscreen, leaps and bounds ahead in quality and functionality than any head unit to have come in BRZs before. It’s quick to your touch, runs Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay without a hitch, and is well-integrated instead of resembling some tacked-on afterthought from Circuit City. Also included on our Limited tester was blind spot monitoring, adaptive cornering lights, and a six-speaker stereo that bumps quite hard for what it is.

Again, note that 2024 models include the aforementioned suite of EyeSight tech as standard, even with manual transmissions, a first for the BRZ. So add adaptive cruise and the litany of safety warnings. So new buyers can finally drive more at ease on their way to the hillclimb route. Even so, the BRZ is not a complicated car, as much of its cost goes towards handling and driving involvement first and foremost. But how has that affected its ability to be used as just a normal car? Surprisingly, not much at all.

The tiniest grand tourer

Deceptively accommodating

I knew the Subaru BRZ would be exemplary in the twisties. That’s not news. Ultimate enjoyment is what it was bred for. But a day in Los Angeles and hundreds of miles traversing the BRZ’s antithesis, the American freeway system, highlighted a hidden side to the BRZ I never knew existed.

It’s just a damn fine car. Like, a car car. Just a car. You can use it as a normal-ass car with minimal compromises. Who would’ve thought? Not me. Not when a majority of the BRZs and 86s I’ve experienced have been purpose-built for performance and modified to high hell. But there’s a lot to get jiggy with in a stock BRZ.

The interior, even if you’re a six-and-a-half-foot walking tree like this one 86/BRZ fanatic friend of mine, is plenty spacious. Seats are comfortable enough for my journey up the coast, with supportive bolstering that’s not intrusive and heated seats that comically range from “eh, kind of warm” to “WELCOME TO HELL.” The trunk swallowed two large backpacks and a medium-ish duffle bag with ease, and anything extra my adventuring buddy or I needed was able to be shoehorned in the gaps. Worst case scenario, the rear seats, useless to anyone over the age of 8, make for secure luggage shelves. Visibility was top-notch, and the digital gauges and touchscreen were within easy reach and perfectly legible in the dead of night or midday.

These traits make for an excellent everyday commuter in the dense concrete jungle of LA. Tight parking garages, battered side streets, and narrow alleys were no problem for something this small. However, the low-slung ride means you’ll still have to take the steepest driveways at an angle. God help you if you’re on coilovers.

The pride of Japan versus American highways

Most impressive was the BRZ’s highway manners cruising up Route 1 and 101 from LA to Monterey chasing GRIDLIFE Laguna. The EPA rates our manual-equipped tester at 27 mpg on the highway. That’s a little pessimistic. Set our cruise control to 75, and my friend and I saw an easy 30 to 32 mpg for most of our highway journey and averaged over 28 mpg during our entire press loan. In cities and towns, I was seeing around 21 to 22, also besting the EPA estimate of 20 mpg. Trips to the gas station won’t be as frequent as you think.

This runt tracks straight on its factory alignment, making highway excursions less of a chore, and its sound-deadening is commendable enough if not anything to write home about. Ride quality was the true standout on California pavement, however. Expansion joints, potholes, and gravel were no match for unfathomably compliant suspension tuning in such an inexpensive, short-wheelbase performance vehicle. Dare I say this is the world’s smallest grand tourer? It’s that livable in stock form.

Like many great split-personality cars, its dulled edge almost makes you forget just how potent of a performer it is. And this the Subaru BRZ is as distilled of an experience as modern sports cars come.

An example of driving excellence

Say it with me. It’s quick.

Subaru heard your cries about the last car’s motor. They said, “Shut the hell up, we’re working on it.”

And so they have. Because this FA24 flat-four is a skittish, leash-tugging sweetheart. Aside from making some disconcertingly agricultural noises, especially low in the rev range, it’s surprisingly smooth and oh-so willing to zing right up to its redline. 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet feels a hell of a lot more potent in this car than those numbers suggest, and it’s more of a mind twist to learn how these second-gen cars are starting to punch above their weight.

The added grunt and near-elimination of the infamous torque dip equate to magazine test numbers that are consistently within a stone’s throw from more powerful turbo-four and V6 pony cars. The BRZ rewards you with short gearing that not only aids acceleration but also encourages you to enjoy the art of rowing gears. Screw the old stereotypes because the new BRZ is genuinely quick. It’s quick. I’ve driven Porsches, AMG GTs, and Corvette ZR1s and have ridden in Model S Plaids, so say this with me. The current Subaru BRZ with its FA24 is quick.

It’s a shame this spritely powertrain is neutered by one of the most intrusive fuel cuts. It stops the party if you edge just a smidge too far past the redline, which is easy to do with such short gears and a quick-revving engine and doesn’t seem to restore power until somewhere above 7,100 rpm. What. Horse. Shit. Why such a harsh cut was implemented baffles me. But it’s the BRZ/86 platform, after all, so it’s nothing a tune can’t fix. Hard rev limiter, anyone?

Decent powertrain. Impressive, even. Now Subaru, please resolve the on-track oiling issues. No, I will not elaborate. You know well enough.

With beauty and grace

From the countryside back roads behind the Monterey hills to harrowing downhill canyons of Malibu, the BRZ makes short work of them all. There’s no real drive mode aside from Track, which cuts out stability and traction control. Just slot this tinker toy in gear, drop the hammer, and disappear beyond the apexes, a daunting feat made brainless by this well-balanced machine.

It darts. It dives. Despite its seemingly relaxed factory alignment, it attacks corners with an eagerness and tenacity that’d have Cayman-killers like an Integra Type S on high alert on your average touge. And that supple ride I adored so much means you can still haul ass around the most tattered bends and hold the line without upsetting the chassis or shattering your spine.

The brakes were decent. The firm pedal and strong performance inspired confidence on the tightest of asphalt ribbons high in the hills, but the sheer speed you can carry so nonchalantly quickly produced the all-too-familiar aroma of burning pads at the end of a particular Malibu canyon. Track rats may want to consider more resilient pads and fluid or jump ship to the tS and its larger Brembos. 

The steering, although a step back in weighting from the deliciously hefty and natural rack of the previous-gen cars, is Porsche precise. I’m never making second guesses in the corners. Never having to adjust. The only steering corrections made were when trying to let the rear end stretch its legs a little, but against the stereotypes, it was a task that proved to be trickier at slower canyon speeds with my Limited tester’s Michelin summer rubber. Still, that level of capability paired with such beauty and grace makes you feel like a real hero. There’s a fluidity in the way this car moves that’s hard to match, resulting in one of the most confidence-inspiring and rewarding cars to hustle.

What’s not?

– Abysmal fuel cut at redline – Groaning engine noises – Infamous on-track reliability concerns are always looming – More standard features mean a higher price tag for 2024 – Rear seats are little more than an extra storage shelf (see how hard I’m nitpicking here?) – The Toyota GR86 exists

The Ghost of Akina lives on, with or without a Toyota badge

Halfway through our loan, with that blue pearl paint glistening under the NorCal sun that had just unsheathed itself from the clouds, I already knew everything I wanted to say about the BRZ. The review had written itself by the time the car arrived for the second day of GRIDLIFE Laguna, yet I was dreading the moment I had to give it back. It’s such a sweetheart on any occasion.

But despite all it gets right, you can’t help but feel that the BRZ gets its toes stepped on by its more youthful twin, the Toyota GR86. The suspension is tuned to favor rotation on track, and many find the GR’s simpler mug and the available lip spoiler to be the “proper” look, all for a marginally lower price. But I suppose if you’re a die-hard Subaru loyalist or find the more mature appeal of the BRZ to be your jam, that’s also fine. Either way, you’ll have the privilege of piloting one of the best driver’s cars ever made, and that’s no hyperbole.

Few cars nowadays cater as fervently to enthusiasts as the Subaru BRZ without soiling their merits as possible tofu delivery vehicles. One moment, you’re meandering around town, smashing potholes and darting through alleyways easily and efficiently. The next, you’re Keiichi Tsuchiya showing Max Orido how it’s done on the Gunsai Touge on some episode of Best Motoring. That type of euphoria should be celebrated! Because in an age of increased borification, who doesn’t love a genuine, tactile, old-fashioned, row-your-own, free-breathing, rear-drive, lightweight pocket rocket of a sports car?

