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5 classic trucks and their polarizing modern revivals

EVs are helping eliminate Detroit's gas-guzzling problem. Some revivals of gas-powered classics are getting the EV treatment.  But not every revived model looks exactly like its original counterpart. We're in a new era of hulking Detroit metal, and you can thank EVs. Americans can't get enough of their big, beefy trucks and SUVs. But for many years, some of the biggest gas guzzlers fell out of fashion as gas prices rose and emissions regulations tightened. But in the past few years, some of the most iconic American truck nameplates have been brought back to life with electric motors, like the GMC Hummer. In other cases, as with the Ford Bronco, improvements in engine technology and more interest in rugged adventure vehicles made a gas-powered revival possible. Even some revivals that started as gas-powered, like the Chevy Blazer and the Jeep Wagoneer, are now getting electrified spinoffs. (Even if they don't always look quite as sleek as their original inspiration.) Here are side-by-sides of five classic American trucks and their modern counterparts. The Jeep Wagoneer 1975 Jeep Wagoneer and 2024 Electric Jeep Wagoneer SStellantis After a long wait, Jeep released its revival of the classic Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer in 2020. Starting later this year, an electric version of the luxury Jeep SUV will join the Wagoneer lineup. The Chevrolet Blazer A 1973 Chevrolet Blazer and a 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EVGetty Images, General Motors The Chevrolet Blazer was first rebooted in 2019 as a sporty family SUV. The modern Blazer shares zero resemblance to its boxy, off-roading older sibling, but it has still managed to become one of Chevy's more popular SUVs in recent years. The Blazer EV came later, and was one of the first models GM built on its new Ultium battery platform. The Hummer A Hummer H2 and the 2023 Hummer EV pickup truckGetty Images, General Motors Once the poster child for Detroit's big, bad gas guzzlers, the Hummer got new life as an electric pickup truck in 2021. The Ford Bronco A 1971 Ford Bronco and a 2022 Ford BroncoFord Motor Co. After a rouge group of engineers and designers inside Ford spent years trying to breathe life back into the Blue Oval's boxy off-roader, the Ford Bronco was finally resurrected in 2020 amid a rise in popularity for rugged adventure vehicles. The Ford Ranger 1985 Ford Ranger and a 2024 Ford RangerFord Motor Co.

Nissan, Fisker in advanced talks on investment, partnership

Nissan is in advanced talks to invest in electric vehicle maker Fisker in a deal that could provide the Japanese automaker with access to an electric pickup truck while giving the struggling startup a financial lifeline, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. The deal could close this month, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the talks are ongoing and have not been finalized. Terms being discussed include Nissan investing more than $400 million in Fisker's truck platform and building Fisker's planned Alaska pickup starting in 2026 at one of its U.S. assembly plants, one of the sources said. Nissan would build its own electric pickup on the same platform, the source said. Nissan has U.S. assembly plants in Mississippi and Tennessee. Fisker said on Thursday, when it announced it might not be able to continue as a going concern and would cut 15% of its workforce, that it was in talks with a large automaker for a potential investment and joint development partnership. It did not name the automaker. A Fisker spokesman said the company does not comment on speculation, while Nissan officials were not immediately available to comment. Fisker shares had been down about 45% before the Reuters report but pared those losses and were trading down about 25% with a market capitalization of more than $295 million. The term sheet is ready and the deal is going through due diligence, one of the sources said. Nissan was an EV pioneer with its fully battery powered Leaf hatchback in 2010 but has since struggled in the face of nimbler new entrants. A deal with Fisker would help it move into the growing U.S. electric pickup market. Nissan's talks with Fisker comes in the wake of the former's “rebalanced” relationship with its long-time alliance partner Renault. Last year, Nissan and Renault finalised terms of a restructured alliance after months of negotiations. They aim to have cross-shareholdings of 15% as part of the deal. The more limited alliance removes certain restrictions and has opened the door for Nissan to develop growth plans in areas such as EVs and software independent of Renault, said one of the sources, who is familiar with Nissan's thinking. The Yokohama-headquartered automaker is scouring “many, many opportunities,” the person said.

Fisker is laying off 15% of staff and says it needs more cash ahead of a 'difficult year'

Electric vehicle startup Fisker is planning to lay off 15% of its workforce and says it likely does not have enough cash on hand to survive the next 12 months. The company says it is trying to find a way to raise that money as it works through a pivot from direct sales to a dealership model. "[W]e have put a plan in place to streamline the company as we prepare for another difficult year," founder and CEO Henrik Fisker said in a statement. Fisker reported more than 1,300 employees as of the end of September 2023, meaning the cut could affect close to 200 people. The company's share price plunged 35% in after-hours trading. Fisker said Thursday that it finished 2023 with $396 million in cash, though $70 million of that is restricted. The company says it is talking with one of its lenders about making "an additional investment" in the company. It also claims it is "in negotiations with a large automaker for a potential transaction which could include an investment in Fisker, joint development of one or more electric vehicle platforms, and North America manufacturing." A partnership like that will be crucial, as Fisker executives said on a call Thursday that it won't invest any more money in its future products unless it works with another automaker. That means the fates of a pickup truck, compact EV and other models that Fisker has teased are now in question. The company's financial struggles come as it is trying to move to a wholesale model built around partnerships with dealers, a shift that Fisker says has "negatively impacted" its sales so far. It's currently sitting on inventory of thousands of vehicles that are collectively worth more than $500 million. Fisker says it has received interest from around 250 dealerships but has only signed up 13 to date. Fisker has also been dealing with a number of problems with its Ocean SUV, its only model so far, as TechCrunch reported earlier this month. The company has said it resolved some issues with a software update in December and planned to fix many more in a larger 2.0 update earlier this month, but that only started making its way to customer vehicles this week. It is currently being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for reports of sudden brake failure, as well as for a handful of vehicle rollaway incidents. A number of big automakers are pulling back on their aggressive EV targets, and newer players are having trouble as well.

