Author: Sofia

Polestar announced on Friday that it has secured a new loan of up to $450 million. The company also renewed an existing loan worth 480 million euros (approximately $500 million). This latest funding follows the $800 million in loans Polestar secured last December. Polestar’s sales fell 15% in 2024, ending the year at just 44,851 units. Without strong revenues to ensure consistent cash flow—critical for EV startups facing high cash burn during production ramp-ups—these loans come at a crucial time. Several EV startups have gone bankrupt while scaling production, most recently Nikola. To help reverse course, Polestar appointed industry veteran…

BMW operates an official museum as part of its headquarters in Munich, Germany. However, for armchair travelers, the automaker has launched an online museum of sorts, offering detailed information and photos of models dating back to 1928, when BMW began building its first cars. The online museum, which BMW refers to as a product catalog, currently lists 424 vehicles—and an even higher number when including models from Mini and BMW Motorrad, both of which have had their own product catalogs since 2021. Vehicles are organized by model series, decade, and body type, with a search bar allowing users to quickly…

Xiaomi has started sales of its SU7 Ultra electric super sedan in China The SU7 Ultra packs three electric motors delivering a combined 1,527 hp Xiaomi plans to set an official lap time at the Nürburgring with a production example When it comes to bang for the buck, it’s hard to beat the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. Currently available only in China, where sales started on Thursday, the electric super sedan delivers a staggering 1,527 hp—all for a shockingly low starting price of 529,900 renminbi (approximately $72,800). The SU7 is the first car from Xiaomi, an electronics giant best known for…

Electric Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class spied ahead of 2026 U.S. launch New EV will replace EQC electric compact crossover sold overseas High-performance AMG variant planned Mercedes-Benz has been spotted testing a prototype for an electric compact crossover that will end up replacing the EQC. It’s due in 2026, likely as a 2027 model for the U.S., and will arrive together with an electric C-Class. The EQC is the compact crossover whose 2020 debut marked the arrival of Mercedes’ EQ sub-brand for electric vehicles. However, its basis on a platform originally developed for gas-powered vehicles meant its EV credentials were lacking compared to…

A classic snare riff kicks it off—bah, bada bah-bah bah-bah bah-bah—and a chugging, urgent bass line propels the song forward. Three young women pop out from a wheel well, radiant in skirts and hair bands, beaming smiles and their hit song to a national network-TV audience. The bottle rocket that was Motown had taken flight; their latest single, “Nowhere to Run,” put them at its helm. The women—Martha Reeves, Betty Kelley, and Rosalind Ashford—were doing their job; later, they would wonder if they had done something no one else had done before.  For the moment, they marched alongside the factory…

Mercedes-Benz design chief Gordon Wagener predicts AI will dominate car design within 10 years Wagener said Mercedes is already using AI in car design Wagener said digital screens aren’t luxury and that Mercedes will shift focus is craftsmanship and sophistication Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener believes artificial intelligence will play an increasingly dominant role in automotive design, potentially evolving to a point where AI is responsible for nearly all aspects of the creative process. In an interview with ABC DriftBreath published on Feb. 23, Wagener acknowledged that AI-driven design is still in its early stages but noted that Mercedes has…

Polaris is celebrating a decade of its Slingshot three-wheeler with a special edition dubbed the Slingshot 10, which the company revealed on Thursday. Based on the updated 2025 Slingshot—unveiled in January with a refreshed front-end design and greater model differentiation—the Slingshot 10 is the most premium version yet. Built on the range-topping Slingshot R, the special edition features the 204-hp 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that powers all Slingshots. Buyers can choose between a manual transmission or an automatic with paddle shifters. Exclusive to the Slingshot 10 is a striking Radiant Red Pearl paint job—a tribute to the original Slingshot Red from…

Kia on Thursday unveiled the Concept EV2, which previews an electric subcompact crossover expected to enter production in 2026. Shown at the automaker’s EV Day presentation in Tarragona, Spain, alongside a handful of other electric vehicles, the boxy EV2 almost looks like an heir to the Kia Soul EV, which was sold in the U.S. in limited numbers from model years 2015 to 2019. A second-generation Soul EV was offered in other markets but, while it even got an official 243-mile EPA range rating, never made it to the U.S. Kia Concept EV2 At 169.3 inches long, the EV2 is…

Aston Martin’s pre-tax losses rose by 48.7% to $322 million in 2024 The automaker is cutting 170 staff, representing about 5% of its workforce Aston Martin’s CEO expects a turnaround in 2025 Aston Martin has faced bankruptcy seven times in its 112-year history, and in its current form, the company remains far from financially stable. On Thursday, the automaker reported its financial results for 2024, revealing that pre-tax losses rose by 48.7% to 255.5 million British pounds (approximately $322.7 million), while net debt increased by 43% to 1.16 billion British pounds ($1.46 billion). Deliveries totaled 6,030 units, down about 9%…

Hungary’s KAMM has revealed the 912c 60th Edition The restomodded Porsche 912 weighs less than 1,600 pounds Pricing starts at approximately $413,900 Hungarian restomodder KAMM has returned with a new version of its custom take on Porsche’s 912 sports car. A few years ago, the company made waves with its 912c—a carbon-fiber-bodied 912 that tipped the scales at under 1,600 pounds. Now, KAMM is celebrating six decades of the 912 with the 912c 60th Edition, which was revealed on Wednesday. The Porsche 912 debuted at the 1965 New York auto show as a more accessible alternative to the then-new 911,…