The Auto World

Rivian owner Anson Wong says that his Rivian R1T was plugged into an Electrify America charger for about one minute before he heard a loud boom from the charging stall. Two errors popped up on his vehicle and he says the charger fried his battery and battery management system. It’s at least the third instance of an EV pulling up to an Electrify America charging station before having to be towed away. To be very clear, there’s no telling at this stage whether or not the charging stations, the vehicles, or something else is to blame. In fact, the reason behind each incident could be entirely different. Nevertheless, a Rivian R1T, a Ford F-150 Lightning, and a Chevrolet Bolt all suffered similar fates at Electrify America charging stations. Wong tells Carscoops that “after Rivian and EA inspected my car and had it towed and all that, no word from EA. But Rivian is very good with me, they had a whole engineering team show up and look at my car at the service center and telling me [sic...

General Motors has exceeded expectations as the company posted fourth-quarter revenues of $43.1 billion as well as earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $3.8 billion. As a result, the company finished 2022 with $156.7 billion in revenue and record earnings (EBIT) of $14.5 billion.  While that sounds good, CNBC noted the company’s net income and profit margin fell, while they also ended up spending $511 million in the fourth quarter to buyout Buick dealers who didn’t want to embrace EVs. Also: GM Investing $918M In 4 U.S. Plants For New Small Block V8 And EV Components Looking into the future, the company is expecting “core auto operations to perform at a consistently strong level in 2023.”  In particular, they’re expecting earnings (EBIT-adjusted) of between $10.5 and $12.5 billion this year.  The company is also expecting earnings per share of between $6.00 and $7.00. In a letter to shareholders, the company said they “delivered results that truly set us a...

A $3.5 billion battery plant to be constructed by Ford and Chinese battery manufacturing CATL could be located in Marshall, Michigan. Ford has not stated where it plans to construct the battery plant, nor has it even named specific sites it is considering, nor the states in which they’re located. Nevertheless, the chief executive of the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance that controls the 1,900-acre site, Jim Durian, says that at least two companies are interested in it. Speaking with Auto News , chief executive of the Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC), Quentin Messer, said the state was “aggressively” pushing for the project. Read: Virginia Scraps $3.5B Ford Plant As It Would “Serve As A Front For The Chinese Communist Party” “Michigan is always talking to Ford and any of our large employers,” he said. “We talk in general about making sure that Michigan remains a competitive environment for opportunity. There’s a lot of competition for this opportunity, both...

BMW is recalling more than 3,400 of its all-electric i4 and iX models in the United States because of a problem with the pedestrian warning system. A recall notice reveals that during vehicle start-up, the external artificial sound generator control unit may experience a fault. As such, the control unit software may not generate the required external artificial sound and subsequently not fully conform to FMVSS 141 Section 5. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that a malfunctioning system could increase the risk of injury to pedestrians who may need the sound to know if a vehicle is close. Read: BMW i4, i7, And iX Could Get Bricked On The Road Because Of A Software Glitch The recall involves a total of 1,988 2022-2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 models that were built between November 11, 2021 and December 22, 2022. Meanwhile, 1,443 BMW iX xDrive50 models manufactured from January 13, 2022 to December 21, 2022 are also involved. BMW became aware of a potent...

The Subaru Impreza STi 22B is one of the most special cars in its class but by capping production at 424 units, Subaru ensured that they’d always be rare. Today, they change hands for more than $200,000. Now, a small company in Chesterfield, UK will build you as faithful of a recreation as you could want for about half of that. The real 22B is special for a number of reasons beyond its rarity. Built to celebrate Subaru’s 40th anniversary and its third straight World Rally Championship , it showcased everything that in-house tuning arm STi was capable of. Under the hood was a 2.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 280 hp (at least that’s what Subaru claimed – many believe that it’s higher than that), and the car also featured special Bilstein shocks among other enhancements. Picking a real 22B up on the used-car market is anything but easy though. One pristine example sold in 2021 for $317,555 . To the rescue are the folks over at ScoobyClinic in the UK. The team there doe...