Not this guy. I’ll take a tS in World Rally Pearl, please.

The Japan Mobility Show is back! After a four-year hiatus in the wake of that dastardly pandemic, the show formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show is now at the forefront of Japanese mobility, rather than purely focusing on automobiles.

But at Acceleramota, we are here for the car concepts. And even though there has been a steady stream of PHEVs in 2023, the Japan Mobility Show always brings funky concepts. There also seems to be a focus on driving pleasure from many companies this time around, which the South Korean boys across the pond seem to be focused on too, cough, cough Ioniq 5 N.

Obviously, the future of the automobile is electric. Almost every vehicle this time around includes some sort of EV powertrain and with the amount of EV tax credits being thrown around, they better be!

Nissan Hyper Force EV

Hyper Force! The name is straight out of No Game No Life into reality at the Japan Mobility Show. Nissan certainly brought its A-game with this all-electric, cyberpunk-esque sports car. Beneath the surface is a (theoretical) solid-state battery and an advanced form of Nissan’s e-4ORCE all-wheel control technology. And oh yeah, the Hyper Force has a high-strength carbon-fiber body and plasma-actuated active aero. So you can actually use the supposed 1,341 horsepower on track.

Nissan isn’t trying to hide that the Hyper Force EV is a successor to the GT-R. I mean, it used current GT-R badging (just for the Japan Mobility Show), and it has R and GT drive modes. Although it’s just a concept for now, most of the more tangible and conventional tech and design features will make it past the Japan Mobility Show.

If none of that piques your interest, Nissan brought the cockpit to life together with Polyphony Digital, the team behind Gran Turismo. When in R mode, you’ll see red ambient lighting and side screens with track data. GT mode gives you the iconic blue lighting, and Gran Turismo-inspired A/C and suspension settings graphics.

Mazda Iconic SP

Rotary is back, baby! Under the core pursuit of the “Joy of Driving,” Mazda unveiled the Iconic SP at the Japan Mobility Show. 

It uses a two-rotor engine and an EV system powered by batteries. The two-rotor system can be powered by hydrogen or other carbon-neutral fuels, and the electric motors by a conventional EV battery. This center-mounted powertrain allows for a high power output combined with a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Even Mazda’s proposed specs are quite impressive, as seen below.

Overall length x width x height	164.5 × 72.8 × 45.3 in
Wheelbase	101.9 in
Power-weight ratio	8.7 lbs/hp, 3.9 kg/hp
Horsepower	364 hp
Weight	3,196 lbs, 1,450 kg

It’s a looker too! The Iconic SP is painted in a new vivid Mazda color, Viola Red, which is lighter and brighter than the current Mazda hallmark, Soul Red. Other exterior features include the usual sharp Mazda front headlights, a swooping Miata-like silhouette, and double crescent rear lights. Safe to say, Mazda killed it at the Japan Mobility Show.

Mitsubishi D:X Concept

No, it’s not a new Yu-Gi-Oh! game, it’s Mitsubishi’s return to the Delica brand at the Japan Mobility Show. Dubbed the Delica of the future, the D:X is a futuristic electric crossover MPV. 

A design embodying “Maximum Space and Safety for Humans, Maximum Off-Roader for Boundaryless Adventure”

Mitsubishi Motors

For maximum spaciousness, it’s got a Delica-style side window and a front windshield that wraps around to the bottom, making the hood area see-through. A minimalist exterior design is not revolutionary. But some distinct Mitsubishi T-shaped front and rear laser lights give it some much-needed character in an ocean of boring EUVs. Front, side, and rear skid protection adds to the rugged feel and protects the copper paint when you’re out glamping.

Of course, the D:X also has a plug-in hybrid EV powertrain. You can use the hybrid mode for long trips and the EV mode when driving daily. A reinforced rib-bone monobox used in the Delica D:5 also makes its return.

Inside, the D:X has a minimalist tan leather accented cabin plus six old-school swivel fabric seats. A smaller addition is the 3D Yamaha sound system, which should make Oktoberfest trips a blast. Really, there’s a lot to like about Mitsubishi’s appearance at the Japan Mobility show and the future of the company.

Toyota Electric Land Cruiser Se

Toyota’s full-size SUV is back in electric form. The Land Cruiser Se uses a monocoque body construction rather than the previous body-on-frame for a quieter BEV experience. It also improves on-road handling with a bit of sacrifice on the durability end.  Toyota also plans to manufacture the Land Cruiser Se along with other EVs in the U.S. with LG supplying the EV batteries.

The most radical changes are on the outside though with distinct Land Cruiser side vent graphics. It retains the square shape but the more minimalist lines seem to indicate a new Toyota era is on the way.

Toyota FT-Se

The FT-Se is Toyota’s version of a sports car future. Rumored to be the spiritual successor to the much-loved Celica and MR2, the FT-Se is an all-wheel drive EV and will be fueled by a “prismatic” battery. Although the two-seater format indicates it could be close to the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ. One of the most interesting features is a “manual mode” to simulate gear changes in the name of driving fun. Toyota president, Koji Sato, also noted that other future BEVs could have the feature as well.

The FT-Se shares major components with the FT-3e. Toyota set out to create a car that will grow with the driver through software updates.

Toyota is keeping its cards close with this one but announced at the Japan Mobility Show that it could see production in late 2027.

Toyota FT-3e

If you’re thinking Toyota is slowing down anytime soon, the FT-3e has you already beaten. Rumors of this mid-size SUV started swirling in 2022. So, it’s almost guaranteed that Toyota will release a multitude of different vehicles on this future BEV platform. Its Lexus sister brand unveiled its LF-ZL, a more luxurious version with similar body proportions.

The focus of this SUV is sustainability. Toyota’s interpretation of this is adding an exterior upper door section display which shows the battery state of charge. Additionally, it shows the interior temperature, and air quality when the driver approaches the car.

Toyota EPU (electric pickup truck)

You’re a truck guy. So you’ll probably be the first in line for Toyota’s pickup truck future. The EPU is a mid-size electric pickup truck based on the current Hilux. North America will likely receive an American-size version like the Tacoma, but details further than the concept itself are scarce, so there’s no guarantee. You can’t help but compare it to the Rivian R1T though, which may be a testament to how Toyota has fallen behind in the EV race and seems to be playing catch-up already.

Welcome to Johnson Valley, home of rocks, rattlesnakes, and the legendary King of the Hammers off-road racecourse. Last year, Johnson Valley also played host to the gnarliest dynamic vehicle launch of my automotive career, when Ford brought media out for a day of technical rock crawling, high-speed whoop running, lakebed autocross, and straight-up jumping (on purpose) in the absolutely manic Bronco Raptor. And today, it’s the perfect setting for Chevrolet to pull out the stops in a bit of one-upmanship by debuting the new Colorado ZR2 Bison, the Chevy Colorado’s most hardcore off-roading package. In fact, Chevy unveiled an entirely new “Bison Family” at Johnson Valley including the Silverado’s Light Duty and Heavy Duty variants. But for a real King of the Hammers experience, a Colorado jam-packed with goodies from American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) definitely takes the cake.

I showed up to Johnson Valley with plenty of experience driving a “base” Colorado ZR2 on the Vegas to Reno off-road racecourse earlier this year. Over that three-day adventure,  I somehow planted enough seeds of confidence among Chevy’s PR and engineering teams that they planned a one-on-one afternoon for me and GM’s Engineering Group Manager Tim Demetrio to take a Bison even further off the beaten path and hopefully find some Raptor-style ripping and rock crawling to fully reveal the new truck’s impressive off-roading capabilities.

(Editor’s Note: Updated 3/1/2024 with pricing and fuel economy information.)

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• Specs
• Design
• Pricing breakdown
• Interior and tech
• Hardcore performance
• Thunderous capability

Price and Specs

Price is currently unknown as this is an especially new, fresh-off-the-drawing-board model that we’ve had the privilege of reviewing. However, do expect it to sticker at a healthy increase over the non-Bison ZR2’s $48,295, further detailed in our pricing breakdown. In the interim, please enjoy the specs we were given, juiced up with extra off-road-centric figures for your sand-kicking pleasure. 

