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Friday, January 3, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for January 3, 2020

Jan 03, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Auto industry closes out 2019 with record-high transaction prices, incentive spending

This is a developing story. We will continue to update this as more automakers report their 2019 results. Year-end sales figures began trickling in early Friday, with initial reports suggesting that the U.S. auto industry's seasonally adjusted, annu…

Tesla hits sales goals, reports 367,500 cars delivered in 2019

DETROIT — Tesla's global deliveries rose more than 50% last year, meaning the company surpassed the low end of its sales goals for 2019. The electric car maker delivered a record of about 112,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter and about 367,500 for …

[VIDEO] Tesla's new dashcam honk feature gets tested with a flying hammer

Tesla sent a "Holiday Software Update" to owners just before Christmas that included a haul of tech upgrades and features. Included were hard-news features like the improved Tesla Neural Net for identifying traffic lights and signs and rendering road…

Audi E-Tron GT getting RS treatment; E-Tron Sportback might, too

After a year of turning Audi's Q3, Q3 Sportback, Q5, and Q8 crossovers into bawdy cannonballers, the Ingolstadt automaker's go-fast RS department has embarked on plug-in hybrid and electric programs. Autocar reports that among the first battery-elect…

2020 Volvo XC90 T8 Luggage Test | What you'd expect

Hot on the heels of the Cadillac XT6 and its meager showing in the luggage test comes another member of the three-row luxury crossover segment: the 2020 Volvo XC90 and specifically the T8 plug-in hybrid trim. On paper, the Volvo has 15.8 cubic-feet o…

Carlos Ghosn pulled off mystery escape via a discreet airport lounge

OSAKA, Japan — Despite being one of the world's most-recognizable executives, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn probably embarked onto a private jet from a quiet VIP lounge in Japan's third-largest airport on his astonishing escape from a fraud tri…

2020 Nissan Versa Drivers' Notes | A castaway no more

The 2020 Nissan Versa is a totally new car this year, and Nissan did well by it. Nearly everything about the sedan has gotten better, and we can finally call it a contender in the fast-shrinking subcompact car segment. Nissan made it lower, wider and…

Segway is bringing an electric motorcycle to CES that does 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds

Segway is cool now? Yes, Segway is cool now, and the long-time mall cop transportation brand is going to cement its new reputation at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. The company has revealed plans to show off a new electric bike called the A…

An updated Polaris Slingshot is on the way

The Polaris Slingshot has suffered from slow sales the past couple years, likely in part because its novelty has worn off. The open-air three-wheeler debuted for 2015 , and even those who are into the idea may find it's starting to get a bit stale. To…

Chevrolet Corvette C8.R will wear heritage-laced yellow livery in 2020

The mid-engined, eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette will hit the track in the traditional yellow livery. The C8.R made its debut in 2019 in silver, but it's yellow that racing fans associate with the Corvette. Wearing number three, the Coldplay-ap…

Thursday, January 2, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for January 2, 2020

Jan 02, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Lebanon gets Interpol arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn as escape details emerge

BEIRUT — Lebanon's justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan's ex-chair Carlos Ghosn, four days after he fled Japan to Lebanon before a trial on financial misconduct charges. Alb…

Ghosn flight prompts renewed focus on Japan's strict justice system

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn's daring flight from Japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial wrongdoing, has revived global criticism of the nation's "hostage justice," but in Japan is prompting talk of reversing more lenient curbs on defenda…

Jeep plug-in hybrids are coming, will be called '4xe'

Jeep will announce the name of its future hybrid models at CES: 4xe, a badge that will be worn by all electrified vehicles from the marque. That applies to both Jeeps with a mild-hybrid assist like the eTorque system available on the 2020 Jeep Wrangl…

2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban can't pair new diesel with new Z71 trim

Until the 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe hit the market, the current models offer three trims – LS, LT and Premium – and a number of packages that can be added to specific trims. At the moment, the off-road-focused Z71 package can only be ordered …

Chrysler Airflow Vision concept pairs today's platform with yesterday's name

Fiat-Chrysler has a number of notable announcements at this year's CES, including a formal announcement of its plug-in hybrid plans and branding, as well as the North American debut of the Fiat Centoventi concept . But it's also bringing something new…

Ford's Australian division could stuff the Mustang's V8 in the Ranger Raptor

The Ford Ranger Raptor sold overseas is nearly unstoppable off-road, but its four-cylinder turbodiesel engine makes it slow in a straight line. The Blue Oval's Australian division enlisted the help of an engineering firm to stuff the Mustang 's V8 bet…

One-off, 638-horsepower Bertone Mantide heads to auction in Arizona

When is a C6-generation Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 not actually a Corvette? When it's a one-off, Bertone-pinned extravagance like the Mantide. This 638-horsepower monster may have a face only a mother could love, but we're sure just about anybody could g…

You could own the Plymouth Belmont concept, a Corvette fighter that never was

When you hear American, two-seat sports car from the 1950s, you probably think of either the Chevy Corvette or the Ford Thunderbird. Or if you're into obscure cars, maybe Nash Healey or Kaiser Darrin. But for a moment in time, there was the potential…

Porsche Cayenne Coupe GT ultra-high performance hybrid model spied

Earlier this year, a report came out that Porsche was working on an ultra-high performance variant of the Cayenne Coupe , possibly with the same kind of GT# naming scheme used on the top-tier 911s . One of our spy photographers has managed to get photo…

EPA scientific panel says rollback of vehicle emissions rule is at odds with science

WASHINGTON — A panel of scientific advisers, including several appointed by President Donald Trump, says some rollbacks of clean-air and vehicle rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency are based on weak scientific analysis and should be…