While the United Automobile Workers (UAW) are preparing to vote on contract proposals offered by Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, non-union Toyota is increasing hourly wages. Hourly compensation has increased for the automaker’s U.S. manufacturing, distribution center, and logistics employees. It’s also offering more paid time off than before and reducing the time it takes for workers to reach top-tier compensation.

Considering Toyota had already issued two pay bumps for 2023, seeing a third is a bit of a surprise and likely has everything to do with the results of the UAW strike.

The Toyota FT-Se Concept that debuted at the Japan Mobility Show recently probably isn’t going to be the MR2 successor everyone has been hoping it would be. But there is reason to believe it actually might evolve into a production model you may someday drive.

Bad news for anyone who likes their vehicles in Visible Light – the styling department at Hyundai has decided to expand the Night package to its Calligraphy trim on the Palisade.

Tesla has seemed to be in constant legal peril over the last couple of years, as several high-profile crashes involving its semi-autonomous driving functions have led to investigations and lawsuits. Even so, the automaker was victorious in one of its first trials, which ended earlier this week.

Despite growing in number and popularity, EVs are still too expensive, and most are significantly pricier than comparable gas models. Even with government tax credits and other incentives, electric models are out of reach for many buyers, and the seemingly constant pricing fluctuations aren’t helping. Chevy originally announced that the upcoming Equinox EV would start at around $30,000, but the automaker recently crushed our hopes and dreams with – you guessed it – a price increase.

Buying things from private parties can be risky. Even if you’re sure that you’re purchasing a legitimate, genuine product, exchanging any amount of money with a stranger is no fun. One Texas man recently had a terrible experience buying what he thought would become his dream car, only to discover his new purchase was a stolen vehicle.

Beyond loading one of their nifty new 2024 GX 550 Overtrail models with a raft of burly accessories, the crew at Lexus has also dusted off a couple of older trucks for this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Volkswagen’s Cariad software division has been a mess for quite a while, and its dysfunction has caused the delay of some highly anticipated vehicle launches, including the Porsche Macan. VW is restructuring the unit in hopes of righting the ship, but the move will come with significant job cuts.

Canadian union Unifor wrapped a very brief strike on Monday after reaching a tentative deal with Stellantis. The union’s actions didn’t even last a full day before workers were notified that the strike had ended.

The resulting deal mimics what we’ve seen offered to the UAW after taking on all three American automakers since mid-September, with the Canadian pay bumps looking a little leaner than the percentages seen in the United States. Still, it’s a pretty good deal yielding Unifor members a noteworthy increase in hourly wages and a shorter path to receive top-level pay.

The United Auto Workers have reached a tentative agreement with all three Detroit automakers. Ford was the first to strike a deal, followed by Stellantis. But General Motors wasn’t far behind and managed to settle things with the union early Monday morning. Based on comments from select UAW members in the know, the final issue reportedly revolved around EV battery plants.

The announcements from auto manufacturers about what they’ve in the pipeline for this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas continue apace, with Toyota promising a quartet of builds – plus a few packages that consumers will be able to actually buy.

It’s important to have recall work done without delay if you can help it. The fixes are free, and in some cases, the work is necessary to keep you and others on the road safe. Chevrolet conducted one of the most significant recalls in recent times with the Bolt and Bolt EUV. Though it’s been a while since the initial recall action, we’re still hearing news on the situation, with the latest being that GM is offering payments to owners for using related diagnostic software.

It’s been over a decade since Dodge/Ram last sold a midsize truck in the U.S., but negotiations with the UAW may have changed that. Stellantis agreed to reopen its Belvidere, Illinois facility to build a new pickup model as part of its tentative deal to end the strike.

Chevrolet will be debuting a new corporate slogan during the first game of Major League Baseball's World Series. The decade-old "Find New Roads" will be supplanted with “Together Let’s Drive” during a commercial for the Chevy Trax that’s focused on promoting the vehicle’s affordability.

The brand has had loads of slogans and some are definitely better than others. While we’re prone toward remembering whatever jingles were playing during our formative years, the true value of specific taglines can probably be measured by how long they stuck around.

Ford and the UAW have reached a tentative agreement that will end the strike at some locations, but the automaker is looking at lower profits and a challenging road ahead with electrification.

Cruise was already in hot water with California authorities after a string of high-profile incidents, and now the company is suspending all operations to regroup and rebuild public trust.

