Against all odds, the Buick Encore has managed to sell in fairly decent numbers. Despite looking like a four-wheeled rollerskate, Buick’s trucklet moved nearly 49,000 units in 2014, up from roughly 31,000 during its debut in 2013. Part of the Encore’s success must be attributed to the fact that it was the first to show up to the party. The small CUV craze is only just heating up now in America, and the Encore is arguably the premiere (in terms of chronology, not quality) premium entrant in the segment. Demand is strong enough that GM has expanded production to two plants (Mexico and Spain as well as the initial Korean location) and will import 50 percent more units versus last year.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why. The Encore is one of the worst cars I’ve driven in a long time.

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This design sketch is the first teaser of the 2016 Hyundai Tucson, set to bow at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show next month.

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January 2015 was the first month since July of last year in which the Ford F-Series outsold GM’s full-size twins, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.

Between August and December, F-Series sales slid 3%, not unpredictably. As Ford became more firmly entrenched in the F-150 transition phase, sales perked up in January 2015. Rising just as quickly as the fast-growing overall full-size truck market, F-Series sales increased to the highest level since January 2004. (F-Series volume in January 2015 was nearly double what it was in January 2010.)

• Ford outsells GM twins for the first time since July

• GM increases market share, Ram loses market share

• Full-size trucks lose a small amount of market share to small/midsize trucks

Though outsold by the F-Series, it certainly wasn’t a bad month for the big GM trucks. Their market share improved by more than a full percentage point as the Silverado posted a 25% improvement to 36,106 units.

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Plug In America vice president Michael Thwaite is making a call-to-arms to ensure Georgia’s EV incentives do not go quietly into the night.

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Starting today, the 2016 Acura MDX will hit U.S. showrooms with an assortment of power and technological upgrades.

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A fan of Porsche’s 911 GT3, but would prefer something smaller? How about the Cayman GT4?

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Ford was America’s best-selling auto brand in January 2015 as improved car sales, improved utility vehicle sales, and a 17% improvement in F-Series sales helped the brand to a 16% year-over-year improvement.

• Corolla the top-selling car

• CR-V leads all SUVs/crossovers

• Pickups account for 14.4% of all new vehicle sales

Only a handful of auto brands reported year-over-year decreases, and most of those brands were low-volume niche players: Maserati, Scion, Jaguar, and Smart. Buick’s 5.5% drop came as all three of the brand’s passenger cars declined.

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Today marked the introduction of the second turbocharged Ferrari, the 488 GTB. Replacing the 458 Italia, the 488 is another move towards the eventual replacement of naturally aspirated Ferrari engines with turbocharged units.

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A return of the 4DSC?

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Ford is finally giving the North American market a Focus RS. It will be the first Focus RS to have all-wheel drive, and it won’t be built Stateside.

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Chinese luxury sedan consumers are the first to see Mercedes-Maybach in their showrooms, arriving in the form of the S600 and S400.

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Google appears to be preparing its own ride-sharing app, while Uber is launch a new R&D center outside of Silicon Valley.

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The stupid beer can analogies are already tired. Yes, the body of the 2015 Ford F150 is aluminum, but it’s not that important. If they didn’t make a big deal about it, you’d never know. It also fails to make the F150 the lightweight Jesus of pickups.

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Amid a weakening, unstable ruble, General Motors will suspend production at its St. Petersburg, Russia plant from mid-March through mid-May 2015.

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The compensation fund set up by General Motors in the wake of the February 2014 ignition switch recall confirmed its 51st eligible death claim Monday.

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