Good morning and welcome to our daily digest of automotive news from around the globe, starting with…

So it turns out we still don't have full details on the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Information will continue to trickle out instead. But at least we have information on one of the SUV's most critical parts: the battery pack. It has more capacity, and should have more range.

The outgoing Outlander PHEV had a 13.8-kWh battery pack good for 22 to 24 miles of all-electric range. The new model's battery expands to 20 kWh. On the WLTP cycle, it's good for 54 miles, but the U.S. EPA numbers will probably be lower. The capacity increase is about 45%, so applying that to the miles, we're expecting somewhere around 32 to 35 miles of electric range. That would put it close to the Ford Escape PHEV's 37 miles of range and the Kia Sorento PHEV's 32 miles. It would still trail the RAV4 Prime's 42 miles of range.

When we first drove the 2022 GR86 back in August, Toyota's marketing team assured us that its base price would start "comfortably" under $30,000. On Wednesday, Toyota came through. The 2022 GR86 will start at $28,725 (including $1,025 for destination) — an increase of just $710 over last year's model. 

Congratulations, 2022 Honda Ridgeline, you're no longer alone. The Ridgeline has been the only pickup in the U.S. market that used crossover architecture, granting it unrivaled interior space, handling and ride comfort for a midsize pickup. Of course, it also granted it unending guffaws and eye rolls from the majority of the truck-buying population who don't view it as a truck. Besides the lack of traditional body-on-frame architecture (it's built on the same car-like crossover platform of the Honda Pilot), it can only tow 5,000 pounds, has minimal ground clearance and only one cab/bed/powertrain combination. Yes, it looks a bit more macho after last year's styling update, but we doubt many minds have been changed.

At least not yet, because the introduction of the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick could easily lead to a wider acceptance of the crossover pickup concept Honda has been trying to make a thing for two Ridgeline generations. They too have the same advantages of the Ridgeline – and similar demerits – but they're also considerably smaller. So although this pair of compact crossover pickups can be considered alternatives, the Ridgeline remains the only midsize crossover pickup. Guess it's still alone after all.

TOKYO — A Japanese startup backed by soccer player Keisuke Honda hopes to persuade wealthy consumers to swap their supercar for a 77.7 million yen ($680,000) hoverbike that went on sale on Tuesday.

The "XTurismo Limited Edition" from Tokyo-based drone startup A.L.I. Technologies is equipped with a conventional engine and four battery-powered motors and promises to fly for 40 minutes at up to 100 kph (62 mph).

SEMA is just around the corner, and Honda announced Tuesday that it will have a little something for everybody this year, including two- and four-wheel overlanding enthusiasts, performance junkies and those who just want to put their own touch on their daily conveyances. We'll kick things off with a pair of Civic Si-based race cars. 

It's not every day that you see a race car based on a medium-duty truck, but that's exactly what we have here now that Hino has revealed their entry into the 2022 Dakar Rally. The rally rig is based on the Hino 600 medium-duty truck, which is more commonly seen with a Ryder cargo box affixed to the rear, but clearly there have been some modifications made.

For one, that cargo container has been swapped for an aerodynamic box carrying a 211-gallon fuel tank, spares and supplies for the grueling 5,000-mile desert contest. That includes extras of the Hino's massive XZL 14.00 R20 tires that measure 49 inches tall with a sidewall of 14.7 inches.

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Subaru is a car company long associated with dogs, but this week we celebrate National Cat Day, and if that wasn't a good enough reason to give your furry companions extra treats and pets today, here's another: You can win a 2022 Subaru Outback, complete with a pet accessory pack, if you enter at Omaze.

POWEL BUTTE, Ore. — "It's about the journey, not the destination." This has long been a rallying cry for enthusiasts everywhere who see cars as more than simply the means of traveling from point A to B. It's particularly apt for off-roading enthusiasts. For them, of course, it's about the journey – there will almost certainly be a better way of getting from here to there than at 5 mph up a boulder-strewn hill.

The 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness is not that type of off-roader. It ultimately makes the journey easier, more comfortable and less nerve-wracking, but its owner is almost certainly more concerned with the destination. Specifically the camping spot, the hiking trail, the alpine lake, etc. And this isn't some marketing strawman or a dream scenario for owners who'll really only ever take it to Whole Foods.

The next-generation Mazda MX-5 will hit the market at a time when electric and hybrid vehicles start to become even more commonplace but the sports car won't follow suit. In fact, it will retain an internal combustion engine, according to a new report.

When BMW announced their newest M4 would be offered with all-wheel drive, many people were up in arms. Now, in their latest video, Throttle House drag races an M4 Competition with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system against the Audi RS5 and the Nissan GT-R, two vehicles well-known for their superb AWD performance.

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This week in racing game news:

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski for a robust week of reviews and news discussion. They start with what they've been driving, and it's a pretty impressive list. The Toyota Tundra and Rivian R1T hold down the truck end of things, with Hyundai Kona N Line and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing making an appearance on the enthusiast side. The updated Polaris Slingshot rounds things out. Next, they pivot to news, where Maverick guarantees a little more truck talk. That's followed by GM's new 1,000-horsepower monument to crate motor displacement, Stellantis searching for battery partners, details of the new Honda Civic Si and Tesla's massive third-quarter performance. Then, they spend a listener's money.

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