Renault Scenic EV takes first place as (European) Car of the Year

The automobile awards season may not be over, but two of the more prestigious annual races came closer to a climax this week. One might need a scorecard to keep track. We’re focused here on two events: the World Car of 2024, now reduced to three finalists in six categories. Then thereÂ’s the Car of the Year, known in some quarters as the European Car of the Year. Except that the car doesnÂ’t have to be European to win, only sold there. Got that? Winners out of the way first: At the Geneva Motor Show on Monday, the Renault Scenic E-Tech all-electric has been voted Car of the Year 2024. The Scenic is a fairly compact, somewhat stylish SUV for Europe only, and is the seventh vehicle from the French brand to win the award. It sells in the United Kingdom for about $47,500. The other six finalists that had made the first cut of voting in November were the BMW 5 Series, BYD Seal, Kia EV9, Peugeot E-3008/3008, Toyota C-HR, and Volvo EX30. The trophy winner was chosen by a jury of 59 motoring journalists from 22 countries. Scenic came in first place with 329 points. The Seal was the first Chinese-made car to make this awardÂ’s shortlist; it finished sixth out of seven, just up from the Toyota. One judge explained his decision to grant the Seal zero votes. Writing in Top Gear, Paul Horrell wrote this entertaining critique: “It looks good and is well specified, so makes a strong market entry. The advanced electric system and cobalt-free battery are commendable too, and it's enjoyable enough to drive quickly. That's undermined by an agitated ride over bumps, and the logic of screens and switches is pretty eccentric.” Recapping the World Car of the Year 2024 update, the sponsors shared the stage at Geneva on Monday with the Europeans as well, although they revealed only the top three finalists in six categories. For the ultimate prize, they are the Kia EV9, the Volvo EX30 and the BYD Seal. The winners will be announced March 27 at the New York International Auto Show. Here's more on the World Car finalists. By the Numbers Geneva Motor Show New York Auto Show BMW Kia Toyota Volvo Peugeot Renault Green Automakers Best Cars

Fisker's 2023 Ocean vehicles face NHTSA's preliminary probe

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary probe into claims of unintended vehicle movement in about 4,000 of Fisker's 2023 Ocean electric sport utility vehicles, the agency said on Friday. The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation received four complaints "alleging unintended vehicle movement" related to the 2023 Ocean model. The complaints alleged an inability to shift into the park mode or into the intended gear, which could result in an unintended vehicle movement, the U.S. auto safety agency added. One of the complaints alleged an injury, the NHTSA said. Fisker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

New electric Ypsilon city car is Lancia's last bid for relevance

Stellantis-owned Lancia has unveiled its first new model in well over a decade. Offered only with an electric drivetrain, the new Ypsilon is a small, premium four-door hatchback developed to make the 118-year-old Italian brand relevant again after an extended period of decline. We shouldn't be writing this story, because Lancia shouldn't be around to release a new Ypsilon. Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles until his death in 2018, planned to close the brand. It was too small, too heavily reliant on the European market, and ultimately more of a burden than anything else. He executed his plan gradually: first, he tried giving Lancia a handful of Chrysler models to sell in Europe, which didn't work. Then, he gradually pulled the plug on Lancia's range and foreign operations, leaving the company with a single model (the last-generation Ypsilon) to sell in a single country (Italy). Rewind to the 1990s, and that's exactly how Autobianchi shut down. History didn't repeat itself this time. Stellantis executives decided to give every brand in the group a chance to prove why it deserves to exist. The third-generation Ypsilon (we're counting the Y launched in 1995 as the original) is Lancia's first argument. Having access to its parent company's parts bin helped keep development costs in check, and the hatchback shares its Common Modular Platform (CMP) with other small hatchbacks you'll see meandering across Europe such as the Peugeot 208 and the Opel Corsa. Visually, it borrows a handful of styling cues from the Pu+Ra HPE concept unveiled in 2023, like low-mounted headlights and three thin strips of LEDs on the front end. Out back, you'll find a pair of round headlights ostensibly inspired by the ones fitted to the Stratos, a coupe that cemented Lancia's reputation as a force to reckon with in the World Rally Championship (WRC) during the 1970s. That's as much of Lancia's rallying heritage the brand chose to channel, however. Instead, it's highlighting the upmarket chapter of its history: for decades, the brand was associated with luxury rather than with performance. Italian presidents rolled around in purpose-built Flaminia sedans in the 1960s. Rallying was the brand's claim to fame in the 1970s and the 1980s, and Lancia unceremoniously became associated with badge-engineering during the 1990s. This is where its decline began. The new Ypsilon's job is to reverse it by giving buyers a more stylish alternative to, say, the 208 it's based on.

Fastest cars in the world by top speed, 0-60 and quarter mile

A claim for the title of “Fastest Car in the World” might seem easy to settle. ItÂ’s actually anything but: Are we talking production cars, race cars or customized monsters? And what does “fastest” even mean? For years, car publications have tended to define “fastest” in terms of an unbeatable top speed. ThatÂ’s distinct from the “quickest” car in a Usain Bolt-style dash from the starting blocks, as with the familiar 0-60 mph metric. Professionals often focus on track lap times or elapsed time-to-distance, as with a drag racer thatÂ’s first to trip the beam of light at the end of a quarter-mile; or the 1,000-foot trip of nitromethane-powered NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car dragsters. Something tells us, however, that you're not seeking out an answer of "Brittany Force rewriting the NHRA record books with a 3.659-second pass at a boggling 338.17 mph." For most barroom speed arguments, the focus is firmly on cars you can buy in showrooms, even if many are beyond the financial means of all but the wealthiest buyers and collectors. Here are some of the enduring sources of speed claims, counter-claims, tall tales and taunting dismissals that are the lifeblood of car enthusiasts – now with EVs adding an unexpected twist to these passionate pursuits.   Fastest from the blocks: 0-60 mph Thirty years ago, any car that could clock 60 mph in five seconds or less was considered extremely quick. Today, high-performance, gasoline-powered sedans and SUVs are routinely breaking below 4 seconds. As of today, the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 crushes all with a 0-60 mph time of just 1.66 seconds. That's simply absurd, but keep in mind the Demon was engineered with the single-minded purpose of going fast in a straight line. It's also important to realize that direct comparisons are difficult, because not all of these times were accomplished with similar conditions (prepped surfaces, adjustments for elevation and so on). The moral here is to take these times with a tiny grain of salt. After the Dodge, the Rimac Nevera comes in with an officially recorded 0-60 mph time of just 1.74 seconds. EVs crowd the quickest list, with the Pininfarina Battista coming in a few hundredths slower (1.79 seconds) than the Nevera and the Lucid Air sapphire (1.89 seconds) right after that. Eventually, you arrive to the Tesla Model S Plaid, which has a claimed 1.99-second 0-60 mph time, though instrumented testing by Car and Driver shows it accomplishes the deed in 2.1 seconds.

