Autoblog News

Beyond Hypercars

Making cars is a tough business; it’s cutthroat, and competition is everywhere. The niche segment is even harder because you’re targeting a select demographic and market. Rimac’s business model is built on selling the world’s best EV hypercar at top-dollar prices, so it’s no surprise the brand is spinning off services beyond cars to make more money.

Rimac

From EVs to AI

Rimac has just announced a partnership with Ecoblox, a global leader in AI compute infrastructure. Under this new deal, Rimac will leverage its extens...

Fresh National Weather Service updates add new ground to the winter storm warning and push snow forecasts higher on several highway passes. Isolated totals now approach 30 inches, and a newly upgraded zone could see gusts up to 50 mph. Some of the warnings are already in effect, while most begin Saturday evening and last into Monday morning.

From Advisory To Warning

At 12:56 p.m. ET Saturday, NWS Great Falls took its advisory for the East Glacier Park region and Northern High Plains and upgraded it to a winter storm warning. The new warning calls for 10 to 20...

Keeping America Trucking

The Ford F-150 is important not only to the brand’s lineup but also to the U.S. market, as it is one of the country’s best-selling vehicles, alongside the Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota RAV4. Ford produces the full-size pickup truck at two plants: the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan and the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri, where it shares the manufacturing complex with the Transit.

A walkthrough of the Dearborn Truck Plant by FRAME offers a look at the F-150’s production process from start to finish. The facility is situa...

Jaguar’s Next Model Is Already in the Works

Jaguar’s eyes are already on what comes after the Type 01, with plans to double down on electric power and upmarket flair. But if you’re hoping to see the next big cat soon, you’ll need some patience – Jaguar wants its first new model to make a splash before it adds anything else to the stable.

Jaguar Managing Director Rawdon Glover has outlined the company’s immediate priorities. “Jaguar’s immediate priority is establishing the Type 01 in the market. As soon as that is done, we will come with...

Loyalty Against the Odds

The U.S. car market has faced several headwinds recently, including the end of the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs and import tariffs. Gas prices have also risen, which may have increased demand for sedans and hybrids that not every automaker offers. But despite these factors, many American buyers have stuck with their favorite car brands, as seen in the 2026 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study.

The study assesses whether a customer purchased another vehicle from the same brand, a measure J.D. Power warned could have suffered give...

Ford Isn’t Going With the Flow

Saltwater can easily damage different vehicle components by accelerating corrosion. Ford may be on top of things after filing a patent describing a beach mode that could automatically move vehicles away from rising tides.

Published on October 8, 2026, the patent, first discovered by Carmoses, uses different sensors and even weather forecasts to predict where the shoreline will be at a particular time. If the system detects a risk of rising water reaching the vehicle, it could warn drivers or automatically move the vehicle to another location on the beach. Based o...

Wind Back to 2024

Oh, how we still remember the reactions to Jaguar’s ‘copy nothing’ campaign from 2024. To say there was a backlash would be a disservice to the word backlash, and you didn’t need to scroll down too far to see negative comments. Outrage would probably be a better description to the initial reactions. Mind you, that was just for the ad and not the concept car.

The Type 00 Concept didn’t get the warmest reception, either. Perhaps it was because the video got people forming opinions. At the same time, its monolithic styling wa...

2026 Paris Motor Show

October 12, 2026, marks the first day of the 2026 Paris Motor Show. The event will set the stage for Lancia’s revived nameplate and the brand’s first-ever SUV, as part of Stellantis’ revival plan. The Italian marque is also celebrating its 120-year anniversary this November 2026, plus the 50-year anniversary of the Gamma nameplate.

Christened in 1976, the Lancia Gamma served as the brand’s flagship for years. After 50 years since its launch, we’re finally getting another successor. This time, it’s all modern, made in Italy, and electrified. The design, development, and manufacturing of this mile...

Nissan’s US Comeback Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Nissan’s fortunes in the US are finally looking up. The brand has notched 19 straight months of sales growth – a rare bit of good news for a company still clawing its way out of a rough patch.

