After an unceremonious booting from the chairman role at Nissan and Mitsubishi, Carlos Ghosn’s departure from alliance member Renault was more orderly. As expected, the French automaker’s board accepted the jailed executive’s resignation Thursday, handing over the CEO and chairman roles to Thierry Bolloré and Michelin CEO Jean-Dominique Senard, respectively.

After building an alliance marrying two major automakers, saving Renault and bolstering Nissan in the process, Ghosn had to leave to save the relationship. There really wasn’t much choice. Tokyo judges kiboshed several attempts to secure bail for the industry titan, who currently resides in a sparse jail cell awaiting trial. The French government, which holds a 15 percent stake in Renault, withdrew its support for the exec last week.

The alliance is Senard’s baby now. (Read More…)

A bodystyle forever engaged in a tug-of-war between a stigma born of nerdy econoboxes and a scrappy enthusiast community, the lowly hatchback both attracts and repels. For the most part, hatches are versatile, affordable cars capable of swallowing generous amounts of people and cargo without asking too much of a premium. Choose right, and there’s no telling what fun you might have behind the wheel.

With a hatchback, you truly can have it all. Or at least some of everything. (Read More…)

As the Carlos Ghosn saga slowly crawls its way towards a trial, the former Nissan and Mitsubishi chairman might soon add another “former” to his list of descriptors. In an effort to mend a rift in the automotive alliance, Renault’s board has scheduled an emergency meeting for Thursday, during which the pressure will be on to oust Ghosn as the automaker’s chairman and CEO.

As he cools his heels in jail, Ghosn isn’t in a position to offer much resistance to any decision rendered by the board. The exec has reportedly offered to resign. (Read More…)

Big base power and upscale skin? Check. Available hybrid powertrain for added punch and elevated virtuousness? Affirmative. A price scale that tops the $90k mark on the high end? Also correct.

Lincoln’s 2020 Aviator, which rolls onto the lots of jubilant dealers this summer, gives brand faithful and new recruits another midsize option in the hot luxury SUV segment. It also gives Lincoln an opportunity to energize flagging sales while growing the brand’s margins.

So, where does the Aviator start, price-wise, and what can you expect to get? (Read More…)

Following rumors, spy photos, and vague language on the part of Ford brass, the Blue Oval automaker has admitted a new, smaller model is set to join its truck lineup. The vehicle in question will give consumers something else to think about than just Ranger, F-150, and Super Duty. (Read More…)

Already a pioneer in hybrid drive technology, Toyota’s recent push towards fully electric cars has birthed a joint venture with one of the world’s premier battery makers, potentially opening up a massive revenue stream for the automaker.

On Tuesday, the company announced the creation of a joint venture with Panasonic to supply other automakers with a “stable supply of competitive batteries.” (Read More…)

You’ve read no shortage of commentary about General Motors’ new truck engine on these digital pages — from the 2.7-liter four-cylinder‘s impressive on-paper power figures (310 hp, 348 lb-ft), to the continuing rivalry between GM and Ford, to the rather slim fuel economy gap separating it from its eight-cylinder stablemates. You’ve also read about GM’s reluctance to mention that the engine is, in fact, a four-cylinder.

Now, two real-world tests prove that your mileage may indeed vary — and 2.7 Turbo owners might not be happy with the results. (Read More…)

For detained industry titan Carlos Ghosn, getting out of the slammer has thus far proven an insurmountable challenge. Interned in a Tokyo jail since his Nov. 19 arrest, the Renault CEO and former Nissan chairman has repeatedly seen his bail appeals fall on deaf ears, with past indictments squashing previous hopes for release.

On Tuesday, a Tokyo judge denied his most recent appeal, despite Ghosn offering up nearly everything in return. (Read More…)

No, this isn’t a question about resurgent — and somewhat ironic — demand for the Geo Metro and its tepid ilk, but Timothy Cain probably has something to say about the chances of success of a latter-day model. Rather, this is a question about the way you drive, and the decisions of those who govern us.

We’re all cool with who we take orders from, right? Okay, good. Lest this writer stand accused of not getting to the point in a swift and efficient manner, here goes — are you willing to get to your destination in a less swift manner? (Read More…)

Like stern parents who just don’t understand, Wall Street analysts are playing hard to please when it comes to the alliance forged between Ford and Volkswagen. The two automakers made their deepened relationship official at last week’s North American International Auto Show, promising to breed a new generation of commercial vans for the European market, a Volkswagen-badged Ranger pickup, and perhaps much, much more.

While financial onlookers are of two minds on the tie-up, Ford’s stock has its mind made up. It’s staying in its room, as stubbornly depressed as before. (Read More…)

“Exceptionally popular” is a descriptor that does not jibe well with “Lincoln Continental,” as sales of the division’s flagship sedan haven’t exactly fallen into the category of scorching. Introduced late in 2016 as a 2017 model year vehicle, sales of the Continental fell 3.8 percent, year over year, in December, and 27.1 percent for the entirety of 2018.

While the Continental suffers from a crossover-inflicted illness impacting all cars, one Continental variant has no trouble generating demand: the lengthened, limited-edition Coach Door Edition, which bowed late last year with a price tag of just over $110,000.

People clearly want to be seen exiting from rear doors that open the wrong way. (Read More…)

Stop the presses. Ford’s Fusion sedan, a member of the passenger car crowd Ford sentenced to death last year, will at least outlive its non-Mustang stablemates.

While American-market Focus and C-Max production has already dried up, followed soon by the Taurus and Fiesta, Ford was never clear on when exactly the Fusion midsizer would bite the dust. The exact date of its impending death remains a mystery, but there’s now assurances from Ford that Fusions will continue rolling into dealers until at least the 2020 model year. (Read More…)

Are the 66,716 Americans who helped take the venerable Dodge Challenger to a new sales record in 2018 just Luddites, rebelling against a rising tide of electrification and autonomy? Maybe, but the era of a Challenger line powered solely by gasoline is drawing to a close.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley addressed the muscle car’s future at this week’s Detroit auto show, admitting that, at some point, the Challenger needs to grow greener. That means venturing into the unsexy world of electrification — an unthinkable act for some American muscle purists. (Read More…)

In a perfect world, a vehicle’s airbags would only deploy in circumstances where the driver, in hindsight, applauds the life-saving buffer’s invention. Not included in that list of circumstances is a spinout, far removed from hard obstacles or other vehicles.

One Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver isn’t applauding General Motors after his car’s side curtain airbags made their presence known at 19 mph, free of any impacting object or rollover. (Read More…)

The automaker may have worked out production bugs and finally turned a profit late last year, but 2019 is off to a rocky start for Tesla. In an email to employees Friday, CEO Elon Musk said he’ll thin the company’s full-time ranks by 7 percent, warning of a “very difficult” road ahead.

The news comes hot on the heels of a slew of cost-cutting measures, including the elimination of various trim configurations and this month’s culling of 75D base models — a move that leaves only the top-flight 100D versions of the Model S and X in Tesla’s stable. Thursday brought word of the scrapping of company’s long-running customer referral program, prompting tears in the Tesla-boosting blogosphere.

All of this throws Musk’s promise of a true “people’s car” by this summer into doubt. (Read More…)