Base price:	$60,995 ($48,395 for ZR2, $11,700 for Bison pack, $445 for necessary Safety Pack)
As-test price:	Approx. $65,000
Engine:	High-Output 2.7-liter turbocharged inline-four
Transmission:	8-speed automatic
Drivetrain:	RWD/4Hi/4Lo with electronically locking front and rear differentials
Power:	310 horsepower
Torque:	430 pound-feet
Weight:	5,265 pounds
Tow rating:	5,500 pounds
Max payload:	1,050 pounds
Tires:	LT315/70R17 Mud-Terrains (35” OD)
Approach angle:	38.2°
Departure angle:	26.0°
Breakover angle:	26.9°
MPG:	16 city, 16 highway, 16 combined
Fuel Capacity:	21 gallons

Chevrolet Colorado: learn more at CarGurus

ZR2 Bison Exterior Design

The Colorado received a ground-up redesign for the third generation, seemingly taking plenty of styling and engineering cues from the Toyota Tacoma. Boxy, angular headlights up front transition to a square body with subtle fender flares on lower-spec trucks and more aggressive details on the ZR2 and Bison. The entire lineup comes only in the most popular crew cab with a short bed configuration, which unfortunately renders long beds and extra cabs extinct.

Spotting a Bison from afar, versus a base ZR2, requires 20:20 vision. Up close, the steel bumpers and 17-inch wheels from AEV stand out as slightly more off-road-focused. An additional 1.5 inches of ride height over the ZR2’s 3.0-inch lift contributes to a bolder stance that the 35-inch mud-terrain tires only enhance.

What’s hot?

– Sublime Multimatic suspension with new hydraulic jounce control bumpers – Improved tech with trick four-wheeling drive modes – Ventilated seats!

ZR2 Bison Pricing Breakdown

The full Bison package adds a set of Multimatic’s hydraulic jounce control bumpers (more on those later) to complement the spectacular Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers that already make the ZR2 an impressively specced pickup from the factory. AEV then contributes the steel bumpers, hot-stamped boron-steel skid plates, and rock sliders to protect the truck from the toughest trails. Those 35-inch tires are Goodyear Wrangler Territory Mud-Terrains mounted on beadlock-capable wheels that measure a half-inch wider than the ZR2’s.

Chevrolet plans to announce pricing for the Bison closer to the start of production, but we know that the 2023 ZR2 stickered for an impressive $48,395, and adding the Bison package to the Silverado ZR2 ran about $8,000. However, the Colorado’s full spec sheet tacks on more than the Silverado received, mostly in the form of tires and those hydraulic jouncers, so expect the Colorado Bison to slot in just shy of $60,000 — critically, a step below Ford’s pricing for the F-150 and Bronco Raptors that start in the high-$60,000 range, and in line with the Ranger Raptor that starts at a smidge above $55,000. Avoiding that level of sticker shock clearly fits into the plan, since nearly half of Colorado ZR2 buyers count as conquest customers switching to Chevrolet for the first time.

Update! Surprise, surprise. We were right on the money at $60,000, as ticking the Bison option box on your spec sheet adds an extra $11,700 on top of the base ZR2’s price tag.

ZR2 Bison Interior and Tech

Redesigning the Colorado for a third generation included a desperately needed step up for the trucks’ interior and technology. For the first time, an 11.3-inch touchscreen crowning the dash includes Google Built-In as well as Wireless Apple CarPlay, while the four-wheel-drive controls move to piano keys and knobs located close to the gear shifter and, therefore, the driver’s right hand. 

The Colorado’s front seats can fit taller drivers with ease, though the rear bench feels tight even with the front seats scooted fairly far forward. Four-legged friends will no doubt enjoy the rear ergonomics, but the relative lack of real liveable space makes the decision to skip an extra cab and long bed configuration all the more confusing. But most importantly, the Bison package includes ventilated seats, which all desert rats know as the greatest piece of automotive engineering ever and what the standard ZR2 surprisingly lacked.

The most hardcore Colorado possible

A race-ready powerhouse

Significant updates to the exterior, interior, and tech should help the entire Colorado lineup stand up to competition from Toyota’s Tacoma and Ford’s Ranger. But really, the whole point of hitting Johnson Valley in a Bison was to show off what’s going on beneath the skin (some of which is easily visible, to be fair). The off-roading goodies arrive hot off years of testing by Chevrolet’s factory efforts with Chad Hall Racing at the full calendar of events including King of the Hammers, but also the Mint 400, Vegas to Reno, and more. 

Chasing Chad Hall himself across Nevada from behind the wheel of a base ZR2 showed off the difference (other than race tires) between the ZR2 and Bison, but now the time has arrived for Demetrio to take me out in Johnson Valley and prove it. We left the rest of the group behind a bit surreptitiously, but once out of view behind a small hill, Demetrio gave me the go-ahead and I tipped deep into throttle. The High-Output version of Chevy’s new-ish 2.7-liter inline-four takes a minute to build turbo boost before unleashing all 430 lb-ft of torque. But really, when it comes to off-road in the slippery stuff, instantaneous response may only lead to wheelspin, anyway.

Once up into the powerband, though, I trusted the Bison with a loose hand on the reins and my faith in that magical suspension setup and its revised mounting points. Sure enough, after charging over whoops and blasting up rutted washes, this version of the Colorado takes comfort and confidence to a new level despite me doing my darnedest to slide around and apply plenty of countersteer. Catching air under the front and rear axles never bottomed out the DSSV dampers. Not once. Or at least, as Demetrio explained, it never felt that way. 

A proper chassis for a proper performance vehicle

The hydraulic jounce bumpers create that illusion by absorbing and dissipating impacts that more traditional rubber bump stops would absorb and then rebound back into the chassis. Of course, the 35s serve as the first and most important part of the entire suspension system, but the Multimatics help to control any perceived weight and balance concerns that bigger tires and more lift might otherwise create.

The resulting combination of trophy truck speed and nimble handling at the limits of traction also helps explain why Chevy ditched the diesel engine option for the new Colorado. The new gas four-banger puts out more torque, but in the desert, the diesel’s cast-iron block would have messed up the ZR2 and Bison’s front-to-rear weight balance. Instead, I can now click into two-wheel drive and lock the rear diff, which most manufacturers won’t allow, to produce some real hooning fun.

Fishtailing around as fast as possible never matches the sheer pace possible in 4-Auto or 4-Hi, though, and Demetrio and I only had so much time out on our own. After showing off the Colorado’s high-speed abilities, he also wanted to take me on some more hardcore rock crawling that the Bison’s additional armoring and bigger tires make possible. We ended up entirely over a far ridge, searching for the best route home while hopping over rocks and clambering up bouldered trails that, to my eye, looked more suitable for side-by-sides. And yet, once again the Bison just kept chugging along even as I truly tested the rock sliders and skid plates with some bangs and scrapes. 

Supreme confidence down Chocolate Thunder

Fear no boulders

Eventually, we wound up at the top of a KoH segment known as Chocolate Thunder (children, these off-roaders, I swear) and Demetrio explained how the Colorado’s new Terrain drive mode makes the most of an electronically assisted brake booster to create ideal one-pedal driving. Playing friendly, I switched over into Terrain mode and inched down the technical trail, occasionally using the front camera to help with visibility over the Colorado’s square hood (which might just be my least favorite part of the trucks, actually).

At points where I expected a wheel (or two) to lift off or lose traction after my experience with a ZR2, the Bison simply stayed put. That kind of articulation in a truck with independent front suspension and a leaf spring solid rear axle simply boggles the mind. Once again, the third gen’s revised suspension mounting points prove their worth. I still prefer two-foot driving while rock crawling, and can admit to leaving a bit more boron on the rocks of Chocolate Thunder. But once we got underway, I never felt anything near the kind of trepidation that crept in looking down from the top of the trail.

Baja Blastin’

Time to rejoin the group. Lost in our fun, we might even be running late. No problem. Pop out of Terrain mode and back into Baja, and it’s time to find the fastest way back to home base. Demetrio keeps telling me to push harder and stop slowing down for those whoops, how once during testing he saw the underside of a truck’s front diff while chasing another development engineer across the desert. Now we’re both laughing, the off-road children ourselves, amazed at how much punishment the Bison can take—without dishing it out on the driver or passenger. This truck rollicks like a bucking Bronco. Wait, no, a bucking Mustang. Dammit, like something that’s not a Ford product name!

