The real world just wrote the sequel to Cocaine Bear.
www.koin.com/news/nationa...

2027 Subaru Getaway EV primed for family fun A smart strategy with Toyota brings Subaru an electric SUV that serves as a stealth flagship.

Hello to Subaru's biggest passenger vehicle and what's effectively its new flagship! Made in Kentucky, batteries from Michigan. Home bidirectional charging goodness is on the way, and from time up close I can touch that this is all looking very competitive vs EV9.
www.wardsauto.com/news/2027-su...

Lucid development chief Emad Dlala promises superior efficiency with Atlas/Midsize "compared to the newest, most optimized platforms in the world"—pointing to Chinese, German rivals.

Lucid design boss Jenkins nails the punchline, with a promise of "mechanical analog door handles" in Cosmos and Earth.

"What a time to be alive."

Lucid Cosmos and Earth confirmed for first two of three vehicles on its Midsize Platform. Together these vehicles may represent a 10x increase in its addressable market, it says.

Trump’s EPA scraps greenhouse gas emissions standards The agency said its action would rescind the electric-vehicle "mandate" in place under the former Obama and Biden Administrations.

Alt title: EPA gags itself on climate...

What I'm hearing out there, sometimes between the lines, is that the auto industry is getting way more than it asked for—and it's not necessarily a good thing.
www.wardsauto.com/news/trumps-...

Automated driving is staging a comeback with the help of AI Interest in self-driving waned as technology hit some snags and automakers invested in battery-electric vehicles. But autonomy is back in focus and headed to the market in a big way.

Excellent overview of how AD/AV investment is back in vogue from Dave Zoia—including some news-to-me PwC insight: That "automakers now see being among the first to offer higher levels of automated driving as the best near-term opportunity to gain market share."
www.wardsauto.com/news/automat...

Today’s auto-tech-beat word that doesn’t mean what it sounds like it might: analog computer.

Tesla didn't remove the Robotaxi 'safety monitor' – it just moved them to a trailing car Earlier today, Elon Musk announced on X that Tesla had “just started Tesla Robotaxi drives in Austin with no safety...

Not unsupervised.
Double the cars /congestion.
Double the energy consumed.
electrek.co/2026/01/22/t...

Happy tethering a stream of your trip and driving data in exchange for 50% off insurance?

Definitely begs more dystopian questions about privacy.

Why 2026 Will Be a Great Time to Buy a Used EV A flood of off-lease EVs will soon start hitting dealers, driving down prices.

Many of the 1.1M+ EVs leased under a juicy Biden policy loophole will soon be returning to base as Trump-era used cars, starting a surge of late-model EVs in 2026.

At bargain prices vs. gasoline models, read why they may upend the market.
www.caranddriver.com/news/a700209...

Are Solid-State Batteries and In-Wheel Motors Coming for Electric Sports Cars? - Hagerty Media Did tech just enable more electric sports cars? Donut Lab and WEVC think so, and they want to build your niche EV.

Is this really "it"?

Lots of CES headlines peg Donut's CES buzz—of solid-state batteries headed to motorcycles in weeks, cars soon.

With 3rd-party vetting, it might beat such projects bankrolled by global automakers, battery giants—and change the shape of cars.
www.hagerty.com/media/news/a...

The 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid is an excellent big family vehicle, with a fresh form, a cabin experience that's tech-forward but uncomplicated.

Recently drove it for a few days and topped 30 mpg. If you're not plugging in, impressive for the three-row size and space.

Kudos on the NACTOY win!

I recently followed up with the Ford Maverick Lobo...asking myself "What pickup?"

With some of the driving flavor of a performance compact car, the Ford Maverick Lobo hauls.

Congrats to Ford on the Truck of the Year win; now let's see how this can be channeled in a more electrified direction.

In Ford's own Bill Ford bio:
"During the last industry downturn, Ford invested heavily in fuel economy and technology at a time when many others were pulling back,” he says. “It absolutely was the right thing to do.”

