Ford Motor Co. dodged what could have been a serious disruption to the production of its most profitable vehicles, including the F-150 pickup. The automaker, despite the coronavirus pandemic, had repair teams on the ground 12 hours after a tornado earlier this month ripped through a BorgWarner factory in Seneca, S.C., that supplies transfer cases
Month: April 2020
By Amy Thompson Posted on April 30, 2020 It’s no surprise that millions of people have been forced to leave their offices and work remotely and separated from coworkers amid the ongoing pandemic. But what if your star coworker isn’t just in another state, but is on an entirely different planet? That’s what engineers and
Not too long ago, Harry Metcalfe published a review suggesting that the BMW X5 was the world’s first SUV but that irritated some of his American watchers who claimed that no, the Jeep XJ Cherokee was in fact the first Sports Utility Vehicle of its type. To see whether that’s true or not, Metcalfe recently
PARIS — France’s finance and economy minister, Bruno le Maire, said any plans to stimulate auto sales will not appear before September, as the government considers the best way to restart the French economy after coronavirus shutdowns. Speaking before the French National Assembly on Wednesday, Le Maire singled out the automotive industry, tourism and aerospace
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has reached the midway point in its life cycle and has been given a major update to keep it looking and feeling fresh. The updated E-Class was unveiled in March ahead of a sales launch later this year. It arrives as a 2021 model and will once again include a full range
Dramatic dashcam footage has captured the moment a PIT maneuver went wrong during a high-speed chase in Fort Smith, Arkansas. A report from 5 News Online says that the chase started at around 6:30 a.m. on April 10 when an officer with the U.S. Forestry Service noticed a black Ram 1500 pickup run a red
The trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement has received broad support from the automotive sector and Congress. But uncertainty stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and how to comply with the new rules of origin is creating challenges for auto industry stakeholders as they await final regulations. Despite the lack of clarity, the
Big, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs are so passé. What the world wants now are big, electric trucks and SUVs. Just look at the Tesla Cybertruck or upcoming GMC Hummer EV. Or even this beast: the AmorTruck. Designed and rendered by Milen Ivanov, the ArmorTruck looks like the lovechild of the Tumbler from the Dark Knight trilogy
Demand for Tesla’s electric cars held up in the first three months of the year, despite upheavals caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Quarterly revenues jumped 30% from last year to $5.9bn (£4.7bn), allowing the firm to turn a small profit of $16m. It is the third quarterly profit in a row for the company, marking
MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said its Italian network of approved dealers and repair workshops would reopen on Monday, when the country is set to start lifting a national lockdown put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. A package of health and safety measures for workers and customers will be put in
Here’s something we never expected to see but we’re glad we did: Toyota Gazoo Racing collaborated with McDonald’s in Japan to create a bizarre commercial involving drifting, giant Big Macs, and the Toyota Supra. Why does such a partnership make any sense? We’re just as confused as you are, but the world is a strange
SAO PAULO — Global automakers seeking emergency financing for their plants in Brazil have reached an impasse with several state and private banks, after the lenders demanded collateral from the parent companies, two sources told Reuters. The sources said the carmakers have balked at the request, delaying any decision on the billions of Brazilian reais
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson wants to make a Green Deal part of the pandemic recovery plan. Simson told Bloomberg, “Getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies while lowering taxes on electricity can nudge us in the right direction, without putting too much pressure on the consumers.” The cost of subsidies for electric vehicles, like the
The VW Passat may not be the most desirable vehicle in the German carmaker’s range, but as Mat Watson from CarWow recently discovered, it’s quite an impressive car in Passat Estate R-Line Edition guise. The special edition was introduced by VW after last year’s Geneva Motor Show and is based around the facelifted iteration of
LONDON — An employee who worked at Ford’s engine plant in Dagenham, England, has died of suspected COVID-19. The death was disclosed by Ford CEO Jim Hackett during the automaker’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. “Ford has not been immune from the ravages of the virus. We have lost 11 colleagues in the U.S. and
