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What Does Santa Drive?

Sure, you might think that dear old Santa Claus is just some jolly gift giver. But look closer, and it’s hard not to be impressed.

This is a guy who runs a major distribution operation at the North Pole, a privately held enterprise that procures goods year ‘round, listens to customers and fulfills their requests in one short night. And you thought Amazon Prime was quick? Yeah, right.

And just try parallel parking eight reindeer and a sleigh without any automated driver assist systems. Good luck.

But it begs the question, what does this much beloved, highly placed, international executive drive? No one really knows, but here are some possibilities.

Jeep Grand Wagoneer - by castle — The new Grand Wagoneer is powered by a 6.4-liter V-8 putting out 471 horsepower, making it a great daily driver

Jeep Grand Wagoneer: Given Santa’s advancing years, his comfort is a priority. But there’s work to be done, so ol’ Saint Nick needs a lot of utility and the ability to go anywhere at any time no matter what the weather. Few vehicles do it as well as the 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, especially on unimproved roads.

Santa values the Grand Wagoneer’s Quadra-Drive II with active low range, rear electronic limited slip differential, terrain management system, its 48:1 crawl ratio, and ability to ford up to 24 inches of water yet tow 10,000 pounds. Yet its cabin possesses artisan-levels of craftsmanship, something unexpected yet welcome.

But it’s more than capability or its opulent interior. This is one high-tech sled, with a full 45 inches of video screens on the instrument panel. And having such a large vehicle at the North Pole is comforting when driving in bleak weather and Rudolph is playing reindeer games.

Ford F-150 hybrid powering Texas home 2020 — The Ford F-150 Hybrid is good source of power should it go out at the North Pole.

Ford F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid: Eight reindeer eating lots of Reindeer Chow leads to a lot of — ahem — mess to clean up. A pickup makes for the perfect polar workhorse, especially the 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid.

Its twin-turbocharged and intercooled 3.5-liter overhead-cam V-6 mated to an electric motor that generates 430 horsepower and 570 pound-feet of torque and returns an EPA-rated of 24 mpg. And it can tow 12,700 pounds, enough to haul a trailer with all eight reindeer and their chow. It also boasts an integrated generator, with 7.2 kilowatts of power, enough to help power key appliances when the power goes out.

And when Santa needs his truck to be his office, there’s a 400-watt outlet for running office equipment, and a center armrest that converts to a flat work surface, with a storage bin beneath it large to hang file folders. And the front seats fold flat to create a bed that’s perfect for the quick nap away from Mrs. Claus. Ho, ho, ho.

The new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid can travel up to 30 miles in electric-only mode, and carry a whole pack of elves.

Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid: When you need to move a mess of elves, few vehicles can handle it with the aplomb of the 2022 Chrysler. Sure, Santa needs a minivan to schlep his staff, and the Pacifica proves the ideal solution. There’s more legroom than many full-size SUVs, and abundant cargo space.

To keep them all occupied, there’s Amazon Alexa, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and for 2022, Amazon Fire TV streaming for rear-seat passengers. Powering the Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid is the corporate 3.6-liter double-overhead cam V-6, albeit modified for hybrid duties, working in concert with two electric motors to deliver 260 horsepower to the front wheels.

It run 33 miles solely on electric power, enough to quickly pop across town. And the EPA says that you can save $800 annually in fuel costs compared to the standard Pacifica minivan.

Mrs. Claus loves the Genesis GV80’s understated opulence

Genesis GV80: The lavish GV80 is an all-new model for Genesis, one that guarantees Santa’s other half will be wearing the latest in bold automotive fashion, and enjoy the latest in seamless technology including all-wheel drive.

Mrs. Claus loves the extensive suite of driver-assistance safety features and helpful technology such as the head-up display and a huge 14.5-inch touchscreen. The quilted leather upholstery, and rear seats that adjust with heated and cooled cushions seem positively lavish.

And when it comes to indulgence, the same can be said of its performance, thanks to its 375-hp twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6. It’s a sweet ride for the missus.

