Can the Polestar 2 Unseat the Model 3’s Reign?

Unlike the electric auto manufacturer Tesla, most of us actually have at least some experience with the brand and the cars of Volvo. Because of that, the Polestar 2 could end up being a very real pain in the side of Tesla as its power and range are similar to the Model 3 but it will be at a more affordable price point. Where Model 3s start at around $49,000, the Polestar 2 should be offered for a little more than $39,000. Would that $10,000 make a difference for you?   Now that Polestar's first car (and its only hybrid car) is out the door, what's it going to do for the purely electric follow-up? Give Tesla's Model 3 a run for the money, apparently. Chief operating officer Jonathan Goodman told Autocar in a recent interview that the Polestar 2 would have the kind of performance and pricing that might have some Model 3 buyers reconsidering their life choices. The upcoming EV would cost between £30,000 to £50,000 (about $39,400 to $65,700) with as much as 400 brake horsepower and a 350-mile range. And that last figure is for the starter model -- you wouldn't have to pay a premium for long-distance driving like you do for its Tesla rival. The 2 is poised to make its debut at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show in March, and is expected to share a lot in common with Volvo's 40.2 concept (pictured above). It wouldn't be as exotic-looking as the Polestar 1, but that's part of the point. Goodman rejected the idea that EVs had to be "quirky or futuristic" -- if they're eventually going to be mainstream, they have to look like (relatively) ordinary cars. Click Here to Continue Reading

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550,000 Ford Vehicles Have Been Recalled

If you own a Ford that was manufactured between 2013 and 2016, you should check out the list below right away. Apparently, hundreds of thousands of the car manufacturer’s vehicles have a problem where the shift indicator says the vehicle is in park but the transmission actually doesn’t put the car in that mode. Because of this, afflicted vehicles may end up rolling, which as you can imagine could lead to some seriously dangerous situations. If you own any of the vehicles noted here, take your Ford to the nearest dealer immediately:   * 2014 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 18, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013   * 2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015   * 2013-14 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013   * 2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015   *2013-14 Ford Escape vehicles built at Louisville Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013   Click Here to View Source  

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This Lawn Mower is Scary Fast

While we primarily spend our time focusing on and talking about cars, SUVs, vans, used vehicles you can buy online, and other car news, sometimes other things catch our attention so well that we just have to share them. Take, for instance, the Mean Mower V2. This monster was put together by Honda and offers up 190HP of pure blade-cutting insanity. Check this bad boy out in action: We’d sure like to get one of these. We promise we’ll use it responsibly and only to conduct our lawn-mowing chores. There is one question that come to mind, though: Will the Mean Mower V2 cut the grass evenly at top speed? Though, if we’re being honest here, that doesn’t really matter at all, we just want to goof around with it. I mean… we want to mow our lawns (in under five minutes).

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The Best Vehicles Ever Produced by Honda

Although many of us already have an irrational love of the CR-X, Honda has many more (better) used vehicles available on the market. It seems, however, that NY Daily News felt that there were too many available and wanted to do something to showcase what they felt is the best of the best. And although there are some obvious picks on the list like Civics and Accords, you might be surprised to see some of their selections - even the CR-X made the list!   One wonders what Soichiro Honda would think of today’s Honda automobiles. Do they still embody the spirit of iconoclastic creativity that the blacksmith’s son was famous for, the engineering excellence and spirit of adventure that encompasses the reputation of the company from motorcycles to motorcars? If anything, I would say that Honda Motor Co. has been defined by creativity, which may seem odd considering its reputation today as a maker of dependable, reliable vehicles. Yet, if you step back into history, you’ll see that Honda most often did things their way, without much partnership or compromise. From the S600 to the FCX Clarity, they’ve pursued their mission with engineering excellence leading the way. Click Here to Continue Reading

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Toyota Teasing us Even More About that Upcoming Supra

So if you are not excited about the announced Toyota Supra, I just don’t know who you are anymore! All jokes aside, there’s something about this Supra that we can’t quite shake around the CarDaddy office and we’re super-a looking forward to the Goodwood Festival of Speed just to see what the debut really ends up showing. We’ll be holding our breath until then. Figuratively of course.   Toyota confirmed last week that it will debut the new Supra at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but before that happens, it has at least one more teaser up its sleeve. Toyota threw out a new teaser for the Supra, this time showing off its rear end. It looks almost exactly what we already saw on the Gazoo Racing concept that debuted at this year's Geneva Motor Show. There's a strong trunklid spoiler, but the racing concept's wild diffuser has been swapped out with a more subtle but still prominent one that has a way lower chance of scraping on every bump known to man. Before you get too excited about seeing the production Supra, be aware that the production-ready version of the Supra isn't coming to Goodwood. What will be there instead is a prototype, which is one step beyond a concept but not quite the final version. That will likely end up at a major auto show, whether it's Paris in October, Los Angeles in November or any 2019 show after that. Click Here to Continue Reading

image via Toyota

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Learn the History of the 4-door VW Beetle

