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Ioniq will be a new subbrand for Hyundai, marking its EV lineup. The electric-only platform of the Ioniq 5 means more room in the cabin. The U.S.-market Ioniq 5 will come in both single- and dual-motor configurations, making 225 and 320 horsepower, respectively. It is slated to go on sale this fall, with other Ioniq models coming in 2022 and 2024.After first getting an online look at the electric Ioniq 5 in February, we finally got to see it in person. There was no driving yet, but we did get to slide the console back and forth, admire its contemporary hatchback design, and make a smoothie in its cargo area. (That’s thanks to the 12-volt outlet in the charging handle that can power anything from an air compressor to our item of choice, a blender.) The name “Ioniq” will recur. It’s a subbrand specifically for electric vehicles, and Hyundai says there are a bunch of those coming, all based on the new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). The Ioniq 5 is the first to be released, a compact SUV intended to compete with fellow electrics from Ford (the Mustang Mach-E) and Volkswagen (the ID.4). Because it’s built on a platform designed solely for electrics, the 5 packs a roomy interior into a relatively small exterior package. The Ioniq measures 182.5 inches in overall length, 6.5 inches longer than the compact Hyundai Tucson, but with a 1.8-inch-shorter overall height, giving it more of a carlike feeling from the outside—it’s a very sporty hatchback in profile.
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Here’s where the dedicated electric platform does its magic. Because the designers don’t have to work around placing an engine in the front or allowing room for a transmission tunnel underneath, the wheelbase and the cabin can stretch out. The 5’s wheelbase, at 118.1 inches, is almost four inches longer than that of the much bigger Hyundai Palisade, which should make for a pleasant ride quality. Because the design allows for a totally flat floor, Hyundai can offer more legroom in the middle back seat, and neat features like the sliding console in the front of the top trim Ioniq 5 Limited. Good news for those who carry a bag: there’s room in the console, and in front of it, to put a purse or backpack. Bad news for those who didn’t want to go top trim: the sliding console is on the Limited only.
Like many new electric offerings these days, the Ioniq 5 will be available in a single- or dual-motor configuration. The rear-drive single motor generates 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, which Hyundai says will propel the 5 from zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds. The all-wheel-drive dual-motor version gets you 320 horses and 446 pound-feet of torque. It’s quicker, too. According to Hyundai, it should be able to hit 60 mph in 5.2 seconds.

