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Jeremy Clarkson has been working with Amazon Prime’s streaming arm since he left the BBC and Top Gear in 2015. However, that relationship is not likely to last into 2025, Variety reports. Citing its own sources, Variety claims that Amazon Prime Video is “likely” planning to stop working with Clarkson after already-ordered episodes of his two programs, Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour, wrap in 2024. Under the expected plan, Clarkson would finish out his existing agreements with the company before both parties move on at the end of the deal. That would likely mean a third season of Clarkson’s Farm and four more episodes of The Grand Tour.Better TimesThe decision is a response to Clarkson’s widely derided column about Meghan Markle, which blamed her for the actions of her husband, Prince Harry. Clarkson took particular heat for a reference to a scene in Game of Thrones, suggesting that Markle be “made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.” Clarkson apologized for the column a few days after it ran, then again on Instagram Monday. In the second apology, he also announced that he has already apologized to Markle and Prince Harry directly.”Usually, I read what I’ve written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, and in a hurry,” Clarkson wrote in his Instagram apology Monday. “So when I’d finished, I just pressed send. And then, when the column appeared the next day, the land mine exploded.”While no change in plans has been formally announced, Amazon called off an upcoming press conference to promote Clarkson’s Farm shortly after the Variety report was released Monday. More

First things first: this is just a proposed bill, and even if it’s adopted, it would not be an actual ban on electric-vehicle sales in Wyoming.Instead, this is a political messaging bill, one that spreads love to the oil and gas industry and says EVs just don’t work in the state.We agree that different regions of the country are positioned in different ways when it comes to EV adoption, but we see through the legislators’ intent with this bill because they added a line that says that, should the bill be adopted, a copy will be sent to the governor of California. Why might that be?Republican legislators in Wyoming have decided it’s time to bring the debate over electric-vehicle sales in the state squarely into the political arena. Four state senators and two state representatives have introduced a bill proposal (SJ0004) that expresses support “for phasing out the sale of new electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035.”It’s a simple little bill, one that presents wildly unbalanced views of the benefits and costs of EVs and wouldn’t, in the end, actually ban EV sales. Not yet, anyway. If adopted, the bill would simply do two things. First, it would force the legislature to shoot for the goal “that the sale of new electric vehicles in the state of Wyoming be phased out by 2035.” The bill would also “[encourage] Wyoming’s industries and citizens to limit the sale and purchase of new electric vehicles in Wyoming.” So, no actual laws, just encouragements. Opening of the Wyoming bill.State of Wyoming”The Legislature would be saying, ‘If you don’t like our petroleum cars, well, we don’t like your electric cars,'” the resolution’s sponsor, Republican State Sen. Jim Anderson, told local media outlet the Cowboy State Daily. The publication reported late last year that Wyoming stands to get $24 million from the federal government to install EV charging stations in the state. If that all sounds like this might be a bit of a political stunt and not exactly a legitimate effort to improve the lives of everyday citizens, you’re on to something. The proposed bill’s “whereas” section is full of flowery love for the oil and gas industry, saying that extraction of these resources “has long been one of Wyoming’s proud and valued industries.” It also talks about how “the oil and gas industry in Wyoming has created countless jobs and has contributed revenues to the state of Wyoming throughout the state’s history.” But the state’s official assessment of the bill says it would have absolutely “no fiscal or personnel impact.”CC: State of CaliforniaIf that’s not clear enough for you, there is a third recommendation that would take effect if the bill becomes law. Under this section, the Secretary of State of Wyoming would be required to send copies of the resolution to President Biden and top federal officials, other Wyoming representatives in Washington, D.C., and, get this, the governor of California.That last line is important and, if you haven’t been paying attention, odd. Why would the governor of California care what Wyoming does with EV sales? He wouldn’t, but the bill’s Republican sponsors apparently want to score political points by bringing California into it. Last year, California announced it would ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035, an actual rule that is already affecting laws in other states and the auto industry’s long-term planning. This Wyoming bill of encouragement? Not so much.It’s Happening, PeopleThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

