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When Does Responsibility Stop? When we buy cars from manufacturers, we expect the product we just spent our hard-earned money on to be complete and well-made. After all, time and time again, we're being told by these brands the huge amounts of money they spend on R&D. Our expectations should be highest in one area, though – safety. Unfortunately, there are instances where it just might not be enough, and tragedy strikes. Case in point: a 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT with malfunctioning seatbelts,

CES As Tech Launchpad for Automakers The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) used to be all about gadgets, but in recent years, it’s become a proving ground for the next wave of mobility. Automakers now use the show to roll out new ideas, show off future platforms, and see how the public reacts to concepts that push the envelope. It’s not just American and European brands making noise in Las Vegas anymore – Chinese companies are stepping up, too. At the 2025 show, Chinese automaker Zeekr put its fas

Well folks, the rumors that someone is buying Memphis are finally true! For the last 15 years I’ve heard rumor after rumor that someone was coming in to buy the race track formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park, and Memphis International Raceway, and now it is actually true. It’s a purchase that excites many folks in the south, but that also is a head scratcher for many given the condition of the facility, the events that have previously been held, and more. With that said, the infectious en

Even Tesla Has Adapted in China Despite serious competition from homegrown brands, Tesla is doing well for itself in China. In terms of specs, the Chinese-built models are identical to the ones for the rest of the world, but the company made its first big step into adapting to local tastes. It's not by adding more tech or giving it a larger battery pack. Instead, it's the Model Y receiving more space between the wheels to make it nearly as long as a Model X. Dubbed the Tesla Model Y L, it was la

From iPhones to EVs Taiwan’s contract manufacturing giant Foxconn has formally entered the EV spotlight with the launch of the Bria EV through Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, its joint venture with Yulon Motor. Best known globally as Apple’s primary iPhone assembler, Foxconn is now using Foxtron as its automotive spearhead. The Bria EV, unveiled in Taipei, becomes the first EV made in Taiwan specifically for global export, taking the partnership out of the conceptual stage. The Bria will initial

Hyundai’s Cash Cow in the Spotlight The Hyundai Tucson is the Korean marque’s best-selling model in the US, with 188,275 units sold as of October 2025. Since the latest generation landed for 2022, it’s been turning heads for its sharp looks, roomy interior, and tech-heavy cabin – making it a go-to for families and daily drivers. But being a crowd favorite doesn’t make the Tucson recall-proof. It’s already been called back once for a fire risk, and now there’s another recall – this time for a dif

A Louder Take on a Quiet Seller The Lexus RZ has always flown under the radar. With just 5,339 units sold in the US as of September 2025, it’s nowhere near the brand’s hybrid offerings. But Lexus isn’t giving up on its first dedicated BEV just yet – instead, it’s dialing up the personality. Enter the new flagship: the RZ 600e F Sport Performance. This one sits above the RZ 550e F Sport and doesn’t shy away from making a statement. Lowered stance, oversized wheels, carbon aero bits, and paint opt

Online retail giant Amazon is under political heat after three US Senators raised alarm over used vehicles sold on Amazon Autos that still have open safety recalls. The lawmakers issued a formal letter to CEO Andrew R. Jassy, urging Amazon to pull affected listings from and improve transparency around vehicle safety. Selling new used cars with unrepaired recalls is legal in the United States, but whether it should be is something worth discussing. Senators Demand Amazon Remove Listings That Pose

A Dodge Viper V10 engine turned into a glass-topped coffee table is up for auction on Bring a Trailer, offering Viper fans a way to bring an 8.3-liter centerpiece into their living room without needing a four-car garage. Built from genuine Gen 3 Viper hardware and finished as functional furniture, the piece is being sold at no reserve out of Pompano Beach, Florida. A Gen 3 Viper

Everyone loves a tasteful, funny vanity plate. At roughly $200 or more for a personalized number plate in Illinois, it pays to make sure yours stands out for the right reasons. Still, the state draws a firm line where creativity turns into something else entirely. A new video from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias shows exactly where that line landed for 2025, revealing the latest batch of rejected plate requests. Some are juvenile, some are crude, and most are so great that we're di

Bugatti is using the new Tourbillon to reset what a modern hypercar cabin should feel like, and its interior concept goes in a very different direction from the usual wall of touchscreens. Led by Chief Interior Designer Ignacio Martinez, the team leaned into traditional watchmaking, mechanical detail and long-term usability instead of chasing tech trends that will age fast. It is also the stage-setter for Bugatti’s next era.

