A three-row offers the cargo space needed to get everything to my cottage, and once the car’s emptied, I can add family members at will. The XC90 is long enough for the degree of separation you want for a weekly drive to the community dump to drop off garbage and recyclables and check out the
Month: May 2019
DETROIT — An Italian automotive supplier plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Detroit. Tiberina Group, a supplier of body-in-white and metal stampings for the auto industry, acquired 10 acres of land at the former American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings site on Holbrook Drive on the city’s border with Hamtramck. Tiberina purchased the land
MINI Electric: “Noiseless, emissions-free but very powerful”. In production from November 2019. MINI is starting a media campaign with its upcoming first series produced all-electric model, based on the MINI 3 door. The company released a video clip (first of a new series) with a close-to-series prototype of the electric MINI Cooper SE, in the
Our long-term 2018 Nissan Kicks has finally settled in and is well past its break-in period. With just over 5,000 miles on the odometer, we gave the keys to our test team to see what the Kicks can do when pushed to its limits. The Kicks hit 60 mph in a sluggish 9.9 seconds and
TOKYO — Shares of major Asian automakers and suppliers tumbled on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on imports from Mexico from next month, potentially upending a decades-old business model of global manufacturers. Railing against a surge of illegal immigrants across the southern U.S. border, Trump said he would hit all
By Dacia J. Ferris Posted on May 31, 2019 Tesla’s dominance in the growing electric vehicle (EV) industry is largely attributed to its unique approach to its battery technology. The engineering behind the all-electric car maker’s cylindrical cells speaks for itself in terms of the performance and range achieved, but in a recent interview with
If typical SUVs are not big enough to accommodate your needs, then there are a few other vehicles that you could buy. Arnold Schwarzenegger would approve of a Mercedes-Benz Unimog truck, but you could take a step out of the ‘ordinary’ and choose a van instead – not any van, though. You’ve probably already figured
BEIJING/TOKYO — Nissan’s advanced technologies including platforms and electric powertrains could give it leverage in a merger involving Renault and Fiat Chrysler, thanks to a royalty system it has with its French alliance partner, two people with knowledge of the matter said. A merged Renault-Fiat Chrysler could face an extra hurdle each time it uses
The 2020 Cadillac CT5 hasn’t even launched and the luxury automaker has already juiced it, albeit modestly with a CT5-V. No, it’s not the 650-horsepower CT-5-V we were expecting. It’s the lower end of a two-tiered approach to the V name that makes 355 horsepower. On Thursday, General Motors’ luxury division unveiled the 2020 Cadillac
Manny Khoshbin is a wealthy businessman and avid car collector who recently took delivery of a sexy Senna with a two-tone Marlboro livery and the number 12 that pays tribute to the car in which the late Ayrton Senna won his first Grand Prix with McLaren. According to Khosbin, the number decals alone (which are
Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars, is flanked by Automotive News Europe Publisher Jason Stein, left, and Group Publisher KC Crain at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Volvo’s hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, last week. Samuelsson, now in his seventh year in the role, expressed concerns about trade tensions between Europe and the U.S. while
“What SUV should I buy?” It’s a question consumers ask themselves every day, but what would technical director Frank Markus drive? Keep reading for the answer, and see other editors’ picks here. We’re a DINC couple of a certain (semi-centennial) age, and I’m an engineer who loves cars and gadgetry. My sense of style absolutely
Mike Manley, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, sold over a quarter of his shares in FCA on Tuesday, one day after FCA announced a merger offer for Renault. Manley declared the sale in a filing to the Dutch financial markets authority, AFM. FCA is a Dutch-registered corporation. Shares in FCA and Renault both jumped Monday,
Sigh. Another tie, though we seemed to like to drive the Camaro more than the Mustang again. Winner: Tie October 1971: AMC Javelin vs. Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang vs. Plymouth Barracuda (base V-8s) The first winner of a Mustang-Camaro shootout was the Ford. We picked it because, in an era where pony cars were
LOS ANGELES — When the refreshed 2020 Lexus RX and RXL crossovers arrive in U.S. dealerships in the third quarter, they will sport not only a new look and a new F Sport performance package, but a much-needed fix to one of the Japanese luxury brand’s known weak spots: its wonky infotainment system. “We’ve listened
