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McLaren’s supercars are so good in part because they have good bones. The road-car arm of the reigning F1 constructors’ champion builds all of its cars off carbon-fiber monocoques, to which engines, suspension, and body panels are attached, race-car style. Even by itself, a bare McLaren Monocell chassis is an impressive piece of engineering. One that you can now own for much, much less than the cost of a complete car.

The monocoque from a crashed McLaren GT is being offered for sale by 417 Motoring on eBay with, at the time of writing, a reduced asking price of $2,624.99. That’s down from the original asking price of $3,499.99, although you’ll likely have to pay the $1,200 flat-rate shipping fee to get the bare shell from Missouri to wherever you are. Still, by volume at least, you’re getting a lot of car for a fraction of what it cost new (about $210,000 in its debut model year).

The seller notes that there is damage to the rear corner section, and to the front left side of the tub. And while windshield and roof glass are included, both pieces are cracked and may have to be replaced. It’s unclear if this damage is terminal, or if the GT could be resurrected with enough replacement parts. Monocell chassis are pretty tough, which is why crashed limited-edition McLarens like the Elva and Senna can still sell for six or seven figures even with salvage titles.

It may not be financially worthwhile to attempt a GT rebuild, though. Introduced for the 2020 model year, the GT is based on the 720S but with softer styling and tuning, as well as added cargo space under the engine cover, Maserati Bora-style, to fulfill the grand tourer role. But it’s still a two-seat, mid-engine supercar, so practicality increases by only a small degree. McLaren replaced it with the spicier GTS for 2024, but this is still a neither-here-nor-there car that may not have the long-term appeal of a Senna or Long Tail.

Besides, there are so many other options. This would make a sick race car bed, although your kids might outgrow it quickly. You could also convert it into a sim racing rig, taking advantage of the supercar cockpit layout in a (somewhat) more modest footprint than a rig made from a complete car.

If I had a porch, I’d hire somebody to build a frame, reinstall the cupholders, and turn this thing into a porch swing for the summer. For the winter, Senior Editor Caleb Jacobs suggested using it as a toboggan. Sounds good to me. After all, it’s been crash-tested.

Got a tip? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com

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Amphibious cars have never really taken off, and amphibious trucks are mostly limited to the military, but amphibious ATVs were once the core of the market. Before the seminal Honda ACT90 and later four-wheelers, six wheels and the ability to float were quite normal. So seeing this Ate 6×6 on Facebook Marketplace is kind of like seeing a dinosaur.

Offered with a $3,000 asking price by an Oklahoma seller, this ATV isn’t just cool because it has more than the typical number of wheels and can drive through water. The seller claims it also has a four-stroke Honda engine, which means it should be very reliable as well. This may not have been a factory option—Attex seemed to use a mix of engines from U.S. and Canadian manufacturers—but it definitely sounds like an improvement.

Whether it’s in a car, motorcycle, or ATV, a Honda engine is a good bet when it comes to reliability. This one sounds like it has plenty of power too. The seller claims “you can spin a 180 on a trail in no time” and that they use the Attex to move trailers and boats. Like most other six-wheeled ATVs, you steer by braking the wheels on one side like a tank, which also makes it easier to maneuver in tight spaces. Side-by-side seating was also a big advantage when Attex was in business, but modern UTVs offer that with even more space nowadays.

According to current ATV manufacturer Mudd-Ox, which has dedicated part of its website to defunct ATV makers, Attex was founded in 1967 by David McCahill, heir to the Maytag washing machine fortune. McCahill wanted to start a business selling the Amphicat ATV but couldn’t get inventory, so he designed his own ATV with friend Roger Flannery.

That first Attex was allegedly something of a knockoff of the Amphicat, but the company gradually became more ambitious, competing in the NORRA Baja 500 and designing a range of two-stroke and four-stroke models, as well as an electric model called the Electrica that was available by-order only. It also built a prototype dually called the Spirit, and supplied an 8×8 to the U.S. military to train tank drivers.

The double whammy of Honda’s arrival on the ATV scene and the 1973 oil crisis affected nearly all U.S. ATV manufacturers—including Attex. Two years later the company also lost access to the Borg-Warner T-20 transmission that it and many other 6×6 makers had been using when the rights were purchased by rival firms Recreatives and Hustler Corporation. The company was sold multiple times, allegedly selling a few vehicles into the early 1990s before disappearing like so many other of its contemporaries.

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Southeast Michigan may not be Texas, but we have more than our fair share of big trucks around here. Second only to the Escalades and other full-size SUVs that prowl metro Detroit, heavy-duty pickups like the 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty are still coveted chariots even in some of America’s wealthiest suburban zip codes. But there’s a flip side to that.

