Latest news with #Autoweek
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Prices Are Already Climbing for Some Tariffed 2025 Ford Models
In November, the MSRP of a moderately equipped 2024 Maverick XLT came in at $31,270. Today, the 2025 version of that XLT with options would list for $35,840. That's a 14.6% increase. But there's some good news: Mustang Mach-E in base Select trim is 5% cheaper. Mach-E Premium is a full five-grand less expensive (to $48,990). If you're intent on buying a new Ford this year, you'll want to hurry for the automaker's From America, For America employee pricing available through July 4. Base price of the Mexican-assembled 2025 Ford Maverick pickup truck is up 17% over the 2024 model, as calculated from the automaker's consumer website. Ford attributes much of that to the Maverick's significant mid-cycle update, though the 2025 model manufacturer's suggested list price has increased since the facelift was unveiled. The '24 Maverick, equipped with its standard 2.0-liter Ecoboost I-4, started at $25,515 with destination. Autoweek reported a 12% MSRP increase over the 2024 model in a first drive of the '25 model in early April. That April first drive was published less than a week after President Trump's 'Independence Day' in which he imposed a 25% tariff on all new cars and trucks assembled outside the US. Since then, the 2025 Ford Maverick's MSRP is up another 4.4% over the reported price of $28,590 in April, to $29,840 today. It is now the only 2025 Ford that starts below $30,000, when including destination charges. The '25 Escape is $30,645 after the $1,495 destination charge is added. Last week Reuters reported that the Dearborn automaker increased prices on its three Mexican-assembled models—the Maverick, Mustang Mach-E, and Bronco Sport—'by as much as $2,000 on some models,' according to a note sent to dealers and reviewed by the news agency. 'This is our usual mid-year pricing actions combined with some tariffs we are facing,' a Ford spokesman said via email. 'While we amended prices, this does not impact vehicles in our dealer inventory. Our employee pricing program—'From America, For America'—continues through July 4, and our dealers have great stock and plenty of vehicles for our customers to choose from.' The 2025 Bronco Sport's base price is $30,995 with destination, up 4% over the '24 Bronco Sport's $29,795. Though Bronco Sport and Maverick both come from Ford's Hermosillo assembly plant, the Bronco Sport's destination charge is $1,595 while Maverick's is $1,695. The Mach-E, built in the automaker's Cuautitlán assembly plant, comes with a $1,995 destination Mustang Mach-E actually is lower in price versus the '24 model, for some versions, according to the consumer site. The base Select trim model is $39,990, from $41,990 for a '24 model, nearly 5% cheaper. Mach-E Premium is a full five-grand cheaper, or 10% more affordable (to $48,990), and the Mach-E GT is unchanged at $56,990. The $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs is nowhere to be found in pricing details for the Mach-E, though the website lists incentives of $5,500 in MSRP information. Tesla's website continues to list the $7,500 federal EV tax credit in pricing information for qualifying Models 3, Y, and base Cybertrucks. A provision to end the EV tax credit stemming from a January 20 White House executive order is currently included in the Republican budget for the coming fiscal year currently being discussed in the US House. In reporting price increases of up to $2,000, Reuters had called out a single Mach-E model, the Ford spokesman said, adding that Bronco Sport Heritage is up $600 and Maverick XLT AWD is up $700 over '24 models. Ford's Maverick, Bronco Sport, and Mustang Mach-E all were listed at as 2024 models until April, with no 2025 versions shown. The Maverick listing was updated to the 2025 model after our April 8 first drive report. Each has an option at to look up 2024 models, though configurator buttons are gone and searches of local inventories turn up far fewer examples than before the model year 2025 listings were added. Some price increases from President Trump's 25% tariffs on import autos are found within window stickers for upmarket trim levels and in optional equipment. Last November, we optioned out three low-priced models assembled outside the US so we could keep track of pricing in light of then-potential Trump tariffs. In addition to a full-stripper 2024 Ford Maverick XL, we optioned out a front-wheel-drive XLT with the 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, Co-Pilot 360 driver-assist package, keyless entry keypad, tri-fold hard tonneau, cargo net, tailgate lock, and the usual mudguard and floor mat-type accessories that long ago should have been standard equipment from any brand. The MSRP for our