Automotive

It’s no secret that kei cars are booming in popularity in the United States, and not just with traditional enthusiasts. The utility of kei trucks is encouraging folks who just want a practical work vehicle to navigate the vagaries of the 25-year rule and individual state regulations to get one of these Japanese imports. Before, only those obsessed with performance royalty like the Nissan Skyline GT-R did that. NHK World, a Japanese public broadcasting service, recently sent a correspondent to Pennsylvania to talk with American kei truck fans. (The video is here. Sadly, it can’t be embedded.) At Lancaster Mini Truck, a dealership stocked with cab-forward kei trucks (as well as a cartoonish Nissan S-Cargo), they explained why they love these tiny vehicles, an estimated 30,000 of which have been imported to the U. S. over the past five years, according to the report.

Gilbert Smith is an automotive journalist with over five years of specialized research and writing experience. Before joining CarBuzz in 2024, he produced in-depth buyer’s guides and feature articles for Vehicle History, focusing on practical insights and detailed automotive analysis. The days when hybrids were wimpy, underpowered cars that only populated Silicon Valley parking lots are well behind us. Case in point, the Toyota RAV4 Plug-In was already delivering 302 horsepower the last time we went looking for the cheapest path to 300 hp nearly two years ago, and it's only gotten more powerful since then. In the meantime, the Toyota has gone hybrid-only, but it's still the PHEV model that offers the lowest price on 300+ horses. Here's how Toyota's delivering premium power at a mid-range price.

After taking the lead on the opening lap, the No. 8 Toyota TR010 crew of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa never looked back, dominating their No. 7 sister car to win the 6 Hours of Barcelona. Hirakawa ultimately crossed the line 0.583 seconds ahead of Mike Conway in the final stint. With their 1-2 finish, Toyota secured their 13th WEC championship and fifth in their hypercar era. The No. 7 took the lead from the No. 8 in the second hour when Buemi was hit with a drive-through penalty; Harley would muscle it back and, at one point, extend the lead to over 14 seconds. The Toyotas made the right call on when to switch from wet-weather Michelin tires to dry-condition tires but dominated both stages of the race. The final podium finisher crossed the line 39.148 seconds after the Toyotas secured their WEC manufacturer championship. The No. 50 Ferrari 499P completed the podium, with its sister car hitting roadblock after roadblock, pitting nine times during the race, and finishing three laps down in 15th. The No. 38 Cadillac Herts Team Jota was a distant fourth, 52.811 seconds after the winner took the checkered flag with the NO. 83 Ferrari Af Corse 499P close behind.

If absolutely nothing else, Facebook Marketplace is the final boss of window shopping. Sometimes I’m doom scrolling away when I see someone selling a shitton of homemade tamales that I’m sure are both delicious and safe. Other times, I kid you not, I’ve seen sex toys labeled as lightly used (which there’s no such thing as light usage in LA, amiright!). And other times, I’m out with my friends when I find myself suddenly going on another tirade of me trying to get them to buy shitty off-road-ready vehicles so they can join me on the trails. Are they ever gonna buy those off-roading shitboxes? No. Should I buy those tamales prepped by a stranger in a likely unclean kitchen? Probably not. Should I absolutely buy those ‘lightly’ used sex toys? My editors are telling me not to answer that question. [Ed Note: My god…-DT]. Regardless of what you see on any given day on Big Zucks’ Marketplace, there’s always a gambling-like energy that I find when scrolling through it, because a banger just might find its way to you. Today is one of those days.

Classic gems, tasteful customs, legendary supercars - for Silvian, they're all fair game. He's been in love with cars and motorcycles for as long as he can remember, so it made perfect sense to eventually turn that passion into a full-time writing career. Around six years and more than 3,000 articles later, he is still going strong and doesn't plan on hitting the brakes anytime soon. You sit at the table with influential figures, having just stepped off your private jet and been chauffeured to whatever fancy conference center you happen to be at. Patek Philippe around your wrist and Kiton tailored suit looking fly, right as you’re about to sign off on that multimillion-dollar deal. And yet, something seems to be missing. But what could it possibly be? How does one go about attaining that next-level flex to show everyone who’s boss? Well, my wealthy friend, Lamborghini has the perfect solution to your woes, so there will be no need to wipe your tears with Benjamins as you lament those perceived inadequacies.

