1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Base Sport Utility 4-door 4.5l on 2040-cars

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Editors' Picks March 2021 | Ford Mustang Mach-E, Polestar 2, Land Rover Defender and more

The month of March was unofficial minivan month here at Autoblog. We drove all of them but the Kia Carnival, but don’t worry, you wonÂ’t have to wait much longer to read that review. Among all the family-toting machines, we drove some more exciting vehicles including the Land Rover Defender and a pair of up-and-coming EVs. It was a month of excellent cars, meaning that this monthÂ’s litter of EditorsÂ’ Picks is stacked. In case you missed FebruaryÂ’s picks, hereÂ’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary or stand out in their respective segments get EditorsÂ’ Pick status. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in March that earned the honor of being an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2021 Ford Bronco Sport 2021 Ford Bronco Sport First Edition View 32 Photos Quick take: Ford's baby Bronco is an authentic foil to the big Bronco 2-Door and 4-Door. It brings rugged styling, better-than-average off-road capability and thoughtful utility features to a generic segment of cars. Score: 8 What it competes with: Jeep Compass, Jeep Cherokee, Mazda CX-30, Subaru Crosstrek, Kia Seltos, Chevrolet Trailblazer Pros: Stellar design, excellent off-road, clever interior details throughout Cons: Pricier than most, average transmission, underwhelming interior quality and ambiance in lowest trims From the editors: Road Test Editor Zac Palmer — “I genuinely enjoy driving this cute crossover. It feels like a mini truck on the road, and Ford admirably translated the design from its big Bronco over to this Escape-based crossover. News Editor Joel Stocksdale — "The Bronco Sport isn't perfect, the transmission could use some work, and it's a little bumpy, but it's a characterful little thing with loads of style, great visibility and space, and impressive capabilities on and off road in the powerful Badlands form." In-depth analysis: 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Review | Bronco for the masses   2021 Land Rover Defender 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 View 64 Photos Quick take: The Land Rover Defender provides everything you'd hope for in a modern Land Rover: superlative off-road capability, surprisingly plush on-road demeanor, abundant interior space and abundant character. The base four-cylinder is likely all you'll need and lower trim levels provide more than enough equipment.

Toyota fills in details about its future design direction and global platform

"In the future, out of 100 customers, we want to excite ten of them instead of not offending all 100."
Almost all of the details about the Toyota New Group Architecture (TNGA) strategy have come out since the initiative was first reported on in March of this year, but Autoblog did learn a few new things about it on a recent trip to Japan. Probably the second-most important detail is that each new segment platform will be based around a common hip point to create an "optimal driving position architecture."

Pickup sales may hit 2M units for first time since 2007

Even as fuel prices creep back up, trucks are still a hot item among new-vehicle shoppers. To see how popular pickup trucks still are, you don't have to look any further than how much effort automakers put into the continual one-upmanship of their trucks. Backing this fact up, USA Today is reporting that the segment could top two million sales this year - a total not matched since 2007, though still far from the pre-recession, three-million-unit levels.
Through August, the Ford F-Series continues to be the segment leader with almost 500,000 units sold, but the Chevy Silverado (328,269), Ram 1500 (234,642), GMC Sierra (122,232) and Toyota Tacoma (110,293) are all seeing at least 20-percent sales increases, helping to account for around 1.44 million truck sales so far this year - not including possible outliers like the Suzuki Equator and Chevy Avalanche.
This year alone, General Motors has completely redesigned its fullsize trucks, Ram and Toyota have significantly updated their offerings, the next-gen Ford F-150 will be out next year and Nissan is promising an all-new Titan around the same time with an eventual Cummins diesel under the hood. It would seem, then, that truck sales are poised to continue their upward trend.