One of the ways that Rivian hasn’t become one of those EV companies that has either gone out of business, is teetering on the edge of going out of business, or is in some weird statis that has people wondering how the heck it seems to exist, is through support of Amazon.
Back in 2019 Amazon invested $1.3 billion in the EV company and ordered 100,000 delivery vans.
And now companies of all sizes can get their own Rivian Commercial Van.
Rivian cargo vehicle: You, too, can get one for your delivery needs. (Image: Rivian)
The vehicle comes in two sizes.
The 500 measures 248.5 inches long, 114.7 inches tall, and 96.4 inches wide (with mirrors).
The 700 is 278 inches long, 114.7 inches high, and 103.5 inches wide (with mirrors).
The 500 has a cargo volume of 487 cubic feet and a payload capacity of 2,663 pounds.
The 700 has a volume of 652 cubic feet and capacity of 2,258 pounds.
The 500 has an estimated range of 161 miles.
The 700’s is 160 miles.
The starting price for the 500: $79,900.
The starting price for the 700: $83,900.
Tom Solomon, senior director, Business Development, Rivian, said:
“Amazon currently has more than 20,000 in its fleet and delivered over a billion packages from its Electric Delivery Vans in 2024 alone.”
He added: “We’re excited to now be able to open sales to fleets of all sizes in the US, whether they want one van or thousands.”
Clearly they’d be happy were a fleet to go for the latter.
Of course, business being business, one would be helpful, too.
Here’s what the dealers sold in the state in 2024. It may surprise you
By Gary S. Vasilash
If someone asked what the best-selling automotive brand was in California in 2024, odds are “Tesla” would leap to mind as the leader.
Close, but no whatever the alternative to a cigar is.
Tesla, which has 3.9% of the total U.S. market, with 11.6% in California, is in second place.
Toyota is the top seller in California according to the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA).
In 2024 it had 16.4% of the California market. 12.8% in the U.S.
Coming in third in the Golden State is Honda, with 10.9% of the market. Nationally it is at 8.1%.
So far as California numbers go, after third place the rest of the brands have single-digit (not including the bit to the right of the decimal) shares of the market:
• Ford 7.4% • Chevy 6.2% • Kia 4.8% • Hyundai 4.5% • Nissan 3.9% • Mercedes 3.9% • BMW 3.7% • Lexus 3.6% • Subaru 3.4% • Mazda 2.3% • GMC 2.1% • Audi 1.9%
Although some have chastised Toyota for its limited EV offering, odds are Toyota dealers are happy with the approach.
Note how Toyota has a 4.8% advantage over Tesla. Tesla has just a 0.7% advantage over Honda.
You may note what’s missing from the top 15 brands: any Stellantis brand.
They didn’t do particularly well in the California market in 2024.
Compared to 2023 new car registrations in the state:
• Ram -21.5% • Jeep -28.6% • Chrysler -32.1%
The good news is that apparently people like muscle cars in California because Dodge registrations were up 6.9%. (What’s interesting is that on the list of those in the positive territory, Toyota’s increase was just 4.4%, which indicates that having 16% of the total market is probably about as good as you can get.)
What is notable is how Ford and Chevy play so very well on the national level.
While Ford, as mentioned, has 7.4% of the California market, it has 11.8% of the U.S. market.
And Chevy, with 6.2% in California, is at 10.9% nationally.
While it probably has a lot to do with pickups, Californias do buy a number of those, too: 37,655 Chevy Silverados and 36,546 F-Series trucks were registered in 2024.
Here’s something to consider:
According to the CNCDA:
“New light vehicle registrations in California declined a slim 0.3 percent from 2023 to 2024. The U.S. market improved by 3.4 percent last year.
“All of the decrease in the state market last year was attributable to Tesla, which had an 11.6 percent decline. Registrations for all other brands increased 1.4 percent.”
If Musk didn’t seem to be so occupied elsewhere you might think he be thinking long and hard about that non-trivial decline in California.
