The Auto Xone

By Joey Klender Posted on February 19, 2025 Tesla is planning a new “Supercharger queue” feature at select Supercharger sites in an effort to end one rare issue: confrontation or confusion regarding who is next in line. While it is an uncommon issue, Supercharger congestion does occur in heavily populated areas where a high concentration of EVs can cause extensive wait times at charging piles. These lines can sometimes become an issue as drivers will, on occasion , become combative if they feel they have arrived at a charger before another owner. People cutting in line is something that can occur, especially at busy Superchargers. As a result, Tesla has confirmed that it will roll out a new “Virtual queuing pilot” program starting in Q2 at select Superchargers: “Virtual queuing pilots starting in Q2 at select sites. Goal is a net customer experience improvement for the ~1% cases of a wait time. Wider rollout this year if feedback is positive. We also c...

Rivian (RIVN) will report fourth-quarter earnings Thursday after the market closes. Although the EV maker aggressively cut costs last year, a supply shortage derailed some momentum. Rivian still stands by its goal of achieving its first positive gross profit in Q4. Here’s what to expect from the report. Rivian expects a positive gross profit in Q4 2024 earnings Rivian beat expectations with 14,183 vehicles delivered in the  final three months  of 2024, bringing the annua l total to 51,579. Although it was enough for Rivian to meet its full-year guidance of 50,500 and 52,000, it was only slightly more than the 50,122 the company delivered in 2023. After a supply shortage began in the third quarter, Rivian cut its full-year production target to 47,000 to 49,000 vehicles in 2024, down from 57,000. Rivian topped its (revised) target with 49,476 units produced at its Normal, IL plant last year. Rivian’s deliveries and production include the R1S, R1T, and electric delivery ...

Sean Holman unboxes the Vredestein Hypertrac, a UHP tire specifically engineered for North American roads. Vredestein brings over 110 years of history and world-class performance to any streets you throw its way. Defy all seasons with the Vredestein Hypertrac. Learn more https://www.vredestein.com/car-suv-van/tyre-finder/tyres/product/3/all%20season/1787-hypertrac?utm_source=motortrend&utm_medium=unboxing%20video&utm_campaign=conquer%20hypertrac%20b2c The post The Next Level of UHP All Season Tires | Hypertrac from Vredestein Tires appeared first on Cars News Magazine . The Auto Xone

By Zachary Visconti Posted on February 17, 2025 Chinese automaker BYD has shared plans to debut initial demos of a solid state electric vehicle (EV) battery by 2027, according to one of the company’s top executives. Sun Huajun, Chief Technical Officer of BYD’s battery business, last week said that the automaker would begin “demonstration use” of solid-state batteries by 2027, as stated during a forum and reported by CnEVPost . While the executive said he doesn’t expect large-scale adoption of solid-state EV batteries to take hold until 2030, he also highlights that other makers in the industry are developing the tech at a similar pace to BYD. Eventually, Huajun says he expects the cost of solid-state ternary batteries to become comparable to liquid ternary batteries, though reaching volume production is expected to take at least a few years. Solid-state EV batteries are expected to have substantially increased energy density, ultimately offering better d...

On this episode of Wide Open Throttle, Motor Trend associate editor Scott Evans finally gets behind the wheel of the 2013 Cadillac ATS. Cadillac claims the ATS has the goods to compete with the vaunted BMW 3 Series, but can it actually deliver on that promise? Wide Open Throttle appears every Thursday on the new Motor Trend channel. http://www.youtube.com/motortrend Subscribe now to make sure you’re in on all the action! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=motortrend Facebook – https://ift.tt/9PoZCfV Twitter – http://twitter.com/motortrend Google+ – https://ift.tt/72Wh6Rd Website – https://ift.tt/CDOctEj The post Cadillac ATS First Drive – Wide Open Throttle Episode 26 appeared first on Cars News Magazine . The Auto Xone

By Zachary Visconti Posted on February 16, 2025 Elon Musk teased the next version of xAI’s Grok model over the weekend, saying that it will be launched to the public in the next few days. On Saturday evening, Musk posted on his X account that xAI plans to launch Grok 3, the AI model’s next generation, on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. Pacific. The company will hold a live demo for the launch, which is likely to be hosted on X. He also said that Grok is the smartest AI on Earth, adding that he plans to log offline until the demo to help the team get the new product ready for release. In the past, Musk has teased on X that Grok 3 will add certain datasets to the model’s training set, including “all court cases,” which he says will “render extremely compelling legal verdicts.” Here are a few other examples Musk has shared in recent weeks that show off some of Grok 3’s capabilities: “Testing Grok 3 int4 inference” Credit: Elon Musk | X “Grok 3 is so bas...