moderately equipped XLT came in at $31,270. Today, the 2025 version of that XLT with options would list for $35,840. That's a 14.6% increase, so some options must have absorbed a bit of the mid-cycle refresh price increase. Our '24 XLT was optioned with a four-pin hitch receiver, but you can only get a two-pin receiver with the '25 XLT when equipped with FWD. Add all-wheel drive available with the hybrid powertrain for the first time this model year and you can get the four-pin hitch receiver. That configuration comes to $38,440, which is 22.9% pricier than our '24 example. Of course, you're adding AWD, a worthwhile option for many users. Be aware that it might be difficult to find a FWD hybrid Maverick in stock in northern states, especially in autumn and winter months. If you're intent on buying a new Ford this year, you'll want to hurry for the automaker's From America, For America employee pricing available through July 4. This pricing will certainly boost Ford's US sales numbers through June and for the second quarter. After that, average transaction prices will spike from the tariffs, analysts warn, as inventories, especially for imports, get thin and dealer incentives disappear. By the end of this summer, 2026 models will be on their way for most brands. As Ford has demonstrated with its '25 Maverick facelift, that's a good opportunity for automakers to fund the tariffs. Are you planning to pull the trigger on a new vehicle purchase in the coming weeks, before tariffs are expected to crank up prices? Please comment below.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
EV Quick-Charge Pit Stops Take Formula E Open-Wheel Racing to Next Level
The ABB FIA Formula E racing series is making a big leap forward with Pit Boost technology this season. At select races, the series will for the first time include pit stops for a 30-second EV energy boost. The technology is spearheaded by Chinese automaker BYD. When the ABB FIA Formula E racing series first came to Miami 10 years ago in the series' inaugural season, there were many naysayers who said open-wheel EV racing would never last. Well, Formula E is not only still around, it's back at Miami this month, replacing Portland on the schedule, and still delivering good racing and even more attention-grabbing innovation. The series is a true laboratory for the latest and greatest in high-performance EV technology. This year, the series is making what could be called one of its biggest—or at least most visible—leaps forward on the tech side with its Pit Boost, fast-charging technology. At select races, the series will for the first time include pit stops for EV energy boost. Pit Boost is a quick-charge technology where a 30-second charge of a 600 kW boost during a minimum 34-second pit stop will give the open-wheel race cars a 10% charge of 3.85 kW of energy. Each team will have one boost unit to use. For a two-car team, that means no stacking of pit stops and that strategy for when to make that mandatory one stop will be a key factor in the race. It's a far cry from 10 years ago when Formula E first came to Miami, and range limitations forced drivers to jump out of one car and jump into another at the midway point of a 45-minute race. The company behind the latest energy boost for Formula E is Chinese automaker BYD, which this spring has unveiled a quick-charging option it says will give some of its car models up to 249 miles of range with just a five-minute, 1,000 kW charge. Formula E had its first race with the technology and in-race pit stops for energy at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in February. "I'm delighted to say the technology worked really well," said Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds in an exclusive Autoweek interview. "There were no failures, no cars stopped, no problems. Everything charged properly. And it worked really well. And it created a very different strategy for the race. "It really meant the teams had to work hard to think through the different strategic elements." The series is somewhat soft-launching the Pit Boost technology and its energy pit stops this season—Season 11 for Formula E. The plan calls for it to be used only on Formula E doubleheader weekends, with the next one coming in Monaco on May 3-4. Each doubleheader weekend will feature one race with the quick charge, one without. Formula E visits Homestead-Miami Speedway for a single race on the speedway's infield road circuit on April 12, meaning that fans, unfortunately, won't get to see the quick charging in action. "We know that fast charging is incredibly important for the EV industry," Dodds said. "And if we can demonstrate that in theory in around five minutes you could fully charge an electric vehicle, that's a very powerful message." Transferring that technology to the mainstream is