Autos

Ford’s upping its driver-assist feature game with its new BlueCruise Level 2 hands-free system. Predictably, the Blue Oval’s CEO, Jim Farley, is a bit proud of his company’s latest feat. In fact, he even tweeted out, the below: Innocent enough, right? Well, not to all. Although the term “Tesla” was not included in Farley’s tweet, many felt the tweet threw shade at the electric automaker, including—it seems—Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk In the associated video, Ford explains how it sent 10 BlueCruise-equipped vehicles (five Ford F-150s and five Ford Mustang Mach-Es) on a 110,000-mile real-world road test across 37 states and five Canadian provinces. The goal? To test the hands-free driver-assist system releasing the subscription service (currentl...

General Motors and LG Energy Solution today confirmed the two companies will build a $2.3 billion battery cell plant in Tennessee that will be key to powering the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq electric midsize SUV, which will be assembled at the adjacent Spring Hill vehicle assembly plant starting next year. Construction begins immediately on the 2.8-million-square-foot facility on land leased from GM in Spring Hill. The goal is to have the plant come online in late 2023. It ought to employ 1,300 individuals who will help produce Ultium lithium-ion battery cells, GM CEO Mary Barra said. The plant will have a capacity of 70 GWh, which is double that of Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, LG Energy Solution President and CEO Jonghyun Kim said. The battery cells will be used in vehicles made at the ...

There are a few different ways to get your carbon fiber fix if you’re purchasing a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. You can go all-out and opt for the $18,500 Carbon Fiber Track package, which includes some carbon fiber bits (an unmistakable GT4 track wing, splitter wickers, and 20-inch wheels), as well as a bunch of other go-faster features. Or you can spend almost half that on the regular Carbon Fiber package, netting most of the cool bits but not the rear-seat delete, big rear wing, or amazing Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. Further down the list, there’s the $1,500 Handling package, which only includes the Gurney flap and the splitter wickers. But what if you’ve already taken delivery of a GT500? That’s where the new Ford Performance carbon fiber accessories come in...

The former shares its unibody construction method with the Santa Cruz, while the latter is the archetypal American midsize pickup. While the Hyundai and Honda are limited to one body style and one bed configuration, the Chevy is available in either smaller Extended Cab or larger Crew Cab body styles, the latter of which also offers short- and long-bed configurations. To limit confusion and compare the most similar configurations, we are mainly looking at the dimensions of a Colorado Crew Cab with a short box. The Long and the Short of It At 195.7 inches long, the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz casts a shadow 14.5 inches and 17.0 inches shorter than those of the Ridgeline and Colorado Crew Cab, respectively. The Hyundai’s 66.7-inch height is also down 3.6 and 4.1 inches to those of the all- ...

The Ford Bronco Off-Roadeo training program isn’t coming to Vermont. The Woodstock Inn and Resort blindsided the residents of South Pomfret, Vermont, when it disclosed a proposal that allowed its popular 189-acre ski area called Suicide Six to be used during the summer as an off-road driving school for owners of new Ford Broncos. Angry residents spoke out against the idea during a heated public meeting after which Adventure ORX, operator of the Off-Rodeo, was immediately advised to withdraw its state and local permit applications. Residents of South Pomfret felt like the plan sprung up suddenly and that they weren’t given a fair warning. The bombshell had come less than two weeks before the hearing, so locals were baffled as to why they had not been informed about this sooner. ...

By 2030, every nameplate—including Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Maserati, and a plethora of other brands—under the Stellantis umbrella (the company created in January by merging FCA and PSA Group) will offer an electric vehicle. In the run-up to 2030, the company plans to build plug-in hybrids of most models as part of an accelerated global electrification plan. Battery Factories Coming Stellantis will make battery cells at factories in Europe and the United States as part of a move to engineer and build electric powertrain components via joint ventures—a reversal of the old FCA ways of outsourcing most of the parts needed to build a vehicle (something that made the automaker extremely dependent on its supply chain). Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares provided an overview of some of the cor...

Thousands of miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico, the driver of a Hyundai Santa Fe has attempted to mimic Santa’s sleigh. The SUV crashed through traffic-control arms as a drawbridge in Daytona, Florida, was raising and jumped the gap to the other side. All jokes aside, the wayward Hyundai’s flight was caught on security cameras, and Daytona police are seeking the driver, according to the local news station, WESH 2. So far, it isn’t clear whether the airborne crossing was intentional or not. Nor is it clear if the driver fits the infamous “Florida man” template. In the video provided above, you can see the Santa Fe driving at what appears to be a fairly tame speed as it hits the lowered traffic arm—you know, the sort of arms at railroad crossings and par...

A new limited-production pickup truck is strutting its stuff out of the Mopar Custom Shop at Fiat Chrysl—we mean, Stellantis. It’s called the Mopar 2021 Ram 1500 Special Edition, and it’s best you dash any hopes that slapping the Mopar name on Ram’s Hemi-powered 1500 might result in a muscle street truck with beefed-up performance, an athletic stance, and a demeanor akin to the V-10 Viper truck of years past. Even though Ram has recently been enamored with the production of performance trucks (think TRX, or to a lesser extent, the 2500 Power Wagon), this Mopar Special Edition is a bit less involved. The Mopar touch amounts to a performance appearance package and includes zero modifications for the  5.7-liter Hemi V-8 under the Ram’s hood. Alas, the un...

But Hyundai execs knew it was a risky segment and said the Santa Cruz was one of the most-researched vehicles they had ever created. They believed there was a market for the truck, even though success had eluded other automakers. Hyundai Santa Cruz Concept Dave Zuchowski, the then-CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, said the automaker was using the show to gauge reaction. The response was overwhelmingly positive and within days, the early verdict was “go for it,” especially as Hyundai’s lineup was mostly cars and it needed SUVs and a truck to better match its product portfolio with consumer demand. Engineering work continued and a business plan was developed to talk to the board in Korea for approval. An exuberant Zuchowski said a decision to greenlight was possible when ...

This is it, Honda fans: Here’s your first official look at the all-new 2022 Honda Civic sedan. In place of the industry-standard teaser that features a backlit silhouette or just a slice of the headlight framed against inky darkness, Honda bucks the trend with a full front three-quarter glimpse of its newest bread-and-butter compact sedan. Keen Honda enthusiasts know this isn’t really our first look at the new 11th-generation sedan. The lovely dark orange 2022 Honda Civic Sedan Prototype shown at the end of last year (and which is pictured below and in the gallery) gave us an eyeful of what to expect from the Civic’s sheetmetal; a sketched rendering is all we got regarding the small car’s cockpit design, however. That said, Honda was careful to bill the prototype as...

If fast cars, big stars, and plentiful explosions are what draw you into the Fast and Furious films, then you’re going to love the trailer for the latest film in the long-running franchise. Known simply as F9, the movie looks as explosive as ever, with Dodge Chargers jumping off cliffs, fighter jets, and even a rocket-powered Pontiac Fiero. See all 60 photos Yes, the “family” is back together. Only this time with more of Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) biological family members: notably his son, Brian, and his brother, Jakob (John Cena), who’s also the villain in the film. This second trailer follows the first official preview by over a year, thanks to the COVID-related delay in F9’s theater release. Originally delayed until April 2, 2021, the film&#...