Toyota says president, chairman of scandal-hit Daihatsu unit to step down

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday both the president and chairman of Daihatsu Motor will step down almost a year after the small-car unit said it had rigged collision safety-tests. The departures are among the most drastic changes Daihatsu has made so far, as Toyota seeks to return the brand to its roots as one of Japan's most iconic compact car makers. Toyota faces a potential hit to its reputation from the safety certification lapses at Daihatsu, as well as separate governance issues at truck maker Hino Motors and affiliate Toyota Industries. The scandals at the three companies triggered a rare apology of Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda last month. In a statement, the world's top-selling automaker said its chief executive officer for the Latin America and Caribbean region, Masahiro Inoue, will replace Soichiro Okudaira as Daihatsu's president effective March 1. Daihatsu's chairman, Sunao Matsubayashi, will also step down and will not be replaced, Toyota added. The outgoing Okudaira had worked at Toyota for nearly four decades before becoming president of Daihatsu in 2017, a year after it became a wholly owned Toyota subsidiary. Toyota Chief Executive Koji Sato told reporters, however, that the organizational change at Daihatsu was not carried out as a punishment for the outgoing executives. In volume terms, Daihatsu accounted for 7% of Toyota's total group sales of 11.2 million vehicles in 2023, including those of the luxury Lexus brand and Hino Motors. Given the misconduct over the safety test certification applications, Daihatsu also will be removed from a commercial vehicle partnership known as the Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies (CJPT), the automaker said in a separate statement. The partnership was established in April 2021 by Toyota, Hino and Isuzu Motors to facilitate technology development for commercial vehicles. Suzuki Motor and Daihatsu joined in July the same year. Daihatsu's 10% equity stake in the partnership will be transferred to Toyota, the statement said. (Reporting by Daniel Leussink and Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Kim Coghill & Shri Navaratnam and Miral Fahmy) Government/Legal Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing Toyota Daihatsu

Fisker Ocean electric SUV rife with serious problems, internal documents show

On a typically sunny day in Los Angeles last June, Henrik Fisker choked up as he handed over his company's first all-electric SUVs in the United States. "I'm really kind of emotional about it, because we've been waiting two-and-a-half years for this, and everyone here has done a tremendous job," the founder and CEO said. The day had started on a celebratory note. Fisker, donning a graphic tee depicting the electric Ocean SUV, hugged and posed for photos with the company's first customers -- at one point even signing one of the vehicles. What happened next was a harbinger for Fisker and what his eponymous company continues to grapple with: Shortly after Fisker board member Wendy Greuel took delivery, her Ocean SUV lost power on a public road, according to two employees familiar with the matter. The company has confirmed the incident occurred, and said the issue with her vehicle was fixed. Two months later, Geeta Gupta Fisker -- the company's chief financial officer, chief operating officer and Henrik's wife -- took an Ocean out for a drive, only to have it suffer a similar fate, according to a cache of internal documents viewed by TechCrunch. Fisker also confirmed her vehicle lost power, blaming it on a compatibility issue with a special engineering data logger that is not in customer cars. In the months since, Fisker Ocean SUV customers have reported more than 100 separate loss-of-power incidents, the internal documents show. The company told TechCrunch it believes these problems are rare, and that it has resolved "almost all the issues" with software updates. Problems with the Ocean SUV, however, are not limited to the vehicle suddenly losing power, a review of nearly 200 documents shows. Customers have also reported sudden loss of braking power, problematic key fobs causing them to get locked inside or outside of the vehicle, seat sensors that don't detect the driver's presence and the SUV's front hood suddenly flying up at high speeds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating the braking problems, which Fisker claims it resolved. The company told TechCrunch that fixes for the other problems have either been implemented, or are coming in a "Version 2.0" software update scheduled to be released next week. Fisker launched the Ocean later than expected due in part to challenges with the SUV's software; the company spent much of last year making up for lost ground.

Scrapyard Gem: 2006 Peugeot 307 CC Sport

YORK, England — Peugeot claims to have invented the retractable hardtop convertible with the 1934 Peugeot 401 Eclipse Decapotable, decades before Ford created the Fairlane 500 Skyliner. Fast-forward to 2000, when Peugeot began selling the 206 CC, a sporty version of the 206 subcompact with hardtop roof that folded into the trunk. A couple of years later, the innovative French manufacturer followed up with the 307 CC, based on the larger 307 compact. Right-hand-drive versions were created for sale across the Channel, and I've found this 2006 model in a self-service breaker's yard in York, England. U-Pull-It York boasts an excellent selection of discarded French machinery; in fact, the section for Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens is the biggest in the facility. So far, I've documented just today's Junkyard Scrapyard Gem plus a 2010 Peugeot Bipper from the French section of that yard, but there are many more to come. This car is a 2.0 Sport, which had an MSRP of GBP20,945 in the United Kingdom (about GBP34,642 in 2024 pounds, or $43,763 in 2024 dollars). It has a 2.0-liter DOHC engine rated at 175 horsepower, which was good power for a car weighing just over 3,000 pounds. The transmission is a five-speed manual. The 307 CC was quite a bit more expensive than the tiny 206 CC and GM's retracting-hardtop rival for Europe: the Opel/Vauxhall Tigra TwinTop. It would be fun to have one of these in the United States, though a left-hand-drive one from the Continent would be easier to deal with on our roads. You'll be able to import one legally in 2027! The Wall's Funny Feet car air freshener is a retro design inspired by foot-shaped ice cream bars that were popular in 1980s Britain. There are always new bits of history to discover in a junkyard scrapyard! Buy one and you'll be beautiful and adventurous. You might not be able to fry an egg on the decklid in France.   Featured Gallery Junked 2006 Peugeot 307 CC Sport View 22 Photos Peugeot Automotive History Convertible Classics England french Junkyard Gems Junkyard 2000s Peugeot 307

Stellantis not looking for further mergers, including with Renault

MILAN — Stellantis Chairman John Elkann on Monday denied the carmaker was hatching merger plans, responding to press speculation about a possible French-led tie-up with rival Renault. Elkann said that the Peugeot owner, the world's third largest carmaker by sales, was focused on the execution of its long-term business plan. "There is no plan under consideration regarding merger operations with other manufacturers," said Elkann, who also heads Exor, the Agnelli family holding company that is the largest single shareholder in Stellantis. After abandoning the Russian market, at the time its second largest after France, and reducing the scope of its global cooperation with Nissan, Renault has been seen as a potential M&A target. Speculation intensified after an electric vehicle market slowdown forced it last week to cancel IPO plans for its EV and software unit Ampere. Its market cap remains stubbornly low at little over 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) despite a financial recovery over the past few years. Stellantis, the product of a 2021 merger between France's PSA and Fiat Chrysler and one of the most profitable groups in the industry, has a market cap of more than 85 billion euros when unlisted shares are factored in. It has a 14 brand portfolio also including Citroen, Jeep, Opel and Alfa Romeo. NEWSPAPER REPORT Italian daily Il Messaggero had said on Sunday that the French government, which is Renault's largest shareholder and also has a stake in Stellantis, was studying plans for a merger between the two groups. A spokeswoman for Renault said on Monday the group did not comment on rumors. France's Finance Ministry had declined to comment on Sunday. Stellantis has crossed swords with the Italian government, which has accused it of acting against the national interest on occasions. Industry Minister Adolfo Urso last week raised the prospect of the Italian government taking a stake in Stellantis to help to balance the French influence. Renault shares pared gains after Elkann's comments to stand 1.2% higher by 1220 GMT, having initially risen more than 4%. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, a Portuguese-national, last week said in an interview with Bloomberg that the group was "ready for any kind of consolidation" and that its job was to make sure that it would be "one of the winners". Analysts, however, question the rationale of a Stellantis-Renault merger, which would also expand the group's excess capacity in Europe.