This year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas is coming up fast, so you know there will be a rush of breathless PR about the rigs being hauled to the desert by manufacturers for this soirée. Nissan is getting into the game with a couple of concepts – one of which is inspired by cars used in a spec-racing series north of the border.

On Thursday, Toyota Motor Corp. confirmed plans to recall the Highlander SUVs over an issue that could cause the front bumper to loosen. The vast majority of the impacted models are parked inside the United States with additional recalls planned for Canada and Mexico.

Whilst we don’t generally run news of this sort, it is worth noting that this month represents a full two decades since Toyota put shovels in the ground to build what would become their San Antonio truck plant, a spot which currently cranks out Tundra and Sequoia machines.

Striking Ford employees are heading back to the assembly line today after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached a tentative labor deal with the company late on Wednesday. While the agreement has yet to be ratified by union members and all details have yet to be made public, we know it includes a 25 percent wage hike over the life of the four-year contract, improved benefits, and the elimination of some of the tiered wages the union had been fighting against.

Sitting as Honda’s entrant into the brutally competitive midsize two-row crossover game, the Passport walks a decent line between the smaller CR-V and three-row Pilot. For 2024, its prices creep slightly northward – except for one trim which will force customers to open their wallets just a little bit further.

Mazda’s electrification plans have been a little all over the map, as the automaker released a super-short-range EV and then stopped selling it before re-releasing it with a rotary range extender. The company recently displayed an exciting electric concept, but it retains the range extender, a complete oddity in today’s world.

Following news that production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV would be delayed, General Motors has announced that the Chevy Equinox EV would likewise be arriving behind schedule.

The postponement was announced as part of GM’s earnings report, with CEO Mary Barra citing improvements the company would like to make to the product as well as some market challenges. Some of that revolves around using the time to better manage capital investment related to EV demand (or lack thereof) while the rest seems to apply to engineering changes that might make the vehicles more profitable.

Honda is gearing up to release its first mass-market EV in the U.S. with the new Prologue, but the rest of the automaker’s electric roadmap is still in flux. It initially announced plans to work with GM and others to develop smaller, more affordable electric crossovers, but the company recently confirmed that it was stepping away from that initiative due to shifting business priorities.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has suspended Cruise’s permit to operate driverless vehicles, citing public safety concerns.

This represents a major victory for the Alphabet-owned Waymo, as it’s now the only company within the state that’s legally allowed to offer robotaxi services. On Tuesday, the DMV said that Cruise’s suspension would take effect immediately with the company likewise stating that it would be pausing operations to examine potential improvements in how its vehicles operate.

Score one for the gearheads. At this year’s Japan Mobility Show (yes, it – like many other auto shows – has changed its name to include that irritating catch-all word), Honda president Toshihiro Mibe rolled out a two-door coupe called the Prelude. It’s a concept for now, of course, but our hopes are buoyed by one phrase uttered by Mibe during the car’s introduction.

Despite – or perhaps because of – headlines musing about the state of Infiniti’s current offerings, the brand is using the Tokyo Motor Show to introduce a raft of new product. Some are concepts, some are production-ish, and all apparently point the way forward in terms of design.

Just one day after the UAW went on strike at Stellantis’ pickup factory in Sterling Heights, roughly 5,000 union members walked off the line at General Motors’ plant in Arlington, Texas. The UAW is now targeting automaker’s most-profitable facilities, with Tuesday’s walkout suggesting that the industrial game of chicken could be nearing its final act.

It seems Toyota is bent on covering every single niche in the crossover segment, currently slinging vehicles ranging from the pert Corolla Cross to the jumbo Grand Highlander. Now, another bundle of joy is on the way – but they’re not telling us its name.

We thankfully seem to be coming out of some of the economic challenges brought on by the pandemic, but a new crop of financial hardships is on the horizon. Subprime auto loans, which are issued to people with lower credit scores, are falling into past-due status at an alarming rate, reaching the highest rates of borrowers behind on loans in almost 30 years.

Legacy automakers may have the scale and experience to jump into the EV race and immediately make an impact, but newer companies have plenty of advantages. A significant upside to being new is that there is no messy heritage to deal with, where customers get angry at the slightest sign of change. That’s a challenge Porsche’s dealing with now, as the storied German company is finding that it will need to take some risks to appeal to buyers in countries like China, where the pace of innovation and change is rapid.

Kia replaced its aging North American minivan with the Carnival in 2022, which brought a stylish family hauler with a plush interior and great tech. The van is getting a refresh for 2025, and recent spy shots show significant changes to its exterior styling.

