News Opinion (Page 79)

Like it was a few weeks ago when a Spanish designer took to Instagram to show his render of a proposed Tesla Semi 8 RV Camper, another artist has given us his vision of what a Tesla Model S next generation might look like with the present generation before its retirement sometime in 2021.

We continue our series of reports on EV camping, an industry taking off like wildfire in both the retirement and surprisingly Millennial demographics. In this story I will address the challenges of what EV campers face once they get to their camp site.

For one reason or another, Volkswagen has continued to sell very strongly into the intermediate crossover segment. This segment has been redhot and VW has sought to have models that sell into it quite well. The Atlas and the so-called "Long Tiguan" have fulfilled this roll. The other item that has Audi managers happy is the 105th straight month of sales records for VW's luxury division.

Volkswagen has recalled about 33,000 2015-18 Golfs to repair a problem with the ignition switch. It is possible that over time the contacts of the switch may become contaminated. This, in turn, can create a rollaway problem.

Talk about eager to get into autonomous cars. Some people can’t wait until you have to get a real one. A national trend is developing quickly that has the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) alarmed that if it’s not soon abated it will add another condition to the already overburdened resources of local law enforcement, and that is car jumping to the song and social media movement #InMyFeelings by the pop artist Drake and recording the episode to post it on YouTube. The NTSB is telling people to stop.

For the 5th time, Volkswagen's Jetta received honors as the most appealing vehicle. The J.D. Powers Study made its findings based on 67,000 new-car owners responses from February to May.

Though it is not known officially whether the feathers are flying at VW over the new I.D. family of cars, one can infer it by looking at the statements of Hinrich Woebcken, chief of VW of America, and someone at Wolfsburg who made a statement contrary to the U.S. chief.

Let me start off at bat: Don Marchionne is a great man. Period. I didn’t agree with him with his paltry 5 year electrification plan for FCA Group, but with his expedited departure, we can now look back with definitive successes and failures. This is how the Era of Sergio Marchionne came to an end, and the Era of Jeep begins as the dominant force in the car industry, perhaps to equal that of Goliath General Motors, now that Jeep takes the world stage.

It has been an eventful week for Volkswagen Chattanooga and for VW's subsidiary Lamborghini.

EV customers and fans are holding their breaths almost as if EV fatigue is overwhelming us, while Autocar is reporting that Porsche AG is receiving interest from customers about the new production coded BEV Mission-E, now named the 2020 all electric Porsche Taycan utility sports saloon, that will compete with the Tesla flagship sports saloon, the Model S. But of course we’re all looking over our shoulder at, shall I write it? The debacle surrounding the Model 3.

This Nismo Juke is the quirky, peppy, and fun car you didn't know you wanted.

Tesla Inc was smart for itself by taking down the mystery $35,000 price for a model version some have long been waiting for, hadn’t yet been built, not sure if it will ever exist, and that they were never really in a position to offer. They need to worry about surviving first, and you do that by making money. Period.

BMW unveils an all-electric version of the classic Mini - its third electric Mini concept. BMW is tight lipped with details, but the Mini-E BEV will go into production November next year. After 10 years of waiting for a Mini production car, its time has come finally.

Okay, so the headline on this story is a bit on the punny side, but, you have to admit with names like the T-Roc and the T-Cross, you can certainly see why puns may be the order of the day for these vehicles.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA Chrysler laid out a 5 Year Plan to investors in Italy last month that will be his swan song before leaving in April 2019. Investors were eager to know what his plans were to electrify the entire portfolio. He gave few details other than throwing money and some numbers. But this week he leaves it to his minions at Maserati and Alfa Romeo to hash the details as to how the Ítalo-American auto company will become electrified.

GM’s race for 20 electric cars by 2023 is underway with two concept cars that most likely will go into production. They’re both Chinese Buicks, for now, one is a wagon, the other, an SUV with the potential to become something so much more.

Thanks to the MEB platform's flexibility, the folks at Volkswagen haven't ruled out bringing back the Beetle in two or three years. The platform can be adjusted for any electric vehicle. The I.D. series, VW's bread-and-butter EV's of the future, all feature this platform.

Owners of Audi A6 and A7 models will soon receive some sort of news from the manufacturer that they have a problem with their cars and that they should return to a dealership as soon as possible. Right now, their best advice is either to stop driving the car or leaving passengers out of the front passenger's seat. The choice is yours!!

Audi has been improving its A6 and A7 models and now it has turned to improving the S7 for 2019. Though not as breathtaking as its predecessor, the next-gen S7 incorporates changes that are seductively styled.

The next time you are in Ingolstadt, waiting for your cab, you might try looking up and watching. The reason is that your taxi is coming, however, this time it will be flying. Meet the flying taxi by Audi, Italdesign and Airbus.

Audi and Hyundai are working together on fuel cell technology with the hope that they will make a real dent in the electrical market.

Volkswagen and Ford are in talks about various joint projects. According to a report, they are working on a van project, as well as others.

Prosecutors today jailed Rupert Stadler, chief of Volkswagen. According to the prosecutors, Stadler was jailed to keep him from attempting to change things.

On paper, it looks as if the Lamborghini Huracan Performente should be the winner in a drag race, the reality just isn't the same.

Mazda's newest interpretation of their "Jinba Ittai" engineering philosophy for the Miata, which refers to perfect unity between a horse and rider, reflects this unity well enough that it had earned a slew of accolades, and made it onto the "Best Of" lists of a myriad magazines since it was released in 2016. However, there is an often-forgotten Mazda model from the early 2000's which may still have an edge over the new one: the factory-turbocharged Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata.

Volkswagen's Atlas, already honored by publications, was honored again by Parents magazine and Edmunds. The three-row SUV, launched last year, was named to their 10-Best list for 2018.

Across the industry light truck -- crossover and SUV -- sales continued their growth, averaging about 4.7 percent. VW was right on that target as its crossover and SUVs pushed their sales up. Surprisingly, the new Jetta also finished May strongly.

One of the more photogenic cars on the road, the Lamborghini has been featured in a number of famous films over the last half-century.

Whether a recall is 1 car or 1 million, responsible automakers usually push things out quite quickly to make sure owners are notified. It is also a PR coup when a recall is handled quickly and efficiently as it shows the automaker thinks highly of its customers.

We don’t often experience a civilized drive and ride experience behind the wheel of a car priced well below $18,000. In rolls 2018 Hyundai Accent. An economy sedan that offers a bigger car ride at a very attainable price point. What?