Author: kirklandc008@gmail.com

A light-duty truck undergoes battery replacement at a CATL battery swap station. Image credit: CATL CATL and DST plan to put 5,000 battery-swap light trucks into operation in an economic zone in southern China by the end of 2026. Over an eight-year life cycle of a light truck, the energy replenishment cost of battery swap is only about half that of a fuel-powered counterpart. CATL (HKEX: 3750) has partnered with logistics operator DST (Digital Sustainable Transport Shenzhen) to officially launch China’s first standardized light truck battery swap ecosystem. The first batch of standardized battery swap light trucks has been delivered…

Paul Smith is an iconic British fashion designer known for adding a pop of color and giving subtle twists to classic cuts. If you grew up in the 1990s in the UK, you might remember his tee-shirts featuring graphics of classic British cultural icons having a hot year. And if you draw up a list of British cultural icons, the Mini is going to feature. In 1997, Smith designed a 1,800 model run of special edition Minis, and then weighed in again with the Mini Electric in 2022. Now he’s back for some work with Mini, and the Mini Paul…

The Chevrolet Corvette has, for the last 73 years, been America’s sports car and one of the main reasons we can consistently be proud of it is its affordability, especially compared with more expensive and exclusive European rivals. The cheapest Corvette always has and will always cost less than the cheapest Porsche. It has, of course, chased the performance of said rivals, regularly boasting the same power and acceleration figures as the equivalent Ferrari or Lamborghini, while steadily improving the handling with each passing generation. This was the motivation for moving the engine placement from the front to the middle,…

BendPak has announced that all its branded two‑post lifts will now ship standard with a new wheel spotting dish kit, designed to improve vehicle positioning accuracy and reduce setup time in the service bay. The wheel spotting dish helps technicians quickly and precisely align vehicles for lifting, supporting greater efficiency and productivity. The kit is also available separately for use with most installed surface‑mounted or inground two‑post lifts, as well as a general parking aid. The wheel spotting dish provides clear visual guidance for positioning the driver’s side front tire based on vehicle drive type and wheelbase. By reducing the…

This July, the 2026 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and American Solar Challenge (ASC) head north to Minnesota, and one of the 46 registered teams is making the trip for the very first time. The Delft Solar Team is flying in from the Netherlands, and they aren’t exactly showing up empty-handed. I caught up with Rosa Van Wijngaarden, who runs PR for the team, to talk about who they are, what they’re driving, and what it’s like to prep for a race on a continent the team has never set wheels on. A small group of students with big…

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Enthusiasts, purists, and hot-hatch lovers gather round because I come with good news: The 2026 Volkswagen GTI still delivers on smiles per mile, and the O.G. formula has stood the test of time. The GTI sticks to the recipe enthusiasts love, with a turbocharged engine, front-wheel drive, and point-and-shoot dynamics, all wrapped in an iconic, evolutionary design. A week with the latest GTI was a good reminder of why it’s the benchmark and fans still love the…

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Racing is more than just multiple cars going head-to-head around a track, trying their best to outperform one another. Racing is humans becoming one with machines and pushing like hell to reach new limits. Racing is reaching a higher level of concentration, so complex actions like steering, shifting, and working the pedals happen subconsciously by default. Racing is all about several human beings doing the absolute best they can with whatever resources they have for a certain…

Pope Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum. The document, Magnifica humanitas, was published on May 25 and addresses one of the defining challenges of our time: artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity. The core message isn’t anti-technology. The Pope is clear that technology is neither a threat nor inherently evil. However, he does say that technology is never neutral, because it takes on the values of those who build, fund, and control it. That’s where things get interesting. Is AI becoming a tool for the powerful? A…

A screenshot from a CCTV preview video of the Nio ES9 safety test. Nio will partner with CCTV to broadcast extreme safety tests of its flagship SUV ES9 on the evening of May 26. The highly anticipated SUV will officially launch on May 27, with showrooms already prepared for rapid deliveries. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) will showcase the safety of its highly anticipated ES9 via China Central Television (CCTV) a day before the new model’s official launch. The EV maker is seeking to highlight its technological prowess in a fiercely competitive market. The company announced on Monday that it will…

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 129, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, come on you Gunners, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I’ve mostly been sick, which has meant nearly a full rewatch of Parks and Recreation while alternately napping and feeling bad for myself. But I’ve also been reading about Nick Fuentes and clowns, listening to old episodes of Short History Of, testing the NextSense Smartbuds while I sleep, writing in the Outerline Markdown app beta, and eagerly looking for…