The term “software-defined vehicle” has only come into vogue during the past half decade, but the concept’s underpinnings go back half a century to 1970, which could be called a big-bang point for the auto industry. That was the year the first wave o

During our drive, few civilians seemed to realize the Lightning was anything but a regular F-150. Only upon closer inspection, typically when we were parked, would bystanders notice tells like the unique lighting and start asking questions. A surefir

The future has a habit of sneaking up on you. It seems only yesterday I was testing cars with carburetors and overhead valves and live rear axles and three-speed transmissions. Only hand-built Italian exotics had anything more than 350 hp. You approa

Badge engineering used to carry negative connotations. Automakers churned out near-identical cars, charging more for the “luxury” versions while cutting corners on true quality. The practice was largely abandoned years ago, though, in favor of “brand

Platform sharing is smart. It allows automakers to amortize the cost of fundamental components across higher production volumes and expand the number of models their individual brands can offer without massive investments. For decades, the Volkswagen

Former AMG chief Tobias Moers (right), hired by Aston Martin majority shareholder Lawrence Stroll in 2020 to turn around the struggling British marque, has stepped down from his role as Aston CEO. The move comes after the two men reportedly clashed o

There’s a sense of familiarity when you enter the 2023 Subaru Solterra. The start button is where it’s supposed to be, the side-mirror controls are located on the door panel, and the entire interface looks like business as usual. Unlike some other ne

The wild popularity of trucks and SUVs in America is easy to understand if you know one simple thing: Americans love do-it-all vehicles. And in the three-row SUV realm it’s hard to go wrong with options like the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the Kia Telluri

There was one notably new experience during the otherwise perfectly normal 2023 Genesis GV60 launch (page 17). Instead of using an actual key, the new electric SUV scanned my face and fingerprint to unlock it and allow me to drive off. This was a per

By no measure do the new 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup and the 2022 Rivian R1T feel like they have anything in common. The Rivian is a quiet, sophisticated, and reserved electric pickup. Introverted, even. The Hummer EV is a huge, brash, all-you-can-eat

We recently we rode shotgun in a heavily camouflaged 2023 Mercedes-EQ EQS SUV prototype. Now we’ve clapped our peepers on the production model’s sheetmetal in a studio, crawled around and under this burly beauty, and struggled to digest 62 pages of p

Many of you reading this are likely looking at the F-150 Lightning through the lens of a private purchase, but as much as Ford wants to sell you an electric truck, it also wants to sell them to businesses. To help commercial and government fleets mak

When I was a kid, my folks bought cars with vinyl or polyester seats because those materials were cheap and easy to clean. Only fancy people sprang for leather, which always smelled amazing. But leather eventually became ubiquitous (and smelling of c

PRICE: $0.75 We delved into the murky and then-evolving world of new car warranties, talked to 10 female professionals about their cars, and sampled Oldsmobile’s new Nova clone, the Omega. In our second-in-a-row mini-wagon test, the Mazda RX-3 beat t

I was just reading the Editor’s Note in your June issue. Aaron Gold’s comments comparing the government’s actions today on electric vehicles to the actions it took in the ’70s and ’80s to clean up emissions and improve fuel economy were quite thought

Blame the pandemic or Instagram: People want outdoor action, and they want sharp-looking vehicles with some off-road capability. That’s why the Honda Passport TrailSport and the Subaru Outback Wilderness are here. Honda and Subaru tired of seeing cus

With the launch of its all-electric E-Class equivalent, the 2023 EQE-Class, Mercedes has the Tesla Model S squarely in its sights. The self-proclaimed inventor of the combustion-powered car (see: 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen) felt no compunction to em

Pickup trucks were the longest holdout in the transition to electric vehicles, and for good reason. Their use cases are different, more diverse, and more challenging than anything a car or SUV deals with. They need to tow and haul and off-road as wel

Behold the most efficient Mercedes ever: the Vision EQXX. On Tuesday, April 5, this experimental concept car drove 626 miles from its birthplace in Stuttgart, Germany, up and over the 6,900-foot Gotthard Pass in Switzerland to the French Riviera on a

When Disneyland first opened its doors in 1955, its namesake provided a simple mission: “Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.” Perhaps no original attraction better encapsulated

Ferdinand Porsche’s first automotive invention was an electric wheel-hub motor, which he raced in Vienna in 1897. Motors are round, they fit nicely inside of wheels, and that’s where today’s EVs might put them if their added unsprung mass didn’t wrec

Yes, it’s a plug-in hybrid with a turbocharged V-6 engine. But the only people who are going to hate on the Ferrari 296 GTB, who will loudly proclaim it a betrayal of all that’s holy at the house of the Prancing Horse, are those who will never get th

“Here it comes,” I call out to photographer William Walker. “Yeah, there’s no one driving.” As Walker’s shutter rapid-fires and the upfitted Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid electric vehicle pulls up to where I’m standing on a residential cul-de-sac

The newest Jeep Grand Cherokee’s stepwise launch has been like an infomercial where a presenter screams at you, “But wait, there’s more!” Beginning in 2021, the Grand Cherokee L, the first three-row Grand Cherokee, appeared alongside the old, two-row