Oh, but how far can it go and how fast can it charge? Those are the big electric-car questions, right? The Ioniq 5 has an 800-volt operating system, similar to what we’ve seen from quick-charging luxury electrics like the e-tron GT and the Porsche Taycan. At a compatible charger, the 5 can go from 5 to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes and get you 68 miles of range in just five minutes. You can charge at a slower charger, of course . . . it’s just going to take longer. Final numbers for range haven’t been released, but Hyundai is hoping for 300 miles from the RWD version and around 270 from the racy AWD one. We couldn’t test any of that in the studio, but we were able to explore the interior.
The first thing you’ll notice when you step inside is a sense of space. It’s funny how embedded the hump of a transmission tunnel is in our idea of what a car interior will look like. Not seeing it is almost like walking into a formerly cluttered room where someone has removed the excess furniture. The result is a clean and open cockpit with lots of room front and rear. The front seats recline and have a footrest, for maximum napping during your 18 minutes of recharging. The materials in the interior are made from a variety of recycled fabrics, but compared to those in some of Hyundai’s recent gas SUVs, they seem a little bland. There are no cool patterns, no interesting textures. To liven things up, the door panels feature a glowing speaker surround and a floating armrest, and the instrument cluster and infotainment screens stretch across the dash for 24 inches of glowing interactivity. To the left of the gauges, a fun addition: there’s a magnetic square of dash for sticking family photos or parking garage tickets.
When we get to drive the Ioniq 5, we look forward to testing the head-up display with its augmented navigation, which projects directions and distances “into” the real world through the HUD display. The 5 also comes with Hyundai’s Highway Driver Assist 2 (HDA 2) which includes such smart cruise control features as automatic lane changes and junction-crossing. Before we left the studio, Hyundai suggested we test out the Vehicle 2 Load feature, which is an integrated 12-volt outlet in the charging handle that can power lights, compressors, small refrigerators, or, for our test, a smoothie blender. BYOB (Bring Your Own Blueberries). The Limited trim also has a 12-volt in the cabin.If you’re excited about the 5 but are wishing it was bigger, or smaller, more sedanlike, or offering a third row, all of that is yet to come. Because the E-GMP platform is so configurable, Hyundai will be able to stretch, shorten, raise, or widen it to fit all manner of upcoming electrics. And there are a lot of them. Hyundai says it’s planning 23 new electrics by 2023, and we’ll also be seeing versions from Kia, and Genesis. So if the 5 doesn’t charge you up, stay tuned for more, and if it does, we should start seeing them here in the States by fall of 2021.
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The 2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will go on sale this summer with starting prices reaching up to $105,995, and the base Wagoneer, which starts at $59,995, won’t arrive until later. The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer look similar, but the latter has a slightly more upscale exterior and interior, a more powerful 6.4-liter V-8 engine, and standard four-wheel drive. The Wagoneer comes standard with rear-wheel drive and a 5.7-liter V-8 and a 48-volt hybrid assist that Jeep calls eTorque. The Wagoneer will compete with the likes of the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, or Ford Expedition, and the Grand Wagoneer with more luxurious full-size SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator. If Car and Driver editors bought either of the two new three-rowers from Jeep, this is how we would spec them:

Drew Dorian’s $81,375 Jeep Wagoneer Series II

Jeep

Jeep

No Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer is what I would consider affordable, but luckily all versions are nicely outfitted with luxuries. Even the entry-level Wagoneer Series II looked fairly well-equipped to me, so I chose that one and went with a four-wheel-drive model. From there I added the $3995 Convenience Group package which adds several high-end features including an air suspension, a head-up display, heated second-row seats, a self-parking feature, and a few additional driver-assists. I also splurged on the $2995 Premium Group package, which includes 22-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof, roof-rail cross bars, and a cargo-area tonneau cover. I prefer captain’s chairs in the second row to make the third row of seats a little more accessible, so I also added the 2nd Row Seating Group package for $795. The Wagoneer comes with a 5.7-liter V-8 versus the 6.4-liter mill that runs under the hood of the Grand Wagoneer, but that’s fine by me and I’m sure it still provides more than enough power and towing capacity for what I’d need. Jeep’s available exterior colors are limited and I would have loved a nice rich dark green. Instead, I went with the bright Velvet Red Pearl-Coat paint ($595) which pairs well with the two-tone Sea Salt (tan) and black Nappa leather interior scheme. My red Wagoneer Series II offers a hell of a lot of good kit and nearly as much cache as one of its Grand siblings but with a relatively low price tag of $81,375. –Drew DorianJoey Capparella’s $84,680 2022 Jeep Wagoneer Series III

Jeep

Jeep

I opted for the lower-spec Wagoneer because I like the idea of the 5.7-liter V-8 engine with its eTorque 48-volt hybrid system. Sure, the 6.4-liter engine in the Grand Wagoneer is more powerful, but I wouldn’t be able to stomach its fuel-economy penalty. Plus, the Wagoneer offers many of the same appealing features as the Grand Wagoneer and looks nearly the same. The Series III version starts at $75,590 and includes a head-up display, an air suspension, heated and cooled front seats, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system.The first option I added was the $3000 four-wheel-drive system, because it’s a Jeep after all. I then opted for the $595 silver paint (there aren’t many good color options available) and the $595 second-row captain’s chairs that replace the second-row bench and reduce seating capacity from eight to seven. My only big-ticket item was the $5495 Premium package that includes an upgraded audio system, a panoramic sunroof, 22-inch wheels, and power-retractable running boards, among other things. This all adds to a pretty well-equipped full-size SUV, and given that the Grand Wagoneer can easily go into six-figure territory, my $84,680 total price looks somewhat reasonable. –Joey CapparellaConnor Hoffman’s $101,985 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Obsidian

