Author: kirklandc008@gmail.com

A BYD Sealion 06 SUV on display at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026. Credit: CnEVPost The European Commission prepares countervailing duties on Chinese plug-in hybrids, with an investigation already under way, according to Handelsblatt. The EU has imposed additional tariffs on BEV imports from China since October 2024. The European ​Union is preparing to impose tariffs on plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) imported from China in the coming weeks, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Friday, citing senior EU officials and industry sources. The move aims to offset the market-distorting effects of Chinese subsidies, with the European Commission targeting additional…

2024 VauxhallMokka22,594 milesManualPetrol1.2LCash £14,299View Mokka2021 RenaultCaptur28,574 milesAutomaticPetrol1.3LCash £13,499View CapturThe Stelvio might be a relatively old design, but its technical spec is still compelling. It has been developed on a lightweight saloon-car platform with the engine mounted mostly behind the front axle for improved weight distribution. That unit is a 513bhp 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine that’s connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission sending that power to all four wheels, although with an obvious rear-drive bias.  It’s also a very light car for its type, at 1,830kg. For comparison, a Mercedes-AMG GLC 53 is more than 300kg heavier, and if you…

Much like the members of the 27 Club, there are numerous cars produced over the years that definitely didn’t deserve their early, untimely ends. You don’t have to scratch your head for very long before you come up with nameplates like the Kia Stinger, a model that, while its sales did begin to dip near the end of its life, is sorely missed three years after its axing. There’s also the Honda S2000, the Japanese automaker’s small, rear-drive sports car that behaved like a flea on the roadway and which many gearheads still miss to this day. Among those dearly…

The newest Mercedes-Benz VLE 300 electric MPV combines 800V battery tech with limousine-level luxury, top-shelf infotainment options, room for eight, and enough rear legroom to make an S-Class feel like a mini Cooper. Mercedes says its just-released new electric van model creates a new vehicle segment all its own, with four-wheel steering that helps the VLE handle like a sedan and ride like a luxury car and up to 300 kW (~400 hp) available from the electric motor, the big van promises to deliver an on-road performance worthy of the three-pointed-star’s performance heritage. “The all-new electric VLE is a genuine…

OpenAI is laying out a future where advanced AI reaches billions of people, not only the companies and governments racing to control it. Its latest plan centers on an AI for everyone, a personal AGI that would work as a deeply capable assistant for daily life, work, and discovery. The company calls this its third phase. After proving the technology could work and turning it into products used at scale, OpenAI now wants to make powerful AI broadly available while pushing systems that can accelerate science and economic growth. The hard part is turning that ambition into something people can…

One of Volkswagen’s most interesting models has just been spotted testing on the Nürburgring in Germany. The CarBuzz spies have captured the second-generation Volkswagen T-Roc R almost completely undisguised. The 333-horsepower engine and R-specific suspension and braking setup are being tested as VW gets ready to launch the new SUV, complete with drift mode. T-Roc R Is VW’s Hottest SUV Volkswagen T-Roc R Spy PhotoCarBuzz/Valnet The T-Roc is a small Volkswagen crossover, just a couple of inches shorter than the US VW Taos. In VW’s eyes, it’s probably just too small for the American market, but that’s a shame because…

I can’t remember the last time I got excited about a fan. Normally, I just buy whatever Vornado or Dreo model fits my budget, but that was before I started testing the battery-powered Standing Circulator Fan from SwitchBot.As the name indicates, the SwitchBot fan is a 3D circulator — a fancy way of saying that it can tilt up, down, left, and right to push a decent amount air around a room. It looks okay, despite all the plastic, is relatively quiet, runs for hours on battery, has an integrated nightlight, transforms from a desktop to standing fan in seconds,…

Google / Oura / Casio Tech has taken over our lives. We have smartphones, smartwatches and smart TVs. There are even smart fridges, smart toilets and smart sex dolls. (Or, uh, so I hear.) And with the rise of AI, Big Tech is now jumping on the smartglasses bandwagon… again. An analog rebellion is brewing. I recently went to a Barnes & Noble for the first time in well over a decade. I was surprised at how many young, hip people were there, scouring the print books and vinyl records. Then there’s the resurgence of digital cameras, film cameras and…

The automotive landscape loves a loud war, and the competitive pickup truck segment is no different. For decades, the “Big Three” domestic automakers have cornered the full-size truck market by screaming about maximum towing capacities, incremental horsepower bumps, and tailgates that fold into origami shapes. It is marketing designed to trigger emotional, bigger-is-better buying decisions. But while Ford, Ram, and Chevy battle for supremacy in the showroom brochure, a completely different conflict is being fought in bank accounts across North America. It is a quiet, spreadsheet-driven “money war” centered around Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). When you filter out the…

Ranging roughly between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s, Mercedes-Benz suffered from a litany of issues stemming from things like a rush to expand its market, cost-cutting, and the rapid adoption of new, cutting-edge tech. This led to a period of questionable build quality, and happened to coincide with Daimler’s partial majority ownership of Chrysler. However, once the bad times ended, Mercedes was keen to get back to building quality cars and components. Just a few years after Merc’s sale of Chrysler in 2007, the German automaker introduced, arguably, one of the most reliable engines it’s made over the last 20…