Waymo’s autonomous technology can be adapted to other vehicles, with the Alphabet company last year detailing work on self-driving trucks. These larger AVs are now returning to Phoenix, Arizona for additional testing. The Waymo trucks feature the same suite of custom sensors including LIDAR, radar, and cameras as the passenger vehicles. This technology is mounted
For a long time, the regular Porsche Cayenne was considered more of a BMW X6 than X5 rival. But with the introduction of the Coupe earlier this year, the German automaker can finally lay claim to entering the SAV (Sport Activity Vehicle) segment. A sportier version of the Cayenne, the Cayenne Coupe is very familiar
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Renault promise huge savings from a mega-merger, but such combinations face tall odds because of the industry’s long product cycles and problems translating deal blueprints into real world success, industry veterans said. BMW’s 1994 purchase of Rover, and Daimler’s 1998 merger with Chrysler Corp. both made sense on paper. The companies
Uwe Dreher, who led the launch of BMW’s i electrified vehicle subbrand, has been elevated to marketing chief for BMW of North America. Dreher takes over as vice president of marketing effective July 1. He succeeds Trudy Hardy, who is to become vice president of BMW Motorrad of the Americas on the same date. Dreher,
Lexus has been criticized for the control interface of its infotainment system. For 2020, Toyota’s luxury brand responded by offering a touchscreen in the RX for the first time in a decade as part of a refresh for 2020. The luxury automaker unveiled the updated mid-size 2020 RX lineup Wednesday with its new infotainment system,
The 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer is an old name on a new idea from GM. The 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer is a compact crossover that slots into the automaker’s lineup between the smaller Trax and the bigger Equinox. Although the Trailblazer’s dimensions place it closer to the small end of Chevy’s crossover lineup, it’s more closely associated
A Tesla Model 3 owner has posted a pair of videos online which he claims show the vehicle’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system avoiding a potential collision. The footage was captured by the rear-facing camera near the driver’s side door, while the front-facing camera also caught the near-miss. As the electric sedan travels down the highway,
Akio Toyoda paused a 60-year-plus history of genteel, go-along-to-get-along relations with the U.S. last week to strongly criticize unprecedented trade actions by the Trump administration that threaten the economic future of his company and other Japanese automakers. But, how do I put this, Toyoda-san? The tone of your strongly worded messages still might have been
After almost 12 months with the CR-V LX, it’s time to review how the accessories I got have held up. Just after we got Honda‘s base-model compact SUV last year, I added a few accessories to make it better. The most expensive accessory was the surfboard rack, but I also got all-season floor mats, a
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk sent another internal email on the state of the electric-car maker’s business, telling employees that while demand is strong, the company has “a lot of vehicle deliveries to catch up to in order to have a successful quarter.” Musk wrote that, starting Thursday, he will hold calls with
These complaints still don’t take the shine off the car for their owners. Make no mistake, the Hyundai Kona Electric is a pretty great car. The compact crossover has found its way into a number of driveways now in North America, and some of their owners have, in turn, found their way to the InsideEVs
The 2019 Jaguar F-Pace SVR captivated us in Europe with its punchy powertrain and deafening exhaust note. Jag’s super SUV has finally made it to our shores, but with one key difference—unlike the sticky summer performance tires fitted in our European test vehicle, all F-Pace SVRs headed to the U.S. can only be had with
LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor America has chosen Randy Parker, a Nissan executive and former chief of Infiniti sales in the U.S., as vice president of national sales. Parker most recently was division vice president for Nissan’s light commercial vehicle sales based in Yokohama — a post he held for just over a year. Before
By Simon Alvarez Posted on May 29, 2019 A recent drone flyover of Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in China reveals that the factory shell of the upcoming electric car general assembly building is all but complete. Seemingly in relation to this milestone, Tesla has also started teasing the vehicle that will be produced in the expansive
The premium subcompact crossover niche is a relatively new, yet popular and lucrative, niche, and no self-respecting manufacturer can afford to not be present with at least one contender. Lexus wasn’t the first to the party, but oftentimes that proves to be an advantage rather than a drawback. Its offering is the UX, and its