When the One Big Beautiful Bill brought the end of the federal EV tax incentives, the Trump Administration lauded it as bringing choice back to the consumer. Trump then gutted the EPA and its enforcement ability, which also allows for more consumer choice. The government even wants to roll back safety requirements for the sake … Read more
Last week, President Trump’s administration announced that it wanted to open up a pathway for small cars — referred to as kei cars in Japan with special restrictions — to be available to consumers in the United States. I talked about what it would take for the cars to be viable here, both here on … Read more
As 2025 draws to a close, the narrative surrounding the electrification of the American automobile has fundamentally shifted. If the early 2020s were defined by euphoric projection—a period of ambitious targets, soaring stock valuations, and a pervasive belief in the inevitability of rapid transition—the last twelve months have been defined by a harsh, grounding realism. … Read more
The United States electric vehicle market is currently waking up from a fever dream. If you looked at the sales charts from just two months ago, you would see a line shooting vertically toward the stratosphere. In the third quarter of 2025, electric vehicles captured a record-breaking 10.5% of the total new car market. Dealerships … Read more
As we careen towards the end of November, we start the infamous LA Auto Show week. Auto shows aren’t what they used to be (unless it’s in Tokyo), and there are a few announcements ahead of the show. Today’s announcement is the “all-new” Nissan Rogue plug-in hybrid. And I have to ask, “What is going … Read more
When it comes to electrified vehicles, I’ve seen a litany of ways to describe them. Though essentially, there are five ways to describe an electrified vehicle (as long as you don’t include hydrogen). There’s a 48-volt mild hybrid (which isn’t a real hybrid), there’s a standard hybrid, there’s a plug-in hybrid, there’s a range-extended electric … Read more
(Editor’s note: This article first appeared on The Kirchner Report, our publisher’s newsletter devoted to covering the entire automotive industry.) When I announced the relaunch of this newsletter, some of the first people to sign up had General Motors email addresses. Over my decade or so of working in this business, I’ve had thousands of … Read more
There are fundamentally four types of vehicles out there that use a battery that isn’t just the 12-volt under the hood. There’s a traditional hybrid (which Toyota calls a self-charging hybrid), there’s a plug-in hybrid, there’s a range-extended EV (EREV), and there’s a full battery-electric vehicle. While I know this can be confusing to the … Read more
Automotive integration with large language models, collectively known as AI, is becoming a thing. It’s becoming a thing whether or not the consumer really wants the integration. But even if the consumer does want that integration, is it a swell idea to be integrating? While it can potentially make interactions with the infotainment system more … Read more
Earlier this week, Tesla unveiled its cheaper versions of the Model 3 and Model Y, and not many people were impressed. These aren’t the Model 2 some were expecting, and these definitely aren’t the $25,000 to $30,000 car that Tesla needs to compete with the updated Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, and others. Tesla must be … Read more
