Automotive News

Maserati updated the lineup with a choice of EVs, hybrids, combustion

Peffer said Maserati’s sales last year and so far in 2023 are primarily utility vehicles. Early data shows that around 80 percent of Grecale sales are conquests. The Grecale starts at $64,995 with shipping, a price point that may surprise some consumers. Houston Maserati dealer Steven Wolf said the brand’s image can make people assume its products are out of their reach, but the Grecale is more accessible. “I think that there’s a lot of people who don’t know you can get a Maserati in the $60,000 range, and I think that’s something [where] the word needs to get out,”…

Automotive News

Why Arizona Heat Makes Windshield Cracks Expand

Many of us have been there. You get a small chip or crack in your windshield and leave it alone, figuring it won’t get any bigger. Unfortunately, this isn’t often the case. In many situations, this crack or chip will gradually grow larger, causing you to need a full windshield replacement in the future, rather than requiring a small repair now. This can leave you wondering exactly why the heat of the Arizona summer causes this result. Read on to learn the answer. Why the Spread? It may seem unusual for a cracked windshield to spread. After all, most people…

Automotive News

Polestar will take over part of the old Saab plant to expand R&D

Polestar will take over part of Saab’s former car plant in Sweden to extend its R&D operations in Europe. The EV maker will conduct powertrain development for the Polestar 5, a Tesla Model S rival, and the Polestar 6 roadster at a 15,000-square-meter building in Trollhattan, Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche reported. Polestar will also test powertrains, electric motors and batteries for the upcoming models at the new R&D center. Polestar will rent the building from the city of Trollhattan, Automobilwoche said. The site was previously used for powertrain development by Saab and then by National Electric Vehicle Sweden…

Automotive News

Lloyd Reuss obituary: Former GM president championed engineering

DETROIT — Lloyd Reuss, a mechanical engineer who rose to become General Motors president in the early 1990s, died on Friday. He was 86. Reuss, a classic company man with sharp political instincts and a passion for performance, was the father of Mark Reuss, GM’s current president and head of the automaker’s regional and international operations, global product development programs, quality and design. Mark Reuss posted the news of his father’s death on Facebook. Lloyd Reuss became GM president on Aug. 1, 1990, as part of incoming Chairman Robert Stempel’s executive team. As president, he was an early supporter of…

Automotive News

Transport technology startup funding plunged 43 percent in March

Globally, deal activity in the mobility technology sector for the fourth quarter of 2022 was going flat into 2023, Jonathan Geurkink, a senior analyst at PitchBook, told Automotive News. “We are seeing investment shift away from the activity in and around autonomous driving and the ride-hailing and last mile stuff seems to be tailing off as well,” Geurkink said. “I think there are areas certainly in battery technology that look interesting. We’re probably going to put out an analyst note in the next month or so on sodium battery technology and some of the investments there.” Of the 47 investments…

Automotive News

Why Does a Cracked Windshield Spread?

A rock flies up and hits your windshield making a small crack. Uh oh. You know you have time, but how much time? Eventually, the crack will spread, obstruct your view, get you a ticket, and you’ll have to replace the entire windshield, something auto insurance typically doesn’t cover. So what exactly causes a small crack in a windshield to spread like wild fire? There are more than a few answers to this question. 1. Extreme Temperatures When you mix hot and cold, your windshield feels it. Going from sitting in the scorching sun to getting blasted with AC or…

Automotive News

VW wins Russian court case over asset freeze

A Russian court ruled against freezing Volkswagen’s assets in Russia, stating there were no grounds to suggest the company would try to avoid financial obligations arising from two lawsuits brought by Russian carmaker GAZ. GAZ, which was contracted to produce VW and Skoda vehicles at its factory in Nizhny Novgorod before VW suspended operations in Russia last year, in March convinced the court to freeze VW’s assets while court proceedings played out. But the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Arbitration Court had already on April 3 reversed that interim measures and ruled conclusively against such a step this week. “At present there…

Automotive News

Rivian will speed up factory flow by making its own motors

Rivian is offering the most configurations of its electric pickup and crossover with only the dual-motor setup. For example, the Enduro motors can be combined with three battery sizes on the R1T: standard pack, with 270 miles of range; large pack, with 350 miles of range; and max pack, with 400 miles of range, according to Rivian’s website. The quad-motor setup — an $8,000 option — can be paired only with the large pack for 328 miles of range. Rivian customers who had already preordered the quad-motor setup with the max pack will have their orders converted automatically to the…