Hasta La Gadget!

Forget the talk about the world’s fastest Porsche – here’s everything you need to know about the slowest Porsche in the world and how it stacks up on the track.

Over the weekend Lego revealed its next collection of accessorized minifigures and it finally features the world’s favorite not-quite-puppets and not-quite-mops performers as the Muppets finally take the stud-covered stage.

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It’s easy to imagine Alex Jones, the host of the rambling, right-wing hate channel InfoWars, turning as red as an inflamed pimple at the thought of having to pay for his lies. Now he’s likely growing purple holding his breath, trying to avoid paying out for consistently claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook school…

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Fitness trackers are a good alternative to smartwatches for those that want to keep track of daily activity and workouts, but aren’t into the look and feel of digital timepieces. One of the best out there is Fitbit’s Charge 5 and you can get it for $130 right now at Amazon. That’s 13 percent off its regular price and, while not a record low, it’s only $10 more than that.

Buy Fitbit Charge 5 at Amazon – $130

The Charge 5 earned a score of 82 from us — while Fitbit updated its design, the tracker is quite similar to the Charge 4 that came before it. It has a full color touchscreen with an always-on mode that you can choose to enable, plus a frame that’s 10 percent thinner than its predecessor and more comfortable band.

It’s definitely more low-profile than a standard smartwatch, which some will appreciate, but just because it’s relatively slim doesn’t mean it’s light on power. The Charge 5 tracks all-day heart rate, activity, sleep and more, plus it has a built-in GPS for mapping outdoor workouts. It also comes standard with Fitbit Pay, the company’s contactless payment system, so you can pay for groceries or a coffee on your way back from a run without needing your wallet.

Like other trackers, the Charge 5 has a clear advantage over standard smartwatches when it comes to battery life. The device lasted about two and a half days in our testing with the screen in always-on mode, and a full five days with that feature turned off. If you’re looking for an activity monitor that you won’t have to worry about charging every night, this is a good option.

If you are more of a smartwatch person, Fitbit’s high-end Sense device is also on sale right now for $200, or $100 off its normal price. We gave the timepiece a score of 82 for its bright, sharp display and comprehensive suite of health tracking tools, which includes EDA scanning, skin temperature monitoring, ECG measurements, high and low heart rate alerts and more.

Buy Fitbit Sense at Amazon – $200

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

We’re in the middle of an EV revolution and every day it feels like there’s a new electric car, truck or SUV hitting the road. But if you want an electric van, your options are a lot more limited, which is precisely what VW is hoping to address with the upcoming ID.Buzz.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the ID.Buzz’s official debut back at SXSW, so when I heard that it would be making another appearance at the New York International Auto Show, I made sure to stop by and check it out. Now technically, VW isn’t calling the ID.Buzz a van, so I’ll let you decide where this thing fits among other EVs. But what we do know is that it’s slated to go on sale sometime in 2024, featuring a 77-kWh battery with two rows of seats for the European model (which is what version VW had on display) or a full three rows of seats and slightly longer chassis for the US market. Other specs like its range and price are still to be determined.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

But make no mistake, unlike the countless number of Microbus concepts we’ve seen over the past 20 years, this is a production-ready car, so it’s more or less what you’ll see at dealers. And I think it looks absolutely fantastic, which is actually kind of impressive. Normally, when you think about buying a van, it feels like you’re giving up on being hip or cool in favor of practicality.

Just like the original, VW has kept the Microbus’ two-toned color scheme. Though if that’s a bit much for your taste, there will also be less flashy single-color paint jobs. Meanwhile, to bring the Microbus’ design into the 21st century, the company has gone minimalist with a lot of its details, opting for clean lines and a big VW logo in front and back, along with blacked-out pillars that makes the bus look like it’s wearing a visor.

Inside, VW continues the new styling by using the same diamond pattern seen on the front grille, and a two-toned interior featuring animal-free upholstery and vegan leather. The infotainment system is similar to what’s available in the VW ID.4, with a small display behind the steering wheel and a larger touchscreen in the center sporting icons that can be made to match the Buzz’s paint job. There’s also a thin lightstrip that runs across the base of the windshield that serves as a heads-up notification system, though I didn’t get to see it in action because it’s typically only active when the car is in motion.

My favorite thing about the ID.Buzz’s interior are all the little usability touches. I spotted no less than four USB-C ports — one in every door — and I’m willing to bet the US version will have at least one or two more for third-row passengers. VW also made it so that you can completely remove the center console between the front seats, giving passengers more room to move about. It even threw in some fun easter eggs like a smiley face behind the front passenger’s interior door handle and little ID.Buzz logos on the rear windshield and the base of the rear seats. And while VW didn’t have it on hand, there’s even an accessory that goes in the trunk to create a flat load shelf. That means you can throw a mattress in back and use the Buzz for stuff like camping, which was one of the best things about the old Microbus.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Perhaps most importantly, when you step back and look at the future van market, VW is leading the way with the ID.Buzz. Sure, Ford is working on an electric version of the Transit, and Mercedes has an EV version of Sprinter. But those are designed to be commercial vehicles, not something that the average person might buy. And that’s kind of sad, because hauling kids or animals short distances around town is the perfect use case for an electric vehicle.

So when the ID.Buzz finally arrives sometime in 2024, it’ll be well ahead of competitors like the Chrysler Pacifica, which currently only exists as a plug-in hybrid. Not only has VW made what looks to be a great reinterpretation of a classic, the ID.Buzz is a pioneering electric van. Oh, and if you just want to haul stuff around, VW is planning to make a cargo version of the ID.Buzz too.