The Summer Road Trip Checklist Every Driver Needs

Disclosure: TTAC may receive a small affiliate commission from purchases made via links in this article but at no cost to you.A few simple checks now can help prevent breakdowns, improve safety, and make every mile a little less stressful.
Summer road trips are all about making memories, not sitting on the side of the highway waiting for a tow truck. 
Whether it's a weekend getaway, a family vacation, or a long drive to visit friends, a little preparation can go a long way toward avoiding u

Two years after the Type 00 concept detonated across social media in Miami, Jaguar has brought the production car, predictably badged Type 01, to a reveal in New York. The concept's debut got buried under the outrage over the company tossing aside nearly 90 years of heritage. Now there's an actual car to argue about.Order books stay shut until early 2027, and Jaguar says first deliveries won't arrive until the back half of that year, assuming the schedule doesn't slip again. It already has, by

Charging an EV at home is supposed to be about as thrilling as plugging in a phone. One Rivian R1S owner got the opposite experience, and the photos are brutal.Images posted to the Rivian subreddit show an R1S whose entire front end is cooked, plus substantial fire damage to the garage next to it. The Reddit user who shared the pictures said they came across the aftermath while walking the dog, and a neighbor said the blaze broke out while the Rivian charged through an extension cord.
That is a

Industry design trends have left the world with a deficit of cute cars. The modern bias has been to give vehicles a menacing aura, ideally nodding to the model boasting some kind of off-road performance. Despite being known for fielding playful automobiles, Mini has decided to update the Countryman using that exact recipe with the new Untamed Edition.
The crossover receives a set of all-new Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tires which will be wrapped around 19-inch light-alloy wheels that will

Way back in the last century, the world was facing a multitude of problems, and in order to inspire confidence in Americans, then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — a big car fan! — told the country, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” Fast forward nearly 100 years, U.S. automakers are facing, well, a multitude of problems. However, no statesman is stepping up to assuage the worries of top executives at car companies with a similar statement. In fact, many are po

In episode 148 of Tales From the Beat, Strategic Global Media founder and CEO Scott Merritt and partner Dwain Schenck tackle divisive issues with host/journalist Ed Garsten that include who is a journalist and what is the toughest and most misunderstood job in PR. They also bat around the effects of AI in story pitching and Ed reveals a boo boo he made when he hopped over to corporate PR from journalism. TTAC Creator Ed Garsten hosts " Tales from the Beat," a podcast about the automotive a

The dream of a general-purpose AI that can do anything your phone's chatbot does, including pilot a two-ton vehicle, just got a reality check. Researchers handed frontier models complete control of a Toyota Corolla and watched most of them fail spectacularly before the first turn. Researchers Aditya Ramabadran, Simon Mahns, and Tobias Gessler built DrivingBench, a test designed to see how well off-the-shelf AI agents like Claude, GPT, and Grok handle actual driving. The hardware was borrowed fro

After years of watching vehicle theft numbers climb at a pace that embarrassed insurers and automakers alike, the trend has finally reversed, and the latest figures suggest it isn't a fluke. The National Insurance Crime Bureau's latest data shows vehicle thefts nationwide dropped 21 percent in the first half of 2026 compared to the same stretch in 2025. A total of 268,415 vehicles were reported stolen to law enforcement during those six months, working out to a theft rate of roughly 77.81 per 10

We hope you’re sitting down because Tesla has updated the Model 3 to include an even bigger screen. This has been done in tandem with other changes you probably won’t care about, like giving the Performance trim more power and improved range. Premium models also see some improved zero-to-60 times.
But we know that Tesla buyers care most about their screens, which serve as the true heart and soul of these vehicles. All future Model 3 sedans will soon have the standard 15.4-inch screen

The 2026 4Runner TRD Pro in the fantastic Wave Maker color that is exclusive to TRD Pro Toyota truck trims and I love it! Friend of the site Connie Peters reviews the 2026 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro. Take a look at the video or transcript below to see what she thinks. 
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
A transcript, summarized by AI and edited by a sta

