It started with a cup of coffee. In attempts to curb drowsy driving, Mercedes-Benz introduced a system that identified clues that a motorist was growing tired, such as how often they departed their lane. If the system detected trouble, it illuminated an icon resembling a steaming cup of coffee on the instrument cluster. Roughly a
Month: June 2020
The BMW X5 M Competition is an absolute weapon, as this recent review from The Straight Pipes confirms. In a world where more and more people are buying crossovers and SUVs, car manufacturers that have previously had no business making these types of vehicles, such as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Lamborghini, have all launched fast SUVs
LONDON — Bentley has spent big to upgrade its top-selling model, the Bentayga, in a bid to hold off new competition such as the Aston Martin DBX. The British ultraluxury automaker has redesigned the SUV to give it a higher positioning, further away from the competition, CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a news release on
Subaru of America, once a monthly sales streak darling as its U.S. volume rapidly expanded over the past decade, is switching to quarterly sales reporting. The automaker will report its June U.S. sales Wednesday, then switch its cadence going forward. The automaker, of Camden, N.J., was one of the few holdouts still reporting on a
The 2020 Woodward Dream Cruise is the latest automotive event to be canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event’s organizing board voted Monday to cancel the annual summer car cruise through the heart of Detroit and surrounding towns. Organizers were concerned about the ability to maintain social distancing and whether participants would wear
The 2021 Kia K5 marks a new era for the South Korean brand—and a new name is just the beginning for the automaker’s mid-size sedan formerly called Optima. The 2021 K5 picks up where the Optima left off. The K5 is longer, lower, and wider than the sedan it replaces and will be available with
Buying a new car should be an exciting and rewarding process but for a dad and his son in Germany, purchasing a Tesla Model 3 online soon turned into a nightmare – if not a brief one. Earlier this month, Germany announced that it will double the cash-back on electric vehicles purchased between June and
The recently introduced BMW X3 xDrive30e, locally made in the U.S., is another choice in the plug-in hybrid crossover/SUV segment. According to the Driven Car Reviews’ Tom Voelk, the X3 PHEV offers a taste of electric driving, and it’s quite the right word, as the all-electric range is just 17 miles (27 km) EPA. On
Kia’s sees its next-generation midsize sedan as such an upgrade — from the interior and exterior styling to the high-output engine and newly available all-wheel drive — that the Korean automaker is changing the name. The fifth iteration of the sedan will drop the Optima badge in favor of the K5. The name isn’t out
By Eric Ralph Posted on June 29, 2020 In a rare instance of some connection to reality, a European Union commissioner overseeing the space industry has acknowledged the elephant in the room, admitting that SpaceX has changed the game for commercial rockets and that the upcoming Ariane 6 rocket may already be outdated. While slight,
The organisers of the Geneva Motor Show have decided to scrap next year’s event and want to sell up. The international auto show was due to take place in March 2021 but the company behind it has seen weak demand from car brands and exhibitors. This year’s event was cancelled along with a host of
Ford Motor Co. said Monday it would pause advertising on all social media platforms in the United States for the next 30 days, joining a growing list of companies that have stopped spending on Facebook Inc. in support of a campaign that called out the company for not doing enough to stop hate speech on
A Michigan man known as “Mr. Chevy” bought the final Chevrolet Impala. And it’s not the first time he’s done so. Pinky Randall, whose enthusiasm for the brand has been documented over the decades in Automotive News and elsewhere, took delivery this month of the final Impala built before General Motors shut down the plant
Not long after Jay Leno joined with Elon Musk to test out the Tesla Cybertruck, the TV host and car collector had the opportunity to check out the latest Tesla of the moment: the range-topping Model Y Performance. Unlike the vast majority of Jay Leno’s reviews where he is joined by a representative from the
The Geneva auto show will not be held in 2021, the organizers have announced. The reasons for the cancellation were lack of interest from automakers as well as the uncertain situation over the control of the coronavirus, the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) Foundation said in a statement on Monday. The Geneva event is Europe’s
Chrysler is continuing its series of ads for the Pacifica minivan with actress Kathryn Hahn, but with the added complication of social distancing. The latest campaign, which the brand is using on social media and other websites, is called “Pacifica Mom on Quarantine.” The confessional-style ads were shot via iPhone with just two crew members
The coronavirus pandemic has taken down another auto show. The group that runs the Geneva International Motor Show, The Foundation “Salon International De L’Automobile,” announced on Monday that the 2021 Geneva show is canceled and that it prefers to sell the rights of the show to Palexpo SA, the venue where the event is held.
