This article includes independent illustrations for a hypothetical Lexus IS Sport Cross made by Instagram user  sugardesign_1 and is neither related to nor endorsed by Lexus.

Mitsuoka is known for its penchant for taking various Japanese models and transforming them into classic-inspired creations, with the Japanese designer's cars featuring all-new sheet metal with some retro bits.

Subaru has opened reservations for the battery-electric 2023 Solterra crossover, the brand's first pure electric vehicle. From now until February 28, a refundable $250 deposit books the chance be among the first to get the Solterra. The reservation system gives intenders the choice of trim, color, and their preferred Subaru dealer. The menu options start with trim, either entry-level Premium, Limited, or Touring. So far, only four colors are available: Cosmic White Pearl, Elemental Red Pearl, Galactic Black, and Smoked Carbon. The sole interior treatment is black cloth. Subaru still hasn't announced pricing, that should come in April or May when those who saved a place will be able to convert their reservation into a purchase or a lease. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this summer. 

The Solterra should be the second to market of the trio of EV crossovers Subaru and Toyota created, the Toyota bZ4X thought to arrive a tad sooner, in May, the Lexus RZ later in the year. The Solterra adopts the bZ4X's interior with only slight changes, and runs on a Toyota-sourced 71.4-kWh battery pack. The exterior is all Subaru, though, as is the standard Symmetric AWD system the brand is known for. Dual motors producing a combined 215 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque have been estimated to run more than 220 miles on a charge. Toyota announced a roughly 250-mile range for the bZ4X, but that's for the front-wheel-drive trim, which the Solterra doesn't offer. The battery can charge at up to 150 kW, replenishing a full 80% of its juice in around 30 minutes when plugged into a DC fast charger.

Australia is home to some particularly desirable Nissan Skyline GT-Rs and this R34 model is one of the most interesting you're ever likely to come across.

When Honda introduced the Acura brand to North America for the 1986 model year, there were just two models we could buy here: the Legend luxury sedan (developed in partnership with Rover and sibling to the Sterling 825) and the Civic-based Integra. Most Integras we've seen on the street for the last couple of decades have been the third-generation models sold from the 1994 through 2001 model years, and — like their Civic counterparts — plenty of them have held together well enough to rack up impressive mileage totals. Here's a '95 Integra SE coupe that came close to the 350,000-mile mark during its 27 years on the road, found in a Northern California self-service yard a couple of weeks back.

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This week in racing game news:

BUFFALO, W.Va. — Toyota Motor Corp. announced Friday that it will further expand production of electric vehicle parts at plants in West Virginia and Tennessee in a $90 million investment.

The announcement comes three months after the Japanese automaker said it would invest $240 million to add a production line dedicated to hybrid powertrains at its facility in Buffalo, West Virginia. The latest upgrade involves spending $73 million at the plant to annually assemble an estimated 120,000 rear motor stators, a key component in electric motors.

While big game is still days away, automakers have already staked out space in the Super Bowl LVI commercial landscape. We're expecting more teasers and  full-length spots before kickoff on Sunday, and we'll keep this post updated with the latest, greatest and (hopefully) funniest the brands have to offer this year. Can we top last year's Scandinavian silliness? That remains to be seen. 

Kia

The Nissan Armada will soon drive into the magic booth that turns V8s into V6s. Nearly three years ago, Australian outlet CarSales wrote about Nissan commencing work on the next-generation Patrol, the 71-year-old off-roading nameplate that's earned something close to legendary status in lands outside America. In America, we get the Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX80 that are heavily based on the Patrol. The CarSales piece alleged, "Also likely for the next Patrol is the move from a powerful 298-kW 5.6-liter V8 to a smaller capacity turbocharged petrol engine — possibly a V6 — that should produce both more power and torque while being significantly more efficient." This week, Automotive News heard from dealer sources that a new-generation Armada should arrive in late 2023 with a twin-turbo V6 instead of the 5.6-liter Endurance V8 that has been the only engine the Armada has ever known.

When Nissan refreshed the current, second-gen Armada for the 2021 model year, engineers squeezed a bit more power out of the VK56VD eight-cylinder, getting 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque on premium gasoline. The price for all that power is EPA-rated fuel economy of 14 miles per gallon in the city, 19 mpg on the highway and 16 mpg combined when output goes to the rear axle only. On four-wheel-drive models, fuel economy drops by 1 mpg across the board. With competitors like the Toyota Sequoia going the six-cylinder route this year, the Jeep Wagoneer family expected to do so imminently, and the Ford Expedition doing so back in 2015, it's a fine time for Nissan to roll with the tide. Toyota doesn't hasn't given us economy estimates for the Sequoia yet, but the Expedition improved its fuel economy across the board by 3 mpg in two-wheel drive, and by 4 mpg in four-wheel drive after the switch from Ford's 5.4-liter V8 to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6.

As you might have heard, there's a sports contest coming up this weekend, something about Stellantis pickup trucks from Los Angeles versus Buick concept cars from Cincinnati. Toyota will have not one, but two ads during the game, with completely different tones. One's a serious heartstring tugger about a Paralympic athlete's triumph over adversity. The other's just a goofy romp with celebrities racing new Tundras.

The lengthy build process for Ryan Tuerck's new drift weapon wrapped up late last year and has resulted in one of the most remarkable builds ever conceived.

Nissan has unveiled a trio of truck concepts based on the new Frontier at the 2022 Chicago Auto Show.

We're not sure if Nissan was thinking the Chicago Auto Show was actually SEMA, but we're not complaining about this trio of 2022 Nissan Frontiers the company is showing off. Two of them are some charmingly retro builds, and the other is what seems like a very capable overlander. They were all designed by Nissan Design America, and if you like the way they look, at least a couple could probably be replicated without much trouble.

The 2022 Subaru Forester range has grown in the UK with the launch of the automaker's new e-BOXER powertrain.