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   In the '70s, street rods experienced a revival in popularity after being knocked out of the spotlight during the muscle car era. That revival came with a change. The prominent rod builders of the late 20th century were not building early roadsters and coupes in the traditional styles of earlier years but rather in a modern style characterized by high-tech chassis with independent front and rear suspensions, extensive use of hand built components (with an abundance of billet aluminum), reshaped bodies, and the elimination of emblems and trim. The result was a super-clean, streamlined style that almost instantly became known as "smooth." Of all the designers and builders associated with the "smooth" style, some of the most famous are  Boyd Coddington ,  Lil' John Buttera ,  Chip Foose , and Larry Erickson. Of all the owners, probably the most successful was Fred Warren, owner of the AeroCoupe, Smoothster, and Shockwave, among others. No other car owner in t...

    Have you ever wondered how we produce some of the fantastic photography that accompanies  MotorTrend 's written words? In short, automotive photographers will put their bodies on the line and shove themselves into and out of just about any opening in order to get the best possible shot. If we're lucky, we use a vehicle with a cushy ride and a hatch to hang out of as we shoot car-to-car—those pretty, in-motion action shots you see all over  MT  stories. Most of the time, our bodies end up sticking halfway out the side window, feet hooked to any willing crevice, core muscles clenched and arms taut. (Yes, we use harnesses.) We can use nearly any vehicle to capture those bread-and-butter  car-to-car photos , but there are usually plenty of compromises to be made. That's why the  MT  photo team was so eager to give the Arcimoto Cameo prototype— an Arcimoto FUV  made more camera- and photographer-friendly with an open-air rear-facing seat—a go ...

   When Bentley in 2016 launched   the Bentayga , its first-ever SUV, the company's flagship vehicle was the Mulsanne sedan.   Imposing and charismatic, the $300,000-plus Mulsanne   was German-engineered but a quintessentially British ultra-luxury car. Its interior was redolent with the rich tang of leather, the warm glow of wood, bright splashes of chrome, and a rumbling torque monster of an engine under its long hood. The last Mulsanne rolled off the assembly line in Crewe, England, in 2020. And stepping up to replace it as Bentley's new flagship model is the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB, a stretched  version of the SUV  that was just a gleam in a Bentley product planner's eye when the Mulsanne made its world debut at Pebble Beach in 2009. A stretched SUV is, at first glance, an oddly prosaic choice for a marque steeped in  the romance of the road  and  the legend of Le Mans . But it's a necessarily pragmatic one. Indeed, the Bentayga has...

   If you’re after a bit of inexpensive fun and you’re looking for an open-top, two-seat sports car of decent swervability and reasonable affordability, your thoughts might immediately gravitate towards a used   Mazda MX-5   of some sort, but may I introduce you instead to the third-generation   Toyota MR2 ? This little jewel ran from 2000 to 2006 and can now be bought for peanuts, and while it shares much in common with the iconic Mazda, such as the wind-in-the-hair pleasure and the promise of at least decent long-term reliability, it differs by having its engine mounted amidships, just as its two predecessors did. Oh yes, those predecessors. You see, it was in 1985 when Toyota first offered an MR2, a mid-engined, two-seat, rear-wheel-drive, T-bar-roofed bundle of fun, heavily influenced by the delightful Fiat X1/9. In 1990, it was replaced by the Mk2, which was larger, more rounded in its styling, heavier and, certainly in its earlier versi...

  The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, revealed here as an all-new luxury flagship for the German marque’s fast-growing line of EVs, will rival the Audi E-tron and BMW iX when it arrives at the end of this year. As with the Mercedes-Benz EQS and Mercedes-Benz EQE saloons, the US-built EQS is based on the dedicated electric vehicle architecture (EVA) platform, which supports both single-motor, rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor, four-wheel-drive layouts. Power for all launch models is provided by a 107.8kWh battery – the same lithium ion unit used by the EQS saloon – packaged within the floorpan to give the luxury SUV a largely flat floor and what  Mercedes-Benz  says is the lowest centre of gravity of any of its SUV models. At 5125mm in length, 1959mm in width and 1718mm in height, the EQS SUV is 82mm shorter, a scant 3mm wider and 105mm lower than the Mercedes-Benx GLS SUV. It also rides on a wheelbase that is 75mm longer th...

    The eyes of new-car buyers may be on the recently launched third-generation   Hyundai i10 , but savvy city car customers would do well to check out its predecessor. This dinky hatchback proves that basic transportation doesn’t have to mean basic transport. From around the £3000 mark, you can pick up a modern car that’s easy to drive in cut-and-thrust traffic but also offers the equipment and refined feel of something far bigger. Power comes from one of two petrol engines. There’s a 65bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit that’s just about satisfactory around town but, if you’ll ever be venturing out onto the open road, you’ll appreciate the greater vim and vigour offered by the 86bhp 1.2-litre four-cylinder. This is almost as economical, too. Stick with the five-speed manual gearbox because, although the four-speed slusher is the best automatic in the class, it’s still rather old-school. The trim levels start with S, which is pretty meagre, with 14in steel wheel...