Even before this hell-year, automakers had landed quite a few heavy blows on the auto show circuit. More and more companies are opting out of the big-city events in favor of smaller debuts where all the focus and energy is on them. Can you blame them? It's tough to share the spotlight with dozens of other debuts.

Then came the coronavirus ...Read more

2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 Double Cab: Good things in small packages?

Price: $45,288 as tested. $1,670 for Advanced Technology Package; $485 for LED headlights; more below.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes that it is "great for off-roading, rugged and reliable, packed with driver-assistance tech," but not the "crew cab's tiny back ...Read more

Building a world-class sport sedan is tougher than it looks. Of course, that's true of everything from making an omelet to setting a broken bone, but a smart, focused student can generally master either of those in less than a decade.

The learning curve is a bit - shall we say "extended"? - for automakers who want to challenge cars like the ...Read more

Like any car buyer, I can be shallow, drawn to a car as much for its unique design as its utility. So I admit to loving the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Limited Hybrid's roof. It looks unlike that of any other car, due to its integrated solar panels that directly charge the batteries with 205 watts of electricity, enough to increase mileage two miles per...Read more

One day after his abrupt resignation from Nikola Corp., former Chairman and CEO Trevor Milton ghosted his Twitter followers and vanished from public view.

Why he did it is a bit of a mystery. But his disappearing act, to some, points to guilt or cowardice in the fallout from a report that accused the company he founded of "intricate fraud."

...Read more

Q: I have a 2002 Buick Century Limited in excellent condition. I literally bought it two years ago from a little old lady who had only driven it 11,000 miles. It, however, has a vexing problem. The power windows only work occasionally. The rear ones will not go down, the passenger side window usually does, and the driver's window only seems to ...Read more

Volkswagen unveiled its new battery-electric ID.4 compact SUV on Wednesday, the linchpin in its effort to move past the Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal and into a zero-emissions future.

Significantly, the car will not be marketed as any kind of Tesla-killer.

"We don't go all out to compete head to head with the other EVs out there," said...Read more

Volkswagen made its mark in the U.S. market with practical, affordable icons like the Beetle and Golf GTI. It hopes its first battery-powered vehicle, the ID.4, will do the same for electrics.

The German brand took the wraps off the compact SUV on Wednesday. The ID.4 will be the first EV from a foreign carmaker to be built in the U.S. as it ...Read more

Ford Motor Co. reached a tentative labor contract deal with its Canadian autoworkers Tuesday based in no small part on critical support from the Canadian government, announced Unifor National President Jerry Dias.

Having pushed past a midnight deadline Monday, union members earlier had voted to strike the Dearborn automaker if necessary. They ...Read more

Perhaps you've heard about the "million-mile battery" - the latest buzzphrase electric vehicle proponents hope will energize public interest in buying EVs.

If you haven't, Elon Musk will make sure you do on Tuesday, when Tesla goes online for what it's calling Battery Day. Musk is expected to detail a million-mile battery project - along with, ...Read more

Checkmate.

Less than two weeks after the Los Angeles auto show's move from November to May upset the balance of power among the auto industry's top events for unveiling new vehicles, the Detroit show just snatched the big prize - the sole available time slot for a major show in the fall, the heart of new-vehicle intro season.

The 2021 Detroit ...Read more

Nikola Corp. faces an uncertain future following the sudden departure of its founder and chairman in the wake of regulatory probes and a collapse of its stock price, even as partner General Motors Co. said it won't abandon the electric-truck startup.

Trevor Milton stepped down as executive chairman effective immediately and was replaced by ...Read more

In news that won't surprise anyone, the 2020 Los Angeles Auto Show is officially postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Originally expected to take place this November, the L.A. Auto Show will instead move to May 2021.

The 2020 press preview days were scheduled for Nov. 18-19, with the public show running Nov. 20-29. Now, the ...Read more

General Motors wants to squash two of the top anxiety-invoking situations pickup drivers encounter when towing.

So the automaker is introducing: Jack-Knife Alert and trailer-length indicator technologies to the light-duty and heavy-duty version of the 2021 GMC Sierra pickup.

The 2021 GMC Sierra will have new technology called the jack-knife ...Read more

DETROIT - The push for an all-electric future will come with a cost for General Motors Co. dealers.

For Cadillac dealers the price tag is estimated to be $200,000 to transition dealerships for coming electric vehicles beginning with the Lyriq crossover, the brand's first all-electric vehicle hitting U.S. dealerships in late 2022 after debuting ...Read more

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. revealed Thursday an audacious plan to build a $700 million plant at the Rouge complex in Dearborn, Mich., that would create the first all-electric F-150, the nation's bestselling vehicle.

"This plant mirrors the story of America and American manufacturing," said Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman, during an event at the...Read more

The Subaru Crosstrek didn't leave a lot of room for improvement, but the 2021 model gets more power and better ride and handling. A new animal-free upholstery that delivers comfort and breathability also arrives to help the Crosstrek ward off a host of new competitors like the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Kia Seltos.

Competition among subcompact ...Read more

Have you ever noticed that all apartment rentals are marketed as luxury apartments, even though they're not? My grandmother lived in an apartment building with a doorman, and a large swimming pool with private cabanas. Its lobby contained a market, a florist, a beauty parlor, a restaurant and bar, a pharmacy, and a dry cleaner. Most new "luxury"...Read more

It's an uphill, rugged road for any truck maker that dares to challenge the Big 3 in the massive full-size pickup segment.

That's because the market is driven by brand loyalty and the Big 3 has a vice grip on it. Americans love their trucks - some 2.4 million were sold in the U.S. last year alone - and most buyers tend to stay with domestic ...Read more

DETROIT - General Motors' pending partnership with electric vehicle maker Nikola Corp. could result in a dream team or a deal with the devil.

Either way, GM CEO Mary Barra is not backing down from it despite rumblings on Wall Street that perhaps GM failed at its due diligence.

Last week, Hindenburg Research published a 67-page report accusing ...Read more