Almost back to the group, I pepper Demetrio with a few questions of my own. Why no disconnecting sway bars, as on the Bronco or Jeep’s Gladiator and Wrangler? Well, other than added cost, the ZR2 and Bison both get locking front diffs that make a bigger difference while rock-crawling with a leaf spring rear axle than a sway-bar disconnect might. And how about some paddle shifters to keep that 2.7L in the power band? A grimace and not-so-subtle “no comment” in response, so I blame the bean counters here, though at least Demetrio’s team recalibrated Baja mode after my incessant complaining about weird shifting throughout the Vegas to Reno ZR2 drive. Should I truly take credit? Who knows, but it’s always nice to think someone, anyone, maybe in a blue moon, ever listens to us journalists.

What’s not?

– Only available as a crew cab w/ short bed – Competitive pricing is still expected to be fairly steep – Not the prettiest tool in Chevy’s shed, even if it is the sharpest

Off-road god mode without sacrificing on-road dynamics

Throughout our time at top speed or rock crawling, Demetrio never flinches. He believes in the Bison, and I’d like to think he even enjoyed some time watching me wheel around Johnson Valley somewhere near the absolute limit. But, perhaps as impressive as the off-roading capability the ZR2 delivers and the Bison package only enhances, somehow the most hardcore of Colorados still sacrifice little for on-road dynamics.

Sure, adding 35-inch tires without regearing the final drive ratio cuts a bit into even the High-Output engine’s low-end grunt. But out on the asphalt, those 430 pound-feet make for plenty of pep while daily driving. The glory of the Multimatics is how well the spool valves can fine-tune fluid flow for stability on the road as much as off, resulting in noticeably less body roll and chassis flex than the taller Bronco Raptor on its 37-inch tires.

And where the Braptor’s proportions peak in absurdity, with the rear hatch opened to reveal a tiny little cargo compartment, the Bison still comes with a truck bed (albeit a relatively small one). So buyers looking for a truck to daily drive, rip around the desert, or serve as the base for an overlanding build should be satisfied. What the new Tacoma TRD Pro or Ranger Raptor might have to say next year remains a mystery and exact pricing is obviously a big question mark. But, for now, the ZR2 Bison charges into uncharted territory in a class and segment all to its own.

Gearheads from all walks of life and every discipline congregate on the festival grounds, the sun setting on a hallowed race track tucked in the hills of California’s Central Coast. This particular weekend is a celebration of many firsts. The now-famed GRIDLIFE Festival, the traveling circus of American car culture, has accomplished numerous praise-worthy feats on the Monterey Peninsula in their nomadic quest for sharing all things cars and racing. Enter the first live concert at Laguna Seca in decades and the first running of Formula Drift cars down the infamous Corkscrew. It’s also the first GRIDLIFE Festival to make it past the Colorado Rockies, effectively enveloping the entire width of the country under the festival tour’s reach. And, with a hard tug at the heartstrings, it was this simple editor’s first music festival and motorsports gathering bunched together in a two-for-one deal. This is GRIDLIFE Laguna. And I’m honored to tell you all about it.

The destiny of a passion project years in the making

Years ago when I was barely old enough to take the wheel, I vaguely heard of GRIDLIFE through whispers and small-bit mentions in YouTube videos. Suddenly, here comes this moving party of beats and track battles across the Midwest and East Coast, enticing enthusiasts from all over the region to race all day and party all night at random tracks in the middle of nowhere.

Though a fresh offering to the community, it was quickly acclaimed and instantly likened to a real-life Forza Horizon, which was coincidentally released the year before the brand’s creation and less than two years before the inaugural festival. The core formula of headline musical performances preceded by HPDE and time attack runnings remains mostly unchanged as the festival expanded, visiting more venues, taking on more musicians, and adding more racing events for aspiring Sennas to get their fix, including new time attack classes and the wheel-to-wheel GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) series. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be for desert rats and beachgoers west of their Alpine Horizon Festival.

Aside from occasional club racing events in California, this nomadic party never set up shop farther than the Rockies. The reasons why are anyone’s guess. I had the privilege of chatting with Matt Farah of TheSmokingTire in October of 2017 at an event at my local oval track. We discussed the limitations of moving GRIDLIFE out west, with the key issue simply being finding the right venue. At the time, Farah dismissed Laguna Seca for its alleged lack of space, believing it to be too difficult, too compact, and too much of a logistical headache to ever host such a populous and colorful event at a relatively small location. Granted, this was a time when they were exclusively known for wide-open Midwestern and East Coast locales. And although disappointed, I agreed with the reasoning.

I’m sure he was ecstatic as I was to learn six years later we were dead wrong back then. 

Fog before the fury

Much to everyone’s excitement, the festival has accomplished its “Manifest Destiny” of sorts, connecting the coastlines with this year’s festival tour stop at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. While the circuit is no stranger to high-profile events and heaps of grandeur, this festival stands as the first true festival in California. Unfortunately, it was preemptively met with some minor environmental setbacks.

Intense coastal fog pumped the brakes hard on festivities before anyone fired a cylinder, delaying practice sessions by roughly three hours. Even arriving at the gate was an eerie sight as the hill that climbed towards the entrance was enveloped in a daunting haze that’d make any racing a treacherous gamble, at least when climbing the hill toward the Corkscrew. And although the sun eventually reared its head, frequent breezes fluctuated the backdrop of the first day between sunshine and Silent Hill, and the weather from, “yep, still somehow summer,” to “bloody chilly today, innit?” Fitting for Spooktober! But thankfully, no one’s spirits were dampened. Not one bit. 

As my friend and I ditched our BRZ loaner in general parking, no more than an unpaved and dusty hillside that served as its own inclined car show, we felt the eagerness of everyone around us. Inside the media briefing room, fellow content creators and photographers were giddy over this being their first GRIDLIFE or their first-ever visit to Laguna Seca, much like me. I recognized a few as bigger-name personalities, while others were simply there for personal media brands or to snag trackside content of cars from tuner shops they represent.

Even the backgrounds of those within the media room and their purposes for being there were as broad of a color palette as the cars in the paddock. But one thing we unanimously understood was that this weekend was going to be something extraordinary.

The ultimate variety show

Drivers and mechanics were quick to prepare for a weekend of racing because they knew when the first green flag dropped, it was going to be nonstop noise and adrenaline rush as officials cram every series into the now-tightened schedule. You see it on YouTube, but to witness grassroots motorsports and the cars involved is a whole new world of wonder. To me, at least.

Cars buzz up and down the pits between their staging areas and tents. The howling whines of some of the more purpose-built cars’ straight-cut gears can make your hair stand up, or at least that’s if their hellacious cold starts and bellowing exhausts didn’t already do that. Teammates or good friends masquerading as race techs scramble to ready fresh sets of tires as cars return from practice laps with a little less paint and a lot more grit than before. Many were keen to finish their morning’s work and park their rides so they could get a hearty breakfast fired up on a grill mere feet away from the suspiciously nearby jerry cans.

None of my business! But some of their morning-time munchies did smell delectable. You have to love the aroma of coffee, bacon, and race gas in the early hours. I’d say sunrise, but it’s not like you can still see anything over the start line bridge.

There was no need for a dedicated Cars N’ Coffee when all the eye candy you could ever want sits in the paddock. Although naturally, car people being car people, actual shows would still occur over the weekend. A whole assortment of metal flocked together before my colleague and me, from top-shelf supercars to the most charismatic of budget builds and even former Pikes Peak and endurance race cars given new leases on life. Nearly all of which – yes, even Porsches and McLarens – saw track time. 

There was a faux concours on the second day for attendees to showcase their rides while tire smoke choked out spectators and thundering engines rattled fencing nearby. Some cars were merely at the festival there for a good show. Others patiently awaited the HPDE sessions on the final day. So if you’re the stuck-up, styling-over-everything purist, even something as motorsports-centric as GRIDLIFE has something for you beyond rock-chipped fenders and missing bumpers.

Personal favorites among the non-competitors were easily the Integra Type R on Regamaster wheels and the Volvo 245 wagon with its lovably ‘80s paint job and split tri-spoke wheels. As for the actual racers, the definitely-not-a-stock Pontiac Firebird and LeMans prototypes took the cake for me for different reasons.