Most enthusiasts will likely be familiar with the original Li'l Red Express truck from Dodge, which arrived based upon the D-Series platform back in the late 1970s. Jalopnik readers ranked it among the most American vehicles of all time, and it was sold across the '78 and '79 model years, a time when mandated emissions equipment were sapping power from the most performance-oriented models on sale in the U. S.. However, Dodge clocked a loophole; vehicles with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) in excess of 6,000 pounds were permitted to run without a catalytic converter. The Dodge D150's 6,100-pound GVW was therefore the perfect platform for some performance-boosting fun. A 225-horsepower 360-cubic-inch V8 was dropped beneath the hood, and a series of distinctive cosmetic tweaks were added; notably semi-truck-style exhaust stacks, and some cool signature graphics.

WD-40 is one of those products that every household really ought to have stashed away somewhere. Despite originally being invented to stop missiles from rusting way back in the early 1950s, there are now over 2,000 established and unique ways in which the product can be used, proving just how ridiculously versatile it can be. However, while having a can of the stuff stored away in a cupboard or on a shelf somewhere is all well and good, exactly how long can the product sit there before you should throw it away and replace it with a fresh can? The answer isn't immediately straightforward, as the firm itself states that the formula may well be good indefinitely, but it does take into account the mechanical limitations of how it's stored.

Siddharth is an alumnus of Coventry University, having completed MA Automotive Journalism and BA Journalism (Honours). Before CarBuzz, he wrote for Rush magazine for two years covering new car launches and in depth reviews, and has a passion for supercars and hypercars. Originally from India, he moved to the UK to pursue his dream of being an automotive journalist. Siddharth's passion for cars started by seeing tanks and armoured vehicles at a very young age as his father was in the army. His passion grew with Top Gear and it became a ritual to watch every night with dinner.

If you’re a child of the 1990s, a V6 is probably part of the soundtrack to your youth, just like the Backstreet Boys. These engines were once the default choice when automakers needed a little extra power in sedans, SUVs, minivans—you name it. There have been many notable V6-powered performance cars as well, from the Buick GNX to the R35 Nissan GT-R. But V6s just don’t inspire the same passion as other engine formats. V6-powered cars have their fans, but the engine itself really doesn’t. The Drive explored why that is in a new YouTube video, and it starts with engineering compromises. Companies started experimenting with V6 engines before World War II, and Lancia brought the V6 to mass production in the Aurelia in 1950, but the story of the V6 as a truly mainstream engine begins in 1962 with General Motors. Looking to economize, the automaker’s Buick division lopped two cylinders off one of its smaller V8s to create the “Fireball” V6. It was all about saving engineering costs since, aside from the different number of cylinders, everything else was the same.

Home » The Mercedes-AMG GT SUV: NOOO!!! GOD!! No, God, Please, No! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Mercedes: I guess we should write about the new SUV version of the Mercedes-AMG GT Four-Door.

Oregon utility Pacific General Electric (“PGE”) is highlighting the environmental, health, and grid benefits to electrifying medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks, calling the battery-backed big rigs “batteries on wheels.” Earlier this month, Oregon hosted its first, fleet-focused electric ride-and-drive event, bringing everything from Class 8 electric semi trucks and medium-duty “last mile” delivery trucks to battery-powered equipment assets like wheel loaders and excavators together in one place so the state’s fleet operators (and fleet buyers) could experience the latest generation of commercial EVs for themselves.

