The EV market has certainly been on the upswing in the decade and a half since the Tesla Roadster and Nissan LEAF first hit the market, with a record 1.1 million EVs sold in 2023 alone. That represents a staggering 46% increase over the previous year, but the transition to the all-electric segment hasn’t always […]
Author: Matt Dodge
The Worst Cars Ever Made: Part 4 – The Chevy Corvair
Ralph Nader wore plenty of hats during his long career. The political activist, author, environmentalist, consumer advocate, and attorney is most well-known for his four failed presidential bids between 1996 and 2008, but among certain Detroit-based auto executives, he’ll go down in history as the man who killed the Chevrolet Corvair. Released in 1960, Chevy’s […]
Illuminating History’s Most Unique Headlight Designs
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then a car’s headlights might serve a similar function. From dull, no-nonsense designs to sportier, more unique iterations, you can learn a lot about a car, truck, or SUV based on little more than its headlights. Their design can be a divisive topic in today’s auto […]
The 2025 Toyota GRMN Supra Is One for the History Books
Rumors of a track-focused Toyota Supra have been swirling since 2018 when chief engineer Tetsuya Tada casually floated the possibility in an interview. “I would like to see something like that eventually. We are preparing for it,” said Tada. This short quote set off years of anticipation among the Toyota faithful. This was reinforced in […]
Tesla Cybertruck: Trendsetter or Pickup Pariah?
When the first Toyota Prius silently rolled into the American consciousness in 2000, it was hard to imagine a day when hybrid and all-electric vehicles would come for the pickup segment. A lot can change over the course of a few decades, but even in the new, increasingly EV-friendly market, Tesla’s Cybertruck still caught many […]
The Worst Cars Ever Made: Part 3 – The Ford Pinto
While the “Worst Cars Ever Made” series has allowed us to take a look back at some of the most infamous and amusingly bad models in automotive history, some tales are a little heavier than others. The Yugo certainly had its problems, but ill-advised American import aside, it largely lived up to its goal of […]
Could the ZR1 Be the Best Corvette Yet?
In the world of American high-performance vehicles, few names carry as much weight as Corvette. Since it debuted in 1953, the luxury sports car has won countless hearts and minds to become the most emblematic model of its time. Some credit this reputation to the Corvette’s unprecedented power, while others are drawn in by the […]
Playing the Long Game With Some Super-Sized SUVs
Few vehicles can match the pure cargo space, passenger capacity, and utility of a full-size SUV. While the market has been skewing towards smaller crossovers as of late, there will always be a place for full-size SUVs. They might not be able to match crossovers in terms of pure efficiency or affordability, but when you’re […]
The Worst Cars Ever Made: Part 2 – The Geo Prizm
The Geo Prizm—and the Geo brand as a whole—has become little more than a minor footnote in automotive history. First debuting in 1989, General Motors’ compact sub-brand was conceived as a way of allowing the automaker to compete with the new wave of small, efficient compact and subcompact models emerging from Japan and South Korea. […]
Final Lap For Chevy’s NASCAR Camaro?
There’s no denying Chevy’s impact on the world of NASCAR. The automaker has been a part of the racing series since its earliest days. The brand’s NASCAR roots date as far back as 1955 when Herb Thomas earned Chevy its first podium at the Southern 500 behind the wheel of his Chevrolet 150. Chevy has […]
Giant Killer: Nissan Says Goodbye to the Titan
Located just north of the state capital, Canton, Mississippi, is home to a historic shopping district, an iconic Georgian courthouse, and the Hickory Street juke joints that have contributed so much to the state’s rich blues music history—but the skyline’s most prominent feature would probably have to be a colossal white water tower emblazoned with […]
Color-Changing Sedans, Affordable EVs, and Our Favorite Concept Models From 2023
While many concept cars never make it into production, they often represent a sneak peek at where the industry might be headed in the coming years. Designed to showcase new technology or a new design approach, these concept models are a sort of blue-sky thinking for the automotive industry. The concept scene has been particularly […]
The Worst Cars Ever Made: Part 1 – The Yugo
Some vehicles reach icon status thanks to their legendary performance, while others owe their notoriety to eye-catching style. An appearance in a popular movie or TV series could help a model go down in the history books, as could some success in a professional racing series. Then there are the models that become household names […]
Automotive In Memoriam: Saying Goodbye To Outgoing Models
They say all good things must come to an end, and some of your favorite cars, trucks, and SUVs are no exception. While every year brings a fresh slate of models, trims, and packages, it also spells the end for certain vehicles that won’t live to see another trip around the sun. Whether it’s due […]
A Weighty Decision: Rating Half-Ton Trucks By Payload
Automakers like to throw a lot of numbers at drivers when marketing their full-size pickups. We’ve all seen the ads: a burly pickup kicking up dust on a picturesque country road or towing a massive trailer while stats like towing capacity, horsepower, torque, and payload flash across the screen. That said, these slick ads don’t […]
Preparing Your Truck for Towing Success
When it comes to towing capacity, today’s trucks and SUVs truly run the gamut. On one end of the spectrum, you have crossover SUVS, which—due to their unibody construction—tend to max out at around 3,000 lbs. Large and midsize SUVs can up that figure to almost 9,000 lbs. But when you’re seeking the ultimate towing […]
Is A.I. the Future of the Auto Industry?
Few technologies hold as much promise- or instill as much trepidation- as artificial intelligence (A.I.). Perfect for fulfilling menial tasks that would bore a human worker to tears, A.I. has the potential to transform the world we live in, and the automotive sector is no exception. From prototyping new models and training autonomous driving systems […]
From Cargo Van to Condo on Wheels: Part One, Starting the Van Conversion Process
The van life—sorry, #vanlife—has been an undeniable movement in the auto industry over the last few years. Spurred in large part by the changing employment landscape caused by the pandemic, van life has exploded in popularity since 2019. According to a study by Statista, 3.1 million Americans identified as van-lifers in 2022—up from just 1.9 […]
Exploring Hot Hatch History With the VW Golf GTI and Golf R
In the world of performance-oriented hatchbacks, the Volkswagen Golf GTI is a legitimate trailblazer. VW might not have invented the “hot hatch” concept––that honor would go to the short-lived Italian brand Autobianchi––but it did bring the idea to the masses, catering to a new generation of young, thrill-seeking drivers with a sport-tuned version of its […]
Midsize Showdown: 2024 Ford Ranger vs 2024 Toyota Tacoma
After years of playing second fiddle to their full-size cousins, midsize pickups are getting their moment in the sun as drivers increasingly gravitate towards this sensible segment. Sales have more than doubled since 2013, with midsize pickups now representing 4.4% of US vehicle sales; that trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, with […]