the ultimate goal, of course. Dodds predicts this particular EV tech is 4-6 years from becoming the next big game-changer for Formula E as well as for potential buyers of EVs who are still scared off by range anxiety. "The charger has to be able to access the grid in order to generate that level of power," Dodds said. "The limiting factor is more likely the battery than the charger. Over probably the next four to six years, expect us to move into solid state batteries. As we we move into solid state batteries, which are more energy dense with the latest technologies, that will allow, I think, for the potential of fast-charging to grow exponentially." Currently, Formula E cars use lithium ion batteries. "Solid state batteries today are not really available for automobiles," he said. "That technology has not been put into cars today. We expect to see it over the next four-to-six years. We expect to see it become a mass market proposition. "The benefits will be, first of all, solid state batteries are more energy dense which means the power output will be better and the battery will perform better in extreme conditions, hot or cold. Energy density also means you can have a much smaller battery to generate the same power. Or, you could have the same size battery and generate more range out of it. "The choice becomes yours."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Full-Size EV Pickup Trucks Have a Residual Problem, with One Exception
Full-size pickup truck customers have specific expectations when it comes to towing and hauling, and EV versions fall far short of their internal-combustion-engine counterparts. Ford has already backtracked on big electric pickups, instead turning toward developing extended-range full-size trucks to maintain range along with towing and hauling capacity. Meantime, residuals on EVs in the segment lose much of their original value after three years, with the Tesla Cybertruck faring the best among the bunch. If the global and domestic EV market has become more uncertain in the past few months—what with the upheaval in Europe from Chinese electric vehicle exports and the Trump administration pouring cold water on the Biden administration's tax credits and cross-country charging network—there is some certainty about the future of full-size electric-powered pickup trucks. They face a rocky road ahead. Full-size EV pickup trucks fall well short of their internal-combustion counterparts when it comes to towing and hauling. Even if most Ford F-150, Ram, or Chevy Silverado pickup owners tow or haul just once a year, they generally count on their truck being able to do so reliably. EV pickup trucks tend to lose a lot of range when towing the trailer or hauling the load that gas and diesel pickup trucks are made for. To keep tabs on how the full-size EV pickup segment holds up, Autoweek is working with our partners at Black Book, a Hearst Automotive data firm, to track what happens to these trucks' residual value at the end of a 36-month lease. In the same vein as our 'automotive price index basket of cheap vehicles,' we plan to keep tabs on the Black Book residuals to track any fluctuating values over the coming months. As of March 1, none of the turmoil at Tesla from consumers' reaction to CEO Elon Musk's DOGE brouhaha has had much effect on the Cybertruck's cachet, so far. According to Black Book's March 1 projections, a base 2024 Tesla Cybertruck AWD crew cab will hold 60.9% of its original $81,985 MSRP for a residual value of $49,900 after the end of a 36-month lease. That's a better share of original price than any other EV pickup tracked by the data firm. Another Black Book measure of value—wholesale pricing on used Cybertrucks—shows steady but not drastic decline so far. Last May the average wholesale value was $125,500, well above the $81,985 sticker and reflective of the once longtime waiting list for the highly anticipated truck. By February 1, the Cybertruck's wholesale value had fallen just below original price, to $80,050. On the other end of the residual value scale is the first full-size EV pickup truck from a volume manufacturer, the Ford F-150 Lightning. Black Book estimates a '24 Lightning Lariat Supercrew 4WD stickered at $79,845 when new would be worth just $26,725, or 33.5%, at the end of its three-year lease. Ford already has thrown in the towel on this segment. In the automaker's 2024 earnings call with Wall Street analysts in early February, CEO Jim Farley said the automaker is developing EREV extended-range electric power for larger vehicles, including big pickups, to maintain range along with towing and hauling capacity. Smaller vehicles, including sport/utilities, are better suited to EV power, though Ford will continue to market full-size electric vans for the delivery business, Farley said. Instead of an