Quick! Change it.
[scramble behind the scenes]

I took that to be a nervous laugh from "environmentalist" Ford at first. But now I'm entirely second-guessing it.

Thoughts?

EPA. Protecting a different sort of environment since 2025.

Pacifica Hybrid is an *excellent* PHEV—not just in terms of efficiency and drivability, but the accessibility of the tech. It doesn't intimidate drivers with a boggle of modes; it just makes your driving more electric.

Should be the template for future PHEVs from these brands.

China's Great Wall Motors Flaunts Two 8-Cylinder Engines at CES That Could Reach Production As Western automakers are purging V-8s from their lineups, China’s Great Wall Motors has a different idea.

Yes, it's TWO new gasoline 8-cyl engines (a V-8 and a flat-8), from a Chinese automaker building on an era of consistent EV subsidies. Eye-opening? Delightfully contrarian? Simply part of the Chinese OEM surge at CES 2026 as most other automakers sat it out.
www.caranddriver.com/news/a699468...

Chinese Giant Geely Eyes Entering U.S. Market: Could These Cars Reach Our Shores? The Geely Auto Group claims to be the fastest-growing automaker in the world, but it’s taking its time about entering the U.S. market.

Around CES I've driven a sample of vehicles from Geely Auto's core brands, inc Zeekr and Lynk & Co.

The cars are ready for the U.S. Soon, with help from Volvo (or Renault) will they be delivered near the compelling price points they have in other markets?
www.caranddriver.com/news/a699351...

No, that’s not a poster backdrop… Out getting to know the Acura MDX in the Pacific NW.

Checks *almost* all of the boxes. Time to electrify it.

MPG Moonshot: The Original Honda Insight Went Farther with Less - Hagerty Media The original Honda Insight was no NSX when it comes to collectability, but there are undeniable parallels in the pair.

With the Prelude hybrid arriving now, let's look at Honda's original hybrid moonshot—the Insight!

This quirky coupe was loaded with innovations handed down from F1 racing and the original NSX.

But 25+ years on will it find its own halo and a place with collectors?
www.hagerty.com/media/car-pr...

Rapid progress for lithium-ion, from smartphones to EVs. 6 yrs and 83% from constant use with no cooling!

Basically same strategy that kept our OG Leaf fine on original pack: Avoid fast-charging when possible, don’t let it get too hot; don’t let it sit at 100%, and save those full charges.

Yes, sorry if I led you astray with that earlier post -- it does not have a heat pump!

Back at the launch event, Nissan had confirmed to me and a few others that all versions would have it, but in following back up with PR it's clear something was lost in translation.

Charging at a Tesla Supercharger went as Lucid claimed. Plug-and-charge started promptly, 30 min for 7%-80%. Despite precon maybe nixed by nav (see prev post), charge power hit 220 kW by 9%, maintained to 49%, still ticking 150 kW at 74%. Even at 91% it was at 87 kW.

Road trip machine!

First, range/efficiency was lower vs. EPA than I expected given all my time in Air, and I don’t have a clear explanation why.

With temps 45-55 F (some sun, a little rain), I saw a Gravity-est 280 miles per charge. Yes, some brief Swift and Sprint samples, but much of it rather easygoing driving.

Time to bring you what I saw in my first sample of real-world range and charging takeaways with Lucid Gravity:

Efficiency and range picture not yet complete, but this EV charges on Superchargers exactly as spelled out.

As for gremlins-- Unexpected starts of nav to far-away places; switching to a 300+ mile tangle to a 22-mi-away charge stop (+ canceling precon).

Some of this *might* be related to this demo vehicle being registered to other users, but I really can't say for sure. And no ACP workaround yet.

[2/2]

Not critically flawed, but not flawless either!

Clearly positive progress. This one is on 3.3.20. Entry/access and screen/menu behavior has been flawless, and the app has been near-instantaneous even on spotty coverage, so happy to report this is all working fine now.

[1/2]

Caught a sunny break in the Columbia Gorge to get to know the Lucid Gravity a bit better. SO well tuned for ride and handling!