The 2023 Toyota Prius is not only the prettiest one yet, but also the most powerful. With the plug-in hybrid Prime making an impressive 220 hp (223 PS / 164 kW), it’s only 8 hp (8 PS / 6 kW) down on the GR86, and only 0.4 seconds slower to 60 mph (96 km/h) than the previous-gen GT86. Now, following this new Prius’ positive reception, as well as the success of other performance cars such as the GR Supra, GR86, and GR Corolla, there are reports that Toyota is working on a version of their hybrid car massaged by the experts at Gazoo Racing. Related: Toyota GR Prius Renderings Imagine The Sportiest Version Of The Prettiest Prius Yet The report, which comes from Japan’s Best Car , claims the model will be known as Prius GRMN, and that it will be based on the plug-in Prius Prime. That being said, the report mentions that tuning potential of the car’s 2.0L inline-four has yet to be fully determined, so there is a possibility Toyota could use a different plug-in hybrid powertrain. In th...

The Renault-Nissan alliance has withstood the test of time and has even been expanded to include Mitsubishi .  However, after several months of “constructive discussions,” the two companies are now redefining their partnership. In joint statements, the automakers said they want to strengthen the alliance and “maximize value creation for all stakeholders.”  As part of this effort, the companies will  work together on “high-value-creation operational projects” in Latin America, India, and Europe. Renault and Nissan didn’t go into many specifics, but said these projects would involve “markets, vehicles and technologies.” Furthermore, Nissan will be investing in Renault’s Ampere with the goal of becoming a strategic shareholder. Announced last year, Ampere is a standalone company focused on electric vehicles and software.  It aims to “develop, manufacture, and sell full EV passenger cars, with cutting-edge software-defined vehicle technology, under the Renault brand...

VIN number 001 of the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV just raised $500,000 for Tread Lightly! at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction. The non-profit will receive the entire hammer price which comes in at some $2 million less than the very first Hummer EV pickup back in 2021. The SUV version of the Hummer EV is largely similar to the truck but only now is it finally coming online. The Edition 1 trim level comes with 4WD, 830 hp, 800-volt architecture, and a nine-inch shorter wheelbase. The new owner of the very first one off of the line gets the added benefit of knowing that they’ve helped out a charity that focuses on healthy ecosystems. Specifically, Tread Lightly! says that this funding will go directly towards trail restoration and educational programs. Read: Second Kevlar-Coated GMC Hummer EV Rocks The Desert Storm Look “We can’t thank the GMC brand and Barrett-Jackson enough for this amazing support,” said Matt Caldwell, Executive Director of Tread Lightly! “This funding ...

A Sacramento fire crew blasted a Tesla Model S with 6,000 gallons (22,700 liters) of water to extinguish a fire after the EV caught alight on a freeway. The city’s Metro Fire Department said the car’s owner had noticed nothing unusual in the car’s behavior or performance prior to the fire starting on Highway 50 at 4.p.m. on January 29. Fortunately no one was hurt in the accident , but fire crews had a major job on their hands getting the fire in the battery compartment under control. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) wad forced to close two lanes of the road, but recorded in its log 19 minutes after the incident started that putting the flames out was proving tricky. “Fire is not going out/going to try to flood (vehicle),” CHP reported, according to The Sacramento Bee . Two fire trucks, a water tender and a ladder truck attended the scene, and firemen eventually extinguished the fire by using jacks to lift the car and access the battery pack from underneath. Related: Florida Cra...

