Browsing: Automobiles

Article SummaryThe BMW iX5 will be built in Spartanburg, South Carolina together with the X5 versions powered by combustion engines.BMW is assembling the battery pack nearby at Plant Woodruff, SC, where it pledges “zero-defect battery production.”The electric X5 will be available at first strictly as the iX5 60 xDrive, but other versions are likely to follow.BMW has already launched the new X5’s configurator in many markets, where customers can build the six-cylinder models. The 40 xDrive and 40d xDrive are the first versions of the G65 generation to enter production in August. If you’d rather order the luxury SUV without…

Ford has a new Custom Garage package for the Bronco called Desert Rising.   The pack adds a pink grille, magenta Katzkin leather seats, and optional exterior graphics.   It’s limited to 1,000 units and costs $13,695. Right now, Ford offers several factory-backed aftermarket packages for its vehicles. If you want to customize and accessorize your F-150 or Bronco—the Blue Oval has you covered, and it’s launching a new visual package for its off-road SUV that takes inspiration from rare natural phenomena that happen in the Utah desert.   The Bronco Desert Rising is the first in Ford’s new Horizon…

In what looked like a scene out of a movie, dashcam footage has captured the moment a young driver had more than 20 pursuing police cars in her rear-view mirror.Footage shared by Dash Cam Owners Australia shows part of a police pursuit in Sydney’s south west which led to the arrest of a 24-year-old female driver.According to the NSW Police Force, officers attempted to stop a white Toyota Aurion in Rosemeadow at around 9:50pm last Friday (July 24).The driver allegedly didn’t stop, instead leading police on a 50km-long pursuit through the Campbelltown, Liverpool, Cumberland and Bankstown areas.She allegedly reached speeds…

Article SummaryALPINA already built two Alpina B6 generations — the E63 (2005–2010) and the F12/F13/F06 (2011–2019) — proving the nameplate fits the brand.BMW ended 8 Series production in April 2026 with no confirmed successor, leaving a gap for a flagship coupe or grand tourer.ALPINA’s new “Luxury Layer” strategy targets a 7 Series-based flagship above BMW and below Rolls-Royce, leaving room underneath for a more attainable B6.BMW killed the 8 Series last year, for the second time. The last coupes, convertibles, and Gran Coupes rolled off the Dingolfing line in April of this year, and there’s no confirmed successor waiting in…

Lexus ranked first overall in NADA’s Winter 2026 Dealer Attitude Survey, earning the highest marks from its franchised dealers. Dealer satisfaction improved across much of the industry as automaker-retailer relationships continued to recover. Infiniti finished last, with Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Mitsubishi, and Nissan rounding out the bottom five. Lexus dealers are the happiest in America—at least, so far in 2026. The luxury automaker ranked first overall in the National Automobile Dealers Association’s (NADA’s) 2026 Dealer Attitude Survey, as first reported by Automotive News. The NADA issues a twice-yearly report card measuring how franchised dealers feel about the manufacturers they represent.…

The rise of SUVs has given buyers an increasing number of vehicle options with high hip points affording easy ingress and egress, ideal for older buyers who are no longer as limber as they used to be.However, while higher-riding vehicles have become ubiquitous on the new-car market, technology is making new vehicles increasingly alienating.Safety features such as overspeed alerts and lane-keep assist systems can chime incessantly and are often only able to be turned off via a touchscreen menu.Likewise, many manufacturers are removing physical switchgear for key functions such as the air-conditioning, forcing drivers to dig through touchscreen menus or…

Article SummaryBMW AG earned six segment awards in JD Power’s 2026 APEAL study, more than any other automaker.The BMW X6 and 7 Series tied as the highest-ranking individual models across the entire industry.The premium-vs-mass-market satisfaction gap has narrowed to 29 points, down from 66 points in 2008.JD Power released its 2026 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study this week, and BMW Group walked away with more hardware than anyone else in the industry. The company took six segment awards across BMW and MINI, more than Hyundai Motor Group’s five and General Motors’ three.The winning lineup: X2, X6, 2…

Mercedes-Benz built just 446 examples of the 500 GE V8 G-Class in 1993. This one was custom-ordered by Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It features special green paint, ultra-low miles, and was recently sold at auction for around $143,000 Before AMG officially became Mercedes-Benz’s in-house performance division, the two companies were already collaborating on more exclusive, higher-performance models. One of them was the Mercedes G-Class 500 GE V8 AMG, a special version of the G-Class introduced in 1993. Just 446 units were built. One such example recently sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction for just over $143,000, and it comes…

“EVs will end the weekend” – a statement famously peddled by a previous government.Political-leaning jokes aside, range anxiety has been one of the main barriers to electric vehicle (EV) uptake in Australia, even if the recent ‘fuel crisis’ sparked a wave of electrified vehicle sales so far this year (including plug-in hybrids and hybrids, too).Earlier this year I took our 2026 Nissan Ariya Advance+ long-term loaner for the Easter long weekend to the border of Victoria and New South Wales, to test whether the sort of road trip holidays many Australians do all year round are actually possible in an…

Article SummaryThe electric BMW i4 Convertible will be sold alongside the G23-generation 4 Series Convertible, which remains in production until mid-2029.Like its combustion-powered 4 Series Convertible counterpart, the new two-door i4 will feature a fabric soft top and four seats.Before the i4 Convertible arrives in 2028, the i4 nameplate will go on hiatus after the i4 Gran Coupe bows out next year.As you’ve likely heard by now, the i4 is not long for this world. All signs point to BMW retiring the electric 4 Series Gran Coupe next year, with no direct replacement planned. However, we’ve been talking about the…