While not in Saturday’s concours, the Evasive Motorsports S2000RS race car, the competition variant of their Civic Type R-swapped S2000R, was still a noteworthy companion and rival to Larry Chen’s drift-and-track-built Toyota GR86. Inline-four versus flat-four. Turbocharged versus supercharged. Both are front-engined, rear-drive, compact sports coupes hailed as the quintessential purist’s choice of their time, and both were as aesthetically pleasing as time attack weapons can be and can easily be touted to the show car crowd as a case of having your car and driving it, too.

If I had to pick all-out favorites, I have to go with a tie between the AE86 Toyota Corolla pair in attendance. Yes, yes, call me predictable. Whatever. They’re cool! Slow cars are cool! And please, allow me to highlight one owned by SoCal’s own Fujiwara Tofu Cafe and lovably dressed up inside and out as Takumi’s AE86, circa Initial D: Fourth Stage. However, I’ll still give some love to the Nissan Z and S650-generation Ford Mustang GT at the concours, which were probably the newest hunks of metal in attendance.

It’s safe to say I was pretty damn impressed by the showing. I arrived expecting to see the common crop of sticky-tired Honda S2000s and Chevy Corvettes, which, don’t get me wrong, they showed up in droves. But let me tell you. I came away starstruck and slackjawed over the myriad of cars and characters on display, a testament to the sheer scope of what car culture is and who the people are representing it

And that’s another thing worth celebrating.

We the people

My god, the people. What an eclectic gathering of kindred spirits and fearsome competitors. I will admit I’ve grown to be a bit of a bitter asshole, primarily spurred by my toxic overindulgence in social media. “Everyone’s a clout chaser. Everyone’s a dick-measurer. Everyone’s a trend hopper.” Right. Well, I should’ve already known better from prior car gatherings, but I’ve always been stubborn. But I’m pleased to report that the shallow and cliquish mantra surrounding car culture on social media is nonexistent here. That mentality stays its lame ass on Instagram, because GRIDLIFE is all about real, tangible substance, and there wouldn’t be much without good people to provide it.

To hell with what you drive and how you built it. As long as it’s cool, as long as it’s you, and as long as you’re honest to your peers and yourself about who you are as one with the community. It’s not often I feel that the car people I encounter are the most authentic versions of themselves. So to be genuine and have that reflected in their personalities and their cars is humbling for me and inspires a new sense of confidence that we can be far more than any critic gives us credit. I even ran into some former colleagues who were racing in time attack, as well as other prominent automotive personalities who couldn’t have been any nicer.

Fenton Sun of Zygrene shared with me a press car contact so I can finally nail down an elusive S650 Mustang press car. Larry Chen gave me a suggestion for a new camera to buy and gave my friend a handful of his anime persona stickers. Chris Rosales and Peter Nelson of The Drive shared their weekend time attack experiences with their purposefully modified Civic Type R and BMW 128i, respectively. Every one of them, plus many more, stood as positive examples of kinship in car culture, which I could only ever wish was as widespread on the internet. Here on the Monterey Peninsula, however, I’ll stand on this hill and say it’s the definitive car community experience from which other niches should take notes. The only aggression to be found is when hunting for apexes.

Oh, and a big shoutout and best wishes to the lovely couple cosplaying as cowboy Ken and Barbie for Spooktober. Whatever you guys do, just know you’re Kenough. 

Competition-grade

But of course, many people didn’t show up to only see cool cars and meet cool people. Many paid good money to partake in this three-day crucible, a test of their cars and abilities and an homage to motorsports history on one of the best tracks to rage-quit on in Forza Motorsport. Let’s talk about some race cars and racing action! 

No quicker did the fog clear on the first day than racers took to the 2.2-mile ribbon of asphalt in front of them. Of course, the 987 Porsche Cayman and the horde of Hondas were easy and effective choices for tackling California’s finest. But the sense of whimsy in seeing retired police Crown Victoria fly beneath the Continental Tire arch is just as satisfying. You go, Crown Vic person! 

Fans of the unorthodox were surely pleased to see Rush SR race cars and Tesla Model 3 Challenge embark on their own crusades, the former of which competed in their inaugural season to promote what’s to be an affordable line of prototype-ish racers. One-liter screamers packed into a pint-sized, single-seat caricature of a Radical SR3 that starts under $40,000? Where do I apply for financing? Their goofy proportions and cutesy size made them a treat to see in the pits, and their blazing performance made them a hoot to battle.

And while certainly not as big of a fan favorite, there’s still love to be had for the Model 3 Challenge, taking otherwise pedestrian commuter EVs and skewing their sport sedan slider way down to the “Sport.” Such a niche-within-a-niche series not only serves to test the mettle of those willing to modify Teslas for battle but also as a study to see how high-performance driving affects EV batteries and how grassroots motorsports can adapt to the changing automotive landscape. Even if you dislike EVs, innovating ways to make a dreary toaster as rad as these deserve respect.

For fans of endurance car racing, there was no greater spectacle than witnessing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 race car battle with LMP3 prototypes and that oddball open-wheel Formula car. Piloted by Pikes Peak champ, Robin Schute, it was undoubtedly the fastest car of the weekend by a considerable margin for what I hope you all find to be self-explanatory reasons. Look at the damn thing. It’s not even fair. And while not an actual touring car, this particular GT3 RS in the Track Mod time attack class did a damn fine impression of an RSR or Cup car in both speed and ear-piercing noise and was easily my friend’s personal favorite car of the weekend.

There was always something to enjoy on any given day. It didn’t matter who you were or who you thought you were. Seasoned veteran or uninitiated, it mattered little. There was so much action spread across so many classes and price ranges that if you didn’t find something worthy of your love and attention, you needed a psych eval. Or perhaps you needed to sit closer to the fencing to fully absorb the cacophony of metallic howls, bellowing roars, and thunderous barks from engines passing by.

Good show! Jolly good show!

Come the latter half of the weekend, spectators began picking and choosing their favorite gladiators to root for, especially in GLTC, arguably the most heated series on GRIDLIFE’s motorsports spectrum, which has only gotten hotter with the limited track time allotted by the dense schedule. To watch IMSA professionals take to it on FOX Sports like it’s another day at the office is one thing, but there’s a great deal of hope and aspiration to be felt when watching people like you and I take the challenge. It’s like betting on your favorite neighbor to win the Applebee’s bar fight.

The Pontiac Firebird in Unlimited was an easy favorite for more than just myself, as was the BRE-inspired Datsun 510 racing wheel-to-wheel with modern metal. Also in the running league was Advance Auto Parts’ prodigal sons, the Gears & Gasoline Bens, championing their pocket rocket EK Civic and their odd-yet-aspirational widebody MR-2 Spyder. Fans hollered as their favorite picks rocketed around the bends, phones at the ready to make each of them Instagram famous. 

Regardless of class or cost, each race throughout the weekend was met with the same level of vicious competitiveness. Crammed into short spurts, drivers made the most of what they had, giving it their absolute all during what little time was given. Lap one was always a warm-up. By lap two, drivers started laying into their limits. By lap three, the track already reeked of hot rubber and flaming brakes. Plenty of cars went off course, and plenty more appeared to have gotten quite squirrely only to miraculously recover in time to not get overtaken by those behind.

But it wasn’t all glamor and applause. Remember that anything can happen at the track, and the universe cares not for the occasion. At some point on Saturday, a Supra running in one of the time attack classes was gone in a flash as suspected diff fluid fire turned the car to ash. Miraculously, the driver made it out unscathed, but his car was made both a martyr of the sport and a grim reminder of just how south things can go when the slightest hiccup occurs. But alas, the weekend must continue, and so off emergency services went to clean up the track for the next round of gladiators.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be their festival tour destination if there wasn’t a splash of hooliganism mixed in. To see a LeMans prototype race car lengths from a home-brewed Pontiac Firebird race car and a Pikes Peak hillclimber then transition to Formula D cars sailing down the Corkscrew sideways is like a Forza “Anything Goes” lobby come to life. Breaking up the competitions were exhibition runs guest starring TJ Hunt, Dai Yoshihara, and more. What a show to see Larry Chen and his Supra chase car hound the ass-ends of Matt Field’s Corvette and Justin Pawlak’s Mustang mere feet from turning his camera lenses into shattered mosaics. 

