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A Tough SUV Meets an Unexpected Issue The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has built its name on being tough and dependable, the kind of SUV you expect to handle just about anything. But even legends have their weak spots, especially when new tech enters the mix. Now, some 2025 G580 with EQ Technology models are being recalled due to a wheel issue. Put simply, the bolts holding the wheels on can loosen up over time, and in rare cases, a wheel could actually come off while driving. That’s not what you expec

There is a lot of wiring going on in your average newer built hot rod, what with EFI and electric everything and all that. But even if you have an older, or more traditional, ride there are still plenty of wiring connection to make when it comes to switches, lights, etc. And when something doesn’t work right, especially intermittently, it is annoying as hell. What people sometimes ignore is that nearly all electrical issues in a vehicle revolve around a poor connection of some kind. It is pretty

How Tesla Saved Hundreds of Millions For years, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, has been vocal about rejecting what he once called “shady” tax loopholes. Yet a recent Reuters investigation suggests that Tesla leveraged one of the oldest tricks in the multinational playbook: profit shifting. By routing roughly $18 billion in profits through subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Singapore, the automaker likely avoided at least $400 million in U.S. taxes. The mechanism is familiar to tax speciali

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is no stranger to controversy, but his latest claim regarding his automaker's "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" semi-autonomous technology could be seen as endangering lives. Roughly a month ago, Musk promised that FSD would soon allow users to text and drive, reports Electrek. FSD is still not a Level 5 hands-off, eyes-off, fully autonomous technology, but in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk yesterday responded to a question asking if the latest FSD v14.2.1 update allows

A Smaller Lineup, But Not a Slower Pipeline Tesla’s lineup is in transition. The Model S and Model X are being dropped, leaving just the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck. That’s a big shift from Tesla’s earlier plans, especially for buyers looking for something more premium. The Cybercab is also coming, but it’s built for robotaxi use, not for families or buyers who want a practical, everyday vehicle. It doesn’t fill the gap left by the outgoing flagships. Here’s where it gets interesting. The R

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

It’s time for the 2nd Formula Offroad race of the 2026 Season in Iceland and here’s the video coverage. If you haven’t watched this kind of racing before, you are in for a treat. It’s all big power, big noise, crash and burn, and high flying action in an environment unlike any other. If you are new around there then you might not know that we seriously dig Formula Off-Road racing here at BANGshift.com. This is high flying, loud, and intense racing that involves what look to be impossible hillcl

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