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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,…

GMC’s full-size SUV gains a new flagship off-road trim All Yukon models get a new dash with a massive central screen Air suspension convincingly hides the Yukon’s trucky platform In its new AT4 Ultimate trim, the 2025 GMC Yukon tries hard to do a lot of things, many of which seem to cancel out one another. Meaty all-terrain tires wrap 20-inch alloy wheels that are awfully big for real-world off-road use. The distinctive red tow hooks projecting from a bumper carved inward to improve the approach angle contrast with underbody lighting that illuminates when you approach the vehicle. Even the…

Flat-towing an electric vehicle—that is, towing it with its wheels in contact with the road—is more difficult than with internal-combustion vehicles. But automakers are working on solutions. When internal-combustion vehicles are flat-towed, their transmissions are shifted into neutral, or prop shafts are removed or disengaged, to allow the normally-driven wheels to rotate freely without risking damage to mechanical components. But mechanically decoupling electric motors from the wheels they normally drive isn’t as straightforward with EVs. Stellantis EV flat towing patent image In a patent filing published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jan. 30, 2025 (and submitted…

NACS will debut in Nissan-branded pure EV in 2025, be available in 2026 Unclear whether that’s refreshed Ariya, or next-generation Leaf Nissan won’t immediately renew home charging around NACS Nissan was the first Japanese automaker to confirm a switch to the Tesla-based North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector for future U.S.-market EVs.  It announced back in July 2023 that Nissan EVs with a NACS port would begin arriving in 2025, and in a recent check-in with DriftBreath Reports, Nissan confirmed that it remains on-track for that target—with a few intriguing details. Nissan is now offering a NACS adapter for the…

Kia has revealed the Concept EV2 The new concept previews a production model due in 2026 Prototypes for the production model have already been spotted Kia used its EV Day presentation on Thursday in Tarragona, Spain, to unveil the Concept EV2, an electric subcompact crossover set to spawn a production model in 2026. The concept debuted alongside two new production electric vehicles: the EV4, which comes in both sedan and hatchback body styles, and the PV5, a midsize van for private and commercial applications. Camouflaged prototypes of the production EV2 have already been spotted in testing over the past year.…