AM General, the brand responsible for the freedom-spreading Humvee (HMMWV) and obnoxious civilian Hummer, is reportedly up for sale. The company is even alleged to have a couple of suitors.

Both General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are said to be potential bidders. That’s rather fitting, considering GM’s interesting history with the company. However, we doubt the purchase of the Indiana-based heavy vehicle manufacturer would inspire it to bring back the Hummer H2.  (Read More…)

Introduced over the summer as a way of showcasing Porsche’s digitized rendering capabilities, the 911 Speedster Concept appeared in the flesh at the Paris Auto Show this week. It won’t remain a concept for much longer. With the 991 Series on its way out, Porsche has decided to make the Speedster its swan song, putting it into limited production early next year.

Styled to evoke nostalgia for the hunch-backed 356, the new Speedster is said to be limited to just 1,948 examples — a reference to the original model’s birth year.  (Read More…)

With Honda and General Motors teaming up on a self-driving car and GM’s Super Cruise getting the green light from Consumer Reports, it’s already been a busy week for automotive autonomy — and it’s only getting busier.

The U.S. Transportation Department plans to repudiate 10 locations previously outlined by the previous administration to serve as federally recognized proving grounds for self-driving vehicle tech. But don’t think for a second that this means the noose is tightening around the neck of autonomous testing. The Trump administration is preparing a new initiative that will lead to nationwide testing from just about anyone who can cobble together a vehicle with advanced driving aids.  (Read More…)

Ferrari plans to launch two limited-edition supercars using the Monza formula and name. The open-topped pair are said to have “the most powerful engine Maranello has ever built.” That’s a 810-horsepower, 6.5-liter V12, according to the automaker’s September press announcement. We imagine it’s the same unit currently residing in the 812 Superfast.

As you might imagine, the single seat Monza SP1 and double-chaired SP2 aren’t meant for aimless weekend cruising. Inspired heavily by the 1948 166 MM Barchetta, 1954 750 Monza, and 1956 860 Monza, they’re pretty hardcore for a modern-day automobile. Alleged (by the manufacturer) to be capable of a 0-to-62 mph sprint in 2.9 seconds, with 0-to-124 mph passing in 7.9 seconds, the duo are said to be capable of at least 186 mph. We wouldn’t recommend trying that without a full-faced helmet, as neither model comes with a windshield.  (Read More…)

Over the weekend, I found myself conversing with a young woman who admitted to being slightly creeped out by modern automotive technology. She had a bone to pick with everything from push-button ignitions to adaptive cruise control. It was surprising admission from an individual who is planted squarely in the middle of the Millennial age bracket and has no serious interest in cars, but one I’ve been hearing more often lately.

The American Automobile Association seems to be rather touchy on the issue, as well. Much of its interest in the subject revolves around present-day tech lending itself to distracted driving, something it is firmly against. But the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety appears absolutely convinced that the introduction of advanced driver assistance systems will save lives. However, it also believes that its full potential won’t be unlocked until consumers accept these technologies, understand how to use them, use them as intended, and avoid misusing or becoming over-reliant on them.

Frankly, that sounds like wishful thinking. So long as advanced driving aids exist, they’ll probably be misunderstood and misused. People don’t even use their turn signals correctly, for Christ’s sake.  (Read More…)

Earlier this year, we addressed speculation that there was a chance Nissan’s new body-on-frame SUV — and spiritual successor to the now-defunct Xterra — could go on sale in the United States. Unfortunately, the development team behind the Nissan Terra has advised us to keep it in our pants. It isn’t coming here, despite previous claims from the manufacturer that it could be possible.

“We can do anything,” Ashwani Gupta, global head of light commercial vehicles for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, said last March, while maintaining that a strong case would still need to be made for the model’s U.S. arrival, “[The Terra has] authentic capability to go off-road — even if the customer only wants to go off-road once a year.”

Nissan has since changed its tune on the Terra’s prospects. “Currently, that is out of our scope,” Hironori Awano, chief vehicle engineer of the Terra, said during a briefing at Nissan’s global technical center last week. “The U.S. market is one of the toughest, not just because of crash tests but also because of customer expectations.”  (Read More…)

Saying the Tesla Model 3’s interior is polarizing would be a massive understatement. While some absolutely love the minimalist design and singular, tablet-like interface, others criticize it for being too barren to be considered interesting. The vehicle also saw some blowback over its centrally mounted 15-inch display, which, for several reasons, can serve as a potential distraction to drivers.

In fact, it’s so big that one Washington resident found himself pulled over by a motorcycle cop for having what was presumed to be a computer attached to his dashboard.  (Read More…)

California regulators voted on Friday to mandate an adherence to Obama-era federal vehicle emissions standards for cars sold in the state, regardless of Trump administration efforts to weaken the standards. It’s the latest salvo in a war between the Golden State and the current administration, which aims to strip California of its ability to self regulate its automotive emission rules and roll back the corporate average fuel economy for the entire country.