Scrapyard Gem: 2005 Vauxhall Tigra TwinTop

DERBY, England — There was a time when American car shoppers could buy sporty little convertibles based on the platforms of econo-commuters, but that was back during the era of the 1991-1994 Mercury Capri and open-air versions of the Geo Metro and Yugo GV. Those good times continued in Europe, though, and Peugeot had a sales hit with the retracting-hardtop 206 CC starting with the 2000 model year. For today's Junkyard Scrapyard Find, we're heading across the Atlantic for a look at a discarded example of Vauxhall's 206 CC competitor. The main purpose of my four-day trip to England was to visit the scrapyards around York and Leeds, but I stopped at an old-school breaker's yard near Derby on the drive up from Heathrow. Albert Looms Ltd has a fascinating selection of European machinery plus the occasional American-made vehicle. Check in later to see many more Scrapyard Gems from England. (That's what they call junkyards over here). Vauxhall became part of the far-flung GM Empire back in 1925, and it remained there until being sold to the PSA Group in 2017. With the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA to form Stellantis in 2021, Vauxhall now gets its marching orders from Amsterdam. The General took a shot at selling new Vauxhalls in the United States during the late 1950s and early 1960s, without much success (though I have managed to find a Victor Super Estate in a Colorado car graveyard). Starting in the early 1970s, most Vauxhall models were closely related to Opel counterparts; some of those cars also had U.S.-market cousins or siblings (with varying amounts of Isuzu and Daewoo DNA finding their way into the mix from time to time). In Australia, plenty of Vauxhall models were sold with Holden badging. The Opel/Vauxhall/Holden/Chevrolet Tigra was built in two generations, both based on the Opel Corsa (yes, I've found a Corsa in an American junkyard). The 1994-2000 generation was a coupe, while the 2004-2009 was a convertible with a hardtop that retracted into the boot. Being Corsas under the skin, these cars all had small engines and front-wheel-drive. Two gasoline engines were available (a 1.4-liter and a 1.8-liter) plus a 1.3-liter diesel. This one is the 1.4, rated at 90 horsepower and 92 pound-feet. With a curb weight of 2,557 pounds, this car would have been slow but not intolerably so. At least it has the five-speed manual. A fender-bender just bad enough to fire the airbags took it off the street.

Toyota outsells VW for global sales crown, apologizes with a vow to 'be honest'

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows in apology during a press conference Tuesday over the group companies' quality scandals. (Getty Images)   Every quarter, the stock market hangs on how much sales growth Tesla and other startups have experienced. There's growth, but then there's sheer output, and when it comes to deliveries dominance, one company can't be touched. Toyota on Tuesday announced that it remained the world's top-selling automaker for the fourth year running, with record sales of 11.2 million vehicles in 2023. Toyota's global group sales jumped 7.2% last year; the numbers include sales at Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors. Toyota's parent-only vehicles, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands, hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023. Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those. Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1%. Toyota's annual output handily beat runner-up Volkswagen Group, which this month reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.2 million cars. That growth was driven largely by demand for Audi, which sold 1.9 million vehicles. The auto industry in 2023 enjoyed a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased, though shipping problems through the Red Sea so far this year have stalled that progress by some automakers, causing some car plants in Europe to suspend production. Toyota's global group sales have now topped 10 million vehicles for nine of the past 10 years, except for 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a blow to the auto sector. Scandals and an apology Toyota's chairman apologized on Tuesday for scandals at the three group companies. Daihatsu, Hino and affiliate Toyota Industries have been beset by governance issues involving certification test procedures for cars and engines that could potentially hurt the brand's global reputation for quality and safety. "I would like to express my deepest apologies to our customers and stakeholders for the inconvenience and concern caused by the successive irregularities at Hino Motors, Daihatsu and Toyota Industries," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters. He was speaking at an event to announce a vision for the Toyota group, which was founded by his great-grandfather and now includes 17 companies.

Toyota urges owners of old Corolla, Matrix and RAV4 models to park them until airbags are replaced

DETROIT — Toyota and General Motors are telling the owners of about 61,000 older Corolla, RAV4, Matrix/ Pontiac Vibe models to stop driving them because their Takata airbag inflators are at risk of exploding and hurling shrapnel. The urgent warning Monday covers: Certain Corolla compact cars and Matrix hatchbacks from the 2003 and 2004 model years. RAV4 small SUVs from 2004 and 2005. Also covered are about 11,000 Pontiac Vibes from 2003 and 2004, which are essentially the same as the Matrix and were made at the same California factory. Most of the vehicles are in the U.S. “If the airbag deploys, a part inside is more likely to explode and shoot sharp metal fragments, which could cause serious injury or death to the driver or passengers,” Toyota said in a statement. Owners can go to nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if their cars are affected. If you're not the original owner of the vehicle, the manufacturer's recall letter might not reach you, so be sure to do the VIN check. The recalled RAV4s have Takata driver's airbags while the Corolla and Matrix models have them on the passenger side. The Corolla and Matrix also are under a separate recall because their airbags can be deployed without a crash, the company said. Both companies said owners should contact a local dealer instead of driving the cars in for repairs. Dealers will provide options such as mobile repair, towing the car to a dealer, or vehicle pickup and delivery. Takata used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in a crash. But the chemical propellant can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. It can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel. At least 26 people have been killed in the U.S. by Takata inflators since May 2009, and at least 30 have died worldwide including people in Malaysia and Australia. In addition, about 400 people have been injured. The exploding airbags sent Takata of Japan into bankruptcy. The potential for a dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history. About 100 million inflators were recalled worldwide. Recalls Pontiac Toyota Takata airbag recall

