Late yesterday, news dropped that Volkswagen planned to change its name to Voltswagen. A lot of automotive journalists noted the date and called out the announcement as a premature April’s Fool prank, but further reporting seemed to confirm that the name change was indeed real.
Turns out that it really is an April Fool’s prank gone awry.
It is auto-show season.
Or at least, it would be in a “normal” year.
Normally, we’d be in New York, bringing you all the concepts from the New York International Auto Show, usually held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on Manhattan’s west side.
This year, with the world still mostly on pause, we’re at home, missing the sights and sounds.
The lawsuits continue against EV startup Rivian. Though it hasn’t built any vehicles to date, the company has an aggressive plan to manufacture its “Tesla killer” vehicles at the former Diamond Star Motors plant at Normal, Illinois, and sell its wares directly to customers via nine showrooms across the nation. Various parties take issue with both the building and selling facets at Rivian, and the company has lawsuits with dealers in Illinois as well as Tesla. Read More >
It’s no secret that we here at TTAC don’t agree on everything when it comes to cars, culture, or politics (Or sports. Using memes to troll staffers who cheer for rival teams is a favorite pastime in our Slack channel).
We don’t speak as one editorial voice, nor do we practice neutral news reporting — we allow for editorializing, analysis, and commentary/opinion, as long as we’re fair, factually accurate, honest, and upfront about any potential biases. It’s one thing I love about working here — I can, if appropriate, put a little commentary into a news post. Overall, I try to allow everyone to be free to express themselves.
Yet, for all our various viewpoints, sometimes we agree on something. And I was right there with Matt yesterday when he fumed about Volkswagen becoming Voltswagen. The change is official, by the way — VW confirmed it.
Rivian’s plan to sell vehicles directly to consumers has raised the ire of two auto-dealer groups in Illinois.
Rivian is planning to install 3,500 fast-chargers and 10,000 Level 2 chargers in the U.S. and Canada.
We know all, or at least most, of the details about the upcoming GMC Hummer EV. And General Motors has staked a lot on its success.
But will anyone actually buy it?
Kia is planning on launching the EV6 sometime this month, and as a tease, the brand dropped some images to go along with a bunch of marketing speak about design philosophy.
The company is using the phrase “Opposites United” to describe its overarching design philosophy, and for the EV6, it will use five “pillars” called “bold for nature”, “joy for reason”, “power to progress”, “technology for life”, and “tension for serenity.”
The endless tease is over. The Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are finally here.
It feels like we’ve been talking about this vehicle forever. We’ve covered it ad nauseam, I saw an undisguised prototype up close at a (COVID safe) outdoor event hosted by Chrysler last fall, and we’ve debated its merits in Slack more than once. I’ll let you guess which staffer liked/disliked it.
According to Project Cars 3, a video game from Slightly Mad Studios distributed by Bandai Namco, the new Nissan 400Z is shown in their latest downloadable content (DLC) power pack to possess some very serious horsepower.
Honda has begun leasing Legend EX sedans with the Honda SENSING Elite safety system in Japan today. The first Level 3 automated technology to be approved in that country, the system includes Traffic Jam Pilot, Hands-Off, and Emergency Stop Assist functions.
What part of autonomous driving is this, being unveiled under the guise of advancing safety and an overarching theme of creating a collision-free society? Honda says Elite is the next generation of Honda SENSING, safety, and driver-assistive tech already available on Hondas worldwide.
Another day, another Zoom presentation to learn about some new hotness.
Today it’s the 2022 Hyundai Kona, which we teased last year, with a side of Santa Fe.
As we noted, the Kona now gets an N Line trim so that the brand can argue that its subcompact crossover can be considered truly “sporty” (we’ll be the judge of the merits of said argument once we drive it), and there are new duds.
Join us in welcoming another hybrid supercar to the world. Introducing the McLaren Artura.
Yeah, it’s another car (or car company — we see you, Stellantis) with a weird name that sounds vaguely celestial.
In photos obtained by japanesenstalgiccar.com, the Nissan 400Z prototype is seen with its hood propped open, and there it is, a 400 horsepower, twin-IHI turbocharged, VR30DDTT V6 engine. First available in the Infiniti Q50 sedan, a year later in 2016 it was also in the Q60 coupe in 300 and 400 HP versions.
Last week, GM announced plans to go 100 percent EV with its light-duty vehicle fleet in less than 15 years. Tonight, Cadillac took the wraps off two high-performance luxury sport sedans that probably won’t pass too many gas pumps.
Talk about whiplash.
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