When I’m testing a flashy luxury SUV or fancy sports car, the neighbors will often wander past. They want to know what it is, and more often than not, what it’ll do. Something like an F-250 Super Duty, on the other hand, is a known quantity—even if that quantity tends to be quite large.

The Basics

Just days before the truck arrived, we learned that the 7.3-liter “Godzilla” V8 had become the truck’s new default engine. To that, I have one thing to say: Hallelujah.

Don’t get me wrong; diesels are awesome machines, and if capability is all that you care about, the Power Stroke is ultimately going to punch harder. You’ll get no argument from me if that’s your use case. But if you’re going to be driving your truck empty or close to it (depending on what you’re hauling, even a full bed in a Super Duty might qualify as “nearly empty” in terms of actual payload), the 7.3 is the engine to get—period.

It may not look like much, but hey, the average American man has to stand on his toes just to get a decent look at this thing anyway. If you’re the DIY maintenance type, you may want to consider investing in a step stool.

Driving the F-250 Super Duty Tremor

Last year, I tested a monster of an F-350—a dual-rear-wheel behemoth that only cleared the door framing of my new carport by a couple of inches. It took sincere effort (writers don’t typically spend their days hauling construction-grade block around) to even scratch the surface of what that truck was capable of, and driving it around unladen didn’t help it put its best foot forward. With no trailer and an empty bed, the diesel always felt underworked and, at the same time, annoyed that it had been asked to show up at all. Despite the temperament its name might imply, Godzilla simply hums along at whatever pace you desire.

The big V8 may be simple, maybe, but not exactly mundane. Its 7.3-liter displacement is impressive on its own, and it produces 430 horsepower and 485 pound-feet of torque. That’s less than you get from the new LT6 in the 2026 Corvette, which is decidedly not a pickup truck, but the pushrod Ford also isn’t as highly stressed as the ‘Vette engine. Meanwhile, the 6.7-liter high-output diesel cranks out an almost incomprehensible 1,200 pound-feet.

Here’s the thing about diesels (just about anything turbocharged, really): You may not need revs to get gobs of torque, but you do need throttle to spin that turbine. That big turbodiesel may not lag much, but Godzilla doesn’t do it at all—nor does it sound like somebody threw a live goose down a garbage disposal. And even if it may be down on raw grunt, the 4.30:1 axle ratio makes Godzilla feel plenty quick.

This time around, I didn’t have any stress tests for the F-250; the biggest item it brought home was a nine-foot Freeman maple that the township’s beautification commission offered after we lost one of our tree-lawn silver maples to old age. Are you even using a truck if you don’t exceed at least one of its cargo dimensions?

The Highs and Lows

My biggest complaint about driving the F-350 last year was its unladen road manners. When you engineer a truck to haul that much weight on the rear axle (and then stick extra tires on it to accommodate more load), you need a correspondingly stiff suspension so that the truck doesn’t droop in the rear when you max out its payload or tongue weight. Sag out back lifts the nose, which makes the nose light (compromising steering response and feel) and reduces stability at speed.

This single-rear-wheel Super Duty won’t hold as much in the bed, nor can it pull quite as large a trailer, but it rides beautifully by comparison—even this Tremor package, which ostensibly cranks the aggression up a notch. Fortunately, those knobby tires have nice, thick sidewalls that greedily soak up surface imperfections and smooth out what might otherwise be a jittery ride.

The advantage is even more obvious because this F-250, like last year’s truck, was a King Ranch. Named for a sprawling Texas homestead, this not-quite-a-Platinum treatment coats the interior in what is likely enough leather to deplete its namesake cattle herd. It’s not quite a Lincoln, but you probably wouldn’t be disappointed if you were coming from one.

As for lows, there aren’t many. It’s still huge, but you don’t buy a crew-cab pickup with an eight-foot bed because it’s compact and maneuverable. Nor, for that matter, do you buy it because it’s a fuel miser…

Fuel Economy

In a word (or three), LOL. Automakers aren’t required to publish fuel economy figures for their heavy-duty pickups, and given the F-250’s massive 48-gallon tank, getting a meaningful average in the space of just a week is essentially its own speedrun challenge. In short, if you’re buying a truck to be frugal, this is the wrong one. If that’s the case, the F-150 hybrid may be more your speed, and don’t feel bad—it’s more mine too.

