Automotive News, Car Reviews, and Podcast
How the 2027 Scout Terra stacks up against the F-150 Lightning (now discontinued), Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T, and Chevy Silverado EV on range, tow, price, and timing.
Read moreThe Slate truck starts at $27,500 with up to 240 miles of range. Here's what Bezos' ex-Amazon team is really building in Warsaw, Indiana.
Read moreHyundai surprised the 2026 New York Auto Show with the Boulder Concept, a body-on-frame off-road SUV previewing its first midsize pickup truck by 2030.
Read moreA Velocity Blue 2025 Ford Maverick XLT AWD pickup sits at the trailhead, splattered with the fine dust of a Foresthill Road descent. Behind it, 730 feet of air separates the Foresthill Bridge from the canyon floor below. This is exactly where a compact truck like the Ford Maverick XLT: not parked in a suburban driveway waiting for a Costco run, but pointed toward the next adventure, ready for whatever the road throws at it. Ford‘s smallest pickup has answered years of buyer demand with a single, significant upgrade for 2025: all-wheel drive is now available with the hybrid powertrain. Engine and Performance The Ford Maverick XLT AWD tested here runs the 2.5-liter hybrid engine paired with an electronic continuously
Read moreThe citizens of Santa Cruz and the surrounding oceanside towns and tree-lined hamlets may hold an unofficial record for their entrepreneurial ways. Creativity rules small businesses, from bespoke bicycle makers to artists to Annie Wolff Patsch. Wolff Patsch and her husband, Adam Patsch, combine their last names without a hyphen. The unique pronunciation and the former’s upbeat personality are the reasons she’s mostly known as Annie. It’s the only name on her business card as the founder of Brew Cruz. While co-host Bruce Aldrich was on vacation, I interviewed Annie for this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. I interviewed Annie as part of a media trip to the central coast city. Annie’s enterprise is a two-vehicle proprietorship, a
Read moreThe 2022 Ford Maverick has proven a success, although many buyers who placed orders for the new offering in the manufacturer’s extensive of lightweight trucks haven’t received their vehicle and likely won’t soon. The Maverick combines affordability and fuel efficiency, and it’s also backlogged with many other cars and trucks and many other products within the supply chain fiasco. With a starting price of $21,490 and a combined fuel economy of 37 miles per gallon, the Ford Maverick tops the list of the country’s most fuel efficient trucks. Ford Maverick: Best MPG Among Trucks Here’s a “baker’s dozen” list of the lightweight trucks in the United States with the best combined gas mileage averages. Each 2022 model truck listed with
Read moreNot too far into the future, 300 million vehicles will be registered in the United States. More than 30 current car manufacturers have lineups currently available; plenty of other carmakers are defunct and either revered or best forgotten but with models still driven. The staggering number of vehicles on the road and hoarded in garages further dilutes an often-asked question: “If money were no object, what car would you buy?” There’s no right answer, but vintage simplicity is far more appealing than impress-the-neighbors bling. A 1954 Kaiser-Darrin, 1967 Mercedes Benz 250 SL Convertible or a 1991 Nissan Figaro? Yes. Any new Tesla, Hummer or tanked-sized family SUV? No. A $15,000 Chevy Spark and its 40 miles per gallon has plenty
Read moreNot too far into the future, 300 million cars will be registered in the United States. More than 30 current manufacturers have new cars currently available; plenty of other carmakers are defunct and either revered or best forgotten but with models still driven. The staggering number of vehicles on the road and hoarded in garages further dilutes an often-asked question” “If money were no object, what car would you buy?” There’s no right answer, but vintage simplicity is far more appealing than impress-the-neighbors bling. A 1954 Kaiser-Darrin, 1967 Mercedes Benz 250 SL Convertible or a 1991 Nissan Figaro? Yes. Any new Tesla, Hummer or tanked-sized family SUV? No. A $15,000 Chevy Spark and its 40 miles per gallon have plenty
Read moreWho can pick their favorite car? Not too far into the future, 300 million cars will be registered in the United States. More than 30 current manufacturers have lineups currently available; plenty of other carmakers are defunct and either revered or best forgotten and still driven. The staggering number of vehicles on the road and hoarded in garages further dilutes an often-asked question, “If money were no object, what car would you buy?” There’s no right answer, but vintage simplicity is far more appealing than impress-the-neighbors bling. A 1954 Kaiser-Darrin, 1967 Mercedes Benz 250 SL Convertible or a 1991 Nissan Figaro? Yes. Any new Tesla, Hummer or tanked-sized family SUV? No. Favorite Car? Old or New? A $15,000 Chevy Spark
Read moreNew RVs. A massive Tesla recall. Hyundai‘s new hip pickup. The World Car of the Year nominations. It’s all covered — and more — this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia don’t have a guest on Episode No. 117, which gives us the ideal opportunity to catch up with the never-ending and always-changing automotive landscape. We start with the continuing still-new exploits of Bruce and his wife’s adventures in their 29-foot Keystone RV and its towing vehicle a new Ford F-250 pickup truck. Bruce details learning the nuances of backing the RV into a camping site and his quickly advancing skill set as a first-time RV owner. Depending upon perspective, Elon Musk is the
Read moreIntroduced as the manufacturer’s first pickup truck, the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz addresses a niche market. It’s a pickup truck for buyers who don’t want a truck or at least as previously defined. Available last June as this year’s model, the four-door, front-engine, all-wheel drive is marketed as an Adventure Sport Vehicle. Like the Honda Ridgeline and Ford Maverick, the Santa Cruz has a unibody chassis design, not the ladder frame featured on most pickup trucks. The back seats are comfortable only for children or petite adults. The standard Hyundai Santa Cruz engine is a 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder setup with 191 horsepower, 181 lb.-ft. of torque and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s based on its sibling, the Tucson crossover sport utility
Read moreThe Hyundai Santa Cruz is getting a lot of attention as the South Korean manufacturer’s first pickup truck. But it already doesn’t want to be stereotyped. Hyundai has identified its new crossover vehicle as an SAV. It’s not a sport utility vehicle or a pickup truck. It’s a sport adventure vehicle. The manufacturer is marketing the new vehicle as combining an SUV engineered like a car with pickup truck characteristics. The Santa Cruz will have a small, open cargo bed and also seating for five occupants. Hyundai Santa Cruz: US made Despite is South Korean headquarters, the Santa Cruz will be built in the carmaker’s factory in Montgomery, Alabama. According to one reviewer, “Comparing Ford F-150s, Rams and Silverados to
Read moreHyundai’s new pickup truck will have a unibody construction. Starting prices have not been announced but predicated at $25,000. Hyundai hopes the Santa Cruz will improve the carmaker’s lagging sales. Following the industry trend, although several years behind, Hyundai will soon debut its first pickup truck, the 2022 Santa Cruz. First teased as a concept in 2015, the South Korean manufacturer will begin selling the Santa Cruz as a complement to its expanding non-sedan lineup in late 2021. Hyundai recently added the Kona, Palisade and Venue crossovers to its lineup. Hyundai sold a manufacturer’s record of 768,057 vehicles in 2016. The tally fell to 688,771 last year. Few details of the new truck have been released, but it’s expected to
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