It’s the latest in a string of similar nighttime thefts, but it’s not surprising — after all, when four hours’ work can net you hundreds of thousands of bucks, who expects thieves to stop?

This past weekend, the inventory of a General Motors dealer lot in Tyler, Texas was left up on blocks after thieves stripped 48 vehicles of their wheels, Automotive News reports. (Read More…)

There’s money to be made when automakers screw up.

Sometimes, being part of a class-action lawsuit isn’t enough, and you’ve got to wage a Charles Bronson-like battle for personal justice. That’s what newly unemployed actor Thomas Gibson is doing. His target? The maker of his Audi SUV. (Read More…)

America’s Volkswagen dealers took the brunt of the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal, but a cash payout designed to ease their troubles is on the way.

Lawyers for the dealers, who were once poised to revolt against their employer, announced a tentative settlement deal with the automaker today, Reuters reports. (Read More…)

A new study from the University of Michigan adds (bio)fuel to the growing backlash against supposedly clean and green fossil fuel substitutes.

The study claims that the environmental benefits of ethanol and biodiesel — championed by both the federal government and the lucrative biofuel industry — are based on completely false assumptions, the Detroit Free Press reports. (Read More…)

His commercials were a sign of the times — desperate, struggling times that suddenly turned prosperous.

In the 1980s, Ronald DeLuca was the hidden face behind an instantly familiar one — Chrysler Corporation chairman Lee Iacocca, who walked into his company’s own commercials to personally pitch front-wheel-drive K-car platform products to a recession-weary America.

DeLuca, the advertising whiz hired by Iacocca to help turn around Chrysler’s late-1970s death plunge, died last week at 91, according to The New York Times. During his tenure DeLuca and Iacocca cranked out a slew of unusually frank, bold commercials that paid off in a big way. (Read More…)

Fiat believes it can attract more buyers to the brand by offering a fixed-roof version of the 124 Spider.

According to Autocar, a coupe version of the recently released roadster is under development, and could make its appearance next year. (Read More…)

Just north of the Vermont border, you’ll find 3,712 very disappointed would-be Nissan Leaf owners.

A Montreal-based group seeking a low-priced bulk buy of Nissan’s electric car has had their dreams dashed by Nissan Canada, after the automaker seemed to grow wary of the group’s size, Quebec’s La Presse reports. (Read More…)

Automatic emergency braking is finding its way into more and more cars (and automakers have a pact to make it standard equipment by 2022), but most drivers don’t know the technology’s limitations.

AEB systems slow or stop a vehicle in an emergency, preventing or mitigating a crash, but an American Automobile Association study shows that 71 percent of U.S. drivers familiar with the technology believe AEB will prevent all crashes. (Read More…)

The next-generation Kia Rio will receive styling to match its confidence as the brand’s best-selling vehicle.

The automaker released design renderings of the looming 2017 Rio today, in advance of the model’s world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on September 29. The sad sedans that once populated the back of used car lots are now a distant memory. (Read More…)

Volkswagen’s long-awaited three-row SUV has appeared on a Chinese website completely free of camouflage, months ahead of its expected appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Chattanooga-built SUV, which will likely take the Teramont name, draws inspiration from the 2013 CrossBlue concept and is a big part of Volkswagen’s planned American brand revival.  (Read More…)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk kept journalists waiting for three hours today before revealing his company’s newest product, which he teased in an earlier tweet.

As many expected, the electric automaker will now offer P100D versions of its Model S and Model X vehicles, with the sedan version becoming the third-fastest accelerating production car in history, and the quickest currently on the market. (Read More…)

Ford Mustangs are hot. They’re hot in America, and they’re unusually hot in Europe, too. People like driving them, and they sure as hell like talking about them. But it’s no secret that Ford thinks the Mustang isn’t hot enough, given its third-place standing in the pony car horsepower wars.

We’ve heard that Ford wants a Mustang to challenge the Dodge Challenger Hellcat and Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, but a new report claims that the next Shelby GT500 will beat them both. (Read More…)

There’s a new guy in charge of sculpting Bentley’s voluptuous British bodies.

The automaker announced today that John Paul Gregory has been appointed Head of Exterior Design, putting him in charge of the team crafting future Bentley models. An eight-year veteran of the company, Gregory replaces Sangyup Lee, who jumped ship to the new Genesis brand back in May. (Read More…)

Mosul is the largest population center in northern Iraq, but it has been in ISIS hands since extremist militants overran the city of 2.5 million in June of 2014.

Taking the city back has proven a challenge, but the Iraqi Army, backed by Allied forces, plans to deploy a new tool to make it happen. It’s no longer than a Mazda MX-5, and not nearly as sexy, but Iraq thinks this four-wheeled robotic death car gives them a big advantage. (Read More…)

From the everyone’s a winner! file comes this story. Soon, whenever a Massachusetts resident hails an Uber, the state will hand part of their fare to their direct competition.

Reuters reports that Massachusetts lawmakers are poised to levy a five-cent-per-trip levy on ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft — a new corporate welfare initiative that is the first of its kind in the U.S. (Read More…)