After an initial turn a few weeks ago for the 2021 Lexus IS first drive review, the revised luxury sedan has returned to the Autoblog garage for a second look. This middle-of-the-road IS 300 AWD pairs a 260-horsepower V6 with a six-speed automatic transmission and four driven wheels, and frankly it's the least interesting way to spec out the redesigned sedan. While there are cars in this segment designed to get a performance boost from their all-wheel-drive systems even in dry conditions, the IS isn't one of them. Adding insult to injury, you get stuck with a cramped driver-side footwell care of the engineering shenanigans that went into making this system possible. 

While we've mentioned this particular compromise before, we rarely touch on the reasons why it exists in the first place. The fundamentals are fairly obvious; the standard IS utilizes a longitudinal, rear-wheel-drive powertrain. As is typical with this configuration, the transmission sits in a tunnel beneath the center console. This arrangement works just fine, provided you don't need to power the front wheels. 

Evidence for a new line of off-road-focused Subaru vehicles was mounting, and now Subaru is confirming its presence. Just this morning, Subaru sent out a news blast to let us know that "something wild is coming."

That "something wild" is almost certainly the rumored and reported Wilderness trim variants. Our spy shooters got eyes on the Forester Wilderness and the Outback Wilderness ahead of time, giving us an idea of what type of modifications we should expect to see on these models. But first, here's what Subaru is saying about them: "The next evolution of Subaru capability is coming, and it is packed with functional technology and rugged features, inside and out."

The Nissan 370Z might be on its way out the door, but it still has a few tricks left. The long-serving sports car has seen just about every type of modification, and now that list includes a safari-style rally raid race car. Called the Z-Adventure, the beefed-up sports car looks ready to tackle Dakar.

Yokohama Tire built the Z for this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So instead, Yokohama is releasing it now to promote its gold Advan Racing RC III wheels and Geolandar M/T G0003 33-inch tires.

There's an honest 1991 Honda Accord Coupe for sale on Cars & Bids right now, and it's quite the peach. This Cobalt Blue Pearl (looks nearly black) two-door is a two-owner car with just 30,000 miles on it. It's the mid-level LX, and importantly, has a five-speed manual transmission hooked up to the 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine.

Calling it a two-owner car doesn't tell the whole story, though, as the second owner only purchased it in 2019. We sure would like to know what the original owner was doing all these years with what is a super-normal Honda Accord, but at least we get a lovely time capsule today. The beige seats look hardly sat in, and the engine bay is downright pristine. 

After spending years largely resisting full electrification, Toyota will travel to the 2021 edition of the Shanghai auto show to preview its first mainstream EV. The crossover will make its global debut as a close-to-production concept.

Toyota has dabbled in electric cars before. Its Chinese arm sells a battery-powered version of the C-HR developed jointly with local partner FAW. It has also unveiled a handful of electric vehicles that blur the line between a golf cart and a car, but they've either been concepts or niche vehicles created mostly for crowded Japanese urban centers. The concept scheduled to make its debut in Shanghai is significantly different, because it will compete in one of the most crowded segments of the electric car industry when it goes on sale during the first half of the 2020s.

The 2021 Nissan Rogue is adding a new engine option to its lineup. Car and Driver initially reported the news after finding the new engine listed on the EPA's FuelEconomy.gov website.

Details are still sparse, but we know it's a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder paired to a continuously variable transmission. The only engine available for the Rogue today is a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Power figures for the three-cylinder are not available, but fuel economy is.

Update: We asked Toyota about the motives behind the survey and it told us that: “While a sales process for the GR Super Sport has not yet been determined we are having preliminary conversations with potential customers who might find a vehicle like this to be of interest.”

Honda developed a four-layer cabin air filter that's like a face mask for your car. Announced in January 2021, the filter joined the firm's catalog of genuine spare parts in Europe, where it's compatible with a long list of models.

German group Freudenberg helped Honda design the virus-zapping air filter, which is known as the Kurumask in Japan. Its first two layers consist of microfibers that trap viral aerosols, pollen, and dust to ensure they don't make their way into the cabin. The third layer is made of activated charcoal which absorbs harmful particulates and acid gases, while the fourth is coated with an active substance of fruit extract that, according to Honda, inactivates nearly 100% of the viral aerosols it captures. In other words, it traps most viruses and germs and quickly kills them.

The much anticipated Le Mans Hypercar class is set to kick off later this year, and that means road-going versions of the prototype race cars will soon be upon us. As per LMH homologation rules, carmakers must build a minimum of 20 street-legal versions. One of the coolest is expected to be the 986-horsepower Toyota GR Super Sport, but with such limited production, not everyone who wants one is going to be able to buy one.

Toyota is going to carefully choose who gets the privilege, and has put out a questionnaire for prospective buyers with some interesting inquiries. For one, Toyota wants to know your car ownership history, and they don't mean the hand-me-down Tercel you had in high school. They want to know specifically if you've ever owned a Toyota 2000GT or Lexus LFA, but leave spaces for 10 other write-in candidates.

Toyota has released rainy images of a concept it calls the RAV4 5D Adventure, a crossover decked out for mountain rescue operations. It was supposed to be displayed at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, but since that event was COVID-cancelled, it will be shown this weekend at a dealer-sponsored exhibition in Toyama Prefecture in central Japan.

The location is important because Toyama, located along the northern coast of Japan, is one of the many areas where massive storms left hundreds of cars stuck in snowy traffic jams last winter.

Very few production cars could keep up with the Nissan R35 GT-R when it was first released but as the car has aged, quicker alternatives have hit the market. However, does a modified Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X have any chance of out-accelerating a tweaked GT-R? Let's find out.

DETROIT — Honda on Thursday reiterated its plans to sell two all-electric SUVs in the U.S. for the 2024 model year, and it soon will offer hybrid gas-electric versions of its top-selling models.

The announcements Thursday come as the automaker acknowledges it has work to do to comply with emissions-reduction targets that will be coming from the Biden administration, and a California ban on sales of new internal-combustion vehicles by 2035.

Honda announced it will end production of the S660, a nimble two-seater convertible powered by a mid-mounted engine, in early 2022. It will send off the roadster with a limited-edition model named Modulo X Version Z.

Released in April 2015 as a follow-up to the Beat, the S660 was developed primarily for the Japanese market, and it was designed to comply with the kei car regulations that give motorists several tax advantages. Honda has sold over 30,000 units of the S660 during the past six years, and it will make the last example in March 2022.

Nissan and Mitsubishi are said to be readying an electric minicar to sell in Japan for less than 2 million yen ($18,400) with subsidies.