Most of today’s new vehicles come equipped with the capability of handling smartphone-style over-the-air updates. It’s paying off in multiple ways, allowing manufacturers to update EV range, the fuel economy of gas vehicles, add features to infotainment systems and improve safety systems. But OTA capabilities vary widely from one vehicle to another.
As the growth of EV sales has slowed in recent months, automakers have begun looking at electrified alternatives, many betting that plug-in hybrids will become a “bridge” technology for motorists not quite ready to commit to an EV. But if you think battery-electric vehicles are expensive you may be shocked by what the typical PHEV costs – an average of more than $60,000. Then again, there are a few surprisingly affordable one.
More than two years after Volkswagen AG revealed it was taking over the long-defunct Scout, the reborn off-road brand is set to reveal its first two all-electric products. And these teaser images give us a sense of what’s coming on October 24.
It may trail the leaders, Toyota and Hyundai, in the compact crossover market, but Hyundai is determined to give them chase and, based on the updated 2025 Tucson, the competitors need to be looking over their shoulders. Headlight.News spent time checking out the Korean CUV and files this review.
They’ll build it. They’ll build it not. The fate of the retro-futuristic Hyundai N Vision 74 concept has been a source of constant debate since it was first unveiled in July 2022. The automaker subsequently insisted the show car was never going to see the light of day. Now, however, it’s starting to look like a production version really is in the works, at least based on what came out during the automaker’s latest Investor Day event.
Who says EV sales are slowing down? Certainly not Hyundai where demand is up by double-digits this year. It helps to keep expanding the line-up with new models like the upcoming EV9. But the Korean carmaker also is expanding the array of variants spun off of existing models. And, for 2025, that will include its first off-road-ready EV, the Ioniq 5 XRT.
If you ask CEO Jim Rowan, the new Volvo EX90 “is a statement for where we are and where we’re going.” It’s not the first all-electric model from the Swedish automaker but it’s certainly the most powerful and lavishly equipped, serving as a counterpoint to the familiar XC90. To get a sense of what the new model is all about I spent a couple days driving the top-line Twin Motor Performance package around the Southern California coast. Here’s what I learned.
It may be one of the best-selling luxury brands in the U.S. but Lexus has never been one seen as pushing the edge when it comes to styling. Not until recently, that is. But it’s upending its conservative approach with concepts like the LF-ZC and LF-ZL and could carry those edgy design themes into production. But is it going “too far”? That’s a question its global design chief is asking.
If you had a faulty transmission on a General Motors vehicles built between the 2015 and 2019 model-years you could be covered by a new lawsuit certified by a federal court. The class-action could result in payouts to hundreds of thousands of owners across the U.S., as Headlight.News reports.
Ford Motor Co. will pare back its diversity efforts, joining companies like Lowe’s, John Deere and Beam Suntory, the producers of Jim Beam liquor who have entirely abandoned so-called DEI programs. Ford’s move was hailed by conservatives, but denounced as “shortsighted” by human rights advocates. For his part, CEO Jim Farley said the automaker will still work to creative an “inclusive workplace.”
It normally takes some major hardware upgrades to deliver a 50 horsepower boost, but the Ford Ranger Raptor will get that big jump in performance with something as simple as a software upgrade, the automaker says. And the Bronco Raptor will get a nearly equal increase, according to Ford. Here’s how.
Audi plans to make some big news next week, the German automaker set to reveal the next-generation version of its best-selling model, the Q5. Ahead of that formal unveiling, Audi released this teaser image and gave some hints as to what’s coming. Significantly, the midsize SUV will be offered with a range of powertrains, including gas, hybrid and all-electric. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.