Mercedes-Maybach S 680: A night on the town calls for a righteous ride, one that’s appropriate of Santa’s station. Is there another executive shuttle to match the technology, ability and finely crafted interior of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class? The Maybach trim level turns up the luxury to 11, while retaining the sort of convenience features essential to older drivers.

When all the gifts have been delivered, and every stocking stuffed, Santa enjoys a good rip behind the wheel of the Mazda MX-5 Miata.

One such feature, Night View Assist Plus, ensures the driver doesn’t hit any wildlife. ANd its quilted leather and hushed ambience, makes every ride a special occasion. And let’s not forget its 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12; it propels this massive Merc to 60 in just 4.4 seconds. And considering how much Santa has given others, this bit of indulgence is worth it.

Mazda MX-5 Miata: The stockings are stuffed, the presents placed under the tree, and now it’s Miller time. Even Santa needs to let his hair down to enjoy a few ho, ho, hos in warm weather.

You can almost see him zipping around Palm Springs in the Mazda MX-5 Miata. It’s a modern-day classic with great looks, light weight and crisp handling.

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First Look: 2022 Rolls Royce Ghost Black Badge

Who would have thought you could make the Rolls-Royce Ghost look so sinister?

Rolls-Royce revealed a new addition to the Rolls-Royce Ghost line-up in Miami Thursday — the Black Badge — during a North America dealer meeting that saw about 100 retailers meet with the automaker’s top executives.

The automaker revealed the new model to dealers at the Mad nightclub in the hip and trendy Wynnewood section of Miami, and will do the same for customers later this week.

“We just felt this was very Black Badge,” said Richard Carter, director of communications for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “It’s very, noir; It’s very alternative; and that’s the essence of Black Badge.”

The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge expands a line-up that began with the Wraith coupe, followed by the Phantom sedan in 2016, the Dawn cabriolet in 2017 and the Cullinan SUV in 2019. The murdered-out Black Badge models now account for more than 27% of Rolls-Royce sales worldwide, including 40% of Cullinan sales.

The darker side of opulence

To realize the Ghost Black Badge’s menacing demeanor, the company uses 100 pounds of the industry’s darkest black paint. The Spirit of Ecstasy and Pantheon Grille are darkened using a chrome electrolyte applied during chrome plating. The new model wears exclusive 21-inch wheels with as many as 44 layers of carbon fiber.

The 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge can be had in more that 44,000 different hues, although most Black Badge customers choose black.

As you’d expect, interior components are darkened including air vents and the wood veneer, along with Black Badge badging and other unique interior touches, although clients are free to specify any number of colors and trim to be used on the car’s interior.

Engineers also contributed, fitting larger air springs to alleviate body roll during assertive cornering. There’s also roughly 29 additional horsepower and a revised transmission to make the Black Badge a bit more athletic. They also reduced brake pedal travel.

A quick turn behind the wheel of pre-production prototypes revealed a car that can be driven more aggressively than your average Ghost. Grip is impressive while cornering, staying firmly planted despite some noticeable body roll. Body motions never become excessive, and rebound over bumps is very well controlled. Yet its agility doesn’t come at the expense of the brand’s legendary comfort.

An idea born in Beverly Hills

The idea of Black Badge occurred in 2014 in Beverly Hills.

“This whole notion of the alter ego of Rolls Royce, the slightly noir, naughty, edgy side of Rolls Royce is something that we were thinking about. We were looking at ways and means of lowering the age profile of our brand,” Carter said.

The Pantheon Grille and Spirit of Ecstasy also receive the Black Badge treatment.

At the time, the brand had one model, the Phantom, and an average buyer’s age of 57. “We were selling one model to a dying set of customers, and there was no future in that,” he said.

At the time, the company was about to release the first-generation Ghost, followed by its two-door spinoff, the Wraith, both of which would attract younger buyers. But the company needed more. They were searching for an idea, but hadn’t settled on anything yet.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, was waiting for a car to pick him up at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills when a murdered-out Phantom Coupe pulled up. Ötvös was stunned, and asked the owner why he modified his Phantom.