Is it a plane or is it a car? Well, none actually – it’s the Pulse Autocycle, of which around 360 units were made between 1984 and 1990. The brainchild of aircraft engineer Jim Bede, the Pulse Autocycle (originally known as the Litestar) was a cross between a motorcycle and a car – hence the
Unveiled at the end of 2019, the Tesla Cybertruck still remains a serious talking point. Recognised for its sharp, futuristic body, Elon Musk’s all-electric pickup looks like nothing else on the market with many unsure if the design with make production. The out of this world design of the Cybertruck has certainly attracted attention Reaching
Car dealership Lookers has agreed to correct its accounts after auditors found it overstated profitability by a total of £19m over several years. Auditors Grant Thornton have been investigating potential fraud at the Altrincham-based firm. Their draft report found some “fraudulent expense claims” and “several areas” where financial controls “require strengthening”. Earlier this month, Lookers
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be removed by the president for any reason, reversing the agency’s foundational pillar that it should operate independent of presidential or congressional intervention. The court in a 5-4 ruling said the current structure of the federal watchdog is “unconstitutional” without
Tesla delivered the first Model S sedans 8 years ago this week and today, we look back at how it impacted the auto industry over that time. Back in June 2012, Tesla started production of Model S and delivered the first few Signature Model S vehicles to customers. On June 22nd, Tesla held an event
DETROIT — General Motors’ diesel engines, once known to be clunky, loud and unreliable, are now helping draw new pickup buyers to GMC and are on the road to eventually making up one-fifth of light-duty Sierra sales, company officials say. Hitting a 20 percent take rate for the Sierra’s 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel, vs.10 percent today,
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. knows there’s no room for error in launching its redesigned F-150 pickup. But executives are confident they won’t repeat the costly mistakes that tripped up early Explorer production last year. To roll out the Explorer, Ford tore its Chicago Assembly Plant down to the studs, rebuilt it in 30 days
The current 2020 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe is an absolute beast. However, is it actually a smart buy when you can purchase a used W204-generation C63 for considerably less? In Throttle House’s latest ‘Cheap Meets Steep’ episode, they tested a 2020 C63 S Coupe against a 2013 C63 AMG Coupe and found that both are
BERLIN — BMW should shift course and establish a technology platform just for full-electric cars, moving away from developing cars that can be fitted with either electric or combustion engines, the head of the influential works council said. “Only with our own e-architecture can we fully exploit the advantages of an electric vehicle,” Manfred Schoch
HOLLY, Mich. — Dave Pericak smiles as he hops in the driver’s seat of a topless 1971 baby blue Ford Bronco. The late-afternoon sun glints off his Aviator sunglasses as he turns the key and the restored SUV rumbles to life. Pericak is finishing a long day of shooting promotional material for the July reveal
As the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck inches toward production, the company released video showing torturous testing of a prototype. It’s hard to think of an automaker development process that involves drifting on pavement, rock climbing, and high-speed runs through sand with the same vehicle, but that’s exactly what Rivian has put the R1T through.
The driver of a BMW 3-Series has been caught on film standing out of the car’s window on Interstate 5 in Washington in a truly bizarre incident of reckless driving. The clip was recorded by a driver who was following the white 3-Series along the interstate. Understandably, the guy filming was pretty shocked with what
Very crazy things happen every minute of every day on our roads. We honestly can’t say we’re regularly very surprised by the dangerous driving we see. On occasion, an incident makes the news, but for the most part, the ridiculous activity on our roads isn’t shared widely. However, since Tesla added its standard TeslaCam and Sentry