Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

We're steering by wire into our review of the polarizing Tesla Cybertruck... Then we'll shine the spotlight on proper headlight alignment... We'll see what it takes to stay alive in the world's most famous race around the clock... Ending with an American ute made worlds better, the new GMC Acadia!

So come drive with us, next!

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JOHN: We've all heard about it, you may have even seen one or two on the road by now, but how much do you really know about Tesla's outrageous looking Cybertruck?

Well, you've come to the right place for all the stainless steel lowdown, as we're about to blast into cyberspace for some high-tech truckin'!

♪♪ Over at Tesla, they're used to taking on big tasks.

Not only did they make EVs mainstream, they also turned them into status symbols, built a nationwide charging infrastructure to support them; plus, they've even blasted into outer space.

Their latest challenge, getting truck buyers to buy into this stainless-steel origami project in mass, might be their toughest undertaking yet.

But we're not betting against them, as this 2024 Tesla Cybertruck is unlike anything else on the road, and attracts the kind of attention usually reserved for mega-buck Italian exotics.

We're all living in the Cyber Age of course, but just to get even more "cyber-y" we made sure to get our hands on a local owner's Cyberbeast version of the Cybertruck.

It uses a trio of electric motors, one in front, two in back, to crank out 845 horsepower and 864 pound-feet of torque.

Energy comes from a 123-kWh battery, with 250 kW max charging for recouping 128 miles in 15 minutes.

The Beast is rated at 301 miles, though a soon to be available range extender could push that to more than 440.

The standard two-motor All-Wheel Drive Cybertruck has a range of 340 miles.

Our tester came wrapped in black, hiding the sheen of those stainless-steel body panels.

But, we were much more interested in what it was like to get behind its oddly shaped steering wheel anyway.

So, we swiped up for Drive and got down to business.

The first thing we noticed was how much space there was between us and the base of the windshield.

Combine that with small windows and a sloping bed cover that makes it impossible to see anything with the flimsy rearview mirror.

Visibility is compromised from every angle.

Sure, there are cameras everywhere to help, but it's a less-than-ideal situation.

The Cybertruck is controlled with a steer-by-wire system which means strictly electronic signals between the steering wheel and the motors on the steering rack.

And the rear wheels get in on the act too, making for one of the most hyper-reactive vehicles we've experienced.

It definitely feels out of place in a big, tough truck like this, but it also didn't take long to get used to, which could also be said about the brakes and their very natural feel.

There's 12 inches of travel in the suspension with the adjustable ride height maxing out at 16 inches of ground clearance.

Ride quality is smoother than most of its EV pickup competition, but we wouldn't exactly call it car-like.

Coming in at just under 6,900 pounds, the Cybertruck undercuts the GMC Hummer EV Pickup by more than a ton, it's rated to tow up to 11,000 pounds, and yes, it's very quick.

At our Mason Dixon test track, the big 285-series tires on 20-inch wheels easily transferred all of the Beast's power to pavement for consistent blasts to 60 in just 2.6 seconds.

Same as we recently got in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06, and more than a half second quicker than both the Hummer EV Pickup and the Rivian R1T.

Launch control is easy to activate, and the Beast stayed plenty stable at speed, but there was a lot of wind noise and a significant amount of electric whining noises too, though those actually sounded kind of cool.

Power delivery did plateau towards the end of the track, but we still cleared the quarter in 11.6 seconds at 114 miles-per-hour.

It's not all about acceleration, however.

There are lots of cool features here in the Cybertruck: Power tailgate and tonneau cover for the 6-foot bed; Honda Ridgeline-like underfloor bed storage; multiple outlets in the bed for powering and charging; front storage space under the hood; a giant windshield wiper; and Sentry Mode which allows you to access the car's many cameras to monitor all the gawkers while you're away from it.

Tesla-style minimalism inside means using the 18.5-inch touchscreen for almost everything, and of course you can monitor and control many features from your small screen too.

Rear seat passengers get their own 9.4-inch display, along with plenty of room and flip up seat bottoms for storage.

Fit-and-finish has improved at Tesla, but there are still some squeaks, and cheaper than expected materials inside, plus a fair amount of panel misalignments outside considering the Cybertruck's Foundation Series base price of $93,990; Cyberbeast pricing starts at $113,990.