2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty Features, Options, and Competition

The full-size truck market is a complex and high-dollar segment to parse. Realistically, the buyer for an F-250 knows better what they need than I do, especially given that my job’s version of “heavy lifting” often involves a ceramic mug and pensive stares.

But as stagnant as this little corner of the market might get, we do occasionally see big changes. Ram’s latest HD overhaul gave it broader aftermarket support for power take-off accessories and introduced a new transmission lineup-wide, bringing the Cummins diesel some long-anticipated upgrades. But loyalty, being what it is among truck buyers, may not matter much.

Given the many ways the Super Duty lineup can be configured (and the wide disparity in use cases), it’s hard to make a definitive judgment call about trucks in this segment. And hey, I’m a city slicker, remember? It’s my job to tell you when you’re enduring a crappy experience just for the sake of pickup squad credibility, but it’s virtually impossible for me to say which truck best fits your lifestyle. If you pick the wrong tool for the job, that’s on you.

Value and Verdict

Value can be a nebulous thing to define in any automotive segment; things get even trickier when you’re talking about heavy-duty pickups with six-figure price tags (after taxes in this case, but still). We’re firmly in the domain of maximalism. More is more; less is unconscionable.

Appropriately, this truck’s name is no less of a mouthful than last year’s: 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty King Ranch Tremor Crew Cab Long Bed Single Rear Wheel, but the truck itself is a lot easier to wrap one’s head around. It’s still long, but the single-rear-wheel setup makes the whole thing feel manageable. It’s still too long to fit in my smaller suburban garage, but it will fit (albeit snugly) in the gravel space next to it. Of the trucks that are too big for me, this is at least one I could rationalize. It could do anything I’d throw at it and more, and all with a basic V8 under the hood.

Now if only I could justify a second mortgage.

Ford provided The Drive with a seven-day loan of this vehicle for the purpose of writing this review. 

2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty Tremor 4×4 Specs

Quick Take

It’s maximalism incarnate, but it’ll do everything you ask of it.

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Plenty of car people love Ford’s Panther platform. The Crown Victorias, Town Cars, and Grand Marquis that once served as taxis and patrol vehicles are now being scooped up by enthusiasts for tank engine swaps and track duty alike. But this particular Lincoln has lived a much different second life as a Hongqi CA7460 replica, and its origin story is super interesting.

I stumbled upon this car when Panther Magazine posted it for sale on Instagram. Curious, I reached out to the seller, whose name is Yang (@cy0208 on IG). He explained to me that, while this is a registered 2001 Town Car underneath, it wears many Chinese domestic market parts—from the grille and lighting to the unique badging you definitely won’t find at your local salvage lot.

The way Yang explained it to me, China’s state-owned FAW group sent a design and engineering team to the United States sometime around 1997. This trip and multiple follow-up conversations resulted in Ford shipping nearly complete Town Cars to China for Hongqi to outfit with its own distinguishing parts. It was even intended to become a diplomat’s car, as a long-wheelbase model was developed to serve as an inspection vehicle in the 1999 National Day Military Parade in Beijing. Plans were scrapped as political tensions swelled following the U.S. bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade.

Still, Hongqi built an entire line of CA7460 limousines, and the car itself remained in production until 2005.

What Yang did was buy a 2001 Lincoln Town Car in the States and then fit it with Hongqi components that he imported from China. It has made its way around the internet, and as I researched the car, I was utterly unsurprised to see that Jason Torchinsky at The Autopian had already seen it in person (That guy’s too good!).

What’s new now is that the Hongqi replica is for sale, and you can buy it for $10,000. You might whiff at that, but just know that it has only 75,000 miles or so on the odometer. The interior is in way better shape than it could be, and there’s a fair chance it’s the only one around.

Like all CA7460s and Town Cars of this ilk, it’s powered by a 4.6-liter modular V8. Rear-wheel drive means it’s capable of some smoky burnouts and skids, if you’re into that type of thing, though part of me hopes someone will avoid thrashing it completely. Yang put a lot of work into assembling this car, and he’s kept it respectfully clean.

I’m afraid I won’t be the one to buy this car. Blame it on my other projects, like the 1966 Ford dump truck that’s currently parked in my driveway with two flat tires. But perhaps you’ll be interested in taking home this piece of automotive esoterica?

Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com

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Modern ATVs and UTVs are incredibly capable, but there’s a decades-old design that can keep up with them—and then some. Recently listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace, this 1970 Coot has four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, and it’s amphibious. A seller in New Jersey wants $3,800 for it.