While many remain unconvinced by Lamborghini’s decision to revive the famed Countach nameplate with an Aventador-based model , there’s no denying that this particular example is a real head-turner. This Countach LPI 800-4 resides in Japan and is quite possibly the most outlandish anywhere on earth. This is thanks to Lamborghini itself, as well as Anrky Wheels. Read: Lamborghini Delivered The First Two U.S. Countach LPI 800-4s At Monterey For starters, the exterior of this Countach LPI 800-4 is bathed in a Chameleon-inspired paint scheme that changes color depending on the angle at which it is viewed. The main colors you’ll notice are orange, red, pink, purple, blue, and an eye-catching shade of bronze. Then there are the wheels. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ANRKY Wheels (@anrkywheels) Dubbed the X|Series S3-X0, these wheels have a gold-painted finish and suit the design of the modern-day Countach absolutely perfectly....

A group of individuals caused havoc in Illinois last week – after stealing a number of high-end vehicles from a dealership and ramming a police car that tried to block the entrance, they stole and totaled another police car . Two of the suspects are in custody while the search for others is still ongoing. As reported by Lake and McHenry County , the incident took place on Sunday, January 22. Officers from the Barrington Police Department responded to a call about suspicious activity in the Motor Werks dealership which sells cars from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Honda, Infiniti, and Cadillac. Read: Watch Thieves Steal A Bentley Continental GT And Smash Through A Security Gate Barrington Police Department When the police arrived at the scene, they saw “numerous offenders stealing vehicles” from the car lot. An officer tried to block the exit with the police car, since the security gate had been opened. One of the offenders rammed the squad car with a stolen vehicle, allowing o...

A Florida car dealership by the name of South Florida Jeeps is selling what it claims to be the world’s first 2023 Land Rover Defender that’s been transformed into a 6×6 and can be driven on the roads. The only problem is that the dealer hasn’t published any photos of the vehicle, other than some renderings. These renderings aren’t the type of high-quality ones that we normally share either. Indeed, they look like screenshots from a PC game from 15 years ago. Nevertheless, they do show a 2023 Defender unlike any other we’ve seen before. Read: Land Rover Defender Flying Huntsman 6×6 Goes For Almost $300K! The vehicle is apparently known as the 6×6 Carpathian V8 and is finished in black but also rocks bright orange across the front bull bar, sports bar, and the rear sections of the front and rear fenders. Speaking of the fenders, they have been widened massively to accommodate a set of aftermarket wheels and truly gargantuan mud-terrain tires. Weirdly, the vehicle rendered has a ...

A new report says that Audi is going to launch an all-electric 4×4 SUV meant to rival the Land Rover Defender and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class . The boxy SUV would ride on the same ladder platform destined for the upcoming revival of the Scout brand. According to Autocar , the top brass at Audi is close to greenlighting the plan outlined above and it’s completely separate from the Activesphere concept. Audi’s head of design Marc Lichte says that the new SUV wouldn’t ride on the PPE platform used between Porsche and Audi nor would it leverage the Ford Ranger chassis set to end up incorporated in a future VW SUV. The vehicle could be on track for production by 2027, which removes the possibility that it would use the upcoming SSP platform. That leaves the Scout EVs ladder chassis, which makes a lot of sense for a car of this nature and intention as the Scout is already set to be an off-road-focused SUV. More: Audi Activesphere Concept Is A Sleek Coupe-Crossover That Transforms Into A P...

The Nissan GT-R has just received another facelift but the “Godzilla” has not drastically changed since its introduction back in 2007. Thus, many owners rely on tuners in order to spice up both the design and performance of the model. A heavily tuned 2010 Nissan GT-R is currently listed for sale on eBay, featuring a long list of modifications. We came across the model on a Facebook Page called Unique JDM cars for sale . According to the listing on eBay the GT-R was bought in 2010, it has a clean title, hasn’t been involved in any accidents, and is currently located in Los Angeles. The seller is asking $81,500 for a 2010 model with 63,500 miles (102,193 km) on the odometer, but claims he has spent more than $80,000 on the car since its purchase. Read: Is The 2023 Nissan GT-R R35 Really More Expensive Than The 2009 Original Was? Most of the extra money has gone to the exterior, with the highlight being the wide bodykit by Liberty Walk made entirely of carbon fiber with bolt-on f...