Filed under: Government/Legal,Green,Fuel Efficiency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to use a Virginia car dealership on Tuesday as the setting to tout its rejection of the Obama administration's landmark vehicle fuel efficiency rules, a move that could put automakers in the middle of a battle between the Trump administration and California. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to sign a declaration by Sunday that the Obama administration's vehicle efficiency rules for 2022 through 2025 are "not appropriate" and must be revise
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The Easter Jeep Safari began as a play for tourism: in 1967 the Moab Chamber of Commerce invited "the Jeeping community" to ride a single trail on the Saturday before Easter. The attendees were mostly members and friends of the Chamber of Commerce. Now, 52 years later, the nine-day Safari takes place on more than 40 trails and lures thousands of Jeepers, who put on one of the biggest and best modified Jeep shows in the world.
Tesla said on Friday that a Tesla Model X involved a fatal crash in California last week had activated its Autopilot system, raising new questions about the semi-autonomous system that handles some driving tasks. Tesla also said vehicle logs from the accident showed no action had been taken by the driver soon before the crash and that he had received earlier warnings to put his hands on the wheel.
We've all seen examples of drivers who don't square their turns, instead making left turns that are too tight and cut well into the oncoming driving lanes, making you glad there's nobody approaching to make their own left turns.
Volkswagen has taken parking lots to a whole new level in the United States and will not be emptying them soon. Volkswagen AG has paid more than $7.4 billion to buy back about 350,000 U.S. diesel vehicles through mid-February, a recent court filing shows. The German automaker has been storing hundreds of thousands of vehicles around the United States for months.
In a world full of SUVs and crossovers all competing for similar buyers in similar segments, there are still some models that find their own little niches that lack such fevered fighting. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of those vehicles. It's an oddball in the sense that it's a midsize crossover SUV with a unibody chassis and independent suspension, but it still uses rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive systems and has some off-road capability. It's also a midsize crossover, but only offers two
We saw a junkified Ford P71 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor in Colorado last month, so it's only fair that we take a look at the P71's only serious rear-wheel-drive competition during the 1990s: the Chevrolet 9C1 Caprice Classic. Here's a final-year-of-production ex-police Caprice, spotted in an Arizona self-service wrecking yard.
The knowledge that smoothly riding that wave into third gear and beyond is going to require skill, timing and a degree of expertise beyond a fingertip on a paddle is the reward I want from a car such as the GT3.
We all love fast wagons. Their combination of practicality and performance scratches an itch for most of us here at Autoblog. What other vehicle on the market can carry a family of four along with all their luggage and still hit 60 mph in fewer than four seconds and a top speed close to 200 mph? These are supercars wrapped in a family-friendly package.
Lincoln's foray into the world of monthly subscriptions will follow the mold of Ford's Canvas program and launch a pilot service offering a range of pre-owned 2017 Lincoln vehicles in West Los Angeles and the San Francisco area.
Workhorse Group has experience electrifying trucks. It has been providing hybrid delivery vehicles to the likes of UPS, has introduced a range-extended electric work pickup, and is in the running to supply the powertrain for the next U.S. Postal Service mail truck. Now, the company has launched an electric delivery van called the N-Gen, which offers an optional range extender and delivery drone.
"My job is to make them drive like they look," Matt Becker, Aston Martin's vehicle attributes engineer, tells me. The engine is idling, and we're harnessed inside of the 2019 Vantage test mule's racing bucket seats, somewhere on a frozen lake near the Arctic Circle in Sweden. Since the Vantage is Aston's best seller, and it's representative of the things the brand stands for, it's safe to say this chilly prototype is the most important Aston Martin on the planet right now.
Now here's a genuine novelty: In San Francisco, a motorcycle cop pulled over an autonomous vehicle and issued it a ticket. The future has arrived.
The United Auto Workers added new members for the ninth consecutive year in 2017 and the union remained in the black, but overall dues fell versus the previous year, according to the union's annual filing with the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.
When it was first introduced in 2007, there was nothing like the original Ford Sync system, since it allowed car owners to connect and use a portable device better than anything that came before it. It took competitors awhile to catch up. But now Ford is the one playing catchup.
Tesla shares rose on Thursday ahead of the expected release next week of the company's quarterly auto production data, while a senior executive urged workers at the automaker to hit a weekly production target of 2,500 Model 3 sedans by the end of March.
Tesla Inc said on Thursday it was voluntarily recalling Model S sedans built before April 2016 in order to replace bolts in the power steering component.
File this information away in your brain under the heading: What to do if a wild cheetah climbs in your car. The answer: Stay perfectly still, show respect by not looking directly at the cheetah, and if you can possibly keep your hands from shaking, roll some video.
We've seen all that there is to see at the 2018 New York Auto Show, and we won't be walking away disappointed. We saw pure concepts, concepts that clearly point the way for future production models, and comprehensive refreshes of some of the best-selling vehicles in America.
Autoblog's editors voted on vehicles debuted at the 2018 New York Auto Show. These are our picks for best in show.
While much attention has been turned toward the East Coast during the New York Auto Show, a new EV company has been busy on the other side of the country, in California. SF Motors, a Silicon Valley startup with financial backing from China, introduced its first two electric vehicles, the SF5 and SF7. Both are SUVs built on the same platform, using batteries and electric motors developed in-house.
Gene Munster, an analyst from Loup Ventures, said on Bloomberg that Tesla is "probably going to miss" its Model 3 production targets this quarter, but that the news won't be a surprise to investors. "It's going to be worse before it gets better," he said. Munster told Bloomberg that he predicts that Tesla will be able to churn out between 1,500 and 2,000 Model 3s per week, falling far short of the company's goal of 2,500 per week.
