ArcaMax

President Donald Trump's trade war with China underscores the importance of a reliable supply chain for the automotive industry of rare-earth minerals and magnets made from them that are necessary for parts from electric vehicle motors to windshield wipers and anti-lock braking systems.

Rare earths describe 17 metallic elements with properties ...Read more

There are no small trucks anymore. They've all been replaced by "midsize" trucks like the 2025 GMC Canyon and its competitors -- which are longer and taller than the full-size trucks of the early 2000s.

And most of them come standard with shorter (5-foot) beds than the compact trucks that used to be available.

They're also a lot more ...Read more

General Motors Co. is pouring $888 million into a plant near Buffalo, New York, to make V-8 engines used in full-size SUVs and trucks, the company said Tuesday.

The capital infusion into Tonawanda Propulsion will pay for new machinery, equipment, tools and renovations as the plant gears up to start making the next generation of V-8 engines in ...Read more

Can you envision a Buick that is made in China?

It's more than just that too. Buick -- as a brand -- probably owes its survival to the fact that Buicks are very popular in China. Pontiac and Oldsmobile, not so much -- which is why those brands have been retired.

But why might an American want to consider buying this made-in-China ...Read more

Like its main rival, the Mercedes E-Class sedan, the BMW 5 used to come standard with a six-cylinder engine -- as people used to expect when they spent what it costs to buy a midsize luxury sedan. Both of them now come standard with 2.0-liter fours -- and neither of them has gotten any less expensive.

This isn't to say the BMW 5 Series...Read more

Mazda is one of the few brands still selling a sedan, and it's one of the even fewer sedans that's also available as a hatchback sedan -- and with a manual transmission -- and that's something as rare to find in anything new today as cigarette lighters.

What It Is

The Mazda3 is a compact sedan/hatchback (five doors) and the competes with the ...Read more

Until three years ago, you couldn't buy a small truck in this country. And you still can't.

But you can buy a small pickup that looks like a truck and can do many of the things you could do with a small truck, such as carry a load in a bed and pull a 5,000-pound trailer.

Which, for the record, is something many of the small trucks you can't ...Read more

A few years from now -- maybe as soon as a year from now -- we may look back upon the 2025 Honda Pilot very much as we look back on the V12-powered (and even V8-powered) ultra-luxury vehicles of 20 years ago.

Because the Pilot comes standard with a V6 -- and that's getting to be a luxury. Even in luxury-brand (and luxury-priced) crossovers from...Read more

What is the difference between Volkswagen's Taos -- and the better-known Tiguan?

About $5,000.

There's more to it than that, of course. But also less.

What It Is

The Taos is a compact crossover -- and so is the Tiguan. The latter was VW's smallest (and least expensive) crossover until the Taos slid into that slot when VW added it to the ...Read more

Imagine going back in time to the heyday of the V8 muscle car in the late 1960s and early '70s with a brand-new Prius hybrid -- and beating almost all of them in a drag race.

While averaging close to 60 mpg.

That's what you might call a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too situation.

What It Is

The Prius is -- as everyone knows -- a hybrid designed...Read more

At one time, you had multiple options if you were interested in a midsize family sedan and didn't want to spend more than about $25,000 for it.

Your options have been reduced to one: the 2025 Chevy Malibu.

What It Is

The Malibu is the last car Chevrolet still sells -- and the last midsize family sedan anyone still sells with a base ...Read more