Coot Inc. was one of host of small manufacturers building amphibious ATVs in the 1960s and 1970s. It was founded in 1964 by Carl Enos Jr., an 18-year-old mechanic, according to a page on the company put together by current ATV manufacturer Mudd-Ox. The neat thing about the Coot is its articulated hull, which is split in the middle, allowing the two halves to pivot laterally. This helps keep the wheels in contact with the ground when driving over uneven terrain.

This 1970 model has a 0.5-liter Tecumseh four-cylinder engine and high and low range for its four-wheel drive system. Conventional single-axle steering was available, but with four-wheel steering, this ATV is basically a miniature version of the U.S. military’s LARC transport. Coot itself advertised it as a replacement for everything from snowmobiles to garden tractors, and backed that up with an owner’s manual full of off-roading tips accompanied by cartoon illustrations.

According to a 1973 price sheet posted on the same history page, a base model with four-wheel drive and two-wheel steering cost $2,065 at the time. Four-wheel steering was a $110 option, and you could get a trailer for $460.

The original Coot company started out in San Francisco, but later moved to Cedar Park, Texas, before dissolving in 1985. In 2006, Columbus Industries of Fairview, Illinois, introduced a modernized take on the Coot called the Coot 2, but it wasn’t as successful as the original. Production ended after the 2008 model year, perhaps in part because fully-loaded versions cost about $20,000. You got get a nicely-equipped compact car for similar money at the time.

At its Facebook Marketplace price, this vintage model might be a good deal. It’s simpler and much more capable than an Amphicar or one-off amphibious conversions that tend to appear from time to time. This is one old Coot that sounds fun to have around.

Got a tip about something cool for sale? Send us a line at tips@thedrive.com

There’s a common piece of wisdom among value-oriented car shoppers: Don’t buy new, buy a three-year-old car off a lease. That’s still a good idea, but according to new data from Edmunds, you may not have to wait that long. Even 2025 model year cars are getting cheap, especially if you’re looking at EVs. 

In new new blog post, Edmunds Director of Insights Ivan Drury notes that 2025-model used cars sold in the fourth quarter of last year went for $6,370 less than their average new car transaction price. That’s already substantial savings, but the numbers are even better for EV and PHEV shoppers. 

Models like the Dodge Charger Daytona and Jeep Wrangler 4XE have truly staggering discounts after less than a year on the road. The average used 2025 Charger Daytona went for $19,711 less than a new model in the same quarter, the study shows. (I have a guess as to why values are plummeting.) That means you’d pay 67% more for essentially the same car, with just a few miles on it. For the Wrangler, the discount is even steeper. Used shoppers saved $19,873 on average. 

Dodge Charger Daytonas have super-steep discounts on the used market. But based on our contributor’s nightmarish experience with his Charger, we’re not sure if it’s a good buy even with a steep discount.

Photo by: InsideEVs

By the top-line number, though, the biggest loser was the Genesis GV70 Electrified. Barely used examples offer a stunning $24,012 discount over new ones. There are more mass-market deals, too, including the last of the Toyota bZ4Xs, the Chevy Equinox EV, and the Honda Prologue.

I’m not going to crib the whole list, because you should take a look at Edmunds’ work there. But I will say that it’s a trend I’ve certainly seen for myself. As automakers have piled on incentives and special finance deals, used models have had to compete with fire sale new prices. Factor in that many of the 2025 model year cars were sold with $7,500 tax credits—which evaporated at the end of the third quarter—and you can see why the discounts are so big. 

The Equinox EV won our inaugural Breakthrough Award for its extremely affordable price. But they’re even cheaper on the used market, and I’d recommend comparing new vs. used options before pulling the trigger.

Photo by: Motor1.com

There is, of course, a catch. One underrated cost in car-buying is the interest rate on the loan, and it’s here where new cars usually significantly outperform their used counterparts. Automakers often offer discounted financing through their captive loan companies, helping to save you from rates that are higher than they were for most of the last decade.

According to Experian Data collected by U.S. News and World Report, the average super-prime customer—I.E. someone with a credit score above 781—is paying 4.88% right now. For equivalent used buyers, the figure is 7.43%.  

Assuming you put $10,000 down on a five-year loan for $40,000 car, that difference alone could account for $2,139 dollars. That’s definitely not enough to account for the level of savings here, but it’s a common reason buyers shop new rather than gently used.

But in today’s world, the EV deals are clearly on the used market. The tax credit is gone, driving up new EV prices, while buyer misgivings about battery reliability and charging keep values depressed on the used market. I don’t expect that to last long, though. Modern EV batteries just aren’t worth worrying about, and once you find a working charging solution, an used EV will be the best car you’ve ever bought.

Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com

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