Mullin Museum closing after 14 years showcasing amazing vehicles

More sad news to start the year is that the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, is closing in two weeks. Founder Peter Merlin opened the museum in 2010 with a mission "to educate guests about 20th-century French automotive styling and design." This was done beautifully — literally and figuratively — with a focus on vehicles spanning from the Brass Era (1896-1915) to the early postwar period, some taken from Peter Mullins' personal collection. The heavy focus was on French automakers during the interwar period, Art Deco to the Machine Age (1918-1941), namely, Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Talbot-Lago, and Voisin, supported with automobilia, sculpture, a theater, and archives.    A lot of enthusiasts might not be familiar with the museum, but the fingerprints of founder Peter Mullin and wife Merle can be found throughout the car world. Peter, who died last September, had amassed the world's largest private collection of Bugattis. Back when a $40 million vehicle sale was enough to be crowned a record sum, Mullin opened his museum with the display of the record-breaking 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic, on loan from the purchaser. He won Best in Show at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance with his own 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne. The museum put on the shows you'd expect of a private Bugatti collector, like Art of Bugatti in 2014; shows you'd expect of a Francophile institution, like "Citroen: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique" in 2017; and surprises like last year's "ArTexture" exhibit of fine art and tapestries by artist Keith Collins. And he was one of the founding board members of the Petersen Automotive Museum, helping the museum through the renovation that turned it into one of the coolest car spots in LA.     Speaking of which, four of Mullins' personal rides will go on permanent display at the Petersen: a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150 CS “Teardrop,” a 1938 Delahaye 145, a 1938 Hispano Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia, and a 1939 Delahaye 165. The museum is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, its last day open being Saturday, February 10 — leaving three more visits for anyone who can make it. Said Merle, who continued keep sharing the collection at shows from Amelia Island to Villa d'Este during Peter's illness, wrote in a statement on the closing, "Sharing these ‘rolling sculpturesÂ’ and beautiful art with others was PeterÂ’s truest passion, and the museum helped bring that vision to life.

Junkyard Gem: 2008 Suzuki XL-7

The American Suzuki Motor Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and sold its final Kizashis, SX4s and Grand Vitaras here the following year. In the decade prior to that, a big chunk of the Suzuki lineup involved rebadged Daewoos, but South Korea wasn't the only outpost of the far-flung GM Empire helping out with Suzuki hardware. After the Saturn Vue debuted as a 2002 model, its platform ended up everywhere, including beneath the second-generation Suzuki XL-7. Here's one of those machines, found in a Denver self-service car graveyard recently. Prior to 2007, the XL-7 name had been applied to a stretched version of the body-on-frame Grand Vitara, a pure Suzuki design. The 2007-2009 XL-7 looked quite different from its closest relatives, the Saturn Vue, Pontiac Torrent and Chevrolet Equinox. Assembly took place at CAMI Assembly in Ontiario, birthplace of many a Geo Metro and Suzuki Swift. The engine is the 3.6-liter version of the 60° High Feature V6, rated at 252 horsepower and 243 pound-feet. A five-speed automatic was the only transmission available. This one is a base model with front-wheel-drive and seating for five. Its MSRP was $21,599, or about $34,419 in 2024 dollars. The radio has an AUX input, a fairly unusual feature in 2008. Inside, one of the most heartbreaking notes I've ever found in a junkyard car. Does the Tooth Fairy give money to kids who knock out the teeth of other kids and steal them? It's like a Suzuki motorcycle, but with more cargo capacity. Those Suzuki-riding bikers know a good SUV when they see one. Who knew that it wouldn't be long before motorcycles and ATVs would be the only new Suzukis available here?

Toyota will roll out solid-state battery EVs globally in a couple of years

GANDHINAGAR, India — Japan's Toyota Motor will in a couple of years globally launch vehicles with solid-state batteries that charge faster and last longer, an executive said on Thursday at an investment summit in India. Solid-state batteries promise to dramatically improve the driving range of electric vehicles (EVs), a key element of a strategic pivot Toyota unveiled in June to make up ground lost to Tesla and Chinese rivals, such as BYD, in the EV race. Last year, Toyota and oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan said they would tie up to develop and mass produce all-solid-state batteries, which they aim to commercialize in 2027 and 2028, followed by full-scale mass production. "We will be rolling out our electric vehicles with solid state batteries in a couple of years from now," said Vikram Gulati, the India head of Toyota Kirloskar Motor. It "will be a vehicle which will be charging in 10 minutes, giving a range of 1,200 kms (750 miles) and life expectancy will be very good". Gulati was speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit where one focus of the Indian government is attracting more investments to scale up EV manufacturing capacity in the world's third largest auto market. At the start of the summit on Wednesday, Japan's Suzuki Motor said its Indian subsidiary and Toyota partner Maruti Suzuki would export the group's first battery EV to Japan and Europe — marking the first time for Maruti to export to its parent company's home country. Electric models made up around 2% of India's car sales last year, but the government is targeting 30% by 2030 and India's road transport minister said at the summit he sees annual EV sales in India reaching 10 million vehicles by 2030. On Toyota's plans for solid-state batteries in India, Gulati said the carmaker had various sustainable technology options that would differ based on the country, market and customer preferences. "Right now, for India, flex fuel and ethanol can be a no-brainer right away," he added India's trade department has backed lowering taxes on hybrid vehicles to help the transition to cleaner energy sources, following demands by Japanese carmakers, Reuters has reported. Gulati said the Indian government should consider a carbon-based tax structure for cars, which would make it technologically agnostic and more equitable.  Green Lexus Suzuki Toyota Electric

Best car infotainment systems: From UConnect to MBUX, these are our favorites

Declaring one infotainment system the best over any other is an inherently subjective matter. You can look at quantitative testing for things like input response time and various screen load times, but ask a room full of people that have tried all car infotainment systems what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. For the most part, the various infotainment systems available all share a similar purpose. They aim to help the driver get where they're going with navigation, play their favorite tunes via all sorts of media playback options and allow folks to stay connected with others via phone connectivity. Of course, most go way beyond the basics these days and offer features like streaming services, in-car performance data and much more. Unique features are aplenty when you start diving through menus, but how they go about their most important tasks vary widely. Some of our editors prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based and chock full of boundary-pushing features. Others may prefer a back-to-basics non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some prefer Android phones over iPhones, we all have our own opinions for what makes up the best infotainment interface. All that said, our combined experience tells us that a number of infotainment systems are at least better than the rest. WeÂ’ve narrowed it down to five total systems in their own subcategories that stand out to us. Read on below to see our picks, and feel free to make your own arguments in the comments. Best infotainment overall: UConnect 5, various Stellantis products Ram 1500 Uconnect Infotainment System Review If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. It has numerous qualities that make it great, but above all else, UConnect is simple and straightforward to use. Ease of operation is one of the most (if not the single most) vital parts of any infotainment system interface. If youÂ’re expected to be able to tap away on a touchscreen while driving and still pay attention to the road, a complex infotainment system is going to remove your attention from the number one task at hand: driving. UConnect uses a simple interface that puts all of your key functions in a clearly-represented row on the bottom of the screen. Tap any of them, and it instantly pulls up that menu.