And now my favorite hoodie has tire debris all over it. Oh, goodie. Worth it, though. 

I’ve never witnessed motorsports events outside of Supercross and Monster Jam as a child. So to see nearly every class of modern race car conceivable packed into one weekend of nonstop carnage on the Corkscrew had me twitching and white-knuckled in my seat. It’s the perfect race weekend for spectators with ADHD, and that’s a fact. Why watch one league of racing when you can watch them all in 15-to-20-minute intervals? You get so riled up watching your favorite drift car make its pass or seeing your favorite duo do battle for a position that you almost forget to eat. Or drink water. Or that there’s a concert that night and you should probably save your energy. Glad to know I’m not jaded enough to feel less of such sensory overload.

Following a chilling finale to this year’s GLTC and weekend’s final runnings of Rush SR and Model 3 Challenge, the race weekend closes on its second day just as it had the night before: to music and merry under the soft glow of a waning day.

GRIDLIFE Laguna is a must-go

Each day, the sun sets over the hills, basking the track in a beautiful orange hue before disappearing into the Pacific. The morning’s cool and inviting breeze returns, signaling everyone back to the paddock for relaxation, bang-on food trucks, and chill vibes. The line for sims at the arcade stacks up as patrons outside await the evening festivities. The chaos has ended. Battered chariots tick themselves cool from the weekend’s carnage as attendees wind down for the evening only to get cranked once more to various performances, ranging from hip-hop to indie rock and EDM. Yet another perfectly-fitting piece to the puzzle having genuine drifter and car enthusiast, T-Pain, perform at the venue’s first major musical performance in decades to a crowd of like-minded individuals. Although, I’m fairly certain no one else in the crowd ever performed with DJ Khaled or founded a company with Hert from Hoonigan. Or so I think.

My friend and I stuck around long enough for the actual GRIDLIFE Sunday Cars N’ Coffee and to catch a glimpse at the last-chance time attack runs. As we passed the gate to Laguna Seca for the last time to catch our flights home, we left behind one of the best weekends of our entire lives. But we were happy. Happy to have been a part of such a historical moment in GRIDLIFE’s expansion and such a fine example of car culture’s proudest moments.

Maybe next time, it’d be our cars hitting those apexes. Or tire walls. Either way, we knew we’d be back with more friends and some fun cars in tow. Seems like a tall order for a single weekend out of the year. But it’s worth it to indulge in your Forza Horizon fantasies come to life. Every penny and every second of it. So hats off to GRIDLIFE Laguna, the greatest multifaceted celebration of cars and characters the West Coast has to offer. May you never stop partying. And may we never stop driving. 

Hello, and welcome back to your regular dose of EVs Explained! Many altruistic reasons exist to switch over from a gas guzzler to an electric vehicle, like keeping hush for the neighbors or allegedly doing your part to help God’s green earth and all. But today’s topic is a little more self-interested, and that’s okay. Here. Have some EV tax credits. On Uncle Sam. But what are they?

Well, hey. You know how Tesla has been raving on about how their Model 3s are now sub-30-grand cars? Well, technically, they are and they aren’t. They’re forty-grand cars that Tesla is advertising as less by factoring in potential gas savings plus a handy little pick-me-up from the feds just for opting for an electric vehicle over a baby seal-clubbing Sonata (to Tesla-stans and Hyundai fans, that’s a joke). That’s the oh-so-desirable tax credits, my friends.

That’s correct. Right now, you can get a cool chunk of cash when purchasing an EV. And in this explainer, we’ll be going over what an EV tax credit is, what you need to qualify, and how it will change looking forward. No tech lessons today. Right now, it’s all about the moolah!

Tax liability and the EV tax credit

Last summer, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was passed into law by Congress. The bill includes revisions to the credit for qualified plug-in EVs and fuel cell electric vehicles purchased from 2023 to 2032. Purchasers of this type of vehicle may now be eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new EVs and up to $4,000 for used EVs (limited to 30% of the sale price). This would lower your tax liability for whatever you qualify for up to that amount. 

It is important to note this is a nonrefundable tax credit. You need to have enough tax liability if you want to capture the full amount that the vehicle you’re purchasing is qualifying for. In layman’s terms, what that means is that you have already exceeded your allowable. You will not see any overage as a refund during the approaching tax season and you cannot apply excess credit to the following tax year.

“Wait, stop. What exactly is tax liability?”

Simply put, it’s just the total amount of money owed at the end of the tax year. If you are a general W-2 employee, every paycheck you receive from your company already has taxes taken out automatically. That goes to your tax liability throughout the year. At the end of the year, when filing your tax return, this is the time when you add in any credits and deductions that you qualify for. Once applied, that number you’ve arrived at is now your adjusted tax liability. If you paid more if you’re W-2, you get a refund. If you didn’t pay enough to cover, well, you owe the IRS money. Tax liability is the total, not the difference between what was owed and what was paid.

Phew.

“But Mister, can you use ‘tax credits’ in a sentence?”

So a qualifying vehicle such as a Chevy Bolt purchased today (assuming you qualify for the full amount) will let you realize $7,500 toward your tax liability come April of 2024 when you file your taxes. You will use Form 8936 when filing your federal income taxes. Conversely, if you started with a daily low tax liability and have already lowered it through other credits, such as claiming dependents, it’s possible that there isn’t enough liability left to receive the full $7,500. You only realize what you have remaining in your tax liability.

The bill allows for one credit per vehicle. You can claim a tax credit for every qualified vehicle you purchase. However, there are still income limits to be mindful of, and since your tax liability can only be so much, the tax credits you’d be eligible for will also only be so much.

Sorry. No infinite money glitch for flipping a bunch of EVs. You can’t Forza Auction House hack your way out of this one.

What vehicles qualify?

Many new EVs are eligible for the full amount of  $7,500 though there are exceptions. It’s best to think of the tax credit in two different components — the battery requirement and the critical minerals requirement. Each is responsible for a partial credit of $3,750, each adding up to half of the new tax credit.

For the battery requirement, a certain percentage of the vehicle’s battery must be assembled or manufactured in North America. Over the next ten years when the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is in effect, the required percentage is going up for manufacturers. Those percentages are as follows:

• 2023: 50%
• 2024: 60%
• 2025: 60%
• 2026: 70%
• 2027: 80%
• 2028: 90%
• 2029-2032: 100%

For the critical minerals requirement, we’re dealing with a similar story. A certain percentage (that will increase over the decade) of the minerals in the car’s battery must be extracted or processed within the United States or within a country that has a free-trade agreement with the U.S. Percentages are as follows:

• 2023: 40%
• 2024: 50%
• 2025: 60%
• 2026: 70%
• 2027-2032: 80%

So while a vehicle like the Tesla Model 3 meets both the battery and critical minerals requirement (granting it eligibility for the full $7,500) a vehicle like the Nissan Leaf only meets the battery requirement. Thus, it is only eligible for $3,750.

A couple more stipulations exist as well such as restricting the sourcing of battery components or critical minerals from foreign countries of concern such as China. Those go into effect in 2024 and 2025, respectively. However, if you seek the tax credit amount for a specific EV vehicle, the most up-to-date information exists at fueleconomy.gov where you can look up eligible models and filter based on purchase scenario, model year, and vehicle type, among other stats like MPGe and total range.

How do you qualify?

Beyond the vehicle qualifications, you must also consider the personal qualifications. In order to qualify for the credit, the vehicle you are purchasing must be for your own use (not resale) and primarily driven in the United States.

Your tax filing status and modified adjusted gross income are also part of the picture. The following are the upper-income limits for each status:

• $300,000 for married couples filing jointly 
• $225,000 for heads of households
• $150,000 for all other filers

2024 and onward

As stated in the earlier explanation, the tax credit is currently set up in which you claim the tax credit when filing your taxes. However, in 2024, a new option will allow a purchaser of a clean vehicle to transfer that credit to an eligible entity. What is an eligible entity? Well, the dealer that sold it to you.

Psst. It’s the car.

This means you can fully realize the tax credit at the time of sale, turning it into an upfront discount applied toward your purchase. So if you were to purchase that Chevy Bolt in 2024, instead of paying the list price of $26,500, you could transfer that credit, getting the EV for $19,500 – provided you qualify. The option to transfer credit would be effective as of January 10, 2024.

