VW To Guarantee 70% Battery Capacity For 8 Years Or 160,000 km Volkswagen‘s Center of Excellence for Battery Cells chief Frank Blome said that the goal for the upcoming MEB-based electric car is to guarantee a minimum capacity of 70% for eight years or 160,000 km (around 100,000 miles). The battery pack is expected to last
Month: April 2019
Toyota’s next edition unveiled its polarizing Prius silhouette, while its third edition refined the recipe and even spawned a mini litter of Prius variants (the smaller C and bigger V). This is when Honda re-entered the ring with its second shot at the Insight—an unfortunate Prius on the cheap. It was a lozenge-shaped, four-door, five-seat
DETROIT — I don’t love the current process of buying and selling vehicles. Many consumers feel the same way. I find it time-consuming and, at times, deceitful in how some automakers and dealers advertise pricing with misleading incentives that a majority of people don’t qualify for. Then, there’s the task of selling your old vehicle.
By Simon Alvarez Posted on April 30, 2019 Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 is getting built at an unprecedented pace. From being a bare plot of land in January, Tesla and its construction partner have transformed the Gigafactory 3 site in Shanghai into an industrial area with a massive electric car factory taking shape. The progress of
Living with our long-term 2018 Honda Civic Type R every day, we tend to forget just how special it is. The car manages to put 306 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque through its front tires and somehow remains an incongruously friendly commuter or road tripper capable of returning up to 35 mpg. Here’s a
ATLANTA — Mercedes-Benz will discontinue sales of its full-electric Smart brand in the U.S. and Canada. The luxury automaker blamed a “declining micro-car market” in the U.S. and Canada, combined with high homologation costs. U.S. Smart sales in 2018 plunged 58 percent from a year earlier to 1,276 cars. Smart went full electric starting with
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has crafted itself a special place in automotive history books. Created to be the fastest stock drag car out there without costing a small fortune, and still be a car you could drive every day, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen. With everything set up for drag use and 100+
PARIS — Renault is refreshing its light-commercial vehicle range, hoping to build on its leadership in the high-margin van segment in Europe. In addition to showing a concept for the next-generation Kangoo car-derived van, due in 2020, Renault displayed facelifted versions of the Trafic small van and Master medium van, as well as the EZ-Flex
If it’s an oddball kind of car, chances are, it will have its time in the spotlight on Jay Leno’s Garage. On the latest episode, Leno doesn’t welcome a guest, but instead pulls a labor of love from his own collection. It’s none other than a 1934 Rolls-Royce powered by the historic Merlin aircraft engine.
The 2019 Smart Fortwo delivers on its promises: two people, electric powertrain, and a city car. It doesn’t promise much else, though. Europe and Austin, Texas, have at least one thing in common: Smart cars on nearly every corner. That’s because the 2019 Smart Fortwo can park in spaces that normal cars can’t. Perfect for
Dashcam footage has surfaced online which shows the moment a huge crane fell on traffic in Seattle and killed four people. As reported yesterday, a crane at the Google campus in Seattle fell during a storm and plummeted onto six cars at the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Mercer Street on Saturday afternoon. Initially, no
DETROIT — When Silicon Valley made its foray into autonomous and electric vehicles, there was a palpable fear in certain corners of Michigan that the state’s primary economic engine would be usurped and carried away. That hasn’t materialized. If anything, companies in both locations have better recognized the value of each other’s contributions to the
DETROIT — General Motors is switching to a virtual format for its 2019 shareholders meeting. The automaker will host the June 4 event via a live video webcast. Shareholders will not be allowed to attend the meeting in person. A call-in number also is available for those without access to a computer. The GM board
Just over a month after completely revamping its referral program, Tesla is now boosting it by 500% for a limited time ahead of the end of the quarter. Earlier this year, Tesla ended its original referral program citing concerns with the cost after having to give away over 80 new Roadsters. Last month, the automaker
I was somewhere in Colorado when our long-term Ford F-150 lost traction and began pivoting toward a ditch lined with boulders. Heavy sleet with marble-sized hail was falling, and it was very apparent that the F-150’s all-season tires were no match for the slippery mess on the road. The storm hit on my way back
