No, this isn’t the grille-heavy Concept 4 BMW released last year — it’s the Concept i4, a preview of the electric sedan slated for production next year. That other concept heralded the next-generation 4 Series.

Sporting four doors and a front-end design BMW adamantly believes will attract more buyers than it repels, the Concept i4 closely parallels the production model. Clearly, Tesla will have the faceless car market all to itself. (Read More…)

An electric crossover that will eventually find a home in Tennessee rolled into the online spotlight Tuesday. With the Geneva Motor Show scrapped over fears of the growing coronavirus epidemic, VW opted to show off the ID.4’s near-production sheet metal on the web.

The vehicle that began life as the shadowy and annoyingly named ID Crozz has finally embraced its new name. So, what can VW offer with its upcoming compact CUV? (Read More…)

Listen, I know I’ve given Aston Martin a hard time ever since I’ve started writing about cars. My diatribe about the marque choosing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as a brand ambassador netted me no shortage of attention from upset sportswriters and morning DJs who cared more about football than I ever could. To my surprise, the ordeal even landed my name in a book about the NFL that nobody read. Despite the indescribable waves of pleasure I feel from bashing the marketing efforts of any high-end brand, Aston’s cars have historically been quite desirable. In fact, I have a gigantic soft spot in my head heart for the V8 Vantage Volante Timothy Dalton drove around in The Living Daylights.

That bodes well for Aston as I prepare to exercise every ounce of pettiness from within my soul to comment up its 70th anniversary celebration of the Vantage. But then the manufacturer decided to put a bunch in an empty aircraft hangar for a photo op and I suddenly remembered that the Vantage name has been tainted by more than just Mr. Brady.  (Read More…)

Society loves an oddball. In our increasingly polarized existence, as the push for ever narrower avenues of accepted thought by our blue checkmark overlords continues apace, the non-conforming outsider remains a valued character.

Hollywood films would be lost without this person. Sometimes, the first indicator that this individual marches to the beat of a very different drum is the vehicle they’ve chosen as their daily steed. (Read More…)

Ahead of a product reveal that was pushed into the online realm after last Friday’s cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show, 150 German BMW employees were told to stay in their homes after an R&D employee tested positive for the coronavirus.

The employees work at the research and development center in BMW’s home base of Munich. As viral outbreaks grow in western Europe, spurred by a recent outbreak in northern Italy, this story will surely be repeated across the industry — and the globe. (Read More…)

While fleet participation helped Nissan boost its sales volume for years, management feels it hasn’t done the company any favors in terms of profitability. As such, the company says it wants to take the 2020 Sentra out of the rental circuit. If you borrow a vehicle from rental agencies more than never, you’ve probably noticed Nissan’s compact sedan is often the default choice when the supply of Chevrolet Sonics or Toyota Corollas dries up.

Expect less of this moving forward, but be warned it’s not the dream scenario you envisioned. First off, there will undoubtedly be leftover 2019 models on rental lots for some time. Secondly, Nissan improved the 2020 Sentra to a point where you might actually prefer it. The manufacturer made no small effort effort to shore up the sedan’s ride quality, handling, comfort, tech and visual aesthetics for the new generation — succeeding rather well, according to our own Tim Healey. It also has a new 2.0-liter motor offering superior vigor versus its anemic 1.8-liter predecessor. With more on offer, Nissan figured it was a better idea to try it out on customers first, rather than assuming its rightful place is in a rental fleet.  (Read More…)

Volvo’s not whispering in anyone’s ear, but Volvo dealers surely are. That’s how we’ve learned that Volvo Cars plans to insert two new vehicles at the top and near the bottom of its current lineup.

According to dealers, a range-topping XC100 will soon take its place atop the model ladder, with a coupe-like crossover slotted well below. How else is Volvo supposed to keep its sales momentum? (Read More…)

An outbreak of novel coronavirus that leapt from China to South Korea last month sent auto sales tumbling in February.

While the South Korean outbreak originated in a tight-knit religious sect, it soon entered the surrounding community. The country’s government moved quickly to curtail the virus’ spread, declaring an extreme threat on February 23rd. It didn’t, however, lock down down its third-largest city, Daugu, in a China-style containment effort. Coronavirus cases in South Korea now top 4,200.

As the disease forces South Koreans to change their habits, one side effect has been the avoidance of new car dealers. (Read More…)

There was an extra day this February, making up for a slight annual offset in our blue marble’s voyage around the sun or something. Or perhaps it was intended to give insufferable presidential candidates an extra day to preen on television. Whatever.

Here’s today’s question: you’re being tasked to fill a fictional garage with exactly 29 cylinders worth of engines. What do you select? Our choices are easy as they are weird.

(Read More…)

In a report that harkens back to the grim days of World War 2-era Germany, several automakers are accused of benefiting from forced labor.

An Australian think tank claims upwards of 80,000 Uighurs, a persecuted ethnic minority in northwest China, have been transported from state-run re-education and internment camps to the factories of Chinese suppliers. Among the companies said to benefit from the forced labor are Apple, Sony, Nike, Volkswagen, BMW, and General Motors. (Read More…)

Japanese Deputy Justice Minister Hiroyuki Yoshiie reportedly traveled to Lebanon this past weekend in an attempt to convince Carlos Ghosn to give up his life on the lam and head back to Tokyo to stand trial. Considering the defamed automotive executive fled the country because he was positively convinced this would end in a conviction, we probably won’t need to issue any follow-up reports about how the meeting ended.

Ghosn has repeatedly stressed his belief that Japan aided Nissan in ousting him from the company and has no interest in giving him a fair trial — calling it a “hostage justice” system.

Of course, all the real negotiating will be done by proxy through Lebanese Justice Minister Albert Serhan, with the pair scheduled to meet on Monday. Ghosn won’t actually be in attendance, but you had better believe he’ll be interested in the play-by-play recap. With his mind already made up on the matter, Japan will need to focus on persuading Serhan.  (Read More…)

General Motors has no interest in continuing a production presence in the Motherland, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t see the Russian market as ripe for new product.

As sales fall in the tricky market, the automaker believes the new Cadillac Escalade, joined by a trio of crossovers, is just the thing to reclaim lost ground.  (Read More…)

The Nissan Maxima of the 1980s remains one of my favorite Junkyard Finds, partly because it began the decade as a sporty rear-wheel-drive cousin to the Z-Car and ended it as a swanky front-wheel-drive pseudo-luxury machine… but mostly because these cars came stuffed full of the quirky futuristic technology that made Japanese cars so interesting during The Turbo Decade.

Here’s a high-mile ’87 Maxima I spotted in an East Bay self-service yard last month. (Read More…)