Secret CVTs, Serious Safety Issues And A Lifetime Air Filter That Wasn't In This Week's Car Culture Roundup

CVT is an acronym short for continuously variable transmission, so for anyone who refers to them as CVT transmissions, you’re wrong and just as annoying as people who say ATM machines. Now that’s out of the way, you may be surprised to learn that each of the vehicles on this list came available with a continuously variable transmission. The automotive press has learned to hate most CVTs, though some of the older models on this list were praised for their innovative and incredibly smooth continuously variable transmissions. From old cars to modern ones that may fly under your cool-car radar, here’s a list of cars that you probably didn’t know were offered with a CVT. - Logan Carter Read More

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, October 23, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know. - Andy Kalmowitz Read More

Lifetime or sealed vehicle parts don’t always end up working as intended. While automakers sell buyers on the ability to never have to change this fluid or swap out that filter, you usually have to end up doing one or the other. I once had a Chevy Sonic with a sealed transmission that started having, you guessed it, transmission problems. Servicing it was a hassle of course but nothing the dealer techs couldn’t handle. What happens when what would otherwise be a simple engine part becomes a massive hassle? Just ask any owner of the first-gen Ford Focus or Fusion. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

According to NHTSA data that tracked crashes while Level 2 autonomous driving systems were active between July 2021 and May of 2022, Tesla happens to have the highest number of crashes by a vast margin. Teslas reported 183 more crashes than second place Honda, and 263 more than third place Subaru in that same time span. Despite this abysmal safety record, Tesla continues to release new forms of Level 2 autonomous features, and the crash numbers continue piling up. - Logan Carter Read More

The reborn Volkswagen-owned Scout Motors just unveiled its body-on-frame Terra pickup truck and Traveler SUV, a pair of new EVs that boast awesome retro styling, serious off-road chops and an optional gas range-extender. What you see here are technically concept models, but Scout promises the real things will be super close in design when they enter production in South Carolina in 2027. - Daniel Golson Read More

The driver of a Sprinter van crushed in a rockslide in California on Friday is somehow alive, though in critical condition, after huge boulders turned the vehicle into a crumpled mess. - Erin Marquis Read More

LeBron and Bronny James made history this week as the first father-son duo to play in an NBA game together. It was quite a moment for the sport and LeBron, even if poor Bronny isn’t very good (the man played three minutes, didn’t record a basket and had one rebound.) Still, it was cool to see. To celebrate the moment, Nike released an ad earlier in the day featuring the two James men – and a little rookie hazing. - Andy Kalmowitz Read More

Good morning! It’s Thursday, October 24, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know. - Andy Kalmowitz Read More

The Chrysler 200 may have died during the 2017 model year, but that doesn’t mean its remains are completely dead and gone. As it turns out, Chrysler’s mid-sized sedan still lives on… sort of. Over the past few days, I’ve been testing out the 2024 Pacifica Hybrid Pinnacle, and while using the $61,685 van’s radar cruise control I noticed something in the gauge cluster: a forgotten sedan. - Andy Kalmowitz Read More

Good morning! It’s Monday, October 21, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know. - Erin Marquis Read More