We put 20,378 miles on our 2019 Honda Insight in an eventful 377 days, a notable achievement given that the primary driver commutes less than 3 miles from home to work. This was very much a MotorTrend team effort that involved long commutes from Orange County to Los Angeles and back, and several road trips
Month: February 2020
The annual Geneva auto show, also known as the Geneva International Motor Show or GIMS, has been canceled for 2020 after the Swiss government has enacted a temporary ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people. The ban comes as journalists and automaker executives from around the globe prepared to travel to Switzerland for the event,
A camping trick I discovered way too late: sleeping inside a car or camper is more comfortable than sleeping inside a flimsy tent. Apparently, cooking in the car might not be a bad idea, either. This mobile kitchen has us wanting to try it out on our next camping trip. The Nomad Kitchen is designed
We’re still dabbing the corners of our eyes over Honda‘s decision to keep its newest-generation Jazz hatchback—known to you as the Fit—from the American market. While the previous Fit lost some of the sparky handling magic that made its utterly practical, fun-to-drive predecessors so good, it was still a compellingly space- and fuel-efficient little box
Brabus is probably best known for giving Mercedes’ AMG products some fancy bodywork and huge injections of power, and that’s exactly what it has done to the latest Mercedes-AMG G-Class. Enter the Brabus XLP 800, a custom pickup-truck version of the already outrageous G63 AMG SUV with a V-8 engine boosted to nearly 800 horsepower. In case that
You’ve got to hand it to BMW. When the X6 first launched in 2008, the styling of the awkwardly proportioned wedge was polarizing, to say the least. In 2010, the X6 (and its platform mate, the X5) were the first BMW SUVs to wear the coveted M badge. It was a double blasphemy in the
It’s long been known that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to move the ancient Dodge Grand Caravan minivan to the back burner, and let the van fade into the sunset and leave the Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager as the group’s only minivan options. Well, vanatics, that day is here. Will the Dodge Grand Caravan live to see the
By Joey Klender Posted on February 29, 2020 A Tesla Cybertruck in 1:2 scale recently competed in a series of tug-of-war matches against several vehicles, including a full-sized Ford F-150 pickup truck. Just like its full-sized, brutalist big brother, the smaller Cybertruck outperformed its competitors, though it needed some help to beat the formidable F-150.
Global automakers and suppliers are scrambling to respond to the massive dislocations in their supply chains caused by the coronavirus that broke out in China. How did we get here? China does offer colossal market opportunities and unmatched industrial scale. But it is not a place to put all of your eggs. No market is.
Despite years of near-record sales of new cars and trucks in the U.S., dealers are increasingly being forced to diversify into new business enterprises to stay profitable. The culprit: new-car margins that don’t pay the bills anymore amid intense competition. Automakers have stepped up their certified pre-owned programs. Service departments are looking at tire sales
Lincoln makes some very nice SUVs, particularly the Aviator and Navigator, and Doug DeMuro recently had the opportunity to test out the marque’s entry-level SUV, the Corsair. Like always, DeMuro goes over some of the lesser-known details of the Corsair in his review – he usually calls them quirks, some might say, too often. One
Autopilot, Super Cruise and Drive Pilot are different names given to technology that automates steering and braking in a growing number of vehicles, but none of it can safely “pilot” cars without regular human intervention. These systems and the potential for consumers to misunderstand and misuse them are putting pressure on regulators everywhere to overhaul
Polestar this week unveiled a concept previewing a potential large fastback sedan. While it hasn’t been confirmed for production just yet, we know its design and technology will end up in future models from the Swedish performance EV brand. 2020 Chevrolet Corvette This week we also managed to spend a bit more time with the
If Porsche takes one thing seriously, it’s performance. Not a car escapes from Stuttgart without the chops to reinforce Porsche’s reputation for driving excellence. Tha Panamera is no exception. We give it a 9 out of 10 for performance. We’ve driven about half of the available models in the Panamera range, including the base 3.0-liter
A frustrated ambulance crew in Maine recently took to social media to share a video of a driver refusing to move over for the emergency responders. WCVB 5 reports that paramedic Michael Blakemore and his crew were heading to an emergency when they came up behind a red car on Route 136 in Auburn. They
