Author: Sofia
After dominating Formula 1 for much of the past decade, Mercedes-Benz AMG saw its performance fade with the new car design regulations introduced for the 2022 season. The team finished third in the Constructors’ standings, behind Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, while its best-ranked driver, George Russell, finished fourth in the championship. Mercedes on Wednesday revealed the W14 E Performance as its contender for the 2023 season, and even though the design rules haven’t changed, Mercedes said it has taken the lessons learned from the difficult previous season to develop the new race car. Some of the results of these…
The Volkswagen Group is preparing a family of subcompact EVs that will include a member for the Volkswagen brand. VW previewed a potential design for its EV in 2021 with the ID.Life concept, though the automaker has since abandoned the boxy crossover design of the concept in favor of a sleeker hatchback shape. The new EV, together with siblings from the SEAT and Skoda brands, will be built at plants in Spain, with the first expected in 2025. VW has previously mentioned a starting price of around 20,000 euros (approximately $21,350) for its version, though that was before the start…
A handful of Formula 1 teams have revealed their race cars for the 2023 season, and among them is Ferrari which showed off the new SF-23 on Tuesday. The car was shown at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track in Maranello, Italy, with current drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on hand to help present it. Also joining them was new Team Principal Fred Vasseur. As is the case with other cars developed for the new season, the SF-23 is largely an evolution of the previous season’s design. Its livery is new, though. It features some areas in bare carbon fiber, and…
A portion of Tesla’s vast charging network in the U.S. will soon be open to electric vehicles from other brands, the White House announced on Wednesday. The move is in response to the $7.5 billion federal investment in charging infrastructure that forms part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in 2021, rules for which were detailed on Wednesday. Under the plan, by the end of 2024, at least 3,500 of Tesla’s high-speed Supercharger chargers located along major highways and 4,000 of its slower Destination chargers located at sites like hotels and restaurants, new or existing, will feature the Combined Charging…
Cadillac’s slow rollout of EVs seems to be a precursor to a flood that’s on the way. On Wednesday during a media briefing, Cadillac Global Vice President Ron Harvey confirmed the luxury automaker will debut three new EVs in 2023. Harvey said all three EVs will go into production in 2024, but it gets complicated from there. Some of the undisclosed EVs will be global vehicles sold in multiple markets. This will lead to them being produced in multiple factories in different regions with staggered rollouts for various markets. Harvey would not comment on what type of vehicles these new…
Toyota is recalling certain 2021 RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrids to address an issue that could cause vehicles to stall in cold weather. The affected vehicles have hybrid-system software that could trigger a shutdown of the powertrain while driving in EV mode in cold temperatures “if the accelerator is rapidly pressed to further accelerate the vehicle,” according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, that’s dependent on “the battery parameters and the vehicle operating mode at the time,” the report said. 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE The recall encompasses 16,679 vehicles, but not all were sold…
The Maserati GranTurismo has been redesigned for 2024, and we’ve just tested it ahead of the market launch this spring. The big coupe may feature evolutionary styling, but the previous model’s V-8 has made way for a twin-turbo V-6, and there will eventually be an electric option promising 760 hp. Ram revealed its electric 1500 pickup truck in an ad that aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII. The battery-powered truck is due in 2024 and features styling that’s much closer to the current internal-combustion 1500 than the electric 1500 Revolution concept shown during January’s 2023 CES. Toyota gets a new…
Mini has launched its second EV in the form of the Cooper SE Convertible. Unveiled on Wednesday, the electric convertible will be built in a limited run of 999 units and all examples are earmarked for Europe. For fans that miss out, Mini is close to launching a redesigned Hardtop, and the new hatch will likely spawn a redesigned Convertible. The new Hardtop is confirmed to be getting an electric option, and it’s likely any new Convertible will also have an electric option as Mini plans to go the fully electric route later this decade. Mini hasn’t pulled any surprises…
Want a fully electric convertible? There remain no options for the U.S.; but if you’re in Europe, you’re in luck, with a Mini Cooper SE Convertible that will likely be available for something less than exotic-car prices. Back in July, Mini teased the idea of an affordable electric convertible that’s part of a “completely electrified model family” that will coexist with internal combustion models for some years. Now it’s already charging that idea into a very special edition. Starting in April 2023, the Mini Cooper SE Convertible will be offered on the Continent, in a limited run of 999 vehicles. …
Production and shipments of the Ford F-150 Lightning have been stopped, though sales continue. On Tuesday, Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg confirmed to DriftBreath Reports a stop-build and in-transit stop-ship order has been given for the F-150 Lightning pickup truck due to a potential battery issue. Ford has not disclosed what the potential battery issue is at the time of publishing. Discovered during Ford’s pre-delivery quality inspections, the issue may affect trucks in production and those on their way to dealers. The automaker is unaware of any incidents or issues associate with customer-owned trucks at this time. Ford has not issued a stop-sale…