CAFE

Remember a few weeks ago when we told you that Chrysler Group was quietly chipping away at a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine known as the Hellcat? Well, now we have more proof. We present to you a 2015 Dodge Challenger (presumably in SRT guise, look closely and you'll ...    Read more

It's pretty safe to assume that this slab-sided thing caught by the friendly people at our sister publication Motor Trend is undoubtedly a Toyota. It was seen this morning on the Interstate 405 just miles from Toyota's Torrance headquarters; neighbor Honda typically uses California plates for its cars out our way. ...    Read more

Remember Land Rover's plans to introduce a new Defender in the next few years? Unfortunately for fans of the iconic nameplate, this has been put on hold, along with the opening of Land Rover's latest engine plant in India. The original plan was to offer a lightweight Defender model but ...    Read more

You know that whole corporate average fuel economy standards thing where the government is asking automakers to start producing vehicles that achieve 54.5 mpg by 2025? Yeah, Chrysler Group is aware of CAFE and plans to participate, but that's not to say it won't build one last ozone-incinerating 6.2-liter V-8 ...    Read more

Volvo today began production on a new class of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. They will be the exclusive future powerplant for all Volvo automobiles, from the smallest wagons and sedans, to the largest SUVs. It was a controversial decision at the time of its announcement almost two years ago at ...    Read more

Toyota is taking a bath on its hydrogen vehicle development program. Going on sale in 2015, the car whose technology once cost more than $1 million per unit will come down between $50,000 and $100,000 when it goes on sale in two years' time. We think it will be even ...    Read more

A new study from R.L. Polk and Company reveals that between 2010 and 2012, diesel car registrations have increased 24.3 percent, with similar increases happening throughout the country. Polk compiled data for all passenger vehicles in all states. Diesel car and SUV registrations went from 640,779 in 2010 to 796,794 ...    Read more

Everyone has a breaking point. Apparently, AAA wanted to see where people would draw the line with gas prices, and to no one's surprise, two-thirds of those surveyed believe gas prices are too high now. Shocking, we know. The people who do believe gas prices are too high have countered ...    Read more

You thought raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy numbers to 54.5 mpg would be the end of the cleaning up cars, at least until 2025. You were wrong. The EPA is going to start holding hearings tomorrow and continue them on April 29 for a proposed Tier 3 emissions revision on the ...    Read more

Brash and outspoken, we've got to say we miss Bob Lutz and his candidness, which have been missing on a regular basis since he retired from General Motors in 2010. The former executive spoke this week at SAE International's World Congress, a consortium of auto companies and their engineers, to ...    Read more

The head of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols, called for lobbying groups protesting California's mandate for zero-emissions vehicles to stop while speaking at the SAE International's (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers) annual World Congress this week. "We don't have time to delay the infusion of these technologies," Nichols ...    Read more

It's a little difficult to talk about new projects when your country is $17 trillion in debt, but President Barack Obama has asked Congress to set aside $2 billion for alternative fuel research. Extending his "All of the Above" strategy, today Obama said he wants the U.S. to use monies ...    Read more

That didn't last long. Automakers are crying foul only three months after President Obama gave California permission to begin enforcing the sale of zero-emissions vehicles. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers are representing automakers against the ZEV sales program and filed a petition yesterday asking ...    Read more

Sometimes automotive engineers are allowed to roam free, using the best resources and the brightest minds at their companies to make extravagant, cost-no-object vehicles that are rarely commercially viable beyond a scant few wealthy buyers. They become prognosticators for the automotive industry, and we inevitably see what we'll be driving ...    Read more

When it rains, it has a tendency to pour, so Korean automaker Hyundai is discovering. For Hyundai, controversy still surrounds the automaker in the wake of its November fuel-economy boondoggle that sent its factory-rated EPA numbers tumbling ...    Read more

As if we hadn't seen this coming. Today, Chrysler Group finally announced that the Ram 1500 will be offering a diesel engine. Starting with the 2014 model year, a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 engine, mated to a TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission, will be an available option in all Ram 1500s. ...    Read more

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been pushing for new and improved transportation for the city, with the most notable attempt being the implementation of the Taxi of Tomorrow, a modified version of the Nissan NV200 minivan. If Bloomberg ...    Read more

In the ongoing fight to increase fuel economy numbers, Chrysler is planning a big switch to a new nine-speed automatic transmission later this year for front- and all-wheel-drive vehicles. The automaker says it anticipates it will build as many as 200,000 nine-speed transmissions this year for the Dodge Dart, all-new ...    Read more

It's official. Today, Ford announced that the EPA has rated the 2013 Fusion Energi at 108 MPGe city, 92 MPGe highway and 100 MPGe combined. The EPA also concluded that the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi carries a 620-mile range and can go up to 21 miles running strictly on electricity. ...    Read more

The yearly sales totals for almost every respected automaker have begun rolling in, and General Motors likes what it sees. For the first time ever, a United States-based automaker has sold more than 1 million vehicles that achieve 30 mpg or better on the highway. "Our investments in advanced powertrains are ...    Read more

Would you believe it, there are analysts who say that cars coming out in 2013 will be more fuel-efficient than even the ones that came out this year? It must've took some sort of amazing prognostication to come to that conclusion. Well, pulled from the depths of Alan L. Baum, principal of ...    Read more

BYD, a Chinese company that builds batteries and electric vehicles, will begin building electric buses for the United States market. Before these new buses are built though, BYD will be erecting an assembly facility in California to handle production. According to BYD's senior vice president, Li Ke, this new facility ...    Read more

The 2013 North American International Auto Show is still a few weeks away, but some automakers just couldn't wait and unveiled what they'd be bringing a little early. This week brought the early, yet official debut of vehicles like the 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, ...    Read more

The wait is finally over. After months of spy shots, spy shots, and more spy shots, the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra made its official world debut this morning ahead of its scheduled unveiling at the 2013 North American International Auto Show next ...    Read more

The all-new 2014 Ford Transit isn't slated to go on sale until late next year but it's already shaping up to be a solid addition to the Blue Oval's North American lineup. Today, Ford announced that a 3.2-liter Power Stroke Turbo Diesel five-cylinder engine will be an available option alongside ...    Read more