“He told me over the weekend, that he wants to be a different kind of character,” Ötvös said. “For some of the week, he is friendly and nice. But over the weekend, he wants to be something different. He enjoyed playing a different role; how he was dressed, looked and talked.”

A couple weeks later, Ötvös had similar experiences particularly in the United States, particularly in California. This led to the creation of Black Badge at a time where murdered-out cars weren’t mainstream.

A surprising success

The Ghost Black Badge is revealed for the first time at the Mad nightclub in Miami.

Initially, executives expected Black Badge models to have a 10%-15% take rate. But they were mistaken. It turned out to be a stunning success, with a far higher take rate. Currently, Black Badge represents 40% of Cullinan sales. Black Badge, along with new models like Ghost, Wraith and Cullinan, have brought the average Rolls-Royce buyer’s age down to 43, quite a large drop in a little less than a decade.

“We are even younger than Mini as a brand in the BMW Group,” Ötvös said, who then explained that the type of wealthy car buyer has changed.

“When you look into ultra-high net worth individuals, those people who are our target group worldwide, they became younger and younger over time because the way to generate wealth is very, very different from what it used to be 15-to-20 years ago.”

Rolls-Royce sees its Black Badge line as one that appeals to iconoclasts, a type of buyer that the brand has always attracted, particularly during the pre-World War II years, when all coachwork was custom built.

“Black Badge was the most instrumental piece we had in an all-new brand strategy to massively decrease the average age and illuminate the brand in a significant way,” Ötvös said.

Mission accomplished.

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Munich Motor Show to Spotlight Dozens of New Concepts, Production Models

While the Frankfurt Motor Show is no more, Germany retains its role in the hierarchy of automotive events with the debut of the first Munich Motor Show next month — and the event will bring out a broad array of new concept and production models.

IAA Mobility Munich — No longer the massive event it was when it was in Frankfurt, the Munich show is still going to be impactful.

While a number of manufacturers won’t be on hand for the debut Munich Motor Show, a preliminary count suggests those marques that will participate plan to reveal about two dozen new vehicles. And the final number could be even higher as some are expected to roll out a few, last-minute surprises.

As one might expect in Europe, there’ll be a big emphasis placed on new green machines, everything from conventional hybrids to pure battery-electric vehicles — as well as at least one new hydrogen model from BMW.

Here’s a look at some of the most significant announcements that will be made at the Munich Show — also known as IAA Mobility 2021 — during its run from Sept. 7-12:

Audi

The German luxury brand doesn’t plan to produce any new models that will run solely on gas or diesel by 2026. And while it will soldier on with plug-in hybrids through the end of the decade, its longer-term plan is to shift entirely to battery-electric vehicles. We got a sense of what’s in store this month at the Pebble Beach Concours with the unveiling of the Skysphere, one of three cutting-edge concept models. The Grandsphere is next in the series and shows where Audi hopes to go with an all-electric and fully autonomous SUV. The automaker also has two other models set to make public debuts in Munich: the RS3 hatchback and sedan line taking aim at the likes of the Mercedes-AMG A 45, as well as the all-electric Q4 e-tron. It will slip into a space just below the current, gas-powered Audi Q5.

BMW

The Bavarian automaker has had a long-running interest in hydrogen power — though it early on explored the possibility of using the lightweight gas as an alternative to gasoline in its internal combustion engines. BMW abandoned that approach and, like other manufacturers, now sees hydrogen working best in a fuel-cell system. That’s what will power the new BMW iX5. This is not a concept but a production model due out in 2022, albeit at low volumes and targeted for markets where there’s an available hydrogen distribution system. The other green machine is the facelifted BMW iX3 city car. And BMW isn’t ready to give up on gas models. It also plans to show the uplifted X3 and X4 sport-activity vehicles in Munich.