F-150-size truck, Ford's next EV pickup, on the automaker's new dedicated electric vehicle platform, is expected to be a 'tweener' sized between Ranger and F-150. Consumers of full-size trucks simply expect them to have range and towing capacity without compromise, Farley said. Other EV pickups evaluated by Black Book include the Rivian R1T, which is actually midsize. An R1T Adventure Dual-Motor AWD crew cab retains an estimated 46.3% of its $80,700 sticker price, or $37,400. Two General Motors models evaluated by Black Book fall in between. A '24 GMC Hummer Crew Cab 4WD configured at $99,590 falls, like the Cybertruck, to $49,900 after 36 months. But in the case of the Hummer, that's 50.1% of its original price. A 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Crew Cab 4WD at $80,445 new keeps an estimated 49.4% of its value, or $39,275 after 36 months, Black Book estimates. Have concerns about residual or resale values of battery-electric vehicles impacted your shopping for full-size pickups? Please comment below.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
7 Other Times F1 Red Bull Racing Was Quick to Dump Drivers
Red Bull has a history of making swift decisions on underperforming drivers—whether at the senior or junior team—though none have been taken quite as quickly as the call to demote Liam Lawson. Autoweek looks at other occasions when a Red Bull driver had a short spell at either team. Reigning F3000 champion Tonio Liuzzi joined Red Bull—then a midfield outfit—on a peculiar drive-share deal, splitting the seat with incumbent Christian Klien. Klien did the first three Grands Prix, then Liuzzi was given a four-event chance, scoring a point on his debut at Imola. But Red Bull realized the shared drive situation was detrimental and Klien saw out the rest of the season. Liuzzi nonetheless remained within the Red Bull fold and was place at Toro Rosso for 2006 and 2007 after the energy drinks company bought and rebranded the ailing Minardi Daniel Ricciardo surprised Red Bull mid-2018, opting to leave for pastures new at Renault, the team responded by promoting Pierre Gasly for 2019. Gasly had spent just over a year at junior team Toro Rosso, and was ostensibly next in line. His chapter at Red Bull, however, was challenging. Gasly made errors and lacked the pace of teammate Max Verstappen, words which may sound familiar and resonant in 2025. There were flashes of promise, including fourth place at the British GP, but that proved to be the high point, and when Formula 1 split for the summer break Red Bull decided to demote Gasly back to Toro Rosso. He remained at Toro Rosso through 2022, famously winning the 2020 Italian GP, before joining Vettel's exit prompted Red Bull to put Daniil Kvyat into the senior team for 2015, after just one season with Toro Rosso, and it was a slow start as Red Bull struggled with its least competitive package in a generation. It was a solid but unspectacular season, with Kvyat scoring a best of second in Hungary, but after just four grands prix of the following campaign Red Bull swung the axe. A poor home Grand Prix in Russia proved the catalyst but the wider picture was the emergence of Max Verstappen, with Red Bull's decision to put the Dutchman into the senior team soon paying dividends. Kvyat returned to Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri for two spells but never truly flew a decade after he first joined Red Bull's driver scheme, Hartley was a surprise choice in late 2017 when the company dropped Kvyat (who, eventually, was brought back for 2019). It was not a successful partnership. Hartley was occasionally hamstrung by reliability issues through 2018 but a spate of big accidents, and a lack of performance compared to Gasly, meant Red Bull started shopping around for replacements only a few rounds into the season. The amiable Hartley saw out the year in an increasingly fractious atmosphere but was finally told of his sacking a few minutes after the final was brought in as the replacement for Gasly and initially fared well, scoring a string of top six finishes, and denied a podium in Brazil only by a wayward Lewis Hamilton. The Covid-hit 2020 season was a mixed bag and Albon's performances were erratic, taking podiums in Tuscany and Bahrain, but elsewhere failing to live with the pace of the front-running drivers. Red Bull instead signed veteran Sergio Perez for 2021 though kept Albon on as a test and reserve driver, before he joined Williams for Vries was a peculiar signing, as it came four years after he won the Formula 2 title, and ostensibly off the back of his impressive stand-in display at Monza for Williams in 2022. The partnership never worked out. The early-season AlphaTauri car in 2023 was slow but de Vries was shaded by Yuki Tsunoda, and senior figures quickly realized that they had