Mergers aren’t all that uncommon among automakers and other large companies, but the shift in ownership dynamics often means the resulting combined company is based in a different country than it was originally. That is the case with Stellantis, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands but controls automakers based in the U.S., Italy, and elsewhere, and a recently-elected United States Senator wants to change it.

Price adjustments are some of the most powerful tools automakers have to drive sales on new vehicles, and Subaru just unleashed a price cut that rivals the one issued by Toyota on its related bZ4X.

Layoffs have been an increasingly common tool used by automakers and many other international companies to cut costs and refocus investments, but Stellantis is having second thoughts about a recently planned layoff at one of its Ohio facilities.

In news that will surprise very few of you, Dodge has announced that it will continue building Hemi V8 engines. The automaker said it would offer the Durango R/T and SRT Hellcat through at least the 2025 model year, but as history has shown us, they’ll likely stick around for far longer than that.

The news that Honda and Nissan are discussing a merger is certainly worth all the attention it’s getting, but one of the more interesting parts of the story relates to a third company. Foxconn – you know, the company that builds iPhones – was interested in acquiring Nissan but is putting that effort on hold while it negotiates with Honda.

Europeans tend to be warmer toward EVs than Americans, but they aren’t warming to Tesla in the way they once did. The automaker’s most recent sales numbers from November show a significant drop, to the tune of almost 41 percent, and that’s just the latest report in a year full of disappointments for Tesla’s European operations.

Kei trucks have been in the crosshairs of state regulators for a while now, previously receiving bans in Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Colorado looked to be the next state to see the pint-sized pickups restricted from being registered. While that initiative failed, meaning that they’ll remain legal to drive for the time being, powerful forces remain hard at work in their attempts to eliminate them from our market.

Hyundai hasn’t had the best luck with its suppliers this year. Earlier in 2024, the automaker was sued by the government over reports that a supplier had used child labor, and now, one of the company's suppliers is pulling back on its prison labor programs in Alabama after reports that some workers felt like they had no choice but to participate.

The sub-brand of Denali has now been a fixture at GMC for 25 years, prompting the company to launch a special edition package marking the milestone. But rather than taking the opportunity to include 25-inch wheels, they’ve *only* stuck 24s on the thing. Cowards.

Red Bull F1’s Sergio Perez has been rumored to be losing his seat for what seems like years, but the two recently officially parted ways. In his place, newcomer Liam Lawson steps into the seat, which has never been a friendly spot on the grid with the team’s number-one driver, Max Verstappen.

Rivian owners may be missing out on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the company has piled on nearly every other tech feature in their place. A recent software update brought a wealth of new “stuff,” including streaming video apps.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has finalized its rules for enhanced seatbelt requirements. All passenger vehicles manufactured for sale in the U.S. after September 1st, 2026 will be required to have updated seatbelt warning systems for frontal occupants. A year later, enhanced warnings will become mandatory for all rear seats.

Toyota finally updated the Tacoma for the 2024 model year, after it sold for almost a decade with no significant changes. The new Tacoma sports several improvements over its predecessor, and Toyota is making further revisions for the 2025 model year, though they’re far less dramatic than those seen in 2024.

Porsche is not an automaker that often makes mistakes, which is why it took so long for the Macan EV to land after extended delays over software issues. The company is now reportedly struggling to manage battery packaging issues with the upcoming 718 EV, which could see it delayed in a similar fashion.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash-tests and evaluates vehicles throughout the year, and it recently released its final list of Top Safety Pick award winners for the 2024 calendar year. This round of winners brings the number of Top Safety Pick + awards to 48 and Top Safety Picks to 56.

In a fit of good news for gearheads, Honda has officially confirmed the sixth-generation Prelude is headed to production.

Honda and Nissan are set to begin discussions pertaining to an eventual merger, according to Japanese media. While the companies could rival Toyota in size if they were to become a singular entity, it seems more likely that the brands would try to retain some level of independence to avoid some of the issues Nissan faced with Renault. But exactly how this works will ultimately be determined by how the corporate stake holding is negotiated over the coming weeks.

Homeowners living near Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack (colloquially called Mack Assembly) will be able to apply for their share of $3.3M in home repair grants starting in January. 

Lamborghini will be delaying the launch of its first all-electric model, the Lanzador crossover the company revealed in the summer of 2023. Like most automakers, Lamborghini has spent a staggering amount of time talking about how it plans on transitioning to an electrified future. But many brands have likewise started rethinking the feasibility of this strategy.

Jean Jennings, a giant figure in automotive journalism, has passed away at the age of 70. She had been struggling with Alzheimer's Disease.

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Elon Musk’s investment in Donald Trump’s candidacy for president could eventually pay off in a big way for Musk. Reuters recently reported that Trump’s transition team wants to kill a rule that requires automakers to report crash data from automated vehicle trials, a move that could significantly benefit Tesla.

