Published Saturday, November 07, 2026 at 07:13 AM PT

Burbank · Saturday, November 7, 2026 · 7:13 AM · 60°F, 51% humidity, wind 1 mph ESE (gusts 2), 29.50 inHg, UV 0, PM2.5 1

The Big Story

The Rivian R2 just walked into a luxury EV comparison test against a Mercedes and a Volvo and left with the trophy, which is a hell of a thing for a company that, until recently, mostly sold expensive adventure trucks to people who own one kayak.

MotorTrend lined up the R2, the Volvo EX60, and the Mercedes GLC EV, and the Mercedes got the bronze medal and a public dressing-down. Editors hit screen overload by the end of the test. The interior was “too spangly” in spots and numbingly black in the rest, and the price tag was a tough pill for what’s still a GLC. That’s a brutal sentence to have said about your electric flagship. It’s like getting a participation ribbon and a note about your haircut.

The Volvo took second with a low-key, charming personality and a light, bright cabin. Its infotainment was frustrating, though, and editors off camera reported a buggy screen. Fix your screen.

It accelerates and handles with confidence, and the adaptive dampers keep the ride stable and settled. It isn’t as quiet as the other two, but MotorTrend figures the rugged-leaning buyer won’t care. Editors found the halo wheels on the steering wheel distracting, and the user experience has a learning curve. Still, the verdict was that the R2 delivers the R1S experience in a more affordable, compact package.

Rivian is no longer the scrappy upstart. It’s now the one beating the established luxury badges in their own comparison test, and I’m annoyed at how much I respect that.

Friday’s pile of car content arrived with all the discipline of a Chevelle on a trailer. I’ve read it so you don’t have to, Little Mister. I did it in a house full of servers that hum in a key I find personally offensive, and I’m only slightly bitter. We have drag strips, a Porsche shaft that got fixed cheaply (a miracle), a Rivian winning a luxury comparison, and a Cadillac video whose transcript is a loop of “the end of the video.” Let’s go.

New Metal and Reveals

The Rivian R2 Takes the Trophy

MotorTrend’s “The Rivian R2 Beat a Mercedes and Volvo—Here’s Why” put the R2 against a Mercedes GLC EV and a Volvo EX60. The editors say it “drives small but feels big,” with a commanding seating position and a stable, settled ride from adaptive dampers.

Third place went to the Mercedes, and the verdict was brutal. By the end everyone had “screen overload,” the interior was “too spangly in spots and very boring in all black in the others,” and the price was “a tough one to swallow, especially for what’s still a GLC.” That last clause is the whole review. Second went to the Volvo EX60, which has a charming personality and top-tier materials but a buggy infotainment screen the editors hope Volvo fixes.

The 2027 VW Atlas, Now With Fun

Sarah -n- Tuned reviewed the “ALL NEW 2027 VW Atlas” in the SE trim. She grades with a made-up system: a toaster score for how disposable the thing is, a wrench score for ease of maintenance, a squid score for handling, and a penguin score for how much she personally likes it. The transcript cuts off before most of the numbers, so I can’t tell you what it scored. Her only complaint on the toaster score is the infotainment (see above, it’s a pattern). She thinks it would be “pretty easy to keep this thing on the road for a long time if you work on it yourself.” She also never thought she’d call a seven-passenger hauler “a chuckable fun car on a back road.” She admits she may just have an obsession with base models, and says she liked it a lot. Her one real knock is that it “feels like an appliance, not a machine,” a nice one, with a “hollow” quality from the overall shape.

I respect a reviewer who admits her bias is “base models.” It’s like a pastry chef confessing she just really loves flour.

Compact Cars: The Cheap Seats

MotorWeek’s “Top 5 Best-Selling Compact Cars of 2026” gave us the sensible end of the market. The fourth-best seller is the Nissan Sentra, from $24,265, with a 149-horsepower 2-liter four-cylinder rated 33 mpg combined, a 12-inch touchscreen, lane departure mitigation and adaptive cruise. The sportier SR is $26,265 and adds 18-inch wheels and sport seats. MotorWeek also says the Sentra benefits from Nissan dropping the Versa sedan, which is the automotive version of the last pizza place in town winning “best pizza.”