Jeep

Jeep

There are no good colors for the Grand Wagoneer, so I decided to go with a blacked-out Obsidian model, which starts at $100,995. The Diamond Black paint costs $595, but you can get Bright White as a no-cost option. The only package I’d add is the interior protection package, which includes all-season floor mats to keep my $100k-plus SUV clean during Michigan’s winter, and a cargo tray. Other than those two options, my Grand Wagoneer comes standard with four-wheel drive, the more powerful 6.4-liter V-8 engine that provides 471 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque, and the cool front passenger display screen. This price might seem ridiculous for a Jeep, but this loaded three-row SUV is in Cadillac Escalade territory, and it’ll cost me $101,985. –Connor HoffmanMaxwell Mortimer’s $108,380 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Series III

Jeep

Jeep

I’m not a huge fan of massive utes, but who doesn’t like to occasionally price out an expensive luxo-barge for fun? I chose to skip the Jeep Wagoneer and go straight for the Grand Wagoneer to see how it stacks up against vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escalade. For my build, I started with a Series III trim Grand Wagoneer in Baltic Gray metallic ($595.) Starting at $105,995, the Series III trim comes loaded with just about every option and has standard features such as upgraded leather massaging seats, night vision, a center-console beverage cooler, and many driver-assist features. I really liked the Blue Agave interior color, so I stuck with that and added the embossed-metal interior accents to replace the wood trim for $795. To that I would add only the heavy-duty trailer-tow package for $995 because it’d be foolish to spend this much and not check that box. When it’s all said and done, my Series III Grand Wagoneer came out to an exorbitant $108,380, but that’s the price of entry when you’re playing in the big leagues. –Maxwell Mortimer
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Ford adds details on the base work-truck version of the just-announced F-150 Lightning electric pickup. Picture sawing wood from your truck with the Pro Power Onboard built-in AC power source, which offers up to 9.6 kilowatts of power that can be accessed through outlets in the bed, the cabin, and the locking front trunk, or frunk.The F-150 Lightning Pro will start at $39,974 plus a destination charge yet to be named, while the truck with the extended-range battery pack starts at $49,974 plus destination.Since unveiling its first all-electric pickup last week, Ford has been repeating the message that the F-150 Lightning does work. No where is that more obvious than in the F-150 Lightning Pro, a commercial customer trim version Ford is announcing today.

Unsurprisingly, most of the Lightning Pro’s technical features are shared with the consumer Lightning. That means the same battery options of either the standard pack that should get 230 miles or an extended-range battery for 300 miles, the same 14.1 cubic feet frunk, and, perhaps most important for fleet operators trying to get jobs done (other than the vinyl seats) is the ability to run tools right from the truck.
Pro Power Onboard is a built-in AC power source for the F-150 Lightning and Lightning Pro. In talking up the standard Lightning, Ford is happy to explain that the truck’s Pro Power Onboard can improve tailgates or power your home during an outage. For the Lightning Pro, Ford said a single charge of the extended-range battery has “enough power to rip up to 30 miles of half-inch plywood.” Same hardware, different message.In the Lightning Pro, the standard Pro Power feature offers 2.4 kilowatts of power through four trunk-based outlets, two in the cabin and two in the bed. The available 9.6-kilowatt Pro Power Onboard option adds two more 120-volt and a 240-volt AC outlet in the bed. Personal Lightning owners can set limits so that their campsite usage won’t drain the battery too much to get home or to a nearby charging station. With the Lightning Pro, fleet managers can do the same for their trucks out on jobs, so that they can always make it back to the garage or somewhere where they can recharge.The Lightning Pro comes as dual-motor with four-wheel drive. It will produce an expected 426 horsepower with the standard-range battery. With the extended-range pack, this number jumps to 563 horsepower.The Lightning Pro will come in one body style: a full-size, four-door, five-passenger SuperCrew configuration with a 5.5-foot bed and a standard Class IV hitch. Inside, the Lightning Pro uses an Intelligent Range system that takes terrain, weather, cargo, and trailer load into account when it calculates how many miles are left in the battery. Thanks to cloud connectivity and Sync 4, the truck will recommend a visit to a charging station if the state of charge drops.