Whether you have a few minutes to spare and you’re looking to kill some time or you’re just interested in automotive history, Jason Torchinsky of the car-lover’s site Jalopnik has put together a wonderful but brief history of four-door Volkswagen beetles that you should take a few minutes to read through. It’s an intriguing story, and you might be surprised to learn just how many other manufacturers have worked with VW to produce those 4-door beetles. Check it out below:   Yesterday, we reported that Volkswagen was either toying with the idea of a new, rear-wheel-drive electric four door Volkswagen Beetle, or our emotions, or both. Interestingly, the most interesting part of that is the four-door aspect, because there has never been an official four-door Beetle. There’s been some sort-of close attempts, which you now have to sit down and learn about because it’s mandatory. The most important thing to realize is that, for whatever reason, Volkswagen in the air-cooled era was just not that into four-door cars. The first four-door car Volkswagen built was actually built before they were really Volkswagen as we know the company, and was the second car they ever designed: the wartime Kubelwagen, based on the KdF Wagen (you know, the Beetle) chassis. If we don’t count VW’s commercial vehicles and the passenger vehicles based on them, the Type 2 vans and microbuses, Volkswagen wouldn’t sell a four-door car until 1968, when they sort of went four-door crazy, in a very, very limited way: they introduced the Type 4 line, which included just one four-door option for what was supposed to be their large, upscale family car, and somehow they couldn’t even bring themselves to make the station wagon version four-door. Click Here to Continue Reading

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Dodge, Chrysler Having a Rough Time Lately

For those of you who are fans of anything that Dodge or Chrysler manufacture,  you should know that things aren’t going well for either of those brands in regard to how Fiat Chrysler (the company that owns Chrysler and Dodge) is likely viewing them these days. The fact of the matter is that they’re just not performing nearly as well as the car manufacturer’s other brands like Jeep, Ram, Maserati, and more.   The fact is that Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) has as a lot of brands, some of which generate way more customer excitement than others. For instance, there is Jeep, one of the most valuable automotive brands in the world. Then there's Ram, the pickup truck that was brand split off from Dodge in 2009. It sells trucks that haul in loads of profits. Then, on the Italian side, there are Alfa Romeo and Maserati, which sell exciting, snarling Italian luxury and performance cars. Chrysler and Dodge play support roles, and only have a significant presence in North America. Simply put, Fiat Chrysler has better places to invest its money. The Chrysler name doesn't resonate much with consumers even in the United States. The fact that it shares a name with its parent company that just a decade ago narrowly avoided bankruptcy doesn't help, said David Zatz, a blogger who follows Chrysler closely. Click Here to Continue Reading

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Chevrolet Has Found a Way to Simulate the Effects of Sleepy Drivers

For those of us who work late nights only to wake up early in the morning, driving while sleepy is all too regular of an experience. And although we might view those groggy drives as nothing more than a burden that needs to be done to get the kids to school, make it to work on time, or just to get somewhere else, driving while drowsy is actually rather dangerous. In fact, four to ten percent of all accidents involve sleepy drivers according to estimates. To show just how difficult it makes driving, Chevy has created goggles that simulate the way it feels to drive while sleepy. When considering how dangerous driving while sleepy is, look at it this way - these goggles go completely dark for a full second every 5 seconds. That’s 20 percent of the time you wouldn’t be able to see.   We’ve all done it to some degree. Whether it’s after a busy week of work with little rest, following an all-nighter studying for an exam, or even returning from a vacation filled with constant activities, the majority of us have gotten behind the wheel of a car while overtired. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 40 to 60 percent of adults admit to drowsy driving. While many view being exhausted behind the wheel as simply an inconvenience, the dangers of it are very real. AAA estimates that as much as 4 to 10 precent of total accidents can be attributed to sleep deprived drivers. Luckily, Chevrolet safety experts are on a mission to make car owners aware of just how hazardous drowsy driving can be. To demonstrate, the good people at Chevy invited me to Citi Field where they’d set up a driving course of orange cones in the stadium’s parking lot. Continue Reading at NY Daily News

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Tariffs on German Cars May Lead to Lost Jobs in the US

