#NewsBlog

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) believes that the rear-seat passengers of modestly sized pickups could be better protected after running a few through its updated moderate overlap frontal crash test.

While the group rated the Nissan Frontier as “acceptable,” crew-cabbed versions of the Ford Ranger only garnered a “marginal” classification. That left four-door versions of the Chevrolet Colorado, Jeep Gladiator, and Toyota Tacoma with “poor” ratings. No pickup managed to receive a “good” safety score, with the IIHS highlighting concerns about the possibility of chest, head, and neck injuries.

On Tuesday, Lordstown Motors Corp. (LMC) officially filed for bankruptcy and sued Foxconn. Though the writing was already on the wall for the Ohio-based electric vehicle manufacturer. Lordstown’s share price collapsed in 2021 and the company has suffered numerous production delays. This seems to have encouraged the Hon Hai Technology Group/Foxconn to back out of its strategic partnership.

But it’s not bad news for everybody. Former chief executive of Lordstown Motors, Steve Burns, managed to sell off every share of his stock before the company filed for Chapter 11. You might remember him as the executive who abruptly quit the company without explanation shortly after LMC's stock valuation slammed into the pavement.

Honda says their first volume electric vehicle, the Prologue, will play nicely with wireless Google built-in plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Why are we mentioning a seemingly trivial item? Because alert readers know Prologue is baked using General Motors ingredients – and GM recently indicated it plans to swear off smartphone integration in favor of its own interface.

BMW has been teasing the next-generation M5, specifically the long-roof wagon variant known as the M5 Touring.

This is a little odd. While European sport wagons were once relatively popular in the United States, it has become increasingly rare to see them migrating beyond the home market. But there are rumors that the be-hatched M5 will be sold stateside, enthralling automotive enthusiasts that we can only hope are genuinely interested in buying a few.

With the automotive industry now keen on propulsion systems that don’t emit a lot of carbon, we’ve seen decades of manufacturers toying with alternative fuels. Corn-based ethanol was big for a while and the Germans have recently shown a renewed interest in carbon monoxide and hydrogen-based synthetic fuel stemming from the gasification of coal, biomass, and/or methane.

Meanwhile, China’s state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Company (GAC) has announced it had developed an engine powered by ammonia with help from Toyota Motor Corporation during its annual technology showcase.

Toyota has released the second generation of the C-HR subcompact crossover and looks to have made numerous improvements to the vehicle. But it doesn’t sound like we’ll be seeing it on our market after the original model failed to resonate with North American consumers.

We also have the Toyota Corolla Cross available for purchase, resulting in some troublesome overlap. While still extremely slow in its base configuration, the Cross ended up being significantly quicker than the C-HR and offered improved utility for a little less money. However, with the new generation having addressed some of the discontinued model’s shortcomings, one wonders if the new C-HR would have a better chance were it to be shipped stateside.

Ford has been restructuring for years and is reportedly planning additional layoffs. Staff from multiple business units, including its combustion-focused Ford Blue division and the Model e electric vehicle unit, are supposed to be getting bad news in the coming weeks. But the number of people getting laid off isn’t supposed to match what we’ve seen before. 

J.D. Power has released its Initial Quality Study for 2023 and the big takeaway seems to be that the automotive industry continues to fumble. While manufacturers are bending over backward to implement novel technologies and features, last year’s survey revealed that customers felt vehicular quality reached its lowest level in more than three decades.

It’s even worse this year.

Eager to continue showcasing its performance products sold under the Gazoo Racing banner, Toyota has introduced special editions of the GR Corolla, GR86, and GR Supra. Sadly, this makes them limited in nature and subject to dealer markups you might not want to deal with. However, if you’re looking for a collectible Toyota to keep in your garage for a few decades, these models are probably worth looking into.

Washington has officially managed to surpass California as the state with the highest fuel prices and looks as though it’s on track to compete for that dubious honor indefinitely. 

Based upon data tabulated by the American Automobile Association (AAA), unleaded gasoline purchases in Washington jumped by 32 cents over the past month to $4.93 a gallon. The national average is presently $3.58 per gallon.

While Ford has been shipping all trims of its all-new 2023 Super Duty pickup line to customers since May, production issues have delayed things and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone that’s actually driven one. Fortunately, the Blue Oval invited us to take a gander at the new trucks at the Ford Michigan Proving Grounds earlier this month.

As first impressions go, the Super Duty led off with a firm handshake and proved that it can be slotted into a myriad of roles. Ford offered up an impressive resume and a sound business plan and allowed us to beat on a few examples to prove its rigs were the correct vehicle for any job.

Delinquencies on automotive loans have surpassed the recession-era highs witnessed in 2009, according to an assessment released by S&P Global Mobility on Monday. Fortunately the wealthy will be largely unaffected by this trend, as the issue is isolated primarily to subprime borrowers. For some strange reason, people with more money are having less trouble paying their bills on time. 

While most automakers were working out what their first all-electric model should be, Tesla was building up a proprietary charging network that helped assure that it would be the EV manufacturer other brands would envy. The vehicles themselves certainly became the benchmark for electric vehicles. But it was the network that guaranteed Tesla’s dominant position in the market. Simply having access to the Supercharger stations is one of the biggest perks of owning a Tesla, as they’re relatively common and suffer less downtime than rival networks.

Despite originally being exclusive to Tesla customers, the brand has decided to open its ports up to the whole world. Ford and General Motors have even signed agreements with the company so that their customers can utilize those charging stations in 2024. Now it appears to be Rivian’s turn.

Stellantis is reportedly no longer allocating gasoline-only vehicles to the fourteen states with leadership that has agreed to adhere to the emission standards set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). While the rules exceed federal standards, they’ve been embraced by coastal regions and beginning to influence how the industry does business. 

For Stellantis brands (e.g. Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram, etc.) this means dealer allocation will prioritize powertrains based on how restrictive the local emissions standards happen to be.

Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda recently discussed a sporting EV prototype the company has been working on, noting that the model has the simulated manual transmission that’s been the subject of much controversy. Many have claimed a stick-shift electric wouldn’t happen, as it would add cost and needless amounts of complexity for a brand that’s traditionally been averse to both concepts.

However, the brand seems to be running with the concept. Lexus had already toyed with the idea and Akio is now praising the unit that’s been equipped with the Toyota-branded prototype.