made a mistake in signing the Dutchman. After the British Grand Prix, with de Vries still without a point, Red Bull reacted and dropped him, with Daniel Ricciardo brought back into the fold at add this to the list, in slightly tenuous circumstances, given Ricciardo previously spent two years with Toro Rosso before a five-year stint at Red Bull that he ended on his own terms. Ricciardo's mid-2023 comeback, after his McLaren spell was truncated, started with the ambition of returning to a Red Bull seat. There were flashes of speed, but displays were inconsistent, not aided by a wrist injury just three events into his return, and he too often trailed Yuki Tsunoda. By mid-2024 the writing was on the wall, and after the Singapore GP he was dropped, announcing his retirement a few days later.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Trump's auto tariffs and Michael Waltz's role in Signal group chat: Morning Rundown
Donald Trump announces tariffs on foreign-made cars while teasing an April 2 'Liberation Day.' National security adviser Michael Waltz emerges as a potential fall guy in the Signal group chat fallout. And what fewer weather balloons in the skies could mean for forecasts. Here's what to know today. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on foreign-made cars and foreign auto parts coming into the U.S., a prelude to the 'Liberation Day' duties that are expected to hit next week on April 2. Car prices could increase by as much as $12,000 for some models, "a cost that will almost certainly be passed on to U.S. buyers," Autoweek said. The expectation, Trump said, is that auto companies will relocate to the U.S. and build new sites or expand existing ones. This push to reshape the economy and bring manufacturing jobs back to the country is part of a larger gamble he's taking to cement his not unlike the hard-line immigration policies he pushed in his first term, which were deeply unpopular at the time. Now, immigration is the area in which voters most approve of his second-term performance. Trade is Trump's next frontier. He has already imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars on imports from Mexico, Canada and China. On the aforementioned 'Liberation Day,' Trump is expected to establish reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners that have their own levies on U.S. imports, which could amount to trillions of dollars' worth of goods. The high-stakes move pits him against foreign allies, as well as a domestic coalition of business interests, free trade advocates and others who have thrived in the status quo. Analysts warn of chaos in the form of supply chain shocks, higher consumer costs and fractures among Western allies. But Trump's team argues the old ways were never sustainable, and he's betting on a future in which voters and history will vindicate him as the one who finally made globalization bend to U.S. will, bringing jobs back home. Read the full story here. Vice President JD Vance will join his wife as part of the U.S. delegation visiting Greenland, albeit with a modified schedule after the original itinerary sparked anger. Senate Republicans are warming to the idea of including a debt ceiling increase in their big party-line bill to advance Trump's agenda. An upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race is emerging as the first big test of Democrats' anti-Elon Musk strategy. A majority of voters are generally disappointed with the people Trump has appointed to posts in his administration, according to an NBC News poll. In the days since an editor from The Atlantic revealed he was included in a group chat with some of President Donald Trump's top defense officials, questions have been flying about whether the information in the chat was classified. Trump and his aides have insisted it wasn't, while former national security and intelligence officials strongly disagreed. Still, many allies said that's besides the point. 'That's a legal question,' said a former senior Trump adviser. 'We are talking about a political problem right now.' The president's core supporters think someone should take the fall — in particular, national security adviser Michael Waltz. In an interview this week with Fox News, he said he took 'full responsibility' for the problem. Trump has stood by Waltz so far. A source close to the White House said media fascination with the story could create an opening for the administration to move forward with other controversial agenda items and no one would be fired — but, the source added, if anyone deserves the heave-ho, it's Waltz. For decades, the National Weather Service has released weather balloons at a clockwork-like cadence at more than 100 sites across the country, as well as all over the Pacific and the Caribbean. But at least 10 release sites in the continental U.S. — including in Alaska, Colorado, Michigan and New York —have suspended or limited launches because of the Trump administration's cuts to National Weather Service staff. Meteorologists and experts said the reduction in balloons will reduce forecast quality and increase risk during severe weather. 