The Auto World

The new model will compete with the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger. Hyundai Australia recently indicated the model could be a hybrid. Underpinning the new mid-size truck will be a ladder-frame chassis. Hyundai’s body-on-frame mid-size pickup has been circling the rumor mill for years, but the company’s Investor Day presentation earlier this week finally put some meat on the bones. The Korean automaker spent the session laying out where it plans to spend money through the end of the decade, and the truck came up as part of a much larger product blitz. The company announced it will introduce more than 100 new or refreshed models by 2030, including at least 58 launches in North America. Key areas it’s targeting are so-called ‘white spaces,’ parts of the market that it’s yet to tap into. One of these voids will be filled by a body-on-frame pickup, which will launch in the next three years or so. Read: Hyundai...

eBay will ban sales of airbags and airbag inflators starting next month. Move comes after users were caught selling counterfeit airbags on the site. eBay will also restrict sales of some airbag-related parts, but only in America. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed eight drivers were killed in otherwise survivable crashes that involved replacement airbag inflators made by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System. The government believes the components were illegally imported and then used to repair vehicles that were involved in a previous collision. Officials warned these “dangerous, substandard airbag inflators” malfunction during crashes and this sends “large metal fragments into drivers’ chests, necks, eyes and faces.” This effectively means they’re more of a claymore mine than an airbag. More: Counterfeit Airbags From China Are Exploding In US Cars...

Fisker Ocean owners in Sweden will each receive approximately $4,300. The lawyers involved in the case will walk away with more than the owners. Owners of impacted Ocean models were initially seeking $15,500 each. More than two years after Fisker went belly-up and filed for bankruptcy, the once-promising company has wrapped up bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden and Norway . Impacted owners will receive a payout, though it’s far less than they initially hoped for. Local media reports that Fisker’s total Swedish estate was valued at approximately 6 million krona ($632,000), and that vehicle owners who choose to settle will share 2.5 million krona ($263,000) among themselves after priority creditors are paid. This will amount to roughly 41,000 krona ($4,300) per owner. Read: NHTSA Closes Fisker Investigation After Rollaway Recall Issued Impacted Fisker Ocean owners had originally been seeking 147,800 krona ($15,500) each, enou...

The 911 GTS’s T-hybrid system is currently incompatible with a manual. Porsche’s North American boss suggested that HQ could develop a solution. Manual transmissions will continue being built by Porsche for as long as possible. The current Porsche 911 GTS, fitted with a complex hybrid powertrain, is not available with a manual transmission. Sold exclusively with a PDK, the 911 GTS is now almost as fast as an old 911 Turbo, but the lack of a stick shift does somewhat limit its enthusiast appeal. It’s possible things could change in the future. According to Porsche Cars North America chief executive Timo Resch, the hybrid powertrain currently used by the 911 GTS cannot be paired with a manual gearbox. Porsche’s T-hybrid system uses a small electric motor mounted directly on the turbocharger shaft, which doubles as a generator and effectively eliminates turbo lag. An electric motor has also been incorporated into the eigh...

Canadian EV owner received a CAD$22,308 bill for charging his Kia EV9. Invoice says 4.91 kWh was added, which should have cost less than $3. System seemingly billed for 15 months of charging after a timing glitch. Public EV charging is expensive compared to juicing up at home, but $16,000 for 4.91 kWh is really taking the electrons. That’s the bill ($CAD22,308) one Canadian Kia owner says he received after a charging session apparently remained electronically open for more than 15 months. Reddit user IntelliDev posted the incredible invoice more than a year after he’d topped up his EV9 with Hypercharge Networks. It shows the session beginning at 6.57 p.m. on May 17, 2025, but not ending until 1.09 p.m. on August 25, 2026. Related: The Best Fast Charging Experience In America Isn’t From Tesla The Kia EV9 is among the faster-charging electric cars, capable of swallowing up to 235 kW when hooked up to the right kind of ...

A Ferrari 296 Challenge Stradale could follow in the footsteps of the Speciale. Hardcore model could have a tuned 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 with 720 hp. Upgraded aero, including a rear wing, will make the 296 CS a track weapon. Barely a year has passed since Ferrari rolled out the track-sharpened version of the 296, the Speciale, and word is that something more extreme is already in development. This one may go so far as to drop the standard car’s hybrid system in the name of more old-fashioned driving thrills. Throughout the first half of this year, several camouflaged prototypes of this new 296 model were snapped out and about near Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello. Much like the 296 Challenge race car designed to compete in the automaker’s one-make series, these prototypes have been spotted wearing aggressive aero kits. Read: Ferrari’s Wildest V6 Supercar Will Rip Your Face Off And Leave You Smiling Accordin...