But zoom out to the global stage, and things get a lot gloomier. If trends hold, Nissan could wrap up 2026 with its weakest sales numbers since 2003 – a stark reminder of just how tough it is to keep up in today’s cutthroat car market.

Nissan

As yearly driving costs climb steadily, driven by rising premiums and volatile fuel prices, the dealership experience often devolves into a single-issue negotiation. Vehicle buyers remain heavily fixated on securing an affordable baseline monthly figure, frequently walking into showrooms with a strict budget limit. This focus lets finance managers adjust loan terms, stretch repayment periods, and bundle extras as long as the target monthly number stays unchanged.

Under the pressure of a multi-hour dealership visit, buyers often lose track of the supplementary products packed into their final financing agreements. Young adults are particularly susceptible to this exhausting...

Last year, we heard reports that the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman EVs could be repurposed to allow gas engines to be fitted. During a presentation, the automaker even showed a slide saying, “Addition: Top ICE Derivatives for New 718,” indicating the sports car platform might accept 911 engines, and in January, then-new CEO Michael Leiters said he considered scrapping the electric versions altogether. But the automaker’s Sportwagenschmiede ’35 strategy presented during the 2026 Capital Markets Day only drew attention to the EVs, and in a statement to Motor1, Porsche Head of Corporate Communications, Matthias Rauter, claimed that the gas-powered 718 was never actually confirme...

The BMW Group has released the results of a new U.S. survey on consumer sentiment towards EVs, and it reveals some interesting findings about range, performance expectations, and charging preferences. The survey comes as Reuters reports a 30.7% decline in U.S. EV sales in 2026 through September, as consumers increasingly choose hybrids.

The key finding relates to range, with the study showing a large gap between the total driving range consumers want and what they actually need. Expectations regarding fast charging have increased, while pricing was cited as the main barrier to EV ownership.

Range...

A Difficult Year for Porsche

It’s been a rough ride for Porsche this year. Global deliveries are down 16% in the first nine months – 178,532 cars handed over, compared to 212,509 in the same stretch last year. Ouch.

What’s causing the slump? The market is tough, there have been supply issues, and sales in China are still slow. Still, Porsche’s top sports cars continue to perform well. Porsche does not plan to chase higher sales numbers just for the sake of it. Instead, the company wants to focus on exclusivity, keep profits strong, and make owning a...

A Spark of Trouble

Toyota achieved an all-time best electrification mix of 61% in September 2026, which comes as little surprise, given that American buyers are looking for more fuel-efficient cars amid high fuel prices. On the other hand, the brand’s growing dependence on electrified vehicles could put greater emphasis on reliability, especially considering that the U.S.-spec RAV4 is now exclusively hybrid.

Now, approximately 31,000 MY2026 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid vehicles are being recalled because the hybrid system could shut down while driving. The issue carries a similar safety risk to the loss-of-power problems that have plagu...

The Autoblog spy photographers have once again captured images of the upcoming G90 BMW M5 LCI, or facelift, which is expected to debut next year for the 2028 model year. The prototype was spotted making its way around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and although there’s plenty of camouflage covering the development mule, there are several new details we can see, particularly around the front and rear ends, where increased cooling meets revised styling inspired by the M Vision Neue Klasse concept. With lesser, M Performance-enhanced sedans and crossovers becoming more extreme than ever, the M5 LCI needs to ascend.

Tough Year

Porsche’s one of the automakers with the toughest 2026 sales performance. Its latest numbers highlight a 16% decline in global sales over the first 9 months of 2026. New car deliveries fell to 178,532, down from 212,609 in the same period last year. Porsche says most of the struggle stems from a sudden collapse in demand in the China market, as well as changing regulations and the age-old “new market trends” argument.

Porsche is working to turn its fortunes around, with updates including the development of the special Mission S concept and a switch from ICE to EV for the...

Honda Finally Entering the Ladder-Frame Truck Arena?

