Ford Motor Company announced a recall of 1.48 million F-150 pickups Wednesday, the latest callback related to a six-speed automatic transmission that can suddenly crash-dive to first gear.  Read More >

Rivian Automotive made a big splash at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show with its fully electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV, and General Motors apparently liked what it saw.

According to sources who spoke to Reuters and Bloomberg, GM is interested in acquiring a piece of Rivian’s action. The Detroit automaker, which recently expressed interest in building an electric pickup of its own, is reportedly in talks to invest in the Plymouth, Michigan-based company. Read More >

A couple of liberties are taken with this one, as the Ram 1500 Classic technically has a trim one step below the Express model. With pricing, rates, and residuals being what they are though – well, it’s safe to say this version of the new old Ram pickup embodies a great deal of appeal to buyers in the Ace of Base wheelhouse.

In fact, this heartily equipped pickup is cheaper than a good many milquetoast crossovers. It’s almost as if Reid Bigland himself wants you to exercise your patriotism and park a truck in your driveway.

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Unlike other Questions of the Day, in which we tap your collective brain for the purposes of solving the world’s most pressing problems, today we focus all of that energy to benefit one man: your author — and by extension, the father of his godsons.

It’s advice time, and your subject is a quirky, low-volume SUV. Read More >

Last month, General Motors announced a plan to introduce more than 20 new and refreshed models in China in 2019 to “maintain its growth momentum in the world’s largest vehicle market” and pump EVs into what is probably the most electric-friendly region on the planet.

GM appears to love China and not without good reason. As the automaker’s largest retail sales market since 2012, GM hasn’t been afraid to fully embrace it — at the expensive of looking like it’s playing favorites and putting its homeland in the doghouse. But is that what’s really happening, or does it just feel that way when an iconic American company starts playing patty cake with a foreign entity?   Read More >

Will the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause soon keep you safe from sticky-fingered state governments or local law enforcement? Right now, it doesn’t, but one man’s desire to get his hands on a seized SUV might change that.

If it rules in favor of an Indiana man seeking the return of his 2012 Land Rover LR2, the U.S. Supreme Court will extend this section of the amendment to the state level. Civil asset forfeiture could cease being as serious an issue as it is today. Read More >

Feast your eyes on the 2020 version of the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, the compact crossover that attracts more American and Canadian customers than any other vehicle in Mitsu’s relatively sparse lineup. Looks more like a new Mitsubishi, doesn’t it? Sure does. The model’s updated “Dynamic Shield” front end styling now resembles that of its bigger Outlander brother and the newer Eclipse Cross.

It is not, however, a new vehicle, as this 2020 makeover is just the latest in a series of refreshes bestowed on the CUV since the current generation bowed in 2010. Read More >

With the 2020 Legacy gaining improvements in the form of an optional turbocharged engine, many wonder how long it might be until the rest of Subaru’s mainstream fleet offers the manufacturer’s FA24 motor. The Ascent has it, and we already know the Outback gets it in 2020, but what about Subaru’s other volume models? What about the Crosstrek and Forester?

You’ll have to wait. Apparently, some of Subaru’s models are just too dang popular to receive turbo power. Is this a pathetic excuse or simply a grim reality the automaker must confront? Subaru, obviously, claims the latter and we’re inclined to agree, based on recent evidence. But there remains a silver lining; it probably won’t be this way forever.  Read More >

Amid the hoopla surrounding last week’s Chicago Auto Show and its many new and refreshed trucks and crossovers, Mazda teased a butt shot of a mysterious new crossover bound for a Geneva reveal next month.

Mazda’s crossovers, especially the CX-5, garner more enthusiast attention than, say, a Hyundai or Toyota CUV, due to the zoom-zoom brand’s focus on driving dynamics and attention to style. The model seen last week will one day appear in U.S. Mazda dealerships, the company’s North American CEO claims. Read More >

Even if you’re not mechanically minded enough to repair your own vehicle, your status as an automotive enthusiast has likely led to your encountering a Haynes Owner’s Workshop Manual at one point or another. Due the wealth of information available within, this author purchased one for nearly every out-of-warranty model to ever pass through his ownership.

While the internet stole some of Haynes’ thunder, its paperback manuals (and their digital equivalents) are still an important resource for at-home mechanics and D.I.Y. types. Unfortunately, while browsing around for materials on the first-generation Eagle Talon, the Haynes website informed us that its founder recently passed away.  Read More >

Chicago has proven a sleepy show for news for quite some time now.

This year, however, there was a hint of something stirring. While there still wasn’t a wealth of product news, there was more than normal — and most of it didn’t involve minor trim changes (okay, some of it did).

I wandered the halls at massive McCormick Place last week to take in what was a busier show than normal. Starting with Subaru, here’s my “hot takes” about what I saw on the show floor. Just for the hell of it, let’s embrace a grading gimmick.

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A dated product lineup, questionable fuel economy across the board, a general need for some reworking. These are all issues with Fiat Chrysler’s offerings in North America. Today we’ll try and come up with some solutions.

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles paid $77 million in U.S. civil penalties late last year due to its failure to adhere to 2016 model year fuel economy requirements. In December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a report claiming the industry faced millions in fines from 2016 and that one manufacturer was expected to pay significant civil penalties.

You can probably guess which one. But FCA is by no means the only automaker affected by stringent fuel rulings. Read More >

Were it not for his Canadian place of birth, Cadillac President Steve Carlisle might make an ideal centrist presidential candidate. On paper, anyway. Mild-mannered and cautiously optimistic, not prone to exaggerated doomsaying, Carlisle would either be triumphantly swept into power, or creamed like a bushel of Iowa corn.

Well, he’s not running, though he is couching the importance of his brand’s product turnaround in less apocalyptic terms. Unlike, say, GM President Mark Reuss. Read More >

Today’s Rare Ride is a very limited production coupe from Brazil that appears to be very derivative in its styling. But what if that’s not the case at all?

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