While sales so far have barely put a dent into its 2 million reservations, it is off to a decent start.

After all, the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck, besides being a unique beast, does truck-like things surprisingly well.

Plus, it's faster than most hyper sports cars.

Still, what the Cybertruck does best is attract a crowd, and we see nothing wrong with that.

♪♪ JOHN: The race to the checkered flag at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most difficult challenges in all of motorsports.

The incredible merging of skill, effort, engineering, weather and luck needed to succeed there, is mind-boggling.

And now in a world ever-mindful of environmental impacts, these racers now face another enormous challenge.

♪♪ Every year in the month of June, the small town of Le Mans, France transforms into a motorsports mecca.

For the 2024 edition, more than 239,000 race fans converged from all over the world, eager to cheer on their favorite teams.

They stood 10-deep to watch the drivers parade through town.

They flooded merchandise shops, clogged the fan zones and paddocks, filled the grandstands to capacity, and camped out to claim prime viewing spots along the 8-mile public road circuit.

Through sun and rain and dark of night, this iconic 24-hour race is filled with high-speed drama, tragedy, strategy, and adrenaline.

The sheer spectacle of it all is mesmerizing.

Le Mans is the ultimate durability test for driver and machine, as both must perform at their best for an entire trip around the clock.

But in the light of worldwide concern for the environment, that same clock is ticking for motorsports to clean up its act.

Many outsiders view racing as a waste of resources, a frivolous pursuit of ego at the expense of eco.

The old adage "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" still holds true, but the extreme conditions of competition have always served as a testing ground and accelerator for technological development, and that now includes sustainability.

More than ever, that's what drives car sales.

In fact, wide-sweeping changes are taking place in all forms of motorsports.

Race organizers here and around the world have set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, with the aim of reducing race-related emissions by 30 percent.

The World Endurance challenge series, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, now runs on 100 percent renewable fuel.

Known as Excellium Racing 100, this biofuel is derived from grape residue.

Leave it to the French to run race cars on wine!

Michelin has developed a tire composed of 71 percent biosourced materials, currently being tested on prototype race cars.

The FIA sanctioning body issues three levels of sustainability accreditation, as a way for teams, suppliers, and race venues to measure and enhance their environmental commitments.

The sustainable endurance award was created in 2021 to encourage positive innovation, social engagement and low carbon impact.

Since 2023, all teams racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans are required to compete for this trophy.

Penske Porsche Racing won that honor in 2023 with their racing for charity initiative, and was again challenging in 2024, donating 750 euros for each lap completed to provide medical procedures for disadvantaged children.

The fully-electric Formula E series is maturing into a competitive and viable platform, and now even NASCAR is exploring an EV racer class.

2025 will see the debut of Extreme H, the world's first hydrogen-fueled race series.

Meanwhile, Toyota and others have announced plans to compete with hydrogen-powered cars at Le Mans as early as 2027.

And fans can get in on the green act too, earning 10 percent off ticket prices and other incentives by taking mass transit, bicycles or low-emission cars to the Le Mans circuit.

All of these efforts will have a positive environmental impact, while ensuring the thrill of clean competition will endure for years to come.

We've shown you how to restore worn headlight's clarity, but sometimes a full replacement is needed.

And in that case, you'd best follow the advice from Dan Maffett, lighting up the path to proper headlight alignment on MotorWeek's "Your Drive!"

♪♪ DAN MAFFETT: I think we've all had that situation at night when we're driving and get blinded by headlights on a vehicle coming at us that has the headlights misaligned.

Now, no one wants to be that guy, and there's no excuse anymore now that every vehicle you have has some type of adjustment, whether it's in the housing or in the bulb itself.

And to adjust it is easier than ever.

You pull it up to a wall, about 3 feet away, you transfer the dimensions of the headlight bulb positions at ride height to the wall with some tape, pull the vehicle back about 24-25 feet, and then turn your headlights on.

And what that's going to do is give you a line, and you want to adjust your headlights 3 inches below.

Now, we're going to line up this one behind us, and show you how to lay it out.

So, when you go to adjust your headlights, you want to make sure that you transfer all the dimensions of where the headlight's placed, onto a wall.

Easiest thing to do is pull up very close to a wall.

We're going to use a garage door.

You measure from the ground to the center of the bulb, then from the centerline out to the bulb.