The new system was announced Friday, October 6 , in a press release from the U.S. Department of Treasury. Within, the IRS expands on stipulations the dealer must follow (being registered with the IRS at time of sale, disclose to the taxpayer any other incentive available for the purchase of such vehicle, et cetera. et cetera.). You can find all the legal mumbo jumbo on the IRS website.

Last thoughts

With this tax credit in place, we expect to see a lot more EVs coming onto the road over the next decade. Sometimes, a little bonus is needed to push folks into going green. The tax credit is an excellent incentive for drivers to make the switch, but bear in mind that the process of qualifying and claiming said credit can be a bit overwhelming. Note that everything discussed above is meant to help demystify the EV tax credit and should not be interpreted as financial advice.

If you still have questions pertaining to your own situation, consider consulting a qualified tax professional. I’m just Joe.

This story was originally published by Joe Tilleli on 9/26/2022 and updated with new information on 10/26/2023.

Sustainable mobility is an “ethical responsibility,” according to Stellantis, the multinational conglomerate you probably knew as Fiat-Chrysler before the UAW strikes began. Now the Italian-American automotive conglomerate Stellantis is turning those words into action, announcing a partnership with French nuclear fuel cycle company Orano for all future EV battery recycling plans. All in the name of the Stellantis “Dare Forward 2030” plan to reduce carbon in the atmosphere as a net-zero company by 2038.

The joint venture capitalizes on Orano’s innovative, low-carbon technology, which breaks with existing processes, allowing the recovery of all materials from lithium-ion batteries, and the manufacturing of new cathode materials. The joint venture will produce materials also known as “black mass” or “active mass.” This can be refined in Orano’s hydrometallurgical plant to be built in Dunkirk, France so that the materials could be re-used in batteries, thus closing the loop of a circular economy.

Stellantis and Orano Press Release

This deal means that Stellantis brands like North American brands like Fiat, Chrysler, and Dodge will have access to reclaimed battery materials. Orano claims an up to 90% metal recovery rate from lithium-ion batteries and can manufacture new battery cathode materials. This will be done at existing Stellantis facilities and is the first time a major automotive player has involved itself in the value chain in this way.

The sought-after material here is black mass. Black mass is the material that comes from dismantling and shredding an EV battery. Through chemical processes, high amounts of lithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel metals can be recovered from dead batteries and reused for new ones.

Are electric vehicle batteries recyclable today?

China is currently a major recycler of EV Battery materials – with the largest being Ganfeng Lithium. The country averages over 20,000 tons of waste lithium iron phosphate batteries and 14,000 tons of waste ternary lithium batteries per year. As of October 2022, China has 61 existing lithium-ion battery recycling plants. However, there are some serious competitors closer to home too:

• Umicore: Belgian-French multinational materials battery recycling and materials company.
• Ecobat LLC: U.S.-based company specializing in the collection, recycling, production, and distribution of energy storage solutions and other commodities.
• Glencore plc: Swiss multinational trading and mining company.
• Ganfeng Lithium Group: Chinese conglomerate with a focus on lithium recycling and raw material supply.

Reclamation of lithium and cobalt is especially important as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that supply shortages could be a reality as early as 2025.

Green NCAP has announced the first vehicles to be awarded its new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) award. So who is Green NCAP, what even is that, and which other vehicles were recognized besides the Tesla Model 3? Let’s get right to it.

Tesla Model 3: learn more at CarGurus

The independent UK organization Green NCAP’s mission is to promote the clean, energy-efficient development of cars while minimizing environmental impact. A noble cause. It achieves this through its star rating and index system which can summarize a vehicle’s performance in clean air, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Since 2019, Green NCAP’s star ratings have provided consumers with an easy way to compare the on-road environmental performance of new cars under identical driving conditions.  LCA information complements the rating as it assesses the vehicle’s complete environmental impact, taking into account factors like production, energy supply, and end-of-life.  We believe that this award helps consumers to make an informed and greener choice about the true sustainability of their cars – it will be a true differentiator for the wide choice of electric cars currently on offer on the forecourt.  Moreover, it is hoped that the award will act as a catalyst for the industry to innovate and accelerate its development of more sustainable cars.

Dr. Aleksandar Damyanov, Green NCAP Technical Manager

The LCA award is given to the best performers, tested since 2022 — receiving five stars in their assessments. Four cars have been given the LCA Award: the Dacia Spring, the ORA Funky Cat, Renault’s electric Megane E-Tech, and the Tesla Model 3. These vehicles currently have total life cycle greenhouse gas emissions equal to or less than 120 g CO2‑eq./km.

Green NCAP hopes the LCA award helps encourage consumers to make a “greener choice” when shopping for a new vehicle. Time will tell which new vehicles will join LCA club going forward. Our money is on the 2025 Tesla Model 2.

Tesla concluded its Q3 earnings earlier today, in which Elon Musk commented that the company has “dug its own grave” with the questionable rollout of its controversial Cybertruck. Musk said he has driven the Cybertruck – calling it “an amazing product,” according to comments recorded by Business Insider. He added, “There will be enormous challenges in reaching volume production with the Cybertruck and in making the Cybertruck cash-flow positive.”

It’s been about 4 years since the polygonal design of the Cybertruck made its public debut. The first batch of the stainless-steel sensation – or, depending on who you ask, misshapen-metal monstrosity – is slated for delivery on November 30, allegedly. However, the Tesla CEO made sure to emphasize we “temper expectations.” Musk admitted, “We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck.”

As it stands, Giga Texas (the Tesla manufacturing plant in said state) has the capacity to make 125,000 trucks a year. By 2025, Musk claimed its annual Cybertruck production will reach 250,000 trucks. The main bottleneck is Tesla’s choice to build the Cybertruck out of stainless steel, coupled with unforgiving flat expanses of bodywork. Or, if you ask Musk, it’s taking so long to arrive because of how “radical” and “special” the Cybertruck is compared to something like the Ford F-150 Lightning and perhaps the upcoming Fisker Alaska.

Tesla Model 3: check local availability at CarGurus

In addition to the Cybertruck update, we’ve gotten a look into Tesla’s latest figures – and they aren’t looking so hot. Year-on-year gross profits have fallen by 22% — the weakest performance since the pandemic hit in 2020 Q2. Reported sales for this quarter are at $23.4 billion which did not hit the forecasted $24.3 billion. Around midday Thursday, Tesla shares fell to $220 – a 9% drop.

people say elon isn’t funny but most of us will never even come close to doing anything as hilarious as tanking stock prices because you made a car too pointy pic.twitter.com/B6G5hdz646

— soul nate (@MNateShyamalan) October 19, 2023

For more Tesla news, read up on what’s to be expected with the 2025 Tesla Model 2 and a look into the new push being made for Tesla Semi production. Then maybe, I don’t know, subscribe to our newsletter?

The year was 2005, I was a junior in high school and going through my American V8 phase of automotive enthusiasm. And what a time it was. GM’s LS engines were proving to everyone that push rods were still relevant, Ford was tinkering with its Mustang to try and make it faster than a 3-year-old Camaro, and Chrysler took to the stage to give the world the new Dodge Charger. 

Fast forward to today, the Camaro is on the outs again, and the Dodge Charger we all know and love, based loosely on some old Mercedes architecture, is ending production as well. And before announcing the end of the Charger, Stellantis, the faceless conglomerate that owns Dodge, announced its replacement: a two-door coupe with long sweeping lines and a wide, low stance. A callback to the Charger from the late 1960s, an icon of the American muscle car and Dominic Taretto’s daily driver. But it’s electric, which is great for some people. Many enthusiasts weren’t so thrilled about it, however.

For a while now, all the Mopar enthusiasts had to go on was the Daytona EV concept from 2022. And when it comes to Dodge and their concept cars, you can’t take anything to heart. But people had a lot of questions and received no answers. Dodge even came out to SEMA only to show off the new Fratzonic chambered exhaust designed to mimic the sound of a V8. Mopar fans were left a bit disappointed. 

On Tuesday, some wonderful person who we can assume works at a Stellantis assembly plant leaked three photos of what everyone is assuming is the new Charger. Obviously, we don’t have any information on who leaked the photos, probably because they want to keep their job. The photos don’t tell us too much. They are just the main bodies of the cars, a cryptic image that has left the internet rife with speculation about what it could mean.

