With Congress having politicized their nearly identical bills on police reform into another deadlock, many local governments have decided to pick up the slack by embracing activists seeking to dismantle law enforcement. Most of these don’t concern us as automotive enthusiasts and offer few perks or comfort to your average citizen. Then the City of Berkeley floated an idea that actually sounded halfway decent.

Rather than abolishing the police entirely, the famously progressive Californian town suggested ending routine traffic enforcement. However, you may want to hold off on making any illegal modifications to your car and postpone any burnout competitions you were planning on hosting. The proposed arrangement doesn’t officially endorse lawless roadways, though they may still be possible during the transitional period.  Read More >

There’s nothing coincidental about the timing of this vehicle’s release. Alas, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Concept is exactly that, a concept, though Fiat Chrysler’s off-road brand strongly hints that it will become a reality one day.

That confirmation, if it is forthcoming, will take place long after the debut of a vehicle this concept is meant to fight: the Ford Bronco. Read More >

As predicted last week, Fisker Inc., the company created by Henrik Fisker that aims to introduce an ultra-eco electric crossover, the Ocean, in 2022, has announced plans to go public.

Again, as expected, Fisker made its move by merging with a blank check company backed by a private equity firm. Read More >

Not since Toyota’s American brass debuted the new Venza from their own driveways at the height of the coronavirus lockdown has a new vehicle galvanized the public’s attention like this.

Discourse? There isn’t any, other than about this singular product. At this very moment your kids are probably watching other kids talk about it on their TikTok machines, or whatever it is they play with when they’re not tattooing images of Elon Musk on their necks and going vegan to fight hate. I’m no parent, and it shows.

If you’ve just arrived from a secluded cave in which you were held captive by a family of bears, free of any and all media except for nightly live-action stage plays (about bears), we should inform you that the Ford Bronco will, at long last, reveal itself tonight. Everyone, including your relieved family members, are aware of this. Ford worked overtime to generate as much buzz as possible, earning this date in history the moniker “B-Day” at the very online TTAC World Headquarters. Of course, it’s entirely possible you couldn’t care less about another SUV appearing in an already crowded segment, but don’t worry — you’ll still be able to participate in today’s QOTD. Read More >

Having watched The Hunt for Red October last night, your author knows all too well what can happen when two superpowers engage in a game of brinkmanship. He’d also like to see Montana.

Having enjoyed years of nearly complete dominance in the true off-road SUV market in America, Jeep now finds itself in a battle against a vehicle no consumer has yet laid eyes on: the Ford Bronco, due for a public unveiling on Monday. On Saturday morning, Jeep decided to crank that newfound rivalry up to “11”, teasing a future product with a monster engine.

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Our friends over at Motor1 have been busy today.

First it’s the rumor about the next-gen Honda Civic Type R getting a big power boost and all-wheel drive, and now they’re reporting that a version of the Toyota Supra might get a big power bump, bigger than what the car got in 2021.

Well, actually, it’s Japanese Web site BestCarWeb.jp, the same site that surfaced the Civic rumors, doing the reporting – Motor1 is just aggregating the info, same as I am right now, after translating it.

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Fall holiday discounts aside, the height of summer is typically a good time to head out and buy a car. The weather’s good, new models are rolling into dealers, and markdowns are appearing on older stock taking up precious space. Yet 2020 is anything but a normal year.

As the industry struggles to regain the volume it once enjoyed, threadbare inventories continue to plague automakers, though not everyone’s equal in this exercise. Read More >

The Honda Civic Type R isn’t exactly subtle.

Its boy-racer styling and big wing announce its presence and mission with authority. It’s as if Honda is saying, “Hey, you want subtlety in a hi-po Civic? Get a Si.” Note: The Si is easily identifiable because of a spoiler of its own, albeit one that’s far less ostentatious.

If the current Type R doesn’t exactly blend, what does one make of the rumors swirling across the Internets this morning?

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I last gave an update on the vehicles which occupy my drive back in February. At the time, the Volkswagen’s roof rattle issues had (finally) been corrected and I was all ready for a quick sale of my Subaru Outback. But said quick sale was interrupted by a few different issues, both local and global.

Uncertain Times for car sales, eh?

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As you read earlier this morning, Rivian founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe isn’t all that impressed with the ability of some EV startups to wow Wall Street with lofty talk and exciting, but perhaps empty, promises. He’s more concerned with getting product out the door.

It’s perhaps because of Rivian’s conventional approach to car building that big-name firms seem more than willing to put their cash behind it. On Friday, the EV startup landed another bundle, and it’s a big one. Read More >

Ford cautioned that some of its American assembly plants could be put on ice as early as next week, as shortages persist at a Mexican plant still not running at full capacity.

The potential engine shortages stemming from coronavirus fears at Ford’s Chihuahua Engine Plant and in the surrounding countryside would stymie production of key Ford products, including the new-for-2020 Super Duty line. Read More >

Among electric vehicle startups, Rivian is the nonconformist. Compared to its braggadocious contemporaries, many of which are still years away from building anything, the Michigan-based company is well-poised to deliver a drivable product within a year’s time, with only scant attention paid to the possibilities of going public on a raft of promises.

We’ve already seen what Rivian plans to offer. Metal has met eyes. An assembly plant is already gearing up, with a list of suppliers on hand to pull off production of the R1S SUV and R1T pickup, and, most important of all, there’s money to fund it. It all sounds so… conventional. Read More >

By now you’ve heard, been told, or simply noticed that the Dodge lineup for 2021 contains but three models: the Charger, Challenger, and Durango. A trifecta of AARP members, now endowed with as much horsepower as Fiat Chrysler could rustle up from its deep parts bin.

Gone for ’21, but hardly forgotten, is the Grand Caravan, a pioneer of the minivan segment and a stalwart Dodge model seemingly immune to inflation. We knew its demise was coming. Same goes for the other model axed for 2021 — the Dodge Journey — though the discontinuation of this vehicle isn’t nearly as likely to elicit tearful, glowing eulogies at the wake.

Perhaps you’d like to say a few words? Read More >

On Wednesday, Lucid Motors announced plans to open 20 retail locations and service centers across North America by the end of 2021. They’ll be called “Lucid Studios,” helping the company herald in what it considers “new standards for sustainable transportation” via the sale of luxury vehicles.

You know as well as we do that this type of language is customary among EV startups trying to sell you on the concept of shopping your way into a healthier environment. Yet the strategy appears to be working. Electric vehicle firms seem to enjoy nothing but victory on this continent right now — even if they seem to be dying off in places like China — and are poised to make big moves over the next few years.  Read More >

Fisker Inc. is reportedly in talks to go public after seeing how well other electric vehicle manufacturers (prospective or otherwise) have performed on Wall Street this year. In case you missed it, Tesla became the most valuable automaker on the planet this summer, while startup Nikola saw its shares explode through the ceiling ⁠— despite having never manufactured a single product for purchase.

It seems like complete madness, so it aligns perfectly with just about everything else that’s happened in 2020.  Read More >