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Tuesday, January 7, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for January 7, 2020

Jan 07, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

Zombie cars: 9 discontinued vehicles that aren't dead yet

Even after cars are discontinued, new, unsold ones still show up in monthly sales reports. We look at the worst-selling cars that are already dead.

2019 Honda Civic Type R Drivers' Notes | Have fun, bring paper bag

If the VW Golf R is for people who'd rather have their go-fast car stay stealthy and fly under the radar, the Honda Civic Type R is basically a squadron of Lancaster bombers blaring ZZ Top. It's basically impossible to miss it. There's the huge wing.…

Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR takes inspiration from the creatures of 'Avatar'

It seems like movie tie-ins are becoming more common for concept cars. First Porsche designed a spaceship for "Star Wars," and now Mercedes has created a concept car inspired by and named after the "Avatar" film series from James Cameron. It's called…

Sony built a car — a concept to show off company's sensors, infotainment

The car industry has loads of electronics suppliers that create everything from screens to sensors. And it's a sector that's becoming bigger and more important in today's age of sophisticated driver assists and infotainment systems. One of those supp…

Toyota plans to build 175-acre 'Woven City' of the future housing 2,000 people

Every year, automotive manufacturers release ideas, sketches, and renderings of and for their visions of the future. The fantastical presentations and proposals capture imaginations and theorize how these near-future communities would change society …

Rolls-Royce posts 25% jump in sales thanks to Cullinan demand

Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce said on Tuesday it recorded a 25% jump in sales in 2019, underpinned by solid demand for its first-ever SUV, Cullinan, just a year after the launch. The 116-year-old British company said it sold a record 5,152 cars in 201…

Ford still sold 226,193 endangered Fusions and Fiestas in 2019

Ford closed out 2019 with a 3% drop in full-year U.S. sales as the continued phase-out of models including the Focus and Taurus helped offset strong performance from its F-Series trucks , Transit vans and Lincoln luxury SUVs . But combing through its y…

Trucks helped carry the market in 2019 to 17.1 million vehicles sold

With the December reports tallied, the U.S. auto industry ended 2019 with 17.1 million vehicles sold, falling short of the post-recession boom years as buying habits continue to swing in favor of profitable trucks and SUVs. Thanks to a slow 4th quart…

Audi AI:Me Concept First Ride | Pointing the way forward

Introduced at the 2019 Shanghai auto show, the Audi AI:Me is a one-off concept that's difficult to put a price on. Its value lies deep in seven-digit territory; it's likely worth more than Bugatti's $3 million Chiron . And yet, I didn't think twice ab…

Elon Musk unleashes dance moves at Tesla Model Y launch in China

SHANGHAI — Elon Musk showed off his dance moves at the launch of Tesla's Model Y electric sports utility vehicle program at its new Shanghai factory on Tuesday, where the company delivered its first cars built outside the United States to the public.…

Monday, January 6, 2020

What You Missed | Your Autoblog Daily Digest for January 6, 2020

Jan 06, 2020

Top Stories of the Day

6 electric vehicles we're watching in 2020

The short list of important electric vehicles to pay attention to this year.

Somebody created a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon droptop

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is a vehicle built with one purpose in mind: going fast down a drag strip. Weight is the enemy when it comes to acceleration, and one surefire way to add weight to a car is to make it into a convertible. However, that's…

2020 Honda Civic Sport Touring Manual First Drive | No compromises but price

One of the common laments among modern-day car enthusiasts is that the companies that still offer manual transmissions on cars only put them on the stripped-out versions or otherwise compromised performance cars. For example, the current-generation H…

Ford will buy first two bipedal robots for commercial vehicle research

Last spring, we told you about Ford's partnership with an Oregon-based company that is developing a two-legged, walking work robot that unfurls from the back of a delivery van, kind of like the battle droids in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace." Now, F…

Ford patent describes four-wheel steering for F-Series trucks

Lots of cars have employed four-wheel steering over the years, but it's not currently available on any of the vehicles that you'd think could really benefit from increased low-speed maneuverability: fullsize pickup trucks. General Motors dabbled in t…

Lamborghini Huracan Evo Rear-Wheel Drive promises lots of oversteer

The debut of the Lamborghini Huracán EVO Rear-Wheel Drive can be seen as a propitious start to the Gregorian New Year, or a starburst finale for the Chinese Year of the Rat – either take works. Coming 12 months after the reveal of its all-wheel-drive…

Fisker introduces the $37,499 Ocean EV crossover ahead of CES 2020

Fisker unveiled an electric crossover named Ocean during a private event held before the model's official debut at CES 2020. Due out in 2022, the Ocean will compete in the same growing segment of the market as the upcoming Tesla Model Y and the recen…

Bosch creates a sun visor that automatically blocks the sun

German supplier Bosch traveled to CES 2020 to introduce an artificial intelligence-powered sun visor called Virtual Visor. It's a major update to a part that has barely evolved in the history of the car. The Virtual Visor takes the form of a rectang…

Mercedes-Benz recalls 750,000 cars for sunroofs that can fly off

Mercedes-Benz is recalling nearly 750,000 cars because the vehicles' sunroofs could potentially detach and fly off, causing road hazards. A full list of affected models can be found here in PDF form . The cars include the Mercedes-Benz's C-Class, E-C…

This wonderful 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG Widebody is up for auction

Long before its purchase by Mercedes and subsequent hyphenation, AMG was an independent company doing some very wild stuff, even by late 1980s standards. This 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG Widebody was on the cusp of madness, with a heavily breathed…

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…