The biggest takeaway from the images is the front portion of the unibody looks wide enough to accommodate an engine assembly. Backing that up is what appears to be a transmission tunnel, though, in my eyes, it looks a bit shallow. This leaves a lot open to assumption. Stellantis does have the Hurricane inline six, and there have been videos of what looks and sounds like a TRX testing with said Hurricane engine. Maybe, with the recent cooling trend of the EV market, Stellantis is planning on releasing the Charger as an ICE-powered vehicle before going full EV. Or there will be multiple options available as far as the powertrain goes. 

Again, this is purely speculation, and Stellantis hasn’t released any kind of statement about the images.

BMW and their X series vehicles are nothing new. The original X5 debuted in 1999, not long after we had the X3 in 2003, then the X6, and so on with the various other X models. But the newest one is the latest generation of the BMW X2 lineup, based on the same architecture as the BMW X1 and the Mini Countryman. The first generation F39 BMW X2 was produced from 2018 to 2023, with an LCI (BMW for facelift) in 2021. It sold over 380,000 thousand worldwide. And it looks like that was enough for BMW to continue making a whole new version for 2024. It’s something we all hoped for, as the prior model was pretty good!

The second generation BMW X2 has dropped, and it’s immediately apparent that BMW wants the sports activity coupe to stand out from its competition. Didn’t matter how. The lines are more pronounced and acute. It produces an almost boxlike look that impresses BMW’s new design language onto whoever sees it, with the aggressive front end and large grilles that seem like if it wanted to, it could swallow up all the world’s oxygen without hesitation. While the previous generation X2 lacked the aggressive slanted rear hatch most of these crossover coupes have, the new model has no shame in showing off its coupe styling.

If this is the sort of look you like in your crossover, um, sorry, “sports activity vehicle,” then the 2024 BMW X2 might be the right buy for you. So come on through as we break down all the little specs and tidbits we know about BMW’s upcoming not-an-SUV.

BMW X2 price and trim levels

So far, the new X2 is available with two trim levels, the xDrive28i and the M35i. The xDrive28i starts at $42,000, and the M35i will base at $51,400. It is set to go on sale in March of 2024.

Standard equipment all models	Standard equipment xDrive28i ($42,000)	Standard equipment M35i ($51,400)
– 7 Speed StepTronic dual-clutch transmission – BMW Curved Display with iDrive 9 Active blind spot detection – Frontal collision warning with city collision mitigation – Lane departure warning – Active park distance control – BMW navigation – Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility – Sirius XM with 360l and 1-year platinum subscription – LED headlights – Dual-zone automatic climate control – Power Tailgate – Privacy glass – Automatic high beams	7 Speed StepTronic dual-clutch transmission BMW Curved Display with iDrive 9 Active blind spot detection Frontal collision warning with city collision mitigation Lane departure warning Active park distance control BMW navigation Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility Sirius XM with 360l and 1-year platinum subscription LED headlights Dual-zone automatic climate control Power Tailgate Privacy glass Automatic high beams	– 20-inch M V-spoke bi-color wheels style – 873M with all-season non-runflat tires – Aluminum hexcube trim with ambient lighting – Shadowline exterior trim Illuminated kidney grill

BMW X2 interior and technology

The X2 comes with all the tech BMW can offer the compact SAV. The dash gets the newest BMW treatment with their Curved Display, made up of two screens. One 10.5-inch screen functions as an information display for the driver, and another 10.7-inch screen handles controls, both behind a single piece of glass. The latest version of iDrive is available with in-car gaming, video streaming capabilities, and BMW’s cloud-based navigation system.

Most safety features like blind spot monitoring, collision warning, and lane departure are standard equipment across both models. Of course, there are plenty of options to add on, too. Various packages provide hands-free driving up to 40 mph and a live view inside the vehicle. You also won’t need a dash cam anymore, as the X2 can record collision events for you. The X2 also has its own version of Sentry Mode and will use the cameras for surround view to record when the alarm system detects movement around the vehicle, à la Tesla.

Standard interior colors	M Sport seat color
– Black – Mocha – Oyster – Red and black bi-color – Atlas grey and smoke white bi-color	– Black with blue contrast stitching

Technology Package	Premium Package	Driving Assistance Professional Package
– Convenience Package – Parking Assistant Plus – Head-Up Display – Live Cockpit Professional – Surround View w/3D View	– Technology Package – Universal garage door opener – Interior camera – Harman/Kardon Premium Sound System	– Extended Traffic Jam Assistant for limited access highways – Active Cruise Control with Stop&Go – Active Lane Keeping Assistant with side collision avoidance – Evasion Aid – Front Cross Traffic Alert

BMW X2 exterior dimensions and luggage capacity

Measurement	2024 BMW X2
Length:	179.3 inches
Width:	72.6 inches
Height:	62.6 inches
Wheelbase:	106.0 inches
Track width:	62.3 inches

BMW X2 engine, transmission, and performance

And while the 2024 X2 has grown slightly compared to the old model, it also gained some power. Both trims are equipped with BMW TwinPower Turbo engines. If it’s the xDrive28i you’re after, you’ll get a 2.0 four-cylinder Miller cycle engine making  241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. And if you want to keep up with your buddy’s E36 M3, you should opt for the M35i, which has the highest output available from BMW’s four-cylinder engine family. It puts out 312 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque and even carries over the main caps from the six-cylinder variant. It’ll reach 60 in 5.2 seconds. However, we know this is utter crap as the Germans love to underrate their stats, so expect these hunchbacks to rocket themselves even quicker than advertised.

Stats	X2 xDrive28i	X2 M35i
Horsepower:	241 hp @ 4,500 – 6,500 rpm	312 hp @ 5,750 – 6,500 rpm
Torque:	295 lb-ft @ 1,500 – 4,000rpm	295 lb-ft @ 2,000 – 4,500 rpm
Weight:	3,803 lbs	3,840 lbs
zero-to-60:	approx. 6.2 seconds	approx. 5.2 seconds

Both are standard all-wheel drive, and the 8-speed automatic has been replaced with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The transmission has a built-in mechanical limited slip differential that gives the X2 the ability to send power where it’s needed. This works well with the all-wheel drive to make a vehicle of its size handle much better than one would expect, much like a fattened hot hatchback in a way.

The M35i is sold with adaptive suspension with adjustable frequency select dampers as standard, and so can the xDrive28i if equipped with the M Sport package. The M Sport will also add Sport Steering, with a quicker steering ratio and BMW’s Servotronic speed-sensitive steering.

The brakes are standard floating calipers on the xDrive28i, while the M35i has M Sport brakes with a fixed four-pot caliper in the front. If you want better brakes on the front of your funny little “sports activity coupe,” you can opt for the M Sport package. The X2 will get an upgrade to M Sport brakes for the lower-end model, and if you check the right box, the M35i will get the spicier M Compound Brakes. They’ll come equipped with a grey caliper instead of red and a massive 15.2-inch rotor.

M Sport Package (xDrive28i)	M Sport Professional Package
– 19-inch M double-spoke bi-color wheels style 871M with all-season non-runflat tires – Shift paddles – Adaptive M suspension – M Sport Brakes with blue calipers – Aluminum Hexacube trim with Ambient Light – M Steering wheel – Aerodynamic kit – Shadowline exterior trim	– Mirror caps in black (xDrive28i) – M Sport Brakes with red calipers – M Shadowline lights – Rear spoiler (xDrive28i) – Extended Shadowline trim – Optional M Compound Brakes with grey calipers (M35i)

Overall, I’d have to say that the 2024 BMW X2 is a solid, albeit odd-looking, offering. It has numerous options to transform into a somewhat unique entry in a rather bland segment. BMW didn’t specify every color available outside their faux car configurator, but you will have access to the frozen (matte) paint lineup and maybe even individual color options. So go nuts! Order one that isn’t white or dark grey! Perhaps a bright green, and you can pretend you’re driving a miniature Lamborghini Urus.

As for additional specs, dimensions, options pricing, and figuring out how it drives, we’ll have to wait for its Spring 2024 release date to draw nearer. Until then, let’s sit and gawk at the X2 and all its frumpiness.