Ever since Fiat Chrysler reintroduced Alfa Romeo to America a few years back, each successive model has become more practical and usable. The tiny 4C is a brilliant little carbon-fiber roadster, but best considered a toy. The Giulia is a gorgeous…

Through the 1990s and early 2000s General Motors became both a grudging hero and avowed enemy of electric vehicle advocates. However, with its response to the Trump Administration’s proposal to freeze fuel economy standards and prevent California’s…

It’s been 25 years since Dodge upended the staid world for full-size pickup truck design with the 1994 model Ram 1500. In those days, Dodge was a distant also-ran to the Ford and GM trucks that dominated the market, and Chrysler felt it had nothing…

In the decades since I first got into cars, much has changed about the auto industry. Back then, two-door coupes were commonplace and in fact were among the best selling cars on the market thanks to nameplates like Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Ford…

On a conference call today, General Motors vice president of autonomous and electric vehicle programs provided an update on the status of its new EV development efforts. For obvious reasons, GM GM hasn’t had much information to share about these…

There are a lot of puzzle pieces that have to come together in order for automated driving to become safe, reliable and ubiquitous. Sophisticated sensors and wireless communications can provide the raw data about what is around each vehicle. But…

By now we all know that Ford is planning to discontinue most of its passenger car lines in North America in favor of new utility vehicles that American consumers seem to prefer. Over the next two years, a full quiver of additional and redesigned…

A decade ago, Volkswagen was all in on clean diesel as its solution to meeting greenhouse gas emissions standards. As we now know, that proved to be a lie. From the time dieselgate burst into the open in September 2015, Volkswagen Group pivoted to…

In recent months automakers including General Motors and Ford have been cutting thousands of jobs including highly skilled engineering roles. In part, this is a reaction to slowing sales overall and a need to cut costs. However, the goal is to…

For decades, one of the biggest challenges faced by automotive engineers around the world has been often wildly divergent regulations for safety, emissions and fuel economy. The differences have forced the design and engineering of unique powertrains…