(Audi images)
Audi is adding a fourth and fifth fully electric model to its U.S. EV portfolio - the 2022 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron - which are expected to arrive in the U.S. toward the end of 2021. Pricing for the Q4 E-Tron model line is planned to start under $45,000. (We'll see about that -WG.)

(Lamborghini images)
The Lamborghini Miura SV, the last evolution of the highly successful P400 project, was officially unveiled in March 1971, on the Lamborghini stand at the Geneva Motor Show. On the same occasion, on its stand, Carrozzeria Bertone presented the Countach LP 500, defined as a concept car for future production. The Miura SV, where V stands for veloce (super fast), was conceived to accompany the S version, but as a result of the SV’s huge success on the market, it actually ended up replacing it. The Miura SV, now the most sought-after production car made by Lamborghini, is considered the highest expression of the “supercar” concept of its time and the best of all the Miura versions produced. Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, Lamborghini’s chief engineers at the time and the creators of the Miura and Miura S, confirmed that the SV version benefited from the experience gained during the first five years of Miura production. The Miura SV had 385HP, and its official top speed was over 290 km/h. From a standing start it covered one kilometer in just under 24 seconds – record performance results back then. In early 1973, after 150 units had been produced, the Miura SV was taken out of production, although two years later, in 1975, a final specimen (now at MUDETEC, Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese) was expressly manufactured for F1 entrant Walter Wolf.

(McLaren images)
The new hybrid McLaren Artura is powered by an all-new, 120 degree, twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 internal combustion engine. The wide angle of the V6 cylinders allows the turbochargers to sit within the banks in a "hot vee" configuration, which also benefits efficiency as they sit within a straighter - and therefore less restrictive – exhaust layout. Generating 671BHP and 531 lb ft of torque, the all-new V6 is 7.5 in. shorter and 8.7 in. narrower than McLaren’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8. It is also 110 lbs. lighter. A lightweight, compact Axial Flux E-motor enhances driving experience with torque in-fill, as well as providing option of zero-emissions, electric-only running for up to 19 miles. The compact hybrid battery uses liquid cooling technologies developed for the McLaren Speedtail. Artura acceleration figures now confirmed by the factory are: 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds, 0-124 mph in 8.3 seconds and 0-186 mph in 21.5 seconds, with the standing ¼ mile in 10.7 seconds. The Artura comes with comprehensive warranty package of 5-year vehicle and 6-year hybrid battery as standard, plus a 5-year roadside assistance plan in North America. How much? $225,000 in the U.S. market. The Artura is available in a standard specification and three enhanced trim levels: Performance, with a sporting, functional aesthetic; TechLux, with the focus on technical luxury; and Vision, which displays a more adventurous look and feel, according to McLaren PR minions. 

(Hyundai)
Hyundai Motor Company has officially launched its new STARIA multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) lineup via a digital world premiere, establishing a model for its future Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs). STARIA is Hyundai’s response to shifting consumer needs by offering them purposeful, innovative features and redefining in-car travel experiences in line with the company’s vision of "Progress for Humanity." STARIA is available in 2- to 11-seat configurations and in two variants: STARIA and STARIA Premium. “We are thrilled to introduce STARIA, which represents our latest effort to spearhead the evolution of mobility, and to address emerging lifestyle needs as we adapt to new ways of living,” said Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer. STARIA will go on sale in select markets starting from the second half of 2021.

(Mercedes-Benz images)
The EQS is the first all-electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-EQ. With it, "Mercedes-EQ is redefining this vehicle segment," according to Mercedes PR minions. Yes, of course they would say that. The EQS is also the first model to be based on the modular architecture for luxury and executive-class electric vehicles from Mercedes. The first models being introduced to the U.S. market will be the EQS 450+ with 329HP and the EQS 580 4MATIC with 516HP. The media package for this vehicle is so long that we didn't bother reading even a fraction of it. Suffice to say, many promises, boasts and superlatives were thrown around in the press materials in true Mercedes-Benz fashion. What the U.S. driving range will be is unknown at this point (the European figure of a 770 km range is irrelevant here), and what it will cost and when it will arrive here are purely speculative as well. Let's just say it's a giant "we'll see" at this point.

(GM)
General Motors will expand its EV repertoire by building a battery-powered Chevrolet Silverado at its "Factory ZERO" electric vehicle plant in downtown Detroit. Not a conversion of the existing Silverado architecture, this new pickup is expected to use the same vehicle architecture underpinning the new GMC HUMMER EV and HUMMER EV SUV, and will be powered by GM's proprietary Ultium batteries. The estimated range on the top version of the new Silverado EV pickup will be 400 miles on a full charge, according to GM. The exact production plan wasn't revealed, but late 2022/early 2023 is the likely in-market date.

AE Song of the Week:

I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again
Amen
Say it again
Amen

I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening
I've been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it's the wink of an eye
When the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again
Amen

Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the Pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there

Ah the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight

I'm gonna find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint by number dreams
And then we'll put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again

I'm gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Thought true love could have been a contender
Are you there
Say a prayer for the Pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender

Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender
Are you prepared for the pretender

"The Pretender" by Jackson Browne, from the album "The Pretender" (1976)*; Written by Jackson Browne; Publisher: FLAT TOWN MUSIC CO., A DIV. OF SWALLOW PUBLICATIONS, INC.Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch a video here. 

*This song is about a man who gives up his dreams and lives a life of routine monotony in order to accumulate money. He is The Pretender. In a 1997 interview with Mojo magazine, Browne said of this song: "I'm a big fan of ambiguity and its bountiful rewards, and 'The Pretender' is two things at once. It's that person in all of us that has a higher ideal, and the part that has settled for compromise - like Truffaut says, there's the movie you set out to make, and there's the one you settle for. But in a more serious way, 'The Pretender' is about '60s idealism, the idea of life being about love and brotherhood, justice, social change and enlightenment, those concepts we were flooded with as our generation hit its stride; and how, later, we settled for something quite different. So when I say 'Say a prayer for The Pretender,' I'm talking about those people who are trying to convince themselves that there really was nothing to that idealism." Browne's first wife, Phyllis, committed suicide in the spring of 1976, but in the wake of the tragedy he recorded his commercial breakthrough album, The Pretender. The record climbed into the Top 10 upon its fall 1976 release, going platinum in the spring of 1977. The song appears on the soundtrack of the movie Mr. Holland's Opus. Browne said in Rolling Stone, October 16, 2008: "'The Pretender' took a long time. It's not that I worked on it every day; I was reluctant to finish it before I had gotten all there was out of it. Songwriting is a search. Most of my songs set up a bunch of questions, and it takes a while to answer them." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)