Honda’s only pickup right now is the Ridgeline, which isn’t a traditional truck. Unlike most pickups that use a ladder-frame design, the Ridgeline has a unibody platform. It’s not primarily designed for heavy-duty hauling or off-road challenges like body-on-frame trucks, though Honda really wants to blur that line.

But that could be about to change. If the latest whispers from Japan are true, Honda is gearing up to jump into the ladder-frame midsize truck ring, and Mitsubishi might just be handing them the keys. This could...

Straightforward

I guess this is one of those times where you just have to tell it as it is. Honda has just announced that it has officially decided on a name for its next-generation hybrid system. Compared with how the brand has named its electrified powertrains in the past, this is the most straightforward name we’ve seen from the big H so far.

It’s a far cry from the e:HEV name. Truth is, the old name didn’t really roll off the tongue so well, nor did it paint a picture of an ele...

Running Out

Polestar’s U.S. run is about to end, with the Swedish automaker set to stop sales starting in 2027 because of a ban imposed by the U.S. government. The ban was imposed because of the new Connected Vehicle Rule, which prevents the sale of any car with technologies connected to “foreign adversaries” like China. Chinese automaker Geely owns a majority stake in Polestar, making it vulnerable to the new rule.

With an uncertain future in the U.S., Polestar has been trying to sell off its remaining U.S. inventory. A report just c...

Update, Oct. 10, 2026, 6:15 a.m. ET: NWS Billings now says snow along US-191 near Melville will affect the Monday morning commute, with travel on local roads there also expected to be very difficult. Overnight updates from NWS Great Falls raised upper totals to 14 inches for Kings Hill, Elk Park and Homestake passes, 13 inches for Bozeman Pass and 11 inches around Great Falls. The top forecast of 20 inches near Rogers and MacDonald passes is unchanged.
Winter storm warnings now cover a long list of highway passes, with up to 20 inches of snow and gusts as high as 45 mph expected between Saturday...

There’s no doubt that the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class are the leaders in the field of luxury German limos, but Audi isn’t giving up the fight, despite suggestions that the A8 may be on its way out. A new report citing the Heilbronner Stimme newspaper and Reuters, courtesy of Automotive News Europe, reveals that Audi’s next-generation A8 will be built in Leipzig with influence from fellow Volkswagen Group member Porsche, which runs the plant there. The A8 has traditionally been built at Audi’s Neckarsulm facility in Bavaria, where the A5 and A6 are also made, bu...

Earlier today, Volkswagen replaced the ID.4 with the ID. Tiguan, aiming to place its EVs in the same light as its combustion vehicles, and the new name will also help distance the compact crossover from its many recalls this year, of which there is now another. Most of the ID.4’s recalls this year have concerned the battery, which could catch fire. It’s even led to some owners suing, and unfortunately for the German automaker, the same issue is at the heart of the latest recall, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While VW works on its reca...

A horrific death allegedly caused by an aftermarket suspension lift kit could have very serious consequences for the seller, installer and manufacturers of the off-road accessory.

The suspension lift kit, which reportedly raised the height of a Ford F-150 truck by six inches, is at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit following a crash that killed a man in Georgia.

The F-150’s Suspension Lift Kit Upgrade Is Blamed for the Fatality

Repairer Driven News

According to Repairer Driven News citing from the suit, Charles Holloway Jr. was killed when th...

Porsche has increased its stake in Manthey Racing GmbH to 67 percent. The news landed right after CEO Michael Leiters, who joined from McLaren in January and was previously Ferrari’s chief technology officer, presented a plan to build fewer cars and make more money.

Adam Lynton/Autoblog

The Plan Is “Value Over Volume”

At an investor day, Leiters said the average price of Porsche’s top models should rise from about €270,000 ($306,000) this year to over €330,000 ($374,000) by 2030, roughly 20 percent. Top models would grow from about a third of the lineup to 45 percent, and break-even would fall b...

