2015 Chevrolet Tahoe Lt 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

GM recalling over 40,000 Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn models over fuel pump woes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for a number of General Motors cars and crossovers bought or currently registered in the hot-climate states of Arkansas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas. As many as 40,859 units consisting of the 2007 Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac Torrent and Saturn Ion and the 2007-2009 Chevrolet Cobalt (shown) and its Pontiac G5 twin are being recalled for potential fuel leaks.
This recall is being issued due to potentially faulty fuel pump components that can crack and cause gasoline to leak from the return or supply ports and possibly cause a fire. NHTSA has not indicated how many fuel leaks or vehicle fires have been reported. As a fix, GM will replace the fuel pump modules on all affected vehicles free of charge. Since Pontiac and Saturn have been shuttered, owners will be able to go to another GM-brand dealership to have their vehicles repaired.
While the list of affected cars and crossovers varies by state and model year, if you own any of these models and live in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma or Texas, be sure to check the official notice below for more details.