Electric Dreams, Tariff Nightmares: Inside the Austin Arrow

In this episode of the UrbanEV Podcast, hosts Rob Hoffman and Scott Murphy engage in a lively conversation with Nigel Gordon Stewart, the chairman and CEO of Austin Motor Co.They explore Nigel's extensive background in the automotive industry from McLaren to Lamborghini to Lotus and eventually Austin, where he is leading the legendary brand into the electric vehicle era with the Austin Arrow. 
The discussion also touches on a Lamborghini test drive with Donald Trump, the challenges faced w

Buick: the story of America’s oldest auto firm still runningSmall to large.By a small margin, Buick is the oldest North American company still building cars today, was the first to be incorporated into General Motors, and marked its 120th birthday in 2023.
To have survived so long, Buick has clearly been doing something right for the last 120 odd years, which is as good a reason as any for us to delve into its history:The founder
David Dunbar Buick (1854-1929) was born in Arbroath on

Simulated sequential 'boxes, pioneered by Hyundai, are the hottest new trend in high-performance EVsThe sign of any great new technology is how quickly it smoothly slips into your life.
When was the last time you actively thought about making a contactless card payment? The speed at which I defaulted to using the faux gears of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N's N e-Shift system after making first acquaintance with it - even keeping it murmuring away in the background, mimicking a dual-clutch automatic 'box

It's rare to find a Mk1 Range Rover used as intended, but this one is"It's a genuine Chelsea tractor," says Mike Hurst, pointing to the Chelsea & Kensington parking permit on the windscreen of his 1992 J-reg Range Rover 3.5 V8 Vogue SE auto, finished in Ardennes Green.
It's not his permit: it was there when he bought the car 19 years ago, unbelievably from a chap at the roadside.
Mike recalls: "He said it was knocking from somewhere and he wasn't happy. I drove it round the block. It just ne

Stellantis and fast-moving firm Leapmotor joined forces three years ago – what's next?European manufacturers have faced significant disruption and challenges in recent years, but the rapid expansion of Chinese firms into the region presents the biggest existential threat to their survival yet.
How can legacy car firms, already struggling with the cost of electrification and ever-shifting legislation, combat aggressive rivals who are out to rapidly grow market share through being leaner, fa

Cop a load of these...Not all drivers appreciate the sight of a police car behind them, but at least these will get your attention for the right reasons…Imagine how much more interesting it would be if the roads were patrolled by Porsche 911s, or Audi R8s, or Honda NSXs?
Or a hot-hatchback like the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, pictured, which saw service in the UK? Well, the police in one part of the world or other have used all these cars, and a whole lot more, so take a

Originally pitched as a variant of the Fiat Cinqeucento, this cute city car was an unlikely successIt probably wasn’t the outcome that Paolo Cantarella had banked on.
Back in 1991, Fiat Auto’s car enthusiast boss launched a design competition especially for Italian coachbuilders. The idea was that they would produce an assortment of concept cars based on the then new Fiat Cinquecento, the neatly squared-off version released that year.
Cantarella’s aims were multiple. The design

Unreliable, ugly or both, these cars stood out in the worst possible wayEven the most successful car companies miss the mark.We can think of many instances in which car firms (usually cash- or time-strapped) fumbled as they attempted to replace a popular model. Sometimes they got ahead of themselves by trying to fill a niche that didn’t exist yet – and that, in some cases, was never created. The resulting models asked more questions than they answered and they stood out like a puddle

What else to do with an abandoned airfield but make a world-class GP circuit or test track?Why are the British so good at making sports cars?
It's a question put to me in an interview recently, to which a previous interviewee had said that, in times gone by (maybe even now), only the British would be barmy enough to stand in a small, cold shed and decide that a world-class small sports or racing car might roll out of the doorway.
I think there's a bit more to it than that, and that in creating w

We join for the most important day in Renault's calendar, as all the bosses check out what's coming nextWhen François Provost, a distinguished Renault Group director of vast experience but low profile, suddenly succeeded Luca de Meo as CEO in July last year, there was no suggestion that he would be bothered about trying to mirror de Meo's well- chronicled star quality or instinct for headlines.
Whereas de Meo was a kind of troubadour car boss who has specialised in orchestrating car

