[ Plug-in hybrids, PHEVs, have—you guessed it—plugs. They have both electric motors and gas engines. PHEVs get some of their power through chargers and outlets, even the standard 120-volt wall plug found in most homes. Note, however, that many PHEVs on the market today can’t get charge from the public “fast chargers” increasingly installed along … Read more
[ The news spread, first with an item on Fox News and then in outlets all over the world. Jason was so high on enthusiasm for the new company, and pride in his wife’s ambition, that he dashed off a public promise on the DNG Motors Instagram account. “UNVEILED SEPTEMBER 13, 2023,” read an image … Read more
[ Tesla’s Cybertruck has been widely derided. Its panel gaps are wide and amateurish, it’s prone to rust, and it looks like an ergonomic cheese grater. Its most serious flaw to date, though, has resulted in a recall of nearly 4,000 vehicles. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Association has recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks, which comprises … Read more
[ Following recent reports that Fisker has been preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing, today the embattled automaker announced that it is suspending all manufacture of its electric vehicles. “Fisker will pause production for six weeks starting the week of March 18, 2024, to align inventory levels and progress strategic and financing initiatives,” the company … Read more
[ Last week, the electric automaker Rivian unveiled the R2, its latest electric SUV. When the vehicle starts rolling off production lines—in the first half of 2026, Rivian says—the R2 will join the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup truck in the automaker’s lineup. Critically, Rivian pledges its newest entry will be cheaper: At “around” … Read more
[ Yes, things sure have changed—for Rivian and for the world—since the automaker debuted in the US in 2021 and recorded the largest IPO the stock market had seen in seven years. One big change is that interest rates are higher, which makes large purchases more expensive to finance, and makes buyers cagier about purchasing … Read more
[ Tesla says it uses proprietary stainless steel (possibly from Outokumpu of Finland, Europe’s largest producer, which runs a plant in Calvert, Alabama). However, even proprietary stainless steels can stain, especially if any cheaper steel fittings beneath the Cybertruck’s panels react with the stainless product. There are five basic families of “stainless steel”: austenitic, ferritic, … Read more
[ It’s hard to escape the fact that American trucks and SUVs have been on a steroid-infused diet for the past few years. The trend was all too apparent at the last auto show we went to—at Chicago in 2020, I felt physically threatened just standing next to some of the products on display by … Read more
[ Midway through Ferrari, the iconic Italian motor-racing impresario sits at a table with his adolescent son, born of his mistress. Enzo Ferrari sketches a design for a 12-cylinder engine, in long, chalky swoops, like a seamstress designing an elegant gown. He explains to his boy that the curved, sweeping angles create better airflow, which … Read more
