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Auto review: Hammer down in the Chinese-made, all-electric Mullen GT sportscar

Automotive / Automotive News /

PASADENA, California — The electric Qiantu K50 lives.

In the parking lot of Santa Anita Park horse track. On an autocross course. On a Tuesday afternoon. Like a thoroughbred from a starting gate, I exploded out from under a pop-up tent into a tunnel of pylons. ZOT! I was in top of the first turn in an instant.

Boy, wish I had this kind of ...Read more

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Auto review: 2023 Honda Pilot gets the makeover it deserves

Automotive / Automotive News /

While other manufacturers hurry to market with EV SUVs or tiptoe into the hybrid market, Honda continues to be the master of the consumer automobile market. In Grasso’s Garage this week, we test-drive the flagship 2023 Honda Pilot Elite.

Our tester was the fourth-generation 2023 Honda Pilot Elite wrapped in Modern Steel Metallic. The largest ...Read more

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Auto review: Fast fun, no gas: the 2024 Audi SQ8 Sportback e-tron

Automotive / Automotive News /

What a difference a letter makes. Take the Audi Q8 e-tron SUV and put an S in front of it, and all of a sudden, you have a battery-electric SUV that’s far more fun than you’d ever expect. And if that’s a sentence you don’t comprehend, allow me to explain.

Just as BMW has M and Cadillac has V in their model names to denote high-...Read more

Cfoto/DDP via ZUMA Press/TNS

Huawei and Xiaomi are paving the way for an Apple EV

Automotive / Automotive News /

Two of China’s biggest smartphone makers have joined BYD Co. and Tesla Inc. in the increasingly crowded Chinese electric-vehicle market. Their success or failure could serve as a guide for Apple Inc. some day entering the global race.

Huawei Technologies Co. received orders for 80,000 units of its debut Aito M7 SUV in the first 50 days after...Read more

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Illinois Ford dealers win ruling against automaker's EV certification program requiring pricey fast chargers

Automotive / Automotive News /

A group of 26 Illinois Ford dealers won a legal battle last week that could short-circuit the automaker’s national EV certification program, challenging required fast charger installation and training programs costing upward of $1.2 million per dealership to sell and service electric vehicles.

The Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board ruled in ...Read more

Subaru gives employees wage increases

Automotive / Automotive News /

Another foreign automaker is upping wages after the United Auto Workers won record contracts from the Detroit Three automakers.

Subaru Corp. on Wednesday told employees it will increase wages in January. The increases will happen "at each step of our wage scales — including the largest production increase in company history," Subaru ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Amid troubles, GM's Cruise to focus driverless taxis in one city

Automotive / Automotive News /

General Motors Co.'s autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise LLC, is making some strategy changes amid external and internal reviews of its operations following an October pedestrian accident that led to government and investor scrutiny of the company.

In a statement Wednesday, a Cruise spokesperson confirmed that when the self-driving unit will be ...Read more

8 EV-related companies sign leases in metro Atlanta office campus

Automotive / Automotive News /

Several companies in Georgia’s fast-growing electric vehicle industry recently signed leases to base their office teams in Gwinnett County, including a Korean affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group.

Miami-based real estate firm Banyan Street Capital announced eight EV-related lease signings at Satellite Place, an 820,000-square-foot office campus ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Done deals: UAW confirms ratified contracts with GM, Ford and Stellantis

Automotive / Automotive News /

The United Auto Workers on Monday confirmed that members at General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV have ratified record four-and-a-half-year agreements, securing wage increases, investment commitments and more for 146,000 members.

Hourly workers at Ford, the first to reach a deal with the union, supported the agreement by more ...Read more

Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Cruise CEO and co-founder resigns after self-driving cars suspended in California

Automotive / Automotive News /

General Moters' self-driving-car unit, Cruise, is shaking up its leadership after the company lost permits needed to operate in California and paused its operations.

