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Tuesday, December 10, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 10, 2019

Dec 10, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

Tesla Cybertruck: Is it daring or dumb? Design experts weigh in

When the Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled, my friend Lance and I were in a homesteader's cabin in the Mojave Desert, cooking dinner and watching the livestream, and we were certain it was a joke. Elon attempting to troll us, and the world, with an unref…

3 details about the Tesla Cybertruck that are particularly strange

When the Tesla Cybertruck was revealed , my gut reaction — like a lot of people's — was not positive, even though I generally enjoy bold car design and love many wedgie, edgy sports cars and concepts . So for the past few weeks I've been staring at Tes…

Volkswagen survey sheds light on Americans' love for their SUVs

It won't come as a shock to anyone to hear that sport utility vehicles are very popular with American drivers. But a survey conducted by Volkswagen (spoiler alert: They make and sell several SUVs) sheds some light on just how wedded American drivers …

GM loans $40 million to Lordstown Motors to buy, retool shuttered factory

WASHINGTON — General Motors confirmed on Monday it agreed to loan $40 million to an electric vehicle start-up to facilitate the acquisition of its shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio. Lordstown Motors Corp, which is 10% owned by Workhorse Gro…

2020 Mazda3 Hatchback Drivers' Notes | Luxury with a manual

The new Mazda3 wowed us when we got behind the wheel for the first time last year. Today, just one year further along, the 2020 Mazda 3 is still a delightful, premium offering in the compact segment. We happened to spend a week in the 2020 Mazda3 Pre…

BMW 4 Series spy shots give us a glimpse of that giant grille

Even though BMW made it clear it was sticking to its giant grille guns after the reveal of the Concept 4 at Frankfurt , we were skeptical that it would bring such a controversial look to production without major changes. Well, these latest spy shots p…

2021 Chevy Trailblazer's five trims priced from $19,995 to $26,395

Car and Driver got pricing info on the 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer. As with its twin, the new Buick Encore GX , the Trailblazer makes a compelling argument when compared to the crossover slotted just below. At the Trailblazer's debut in LA , Chevy promi…

2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250 First Drive | The real deal

The previous-generation Mercedes CLA may have been a flawed car, but it was a success for its brand. At its sales peak, about 70% of buyers were new to Mercedes and of those, 65% traded their CLA in for another car with a three-pointed star. A simila…

2020 Ford Escape hybrid fuel economy announced

Fuel economy for the 2020 Ford Escape hybrid has been revealed, and it's impressive. The most frugal variant is the front-drive model, which delivers a whopping 44 mpg in the city, 37 on the highway and 41 in combined driving. The all-wheel-drive ver…

The Nissan Leaf Christmas Tree has light-up snowflake wheels

Each December, as the finals days of the calendar tick down, automakers release themed vehicles to participate in the season and show their holiday spirit. Many imagine creative takes on Santa's sleigh , while others embed fun Easter eggs into the inf…

Monday, December 9, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 9, 2019

Dec 09, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

The McLaren 620R is revealed as a road-legal 570S GT4 race car

Perhaps you missed out on the limited-run McLaren Senna race car for the road. Those were all snapped up immediately, so it's understandable if you did. Don't fret, though, because McLaren just unveiled another road-legal race car that it plans to se…

Tesla Cybertruck looks like an alien spaceship on L.A.'s 405

Many criticized the Tesla Cybertruck for being closer to a prototype than to a production model , and time will tell how much of the design the company is able to keep. In the meantime, Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk proved it's more realistic tha…

Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot slams into two parked cars, one a police cruiser

The driver of a Model 3 learned the limits of Tesla's Autopilot system after slamming into two parked cars in Connecticut. He told law enforcement officers he was checking on his dog on the rear bench. Posting on its official Facebook page , the Conn…

Elon Musk's defamation win may redraw the legal landscape for social media

Elon Musk's daring has left its mark on electric cars and rockets, and now experts say the entrepreneur may have reshaped U.S. defamation law with his willingness to defend at a high-stakes trial a lawsuit over an off-the-cuff tweet. The victory by …

2021 Hyundai Sonata N-Line Prototype Review | Sleek sedan gets some spunk

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With the new 2020 Sonata , Hyundai "wanted to excite people who are looking for a sedan," says designer Haksoo Ha. That was the impetus behind the car's aggressively styled exterior, and also the car's new performance model, the So…

Alcantara's one-off BMW i8 Roadster LimeLight is aptly named

It's been the better part of a decade since BMW introduced the i brand to the world, and with it, unveiled the i8 and i3 concept cars (and the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics before that) . The production versions brought those concept looks to reality, …

Analysts warn Lincoln shouldn't follow Ford out of the sedan market

Lincoln looks set to mimic Ford's on-going shift away from sedans . The move makes sense on the surface, but analysts warn the luxury brand needs to keep some low-riding models in its portfolio. The company's current lineup includes two sedans, the M…

Climate change policies are going to be costly, says U.N.-backed report

LONDON — Tighter government climate regulations by 2025 could wipe up to $2.3 trillion off the value of companies in industries ranging from fossil fuel producers to agriculture and car makers, an investor group warned in a report. Rules aimed at lo…

Airbus and Aston Martin tease helicopter collaboration

Aston Martin is working on a new partnership in a different part of the transportation sector. This week, the British company known for its beautiful car designs announced a collaboration with Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) that is set to launch …

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA shown in design sketches ahead of this week's debut

Mercedes-Benz published a design sketch on its social media channels to preview the second-generation GLA crossover. The model is scheduled to make its debut online on December 11. The sketch picks up where the last batch of teaser images left off. …

Thursday, December 5, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 5, 2019