How much energy you can put into the pack depends on the charger used. With the standard-range F-150 Lightning Pro and the included 32-amp mobile charger, refilling the battery from 15 to 100 percent at 240 volts takes 14 hours. The time drops to 10 hours with the optional 48-amp Ford Connected Charge Station or the 80-amp Ford Charge Station. On a 150-kW DC fast charger, going from 15 to 85 percent full takes 44 minutes (all times are longer with the extended range battery).

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The F-150 Lightning Pro with the standard-range battery will start at an estimated $41,669, assuming the as yet unannounced destination charge is the same $1695 as that for the gas-powered F-150. Choosing the extended-range pack adds $10,000 to the price. Electric-vehicle incentives may also be available.It’s not like Ford’s commercial customers have been without any electric options. Around a decade ago, Ford and Azure Dynamics worked together on the Transit Connect Electric, a plug-in version of the gas-powered Transit Connect delivery van. In late 2020, Ford announced an all-electric version of the larger Transit cargo van, which also offered Pro Power Onboard and other features found in the Lightning Pro. But here’s a solid additional choice.
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The auction website Bring a Trailer has this 1989 Mercedes 190E on offer in an auction that runs through through Wednesday afternoon, May 26.Only 502 190E Evolution cars were built, making this particular example more interesting.The car’s tartan-and-wood interior is almost as big a selling point as the Cosworth-built engine and five-speed manual transmission, but note that it’ll need to be shipped from the Netherlands.If you’re anything like us, it’s fair to assume you spend at least a little bit of your spare time scouring the web for cool cars up for sale. In our perusing today we’ve come across a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution on Bring a Trailer, a homologation special built to directly compete with the E30 BMW M3 Sport Evolution for touring-car supremacy. In total, only 502 of the 190E Evo were produced, making them an extremely hot commodity. So far—with the auction ending on May 26—bidding is still at $31,000.

Bring a Trailer

Powered by a longitudinally mounted Cosworth-built 2.5-liter inline-four, the Evolution sends a respectable 202 horsepower to the rear wheels via a five-speed dogleg manual transmission and limited-slip differential; it also revs to a healthy 7200 rpm. The Evolution also featured a self-leveling suspension with a selector switch that would lower the car for track use. Apart from its race-built engine and trick suspension, the Evolution sported a larger wing, flared fenders, and revised front and rear fascias to add to both its looks and downforce.

Bring a Trailer

In a gorgeous hue of blue-black metallic, the 190E Evolution essentially looks like the Batmobile had a love affair with a DTM touring car, and who wouldn’t want that? Even the 16-inch alloy wheels suit the car’s looks perfectly. Move inside and appreciate the bolstered black leather seats, tartan cloth inserts on the seats and door panels, and wood surrounding the shifter. Maybe it’s just us, but looking at this interior makes us wish manufacturers would be a bit more adventurous with interior design these days. With around 43,000 miles on the clock and a slew of parts replaced recently, including an overhaul of the self-leveling suspension, we’re sure the current bid of $31,000 won’t hold for long.
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A garage-built, street-legal aluminum car will be one of 10 finalists in the ongoing Hot Wheels Legends tour this year.Lulu was handmade by retired engineer Paul Kalenian of Santa Fe, New Mexico. With a crate engine from GM, the low racer has already covered 5000 miles. The tour winner will be announced in November and then turned into a Hot Wheels toy for anyone to buy. The shape of the 2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour finalists’ circle is coming into focus. This week, Mattel announced the latest winner from one of the tour stops: a fully street-legal aluminum racer called the Lulu. The low, shiny ride secured its spot as one of 10 finalists that will compete in November, with the winner being inducted into Hot Wheels’ Garage of Legends and then turned into a 1:64 Hot Wheels die-cast toy.

