2016 Chevrolet Corvette 2lz on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Sunday Drive: Trucks and SUVs of all shapes and sizes

The American automotive marketplace is dominated by trucks and SUVs, and so was the last week of coverage on Autoblog. By far, the most popular story of the week was our First Drive of the 2018 Lincoln Navigator. It may look like an old-school lumberer, but in reality Lincoln's flagship is a thoroughly modern, turbocharged-V6-powered, three-row, luxury people mover. The Jeep Wrangler is the world's most recognizable vehicle. So it's no surprise that the next version looks a whole heck of a lot like the last one, and the one before. It's all in the details, which is why we were so excited when Jeep decided to unleash a trio of images showing both two- and four-door Wranglers for us to dissect ahead of the SUV's official debut at the L.A. Auto Show later this year. Past that, spy photos of the next Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500 were predictably popular. See both of those below, and the cap it all off, check out the entire week's worth of SEMA coverage – including the bonkers Hennessey VelociRaptor 6x6 – in our mega image gallery at the bottom of this post. Enjoy! As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. 2018 Lincoln Navigator First Drive | From black sheep to flagship 2018 Jeep Wrangler revealed: First photos released before L.A. Auto Show debut 2019 Chevy Silverado looks slim and clean beneath the camo 2019 Ram 1500 gets vertical touchscreen infotainment system 2017 SEMA Show Mega Photo Gallery Chevrolet Jeep Lincoln RAM Truck SUV recap sunday drive

Former Fisker CEO has some advice for Tesla Motors

Former Fisker Automotive CEO and ex-Chevrolet Volt vehicle-line director Tony Posawatz has some words of caution for Tesla Motors. The long-time automaker executive questions the California automaker's long-term viability – and gives some praise – in a talk with Benzinga, which you can listen to below. While the all-wheel-drive D that Tesla unveiled earlier this month in Southern California wowed a packed crowd, Posawatz (starting at around minute 4:45 in the interview) says Tesla would've been better off taking the resources it expended toward that Model S upgrade and directed them towards speeding up the development of a more affordable plug-in. Perhaps a number of investors agreed, since the company's stock fell the day after the D was announced. Posawatz says Tesla has been over-reliant on the sale of ZEV credits. Posawatz also says that Tesla has been over-reliant on the sale of zero-emissions vehicle credits in California for its earnings and questions whether the automaker will ever work at a large enough scale to sufficiently drive down costs and make consistent profits. Tesla CEO Elon Musk would take issue with this characterization. Posawatz first made his mark in the plug-in vehicle world when he was the vehicle-line director at General Motors for the Volt extended-range plug-in from 2006 to 2012. Later that year, he joined extended-range plug-in maker Fisker Automotive as its CEO, though quit that job during the summer of 2013 as the company was descending into insolvency. He joined the Electrification Coalition this past March. News Source: Benzinga Green Chevrolet Fisker Tesla Electric PHEV Tony Posawatz

Porsche, Jaguar continue dominance in 2015 JD Power APEAL study

The top of JD Power's 2015 APEAL Study has not changed much in the last year. Porsche remains No. 1 with Jaguar nipping at its heels, although both premium brands saw their overall score fall compared to 2014. For those that need a refresher, the APEAL Study looks at how "gratifying" a vehicle is to own and drive, rating cars and brands on a 1,000-point scale. The industry average for 2015 has increased from 794 to 798, while the total number of automakers that finished above the curve increased from 16 to 20. While Porsche and Jaguar finished at the top, their scores dropped eight and seven points, respectively, to 874 and 855. The top "non-premium" brand was Mini, which scored an impressive 825, up from 795. If the BMW-owned British marque is still a bit too premium for your tastes, last year's non-premium winner, Hyundai, did climb five points and is this year's runner up. At the opposite end of the scale, Smart sits at the very bottom of the rankings, with a score of 683 (it didn't appear on the 2014 rankings). Fiat also dropped, from fourth worst in 2014 to second worst in 2015, despite the 500 being named most appealing city car. Subaru made an impressive climb, from third worst to seventh, falling just 10 points shy of the industry average and two points south of the non-premium average. In the individual vehicle segments, eight brands earned multiple awards, with Ford, Chevrolet, and Porsche earning three apiece. Surprise segment victories included the new Ford Expedition, which beat out Chevy's popular Suburban. The Infiniti QX80 bested the likes of the Cadillac Escalade and Range Rover for best large luxury SUV, and the Dodge Challenger beat its muscle car rivals from Ford and Chevy. Most of the victories, though, were quite predictable. The Mazda6 and CX-5 took wins for the midsize sedan and compact SUV categories respectively, while the Volkswagen Golf captured the compact car win. The Ford F-150 won the large pickup category, while the Porsche Cayman was named most appealing compact premium sporty car. Check out the official release on the 2015 APEAL Study, available below, from JD Power. 2015 U.S. APEAL Study Results The latest safety-related technologies are among the drivers of customer satisfaction with new vehicles, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S.