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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.

New IIHS Study Confirms Brighter Headlights Reduce Number of Nighttime Crashes

To the surprise of no one, a new study completed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety confirmed brighter headlights help reduce vehicle collisions.

Audi R8 — In 2016, Audi’s new laser headlamps were brighter than conventional lights so the maker adjusted the lights to shine low and wide.

The organization noted the number of nighttime vehicle accidents are nearly 20% lower for vehicles with headlights earning a “good” rating in IIHS evaluation, compared with those with “poor” rated headlights. Vehicles IIHS rates as having “acceptable” or “marginal” headlights crash rates are 10% to 15% lower than for those with poor ratings.

“Driving at night is three times as risky as driving during the day,” said IIHS Senior Research Engineer Matthew Brumbelow, who conducted the study. “This is the first study to document how much headlights that provide better illumination can help.”

An evolving light

Until recently, there was little need to evaluate headlights, as all cars used sealed beam headlights, a technology that became an industry standard by the 1940s. Like the lights in your home, sealed-beam and halogen headlights are incandescent. They use electricity to heat a bulb’s filament, which in turn produces light.

The addition of halogen gas in the 1960s allowed the headlight’s tungsten filament to generate a brighter light that lasted longer. In 1983, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard was revised, allowing for all composite headlight assemblies to have replacement bulbs. Yet overall, headlights had changed little since electric headlights first appeared on cars in 1898.

That changed with the introduction of high-intensity discharge headlights, or HIDs. These are arc lamps, much like a neon sign, which produce light by the sparking an electrical arc between two conducting electrodes inside the bulb. Far more efficient than halogen lamps, they not only produce more light, but also use less energy and last far longer.

Then, in 2004, the first LED headlights appear on the Audi A8. An LED a semiconductor that emits light when a current is passed through it, using far less energy than other types of bulbs. This led to the creation of LED Matrix headlights, which uses LEDs, sensors and cameras to light the road depending on road conditions. Now, automakers are starting to employ laser lighting, affording 1.25 miles of visibility.

Testing counteracts an outdated federal standard

Given evolving lighting technology, IIHS began evaluating headlight effectiveness in 2016 to counteract the federal government’s outdate lighting standard, one that considered all headlight types equal. The problem is, they’re not. Five years later, IIHS has rated approximately 1,000 different headlights, bestowing them with the same good, acceptable, marginal and poor ratings used for the crash test evaluations.

The IIHS’s new study shows that good-rated reduces driver injuries in crashes by 29% and the rates of tow-away crashes and pedestrian crashes by about 25%.

“Better scores in our headlight tests translate into safer nighttime driving on the road,” said IIHS’s Brumbelow.

Despite the changes in headlight technology, the Federal standard for automotive lighting hasn’t changed significantly since 1968. What’s worse, the standard specifies minimum and maximum brightness for headlights without taking into account how well it is installed. The standard also lacks any regulations for newer technology, such as curve-adaptive headlights.

To address such failings, the IIHS’s evaluation of vehicle lighting are done while driven on a test track. Performance varies considerably; current low beam headlights illuminate anywhere from 125 feet to 460 feet. That’s a difference of as much as 6 seconds when driving at 50 mph. The tests have compelled OEMs to improve the quality of their lighting, IIHS says.

“Our awards have been a huge motivator for automakers to improve their headlights,” Brumbelow says. “Now, with our new study, we have confirmation that these improvements are saving lives.”

New-for -2022 Jeep Compass Blows into the Windy City

It’s been an unusually busy year for the Jeep brand which is rolling out a procession of new and updated models, including the next-generation Grand Cherokee, the revived Wagoneer, the Wrangler 4xe – and its most significant global product line the 2022 Jeep Compass.

The update of the compact crossover makes its formal debut at the Chicago Auto Show this week and features new styling, both inside and out, as well as an assortment of technological upgrades. That includes a new, 10.1-inch touchscreen featuring the latest Uconnect 5 infotainment system, as well as an assortment of new driver assistance systems like Active Lane Management and Rear Cross Path detection.

