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Costco members who lease a 2025 Volvo EX90 electric SUV can now take advantage of the biggest discount offered by the retailer’s auto program. Fellow Internet Brands site CarsDirect found a potential $10,000 in savings for Costco members who are also current Volvo customers, and are planning to lease a new EX90 between now and Apr. 30. 2025 Volvo EX90 This starts with $2,000 just for being a Costco Executive member, or $1,500 for Gold Star and Business members. Lower incentives of $1,250 for Executive members and $1,000 for Gold Star and Business members are also currently available for several…

Winches are a vital off-road accessory. And while they’re typically powered by a vehicle’s 12-volt electrical system, Stellantis is looking at an alternative power source for them in hybrids and electric vehicles. In a patent filing published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jan. 21, 2025, and submitted by the automaker about a year prior, Stellantis discusses running a winch not off a battery pack but with a gearbox connected to one of the vehicle’s electric drive motors. Stellantis patent image of a winch geared to an electric motor As described in the document, the winch would…

Polestar on Friday announced additional funding as the automaker looks to continue building out its lineup of electric vehicles. In a press release, Polestar said it had secured a 12-month loan facility of up to $450 million, following an $800 million 12-month facility locked in by the automaker in December. Polestar is also renewing a European Green Trade Finance Facility (TFF) for 480 million euros, or approximately $499 million at current exchange rates. It didn’t specify exactly where the new funding is coming from and whether its global parent Geely has a role—although it emphasized it received funding in 2022…

The EPA could be the next target of the Trump Administration’s mass layoffs, although it’s unclear how deep the cuts might go. As reported by The New York Times, President Trump said during a Wednesday cabinet meeting that Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, planned to fire 65% of EPA employees, which agency officials later admitted would prevent the agency from functioning. It’s in keeping with the arbitrary slashing of federal employment and spending undertaken by Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. According to the NY Times, Trump said Zeldin “thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of…

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…