A fledgling electric vehicle company with a sprawling former General Motors plant in its possession will reveal its first model in late June.

That’s according to Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns, who said the debut of the Endurance, originally slated for the Detroit auto show, will take place online instead. A full-size pickup that shuns internal combustion, the Endurance will face still competition from the Likes of Ford, Rivian, and GM in the emerging segment, though Lordstown doesn’t plan to stop there. (Read More…)

Hyundai apparently feels that boasting the freshest faces in the industry will help it woo the American buying public. With a full stable of crossovers now realized, it’s not a terrible strategy.

Just two model years after its debut, the midsize Santa Fe crossover (which replaced the Santa Fe Sport and necessitated a name change for the existing, larger Santa Fe to Santa Fe XL before that model’s metamorphosis into the less confusingly named Palisade) stands to gain a fairly radical new front end design. (Read More…)

McLaren says circumstances have encouraged it to get fairly aggressive in its restructuring efforts. Coronavirus lockdowns forced the company, like so many others, to postpone production and forego sales.

While an undesirable scenario for any manufacturer, McLaren Group already faced additional headwinds by being a relatively small manufacturer dependent on low-volume specialty products with astronomical price tags and having its racing program kneecapped the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).  (Read More…)

We were never a family that splurged on high-end brands. Store-brand staples were generally good enough for most household needs. Our TVs and stereo equipment were Sony only because my dad sold electronics at a big retailer in the Eighties. We straddled the fine line between frugality and cheapness. We just weren’t those kinds of […]

All the flash with only some of the dash — that basically sums up Ford’s 2020 Edge ST-Line, a midsize CUV that mimics the looks of the sport-focused ST but politely says “no thanks” to a hotter engine.

Orders opened today for the new addition to the oft-overlooked Edge family. It was the strange popularity of the Edge ST, which landed back in 2018, that prompted the minds in the Glass House to copy a trend that’s become all the rage among its import rivals. (Read More…)

A cross-Channel coup of sorts has seen Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer replaced by Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers in a move made official by the British luxury performance brand Tuesday morning.

Head of Aston since 2014, Palmer’s ouster reportedly came after the recently listed automaker’s stock price plummeted through the end of 2019, with the coronavirus pandemic only adding to its downward momentum — a trajectory shared in the first quarter of 2020 by the company’s sales and revenue.

Will Moers be able to cultivate some AMG-like magic in British soil? (Read More…)

Today’s trio of sedans was suggested by an old MotorWeek review of the new-for-’89 Maxima. Let’s pit that fresh-faced midsizer against the more established Taurus and the more luxurious Mazda 929.

Which is worth a Buy?

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The original Saab 900 was a favorite of Colorado car shoppers during its 1979-1994 sales run, and I still see many of these cars during research expeditions to my local yards. So many, in fact, that I neglect to photograph most of them.

When I visited some of Phoenix’s excellent yards while on my way to work at the final 24 Hours of Lemons race before the Covid-19 menace shut down such gatherings, though, I spotted this ’86 900S and realized I need to document more of these interesting machines. (Read More…)

The writing was on the wall for the last month, at least. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic sent rentals — and revenue — crashing, forcing the debt-laden company into a corner that’s proven near impossible to escape from.

One of the world’s largest car rental agencies, Hertz laid off more than 12,000 workers in March and furloughed another 4,000 before scrapping 90 percent of the new car acquisitions it had on the books for 2020. While that might have stopped some of the bleeding, the core issue remains: few people are travelling, and even fewer are renting cars. (Read More…)

Alright, listen up. It’s Memorial Day weekend here in these United States, and pandemic or no, Monday is a day off.

Additionally, we’ll be closing it down a bit early today, somewhere around mid-afternoon.

As is usual, there may be a scattered post or two, and some tweets here and there, but mostly, we’ll be off from this afternoon until Tuesday morning.

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Hertz Global Holdings Inc. has been in discussions with creditors in the hopes of making a deal that addresses its missed debt payments and gives the company further leeway. Rental agencies are struggling, with Hertz in the roughest shape of all. All thanks to a certain virus, business has dried up, and Hertz finds itself  sitting on a pile of quickly depreciating cars it cannot afford to replace. The company’s stock also plummeted at the end of February — going from $20.29 per share to today’s $2.86.

The rental agency has until Friday to negotiate an extended forbearance agreement or drop $400 million in lease payments, but news has surfaced that lenders think Hertz declaring bankruptcy may be just as good a solution.  (Read More…)

While General Motors earned the right to resume production in Mexico on Thursday, parts procurement in the gradually reopening North American economy remains a serious roadblock.

U.S. plants came online May 18th following two months of pandemic-prompted downtime. Of topmost importance to all members of the Detroit Three are their hot-selling pickup lines, though UAW- and state-approved health protocol calls for a slow ramp-up, with all plants operating on reduced shifts. Parts supply will dictate those ramp-ups; in GM’s case, boosted pickup production in the Midwest will have to wait. (Read More…)

Today’s Ferrari 400 took a more upscale approach than its contemporaries wearing the prancing horse badge. The engine was at the front instead of the middle, the seats numbered four instead of two, and the accommodations were more cocktail lounge than race car.

Let’s find out more about the vintage Ferrari many fans gloss over entirely.

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The Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride pairing share many common components. Where the two large crossovers most obviously diverge is stylistically. The Kia is boxy and bold, looking trail-ready, even though it’s not an off-roader (nor will it ever see much off-roading beyond a grass parking area at the soccer complex). Hyundai’s counterpart, however, softens the edges […]

General Motors received good news on Thursday, earning approval from the Mexican government to fire up its extensive manufacturing presence in that country after weeks of coronavirus downtime.

The green light to resume production will help the automaker restock its all-important pickup shelves, though assembly won’t turn on a dime. (Read More…)