Cars are Crazy Expensive

It's Not Just You: Cars are Crazy Expensive

Average prices are up 29 percent from 2009.

BY ZACH BOWMAN
ZACH BOWMAN

We finally know how much the 2020 Jeep Gladiator will cost. The truck starts at a shave north of $35,000, delivered. And if that seems insane for a steel-wheeled pickup truck to you, you’re not alone. We see all sorts of new vehicles around here, and increasingly, the first question out of any of our mouths is not, "how much horsepower does it have?" but rather, "What was the sticker?" That’s where the really shocking numbers tend to lie.

Most Stolen New Car

Report reveals most stolen new car model

 Ed Leefeldt  

© Credit: CBSNews

Despite new anti-theft devices, the car theft industry costs motorists and insurers $6 billion a year Older Honda Civics are the most likely to be stolen, but Nissan Altimas are the most-favored new model by thieves. Alaska is a new hot spot for car thieves, with thefts in the state jumping 40 percent in one year

Not-Street-Legal JDM Cars

The US Government Is Auctioning a Bunch of Not-Street-Legal JDM Cars

You can buy an R34 Skyline GT-R from the Feds, but they won't let you register it.

BY CHRIS PERKINS
NISSAN

In Oklahoma, a collection of 29 cars seized by US Marshals are going up for auction after their owner, Kong Meng Vang, pleaded guilty to bringing around 1500 pounds of marijuana from California to sell near Tulsa. And there's something very unusual about the cars that make up the auction.

1900HP Electric HyperCar

Pininfarina’s 1,900 horsepower Battista is one of the fastest EVs on the planet

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The storied automotive design firm makes the jump into manufacturing with a powerful electric hypercar

By Sean O'Kane@sokane1  

Photos: Pininfarina

After months of teasing, Italian automotive design-outfit-turned-manufacturer Pininfarina has revealed its first car, the Battista. It’s a sleek $2.6 million hypercar with power that lives up to its brawny-sounding name, and it’s sure to blow nearly any other car in the world off the asphalt, all without using a drop of gas. Just 150 will be made.

Look @ These Turn Signals

Look at These Turn Signals

Giugiario's latest creation is a set of turn signals with a high-riding supercar attached.

By Brian Silvestro
GFG STYLE

Legendary car designer Giorgetto Giugiario and his son revealed a new high-riding supercar concept today called the GFG Style Kangaroo. It's a fully electric vehicle with a 3.5-second 0-62 mph time, a top speed of 155 mph, a range of over 280 miles, and four-wheel steering. But that's not the real story. The real story are the car's rear turn signals.

2021 Tesla Model Y Crossover

Everything We Know About the 2021 Tesla Model Y Crossover

Elon Musk promises a smaller crossover built on the same platform as the Model 3 will enter production in 2020.

By Matthew Jancer And Popular Mechanics Editors
TESLA

At long last, we're about to get a real look at the Tesla Model Y. Yesterday, CEO Elon Musk announced that he would reveal his next model to the world at an event at the Tesla Design Studio in Los Angeles on March 14.

$35,000 Tesla Model 3

'll Be Damned, the $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Is Actually Here

The three-year wait for the most affordable version of the Tesla Model 3 appears to be over.

By Andrew Moseman
TESLA

The long-promised $35,000 Tesla has arrived.

It's been three years since the Model 3 was first revealed to the world, and even longer since Tesla CEO Elon Musk first teased the idea of an electric car for the masses. But now, the least-expensive, base model of the 3 is available on the Tesla website. Delivery is said to happen within two to four weeks.

Car Sales Online

Tesla Says All Sales Will Be Shifted Online

Musk says savings will allow for a $35K Model 3

By Rob Quinn

Buyers look over a Model 3 in a Tesla store in Cherry Creek Mall in Denver.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Tesla says it is launching the long-promised $35,000 version of its Model 3—and shifting all of its sales online to help lower costs.

Polestar 2 to Challenge Tesla

The Polestar 2 Is the First Car to Directly Challenge the Tesla Model 3

In terms of specs, price and performance, Volvo's new brand has a clear target.

By Ezra Dyer
STEFAN ISAKSSON

If you’re unfamiliar with Polestar, here’s the elevator explanation: It started out as Volvo’s performance sub-brand, your ticket to hot S60s painted in nuclear shades of blue. Now Polestar is its own electric-focused brand, with three models on the way. There’s the $150,000, 600-horsepower hybrid Polestar 1 coupe, an as-yet-undefined electric SUV (the Polestar 3) and this imminent sedan: the Polestar 2, an openly declared shot at the Tesla Model 3.

New Turbocharged, Hybridized Engine

Jaguar's Hybridized, Electrically Supercharged, Turbocharged Inline-Six Engine Comes out of Nowhere

The latest addition to the automaker's Ingenium engine family is a high-tech 3.0-liter six.