'There's no question it will lead to errors, it's just a matter of, how bad will it be?' said Matt Lanza, a meteorologist in Houston. The balloons provide the finest resolution data about different layers in the atmosphere, information that can't be easily replicated by satellites or other equipment, and could leave scientists guessing about what type of precipitation will fall, for example. While people might not notice a day-to-day difference in the forecast when using a weather app on a phone, one weather expert said there will be more surprises. There have only been two races so far in the 2025 Formula 1 season, but Red Bull Racing has decided it's time for a change. The team has announced that it will replace driver Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda, the four-year veteran currently driving for Red Bull's junior team, starting at Tsunoda's home race in Japan on April 6. Tsunoda joins four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen as the team chases a drivers' championship and constructors' title. Lawson replaced Sergio Pérez this season after Pérez's string of poor performances in 2024. But now, in making the decision to swap Tsunoda and Lawson, Red Bull is all but admitting it made a mistake. The big question now is whether Tsunoda will perform well in what has been described as a 'cursed' second seat. Four U.S. soldiers went missing during tactical training in Lithuania, the Defense Department said. The family of a University of Washington lab technician and green card holder who has had permanent status in the U.S. for 50 years is calling for her release after she was placed in ICE custody. Measles vaccination rates for young children may be far lower than publicly reported, putting the U.S. closer than expected to losing its 'elimination status' for the contagious disease. A Michigan couple has been detained in Mexico for nearly three weeks over a contract dispute related to a timeshare, their family said. Heart-shaped notes were found hidden in clothes given to UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione for a recent hearing, prosecutors said. The Salvation Army — a church and international charitable organization best known for its Christmastime bell ringers — prides itself on its work to help the most vulnerable. But a lawsuit filed this week in Kentucky accuses the Christian organization of failing in its duty to protect children. In the lawsuit and in an exclusive interview with NBC News, Riley Neville, now 23, described years of grooming and sex abuse she says she suffered at the hands of Joel Collier, a former Salvation Army music director who led camps for her and other student musicians. Neville said she and her family were disturbed years later when they learned that the Salvation Army had previously identified Collier as a potential danger to children, then hired him anyway. Neville sued, she said, hoping to shield other children from harm. — , senior investigative reporter As a teenager, Aaron Valencia didn't think much about his future. He struggled with drug addiction, homelessness and family members going in and out of prison. He wouldn't have guessed that one day he would be running a free vocational training center for youths just like him. Valencia's Lost Angels Career Center in Lancaster, California, provides at-risk youth with stability, teaching them skills like welding, auto mechanics and 3D design through a 12-week program. Graduates have landed jobs at companies like NASA, Northrop Grumman and MS Aerospace. 'These are young people who need a support system, need somebody who believes in them and says, 'I see what you're going through, man, I got you,'' Valencia said. 'I' got a path for you if you're ready. Let's go.'' See how Lost Angels is giving youth the confidence to launch their careers. is a free, award-winning education program for developing new skills and advancing careers in journalism, media and tech. Do you have acne-prone skin? Dermatologists shared their favorite at-home blackhead treatments that truly decongest your pores. Plus, the NBC Select team dives into dermarolling, which involves using a device to make lots of tiny punctures in your skin, and whether or not it actually helps with hair growth. newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week. Thanks for reading today's Morning Rundown. Today's newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you're a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here. This article was originally published on