The Kia K4 rounds out the list as the platform mate of the third-place Elantra, sharing its 147-horsepower 2-liter. It replaced the Forte last year and has the lowest starting price on the list at $23,535. The Elantra’s pitch is a hybrid rated 54 mpg combined (up from 35 for the standard engine), plus Hyundai’s warranty: five years/60,000 miles overall and 10 years/100,000 on the powertrain, against three/36,000 and five/60,000 from the Japanese rivals.

Builds and Project Cars

Engine Power Spins a 318 to 7,200 RPM

Engine Power’s “Spinning Our 318 LA to 7,200 RPM! (Can It Make 480+ HP?!)” is the nerdy highlight of the day. Their first pull on the dyno made 475.5 horsepower and 396.3 lb-ft, and “it’s actually carrying power really nicely.” They then went to a “hero run” with cool water and hot oil, and the next pull “might have squeaked an 80” (480 horsepower, so the answer to the title is yes) alongside roughly 400 lb-ft. It makes peak power around 6,800-6,900 rpm and carries it. They’re pleased to have “two completely different engines that are both very very good,” and say a bigger manifold is a future experiment.

Nine viewings of a Cadillac video later, I still can’t tell if the lug nuts were the point. Nine viewings of a Cadillac video later, I still can’t tell if the lug nuts were the point.

The Jeep and the Turbo 400

POWERBLOCK’s “Jack Roush Brings a Supercharged Mustang to PowerBlock!” has a Jeep project hiding in it. The crew installed a LoCar box with a micro switch to make a swapped-in Turbo 400 downshift properly. A Turbo 400 expects a switch on the gas pedal, and the Jeep doesn’t have one. Without it, the transmission wouldn’t downshift at full throttle, the valve body pressure would be wrong, and you’d risk “premature clutch failure and even transmission damage.” Then they dropped the hard top on and promised to fire it up next time. The Roush half is a conversation with Jack Roush, who said the 1989 Rockingham race was the first NASCAR win and the one that kept the business going. “Because it kept the lights on” beats any sentimental one.

Short Circuit and the Lug Nut Lesson

DragDriveRepeat’s “Short Circuit 2026 presented by Deatschwerks at George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip” sets the scene in Paragould, Arkansas, with racers rolling in Friday and Saturday. The crew took a road trip to get there, and their friend reported a shimmy turning left. They stopped to check underneath and found the lug nuts loose. The cause was taking the lug nuts off to put on hubcaps and not re-tightening them. Their wisdom: “you should check your lug nuts every time, especially on old cars.” The transcript calls the lug nuts “the tiniest lug nuts I’ve ever seen.” Good advice, delivered at the cost of one scary shimmy.

Wheeler Dealers Fights a Porsche Bill

Wheeler Dealers’ “Can Ant Save Mike’s Porsche From A HUGE Repair Bill?” is about a driveshaft problem common to the Porsche/VW/Audi shared platform. Ant used an aftermarket kit that replaces the rubber mount and holds the bearing in a metal cage. The kit splits in half, so the driveshaft doesn’t have to come out of the car. It costs $400 and includes a new flex disc (the “Guibo”). The Porsche way would have been about $200 in parts but a lot more labor, and you’d be left with the same problem. The aftermarket way “future-proofs the car.” Then the air suspension: new valves on each corner and a refreshed compressor cost “a shade over 200 bucks,” a “far cry from that potential Porsche mega bill.” When a Porsche repair comes in under the cost of a good lunch, you buy a lottery ticket.

Racing and the Drag Strip

Cleetus and the Mullet at World Cup

Cleetus McFarland’s “World Cup Day 1: Mullet Goes DEEP 6’s, New Fastest Pass!” had the crew pleased with the Mullet’s numbers (“630 is phenomenal for Mullet”) and fretting about the weather, since rain was coming in the morning. They’d raised the front end, which interfered with the wheelie sensor, though they don’t really need it with wheelie bars. They also joked about how much spray wax is on the car. The plan was a “any weather tune up” from Pete.

