The market for affordable EVs has been gradually getting more crowded and competitive, particularly from the likes of Chevrolet, Hyundai and Kia. That's a problem for Nissan and its Leaf, which, while still appealing in a number of ways, is packing some older technology. So the 2022 Nissan Leaf will get a major price cut across the board, with a few standard features added to the base model.

The new base price for the Leaf S is $28,375. That's $4,245 less than the same car last year. That's the short-range version, EPA-rated at 149 miles on a charge. For a Leaf S Plus, the long-range version rated at 229 miles, pricing now starts at $33,375, a drop of $5,845. Both of those prices include destination feeds but are before factoring in the $7,500 federal tax credit, which would put the short-range car just above $20,000 and the long-range car just above $25,000. We've included the pricing for all trim levels below.

According to a new report, the Toyota Avalon will not live beyond the 2022 model year. The Avalon is the largest sedan and the flagshippiest model in Toyota's lineup (we're not counting Lexus here), but it appears to be another victim of the crossover takeover.

The report comes from Automotive News, which reports that the Avalon was originally slated to get a mid-cycle refresh next year. Instead, Toyota's purchasing department sent out a letter to suppliers saying that Avalon production would draw to a close at the carmaker's Kentucky plant. AN was able to confirm the decision with a Toyota spokesperson.

The 2022 Land Cruiser made its Japanese debut over the weekend, and Toyota has released a bunch of never-before-seen design sketches. Some show an evolution of how we got to the 300-Series' production look, while others look like something out of a dystopian cyberpunk movie. Nevertheless, it's a rare look at what goes into a vehicle with almost impossibly high expectations and 70 years of heritage.

Early ideation sketches from the planning stage show designs with more pronounced fender flares. They emphasize the bulging hexagonal shape of the flares to establish a solid and stable presence. We do see a hint of it in the production version, but they're far less pronounced. One wild variant, called "Oh Baby, You're So Hex-y" extends the hexagon motif to the rear end, which has a protruding rear door reminiscent of a space capsule. We could see it as a sci-fi planet exploration rover, as it looks far more futuristic than the "World Runner" design that appears closest to the final iteration.

Production of the Acura NSX is coming to an end after the 2022 model year. Before it goes, though, Acura is promising one last hurrah, in the form of a Type S variant. Said to have performance improvements and limited production, it will prove to be the ultimate form of Honda's second-generation supercar.

So far, Acura has only released some teasers and a few vague statements. Now, normally when car companies make ambiguous declarations about improved performance, that means something like stiffer shocks or bigger rims (after all, handling is a form of performance, no?). In this case, Acura specifically says the NSX Type S will have more power and quicker acceleration in addition to sharper handling. That's some real talk, even if no hard figures were provided at this time.

Some road cars have the potential to be tuned to make some incredible power, but could they beat a proper racecar in outright speed? That’s the question Carwow’s latest video, which sees a tuned Lamborghini Huracan and Nissan GT-R try to take down a Red Bull F1 car, attempts to answer.

Toyota will electrify its global range of off-roaders and commercial vehicles by developing a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain, according to a recent report. The system will power bigger, heavier vehicles like the Land Cruiser.

Combining a turbodiesel engine and an electric motor is a match made in heaven for users who need as much torque as possible, like motorists who regularly tow, haul or drive off-road. While official specifications haven't been released, Japanese magazine Best Car speculated the setup will make its debut in 2024 in the next-generation Land Cruiser Prado, which is smaller than the full-size model (pictured) and known as the Lexus GX in America.

Toyota will help enthusiasts keep classic Land Cruiser models on the road by re-releasing a number of rare parts that are no longer in production. They'll be sold globally by Gazoo Racing through participating retailers.

Often called FJ40, the 40-Series Land Cruiser built from 1960 to 1984 wasn't the first Toyota off-roader (it had several predecessors) but it's the one that's mostly fondly remembered in 2021. As values rise, genuine parts are getting difficult to come by, and the quality of aftermarket bits varies greatly. So Toyota is stepping in to fill this void.

Following the recent reports for a forthcoming update to the Land Cruiser 70 Series, Toyota Australia revealed the 70th-anniversary special edition with minor design changes.

Honda has begun the rollout of the 2022 seven-seater Pilot crossover, emphasis on "begun." The base LX and EX trims available presently won't make the leap into next year, and Honda hasn't debuted the trim or trims that will substitute. It's possible just one new entry-level model will replace the LX and EX, Honda writing in a press release that this autumn will welcome a "well-equipped new entry trim level aimed at younger buyers and active lifestyles, offsetting the no longer available LX and EX entry trim levels."

The part about catering to younger buyers with active lifestyles is interesting because the line two years ago was that Honda created the Passport for that demographic. The 2021 Passport starts at $34,015, $240 more than the 2021 Pilot LX. We're wondering now if Pilot shoppers took a look at Passports on the other side of the showroom floor and said, "Do you have that with three rows?" 

With the new BR-Z unveiled, and US pricing confirmed, Raiti's Rides made their way to the 2021 Chicago Auto Show to meet the new 2022 Subaru BRZ and check it out.

One year after the launch of the fourth-generation Toyota Yaris in Europe, the ECOVan variant appeared in Spain as a hybrid light commercial vehicle bringing more cargo space into the mix.

Since Mitsubishi canned its Lancer Evo almost a decade ago, the Subaru WRX STI has pretty much had the all-wheel drive rally replica market to itself. But Toyota's little GR Yaris changed all that.

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They discuss recently driven cars: the GMC Yukon XL diesel, Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo and Acura TLX Type-S. After that comes recent Tesla news along with cancelled Mitsubishi Delica registrations in the state of Maine. Finally, the editors help a reader spend their money on an affordable crossover.

Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Australian motorists who want to explore the great outdoors in a new Toyota Land Cruiser have three options to choose from. One is the 70-Series model introduced in 1984 and once sold in the United States. It's still being built, it's relatively popular Down Under, and it's about to receive a series of updates in order to keep going. 

New safety regulations are at the root of the looming changes, according to Australian website Motoring. Starting in November 2022, all new cars sold in Australia will need to comply with stricter pole side impact rules, and getting older models to pass is easier said than done. Lexus will notably retire its CT and RC models to avoid having to make expensive modifications. Toyota's 70-Series is in a different position: Although it's 37 years old, it's hugely popular in Australia (about 10,000 units were sold in 2020 and annual sales are on track for a 10% increase in 2021) so the business case for relatively expensive structural changes is an easy one to make.