From the puerile to the racist, thousands of offensive license plates were rejected by DMVs across the country last year, just as they do every year.Don’t look for LATE AF or WEED42O on any cars on the road, because vulgar phrases and drug and sex references were all caught and weeded out last year.We don’t mind the authorities making sure offensive internet meme jokes stay away from license plates, but we’re not as sure about rejected plates like GRLBOSS or EWWW G4S.There are limits, people. More than 750 car owners in Ohio submitted personalized license plates that the authorities at the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles denied. Hundreds more were attempted in Oregon. Down in Texas, over 5000 people tried last year to slip a few naughty words past the poor people at the DMV.The rules about what phrases or letter combinations are allowed or not allowed vary from state to state, but KHOU in Texas explains that the general rule is not to permit anything that could be considered indecent, vulgar or derogatory. Texas also states that plates referring to “race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation are also not allowed, whether they are derogatory or not.”You’re likely reading this with some curiosity about the potentially inappropriate and offensive language people tried to put on their plates, but we’re still going to issue a content warning for, well, potentially inappropriate and offensive language. So, be prepared, this list may get inappropriate AF.Speaking of which, the Cincinnati City Beat notes that one of the most commonly denied phrases in Ohio was people putting “AF” at the end of their plates, as in LATE AF, SALTY AF, and FINE AF. One Oregonian attempted MILFAF.Some of the rejected plates were a little too obvious—DOOKIE and POO BUTT, for example —but others must have given the submissions people at state DMVs a bit of a challenge to understand what the intended message was. Only the terminally online among us would understand why LIGMA is a problem, but the Oregon DOT caught it and labeled it “alarming, threatening, offending, or misleading.” We won’t reprint some of the racist labels, but you can believe they were attempted.PL8 Stories Oregon also said noTexas Department of Motor Vehicles does allow some symbols to be used on license plates, but it did not approve MAMACIT@, Y2*SLOW or BYE@H8RZ.Drug references were routinely caught, with BLAZIT, EM0420, and PHATT1 all making the lists. Turns out, using an “o” instead of a zero isn’t the foolproof plan that the person who submitted WEED42O thought it was. to R0LC0L as a configuration that refers to illegal acts.This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.List: Personalized Texas license plates denied in 2022Watch onThere were a few rejected plates that would have made us smile in an unoffended way had they made their way to a driveway near you. GRLBOSS, for example, and EWWW G4S or L8YBUG, but the general attitude seems to be better safe than sorry. We’ll check back in a year from now to see what people tried to tell the world through government-issued metal plates in 2023.This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Tesla’s pulling a page from In-N-Out Burger’s playbook and giving Model Y buyers the chance to order a cheaper variant off a proverbial secret menu. Though the automaker’s website currently restricts Model Y orders to those of the $54,380 Long Range or $58,380 Performance variants, Tesla’s list of online inventory shows that a number of its stores are stocked with salable base Model Y EVs that wear a starting price $2000 less than that of the Long Range model. (As of this writing, however, it seems most of these entry-level Ys in inventory include at least $2000 worth of optional 20-inch wheels and tires, thus effectively negating the base model’s cost savings over its Long Range counterpart.)SUZANNE CORDEIRO|Getty ImagesUnlike the prior entry-level rear-drive Model Y, which Tesla stopped producing in 2021, this new base-level Model Y comes standard with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. It also packs a greater EPA-rated range relative to its single-motor forebear. With up to 279 miles of driving range on a full charge, the cheapest Model Y variant betters the old Standard Range model’s range by 35 miles. That said, it falls short of the Model Y Long Range and Performance’s figures by up to 51 and 24 miles, respectively.SUZANNE CORDEIRO|Getty ImagesPowering the electric motors of this latest addition to the Model Y line is Tesla’s 4680 battery pack, which the company produces at its Texas plant. Though Tesla is mum on the pack’s rated capacity and other details, given the lesser range of Model Y’s equipped with this pack, it’s safe to assume the useable capacity of these batteries falls short of the 75.0-kWh pack that powered a 2020 Model Y Long Range we previously tested, which was EPA-rated to travel up to 316 miles on a full charge. We managed just 220 miles of range while testing the Model Y on our 75-mph highway test.Whether the range deficit of the base 2023 Model Y relative to its Long Range kin is worth its $2000 price reduction is a matter of personal preference. That said, the extra stacks in a base Model Y buyers’ pocket can go toward added options for their new EV or a lower monthly payment or paying off those gambling debts. Look, we’re not here to judge. We’re only here to let you know that Tesla offers its own version of an Animal Style burger for the Model Y.