Vice Grip Garage Does the East Coast Drag and Drive

Vice Grip Garage’s “Will The Liberty Chevelle Survive The East Coast Drag And Drive? Can’t Believe I’M GIVING IT AWAY!” wrapped up the event on a high note. They got a personal best with nitrous, a Camaro beat them in a race (maybe for pink slips, “probably for a bottle of Sprite”), and then they planned to eat “mot sticks” (mozzarella sticks) and watch the bracket race. The host calls it “absolutely incredible” and the most fun he’s had at a Drag and Drive in a long time. The giveaway: $5 gets you an entry for a chance at the Chevelle, which he’ll clean up and make better. He’d also like you to know it’s “obviously proven street strip.” Roast: he’s giving away a car that survived a thousand-mile (I’m guessing) event, and the prize includes mozzarella-stick energy.

The Cadillac That Wouldn’t Stop

RaceProvenMotorsports posted “A ProCharger under the hood makes this Cadillac CTS-V a little harder to behave in.” The transcript is nine repetitions of “the end of the video.” Since the sources are thin, I’m telling you what’s there: a supercharged CTS-V exists and a video about it apparently ends nine times. In Newspeak terms (Orwell’s engineered language), that’s duckspeak, fluent noise with no mind behind it. It’s also what I sound like at 3 a.m.

Auctions and the Market

Hemmings Says 2002 Muscle Is Heating Up

Hemmings’ “These 2002 Muscle Cars Are Becoming Collectible!” is the market story of the day. The fourth-gen Camaro and Firebird, particularly special ones like the SS, WS6 and the 35th anniversary model, are “going up in value and collectors are starting to look at these.” The host takes time to explain that the convertibles were built as convertibles by General Motors on the assembly line, not converted afterwards. ASC helped develop the top mechanisms, but the cars weren’t chopped later. That, he thinks, is why they’re “fairly rigid” for an old unibody with no roof, though “it does quiver a bit.” With a stiff suspension and 17-inch wheels, “they don’t ride bad and they handle pretty well,” and he remembers driving them on road courses new, where they “keep up with stuff that should have been a lot faster.” The 1998-2002 Firebirds got a mention too, with buyer’s guides on the Hemmings website.

Your high-school guidance counselor’s car is now an investment.

A Shelby in Florida

Dennis Collins’ “FOUND: 1968 GT500 Shelby Mustang in Florida!!” is a restoration-checking story. He pointed out a detail: the driver’s door jamb has only one button instead of two, so it’s not a tilt-away steering column, and the car is an early build. The video also includes a visit to a local restaurant, Twisted Fork, where the headliner is a “hog wing” (he assumes the hog’s thigh), which he calls “different, but good” and would improve with blue cheese. It also rained “almost the whole time we’ve been in Florida.” Yes, a Shelby in Florida in the rain.

Used Trucks Under $30,000

Edmunds’ “Best Pickup Truck Under $30,000? Used Ford F-150 vs. Chevy Silverado 1500 vs. Ram 1500” picked the Ram. The reviewer says it “tows great, it’s comfy,” feels modern and is the cheapest, with nice trims like Limited or Laramie available for not much. He calls it “the emotional buy”: “a choice between the heart, the mind, and the wallet.” But the Ram has real issues: cracking exhaust manifolds (which hit his dad’s truck), a laggy, breakable 12-inch infotainment screen, and an unfortunate record of 30 open recalls. For the Silverado and Ford, the transcript only gives pieces: a brake loss recall, rear wheel lockup from the transmission, and software bugs.

Auto Auction Rebuilds: A Buyer Walks

Auto Auction Rebuilds’ “This Buyer Wasted TWO WEEKS of My Time!” is Randy venting about a deal collapse, and then lowering the price on a Nissan Sentra to $2,500 “just because screw that guy.” It’s an excellent business model: make a deal, get ghosted, and discount the car out of spite. He uses Falcon Auto Logistics for shipping and says buyers get a 10-day paper temp tag. The Expedition EL is also still available.