On Sunday, Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt announced he was resigning. Vogt, who co-founded Cruise in 2013, announced his departure on the social media site X, formerly Twitter. ...Read more

Joop Kleuskens/Dreamstime/TNS

Motormouth: Feeling the pressure

Automotive / Automotive News /

Q: I purchased a new set of four Bridgestone Turanza all-season touring tires for my 2014 Mercedes E350, replacing the OEM Continentals. The installer (Costco) then set the tire pressures on all four tires at 42 psi, although the tire pressure information from inside my car said to inflate the fronts to 33 psi and to 35 for the rears at normal ...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

UAW-Ford agreement secures enough votes to ratify

Automotive / Automotive News /

Enough "yes" votes have been cast by United Auto Workers members employed at Ford Motor Co. to ratify a new four-and-a-half-year deal, according to an analysis by The Detroit News, the third and final approval needed to wrap up negotiations with the Detroit Three.

At Ford, more than 68% of votes cast among hourly workers at reporting locals ...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

Stellantis-UAW deal has enough votes to ratify

Automotive / Automotive News /

A majority of United Auto Workers members at Stellantis NV have cast enough "yes" votes to approve a new four-and-a-half year deal, the second of three with Detroit automakers, according to an analysis by The Detroit News.

Passage of the deal has secured nearly 70% of votes from hourly workers at reporting locals, according to the UAW's vote ...Read more

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Caddy introduces coming Optiq, a new electric luxury compact SUV

Automotive / Automotive News /

Cadillac is planning to offer an entry-point electric vehicle called the Optiq, the General Motors Co. luxury brand confirmed Friday.

“Optiq will act as the entry point for Cadillac’s EV lineup in North America, slotting in below Lyriq as a luxury compact SUV," the brand said in a statement. "Optiq's spirited driving dynamics are designed ...Read more

Mark Fagelson/Jaguar/TNS

Auto review: The End. Muscular, V-8 powered, 2024 F-Type is the last gas-fed Jaguar

Automotive / Automotive News /

OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan — The V-8 roar of the industry’s big cats are being silenced as brands transition to an uncertain, all-electric future. Dodge Challenger/Charger Hellcats, Cadillac CT5 Blackwing, Audi R8, Chevy Camaro SS.

And then there is the most famous cat of them all, Jaguar.

ROOOOOOAAAR! I buried the throttle in the 575-...Read more

BMW/TNS

Auto review: Ditch your gas car; the 2024 BMW's i5 EV's refined athleticism tops it

Automotive / Automotive News /

For BMW, the lucky number always seems to be 5. It was the 507 that proved to be the most beautiful sports car the company has ever built. And while the 3 Series remained the foundation of the brand since its inception, it’s the larger 5 Series, introduced in 1972, that brought it the lasting fame and admiration that BMW always enjoyed.

And ...Read more

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Auto review: Mazda shows off the 2023 MX-5 Miata nicely

Automotive / Automotive News /

The Mazda Miata has been a fan favorite for many years, and in 2023 as the MX-5 Miata it gives drivers a big reason to com back for more: the six-speed manual transmission!

Our Grand Touring tester was wrapped in Zircon Sand Metallic with a Black interior that showed out very well. Its recently upgraded body curvatures, sightline improvements ...Read more

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images North America/TNS

UAW's two weeks paid parental leave is a starting point for labor

Automotive / Automotive News /

The United Auto Workers union’s tentative agreements with Detroit’s three automakers include a new benefit: two weeks of paid parental leave for full-time employees. That's almost nothing compared to what workers in other rich nations receive. But it's significant in other ways.

The US has no nationally mandated paid time off for new ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Electric delivery startup BrightDrop becomes part of General Motors

Automotive / Automotive News /

BrightDrop, a General Motors Co. commercial electric vehicle startup formed in 2021, will no longer operate as a subsidiary and is now becoming part of GM, the automaker said Thursday.

BrightDrop was born from GM’s Innovation Lab and was a wholly owned subsidiary for the last three years. In that time, BrightDrop produced a product portfolio ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

UAW-GM deal has enough yes votes to be ratified

Automotive / Automotive News /

The United Auto Workers-General Motors Co. contract has received enough yes votes to be ratified, according to union results analyzed by The Detroit News and confirmed by multiple sources with access to the counts.

The UAW-GM contract is receiving a 53% yes vote as of Thursday morning, according to a News analysis of the known and confirmed ...Read more