Mercedes-Benz

The German luxury brand is also planning a big showing of all-electric models, starting with the debut of the Mercedes-Benz EQE. It will serve as the company’s all-electric E-Class model and share the same Electric Vehicle Architecture, or EVA, as the larger Mercedes EQS flagship. Speaking of the EQS, the German marque will offer the usual family of variants and they will be getting previewed in Munich. They include an even larger and more luxurious EQS-Maybach model, as well as a more powerful EQS-AMG rumored to make 800 horsepower — taking aim at the Tesla Model S Plaid. Like BMW and Audi, Mercedes isn’t ready to go 100% electric but is continuing to tinker with other green drivetrains. That will become apparent with the debut of the new Mercedes-AMG plug-in hybrid. We’ll also see the high-riding Mercedes-Benz C-Class All-Terrain, and the armored S-Class Guard. Is there a surprise in store? Some reports suggest Mercedes could debut the EQG, an all-electric version of the big G-Class SUV.

VW ID.5 GTX — Volkswagen will brin g a slew of new vehicles to Munich, including the new ID.5 GTX.

Porsche

The sports car company will have a relatively modest presence in Munich — but a significant one, nonetheless. It will reveal a facelifted version of its smaller SUV, the Macan. That will provide insight into the upcoming debut of an all-electric version of the Macan due out in 2023. While they’re expected to have similar exterior designs, the BEV version of the SUV will be based on the new Premium Platform Electric, or PPE, architecture jointly developed by Porsche and Audi. Also on tap: the all-out version of Porsche’s bigger SUV, the Cayenne Turbo GT.

Volkswagen

Cupra EV from Seat — Spanish maker Seat, owned by VW, will show off it’s new electric spinoff, Cupra.

The German giant is planning to invest $86 billion to electrify its line-up and that will be obvious when Munich showgoers see what’s on tap from all of its various marques. As for the VW brand itself, it has a mix of electric and gas offerings to reveal next month. That includes a new electric city car that could be named either the ID.1 or ID.2 if the automaker sticks with its current naming strategy. Then there will be sportier versions of two of its current battery-electric vehicles. The ID.4 GTX is already available in Europe, and while the ID.5 GTX is being described as a “prototype,” a production version of the coupe-like SUV is expected to reach showrooms before year-end. Munich also will bring the public debut of the new Volkswagen Polo and GTI models, the latter unveiled online earlier in August. Completing the list, we’ll get a first public look at the new VW Taigo, a small, coupe-like SUV based on the current T-Cross line.

Other brands

Cupra, the all-electric spinoff of Volkswagen’s Spanish brand Seat, will reveal a battery-powered hatchback based on the VW ID.3. It will share the Volkswagen MEB all-electric architecture but put more of an emphasis on performance than the ID.3.
Dacia will bring out a new 7-seat people-mover.
Hyundai is making an appearance in Munich and is set to give the European public debut of the all-electric Ioniq 5 — but it could have a surprise in store, as well.
Renault will weigh in with a small, all-electric SUV dubbed the Megane E-Tech Electric.

Smart is transitioning to an all-electric brand and is teasing plans to reveal a battery-powered micro SUV. It’s believed to be using a drivetrain developed as part of a joint venture between Smart parent Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely.

2022 400Z HP Revealed?

According to Project Cars 3, a video game from Slightly Mad Studios distributed by Bandai Namco, the new Nissan 400Z is shown in their latest downloadable content (DLC) power pack to possess some very serious horsepower.

In its interpretation of the Power Pack, thenewnissanz.com flaunts the numbers shown in the video, such as 445 horsepower and a weight of 3,251 lbs. When it compared the 400Z to the powertrain in the last Z, the 2020 370Z, the numbers they found were 332 hp with a curb weight of 3,333 lbs. If that wasn’t impressive enough, they then pitted the new Z versus the 2021 Toyota Supra, whose inline-six produces 382 hp while weighing in at 3,400 lbs.

We’ve previously chronicled what we know so far about the 400Z’s powertrain and its design. With no official word from Nissan, there is more speculation than usual, and thus far no spy photos taken here or in Japan.

Project Cars 3’s power pack is referenced in a trailer, which can be viewed on Yahoo! Entertainment. In the trailer, there are numerous examples of 400Zs, modified for motorsport competition.

Not having played Project Cars 3, I had to admit the trailer gave me the urge to go out and buy a Playstation4. I wonder if there’s a Gamestop nearby where I can go and try it out?

[Images: Slightly Mad Studios]

Tag: Design