10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Land Rover Defender Fends Off Tesla Cybertruck

It was a shrewd move by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to schedule the big unveiling of the automaker’s Cybertruck — a truck with fajita-skillet-hot levels of anticipation promising to fuse “Blade Runner” looks and tech with pickup practicality and performance, all for a relatively affordable price — while the custodians at the Los Angeles Convention Center were still sweeping up from the 2019 L.A. Auto Show media preview. Was Tesla trying to ride the show’s coattails without having to share the spotlight with other automakers? Or was it thumbing its nose at establishment automakers and their antiquated conventions? The ploy for attention may have paid off initially, but once the dust settled, automotive news consumers were still highly interested in the vehicles revealed at the L.A. show — namely the 2020 Land Rover Defender.

Related: 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show: Everything You Missed

Cars.com had our requisite team of journalists in L.A., comparing and contrasting new-model competitors straight from the show floor. Among these auto-show face-offs was reviewer Aaron Bragman’s comparo of the revived-for-2020 Defender and an equally iconic off-road rival, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Bragman scored the two SUVs as a tie in both off-road equipment and capability, though the Defender edged out the Rubicon in prospective passenger comfort, power and towing specs, as well as in overall value. The Defender’s successful defense of its title landed it at No. 1 among our most popular news articles of the week.

Tesla’s Cybertruck — which just last week took the top spot on the list — was relegated to No. 5 this week, as it was prominently featured in our weekly roundup of pickup truck news. Rounding out the top five were our explainer on what the term “4×4” really means, locking in at No. 2; our quick-hit breakdown of six things we like and four things we weren’t crazy about in the 2019 Ford Edge at No. 3; and our comprehensive coverage roundup constituting everything a car shopper might need to know about the 2019-20 Toyota Camry at No. 4.

Still hungry for car news? We got all that and a bag of chips, so be sure to keep on crunchin’ to the bottom. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. Auto Show Face-Off: 2020 Land Rover Defender Vs. 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

2. What Does 4×4 Mean?

3. 2019 Ford Edge: 6 Things We Like and 4 Not So Much

4. 2019-2020 Toyota Camry: Everything You Need to Know

5. All the Pickup Truck News: We’re Still Talking About the Cybertruck

6. How Much Does It Cost to Lease a Car? 

7. 2020 Volkswagen Passat Review: VW Hedges Its Bet on Sedan’s Future

8. 2020 Chevrolet Equinox Ups Its Safety Award Count

9. 2021 Jaguar F-Type: This Old Cat Gets a Couple of New Tricks

10. 2020 Nissan Rogue Sport: More Safety Features, Higher Prices

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