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DETROIT — Matt VanDyke, Ford Motor Co.’s director of marketing, will soon become the CEO of the company’s FordDirect joint venture with dealers. VanDyke, 48, will take the reins of the digital lead-generating company Feb. 1. He replaces Diane Craig, who became president of Ford’s International Markets Group this month. “Matt VanDyke has been an

While much of the emphasis at CES 2021 was focused on autonomy (and related sensors), artificial intelligence, and bigger-picture tech, there were still plenty of little gizmos on virtual display promising a brighter driving tomorrow. Gadgets that solve little problems, like why your phone sometimes doesn’t juice up properly in a Qi wireless charger, and

BMW is shutting down its vehicle subscription pilot at the end of the month. The Access by BMW subscription pilot launched in April 2018 and never expanded beyond its initial Nashville market. It was targeted at affluent customers willing to pay high monthly fees for two tiers of service starting at $2,000. “Our intent with

We at MotorTrend love big adventure rigs. After all, these vehicles subscribe to such a wonderful automotive recipe. Take something ostensibly ordinary (a 2021 Toyota Tacoma) and garnish it with something extraordinary (a miniaturized house). Cue the TruckHouse BCT: a made to order, carbon-fiber-clad, go anywhere, do anything home away from home. The whole thing

General Motors is working on a strategy to build at least one new electric vehicle inspired by its Corvette sports car, potentially expanding the brand from a single performance model into a family of vehicles, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. If the plan is approved, the most likely model to emerge later this

You’re looking at David Hasselhoff‘s personal KITT, a highly modified Pontiac Firebird Trans Am given the full Knight Rider treatment. While this isn’t one of the vehicles used in the show, of which few survived, it appears to be an exacting replica of the hero car of the early ’80s drama. And while you’d expect

WASHINGTON — U.S. traffic deaths jumped dramatically after coronavirus lockdowns ended in 2020, rising 13.1 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30 to the highest rate since 2005 despite a decline in driving, auto safety regulators said on Wednesday. In total, 11,260 people died on U.S. roads in the third quarter of 2020, up

The only problem is a test drive at your local dealership usually isn’t long enough to get a real feel for what the Bronco Sport—or any car, for that matter—can really do. Luckily Turo, the app-based car sharing service, seems to the perfect solution to this particular problem. If you aren’t familiar with Turo, here’s

Supplier Denso Corp. announced Seiji Maeda as its new CEO of North American operations, a move effective Jan. 1. Maeda, 55 who also serves as a senior director for Denso, replaced Kenichiro Ito in the role. Ito, 58, who served as the North American CEO since 2016, is now Denso’s chief human resources officer in

Alternative fuels and power sources for automobiles are front of mind for automakers these days. Porsche is looking extensively into e-fuels, many automakers offer at least one electrified car or SUV, and even a few have offer hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The use of hydrogen as a future fuel is, for now, quite limited, with only a

Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, on trial over charges related to Volkswagen Group’s diesel scandal, blamed engineers for his failure to uncover widespread cheating on emissions tests. Stadler, testifying for the first time, told a Munich court on Tuesday that engineers gave the management board at the VW Group’s luxury-car unit insufficient information to detect

In announcing a rash of new electric vehicles across its portfolio of brands, General Motors let slip an image of what sure appears to be a C8 Corvette-inspired SUV. This isn’t just a wild assumption; during a virtual presentation of GM’s EV plans for Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC, as well as its Hummer sub-brand, vice president

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration agreed on Tuesday to an auto industry request to delay the start of dramatically higher penalties for companies that fail to meet fuel efficiency requirements, a move that could save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars or more.  The decision — announced eight days before President-elect Joe Biden takes

One key surprise? That the Ford Maverick looks … good. Not that we figured Ford would churn out something ugly, mind you, but given the truck’s carlike unibody construction and the low bar set by the only other similarly constructed truck sold in America, the heretofore lame-looking but now truckier Honda Ridgeline, we supposed the

Industry groups including the National Automobile Dealers Association and American Bankers Association say they are evaluating their political contributions after last week’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol, described by NADA as “shocking, tragic and condemnable.” The assessments come after a growing list of major corporations such as Ford Motor Co. said they would temporarily suspend

Volkswagen Arteon Full Overview I don’t know about you, but I haven’t left home as much as I’d like to over the past few months. The business-casual attire I used to don before reporting to MotorTrend HQ goes largely unworn. Instead, my casual-casual clothing—pajama shorts, soft tees, cozy hoodies, and the like—is on constant rotation.