On Monday, United Auto Workers (UAW) members went on strike at Stellantis's biggest assembly plant. The move is part of the union’s plan to gradually ramp up pressure against all three of the American-based automakers the UAW is presently in contract negotiations with.

We’ve recently seen the union targeting increasingly important facilities after talks appear to have stagnated. Less progress seems to have been made in recent weeks, with unions ramping up pressure and corporations hoping to sway public opinion via the media.

The Porsche 911 may not have changed a ton in several decades, but a significant change is coming to its iconic rear-mounted engine. Porsche recently confirmed that it is working on a hybrid option for the 911, which will arrive mid-decade with the next-generation 992 cars.

As BMW’s first mass-produced “zero emissions” vehicle, the i3 boasted a predictably quirky design that seemed to underpin most manufacturers early attempts at fielding an electric car. But the model fell short in terms of range and luxury, especially in relation to MSRP, resulting in a de facto city car for those who liked the idea of owning a BMW-badged EV.

While the vehicle implemented some novel features, the model has aged rather poorly due to advancements in battery technology. It could be argued that the i3 ended up a failure due to the fact that BMW never figured out how to produce them cheaply enough to be a volume vehicle. However, it may have also been too odd to garner true mainstream appeal — something the brand says it doesn’t want to happen for the i3’s successor.

While coverage of high finance isn’t generally a top priority of this site – we know most of you lot would rather read about Murilee’s latest Junkyard Find and, to be honest, so would I – any deal involving a pair of major fuel station brands is worth more than a passing mention.

Like most government agencies, NGOs, and publicly traded companies, Mercedes-Benz has made a promise to be all-electric by 2030. The automaker intends to have every newly launched vehicle architecture be electric-only after 2024 and to gradually wean itself off combustion engines.

Unfortunately, the brand’s sales trajectory doesn’t appear to be cooperating. Despite seeing a surge of interest in its electrified EQ products initially, Mercedes has started having trouble moving EVs.

Stellantis will not be at next month's Los Angeles Auto Show. Nor will it be at the upcoming Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas. This is due to the ongoing United Auto Workers' strike.

Lucid’s Air sedan is one of the most impressive EVs to hit the market yet, and the automaker recently confirmed that it’s only a matter of weeks before we see its next creation. Lucid will pull back the curtain on the Gravity, an ultra-plush electric SUV that promises staggering performance and a deluxe interior.

It’s easy to complain about the rise of more boring electric SUVs and family haulers, but electrification has opened a new world of performance for even the most mundane-looking vehicles. That’s how we get pickup trucks that can run to 60 mph in under three seconds and family SUVs with similar specs. Rivian’s pickup and SUV both offer staggering acceleration and performance numbers and according to a new rumor on the Rivian Forum, it’s got more to give.

Appealing to customers who’d like a dose of electrons with their new Civic – or, perhaps more likely, appeasing dealers whining about the existence of a Corolla Hybrid, the crew at Honda is rolling out an electrified variant of the popular Civic next year.

With Stellantis vowing to launch a slew of all-electric and hybrid vehicles by 2030, many are wondering how this will impact the lineup in North America. The company has repeatedly alluded to eliminating the HEMI V8 in favor of the more-European Hurricane 3.0-liter straight-six. While this is clearly being done to comply with emissions regulations without having to sacrifice power, plenty have bemoaned the company’s decision to abandon V8 powertrains whilst pivoting toward electrification. 

But Micky Bly, senior vice president and head of global propulsion systems for Stellantis, recently assured the public that the company doesn’t intend on dumping combustion engines overnight. It’s even going to keep a few of Chrysler’s oldest units around — just with some improvements designed to meet the relevant emissions standards. 

“A new dawn is coming,” or, at least, a new Camry from Toyota. Probably. The automaker issued a cryptic teaser for a car with the question, “Can you guess what’s on the horizon?” And, while there’s no official confirmation that it’s a Camry, the car is the most likely candidate for an overhaul.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E has had some weird recalls in its short time on sale, including one for the glass roof, which could separate and fly off while driving. Its most recent recall is also weird, but it’s also a little embarrassing: The electric SUV could experience a component failure in its battery pack that occurs while DC fast charging or romping on the accelerator.

