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Imagine this: You're looking for a crossover with a pinch of sportiness. None of the current crop of two-rows in the upper $30K to $50K range are doing it for you. You like the swoopy Mazda CX-90 but it's too big for your wants and needs. You hear the phrase "zoom zoom" whispered by unseen forces. You get to your Mazda dealer and see that a new contender has emerged. Enter the 2025 Mazda CX-70.

While we’re constantly hearing about tightening emissions regulations, the relevant timelines issued by government actors are rarely adhered to. Electric vehicle subsidies went from temporary to indefinite and combustion bans have gone from right around the corner to anyone’s guess. This is also true of the industry itself, which often makes bold promises designed to appease a subset of the public only to repeatedly move the target date back a few years. 

With this in mind, Porsche’s CFO was recently quoted as saying European combustion bans will probably need to be delayed and there’s good reason to believe him. 

As we learned in our previous installment, the third generation Eldorado debuted in 1957 with a daring new X-frame chassis design. Launched across the entire Cadillac lineup that year, the X-frame would become controversial in short order due to safety concerns in side-impact crashes. Up top, Cadillac decided to make less controversial styling changes on the 1957 Eldorados. Designers advanced a styling theme that would reach its fin-happy and chrome bedazzled crescendo a couple of years later.

Despite trying to stay away from politicians during last year’s labor strike, United Auto Workers’ leadership endorsed Joe Biden for president on Wednesday. This comes after union-head Shawn Fain said UAW dealings with domestic automakers would not be undermined by those seeking to garner political support. Now, Fain is backing Biden on claims that his administration supports the American workforce.

Regulators in Germany have opened an investigation into alleged diesel exhaust rule circumvention on the part of BMW. Claims have been made that the automaker used an illegal defeat device on select models to achieve lower tailpipe emissions during testing. It’s a situation reminiscent of the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal from 2015. However, government regulators have been on the offensive ever since — roping in loads of manufacturers and leaving a subset of the public wondering whether modern emission laws are even tenable.

A Detroit-based startup hoping to normalize robotic tire changes has filed for bankruptcy, perhaps offering hope to all the humans worried that they're about to be displaced by automation. RoboTire, which launched in 2019, had stated its intention to speed up vehicle maintenance for auto repair shops, fleet operators and dealerships. Now its status is Chapter 7.

Volkswagen is giving the Golf a makeover for its 50th birthday, adding an illuminated badge along with some novel LED headlight and taillamps. VW doesn’t like to make aggressive changes to the iconic hatchback, so the alterations made on the Mk8 Golf are fairly subtle. They’re also largely irrelevant because the only version of the model still sold on our market is the sporting GTI. 

Maserati has delayed the launch of the seventh-generation Quattroporte, citing concerns that the model needs to adhere to a certain level of performance outlined by the manufacturer. However, the benchmarks the brand intends on reaching are largely a mystery and the company has already expressed some troubles related to transitioning its lineup toward all-electric vehicles.

Google has announced plans to update Android Auto to reduce the time drivers are required to look at screens. This includes the obligatory mention of leveraging artificial intelligence. But the phrase has become a blanket term for any advanced computing integrated into other systems, meaning we have to dig a little deeper to understand what AI brings to the table. While Google hasn’t gotten overly specific, it has said it wants to place an emphasis on improving safety.

As we learned in our last installment, the Cadillac lineup was revised visually for 1957, and would be revised again in 1958 once quad headlamps became legal. Fins grew, hoods smoothed, roofs leaned backward, and there were more Eldorado variants than ever before. But styling and lineup changes weren’t the only new features in 1957: Cadillac was also eager to tout its Standard of the World engineering, safety, and engine advancements!

While there are plenty of people that remain annoyed that the Ford Mustang Mach-E continues carrying the Mustang name, the vehicle itself is probably one of the better examples from the electric-crossover segment. Hoping to sweeten the pot, Ford has elected to offer the vehicle with an optional appearance package and some new paint options allowing for one of the best color combinations in automotive history — bronze and green. 

Huawei has announced it will continue becoming intertwined with the automotive sector after signing onto a joint venture with Chinese state-owned carmaker Changan Automobile. The telecommunications giant has established Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan ($140 million USD) and a focus on smart car equipment manufacturing, artificial intelligence system integration services, and AI software development.

Lamborghini has broken its own sales record by delivering over 10,000 automobiles in 2023. While that’s still less than mainstream manufacturers are pushing out the door in a given week, it represents a major shift in how the brand does business and will likely open it up to additional regulatory scrutiny.

Automakers love putting out teasers, using us media dopes to build anticipation.

The second generation Cadillac Eldorado was met with immediate sales success after its repositioning from a halo vehicle to a more affordable upmarket trim package in 1954. Expanding upon the success in its third and final model year, the second-gen Eldorado sprouted a new body style (a hardtop coupe) called Seville in addition to the mainstay convertible sibling christened Biarritz. In 1958 it was time for all-new Eldorado(s), in a moment that would see the nameplate expand into a small lineup in two very distinct price brackets. Time for model range detail!