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Four government agencies—the Departments of Energy and Transportation, plus HUD and the EPA—said last fall that they would work together to create more clean and accessible transportation across the nation by 2050. This week, they released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, with details on how this will happen.Redesigned cities and communities and better public transportation are part of the plan, but the biggest reductions in emissions will come from cleaning up the vehicle fleet.The agencies see three main fossil fuel alternatives in our future—electricity, hydrogen, and sustainable biofuels—but they have wildly different use cases.Last fall, the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency announced they will work together to create a “clean, safe, accessible, equitable, and decarbonized transportation system for all.” This week, the agencies released their promised blueprint that puts some details on those bones.Called the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, the first-of-its-kind document envisions three familiar technology solutions for net-zero travel by 2050: batteries, hydrogen, and sustainable liquid fuels. It’s how the blueprint predicts these three technologies will be used that is most interesting, if not exactly surprising, for drivers. The technology with the “greatest long-term opportunity” to decarbonize light-duty vehicles, for example, is battery power. For long-haul heavy trucks, hydrogen is at the top of the list. And sustainable liquid fuels are likely best for boats and planes.The More You KnowMore interesting, perhaps, is that the agencies do not see a place for hydrogen in the light-duty vehicle fleet. While hydrogen is considered to have limited opportunity to green up short-haul heavy trucks and off-road vehicles, the blueprint’s chart doesn’t even support that bit of optimism for passenger cars. Despite the fact that the blueprint lists establishing a clean hydrogen infrastructure as one of the research priorities for the country, it will not help clean up our daily drivers, apparently.U.S. Department of EnergyChanging the Way Cities Look?The 88-page National Blueprint addresses more than energy types, including rethinking how local communities are laid out so that “job centers, shopping, schools, entertainment, and essential services are strategically located near where people live. Communities like this will reduce the amount of time people spend commuting, among other benefits. Making public transportation and trains more reliable and affordable is also in the plan, but the biggest carbon reduction improvements will happen in cleaning up the transportation options themselves.”With this second major step in the decades-long decarbonization plan now complete, the four agencies also provided a general outline for that milestones that are planned for the coming decades as the U.S. moves to a net-zero economy. Between now and 2030, it’s research and investments to support deployment. In the 2030s, the clean transportation solutions will scale up, and in the 2040s, we will be “Completing the Transition.” That’s the plan, anyway.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 owner Marco Garcia hasn’t had an ideal experience with his mid-engine sports car thus far. After traveling just 52 miles in the car after taking delivery, the Z06’s 5.5-liter LT6 V-8 engine failed, leaving Garcia stuck on the side of the highway. After his initial videos related to the event caught the attention of fans online, GM has opted to make the situation right. Garcia says the car will be repaired free of charge.This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.I ❤️ my C8 Z06 again, but she needs some TLC.Watch onThis Z06 fiasco began back on December 23, when Garcia purchased the black-over-black Z06 from Covina Hills Chevrolet in Covina, California. Garcia paid $182,457.38 for the car, a price bolstered by nearly $50,ooo in dealer markups. Following the purchase process, a dealership employee offered to follow Garcia back home in the C8 Stingray he arrived to purchase the Z06 in. The pair dropped the modified Stingray off at Garcia’s construction yard before the two jumped into the Z06 and headed back to the dealer. After returning the employee, Garcia began his trek home. That didn’t last long before the engine let go in a cacophony of smoke and stressed metallic sounds. Garcia walked into town to get some charge on his phone, which led to a calamity with OnStar. That continued on day two, as the Z06 was “too new” to appear in the OnStar warranty system. Good News and Bad NewsThe whole situation left Garcia with a bad taste in his mouth at first, with the new Z06 owner initially noting in now deleted YouTube videos that he was done with the car. Things changed once