A casual walk a decade ago between Ferrari Chairman John Elkann and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos set the Italian automaker on the path toward its first fully electric vehicle. That conversation ultimately yielded the Ferrari Luce, an electric supercar developed in partnership with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his firm, LoveFrom.

While the Luce represents a technological milestone for Maranello, its unconventional styling generated immediate public debate and split brand purists. Ferrari executives maintain the vehicle is a vital progression rather than a misstep, though industry observers question whether the design is an intentional gamble...

High-Speed Joyride Ends In Unbelievable Surrender

Teenagers are known for poor decision-making, but two youths from Worcester, Massachusetts, just set a new standard for terrible getaway planning. In the early morning hours of October 1, the ambitious pair stole two powerful Dodge Chargers. Rather than keeping a low profile, the teenagers immediately drew unwanted attention by treating local public roads like a drag strip.

While national auto-crime tactics are shifting, the most stolen car consistently include these high-horsepower machines. The daring duo capitalized on this trend, taking the heavy-hitting Mopar cars for an aggressive spin through Aub...

Pillar of Sales

The Chevrolet Equinox represents a healthy share of the whole GM group’s U.S. sales. Importantly, the ICE version of the Equinox remains a strong seller, while demand for the Equinox EV has dropped sharply. In fact, GM’s EV sales are dragging down its overall sales performance.

With strong sales, GM chose to refresh the Equinox for 2027, adding a few new features but also a slight price bump.

Chevrolet

New Features, New Price

GM...

McLaren’s V8 Roots

McLaren’s first-ever road car was the M6GT, and its formula looks very familiar. It had a bespoke chassis with a mid-mounted V8 engine, although it was a Bartz-tuned Chevrolet Small-Block engine under its clamshell, and not a home-grown powertrain. Only three were ever built, but it was the start of something truly special.

It would take decades for the McLaren badge to appear on far more road cars. The McLaren F1 was a true record-shattering car, and its top-speed record for naturally-aspirated engines will likely never be beaten. Several year...

Honda’s Next CR-V May Take Longer to Arrive

Just last month, word on the street was that Honda would put the next-gen CR-V on the fast track, with the hybrid SUV rolling off the line as soon as February 2027. Well, scratch that – now it looks like the launch has been pushed back.

Honda is now said to be hitting the brakes, delaying the next CR-V by three months and kicking off production in April 2027 instead. On top of that, they’re trimming their first-year output by nearly 7%, aiming for 41,315 units instead of the original plan.<...

Keeping Up

Just a month ago, we wrote about how Mazda plans to rework its big SUV lineup to rebound from sluggish sales. Currently, U.S. sales have exposed the Japanese automaker’s flaws against most of its competition. This gave Mazda reason to go back to the drawing board and announce it will introduce ‘unprecedented’ (said the CEO) changes to the large CX SUV lineup.

Reports and speculation now suggest these changes won’t come soon, but other markets are getting small upgrades in the meantime.

Mazda

European Upgrades

In a r...

As we head into the final quarter of the year, Mercedes-Benz USA has reported its Q3 sales figures for 2026. On the surface, things look pretty good, with the automaker selling 76,200 passenger cars from July through September, a 4 percent increase over the same period last year. In addition, retail sales reached 85,800 units (76,200 passenger cars and 9,600 vans), an increase of 3 percent over Q3 2025. Its Core segment, the E-Class and C-Class and their derivatives, including SUVs, managed 12 percent growth and year-to-date gains of 5 percent. As usual, the taller vehicles were responible for most deliveries, but even Mercedes’ Top-End vehicles spiked, with the S...

The Honda Civic Gets a Price Increase for 2027

The Honda Civic remains a key model for the brand in the US, and sales are up compared to last year. In September 2026, American Honda sold 17,724 Civics, which is 8.4% more than the 16,349 sold in September 2025. So far this year, Civic sales have reached 195,135, up 5.4% from last year.

