Street News

From Disruptor to Discontinued We'll never tire of telling the story of how Lexus shook up the luxury car market in America. It's a tale that's been told many times, but it's always worth revisiting. The LS was a flagship sedan that was better built than German and American models, but it was priced like a midsize luxury car. It sold in droves and forced the longtime players to do a rethink. It's ironic then that the LS was quietly retired in the very market that disrupted it. The final generati

A new 'fit' for the Fit. Mugen already has a bunch of new parts for the recently updated Honda Fit in Japan, and aside from the dress-up bits and 17-inch aluminum wheels, Mugen's also throwing in another mod that pulls from the Civic (FK8 and FL5) Type R's bag of performance tricks. The concept that Mugen wanted to pursue when designing the parts for the new Honda Fit was "Life is Sports," where Mugen explains that its parts add a sporty touch to everyday life. The "Infinite Fit," as Mugen coi

The global automotive landscape is shifting at breakneck speed, and Western markets are increasingly feeling left out. While domestic brands struggle to balance battery costs and design, cheap Chinese EVs continue to emerge as highly capable, ultra-modern alternatives that rewrite the rules of what an affordable utility vehicle should be. According to MIIT regulatory filings via CarNewsChina, the Chery iCaur V25 is a mid-size, boxy EREV (extended-range electric vehicle). The V25 differs from the

Supercars Got Mud On Their Shoes The global pandemic is remembered in the automotive industry as a major supply-chain disruptor that caused delays and financial losses. On the other hand, it also boosted interest in off-road recreation, including ATVs and dirt bikes. Around the same period, Porsche and Lamborghini introduced off-road-ready versions of their supercars with the 911 Dakar and Huracán Sterrato, respectively. Over at Lamborghini, the Huracán Sterrato does not yet have a direct succes

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration head Jonathan Morrison has told the press that "it doesn't make sense" for autonomous cars to have manual controls like brake pedals and steering wheels. Our first impression is that this sounds scary; how would a robotaxi user bring the vehicle to a safe stop in the event of some sort of malfunction? Morrison told CNBC, "If you're developing a vehicle that is designed never to be driven by a human operator, it doesn't make sense to require manual c

One Japanese minivan desperately needs a hybrid Americans have purchased over 200,000 minivans in the first half of 2026, demonstrating the continued relevance of these family-friendly vehicles. While SUVs and trucks remain more popular, the versatility of minivans is unmatched. Toyota and Honda are two of the major players in the minivan segment with the Sienna and Odyssey. Both nameplates were introduced back in the 1990s. In 2026, they’ve been on different trajectories. Demand for the Sienna

Rivals To Friends Just a month ago, we reported that Ram was embarking on a special new partnership with one of America's leading performance tuners, Roush Performance. When it was first teased, people were shocked at the idea that Roush, who is closely associated with Ford not just for vehicle tuning, but in the world of motorsports as well, would choose to work on a rival brand's pickup. At the time, it was merely a teaser and an announcement, but now it's been officially revealed what exactly

Crunch Time at VW Group If you read the headlines surrounding the Volkswagen Group, it's mostly about its future being at stake. Mind you, it's still the largest automotive conglomerate in Europe, but that doesn't mean it's in rude health. If anything, the company is doing all it can to reduce costs, buck downward sales trends, and return to healthier profits. To say it's embattled would be an understatement for the group at the moment. Tens of thousands of people are at risk of losing their liv

Recharging The EV Push Despite the Trump administration’s rollback of several electric vehicle adoption policies, California continues to push toward zero-emission mobility. Its latest effort comes in the form of legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, creating rebates of up to $3,500 for EV purchases. The $270 million program consists of a $135.5 million state investment matched dollar-for-dollar by participating automakers and will launch later this summer. However, there are se

Thinking Outside The Q Audi CEO Gernot Döllner has previously floated the idea of developing a true body-on-frame SUV, but whether the German marque will actually build one remains an open question. Still, that has not stopped people from imagining what a Mercedes-Benz G-Class fighter wearing the four rings could look like. Russia’s Kolesa has offered its take with a rendering of a rugged, off-road-ready Audi SUV. With no official design details available, the publication looked to the Concept C

The first-ever all-electric Ferrari was revealed a month ago, and it's been the subject of an endless stream of hate and vitriol. But according to the automaker's global marketing boss, Emanuele Carando, this extreme reaction was a good thing. Speaking with Edmunds, Carando said, "Being a marketing director, I was very pleased. Ferrari is such a loved marque that belongs to everybody, and everybody has a right to say something about it. Still, whenever you develop something new, the novelty scar

The first-ever electric BMW M3 has been spied with production bodywork for the first time, and the photos our spies captured at the Nürburgring not only confirm that the vehicle's styling will adhere closely to that of the M Vision Neue Klasse concept but also that the EV will share its badge with the combustion M3 rather than wear a unique iM3 badge. The badge on the trunk is still covered up, but it clearly has the same shape as other M3s in the dynasty, and speaking with Bimmer Today, BMW M b

Customer Complains... This year, the U.S. Government promised to refund automakers for the import tariffs they paid. Ford, in particular, accumulated a total return bill of $1.3 billion. That money could help put Ford in the green and in a better position for profitability before the end of the year. However, one plaintiff has filed a case against Ford, arguing that consumers are also entitled to a share of the tariff refund because the cars they purchased from the Blue Oval had inflated sticke