For a while now, we’ve been hearing that President-Elect Trump planned to do away with the federal EV tax credits and loosen emissions standards. While those moves are widely expected, there had been no solid reporting on the plans, until now. Reuters recently reported on a document outlining the Trump transition team’s plans, which include shutting down EV tax credits and tighter restrictions on Chinese imports.

After years of delays, the United States Postal Service (USPS) was finally approved for a multi-billion-dollar contract to replace its aging fleet with the new Oshkosh Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). Sadly, deliveries of the all-electric vehicle are woefully behind schedule and there are fresh rumors that the Trump administration may simply end the program upon taking office.

Building on a model which was completely overhauled for 2022, designers at Mitsubishi have gifted the Outlander some meaningful upgrades.

The 2024 Lexus GX marked a significant step forward for the beefy luxury SUV, as it was the model’s first generational overhaul since 2010. Lexus is making further improvements for 2025, though they come with a slight price bump over the outgoing model.

There has been a lot of buzz around the massive incentive packages Honda has been offering for the Prologue EV, but Toyota’s bZ4X discounts are equally as aggressive. Buyers can get thousands off the price of the brand-new 2025 model, though some incentives vary depending on the location.

Ford might be the most recalled automaker in recent history, but Stellantis isn’t far behind, at number three for recalls since 2010. The Ram brand is adding another recall to the list with a recent action that impacted 339,749 trucks in the U.S. and Canada.

Volkswagen is reportedly considering moving Golf production out of Germany to improve its profit margins and a return to Mexico seems plausible. If so, the hatchback would almost certainly go back on sale inside North America.

Some of you will be furious to learn that Nissan has EV-converted one of the most beloved JDM cars of all time. The automaker plans to show an all-electric R32 Skyline concept at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon show in Japan, but Nissan itself wasn’t behind the build.

It’s pretty obvious that the faster a vehicle is traveling, the more likely it is to cause an injury, but a recent study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that taller vehicles can compound that problem. The organization said its researchers looked at crash data from the U.S. and Europe to make its determination, and unfortunately, Americans may be suffering more from tall vehicles than their European counterparts.

Americans love to complain about all the cool Euro models we don’t get from German automakers like BMW and Mercedes, but Japanese automakers are pretty good at withholding vehicles, too. The cool factor of the new not-for-America Toyota Urban Cruiser is debatable, but it certainly has some neat features we’d like to see here.

Those interested in purchasing a new vehicle can now pursue, order, finance, and schedule pickup of their car via Amazon. The only catch is that you have to live within one of the 48 metropolitan areas where the program has been enacted and it has to be a Hyundai because that’s the company Amazon Autos partnered with.

Whether you believe autonomous driving is a sham designed to sell people on the latest products, a covert way to strip motorists of their own autonomy, or a legitimate breakthrough that’s poised to permanently change how we use the automobile, the technology is gradually becoming more widespread. Tesla, which showcased its Cybercabs earlier this year, intends on fielding fully autonomous vehicles that can whisk people around without need of physical controls.

But the relevant technologies aren’t yet bulletproof, requiring the company to hire remote backup operators who can take over whenever the system encounters blind spots. The Tesla Cybercab will be at least partially dependent on safety drivers piloting the vehicles when needed.

Thanks to aggressive incentives, the Honda Prologue is one of the hottest deals in the EV world, but the automaker isn’t done throwing money at potential buyers. Honda recently added a sweet financing deal and thousands off the SUV’s sticker price, which could push sales even higher.

Or, phrased another way, the price of a base gasoline-powered 2025 Escalade and a 2025 XT4 - with money left over.

In the future, our robot overlords won’t just make delicious espresso and fold laundry, they may also dominate the basketball court. Toyota recently showed one of its robot prototypes, which sank an 80.5-foot shot, making it the longest basketball shot made by a humanoid robot.

Syrian rebels have finally pushed Bashar al-Assad out of power in a surprise move that happened much faster than many expected. In his haste to escape the country, the dictator left behind the trappings of the luxurious life he built on plundered wealth, including a multi-million-dollar car collection. However, with the country in an extreme state of upheaval and no clear societal structure, the future of those cars is very uncertain.

General Motors’ Cruise division hasn’t had the best ride over the last couple of years, and now, the automaker is pulling the plug - kind of. The autonomous taxi service will be rolled into GM’s existing technical teams and will work to “advance autonomous and assisted driving” features for its retail vehicles.

A new study from Scotiabank Economics is suggesting that North America's automotive sector will be heading into a particularly volatile 2025.

It’s an open secret Carlos Tavares wasn’t the most well-loved CEO ever to roam the halls of Auburn Hills – but if a new report is any indication, it is possible he is directly responsible for deep-sixing the venerable 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine.