News

It’s official (but not really): Volkswagen of America is going to be Voltswagen of America. A press release dated April 29 ‘leaked’ yesterday to VW of America’s media site, claiming the German company’s U.S. arm was switching its official name by swapping the ‘k’ in Volkswagen to a ‘t.’ The release was reposted today, providing

China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. is considering reviving plans for an initial public offering of its Volvo Cars unit that could value the business at around $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Closely held Geely Holding has been speaking with potential advisers about selling shares in Volvo Cars as soon as this

Subaru knows what its customers want, and once again it has delivered. No, dogs aren’t yet available as a factory accessory, though the automaker sets up adoption drives. We’re talking about selling adventure, and the 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness is the most rugged and capable Outback to date. Subaru is aiming for better off-road competence without impinging on

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor America is rolling out data tools that allow customers to share information on their driving usage and driving habits with insurance companies, potentially lowering premiums. The usage-based insurance program relies on travel-time data and driving-behavior data using vehicle sensors and Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics, the automaker said in a news

It’s noteworthy that the Jeepster Beach concept, one of Jeep’s one-off creations revealed at the 2021 Easter Jeep Safari, produces mega power out of its turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 powerplant. The concept’s forced-induction four-banger churns out a staggering 340 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, an impressive boost of about 25 percent (70 hp and 74

Volkswagen of America on Tuesday confirmed that it will use the brand name “Voltswagen” starting in May to differentiate its line of electric vehicles — a day after the news was inadvertently leaked online. It said Voltswagen will be placed as an exterior badge on all EV models, and gasoline vehicles will have the company’s

Porsche Panamera Full Overview It’s a wonderful time to be an automotive enthusiast, but that time may be drawing to a close. So, covet, flog, or fantasize about the road-scorching 2021 Mercedes-AMG E63 S and 2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S Sport Turismo wagons while you can. Hybrids and battery electric vehicles can produce equally impressive performances,

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday the White House will not propose hiking gasoline taxes or a new vehicle miles traveled fee to pay for a proposal to massively boost infrastructure spending. Buttigieg told CNN a vehicle miles traveled fee is “not part of the conversation about this infrastructure bill.” Buttigieg has

This weekend, the first official 2021 Ford Bronco, the SUV with VIN 001, was auctioned to the highest bidder by Barrett-Jackson—for $1,075,000. Of course, the proceeds are going to charity, specifically in support of the National Forest Foundation and Outward Bound. Both charities are geared toward spreading understanding of the outdoors and a sense of

MILAN — Stellantis will halt production at its plant in Melfi, southern Italy, between April 2 and April 12 because of low demand triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, and not because of the global chip shortage, the UILM union said on Monday. A spokesman for Stellantis confirmed the plant would be closed during this period.

Shout “enhance!” a few times at your computer like you’re in some kind of CSI-type show, or just peer more closely, and you might notice something odd in this 2021 Lexus IS‘ glove box. An arm, a needle, a vinyl record … yup, that’s a turntable. In the glovebox. In 2021. And if you aren’t

The landscape is changing for Jeep. The venerable brand hasn’t faced serious off-road competition for the better part of a decade or more. But with the Ford Bronco and Hummer — reimagined and electrified under the GMC brand — set for comebacks, Jeep is upping its game and green cred with new concepts. Jeep has

Mercedes-Benz has been testing and teasing its Tesla Model S-fighting EQS all-electric luxury sedan for a long time now, and in a final step ahead of the full unveil has pulled the sheet off the wild new interior. Yes, the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS will have a dashboard-spanning “Hyperscreen” display, but that’s just one of many

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group has issued a recall for premium subsidiary Audi that affects more than 150,000 A3s in the U.S. on concerns that their passenger airbags might not activate, according to a filing to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall is expected to affect 153,152 units of the compact car that were

But thanks to a massive leak—more like a water main break—on enthusiast forum 400ZClub, we now have a ton of new unofficially released information to pour over. According to poster Houston.z35, the next Nissan Z car won’t be called the 400Z. The name is just “Nissan Z.” This, despite the fact that there will be

When Lucid Motors broke ground on its first assembly plant in North America at the end of 2019, the upstart electric automaker was frugal with the limited cash it had. That year, Lucid had received a $1 billion-plus investment from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. But those funds would need to cover not

