Cars

Cars

Ahead of its fourth-quarter and 2025 annual earnings call today, GM announced that its software and subscription business is quickly gaining steam. The automaker said that last year, it recorded $5.4 billion in deferred revenue (meaning unearned revenue over time, through a recurring service) from its various OnStar-related connected services. These include various safety systems, in-car WiFi, access to audio streaming apps and more. GM is projecting deferred revenue from software to rise to $7.5 billion in 2026.

German brand RB Expeditions has created something that defies the rules with their custom 6×6 motorhome. Built on a MAN TGS chassis, this $1.8 million machine represents the pinnacle of go-anywhere luxury living. The six-wheel drive configuration makes it an exceptional off-roader across sand, mud, snow, and rock. The expedition-grade suspension allows this 12-ton vehicle to traverse terrain that would strand conventional RVs miles away. Ground clearance exceeds 16 inches, and the approach and departure angles are engineered for serious obstacles.

The best custom builds do not just remix old ideas. They ask what those ideas would look like if they were born today, with access to current tools, materials, and manufacturing processes. The SP40 Restomod Speedster is that question answered in carbon and billet. It takes the stance and spirit of a 1930s streamliner, that long, low, purposeful shape built for speed rather than comfort, and reimagines it through the lens of modern coachbuilding.

This is silly, but a particular lifestyle seemingly comes with it for anyone who drives a Mercedes. You might feel like you are taking on the responsibility of trying to show you are living a "rich" lifestyle, even if that isn't why you bought the car. Ultimately, this kind of pressure isn't for everyone and isn't guaranteed to happen, but many Mercedes owners complain about it after purchase.

Plug-in hybrids are like communism: great in theory, but often lacking in real-world execution. A car that can run on electricity for nearly all of most Americans' daily drivingabout 30 to 40 milesbut still has a gas engine for longer trips seems like it should be the ultimate do-everything vehicle. In reality, however, it's highly debatable whether owners actually plug them in.

Germany's ADAC simulated a 361-mile winter highway run at ~0 C with identical conditions to evaluate real-world range and charging needs, showing all EVs fell short of their WLTP figures. The Audi A6 Avant E-tron Performance topped the group with strong efficiency and charging, regaining ~186 miles of range in a 20-minute fast charge. The Tesla Model Y showed the best consumption, but slower charging limited gains; other models varied widely in range and charging capability under winter stress. More than a dozen new electric

It all started because we lived nearby and I've always liked cars,

The American automotive landscape is changing after a period that saw tighter emissions rules push automakers toward more efficient, quieter powertrains and prompted shifts away from big V8 engines. But many of those regulations, including the federal EV incentives, have fallen away, leading automakers that once promised to discontinue the gas-hungry engines to reinvest in V8 offerings - especially in full-size trucks and performance cars.

Life as a startup carmaker is hard-just ask Lucid Motors. When we met the brand and its prototype Lucid Air sedan in 2017, the company planned to put the first cars in customers' hands within a couple of years. But you know what they say about plans. A lack of funding paused everything until late 2018, when Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund bought itself a stake. A billion dollars meant Lucid could build a factory-at the cost of alienating some former fans

It's no secret that China's high-tech electric vehicles and hybrids are taking over the worldeverywhere but in the United States and Canada, really. But that's about to change for the latter country very soon. On this week's Plugged-In Podcast, we're discussing the recent trade deal that will renew Chinese EV imports into America's neighbor to the northand what that means for the entire North American car market.

More than 7 million UK motorists (17%) admit to breaking a road law in an emergency, with nearly a quarter (24%) confessing they would bend the rules if they thought they wouldn't get caught, according to new research by temporary car insurance provider, Tempcover. More than half of motorists (68%) believe it's 'OK' to park on double yellows, exceed the speed limit, and drive through a bus lane if it's an emergency.

The Cybercab, which is detailed for the year 2030, has an exceptionally low cost of operation, which is something Tesla revealed when it unveiled the vehicle a year and a half ago at the "We, Robot" event in Los Angeles. Musk said on numerous occasions that Tesla plans to hit the $0.20 cents per mile mark with the Cybercab, describing a "clear path" to achieving that figure and emphasizing it is the "full considered" cost, which would include energy, maintenance, cleaning, depreciation, and insurance.

China's market is crowded with many EV brands, many of them not turning a profit. Nio says that focusing on branding and customer experience is the way to stand out in a very crowded market. There are a lot of car brands in Chinatoo many of them. Despite the scale of China's car market and its level of innovation, a reset is bound to happen soon.

Now, the Bolt is backbut as expected, it won't be sticking around for very long. And now we know just how long. According to Bloomberg, GM officials have decided to end production of the heavily updated 2027 Chevrolet Bolt after just about a year and a half, in order to free up production space at its Fairfax, Kansas factory for a gas-powered Buick crossover.

Last year, the Cybertruck spiraled into market irrelevance while the rest of the EV market found its footing, as the pickup experienced the single biggest sales collapse of any electric vehicle in the United States. Elon Musk's flailing company managed to move only an estimated 20,237 Cybertrucks in 2025. And that's counting the units that Musk reportedly bought for himself through SpaceX and xAI to avoid further ridicule.

This was his 14th attempt at the French sports car classic and, at 42, he was not expecting to have to honour his pledge. But win he did. He and his co-driver, Richard Attwood, a former Jaguar apprentice, held the lead in their Porsche 917K for the last 12 hours of a race run on a rain-drenched track so treacherous that only seven cars out of 51 starters were able to reach the finish.

Martin Busche, in October 2025 you have been presenting several new solutions at Busworld. What exactly did you showcase? Martin Busche: What you saw in our booth is essentially our complete product range. Beyond what's displayed, we have further diversifications, but here you saw the full LFP battery pack family - a four-member family - and one of the NMC pack variants, the 6 AKM version. Our NMC family also includes a 1.80-meter 9 AKM pack and a 5 AKM pack, all featuring cylindrical-cell NMC modules.

The World Traveler 22RB, as it's officially labeled (a nod to the 22-foot length and bed in the rear of the trailer), is new to North America after the model name debuted in Germany in August. As the RV industry continues to struggle in the U.S. after pandemic highs, Airstream seems to be introducing this trailer to court new buyers with a more affordable price point (starting at $63,800) and easy-to-tow design that may not require upgrading to a larger truck or SUV.

Ford beat earnings estimates in three straight quarters through Q3 2025, with a stunning 367% surprise in Q1. The stock responded by going... nowhere. Up 47% over the past year but still trading at $13.60, barely above where it sat in 2016. That's the Ford pattern in a nutshell: promise without payoff, execution without escape velocity.