California has some 1.1-million EVs registered. If you take the next four states with high levels of EV registrations—Florida, Texas, Washington, and Arizona—combined they have 520,000 EVs rolling around.
One part of the decline for Tesla in California could be saturation and aging models. Another could be politics, but if that’s an issue, it will really come to the fore in the results for 2025.
Don’t just consider the top-of-mind when thinking “compact crossover”. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
During a recent “Autoline After Hours” co-host John McElroy, talking about a Mazda CX-90 he was driving, said, “I don’t know why more people don’t buy Mazdas.”
Which is a solid observation.
First, however, it should be noted that Mazda’s fortunes in the U.S. market considerably improved in 2024 compared with 2023.
In ’24 it sold 424,382 vehicles. The previous year it was just 363,354. That’s nearly a 17% improvement.
Compare that with the overall U.S. market being up a mere 2.2% and you can see that Mazda’s bump is impressive.
But then there is what Mazda is up against.
In 2024 Ford sold 124,701 Bronco Sports, 146,859 Escapes and 194,094 Explorers, for a total of 450,125 vehicles.
Of course, Mazda has about 550 dealerships in the U.S. and Ford 3,000, so there is something to be said for access and availability.
The 2024 sales for the CX-5 were 134,088 vehicles. That is a drop of 12.8% compared with 2023 sales.
Mazda CX-5: Ripe for consideration. (Image: Mazda)
However, one might argue that the Mazda CX-50, another compact SUV that is approximately the same size as the CX-5 but which has a bit more of a rugged execution (sort of like the Bronco Sport and the Ford Escape, but (a) the Bronco Sport is far more rugged overall than the Escape and (b) the two Mazdas are on different platforms, so there is that difference). CX-50 sales in 2024, at 81,441, were up 82.6%.
Of course, someone looking at a new vehicle is looking now, not last year, so. . . .
The comparison with the Ford Escape isn’t coincidental. The vehicles are quite similar with a few notable differences.
For example, the CX-5 comes standard with all-wheel-drive. The Escape has that as an option.
The engine in a CX-5 is a 2.5-liter four that produces 187 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque. The base engine in the Escape is a 1.5-liter in-line three cylinder engine that produces 180 hp and 199 lb-ft of torque.
The Ford has an eight-speed automatic. It is six for the Mazda.
For those who are interested in cargo capacity the Escape clearly has the advantage with 37.5 cubic feet versus 30.8 cubic feet for the CX-5.
But to get back to McElroy’s original question, it goes to the point of why there are probably far more people who had a default thought to an Escape (or an Equinox or RAV4 or CR-V) and not the CX-5: good as they are, Mazdas are largely invisible in the market.
With a base MSRP of $32,600 the 2.5 S Carbon Edition brings such things as leather seating and a power moonroof; a 10.25-inch center display and wireless charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
It is competent and contemporary. And because of that, the CX-5 needs to be considered.
While Sergio Marchionne’s “Confessions of a Capital Junkie,” a 2015 screed that included the recommendation that there be more sharing between OEMs (e.g., given that most people—unless those with a HEMI—don’t know what’s under their hoods, why should there be so many different I4’s and V6s when there could be an Acme Engine Company that could provide OEMs with common engines) helped make him seem like a visionary, an early presentation he made about the brands on offer from Fiat-Chrysler was less perspicacious.
That is, he made it would like Fiat products would fly out of the dealerships—or “studios,” as they were called—because Americans can’t get enough of Italian design.
That didn’t work out so well.
No one can be right all the time.
Stellantis recently announced its efforts to “simplify its organization.”
This essentially means various executive assignments/reassignments that “allow for the right balance between regional and global responsibilities to enable speed of decision and execution.”
On the one hand, Stellantis wants to have economies of scale, which means using whatever it can wherever it can.
But on the other hand there is the non-trivial issue of providing customers in various markets what it is they actually want.
