The 2020 Chicago Auto Show was the last one before the world shut down due to COVID-19. The 2021 Chicago Auto Show was the first one to be held as the world reopens.
And boy, was it surreal. Not that I’m complaining — in-person auto shows beat the hell out of Zoom.
Volkswagen’s base Golf may be dead, at least in America, but the performance-oriented GTI and Golf R are on their way to pick up the slack.
The 2022 Volkswagen GTI and Golf R have been unveiled in the flesh (or sheetmetal, as it were) at the 2021 Chicago Auto Show.
Quick, when’s the last time you gave a thought to the Jeep Compass?
Probably several years ago when the last generation was introduced, right?
Otherwise, if you’re thinking about Jeep, you’re probably thinking about the Gladiator, Wrangler, Cherokee, or Grand Cherokee.
A little under two weeks ago, yours truly wrote about President Joe Biden’s plans for cutting tailpipe emissions and helping to encourage the shift to electric vehicles.
I laid out three basic philosophies that are at play in the debate as to how best move consumers en masse from internal-combustion-engine cars to EVs.
Mazda had planned to bring back the rotary engine as part of a range-extender for an electrified vehicle.
That plan is paused, at least for now.
Lost in the shuffle about Stellantis’ EV Day yesterday — and the weird slogans, especially the Dodge eMuscle thing — was another bit of news we weren’t able to get to yesterday.
Ram has an EV truck planned for 2024.
Stellantis made many announcements yesterday at its “EV Day 2021” event, first and foremost a big commitment to EVs going forward. The second most important thing involved the super cringe slogans for each brand.
But there was also a Dodge-specific announcement, which promised the first-ever EV muscle car, and the resurrection of a long-dead logo.
As part of Stellantis’ EV Day, Jeep just unveiled the Grand Cherokee 4xe. Sort of.
It’s the automotive-launch equivalent of a harried journalist sending his editor a story marked “TK” — which in copy-editing lingo means “to come”.
Once again, the #savethemanuals crowd weeps. And with good reason — the BMW 2-Series, which I remember being quite wonderful to drive the last time I piloted one (it’s been a few years) — will be going automatic only.
That’s not the only change. It’s longer, lower, wider, and the styling is refreshed.
Kia’s Sportage has slipped a bit below the radar recently, thanks to the brand’s mega-popular Telluride and a strong media push to get the news about the new Sorento out there.
Yet it hasn’t been forgotten. Indeed, it’s slated for updates for 2023. Read More >
We reported last fall how Volkswagen-owned Bugatti had its future products on hold, given the financially turbulent and awful year which was 2020. In addition to the global pandemic cutting production, sales, profits, and everything else, VW was pouring lots of development money into its I.D. electric vehicle lineup.
At the time, there were mumblings that EV startup Rimac was in talks to purchase the brand from VW. News broke yesterday of a merger, where Volkswagen and Porsche are not entirely out of the picture.
There are competing philosophies when it comes to shifting the market to electric vehicles.
There’s the free-market philosophy, which says the market will get there on its own. There’s the incentive philosophy, which suggests incentivizing consumers will accelerate the transition away from the internal combustion engine. Consider that one to be the carrot approach.
Finally, we have the philosophy that if regulations don’t force automakers to make more EVs, they won’t, at least not quickly enough to address climate change. The free market and/or incentives won’t be enough. Consider this to be the stick.
Guess which philosophy President Joe Biden seems to be embracing?
Leaked Honda marketing materials seem to show when the Honda Civic hatchback and hopped-up Si trim will go on sale.
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