By Alexander Stoklosa
JAGUAR LAND ROVER

• Jaguar Land Rover debuts an all-new, hybridized 3.0-liter inline-six engine.
• The engine benefits from both turbocharging and an electrically powered supercharger, as well as a 48-volt electrical system.
• For now, the 395-hp engine is being installed in a U.K. version of the Range Rover Sport, but it likely will spread to other vehicles and other markets soon.

New 'Most Affordable Ride'

Lyft’s new ‘most affordable ride’ involves a lot of extra waiting and walking

I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more just to be the man who walked 1,000 miles for really cheap fares

By Andrew J. Hawkins


Lyft — which may beat Uber in going public next month — is offering a new type of carpool service that it is calling its “most affordable ride,” but those savings may come at the expense of your patience. Riders who select Lyft’s new “Shared Saver” service in the app will have to wait a few extra minutes before being paired with a driver. After that, they’ll be directed to walk a couple of blocks to an optimized pickup location. Then, at the end of the trip, they’ll be dropped off a few blocks short of their final destination.

Amazon Startup Investment Rivian

Amazon Invests In Electric Pickup Truck Startup Rivian

Jeff Bezos's company puts its bucks behind the startup that wants to be the Tesla of trucks.

By Andrew Moseman
RIVIAN

There's just something Bezos likes about a pickup plan.

Tesla's Sentry & Dog Modes

Tesla Rolls Out Sentry Mode and Dog Mode to the Model 3

A 2019 version of the car alarm, pet-friendly climate control.

By Alexander George
TESLA

Last night, Telsa Motors sent a software update to its cars that activates two modes: Sentry Mode and Dog Mode. One protects against thieves, the other protects against judgmental passers-by.

Right Motor Oil

How To Pick The Right Motor Oil For Your Car

There are many choices when it comes to picking the appropriate oil for your car's engine. Our guide breaks down your choices to help you in the quest to change your oil.

By Paul Weissler And Popular Mechanics Editors
GETTY IMAGES/BILL HEINSOHN

Given all the motor oil options out there, choosing the right oil for your car might seem like an impossibly daunting task. While there is a mountain of info to learn about the various oil choices, the first step is honestly quite simple: look in the manual.

2021 Jeep & Grand Wagoneer

2021 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer: Everything We Know

Jeep's bringing back its old luxury truck. Here's what we know about it.

BY CHRIS PERKINS
JEEP

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is great, but is it park-it-outside-my-Martha's-Vineyard-summer-house great? Perhaps not, which is possibly why Jeep decided to bring back its ultimate suburban status symbol, the Grand Wagoneer. Back in 2016, Jeep boss and current Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley confirmed that the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer would stage a comeback. Here's what we know, and what we've heard, about the pair.

Giant 7.3-Liter Gas V8

The 2020 Ford Super Duty Gets a Giant 7.3-Liter Gasoline V8

If you want a bigger engine in a brand-new production vehicle, you're gonna have to buy a Bugatti.

BY CHRIS PERKINS
FORD

Ford has spent the past couple years convincing F-150 buyers that they don't need a V8, offering twin-turbo EcoBoost V6s in their place. But the large-displacement V8 isn't dead. Ford just announced a brand-new V8 for the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty truck lines—and at 7.3 liters, this pushrod V8 is the largest displacement engine available in any new pickup truck today.

Vehicle Recall

Millions of vehicles recalled for road safety concerns

 Jeanie Ahn 

Here’s a scary stat for drivers: More than 57 million cars are on the road today with open recalls, according to CarFax. Just this week, millions more were added to that list. The US government announced the largest series of automotive recalls in history, citing 10 million inflators being recalled in the U.S. this year, with as many as 70 million to be recalled by the time the whole mess ends late next year.

New Truck Tailgate

Ram Debuts the Pickup Truck Tailgate of the Future

So many different ways to open your tailgate.

By Bob Sorokanich

RAM

How much innovation can you pack into the tailgate of a pickup truck? The American auto industry is endeavoring to find out. First, GMC rocked the tailgate world in 2018, giving the Sierra pickup a wacky tailgate-within-a-tailgate. Now it's Ram's turn, with this dual-hinged, 60-40 split tailgate. We live in fascinating tailgate times.

Radar/Laser Detectors

Everything You Could Possibly Want to Know About Radar and Laser Detectors

Curious if detectors and laser-countering devices are legal in your state? Check here.

BY BRIAN SILVESTRO
GETTY IMAGES/BILL FOLEY

Thinking about buying a radar detector for your car? Well, there are a bunch of things you need to know. Larry Kosilla of Ammo NYC put together a comprehensive video covering any and all possible questions you may have about how speed-measuring radars and lasers work, as well as how to counter them with equipment (like detectors) you can install yourself. He also covers the legality of these devices for whichever state your in.

Robot Valets

Robot valets may soon park your car at this London airport

By Rachel Metz

San Francisco (CNN Business)Travelers flying out of London's Gatwick Airport may soon have a robot parking their car.

Later this year, the airport will test an autonomous robot that slides a large, slender bed beneath vehicles and totes them to spots in the lot.