It looks like the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator are dumping their hybrid trims for the 2024 model year. The Explorer SUV was previously offered with a hybridized 3.3-liter V6, whereas the Aviator Grand Touring came with a hybridized twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. These powertrains won’t be available on the retail market anymore. However, there’s a chance PHEV variants of both models will return in 2025.

Several automakers have decided to ‘offroadify’ some of their crossovers – Mazda with the CX-50, Honda with their Trailsport trim, and Subaru’s new Wilderness packages to name a few. Volkswagen is taking a different tack, choosing to offer a raft of accessories instead of installing items on the assembly line.

Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sell its remaining manufacturing assets to a company owned by its founder and former CEO Stephen Burns for roughly $10 million.

LAS Capital, owned by Stephen Burns, will reportedly receive Lordstown's intellectual property, business data, and any machinery used for manufacturing. However, Taiwan’s Foxconn will retain the factory itself after a financial dispute which ultimately left Lordstown filing for bankruptcy last June. 

Stellantis has announced plans to forego the 2024 CES trade expo on the grounds that it needs to save money while the UAW strike remains in progress.

Like all industries, the automotive world has seen tons of change over the last several decades, and an unfortunate side effect of the evolutionary process has been the closure of several once-popular car brands. Here in the U.S., car nerds mourn the loss of brands like Saab, but it might be surprising to learn the brands that enthusiasts in other countries pine over.

The UAW strike is dragging on, but automakers still have everyday business problems to deal with, like how to produce millions of electric vehicles and sell them. It turns out that the “other” problems are just as serious as the strike, and General Motors’ recent announcement is a great example. Earlier this week, the automaker noted that it would push production of its upcoming electric pickup trucks back at one of its Detroit-area facilities.

General Motors’ Cruise may be one of the first companies in the world to field driverless vehicles as part of a commercial endeavor. But this doesn’t appear to have endeared the brand to everyday people. The business appears to be loathed by San Franciscan residents and emergency response crews, who have only gotten angrier since state regulators allowed the business to expand operations. 

Sustained reports of mishaps and injuries involving the vehicles has encouraged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to launch a preliminary investigation into the company — which may also explain why Cruise just issued a press release explaining how it’s going to remedy all of the above. 

Companies hoping to press autonomous vehicles into service on public roads have a long way to go to convince governments and local residents that everything will be fine, and the number of high-profile accidents in test cities isn’t helping. General Motors’ Cruise has been testing AVs in San Francisco for a while, but the company’s vehicles have been involved in a number of incidents with first responders, in which they block or delay rescue workers’ ability to help people. The company is looking at ways to improve the situation and recently penned a blog post to explain the path forward.

As part of the VW family, Audi is going electric sooner rather than later, but it’s not entirely ready to give up on combustion. The automaker recently confirmed that the company’s RS performance vehicles would be split across gas and electrification and that the two would ride on different architectures.

Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford has asked union members to come together and end the UAW strike before it hampers the business’ ability to invest in future products and facilities.

While it’s relatively uncommon to see top-ranking automotive executives discuss contract negotiations in the midst of a strike, the UAW has taken a decidedly more aggressive approach this time around and General Motors CEO Mary Barra has also made some public comments on the matter. Ford’s tactic seems to be split between hoping to evoke some public sympathy and having leadership issue veiled threats about future employment opportunities.

A couple in Scotland expressed sticker shock after facing a bill of about 20,000 U.S. dollars to have their Tesla fixed when the battery was damaged by rain.

Ford is recalling 238,364 Explorer SUVs over a defect that could result in a loss of motive power or possible rollaway risk. The issue stems from an issue with the subframe bushing and a rear axle bolt. Based on documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford is worried that the rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture under heavy torque loads.

As the calendar flips to 2024, Nissan is throwing some revisions at its bread-and-butter crossover. Appearance, in-car tech, and cabin materials are all getting a critical eye.

If you’ve always wanted your last-gen Toyota Tacoma to look like a Land Cruiser from the 1980s, a company based in Japan has just the solution for you.

Chinese state-owned automaker Chery is reportedly still looking to the United States as a possible point of expansion. But this isn’t the first time the brand has said so.

Chery had plans to break into our market back in 2005 and supposedly had things lined up to import a limited supply of its Exeed crossover in 2020 before the world went haywire. Things have been left intentionally vague this time around, with the company only saying that it would like to move product here eventually.

The Lexus IS is going on a decade without a significant update, and 2024 won’t be any different. Lexus announced changes for the new model year, and they’re limited to new trim and appearance packages.