Author: admin

Did you know that a square four engine used to be a thing? In fact, early designs date back nearly 100 years to a man named Edward Turner. He was a motorcycle designer in the UK who penned up a compact engine that essentially fused two small twin cylinders into a single four-pot. He sold the design to a company called Aerial Motors, and thus the Aerial Square Four was born. One doesn’t simply stick a couple of inline twins together for a four-banger. As this video from the YouTube channel Driving 4 Answers demonstrates, this engine is truly a…

Anyone who knows the phrase “badge engineering” knows that General Motors is one of the biggest offenders. Throughout history, the company has offered vehicles that are mechanically identical but sold under two, three or even four brands. In the electric era, the company is trying to further differentiate its products, as Alex Dykes explains in the latest EV Buyers Guide video. In it, he breaks down the core differences between the Chevy Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq. Both are all-electric “Ultium” vehicles built on the same platform, with similar software suites. But there are some major differences between these closely…

The electric box van experts at Harbinger announced a new, EREV version of their medium-duty van that pairs a big battery with a small, gas-powered ICE engine to offer fleets that are hesitant to electrify a massive 500 miles of autonomy on a single charge + tank. The American truck brand is putting its latest $100 million raise to good use, developing a cost-competitive EREV chassis that marries a low-emissions 1.4L inline four-cylinder gas engine with a close coupled 800V generator sending power to a 140 or 175 kW battery for up to 500 miles of fully loaded range. More…

The BYD e7 is a midsize sedan that is expected to target primarily the shared mobility market. The BYD e7 is not part of the Dynasty or Ocean series, but is displayed on a website aimed at corporate customers. (BYD e7. Image credit: BYD) BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) today officially launched its new all-electric sedan e7, which is expected to be one of the car-buying options for the shared mobility market. The BYD e7 is available in three variants with starting prices of RMB 103,800 ($14,400), RMB 109,800 and RMB 115,800 respectively. The company is offering a limited-time RMB…

Coming of age in the early 2000s, I’ll never forget stepping out of the theater after The Fast and the Furious let out. Even the minivans were banging against redline. Nor will I forget the many issues of Super Street magazine that packed my bookshelf. So often, Super Street’s pages filled with the 2JZ builds of this man: Steph Papadakis, the patron saint of high-horse inline-sixes.  While best known in the early days for his gnarly Supra engine builds, Papadakis has become a fixture in both the pro drifting scene and the BMW tuning scene, turning his considerable talents to…

In January-April, Tesla’s retail sales in China’s domestic market amounted to 163,338 units, down 0.31 percent year-on-year. Tesla’s retail share of the Chinese BEV market was 5.14 percent in April, down from 11.47 percent in March. Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) retail sales in China fell on a year-on-year basis last month, after data earlier this month showed a decrease in sales of cars produced at its Shanghai factory. Tesla China sold 58,459 vehicles in April, including 29,728 for export, data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed. That means the US electric vehicle (EV) maker sold 28,731 vehicles…

Retail sales of China’s passenger NEVs saw year-on-year growth last month, despite a decline from March. Retail penetration of NEVs was 51.5 percent in April, above 50 percent for the second consecutive month. China’s passenger new energy-vehicle (NEV) retail sales saw year-on-year growth last month, despite a decline from March. Retail sales of passenger NEVs in April totaled 905,000 units, up 33.9 percent year-on-year but down 8.7 percent from March, data released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed. The figure is lower than the preliminary figure of 922,000 released by the CPCA earlier this month, but higher…

Tesla’s insurance arm is taking a beating by paying out more than it earns from premiums, according to data from S&P Global. This is significantly higher than the national average loss ratios calculated for other insurance companies. It could mean that not even Tesla can repair its own cars affordably after an accident. In 2019, Tesla set out to lower insurance rates for owners of its electric cars. The goal was simple, at least in theory: fix the broken cost of car insurance. Instead, Tesla may have broken its own calculator trying to make sense of repair costs. See, Musk’s…

Kia’s new EV3 and EV5 are already climbing the sales charts in several key markets. With more low-cost EVs arriving this year, including the EV4, its first electric sedan (and hatch), this could be just the start to Kia’s global sales run. Kia’s low-cost EVs are hot sellers After selling nearly 275,000 vehicles globally in April, Kia said new models, such as the smaller EV3 electric SUV, helped boost sales. The EV3 was Kia’s top-selling EV in Korea again last month. Kia EV3 opened orders in South Korea last June, starting at about $30,700 (KRW 39.95 million). With incentives, the…

Skoda’s smallest EV may prove a continent-wide success story after selling over 45,000 units in the last six months. The Elroq is Skoda’s equivalent to the VW ID.3, but with a taller crossover body, and it’s €10,000 ($11,300) cheaper than a Model Y. Skoda will add a larger three-row electric SUV to its lineup, followed by an electric Octavia. Skoda may not be a familiar name in the United States, but the brand is very popular in Europe—and it’s seen an uptick in EV sales recently. Like its parent company Volkswagen, which overtook Tesla as the continent’s best-selling EV manufacturer in…