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Tesla and the Habit of Looking Forward It’s hard to talk about the modern car industry without mentioning Tesla. Before EVs became a must for every automaker, Tesla was already making electric cars cool – and forcing the old guard to pay attention. That influence is still obvious today, even if Elon Musk’s antics sometimes steal the spotlight from the cars themselves. In a recent interview with André Thierig, who runs Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory, Musk circled back to his favorite topic: the futur

Tough Luck on Four Wheels Tesla endured a difficult sales year in 2025, as Chinese automaker BYD overtook it to become the world’s top-selling electric-vehicle maker. New tariffs and regulatory shifts that have slowed EV adoption could place additional pressure on the Austin-based automaker, but the company may have found a new long-term growth driver through its in-development Optimus humanoid robot. Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not push back against a claim made by entrepreneur and investor Jason C

Unfiltered View on the New Roadster Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently touched on the unveiling of the next-generation Roadster, offering comments that quickly raised eyebrows. Speaking on the Moonshots podcast, Musk said the upcoming performance electric vehicle will not prioritize safety, going so far as to discourage potential buyers if safety is their top concern. For an EV promised to rocket from zero to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds, it would seem reasonable to expect safety to remain a central foc

Promises vs Reality Elon Musk has always pushed a vision of deep vertical integration between his companies. Tesla’s battery ambitions were central to that plan. Projects like Roadrunner and early gigafactory expansions in Fremont and beyond were positioned as breakthroughs in manufacturing. Musk repeatedly highlighted the dry electrode process as a key innovation. It was supposed to cut costs, simplify production, and unlock massive scale. The narrative was bold and compelling. The outcome has

It’s time for big cubic inches and big power, and thankfully Pat and Frankie are dragging us along for the build of this cool 427 cubic inch LS street engine that features some pretty cool parts, including the new Pro LS block from Summit Racing. Check out the video below and let us know what you think. Would you put this bad boy into your hot rod project? We’re pretty sure we could have some fun with it. Video Description: Today, we embark on a high-powered LS adventure with Summit Racing’s n

The guys and gals at Brian Tooley Racing never slow down when it comes to developing parts that make horsepower and we love them for it. Their Trinity line of intake manifolds have been setting the world on fire since their release, but the team has put some serious time into the Gen 3 HEMI version of the Trinity and the dyno results speak for themselves. Check out the video below and let us know what you think. Video Description: We are excited to bring our Trinity intake manifold design to t

O’Reilly Auto Parts puts on an annual meeting and convention that is attended by O’Reilly Auto Parts associates from all over the country each year and as part of that they also bring in folks who they partner with for events and such. Folks like Derek Bieri, David Freiburger, Alex Taylor, Brad DeBerti, and Rae Ripple among others. These events are big and they really put a lot of effort into making sure their associates have a good time while going through the training and other aspects of the

A Fresh Start After Theta II When the Genesis GV80 was launched around five years ago, it came with a new 2.5-liter turbocharged Smartstream four-cylinder, effectively replacing the troubled 2.4-liter Theta II in Hyundai Motor Group's lineup of power plants. The latter had become infamous for recalls, oil consumption complaints, and sudden failures, so, on paper, the new motor looked like a clear improvement. Known internally as the G4KR, the 2.5-liter Smartstream makes 300 horsepower and 311 lb

Toyota's New-Era V6 Faces Tough Questions Toyota's 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6, known internally as the V35A-FTS, was designed to replace the long-running 5.7-liter V8 in many of the brand's most important vehicles. It powers the latest Toyota Tundra, Sequoia, Land Cruiser 300, and the Lexus LX 600 and GX 550, giving Toyota's truck and SUV lineup a more modern, torque-rich powertrain. On paper, it makes more power and delivers better efficiency than the old V8, which is why Toyota committed to using

Over the years I’ve pulled a few engines apart that surprised me because they had damage inside that you would think might keep it from running, or at least running as well as it seemed to in the vehicle. On the other hand I’ve seen some with damage that seemed very minor at first glance but ended up being catastrophic. The worst things I’ve ever had to pull apart are engines that have broken and wedged parts and pieces together so nothing wants to come apart. But what if you can get the engine

This NA V6 May Not Be As Reliable as We Thought Toyotas are known for their reliability more than anything else, but this isn’t necessarily always the case. The naturally-aspirated 3.5-liter 2GR-FKS V6 engine replaced the 2GR-FSE in 2015 and has been in production ever since. It is used in a number of models from Toyota, including the Camry, Tacoma, Avalon, and Highlander, as well as the Lexus GS 350, RX 350, IS 350, and RC 350. While these engines, especially from later years, are considered bu

A Familiar V8 With a Long Track Record Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8 has been a mainstay in the Blue Oval lineup since 2011. From the Mustang GT to the F-150, Ford's small-block V8 powers many models in varying tunes and applications, and it has earned its renown for its distinct rumble and respectable power output. Still, it had its flaws. Early versions were known for oil consumption, noisy valvetrains, and cam phaser issues, problems that often became more noticeable as mileage increased. With t