Fisker adds dealerships to direct sales model to boost EV sales

Electric vehicle company Fisker said on Thursday that it would add dealerships alongside its direct-to-customer distribution model to expand its sales and delivery network. The California-based company, which sells its vehicles across the United States and Canada apart from other markets in Europe, has only two showrooms or Fisker Lounges in North America — one in Los Angeles and the other in New York. In other locations, it has retail stores called Fisker Center+. Fisker said, in Europe, it will continue to offer direct sales but will bring onboard partners for sales and distribution. While the EV startup made more than 10,000 vehicles in 2023, it delivered only about 4,700 units of the Ocean sport utility vehicles due to distribution constraints. "We are evolving our business model and intend to add as many as 50 dealer partners in the US and Canada and a similar number of dealer locations in Europe this year," CEO Henrik Fisker said. The company expects to send its first Ocean vehicles to new dealers by the end of the first quarter, Fisker said, adding that it has been in talks with dealer partners since November 2023. Lucid, Rivian and Fisker have followed an online and direct-to-consumer model that was started by Elon Musk-led Tesla, in their efforts to cut out middlemen that dealership models have. Earlier this week, Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast Auto said that it had signed its first five dealerships in Texas, New York, Kansas and North Carolina. Swedish EV maker Polestar also uses a dealership model. 

All-new Lancia Ypsilon teased, and this one's not dripping wet

The last time we wrote about the coming all-new Lancia Ypsilon, the French authorities were fishing a pre-production prototype out of a canal. Although the hatchback had been ditched (canal'ed?) near a Peugeot factory, later reporting indicated (translated) the car had been stolen a month earlier near a Stellantis factory in Spain. Recent teases from Lancia aim to put a more attractive wheel forward, the automaker wanting to make the most of what will be an very important offering. This will be the first new Ypsilon since 2011, the first public step in the company's 10-year Renaissance Plan, pathway to a new battery-electric Lancia flagship in 2026 and an electric Delta revival in 2028. The teaser model comes from Lancia's partnership with Italian furniture company Cassina, one of the initial Ypsilon trims reported to be an Edizione Limitata Cassina restricted to 1,906 numbered units, that number honoring the carmaker's founding in 1906. The official shots go big on classic Lancia elegance while referring to the Pu+Ra HPE concept the brand revealed in April 2023 as a design touchstone. There's going to be some intriguing tech as well, one of the shots centered on a glowing blue disc that could sit above the infotainment screen. The word "SALA," also glowing blue on the disc, is Italian for "living room" but signifies Lancia's tech interface, an initialism for Sound, Air, Light, and Augmentation. The in-car assistant is programmed to "centralize the audio, climate control and lighting functions, enabling the environment inside the car to be adapted at the touch of a button or by the sound of your voice." The Ypsilon also brings Stellantis' TAPE, which stands for Tailored Predictive Experiences. This dresses the cabin ambience in one of three modes: Immersive, Wellbeing, and Entertainment.  The Pu+Ra HPE concept went beyond traditional elegance, and it seems the Ypsilon will, too. Instagram user gaetanogiordano63 posted clipped images of the front and back of what looks like an early production model in white. Even though we've seen most of the Ypsilon already, from the canal images, we're surprised by the vastly different impression these spy shots make on us.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Gaetano Giordano (@gaetanogiordano63) More complete answers are on the way shortly, Lancia planning to debut the new crossover in February in battery-electric trim.

Suzuki concepts are exploring mountain trails and the culinary arts

Attention is already on Suzuki products headed to the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon thanks to Japanese tuner DAMD. The company turned two Suzuki Jimnys into the Little 5, a tribute to Renault's 5 Turbo and 5 Turbo 2, and the Little Delta, a tribute to the Lancia Delta Integrale. Suzuki's got a trio of its own creations on the way as well, highlighted by new conceptual takes on the Swift hatchback and Spacia kei van that differ from the ones shown during the Tokyo Auto Show. The star player is the new, fourth-generation 2024 Swift hatchback (below) that's probably best considered an evolved third-gen, here called the Swift Cool Yellow Rev Concept for not-exactly-obvious reasons. Solely a flashy cosmetics package, the design drapes a black roof and black roof pillars over a greenish yellow body and dinky black wheels. The grille wears gloss black above a front splitter, the LED headlights and taillights get smoked lenses, and the vinyl wrap advertises the arrival of the front-wheel-drive variant that went on sale in Japan in December.     Show-goers could be more captivated by the Super Carry Mountain Trail Concept, shown up top. Built atop Suzuki's Super Carry commercial truck sold in places like Japan, India, and Southeast Asia, it looks like a shrunken version of an overlanding build we'd see at SEMA; the Super Carry retail model stretches just 11 feet long — 20 inches shorter than a two-door Mini Cooper — and uses a 658-cc engine. The exterior roll cage and tube doors set the tone immediately. Dimensionally proportionate gear runs from the roof rack and light bar to the off-road racing bucket seats, grilles over the side and rear windows, front skid plate and D-rings, Hi-Lift jack strapped to a riser in the bed, and little knobby tires on little off-road wheels. Smoked headlight lenses make their way to this creation, too. This one's reported to be a concept only, meant to show audiences the potential in commercial vehicles outside the workplace.  Finally, there's the wonderfully named Spacia Papa Boku Kitchen Concept. This slightly adventurous kei car disguise outside hides a kitchen in the cargo bay. We'll find out what the chef's area looks like during the show, but designers are said to have envisioned a space where parents and kids can bond over cooking adventures while camping.   The Tokyo Auto Salon is putting this and all sorts of other novelties on display in Chiba City, Japan, January 12-14.

Fisker delivers 4,700 electric cars in 2023, shares jump on quadrupled sales

Henrik Fisker shows off the coming Fisker Alaska pickup. (Getty Images)   Fisker said on Friday its electric vehicle deliveries jumped more than four-fold during the final quarter, helping it hand over about 4,700 vehicles for the year. The rise in quarterly sales volume was primarily driven by strong demand for the Fisker Ocean SUV, priced at about $69,000, the company said. Fisker started making its first deliveries to U.S. customers in June. The company will announce a plan in January to boost sales and deliveries to align production capacity with strong demand for the Ocean SUV, Fisker said. Shares of the California-based EV company were up more than 10% in premarket trading. They have lost about 79% so far this year. Smaller EV firms are facing dwindling cash reserves, pressured by high costs related to production ramp-ups and price cuts to boost demand. Fisker, which has a deal with Magna International's Austrian unit to manufacture its cars, made 10,142 vehicles in 2023. The company, however, slashed its annual production forecast twice in the past two months as it slowed down production to meet working capital needs.  

Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Japanese tuner adds 1980s rally flair to the Suzuki Jimny

Since its launch in 2018, the fourth-generation Suzuki Jimny has been modified by a long list of tuners from all over the world. We've seen it turned into a mini Ford Bronco, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class lookalike, a clone of the original Land Rover Defender, and a small pickup truck. The latest Jimny-based builds explore a completely different avenue by giving the off-roader a look inspired by rally cars from the 1980s. Designed by Japanese tuner DAMD for the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon, the builds are called Little 5 and Little Delta, respectively. The name says it all: the Little 5 is a tribute to Renault's 5 Turbo and 5 Turbo 2 and the Little Delta draws inspiration from the Lancia Delta Integrale. While both models were hatchbacks, the retro look works surprisingly well thanks in part to the Jimny's small footprint and boxy proportions. Both builds receive the same basic body kit, which includes a deeper front bumper that looks much closer to the 5's than to the Delta's and flared wheel arches, and they ride on OZ Racing wheels. DAMD fitted the Little 5 with a redesigned front end that brings rectangular lights and Renault's diamond-shaped logo, "NON-TURBO" decals on the doors for a touch of humor, and a roof-mounted spoiler. Blue paint adds a finishing touch to the look. Painted red, the Little Delta gets a specific grille with four round lights and bright trim as well as a specific spoiler. DAMD hasn't released interior photos. It looks like the Little 5 uses standard Jimny seats while the Little Delta receives front sport seats. Technical specifications haven't been released, either, but we have a decent idea of what's under the hood. Suzuki offers the Jimny with two engines: a turbocharged, 658-cubic-centimeter three-cylinder fitted to base models in Japan and a naturally-aspirated, 1.5-liter four-cylinder offered in the rest of the world. The decals on the Little 5's doors suggest power comes from the latter, which develops 102 horsepower. We don't know what's next for either concept, but we wouldn't be surprised to see both body kits join DAMD's catalog in the coming months.  Related Video Featured Gallery DAMD Suzuki Jimny Little 5 and Little Delta Aftermarket Design/Style Suzuki SUV Off-Road Vehicles

Toyota's Daihatsu unit halts all vehicle shipments over widespread safety cheating

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its subsidiary Daihatsu will suspend shipments of all its vehicles in and outside Japan in a damaging safety scandal after an investigation found improper testing involving 64 models. The safety test irregularities earlier this year prompted an independent panel investigation, which found widespread and systematic problems. Toyota, citing results of the panel, said its probe found 174 new cases of irregularities in safety test and other procedures in 25 test categories, in addition to the problems reported earlier. “We are sorry to have betrayed the trust of our customers,” Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira told a news conference Wednesday. He acknowledged the cheating on safety testing and procedures is tantamount to neglect of safety certificates. “We take it very seriously as the problem that has shaken the foundation of an automaker,” he said. A lawyer and a member of the probe team, Makoto Kaiami, who also attended the news conference, said workers under pressure to meet management demands for tight development deadline resorted to cheating, and that the management should take the blame. The issue first emerged in April when Daihatsu reported improper testing on the door lining. Problems in the side collision testing also surfaced in May, officials said. The problems were found in 64 models and three engines of vehicles, including 22 models and an engine sold by Toyota, the company said in a statement. The investigation also found that the problems involved some models for Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. sold at home, as well Toyota and Daihatsu models sold abroad. Daihatsu is Toyota's unit specializing in small cars and trucks that are popular in Japan. Toyota expressed “sincere apologies.” "We believe in order to prevent recurrence, in addition to a review of certification operations, a fundamental reform is needed to revitalize Daihatsu as a company,” Toyota said. Toyota said it will take a significant effort, including a review of management and business operations as well as the organization and its structure, as well as mindset of employees and that the company will provide full support to revitalize Daihatsu. Daihatsu Safety crash test

Junkyard Gem: 1992 Pontiac Firebird

Last spring, this series featured a 1992 Chevrolet Camaro RS in a Northern California junkyard, an example of the final model year for the highly successful third-generation GM F-Body. On a later visit to that yard, I spotted the Pontiac sibling to that car, a Firebird that was born the same year at the same Southern California factory. When the Chevrolet Division introduced the first Camaro as a 1967 model, the Pontiac Division got its own version of the F-Body called the Firebird. While the two cars were built on the same chassis and looked very similar, the first-generation Camaros got Chevrolet engines while their Firebird colleagues got Pontiac engines (including the innovative SOHC straight-six). The 1970-1981 second-generation Firebirds still had some Pontiac-only engines, but Chevrolet and Oldsmobile power crept under some hoods during that period. The third-generation Firebirds first appeared as 1982 models, and they drew from near-identical stockpiles of GM running gear (including the distinctly agricultural Iron Duke four-banger, which could be considered a Pontiac-derived engine). When the Camaro got the axe after 2002, the Firebird's neck was put on the same chopping block. When the Camaro returned for 2010, the Pontiac brand was sputtering to an agonized halt during its final year and there was no chance of the Firebird's return. This car is a fairly ordinary coupe, though it does have the mid-grade 205-horsepower 5.0-liter Chevrolet small-block V8 instead of the base 140-horse 3.1-liter V6. A 5.7-liter small-block was available as well. A five-speed manual transmission was base equipment, but few Americans wanted a three-pedal setup by the early 1990s. This car has the optional four-speed automatic. The MSRP with 5.0 engine, automatic transmission and air conditioning (which this car has) started at $14,304. That's about $31,868 in 2023 dollars. It was built at Van Nuys Assembly in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County. By the dawn of the 1990s, the Camaros and Firebirds made at Van Nuys Assembly had become known as the worst-built GM cars made in North America, and the plant was shut down forever soon after this car was built. Today, a shopping mall lives where the factory once stood. This car managed to drive more than 150,000 miles during its life, so it beat the odds. The thrid-gen F-Body was pretty antiquated by the early 1990s, but the fourth-gen cars handled better and looked up-to-date for the era.