When it launched in 1975, the AMC Pacer was the company's most successful new product, ever. But the success quickly unraveled, as the Pacer became a costly flop that may have doomed American Motors. 
The Last Independent Automaker is a six-part documentary series, produced by Joe Ligo, Jimm Needle, and Patrick Foster. It details the dramatic rise and fall of American Motors Corporation, told through over 35 exclusive interviews, hundreds of rare photographs, and hours of historical and ne

Ferrari and Zagato have always had a relationship that sits somewhere between inspired collaboration and polite disagreement. 
When it works, you get cars that feel like they’ve been sharpened with a scalpel, they are leaner and more purposeful than their already exotic foundations. When it doesn’t, you get something that looks like a Ferrari that’s been left too close to a radiator and melted into a shape only its designer could love. The 1971 Ferrari 3Z Spider sits squa

Most buyers would steer clear but DVLA data shows cars – including EVs and hybrids – are living longerNew data has revealed that used car buyers are still reluctant to purchase a car that has accrued more than 100,000 miles, despite the average car on UK roads now being older than it has ever been. 
According to a survey by eBay, 72% of drivers would be scared off by six figures on an odometer, while 52% would avoid a car that had surpassed 50,000 miles. 
Yet DVLA data show

Britain’s newest sports car maker goes for a gap in the market with a sub-tonne two-seaterThe demise of the old-school, British-built sports car – easy on the eye, gloriously light on its tread blocks and fizzing with feedback – has been exaggerated, according to Robin Wells, founder of Wells Motor Cars.Wells is the entrepreneur who, in 2021, revealed the Vertige at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, having developed the coupé effectively in secret since 2014, with enginee

R8 stood in the shadow of mad Italian cousins, but wildly bespoke Nuvolari can steal the spotlightEverything we read about the Nuvolari suggests Audi has little intention of perpetuating the hierarchy that saw the R8 play second fiddle first to the Gallardo then the Huracán.
This new supercar is going to have even more power than its Temerario cousin, as well as a full carbon body. Limited production will also make it precisely as exclusive as a LaFerrari. These are not the trappings of a

Believe it or not, the three-wheeler class was quite an important one - meet some of its most notable membersThe first cars sported just three wheels, and since then more than 1200 different models of three-wheeler have been produced.
But how many can you name? Morgan and Messerschmitt are the go-to brands, but after that most car fans will struggle to name many. So read on and prepare to be enlightened on some of the most bizarre vehicles ever created:Morgan (1909)
We might as well start with t

Car makers tend to produce safe, dependable designs that won't scare any horses. These are the exceptionsCustomisers around the world have been creating deliberately wild-looking cars for many decades.For at least as long, manufacturers have also come up with some pretty wild designs without necessarily meaning to. Many of their most apparently crazy cars ended up that way for sound technical reasons, or perhaps because they were simply following a particular fashion. Others can safely be descri

Our roads have become a parade of nondescript crossovers in drab paint jobs. But it wasn’t always like this and there’s evidence that something other than grayscale may soon be back on the menu.
The desaturation of our automobiles is undeniable. One only needs to look at films or television programs made before the early 2000s for proof. The streets were awash with colorful vehicles from the post-war period to roughly the start of the 21st century.
There are still colorful cars avail

The Toyo Tires Ferret is a one-of-one off-road build based on a 1959 British Ferret military scout vehicle, reimagined to showcase the durability of Toyo Open Country M/T tires. 
Originally a Cold War–era armored reconnaissance vehicle, the Ferret was completely rebuilt with a rear-mounted Chevrolet LS V8, race-spec suspension, and six massive off-road tires, including a hydraulically driven center axle for extreme traction. 
Driven by off-road racer BJ Baldwin, the Ferret tears

Ultra-exclusive Lambo Temerario twin gets nearly 1000bhp from hybrid V8 – and introduces new design languageThe new Audi Nuvolari is a limited-run 987bhp V8 hybrid supercar that serves as a new flagship more exclusive than the R8 – and, according to boss Gernot Döllner, serves as “a statement for the future” of the brand.
Powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre engine aided by three electric motors, the mid-engined Nuvolari is the fastest and mos