The Scope Widens General Motors has updated service bulletin PIP6101, which addresses an engine ticking noise caused by a manufacturing defect. The revised version, PIP6101A, now includes more 2025–2026 models equipped with the 2.0-liter inline-four LSY turbocharged engine, in addition to the previously listed 2.5-liter LK0 and 2.7-liter L3B power units. This means owners of the Buick Envision, Chevrolet Blazer, and Cadillac CT4, CT5, XT4, XT5, and XT6 may now be affected by the issue. The LSY d

Late last year, Ford CFO Sherry House said of the Blue Oval's Raptor off-road vehicles, "That's a product that I think we're going to be doing a bit more of," and now her boss has indicated that loosened EPA rules could make such a thing easier to achieve. During Ford's Q4 earnings call this week, CEO Jim Farley noted that "pending EPA changes" open the door to satisfying the market's unfulfilled demands for more off-road performance models, adding: "We are doubling down on our icons, making the

Rewriting The Roadmap The Trump administration continues to roll back electric vehicle-friendly policies, with its latest move proposing a two-year delay to the Biden-era Tier 4 emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. The stricter rules were originally set to take effect for the 2027 model year and were expected to help accelerate EV adoption, but the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) argued that the timeline should be pushed back to MY2029.  Pushing the MY2027

With gas prices squeezing household budgets across the country, the EPA has stepped in with what it's pitching as a quick fix. Starting May 1, the agency is temporarily expanding the availability of E15 gasoline, a fuel blend containing 15 percent ethanol rather than the standard 10 percent. The logic is simple enough. Ethanol is cheaper to produce than petroleum, so blending more of it into the fuel supply should nudge prices at the pump downward, by 10-25 cents per gallon less than standard ga

The EU's way or the highway. After months of politically motivated trade tensions between the European Union and China, the former is considering a dramatic retreat of its policies targeting electric vehicle manufacturers in the People's Republic after just a year and a half. According to new reports published on January 12 by The New York Times and the South China Morning Post, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, and China’s Ministry of Commerce announced new guida

EU Reconsiders Its Zero-Emission Deadline The European Union appears to be backing away from its once-firm resolve to completely halt the sale of new internal-combustion cars by 2025. This development marks a major shift in the EU’s long-term strategy to curb emissions from transport in an attempt to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. With German and Italian political leaders and automakers rallying against this rigid timeline, it seems that this once locked-in policy is now under review. 

The End of Touchscreen-Only Controls After banning yoke-style steering wheels and flush door handles, China is moving to control the heavy use of screen-embedded controls in modern cars. Draft rules from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) would force automakers to use real, physical buttons for key functions, CarNewsChina reports. The goal? To reduce distractions and ensure drivers can operate essential functions without taking their eyes off the road. If approved, these

America’s most popular vehicles, the full-size pickup trucks from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, may be banned from Europe in a move that has angered US carmakers. According to Financial Times, US automakers are accusing the European Union of planning to keep trucks like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500 off European roads by enforcing new safety rules that would exempt them from the trade deal between the EU and the US. US Automakers Sold 7,000 Pickups and SUVs in Euro

Backing Away From The Brink of Trade War After months of escalating tensions, the European Union and China have agreed to a framework replacing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles with minimum pricing agreements. Rather than forcing Chinese manufacturers to pay tariffs, the EU is asking China to sell cars at or above a predetermined price floor. China's Ministry of Commerce called the framework an important breakthrough. It marks a marked departure from 2024, when China threatened countermeasur

Europe’s hard 2035 cutoff for new internal combustion cars is being reshaped into something more flexible, turning a headline “ban” into a strict emissions cap that still leaves room for gas and hybrid models. As per Reuters, European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber says the technology ban on combustion engines is now “off the table,” as Brussels moves from a 100 percent tailpipe CO₂ reduction target in 2035 to a 90 percent fleet cut instead. That shift still forces automakers to sell most

Power Hungry Admit it or not, the American market is spoiled when it comes to horsepower. Case in point, the U.S. never gets the true base engine. Also, most of the world is content with about 200 hp (depending on the kind of car), but America is the land of big SUVs that can hit 60 mph in the six-second range... and still consider it just right. We've seen enough reviews that say 0-60 mph in seven seconds is slow. Truth be told, most folks outside the U.S. are content with anything that does th

Pumping the Brakes on EVs The European Commission is reportedly preparing to scrap the 2035 ban on new combustion-engine car sales – a more concrete move than the previous declaration from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. It's being shaped by pressure from automakers, particularly as U.S. import tariffs and intensifying competition from China have made selling EVs more challenging. Speaking at a press conference in Germany, Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party (EPP) — the lar

Stricter EU Regs Incoming A stricter set of emissions regulations will take effect in Europe in 2027. It's the reason why more and more electrified vehicles are being offered there, along with the discontinuation of certain engine choices. At the same time, some manufacturers are starting to adjust their large-capacity engines in order to comply. It's the reason why Honda axed the Civic Type R over in Europe, and why the (somewhat) reasonably-priced Toyota GR Yaris costs so much in France. It's