GM corporate stepped in and got in contact with Garcia. The automaker acknowledged the issue and gave Garcia three options. His choices were to get a full refund, have the car repaired for free, or spec an entirely new Z06 to replace his faulty unit. Garcia originally bought the car to enjoy and modify, and he wasn’t ready to let the LT6-powered car go after less than a day of proper ownership. A new Z06 would take about six months to build, and GM estimated a wait of just two months for the necessary parts to repair the car. Garcia ultimately opted for the repairs, which came with a Platinum Protection Plan from GM tossed in. That plan covers the car bumper to bumper for 100,000 miles, which should bring some peace of mind when the new engine is installed. Garcia chose to remove his earlier videos following the conversation with GM. It’s unclear if that was requested by the automaker. Nobody should have to go through the new-car experience that Garcia faced with his Z06. Let’s hope this particular LT6 engine gets a full teardown, so Z06 enthusiasts can get the full story on what happened with this faulty car.DW Burnett More

Seeking to preserve its heritage for a greener future, Toyota just unveiled two restomodded classic 1980s hatchbacks at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, one powered by hydrogen, the other a pure battery EV.The Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno are both Japan-market variants of the sporty yet economical Corolla GT-S that was sold in the U.S.These cars were lightweight but low on power, and they are commonly known by their chassis code, AE86. While simple and relatively low-tech, these rear-wheel-drive machines became pop-culture icons in the 1990s thanks in part to the popular anime series Initial D.If asked to list Toyota’s most important heritage vehicles, you might jot down the mighty twin-turbo Mk IV Supra, the unkillable Hilux pickup truck, the wafting Toyota Century (Japan’s only production V-12), or perhaps the million-dollar 2000GT. However, the most famous Toyota of all time is an underpowered hatchback with pop-up headlights and a speed warning chime that comes on if you exceed 64 mph. At this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota moved to preserve the heritage of this little car, building a pair of restomods at great expense: one powered by liquid hydrogen, the other with a battery and electric motor.Out of context, Toyota’s efforts seem a little like GM’s engineers showed up and said, “Good news, everyone, we’ve saved the Chevette for future generations!” However, the Corolla Levin and (more important) Sprinter Trueno shown off this week are far more than mere sporty commuters. In North America, these cars were sold as the Corolla GT-S, and they had a small but enthusiastic following. In Japan, they were known by their chassis code—AE86 or hachiroku, Japanese for eight-six—and they were rock stars.Then and NowThat hero worship didn’t arrive immediately. The fifth-generation Corolla arrived in 1983 with rear-wheel drive, not because that was the fun option, but as a carryover from the 1970s, when the front-wheel-drive Civic was the exception to the rule. For the 1984 model year, Toyota stuffed in a twin-cam 1.6-liter engine shared with the first-generation MR2 and fitted a five-speed manual gearbox. In Japan, the car was sold as the Corolla Levin (with fixed headlights) or the Sprinter Trueno (pop-up headlights, same as the U.S. Corolla GT-S).AE86s made for popular race and rally cars, for the same reasons that the first- and second-generation Ford Escorts were popular in Europe. An 86 was cheap, it was easy to hammer back together after a shunt, and the handling was lively. One of the engineers during development was Nobukai Katayama, who came from a background in Toyota Motorsport, so the 86 had been bred to transcend its humble roots.Pardon Us While We Veer into a Discussion of MangaEven so, we’re talking about a car with scarcely 128 horsepower on high-octane JDM fuel. Where the AE86 really came into its own was in manga, the serialized graphic novels that are ubiquitous in Japan.Created by Shuichi Shigeno, Initial D tells the story of a naturally skilled driver getting into the illegal street racing scene around the fictional Mount Akina. Shigeno based the manga around his first car—a Sprinter Trueno, which he still owns after more than 25 years—and wove in a tale of disaffected youth in post-bubble-economy Japan, cold nights and hot turbochargers, drift battles on narrow mountain roads. Basically, think Japan’s American Graffiti, but with Skylines and RX-7s.The hero of the story, Takumi Fujiwara, battles his way to the top of the pile despite driving an underdog Sprinter Trueno. That car, painted “panda” black and white and bearing the name of the Fujiwara tofu shop, is now easily the most famous car in Japanese culture. Regrettably, the explosion of popularity in drift culture and Initial D’s rising overseas popularity means that many AE86s have been written off. That makes the survivors valuable.Further, the notoriety of the hachiroku is sufficient for Toyota to both name its Subaru collaboration after it—hence, GR86—and to