And that gives you the dimensions to transfer, so you can then make sure you're right in the area you need to be.

[Tape ripping] Now, once you have the measurements transferred to the wall with these intersections of where your bulbs are positioned at ride height, you want to measure 3 inches down, because we're going to adjust the bulbs so that they're hitting 3 inches below this center mass.

So, ours, 3 inches down is gonna be right here at this lip, we got a little lucky.

And we mark those out on both sides.

Now we can get in and adjust them.

So, once you have your marks transferred to the wall and the vehicle pulled back about 25 feet, you can get under the hood, locate your adjusters, and even something as state of the art as this only requires a screw driver to adjust.

So, you can find your adjustment, you want to look at the wall and make sure that your light is going up or down, it's either clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on your vehicle.

And we are a little tall, so I'm going to bring this down just a little bit.

And that is going to do us really good.

So, adjusting your headlights has never been easier.

If you have any questions or comments, hit us up right here at MotorWeek .

JOHN: Now that we're up to operating temp, let's go full throttle for another Quick Spin!

♪♪ JESSICA RAY: Aston Martin expanded their performance portfolio in 2022 to include a high-speed SUV, the DBX707.

And for 2025, this special agent is getting retailored for its mission to deliver fast fun and extraordinary luxury.

The exterior sees re-chiseled fascias front and rear, joined by the new badging, mirrors and motorized door handles; underscored by new 22-inch wheels, sheathing carbon ceramic brakes with more bite than Jaws' steel teeth.

But the biggest shift is inside, pun intended.

The once dash-mounted shift buttons are now controlled by a proper selector residing on the console.

The infotainment screen is of an in-house design, seen on other recent Astons and well-integrated in the DBX.

Thoughtfully executed is the AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8, using 4.0-liters of combustion to deliver 697 horsepower and 663 pound-feet of torque.

Another Mercedes component, the nine-speed wet-clutch automatic disperses all of that energy; the all-wheel drive layout is rear-biased, the center diff kicking in for front torque delivery.

That means 3.1-second 0-to-60 launches and a 190-mile per hour top speed.

Paired with standard adaptive dampers and height-adjustable air springs keep the 707 planted and driver confidence high.

A First Drive in Sonoma, California, confirmed as much.

DAVE SCRIVENER: The DBX707 is a phenomenal performance car that happens to be an SUV, without the usual SUV tradeoffs of feeling heavy or awkward when you push it.

Whether carving through switchbacks or cruising the Pacific Coast Highway, the DBX is always composed and responsive.

The adaptive suspension is tight when you need it to be, but doesn't force you to endure a stiff ride all the time.

JESSICA RAY: Starting near a quarter of a million dollars, the 2025 Aston Martin DBX707 is an exclusive sport utility performer.

Whether it's a night on the town or an adrenaline-fueled escape from cronies in blacked-out sedans, the DBX707 is a premier choice.

GREG CARLOSS: The celestial equinox is a biyearly sign of change.

Much less frequent are changes to the Chevrolet's compact utility of the same name, but 2025 brings us a new, fourth generation Equinox we just had to check out.

Fortunately, no crossing of the equator was required for some First Drive seat time, instead taking just a short flight to Minneapolis.

Still a compact, the new Equinox has seen a slight growth spurt: 2.5 inches wider, though length stays roughly the same at 183 inches.

The new exterior follows recent Chevrolet design language, now sharper, edgier and perhaps more youthful than before.

And the cabin certainly mirrors that sentiment with tech at the forefront.

New is an 11-inch digital instrument panel paired to an 11.3-inch infotainment screen.

This duo is standard in all trims, and fits right into the recontoured and more upscale cabin.

And the max 64 cubic feet of storage is ample for this ute.

Not to be confused with the very different Equinox EV, every gas-fueled Equinox is powered by a familiar 1.5-liter turbo-four, standard front-wheel drive with all-wheel drive available.

Those front-wheel drives use a CVT, while all-wheel drives incorporate an eight-speed automatic, two gears more than before.

In either configuration, that little carryover four-banger outputs 175 horsepower and 203 pound-feet of torque.

Still, the on-road spirit felt more spry this time around.

STEPHANIE HART: The turbocharged engine provides better acceleration and a smoother drive overall compared to the previous generation.