A hand-built vehicle loosely based on Mickey Thompson’s 1963 Harvey Aluminum Special Indy race car that set 35 national and eight international speed records in its time. Lulu was put together by 70-year-old Paul Kalenian of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a retired engineer. Kalenian built Lulu in his garage over seven months, spending at least 1,500 hours and $35,000 on the project. The turbocharged four-cylinder LTG crate engine from General Motors was originally rated at 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, but Kalenian and his team increased it to 325 horsepower in the 1530-pound Lulu, which uses a six-speed manual gearbox. The engine is structurally mounted behind the driver.

Hot Wheels ’69 Charger Funny Car Model

Hot Wheels
walmart.com

$24.97

Lulu is impossible to miss on a sunny day thanks to its shiny aluminum exterior, and the lightweight vehicle uses an aluminum frame and coil suspension as well. While Kalenian has already put 5000 miles on his home-built ride, he knows Lulu’s street-legal aspect isn’t exactly an indicator that the car is particularly special. He told Autoblog last fall that it was easier to register Lulu where he lives in New Mexico because it’s “the Wild West, where a donkey with a motor can be plated.” According to FF Journal, Kalenian is working on another custom design called the “Lu2,” which will use a BMW K1600B MC engine and is expected to weigh around 850 pounds.Kalenian has also entered Lulu into other competitions, including a virtual car show benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network of New Mexico last fall that named a 1969 El Camino Super Sport the winner.Other competitors in the Hot Wheels Legends tour stop that crowned Lulu the winner include modified versions of a 1962 Ford Falcon, a 1966 Novetta, and a 2007 Jaguar XK.
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The Biden administration would like to spend $15 billion to increase the national electric-vehicle charging network to half a million stations by 2030.While Congress argues that point, the national network continues to grow, thanks to private companies and regional government initiatives.But the charging stations get built mainly in more populous areas, causing gaps that will be a problem going forward.President Joe Biden has announced a plan to spend $174 billion to make it easier for Americans to choose electric vehicles. Biden wants $15 billion of that money to go toward building a national network of 500,000 charging stations by 2030. The day after Biden’s announcement, Representatives Andy Levin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—both Democrats—announced that they had revised their existing bill on electric vehicle infrastructure so that it would align with Biden’s new plan. Republicans oppose Biden’s plan. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) called it a “mandatory rush” toward EVs (it’s not—Biden has declined to back a California proposal that would ban the sale of gas cars by 2035).

Whether or not Biden’s plan can weather the slings and arrows of a bitterly divided Congress, an EV charging network is popping up across the country, driven by efforts from private companies and various government initiatives. But where will all those chargers go?That depends on what’s used to determine the optimal charge station layout, according to Mehrnaz Ghamami, an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering at Michigan State University. Ghamami led a team of researchers who developed a plan to optimize Michigan’s EV charging network for inter-city trips and trips within high-traffic urban environments. The study’s goal was to plan a network for 2030, which meant the team had to consider both the existing capabilities and adoption rate of EVs and charging networks and the potential for future higher adoption rates, higher-capacity batteries, and the wider availability of fast chargers. The state also directed the team to plan chargers with “uniform distribution throughout the state, for equity purposes,” not just in areas where road traffic or EV adoption are already high.