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett’s “year of action” has gotten off to a promising start. The automaker last week announced a deal with Rivian Automotive weeks after its crosstown rival, General Motors, had reportedly failed to come to terms with the electric-vehicle startup. Ford’s stock price soared into double digits for the
Power wars are an undeniable element of the automotive industry. After all, there’s no such thing as too much power – or so they say. When looking at performance cars, it’s hard to think of any segments not impacted by this. Hot hatches, for example, continue to swell in power and before long, most could
NEW YORK — In what is sure to be music to the ears of his U.S. dealers, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh says the brand will have a pickup strategy. He’s just not yet sure what it will be. Keogh, 50, who assumed the top job at Volkswagen Group of America six months
NEW YORK — In what is sure to be music to the ears of his U.S. dealers, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh says the brand will have a pickup strategy. He’s just not yet sure what it will be. Keogh, 50, who assumed the top job at Volkswagen Group of America six months
Paint may seem a relatively simple part of automobile manufacturing, but the truth is a lot goes into the process. It’s especially true for luxury vehicles and sports cars. Case in point: the Acura NSX. Auto detailing company Ammo produced a new video that takes fans inside Honda’s Acura NSX factory in Marysville, Ohio. Specifically,
Every now and then, some cars are listed up for auction which simply beggar belief. Like this 1999 Ferrari F355 Spider, for example. What you’re looking at is a pile of charred and destroyed metal that, prior to its demise, used to be a Ferrari. With the possible exception of the wheels, there is absolutely
SHANGHAI — As Daimler’s incoming CEO, Ola Källenius will soon be making decisions on where to take an ax to costs as the automaker adjusts to the headwinds of trade tensions, plateauing sales and a pricey electrification strategy. The new boss reportedly is looking for about $6.75 billion in cost savings and efficiency gains by
The cat is no match for the electric might of the Model 3, or is it? This drag race pits the Tesla Model 3 Performance up against the mighty Hellcat. However, the Model 3 has a new trick up its sleeve as it just got a software update that boosts power. The Model 3 still
Tesla Inc. had its worst week since Elon Musk’s effort to take the carmaker private fell apart, sending its market capitalization below Ford Motor Co. ‘s for the first time in over a year. The electric-car maker’s shares finished Friday at $235.14, the lowest close since January 2017. The 14 percent plunge for the week
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to have Japanese automakers produce more vehicles in the United States, according to a readout of their recent meeting provided by the U.S. ambassador to Japan on Saturday. The two discussed recent public announcements by Japanese car makers, such as Toyota Motor Corp.’s decision
By Dacia J. Ferris Posted on April 27, 2019 Tesla recently had a Model Y on display for employees to see outside of its seat factory at 901 Page Street in Fremont, California, roughly 3 miles from the company’s main factory. In photos posted by multiple Reddit users, it appears the same deep blue metallic
On the left side of the steering wheel, in easy reach of your thumb, is a home button and wheel that scrolls through the many different infographic displays in the instrument cluster—everything from the radio to the power consumption monitor. One of these modes is Driving Support, which gives the driver a simple, illustrated view
FRANKFURT — Continental will push back the spinoff of its powertrain division until next year, the company said Friday when it reported a 17 percent drop in first-quarter operating profit, hit by a downturn in car demand and higher investments. The supplier said it would update capital markets towards the end of this year about the
Hot hatches have come a long way since the original VW Golf GTI and its modest 110 PS (108 hp), 1.6-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine. Nowadays, one can buy high-end hot hatches that deliver supercar performance and even base hot hatches have well over 200 horsepower. But while most customers enjoy the beefier styling of performance
SHANGHAI — Daimler will begin building Mercedes-AMG cars outside of Germany for the first time when the A 35 long-wheelbase sedan runs off the assembly line in Beijing toward the end of this year. Currently Daimler exports the Germany-built Mercedes-AMG A 45, a high-powered version of the A-class compact car, to China. It’s the entry