GREG CARLOSS: The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox starts around $31,000, which strikes us a solid value proposition for a compact ute.

They're on dealer lots now, and it's here on the MotorWeek lot for a full Road Test.

Stay tuned for that and more Quick Spins soon!

JOHN: The GMC Acadia debuted for 2007 as one of the first stretched three-row crossover utes to hit the streets.

But by the time the second gen rolled around, GMC felt a shorter, nimbler Acadia would be the hot ticket.

Well, it turns out fans wanted their Acadias large and in charge, so for 2024 the Acadia returns to its extended status.

♪♪ Yes, the Acadia is now large and in charge once again, but there's a lot more to this 2024 GMC Acadia than just casting a bigger shadow.

Just for reference, the original Acadia was 200.7 inches in length with three rows of seating standard; second gen saw overall length shrink by 7 inches.

This one, at 204 inches long, is even bigger than the original, on a 121-inch wheelbase, which is also 2 inches longer than first gen. From the base Elevation you can take the rugged route to AT4 trim or to luxury-minded Denali.

Only the AT4 gets all-wheel drive standard; it's a $2,000 option for front-wheel-drive Elevation and Denali.

We opted for the Denali which gets the signature Denali grille, bright trim work, and available 22-inch wheels.

But there are bigger benefits inside, fancy materials with even fancier names like Galvano chrome and laser-etched wood.

Now, some might call it a little over the top, but that's exactly what Denali buyers want.

A Bose sound system with Active Noise Cancellation is included, but buyers can upgrade from 12 to 16 speakers.

GM's SuperCruise driver assistance is also available.

Front seats are wide, finely stitched, and fully onboard with the luxury vibe.

Second row can be a three-place bench or pair of captain's chairs making seating for either seven or eight, as a third row remains standard.

The captain's chairs here in the Denali have lots of adjustment and are super comfortable.

Seatbacks fold down with just the touch of a button, while the third row gets full power operation.

And it is cargo space that benefits most in this bigger Acadia, especially behind the third row which sees an 80 percent increase to 23.0 cubic-feet; there's 57.3 cubic-feet of space behind the second row seatbacks, and a max 97.5 with all seatbacks folded flat.

Up front, there's a big Google-based, 15-inch, portrait-style infotainment screen, with a few manual controls along the bottom.

A standard V6 engine was part of the Acadia's journey at the beginning, but became optional for the second gen where a four-cylinder was more appropriate for its smaller size.

Third gen is biggest of all, but there's strictly four-cylinder power these days.

Though it is a new turbocharged 2.5-liter unit that rocks out 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque, 18 more horsepower and 55 pound-feet of torque more than the V6.

It feels very powerful in most driving situations and is capable of pulling 5,000 pounds of trailer, but it's also fairly noisy.

Still, there was plenty of power to move this big ute to 60 in 6.8 seconds.

It didn't feel overly powerful off the line regardless of drive mode or any other setting, but all-wheel-drive grip was good, and speed built quickly.

All Acadias work with an eight-speed automatic transmission which delivered very smooth shifts that kept the power flowing throughout our quarter-mile, ending in 15.1 seconds at 89 miles-per-hour.

For a big vehicle, it performed quite well in our handling course.

Despite soft and vague steering feel, the Acadia exhibited very little body roll or understeer, as Sport mode tightens up the suspension quite nicely.

Even with a soft brake pedal, we could feel the ABS working overtime in our panic braking runs; but it's job well done, with stops averaging only 111 feet from 60 miles-per-hour.

Surprisingly, City and Combined Government Fuel Economy Ratings for the new four-cylinder with all-wheel drive are exactly the same as the outgoing V6 at 19 City, and 21 Combined; Highway rating is actually 2 less at 24.

We averaged 21.7 miles-per-gallon of Regular.

Pricing starts with Elevation at $43,995; things do elevate from there to AT4 for $51,395 and Denali at $55,695.

Bigger isn't always better, but it's clearly a positive outcome for the new Acadia.

GM was instrumental in launching the whole large crossover scene, and has since seen a crowd of rivals enter into it.

The 2024 GMC Acadia is now even more ready to take them all on than ever.

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time, when we open up all roads with the Honda Passport TrailSport, followed by a high-voltage shakedown of the BMW iX M60.

Until next time, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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Learn more at AutoValue.Com and BumperToBumper.Com.

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