Author: Sofia
Lexus’s flagship SUV now gets hybrid power It’s rated at 457 hp, more than the similar Toyota twin-turbos Adaptive suspension, crawl control, and all-terrain drive modes included Prices start with the $115,350 LX 700h Overtrail—our pick of the lineup On a hilltop near Napa, somewhere out among the vines, I tap a switch to ensure I’m locked and loaded. With an electronic signal that OKs my forward progress, I’ve given the 2025 Lexus LX 700h Overtrail its marching—or crawling—orders. With one of its three locking differentials engaged, I trundle onward and upward to a short course laid out among the…
Tesla’s opened its Supercharger network to non-Teslas Ford and Rivian were the first non-Teslas to plug in Access takes an automaker-provided adapter or Tesla Magic Dock In most cases there are software components and it’s more than just an adapter By the end of 2024, nearly ever major EV brand selling cars in the U.S. had signed on to offer Tesla Supercharger access, and eventually adopt the automaker’s NACS port for future EVs. But the rollout has proceeded at different speeds for each brand. Owners of EVs from most non-Tesla brands must use an adapter to connect with Supercharger stations…
As promised, Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles can now charge at 20,000 Tesla Supercharger stations in the U.S. market. Mercedes-Benz said in January access to Tesla’s Supercharger charging network would open to the German EVs in February. While Mercedes didn’t announce the switch has been flipped, Tesla updated its list of automakers with access to the Supercharger network shifting Mercedes-Benz from “coming soon” to “supported.” Supercharger will be enabled via a software update installed by dealerships—not over-the-air. Customers will be contacted by Mercedes to schedule this. The update will preserve the plug-and-charge capability offered in current Mercedes EVs, allowing drivers to charge simply…
Ferrari delivered a record number of vehicles in 2024 and 51% were hybrids The automaker anticipates the percentage of electrified sales to grow to 80% by 2030 Ferrari’s first EV will debut this fall Ferrari delivered a record 13,752 vehicles in 2024, up 0.7% from the year before, and for the first time, more than half of the annual tally were hybrids. While announcing its financial results for the past year on Tuesday, Ferrari said 51% of its sales in 2024 were hybrids, with the remaining 49% powered purely by gas engines. Hybrids have traditionally been about curbing emissions and…
The U.S. EV charging network Ionna is picking up speed in its infrastructure build-out as the nascent network aims to make good on its promise of installing tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers over the next five years. It said on Tuesday in a press release that it is transitioning “from public beta to full-scale national release” following the opening of its first location and the conclusion of a testing program in 2024. The testing program involved more than 4,400 charging sessions with more than 80 unique EV models, dispensing nearly 63,000 kwh of energy, according to Ionna. It…
Ferrari will move forward with its EV plans in 2025 despite the electrification contraction at many low-volume luxury automakers. The first electric Ferrari is set to debut on Oct. 9. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna confirmed the date of the automaker’s first EV date during its Q4 and 2024 earnings results on Tuesday. Vigna called the upcoming EV the elettrica, which is Italian for electric. Elettrica is not expected to be the EV’s name. The EV will be one of six new Ferraris set to arrive in 2025, some of which might be electrified. Ferrari revealed during the sales recap that…
Honda and Nissan may be about to walk away from a planned merger Reports out of Japan claim Honda wants increased control over Nissan The merger would be worth $58 billion and would create the world’s fourth-largest automaker A decision on the merger between Honda and Nissan proposed by the automakers last December was anticipated to arrive in January, but now there are reports that no deal might happen at all. Citing several sources, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported on Wednesday that the boards of Honda and Nissan plan to meet soon to formalize the termination of the merger. According to…
There’s a whopping 99.8kWh battery (96kWh usable), providing up to 349 miles of driving range. You can choose from two motor configurations: a rear-drive set-up with 200bhp and 350Nm, or a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive layout with 380bhp and 700Nm of torque. Advertisement – Article continues belowKia buyers get three trim levels to choose from, but the only reason to step above the base Air model is if you require the power of two electric motors instead of one. That’s because the entry-level car is superbly well equipped, with 19-inch alloys, LED headlights, twin 12.3-inch displays plus a 5.3-inch climate-control panel in…
The second EV from U.S.-bound Alpine has been spotted The new EV will be called the A390 and was previewed by the A390 Beta concept Production is scheduled to start in 2025 at plant in France Alpine is set to launch a compact performance crossover later this year, previewed by the A390 Beta concept at the 2024 Paris auto show. A prototype has now been spotted again ahead of a debut later this year. The A390 is an electric compact crossover with a fastback design similar to what’s found on the Polestar 2. Other design details appear to include separate…
When does a car’s original design and construction become a hindrance? For many of us (myself included), the urge to modify a car will often happen before the keys are in hand. The Toyota AE86 is a perfect example of this; it’s many things to many people and, with the right changes, can become an incredibly capable machine despite its inherent shortcomings. While some owners stay true to the purist approach, preserving the original 4A-GE engine and associated running gear (guilty again), what if you never had those parts to start with? Case-in-point: the AE86 you see here, owned by…