Automotive News

Toyota May Suspend Japan Output Due to Steel Shortage

On January 29, 2016, representatives of the Toyota Motor Corporation said that the group may need to halt major production at its Japanese plants early in the next month. The representatives issued the statement as a result of a large steel shortage in the country, which was directly caused by an explosion at the Aichi Steel plant. This plant is operated by one of the major car corporation's affil

Google’s Self-Driving Vehicles on the Fast Road to Progress

We all know Google for its ubiquitous search engine, but there will come a day when the world also knows it for its self-driving vehicles. In the six years since it began its Self-Driving Car Project, Google’s self-driving vehicles (pictured) have logged over 1.4 autonomous miles across America’s roads. Currently, Google is road-testing 55 of its self-driving vehicles on the streets of Mountain Vi

RIP Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200

This past Friday, I wrote a piece for the Auto Publishers blog detailing Fiat Chrysler’s plans to emphasize production of crossovers, SUVs and trucks. FCA’s logic for this change is as follows: a) big vehicles, specifically pickups, jeeps and SUVs, are the big moneymakers in today’s auto market and b) current fuel prices make purchasing gas-guzzling vehicles a more palatable option now than in yea

As Gas Prices Drop, Will the RAV4 Hybrid Replace the Prius?

In my most recent post about FCA, I elaborated on how Fiat Chrysler’s minivan and SUV expansion was based on the assumption that gas will remain cheap in the foreseeable future. The folks at Toyota looked at the same gas-price data and concluded it was a reason to winnow down its line of Prius vehicles. According to Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz, his company is currently considering whether

Altima Hood Latch Problems Cause Nissan to Issue Recalls

On January 29th, 2016, the Nissan Motor Company issued a statement saying that it plans to recall approximately 870,000 Nissan vehicles in Canada and the United States for hood latch issues. This is not the first time that the major corporation has recalled vehicles for related problems, and this recent decision is the third time that the automaker has scheduled to recall vehicles since 2014. The

Will Cadillac Requisition its Groove Back

It has been many years since the Cadillac brand has been truly in good esteem here in the United States. For a vast majority of the Twentieth Century, the mere mention of a the name evoke thoughts of prestige. The company blended increasingly uniquely identifiable aesthetic staples with unrelenting luxury. These features have been associated with Cadillac since the company’s inception. The compan

New 1982 Delorean Replicas Slated for Early 2017

With changes to safety and other regulations, it has been illegal for certain vehicles to be mass-produced. However, this is expected to change with the newly approved Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015, which will allow DeLorean Motor Company to produce replicas of its 1982 DeLorean in Humble, Texas. More than 30 years ago, DMC-Texas acquired what remained of the original DeLorean

Volvo Plans to Make Death-Proof Vehicles

Volvo just made a bold promise. The car company vowed that by the year 2020, its cars and SUVs will be death-proof. Lex Kerssemakers, the CEO of the company’s North America division, commented on the promise. He said, “If you meet Swedish engineers, they’re pretty genuine. They don’t say things when they don’t believe in it.” Predicting the Future The car compan

FCA Bets on Gas Prices Staying Low Forever

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (better known as FCA) released its updated North American business plan, and to be sure they provided some tasty morsels for auto fans to chew over. The FCA plan, which extends to the end of 2020, can be summarized thusly: make fewer small cars in favor of more Jeeps and trucks. On the surface, these don’t sound like bad ideas at all. In fact, they more or less accuratel

Delorean Motor Company Is not Making New Cars

I am not a fan of the DeLorean Motor Company. Honestly, there is a reason they were only able to make 9,000 examples of a single model in the 2(ish) years they were active (1981-1982); they made horrible cars even by 1980s standards. They only ever made one car, and It was called the DeLorean DMC 12. Even the name is awful. It is literally called the DeLorean DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) 12. Eit