Auto Lovers Land

Honda revealed plans to push forward on its propulsion and safety technology efforts in the U.S. and abroad, starting with the move to build hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles in Ohio. Honda revealed it will build its new CR-V-based fuel-cell electric vehicle at its Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio. The company will begin building the fuel-cell vehicle based off its popular CR-V crossover at its Performance Manufacturing Center, or PMC, in Marysville, Ohio starting in 2024. The new FCEV will contribute to Honda’s previously announced goal to make battery-electric vehicles and FCEVs represent 100% of its global auto sales by 2040, officials noted. The new CR-V-based FCEV represents a unique merging of two technologies, a first in North America. It combines a plug-in feature with fuel-cell technology in one model, allowing the driver to charge the onboard battery to deliver EV driving around town with the flexibility of fast hydrogen refueling for longer trips. “Honda e...

Over the last 38 years, I’ve always owned a pickup truck of some kind. Even before that, I drove my dad’s pickup when I needed one. Trucks are simply too useful to be without one. Whether you need to tow your boat (or whatever) or haul a load of stuff, or both at once, a pickup truck is the Swiss army knife of vehicles.  For those who grew up with compact pickups, the Ford Maverick will be very familiar — only better. There are certain rules, however. Automakers have been making pickups pretty much the same way since Henry Ford made the first flatbed Model TT in 1917. Pickup trucks have always been made on a ladder frame with the engine in front and a solid axle in back.  Further, trucks have always been made with rear-wheel or later, four-wheel drive. Honda broke the mold with the upscale Ridgeline starting in 2004, but the comparatively high purchase price made the Ridgeline a curiosity rather than a game-changer.  Now Ford has reimagined the compact pickup truc...

For the past two years, automakers have faced major disruptions in their carefully balanced supply chains. President Biden said he believes a rail strike can and will be avoided. Now they are hoping President Joe Biden and a divided Congress can help avoid the ultimate shock — a rail strike, which would not only halt assembly lines right across the industry but also curtail delivery of new vehicles across the United States. Biden said Tuesday he is “confident” a rail strike will be avoided while meeting with key congressional leaders. Legislation necessary “It’s not an easy call but I think we have to do it,” Biden said while meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “The economy is at risk,” Biden added. Pelosi said the House could vote on legislation to avert the rail shutdown as soon as Wednesday, which could set up action in the Senate later this week or n...

The 2023 Buick Envista was introduced in China in August. It arrives statside next year. Look for General Motors’ Buick brand to add another Chinese-market compact SUV to its family for 2023, as the compact Envista joins its U.S. line-up. Built from a SAIC-GM design for the Chinese market, the new vehicle should arrive in the United States during the second half of 2023. It may be among the last Buicks powered by an internal combustion engine as Buick begins introducing EVs in 2024 using the Electra sub-brand.  GM President Mark Reuss talked about the new vehicle during the automaker’s investor day conference on Nov. 17. Part of an expanding Buick lineup Most likely, the Envista would slot between the $25,900 Encore GX and $35,600 Envision in Buick’s line-up now that the diminutive Encore has been dropped . At 182.6 inches long with a 106.3-inch wheelbase, it’s at the larger end of the compact spectrum, being notably larger than the Encore GX at 171.4 inches long with its...

The C8 Corvette’s been a rousing success and Chevrolet appears ready to build on that with several new performance variants, including one that is currently unnamed. GM President Mark Reuss laid out the expected cadence of new Corvette variants at GM’s Investor Day conference. During his Investor Day presentation, General Motors President Mark Reuss laid out the company’s plans for Chevy’s halo vehicle. Much of it centered on information that was either already known or suspected. However, Reuss threw in a wrinkle, a vehicle he didn’t identify by name, saying only it is the “next step in performance for Chevrolet,” adding “you won’t be able to imagine it from a performance standpoint,” reported Autoblog.com. What’s coming? Well, it’s expected the next version of the ’Vette will be an all-wheel drive hybrid that’s been dubbed the Corvette Gran Sport. It would use the 6.2-liter V-8 from the Stingray that puts out 495 horsepower, but then pair with electric motors to push that to...

