Winch-and-snorkel Bronco Everglades is auto-only, Mazda’s NPR mystery, Nissan honors Hardbody

Winch-and-snorkel Bronco Everglades is auto-only

Intake: Ford’s first snorkel-equipped model is here—but despite its name, the much-rumored 2022 Bronco Everglades does without the gators. It does, however, boast a Warn ZEON 10-S winch packing 100 feet of synthetic line, rated for 10,000 pounds and boasting a no-load line speed of 33 feet per minute. Assuming you pack a screwdriver along with your Yeti, that snorkel is a double-duty affair. Walk over to the passenger side, take off three Bronco-badged screws, and you can swap in a slatted or an open blocking plate depending on the dustiness of your off-roading situation. Total water fording rises three inches over normal Sasquatch-equipped models, to 36.4 inches, with thanks due to a revised air-intake system with air vents mounted higher than normal for both axles, the transfer case, and transmission.

Starting at $54,495, this warn-and-snorkel package is centered around the $40,290 Black Diamond trim level (third of six models in the Bronco hierarchy), and comes exclusively as a four-door with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine and the ten-speed auto. (Yes, the smaller engine typically allows you to spec the manual transmission, and with the Sasquatch package, but due to the inscrutable counsel of Ford, the seven-speed can’t be paired with the Mid Package, which comes standard on the Everglades.) That said, Everglades Broncos come standard with the desirable Sasquatch package, and the 35-inch Goodyear rubber wraps a set of Everglades-specific 17-inch alloys. A pair of matte-black fender appliques, roof rack, and the Ford Performance modular steel bumper all amp up the trucklet’s burly personality. Everglades-specific Desert Sand paint, available on a limited basis, sweetens the deal, and sage green accents add outdoorsy flair to the interior. Existing Bronco reservation holders without a build date will get first dibs: As of March, they have the option to convert to an Everglades model. Production is set for summer 2022.

Exhaust: $14K above a regular Black Diamond four-door isn’t so crazy once you factor in Sasquatch goodies ($4495), Mid Package ($1495), modular bumper ($575), molded-in-color hardtop ($695), and roof rack ($365). We got $50,305 for a similarly equipped, non-Everglades Black Diamond, which means that the snorkel, winch, and burly graphics add about $3100. Not a bad deal, considering Ford installs everything at the factory and hands you a warranty. 

Driver to star as Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann biopic

Intake: In a wonderful example of nominative determinism, Adam Driver has been signed up to play Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s upcoming movie about the Italian legend’s early struggles. According to Empire the film is based on Brock Yates‘ book Enzo Ferrari—The Man And The Machine, and will be set in 1957 when Enzo faces the loss of his son Dino and impending bankruptcy. Ferrari bets all on winning the Mille Miglia and the movie will follow the progress of the scarlet cars during the 1000-mile race, the company and the Ferrari family. Filming is said to commence in Italy in May with Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley also joining the cast.

Exhaust: “Being able to have these wonderfully talented artists, actors Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley, bring to life these unique characters on location in Modena and the Emilia-Romagna is a vision fulfilled,” says Mann. 

Would you pay $18K to park your rear on this ’59 Caddy?

Intake: Bring a Trailer is always good for serving up a delightful double-take time and again. Holy fins, Caddy fans—a 1959 Cadillac Series 62-Style sofa just sold on the platform for 18,500. The piece was custom-crafted by the seller’s father and features all the hallowed styling cues of late ’50s nostalgia. The Cadillac’s twin-bullet taillights and reverse lights shine on, thanks to wall-socket power. The Series 62–sourced bodywork that made it all happen is as real as it gets; it’s no poly-resin product, which explains why the bidding blossomed into the high teens among some competitive Cadillac aficionados.

