Three Asian automakers stood out in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s annual list of the safest vehicles consumers can buy. Toyota, Mazda and the Hyundai Motor Group — including the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands — had nearly as many winners as the rest of the industry combined, 34 of the 71 models named a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+.
Ford has ordered a “stop-shipment” of its F-150 Lightning. It’s the latest in a series of issues impacting both the 2024 battery-electric pickup, as well as the gas-powered version of the full-sized truck. While versions of the F-150 with gas engines are now being shipped again, Ford officials told Headlight.News they don’t know when the 2024 Lightning will begin rolling into showrooms.
Geneva Motor Show-goers will get a first look this week at an array of new Fiat concept vehicles. A next-generation take on the long-running Fiat Panda, they’ll include a mix of products from microcompact city car to pickup. And they’ll use a new “multi-energy platform” capable of running on everything from gas to pure battery power, according to Fiat CEO Olivier Francois. But the concepts are more than fantasy in chrome, with production versions set to begin rolling out this coming summer.
He’s barely been on the job three months, but a lot has happened on his watch as Antonio Filosa, the new global CEO of the Jeep brand settles in. To start with, the off-road brand has cut prices on four of its best-selling model lines. But there’s more to come – soon – Filosa revealed during a media roundtable at the brand’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan on Friday. Among other things, Jeep is getting ready to launch production of its first EV, the Wagoneer S. And Filosa revealed that the automaker is looking at adding “range-extender” technology to future battery-electric models.
Ineos, the automotive startup focused on extreme off-road SUVs, unveiled what is set to become its third product line Friday, and the Fusilier will offer buyers two “green” powertrain options when it comes to market sometime in 2027, said company chairman Jim Ratcliffe.
Rivian announced it will slash both its corporate staff and production this year after reporting more than $1.5 billion in losses for the final three months of 2023. Even as it prepares to unveil an entirely new family of battery-electric vehicles, CEO RJ Scaringe warned the nascent automaker “is not immune” to the headwinds battering the U.S. EV market after four years of record growth. Separately, EV startup Lucid also forecast flattening sales after reporting worsening losses.
Honda is finally getting into the EV game, the automaker getting ready to roll its first long-range model into U.S. showrooms in the coming weeks. The name is an appropriate one, the 2024 Honda Prologue set to become the first in a planned family of EVs set to debut later this decade. While future models will be developed in-house, however, the Japanese automaker took a shortcut with Prologue, turning to its longtime Detroit rival, General Motors for help. Headlight.News has the back story — and a first review of the 2024 Honda Prologue.
The full-size truck market is about to get more competitive as Ram rolls out a major update of the 1500 pickup. The 2025 package has plenty to offer, from two versions of the new Hurricane engine to the all-new premium Tungsten edition. There’s plenty of new technology, as well, including the new Hands-free Driving Assist system. But you can also expect to spend more money, Headlight.News headed to Texas Hill Country to get some time behind the wheel of the 2025 Ram 1500.
After revising its supply chain, Cadillac once again can offer $7,500 in federal tax credits to buyers of the Lyriq EV. The automaker briefly lost those incentives after the U.S. Treasury updated guidelines under the Inflation Reduction Act on January 1. The news means Caddy gets a critical advantage over a number of competing luxury EVs that have also lost their tax credits this year.
Hoping to perk up a slowing EV market, Ford Motor Co. has announced some lucrative financial deals for its two retail battery-electric models, the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning. Price cuts on the electric crossover run as high as $8,100, while there’s as much as $12,500 in “bonus cash” on the battery pickup.
Korean luxury brand Genesis is reportedly rethinking its plans to evolve into an all-electric brand. The company is instead looking at other electrification options, with plans to launch its first hybrid model as early as next year. But what form it will take reportedly has not yet been determined.
When it opened 110 years ago, the Michigan Central depot was the tallest train station in the world and a showpiece for a city at its peak. Since it shut down in 1988, however, it’s been a symbol of urban decay and the decline of Detroit, in particular. Now, after a...