Visitors passing through Detroit Metropolitan Airport may be surprised when they notice the signs announcing the arrival of GAC in the U.S. market. BYD set up a North American headquarters in Los Angeles at one time, but still didn’t crack the U.S. market. Short for Guangzhou Automotive Corporation, it is one in an assortment of Chinese carmakers that has laid out plans to start selling vehicles in the U.S. For reasons unclear, the airport has yet to remove the signs, which can be found on the tram in the main terminal and several other locations, despite the fact that they were put up in 2017, when GAC put several of its vehicles on display at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show. But the signs serve as a reminder of just how difficult it has proven for Chinese manufacturers to crack the American market. Plans by brands including not just GAC but Great Wall, Chery, Zotye and Geely have yet to come to fruition. Even after setting up a new headquarters in Los Angeles...

Nowadays luxury vehicles, or vehicles claiming luxury status, come in all kinds of shapes and sizes — even luxury pickup trucks. The 2022 Lexus LS 500 AWD adopts the title “flagship” with ease. But the most popular image of a luxury vehicle that comes to one’s imagination is, more often than not, a top-of-the-line luxury sedan where you can get lost in the back seat like the Lexus LS 500. Since it first made its mark in the global industry more than 30 years ago, an elegant sedan has served as the anchor and halo vehicle for the entire Lexus line-up, and the LS 500 with its clean lines and plush interior carries on the tradition in style. The Lexus 2022 Lexus LS 500 also is equipped with the very latest driver’s assistance, safety and connectivity features, which are included to justify the car’s six-figure price tag. Six-figure price tags seem to have become common in the luxury segment. Exterior The LS 500 is powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 putting out 416 hp and 442 lb-ft...

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is moving into the automobile industry in a substantial way. The company  acquired the old GM plant in Lordstown , Ohio from Lordstown Motors, and it already showed off three in-house design  prototype EVs designed for the U.S. market  in 2021.   Foxconn is reportedly in talks with VW too build the Scout line of electric trucks and SUVs. The Lordstown site will be the home factory for the eponymous Lordstown Endurance electric pickup truck. Foxconn has begun  building Endurance trucks for customer deliveries , and plans to deliver the first pilot production examples to customers before the end of 2022.  Further, both Foxconn and Fisker Inc. have  confirmed the upcoming Fisker PEAR  (Personal Electric Automotive Revolution) will be manufactured at the Lordstown facility beginning in 2024, with a planned output of 250,000 vehicles per year. Fisker has announced a...

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2.8 billion in federal grants to accelerate the development EV batteries in the U.S. Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it reached an agreement with South Korean battery manufacturer SK On Co. to supply power packs for its U.S.-built EVs to its forthcoming EV plant and battery manufacturing facility in Georgia. Production is slated to start after 2025. However, neither the location nor the volume was specified. The agreement is part of the automaker’s aim to sell 3.23 million EVs annually worldwide by 2030.  It isn’t SK’s first U.S. venture. In May 2021, the battery manufacturer created  a joint venture with Ford Motor Co. called BlueOval SK  to manufacture battery cells and arrays in the U.S. at its forthcoming BlueOval City electric vehicle operation near Memphis and at two plants in Kentucky. The move is one of many upcoming battery plants being constructed in the U.S. The Inflation Reduction Act has led to a significant inc...

When automakers release sales data for November later this week, the numbers will reflect a 5.6% increase over November 2021, although that increase isn’t coming from buyers finding great deals during the Black Friday sales. Overall new vehicle sales are going to jump 5.6%, but most of it is coming from fleet sales. With retails sales of new vehicles remaining flat, total new-vehicle sales for November 2022, non-retail transactions to commercial and rental fleet customers, are projected to reach 1,102,300 units, a 5.6% increase from November 2021, according estimates from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. Comparing the sales volume without adjusting for the number of selling days translates to an increase of 9.9% from 2021.  Rising trend in sales Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power, said, “November results demonstrate that vehicle production is continuing to improve, with available retail inventory exceeding 1 million units f...