#Newcars

Sometimes, government regulations make so much sense, you wonder why they weren't passed before. And sometimes, they make sense when taken at face value, but not as much when you think it through.

That, I think, is the case with the recent rule that requires automatic emergency braking to be standard on all new cars starting with the 2029 model year.

It’s a bit of a shame that I didn’t have a chance to take the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R I tested off road. I’d have loved to have jumped some sand dunes or done some muddin’.

The Subaru Forester is new for 2025. But the majority of changes aren’t the type you’d see with a totally new, ground-up model. Yes, the body is new, but Subaru has honed the Forester edge rather than totally re-forging the SUV. Frankly, I think that’s a good thing. The Forester doesn’t need major changes – it’s already a pretty darn good Point A-to-Point B machine. The changes by and large make it an even more appealing machine – and one that’s good for some off-road work, too.

It's time for another podcast!

With the Mini Aceman going from cutesy concept to real car, some are wondering whether the model will be migrating from China to North America. Sized between the Cooper Electric Hardtop and Countryman, the Aceman could be a nice fit for urbanites interested in an all-electric runabout.

Welcome back to drive notes, which is a Cliff Note's review of vehicles that are currently in, or recently were in, my possession for a test.

Today we have the 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale eAWD.

The 2025 Ram 1500 I drove earlier this year no longer offers a TRX model. We knew, however, that Ram wouldn't go long without offering a high-performance trim. Enter the 2025 Ram RHO

Perhaps the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N we featured isn’t your speed. Too tall, too expensive, too electric. Give me an old-school small sports sedan, you say. Give me internal-combustion and real exhaust noise and a trunk – hatchbacks have too much utility for me!

I wouldn’t expect most crossover-ish hatchbacks to be solid track machines. Especially if they’re carrying the weight of an electric-vehicle battery.

So imagine my surprise at the relative capability of the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N as I hustled it around the famous Laguna Seca racetrack near Monterey, California.

Last week I wheeled a 2024 Kia Telluride SX-Prestige X-Line around town. I have thoughts, and here they are, in bullet-point form.

While the future of electric vehicles in the United States is likely nowhere near as dire as many have portrayed, the current state of things hasn’t done much to inspire confidence. Flagging demand has led to cutbacks on new EV projects and investments in manufacturing facilities, and a recent Gallup poll shows that people who don’t already own an EV aren’t as interested in buying one as they were a year ago.

Alfa Romeo has revealed its very first all-electric model, the subcompact Milano crossover. However, the automaker likewise plans on offering a hybrid version that mates a 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbo to a 28-horsepower electric motor attached to the six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. While a that makes the model a 48-volt mild-hybrid, it should help Alfa cope with stringent emissions regulations and also serve as the volume model for numerous markets.

I tested a 2024 BMW i5 M60 xDrive last week, and I have thoughts.

Hit the jump for more.

I had two opportunities to drive the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 last year – one short, one long – and found it charming.

Not only that, but unlike with many EVs, I found myself worrying less about range than I normally would.

Muscle cars are going electric.

Well, maybe not across the board. The internal-combustion engine Mustang seems safe, at least in the short term. That said, there will be at least one muscle-car EV on the market soon: The 2024 Dodge Charger.