Ford Motor Co. announced it recalled 419,967 Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 2018 to 2022 model year. The action aims to resolve a problem with the front seat belt retractor pretensioners.In the affected vehicles, the pretensioners may inadvertently deploy, locking the seat belt in place. When that happens, it does not extend or retract, potentially resulting in an injuring during a crash, according to  the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report 

Bridgestone's latest DiM500 simulator lets it develop bespoke tyres faster
Driving simulators continue to grow ever more sophisticated, transforming the development of cars and the things they are made from.
They have certainly moved on from the level of giving drivers and pilots a realistic training environment without the need to physically sit them in a Formula 1 car or airliner.
Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HiL) enables engineers to run components like electronic control units throu

Autocar renders show what the new 'Fiesta' and European-market Bronco could look like
Electric hatch will be joined by new small crossovers and an SUV - all with 'rally-led' dynamicsFord will launch five new cars over the next four years in the UK and mainland Europe - including a new electric Fiesta successor - and the firm's Europe passenger car chief has vowed that their driving dynamics will live up to Ford's rich heritage.
The new models will all sit in the B-and C-segments. They comprise a

Enyaq's bigger brother gets sleek Modern Solid styling - and we've had a promising first taste alreadySkoda has previewed the design of its upcoming Peaq SUV flagship ahead of a full debut in the coming weeks.
The new seven-seater – which Autocar has driven as a prototype (below) – will use an extended version of the MEB platform that underpins the smaller Enyaq and Elroq, and face off with the likes of the Peugeot E-5008 and Mercedes GLB Electric.
New sketches released by the b

Autocar renders show what the new 'Fiesta' and European-market Bronco could look like
Bid to rejoin Europe's biggest car makers comprises new 'Fiesta', Bronco and more small EVsFord will "go on the offensive" with the launch of five new cars in the UK and Europe by 2029 – all of which will draw on its extensive heritage in rallying in a bid to win back buyers in the region.
The new models will sit in the B- and C-segments and include a Bronco-inspired ‘multi-energy&rsq

We trade ADAS bongs and touchscreens for a simple straight-six coupé, making tweaks to bring it up to dateThe last time I ran a 2005-model-year long-term test car was, more or less, in 2005. But here we are again. This is an E46-generation BMW 330Ci coupé and, I have to say, it's rather good.
At least it was when it was new. The 330Ci had a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine with no turbos and made 228bhp at 5900rpm and 332lb ft at 3500rpm. It had a six-speed manual gearbox,

Stellantis will launch 60 new cars and 50 "significant" refreshes as part of new strategy
Multinational giant's “straightforward” reboot in US contrasts with trickier path to success in struggling Europe
“Product is king.” That line from Stellantis’s head of American brands, Tim Kuniskis, nicely summed up the company’s investor day, in which the multinational giant attempted to wash itself clean of the failures of previous CEO Carlos Tavares and present a

Most automakers reporting May sales had reason to celebrate, but Ford isn’t one of them, revealing its results were down 13.6 percent compared to year ago numbers. The Michigan-based automaker saw is numbers fall in every category: trucks, cars, and SUVs, which endured the biggest decline of 20.9 percent. Trucks were down 8.4 percent and cars, better known as the Mustang, were down 1.8 percent.Ford brand vehicles fell 13.3 percent and its Lincoln luxury unit dropped further: 20.5 percent.

Scout!!!!! Coming as an EREV first but BEV (fully EV) is still coming too. Side note: I’m 5’1” for reference. I got A LOT of comments on my social videos/shorts about how big these look next to me. Yes, they do, they both have huge all-terrain tires on them as well! This is a quick walkaround of the two prototype Scouts: Traveler SUV and Terra pick-up. I love them both — which is your favorite? Personally, the bench seat doesn’t do for me! Friend of the site Connie

A new bill aims to ban Chinese-made connected vehicles from ever even driving across the border into the United States via Canada or Mexico.
Representative Haley Stevens and Senator Elissa Slotkin, both Michigan Democrats, announced the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act last week. The legislation would prohibit connected vehicles from China and other adversarial nations from entering the U.S., whether they are imported for sale or simply driven across the border by bored boomers from the