For 2027, the Civic gets a new trim and borrows a feature from the Prelude for its hybrid lineup. There’s a small $300 price bump across the board, but the new Sport-L trim gives buyers a fresh choice if they’re stuc...

The Volkswagen ID.4 never quite lived up to expectations, but the German manufacturer will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself with its latest electric SUV. This is the new VW ID. Tiguan, which comes with a new design, a longer range, and leverages the trusted Tiguan nameplate. The model seen here is the European version, with details about the North American version to follow at a later stage. Still, the Euro version gives us a clearer idea of what to expect from the model that will ultimately supersede the ID.4 in this market. It will also replace the ID...

Today, Porsche motorsports expert Manthey Racing is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the launch of two special-edition track toys based on the 911 GT3 Cup and the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, limited to just 15 units each. Despite their exceptionally low production runs, Manthey intends for these cars to be used as designed, not just stored in a collection, so while order requests for the pair of MR 30 special editions will be open until 30 October 2026, the allocations will only begin later, with the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport MR 30 expected to start reaching customers in November and the 911 GT3 Cup MR 30 arriving...

Beating The Odds

We all know the world prefers SUVs; it’s a trend that seems to keep growing, with more and more people wanting to ride taller, wider cars. Family cars used to come in the form of MPVs, Wagons, and even mid-sized sedans, but the latter has slowly dwindled, with fewer and fewer offerings in the mid-sized segment.

Despite this, some automakers still have mid-sized cars; the Camry and the Accord, for example, are still beating the odds. Hyundai’s Sonata has also been around for quite some time now, and will continue for...

Instant Classic

If the Lexus LS proved that Japan can make world-beating luxury cars, the NSX did the same for sports cars. Unveiled in 1989 for the 1990 model year and for 1991 as the Acura NSX, Japan’s first mid-engined supercar gave the European establishment a good fright. If anything, it shook off the complacency that had been brewing for years in the Old Continent.

The NSX also arrived at a great time, as Japanese automakers were rolling out technological marvels disguised as sports cars. With that, the NSX cemented its legacy in no time, alongside its co...

Real-Life Action Hero Surfs Fleeing Crossover

Every now and then, real life delivers a spectacle that puts Hollywood blockbusters to shame. Dramatic footage recently surfaced showing a brave head constable clinging for dear life to the roof rails of a getaway vehicle weaving through dense traffic at speeds exceeding 60 mph. The fleeing Hyundai Creta became an improvised and incredibly dangerous surfboard for the 38-year-old officer as suspects attempted to shake him off on a busy highway.

While gearheads often obsess over law enforcement fleets, sometimes the wildest automotive stories involve the officers themselves. Many unusual...

A winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service runs from 8 p.m. ET Saturday to 8 p.m. ET Sunday, with up to 3 inches of snow and gusts as high as 35 mph. Its impact section is one line long: plan on slippery road conditions. The advisory also names the exact highway segments it covers, so drivers can check a route directly against the list.

Where The Advisory Applies

NWS Missoula issued the advisory at 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday for two forecast zones in western Montana. It is a new alert, one level below a winter...

A woman driving a 2010s Volvo has a 2.1% chance of a moderate or worse injury in a crash. For a man, it’s 2.0%. That near-match comes from five decades of Volvo’s own crash records, and it runs against research that usually finds women at greater risk.

Volvo uses those numbers to set up the EX60, its new electric SUV, and a seat belt that adjusts to the person wearing it. The research makes a strong case for how Volvo builds cars. It also spells out where the next gains have to come from, and part of that...

Crash prevention has become an important part of vehicle safety tests, with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) only awarding a safety award for vehicles that can adequately avoid collisions. These tests evaluate how well vehicles can avoid a crash with another vehicle or a pedestrian, and that becomes even more significant in larger, heavier models that can cause more damage. Unfortunately, big trucks and cargo vans performed poorly in new IIHS crash-prevention tests, indicating that their safety tech isn’t on par with many smaller vehicles.

Class 3 Pickups Struggle With Crash Prevention