“The new 2022 Jeep Compass ushers in new levels of comfort and functionality, with premium styling and craftsmanship inside and out,” said Jim Morrison Vice President, Jeep Brand North America. “Sophisticated and well equipped, the Compass stays true to its benchmark 4×4 capability and on-road dynamics, but with even more refinement and precision. It also boasts a host of new attributes and innovative technologies designed to keep consumers connected and make their lives easier.”

A key product in the Jeep line-up

The Compass has played a critical role in the growth of the Jeep brand, especially in global markets. It slots into a niche between the entry-level Renegade and the bigger and more well-equipped Cherokee model.

2022 Jeep Compass - rear 3-4 — For now, Jeep is sticking with its 2.4-liter Tigershark engine, but a plug-in hybrid option is reportedly in the works.

While it rides on a car-like crossover platform, Jeep offers an assortment of different trim levels, including the Compass Trailhawk targeting buyers looking for the ability to head off-road.

Though the basic underpinnings may be carried over, the 2022 Compass gets some welcome updates to both its interior and exterior design. The goal was to get the SUV a more “refined, confident attitude,” suggests designer Tim Anness. All versions get new, slimmer LED headlamps framing the familiar Jeep seven-spoke grille. There are new fog lamps and the lower grille grows slightly larger to improve engine cooling.

(Check out our review of the new, three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee L.)

Giving the Compass some real teeth

Individual trim levels now adopt more distinctive details. With the Trailhawk, for example, there are “Jeep Teeth” on the matte black grille. Limited models get a distinctive exterior appearance package with black-pained lower trim, as well as projector LED headlamps, LED foglights and 19-inch wheels.

2022 Jeep Compass - interior — Jeep designers worked hard to give the 2022 Compass a more refined interior.

The Compass cabin has often been faulted for its relatively lackluster design and extensive use of lower grade plastic. As with the new Grand Cherokee, Jeep is moving the Compass up a big step for 2022, with more upscale materials and a higher-tech focus. That includes the 10.1-inch center stack display and an optional, 10.25-inch digital cluster. More luxurious features, including first-ever heated rear seats, will now be available.

(Jeep designer Mark Allen talks about Jeep’s heritage and how that impacts its new design direction.)

A new Latitude LUX trim package adds a variety of amenities. These include leather, heated front seats, leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, eight-way power driver seat with two-way power lumbar adjustment, auto-dim rearview mirror, 7-inch full-color cluster, 10.1-inch digital touchscreen radio, remote start and security alarm.

More tech, more capabilities

The 2022 Compass retains its Tigershark 2.4-liter inline-four engine making 177 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. And it can tow up to 2,000 pounds.

The Compass Trailhawk boasts a more distinctive look – and improved off-road capabilities.

Two gearboxes are available, including a 9-speed automatic on 4×4 models that, with Trail Rated packages, adds a rock-crawl setting for serious off-roaders. The package is capable of delivering as much as 31 mpg on the highway thanks to an upgraded engine start-stop system. Sport and Latitude 4×2 models feature a 6-speed automatic.

Jeep claims to have upgraded the Compass crossover’s suspension tuning and steering for improved handling and ride-comfort on-road.

The automaker also has expanded the list of advanced driver assistance systems. These include Full-speed Collision Warning with active brake and pedestrian/cyclist detection, Active Lane Management with LaneSense Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist and Blind-spot Monitoring with Rear Cross Path detection. The new, semi-autonomous Highway Assist system will become available shortly after the launch of the 2022 model.

Plug-in hybrid may be coming

The automaker also is hinting that a 4xe plug-in hybrid package could be added in the next couple years. Similar to the Wrangler 4xe, it would offer the ability to drive more than 20 miles in all-electric mode. It also could run off-road in near silence, relying on battery power.

Pricing will be released closer to autumn, when the first versions of the 2022 Jeep Compass reach U.S. showrooms, but expect a starting price of around $26,000.

For GREAT deals on a new or used Jeep, RAM, Toyota, Mercedes or Audi check out Envision Motors TODAY!

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