Search results

This was the car that was to be the Alfa 6C, I suppose? Modena itself can produce about 6-7,000 vehicles a year, so there's room for another Maserati car, and maybe even an Alfa too. FCA has invested a fair amount of money into this plant, with a new paint-shop. Part of that was to break the...

It's not like oil is refined into gasoline by magical, clean pixies, though, is it? ... and electricity can be generated in ways that don't involve burning fuel.

I think you're right. The EU-Canada trade deal may be the reason why it's now easier. Also, pretty obvioulsy, EV's don't have emssions, so they don't need to be adjusted for North American emissions regulations ;)

Canadian availability of European EVs is because Canada, like Mexico, allows registration of vehicles that are certified under either the United States (FMVSS) or the Rest-of-the-world (UNECE) safety standards, so it's simply a matter of putting cars on boats: no modification necessary (the...

I know some metropolitan planning authorities in California have considered plans to incentivise zero-emission drivers at peak traffic times, and possibly penalize vehicles that fall into the higher emissions category. The California air pollution that comes from cars is so high because the...

Despite their name, Rare Earth metals are not rare... Lanthanum is the only rare-earth used in batteries (but in Nickel, not Lithium chemistries), and it's 80% as prevalent as Copper in the Earth's crust. Neodymium, most commonly used in magnets, is slightly more common again. The...

A universal rule must meet the needs of all states. California has some specific geographical and climatic and environmental features that make its cities susceptible to very poor air quality. The waiver was actually a way to allow California to meet its needs for clean air without dragging...

Canada also adopted the Californian standards, so automakers will not save any R&D costs: vehicles sold in Canada will have to comply with the CARB standards. Whatever he may personally believe, the current US president has no jurisdiction in Canada. Whatever happens, California will continue...

Not particularly. It'll be a wider car, but still within the C-segment. If the length stays within the C-segment norms ( 4.5 m), then being wide is an advantage, as it offers more elbow-room inside.

.. so Renegade was engineered for US road conditions? Interesting. I assume there's also a 500x PHEV in the works there too: given the similarity of the two cars, anything that can be installed in Renegade can be fitted to 500x too.

I think it's fine to lose scores because of pedestrian-impact testing - I'd even like a cyclist test added too (even though I don't even own a bike). That's still about testing safety in an impact. I'd like to see the driver-assist separated into a different score, and leave the main score as...

Panda with modern driver assistance systems (lane-depart, autonomous braking, blind-spot monitoring) would jump back to three stars (the 500 has a three-star rating). EuroNCAP changed their scoring system so that a "fail" in technical aids (or any other section) results in zero stars, and some...

@mopar22 Mercedes A-class was never a B-segment car. The 1997 original was just 3.7 m long, but that was mainly because it lacked a front "hood". Its wheelbase was at the short end of the segment (2.42 m when everyone else was around 2.5 m), but because of the "sandwich" construction and...

@Deckard Cain I think her first job is to steady the R-N-M partnership. Nissan is facing a rough year or two. Its profits have collapsed, and now it may be forced to close its most productive European plant because of Brexit (70% of supply-chain originating in other EU countries cannot...

Renegade PHEV in early 2020, confirmed in the recent earnings reports: No talk of a 500X version, but I guess that would be an easy introduction given how similar these two vehicles are.

Last week I had a quick drive of the Mitubishi Outlander PHEV, which looks to be a P2+P4 or P3+P4 hybrid (there are two electric motors, one per axle, but the front one is not direct), and I was largely impressed with the concept. It's far better than the Toyota full hybrid as a driver's car...

First off, Renault doesn't own any of AM General anymore, and second, the rule about foreign government ownership of defense contractors is no longer as blunt as it was. (The problem back in 1982 wasn't that Renault had bought AM, but that the French Government had a voting stake in Renault)...

Outside isn't bad, although I think the headlamps are a step backwards from the previous edition. Side profile is really good, but that's always been the 3er's best angle. I do not like the interior at all. Over-use of chrome: it's not just that too many parts are chromed, but also the...