Toyota Is Bringing Its Version Of Rolls-Royce To The United States

Matt Nelson is an automotive journalist with nearly a decade of experience in all things cars.  He's spent years working at dealerships in sales, finance, and service. He's since traded in his pens and wrenches for a keyboard, and leveraged the expertise gained from his work experience into a writing career. When it comes to cars, facts, and the truth, Matt’s equal love for all three meant automotive journalism was the only path forward. Ever since the age of six, when he’d spend his time helping his father fix his family’s old Buick, Matt has had a keen interest in anything and everything with four wheels. Naturally, once Matt started working, he ensconced himself in the automotive industry and held positions spanning from car detailer, mechanic, to automotive sales and finance. Because he’s seen it all, driven most, and heard a lot, auto journalism came naturally to him. With a passion for cars like Matt’s, it’s safe to say every article will showcase his penchant for truth, accuracy, and overarching desire to make sense of the modern, complex automotive world. This means every one of his readers can be at the forefront of the most important automotive news.

With Halloween just around the corner, it's nice to see automakers embracing the holiday spirit without taking themselves too seriously. Just last week, Tesla began rolling out a Halloween-themed software update that, as the automaker put it on X, "turns your Tesla into a haunted house on wheels. " Days later, Rivian brought Ghostbusters to its entire lineup as part of its own Halloween surprise. Tesla's Halloween Mode comes as part of update 2026.38.3 and brings along a host of goofy ghost-themed add-ons. For example, you can frighten pedestrians by speaking through Tesla's Boombox feature — the car will now repeat your message in a not-so-robotic but suitably scary voice. There's also a new lock sound available, with your Tesla now growling as you lock the car.

Under the hood of cars and trucks, you'll find many fluids flowing around, lubricating and actuating different components — especially if the vehicle has hydraulic power steering. With the exception of the coolant, most are classified as a type of oil, even if you don't think of them as such. That's because we often classify hydraulic oil as simply a fluid — on the flip side, who refers to engine oil as engine fluid? Hydraulic fluids are more for hydraulically actuating things, such as the braking system, automatic transmission (though there are important differences between transmission and hydraulic fluid), and power steering system (again, if it has it). So what's the difference between hydraulic oil and motor oil? It all comes down to viscosity, purpose, and the various ingredients that treat their given systems right. With that being said, engine oil also actuates some components hydraulically, but we'll get into that shortly.

Tyler Reddick won his sixth race of the season and his first in six months at Phoenix Raceway, keeping his championship hopes alive with a 61-point day. Reddick started the season with a three-race streak and then went five for nine, with his last win coming at Kansas Speedway on April 19th. A once-championship favorite that fell out of conversation as other drivers stacked wins and points through the summer and first half of the playoffs. His win halved his points deficit to the leader; he entered 114 points behind Kyle Larson and, with Larson’s no-points day, finished 56 points back. Larson’s lack of pace, followed by a tire failure and a DNF, means that every driver in contention for the championship behind them just saw the door crack open. Denny Hamlin entered Phoenix second in the championship, and 49 points behind; now Joey Logano is just 44 points behind Larson and sixth in the standings. Reddick restarted fourth on the final restart with 23 laps to go, becoming the first driver to pit for right-side scuffs, with Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, and Ty Gibbs ahead on 10- to 14-lap-old tires.

A few weeks ago I was in Rome for the reveal of Bridgestone's new Formula E tires, and luckily I had a few hours of free time to walk around the city, see some incredible ancient ruins and, more importantly, do some carspotting. Not even five minutes after setting down my bags and leaving my hotel, I spotted what must be the most perfect way to get around Rome: This bright red Fiat 500 Jolly. In 1957, Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli wanted a vehicle he could load onto his yacht and use around town on vacations, commissioning Carrozzeria Ghia to design and build something based on the then-brand-new Fiat 500. Ghia removed the roof (though you could get an awning-like canvas one), chopped the windshield, gave it custom bodywork without any doors and side windows, and stripped out the interior, replacing the regular seats with wicker ones. The ultimate beachside ride was born, with Ghia building a few hundred Jollys based on both the 500 and the slightly larger 600.

For decades, one of the biggest debates among off-road enthusiasts has been whether gas or diesel trucks make for the better off-roader. There are plenty of good reasons to run both types of vehicles on your favorite trails, but gas and diesel enjoyers alike have a new issue to worry about. That would be the new kid on the block: electric SUVs with purported off-road chops for days. While it might've once been inconceivable that an electric vehicle could even come close to matching the performance of off-road all-stars like the Toyota Tundra, the Subaru Forester Wilderness, and even the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the introduction of the Rivian R1S and R1T in 2021 turned the off-roading world upside down. As it turns out, modern EVs aren't just highly capable on pavement; they can also be tuned for seriously impressive rock crawling, and they even have some significant benefits over their competitors with traditional internal combustion engines. For one, many EVs have excellent ground clearance, and they need fewer pieces of specialized gear to excel on even the most challenging wilderness trails.