try to make sure that the AE86 will still be on the road long after the last fuel pump closes.Now Back to CorollasTo that end, these two Corollas have been futureproofed with alternative powertrains. The Corolla Levin has been fitted with the electric motor out of a Tundra hybrid, with a Prius-sourced lithium-ion battery. Power is around a lowly 50 horsepower, but torque is plentiful at above 180 pound-feet. The standard five-speed couldn’t handle the twist, so Toyota swapped in the six-speed out of a GR86. Engineers were quick to point out that donuts were most definitely on the menu.The Sprinter Trueno retained its twin-cam 4A-GE engine but was converted with Mirai parts to run on liquid hydrogen. Toyota already ran a current Corolla converted to hydrogen power in last year’s Fuji Super TEC 24-hour endurance race. In this case, the 4A-GE’s antiquated engine management saw a drop in power over stock, but the car still runs, drives, and drifts.The best part of both machines is that the weight penalty is minimal. EV swapping a conventional ICE-powered car often blunts the character, but Toyota’s proof of concepts are still sub-2200 pounds. With both also being manual-transmission, perhaps there’s hope for the lightweight sports car yet.For fans of the AE86, both machines are proof that Toyota actually cares about the enthusiasts in the audience. We know that the company will sell more examples of the Corolla Cross than they ever did AE86s. Even so, the plucky hachiroku is an important part of the Toyota story. Long may it reign. More

Tesla announced large price cuts for its U.S. vehicles today, with the biggest drop affecting the base Model Y. The entry-level EV costs $13,000 less today than it was yesterday (a 20 percent drop), and it should also now qualify for a $7500 federal tax credit.Tesla also reduced the prices of its vehicles in Europe, where its lowest-cost Model 3 is now about the same price as the VW ID.3.China-market prices were cut as well earlier this month, and people there have been protesting the cuts, even staging protests over the weekend demanding some money back. The company did not respond to that request.First, some tidbits to set the stage. At the end of 2022, the price of new cars in the U.S. finally started moving downward. Only a little, but it was the reversal of a trend. Also, last year, electric vehicle sales made up 5.8 percent of all vehicles sold, up from 3.2 percent in 2021. Finally, Tesla’s share of those EV sales dropped from 72 percent in 2021 to 65 in 2022, and the automaker did not hit Wall Street’s delivery estimates for last year. There’s also the matter of Tesla’s recent falling stock price.EV Market Finding Its WayJust how all those facts impacted Tesla’s decision this week to take a big red marker to some price tags isn’t something we want to speculate about, but it’s worth having context when learning that Tesla made dramatic cuts to the MSRP of its vehicles this week. The automaker cut between 6 and 20 percent off its prices, with the biggest discount going to the Model Y. The entry-level Model Y got a $13,000 (20 percent) price cut and now starts at $54,630. This brings us to another related tidbit: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that changed the federal tax incentive structure for EVs has a new maximum price limit for passenger cars in order for them to qualify. That limit? $55,000. The IRA made other changes to the rules, which means that Tesla EVs can qualify again, at least until March.Tesla Model Y.TeslaU.S. Prices Return to Pre-2022 LevelsIn the U.S., all Tesla models cost less today than they did earlier this week, and the discounts mean the price for a new, 2023 Tesla has returned to about where it was before the company made two notable price increases in 2022. Tesla also cut prices of the Model 3 and Model Y in some European countries (Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK, according to CNBC. The price cuts bring the Model 3 to roughly the same price as the ID.3, Volkswagen’s entry-level EV, in those markets.Customers Mad about Sudden Price Cuts in ChinaEarlier this month, Tesla cut prices in China. As you might suspect, people who recently purchased a new EV from the company are not happy. Last weekend, hundreds of Tesla owners protested at Tesla showrooms across the country, Reuters reported. Tesla EV prices there are between 13 and 24 percent lower than they were in September. Protestors chanted, “Return the money, refund our cars,” in one protest captured on video. Police were involved in monitoring the protests in some cities, even facilitating a meeting between protestors and Tesla staff, Reuters said, but there was no public announcement about offering refunds or any other benefit to people who recently paid for something that costs a lot less today.Since it doesn’t have a dealer network, Tesla can’t hide behind any dealer markups when it comes to price changes. Given the global nature of the cuts, there should be plenty of interest in the EV automaker’s delivery numbers when Tesla is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2022 results later this month. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More