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Despite all-electric vehicles being heralded as environmentally sound solutions that would kick down the door to affordable mobility, there haven’t been a lot of good examples hitting the market recently. Most models are aimed at the affluent, resulting in 9,000-pound behemoths with six-figure price tags. General Motors recently released the absolutely ludicrous GMC Hummer EV while the Chevrolet Bolt is being discontinued.

Meanwhile, Volvo has introduced the EX30 — a pint-sized EV that’s to serve as the foundation of its all-electric transformation. But it’s difficult to say whether or not it’s going to deliver on those early promises of electrification.

Here's a weird one -- a wealthy Finnish man is paying an almost $130,000 fine for speeding 20 mph over the limit. That's because that country bases its speeding fines based on the offender's income.

The Toyota Land Cruiser took a bow after the 2021 model year, ending a decades-long run of near-bulletproof off-road SUVs on the U.S. market. We got a new Lexus LX, but it’s even more expensive than the already-pricey Toyota. However, a new report from Automotive News suggests a new Land Cruiser variant is coming. 

Readers may recall a recent news post in which we mentioned Jim Farley took to Twitter and announced that Ford was heeding requests from policy leaders and rural Americans, electing not to yank AM radio from Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Going a step further, he also said any Ford EVs not currently able to pick up Amplitude Modulation stations would be getting a software update to give them the capability.

Despite this common sense development, a cadre of automaker lobbyists made their way to Washington yesterday to bleat at Congress and stomp their feet. Their message was the opposite of Farley’s, saying lawmakers shouldn’t consider requiring OEMs to include AM radio in their vehicles.

Today's used car of the day is a manual-transmission 2010 Porsche Cayman S that comes to us from Dallas.

Honda and Acura haven’t yet released an EV in the United States, but that’s about to change. The automakers have partnered with General Motors, and Honda’s working with Sony on a separate car project. The fruits of the GM/Honda partnership are coming soon, as the Prologue EV will be Honda’s first in the U.S., and the Acura ZDX is coming not long after. Acura recently released new information on the ZDX, including an overview of its updated tech features.

Range and power figures certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have come out for the Rivian R1S Dual Motor and have been shared by the relevant forums. Things are looking pretty good, too. Depending on how it’s optioned, owners could be seeing 348 miles of range between charges — which is actually better than the automaker had previously speculated.

Last week we brought you the news that Texas is fixin' to possibly eliminate state inspections of non-commercial vehicles.

Alert members of the B&B know that applying skiffs of paint and wallpaper to create a new trim can be a great way for an OEM to grab attention on a model that’s between development cycles. Mazda has dabbled with a Carbon Edition in the past but is now applying a similar treatment to other vehicles in its range.

Ford has acknowledged its recent struggles with quality, with CEO Jim Farley vowing to halt the brand’s backward slide. It will take some time for turnaround efforts to take hold, and in the meantime, we’ve got more Ford recalls to discuss. This time, the recall involves 125,000 trucks and crossovers for fire risk, including the ultra-popular Maverick. 

Today's UCOTD is a 1965 Ford Mustang fastback that appears to need some work.

With the sixth-generation Camaro rounding out its final model year, Chevrolet has released the obligatory commemorative variant. The 2024 Chevy Camaro Collector’s Edition is effectively a blacked-out coupe whose real value lies in the prospect of it being extra valuable decades later due to its limited nature. 

You might remember that when yours truly flew to California last year to drive the 2023 Kia Sportage, I didn’t get to spend more than five minutes in the hybrid version. I spent most of my day in the X-Pro, which I was lukewarm about.

A full week with the hybrid showed me I was, indeed, missing out.

I was out of the office dealing with some routine medical stuff last week (I'm fine) so I mostly followed the unveiling of the Volkswagen Buzz via our TTAC story and social-media posts.

Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) floated the notion that every new passenger vehicle should come with automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems. It would seem that the stage is being set for another mandatory safety inclusion, with the NHTSA targeting universal implementation by the end of the decade. But adding another safety net would come with a few complications, as AEB doesn’t really qualify as a passive system.

Here's a blast from the past -- I grew up around trucks like this. Today's UCOTD is a 1987 Chevrolet Silverado K10.