Already Beating Its Own Target Sure, the automotive world is marching toward electrification, but a few brave souls are still waving the flag for high-revving, old-school combustion. Gordon Murray Automotive has its own howling V12 track monster, while Aston Martin's Valkyrie keeps showing us what a proper twelve-cylinder can do. Now, there's a new challenger muscling its way into this rarefied club. First shown off in 2024, the Nilu27 hypercar just hit a big milestone: its custom-built V12 fire

Headlight Design Leaked, And It Looks Weird The current Kia Sportage just got a major facelift in plenty of markets, but don't get too comfortable with it. In the world of car development, the next big thing is always lurking around the corner. While buyers are still getting used to the updated model, Kia's engineers are already busy testing the next-gen Sportage. Spy shots of camouflaged prototypes have been making the rounds in South Korea for months, teasing us with just enough detail to keep

Smaller Hybrid Packaging The real question with the next-gen Mazda MX-5 Miata isn't if it's going electric in some way. It's whether Mazda can pull that off without tossing out the lightweight, no-nonsense spirit that's made the Miata a legend for over thirty years. Mazda's already admitted it's poking around at electrified options for its future sports cars, but the real headache is packaging. Hybrids drag along a mess of extra electronics, cooling bits, and high-voltage gear, all fighting for

Subaru of America is recalling more than 541,000 vehicles in the United States, though the reason behind this one is unusually low-drama. Rather than a mechanical defect, the issue comes down to a printing error on an information label. Joel Stocksdale What the recall covers According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the affected vehicles carry a compliance l

EV Fires are Uncommon, but They Always Get Attention Nobody wants to see 'EV' and 'fire' in the same headline. Sure, battery fires are rarer than gas-car infernos, but when they do happen, they grab headlines. Lithium-ion batteries play by their own rules, and putting out a fire isn’t as simple as grabbing a fire extinguisher. That’s why even a tiny recall matters. Automakers would rather nip a battery issue in the bud than let it turn into a headline-grabbing disaster. Hyundai and Kia are jumpi

Aston Martin's current range is vastly improved from what came before, and its next generation of cars will be even better, but the V12 engine will become scarce at the automaker. Auto Express reports that, to keep within the bounds of the law on both sides of the Atlantic, the 12-cylinder option will become increasingly rare, according to Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark: "We've done some work to make the V12 compliant to European and U.S. [regulations]. If we keep our V12 sales under 1,000 per

Toyota's electric vehicle business is finally growing. After years of taking a reserved approach to EVs, the Japanese automaker has more than doubled its electric vehicle sales in the United States during the first half of 2026. According to Cox Automotive, Toyota delivered 21,855 battery-electric vehicles between January 1 and June 30, 2026, representing a 136.3% increase over the same period last year. New Models Fuel Rapid Growth

From Workhorse to Race Truck America is hopelessly addicted to trucks. If there’s even a whisper of a hiccup with the Ford F-150 supply chain, the automotive world collectively loses its mind. We’ve grown accustomed to our pickups being mobile living rooms, laden with leather, tech, and price tags that rival luxury sedans. It’s a domestic obsession that blinds us to the rest of the world, where utility still reigns supreme. Enter the Toyota Hilux Champ, a purpose-built, "bare-bones" workhorse th

Lamborghini has stepped back from plans to introduce the Lanzador as its first fully electric production model. The company still intends to add a fourth vehicle to its range, but the latest comments from Lamborghini suggest it will become a plug-in-hybrid grand tourer positioned between its supercars and the Urus. The decision reflects both Lamborghini’s concerns about the experience offered by current electric performance cars and the apparent lack of enthusiasm for them among its customers. S

Stellantis-owned Italian brand Fiat specializes in small cars, and its latest, the Topolino, was launched in America last week as a sub-$14,000 transportation device. Despite the obvious practical drawbacks of such a small car, an even more impractical but more fun-to-drive Abarth example could soon be introduced. Autocar reports that the diminutive quadricycle could get sportier to attract younger buyers, with company CEO Olivier François saying an Abarth version would be "a dream," adding that

The Death Of Combustion Can Wait At the start of this decade, the electric-vehicle transition felt inevitable, spurring a race for survival among automakers. Several, including Volvo, planned to go all-electric as early as 2030. But policy and market changes have since helped bring combustion engines back into the game, particularly in the U.S., where hybrids have gained significant traction. Despite this shift, automakers continue to develop combustion engines to make them more efficient and pr

Arizona's monsoon has arrived in force. The NWS in Flagstaff is tracking a moisture surge that pushes the state into an active monsoon pattern starting today and holding for the next week to ten days, while forecast offices in Tucson and Phoenix have already issued flash flood warnings as storms drop torrential rain over drainages that are bone dry most of the year. The single greatest danger isn't the rain itself, it's flooded roads: the NWS reminds drivers to "turn around, don't drown," becaus

The new 2027 BMW X5 is arguably the most radical version of the nameplate yet, with a multitude of powertrain options, forward-thinking design, and numerous semi-autonomous driving aids, but it could have been even better if BMW had wanted. Speaking during a roundtable discussion following the new X5's debut, Phillip Koehn, senior vice president of BMW's Luxury Class, Alpina, and Rolls-Royce, told journalists that engineers chose to focus on areas other than off-road ability, saying that it wasn

This particular sales race isn't close BMW is currently on track to retain the luxury sales crown in the U.S. after major automakers reported first-half sales. The company has enjoyed thriving sales over the last few years while some rivals have slipped. One of those is Audi, which has seen a significant drop in 2026 sales so far. It’s well behind BMW, but how big is the gap? We’ve crunched the numbers and compared these great rivals. BMW Vs. Audi Sales 2026