For year after year, more Americans have bought Toyota RAV4s than anything that isn't a pickup truck. The brand's reputation for solid reliability has kept it ahead of SUVs from other automakers, and the nation's embrace of SUVs and crossovers relegated the poor old Camry to near-bottom of the top 10. For the latest generation—the sixth since 1994—all RAV4s are electrified. Most will use a mix of internal combustion engine and brakes to recharge their hybrid powertrains' traction batteries, like the millions of Priuses out there on the roads. But there's also a plug-in hybrid EV option, with an all-new powertrain with some noticeable improvements compared to the outgoing PHEV.

Just as Toyota's designers and engineers have tried to improve on the previous RAV4 with each successive generation, their counterparts in the powertrain department have similarly been iterating and improving the combination of electric motors and piston engine. Under the hood there's a naturally aspirated 2.5 L four-cylinder engine that operates on the Atkinson-cycle, aided by variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust sides.

The engine, which on its own generates 186 hp (139 kW) and 172 lb-ft (233 Nm), is connected to one of two electric motors under the RAV4's hood, as well as to Toyota's electronically controlled variable ratio transmission.

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The temptation with a car like the Czinger 21C is to treat it as a collection of extreme specifications, and to be fair, it’s certainly not lacking in that department.

At its most basic level, the carbon-fiber-bodied 21C is a hybrid hypercar built around a bespoke 2.88-liter twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank V8 that revs to a searing 11,000 rpm. This power plant is matched up with a three-motor electric system—one electric motor drives each front wheel while a third serves as a crank-driven starter-generator. Combined output is rated at 1,250 hp (932 kW) and 691 lb-ft (937 Nm) of torque.

A seven-speed automated manual transaxle handles gear changes, chosen in part for its low mass and ability to tolerate high torque loads without the packaging penalties of a dual-clutch system. Tipping the scales at under 3,700 lbs (1,678 kg) with fluids, the 21C VMax is capable of hitting 60 mph (97 km/h) from rest in 1.92 seconds on its way to an 8.6 second quarter mile and a 253 mph (378 km/h) top speed, while the road course-focused 21C High Downforce model recently secured lap records at no less than five different California racetracks during a thousand-mile (1,600 km) road trip.

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Did you know the average new vehicle in the US grew an inch (25 mm) wider and 22 inches (558 mm) longer between 2013 and 2023? That's probably obvious to anyone who steps foot outside these days, and it's a trend that we ought to reverse. Bigger cars might make their occupants feel more secure, but they invariably need more energy to get where they're going. And with f=ma being what it is, bigger vehicles tend to leave a lasting and deleterious effect on anything unlucky enough to be the other party in a collision. That makes today's tale a rather bittersweet one, because the Volvo EX30 could be the perfect antidote.

It's a compact and efficient electric crossover with a tiny carbon footprint but no compromises on safety, and it would be perfect for the current moment, except that Volvo recently decided to stop importing the car to the US. With the order books now closed, once the ~1,200-odd cars left in inventory are gone, they're gone.

After teasing us for a while, Volvo finally showed off the EX30 for real in 2023. At the time, the headline news was its price: $34,950 for the rear-wheel drive version before any tax credit. That would have made it one of the cheaper EVs available for sale in the US, but with Volvo's premium badge attached. That was before geopolitics got involved.

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