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Here at CarBuzz we love wounded birds. You know, the cars that went widely unloved in their time, or just never had what it took to stay competitive for lengthy periods.The Kia Stinger and Chevrolet Volt are among the nameplates we wish were still here, but none brings a tear to the eyes of our writers quite like Volkswagen’s flagship SUV, the trailblazing Touareg. With a $50,000 MSRP in 2017, the Touareg was a lot of money, but fast-forward to today and that amount is just below the national average new car price, and the cost of a well-equipped variant…

The M6, Jetta’s first battery electric model, opened pre-sales for its M6 sedan in China on September 28, 2026. Credit: Jetta. M6 is Jetta’s first battery electric model and is scheduled for an official launch in mid-October. The M6 marks a key step in Jetta’s electrification push as the brand targets the entry-level EV market around 100,000 yuan. FAW-Volkswagen’s Jetta brand opened pre-sales for its M6 sedan in China on Monday, with prices ranging from 80,800 yuan ($11,990) to 99,800 yuan. The M6 is Jetta’s first battery electric model and is scheduled for an official launch in mid-October. The sedan…

Geely is buying into NIO’s battery swap network. NIO announced definitive agreements on Sunday that hand a Geely Holding subsidiary 30% of NIO Power, the unit running its swap stations and chargers, at a post-money valuation of about RMB16 billion ($2.4 billion). Most of what Geely is paying isn’t cash. It’s contributing its own commercial battery swap business plus RMB640 million ($94 million), while NIO takes 10% of Geely’s charging arm in a parallel deal. The terms Here’s how the NIO Power side breaks down, according to NIO’s announcement: Geely’s subsidiary contributes 100% of Yiyi Internet Technology (Chongqing), a commercial…

Music startup Thoughtful Things has just launched the Kickstarter campaign for its first instrument, Engram. It’s a sampler and groovebox that uses AI to mangle incoming audio and even hallucinate completely new sounds. This isn’t Suno in a box, though. This isn’t a “push-button, get-song” device, aimed at creating something that sounds ready for top-40 radio. It’s about creating experimental, uncanny sounds and pushing AI audio models beyond their limits.Engram isn’t connected to the internet. Instead, it runs a “tiny AI” locally. According to the Kickstarter listing, the model is designed in-house and custom-trained. The company says:“We’ve trained our audio…

Up until recently, showing up at a used car lot with $20k to spend would net you a pretty new, low-mileage vehicle that could last a long time. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. As new cars continue to increase in price, bringing used values with them, that $20k means less and less. According to numerous sources, the amount of three-year-old used cars that sell for less than $20k is now below 10%. However, the Toyota Corolla offers some relief from today’s rising prices. As it stands currently, a three-year-old Corolla carries well under $20k in value, but also offers…

Provided you don’t drive long distances every day, Level 1 charging could be all you need. Daisy-daisy/Getty Images If you’re a new electric vehicle owner, you may be surprised to learn just how many charging options you have available, both at home and to extend your range on the road. While the industry has standardized terms like Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 charging, those labels offer little information on their own. Installing a Level 2 charger can also cost hundreds of dollars, so is it an expense worth taking on? A Level 1 charger…

Audi and Lamborghini occupy different tiers of the premium vehicle market. Audi is a German luxury marque that also builds performance vehicles and has a full range of sedans and SUVs. However, Lamborghini is a purebred supercar brand that also offers a sporty SUV. The company has produced some of the world’s most outlandish supercars and hypercars throughout its history. Since Volkswagen Group acquired Lamborghini in 1998, many Lamborghini and Audi vehicles have shared engine architectures. For example, both have used a 5.2-liter V10 and a 4.0-liter V8. Even today, the relationship continues as Audi’s new Nuvolari is set to…

A Nio ET5 Touring undergoes a battery swap at a Nio Power station. Credit: Nio. The deal values Nio Power at about 16 billion yuan after the investment, with Nio China retaining a controlling 63.6% stake. Nio China plans to acquire 10% of Geely’s Haohan Energy as the companies deepen cooperation on charging networks and battery swap technology. Geely Holding Group will invest in Nio Inc’s (NYSE: NIO) energy business, taking their collaboration on charging and battery swapping to the capital level. Nio announced on Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement with certain subsidiaries of Geely Holding, under…

Mazda’s CX-6e just got a major tech update in the form of a new LiDAR suite that makes the sporty electric SUV capable of delivering “advanced L2” autonomy, navigation on autopilot (NOA), and automated parking. The second new EV to roll out of Mazda’s partnership with Chinese domestic brand Changan Auto, the CX-6e is the JV’s first “global” product, having rolled out in Asian, European, and other markets earlier this year – offering a rear-mounted electric motor, packing 190 kW (258 hp) and 214 lb-ft of torque for the sort of zoom-zoom driving dynamics that Mazda customers have come to expect,…

If you were to ask me what game or game series I’ve sunk the most time into, the answer would be easy: Out of the Park Baseball (OOTP). I have spent roughly 2,300 hours, according to Steam, playing various editions of the game. OOTP isn’t like MLB The Show or Super Mega Baseball. It’s not graphically impressive. It’s not a blast of simple arcade fun. It is basically a spreadsheet pretending to be a video game. It’s fantasy baseball, but without having to wait six months to see how disappointing that sleeper draft pick will be, because you can plow…