So, for example, people in the U.S. (broadly speaking) want Ram pickup trucks and they don’t want Fiat 500s.
You can’t share what people don’t want. If you do you end up with a whole lot of vehicles sitting on dealer lots.
Scale comes only when people are buying the products in number.
That’s really not hard to figure.
And someone(s) got really big bucks to make that determination.
Looks quick and has a really, really comfortable driver’s seat. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
“(My woody’s outside) covered with snow
(Nowhere to go now) New York’s a lonely town
When you’re the only surfer boy around”—The Trade Winds (1967)
That lyric comes from a song about a guy whose parents moved from California to New York.
Evidently, the surfer recognizes that the Hudson isn’t exactly a place to catch waves. But he still has his woody; he hasn’t traded it in for something that might have been more locale-and-time appropriate, like a beater VW Beetle.
Last year Lexus became the “Official Automotive Partner of the World Surf League.”
Earlier this week it expanded its partnership and will be the title sponsor of the 2025 WSL Awards, Pipe Pro, Trestle Pro, US Open of Surfing, and WSL Finals.
“Let’s go surfin’ now. . . .” (Images: Lexus)
In addition to which, at the Lexus Pipe Pro on Oahu the company revealed a concept car*, the Lexus Surf LX, a tricked-out SUV with surfers in mind, such as even having a board waxing table in the storage area.
While I must confess that my knowledge of surfing is limited to watching Bruce Brown’s The Endless Summer and its sequel, somehow a Lexus isn’t what I associate with surfers.
After all, a standard Lexus LX starts at $105,500. (But then I learn from a piece in Surfer Magazine that there are 10 surfers in the world (circa 2023) who are making a million-plus, so perhaps there is more association than I thought.)
Which brings me to the Lexus ES 350 F Sport Handling.
The ES 350 is a four-door sedan. It is powered by a 302-hp six-cylinder engine. It has an eight-speed automatic with sport shifting capability. It is a front-wheel drive vehicle.
ES 350. Comfort and quick(sih).
According to Lexus it goes from 0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds and has a top speed of 131 mph.
Lexus has another sedan in its lineup. The IS. The IS 350 features a V6, but one that produces 311 hp. It has a 0 to 60 time of 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph.
Seems that that’s the quick one.
The F Sport trim for the ES is the “go-fast” trim. The F Sport Handling adds an extra bit of capability.
So there are gloss-black 19-inch wheels, special grille inserts and a specific front bumper. There is a spoiler on the decklid.
On the inside there are sport seats not found in the non-F Sport models. These seats have enhanced bolsters and are among the most comfortable seats I’ve ever experienced in any car. (Sometimes when you are in a German car with “enhanced bolsters” you think that they didn’t realize that foam exists.)
The model driven here included the Black Line Special Edition package ($1,500) that makes more of the trim bits black—which really looks great with the car painted Matador Red Mica. There is also an F Sport puddle lamp, which seems more amusing than anything else: Validation that you got the cool trim?
Now the F Sport Handling isn’t entirely about cosmetic modifications. There is the Lexus Adaptive Variable Suspension system that really kicks in should you throw the car into a turn. That’s not likely to happen, but if you do. . . .
At the end of the day the ES 350 F Sport is a Lexus with all of the comfort and quality associated with the brand.
But to curl back to the Surf LX: how many surfers would actually buy one were it available, versus, say, a Lexus GX that they could mod the hell out of? And how many people who really want to go fast would opt for the F Sport Handling versus, say, an IS F Sport AWD that they could really throw around with some abandon?
==
*This brings to mind the issue of auto shows, where concepts used to be revealed. Given the choice between a beach on Oahu and some carpeted convention center floor in a city center for an intro, there is really no competition.
It could cripple auto manufacturing in North America. . .
