2002 Toyota Mr2 Spyder Base Convertible 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

Maserati GranTurismo Folgore teases itself around Monterrey

Maserati began teasing the GranTurismo Folgore toward the end of Car Week on Twitter and Instagram with a caption that read, "A rose gold wrap suited to the Golden Coast. Impossible to keep it secret. We’re touring California with the new GranTurismo Folgore and an audacious Italian-American entertainer. The air is electric. Keep following us down this road." Maserati seems to have meant the line about not keeping secrets more literally than one would expect, because it nonchalantly parked an uncamouflaged car in the same rose gold wrap at a charging station on the Monterey peninsula before the teases began. It had been thought that the automaker might debut the coupe over the weekend, which could have happened. Autocar says the Italians hosted a private preview for potential customers — that, apparently, was the secret.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Maserati teased a different prototype draped in a blue wrap earlier this year before the Formula E grand prix in Rome. This version, with its Homeric rosy hue and quasi-three-spoke wheels is what we've been waiting for. We like what we see. Yes, it's highly reminiscent of the GranTurismo that went off the market in 2019. Why should that bother us? That coupe is still beautiful. From what we can tell of the Folgore, the updated lines should make the coming EV even more so. Guests at that putative private event might know what powers the 2+2, but we don't. We know the battery-electric Grecale crossover will get an EV powertrain with 590 horsepower, the much more expensive GranTurismo should handily outdo that even if it doesn't touch the 1,200-hp figure some believe possible. We expect to get that info when the official debut happens in the coming months. The official GranTurismo Folgore launch is scheduled for next year, probably joined sometime in the year by its droptop sibling, the GranCabrio Folgore. It's thought there will be an ICE-powered version for the two-door as well, maybe offering the choice of an unaided 3.0-liter Nettuno V6 or a hybrid centered around the V6 or a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. Certain markets sell the Ghibli sedan with a 2.0-liter hybrid; however, that option is viewed as a long shot for the new GranTurismo.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2015 Maserati Quattroporte gets the lightest possible updates

A week after its debut on the interwebs, Maserati has trotted out its freshened Quattroporte range at the LA Auto Show, giving us our first in-person look at the changes to the top-of-the-line GTS trim.
Maserati has tweaked the headlights across the range, while the GTS gains new body-color trim pieces on the lower bodywork. Red badging on the wheelcaps and and a freshened trident badge are some of the more obvious changes, while new lower bodywork is matched to the main exterior color. While these tweaks are nice, we aren't totally sure they deliver on the "sportier and aggressive appearance" that the Italian company is aiming for in model year 2015.
What do you think? Could Maserati have stood to go further for the 2015 Quattroporte, or is this sort of super-light freshening just what the doctor ordered? Let us know what you think in Comments.