Read about the car news that you might know happened this week.
Change is the word of the day in the automotive industry more now than it has been in some time. Crazy rumors have always been around, but with how quickly and dramatically things have been shifting lately they don’t seem so far-fetched these days. With so much going on this week, you might have missed these interesting, key car news stories from this week.
GM spins Corvette off Chevrolet, supposedly.
The rumors have been flying for years that GM has big plans for the Corvette as a brand. They’ve ranged from adding a sedan and SUV to the lineup to making the Corvette its own brand with many models. Car and Driver threw more fuel on the fire by claiming this week the plan is for GM to make Corvette its own brand by 2025. It also claims the rumors about the sedan and SUV are also true. Considering how much the auto industry is in flux these days, this might be accurate. Then again, C&D might have egg on its face in three years.
Check out the C&D article for yourself here.
Find out why police apprehended a recklessly driving dog here.
Tesla is simplifying the Model 3.
Australian automotive page Drive claims an updated Tesla Model 3 launches in 2023. You might think that means improved range, more safety tech, faster acceleration, revised exterior styling, but if so you would be wrong. Instead, Drive claims the change is a refreshed interior that’s supposed “to reduce production complexity.” If you’ve been inside a Tesla you’re probably laughing because the interiors are incredibly Spartan, so how much simpler can Tesla make them?
Check out the coverage here.
Switzerland considers clamping down on electric car usage.
We’ve been told over and over governments wouldn’t try telling EV owners when they can charge or drive their car, yet a Fox Business report claims Switzerland is weighing doing just that. Facing an energy crisis as winter looms, officials reportedly are considering banning using EVs at certain times, along with other energy-intense activities. We’ll see if they opt to do this or if other countries mimic the move.
Read the report here.
The EU isn’t happy with the US pro-EV movement.
One would think Europe with all its “green” philosophies would love that the US is leaning hard into EVs but instead EU leaders are hopping mad. They don’t like the Inflation Reduction Act since it punishes European automakers which don’t assembly batteries and electric cars here. This has made for some tense exchanges between officials in the US and the EU with no clear solution on the horizon.
Read more about this issue here and here.
Toyota offers a Prius lease discount… with a catch.
We generally aren’t fans of leasing cars for a variety of reasons, but it’s a fairly popular practice in Japan where laws and customs are different. Toyota thinks it can lure customers to the new Prius by offering a 10% discount on monthly payments. The catch is customers must opt-in for over-the-air updates similar to what Tesla pushes to its cars or how your smartphone updates periodically. There’s plenty of speculation about why Toyota is doing this but it hasn’t disclosed the reasoning.
Read more here.
Image via GM