“Much international trade is the result of long-term planning. To create something like the modern North American auto industry, a deeply integrated system in which various components of a finished car may be manufactured in all three countries, with parts sometimes crossing the border seven or eight times, businesses needed to make a lot of cross-border investments and carefully restructure the geography of their production.
“They were only willing to make those investments and engage in that kind of long-term planning because NAFTA gave them confidence that more or less free trade in North America was a settled issue. Now, suddenly, it seems that this confidence was misplaced.”
Yes, it is about “Vorsprung durch Technik” (Advantage through Technology), but. . . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
While portal axles are usually used in things that are used by military vehicles or vehicles that go way off road, there are some like the Mercedes G500 that use them, too.
A key difference between a portal axle and a conventional one is that the portal axle is offset above the center of the wheel hub. There is a gear mechanism on the hub that transfers the power to drive the wheels.
The reason for the portal axle is to provide increased ground clearance.
Remember when Audi concept vehicles were sexy? (Image: Audi)
Audi says it has developed new portal axles that it is using on a prototype Q6 e-tron offroad vehicle.
The prototype is based on the automaker’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE).
According to the company while conventional portal axles can increase torque from 20 to 30% at the wheels, Audi’s increases it by 50%.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said of the vehicle: “The model shows the potential that our platform for all electric vehicles already has today. This vehicle can claim new ground. We look forward to seeing our customers’ reactions to this highly emotive car.”
Presumably more than a few customers are going to think it looks like something that has undergone massive suspension tuning for display at a venue like SEMA, not as something that is, well, an Audi.
Somehow the “Premium” part is overwhelmed by the engineering of the axles.
Why this model deserves serious consideration. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
Genesis was launched as a stand-alone brand in the U.S. in 2015.
In 2008 Hyundai started selling large, lux models in the U.S. that were labeled “Genesis.” Like the “Hyundai Genesis” model.
The thing is, Hyundai was largely recognized back then as a purveyor of economical vehicles, whether it was the entry-level Accent or the sporty Tiburon.
The design revolution that was launched by the Hyundai Sonata didn’t happen until the sixth generation, starting with the model year 2011 car.
The success of that car led to a transformation of the perception of the brand from frumpy to forward.
But still, there was the association of value with Hyundai. Certainly not a bad characteristic, but most luxury buyers probably aren’t worried about whether the vehicle they buy have “America’s Best Warranty.”
The situation was not unlike that experienced at U.S. Volkswagen dealerships from 2004 to 2006, when the $70,000 Phaeton was available.
Imagine taking that car into the service department and seeing a 1978 Beetle (the last year the original was available in the U.S.) covered with Deadhead stickers up on a lift.
Somehow the exclusivity just wasn’t there.
A similar situation would be between an Accent and a Genesis
So the decision was made to make Genesis a brand onto itself.
The first two models offered in the U.S. in 2016 were the G80 and the G90.
Both sedans.
As you may recall, 10 years ago there was a real upswing in demand for lux SUVs.
But Genesis didn’t have one.
And it followed the G80 and G90 with the G70 in 2018—another sedan.
The GV80, an SUV, was launched in the U.S. in 2020.
Dealers must have sighed with considerable relief.
But the company continues to produce sedans. Including the G80.
The thing is: when the first G80 was brought on the U.S. market it was received with a “How are they able to do that?” with the “that” being producing a vehicle with features and amenities that were then primarily associated with the German marques, yet with a sticker price that the Germans had only on their entry-level vehicles.
Genesis designers and engineers have kept at it. They have made improvement after improvement to the interiors and exteriors, to the tech and to the powertrains.
2025 Genesis G80: Style and substance. (Image: Genesis)
The 2025 G80 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD starts at $77,000.
You climb inside it, sit on the quilted Nappa leather seats, look at the actual carbon fiber surfaces, assess the information on the 27-inch OLED instrument cluster and infotainment system, and you know this is something special.
You depress the Start button and the 375-hp turbocharged V6 makes a subdued rumble.
You turn the rotary shift knob located on the center console to put the car into gear, and the car moves with alacrity.