The little Japanese pickups of the 1970s were good trucks, but tended to be short on power. Here's one that got a period-correct upgrade to an engine well matched to the F O R D letters on its hood.I find quite a few Couriers during my junkyard travels, even though the newest ones are '82 models. This one caught my eye due to the red-white-and-blue harlequinized body parts. A closer look showed that this truck was so rusty that it simply wrapped around U-Pull-&-Pay's two-wheels-welded-togeth

General Motors is handing every 2027 EV a Tesla-style charging port, and the flagship electric Cadillac gets a little more than the rest of the lineup.The 2027 Cadillac Escalade IQ and its stretched Escalade IQL sibling drop the aging CCS1 connector for a native NACS port. The payoff at the plug is simple: no more CCS-to-NACS adapter required at Tesla Superchargers or other charging stalls wired for NACS.
There's a catch, and it's the predictable one. Topping up at a legacy CCS station now requ

Aston Martin will build a pure electric vehicle only when the law leaves it no choice. That's the message from CEO Adrian Hallmark, who told Autocar the company sees no demand-side reason to electrify and plenty of reasons to keep pistons pumping. Aston's EV timeline has become a case study in slippage. The brand once promised to reveal an EV by the close of 2025. That slid to 2027. Now Hallmark is talking about a window near the 2035 legislative deadline.
"We only need BEVs to be compliant for

Last time we explored the four trim levels on offer at the launch of the Ford Taurus in 1986. The L, GL, and LX were the mainstays, while the MT5 was the short-lived way to get a manual transmission and the only four-cylinder engine in a wagon format. As noted, options and packages were shifted throughout the early run as Ford figured out what bundling was best suited for each trim. Beyond the standard features and options by trim, there were a bevy of separate à la carte options and grou

Ford CEO Jim Farley isn't betting the company on the North American trade deal that props up its business. Asked about the fate of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Farley put the odds of an extension at a "50-50 chance."That's not a vote of confidence from the executive who has spent recent months lobbying publicly to keep the thing alive.
The USMCA is currently under review, and the Trump administration is pushing to sharply raise the required level of U.S. content in vehicles built

For the 1981 model year, Isuzu begin selling cars in the United States through its own dealerships. That's the kind of history I look for in the Ewe Pullets of the land, but the early P'ups and I-Marks are nearly impossible to find nowadays. At long last, here's a second-year I-Mark that currently resides in a car graveyard in northeastern Colorado.Other than some onesy-twosy Bellels and Belletts brought into the country during the 1960s, the first use of the Isuzu name on U.S.-market cars came

Scores of top auto industry executives gathered in Detroit at the Automotive News World Congress this week to discuss the multitude of issues automakers and suppliers are facing right now.  Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa talked about his company’s efforts to address quality deficits. Ford chief Jim Farley talked about the potential impact that China will have in the U.S. if their auto companies can set up shop inside American borders. Affordability, supply chain issues, materials, tar

Antonio Filosa has added "quality" to a to-do list that already included product and profitability, and the company's numbers in that area explain his urgency.Both Stellantis brands eligible for J.D. Power's 2026 Initial Quality Study finished below the industry average of 175 problems per 100 vehicles, according to J.D. Power. Jeep managed 182, good enough to trail 15 other brands. Ram landed at 222, five spots from the bottom.
Speaking with Automotive News publisher KC Crain at the Automotive

The eighth-generation of the BMW 3 Series has been revealed and showcases the brand’s evolved Neue Klasse design ethos.
Originally used to denote a series of novel vehicles BMW launched in the 1960s to save itself from financial ruin, Neue Klasse models were supposed to be forward thinking. They likewise helped establish much of the styling the brand would use over the proceeding decades. Modern Neue Klasse vehicles are also supposed to be looking toward the future while tapping into some

The pitch for a nationwide charging network has always been dressed up as a public good. The top executive at EV charging startup Ionna would like to remind everyone it's a business that needs to make money, or none of this works.Seth Cutler, who runs the eight-automaker joint venture, told The Drivecast that the venture has no illusions about its mandate. "This is a for-profit business," he said, and that business is EV charging. Cutler put the stakes bluntly: "Infrastructure has to be for-prof

