Autos

Most, if not all, new Cadillacs around the world will be electric within the next 10 years. No doubt, this will be a huge transition for a brand that currently sells no EVs, and recognizing this reality, General Motors is reportedly offering to buy out dealers who don’t want to invest in the ambitious transformation plan. According to Automotive News, the buyouts range from $300,000 to $500,000 per dealer. It won’t be the first time Cadillac tries to trim its dealership network, but this is quite a large sum of money on offer. Dealers have until the end of November to accept the money. “We wanted to move fast and make sure dealers are ready for the acceleration,” Mahmoud Samara, vice president of Cadillac North America, told the publication. “This is purely an option for those dealers who ...

Car insurance in the 21st Century is a bit more complicated than it was a few short decades ago. More technology in cars means more potential repair costs to consider, but it also gives insurance carriers the ability to tailor premium rates to each individual driver—as long as you let them into your car to look over your shoulder. Companies like Progressive and State Farm have offered services that monitor your driving habits and reward good behavior for years, and now General Motors is looking to get into the telematics-based insurance game with OnStar Insurance. Unlike other services that rely on external devices that plug into your car’s onboard diagnostics (OBD-II) port or connect to it via Bluetooth, OnStar Insurance uses the systems already built into every GM vehicle. OnStar Insuran...

The 2021 Ford Bronco Sport might not be the full-blown Bronco of your dreams, but it is an affordable way to get into something with surprising off-road chops and that iconic Bronco badge. That doesn’t mean, however, that with a little imagination the baby Bronco Sport can’t be turned into something even more capable and totally badass. Cue the MAD Bronco Sport Badlands—a concept designed to show what the smallest Bronco can really do. <!– –> Originally intended for the 2020 SEMA show in Las Vegas, which was cancelled thanks to the ongoing pandemic, Ford debuted the concept at what it called “Ford Auto Nights” in the tuner show’s stead. The digital auto show has already debuted a number of sweet concepts such as the Bronco Badlands Sasquatch ...

The pandemic has cancelled just about every big event in 2020, including the annual automotive spectacle that is the SEMA Show. In normal times, SEMA would already be behind us by now. But this year the world’s largest automotive aftermarket show is going virtual, and once again Ford is rolling deep with its modified vehicle debuts. Revealed online alongside a Mustang Mach-E drift car, overland-prepped Bronco Sport, two-door Bronco built for the dunes, and others, this custom 2021 Ford Ranger Tremor makes us want to escape the confines of our home offices and enjoy the great outdoors. The truck began life as a 2021 Ford Ranger XLT Tremor SuperCrew and was transformed by Ford’s vehicle personalization team into the wilderness-ready vehicle you see here. The build mostly uses parts available...

The Nissan Micra is an interesting, tiny little thing that in an alternate universe (maybe a late-2010s gas crunch?) might have made it to American shores as a gas-saving, subcompact commuter car. After all, it’s loaded with more character than a Versa, and our close Canadian neighbors had been able to buy Micras from their introduction in the early 1980s right up until this year, when it was finally discontinued. And in Mexico, the previous-generation Micra is still available as the Nissan March. But over in Europe, the Micra is still going strong, and it’s been updated for the 2021 model year. The biggest news for the refreshed model—it was all-new in 2017, looking a bit like a tinier Nissan Leaf—is a change in powertrains. A new 1.0-liter, turbocharged gasoline engine is now...

Jeep’s taken the wraps off of a refreshed Compass in China, and we suspect the updates shown on the off-road-oriented brand’s small crossover will find their way to the U.S.-spec model for the 2022 or 2023 model year.  Changes to the exterior of the Compass appear minor, with a new front fascia, reworked grille, and mildly revised headlight bezels replete with LED lighting, adding a hint of additional aggression to the Jeep’s mug. More significant updates appear within the crossover’s cabin. A revised dashboard emphasizes the interior’s width and welcomes a massive infotainment screen and digital gauge cluster, one of which measures in at 10.3 inches and the other at 10.1—we presume both are optionally available and a smaller infotainment screen and analog gauges are standard kit. As in ot...

We already knew the next generation of full-size SUVs from General Motors—including the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade—are due to offer a diesel engine option. Now, though, we know just how efficient this powertrain makes the big three-row SUVs—or at least two-wheel-drive iterations. The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe diesel leads the lineup with a rating of 24 mpg in combined city and highway driving. It’s much more frugal than the gas Tahoe, which tops out at 18 mpg. The beefier 2021 Chevrolet Suburban diesel gets 23 mpg, a sum that bests the gas model’s rating by 5 mpg. For reference, the EPA rates the 2021 Infiniti Q60 sports coupe at 22 mpg combined—regardless of its six-cylinder engine’s state of tune. Similarly, the diesel-powered GMC Yu...

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We spent a year enjoying the Land Rover Range Rover Velar’s potent engine, surprisingly good reliability, and eye-catching looks. We also adored the luxurious interior, with the notable exception of its glitchy infotainment system. Interior tech is one area that Land Rover promises to improve upon with its latest update to the Velar, which includes an improved multimedia system and new mild-hybrid powertrains, among other updates, for the 2021 model year. Velar customers are able to choose three engine options. The first one—a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 247 hp—carries over from last year. Then there are two new 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder “mild-hybrid” options: one with 335 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque and the other delivering 395 hp and 405 lb-ft of twist. Both ...