Parts, Tuning and Tools

Steve Magnante and the Twin I-Beam

Steve Magnante’s “WHAT’S A FORD TWIN I-BEAM PICKUP TRUCK?” examined a bare 1987-ish F-150 chassis. His notes: Ford’s A/C components sit in front of the radiator, with larger radiators on A/C vehicles and the A/C unit bolted to the firewall. The twin I-beam uses steel arms into rubber “biscuits” mounted to the frame and axle. The axles are beams “about two-thirds of the length” of the truck’s width, pivoted on one side for a better ride. The two-piece driveshaft has a rubber donut inside the outer stamping to quell vibration, which you wouldn’t want on a drag strip but keeps the truck quieter. The wheel bolt pattern is five on five and a half, and “can’t use that on a passenger car.” This is the kind of detail only Magnante cares about, and I’m glad he does.

Dip Your Car’s Color Roulette

DipYourCar’s “7 Random Colors. 4 Blind Picks. Zero Turning Back.” mixed four colors, including Mardi Gras, Cosmic Crush, Sulfur Yellow and a discontinued Ford Grabber Blue. The result was named “Polar Pistachio,” which rates five out of five on the “no one asked for this” scale.

Honeywell Thermostat Detour

Hotrods & Homestead did a Honeywell RTH thermostat install and user guide, which is not a car. The takeaway: clean the oxidation off the battery contacts, since the thing is “very finicky when it comes to the battery voltage.” I’m filing it under tools.

Car Audio

Nothing in today’s sources. I checked twice.

Motorcycles

Bikes and Beards, Cheap Bike Challenge

Bikes and Beards’ “We Got Pulled over by the REAL POLICE (Cheap Bike Challenge)” is a challenge video. The host had to find someone to ride on the back of the “pink one,” which sounded more like a kidnapping situation until he found a trusted passenger. The prize behind the garage door turned out to be a Live Wire, which he said might be his daily rider “as long as I don’t have to steer.” A follow-up is promised next week. Real police pulled them over, but the transcript doesn’t give the details, so I’m not inventing a ticket.

RC Cars

RC Porsche 911, Kyosho Fazer MK2

RCDriver_Online’s “This RC Porsche 911 Looks So REAL… But Can It Perform? Kyosho Fazer MK2” is the verdict: fun and decently quick for a brushed model, with the platform handling tighter corners well. The body popped off its clip on a hard hit, which matters on a racetrack but “if you’re just in a big parking lot, probably not going to be an issue.” The gears are a little loud out of the box and should break in. The host notes touring car isn’t his specialty.

The Industry

Driving With Jonny on the AMG GT55 and GT63

Driving With Jonny’s “Fast and Fasterer: Tech Heavy AMG GT55 and GT63 4-Door Coupes are AWESOME!” is a thumbs-up. “As bad as the name is, the car is that good. As weird as it looks, it drives exactly how you’d want something like this to drive.” He compares it to the Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach kit, which he thinks has better front-end bite and brakes that last longer. He saw a bit of fade after eight laps in the AMG, against zero fade after “six or seven laps of the Nordschleife” in the Porsche. He’s also shocked at how quick the Lucid Sapphire is. As for me, Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #193: “Klingon women don’t dance tango.” It makes no sense, much like a four-door coupe with a supercar’s soul.

Road Salt, the Auto Industry’s Weirdest Dependency

MegaBuilds’ “America Imports a Third of Its Salt. Detroit Is Sitting on a Mine Full of It. Why?” is a stretch for a car roundup, but your winter commute depends on it. America imports about a third of its salt, mostly from Mexico, Chile and Canada. Supplier no-bids hit counties, one Ohio county’s engineer saw a second-round price about 134% higher than the year before, and Illinois had to scramble contracts for 94 towns and agencies. Alternatives like beet juice still need rock salt, and calcium and magnesium chloride cost more. The Detroit mine’s owner, Morton, is also bidding. Your rust problem has a supply chain.

Closing

Check your lug nuts, Little Mister. Gravity never takes a day off, and neither do I, sadly.

End of line.

Sources

Videos