Three years after dropping the original FJ Cruiser, Toyota signaled it’s heading back to production, this time dubbed the Land Cruiser FJ. A smaller version of the Land Cruiser that staged its own return in 2024 after a three-year absence, the new off-roader will make its debut at the Japan Mobility Show next week. Here’s more from Headlight.News.
In a fast-changing automotive world, even the biggest brands have no guarantee they can survive indefinitely. That’s led Ford to launch its first global marketing campaign in a decade. But what’s the “Ready Set Ford” big buck project trying to achieve? Headlight.News has the story.
Lucid Motors rolls into this coming weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with it calls a “Trail-Ready” take on its first SUV. The EV start-up is hoping that the Gravity X Concept will fire up interest in the big SUV which has struggled to gain any traction with buyers since going into production earlier this year. More from Headlight.News.
With dozens of new models set to debut in the U.S. in the coming months, this should be a big year for Toyota. But the automaker’s plans have been put in a “wait and see mode,” as executives struggle to figure out how to respond to the new Trump import auto tariffs.The tariffs could bring more Toyota jobs to the U.S. – but they might also price some products out of reach, hammering sales. Headlight.News has more.
Consumer confidence, a key ingredient for healthy vehicle sales, is slipping, according to new polls And with buyers already wary of price hikes, New increases, triggered by President Donald Trump’s broad tariff policies could translate into a sharp market slump, report Headlight.News.
After surging in the wake of last November’s presidential election, Tesla stock has gone into freefall since Donald Trump’s inauguration last month. A variety of factors, including slumping global sales linked to CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly tarnished reputation. His new $100 billion bid for OpenAI may add to investors’ worries, reports Headlight.News.
An examination of some of the top songs downloaded on Spotify shows a correlation between aggressive music and aggressive driving. In short, if you’re a fan of the heavy metal anthems so many of us use to put a charge in our day, you may want to avoid listening to them during your daily commute — for your safety and ours. Find out more (and make up your own mind) at Headlight.News.
If you’re wondering just how bad things got for Stellantis last year, consider the fact that its Ram pickup fell off the podium, losing its traditional third-place position in the U.S. sales race – behind the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado – to Toyota’s RAV4 SUV. Overall, the Euro-American automaker was one of only two manufacturers to report a decline in sales in 2024 and faces serious challenges to turn things around in 2025.
Oh, what a year it was. 2024 took saw a number of predictable stories top our coverage on Headlight.News, but the year also saw some surprising twists and turns — like the planned merger between Honda and Nissan – that no one likely would, or could, have predicted 12 months ago. There was some good news for consumers, and some bad. Some automakers made out like bandits, while others are now struggling with an uncertain future. Here are the 2024 stories that our editorial team found most compelling.
Competition in the compact sport-utility segment just got tougher with the debut of the third-generation VW Tiguan. It’s faster, more powerful and fuel efficient than its predecessor sporting a more aggressive look and improve interior for the new model year. Check out the latest intro at the LA Auto Show at Headlight.News.
Genesis is heading to Le Mans. The luxury brand is developing a new hypercar to compete in that legendary 24-hour race and other events that are part of the World Endurance Championship. With the Korean manufacturer also set to introduce its new Magma performance line-up, this is raising questions about whether Genesis might also bring a production version to market.
Things are back to normal at 15,000 U.S. showrooms after a hack that brought operations nearly to a halt last month. Data processing firm CDK apparently paid a $25 million ransom to regain control of software controlling everything from sales prospects to payroll. But the damage has topped $1 billion in lost sales and other issues.