Opinion

Take it from someone with nearly fifteen years in the business who has written up literally thousands of new car deals. If you drive lots of miles, if you like to keep your car for years and years, and if you hate making payments: leasing is almost always your best option.

If the market failures of the Dodge Charger Daytona and VW ID.Buzz have proved anything at all, it’s that the Baby Boomer era is over, and their kids — GenX and Millenials alike — aren’t willing to pay a premium for a vehicle that looks like something their dad once thought was cool. As GenX becomes the largest and richest new car-buying demographic, manufacturers need to find out what they are nostalgic about.

To that end, I propose the following nostalgia play: the “Goonies Never Say Die” edition 2027 Dodge Caravan BEV.

Ask anyone who owned or owns one, and they’ll tell you that Honda Element was ahead of its time, delivering a flexible interior, car-like ride, and SUV-levels of visibility – and, if Honda really wanted to, they could roll out an all-new, all-electric Element riding on an Ultium-style electric skateboard tomorrow.

In a story I could have titled “Even a broken clock is right twice a day,” US President Donald Trump made headlines this week by expressing his love of small, affordable vehicles – and encouraging automakers to start building more compacts domestically. That’s great stuff, but there are dozens of some great compact cars out there already.

Here’s my list of compact EVs that need to find their way to America ASAP.

Multiple outlets are reporting on Donald Trump’s apparent effort to change US regulations to bring tiny Japanese kei cars to the US, but there’s little reason to think that effort will be serious.

Unless they have vivid memories of guys like Nigel Mansell, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel driving the wheels off a screaming, Renault-powered Formula 1 car, it’s tough to get an American to care about a new Renault — but Nissan’s renewed willingness to work with its old partners means we may yet get the new Trafic E-Tech here. (!)

Daimler Truck AG CEO Karin Rådström hopped on LinkedIn today and dropped some absolutely wild pro-hydrogen talking points, using words like “emotional” and “inspiring” while making some pretty heady claims about the viability and economics of hydrogen. The rant is doubly embarrassing for another reason: the company’s hydrogen trucks are more than 100 million miles behind Volvo’s electric semis.

UPDATE 22NOV2025: Daimler just delivered five new hydrogen semis for trials.

Under the hood of the new “Ten-Oh” Japanese tugboat is the key is a novel marine engine system churning out more than 4,400 hp (!) from its dual, dual-fuel hydrogen-burning V12 engines. Is this – finally! – a great use case for hydrogen?

America’s heartland is full of rural communities that are miles away from its major cities, both geographically and culturally – but that doesn’t mean these more sparsely populated regions can’t reap the benefits of electrification. In fact, EVs offer rural drivers even more benefits than they do to city-dwellers!

The current EV era is ripe with revered classic car designs and iconic nameplates that are being reborn as battery-powered rides – and the success of cars the Renault 5 proves it can be a winning formula. Today, I’m suggesting another 1980s classic that deserves a modern electric update: the Buick Grand National.

Utilities, state governments, and private developers are racing to roll out faster, more powerful EV chargers. At the same time, automakers and tech giants across the globe are pouring billions into R&D to develop batteries that can take ever-higher levels of power. But what if there’s a better, easier, cheaper, and more effective way to cut emissions?

What if, instead of faster chargers, we pushed for SLOWER gas pumps?

Yesterday, we attended a special owners event for the Chevy Bolt, unveiling all the changes for the new iteration of one of our favorite EVs out there.

And almost everything we heard there was good news. Almost.

This fall marks the 25th anniversary of the US launch of the first-gen Toyota Prius — a car that, arguably, has done more to more to shift the market away from fossil fuels than any other single vehicle (more on that in a minute). That means that, in many states, you can now get “antique” or “historic” plates for a modern hybrid.

If that sounds appealing to you, here’s what it might cost to keep that OG Prius on the road for many more years to come.

It’s a simple fact that SUVs and crossovers have out-Darwined the station wagon. And, sure – the taller driving position offers road presence, but when it comes to real-world utility, a proper long-roof wagon can hang with the best of them while offering Teutonic driving dynamics no SUV can match. All it would take to spark a wagon revival in the US is one sleek, solidly built, and affordable entry from a mainstream brand. And VW already has the perfect candidate waiting in the wings. Meet the Škoda Vision O (Passat badges not included).

In the past few weeks, Stellantis has shelved its self-driving program, dialed back its EV targets, and pulled the plug on hydrogen. At the same time, it’s dusted off its old-school V8 in a bid to generate some easy headlines. The Hemi’s done that, but with no clear bet on the technologies shaping the industry’s future, the question is unavoidable: does Stellantis still have one?

Chrysler parent company Stellantis is sinking billions on electric Jeeps and Chargers that no one wants, but the they’ve developed market-leading EVs in Europe, and this latest, £36,995 DS Automobiles No4 is exactly the sort of electric crossover that could rejuvenate the brand’s American prospects. The only question now is: why won’t they bring it here?

There you are, motoring along in your Volvo XC90 PHEV with the Pilot Assist engaged alongside a big 18-wheeler at a comfortable 70 mph cruise when the interstate starts to slowly sweep left. From the drivers’ seat, that semi on your right looks awfully close. As the steering wheel turns itself in your hand, you start to wonder if that truck’s a bit too close. The car isn’t doing anything wrong, but it’s too close for your comfort and you give the wheel a little nudge to hug the inside of the lane just a bit more.

These deeply personal preferences are tough to quantify, and highlight a simple fact about Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that the industry at-large hasn’t yet to come to terms with: when it comes to self-driving cars, one size does not fit all.

Tesla stock dropped over 50 points today, primarily in response to a very public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and convicted felon Donald Trump.

But, as we pointed out in November, this doesn’t have anything to do with company performance, and rather only reflects a change in the market’s expectation of potential benefit to Tesla from government corruption.

If our recent post about Tesla alternatives taught us anything, it’s that there aren’t enough mainstream electric sedan options in North America. It doesn’t have to be this way. GM has a proper, five-passenger electric sedan on sale today – and maybe it really should be a new electric Chevy Impala.

For years, Tesla has been the go-to EV recommendation for “normals” looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first electric cars. In light of questionable recalls and its CEO’s recent involvement in controversial politics, however, people are starting to distance themselves from the trailblazing company.

All that begs the question: what should we recommend to EV noobs now?

Republicans launched multiple attacks against EVs, clean air and American jobs this week, at the behest of the oil industry that funds them. These attacks won’t be successful, and EVs will continue to grow regardless, and inevitably take over for outdated gasoline vehicles.

However, these republican attacks on EVs will still have some effect: they will diminish the US auto industry globally, leading to job losses and surrendering one of the jewels in the crown of American industry to China, where there is no similar effort to destroy its own rapidly growing domestic EV industry.