Exhaust: Collectors’ items priced like this car couch often possess either a historical significance or particularly high-quality craftsmanship. From where we’re sitting, this sofa looks as comfortably plush as the road-going Series 62s themselves. Although it’s not what you’d call kid-friendly, our guess is that this hefty treasure isn’t heading to a living room in the ’burbs or some college dorm—someone’s man cave just got a whole lot cooler.

NPR purgatory: Seattle Mazda drivers can’t change the radio dial

Intake: In a Mazda mystery that so far hasn’t been solved, radios in 2016 Mazdas being driven in the Seattle’s Puget Sound region are stuck on NPR’s KUOW FM-94.9, and drivers aren’t able to listen to anything else. Not even rebooting the infotainment system fixes the problem. It isn’t clear why KUOW’s signal is affecting some specific Mazda cars, but KUOW is trying to get to the bottom of it by working with Xperi, the company that owns the technology behind HD Radio.

Exhaust: As frustrating as it may be, Mazda drivers have no recourse except to wait for a fix. Since the volume can be adjusted and the power can be turned off, regular NPR listeners might not have noticed there’s a problem. “All Things Considered” (that’s an NPR joke), it could be worse. The CD player could be stuck on “Highway to Hell.” Come to think of it, maybe it already is.

Peek at Cadillac’s next-gen Le Mans contestant

Intake: Yesterday, Cadillac baited race fans with two partial-car shots of its upcoming prototype, currently codeveloped by Cadillac Racing and Dallara. The new road racer, set to debut at Daytona’s 2023 Rolex 24, will replace the outgoing V-8 powered Cadillac prototype, which began IMSA competition in 2017. Since then, the LMP1 racer has earned numerous wins, driver championships, and constructor titles. Unlike the race Caddy it replaces, the new prototype will compete stateside in IMSA’s GTP class and internationally in FIA’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar class. It will also feature a new hybrid powertrain, one expected to have a bit less displacement than the sunsetting 6.2-liter small-block. Despite the changes, you can expect Cadillac to incorporate some of its typical styling cues into the machine. “Elements of Cadillac’s brand DNA, such as vertical lighting and floating blades, will be present throughout,” says Cadillac’s lead exterior creative designer Chris Mikalauskas.

Exhaust: Come 2023, Le Mans’ Mulsanne Straight will be crowded. We can’t wait. Cadillac’s new fighter-jet-looking prototype joins Acura, Alpine, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, Porsche, and Toyota as teams that already campaign, or plan to campaign, cars in the WEC’s Hypercar class. While we can’t tell if the shots revealed yesterday are indeed heavily edited photos of the actual car or digitally rendered inspiration, we appreciate the eye candy to get us pumped for next year.

Two retros and a new: Nissan drops trio of Frontier concepts

Intake: Nissan’s playing the truck card at the Chicago Auto Show. Its U.S.-based design studio, Nissan Design America (NDA), debuted three concept versions of the new Frontier pickup—Project 72X, Project Hardbody, and Project Adventure. Project 72X is an updated take on the Datsun 720, one of Nissan’s most popular pickups. It features a gray exterior with some neat graphics and white-painted steel wheels, as well as a 2.5-inch lift kit and a sport bar behind the cab. Project Hardbody pays homage to the trusty old D21, the first design completed at NDA. It boasts a three-inch lift kit, a be-mounted spare, 33-inch tires, and those throwback Hardbody block-style wheels. Lest a new pickup arrive without an overlanding concept, the aptly named Project Adventure provides a glimpse at the Frontier’s expedition-worthiness. It features a five-inch lift, 34-inch mud tires, a Yakima bed rack system with a tent and a roof basket, as well as a carbon-fiber snorkel.

Exhaust: We’re into the retro vibes of Project Hardbody. There’s a cult following for those unkillable armadillos that’s probably already trying to configure a group buy for those block wheels. (Count us in.) Our test of a 2022 Frontier proved that this updated mid-sizer is not only a worthy successor to the aged workhorse it replaces, but a worthy competitor for the cutthroat competition. Right on, Nissan.