However, the Trump team doesn’t appear to be completely ignoring the environment. In a 500-page environmental impact statement from the NHTSA on the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Year 2021–2026, numerous inclusions acknowledge the existence of climate change. But the takeaway from the report is that the NHTSA doesn’t seem to feel that passenger vehicles will make much of a difference.  (Read More…)

Honda Motor Co. is recalling roughly 232,000 Accord and Insight models in the United States over a software glitch that may cause the rear-camera display to malfunction. While the number of recalled units is noteworthy, the severity of the issue is largely dependent upon how careful of a driver you are.

According to reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, certain 2018 Accords and 2019 Insight hybrids have center displays that may not function properly when asked to access the reverse camera. The NHTSA report specified that some Sport, EX, EX-L, and Touring trims of the Accord suffered from other potential software malfunctions.  (Read More…)

Nissan’s performance arm, Nismo, is wetting its beak on electrified powertrains. Last week, the company launched the Note e-Power Nismo S — upping the model’s performance output by roughly 25 percent. Sold in Japan since December of 2016, the Note e-Power Nismo offered 109 horsepower and 187 lb-ft. The new Nismo S brings those specs to 134 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, which Nissan attributes to a tweaked inverter, modified vehicle control module, increased electrical output and an improved reduction drive.

While it’s likely never going to come to North America, there’s a good reason for it to remain on your radar. Nissan is aiming for 1 million sales of fully electric and e-Power vehicles annually by 2022. It’s also going to expand its e-Power system to Infiniti in 2021 and intends to start sending them in our general direction.  (Read More…)

Hyundai has clearly committed itself to sporting models. While we’re positive the new N badge will attach itself to a handful of undeserving models in the years to come, go-fast versions of the overseas i30 and North American Veloster show it won’t be the norm. The brand seems to have hit upon something and intends to keep funneling high-performance models through its N sub-brand.

Now with a sporting model of its own, Kia wants in on the fun. But the Stinger GT looks to be in a safe place as the company’s premiere performance model for a while. Rather than focusing on lap times, the Korean brand intends to build smaller range of GT models with an emphasis on everyday performance. That could be a kinder way of saying “watered down,” or simply an admission that Kia wants fun-loving automobiles but knows it can’t step on Hyundai’s toes. (Read More…)

Originally dubbed the “Mega City Vehicle,” BMW’s i3 garnered a lot of positive attention for its modern styling and adherence to alternative-energy powertrains when it launched in 2014. This did not translate into sales, however. As its former name implies, the i3 isn’t incredibly useful outside of an urban environment due to its meager range. Customers seem to have noticed. Despite moving 11,024 units in the United States in 2015, BMW looks to be on pace for half that volume this year.

For 2019, the automaker is offering the little EV with a new 42.2-kWh battery, which Bimmer says is good enough for 153 miles of all-electric driving. That’s a significant improvement over the the current 33-kWh model’s 115 miles of electric range and an absolute triumph over the i3’s initial 60 Ah (roughly 18.8 kWh) cell, which was only good for about 80 miles.  (Read More…)

Volkswagen Group’s supervisory board has postponed a decision on the future of Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, who has been in jail since June due to his presumed connection with the automaker’s diesel malfeasance. Despite having scheduled a Monday meeting to assess Stadler’s role within the company and how best to end it, the board found itself unable to come to a conclusion by Friday.

That does not mean the imprisoned CEO will be getting a pardon from the company, however. Stadler’s representatives and VW simply failed to negotiate a solution that would see Stadler step down from his role as Audi CEO and as a VW Group management board member, sources close to the situation told Automotive News Europe.  (Read More…)

Ford confirmed the assembly locale of its F-150 Hybrid this week, saying the electrified pickup would not stray from its aluminum-bodied brethren. The hybridized F-Series will, unsurprisingly, go into production at the Rouge’s Dearborn Truck Plant in 2020, with additional (non-hybrid) production handled by Ford’s Kansas City Assembly.

The automaker made the announcement as part of its 100th anniversary celebration of the River Rouge Complex. While that left the F-150 proclamation a little light on details, Ford previously said the model would probably not be a plug-in hybrid, but would boast outlets for electrically powered tools/devices — functioning as a mobile generator. However, the announcement itself focused primarily on celebrating the Rouge’s centennial.  (Read More…)

When Tesla Motors began production of its Model 3 sedan, CEO Elon Musk announced the firm was entering into a kind of “production hell.” He probably didn’t realize just how accurate a statement that would turn out to be. Already contending with a backlog of orders for the Model 3, Tesla simply couldn’t meet the volume targets it set for itself over the last year. It’s now bending over backwards to finish the quarter strong and prove to investors it is capable of turning a profit.

The automaker frequently referenced production bottlenecks as the culprit for the Model 3’s delay. Panasonic, the sole battery supplier for the vehicle, appears to be taking ownership of the issue. “The bottleneck for Model 3 production has been our batteries,” Yoshio Ito, Executive Vice President of Panasonic, said on Tuesday. “They just want us to make as many as possible.”  (Read More…)