Because of the tariffs that President Donald Trump has been threatening to put in place, BMW countered with a threat of its own - if the US government puts those tariffs into place, American jobs will be lost. In fact, a number of auto groups have recently announced that putting those tariffs into place would mean hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs both domestic and foreign.   BMW has reportedly warned federal officials that U.S. tariffs on European auto imports would raise its cost of doing business in the country and potentially force it to cut production at its Spartanburg, S.C., plant. Reuters reported over the weekend that the automaker is growing concerned about President Trump's threat to place a 20 percent tariff on all European cars entering the United States. The German company aired its concerns in a letter it sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last week. “The domestic manufacture of automobiles has no apparent correlation with U.S. national security,” BMW wrote. The German car manufacturer added that imposing duties would not increase U.S. growth and competitiveness. The BMW plant in South Carolina is the company's largest in the world, and it ships more than 70 percent of its annual production to other export markets. Continue Reading at The Hill

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While Toyota and Nissan Saw Dips, Honda Sales Rose in June

Regardless of the fact that Toyota is the best selling Japanese car importer in the United States these days (and have been for a very long time), their sales fell a little bit in June compared to previous months. Nissan had a relatively similar story, as well, and so did its luxury offshoot Infiniti. On the other hand, Honda saw some growth in their June sales. What’s worth nothing in this conversation, however, if that Toyota’s overall sales were still substantially higher than Nissan’s or Honda’s.   Toyota sold 209,602 units in June, down 0.3% on a daily-selling-rate basis, Wards Intelligence data shows. There were 27 selling days in June 2018 vs. 26 in June 2017.However, the No.1-selling Japanese automaker in the U.S. ended the year’s first half up 3.0% on volume. Toyota sold 1.189 million units in January-June 2018 compared with 1.155 million units in first-half 2017.In what has been the case all year – and the case for most automakers in the U.S. in 2018 – light trucks rose last month while car sales declined.Total Toyota light-truck deliveries were up 8.7% on a DSR basis in June, while passenger-car sales fell 12.6% for the month.The automaker says it set light-truck records in the first half for Toyota Motor North America and the individual Toyota and Lexus brands. Click Here to Keep Reading

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GM Finds Success In Chinese Market With Inexpensive Baojun Model

China has always had a taste for imported foreign cars in the past decade, but GM has really caught the lightning by the tail with its Baojun, a brand made specifically for China with a price that can go as low as $6,000. It turns out that this success came from a brilliant market reading, with GM successfully predicting that the smaller cities in China would be interested in buying cars as the middle class expands. The low price tag, domestic naming and production all combined into a package Chinese consumers couldn’t turn down. As GMC has retreated from Europe, India and Russia, this is a much-needed win for the Detroit automaker company.   For much of the past decade, sales of global automakers were buoyed by demand from China, whose residents have eagerly snapped up locally produced versions of pricey foreign cars such as Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen’s Audi, and BMW’s namesake sedans. Yet General Motors Co. has not only fared well with its premium-priced Buick line, it’s killing it with Baojun, a made-for-the-mainland brand that sells for as little as $6,000. There was a method to the down-market move. GM figured the next wave of car buyers in China would come from the smaller cities, especially in the interior of the country, where the middle class is growing and people are buying more cars. Baojun sales are up tenfold since 2013, to 1 million cars last year, more than Chevrolet and not far behind Buick. GM rode the postwar economic boom in the U.S., when legendary company Chairman Alfred Sloan Jr. had a brand for “every purse and purpose.” Click Here to Read More

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German Prosecutors Jail Audi CEO Over Evidence Tampering Concerns

German prosecutors working on the Volkswagen Group “Dieselgate” scandal have done the unprecedented: they have arrested and jailed the seated CEO of a major automaker. The rationale the authorities gave was that while monitoring Audi CEO Rupert Stadler’s phone, there were suspicions that he might be attempting to cover up evidence of emissions cheating on an operational level. While this is not entirely unexpected, considering Group board member Wolfgang Hatz has been jailed for over half a year with no trial date, it is certainly disruptive to business. Audi has set in place Abraham Schot, Audi board member for sales and marketing, as interim CEO, where he is expected to continue being pragmatic and similar to Stadler in leadership style.   The Volkswagen Group diesel-emissions scandal has reached a climax. In an unprecedented move by prosecutors in Munich on Monday, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was jailed. Prosecutors had monitored his phone and suspected that Stadler was attempting to “obfuscate” the investigation into alleged cheating devices fitted on some Audi models. They claim that Stadler had received an email in late 2015, months after the scandal broke, that hinted at manipulated exhaust systems. Not stopping their sale immediately, the prosecutors allege, amounted to fraud. Hauling an acting CEO off to jail is the maximum possible disruption the prosecutors could have inflicted on Audi. Stadler may be set free within days; however, there is no guarantee. Former Volkswagen Group board member Wolfgang Hatz has been jailed for over eight months now—without a trial date. Click Here to Read More

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