You smile.
Genesis now has a full suite of SUVs. The GV60, GV70, Electrified GV70, GV80, GV80 Coupe.
Yet it still has sedans, like this one.
At some point, I think, people are going to go into a dealership planning to get an SUV, take a sedan like the GV80 for a spin, and forget about that SUV.
Although not available in the U.S.—and not likely to be anytime soon—there is an array of vehicles coming from China-based brands that have some purported capabilities that are rather astonishing.
Take, for example, the forthcoming JAECOO 7 SHS, an SUV that is going on sale in the U.K. market.
This vehicle, a plug-in hybrid, is claimed by the company, which is part of the Chery Group, to deliver, on the WLTP test procedure, a fuel efficiency of. . .
403 mpg
The “SHS” in the name comes from “Super Hybrid System.”
If it gets 403 mpg, it really must be super.
Brits might forget what petrol stations look like they’ll be there so infrequently. (Image: JAECOO)
The range is stated at 745 miles.
The vehicle has a 1.5-liter engine that produces 143 bhp. The engine has six technologies the company says contributes to its efficiency.
They are: Deep Miller cycle; i-HEC internal combustion; i-HTM intelligent thermal management system; HTC efficient turbocharging; i-LS intelligent lubrication and HiDS high dilution.
I don’t know what they are, either.
Then there’s a transmission that has four technologies:
Quad-core dual electronic control MCU; IGBT double-sided water cooling; a high-efficiency dual motor; hydraulic split cooling.
Which is slightly more understandable.
And then there’s a 18.3-kW lithium iron phosphate battery pack.
It provides, according to the company, the ability to drive 58 miles on electricity alone.
The JAECOO 7 SHS has a starting price in the U.K. of £35,065 (~$43,000).
Here’s something that seems a bit mysterious, though.
It has a 60-liter fuel tank. That’s 15.68 gallons.
If it is rated at 403 mpg, then shouldn’t the 15.68 gallons of gas be good for 6,319 miles?
The OEM is contributing to the generation of plenty of green electricity. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
Although Volkswagen is going through all manner of issues in Europe predicated on things like declining sales in China which has a knock-on effect that reverberates through the entire system, the company is still working hard on the renewable energy front.
“We plan to step up our commitment in the filed of renewable energies each year in line with the development in sales of ID. models,” said Andreas Walingen, CSO and Head of Strategy of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.
He explained: “Through the large-scale development of European wind and solar farms, we intend to support our customers in the region in their efforts to always use their ID. vehicles in a net carbon-neutral way. This shows that our commitment to sustainability goes far beyond the electrification of vehicles.”
Volkswagen ID.4: charging it with green electricity reduces carbon emssions by a lot. (Image: VW)
Or, VW is investing in the generation of “green power” that can then be used by drivers of their electric vehicles.
Of course, given that VW is part of the generation of some three terawatt-hours of green energy on an annual basis.
The company performed a life cycle analysis of an ID. model compared with a comparable diesel model. (Yes, there are still diesel vehicles being sold by VW in Europe.) The objective was to determine the carbon footprint of both.
The analysis looked at a period of 200,000 km (or 124,274 miles).
It was determined that an ID.4 Pro has about 25% lower emissions over the life cycle than a diesel vehicle.
“But wait!” you think. “EVs don’t have tailpipes.”
True, but in a life cycle analysis, everything is taken into account, from the creation of the battery to the manufacturing operations to build the vehicle.
Another determination is that if the ID.4 Pro is consistently charged with green electricity, it achieves a lower carbon footprint than a diesel model after some 66,000 km (41,010 miles).
Even if the conventional European Union grid electricity is used the ID.4 becomes lower at 97,000 km (60,273 miles).
So those who are looking to reduce their carbon footprints can know that by rolling in an ID. model they are helping.
Of course, one would imagine that those driving diesels probably aren’t quite as environmentally oriented.
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