Next Ford Ranger Set to Debut November 24

For anyone looking forward to a new iteration of the Ford Ranger (*raises hand*), it seems like November 24 would be a good day to mark on your calendar. In a teaser video released today on YouTube, the Blue Oval announced they’ll be showing what they’re calling a ‘global’ midsize pickup truck on that day.

It will be broadcast by the crew at Ford Europe, and the teaser was voiced by an Aussie. Sounds pretty global to us.

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Report: Tesla Files For Restaurant Trademark

A new report suggests that Tesla has filed a trademark for its brand under restaurant services.

Yes, you read that right.

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Jason Sakurai, News Contributor: Who Am I?

I, Jason R. Sakurai, literally grew up in a dealership, with a father that nurtured my automotive interests. Following grad school, I was recruited by General Motors, leaving Phoenix for the Motor City.

Managing 21 dealerships in GM’s San Francisco Zone, I later moved to Nissan, and then Mazda. Eschewing corporate life, I sold ad space for Four Wheeler Magazine, then did TV for the National Hot Rod Association as Director of Sales. ESPN’s buyback of my inventory prompted me to start Roadhouse Marketing, a marketing, advertising, and PR firm dedicated to the automotive aftermarket and outdoor industries.

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2022 Subaru BRZ Makes Evolutionary Changes, Gets a Power Bump

The new 2022 Subaru BRZ is here, and it’s …. not all that different.

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2022 Volkswagen Golf R - Hail the Halo Car

Volkswagen’s Golf R has always sat among the top of the hot-hatch class, along with the Subaru WRX STI and Honda Civic Type R.

And it’s re-done for 2022.

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Hide Your Kicks, Hide Your Wife: Nissan's Credit Branch in Hot Water Over Illegal Repossessions

Nissan’s credit arm landed in some big trouble this week. It turned out that there are literally some rules around repossessing a car from a consumer. Apparently Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. didn’t read those rules, and now they’ll have to pony up.

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Used Car Retailer Shift Goes Public Wednesday, Ready for Quarantine Shoppers

Used car retailer Shift is going public today, and continues its promise to make car shopping a breeze during these here Quarantine Times. But will their not-so-unique (and now public) model make a dent in the market?

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Sayonara Stick Shift: 2021 Honda Accord is Two-Pedal Only

The most interesting thing about the press release for the 2021 Honda Accord is what is NOT in it.

There’s no mention of a manual transmission.

Sad, for three-pedal fans, but not unexpected. The take rate of Accords with manuals had to be minuscule, and few mid-size sedan buyers care about rowing their own. Manuals, in this author’s opinion, are soon to be fully relegated to only sports cars and certain off-roaders.

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Want New Product From Bugatti? Forget About It, Says CEO

There have been some turbulent times at Bugatti in the second half of 2020. In addition to wearing a For Sale sign over at Volkswagen’s headquarters, the company is discovering that The Current Year just might not be the best time to create a new and super-exclusive hypercar. So it isn’t.

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Adventures in Marketing: The Toyota Venza Attempts to Steal Subaru's Thunder

Toyota’s all-new Venza fills a two-row, crossover-sized void between the smaller RAV4 and the larger Highlander, and is essentially a return to what the Highlander was originally. To help draw in buyers to its resurrected nameplate, Toyota decided to use a long-standing Subaru ad trope: the family pet.

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Tesla's Model Y Gets More Go for Less Dough

Most car buyers prefer to spend less money for more performance, and the more eco-conscious among us can now get into one Tesla Model Y trim for a lower price, while the loftier version makes a previously optional Performance Package standard.

Tesla has cut pricing on the Model Y Long Range by $3,000 while also giving the Performance trim a boost.

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No Matter What Happened With Bubba Wallace, We Still Have a Problem

By now we have a pretty good idea about the facts surrounding the noose that rocked NASCAR, although there is still more to learn.

We know that it doesn’t appear to be a hate crime directed at Bubba Wallace. We know Wallace never saw it (unless at least one of a group including him, an anonymous team member, and NASCAR president, Steve Phelps are lying). We know, thanks to a pic shared by NASCAR that the rope was definitely tied into the form of a noose, and we know it’s been there since at least October of last year.

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Mustang Mach E Specs Leaked Ahead of LA Auto Show Reveal

Your humble editor made a beeline for In N’ Out Burger upon landing at LAX, as Midwesterners are wont to do, and while I munched on my meal, I discovered via the Twitterverse that the details of the Ford Mustang Mach E, which I am about to see up close tomorrow, were leaked. Spoiled, like a Hollywood movie on Reddit.

Ford flew media out to the Los Angeles Auto Show early so that we could spend time with the Mach E, all for some enterprising forum user to leak the info before showtime.

To be fair, the specs could be inaccurate, or could change. But here’s what hit the Web earlier tonight, thanks to the Mach E Forum.

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Hyundai and Kia Invest In … Rimac?

In today’s episode of Surprising Bedfellows, we find the corporate duo of Hyundai/Kia throwing money in the general direction of Rimac. Technically titled Rimac Automobili, it’s the Croatian high-performance EV company known for making the outrageously fast Concept One supercar, a vehicle thrust into the public eye when Richard Hammond binned one at a Swiss hillclimb. That was a wreck from which he mercifully has recovered. Legend has it that the subsequent media exposure helped the company sell three units that same day.

Today, the EV company announced a $90 million partnership with the Korean giants. They’ll be working together to develop an electric version of Hyundai Motor’s N brand midship sports car and a high-performance fuel cell electric vehicle.

Wait, what?

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Toyota Plowing Money and Jobs Into U.S. Operations

There’s no idling of plants at the Big T. With news of electrified versions of the RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus ES heading to Kentucky for the first time, Toyota is set to invest a further $749 million into its American operations, adding hundreds of jobs across five states.

This builds on a commitment made by the company a couple of years ago, one in which it pledged to invest about $10 billion (with a “b”) by 2021. Those of you with sharp memories will recall that’s the year a new manufacturing facility is scheduled to open, one which marks the start of a joint venture with Mazda and the creation of 4,000 jobs in the great state of Alabama.

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  • The Oracle Well, we’re 3-4 years in with the Telluride and right around the time the long term durability issues start to really take hold. This is sad.
  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.