Nissan and Renault have been tied together as an alliance for nearly 20 years, but now the Japanese and French automakers are discussing whether to merge. Bloomberg, citing unidentified sources familiar with the confidential talks, reports that the idea is to form a single publicly traded company to better compete against giants like Toyota and Volkswagen.
The family of a woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc self-driving vehicle in Arizona has reached a settlement with the ride services company, ending a potential legal battle over the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the New York Auto Show was the Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak pickup truck. And one of the things that make the Tanoak so intriguing is how it seems pretty feasible to bring to market. It's based on the Atlas, which already has powertrains certified for emissions in America, and at least the front half wouldn't likely need much, if any work to make sure it passes U.S. safety standards. And like the Atlas, it uses the MQB modular platform found in everything from the afor
Ford has opened order books for the 2019 Mustang Bullitt and confirmed final output for the commemorative-edition GT fastback at 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. Deliveries are expected in late summer.
Here it is, our traditional car-show mega gallery of galleries — hundreds of photos of, in this case, 32 of the most interesting, fastest, most luxurious, coolest cars direct from the New York International Auto Show at Javits Center in Manhattan.
Infiniti is introducing more luxurious Limited models of its QX60 and QX80 crossover and SUV at the New York Auto Show, with special wheels and even more luxurious interior touches.
Demand for sport utility vehicles in the United States is booming, but the number of new models vying for a share of that market is growing even faster, threatening the fat profits automakers have enjoyed.
Volkswagen will buy back new diesel cars if German cities ban them, it said on Thursday, seeking to reassure potential buyers and stem a plunge in sales of diesel vehicles.
Despite plans from fellow German carmakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz to pull out of the Detroit Auto Show in 2019, Volkswagen says it's sticking with the Motor City next year.
Mazda's smallest vehicle, the CX-3 subcompact crossover, is getting a refresh for the 2019 model year. Visually, you'd be hard-pressed to tell what changed, and that's because not much did. The grille now has slats that are grouped in pairs, and the rear taillights have been redesigned. But there are a number of changes aside from visuals that separate this model from the 2018.
With 590 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque, the 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine powering the all-wheel-drive Levante Trofeo boasts the greatest power-per-liter of any engine ever installed in a Maserati. Not surprisingly, the engine and its 156-hp-per-liter output are the product of the men from Maranello. The Ferrari-based V8 pushes the Levante Trofeo to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 187 mph.
Are you having a hard time telling the all-new 2019 Subaru Forester apart from its predecessor? Are you wondering what they actually changed? Well, it's as if Subaru sensed that confusion, and brought the new Forester's ancestors on stage for its debut here at the New York Auto Show.
The 2019 GMC Sierra AT4 proves that GM's upmarket truck and SUV brand is getting serious about offering rough-and-tumble capability to rival the Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra, Ram 1500 and Nissan Titan. Until the Sierra AT4 rolled onstage at a media event in lower Manhattan, prior to this year's New York Auto Show, the GMC brand had been more focused on luxury touches like fancy chrome wheels and posh interiors — no surprise, considering the upscale SLT and Denali trim levels account for the v
Startup and established automakers alike have been waking up to — and embracing — the idea that electrification doesn't have to be just about efficiency. There's a huge performance potential for electric vehicles, a fact that Tesla has capitalized on, and other brands are following suit. Korean luxury car manufacturer Genesis is the latest to join the party with the unveiling of its Essentia grand touring EV concept at the New York Auto Show.
Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen bluntly shot down rumors his brand's powerful twin-turbo V8 is also headed for the Chevy Corvette. Speaking Wednesday at the New York Auto Show, he said: "Just quit the speculation it's headed for Corvette. It's not."
Midsize family sedans may be losing sales to small SUVs, but hundreds of thousands of the things still left dealerships last year. The 2019 Nissan Altima introduced here at the New York Auto Show replaces one of the segment's best sellers, joining a pair of other best-sellers, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, which were both redesigned last year.
Here it is, the all-new 2019 Subaru Forester, a lot like it was before, and a lot different. Six months of spy shots clued us in to evolutionary exterior on this fifth generation, which Subaru dubs "a more rugged style." Taking cues from the Ascent, instead of bodysides decorated with a couple of character lines, Subaru designers accentuate the sculpture of the entire span. In front, A larger, black gloss-finish grille cuts deeper into the bumper from the top, cladding around the lower into reac
After those teasers and brochure shots, the 2019 Kia K900 flagship sedan is here in the metal, presented at the New York Auto Show. Kia reminds us that the only thing carried over from the old car is the name, but the car's design is still reserved rather than ostentatious.
The Hyundai Tucson gets significant updates for the 2019 model year, with freshened styling all around to bring its look in line with the brand-new Kona and Santa Fe crossovers, revised engine options, and more of the safety and convenience technology that buyers have come to expect from the small crossover category.
Let's get the most salient details out of the way: The Hyundai Kona Electric will show up in California in the fourth quarter of 2018, and other "ZEV-focused states" will soon follow. We'd expect to see the Kona EV in dealerships along the East and West Coasts and in New England in early 2019. It'll have an estimated range of 250 miles from its 64 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Its electric motor sends 201 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels.
Calling the RDX that Acura showed at this year's Detroit Auto Show a "concept" was stretching that term to the limits of credulity. The production version of the 2019 RDX is here, and this turbocharged crossover with available AWD looks darn near identical. While it offers all-wheel drive like its Lexus NX and Audi Q3 competitors, Acura's next-generation SH-AWD should be a serious selling point.
As we mentioned last night, underneath the new Lincoln Aviator "concept" there appears to be an independent rear suspension lifted right from the Ford Mustang parts bin. And while it's pretty cool on its face that Mustang rear-drive platform bits are being reused in the broader Ford universe, what this means for the next Explorer could be really cool.