Dec 05, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

2020 Volvo V60 T8 Polestar Engineered First Drive Review | Fun for the faithful few

The Volvo V60 T8 Polestar Engineered has a lot going for it right out of the gate. First, Volvo styling is hard not to like, and its wagons are quite possibly the best examples of the automaker's current exterior design. Second, this is the T8, the p…

McLaren hybrid tech will create one of the quickest cars in the world

McLaren's entire range of models will be electrified by 2023, and hybrid technology will help the British firm build one of the quickest cars in the world. The company's chief executive outlined an unnamed upcoming model that will boast an organ-disp…

GM, LG Chem announce EV battery joint venture in Lordstown, Ohio

SEOUL/WASHINGTON — General Motors and South Korea's LG Chem said on Thursday they would invest up to $2.3 billion in by 2023 to set up an electric vehicle battery joint venture in Lordstown, Ohio. GM issued an announcement Thursday. An LG Chem spoke…

Ford tells dealers not to advertise Mustang Mach-E under MSRP

So far, the Ford Mustang Mach-E has already proved itself a success for the Dearborn automaker. After livestreaming the debut to 140,000 online watchers, the recording of the debut has been watched online more than 6.5 million times, and 1.6 million …

Cave diver testifies he felt 'branded a pedophile' by Elon Musk

LOS ANGELES — Elon Musk's defamation trial could be in the hands of jury by the end of Thursday after the billionaire and the diver who is suing him sparred over the meaning and impact of a "pedo guy" tweet at the heart of the case. British cave exp…

1997 Acura SLX gets 350 actual Acura horsepower for Radwood

For the Radwood Orange County, Calif., car show, a show themed around 1980s and 1990s cars, Acura is bringing a variety of its original models including a 1991 NSX and a 1986 Integra. The company is also bringing something obscure, a 1997 Acura SLX , …

Billionaire Lawrence Stroll reportedly seeks major stake in Aston Martin

LONDON — Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, owner of Formula One team Racing Point, is preparing a bid for a major stake in Aston Martin, Autocar magazine reported , sending the carmaker's battered share price up nearly 15% on Thursday. The Britis…

You can still buy a million-dollar Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign

Almost a year ago to the day, Nissan revealed the GT-R50 in its final production form , declaring the order books open for business. We have our first update from Nissan on how the super exclusive and rare GT-R is doing today. Turns out, you can still…

2020 Dodge Durango SRT Drivers' Notes | When excess is a good thing

Performance SUVs and crossovers from non-luxury brands are still in a nascent stage of development. Models like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo , BMW X5 M and others are on subsequent generations of their high-performance high-riding machines. Meanwhile, th…

Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet enters production at Osnabrück

The first units of Volkswagen's T-Roc Cabriolet began rolling down the line at the automaker's Osnabrück plant today. VW has already invested a "high double-digit million euro amount" to upgrade the facilities for the convertible crossover's producti…

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for December 4, 2019

Dec 04, 2019

Top Stories of the Day

Buick will go sedan-free by killing the Regal after 2020

Pour one out for the Buick Regal. Citing a growing lack of demand, the firm announced it will deep-six its last remaining sedan and its only station wagon after the 2020 model year. Buick spokesman Stuart Fowle told Motor Authority that buyers clear…

[VIDEO] Bond does a machine-gunning Aston Martin donut in first 'No Time to Die' trailer

James Bond doesn't just drive an Aston Martin. He doesn't just do donuts, and he doesn't just shoot machine guns. Double-oh-seven does donuts in an Aston Martin DB5 while Gatling guns pop out of its headlights and snipe his enemies. The stunt is one …

There's a new Cannonball Run record: 2,825 miles in 27 hours and 25 minutes

Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker set the first records for driving from East Coast to West, eventually nailing a time of 53.5 hours in 1933 behind the wheel of a Graham-Paige Model 57 Blue Streak 8. Brock Yates eclipsed the mark with his Cannonball Baker Se…

2020 Hyundai Palisade Limited Second Drive | Style and substance

BEND, Ore. — In our first drive review of the 2020 Hyundai Palisade , I summarized it as "a well-rounded entry that checks just about every box for would-be buyers of three-row crossovers." That included exceptional value, a high-quality and visually …

Elon Musk testifies at defamation trial he responded to 'unprovoked attack'

LOS ANGELES — Elon Musk has owned up to insulting a British spelunker in a rash tweet, but wouldn't concede on the witness stand that he called the man a pedophile. The Tesla CEO returns to the witness stand Wednesday after spending several hours at…

2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe priced under $39,000

A little over a month after its debut, the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe has been priced. The base 228i xDrive starts at $38,495, which nets you all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four making 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torqu…

Our first look at the Peugeot hypercar for Le Mans

Peugeot is returning to Le Mans with Rebellion Racing, and the French automaker just dropped the first photo of what its car will look like in the hypercar class. We normally wouldn't get too worked up over a race car rendering, but this one has cert…

Porsche developing four-motor electric powertrain for an SUV

The 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S may be the company's state-of-the-art electric car right now, but that may not last long. In one of its own tech articles , Porsche revealed that it's working on a four-motor electric powertrain, which is two more motor…

Here's your chance to own a first-year Dodge Viper with just 333 miles

The Dodge Viper is certainly one of the most outrageous cars to come out of the 1990s, with its cartoon styling, massive 8.0-liter V10 engine, and utter disregard for anything other than performance. The first-generation models are the purest example…

2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium Second Drive | The best 4Runner value

Despite the proliferation of small, efficient crossovers, the 2020 Toyota 4Runner endures with its body-on-frame construction, aged engine and transmission, and traditional part-time four-wheel-drive. It's one of the last dinosaurs in the age of mamm…