In conjunction with the 2021 Easter Jeep Safari, Jeep is announcing a Jeep-branded EV charging network for its new 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid. The Jeep 4xe Charging Network, operated by Electrify America, will provide Level 2 (240-volt) charging that’ll fully recharge the 4xe’s 17 kilowatt-hour battery pack in about two hours. The chargers will

Electric vehicle batteries cannot be recharged at consistently high rates of power because of a phenomenon that occurs when a cell is stressed, known as lithium plating. Nanoscopic needlelike formations called dendrites grow, and over time they can puncture the separator, causing a short circuit in lithium ion batteries that use conventional liquid-based electrolytes. StoreDot,

Diesel engines used to initiate combustion in a prechamber that housed the glow-plug for cold-starts, but fancy high-pressure direct-injection pretty much retired the prechamber. We’ve recently learned the 2022 Maserati MC20 Nettuno V-6 engine is reviving it—in gasoline engines—as a way to speed the burn rate and extract more work and performance out of the

Illinois car dealers sued electric truck maker Rivian in another salvo against upstart vehicle manufacturers’ direct-to-consumer sales model. Two trade groups that are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed yesterday in Cook County Circuit Court say they acted after the Illinois Secretary of State’s office “turned a blind eye” to their complaints over several years. Amazon-backed Rivian,

Audi Q5 Full Overview Just before 2020 ended, we had the chance to drive the 2021 Audi SQ5, the sportier variant of the Q5 powered by a punchy V-6 engine. Like we noted back then, the SQ5 delivers the best of both worlds. It’s a comfortable SUV that’s great for everyday driving, but also more

Stellantis will its idle Chrysler minivan production at its Windsor, Ont., plant for four weeks due to a shortage of microchips, according to the union representing workers there. Unifor Local 444 said in a Facebook post the shutdown begins March 29, making it the latest factory to be affected by the shortage. Stellantis representatives weren’t immediately available for comment.

Honda Accord Full Overview The combination of reduced space and a lower ride height (relative to SUVs), and cheap gas is killing sedans. As you may have noticed, there are no American nameplates in this Big Test. Ford discontinued the Fusion, the Chrysler 200 was unceremoniously dumped before it could even complete its model cycle,

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. hopes to acquire as many as 100 dealerships by the end of 2022. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., used-car seller and vehicle subscription business that bought its first six franchised dealerships in the first quarter, said it wants to add 80 to 100 dealerships by the end of next year through mergers

Although last year we got a sneak peek of the new GMC Terrain AT4, the coronavirus pandemic forced GM to delay its official launch. But it looks like things have now been ironed out for the brand, as the new 2022 GMC Terrain AT4 officially becomes the last (and latest) model in GMC’s lineup to

China Evergrande Group’s online home and car sales platform FCB Group is weighing an initial public offering in the U.S. as soon as the fourth quarter, according to people familiar with the matter. FCB Group is working with advisers including Bank of America and CLSA Ltd. on its U.S. offering plan, the people said, asking not

Remember the good old days? You know, the time when putting your automatic car into gear meant positioning a lever so that it lined up with the letters D or R? Oh, the automakers tried to complicate our lives by using D for “drive” instead of F for “forward” (after all, “forward” is the opposite

WASHINGTON — Two groups of Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to reinstate tough Obama-era vehicle emissions standards through 2025 and do more to shift the U.S. toward electric vehicles. A group of more than 70 House Democrats led by Representative Doris Matsui urged Biden to set tough emissions rules that ensure “60

If you’ve been at all involved in the Honda aftermarket over the last few decades, give or take, you’ve probably come across this Laguna Seca Blue Acura Integra before. Back in 2002, it landed on the pages of Super Street and was plastered across every Honda-related forum (and there were many) for years. It was

OAKLAND, Calif. — Silicon Valley self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics Inc. and Shanghai-based lidar maker Hesai Technology Co. on Wednesday announced a partnership to integrate Chinese lidar technology into autonomous trucks. Laser-based lidar sensors help detect objects ahead of and around the vehicle, and are a key component to many self-driving systems. Kodiak will use