Electrify America

The resulting charging maps imagine a network of chargers splayed at roughly even intervals across the state, with clusters around the state’s population centers, where dozens or even hundreds of chargers will be necessary to support the higher number of EV owners and the lower likelihood that those owners will be able to charge their EVs at home. Ghamami says her team faced some criticism for planning stations in remote areas, but “the infrastructure needs to be there, and users need to be educated about these vehicles” before they’ll feel comfortable purchasing one. “The state wanted to build the chargers, and the demand will follow,” she says.But not every government or charging network is prioritizing equitable placement of charge stations. If you look at a map of existing chargers in the United States, there are often (depending on the station provider) big gaps in the middle of the country, especially in the upper Midwest and through the Rockies. That could be a signal that some of the biggest network providers, including ChargePoint and Electrify America, have so far focused on putting chargers where lots of people (and EVs) already go. That’s the technique the city of London is using to build out its network in advance of a 2033 deadline that will mandate a zero-emissions taxi fleet. That plan used mapping data from current taxi trip patterns combined with data on the capacity of the electrical grid to start building a fast-charging network based around established travel patterns. That may mean that parts of the city that don’t currently see high taxi traffic will be left out of the charge station boom and could theoretically make for an out-of-date network as neighborhoods and their traffic patterns change over time.London’s strategy of working with electricity providers is one we’ll have to think about on this side of the pond, too. Ghamami says her team’s next act is a study on how to distribute the energy demand of charging stations, for example by using large batteries to store energy so that the electrical grid isn’t overwhelmed on high-traffic days. Grid failures aren’t only a risk in rural or remote areas—Ghamami says that in Michigan, portions of the grid in danger of being overloaded by a growing EV charging network are split between low-population areas and higher-density zones with outdated electrical infrastructure.And, of course, no amount of planning will create a robust charging network if no one wants to build the stations. The installation of new charging stations often involves partnerships among two or more parties, often some combination of state and local governments, electrical utilities, a charging company, and a private company interested in the business it can get from drivers waiting for their cars to charge. But Ghamami says Michigan’s government sometimes can’t find willing partners to shoulder even a third of the cost of installing a planned station, and an analysis from consulting firm AlixPartners found last year that a fast-charging station asking the market rate for electricity could take 20 to 25 years to make back its initial investment.Those are the administrative challenges that await the Biden administration’s EV infrastructure plan, should it ever be signed into law. And that first hurdle will likely be enough to occupy the interested parties in Congress for quite some time.The bill that Reps. Levin and Ocasio-Cortez hope will turn into funding for a network of fast-chargers isn’t new. They first proposed a version of it in February 2020, but it never emerged from its subcommittee. With a new President who has been vocal about his interest in EVs, Levin and Ocasio-Cortez are trying again with a more aggressive bill. But there’s no sign that Republicans are more willing to compromise on legislation than they were last year. What is the standard to guide states and charging networks on the best layout for burgeoning networks in the meantime? “Nationwide?” Ghamami said. “I don’t think there is one.”

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A new survey conducted last month by Automotive News about the global chip shortage finds that almost everyone in the auto industry thinks it’s a big problem.Today, according to the survey, 53 percent of respondents said they source their chips from outside the U.S., and 55 percent are looking for alternative chip sources outside the country.Changes are happening, of course, from temporary production pauses and a shift to models that are either in high demand or require fewer chips. The auto industry is fully aware just how bad the current chip shortage is. Anecdotally, this has been clear for a while. Ford CEO Jim Farley, for example, recently said that the chip shortage is “perhaps the greatest supply shock” he’s ever seen. Automotive News used that quote in a new survey of automakers and suppliers called Examining the Global Chip Shortage, which gives us plenty of survey data to back up the feeling that this is a big, big deal.

