Some of us are old enough to still remember a time when there was a clear distinction between mainstream and luxury cars. These days, though, the line is a lot less clear. At the extremes, no one is ever going to mistake a Toyota Corolla for a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but compare a loaded Honda Accord to a base BMW 5 Series, and you may have a harder time than you'd expect, figuring out where all the extra money goes. The BMW is rear-wheel drive, of course, but good luck feeling the difference on your commute.
Porsche didn’t take it lightly when the China-made Xiaomi SU7 Ultra invaded its home turf, dethroning the Taycan Turbo GT Weissach as king of production electric sedans around the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. The response was heavy: the 2027 Turbo GT Weissach with its new track-focused Manthey Racing kit, which vaulted the Taycan back atop the leaderboard with a blistering 6:55.553-second lap—some 12 seconds quicker than its lesser sibling.
The Mazda CX-30 won’t receive a new generation until around 2031, according to an interview with CEO Masahiro Moro with Japanese newspaper Chugoku Shimbun, as reported by Motor1.
The current CX-30 went on sale for the 2020 model year, meaning its run will likely last for more than a decade.
Moro cited increased U.S. import tariffs, higher raw material costs, and economic instability in important markets for the decision to delay the next-generation CX-30.
Typically, most modern cars receive a mid-cycle refresh after a few years and enter a new generation every six years or so. But some soldier on for far longer. The most egregious example is the Chevy Express van, mostly unchanged since its arrival in 1996. It can even happen with popular passenger models like the Dodge Durango, which hasn’t been fully overhauled since 2011. Now, in an interview with a Japanese newspaper, Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro has revealed that the subcompact CX-30 SUV will not be renewed until 2031.
Campaigns run on money, and now that Maine Senator Susan Collins is no longer cruising toward an easy re-election, she needs donations. Which means begging her supporters for cash. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Fundraising is perfectly normal. But the Daily Beast reports the Republican senator recently sent out a campaign email asking those supporters to help her buy gas for her upcoming statewide tour. You know, the same gas that's only expensive because Republicans started a war with Iran that she voted for.
It's getting pretty hard to fly these days. Global conflicts are covering heavily trafficked routes with GPS jamming. For reasons unknown, people keep blinding pilots with powerful laser pointers from the ground. And now the military is shooting down drones with really powerful lasers, which is so dangerous to planes that the FAA keeps shutting down airspace because of it. Still, at least these are all external threats. It's not like the actual plane itself is being messed with, or that the pilots are getting faulty messages in the cockpit about the status of the aircraft. That would be very bad. Especially if it could be done with the 60-second installation of a $100 device into an unlocked maintenance connector. So, guess what?
It seems somehow appropriate that our test drive of the Brabus Bodo takes place on the Pebble Beach property on the weekend during which the Northern California golf resort hosts its eponymous classic-car concours. With its dramatically long hood, selfish cabin, and swept-back drop-tail rear, the two-door grand tourer looks like the kind of dramatic, sinister, Streamline Moderne coupe a European coachbuilder would have created for a wealthy Axis-collaborating industrialist in the dark days leading up to WWII.
Flock is the name on the lips of a lot of fed-up American citizens as of late, thanks to the litany of ways this dystopian mass surveillance company has angered the public and caused harm. Despite the vast array of blunders, including (but certainly not limited to) creepy cops using the database to track down and stalk their ex-partners, and even the wrongful detainment of a fellow automotive journalist, some people still think the cameras are a good thing. Now, new data shows that Atlanta, the city with over 5,000 Flock Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), and the city that Flock Safety calls home, has not seen a meaningful decrease in its crime clearance rates despite an eightfold increase in the number of Flock cameras.
Most people look at sticker prices when buying a new car. Some also take into account the fuel efficiency, insurance, maintenance, and repairs before making a decision. The fact is, though, depreciation — not gas or insurance — is the single biggest expense of owning a new vehicle. Depreciation stays hidden right until the moment when you want to sell the vehicle. Then, reality kicks in, and you realize you lost over $10,000 in just a few years of ownership.
Have you noticed your gas mileage going down in the dead of winter and the hottest days of summer? You're not imagining things. Fuel efficiency goes down in extreme temperatures, though not always for the reasons you may think.
It feels like just yesterday McLaren was dropping off my P1 to go with my Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari, but the hybrid batteries in those cars are now old enough to warrant replacements — time flies when you're having fun, et cetera. One aftermarket firm, V Engineering, has developed a new battery for the McLaren P1 that also improves the car in two key areas: weight and electric driving range.