Tesla has been spotted stockpiling some brand new Model Y SUVs in the parking lot of its factory ahead of the start of deliveries next month. In March of last year, Tesla unveiled the Model Y, an all-electric crossover based on the Model 3, with up to 300 miles of range. At the time, the automaker
Auto parts maker Tenneco Inc. shuffled its board Friday in a move that could provoke a fight with former Icahn Enterprises executive Dan Ninivaggi, who in January demanded the board make more-sweeping changes or risk a proxy battle. Dennis Letham, a 12-year veteran board member, will become lead director effective April 1 in a move
Tesla’s Model 3 has been crowned UK Car of the Year 2020, making it back-to-back wins for electric vehicles at the awards following the Jaguar I-PACE’s victory in 2019. After emerging triumphant as Best Executive car when the category winners were announced on 12th February, the Tesla battled it out against eight other new cars
German prosecutors raided offices and private homes of Porsche engineers last week as they widened investigations into employees allegedly involved in manipulating diesel motors. The number of suspects rose by four to seven current and former Porsche employees, Heiner Roemhild a spokesman for the prosecutors office in Stuttgart said Friday by phone. No board member
In an industry endlessly fascinated with the companies creating the self-driving future, Beep Inc. often registers not a peep. The company does not write its own code. It does not develop its own self-driving stack. Nor does it manufacture vehicles. Nor host a platform that matches riders and drivers. Beep is a pure fleet operator
Jeremy Clarkson famously used to say back in the day that if you can afford a new Porsche Boxster, then your life is very good, but not perfect, as it’s not a 911 after all. That saying still applies to the base variant of the open-top sports car, but not when it comes to the
HAMBURG, Germany — Volkswagen Group and a major German consumer group have reached an agreement in a class-action lawsuit over the automaker’s rigging of diesel-emissions tests, a court in the northern city of Brunswick said on Friday. Consumer groups’ umbrella organization VZBV and the company came to a comprehensive agreement, the court said, without elaborating.The
Citroen on Thursday unveiled an electric minicar that will cost just 6,900 euros (approximately $7,600) when it goes on sale later this year. Citroen will also make it available via a long-term rental from just $22 per month (over 48 months and with a $2,900 down payment), or via the Free2Move car-sharing service operated by
Sure, you could order a 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Velar in beige with a tan interior and no options and call it a day, but you probably won’t. The automaker’s long list of optional extras extends well beyond convenience features to help well-heeled buyers make a 2020 Velar that feels as special as its
In 1993, a website was launched dedicated to the ‘Darwin Award’, a tongue-in-cheek award used to recognize someone contributing to human evolution by “making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives” in what’s usually an extraordinarily stupid manner to protect our gene pool and further the human species. The long-boarder in this video will surely
By Eric Ralph Posted on February 27, 2020 SpaceX has published the first renders of a massive tower (MST) designed to fully enclose a Falcon Heavy rocket, giving the US military access to certain prized satellite payloads even when the vehicle is vertical at the launch pad. Stretching some 70 m (230 ft) tall and
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario is returning to a two-shift operation in June, a move that will result in approximately 1,500 layoffs at the longtime minivan factory. The company informed Unifor, which represents hourly workers at the plant, of the decision Thursday. The plant, which had been operating on three
Tesla has reported some fully autonomous test miles for the first time in years in the California DMV disengagement report, but it’s nothing to get too excited about. The California DMV makes companies who are testing autonomous vehicles in the state submit yearly “disengagement reports” to release details about each time their autonomous test vehicles
More automakers are selling cars online in China as worried consumers stay away from showrooms to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Chinese carmaker Geely is the latest to launch a new online service to try to boost sales in the country. It joins the likes of Tesla, BMW and Mercedes-Benz who are now actively
LONDON — Aston Martin’s chief finance officer, Mark Wilson, will leave the company following a tumultuous 2019 in which the automaker’s losses ballooned after sales dropped and it drafted in a new investor to help turn around the company. Aston Martin posted a 104.3 million-pound ($136 million) pretax loss in 2019 after a 7 percent