I grew up in a Pontiac household. For my father, if it wasn’t Pontiac, it was crap. Our family’s daily driver was a Matador Red (think blood red) 1969 GTO Ram Air IV with a white interior and Centerline wheels. My dad drag raced a gold 1963 Tempest LeMans followed by a 1981 Firebird that
Speeding on public roads is never a good idea but it can become particularly dangerous if you try to weave in between traffic at high speed. Just ask this driver in St Petersburg, Russia. The following incident occurred on April 22 and was filmed from the dashcam of a vehicle that witnessed the crash. Fortunately,
Leaders of North America’s two big auto unions had somewhat different messages Thursday, April 23, about the prospects for resuming production early next month. “At this point in time, the UAW does not believe the scientific data is conclusive that it is safe to have our members back in the workplace. We have not done
If you think exceeding your local speed limits by 5 or 10 mph is living on the edge, well, you’re practically asleep compared to one Michigan driver who was just ticketed for going 110 mph over the posted limit. As reported by MLive, the driver of a 2016 Dodge was clocked by a stationary Michigan
STOCKHOLM — Volvo Cars will lay off 1,300 white-collar employees in Sweden, with the automaker saying it needs to step up its shift to new products and business models amid the coronavirus pandemic. The layoffs have become more urgent as car sales slump because of measures to restrict the spread of the virus, Volvo said
This year, Solaris will introduce a 15-meter Urbino version to the electric bus portfolio. Up until now, the “electric offer” of Solaris encompassed only city buses, the 15-meter version of the Urbino will also meet requirements of inter-city transport. This year will see the manufacture of a completely new generation of the Solaris Urbino 15 LE model, created solely with zero-emission drivelines in mind. The bus will be certified and offered with specs
You’re looking at something unreal. We mean that in the literal sense—these are renders created by student designer Esa Mustonen for the RAW Design House, a design consultancy that’s part of Koenigsegg. But it’s also unreal in the figurative sense. It is phenomenal, a truly interesting interpretation of some major Koenigsegg design cues, but remixed
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is postponing its autonomous vehicle commercial services until 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic and could ultimately change what services it offers once the crisis passes. Ford previously planned to launch self-driving vehicles for commercial use, such as package delivery, at some point in 2021. The company, in partnership with
By Joey Klender Posted on April 28, 2020 Volvo-owned Polestar recently tested the crash safety of its newest vehicle, the Polestar 2. Tests indicated that the electric sedan has high levels of safety, matching its equally impressive performance standards and living up to parent company Volvo’s rigorous safety standards. Polestar announced on April 28 that
Anyone in the market for a 3-row mid-size SUV has a lot of models to look at, from the Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander, to the slightly smaller Kia Sorento. The GMC Acadia is also on the list, and since it was facelifted last year, it should be on your shopping list. Based on the
Ford will reopen the majority of its European production plants starting Monday, May 4. The automaker will restart its vehicle assembly facilities at Saarlouis and Cologne in Germany, in Craiova in Romania, in Valencia in Spain, and in Golcuk and Yenikoy in Turkey from that date, Ford said on Tuesday in a news release. It
Hyundai announced during the unveiling of its redesigned 2021 Elantra sedan back in March that a sporty N Line version would be coming up shortly. On Tuesday, we got a tantalizing taste of the compact sport sedan in a series of teaser material. Hyundai is short on specs but we know the Elantra N Line
If you own a fairly typical car, for example an affordable mainstream hatchback, crossover, or SUV, you won’t be hard-pressed to find a set of aftermarket wheels for less than $700. Admittedly, these wheels will be cast rather than forged but for the most part, affordable wheels from the aftermarket can do the job. However,
Brett Parham wants to get rid of as many cars as he can now and replenish his supply with fresh inventory. It’s easier said than done. “We’re doing our best to stimulate sales and to try to sell through all the inventory we can right now, because I want to go out and buy that
Just weeks after the Ford Mustang Mach-E’s vehicle engineering manager, Rob Iorio, told The Detroit News that “You can’t just hit the pause button” on the program, there are rumblings that the pandemic has, in fact, hit the pause button on the Mach-E’s launch. The virus will impact deliveries, with the Detroit Free Press reporting
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