As fun as motorsports are, sometimes it’s even more fun to give traditional formats a remix. Take, for example, the Colombian semi-truck shootout that adds trailers and a time-attack course instead of having trucks go head-to-head on a drag strip. Finland is legendary for producing great racing drivers, so perhaps it’s not surprising that this country has also put its own spin on tractor pulls. Sammi, a small village in western Finland with a population of about 250, hosts an annual tractor pull. As documented in a recent YouTube video from Hans’s Garage, it’s not like the events you’ll find in the United States. American tractor pulls are generally held on flat ground, and the pulling tractors generally drag specially-built sleds designed to transfer weight as they’re moved to increase difficulty. That’s not the case here.

Did you know Bruce Meyers designed a street rod follow-up to the dune buggy? The styling on this second-generation SR is bananas, but it’s an easy-to-work-on VW underneath. This one also has its official Manx certification. The original Meyers Manx dune buggy, endlessly copied and re-created, is an indisputable automotive icon. You only need to look at one to instantly hear the Beach Boys singing about California sun and surf, cruising along the beach on a warm summer evening. But Bruce Meyers didn’t just stop at the sand. Bring a TrailerA wild-looking piece of Manx history just turned up at Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos): a Karma Coachworks SR2. What year does it hail from? Well, that’s a bit of an open question, as the chassis that underpins it is a 1970 Volkswagen, but the car was built a little later. Bring a TrailerA Manx SR was featured on the cover of Car and Driver’s May 1970 issue, where we noted that it pegged the fun-to-drive meter for not much money, same as the original Manx Dune Buggy did.

EcoFlow is hoping to make a titanic splash with its new, smaller (but scalable!) residential energy storage lineup that the company is calling a more approachable entry point to its backup battery offerings. EcoFlow’s new, three-model Titan 5000 range of home backup batteries starts off relatively small with “just” a single, 5 kWh energy storage module that’s enough to keep your refrigerator, lights and Wi-Fi going while keeping your phone and laptop batteries charged. That’s just the start, however, as the system is designed to easily scale up with the addition of more 5,000 Wh modules (hence, the name) to meet your more substantial energy needs — all the way up to 30 kWh.

Chris joined CarBuzz in June 2025. He's held positions at Ford and Motor1, and contributed to Autoblog, Car Throttle, Auto Trader, and many other motoring outlets during his 28-year career. Chris holds a BA in English from Western Michigan University and an AA in Journalism. Growing up in the 1980s in the shadow of Detroit, Chris didn't realize he was witnessing a turning point in automotive history. He just thought digital dashes and pop-up headlights were cool, and no car could ever be as awesome as KITT from Knight Rider. He also came from a car-crazy family, so when he graduated from college with English and Journalism degrees, he applied his communication talents to the wild world of cars.

Cop car chases can sometimes make for excellent television. Will the suspect evade? Will the cops jump their cruiser at 100 mph? Will one of those massive Randy's Donuts break free from its building and come to aid of the constabulary? There are so many questions, and there are even more possibilities. But have you ever wondered what the longest-ever cop car chase is? The answer is a simply mind-boggling 16 hours. That's right, 16 hours. You could fly from New York to Hong Kong in that time and still have minutes to spare. It's frankly beyond us how one person's mental and physical fortitude can last so long, because it's not as if they spent that time racing an M3 wagon around the Nürburgring.

Gilbert Smith is an automotive journalist with over five years of specialized research and writing experience. Before joining CarBuzz in 2024, he produced in-depth buyer’s guides and feature articles for Vehicle History, focusing on practical insights and detailed automotive analysis. It may look futuristic, but the Lucid Air feels like a throwback to a time when all EVs were luxury cars that started at $70,000, because the tax credits would take the sting off. Thankfully, Lucid is getting with the times with some attractive lease offers.

Michal studies Automotive Journalism at Coventry University in the UK, and has been writing for CarBuzz since March 2025. He was nominated for student culture piece of the year recently and has been the Vavel.com F1 Editor. He studied Journalism at university to combine his love of writing and cars. Michal's love for cars started when he couldn't sleep as a baby. His father would watch the only thing on TV to help them relax - Formula 1. Since then, he's felt like he's had a V10 ringing in his mind.