Why Won’t Automakers Tell Us How Often People Actually Charge Their Plug-In Hybrids?

On paper, plug-in hybrids offer the best of both worlds — electric power for daily driving and gas power for longer trips — but to get the most out of a PHEV, you have to charge it. Take the Toyota RAV4 Prime, for example. It has a 42-mile electric-only range, is rated at 94 MPGe … Read more

Ford’s Warranty Costs Rose $800 Million In The Second Quarter

Good morning! It’s Thursday, July 25, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know. BMW F 900 GS And BMW CE 02: What Do You Want To Know? 1st Gear: Warranty Costs … Read more

I’m Looking For A New Luxury Hybrid That’s Not Too Big! What Car Should I Buy?

Kevin is helping his in-laws replace their BMW X5 PHEV which is too big and unwieldy for aging drivers. They are looking for something smaller, but still in the luxury space and like the idea of having a hybrid powerplant. With a budget up to $70,000, what car should they buy? I Need To Replace … Read more

2025 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance PHEV Gives You The Best Of Both Worlds

At face value, the 2025 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance looks like yet another hybrid only created to appease emissions regulators and set new horsepower records. While yes, its 805 horsepower makes the plug-in-hybrid GT the quickest AMG ever, its small battery pack and meager electric-only range make the hybridization seem pointless. Two days of … Read more

‘Green New Scam’ Donald Trump Says He’ll End The EV Mandate That Exists In His Imagination On Day One

Good morning! It’s Friday, July 19, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know. New York Joins California, Banning Non-Electric Vehicles After 2035 1st Gear: Trump Tells RNC He’ll End EV Mandate … Read more

GM Fined $146 Million After Millions Of Cars Failed Emissions Tests

Good morning! It’s Thursday, July 4, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know. New York Joins California, Banning Non-Electric Vehicles After 2035 1st Gear: Almost 6 Million GM Cars Released Excess … Read more

I Am Swapping My Volt For A Highway Cruiser! What Car Should I Buy?

Nick’s wife is starting a new job that requires a lot of long-distance highway travel. She is looking for something a bit more comfortable than her 2012 Chevy Volt with some updated features. With a budget of up to $45,000 what car should she buy? The 2023 Dodge Challenger Swinger Edition Was The Most Fun … Read more

Bob Lutz Made A Terrible Plug-In Hybrid Truck A Decade Ago

Bob Lutz is undoubtedly a pioneer in the automotive world, but sometimes even the greats get it wrong. Sometimes they get it so wrong the product they come up with is downright irrelevant and is forgotten by the annals of time. Take the Via Motors VTrux. Do you remember the VTrux? Me neither, but Big … Read more

Cadillac Doesn’t Plan To Offer Any Hybrids

Image: Cadillac GM is rethinking its EV investment and finally coming around to what Toyota seems to be selling a ton of: hybrids. The first of these hybrids were needed yesterday, but we won’t be seeing them until 2027. That’s when every GM division will roll out a hybrid or plug-in hybrid model. Just don’t … Read more

Even Ford Is Walking Back Its EV Plans In Europe Now

Europe-only Ford Explorer EV Image: Ford It wasn’t all that long ago, February of 2021 in fact, that Ford Europe announced it was “all-in on EVs.” It planned to invest $2 billion to transform the Cologne, Germany plant into an electric car production giant. The plan had stepping stones toward a fully electric 2030, including … Read more