The Tesla Model X is here and this electric vehicle manufacturer has once again thrown down the gauntlet in front of luxury manufacturers the world over. The first SUVs have already been delivered to six eagerly awaiting customers. Three and one-half years is a long time to wait for a … Read more
Five ways Volkswagen might salvage its US operation. Volkswagen is in a world of hurt, but that pain is entirely of the company’s own doing. While some have been making pronouncements that the automaker as we know it is finished, others believe that something can be salvaged. I, for one, stand … Read more
Lateral view of a Volkswagen Golf TDI “clean diesel” at the 2010 Washington Auto Show. By the reading of it, Volkswagen management expressed what seemed like genuine shock when the EPA and California’s Air Resources Board revealed their joint findings regarding the automaker’s manipulation of US emissions testing for diesel … Read more
An all-new 2017 Ford F-450 Super Duty at work. In an absolutely expected move, the Ford Motor Company is dressing the 2017 Ford Super Duty with an aluminum body. Soon, all models bearing the F-Series name will use this lightweight material, with the heavy-duty truck coming in up to … Read more
The Avenir concept will be reflected in the next generation LaCrosse grille. Buick will soon sport a new face. And that front fascia will be based on none other than the Buick Avenir concept, a large rear-wheel drive vehicle that itself has not been officially promised. On Tuesday, Buick disclosed … Read more
A Volkswagen Group TDI supplied to Audi. Over the weekend, news that the Volkswagen Group had cheated on EPA emissions testing began to spread across the Internet. By late Sunday afternoon, the extent of the scandal became fully known. On Monday, the commercial markets reacted and dropped the automaker’s worth … Read more
British SUV manufacturer Land Rover has divided itself into high-end Range Rover and more pedestrian Discovery lines, with the two aimed at different consumers. Certainly, you could pay upwards of $200,000 for one Range Rover model, but if your SUV aspirations are more down to earth, then the Land Rover … Read more
Ford Performance is busy working on new models. The 2016 Focus RS is just one of 12 performance vehicles we’ll see from this specialty shop, the third generation and most powerful RS ever. The 2016 Ford Focus RS may be the fastest mainstream compact model on the market. And with … Read more
The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show served as the ideal backdrop for Jaguar to unveil its fifth model line and its first sport utility vehicle ever. Indeed, by taking this unique British brand to Germany to face its chief rivals on their home turf — i.e., BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi — … Read more
Infiniti introduces the first model from its alliance with Mercedes-Benz. The Frankfurt Motor Show is now in progress and the Infiniti Q30 is one of several notable models making its global debut. The newest model from Nissan’s luxury brand has a crossover look, but it is very much a compact … Read more
The design for the 2016 Lexus RX is certainly provocative, but it isn’t really surprising. After all, when Lexus slotted the all-new for 2015 NX beneath it, the smaller and deeply chiseled crossover strongly suggested that its larger and segment leading RX kin would get a similar makeover. Even so, … Read more
Ah, naming convention changes. Lincoln has done it. Cadillac is doing it…again. And Infiniti has also accomplished a change in its own model nomenclature. Car manufacturers, especially luxury brands, have been realigning model names to reflect a more Eurocentric alphanumeric pattern. The change is meant to advance product uniformity, but … Read more
If you are a fan of the Hyundai Elantra, then the Hyundai Avante reveal in Korea earlier this week should have your attention. That’s because the Avante, marketed as the Elantra in North America, will soon benefit from an important update, one that will become evident in the sixth-generation Elantra … Read more
Car theft is on the decline, due to better security, including GPS tracking systems. For owners of older vehicles, those models remain targets, largely for the value of those separate parts. Car thieves continue to do their work despite a significant increase in security systems and GPS technologies that can … Read more
The all-new Toyota Prius has taken a bow, the fourth generation of Toyota’s most popular hybrid. Last night, Toyota revealed the 2016 Prius to a national press audience in Las Vegas, a model that takes polarizing looks to a new level. This writer turned down an invitation from Toyota to … Read more
The GLM ZZ at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June. Tesla Motors got its start with the Tesla Roadster, an evocative machine produced from 2008 to 2012. Just 2,600 copies of that luscious all-electric two-seater was built, a model based on the Lotus Elise platform, but with little else … Read more
The Chrysler 200S supplies premium features to the product line. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne did in 2014 to the Chrysler marque something that should have been accomplished decades earlier: he officially reassigned Chrysler to mainstream brand status, moving it away from its previous premium standing as a one-time direct … Read more
It is only a matter of time before a company rivaling Tesla Motors emerges. Tesla, the envy of many, may soon have a competitor in NextEV, a Chinese company that has won key financial backing from financial investors, including Hillhouse Capital. Hillhouse Capital is an important investor in Uber, the … Read more