Perhaps the most surprising number in the survey is that only—yes, only—93 percent of respondents said that they think the chip shortage will have a severe impact on the auto industry. The survey was conducted a month ago, before recent estimates put the shortage’s impact on the auto industry at $110 billion in lost revenue this year. But even in January, the estimates were around $50 billion, which apparently wasn’t severe enough for 7 percent of respondents.There’s also the feeling that the chip shortage will stretch out for most of the rest of the year. Almost three-quarters of respondents, 72 percent, said they expect the chip shortage crisis to impact the industry for at least six months.Just a reminder that the shortage of the chips, used in cars, computers, and other products, was caused by worldwide demand for electronic goods that intensified because of the coronavirus pandemic, along with inadequate planning in the supply chain and weather problems. As the New York Times pointed out, a new vehicle can have up to 100 of these semiconductor chips on board; they’re used (and needed) in components from touchscreens to transmissions.

While there have been efforts to start making more semiconductors in the U.S., newly proposed plants will take time to build and start producing chips. The survey provides us with some insight into where automakers and suppliers are getting their chips now: 53 percent get them from outside the U.S. today and 55 percent are looking to source chips from outside the U.S. in the future. Forty-eight percent said they’d rather buy chips from domestic suppliers.Survey respondents were somewhat uncertain about which segments of the industry will be most impacted by the shortage. Half (49 percent) said it will be the automakers, while 30 percent believe dealers and retailers will be hardest hit, and 23 percent said it will be the suppliers.If there are bright spots to be found in the numbers, they lie in the way the industry is adapting to the situation. Almost half, 42 percent, of automaker and supplier respondents said they have already changed, or will implement changes, to the ways they mitigate supply chain risk, and 26 percent said they have found alternate sources for the chips they need. That means 74 percent of the industry, as of mid-April, hadn’t yet found a solution to the shortage itself, but there are other ways of mitigating the mess. As we’ve previously reported, many automakers—38 percent, in the survey—have at least temporarily stopped some manufacturing. Another third, 32 percent, have shifted production to vehicles or components that are less impacted by the shortage, and almost half, 46 percent, have prioritized making high-demand products.The survey was conducted in mid-April of 475 Automotive News subscribers and readers, which the publication said represent a “diverse sample of automotive professionals who represent various companies and levels and areas of expertise across the industry.”
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With many Americans starting to head back into the office and facing a drive to work again, the Window Shop team decided to look at the perfect cars for commuting. Despite the hype around the shortage of used cars, our budget of $20,000 provided a variety of vehicles from which to choose. Now, before you start picking apart our choices, the challenge never stated exactly what the commute would be. We left that part up to each shopper, but we did mention that the average time it takes for folks to get to work is just under 30 minutes. Now an employee of our sister publication Road & Track, senior editor John Pearley Huffman decides that getting there, absolutely getting there is the most important part of a commuter car. So, he picks a low-mileage 2009 Honda Accord that he promises will never make you late or absent. Meanwhile, Mr. Practicality senior editor Joey Capparella doesn’t pick a normcore car with a reputation for reliability. Instead, Capparella goes for driving enjoyment with his 2014 BMW 228i. Quicker than all the others with a zero-to-60 time of 4.9 seconds, Capparella’s choice has more than a few of us wishing we’d thought of a 2-series. Still, since it’s a modern BMW, he’s dinged for potential reliability issues. Reliability certainly wasn’t on the mind of contributor Jonathon Ramsey when he decided that a V-12 BMW 760Li with over 100,000 miles would be just the thing for his commute. A lover of the finer things, Ramsey’s choice is so far out there that we have to now wonder if he’s trolling us.The remaining shoppers, deputy testing director K.C. Colwell and deputy editor Tony Quiroga make better choices than Ramsey. Colwell chooses a futuristic plug-in hybrid with a carbon-fiber composite body on top of an aluminum frame while Quiroga, dreading a bumper-to-bumper slog chooses his car for its powerful audio system. Of course, random trivia is sprinkled throughout the bickering and then finally a winner is crowned. Enjoy the show.

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