Following a rocky first quarter of 2019, Tesla’s decidedly lackluster production and delivery report sent the automaker’s stock tumbling in pre-market trading.

Not only were analyst estimates missed, in some cases by a mile, production actually fell at Tesla’s Fremont, California assembly plant, sparking concern that demand is drying up for the company’s EV offerings. A dip back into the red — something CEO Elon Musk warned of, not long after predicting the opposite — seems unavoidable. (Read More…)

A piece you’ll see later this morning may have something to do with today’s topic. We’re talking handouts, incentives, rebates, discounts, credits — anything that can ease the financial burden of buying a new vehicle.

Specifically, that class of vehicle few people want to buy (and frankly, a class of vehicle more than a few people would rather not read about): Electric cars.

As Tesla and GM buyers face a once-juicy tax credit that’s now pared in half, and as other automakers stare down the barrel of a reduced federal incentive, we have to ask: what would it take, price-wise, to get you into one of them? (Read More…)

Amsterdam, home to green medicinal plants and red lights, was the site of a Ford product extravaganza on Tuesday, with the automaker announcing a number of hybrid or electric models for the highly regulated European market.

A total of sixteen electrified models made their (future) existence known, with most falling under the automaker’s new Ford Hybrid banner. Some, like the Fiesta EcoBoost Hybrid and Focus EcoBoost Hybrid, are products thrifty American greenies can only dream of. There’ll be no more Fiestas or Focuses for you, sorry. Another is one Americans with loftier lifestyles might desire, and one Ford could sell here, but won’t: a plug-in Explorer. (Read More…)

We subjected you to yet another mention of Ford’s upcoming electric crossover this morning, but there’s now a new tidbit of information to share about the green machine that’s due out in 2020, likely carrying the Mach-E (or Mach E) name.

While the automaker stated in the past that it wants a 300-mile range for the vehicle, Ford now suggest owners will be able to drive further than that. (Read More…)

While much of the hype surrounding Ford’s electrified future involves the brand’s upcoming “Mustang inspired” crossover EV, due in 2020, there are other models that stand to gain an (albeit milder) electric boost. The F-150 and Mustang, to name a couple.

Ford’s long-running pony car is expected to gain a hybrid variant sometime in 2020, and a new trademark filing sheds light on what name we might expect to see adorning the Stang’s flanks.  (Read More…)

Ask this writer how he feels about the oft-derided Chevrolet Cavalier, and he’ll tell you it was only worth owning when offered with GM’s 60-degree V6 family (a second-gen coupe with a 3.1-liter is essentially the model’s zenith), though the 2002MY decision to plunk the decently powerful, low-maintenance 2.2-liter Ecotec beneath the hood wasn’t a bad one.

Besides those attributes, as well as, um, excellent secondhand affordability, there’s little praise that can be mustered for the model that bowed out of the Chevy lineup in 2005. Still, General Motors continues to see value in the Cavalier name. The model is still sold in China and Mexico, where it looks much like a smaller Cruze. And, in the U.S., GM just filed a trademark application for the nameplate. (Read More…)

As Volkswagen Group embarks on its quest to build and disseminate The People’s Propulsion across the globe, rumblings of an ultra-cheap electric car from the automaker have come into focus.

We began hearing of such a vehicle last year, when reports emerged that VW was planning an EV with an MSRP below 20,000 euros (roughly $22,400 USD). That’s below the expected price floor of even the lowliest MEB-platform I.D. model — the I.D. Neo, which starts production in Europe late this year.

Now, the automaker has revealed where it sees this vehicle fitting into VW Group’s vast lineup, and when it might appear. (Read More…)

Twitter — or as I like to call it, the unintellectual dark web — regularly tosses out scorching takes like “too many people drive pickups” and other gold-plated nuggets for the online punditry to seize upon. Maybe there’s some truth to them.

But until government apparatchiks start barring dealership doors, saying, “Hey! You there — you with the cash that you worked hard to earn. Don’t you dare purchase this pricey domestic product for your own (completely legal) use!” we’ll continue buying them. Meanwhile, a good many people will look at the state of their finances, take a gander at rising ATPs in that segment, and decide on something else.

Are you a truck owner with a mind to downsize? (Read More…)

This isn’t an April Fools joke, sadly, for Hyundai and Kia Motors. After years of investigations and the recall of over 2.3 million models, Hyundai’s engine controversy has sparked a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Agency probe into nearly 3 million vehicles.

Immediately preceding the weekend, Hyundai recalled 16,487 Velosters to mend a software glitch that could lead to stalling and fires. The automaker just can’t seem to turn down the heat on a quality issue that simmered for years before boiling over. (Read More…)

Toyota opened up its Prius line to slightly more rugged buyers this year, introducing an AWD-e variant of its once very popular hybrid that uses a rear-mounted electric motor to lend a helpful shove when traction gives way up front.

The model introduction, accompanied by hints of wider availability of all-wheel drive in Toyota’s lineup, coincided with the announcement of a front-drive Corolla hybrid for 2020. Could rear, electrically powered axles one day become Toyota’s go-to recipe for four-wheel traction? Not exclusively, it seems. (Read More…)

You can see Canada from the top of Detroit’s Comerica Park, but the warm, low-labor-cost lands south of the Rio Grande lie far below the horizon. It’s not surprising that, as workers at a General Motors plant sitting just 3.5 miles from Comerica prepare for possible closure and job loss, GM’s decision to prominently feature a new Mexican-built vehicle at the stadium ruffled feathers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

On Saturday, the controversial newcomer was quietly whisked away. (Read More…)

No one knows what the future of General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant holds, or if it even has a future after Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6 production dries up in January 2020. In an alternate future, however, the plant would have swapped out the sign out front, replacing the GM logo with a Fiat Chrysler one.

According to sources with insider knowledge, the two automakers met to discuss just such an ownership change. (Read More…)

Like characters on a long-running TV show, PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler remain the topic of intense speculation as to when they’ll hook up. There’s been romance in the past, including that time in 2007 when they spent the night and walked away with a series of jointly-developed small vans. The children’s names were Peugeot Bipper, Citroen Nemo and Fiat Fiorino. Only the latter survives to this day.

In the large van segment, FCA builds the Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, and Citroen Jumper at its Italian Sevel Sud plant, with production recently extended through 2023. Thanks to PSA’s acquisition of GM’s European operations, Opel and Vauxhall-badged vans will soon roll from the FCA factory.

As rumors of a kiboshed merger deal swirl (FCA’s controlling family reportedly didn’t approve of the marriage), a new report claims there’s another limited partnership in the works. (Read More…)

Debuting in North America for the 2013 model year, the third-generation Ford Escape is getting long in the tooth, forced to compete against newer compact crossovers like the Chevrolet Equinox and Honda CR-V. Toyota’s RAV4 is all-new this year, too. And Dodge, well… Dodge still sells the Journey Abe Lincoln drove from rural Illinois to D.C.

Looking to cement its status in this white-hot segment, Ford has a fourth-generation Escape due out later this year. We’ll have full details for you on April 2nd (the media sneak peek was last week), but here’s something to tide you over. (Read More…)

The last Chevrolet Cruze rolled out of Lordstown Assembly earlier this month, with the 53-year-old plant going dark two days later. Some laid-off workers are staying put, waiting to see if September contract talks hold any promise of a future in Lordstown.

While General Motors admits the United Auto Workers was willing to do its part to save the Lordstown Assembly Plant, details of that pact remained unknown. Now, a union official has shed light on some of the concessions the UAW agreed to. (Read More…)