The Z That Started It All When it comes to Japanese sports cars, the classic Datsun 240Z is considered the benchmark for the Nissan Z line. The long hood, short deck, and clean lines have held up better than most, even now. I’ve always had a soft spot for the 240Z’s shape – enough that I once told myself I’d build one from scratch if I ever had the budget for a true passion project. This route means years spent tracking down parts, dealing with rust, and figuring out how much you want to be hone

Alpine is Renault's performance brand, and its long-rumoured arrival in the United States has had a few tariff-related speed bumps along the way. But the idea is far from abandoned. Talk of an Alpine A110 for American buyers, paired with the possibility of a performance SUV, suggests the brand is still serious about crossing the Atlantic. The conversation has shifted from whether Alpine should come to America to what it would need to launch with to actually survive there. The A110 is Alpine's An

K-Car, not Kei Car In '80s Japan, the economy was booming. Buying power was sky-high, and the homegrown carmakers knew it. It's one of the reasons why we ended up with such iconic JDM cars. Chrysler wanted to capitalize on that, and they likely believed that they could finally break through the Japanese market with the K-Car – not to be confused with President Trump's newest favorite, the Japanese Kei cars. Its entry was the Dodge Michigan, essentially a rebadged Reliant. More specifically, it w

Volkswagen’s latest brand story is not about lap records or Nürburgring times. It is about a C6 quadriplegic racer, a hand-control hot hatch, and how a Golf GTI can become a tool for independence instead of just a weekend toy. Torsten Gross, whose first car was a 1994 GTI, now steers a 2025 Golf GTI adapted with full hand controls as part of his Just Hands Foundation, using it to give other disabled drivers their first real taste of high-performance driving.

A major power outage in San Francisco turned Waymo’s driverless fleet into rolling roadblocks, as the company’s autonomous cars encountered dark intersections, stopped, and then mostly refused to move. The vehicles didn’t lose power or crash their software, but they did fall back into such a cautious fail-safe mode that they effectively “bricked” themselves in live traffic, forcing Waymo to suspend service while crews worked to clear the streets.

It's been a tough year for automakers, from the loss of federal tax credits causing a greater slump in EV sales to the challenge of tariffs raising prices for everything else, and Ford will be especially happy to see the back of 2025 after achieving the worst recall record in American automotive history - something it managed within the first six months of the year. At the time, it had amassed 89 recalls, and now, at the tail end of December, it's surpassed 150 recalls after five new issues were

The 1967 Corvette is arguably one of the most popular Corvette’s in history, and is certainly the most popular mid-year model as it was the final year for this body style and the one with the highest horsepower thanks to the famed 435 horsepower, tri-power equipped, 427 cubic inch Big Block. This particular ’67 that the guys at Horsepower Depot are putting together will have considerably more power than that, so let’s see how it’s coming along so far and we’ll keep updates coming. Video Descrip

Oh what fun it is to ride in a lots of horsepowers open sleigh! Westin Champlin is one goofy dude, and he’s a riot to be around, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that he’d build a V8 powered sleigh. I love it, and love the enthusiasm. Check it out and let us know what you think. Do you approve of the build? How would you build a V8 powered sleigh? And should we build one next year and have some kind of sleigh shootout? Perhaps. Let us know.   The post Westin Champlin Built a V8 Po

This rollback has had an interesting life, and after a fire and some other drama, this one has got a new to it engine and transmission. The fire wasn’t on this truck. The fire was on the truck that donated the engine and trans. And to make matters even better, Derek traded the labor to do the swap on this thing for the old engine and trans that was in it. There is a whole story behind it, and we’ll let Derek tell you all about it. Check it out. Video Description: This Chevrolet squarebody has

(Words and Photos by Darr Hawthorne) • The 2025 MOONEYES Christmas Party Show & Drag rolled into Pomona’s historic In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip, and it kicked off exactly how you’d expect in December—under a thick fog bank that made everything feel a little eerie. Thankfully, the marine layer didn’t last long, and before midday it burned off into one of those perfect Southern California days that make you forget it’s almost Christmas. Once again, Chico Kodama and the MOONEYES crew answered

Volkswagen is giving its China-market mid-size sedan a serious electrified upgrade. The new Passat plug-in hybrid, badged Passat ePro, debuts as a China-only model with a bigger battery, much longer EV range and the kind of tech-heavy cabin Chinese buyers now expect. It’s also an important piece of VW’s local new-energy strategy at a time when its global finances are under real pressure.

Touchscreen Concerns A detailed study presented at the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology is now offering compelling evidence for something that most of us already know —  that trying to interact with a touchscreen while driving is extremely distracting and can be downright dangerous. With physical buttons and knobs having been all but replaced by large, flat screens that lack any tactile features, researchers from the University of Washington and the Toyota Rese

A Rotary Revival Aims for the Skies A report from CarNewsChina says Changan, via its Harbin Dongan Auto Engine subsidiary, has completed the first ignition of the R05E – China’s first high-power rotary engine prototype – on December 19. The milestone underscores China’s broader push to capitalize on the low-altitude economy, a sector projected to be worth as much as 3.5 trillion yuan (roughly $490 billion) by 2035. The low-altitude economy refers to commercial activity and services conducted in

Even with its cutting-edge hybrid system combining twin-turbo power and an electric motor, the 2026 Corvette ZR1X cannot escape Washington's fuel economy rules. The car carries a gas guzzler tax of $2,600, pushing the starting price beyond $210,000. With dealers adding markups and buyers already spending six figures, the federal penalty amounts to little more than a rounding error. Remember, GM maintains a one-year no-flip policy, though that hasn’t stopped some owners from listing theirs for we