A presumably stolen Lancia Ypsilon prototype is pulled from a canal in France

Lancia is a long way from its heyday. The Italian automaker’s time in motorsport is far behind it, and its business efforts have been reduced to a single model sold only in Italy. ThatÂ’s changing, at least according to company officials, as the automaker is gearing up to release a few new vehicles in the coming years, starting with an updated electric Ypsilon. Though itÂ’s not due to be revealed for a few more months, a Ypsilon prototype recently made news after it was presumably stolen and crashed into a river in France. ? FUITE ! Voici la future Lancia Ypsilon dans des conditions tres particulieres. ?? Ce prototype sans camouflage a ete repeche a Montbeliard, non loin de lÂ’usine Stellantis, et selon lÂ’Est Republicain, il sÂ’agirait dÂ’un vol. Cependant, rien nÂ’a ete confirme.#Lancia #Ypsilon pic.twitter.com/mxNmIWJ9hL — Le Rendez-Vous AutoÂ’ (@lerdvauto) December 12, 2023 Officials havenÂ’t handed out many details but said that firefighters arrived on the scene to find the white hatchback submerged in a canal near Rue du Port, near the local Stellantis factory. No victims or other wreckage was found, and the team lifted the car out of the canal by crane. While a presumably stolen prototype is interesting on its own, the secondary story here is that this is likely the best look anyone outside of Lancia has had at the new car. Every image seen to date has been of a heavily camouflaged car with hard-to-discern lines and details. We can see the rear door handles in the C-pillar and unique design elements that set it apart from the Opel Corsa upon which it is based. Though Lancia likely wishes firefighters had been more discreet in pulling the car out of the water, the automaker has an exciting few years ahead of it. After the new Ypsilon, Lancia said it would deliver a compact SUV in 2026, followed by another hatchback in 2028. It has also expressed plans to expand outside of its home market, Italy, to other European countries. The automaker may also expand to other continents, but itÂ’s unlikely Americans will see a Lancia on our streets anytime soon.

Junkyard Gem: 2005 Suzuki Verona

The ways of the far-flung GM Empire could be mysterious, a couple of decades back, especially when Daewoo and/or Suzuki were involved. After The General's (relative) success selling the Daewoo LeMans with Pontiac badges here, Daewoo decided to bring three models to the United States with its own badging: the Lanos, Nubira and Leganza. Unfortunately for that effort, Daewoo's CEO fled South Korea to evade embezzlement and fraud charges just as the first models hit American showrooms in 1999, and the company went bankrupt soon after. The last year for the trio of Daewoo-badged models here was 2002… but we weren't done with those cars yet! Today's Junkyard Gem is an example of the next-generation Leganza, found in a Denver-area self-service wrecking yard recently. GM began selling Suzuki cars in North America with the Chevrolet Sprint (aka Suzuki Cultus) in 1985. The following year, Suzuki began importing the Jimny with Suzuki Samurai badging. Many Suzukis followed over the next quarter-century, with Chevrolet, Geo and Suzuki branding applied along the way. Since GM bought all of Daewoo's car-building operations during the chaos of the early 2000s, it made sense to keep selling the descendants of the three Daewoo models that had been offered here. They'd have made sense as Geos, but the Geo brand got the axe after 1997. Saturn? For Opels, sure, but not Daewoos. Isuzu had gone all-truck here after the final Styluses and Storms left the showrooms as 1993 models (though the Honda Odyssey was sold here with Isuzu emblems), so that was out. So, Chevrolet and Suzuki got the honors. The next-generation Daewoo Lanos subcompact became the Chevrolet Aveo, the next-generation Daewoo Nubira compact became the Suzuki Reno, and the next-generation Daewoo Leganza midsize sedan became the Suzuki Verona. The Verona was available for just the 2004 through 2006 model years. Note that the dealership decal features the Pets.com Sock Puppet. That's because the now-defunct 1-800-Bar-None company bought the rights to the Sock Puppet in 2002 (two years after Pets.com went kerblooey as the highest-profile casualty of the Dot-Com Crash) and used it in their advertising. All Leganzas had four-cylinder engines driving the front wheels, but the Verona got this very unusual longitudinally-mounted straight-six rig. It thus joins the Volvo S80 in the elite club for this powertrain setup.

Fisker scales back production to divert cash for working capital

Electric-vehicle maker Fisker said on Friday it will scale down production this month and produce fewer cars this year than its previous guidance, to prioritize cash for working capital needs. Shares of the EV maker, which has been struggling with a cash crunch, rose 7% in premarket. "Fisker has made a strategic decision to reduce December production to prioritize liquidity to unlock over $300 million of working capital," the company said. Fisker cut its production target for the year — at least a second time — to just over 10,000 units, compared with its earlier forecast of 13,000 to 17,000. The company said it delivered 123 vehicles on Thursday, adding it plans to accelerates sale and deliveries despite the tough market conditions for EVs. Some EV firms are facing dwindling cash reserves, pressured by high costs related to production ramp-ups and inflation and price cuts by rivals such Tesla. In its most recent financial results, which were filed after a delay due to the departure of its former accounting chief, Fisker reported a loss of $91 million and revenue of $71.8 million for the third quarter, both missing expectations. Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker Electric

Koenigsegg details the madness of his Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission

We always tune in when Christian von Koenigsegg steps in front of the camera for another tour of his car company's new technology and facilities. He's obviously enthusiastic about what's being designed and built in Angelholm, Sweden, but not overly so (not in his videos, at least), he's talks about technology in simple terms, and, best of all, the stuff coming out of those factory machines is not only innovative, it's beautiful. The fearless leader checks all the boxes again with this quick look at the new transmission and twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 block going in the two-seater Jesko and available for the four-seater Gemera. A quick refresher on the LSTT, or Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission. During Gemera development, engineers wondered if the Gemera could fit the TTV8 and Light Speed Transmission (LST) from the Jesko into an engine bay designed for the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) three-cylinder engine and Direct Drive transmission from the Koenigsegg Regera. The engineers answered that question in the affirmative with what's now called the LSTT, the addition of "tourbillon" referring to a mechanical feature that makes a wristwatch more accurate. On top of giving the Gemera a huge boost in available output, reworking the LST for its new employment made it smaller, lighter, and better. It's super compact form fits nine gears and weighs just 198 pounds including the attached starter motor; the eight-speed dual-clutch Tremec TR-9090 for the Chevrolet Corvette weighs 307 pounds empty in its lightest configuration. A tour of the 5.0-liter V8's rotating assembly shows Koenigsegg doesn't skimp on artwork. The ceramic coating on the top surfaces of the forged pistons is etched with the Koenigsegg logo, the connecting rods are etched with the Koenigsegg name, as are the anodized timing chain guides. Christian says the entire engine is "under 200 kilos," or 441 pounds. That's not far off the 445-pound weight of Ford's Gen 3 5.0-liter V8, but the Koenigsegg carries two turbos and their ancillaries. He also shows off bits like the 3D-printed thermostat, intake plenum, and Inconel exhaust manifold, all of it art. After that, a trip to the dyno to see what the motor can do on E85 and on our own 91 octane. If you like mechanical bits and what they can do when cost is no object, you should have a watch. Video Koenigsegg Technology Coupe Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Supercars