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors Inc. is in talks to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition companies run by former Citigroup rainmaker Michael Klein, according to people familiar with the matter. A transaction could be valued at up to $15 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter

Crack open that swear jar and take a hammer to the piggy bank—another Jaguar D-Type is crossing the auction block. The Jag is one of the featured lots at RM Sotheby’s upcoming Arizona sale, and while the majority of existing D-Types wear demure shades of green, blue, silver, or white, this finned wonder presents in

A drop-off in auto sales usually sends incentives soaring and profits plummeting. Not in 2020, amid the biggest one-year decline in U.S. light-vehicle sales since the Great Recession. Instead, tight inventory levels resulted in smaller discounts and a stronger bottom line for many automakers and dealers. In December alone, the industry made an extra $840

Porsche 911 Full Overview If you want a real sports car that you can comfortably drive every day that’s also a luggage-capable weekender and even a track day adrenaline supplier, then you pick a 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera. If you want the most satisfying, involving, and purest form of that 911, then you pick the

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Co. and Apple Inc. plan to sign a partnership deal on autonomous EVs by March and start production around 2024 in the U.S., a Korean newspaper reported on Sunday. The report by Korea IT News follows a statement on Friday from Hyundai Motor that it was in early talks with Apple after

The Tokyo Auto Salon, a delightful auto show that generally shows off the best and funkiest Japan has to offer, is going virtual this year, just like SEMA and other recent shows that weren’t outright canceled due to the global pandemic. Honda’s come through with a couple of intriguing and adorable concepts that add some

The outcome of the pair of tight Georgia Senate runoff elections last week gives the Democratic Party control of the upper chamber by the narrowest of margins for at least the next two years, likely aiding President-elect Joe Biden’s ambitious policy plans and fast-tracking progress on legislation affecting the auto industry. Biden will take office

1975: Pacer and the Sandwich King AMC pitched the Pacer as “The First Wide Small Car”, and they made a series of chuckle-worthy ads extolling the virtues of the rolling fishbowl’s plus-size cabin. This is one of our favorites, because it finishes with what has to be one of the best taglines in car-commercial history:

Volkswagen of America is launching its first set of TV commercials for its upcoming ID4 battery-electric compact crossover that aims to drive home the company’s message of delivering electric mobility to the millions, instead of just the millionaires. The spot, which uses a line of zoetropes — a 19th century invention that uses a spinning

Tesla has always been known for having a little extra fun with its cars. Remember when it added a virtual whoopee cushion in 2019? Or when last year CEO Elon Musk announced that the Tesla Model S would get a “nice” price cut to $69,420? But in case those gimmicks weren’t enough, there’s now Boombox mode,

DETROIT — Sales of the Chevrolet Bolt doubled in the fourth quarter as General Motors ramped up promotional efforts for the only electric vehicle it currently sells in the U.S. in preparation for the wave of EVs it has coming. Chevrolet officials said an expansion into new markets, additional training and advertising, and increased dealer

Before the first Jeep Grand Cherokee drove up the stairs and through a giant glass window at the 1992 Detroit Auto Show, a dramatic entrance for a vehicle that generated huge interest at the time, Jeep had previously shown off the Concept 1. The Concept 1’s lines were a direct preview of the “ZJ” Grand

Deep-pocketed customers helped insulate the U.S. luxury market from the brunt of the pandemic fallout last year. U.S. luxury sales fell 11 percent in 2020, compared with a 14 percent slide for the overall industry. Luxury brands delivered 2,030,912 vehicles, accounting for a record 14 percent of total U.S. light-vehicle sales. BMW defended its sales

Gone is the old logo, pictured above, with its clean, legible, red-on-white theme. In comes a new, black-and-white colorway and a futuristic vibe seemingly inspired by a similar design tested on the 2019 Kia Imagine concept. There’s just one teeny-tiny problem with the new one: It’s forward-thinking, but also visually complex and difficult to make