The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

AutoNetwork helps serious car shoppers inspect any new vehicle online before walking into a dealership. I’m Roosevelt — I’ve been reviewing cars and shaping digital car buying and credit union auto leasing since before YouTube car reviews existed.
You’ll find detailed walkaround reviews, POV test drives, and buyer-focused breakdowns covering comfort, space, features, and real-world value.
How to use the channel:

Watch the walkaround of the car you’re considering
Visit AutoNetwork.com for the full review
Check CouponsOffersAndDeals.com for current dealer specials
Walk in already knowing what you want — and what it should cost

Live talk show “AutoNetwork Reports” — Thursdays 3:00 PM ET.
AutoNetwork.com
CouponsOffersAndDeals.com
Affiliate disclosure: some links earn a small commission at no cost to you and help support the channel. Insta360 is one of those partners.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

admin

Posts by admin

By Javacia Harris Bowser | The Birmingham Times

In May 2024, Naila Jackson launched Network Navigator as a one-day event designed to connect Greater Birmingham-based small business owners with the resources they needed to grow their companies. But she couldn’t stop there. Today, Network Navigator is an independent nonprofit organization serving local entrepreneurs year-round with an online platform of resources and a variety of educational programming.

“I am really hyper-focused on access,” Jackson said, explaining the mission of her nonprofit. “I think access is where our biggest gap is. People think it’s funding, but it’s actually access, so that’s my goal. Network Navigator is the access point for entrepreneurs.”

Network Navigator Small Business Week

Right now, Jackson is gearing up for Network Navigator Small Business Week. For more than 60 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration has celebrated National Small Business Week to recognize the contributions of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Network Navigator Small Business Week will coincide with the national observance, which is set for May 3-9.

The week will begin Sunday, May 3, at 5 p.m. at The Fennec with the Network Navigator Small Business Awards, which will recognize local business leaders shaping the city’s economic future. A portion of proceeds will support the launch of the Navigator Startup Fund, which will provide early-stage financial assistance to individuals entering entrepreneurship after a layoff or other financial disruption.

Trending

IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

“I want to make sure that these people, who are going to have to pour the last that they have into something, start off right and start off strong,” Jackson said.

On Tuesday, May 5, Network Navigator will partner with the Birmingham Public Library to launch the NavigateBHM Kiosk, an initiative designed to embed business resources within the city’s public library system.

On Wednesday, May 6, Network Navigator Day will return for its third year at the Auburn University Urban Studio in downtown Birmingham. With the theme “Tech Meets Main Street,” the free all-day summit will feature hands-on workshops, live demonstrations, industry roundtables and opportunities to connect directly with capital providers and technical assistance organizations.

“Network Navigator Day gets bigger and bigger every year,” Jackson said.

A key component of this year’s event is Capital Connect, an initiative designed to address barriers to funding. The program will match entrepreneurs with capital providers for focused 10- to 15-minute sessions, offering real-time feedback on funding readiness, introductions to lending and investment opportunities and guidance on next steps.

“My goal is for everybody to walk away with something so that they’ve moved the needle in some way in their business,” Jackson said. “They walk away with new ideas, new resources, new tools, something so they can say, ‘I came today and it was worth my time.’”

Resources and Understanding

Network Navigator was born out of an idea Jackson had in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was birthed out of Covid and just witnessing what it looked like for our culture and our people to struggle with the world shutting down,” she recalled. “A lot of them didn’t have their businesses legalized. They didn’t understand what it meant or how important it was to actually have federal documentation, state documentation, business bank accounts. They didn’t understand the importance of the structure.”

And they couldn’t apply for federal funding or other resources being allocated to small businesses in need. At first, Jackson wanted to create a directory of Black-owned small businesses. But she realized that entrepreneurs needed more.

“I started to understand more about the needs for the resources and understanding,” said Jackson, who previously worked for the Birmingham Business Alliance.

Initially supported by a grant from the City of Birmingham, Network Navigator was incubated at Prosper, a nonprofit dedicated to building the most inclusive and thriving economy in the Southeast.  In January 2026, Network Navigator became an independent nonprofit that powers an online resource platform for entrepreneurs across Birmingham and the Greater Metropolitan Area and hosts a variety of programming.

Throughout the year Network Navigator hosts entrepreneur-focused workshops, networking events, and roundtables, as well as community conversations that help entrepreneurs understand policies, systems, and opportunities that impact their businesses. Additionally, through the CORE Program, entrepreneurs can get hands-on business support for marketing and branding, human resources, bookkeeping, and more.

Servant Leaders

The only child of Robert and Clara Jackson, Naila Jackson says she was raised in a “God-fearing household” of servant leaders.

Her mother worked for the social security administration for 43 years and her father worked in sales. Through the years they both kept busy serving at church – first at New Hope Baptist Church and later at The Worship Center.

“It was their goal to make sure that if it was your very first time, or if you had chosen this church, that you were going to feel welcome, there was something there for you and there was somebody there for you,” Jackson said of her parents. “They were always available and accessible.”

Jackson’s mother passed away in 2017, and she can still recall the touching comments from the funeral.

“Several people at her service came up to me and said, ‘Your mom was my mom. She was my second mom. She was my work mom. She was my champion.’ That really made me feel good that she left a legacy with other people.”

Jackson feels her passion for helping others is in her blood. At first, she thought she’d do this as an educator. After graduating from Midfield High School, she went to Alabama State University to study education. But instead, she’s teaching a different kind of student.

“I feel like I was called to serve entrepreneurs,” she said.

Collaboration Over Competition

One thing she hopes to teach entrepreneurs is the power of collaboration.

“I think people don’t understand the value and the power in collaboration and partnering with someone else who’s in your industry,” she said. “I think people are not aware that there’s enough for everyone.”

Jackson wants more Black entrepreneurs to consider taking over already established businesses.

“I wish our people would look more into mergers and acquisitions,” she said. “There’s no shame in just taking over where somebody else left off because the dollar is still green, and you may actually start off with more green dollars than you would if you were starting from scratch.”

She also wants entrepreneurs to let go of fear.

“Fear of not being enough, not measuring up, because there’s so much out here that makes you believe that you should be a certain way, look a certain way, have a certain thing, and so people feel like they won’t be accepted,” Jackson said. “So, they stay out of the circle of where that information might be or where that access might come from.”

All Eyes on Birmingham

Jackson believes now is a great time to build a business and build a life in Birmingham.

“Everybody’s eyes are on Birmingham right now,” she said. “Birmingham is a hot market, so it’s a beautiful place to be.”

When she’s not working, Jackson loves taking advantage of all the live music Birmingham has to offer. “I feel like I’ve been to every single concert we’ve had this year,” she said. She also enjoys spending time with her sons – Khalil, 24, and Jason, 10. And she loves to travel. But there’s no place like home.

“The beauty of Birmingham is its culture and its community,” she said. “And I think it’s just a beautiful place to be because there’s so much that’s happening here. There’s so much growth here, and there’s so much opportunity.”

Learn more at www.navigatebhm.com. To register for Network Navigator Day, visit www.networknavigatorday.com.

admin

Posts by admin