The 2027 Honda Civic Type R is being updated to incorporate a few creature comforts and some minor performance enhancements. While both are presumably unnecessary factors in driving sales, they will allow the manufacturer to brag that they’ve improved an already excellent performance vehicle.But the visual changes are beyond subtle. Honda claims to have altered the front fascia to improve airflow. An enlarged grille is supposed to help keep the engine cooler, whereas an updated front split

If you think about it, there's no practical reason to buy a 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata. You feel cramped in a tight space. You get decent, but not great fuel economy. And the MX-5 only offers decent acceleration and roadholding. So what's the point? FUN! Let me show you. Views on Vehicles focuses on new car reviews and news, presented by Robin Warner, a perennial car nut. The reason for the channel's focus becomes crystal clear when you look at Warner’s experience. 
He spent five yea

The 2026 Audi RS3 is back with even more attitude, more precision, and the same legendary five‑cylinder punch that makes it one of the most distinctive performance compacts on the planet. The 2026 RS3 exterior delivers full wide‑body stance, flared fenders, a deeper RS honeycomb grille, and massive functional air intakes feeding the turbocharged five‑cylinder. Inside, the 2026 Audi RS3 interior blends luxury and performance: RS sport seats, heavy bolstering, optional Nappa lea

Nissan treated hybrids as an afterthought for the better part of two decades, now wants to blanket its lineup with them. By 2030, the automaker plans hybrid versions of most of its SUVs, and its North American boss expects the technology to carry the brand.The first wave is a Rogue e-Power hybrid arriving shortly, with Nissan Americas Chair Christian Meunier telling Automotive News he wants the hybrid to account for 30 percent to 40 percent of Rogue sales "very quickly." His bigger claim: "I th

Ford CEO Jim Farley has looked across the Atlantic, watched what happened to Europe's automakers, and decided he'd rather not repeat the experience. His verdict on the Continent's efforts to fend off Chinese brands: "It's too late." Farley said during the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit the U.S. must "be extremely careful around how the Chinese OEMs come to our country," according to Reuters. His reasoning is the cautionary tale already playing out overseas. Once Chinese brands arrive

There are concept cars that look unrealistic because they are clearly made of cardboard, optimism, and lighting tricks. Then there are concept cars that look unrealistic because they are simply too good to be true. The BMW Nazca belongs in the second group.  The Nazca had a carbon-fiber body. It had a mid-mounted BMW V12. It had styling from Italdesign. It had gullwing-style glass sections, Group C racing influences, a drag coefficient that would shame many modern supercars, and a shape so

Lucid pushed out UX 3.0 for the Air this week, a top-to-bottom redesign of the sedan's infotainment meant to close the gap with the newer Gravity SUV. The catch: if your Air is old enough, the update isn't a free download. It's a $950 trip to the service center.Own a 2025-or-newer Air? You're fine. UX 3.0 arrives automatically through Lucid's 2.11.0 over-the-air update, no hardware required.
Own a 2022, 2023, or some 2024 models? Then getting the new system means a $950 processor upgrade, a fig

Yes, a plug-in hybrid AMG wagon that would be the perfect family daily driver. I loved this one. Friend of the site Connie Peters reviews the Mercedes-AMG E53 Wagon. Take a look at the video or transcript below to see what she thinks. 
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
A transcript, summarized by AI and edited by a staffer, is below.
[Image: YouTub

It used to be popular to say that today’s cars are nothing more than computers on wheels. However, it’s safe to say that’s an understatement. But with the advances in technology have come some homogenization (i.e. all cars are the same) and some excess (i.e. do we really need this). I think it’s safe to say that today’s vehicles are safer than ever, in large measure because of the new technology. In fact, there’s enough helpers/nannies that they get a group n

The Trump administration just released finalized a new set of federal emissions rules covering passenger cars and light trucks, unwinding the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) targets set in 2024. The relaxed rules cover new vehicles through the 2031 model year, and GM stands to be the single biggest beneficiary.According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, GM was on track to spend $31.7 billion on compliance technology through 2031 under the prior rules, a figure Reuters reported. Th